Acevedo leaves not only much earlier than expected but with a crime in the city soaring, specifically historic homicides that continue to skyrocket well into 2021. The current cases load sitting at 105 for the year.
All under his watch.
Who can also forget the blistering scandal that is Harding Street?
All this said Acevedo’s departure comes with a celebration, thrown by City Hall Wednesday afternoon behind closed doors at the Julia Ideson Building.
While the chief routinely embraced cameras of the media. There were none in attendance at his so-long soiree. Acevedo making his position clear back to KPRC 2 Investigates Mario Diaz on March 16th: “You know Mario, I’m done with you. Actually, I’m done with you for my lifetime. Thank God.”
Acevedo informed the much smaller Miami Police Department that he will be in the building next week. Sources say he is expected to be sworn in on Monday.
Acevedo was police chief for just under 5 years in Houston. City officials say his tenure does not qualify for a pension.
HOUSTON – In true “Mattress Mack” fashion, the business owner will send several University of Houston students to the Final Four game against Baylor this Saturday.
Jim McIngvale and Gallery Furniture will also host a Coogs Pep Rally at the Gallery Furniture on North Freeway on Thursday at 11 a.m.
During the pep rally, several UH students will win a round-trip charter flight to Indianapolis, tickets to the game and hotel accommodations.
The public is welcome to show their Cougar pride in the parking lot of the pep rally.
The lucky Final Four trip winners will board a private jet on Friday with the families of the UH coaches to attend the game.
April 01, 2021 at 05:48AM
https://www.click2houston.com/sports/local/2021/03/31/mattress-mack-to-send-several-uh-students-to-final-four-game-this-weekend/
Mattress Mack to send several UH students to Final Four game this weekend - KPRC Click2Houston
The $1.9 trillion stimulus bill includes an expansion to the CTC that gives eligible parents more money by allowing them to claim up to $3,600 for each child dependent. That's a significant increase of up to $1,600 over the $2,000 parents could claim last year for each dependent aged 17 or younger on their 2020 tax returns.
2021 child tax credit: When will the IRS send out the first payments?
We know a general timeline, but the specifics are yet to be pinned down. The American Rescue Plan stipulates that the CTC payments will start to arrive in July. A specific date hasn't been released, however, for when the payments will come. The IRS will make additional information about the expanded child tax credit available "as soon as possible," the agency said in a statement March 12.
How regularly will families get the CTC payments?
The child tax credit will be paid out "periodically," according to the text of the stimulus bill, from July through December. The IRS hasn't shared how often it will be able to get the checks out, however.
Monthly delivery has been a goal, and the initial language used in earlier drafts of the stimulus bill. However, the language changed to "periodically," perhaps in part because of the extra burden placed on the IRS to also distribute tax returns and stimulus checks. In other words, some may have felt a monthly delivery cycle was too ambitious or unrealistic.
Now playing:Watch this: Your tax questions answered in 3 minutes
3:26
"I think it might be a challenge to get into the monthly right out of the box," IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said when asked about the timeline.
The amount you'd receive would be half of what you're owed for the year, under the new stimulus bill, and you'll receive the other half of the payment with your 2021 tax refund.
If paid out monthly, the payments would break down to up to $300 per month for each qualifying child age 5 and under, and up to $250 per month for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. Note that this amount phases out for those with higher incomes -- for single people earning more than $75,000 per year, heads of household earning more than $112,500 per year and married couples earning more than $150,000 a year.
2021 child tax credit amount
Age
Amount you could get per child
Age 5 and under
Up to $3,600, or $300 a month if monthly payouts occur
Ages 6-17
Up to $3,000, or $250 a month if monthly payouts occur
How does the IRS plan to send the CTC payments: Direct deposit, mail or some other way?
When the payments do start arriving, the Treasury and IRS could very well send out the payments the same way they do the stimulus checks, Joanna Powell, managing director and certified financial planner at CBIZ, told CNET.
It hasn't been confirmed by the IRS yet, but if the agency does use the same method as stimulus checks, here's how it would work: If you have direct deposit on file with the IRS, that's how you'll get your payment. If not, you'll receive your money as a paper check. It isn't clear if Social Security beneficiaries, like people in SSI, SSDI and veterans programs, would receive their CTC through their Direct Express card, the same way millions could get their third stimulus check.
