Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is expected to release the measure next week as Democratic Party lawmakers search for a sharp economic message to counter last year's Republican tax law. Under Van Hollen's proposal, workers making at or below a "living wage" - $46,000 for taxpayers filing individually, or $92,000 for married couples filing jointly - would not have to pay federal income taxes. Tens of millions of additional middle-class workers would also receive a tax cut under the proposal, but they would still have to pay taxes. The measure would be paid for by a new surcharge on millionaires that would raise roughly $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
The U.S. Interior Department said a database revealing how President Donald Trump's administration planned to revise information on key phases of American history at national park sites was deliberative and the employees who released it "will be held accountable."
Episcopalian pastor Lisa Levy (48) of Hamden CT was arrested for allegedly abusing multiple rescue animals she adopted, leaving them with severe chemical burns, broken bones, skin lesions, and neurological issues, some of them dying from her cruelty.
America is Thoroughly Infected
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said Dunkin' and other companies will need to prove that their ingredients are safe, prompting Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) on Wednesday to reply back, "Come and take it."
The House voted to punt a resolution Wednesday that would have released records from all House Ethics Committee investigations into sexual harassment and unwelcome sexual advances by members. Read more
Deputy US Marshals arrested 6 January insurrectionist Jonathan J. Munafo (36) in Richmond VA for absconding from court-ordered supervision in the Northern District of New York (NDNY). Munafo was one of ~1,500 miscreants pardoned by Donald Trump.
US Capitol, 6 Jan 2021
The USDA informs that 36,987,575 pounds of various Trader Joe's ready-to-eat and frozen chicken and pork fried rice, ramen, and shu mai dumpling products were being pulled from shelves nationwide because they may contain glass.
Tainted Products
John P. Hammond, Pioneer in 1960s Blues Renaissance, Dies at 83 Read more
If 168 people, overwhelmingly little girls, were killed in a school bombing in Israel, there is little doubt it would have been plastered all over major newspapers, led nightly broadcasts, and been asked about on the Sunday News programs. But"as the over 20,000 dead Palestinian children killed by a US-backed, Israeli genocide in Gaza affirm"Muslim and Arab life is simply not important, their children's deaths are simply factored in, they're collateral damage in a noble War on Terror, a perhaps regrettable "claim" that's always "being investigated" but never held to account, much less elevated to moral outrage or sustained media scandal.
A newly revealed series of group chats obtained by The Floridian shows Republican officials in Miami fantasizing about genocide and spamming racial slurs. In another segment of the chat, the person identified as "William" spammed fantasies about killing and mutilating Black people in various ways, including "crucify filthy blacks," "curb stomp pregnant black n------," "exterminate n------ in the gas chamber," "feed n------ to alligators," "stomp n----- skulls with steel toed boots," and "drown n------ in fried chicken grease."
China has cut its annual economic growth target to a range of 4.5%-5%, the lowest expansion goal since 1991 as it grapples with challenges both at home and abroad. It is the first time the target has been lowered since it was cut to "around 5%" in 2023. A target was not set in 2020 due to the pandemic. The details were released during China's biggest political gathering, known as the "two sessions", alongside the release of some details of the 15th Five Year Plan for the world's second largest economy. Read more
A federal judge has cleared the way for thousands of businesses to receive refunds for tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down last month. The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday ordered Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds for levies US President Donald Trump introduced last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). "All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit" from the high court's ruling, Judge Richard Eaton wrote. Read more
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana assisted several police officers in physically ejecting a man who interrupted a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday to object to the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
Washington has been "stonewalling" its Gulf allies' requests for a replenishment of air defense missiles, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported, coinciding with intensifying Iranian attacks on US bases and assets across the region. "At least one Gulf state that has come under attack from Iran asked US officials about replenishing supplies that have been depleted since the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, but was brushed off," a former US official familiar with the matter told MEE. The former official said a separate Gulf state "responded to US requests to use air bases in their country with enquiries about the US's commitment to their air defense systems," and added that Washington's Arab allies will "be left wanting if they expect new supplies of interceptors." Read more
Your latest chat transcript could be bought and sold. Data brokers are selling access to sensitive personal data captured during chatbot conversations, despite claims that the data is anonymized and obtained with consent.
The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for a deposition on the Department of Justice's handling of its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and its compliance with a law requiring all documents related to the notorious sex offender to be made public. The 24-19 vote by the committee came after growing criticism of the DOJ for failing to release all of the Epstein files, and reports that it has removed from public view tens of thousands of documents that previously were made public.
