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David Newhouse, 65, Dies; His Paper Broke the Sandusky Story

David Newhouse, 65, Dies; His Paper Broke the Sandusky Story

David Newhouse, who, as editor of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, led to a Pulitzer Prize for breaking the story that led to the conviction of Penn State assistant soccer coach Jerry Sandusky for sexually abusing boys and being fired led by Joe Paterno, the school’s once beloved head football coach, died Wednesday in a hospital in Hanover, NH. He was 65 years old.

The cause was complications from the leukemia, said his brother Mark.

Mr. Newhouse, a member of the powerful publishing family whose best-known media company is the Condé Nast division, ran a modest outpost in central Pennsylvania in the Newhouse Empire.

However, his small town newspaper gained national attention in March 2011 when a staff member, Sara Ganim, reported that a large jury was investigating Mr. Sandusky on allegations that he had “improperly assaulted a teenager.” The scandal heightened in November when Mr Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing eight boys over a period of 15 years.

This first article and nine others were cited by the Pulitzer Board of Directors in 2012 for “courageously exposing and appropriately treating the explosive sex scandal in Penn State.”

Ms. Ganim said that Mr. Newhouse encouraged her from the start to pursue the story further, even when she reported on the police strike in Harrisburg, about 90 minutes from Penn State campus.

“He was very good,” she said, “when he said,” OK, everyone from all the news organizations will be in the press conference, but what you should do is think about how you can move the story forward. “

Mr. Sandusky was eventually convicted of assaulting 10 boys on 45 counts. Mr Paterno, who was accused of doing too little to prevent Mr Sandusky from hunting boys, has been fired. And Penn State’s image and reputation was badly tarnished.

Cate Barron, who succeeded Mr. Newhouse as editor in 2012, said he had reminded the reporting team to continue to focus on Mr. Sandusky’s victims, the men who were raped as boys.

“It was a criminal story about victims,” ​​she said. “He was the beacon for that.”

During his 11 years with The Patriot-News, David Newhouse was drawn to journalism, “which gave voice to the voiceless,” said Ms. Barron, such as articles by investigative reporter Peter Shellem that resulted in the release of five wrongly convicted prisoners.

“To tell this whole truth to power, he believed it in his soul,” she said.

In November 2011, Mr. Newhouse wrote a column for his newspaper criticizing the New York Times for handling an article about one of Mr. Sandusky’s victims. In order to protect his identity, The Times referred to the person as Victim 1, as he was on the indictment. But Mr Newhouse said the article “was so detailed that, although they didn’t name him, Googling certain information on the profile would bring up the young man’s name in seconds.”

The Times editors defended the article, but Arthur S. Brisbane, the Times public editor at the time, disagreed. Although he acknowledged that certain details about victim 1 gave readers “a deeper understanding of the boy”, he asked, “Was that reason enough to involve them and compromise his privacy? I don’t think so.”

About a month after receiving the Pulitzer, Mr. Newhouse left The Patriot-News to become editor of the family-owned Advance Local and helped develop websites as the family’s newspapers became digital businesses.

David Anthony Newhouse was born on September 29, 1955 in Manhattan and grew up in Great Neck, Long Island and New Orleans. His father, Norman, was the editor of the Queens-based Long Island Press and later oversaw The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and other southern newspapers belonging to his family. Norman was a brother of Samuel I Newhouse, who started the family in publishing. David’s mother Alice (Gross) Newhouse was a housewife.

“We all adored our father,” said Mark Newhouse, executive vice president of newspapers at Advance Publications, in a telephone interview with his family. “We grew up thinking that it was best to be a newspaper man.”

However, David Newhouse originally took a different route. He graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in theater in 1977 and earned a master’s degree in film production from Boston University in 1980 and a second master’s degree in education from Tufts University three years later

He owned a bookstore in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a children’s clothing store in Arlington, Massachusetts. He also taught English at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts before asking his family to find him a job with one of his newspapers.

He joined The Times of Trenton, New Jersey, in 1993 as a city reporter and rose to become business editor and assistant editor-in-chief before becoming editor-in-chief of The Patriot-News in 2001. In 2010 he was promoted to editor.

He was a strong voice in the editorial office of the newspaper; After Mr Sandusky was charged, Mr Newhouse strongly advocated the resignation of Mr Paterno and Graham Spanier, President of Penn State, for doing too little to stop Mr Sandusky. The editorial took up the entire front page.

Penn State fired both men on November 9, 2011, the day after the editorial was published.

Mr. Sandusky is serving a sentence of 30 to 60 years. Mr. Paterno died in 2012.

In addition to his brother Mark, Mr. Newhouse survived his wife Alice Stewart. his daughters Lily, Hope, Magdalena and Macrina Newhouse; two other brothers, Peter and Jonathan; a sister, Robyn Newhouse; and three grandchildren. His marriage to Katharine Call ended in divorce.

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Virginia will get near legalizing leisure weed as different states eye hashish tax windfalls

Virginia gets close to legalizing recreational weed as other states eye cannabis tax windfalls

A customer sets fire to a shop in Lowell Farms, America’s first official cannabis cafe serving farm-to-table dining and smoking cannabis on October 1, 2019 in West Hollywood, California.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Virginia is on the verge of becoming the first southern state to generate high tax revenues when it comes to legalizing recreational herbs.

