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Three fires converged in 2020, destroying over 1,500 structures in the Santiam Canyon, which included massive destruction to the city of Detroit, shown here. (Oregon State University) After more than five years of waiting in some cases, wildfire survivors across the West will be relieved of paying federal income taxes on their recovery settlements and lawyers fees. The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 passed the Senate on Wednesday night, about six months after it was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives nearly unanimously. It had been stalled for months, tucked into opposing tax packages from Senate Republicans and Democrats. The bill, which is likely to be signed by President Joe Biden, would exempt people who have survived a wildfire between 2016 and 2026 from paying federal income taxes on disaster recovery settlements and fees paid to lawyers that were received or paid between 2020 and 2026. Victims elsewhere are also likely to benefit. The bill applies to the survivors of the East Palestine train derailment that occurred in Ohio in 2023, though they’ve largely been exempted from federal income tax on payments from Norfolk Southern due to intervention from the Internal Revenue Service. The disaster act would also provide relief for natural disaster survivors since 2020 in the form of a casualty loss deduction. That means that those who only received partial payments from insurers on home damage and other residential property damage could deduct those uncovered losses on their federal income taxes without itemization. Passage of the bill, introduced last year by a Florida Republican Rep. W. Gregory Steube, follows a public plea last month by a political action committee. American Disaster Survivors sponsored billboards asking for help in Idaho and Oregon to grab the attention of the two leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee where the bill sat. Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, chairs the committee, and Idaho’s U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is its ranking Republican member. The disaster PAC was founded by survivors of fires that burned towns in California during 2017 and 2018 and which are still only partially rebuilt. The bill would sunset in 2026, according to Wyden spokesperson Hank Stern, because federal tax codes are coming up for negotiation in 2025 and there is not a lot of political will to do long-term tax policy in the lame duck session before a new Congress and administration comes to power in January. Wyden said in a speech following the bill’s passage that it was necessary and long overdue. “Their homes and their businesses are burned, their possessions and livelihoods gone, and finally, the federal government is showing some common sense,” he said. He and California House and Senate Democrats and Republicans who championed the bill said despite working in a bipartisan way to get it passed in the Republican-controlled House, Senate Republicans stalled progress. “We’re going to be able to say to Westerners who’ve been hit by these big fires that they’re going to be able to go to bed tonight in the Western United States with a little relief that the federal government has finally come to its senses and made sure that they’re not going to have this additional tax burden,” Wyden said in his speech. Spokespersons for the American Disaster Relief PAC said it would impact survivors of wildfire in many states. “This has given a much needed glimmer of hope to millions of Americans across California, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington and Idaho who have been devastated by tragedy.” The federal bill is similar to a state bill that unanimously passed the Oregon Legislature in the spring of 2024 that ended state income taxation on settlements and lawyer fees for wildfire victims. That bill, Senate Bill 1520 , was championed by survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires, including Sam Drevo, who survived the Santiam Canyon fire that burned down much of the city of Gates in the heart of the Santiam State Forest. “On behalf of fire survivors everywhere, I am deeply grateful that this passed. I’m not super thrilled about the sunset, but it’s a huge step forward for fire survivors,” Drevo said. He and his mom are still sorting out how much she was taxed on the settlement she received to help her rebuild her home in Gates that was completely wiped out by the fires. “I know it’s going to be helpful, and to other people it’s going to be helpful. In general, it’s a huge thing to have this type of tax relief, especially in a situation where you lose everything,” he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOXNASA to Test Technology for X-59’s Unique Shock Wave MeasurementsStandard motor products CIO Nicholas Ray sells $161,340 in stock
