Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalSenate unanimously approves bill to create tax deduction for cash tips
Source: USA Today
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on May 20 unexpectedly passed a bill to create a new tax deduction on tips worth up to $25,000.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was brought up for a voice vote by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada. It passed with unanimous consent – a rare occurrence for substantive legislation.
The deduction would only apply to cash tips and could be claimed by people who earn up to $160,000, which would rise along with inflation.
Ending taxes on tips would cost around $110 billion in federal revenues over the next 10 years, according to estimates by the center-right Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/20/senate-no-tax-tips/83753853007/
State prosecutors have open criminal investigation relating to Hope Florida
Source: Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE — Leon County prosecutors say there is an open criminal investigation relating to information a lawmaker provided concerning the Hope Florida Foundation.
In response to a request by the Times/Herald for Hope Florida Foundation-related records that prosecutors received from state Rep. Alex Andrade, the records custodian for State Attorney Jack Campbell said the information couldn’t be released because it was “part of an open, on-going investigation.”
The response is the first confirmation of any law enforcement investigation related to the foundation, which was set up to support the Hope Florida program championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, first lady Casey DeSantis.
Earlier this year, House Republicans alleged that the DeSantis administration illegally diverted $10 million from a settlement with a Medicaid contractor to a political committee controlled by the governor’s then-chief of staff.
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/05/20/hope-florida-foundation-desantis-jack-campbell-state-attorney-investigation-medicaid/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZnLZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkl_XrP_56GL9rR0LwjfmRgsDM7QFyyMkFVzaqP2NCmYTdB7ki50rUnKx00R_aem_ABx6na8PVNIpiv254n9DgA
Trump whistleblower Alexander Vindman eyeing Florida Senate run
Source: CBS Miami
Alexander Vindman, the whistleblower who triggered Donald Trump's first impeachment, is considering a run for the United States Senate next year against Florida Republican Ashley Moody.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Miami, the retired lieutenant colonel said he was approached about running and was discussing it with close friends and advisors.
"I think that the Democrats need to win in some very, very difficult places in order to wrestle control back," he explained during an interview scheduled to air Sunday morning on Facing South Florida. "I'm not sure if Florida is the place to do that. It might be. My worldview is that Trump is going to hurt a lot of people, and this will be a referendum [on Trump] and there'll be an opportunity for people power to manifest. Folks will show up that stayed on the sidelines last time, or that got more than they bargained for with Donald Trump. So, I don't think the state is too far gone by any means. I certainly don't believe that. I just don't know if I'm the right person to do that or if that's the right role for me."
Moody, the state's former attorney general, was appointed in January to the Senate by Governor Ron DeSantis to replace Marco Rubio after Rubio became Trump's Secretary of State. Moody has won statewide office twice, when she was elected AG in 2018 and 2022. But she has never had a serious contender in any of her elections and politically she had tended to fade into the background, often standing in the shadows during press conferences.
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/miami/news/trump-whistleblower-alexander-vindman-eyeing-florida-senate-run/
UNRWA not immune from lawsuits in US, DoJ says, arguing Oct. 7 victims' suit can go ahead
Source: Times of Israel
In a reversal of a previous stance, the US Department of Justice has said that the contentious UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, UNRWA, is not entitled to immunity from lawsuits in the United States, according to a court document circulated online late Thursday by lawyers, and subsequently by pro-Israel activists.
The Department of Justice’s opinion was submitted as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the families of more than 100 victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror assault are claiming $1 billion in damages from UNRWA, asserting that the UN agency aided and abetted the terror group’s attack.
The lawsuit was filed last June in the Southern District of New York. It alleges that UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, let Hamas use its facilities for weapons storage, allowed tunnels and command centers to be built under its sites, and funneled cash into the terror group’s coffers by insisting on paying employees in US dollars.
In September, the Department of Justice, then under the administration of former president Joe Biden, asserted that the UN had not waived its immunity in US courts, and as such UNRWA was exempt from prosecution and the lawsuit could not proceed.
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesofisrael.com/unrwa-not-immune-from-lawsuits-in-us-doj-says-arguing-oct-7-victims-suit-can-go-ahead/amp/
'The Democratic Party in Florida is dead': Top Florida Senate Dem leaves party
Source: Politico
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — State Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo said Thursday he is leaving the Democratic Party and that Senate Democrats will be asked to elect a new leader, yet another low moment for Florida’s downtrodden minority party.
