Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some very compelling stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
Early voting is underway, the votes are being counted, and we’ll share the numbers with you; the IRS announces an important deadline for some taxpayers in disaster-stricken parts of the country; and President Joe Biden releases a national security memorandum regarding an issue that’s a growing threat to the country.
Also, an enormous fast food chain faces legal trouble over contaminated products, and a leading online retail giant adds a significant money-saving benefit for millions of people.
Striking Numbers From North Carolina Early Voting
Nearly 3,000 more Republicans than Democrats have turned in ballots so far in the key swing state of North Carolina, according to data provided by the University of Florida’s Election Lab.Each party has turned in just under 700,000 in-person early or mail-in ballots, and over 600,000 unaffiliated or minor-party voters have also returned ballots in the state.
Data from the Election Lab points out that Republicans also have early and mail-in voting advantages over Democrats in both Arizona, where the party has a 53,000 vote advantage, and Nevada, where Republicans have returned about 12,000 more ballots so far.
However, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Democrats have taken a greater than 350,000-vote advantage over Republicans, but this includes mail-in ballots only.
As of yesterday, more than 2 million people had already voted in Georgia, and another 1.3 million individuals have cast ballots in Michigan. Additionally, over 700,000 people have voted so far in Wisconsin, where high voter turnout earlier this week sparked system outages and delays throughout the state.
By the way, none of these three states report party affiliation with their voting numbers.
Data provided by the Election Lab show that so far, around 16 million mail-in ballots and nearly 12 million in-person early votes have been cast nationwide. Around half of these early votes were cast in states that report party affiliation, and so far, more Democrats have voted than Republicans.
Compared with the 2020 election, Republican voters this year appear to be eating into Democrats’ early voting lead, and more Republicans appear to be voting early in this election than four years ago.
IRS Tax Filing Due in 8 States Next Week
Earlier this week, the IRS announced the final deadlines for filing tax returns in a large number of states where people have been impacted by natural disasters, and some of those taxpayers have only one more week to file.The agency now says that taxpayers affected by disasters in parts of eight states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, have until the beginning of next month to file their 2023 returns.
The IRS also recently extended tax-filing deadlines for seven states affected by two recent hurricanes, Helene and Milton. Taxpayers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and some parts of Tennessee and Virginia now have until May 2025 to file both their 2023 and 2024 tax returns.
The IRS also announced that taxpayers in a number of other disaster-stricken states have until February 2025 to file their returns, and for a list of those states, simply visit the IRS website at irs.gov.
The disaster filing extensions were all granted as part of the agency’s regular relief measures, and the IRS says that both individual and business taxpayers whose addresses are located within a disaster area automatically get the extra time to file their returns.
So you know, taxpayers are able to deduct any losses that are attributable to a federally declared disaster, and in some cases, people can opt for an IRS payment plan if the disaster causes them to endure financial hardship.
However, not filing taxes by the due date can result in a significant “Failure to File” penalty, which maxes out at 25 percent of the owed taxes.
Biden Issues Nation’s First National Security Memorandum on AI
Biden has just directed the United States government to take the lead in developing “safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.”Yesterday, Biden released a national security memorandum, which says that AI has emerged as an era-defining technology. The memo points out that AI has significant and growing relevance to our nation’s security, and that the United States must lead the world in its responsible application.
The directive also orders the U.S. government to promote an international consensus on the rules and norms for the use of AI.
A White House national economic adviser says that sustaining U.S. preeminence in the AI frontier will also require strong domestic foundations in semiconductors, infrastructure, large data centers, and clean energy.
The directive also calls for a framework for Washington to work with its allies to make sure that AI is “developed and used in ways that adhere to international law while protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
By the way, the memo also directs U.S. intelligence agencies to inform technology companies of incidents where foreign entities have been found trying to steal their intellectual property.
The administration believes that ensuring government leadership over the private development of AI is a key means of maintaining a competitive edge with nations like communist China, which are implementing their own governmental approaches to AI development.
It’s a story with significant international implications and one that we’ll all be keeping a close watch on.
McDonald’s Sued for E. Coli Contaminated Food
Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filed in Cook County, Illinois, against McDonald’s, after a Colorado man ate food contaminated with E. coli bacteria and became ill.The complaint says that earlier this month, the plaintiff ate food from a McDonald’s outlet in Greeley, Colorado. A couple of days later, he became sick, and a doctor later determined that he tested positive for the same E. coli variant linked to a recent outbreak of the bacteria.
You should know that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently warned people about an E. coli outbreak across a number of states, which they eventually linked to Quarter Pounder hamburgers sold by McDonald’s. The agency says that although most E. coli bacteria are harmless, some of them can result in kidney failure, permanent health issues, and even death.
The fast food chain has confirmed that its products were associated with the outbreak, and the company says that onions sourced from one of its suppliers could very well be the source of the contamination.
The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s negligently manufactured and distributed their products, failed to test them properly before putting them up for sale, and did not adequately monitor the sanitary conditions of its restaurant.
According to the CDC, this latest E. coli outbreak has so far resulted in 49 infections across 10 states, and these infections have caused a number of hospitalizations and even one death. Most of the cases have been found in Colorado, followed by Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah.
The CDC also points out that the specific food item that is contaminated has not been identified yet. However, the agency says that McDonald’s has stopped using “fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties” in several states, and earlier this week, the fast food chain also announced that it was removing Quarter Pounder hamburgers from its restaurants in the impacted areas.
Amazon Adds Gas Benefits to Prime Membership
Amazon says that its Prime members in the United States can now save money on fuel at a whole bunch of gas stations, including BP, Amoco, and ampm.The company says that this new gas discount could save each member who takes advantage of it nearly $70 every year, and it’s part of the company’s initiative to expand the range of benefits available to its members.
To tap into the fuel savings, Prime members must first visit Amazon’s dedicated webpage and link their Amazon account with BP’s rewards program. Members can then use BP’s rewards app to find participating gas stations, where they can either enter their phone number or use a linked payment method to get the discount at the pump.
If you’ve already ditched the gas car for an electric vehicle, Amazon’s got you covered. They just announced plans to provide discounts on electric vehicle charging in partnership with BP’s “pulse” charging network.
Since its launch in 2005, Amazon Prime has expanded the benefits of its members to include unlimited free delivery, several entertainment options, music streaming services, a number of hefty discounts during major sales events, and more.
According to one research firm, earlier this year Amazon had 180 million Prime subscribers in the United States, and that’s 8 percent more than they had just a year ago.
By the way, this new fuel benefit should be available to Prime members beginning sometime next year.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Don’t forget the News Brief Motto: We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Bill Watterson, who said: “Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.”
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Friday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
