Why you may have to wait until next year’s tax season to claim all your stimulus benefits
By Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco Millions of struggling Americans are already accessing the assistance from the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion relief packagethat President Joe Biden signed earlier this month — including stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment benefits. But not all the aid in the massive law will be available right away. In fact, eligible Americans won’t fully benefit from several of the provisions — such as the new child tax credit — until a year from now, when they file their 2021 tax returns. “We are going to see these waves of relief,” said Kathy Pickering, chief tax officer at
Celebrities join Michelle Obama in urging Americans to support sweeping voting rights bill
By Fredreka Schouten and Devan Cole Former first lady Michelle Obama and a host of celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Tracee Ellis Ross and Kerry Washington, are calling on Americans to encourage their senators to support a sweeping voting rights package that would thwart efforts by Republican state lawmakers to curb access to the ballot box. In an open letter published Tuesday by When We All Vote, a nonpartisan organization committed to voter registration that Obama co-chairs, the former first lady and a slew of celebrity signatories urge “Americans of conscience and goodwill to join us in taking a stand for
Sunrise Movement endorses Jennifer Carroll Foy for Virginia governor
By Rachel Janfaza, CNN Sunrise Movement, the progressive youth-led climate activist group, on Monday announced it is endorsing Jennifer Carroll Foy in the Virginia gubernatorial race. If elected, Carroll Foy would be the first Black female governor in the United States. In a statement, Sunrise said it believes that Carroll Foy, a former Virginia delegate, will be a leader “committed to investing in green energy production, bringing diverse, high paying jobs to every corner of the Commonwealth and passing a Virginia Green New Deal.” But with less than three months until the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Carroll Foy is one of
Martin Luther King III: This is what my father would have done
Opinion by Martin Luther King III Over the past several months, we have seen state legislatures around the country move swiftly to try to limit the rights of Americans — and particularly Black Americans — at the ballot box. In doing so, Republicans in these legislatures are pushing a modern-day Jim Crow agenda. Congress must now move to stop them quickly, decisively and by any legislative means necessary. Unfortunately, America has a long, troubled history when it comes to voter suppression. After Reconstruction, Southern states disenfranchised African Americans from voting with poll taxes and unanswerable questions on “literacy tests.” These
White House aides prep $3 trillion jobs package for Biden
By Phil Mattingly, CNN White House advisers are expected to present a two-part, $3 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal to President Joe Biden as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposal, which Biden’s top advisers have been deliberating over for weeks, would be segmented into two separate parts — one focused on infrastructure and clean energy, and a second focused on what’s being termed the “care economy” with a focus zeroed in on key domestic economic issues. In full, it would mark a sweeping move toward enacting the key elements of the “jobs”
Warnock’s seat comes into focus amid battle over voting laws and filibuster rules
By Manu Raju, Ali Zaslav and Ted Barrett, CNN Freshman Sen. Raphael Warnock, whose surprise victory in Georgia helped give Democrats the narrowest of majorities, now finds himself squarely in the center of an intensifying battle over tightening election laws and protecting the Senate’s filibuster — a debate that could directly affect his own chances of keeping his seat next year. Republicans in Georgia are moving quickly to pare back many of the rules that eased access for voters in the 2020 election, with GOP lawmakers in the state pushing to finalize new restrictions before week’s end to ensure they
Warnock slams GOP-controlled Georgia Legislature for bill that would restrict voter access
By Daniella Diaz, CNN Georgia US Sen. Raphael Warnock, in his first Sunday show interview since being elected to Congress in January, slammed the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature for a massive voting bill that would restrict voter access. “I think it’s unfortunate that some politicians have looked at the results and, rather than changing their message, they’re busy trying to change the rules,” the Democrat said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Warnock was referring to a key committee in the Georgia Legislature, which began work this week on a massive new voting bill that would give the state broad powers over
Biden moves rapidly to shore up Obamacare and erase Trump’s changes
By Tami Luhby, CNN President Joe Biden is wasting no time establishing his vision for the Affordable Care Act and reversing many Trump-era measures aimed at weakening it. In his first two months in office, Biden has taken several steps to bolster the landmark health reform law, which marks its 11th anniversary on Tuesday, and to embed it even more firmly in the nation’s health care system. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak Monday about how the Affordable Care Act has benefited Americans and how the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion relief package, which Biden signed into law earlier this
Julia Letlow makes history in Louisiana’s 5th District special election while 2nd District goes to runoff
By Adam Levy and Ethan Cohen, CNN Republican Julia Letlow won the special election in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District Saturday night, becoming the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state. Letlow will take the seat that her late husband Luke, who won last year’s election but died in December after being diagnosed with Covid-19, was never able to hold. The first-time candidate avoided a runoff by securing a majority of the vote among the 12-person field, which means she’ll soon bolster the already record-breaking 30 Republican women in the House this year. A number of prominent Republicans had
Here’s how Biden wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations
By Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco, CNN Now that he’s signed the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, President Joe Biden is turning to the next items on his legislative agenda — and laying the groundwork for raising taxes on wealthier Americans to pay for them. Biden doubled down on vows he made as a candidate in an ABC News interview Wednesday, saying that those earning more than $400,000 “will see a small to significant tax increase.” However, he pledged that those under that threshold “won’t see one single penny in additional federal tax” — and he is already working