Every day April Clark begs, pleads, prays for her boys to come home. Brothers Wesley Cornett, 17, and Andruw Cornett, 19, are somewhere in the waters of the Thermalito Afterbay near Oroville , less than an hour’s drive north on Highway 70 from their home in Olivehurst, Yuba County. By Christmas Eve, it had been 11 days since the two went missing on a duck hunting trip on the afterbay Dec. 14. In the days since that Saturday morning, Clark has posted raw, desperate pleas to her Facebook account. Pleas for prayers. Pleas for walkers and divers to aid in an ever-lengthening search. Pleas for the boys she calls her babies. “Day 10 I’m so lost and broken and still can’t wrap my mind around this all I just want my babies home,” Clark wrote on Monday. “Please keep praying everyone and if u can come out walking or u have a boat to search please come out and help find my babies.” The agonizing post came the same day the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced its decision to alter its search-and-recovery mission. Divers and sonar failed to find them. Teams will now focus on a “continuous limited search” instead, the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post accompanied by photos of the Cornett brothers , rainsoaked and in camouflage posing with their dogs and their quarry after a successful duck hunt. “The search and recovery efforts for Andruw and Wesley Cornett have entered the tenth day at the Thermalito Afterbay. At this point in the recovery we have exhausted efforts with divers and sonar technology,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Their tools now are aircraft and boats, dogs and drones. The last sign of the brothers came the morning of Dec. 14, Andruw calling Butte County emergency dispatchers to tell them Wesley’s kayak had overturned in the water and that he was going in after him. Neither were wearing life jackets, according to a Chico Enterprise-Record timeline of the moments before the brothers disappeared. Stay out of the water, the dispatcher said. It was 8:34 a.m. The Sheriff’s Office detailed the first frantic hours on its website , with deputies throwing everything into the effort: helicopters and drones; sonar, divers, searchers and dog teams. The first deputy arrived at 8:47 a.m., followed at 8:55 a.m. by a Cal Fire’s Butte County water rescue team. Sheriff’s marine searchers would spot a kayak and possibly one of the brothers just minutes later; then a paddle and waders. Searchers from across Northern California — more than 280 people in all from 11 counties, state agencies and search and rescue teams — have since joined Butte County search teams to try to locate the Yuba County brothers. A map detailing the search efforts on the afterbay shows a multicolored crosshatch, each line representing a single vessel’s recorded search, said Butte County Sheriff’s officials. Divers specializing in deep underwater construction and heavy marine salvage found Andruw’s pants on Dec. 17. They found Wesley’s wallet on Dec. 19. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s divers found younger brother Wesley’s jacket the following day with his phone inside. Days later, Sheriff’s officials have limited their search, and April Clark and her family are planning for the worst. She has organized a GoFundMe account to “find and honor her sons.”bjdlzx Peyto ( OTCPK:PEYUF ) does not even know that there are low natural gas prices thanks to its hedging program . 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Protesters gather around thier tents to protect therefrom police during a protest to free Palestine on the UI campus near Alma Mater on Friday, April 26, 2024. To pitch a ‘My Turn’ guest column, email jdalessio@news-gazette.com . To subscribe, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. Want to purchase today’s print edition? Here’s a map of single-copy locations. Sign up for our daily newsletter here URBANA — A second individual who faced charges after pro-Palestine demonstrations on the University of Illinois campus has had his case resolved with a guilty plea. Joseph M. Kleckner, 25, of Savanna, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of obstructing a peace officer. Charges of mob action, a Class 4 felony, were dismissed. Kleckner was the fifth of eight people to be charged with mob action after an April 26 demonstration near the Alma Mater statue on the UI campus — but he wasn't charged until July, after police used video evidence to identify him. Charges are specifically related to interactions between demonstrators and police early that morning, after demonstrators gathered and erected tents at around 6 a.m. State's Attorney Julia Rietz said that UI officials notified the group they were violating school policies and could be charged with trespassing if they stayed. Officials attempted to negotiate with the group over the course of about two hours to remove the structures, but UI police were concerned about social media posts telling people to "defend the camp," Rietz said. Officials first attempted to remove the structures at 8:23 a.m., but demonstrators circled around the tents and linked arms to block access. They were again told to remove the tents or potentially face trespassing charges, but they did not. UI police eventually broke through the circle and removed the tents. Investigators later compared body camera footage with other media including social media posts to identify demonstrators who pushed or shoved officers. They used a license-plate reader to identify a vehicle which dropped off supplies for the demonstrators; the registration and driver's license photo for the vehicle identified Kleckner as a demonstrator caught on body cam. After pleading guilty, Kleckner was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge with 100 hours of community service work, which can include hours in education, treatment, aftercare, sobriety based self-help group meetings, Victim Impact Panel and GED classes. Victor Smith, 22, of Champaign, is the only other demonstrator to be charged with mob action who has resolved his case. He similarly pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, saw mob action charges dropped, and was given the same sentence.Horrified festivalgoers watch as Christmas fair ride collapses and injures twoKaliati Hints At Dumping UTM Over 21 Votes
