Last year, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched a series of initiatives aimed at pursuing high-wealth individuals who have failed to pay their tax debts. The IRS says the campaign is focused on taxpayers with more than $1 million in income and more than $250,000 in recognized tax debt.
In this double-blind, randomized study of 5,300 cisgender women in South Africa and Uganda, 2,134 got the injection and the others took one of two types of daily PrEP pills. The trial from California-based company Gilead Sciences began on August 2021 and, so far, not a single woman who received the injections has contracted HIV. The participants who received either of the oral PrEP options, Truvada and Descovy, had infection rates of about 2% — consistent with the infection rates of oral PrEP in other clinical trials.
Biden said he was “righting a historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves,” calling the law “a great injustice.” This act of clemency means that thousands of military personnel who were convicted over six decades for engaging in consensual sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex would be able to apply for a certificate of pardon that would help them gain access to benefits that were previously withheld.
During a news conference, Moore said the executive order will affect “tens of thousands of Marylanders” convicted of misdemeanors. Some may have had more than one conviction pardoned through the process. Advocates praised the move as a way of removing barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.
San Francisco, California has become the largest city in the United States to declare itself a sanctuary city for transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and Two Spirit people to safely receive gender-affirming healthcare. The city’s Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to bar city officials from assisting any out-of-state investigations into individuals who obtain, provide, or help others access gender-affirming care.
In a sweeping change that could improve millions of Americans’ ability to own a home or buy a car, the Biden administration proposed a rule to ban medical debt from credit reports. The rule, announced by Vice President Kamala Harris and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, comes as President Joe Biden beefs up his efforts to persuade Americans his administration is lowering costs, a chief concern for voters in the upcoming election.
New York state has taken novel legislative steps to limit children’s exposure to computer algorithmic social media feeds, passing two laws to protect children from social media content and to protect their privacy. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation for Kids Act requires social media companies to restrict feeds for users under 18. The second law, the New York Child Data Protection Act, prohibits online sites from collecting, using, sharing, or selling personal data of anyone under the age of 18.
An immunotherapy drug could spare bowel cancer patients the need for surgery and chemotherapy after results showed it was effective in 100% of cases. Jemperli from British pharmaceutical company GSK showed “unprecedented results”, the firm said, with no evidence of disease in all patients treated. The data showed all 42 patients in a trial led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. had a complete response to treatment, with no evidence of tumors on scans.
Vermont has enacted a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. The funds could be used for upgrading stormwater drainage systems; upgrading roads, bridges and railroads; relocating, elevating or retrofitting sewage treatment plants; and making energy-efficient weatherization upgrades to public and private buildings.
A pilot version of the online program, known as Direct File, launched earlier this year. It provides step-by-step guidance to taxpayers filing their federal tax returns.
A pilot version of the online program, known as Direct File, launched earlier this year. It provides free step-by-step guidance to taxpayers filing their federal tax returns. Last year, more than 140,000 people across 12 states successfully filed their federal tax returns using Direct File, exceeding the agency’s expectations. Next year, the IRS plans to allow some taxpayers in all states and Washington, DC, to use the program.