Pizzo, considered a possible candidate for governor in 2026, said unaffiliated voters helped elect him to office. He added that the state party needed new leadership, but Democratic leaders didn’t want him to be it. The party that his late father volunteered for in the 1960s, he said, “is not the party today.”
“Here’s the issue: The Democratic Party in Florida is dead. But there are good people that can resuscitate it. But they don’t want it to be me,” he said.
Pizzo’s stunning announcement — which caught Democrats completely by surprise — of a switch to no party affiliation is just the latest blow for Florida’s beleaguered Democratic Party. The state currently has 1.2 million more registered Republicans than Democrats, and no Democrat holds statewide elected office — a far cry from Florida’s former status as the ultimate swing state.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/24/florida-pizza-democrats-unaffiliated-departure-legislature-00308629
Federal judge drops contempt case against ICE agent over arrest outside Boston courthouse
Source: Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a contempt case against an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement whose arrest of a man during his trial sparked criticism among the law enforcement community in Boston.
ICE agent Brian Sullivan took Wilson Martell-Lebron, 49, into custody last month as he was leaving court. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville found Sullivan in contempt, arguing that he deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and fair trial.
But on Monday, U.S. District Judge William Young dismissed the case after the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell agreed with U.S. Attorney Leah Foley that the contempt order should be vacated.
“While you might disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, there is simply no legal basis for you to hold federal officers in criminal contempt for carrying out their sworn duties,” Foley wrote to the municipal judge on April 2. “Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful functions of federal government agents will not be tolerated.”
Read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/federal-judge-drops-contempt-case-160356079.html
Justice Department seeks 7 year sentence for George Santos
Source: The Hill
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reviewing seeking a 7 year sentence for former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) according to a Friday filing.
Prosecutors said the length of the requested sentence reflects the serious nature of Santos’s “unparalleled” crimes.
“Santos planned and executed an assortment of fraudulent schemes and leveraged them and a fictious life story to enrich himself and capture one of the highest offices in the government of the United States,” DOJ attorneys wrote, according to court documents.
They added that the former congressman’s continued lies made a “mockery” of the U.S. election system. Santos originally denied allegations of wrongdoing when confronted by lawmakers after a scathing report from the House ethics committee but eventually pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last year.
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/house/5233552-justice-department-seeks-7-year-sentence-for-george-santos/amp/
Wisconsin Voters Approve Amendment Requiring Photo ID to Vote
Source: New York Times
Wisconsin voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to the State Constitution to strengthen a current law requiring photo identification at the polls, The Associated Press said, a victory for Republicans who sponsored the effort.
For close to a decade, state law has required the use of photo ID when voting at the polls in Wisconsin.
But a constitutional amendment was seen as making it far more difficult to roll back the voter ID law, even under a state Supreme Court with a liberal majority or if the State Legislature fell under Democratic control. The measure was brought by Republicans, who control a majority of seats in the State Legislature and had pressed for the amendment for years.
Conservatives have steadily and successfully pushed for stricter voter ID laws across the country, suggesting that they are needed to combat widespread voter fraud. Election experts say that voter fraud in American elections is exceedingly rare.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/us/wisconsin-voters-approve-amendment-requiring-photo-id-to-vote.html
Finland to exit landmines treaty, hike defence spending given Russia threat, PM says
Source: Reuters
HELSINKI, April 1 (Reuters) - NATO member Finland plans to quit a global convention banning anti-personnel landmines and boost defence spending to at least 3% of GDP by 2029 in response to the evolving military threat from Russia, the government said on Tuesday.
Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said last month they would withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa convention due to threats posed by neighbouring Russia.
By leaving the treaty, Finland, which guards NATO's longest border with Russia, could start stockpiling landmines again to have them at hand should a need arise.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference there was no immediate military threat to his Nordic nation, but that Russia poses a long-term danger to all of Europe.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finland-plans-withdraw-landmines-treaty-prime-minister-says-2025-04-01/
ICE says a University of Minnesota student's visa was revoked for drunken driving, not protests
Source: Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A University of Minnesota graduate student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement was taken into custody because of a drunken driving infraction, not for being involved in protests, federal officials said Monday.
“This is not related to student protests,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Dept. related to a prior criminal history for a DUI.”
News of the student’s detention — and the lack of an official explanation — sparked student protests and expressions of concern from university and political leaders. Gov. Tim Walz told reporters Monday that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about it Friday and was still waiting for further details.
Meanwhile, officials at Minnesota State University Mankato said Monday that one of their students had been detained by ICE as well.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/university-of-minnesota-graduate-student-detained-ice-f71f517521a2567c795343092ef4e0b2
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