Now playing:Watch this: Stimulus check 3: How much money you'll get
2:32
Is there something I need to do to get the child tax credit payments? What if I already filed my 2020 taxes?
Taxpayers shouldn't file an amended return related to the new legislation and shouldn't take any other "unnecessary steps," the IRS said March 12. Rettig said payments will be automatic for those who file their 2020 tax returns by May 17, the new tax deadline.
However, nonfilers will need to file a 2020 tax return to get the credit, even if they don't usually submit tax returns. This will inform the IRS of how many dependents are in the household who would count toward the CTC benefits.
When will the IRS portal open so I can make adjustments and correct errors?
The IRS said it will launch an online portal by July 1, Rettig said, but the IRS won't have the resources to build this until after tax filing season ends. Once the CTC portal is available, recipients can log in to update their information if their circumstances have changed. For example, if you have a child in 2021, the IRS wouldn't have that information on file yet, so updating those details could help you get a larger tax credit payout.
It's unclear if the payments will become permanent.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Will I have to return money to the IRS if they accidentally send me extra?
The CTC isn't as flexible as the stimulus check rules. If you receive more money than you should have, you will have to pay it back. Powell explained that when you file your 2021 tax return (in 2022), if your tax situation isn't what the IRS has in its system, and you weren't entitled to as much as you received, you'll have to give the overpayment back.
To avoid this tax inconvenience, make sure all of your information is updated before the payments start arriving. Powell estimates the portal will be open ahead of time so you can make any necessary adjustments.
Could I get all my CTC money as one large payment, rather than several smaller payments?
Absolutely, but not this year. If you thought you could cash in on all the CTC money in July, that's not the case. Instead, you can opt out of getting the periodic advance payments and receive a lump sum in spring 2022 as a credit when you file your taxes. You'll be able to use the online portal to opt out. Again, you wouldn't receive any money until 2022.
Is there a plan after the IRS ends the 2021 CTC payments in December?
The final payment of the child tax credit is scheduled to end by Dec. 31, 2021. President Joe Biden, however, wants to make the higher payments permanent, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: "We're having those discussions with Congress."
Earlier this month, the American Booksellers Association announced the debut of the new Indie Next List logo as well as a new e-newsletter partner, Matchbook Marketing.
Continue sending the free Indie Next List e-newsletter to their customers
Sign up to send the free Indie Next List e-newsletter to their customers
Booksellers must upload their email subscriber list and store logo by Monday, April 5, to be part of the May mailing. Stores will also be able to add a special message at the top of the newsletter each month.
As part of its ongoing evaluation of member benefits, ABA has been reevaluating the Indie Next List (INL) program and associated branding and materials. Come June, all Indie Next List materials, both print and digital, will reflect the refreshed brand.
The logo, e-newsletters, and print versions of the lists have been redesigned to be more visually appealing and conducive to buying. In the new design, booksellers’ store logo is well-identified, the blurbs are shorter, and the number of titles and annual lists has been adjusted:
The adult list will contain 30 titles, five of which are from small and independent publishers
The kids’ list will contain 31 titles and be published every other month
As of May, the adult and kids’ e-newsletters will no longer be delivered and managed by Shelf Awareness, but rather by Matchbook Marketing — a name familiar to many booksellers, as Matchbook manages and sends the Indie Next List Reading Group Guide.
Booksellers can visit the Matchbook Marketing Indie Next List page now to upload their subscriber list and logo to be part of the May mailing. There will be rolling onboarding with Matchbook, so stores can submit their customer subscriber list and logo at any time, though for stores participating in the Shelf Awareness program, it is recommend doing so before April 5 so there is no interruption in service to customers.
Stores already sending the INL Reading Groups can update their subscriber list and logo and choose any additional lists to send on the Matchbook Marketing Indie Next List page.
Stores can track email-generated traffic and sales using analytics tools like Google Analytics. Stores can see the list of tracking codes, linked from Matchbook’s Indie Next List page, and filter analytics by each newsletter’s unique code following each mailing.
Be on the lookout in BTW for other improvements to the Indie Next List, including new social media and promotional assets.
Teams who sent their RBs coach to UNC for Javonte Williams and Michael Carter's pro day: Cardinals, Panthers, Bears, Jaguars, Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Dolphins, Saints, Eagles and Steelers
At this point, there is little doubt what direction the Pittsburgh Steelers are going in the 2021 NFL draft. Pittsburgh has attended multiple pro days this offseason with top running back prospects including Alabama and Clemson. This time the Steelers send running backs coach Eddie Faulkner to the North Carolina pro day where there are actually two top prospects.
