Monday, April 21, 2025

OPINION: As Tariffs Tank Markets, Economy Thirsts for Tax Cuts

Headline USA Editor
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OPINION: As Tariffs Tank Markets, Economy Thirsts for Tax Cuts

(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) More carrots, please!

Feeling flogged by sticks, Wall Street greeted President Donald J. Trump’s Liberation Day with a bellowing Bronx cheer.

On Wednesday, Trump unveiled 10% across-the-board tariffs on all imports, plus reciprocal taxes tailored to foil foreign tariffs on U.S. goods. Financial markets opened Thursday and swiftly wilted.

After China slapped a retaliatory 34% tariff on American products early Friday, the key indices dropped like bombs from a B-52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 2,231 points (5.50%). The S&P 500 plunged 322 points (5.97%). The NASDAQ plummeted 962 points (5.82%).

If the USA must absorb tariffs as long-run expenses (rather than watch Trump use them, short-term, to lean on foreign leaders), they should strike a vibrant, very special economy. Instead, tariffs are smacking Americans still anemic from Bidenomics.

Nonetheless, Trump predicted Wednesday in the Rose Garden: “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.” He pledged, “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country,” along with “more production at home.”

Hooray!

But where will companies find the cash to repatriate foreign assembly lines, expand domestic operations, and otherwise reinvigorate U.S. manufacturing — especially after $6.6 trillion in market value evaporated on Thursday and Friday?

Trump’s stick-heavy recipe lacks one key ingredient: Carrots.

The all-American industrial renaissance that Trump rightly envisions would arrive sooner, if lower taxes, instant amortization, and other catalysts were humming within days, not whenever Congressional Republicans get around to them.

From twisting arms on Capitol Hill to rallying taxpayers across America, Trump should push tax cuts as hard as he presses tariffs. Indeed, tax cuts should have come first.

What a pity that Trump did not promote these policies in reverse:

First, slash taxes and let embattled American citizens and companies keep more of their money. A boom promptly would have erupted.

Second, as output soared, Trump should have invited world leaders to the White House and proposed 0% tariffs among these trade partners. If they agreed, Hallelujah! The world would enjoy pure, free trade.

Third, if these countries rebuffed Trump’s offer, however, he then could have hurled reciprocal tariffs like lightning bolts from atop the moral highlands.

Instead, uncertainty remains the enemy of growth. This suggested timetable would have furnished answers, not today’s burning questions:

What tax rate will corporations pay after January 1? How quickly may a factory amortize a brand-new boiler? Will Canadian aluminum prices include a 25%, 10%, or 0% tariff?

As of second quarter 2025, nobody knows.

Congressional Republicans appear to be coalescing around One Big, Beautiful Bill, brimming with permanently low Trump-45 tax rates, a new 15% corporate tax (down from 21%) for domestic manufacturers, and other vital reforms.

Alas, Republicans lack the urgency that this moment demands. Senators, in particular, discuss tax cuts by Memorial Day or “later this year.” Others would postpone Trump’s repeal of taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits until 2026!

This is dangerous.

These tax cuts should be passed and signed by May Day. Tax relief should take effect that morning, if not retroactively to January 20 or even January 1, 2025. At once, this would leave additional money in American wallets. Businesses would bloom among lower tax rates, more generous deductions, and, ideally, immediate depreciation for factory construction and equipment.

A burgeoning economy would position Republicans to keep Congress. However, GOP dithering on tax reduction could delay prosperity and buoy Democrats’ mid-term prospects.

Meanwhile, some Republicans reportedly are considering hiking tax rates up to 40% on $1-million-plus earners. It is abominable that any Republican would parrot Bernie Sanders’ chief talking point: Tax millionaires and billionaires — good and hard.

Trump’s policy is an audacious wager.

Best-case scenario: Scores of nations mirror Israel’s and Vietnam’s ambitions to negotiate with Trump and set reciprocal tariffs at 0%.

Worst-case scenario: Trade War I explodes, nations dig financial trenches, and attack each other with tariff gas.

Mr. President, let’s avoid that second destination.

More carrots, please!​

The above column does not necessarily reflect the editorial views of Headline USA.

Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News Contributor.

CA Fails Audit of Federal Programs, 66% of COVID Unemployment Benefits in Question

Headline USA Editor
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CA Fails Audit of Federal Programs, 66% of COVID Unemployment Benefits in Question

(Kenneth Schrupp, The Center Square) California did not materially comply with the requirements for seven of the 22 federal programs the state auditor examined, including “pervasive” noncompliance in its unemployment benefits program, which could put essential federal funding at risk.

“This report concludes that the State did not materially comply with certain requirements for seven of the 22 federal programs or clusters of programs (federal programs) MGO audited, including one program for which the noncompliance was pervasive,” wrote Deputy State Auditor Linus Li.

“Additionally, although MGO concluded that the State materially complied with requirements for the remaining federal programs it audited, the State continues to experience certain deficiencies in its accounting and administrative practices that affect its internal controls over compliance with federal requirements.”

