President Trump has returned from his holiday in Florida and is officially back to work. Congress is back in session tomorrow and there is a lot to get done. Lawmakers will be voting on many items like immigration, disaster relief, and more. Will the two sides of the aisle be able to work together, or will divisions hinder Washington?
Colby Hall is the managing editor at Mediate. He joins Cheddar to explain what agenda items will immediately be addressed. Washington is looking to tackle the issue of immigration with the Dreamers Act. There is also a disaster relief bill on the table that could be record-breaking. And of course, passing an official budget deal.
Hall notes the importance passing these legislative measures could have on the midterm election. We are 308 days away from the midterm elections, and it will be a race to determine whether Republicans hold onto their majority in Congress.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
