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turbinetree's JournalSenators Urge IRS to Focus on Big-Time Tax Cheats, Citing ProPublica Stories
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and three fellow senators say the agency should do more to tackle financial crimes, even in the face of crippling budget cuts.
by Paul Kiel and Jesse Eisinger March 8, 11:09 a.m. EST
In a letter on Friday , a group of prominent senators — including Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., 2020 presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as well as Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. — urged IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to increase the agency’s focus on large tax and financial crimes.
As ProPublica has documented with a series of articles, the IRS is a shadow of its former self, the result of a near-decadelong campaign by Republicans in Congress to starve the agency of funds. The agency’s enforcement staff has dropped by more than a third. That has been a boon to the rich and to tax cheats in particular, who have benefited from a collapse in audits, collections and criminal tax prosecutions.
As we reported, and as the senators noted in their letter, the story has been different for the poor, as the IRS has devoted a disproportionate number of its audits to taxpayers who receive the earned income tax credit, one of the government’s largest antipoverty programs.
The senators acknowledged that the budget cuts have badly weakened the agency, but they argued that ProPublica’s stories, together with government watchdog reports, show the IRS could use its limited resources more effectively.
https://www.propublica.org/article/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-urge-irs-financial-crimes
The Cruze cruises: GM assembly plant prepares to close
Source: Associated Press
By MARK GILLISPIE and TOM KRISHER an hour ago
LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — A sprawling General Motors assembly plant near Youngstown will be idled on Wednesday after more than 50 years producing cars and other vehicles, a move that will eliminate nearly 1,700 hourly positions by month’s end.
GM announced in December that Lordstown along with three plants in the U.S. and one in Canada would close at some point this year.
The Cruze, once a popular and well-reviewed compact car made in Lordstown since 2011, has become the victim of consumer tastes as car buyers in an era of inexpensive gasoline have shown strong preferences for trucks, SUVs and crossover-type vehicles, all of which produce far bigger profits than sedans for GM.
While Wednesday could be the last day for the Cruze, GM spokesman Dan Flores said the plant’s parts-stamping operation will continue producing fenders and other replacement parts through most of March.
The 6.2 million square foot plant (nearly 600,000 square meters) will be placed in a “state of readiness,” Flores said, meaning it will be heated and fully maintained to allow for a resumption of operations. A final decision on the plant’s future is expected to be made during upcoming contract talks with the United Auto Workers that begin this summer. The UAW’s national contract with GM expires in mid-September.
Read more: https://apnews.com/19d3439c9d614369ae4d5b98b526e635
What is absolutely remarkable, is that GM is not putting any R&D money into a new vehicle, they got their tax break to give to shareholders and the CEO's like the asshole that was /is running the plant and the jobs are gone and the car will be made in Mexico.
But the entire state of Ohio will have those unemployment checks being shared from other businesses picking up that cost, somewhere down the line, by raising rates to keep the fund solvent, and GM will pay into the fund, but those folks only have 26 weeks worth of checks......................homes are now in jeopardy, health care, education...................and anyone that voted for a republican in that state and nationally, what the hell were you thinking............................amazing......................
Butterflies abound in mountainous Mexican winter habitat
By KIM CURTIS an hour ago
CERRO PELÓN MONARCH BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY, Mexico (AP) — As the group made its way up the rugged mountain path toward the clearing, their heavy, crunching bootsteps turned to near-silent tiptoeing, their friendly chitchat dropped to whispers, giddy smiles appeared on faces and eyes brimmed with tears. The first-time visitors to this mountain monarch butterfly reserve were, in a word, gobsmacked.
It’s challenging to convey the sheer magic of witnessing tens of thousands of butterflies hanging from trees in giant clumps, sunning themselves on the hillside or fluttering in the sky like snowflakes. But after experiencing it, it’s easier to understand folks like these, most of whom had traveled from the U.S. to Mexico solely to see the monarchs.
“Our trip was amazing,” said Denise Siraco, who was visiting from New Hampshire. “There are really no words to describe it. When we found the colony, it seemed to go on forever.”
In the U.S., two separate populations of monarchs are divided by the Rocky Mountains. While the western population primarily sticks to the California coast, the eastern population makes its way down from southern Canada and the northeastern United States across thousands of miles to spend the winter at one of about 20 colonies in the Mexican states of Michoacán and Mexico. No single insect completes the entire journey as the average butterfly only lives about a month. Instead, it takes three or four generations to make the trip, with each one traveling part of the way.
https://apnews.com/9a54188cde724fb4b724f2b73e56d5fe
AP NewsBreak: US plans to lift protections for gray wolves
By MATTHEW BROWN and JOHN FLESHER2 minutes ago
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials plan to lift protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move certain to re-ignite the legal battle over a predator that’s rebounding in some regions and running into conflicts with farmers and ranchers, an official told The Associated Press.
Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was expected to announce the proposal during a Wednesday speech before a wildlife conference in Denver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Spokesman Gavin Shire said in an interview with the AP.
The decision to lift protections is based on gray wolves successfully recovering from widespread extermination last century, Shire said. He said further details would be made public during a formal announcement planned in coming days.
Long despised by farmers and ranchers, wolves were shot, trapped and poisoned out of existence in most of the U.S. by the mid-20th century.
https://apnews.com/b2e0ee9f81da4e1db9672a3725354720
You know what I really do hate ranchers and cattlemen and there fucking association of BS. They have caused more damaged in this country since they introduced a non-native species into the country, that not only screws the environment, but it also played in the genocide of the Natives in this country...............