The audit found that even in 2023 — years after the state made $55 billion in fraudulent COVID lockdown-era benefits payments — the state likely made “potentially ineligible payments” of nearly $200 million. The audit also found that of 138 pandemic unemployment assistance claimants that were tested, 91, or 66%, had verification issues.

“While Gavin Newsom chases the national spotlight, Californians are left with an administration that can’t accomplish the basic functions of government,” said California State Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher to The Center Square. “The federal government is right to take a look at this spending and decide if it’s appropriate to keep throwing resources at an administration that treats it like Monopoly money.”

Last year, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state’s unemployment fund runs a structural deficit of $2 billion per year, beyond the $20 billion debt and $1 billion in annual interest payments to the federal government. Because the unemployment fund is paid for by payroll taxes on employers and their employees, the LAO said payroll taxes would need to rise from $42 per employee making $46,800 or more per year, to $889.20, or over 21 times higher than the existing base payroll tax.

Tentative Deal is Reached in GOP Fight over Proxy Voting for New Parents

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Tentative Deal is Reached in GOP Fight over Proxy Voting for New Parents

(Headline USA) A tentative deal has been reached with the Florida Republican leading a bipartisan push to allow proxy voting in the U.S. House for new parents, potentially ending a standoff that halted legislative work for days and threatened to delay a vote this week to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has been leading the bipartisan push on proxy voting, reached the deal, Luna said in a social media post on Sunday.

Rather than allow proxy voting, Luna said the agreement would formalize a “pairing” system long used in Congress where one member who is physically present in the House cancels out the vote of someone who is absent. Luna said the voting option would be open to all Republicans who are unable to vote, including new parents, the bereaved and lawmakers facing various medical and family emergencies.

“If we truly want a pro-family Congress, these are the changes that need to happen,” Luna said.

No further details were immediately available. It was also unclear if the deal would be agreed to by the other lawmakers who had signed on to the proxy voting proposal.

The agreement with Luna could end days of back-and-forth over allowing new parents in Congress to vote by proxy for 12 weeks as they care for their newborns. Johnson has vigorously opposed the effort, calling it an affront to the Constitution that would open “Pandora’s box.”

But some Republicans refused to go along with Johnson’s bid to kill the resolution, with nine of them defying him in a vote last week.

By reaching a deal, Republican leaders will likely be able to move ahead this week on key legislative priorities — most critically a revised version of the budget framework that opens the door to Trump’s push for trillions of dollars in tax breaks. The Senate approved that budget framework early Saturday morning after grinding through a late-night session.

Trump had said he was in favor of allowing proxy voting for new parents after speaking with Luna, though he said he would defer to Johnson how the House should operate. “I don’t know why it’s controversial,” Trump said.

Luna, who gave birth during her first term in Congress, had championed the proxy voting resolution alongside Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, who has a 4-month-old son. The effort drew significant bipartisan support, with 218 lawmakers — the majority of the House, many young parents themselves — signing onto a petition that could trigger a floor vote.

The resolution would allow proxy voting for lawmakers who have given birth or pregnant lawmakers who are unable to travel safely or have a serious medical condition. It would also apply to lawmakers whose spouses are pregnant or giving birth.

Pettersen, who has carried her son onto the floor during recent House votes, said the institution needs to change with the times. About a dozen women have given birth while in Congress over the years, and there are many new fathers as well.

“It is unfathomable that in 2025 we have not modernized Congress,” she said.

But Johnson, like GOP leaders before him, loathes proxy voting, which had been put in place for about two years during the COVID-19 lockdowns when Democrats had control of the House.

“It was quickly abused. Republicans put an end to it then, and we cannot allow it again,” Johnson said in a social media post.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Meat-Cleaving Maniac Shot by Police after Stabbing 4 Girls

Headline USA Editor
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Meat-Cleaving Maniac Shot by Police after Stabbing 4 Girls

(Headline USA) Police shot a meat cleaver-wielding man named Longqian Chen, who allegedly slashed and stabbed four of his young female relatives during a bloody rampage inside a Brooklyn home on Sunday morning, officials said.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the four girls — ages 16, 13, 11 and 8 — had serious stab and slash wounds but are expected to survive.

Tisch said the 11-year-old victim called police around 10:15 a.m. to alert authorities that she and her siblings had been attacked by their uncle. Officers heard screams after they arrived at the home in southern Brooklyn and were met near an entrance by the suspect, who was holding a blood-covered meat cleaver and ignored several calls to drop the weapon.

Two officers, who could see blood on the floor and walls of the home, shot the man after he began to advance toward them, Tisch said.

A police spokesman said the 49-year-old suspect has been hospitalized. The suspect was identified as Longqian Chen, and there are initial reports that he was related to at least one of the victims.

Police found a bloody knife, in addition to the meat cleaver, in the home. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Trump Voters Outraged over Kash Patel’s Promotion of Jan. 6 Hunter to Senior FBI Position

Ken Silva
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Trump Voters Outraged over Kash Patel’s Promotion of Jan. 6 Hunter to Senior FBI Position

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The betrayal cut so deep that many Trump voters didn’t want to believe it at first.

