Day: January 10, 2021

Virginia Department of Health: Vaccinations for Second Phase Group Starting Next Week

Jacob Taylor

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said Friday that 11 select health districts around the state will begin vaccinating the second phase of priority populations, group 1b, this week, according to a press release from the agency. 

VDH’s announcement comes two days after Governor Ralph Northam held his first COVID-19 press briefing of 2021, where he said the state would be faster at administering vaccines, implemented a “use it or lose it” policy for providers and released specifics on the people in group 1b. 

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Arizona Lawmaker Introduces First-Ever Resolution Against Court-Packing

Peter D'Abrosca

A newly-elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives Tuesday announced a resolution calling for a Constitutional amendment against court-packing.

“Democrats’ stated intentions to abuse our nation’s constitutional separation of powers by packing the Supreme Court are not merely an assault on the rule of law, they are a blatant attempt to politicize the world’s most respected legal body,” State Representative-Elect Jake Hoffman (R-AZ-12) said in a press release. “Protecting the independence and integrity of the United States Supreme Court is an ethical and moral imperative that rises to a level of public policy importance rivaled by few other issues.”

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Six Key Points on Efforts to Oust Trump in Final Days

Virginia Star Staff

After the riot at the Capitol, congressional Democrats increasingly are calling for the removal of President Donald Trump before his term expires Jan. 20, either through a second impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment. 

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., an assistant House speaker, said  lawmakers could vote on impeachment within a week. 

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U.S. House Moving Toward Beginning Impeachment Proceedings Against Trump

Virginia Star Staff

House Democrats could begin formal impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump next week, seeking again to initiate the process to remove him from office, this time during the final two weeks of his term in office.

Multiple media outlets were reporting Friday afternoon that U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; Ted Lieu, D-Calif.; and David Cicilline, D-R.I., had drafted a single article of impeachment against Trump over the events that led to Wednesday’s violent incursion of the U.S. Capitol, which led to five deaths.

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#Twexit Movement Picks Up Steam After Trump Banned from Twitter

Peter D'Abrosca

Many Twitter users are vowing to leave the platform after President Donald J. Trump was permanently banned from using the service Friday evening.

“Twitter bans Trump, but won’t check communist Chinese propaganda defending brainwashing & forced sterilizations of minorities,” the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans said, adding the hashtag #twexit.

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National Security Officials in Trump Admin Say They’re Being Snubbed for Jobs, Compared to ‘Hitler Youth’

Virginia Star Staff

National security officials who work for President Donald Trump are being snubbed by potential future employers and compared to “Hitler Youth” days before president-elect Joe Biden will take office, Politico reported.

Seven former and current officials spoke with Politico and detailed their job search heading out of the Trump administration. A number of high ranking Trump administration officials resign over the president’s part in the storming of the United States Capitol building Wednesday.

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Biden Says Trump Not Attending His Inauguration Is ‘a Good Thing’

Virginia Star Staff

President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that President Donald Trump not attending his inauguration is “a good thing.”

“I was told that, on the way up here, way over here, that he indicated he wasn’t going to show up at the inauguration. One of the few things he and I have ever agreed on. It’s a good thing, him not showing up,” Biden said.

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Republican National Committee Announces Support of ‘Keep Nine Amendment’ to Prevent Packing of Supreme Court

Jason M. Reynolds

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has come out in support of the proposed “Keep Nine Amendment” that, if enacted, would prevent packing the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Resolutions Committee adopted the resolution of support, the RNC said in a statement Friday.

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Biden Calls Romney ‘a Man of Enormous Integrity,’ Years After ‘Back in Chains’ Attack

Virginia Star Staff

President-elect Joe Biden on Friday called Sen. Mitt Romney a “man of enormous integrity,” a stark difference in rhetoric from the presidential campaign trail in 2012, when Biden told an audience with many African Americans that Romney would “put y’all back in chains.”

At a press conference on Friday, Biden said that he spoke to Romney earlier in the day about his opposition to GOP-led efforts to question the results of the 2020 election.

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Wisconsin Teacher Placed on Non-Disciplinary Leave After Apparently Attending D.C. Rally

Eric Burk

A high school teacher from Burlington, Wisconsin is on non-disciplinary administrative leave after a student raised concerns about an assignment given while the teacher was on vacation in Washington, D.C. this past week, according to a district press release. Social studies high school teacher Jeff Taff apparently assigned students to watch a video about alleged election fraud, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Virginia Delegate McNamara Pre-Files Legislation Exempting Forgiven PPP Loans from State Taxes

Eric Burk

Delegate Joe McNamara (R-Roanoke) has pre-filed HB 1787, legislation for the 2021 General Assembly session that will exempt business owners from state taxes on forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. PPP loans are part of broad COVID-19 relief funding meant to help small businesses keep paying their employees.

When the PPP was passed by Congress in March 2020, the forgivable loans were exempt from federal taxes, but Virginia’s tax structure means the forgiven PPP loans are not automatically exempt from state taxes. McNamara said that could lead to confusion for business owners.

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Virginia Delegate McNamara Pre-Files Legislation Exempting Forgiven PPP Loans from State Taxes

Eric Burk

Delegate Joe McNamara (R-Roanoke) has pre-filed HB 1787, legislation for the 2021 General Assembly session that will exempt business owners from state taxes on forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. PPP loans are part of broad COVID-19 relief funding meant to help small businesses keep paying their employees.

When the PPP was passed by Congress in March 2020, the forgivable loans were exempt from federal taxes, but Virginia’s tax structure means the forgiven PPP loans are not automatically exempt from state taxes. McNamara said that could lead to confusion for business owners.

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