If the Steelers are looking at one of the North Carolina backs, they would need to commit a first-round pick for Javonte Williams and likely a second-round pick if they prefer Michael Carter. Williams rushed for 1,140 yards and 19 touchdowns last season while Carter pitched in 1,245 yards and nine rushing scores of his own.
The Steelers were dead last in rushing last season. You can spread the blame across multiple fronts but there’s no denying a lack of dynamic playmaking at running back was a huge weakness. Carter and Williams are both special prospects but more Steeler fans are going to be more drawn to the overly physical style of Williams.
Kyle Pitts is one of those interesting possibilities for the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the NFL draft this year.
Pitts, viewed as one of the best tight ends to enter the draft in years, will work out at Florida’s pro day on Wednesday — and the Bengals made sure to send head coach Zac Taylor to the event, per ESPN’s Ben Baby.
While some team insiders have suggested they don’t see the Bengals taking Pitts, his unique blend of underrated skill in blocking and best-in-class receiving skill would make him quite the versatile chess piece for Joe Burrow’s offense. Depending on what the Bengals do in terms of trades and how the board falls, Pitts could easily be the best player available when they walk to the podium.
Besides Pitts, Florida has notable draft prospects like wideout Kadarius Toney, corner Marco Wilson and defensive lineman Tedarrell Slaton. But considering many experts have Pitts as a top-five pick, it’s hard to imagine he won’t be the star of the show.
Advocates of changing Mississippi laws to expand parole opportunities for state inmates are hoping their efforts will be more favorably received by Gov. Tate Reeves than they were in 2020.
Last year the Republican governor vetoed legislation designed to give more inmates the opportunity for parole. On Tuesday both chambers passed a compromise proposal that supporters said attempted to address Reeves’ concerns from 2020.
“We have been working with the governor’s office,” said House Corrections Chair Kevin Horan, R-Grenada. “We addressed his veto concerns and went further than addressing his veto concerns out of an abundance of caution. It is just a good bill.”
But those who worked on the bill said they had not received any commitment from the governor that he would not veto the legislation.
The proposal passed the Senate by a 35-13 margin and was approved in the House 91-25. The proposal was passed Tuesday afternoon as legislators worked to finish their few unresolved issues as they prepare to adjourn for at least this portion of the session. There is a possibility that the Legislature will adjourn in such a manner that they will be able to call themselves back into session this year to deal with various items, such as spending some of the funds allocated to the state in a federal COVID-19 relief bill.
Another bill still is pending that deals with enacting changes to the criminal justice system to make certain categories of non-violent habitual criminals, such as drug dealers, eligible for parole. If that bill becomes law along with the bill passed Tuesday by the Legislature, Horan said as many as 2,800 inmates could become eligible for parole almost immediately.
Senate Corrections Chair Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, said with the legislation approved Tuesday about 3,000 could be eligible in three to five years.
“This does not grant parole. It only makes individuals have the possibility of parole,” Barnett said.
Among the problems cited by Reeves last year when he vetoed the legislation is that it would grant parole for those convicted of murder and sex offensives. Horan said the language was written in a manner this year to ensure those people would not be eligible for parole.
But the bill would make those convicted of armed-robbery parole eligible after serving 60% of their sentence or 25 years, whichever is less. Currently armed robbers convicted after 1995 are not eligible for parole. In addition those convicted of car-jacking and drive-by shootings would have the same parole eligibility standards.
Those convicted of violations deemed violent crimes committed without a weapon, such as simple robbery or burglary, would be eligible for parole after serving 20 years or 50% of their sentence, whichever is less. They currently have to serve 50%. And some convicted of possession of drugs or of selling drugs and those convicted of some other non-violent crimes would be eligible after serving 10 years or 25%, whichever is less.
Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, who voted against the bill, said she did not oppose certain non-violent criminals getting out earlier, but said those convicted of murder and other violent crimes already were being released by the Department of Corrections. She said she objected to that and feared the legislation being considered would only add to the number of violent offenders being released.
Horan said the Department of Corrections has released some convicted of murder and other violent crimes under their regulations. He said the legislation approved Tuesday would stop that practice and try to ensure those released are done so by the five-member Parole Board appointed by the governor.
