brooklynite
brooklynite's JournalBiden names VP selection committee
Source: Politico
oe Biden’s presidential campaign on Thursday formally launched its running-mate selection committee, charged with vetting the third woman in U.S. history to seek the vice presidency on a major party ticket.
The four-member search committee includes Biden’s longtime friend and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd; the congresswoman from his home-state of Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester; Los Angeles Mayor and campaign co-chair Eric Garcetti; and former White House and Senate counsel Cynthia Hogan. Biden said he hopes they’re done vetting prospective candidates by July.
The diverse committee of Biden confidantes reflects what Biden says his administration is aiming for: to look like America.
“These four co-chairs reflect the strength and diversity of our party, and will provide tremendous insight and expertise to what will be a rigorous selection and vetting process,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a written statement.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/30/biden-names-vp-selection-committee-225027
Status of Tax Filing Requirements
In response to Coronavirus, the Treasury, IRS, federal and state governments have announced changes to the 2019 tax filing deadline.
The federal tax deadline has been extended to July 15, 2020. While a majority of states’ filing deadlines have been extended to conform with the federal tax deadline, not all fall on July 15th.
Note, taxpayers who are getting a refund are encouraged to file their taxes now to get their money, especially if they’re eligible to receive a stimulus check.
If you’re filing state tax returns for Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi or Virginia, the deadline to file your state income tax return differs from the new, extended federal tax deadline.
Additionally, there are two states, North Carolina and Virginia, that will still charge interest on tax payments that are not paid by new state deadlines despite federal tax filing and payment deadlines. This means that if you’re filing income taxes in those states and you owe, interest will still accrue on your tax payments if you don’t pay by the state filing deadlines.
Here’s what you need to know about these states’ specific tax filing and payment deadlines — if your state isn’t listed below, check here for the latest information on deadlines and guidance for every state.
Hawaii
Hawaii’s due date for filing 2019 State income tax returns has been postponed to July 20, 2020.
For ease, you can prepare your federal and state returns simultaneously, as you would with a standard deadline.
Idaho
Idaho’s due date for filing 2019 State income tax returns has only been postponed to June 15, 2020.
As Idaho’s state tax return deadline is prior to the federal tax return deadline, we recommend that you complete your federal tax return in tandem with your state tax return and complete the federal tax return earlier than the extended federal deadline of July 15, 2020, to avoid any penalties or interest and get your refunds when you need them most.
Iowa
Iowa’s due date for filing 2019 State income tax returns has been postponed to July 31, 2020.
For ease, you can prepare your federal and state returns simultaneously, as you would with a standard deadline.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s due date for filing 2019 State income tax returns has only been postponed to May 15, 2020.
As Mississippi’s state tax return deadline is prior to the federal tax return deadline, we recommend that you complete your federal tax return in tandem with your state tax return and complete the federal tax return earlier than the extended federal deadline of July 15, 2020, to get your refund as soon as possible.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s relief allows 98% of taxpayers to file and pay for tax year 2019 by June 15, 2020 without penalties or interest.
The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration will grant automatic relief to
Business Profits Tax (BPT), Business Enterprise Tax (BET) and Interest & Dividends Tax (I&D)
taxpayers in the form of payment relief and expansion of automatic filing extensions and
penalty safe harbors.
Relief is available for certain BPT, BET and I&D taxpayers who are impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic and unable to pay the amount due on April 15, 2020. Those qualifying taxpayers will
have until June 15 to remit payment without typical penalties and interest.
https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-news/what-is-my-state-tax-deadline-what-to-know-about-coronavirus-and-state-specific-tax-deadlines-46778/?username=&cid=em_44866_3205_002_2019___
Taxpayers who qualify for this specific relief are Business Tax taxpayers who owed $50,000 or
less in taxes (total BPT and BET tax liability) for tax year 2018 and I&D taxpayers who owed
$10,000 or less in taxes for tax year 2018.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s due date for filing 2019 State income tax returns has been extended to align with the extended federal deadline of July 15, 2020, however, interest will still accrue on any tax payments received after April 15, 2020, until the date of payment.