A bill passed on Sunday Democratic Governor Ralph Northam’s signature awaits in both the State House of Representatives and the Senate.

Once signed, the Old Dominion would officially join 15 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana for recreational adult use. Under Virginia law, legal sales and ownership would not take effect until 2024.

States from Wisconsin to Kansas – many of them strapped for money amid the Covid pandemic – are calling for similar measures as they struggle to balance their budgets. The governors also cite racial justice as a reason for legalizing marijuana. Black and Latin American men across the country are more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts for the same offenses.

Support for marijuana legalization has grown steadily over the years. Recent Gallup polls found that 68% of adults in the US think marijuana should be legalized for recreational use, up from 66% last year. With Democratic President Joe Biden in the White House and the party currently holding a majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, federal marijuana legalization could be closer than ever.

For now, however, it remains a state-to-state decision.

New Jersey is the youngest to join the party. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy signed a reform bill in late February after voters approved the measure in November. A report by the bipartisan think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective estimates the state could generate at least $ 300 million in tax revenue annually.

For Virginia, legalizing pots could bring in $ 698 million to $ 1.2 billion annually in economic activity and up to $ 274 million in tax revenue annually, according to a study by the governors’ office.

Northam also acknowledged racial differences in drug abuse convictions in his most recent State of the Commonwealth address. “Reforming our marijuana laws is one way to ensure Virginia is a fairer state that works better for everyone,” he said.

Not all constituents are happy with the pace of change. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said the legislation paid “lip service” but “does nothing to address the persistent racial gaps we see decriminalizing through 2024,” reported WWBT, an NBC partner in television Richmond, Virginia.

A governor’s spokesman told CNBC: “We have a lot of work to do, but this bill will help reinvest in our communities and reduce inequalities in our criminal justice system.” The spokesman said the governor’s top priority is making sure Virginia legalizes marijuana fairly.

Other governors are calling for legalization

In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf again called for marijuana legalization in his state budget address, highlighting it as a priority for this year after neighboring states either approve or are considering legalization.

“I urge lawmakers to work with me to build a foundation to strengthen the Pennsylvania economy by legalizing adult cannabis,” the Democratic governor said in a message to lawmakers in September.

The governor also highlighted racial justice as a priority for legalization. “These are proceeds that can help criminal justice-affected Pennsylvanians gain access to restorative justice programs.”

Pennsylvania blacks are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, according to the state’s ACLU chapter. Wolf’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Highlight the cons

Washington, which was one of the first states to legalize recreational herbs in 2012, made a total of $ 395.5 million in legal marijuana tax revenue and royalties in fiscal 2019, according to the state’s annual report. The legal marijuana market in the state supports more than 18,500 jobs, according to a recent study by Washington State University.

But as with many good things, there are often downsides. A University of Washington study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that the legalization of cannabis in the state and a general change in attitudes towards the plant began to slow the downward trend in cannabis use among teenagers.

Study lead author Jennifer Bailey said, “We really don’t want teenage consumption to increase,” but added that it will be several decades before the effects of legalization are fully understood, as is the case with post-alcohol alcohol Prohibition was the case. She also highlighted racial justice, tax issues, and cannabis research as important benefits of legalization.

Many states are incorporating the language into cannabis legislation, according to which communities affected by racial inequalities in criminal justice will benefit most from legalization. But even guidelines developed for the benefit of color communities sometimes fail.

In Illinois, for example, a year after the state legalized the plant, there are still no minority-owned cannabis stores, even though the legislation includes language to limit pharmacies to give minority communities an advantage. The Illinois governor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

“There is a small fraction of the people who have cash and control over the money. If you have an industry and an emerging market and you can only join when you have cash, you’ve already eliminated the blacks,” said the Democratic La Shawn Ford, a member of the state legislature’s Black Caucus, told Politico.

Government shared roadblocks

States that have split government like Wisconsin may find it more difficult to pass comprehensive cannabis reform. Democratic Governor Tony Evers recently said he would propose legalizing recreational marijuana in Wisconsin, citing potential tax revenues of more than $ 165 million a year for the state.

“The legalization and taxation of marijuana in Wisconsin – just like we already do with alcohol – ensures that a controlled market and a safe product are available for both recreational and medical users, and can open up myriad opportunities for us to be in our communities to invest and create more just state, “he said in a recent statement.

With Republican lawmakers currently controlling the Wisconsin legislature, it is unlikely to pass.

Many southern states share a similar fate. Legislators in the Mississippi House and Senate are currently fighting over the language for a medical marijuana bill after a measure mandating a state medical marijuana program was approved by Mississippi voters.

In Minnesota, HF 600 was recently the first adult recreational use bill to stand out of the state’s committee. Minnesota’s Senate is controlled by Republicans and the House is controlled by Democrats, diminishing the likelihood of the bill being passed. Democratic Governor Tim Walz recently urged lawmakers to consider legalizing marijuana to boost the state’s economy in a briefing focused on his budget proposal. Comments from Walz’s office were not immediately returned.