The efforts to expand release opportunities is ongoing as Mississippi trails only Louisiana and Oklahoma in terms of its incarceration rates. In addition, officials said the state Corrections Department is facing a potential Department of Justice lawsuit. Hill said the lawsuit was based on the conditions in the prisons, not on the number of people incarcerated in the state.
Horan said both Alabama and Texas, which have faced similar lawsuits, have passed much more progressive legislation in terms of expanding the opportunities for early release from prison.
Mississippi currently has about 17,000 incarcerated in its prison system.
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators called the bonuses “well-deserved” in a recent report and said districts are required to pay employees by June 30.
Officials from Fulton County Schools and Atlanta Public Schools said employees should receive the payments in late April. A count provided by Cardoza of employees deemed eligible by the state includes more than 12,200 Fulton school employees and more than 8,000 in Atlanta.
Both districts are considering proposals to expand the state’s eligibility criteria so that more of their workforce gets the payment.
The Fulton school board is expected to consider using some of its federal stimulus allocation to cover the additional cost of providing the bonuses to more employees. The proposal would go before the Fulton board on April 15.
The Atlanta school board would consider a similar plan on April 12.
It’s unclear exactly how much extra money the districts would have to contribute in order to pay out the bonuses to more employees.
Metro Atlanta school districts will receive the following amounts from the state to give as employee bonuses:
March 31, 2021 at 11:25PM
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/state-preps-to-send-georgia-schools-230-million-for-employee-bonuses/2NN5LMQ7K5HMXDIEXDYA2LAS7Q/
State preps to send Georgia schools $230 million for employee bonuses - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Enlarge/ Insomnia people and mobile-addiction concepts.
Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, it’s continuously sending data including your location, phone number, and local network details to Apple or Google. Now, a researcher has provided a side-by-side comparison that suggests that, while both iOS and Android collect handset data around the clock—even when devices are idle, just out of the box, or after users have opted out—the Google mobile OS collects about 20 times as much data than its Apple competitor.
Both iOS and Android, researcher Douglas Leith from Trinity College in Ireland said, transmit telemetry data to their motherships even when a user hasn’t logged in or has explicitly configured privacy settings to opt out of such collection. Both OSes also send data to Apple and Google when a user does simple things such as inserting a SIM card or browsing the handset settings screen. Even when idle, each device connects to its back-end server on average every 4.5 minutes.
Apps and more
It wasn’t just the OSes that sent data to Apple or Google. Preinstalled apps or services also made network connections, even when they hadn’t been opened or used. Whereas iOS automatically sent Apple data from Siri, Safari, and iCloud, Android collected data from Chrome, YouTube, Google Docs, Safetyhub, Google Messenger, the device clock, and the Google search bar.
The table below shows a summary of handset data sent to Apple or Google when the user isn’t logged in:
Douglas Leith
Where Android stands out, Leith said, is in the amount of data it collects. At startup, an Android device sends Google about 1MB of data, compared with iOS sending Apple around 42KB. When idle, Android sends roughly 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, compared with iOS sending Apple about 52KB over the same period. In the US alone, Android collectively gathers about 1.3TB of data every 12 hours. During the same period, iOS collects about 5.8GB.
Google disagrees
Google has contested the findings, saying that they’re based on faulty methods for measuring the data that’s collected by each OS. The company also contended that data collection is a core function of any Internet-connected device.
In a statement, a spokesperson wrote:
We identified flaws in the researcher's methodology for measuring data volume and disagree with the paper’s claims that an Android device shares 20 times more data than an iPhone. According to our research, these findings are off by an order of magnitude, and we shared our methodology concerns with the researcher before publication.
This research largely outlines how smartphones work. Modern cars regularly send basic data about vehicle components, their safety status and service schedules to car manufacturers, and mobile phones work in very similar ways. This report details those communications, which help ensure that iOS or Android software is up to date, services are working as intended, and that the phone is secure and running efficiently.
On background (meaning Ars isn’t permitted to name or quote the spokesperson), the representative said that it’s inaccurate to say that a user can opt out of all telemetry data collection by the Google OS. The Android Usage and Diagnostics checkbox doesn’t cover telemetry data that Google considers essential for the device to operate normally. Telemetry information collected by the Device Configuration service, for instance, is required for updating and patching the OS.