Therefore, taxpayers are encouraged to file and pay their taxes as soon as possible to avoid accruing interest on tax payments.
Virginia
Virginia announced that their tax payment deadline has been extended to June 1, 2020. The filing deadline remains May 1, 2020 for individuals.
Virginia will waive the accrual of interest on certain income tax payments that were originally due during the period from April 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020.This waiver applies to individual, corporate, and fiduciary income tax payments.
It also applies to extension payments as well as any estimated payments that were due during this period. No penalties or interest will be incurred on these payments if made in full by June 1, 2020.
Trump says the federal government will not extend its social distancing guidelines
Source: Washington Post
WASHINGTON — President Trump says the federal government will not be extending its social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the coronavirus guidelines will be “fading out” because of work that governors are doing in their states.
Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines issued 45 days ago have been incorporated into guidance provided to the states on how they can begin the process of gradually reopening their economies.
“Now our focus is working with states. . . to open up their states again,” Pence said. “And the new guidance that we’ve issued is guidance for how they can do that safely and responsibly.”
Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/29/business/trump-says-federal-government-will-not-extend-its-social-distancing-guidelines/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter
Trump lovers, inhale (without a mask) a deep breath of FREEDOM.....
Revealed: the inside story of the UK's Covid-19 crisis
Source: The Guardian
The Guardian’s account of the government’s response to the crisis is based on interviews with sources in or close to Downing Street, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Cabinet Office, Cobra and Sage, as well as other advisers and experts. Many asked not to be named, because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Some said that while they had concerns, they were holding back some of their criticism because they did not want to damage public trust in government at such a delicate time. All are wary of being wise in hindsight, and sympathetic to ministers who took decisions they felt were right at the time.
But with Covid-19 having spread virulently, particularly during those first three weeks of March, more than 21,000 people have now died in hospitals alone and Britain is predicted to be possibly the worst affected country in Europe. There are profound questions to be answered, about why Johnson’s government stood alone among the countries of the world, pursuing that herd immunity approach, and why, when they realised stricter measures were needed, the lockdown was still delayed.
Prof Neil Ferguson, the lead scientist on the Covid-19 response team at Imperial College London, whose advice paper of 16 March is credited with convincing the government to change course, responded extensively to questions from the Guardian for this article. He emphasised that one alarming estimate in that paper was not new: that under the “mitigation scenario”, which apparently envisaged herd immunity as one outcome, and included measures then being considered by the government, 250,000 people would die.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/revealed-the-inside-story-of-uk-covid-19-coronavirus-crisis
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/29/revealed-the-inside-story-of-uk-covid-19-coronavirus-crisis
Boeing plans to slash 10 percent of its workforce amid pandemic fallout, Max grounding
Source: Washington Post
Boeing said Wednesday it plans a 10 percent staff reduction —more than 10,000 jobs — as the continued grounding of its signature jet combined with a global halt in air travel sapped billions from its once-profitable commercial jet division.
The company, which reported a loss of $1.7 billion, employs more than 150,000 people globally and said it now plans to cut approximately 10 percent of its total workforce. The report did not say where those job cuts would come from or give a total number but would equal more than 14,000 employees.
The 737 Max crisis alone has cost Boeing, once a Wall Street darling, $5 billion, the company reported Wednesday.
CEO Dave Calhoun said in a video message to employees that the losses would be steeper in the commercial airplane division, based in Renton, Wash.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/29/boeing-plans-slash-staff-reports-17-billion-loss-amid-pandemic-fallout-max-grounding/
Amash launches exploratory committee for Libertarian presidential run
Source: The Hill
Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) announced Tuesday that he has launched an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, his strongest indication yet that he will mount a third-party White House bid.