Yes, definitely. We were the better team, more dangerous against a very well-organised Tranmere team. They have experienced players and they are tough to play against. I thought a little bit of magic, which Joel (Colwill) provided would probably decide the game. Thankfully, the way we held out right at the end, with the corners and long throws, it was a massive improvement on how we defended from last weekend. If we'd defended like that last weekend, we'd have won comfortably. It depends which way you look at it. I thought he was excellent tonight, but he wasn't hitting the target very much, so you never know. It was a real team performance tonight and I've just praised Matty Taylor in there in front of the boys for three headed clearances right at the end, which shows the importance of putting the team first. He is going to be frustrated that he's not starting, but he's not chucked his toys out of the pram, he's kept his head down and he has just shown what being a team player and a squad player is all about, so fair play. That's the environment we are trying to breed here. That's the thing, I know we can do it. That's why I was so frustrated last weekend. To have a clean sheet after conceding three last week was important and there were some fantastic performances tonight. Tom Bradbury, Benno (Scot Bennett), Stubbsy (Sam Stubbs) were all solid as a rock. (Liam) Kinsella and Youngy (Luke Young) were excellent. It was a good performance, a solid performance. I couldn't care if we'd won 9-8, you still get the same points, it would just have been a little more exciting and nerve-racking if I am honest, but the way they stuck together and defended was excellent tonight. Maybe we should have had a penalty first half as well. Their player has cleared one off the line that was going in and we've cleared two for them where we've hit our own players. I thought we deserved it tonight. I haven't watched it back, but it didn't look good. I am not one who jumps around asking for players to be sent off, you have to trust the referee and the officials in that. I will watch it back, but I did think it could have been a red at the time. Luke was injured and I hope it's not a bad one because he's a good lad and I don't like seeing players getting injured. It's not my call and the referee was a bit closer than me, so I'll have to watch it back. Yes and I spoke to the referee afterwards. I thought he did reasonably well tonight. but it could easily have been given. The incident with the tackle, I'll have to watch back, but it's one of those where we have won the game and that's all that mattered tonight. I am not sure yet. My wife Victoria's voice has gone, so I am hoping I can get away with not getting nagged all day! All she wants is for me to put the Christmas tree up, or to get into the attic and get it out. I will take the boys to the driving range in the morning because they like a little bit of golf and I think it'll be a bit of a family day tomorrow. Yes, 100 per cent. He has to be doing that more, week-in, week-out and that's the whole point of him coming on loan. Cardiff are trusting us with him. I do think he plays better in night games. I have told him, I am going to tell him every game on a Saturday is a 7.45pm kick-off and with it getting a bit darker now, he might actually believe me! His best performances have been in the evening games and I thought he was superb tonight. Yes, I was right behind it and saw it, but his whole performance. A couple of his shots were a bit off, but that's fine. The way he was driving at them, making space for himself, I thought he was excellent. It doesn't matter, if we were losing the cup games, I know you would be saying one win in nine, so it works both ways! In some of the cup games, when you are playing a weakened team and things like that and fans or pundits are saying they have only won one, but some change things up completely, so it's important to breed success. We have seen the Trophy draw tonight, with Cambridge United at home, so we'll give that a right good go. I've had to cancel a trip to Dortmund, going to watch Borussia Dortmund training and the game that week. I am a little bit devastated with that, but Cheltenham Town obviously comes first and they are the sacrifices we have to make! I will look to yes. João Tralhão, the assistant manager there, is a good friend of mine. I went over and did my Pro Licence study visit at Benfica when he was there, so fortunate to know João because he's an unbelievable gentleman and coach. Every time I see him, I feel I have learned something and I appreciate it because he is definitely a good guy.Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams
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