The spokesperson also challenged the methods the researcher used to measure the amount of data collected by iOS. The experimental setup they used didn’t capture certain types of data, such as UDP/QUIC traffic, which is commonly transmitted by smartphones.
An Apple spokesperson also spoke on the condition it be background. The spokesperson said that Apple provides transparency and control for personal information it collects, that the report gets things wrong, that Apple offers privacy protections that prevent Apple from tracking user locations, and that Apple informs users about the collection of location-related data.
Round-the-clock collection
Leith performed his measurements using a Google Pixel 2 running Android 10 and an iPhone 8 running iOS 13.6.1. The iPhone was jailbroken using the Checm8 exploit. The Pixel had Google Play services enabled.
In all, the study, available here, measured the amount of data the devices collected:
on first startup following a factory reset
when a SIM was inserted or removed
when a handset was idle
when the settings screen was viewed
when location was enabled or disabled
when the user logged in to the preinstalled app store
Leith said the data collection by both OSes is concerning because it’s readily linked to a user’s name, email address, payment card data, and possibly to other devices the user has. What’s more, the constant connections to back-end servers necessarily reveals the IP address of the device and, by extension, the general geographic location of the user.
“Currently there are few, if any, realistic options for preventing this data sharing,” Leith wrote.
The waste includes sludge and debris generated from uranium recovery and is contaminated with low enriched uranium. It's enough to fill about 430 dump trucks.
BOISE, Idaho — U.S. officials have released the latest plan to send low-level radioactive waste to Idaho from a South Carolina facility that converts enriched uranium into fuel for nuclear reactors.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a notice published Friday signed off on sending the material from Westinghouse Electric Company's Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina to US Ecology Idaho's waste storage facility near Grandview, about 60 miles south of Boise.
It's the latest in a series of public notices released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It slightly alters a previously approved plan from December and issues an exemption allowing the transfer of the waste.
In all, the waste includes an estimated 5,200 cubic yards of sludge and debris generated from uranium recovery and is contaminated with low enriched uranium.
The amount of sludge would fill about 430 dump trucks. The sludge would be mixed with cement and sent to Idaho by truck and rail car.
The waste also will include about 525 obsolete steel cylinders used to transport nuclear fuel. The cylinders would be compacted.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the waste transfer following an environmental study.
US Ecology has a permit from Idaho to receive low-level radioactive waste. But the commission has not licensed the company's waste storage facility, so the federal agency signed off on an exemption to allow US Ecology to take the material.
Westinghouse in 2018 signed a consent agreement with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control that included cleaning up some of the toxic waste at its facility, which began operating in 1969. Investigations have found work at the site has led to groundwater contamination in the area, concerning residents.
Westinghouse's facility is one of three nuclear fuel fabrication plants processing low-enriched uranium that is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The other facilities are in Richland, Washington, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The U.S. has just under 100 commercial nuclear power plants, producing about 20% of the nation's energy.
Idaho has an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy from the 1990s that prevents spent nuclear fuel from those plants from being sent to the state for storage.
The waste coming to US Ecology's Idaho facility is not spent nuclear fuel but waste generated during the production of fuel.
US Ecology takes in contaminants such as arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium and other metals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has deemed hazardous and converts them to residues that aren't hazardous, minimizing the long-term risks of disposal.
An explosion at the Idaho facility in 2018 killed one worker and injured three others. Officials said a chemical reaction created a steam explosion, destroying a building where hazardous waste was being treated.
March 31, 2021 at 03:57AM
https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/national/us-officials-ok-plan-to-send-radioactive-waste-to-idaho/277-b1c7f9d7-007a-433a-8d25-fe70429b81ec
US officials OK plan to send radioactive waste to Idaho - KTVB.com
Noodles & Company is investigating a data breach. It's only the latest of companies facing hacks. Here's advice on protecting yourself from identity theft from fraud expert Frank Abagnale. (Dwight Adams/IndyStar)
The Indiana Attorney General will start sending settlement payments on Wednesday to Hoosiers whose data was leaked in a 2017 Equifax breach.
More than 236,000 past and current Indiana residents will get approximately $79 as part of a settlement that Indiana reached with the credit company. Only people who filed eligible claims at IndianaEquifaxClaims.com before the deadline of Dec. 16 will receive payment.