“Today, I launched an exploratory committee to seek the @LPNational’s nomination for president of the United States. Americans are ready for practical approaches based in humility and trust of the people,” Amash tweeted.
“We’re ready for a presidency that will restore respect for our Constitution and bring people together. I’m excited and honored to be taking these first steps toward serving Americans of every background as president,” he added.
The former Republican congressman has been toying for months with the prospect of waging a third-party campaign for the presidency and has come under an avalanche of pressure from Libertarians to throw his hat into the ring.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/495173-amash-launches-exploratory-committee-for-presidential-run
Bloomberg: If Trump Won't Lead the World, Others Must
The gravest emergency to confront the U.S. in decades has fallen on the watch of a uniquely unfit president. At a time when the world should be looking to the White House for wisdom and leadership, it finds only Donald Trump’s characteristic blend of incompetence and dishonesty. His musings last week about killing the virus by ingesting disinfectant were a gift to comedians, but as always with Trump, the joke is on us.
Fortunately, many mayors and governors (though not all) have been rising to the challenge, taking action, heeding science, communicating reliable information, and collaborating with one another. In Washington, the Federal Reserve delivered prompt and comprehensive interventions to support the financial system. Even Congress, for all its dysfunction, has acted faster than its record of partisan paralysis would have suggested.
One of the virtues of our federal system of government is that it has sufficient strength and depth to keep working even if the person at the top isn’t up to the job. But internationally, the picture is deeply troubling. America’s abdication of leadership during a crisis that demands international cooperation is far more difficult to remedy.
The coronavirus pandemic is a global emergency, which makes it both necessary and possible to align governments as allies in a war against the disease. But that has not happened. Resources — materials, information, research — should have been marshaled to avoid waste and duplication; they were not. Export controls on essential equipment should have been discussed and agreed to, where necessary; instead, countries imposed them unilaterally. The World Health Organization and other agencies should have been recognized as vital global assets, staffed and funded accordingly; President Trump, in an attempt to shift blame away from the White House, announced that he would withhold funding to the WHO.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-28/coronavirus-pandemic-if-trump-won-t-lead-the-world-others-must
California governor outlines state's phased reopening plan
Source: CNN
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday outlined the phased reopening plan for his state, with retail businesses and schools "weeks away" based on an apparent stabilization in both the numbers of confirmed cases of, and deaths due to, coronavirus.
Newsom said on Twitter that Stage 1 is where the state is now, staying home and working on flattening the curve. The second stage involves lifting restrictions on some lower risk workplaces, such as retail, manufacturing and offices where telework is not possible. Reopening child care centers will be a part of that second stage as well, Newsom said.
Workers and consumers both must be protected in order to lift restrictions and those businesses can begin reopening with adaptations like curbside pickup, according to California Health Director Sonia Angell.
"We are not going back to the way things were until we get to immunity or a vaccine," Newsom said. "We will base reopening plans on facts and data, not on ideology. Not what we want. Not what we hope."
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/28/politics/california-phased-reopening-plan/index.html
Dr. Anthony Fauci warns US could 'be in for a bad fall' if coronavirus treatments don't work
Source: CNBC
The United States “could be in for a bad fall” if researchers don’t find an effective treatment to fight the coronavirus by then, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.
The virus will certainly make a comeback in the U.S. even as cases begin to stabilize, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said during an interview with The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Covid-19 is “not going to disappear from the planet,” he said, adding infectious disease experts are learning about how the virus behaves by watching emerging outbreaks in other regions such as southern Africa that are starting to enter their colder seasons.
“In my mind, it’s inevitable that we will have a return of the virus, or maybe even that it never went away,” he said.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/28/fauci-warns-us-could-be-in-for-a-bad-fall-if-coronavirus-treatments-dont-work.html
The Ohio Primary "closes" in 15 minutes...
I think there’s a chance for Tim Ryan to make his move...
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Name: Chris BastianGender: Male
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
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