Even election initiatives approved by voters can go up in smoke. A Circuit Court judge appointed by Republican Governor Kristi Noem recently ruled that a constitutional amendment approved by South Dakota voters to legalize recreational marijuana was unconstitutional. The ruling said the change would have “far-reaching implications for the fundamental nature” of the state government.

Recently, Democrat Laura Kelly, Kansas governor, announced a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in the deep red state to increase the revenue needed to expand Kansas’s Medicaid program to nearly 200,000 residents, who currently lack coverage. The Republican-controlled legislature is expected to reject the proposal, but Majority Leader Dan Hawkins did not take medical marijuana off the table. In a statement to Politico, he acknowledged growing support for drug reform but said it was too early to predict how the debate would develop.

In total, around 12 countries are currently considering some kind of cannabis reform legislation. States like New York, Connecticut, New Mexico, and Hawaii could soon see laws covering governors’ desks.

“It’s not about whether a deal comes about,” New York State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​told the New York Times in January. “It’s about how and when.”

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the University of Washington study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In a previous version, the name of the university was incorrectly entered.

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Podcasts That Can Assist You Handle Your Cash

Podcasts That Can Help You Manage Your Money

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of finance podcasts out there that offer a way to start your own business – like investing like a hedge fund manager or turning houses around, for example. But what if you don’t even know where to start when you want to make savings or balance a budget? These podcasts are aimed at people who know they should think more about their personal finances, but aren’t even sure which questions are right.

You may have heard of the FIRE movement (which stands for “financial independence, early retirement”) and thought, “That sounds like cult.” And while there are plenty of podcasts from people in the movement, the approach of certified financial educator Jamila speaks for itself Souffrant to everyone, but feels like he’s addressing you directly. Born in Jamaica, Souffrant was raised by a single mother who taught her the value of money at a young age. After Souffrant broke down on a demanding job, she gave up spending time trying to regain control of her life. In one year, she and her husband had saved and invested over $ 85,000 in savings using strategies geared towards financial independence. This is what she urges her listeners to seek: a debt-free life that enables them to begin a new life driven by their passions. Souffrant is an expert guide on the road to financial independence.

Non-millennials, don’t let the title discourage you. This show is full of understandable and empathetic financial advice useful to all generations. Shannah Compton Game, a certified financial planner and entrepreneur, noted that her generation was utterly unprepared for the worsening financial disaster: multiple recessions, a student loan crisis, stagnant wages, and the rise of the gig economy with no benefits. Over the past six years, Game has searched for money tips in over 200 episodes that can transform the way listeners of all ages think, trade and speak about money. With expert guests and creative angles, Game debunks taboos about money and untangles confusion around financial issues you may find yourself in, such as: B. Talking about money with your partner, LGBTQ financial planning, foolproof planning of your 401 (k) or choosing the right health insurance plan. Ultimately, Millennial Money is a passionate argument for finding your own path to money wellness and the life you wish you could live.

By day, Chris Browning is a financial analyst. At night, he breaks down everyday money issues into roughly the time it takes to make a bag of popcorn (possibly with an older microwave model). In 200 roughly 10-minute episodes dating back to 2017, Browning answers problems on topics like credit scores, student loan repayment strategies, ethical investing, requests for a raise, or even living in small homes. His colloquial, calm and reassuring delivery also gives the impression that any problem you have can be addressed and that everything will be fine. And if you’d like him to explain why you’re fine, listen to his other podcast, This Is Awkward, subtitled “But Money Doesn’t Have to Be,” in which listeners call Browning and his co-host Allison Baggerly help you cope with the most embarrassing situations without burning bridges.

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Demand for composite decking is rising due to a DIY boon, Trex CEO says

Demand for composite decking is rising thanks to a DIY boon, Trex CEO says

Bryan Fairbanks, CEO of Trex, told CNBC on Friday that sales for the company’s alternative wood products rose during the Covid-19 pandemic as consumers embark on more home improvement projects.

In addition to increasing demand for composite decks from homeowners, the manufacturer has increased capacity and lowered prices to make its products more affordable, Fairbanks said in a “Mad Money” appearance.

“People are really starting to understand what the long-term cost of owning a wooden deck will be,” he told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “Another thing that we see significant traction in is people who want to make the green choice.”

The housewares and remodeling markets benefited from increased interest in home improvement and outdoor living projects during the pandemic as residents found new ways to stay busy amid lockdowns and travel restrictions over the past year.

In the final quarter of 2020 – which is typically slower for the company due to a decline in construction – Trex’s residential product sales grew 40% year over year.

Fairbanks found that many customers find their way to Trex when looking for more sustainable materials to use on their DIY projects. He added that the company’s decks are 95% made from recycled material, as opposed to the environmental impact of pressure treated wood, which is high in chemicals.

While Trex competes with Azek on alternative wood surfaces, the company is focused on disrupting wood, which accounts for around 78% of the total market, he added. North America has an installation base of 40 million wooden decks, he said.