“This office’s years-long efforts to put money into the pockets of Hoosiers harmed by the Equifax data breach are finally coming to fruition,” Attorney General Rokita said in a prepared statement. “We will always fight tooth and nail for Indiana consumers.”
The payments are coming less than a year after Indiana sued Equifax for the breach that affected about 3.9 million Hoosiers. According to the Indiana Attorney General's Office, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and credit card information were leaked.
Indiana received $19.5 million in the settlement, which the Indiana Attorney General's Office said was more than what any of the 48 states participating in a separate multistate settlement received. Equifax also agreed to put in new security measures to protect consumer information and prevent similar breaches.
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
Read or Share this story: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2021/03/30/equifax-data-breach-indiana-send-payments-2017-victims/4806268001/
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin provides insight into the SPAC boom, more government spending, and his race for governor of Virginia.
The IRS said Tuesday that it will begin distributing stimulus checks to millions of Social Security recipients and other lower-income Americans this weekend.
The majority of the payments will be sent electronically and will arrive by Wednesday, April 7, the agency said.
"If no additional issues arise, the IRS currently expects to complete that work and to begin processing these payment files at the end of this week," the IRS said. "Because the majority of these payments will be disbursed electronically – through direct deposits and payments to existing Direct Express cards – they would be received on the official payment date of April 7."
The announcement comes after House Democrats last week sounded the alarm over delays in the delivery of the third round of cash payments to Americans who are not required to file tax returns – including some veterans and Social Security beneficiaries.
In a letter addressed to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig and Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul last week, four Democrats, including the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, urged the agencies to accelerate the distribution of payments to those individuals.
"The American Rescue Plan was intended to provide much-needed economic stimulus and assistance to people across the country – immediately – and we are counting on your agencies to ensure that beneficiaries are not left behind in the seamless delivery of those payments," the letter said.
The lawmakers blamed Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul -- who was nominated by former President Donald Trump -- for the delays, which "defied congressional intent and imposed needless anxiety and pain on taxpayers."
Saul, in a statement Thursday night, attributed the delay to a lack of funding and political red tape that prevented the administration from working with the Treasury Department or IRS before the American Rescue Plan was passed.
The Social Security Administration sent the missing files for about 30 million people to the IRS on Thursday, and the agency subsequently began the "multi-step process to review, validate and test tens of millions of records to ensure eligibility and proper calculation" of the check.
Since President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, the IRS has already delivered checks to 127 million Americans. The initial payments totaled more than $325 billion and went mostly to eligible taxpayers who provided direct deposit information on their 2019 or 2020 returns.
Individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less, and couples with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less, are eligible to receive the fully promised $1,400.
Americans who earn more than the threshold line will still receive a partial check. But payments are cut off for individuals who earn $80,000 a year or more and couples who earn $160,000 a year or more. For those filing as head of household, the phaseout begins at $112,500 and tapers off at $120,000.
You can check the status of the payment using the IRS’s Get My Payment tool. The first payments will go to Americans with direct deposit set up, the IRS said. After that, the agency will mail paper checks and pre-paid debit cards to anyone who qualifies for the money.
Imagine clients logging into their investment accounts and a three-minute interactive video detailing their entire financial life awaits them. On Monday, Merrill Lynch made that possible with its new Digital Wealth Overview tool.
Forget sending clients PDF pages of financial information they have to read. Instead, an adviser can opt to send clients a video experience, narrated by Bank of America’s digital assistant Erica, that gives a holistic view of their accounts at no additional cost for advisers who are part of the Merrill Lynch investment advisory program.
Merrill gave InvestmentNewsa demo of the new video tool. Once a user plays the video, narrator Erica walks clients through a comprehensive view of their assets and liabilities, as well as a review of risk tolerance and time horizon attributes with an allocation chart.
The video is actually interactive as well, where clients can pause the experience and drill deeper where there are multiple accounts that are being rolled up into a portfolio group. On top of that, the performance chart is interactive and there’s also an interactive meeting scheduler, where if a client actually wants to stop and set up a meeting to discuss a certain topic, they can — within the video — engage with a calendar to set up a meeting with their adviser.
A part of Merrill’s strategy is to give advisers control over the experience they provide clients, said Carl Swanson, head of advisor and client experience in the investment solutions group at Bank of America.
“We don’t think a narrated interactive video is going to replace what an adviser or an adviser team brings to the table,” he said. “But it certainly can complement it with an additional touchpoint to address clients who are particularly digitally engaged.”
