"Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he is concerned by the amount of potential spending involved with President Joe Biden's sweeping progressive agenda."

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/04/29/senator-joe-manchin-joe-biden-progressive-agenda-raju-ath-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/this-week-in-politics/

Video in link.

Source: The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is emerging as the chief obstacle to quick passage of President Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure package that Democrats want to move through Congress sooner rather than later.

Manchin is ramping up discussions with Republicans about what a scaled-down infrastructure package should look like, and some GOP senators are even optimistic that the moderate Democrat can be persuaded to block efforts to raise the corporate tax rate.

That means Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) will likely have to wait for the negotiations to reach some kind of conclusion before moving ahead with the budget reconciliation process, as Manchin is expected to be the critical 50th Democratic vote needed to avoid a GOP filibuster.

“For the sake of our country, we have to show we can work in a bipartisan way,” he said Monday evening. “I don’t know what the rush is.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/550382-manchin-pumps-brakes-on-biden-infrastructure-plans

Source: CNN

(CNN)The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the sentence of life without parole for a juvenile offender in a 6-3 decision, rejecting arguments that such sentences should have additional limits.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh penned the decision for his conservative colleagues, holding that a sentencer will not have to make a separate finding that the juvenile offender was incapable of being rehabilitated.

The ruling will make it easier for those who committed their crime under the age of 18 to be sentenced to prison for life without parole.

It also highlights the impact of the court's new conservative majority. Starting in 2005 when then-swing Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote an opinion barring the death penalty for juvenile offenders, the court had been putting limits on sentences for juvenile offenders. Thursday's decision, with three of former President Donald Trump's nominees in the majority, reverses that trend.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/22/politics/supreme-court-jones-mississippi-kavanaugh-sotomayor/index.html

Source: Daily News

Black Rob, the East Harlem rapper whose “Life Story” stirred and inspired listeners, died Saturday. He was 51.

The artist, whose legal name was Robert Ross, was battling kidney failure, according to accounts from longtime friends DJ Self and Mark Curry. He died in an Atlanta hospital.

“A story teller. An MC. A gentleman every time I saw him,” LL Cool J wrote in a tribute. “Rest in power my brother.”

Black Rob’s debut album, 2000′s “Life Story,” went platinum that year on the strength of its hard-charging lead single, “Whoa!” The album was praised for its storytelling, which drew heavily on its artist’s own life.

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-black-rob-dies-20210418-u42i53tkerfrvooifgoaehhgwq-story.html

---

RIP.

Source: CNN

(CNN)The Defense Department has confirmed that leaked photos and video of "unidentified aerial phenomena" taken in 2019 are indeed legitimate images of unexplained objects.

Photos and videos of triangle-shaped objects blinking and moving through the clouds were taken by Navy personnel, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough said in a statement to CNN. She also confirmed that photos of three unidentified flying objects -- one "sphere" shaped, another "acorn" shaped and one characterized as a "metallic blimp" -- were also taken by Navy personnel.

"As we have said before, to maintain operations security and to avoid disclosing information that may be useful to potential adversaries, DOD does not discuss publicly the details of either the observations or the examinations of reported incursions into our training ranges or designated airspace, including those incursions initially designated as UAP," Gough said.

She also said that the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, created in August to investigate UFO sightings observed by the military, has "included these incidents in their ongoing examinations."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/15/politics/unidentified-aerial-phenomena-defense-department/index.html

---

Video in link. Really odd. What can these be?

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats will introduce legislation Thursday to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, joining progressive activists pushing to transform the court.

The move intensifies a high-stakes ideological fight over the future of the court after President Donald Trump and Republicans appointed three conservative justices in four years, including one who was confirmed days before the 2020 election.

The Democratic bill is led by Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. It is co-sponsored by Reps. Hank Johnson of Georgia and Mondaire Jones of New York.

The Supreme Court can be expanded by an act of Congress, but the legislation is highly unlikely to become law in the near future given Democrats' slim majorities, which include scores of lawmakers who are not on board with the idea. President Joe Biden has said he is "not a fan" of packing the court.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/democrats-introduce-bill-expand-supreme-court-9-13-justices-n1264132

---

This is huge, but it’s gonna take 60 votes to pass, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up much...

Long story short, I've done my taxes myself for the past decade or so, and this is the first time I ever owed (not much, just a few hundred). I didn't owe the feds anything (I got back $600), but NY state I had to pay. So I got a money order from the post office and sent it out, which was about two weeks ago.

So far, I haven't gotten anything in the mail. Is this typical? Or do they only send you mail if the money order is wrong? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Source: CNN

(CNN)Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia cited the deadly attack on January 6 at the US Capitol as an event that changed his perspective on a divided Washington, saying, "You can't have this many people split to where they want to go to war with each other," as he calls for Democrats and Republicans to work together on top legislative priorities.

In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, Manchin underscored his commitment to bipartisanship, warning that he won't be willing to go it alone with Democrats until more serious negotiations get underway with Republicans. Manchin's comments once again highlight why the moderate Democrat is the central political figure in Washington as President Joe Biden's agenda depends on his vote in the evenly divided Senate.

"January 6 changed me. I never thought in my life, I never read in history books to where our form of government had been attacked, at our seat of government, which is Washington, DC, at our Capitol, by our own people," Manchin said, adding, "So, something told me, 'Wait a minute. Pause. Hit the pause button.' Something's wrong. You can't have this many people split to where they want to go to war with each other."

He said that "reconciliation was never intended to be our main focus or our main vehicle for legislation" but that there is "a time and a place" for its use and emphasized, "I'm not killing the filibuster."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/08/politics/joe-manchin-bipartisanship-januar-6-cnntv/index.html