“There is absolutely a lot of space in the market,” Fairbanks said when asked about composites competition. “As we continue to grow as an organization, we are aiming for the largest segment of the market that is under pressure [wood]is very important to us and we look forward to this opportunity. “

Trex’s total revenue rose 18% to $ 881 million in 2020, the company said in late February. This is double the revenue growth rate that Trex saw in 2019. The company expects further double-digit sales growth in 2021, but did not give a forecast for the full year.

The shares of the $ 10 billion company rose 3.6% to $ 88.24 on Friday, breaking a three-day streak of bad luck.

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F.A.Q. on Stimulus, Unemployment and Tax Rebates

Unemployment payments through multiple federal programs would be extended.

Here’s what you need to know:

Stimulus Checks

The stimulus payments would be $1,400 for most recipients. Those who are eligible would also receive an identical payment for each of their children.

To qualify for the full $1,400, a single person would need an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or below. For heads of household, adjusted gross income would need to be $112,500 or below, and for married couples filing jointly that number would need to be $150,000 or below.

To be eligible for a payment, a person must have a Social Security number.

Yes. But payments would phase out quickly as adjusted gross income rises.

For single filers, the checks decrease to zero at $80,000. For heads of household, the cutoff is $120,000. And for joint filers, the checks stop at $160,000.

Payments for children decrease in the same way.

College students whom taxpayers claim as dependents are eligible. (They weren’t for past payments.) The payment would go to the parent taxpayer, not the child.

Good news here, too. If claimed as dependents, these relatives are also eligible this time. The payment would go to the taxpayer, not the dependent adult.

The most recent year on record at the Internal Revenue Service. If you’ve already filed your taxes this year, it would be 2020. If not, it would be 2019.

During the last round of payments, the I.R.S. got the first payments out within a few days. As before, you would track the status of your payments via the I.R.S.’s Get My Payment tool. Be aware that the volume of users sometimes overwhelms the site.

If you were in fact eligible to receive it, you can try to recover it through the so-called Recovery Rebate Credit when filing your 2020 return. Make your claim on Line 30 of Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

Unemployment Insurance

Credit…Alex Hecht for The New York Times

If you’re already receiving unemployment benefits, payments would generally be extended for another 25 weeks, until Sept. 6. The weekly supplemental benefit, which is provided on top of your regular benefit, will remain $300 but run through Sept. 6.

Although unemployment benefits are taxable, the new law would make the first $10,200 of benefits tax-free for people with income less than $150,000. This applies to 2020 only.

The extended payments would continue to be delivered through different federal programs, largely based on the type of work you did and for whom.

Benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which covers the self-employed, gig workers, part-timers and others who are typically ineligible for regular unemployment benefits, would be available for a total of 79 weeks, up from 50, and run through Sept. 6.

And benefits through the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which essentially extends benefits for people who exhaust their regular state benefits, would be available for a total of 53 weeks, up from 24, also lasting through Sept. 6.

If you qualify for any benefits, you would also receive the full $300 supplemental payment for weeks ending after March 14 and through Sept. 6. Known as F.P.U.C., it’s called the federal pandemic unemployment compensation.

The bill would also extend an extra $100 weekly payment, called the mixed-earner supplement, through Sept. 6. This payment helps people who have a mix of income from both self-employment and wages paid by other employers, because they are often stuck with a lower state-issued benefit based on their (lower) wages.

The bill would also clarify that the $300 federal supplement would not be counted when calculating eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But the mixed earner supplement would be counted.

If the bill becomes law, experts said, there may be a gap for beneficiaries in many states because it usually takes a couple of weeks for agencies to program any benefit extensions.

Health Insurance

Buying insurance through the government program known as COBRA would temporarily become a lot cheaper.

COBRA, for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, generally lets someone who loses a job buy coverage via the former employer. But it’s expensive: Under normal circumstances, a person may have to pay at least 102 percent of the cost of the premium.

Under the relief bill, the government would pay the entire COBRA premium from April 1 through Sept. 30.

A person who qualified for new, employer-based health insurance someplace else before Sept. 30 would lose eligibility for the no-cost coverage. And someone who left a job voluntarily would not be eligible, either.

The bill would lower the cost of health insurance in many instances for people who bought their own health insurance via a government exchange. And the premiums for those plans would cost no more than 8.5 percent of your modified adjusted gross income.

These changes would be effective immediately and last through the end of 2022; they would not require people to re-enroll to access the lower prices.

If you don’t already have health insurance but would want it if the price was right, an open enrollment period is already in effect through May 15. You can also switch plans to try to lower the price you’re paying already or get more generous coverage. The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a calculator that estimates your premiums based on your income and any available government subsidies, and it will be updated once the bill passes.

None this time, though there were some in the last stimulus bill.

Taxes

This credit, which helps working families offset the cost of care for children under 13 and other dependents, would be significantly expanded for a single year. More people would be eligible, and many recipients would get a bigger break.

The bill would also make the credit fully refundable, which means you could collect the money as a refund even if your tax bill was zero. “That will be helpful to people at the lower end” of the income scale, said Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.

The new bill would make the credit worth up to $4,000 for one qualifying individual or $8,000 for two or more. The credit would be calculated by taking up to 50 percent of the value of eligible expenses, up to certain limits, depending on your income. (The more you earn, the lower the percentage you can claim.)