Therefore, advisers have two options for sending account summaries. First, they can send a client a Personal Wealth Summary presentation, which is the new standard for portfolio summaries at Merrill Lynch, Swanson said. For advisers ready to take personalization and digital to the next level, they just have to click on the option to send a Digital Wealth Overview video to clients, which both include a summary of a client’s bank, brokerage and investment advisory accounts, as well as accounts held away with the client’s permission.
The video is then sent to a client’s MyMerrill account, and an email notification will be sent to clients so they know the video is waiting for them once they log in. “It’s delivered that way for security,” Swanson said. “[The video] contains highly sensitive information about the client and their assets, so we would never want to create a video like this and send that clip through email.”
Notably, the video requires no heavy lift from advisers — they don’t have to plug in any client information, they just have to agree to send the video. Advisers can also preview the video first before sending to clients, Swanson said.
Now that Merrill has the infrastructure set for these video account summaries, the Bank of America unit has plans to build out the video tool further to include a library of content for topics like impact-investing or technology stocks, Swanson said.
The launch of Digital Wealth Overview is the latest digital innovation Merrill has rolled out in the last year for its network of advisers. Last summer the wirehouse launched Personal Wealth Analysis just two months after it unveiled its tech-driven workstation, Client Engagement Workstation, a browser-like platform personalized for financial advisers to manage and connect with their clientele.
At the time, Kabir Sethi, head of digital wealth management for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank said the firm is undergoing a “major transformation” around wealth planning technology.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials have released the latest plan to send low-level radioactive waste to Idaho from a South Carolina facility that converts enriched uranium into fuel for nuclear reactors.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a notice published Friday signed off on sending the material from Westinghouse Electric Company’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina to US Ecology Idaho’s waste storage facility near Grandview, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Boise.
It’s the latest in a series of public notices released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It slightly alters a previously approved plan from December and issues an exemption allowing the transfer of the waste.
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In all, the waste includes an estimated 5,200 cubic yards (4,000 cubic meters) of sludge and debris generated from uranium recovery and is contaminated with low enriched uranium.
The amount of sludge would fill about 430 dump trucks. The sludge would be mixed with cement and sent to Idaho by truck and rail car.
The waste also will include about 525 obsolete steel cylinders used to transport nuclear fuel. The cylinders would be compacted.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the waste transfer following an environmental study.
US Ecology has a permit from Idaho to receive low-level radioactive waste. But the commission has not licensed the company’s waste storage facility, so the federal agency signed off on an exemption to allow US Ecology to take the material.
Westinghouse in 2018 signed a consent agreement with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control that included cleaning up some of the toxic waste at its facility, which began operating in 1969. Investigations have found work at the site has led to groundwater contamination in the area, concerning residents.
Westinghouse’s facility is one of three nuclear fuel fabrication plants processing low-enriched uranium that is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The other facilities are in Richland, Washington, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The U.S. has just under 100 commercial nuclear power plants, producing about 20% of the nation’s energy.
Idaho has an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy from the 1990s that prevents spent nuclear fuel from those plants from being sent to the state for storage.
The waste coming to US Ecology’s Idaho facility is not spent nuclear fuel but waste generated during the production of fuel.
US Ecology takes in contaminants such as arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium and other metals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has deemed hazardous and converts them to residues that aren’t hazardous, minimizing the long-term risks of disposal.
An explosion at the Idaho facility in 2018 killed one worker and injured three others. Officials said a chemical reaction created a steam explosion, destroying a building where hazardous waste was being treated.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – After stalling for more than a month, an amended bill drafted in response to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor that would enact stricter measures on police obtaining no-knock warrants now appears likely to become law.
The House overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 4 on Tuesday by a 92-5 vote, and the Senate unanimously concurred, sending the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear.
"Out of the tragedy of Breonna Taylor's death has come this good," said Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville.
Some legislators, like Louisville Rep. Reginald Meeks, felt the no-knock bill did not go far enough.
"The only way to stop this is to ban this practice across the board," he said.
The bill does prohibit no-knock warrants except under extreme situations, like when there is "clear and convincing" evidence of a violent crime or terroristic activity.
And it requires that body cameras be used, unless the warrant is served by law enforcement in a county with a population of less than 90,000 people, where some departments don’t yet have body cams. Those departments still must use audio to record the raids.
