N.Y. senator previews presidential run
TROY, New York -- A day after jumping into the presidential race in a Manhattan television studio, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand returned Wednesday to her upstate New York hometown to preview a campaign that is expected to put gender front and center.
Speaking outside a Troy diner she said is "a stone's throw" from her family's house, Gillibrand framed the campaign as an extension of motherhood.
"I'm going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I will fight for your children as hard as I would fight for my own," Gillibrand, 52, said as she was joined by her husband, Jonathan, their 10- and 15-year-old sons, and her mother, Polly.
Gillibrand, who announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee Tuesday on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, won't be the only woman seeking the White House -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii have already jumped into the race, and several other women are expected to soon follow them.
First appointed to the Senate in 2009, Gillibrand has been among the chamber's most vocal members on issues like sexual harassment, military sexual assault, equal pay for women and paid family leave.
As she campaigned for her second full term in the Senate last year, Gillibrand pledged she would serve out her six-year term if re-elected. On Wednesday, she said she had been moved by the "urgency of this moment," saying that it called for taking on President Donald Trump "directly."
Judge asked to repeal abortion limits
MADISON, Wis. -- Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin asked a federal judge on Wednesday to repeal state laws that make it more difficult for women, particularly in rural areas, to receive abortions.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison targets restrictions enacted by the Republican Legislature under former Gov. Scott Walker. The lawsuit comes 10 days after Walker left office.
Planned Parenthood wants to repeal laws requiring that only doctors perform abortions; women seeking medicine that causes abortions see the same doctor on two visits; and doctors be physically present when dispensing abortion-causing drugs.
The requirements do not enhance the health and safety of patients but rather unconstitutionally limit access to abortions in Wisconsin, argued the lawsuit filed by attorney Lester Pines for Planned Parenthood, its employees and patients.
Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life, rejected the characterization of the laws as restricting access to abortions.
"We want to protect the safety of women and Planned Parenthood doesn't care about that," she said.
IRS won't penalize tax underestimates
Taxpayers who miscalculated how much they'll owe the Internal Revenue Service this year won't get hit with penalties -- up to a certain point.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said it won't penalize individuals who underpaid their estimated taxes for 2018, as long as they paid 85 percent of what they owe through withholding or estimated quarterly payments.
The 2017 tax overhaul changed the tax brackets, expanded the child tax credit and nearly doubled the standard deduction to $24,000 for a married couple -- all changes that affect how much an individual will owe in taxes this year. This is the first filing season individuals are paying taxes under the new rules.
Salaried workers have their taxes withheld from their paychecks. Business owners and self-employed people pay estimated taxes to the IRS quarterly. Those who still owe taxes will have to pay the IRS the additional tax they owe by April 15, the tax filing deadline, or file for a six-month extension.
The announcement comes after the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Wyden of Oregon, urged the agency to be lenient with penalties as taxpayers adapt to the changes stemming from the tax overhaul.
Virginia sued over guns-at-school denial
JONESVILLE, Va. -- A Virginia county school board is suing the state after the superintendent was denied a designation allowing him to carry guns on school property -- part of a plan to allow armed staff members at schools.
News outlets reported that the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Lee County Circuit Court.
In July, the Lee County School Board voted to arm teachers, calling it cost-effective protection against school shootings. The board wanted armed employees designated "special conservators of the peace" to exempt them from a ban on guns in schools, but the state's attorney general said that would violate the law.
In September, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services denied Superintendent Brian Austin's application for the designation. The denial was upheld Friday.
Teachers are allowed to carry weapons in several states and others are considering similar measures after last year's massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people died.
A Section on 01/17/2019