Safety-Net Barriers Add to Child Poverty in Immigrant Families
Children of immigrants have poverty rates more than twice those of other children. That is partly because their families earn less than native workers and also because they face more barriers to government support. The barriers are largest for children of immigrants living in the country illegally, but families of legal immigrants face obstacles, too. More than 40% of the country’s poor children are children of immigrants. Although most are American citizens, about half have a parent living in the country illegally, which bars the whole household from some government benefits. For parents who immigrated legally, obstacles to aid include waiting periods, language barriers and a lack of program knowledge.
IRS Unveils $80 Billion Plan to Overhaul Tax Collection
The IRS on Thursday unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a “digital first” tax collector focused on customer service and cracking down on wealthy tax evaders. The move lays the groundwork for an ambitious 10-year overhaul of one of the most scrutinized arms of the federal government. The effort is a key part of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, which aims to reduce the nation’s $7 trillion of uncollected tax revenue and use the funds to combat climate change, curb prescription drug prices and pay for other initiatives prized by Democrats. The plan is at the heart of the White House’s goal of making tax administration fairer.
Supreme Court Rules for Transgender Girl in School Sports Dispute
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a transgender girl may compete on the girls’ cross-country and track teams at her middle school in West Virginia while her appeal moved forward, signaling that a majority of the justices are not ready to enter another battleground in the culture wars. The Supreme Court’s brief order, which let stand an appeals court’s temporary injunction, gave no reasons, which is not unusual when the justices rule on emergency applications. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, issued a dissenting opinion indicating that states are entitled to enact laws “restricting participation in women’s or girls’ sports based on genes or physiological or anatomical characteristics.”
Biden Administration to Curb Toxic Pollutants From Chemical Plants
The Biden administration Thursday proposed a new regulation to significantly reduce hazardous air pollutants from chemical plants, a move that environmental advocates predicted would significantly reduce the health risks to people living near industrial sites. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule calls on chemical plants to monitor and reduce the amount of toxic pollutants released in the air, including the carcinogens ethylene oxide, an ingredient in antifreeze, and chloroprene, which is used to make the rubber in footwear. The proposed rule would affect the majority of chemical manufacturers, applying to over 200 facilities spread across Texas and Louisiana; elsewhere along the Gulf Coast; the Ohio River Valley; and West Virginia.
New Mexico Man Charged in Case of Missing Navajo Nation Woman
A federal grand jury has indicted a New Mexico man on assault and carjacking charges related to the 2021 disappearance of Ella Mae Begay, a Native American woman whose case brought attention to missing and murdered Native American people, prosecutors said. Preston Henry Tolth, 23, was indicted March 14 on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, a lawyer for Begay’s family and the office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona announced after the indictment was unsealed on Tuesday. Begay, a Navajo professional rug weaver, was 62 when she disappeared from her residence in Sweetwater, Arizona. She has not been found.
U.S. Acknowledges Afghanistan Evacuation Should Have Started Sooner
The United States acknowledged Thursday that the government should have started evacuations from Afghanistan earlier at the end of the war in 2021, and said the government has changed policies. That finding was tucked inside a 12-page summary of the government’s review of the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which led to the swift collapse of the Afghan government. “Clearly we didn’t get things right here with Afghanistan with how fast the Taliban was moving,” said John Kirby, a White House spokesperson. The summary does not directly say that officials made mistakes, but says that the government will prioritize swift evacuations.
Ukraine War Plans Leak Prompts Pentagon Investigation
Classified documents detailing secret U.S. and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military before a planned offensive against Russia were posted this week on social media channels, senior officials from President Joe Biden’s administration said. The Pentagon is investigating the leak of the documents, which appeared on Twitter and on Telegram, a platform with more than half a billion users that is widely available in Russia. The disclosures in the original documents represent a significant breach of U.S. intelligence in the effort to aid Ukraine. U.S. officials were working to get them deleted but had not, as of Thursday evening, succeeded.
Man Accused of Kidnapping Platypus Is Charged in Australia
A man in Australia is facing charges after he was accused of kidnapping a wild platypus and showing it off at a shopping center, police said Thursday. The 26-year-old man and a female companion took the animal Tuesday from a waterway in the state of Queensland, police said. The two were later seen boarding a train with the animal and showing it to passengers, prompting an appeal for the animal’s return. The man was found Thursday and charged with taking an animal out of the wild and keeping it. He has not been named. Police said they were “advised” that the platypus had been released into a river, adding local authorities had so far been unable to find it.
By wire sources