If law enforcement fails to use body cams or audio during the raid, evidence obtained will not be admissible in court against the defendant.
No-knock warrants allow police officers to forcibly enter a home without warning.
The bill, which comes more than a year after Louisville Metro Police officers obtained a no-knock warrant and raided Taylor's apartment after midnight on March 13, provides more monitoring and requires police take additional steps to obtain these types of warrants.
The legislation requires the officer seeking the warrant to have approval from a supervisor, consult with a commonwealth attorney or county attorney and disclose to the judge any previous attempts asking a different judge to sign off on the warrant.
Those serving the no-knock warrant must be members of a special weapons and tactics team or another established, trained team. However, an amendment allows judges in counties with a population under 90,000 to approve a no-knock warrant if a special weapons and tactics team are not available.
The bill also now requires law enforcement officers serving a no-knock warrant to have "clearly visible insignia" identifying their agency.
And an emergency medical technician must be "in proximity and available to provide medical assistance, if needed," according to another amendment.
Taylor, 26, was shot six times and died at the scene. No drugs were found in her home.
Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought they were being robbed, according to his attorney, and fired at officers when they rushed in, hitting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
A Jefferson County grand jury indicted one of the officers, former Detective Brett Hankison, on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into an apartment near Taylor's unit, where a man, pregnant woman and child were at the time.
March 31, 2021 at 03:30AM
https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/kentucky-lawmakers-send-bill-limiting-no-knock-warrants-to-governors-desk/article_8364c38c-9194-11eb-b3e1-078fb1022b58.html
Kentucky lawmakers send bill limiting no-knock warrants to governor's desk - WDRB
Kentucky lawmakers finished work Monday night on a bipartisan election measure to make early voting a Bluegrass state fixture — a loosening of voting access in sharp contrast to bitter partisan battles being waged elsewhere.
The bill would give Kentucky voters three days of no-excuse, early in-person voting — including a Saturday — before Election Day. But it backed off from the temporary, pandemic-related accommodations made last year that allowed widespread mail-in absentee balloting.
The proposal also aims to strengthen election security protections.
The Republican-led House sent the measure to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on a final 91-3 vote. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said it contains the state's most significant election updates in more than a century, and he urged the governor to sign the "common-sense legislation."
House Speaker David Osborne praised the bill's sponsors, led by GOP Rep. Jennifer Henson Decker, for reaching out to various interest groups and finding "common ground."
Decker predicted the measure will strengthen Kentuckians' confidence in the state's election system, which she said will promote strong turnout.
"The end result makes our commonwealth a great example of what can be done to improve election integrity while still allowing appropriate access to Kentucky voters," Osborne said.
Kentucky is accustomed to bare-knuckled partisan fights, but the tone among lawmakers was mild as they discussed the election bill — especially compared to the bitter debates on election law changes in other states. It echoed the tone set for last year's elections, when Beshear and Adams hashed out emergency voting measures during the pandemic that helped Kentucky largely avoid the long lines and other problems encountered elsewhere.
Across the country, Republicans have introduced a flood of legislation to restrict voting access after President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in November. Many of the proposals target absentee voting after Trump repeatedly made false claims about fraud in mail voting.
The Kentucky legislation, by contrast, would relax pre-pandemic voting law to make it easier to vote. It would allow counties to establish vote centers, where any voter in the county could vote regardless of precinct. It would maintain an online portal for Kentuckians to request a mail-in ballot but keep existing restrictions on who can vote by mail.
On the election security side, the bill would result in the statewide transition toward universal paper ballots to guarantee a paper audit trail. It enhances the ability of state election officials to remove nonresident voters from voter rolls. It expressly prohibits and penalizes ballot harvesting, the practice of collecting ballots from likely supporters and returning them to election offices.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, Kentucky prohibited early voting by mail or in person unless a person could not vote on Election Day because of advanced age, illness, severe disability or temporarily residing out of the county or state.
The special pandemic-related election rules Beshear and Adams worked out last year included multiple weeks of early in-person voting to prevent a crush of Election Day voting.
Republican lawmakers backed away from continuing weeks of early in-person voting for future elections, but they accepted the three days of no-excuse, early in-person voting.
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Earlier this month, the American Booksellers Association announced the debut of the new Indie Next List logo as well as a new e-newsletter partner, Matchbook Marketing.