Currently, the credit is generally worth between 20 and 35 percent of eligible expenses with a maximum value of $2,100 for two or more qualifying individuals.

The bill would also significantly increase the income level at which the credit begins to be reduced. Under current law, that starts at an adjusted gross income of $15,000, but the bill would make the full value of the credit available to households making up to $125,000.

Under current law, the credit is not further reduced below 20 percent, regardless of income, Mr. Luscombe said. But the proposed law would begin to reduce the credit below 20 percent for households with income of more than $400,000.

These changes would be effective for 2021 only.

The bill would make one big change. For 2021 — and only for 2021 — you could set aside $10,500 in a dependent care account instead of the normal $5,000. But employers would have to allow the change: You can’t adjust the withholdings from your paycheck yourself if your employer declines to provide the option.

The bill would make the credit more generous for 2021, particularly for low- and middle-income people.

Currently, the credit is worth up to $2,000 per eligible child. The bill would increase it to as much as $3,000 per child ($3,600 for ages 5 and under). It would also raise the age limit for qualifying children to 17, from 16.

Here’s where it gets interesting: You could receive some of the credit as an advance on your 2021 taxes.

The bill would make the credit fully refundable, which means you can receive money from it as a tax refund even if your tax bill is reduced to zero. And half of that money could be advanced to households over the next six months (based on their 2020 tax information, or 2019 if that was unavailable). It’s not clear how frequently payments would be made — perhaps monthly — but under the bill they would begin in July.

The changes are effective for 2021 only, though at least some Democrats would like to make it permanent.

Married couples who have modified adjusted gross income up to $150,000 (or heads of household up to $112,500 and single filers up to $75,000) would receive the full value of the new benefit.

But after that, the extra amount above the original $2,000 credit — either $1,000 or $1,600 per child — is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 in modified adjusted gross income that exceeds those levels. (For joint filers with one child age 6 to 17, the extra amount would be phased out at about $170,000.)

At that point, the tax credit levels out at $2,000, and is then subject to the current income limits. The $2,000 benefit begins to phase out when married filers have adjusted gross income of $400,000 ($200,000 for singles).

Should the bill become law, the advance payments would total up to half the value of the credit the household is eligible to receive. (The other half would be claimed on the 2021 return.) But exactly how often the payments would be sent out depends on what the Treasury Department decides is feasible.

Here’s how it might work for a couple earning $150,000 or less. With two children, ages 7 and 9, they would be eligible for a $6,000 credit ($3,000 times two). If the payments were made monthly, the family would receive $500 per month starting in July and lasting through the end of the year. The remaining $3,000 would be claimed in 2021 on their tax return.

For 2021 only, the bill would increase for childless households the size of the earned-income tax credit, which helps those at the lower end of the income scale, and make more taxpayers eligible.

The maximum credit amount for childless people would increase to $1,502, from $543.

The bill would also broaden the age range: People without children would be able to claim the credit beginning at age 19 instead of 25, with the exception of certain full-time students. The upper age limit, 65, would be eliminated.

Married but separated people could be treated as not married for the purpose of the credit if they don’t file a joint tax return.

This would apply only if the taxpayer lived with a qualifying child for more than half of the taxable year and didn’t have the same principal home as the spouse at least six months of the year. A separation decree or agreement would also suffice, as long as the individual didn’t live with the spouse by the end of the taxable year.

This change would be permanent.

  • For the purposes of calculating the credit in the 2021 tax year, taxpayers could choose to use their 2019 income if it was higher than 2021, according to a Senate aide.

  • People who otherwise would be eligible but whose children do not have Social Security numbers would be permitted to claim the version of the credit available to childless households. This change would be permanent.

  • Taxpayers wouldn’t be disqualified for the credit in 2021 until they had investment income of $10,000, up from $3,650. This change would be permanent, with the $10,000 threshold indexed to inflation.

Housing

The bill would provide assistance to people in danger of being evicted and to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.Credit…Anna Watts for The New York Times

The bill would provide billions of dollars in rental and utility assistance to people who are struggling and in danger of being evicted from their homes.

About $27 billion would go toward emergency rental assistance. The vast majority of it would replenish the so-called Coronavirus Relief Fund, created by the CARES Act and distributed through state, local and tribal governments, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. That’s on top of the $25 billion in assistance provided by the relief package passed in December.

To receive financial assistance — which could be used for rent, utilities and other housing expenses — households would have to meet several conditions. Household income could not exceed 80 percent of the area median income, at least one household member must be at risk of homelessness or housing instability, and individuals would have to qualify for unemployment benefits or have experienced financial hardship (directly or indirectly) because of the pandemic.

Lower-income families that have been unemployed for three months or more would be given priority for assistance.

The bill would provide nearly $10 billion to help homeowners struggling with mortgage payments, utility bills and other housing costs.

Roughly $100 million would be dedicated to housing counseling.

About $5 billion would be allocated to help the homeless.

Student Loans

There would be a big one for people who already have debt.

You wouldn’t have to pay income taxes on forgiven debt if you qualify for loan forgiveness or cancellation — for example, if you’ve been in an income-driven repayment plan for the requisite number of years, if your school defrauded you or if Congress or the president wipes away $10,000 of debt for large numbers of people.

