Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some very compelling stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
Former President Donald Trump calls for ending the tax on Social Security payments for seniors, authorities have released an autopsy report on the Trump shooter, and Vice President Kamala Harris has earned enough votes to secure the Democratic party’s nomination for president. Also, a federal appeals court rules that minority groups can’t unite to claim vote dilution in redistricting, and Catholic cardinals and bishops worldwide are demanding an apology from the International Olympic Committee.
Trump Calls for Ending Tax on Social Security Payments for Seniors
Earlier this week, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security. On Wednesday, he repeated this statement during a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, adding that seniors won’t pay such a tax if he’s elected later this year.Taxes on Social Security payments date back to the early 1980s, when then-President Ronald Reagan signed a measure into law that was designed to ensure the solvency of the program’s trust fund.
About 40 percent of Americans who receive Social Security benefits have to pay federal income taxes on them, and the taxes are based on their total income. Under the current federal law, retired individuals who earn less than $25,000 per year, or $32,000 for married couples, pay no taxes on their Social Security payments. For those earning more than that, 50 percent of their Social Security payments are subject to income tax under the law.
It’s the first time Trump has suggested no taxes on Social Security payments. His comments and posts this week have provided no further details on possible implementation plans.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has said that Republicans should not make proposals to cut Social Security or Medicare. Earlier this month, the Republican Party also adopted a policy platform that rejects cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and also dismissed any proposed lifting of the retirement age.
A nonprofit group called The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has raised concerns about removing taxes on Social Security, saying that the plan could increase deficits significantly if the tax is eliminated without an alternative source of funding.
Advocacy groups for seniors like AARP have supported the idea of ending taxes on Social Security payments, saying that the program’s purpose is to provide seniors with financial security.
Trump Shooter Autopsy Report Released
Authorities in Butler County, Pennsylvania, have released a report providing more details on the death of the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.Butler County Coroner William Young found that Thomas Matthew Crooks died from a single gunshot wound to the head on July 13, and his official cause of death was a homicide. The Secret Service confirmed that a sniper team shot Crooks after he opened fire at the rally.
Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe testified at a recent Senate hearing that he had traveled to the Butler rally site to better understand the security failure that almost resulted in the death of Trump. He said, “What I saw made me ashamed,” and that “I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”
The motive behind Crooks’s actions remains unclear, although FBI officials found a suspicious social media account linked to him. The account, active between 2019 and 2020, posted over 700 comments, some with anti-Semitic and anti-immigration sentiments. However, the FBI is still working to confirm whether or not the account belonged to Crooks.
Andrew Torba, the head of social media website Gab, mentioned that the FBI had requested information about an account believed to belong to Crooks. Torba describes the account as left-wing and pro-immigration.
In a Senate hearing, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate acknowledged the account but could not definitively confirm its connection to Crooks.
Harris Secures Votes for Democratic Presidential Nomination
Yesterday, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison said that Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.The DNC began its virtual roll call of delegates on Thursday to meet ballot certification deadlines. Harris reached the delegate threshold needed for the nomination, with over 3,923 delegate signatures. She will formally accept the nomination after the voting process ends.
Harris said she is “honored” to be the party’s presumptive nominee, and will formally accept the presidential nomination next week when voting officially ends. The DNC will support Harris at the convention in Chicago, which is to be held from Aug. 19 to 22.
As the presumptive nominee, Harris will select a running mate before her campaign stop in Philadelphia on Aug. 6. Potential candidates include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
So you know, the early roll call was initiated to secure ballot access in all 50 states and to prevent legal challenges. The nominee will be selected officially on Aug. 7, although no other candidate has met the delegate threshold to challenge Harris.
Minority Groups Can’t Join to Claim Vote Dilution in Redistricting: Appeals Court
Just two days ago, a federal appeals court ruled that minority groups are now unable to unite to claim their votes are diluted when challenging redistricting. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed its 1988 decision that allowed minority groups to join together to do so under the Voting Rights Act.Federal Judge Edith Jones wrote for the court’s majority, saying that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does not permit separate minority groups to combine populations for a vote dilution claim. The court holds that this decision is consistent with both the act and previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
The case arose from redistricting changes in Galveston County, Texas, which no longer included a district with a majority of black and Hispanic voters following the 2020 census. Lawsuits were filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, former Galveston County Constable Terry Petteway, along with other groups and individuals. They argue that the new map violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of black and Latino voters.
The court decision came after the full court decided to reconsider the case. It not only reversed the 1988 ruling but also overturned two rulings in the Galveston case: one from a district court and another from a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit.
The ruling has made it more difficult for minorities to challenge redistricting by striking down previous precedent. Some dissenting judges, including Federal Judge Catharina Haynes, argued that the 1988 ruling should have been upheld.
Catholic Cardinals and Bishops Demand Formal Apology
Two dozen Catholic cardinals and bishops worldwide are demanding that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) apologize after last week’s opening ceremony presentation, which included drag queens depicting “The Last Supper” as portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci.In an open letter addressed to the IOC, they call the presentation an “intentionally hateful mockery” of religions, demanding the IOC to “repudiate this blasphemous action and apologize to all people of faith.”
The signatories include bishops from the United States, France, Nigeria, Peru, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and other countries.
The IOC issued a statement early this week, saying that “there was never any intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief” and that “they were sorry.”
The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, explained that the scene was meant to celebrate diversity. He said during an interview with France station BFMTV that there wasn’t “any desire of mocking anyone” and that the particular sequence was called “festivity.”
But several Catholic leaders have individually rejected the organizers’ apology in comments posted on social media.
In a video posted on X this Monday, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, described the Olympic organizers’ apology as a “masterpiece of woke duplicity.”
So you know, the Paris Olympics closing ceremony is set for Aug. 11.
And now, looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Saturday edition (the weekend edition) of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Whatever your plans are this weekend, when you’re out and about, it would sure mean a great deal to us if you could tell some folks you know about our program, and thank you in advance for helping us grow the News Brief family.
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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 David Brinkley, who said: “Numerous politicians have seized absolute power and muzzled the press. Never in history has the press seized absolute power and muzzled the politicians.”
Brinkley was a highly regarded network television journalist for decades and decades.
Before we go, you should know that today is National Watermelon Day. Watermelon is 92 percent water, and those in the know tell us that watermelon is related to cucumber, squash, and pumpkin.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The News Brief program is written by Sharon Reardon with production assistance by Clare and a variety of other behind-the-scenes professionals working diligently to keep you briefed each day.
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Enjoy the remainder of your Saturday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. Let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have an awesome weekend, and bye for now.