School lessons increasingly a target for climate skeptics
By MICHAEL MELIA 28 minutes ago
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut lawmaker wants to strike climate change from state science standards. A Virginia legislator worries teachers are indoctrinating students with their personal views on global warming. And an Oklahoma state senator wants educators to be able to introduce alternative ideas without fear of losing their jobs.
As climate change becomes a hotter topic in American classrooms, politicians around the country are pushing back against the scientific consensus that global warming is real and man-made.
Of the more than a dozen such measures proposed so far this year, some already have failed. But they have emerged this year in growing numbers, many of them inspired or directly encouraged by a pair of advocacy groups, the Discovery Institute and the Heartland Institute.
“You have to present two sides of the argument and allow the kids to deliberate,” said Republican state Sen. David Bullard of Oklahoma, a former high school geography teacher whose bill, based on model legislation from the Discovery Institute, ran into opposition from science teachers and went nowhere.
https://apnews.com/6f5ae325e919481fa081c188b1d5dc3f
So this Bullard, "guy" thinks that the Discovery Institute should be used has a model, since they use "intelligent design" ............................
These people are really dangerous, I guess he and others haven't been in the high country out west to see how the tree lines are moving higher......................
I support Micheal Mann the director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.
Nielsen live testimony.......................5/6/2019
https://www.reuters.tv/l/P0QGMy question is, did she bring in the Pellingrino water while everyone else has bottled water, not from Italy.........................amazing
U.S. Democrats to unveil legislation to reinstate net neutrality rules
Source: Reuters
Politics
March 6, 2019 / 10:51 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago
David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in Congress are unveiling a bill to reinstate the landmark net neutrality rules repealed by the Federal Communications Commission under U.S. President Donald Trump, congressional aides said on Wednesday.
The bill will mirror an effort last year to reverse the FCC’s December 2017 order that repealed the rules approved in 2015 that barred providers from blocking or slowing internet content or offering paid “fast lanes.”
The reversal was a win for internet providers like Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, but was opposed by content and social media companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that Democrats would push to reinstate the net neutrality rules, but did not disclose the legislative proposal. A press conference is set for later on Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet/u-s-democrats-to-unveil-legislation-to-reinstate-net-neutrality-rules-idUSKCN1QN20N?il=0
UK lawmakers demand clarity on tariffs in case of no-deal Brexit
Source: Reuters
Business News
March 6, 2019 / 2:36 AM / Updated 9 minutes ago
David Milliken, Kylie MacLellan
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s government should urgently unveil its plans for tariffs in the case of a no-deal Brexit, lawmakers said on Wednesday after media reports that levies could be slashed for up to 90 percent of imports.
Trade minister Liam Fox told lawmakers earlier in the day that senior ministers had reached a “basic agreement” on the extent to which it would impose reciprocal tariffs on European Union goods if it leaves the bloc without a deal on March 29.
Tariffs would push up costs for consumers, but without them some British farms and factories could struggle to compete.
However, with the details not finalised, Fox said there was no agreement on whether to tell parliament before it must decide on March 12 whether to accept an unpopular exit agreement negotiated with the EU by Prime Minister Theresa May.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-tariffs/uk-lawmakers-demand-clarity-on-tariffs-in-case-of-no-deal-brexit-idUSKCN1QN0P0?il=0
After reading this article, I just kept thinking of what the "guy" in the white house is doing, basically the same "clusterfuck" thing he has in his bankrupt head, and that May and her supporters are going to do in the United Kingdom, it's like mirror imagine of plain stupidity.......................absolutely amazing
Total Of Four North Carolina Workers In Election Fraud Scheme Now Arrested
Source: Talking Points Memo
By Kate Riga
March 6, 2019 9:23 am
A grand total of four election workers charged in the absentee ballot scheme in North Carolina’s Ninth District have now been arrested.
McCrae Dowless, the ringleader of the plot and campaign employee of Republican Mark Harris, was arrested last week on seven charges.
According to an ABC affiliate, three of his employees — Tonia Gordon, Matthew Mathis and Caitlyn Croom — were arrested this week on similar, but fewer, charges.
Employee Rebecca Thompson’s arrest is expected to be coming down the pike.
Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/four-north-carolina-workers-in-election-fraud-scheme-now-arrested
Party over country and they are going to be wearing jumpsuits.................................
Hey Harris, when is your time to be brought in and charged.......................
Solution:
https://www.danmccready.com/
North Korea restoring part of launch site it promised Trump to dismantle
Source: Reuters
World News
March 5, 2019 / 11:19 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago
David Brunnstrom, Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has restored part of a missile launch site it began to dismantle after pledging to do so in a first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last year, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency and a U.S. think tank reported on Tuesday.
Yonhap quoted lawmakers briefed by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) as saying that the work was taking place at the Tongchang-ri launch site and involved replacing a roof and a door at the facility.
Satellite images seen by 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea project, showed that structures on the launch pad had been rebuilt sometime between Feb. 16 and March 2, Jenny Town, managing editor at the project and an analyst at the Stimson Center think tank, told Reuters.
The news comes days after a second summit on denuclearization between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke down over differences on how far North Korea was willing to limit its nuclear program and the degree of U.S. willingness to ease sanctions.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-nuclear/north-korea-restoring-part-of-launch-site-it-promised-trump-to-dismantle-idUSKCN1QM1ZA?il=0
And the POS wondering around the white house playing on his arcade game of golf, to save money said no South Korea and United Sates spring military exercises, but the psychopath in North Korea, moving full speed ahead with his toys of destruction.............................the art of the deal my ass.........................
November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough.........................
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