This would be the case for debt forgiven between Jan. 1, 2021, and the end of 2025.

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Jeff Bezos excursions Relativity Area headquarters with Tim Ellis

Jeff Bezos tours Relativity Space headquarters with Tim Ellis

The row of two-story 3D printer bays is located at the company’s headquarters.

Relativity space

The founders of two private rocket construction companies met today – one, the richest person in the world; the other, the head of a company that pushes the boundaries of manufacturing.

Jeff Bezos visited relativity space’s shiny new “factory of the future” on Friday, a person familiar with the visit told CNBC to tour the Long Beach, Calif. Facility with CEO Tim Ellis. Relativity moved from its previous headquarters in Inglewood to the new facility last summer.

The nature of the visit to Relativity’s headquarters was unclear.

Ellis previously worked as a propulsion engineer at Bezos’ space company Blue Origin – and was blamed for doing the process of 3D printing metal rocket parts in-house. Ellis left Blue Origin in 2015 to start Relativity with Jordan Noone, a college classmate and former SpaceX propulsion engineer.

Relativity declined CNBC’s request for comment on Bezos’ visit, while Blue Origin did not respond to requests for comment.

The factory floor of Relativity’s new headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Relativity space

The theory of relativity has focused on the 3D printing approach, using huge printers and metallurgy developed in-house to build 95% of the parts of its rockets. Ellis points out that 3D printing drastically reduces the complexity of his missiles, but also makes them faster to build and modify. According to Relativity, the simpler process will be able to convert raw materials into a rocket on the launchpad in less than 60 days.

The company’s first rocket, Terran 1, is expected to launch for the first time later this year. Terran 1 costs 12 million US dollars per launch and is designed to transport around 1,250 kilograms into low-earth orbit. This puts Terran 1 in the “medium lift” segment of the US launch market between Electron from Rocket Lab and Falcon 9 from SpaceX in terms of both price and performance.

Relativity is also working on a second, larger rocket called the Terran R, which aims to rival SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in both launchability and reusability. Terran R is the first of several new initiatives that Ellis is expected to introduce in the coming year. The company has raised more than $ 680 million since it was founded five years ago.

Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon, speaks in Washington, DC on September 19, 2019.

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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1000’s of Microsoft Prospects Could Have Been Victims of Hack Tied to China

Thousands of Microsoft Customers May Have Been Victims of Hack Tied to China

U.S. corporations and government agencies using a Microsoft email service have been compromised in an aggressive hacking campaign likely sponsored by the Chinese government, Microsoft said.

The number of victims is estimated at tens of thousands and, according to some security experts, could rise if the investigation into the breach continues. According to Volexity, the cybersecurity firm that discovered the hack, the hackers secretly attacked multiple targets in January, but their efforts escalated in recent weeks as Microsoft fixed the vulnerabilities exploited in the attack.

The US government’s cybersecurity agency issued an emergency warning on Wednesday fearing that the hacking campaign had hit a large number of targets. The warning prompted federal agencies to patch their systems immediately. On Friday, cybersecurity reporter Brian Krebs reported that the attack hit at least 30,000 Microsoft customers.

“We are concerned that there are large numbers of victims,” ​​said White House press secretary Jen Psaki during a press conference on Friday. The attack “could have far-reaching effects,” she added.

Federal officials struggled to understand how the most recent hack compares to last year’s penetration by Russian hackers into a variety of federal agencies and corporate systems in what is known as the SolarWinds attack. In this case, the Russian hackers put code in an update to the SolarWinds network management software. While around 18,000 customers of the company have downloaded the code, so far there is only evidence that the Russian hackers have stolen material from nine government agencies and around 100 companies.

In the hack Microsoft attributed to the Chinese, it is estimated that around 30,000 customers were affected when the hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Exchange, an email and calendar server created by Microsoft. These systems are used by a wide range of customers, from small businesses to local and state agencies to some military contractors. The hackers were able to steal email and install malware to continue monitoring their targets, Microsoft said in a blog post, but Microsoft said it had no idea how extensive the theft was.

The campaign was spotted in January, said Steven Adair, founder of Volexity. The hackers quietly stole emails from multiple destinations, exploiting a flaw that allowed them to access email servers without a password.

“This is what we consider to be really secret,” Adair said, adding that the discovery sparked a frantic investigation. “It made us tear everything apart.” Volexity reported its findings to Microsoft and the US government, he added.

The attack escalated at the end of February. The hackers began weaving multiple vulnerabilities together and targeting a wider group of victims. “We knew that what we had reported and seen as very secret was now being combined and chained to another exploit,” said Adair. “It just got worse and worse.”

According to a cybersecurity researcher who investigated the U.S. investigation into the hacks and who has no authority to speak publicly about the matter, the hackers attacked as many victims as possible online, hitting small businesses, local governments and large credit unions. The errors used by the hackers, known as zero-days, were previously unknown to Microsoft.

“We are closely following Microsoft’s emergency patch for previously unknown vulnerabilities in Exchange Server software and reporting possible compromises between US think tanks and defense companies,” said Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to the White House.

“This is the real deal,” tweeted Christopher Krebs, former director of the US agency for cybersecurity and infrastructure. (Mr. Krebs is not related to the cybersecurity reporter who posted the number of victims.)

Mr Krebs added that companies and organizations using Microsoft’s Exchange program should assume they were hacked sometime between February 26th and March 3rd and should work on it quickly that past week Install patches published by Microsoft.

Microsoft said a Chinese hacking group called Hafnium, “a government sponsored group that operates out of China,” was behind the hack.

Since the company announced the attack, other non-hafnium hackers have started exploiting the vulnerabilities for target organizations that haven’t patched their systems, Microsoft said. “Microsoft continues to see increased use of these vulnerabilities when multiple unpatched systems are attacked by multiple malicious actors,” the company said.

Patching these systems is not an easy task. Email servers are difficult to maintain, even for security professionals, and many companies lack the expertise to securely host their own servers. For years, Microsoft has been pushing these customers to move to the cloud, where Microsoft can manage security for them. Industry experts said the security incidents could encourage customers to move to the cloud and be a financial boon to Microsoft.

Because of the scale of the attack, many Exchange users are likely to be at risk, Adair said. “Even people who fixed this asap, there is an extremely high chance that they have already been compromised.”

Nicole Perlroth contributed to the reporting.

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Extra restaurant jobs and the stimulus package deal foreshadow the trade’s coming restoration

More restaurant jobs and the stimulus package foreshadow the industry's coming recovery

Restaurants and bars hired 286,000 workers in February after several months of job losses. This is the latest sign that the industry is recovering after a long, cold winter.

Freezing temperatures, combined with a resurgence of new Covid-19 cases, hurt restaurants in late 2020 and into the new year.

“As of now in 2021, I’d say it looks worse than October and November,” said Amit Sharma, senior analyst at Rabobank.

But after severe winter storms, some parts of the country are starting to get warmer. The vaccine distribution, which started slowly, has picked up rapidly over the past month. More than 54 million Americans – about 16% of the total population – received at least one dose Thursday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is marketed through Merck, will further accelerate these numbers.

“If you look at our forecast for the future, a big part of our view of the rest of 2021 and even through 2022 is the speed at which this vaccine will be introduced,” said David Henkes, Technomic senior principal.

In response to the accelerated distribution of vaccines, states have begun to relax or even prepare for capacity constraints in restaurants and other venues, although officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended slowing down the removal of restrictions. Since the beginning of March, at least 35 states have eased restrictions in some way. For example, Connecticut plans to allow restaurants to operate at full capacity by the end of March.

However, a recent industry survey revealed palpable signs of pain. The National Restaurant Association surveyed 3,000 restaurant owners between February 2 and 10. Respondents were pessimistic about the industry’s recovery efforts. About a third said it would take seven to 12 months for business conditions in their restaurant to return to normal, and 29% said it would take at least a year.

Just a few weeks later, sentiment is feeling a little brighter, partly due to progress made in approving the latest stimulus package. If the bill were passed, $ 1,400 would be deposited into the bank accounts of many consumers who may be spending at least some of that money on food while still feeling uncomfortable while traveling. Democrats are working to get the plan approved by March 14th.

“What we saw when these were on display is that restaurants were a beneficiary,” said Henkes. “There’s a pent-up demand from consumers.”

Additionally, the stimulus plan includes a program that grants restaurants up to $ 10 million in grants if they lost money last year. These funds could help independent restaurants pay bills, hire staff and stay afloat in time for the warmer spring temperatures. Fourteen percent of NRA respondents said they would likely or definitely close their doors within the next three months if they did not receive government support.

Even with another stimulus package, Sharma doesn’t expect the restaurant industry to snap back immediately once everyone has access to the Covid-19 vaccine, based on Australia’s recovery.

“After their cases hit single digits in July and August, it took them another six months for their total food service sales to approach pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “Cases – as vaccines go up – will fall and there is some catching up to do and excitement, but it will take time for consumers to get back to their pre-pandemic habits.”

Technomic’s latest forecast predicts that the average annual growth rate of restaurants and bars will only decrease by 3.6% between 2019 and 2021.

Based on discussions with restaurant operators, Sharma expects the second quarter of this year to see the highest year-over-year growth. Not only was it the hardest hit quarter of last year due to lockdowns, but stimulus checks and vaccine distribution should drive sales.

Henkes said he sees July 4th as a tipping point where the restaurant industry’s recovery will really accelerate.

At the moment the trends are still looking crooked. Fast food restaurants recovered faster than full-service restaurants thanks to lower prices and take-away expertise. Full-service restaurants were also impacted by indoor restrictions and fewer outdoor customers in the winter. Additionally, chains have outperformed independent restaurants and gained market share as mom and pop businesses close their doors permanently.

By the time most U.S. consumers are ready to resume their pre-pandemic routines, the U.S. restaurant industry landscape could look very different.

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Annmarie Reinhart Smith, Who Battled for Retail Staff, Dies at 61

Annmarie Reinhart Smith, Who Battled for Retail Workers, Dies at 61

This obituary is part of a series about people who died from the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Annmarie Reinhart Smith had worked for Toys “R” Us for nearly three decades when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017, which resulted in store closures and layoffs of 33,000 workers, including her. With no severance pay, she remained frustrated on a Facebook page called the Dead Giraffe Society, named after the business’s mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe.

A labor advocacy group that helped Toys “R” Us employees mobilize to seek compensation such as severance pay and back payments took note of this and recruited them.

Ms. Reinhart Smith was soon on Capitol Hill, prosecuting lawmakers, and meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Cory Booker, among others, to seek their assistance. She teamed up with other former employees to march around Manhattan in protest and shoulder a fake coffin on Geoffrey.

“It was the beginning of something we didn’t think would ever mean,” said Maryjane M. Williams, a friend and 20-year-old employee of Toys “R” Us, who joined the protests. She said, ‘What do we have to lose? Let’s go.'”

After months of public pressure campaigning against the private equity owners of Toys “R” Us, a $ 20 million hardship fund was set up for the laid-off workers. Ms. Reinhart Smith also became the lead plaintiff in a bankruptcy court class action lawsuit seeking fair compensation that raised an additional $ 2 million for former employees.

“She was our voice,” said Alison M. Paolillo, who worked with Ms. Reinhart Smith for a decade. “She fought for us.”

Ms. Reinhart Smith died in a Durham, NC hospital on February 17. She was 61 years old. The cause was Covid-19, said her family.

Annmarie Reinhart was born on June 11, 1959 in Levittown, NY, on Long Island. Her mother, Diane Patricia (Switzer) Reinhart, was a housewife who later worked in factory administration. Her father, William Louis Reinhart III, owned a flooring business. She was the oldest of her three children.

She attended Huntington High School and later the Agricultural and Technical College in Farmingdale, now Farmingdale State College. She had two sons, Brandon P. Smith and Jordan J. Smith, with longtime partner, Aaron J. Smith, whom she married in 2011.

Updated

March 6, 2021, 11:15 a.m. ET

She survived her husband and sons with a sister, Carleen P. Reinhart; a brother, William C. Reinhart IV; a half-brother, Kenny Johnson; two stepbrothers, Dean Malazzo and Paul Malazzo; and two grandchildren.

Reinhart Smith joined Toys “R” Us in 1988 as a cashier in Huntington. Over the next 29 years, she worked her way up to a variety of management positions at the chain in both Long Island and Durham, NC, where she and her husband moved in 2016.

A warm woman, proud of her Irish heritage (she had several green shamrocks tattooed on her right ankle), Mrs. Reinhart Smith watched children grow up year after year when they came into her shops. She also caught up with Ornery clients when she submitted an updated profile to The Progressive magazine, like one who had a Power Ranger character cast at her and left a scar on her forehead.

In 2005, private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust took control of the company in a leveraged buyout that left it with $ 5 billion in debt.

Terrysa Guerra, the political director of United For Respect, the group that recruited Ms. Reinhart Smith, credited her with helping Bain and KKR create the hardship fund. “People saw her as a leader and a trustworthy voice,” said Ms. Guerra.

On the Dead Giraffe Society’s Facebook page, people who once poked fun at Ms. Reinhart Smith’s seemingly futile struggle thanked her and the other union leaders for winning the payouts, even if a week or more of groceries was enough to pay a monthly rent.

While Ms. Reinhart Smith described the subsequent $ 2 million bankruptcy settlement as a “slap in the face,” the case was viewed as a precedent. Former Shopko and Art Van Furniture employees, both of whom recently filed for bankruptcy protection and closed them down, have since followed a similar playbook in the battle for hardship and severance pay, Ms. Guerra said.

Ms. Reinhart Smith continued to advocate workers – she helped organize workers at other retailers, urged Congress to pass a law called the Stop Wall Street Looting Act that targeted private equity, and advocated a minimum wage of 15 USD a.

“If she believed people were going to enter, she would just show up and be the spokesman, whether that person wanted it or not,” said Mr. Smith, her husband. “She was just that kind of person.”

She continued to work in retail, most recently at a Belk department store in Durham. Belk, who was also heavily burdened with debt following a leveraged buyout, filed for bankruptcy protection in February but quickly resurfaced after a financial restructuring.

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Why central banks need to get into digital currencies

Why central banks want to get into digital currencies

The intense interest in cryptocurrencies and the Covid-19 pandemic have sparked a debate among central banks about whether they should issue their own digital currencies.

China has led the way in developing its own digital currency. It has been working on the initiative since 2014. Chinese central bank officials have already carried out massive trials in major cities like Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.

“China’s experiment is very extensive,” said J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “When the world arrives for the Beijing Winter Olympics next winter, they will use the new digital renminbi to shop, stay in hotels and buy meals in restaurants. The world will work.” [central bank digital currency] very soon, within the coming year. “

The USA are playing catch-up. At the end of February 2021, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the US would talk to the public about the digital dollar this year.

Proponents claim that central bank digital currencies could facilitate cross-border transactions, promote financial inclusion and ensure the stability of the payment system. There are also privacy and surveillance risks with government-issued digital currencies. And in times of economic uncertainty, people may be more likely to get their funds from commercial banks, which speeds up the bank run.

Watch the video above to find out how central bank digital currencies can become the future of global finance.