On Friday, the New York Times reported that FBI Director Kashyap Patel promoted agent Steven J. Jensen to run the FBI’s Washington DC field office. As the Times reported, Jensen was in charge of the bureau’s domestic terrorism operations section during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising. According to testimony from the Democrats’ Jan. 6th Commission, Jensen called J6 protestors “terrorists” and promised to “round them all up.”

At first, some conservative influencers said that the Times report might be fake news. And when the Gateway Pundit published an article Saturday that the Times report was indeed false, many were quick to believe it.

However, it was the Gateway Pundit article that was fake news; not the Times report. Jensen’s promotion was reported by numerous sources, and confirmed by none other than Patel himself—the FBI director retweeted a Newsmax report about Jensen’s promotion.

Once Patel’s betrayal was apparent, Jan. 6 protestors and other Trump supporters turned from skeptical to outraged.

“Dan, we didn’t vote for y’all to promote anti American clowns like Steve Jensen. The dude setup the system that tracked parents who protested at school board meetings. The dude called J6ers terrorists That dude needs to be fired, this is embarrassing brother,” said the conservative influencer Hodge Twins.

Patel hasn’t addressed the matter, while FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino made cryptic posts on Twitter/X on Sunday.

“I want to reassure you that nothing that is happening here is happening by accident. Because of the sensitivity of what the FBI deals with, both the Director and I have to be circumspect in what we can make public,” Bongino said, pleading: “Neither one of us came here to play games. Measure us by results. You will see them.”

Jensen’s promotion is just Patel’s latest promise he broke to the MAGA constituents—what the Friday Times article aptly described as a “bait and switch.”

Before his appointment, Patel  reversed his position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Patel previously expressed support for implementing warrant requirements for FISA 702, but he abandoned that position during his confirmation hearings—meaning he supports warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Patel also said that he’d shut down its headquarters and turn it into a “museum for the deep state.” Additionally, he’s yet to live up to promises such as that he’d release all the FBI’s files on notorious pedophile and likely federal informant Jeffrey Epstein.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

At Least 16 Dead in Flooding and Tornadoes as Storms Slash South and Midwest

Headline USA Editor
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At Least 16 Dead in Flooding and Tornadoes as Storms Slash South and Midwest

(Headline USA) A storm system sweeping over large areas of the U.S. South and Midwest resulted in at least 16 weather-related deaths by early Sunday, with overnight tornado and flash flood warnings setting up more severe weather that forecasters say could cause rising waterways for days to come.

Many of the impacted areas already are heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that spawned deadly tornadoes. New tornado warnings were issued overnight in Alabama and Mississippi, along with flash flood warnings for several counties in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Saturday included more of the torrential rain and flash flooding that has pounded the central U.S., rapidly swelling waterways and prompting emergencies from Texas to Ohio. The 16 reported deaths since the start of the storms included 10 in Tennessee alone.

The National Weather Service said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach what the agency calls “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

A 57-year-old man died Friday evening after getting out of a car that washed off a road in West Plains, Missouri. Flooding killed two people in Kentucky including a 9-year-old boy swept away that same day on his way to school and a 74-year-old whose body was found Saturday inside a fully submerged vehicle in Nelson County, authorities said.

Also Saturday, a 5-year-old died at a home in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a weather-related incident, according to police. No details were immediately provided.

Tornadoes earlier in the week destroyed entire neighborhoods and were responsible for at least seven of the deaths.

There were 521 flights cancelled and more than 6,400 flights delayed within the U.S. or coming into or leaving the country on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which reported 74 cancellations and 478 delays of U.S. flights early Sunday.

Interstate commerce also could be affected. The extreme flooding across a corridor that includes the major cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis could lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Saturday that the Ohio River rose 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) in 24 hours and would continue to swell for days.

“We expect this to be one of the top 10 flooding events in Louisville history,” he said.

Flash flood threat looms over many states

Flash flood emergency and tornado warnings continued to be issued Saturday across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, with more heavy rains and damaging winds in the mix. All of eastern Kentucky was under a flood watch through Sunday morning.

Hundreds of Kentucky roads across the state were impassable because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides.

Downtown Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reopened in the morning after floodwaters from the Little River receded, giving a much-needed reprieve, but still more rainfall was on its way, Mayor James R. Knight Jr. said.

“We got a little rain, but most of it went north of us,” Knight said. “Thank goodness on that. Gave us a little break.”

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth, a town of 2,000 people in a bend of the rising Licking River. The warnings were similar to catastrophic flooding nearly 30 years ago when the river reached a record 50 feet, resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

In Arkansas, weather officials pleaded with people to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary due to widespread flooding.

BNSF Railway confirmed that a railroad bridge in Mammoth Spring was washed out by floodwaters, causing the derailment of several cars. No injuries were reported, but there was no immediate estimate for when the bridge would reopen.

Why so much nasty weather?

Since Wednesday, more than a foot of rain has fallen in parts of Kentucky, and more than 8 inches in parts of Arkansas and Missouri, forecasters said Saturday.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

At least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. One, near Blytheville, Arkansas, lofted debris at least 25,000 feet high, according to NWS meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, dozens of people arrived Saturday at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain, clutching blankets, pillows and other necessities.

Among them was George Manns, 77, who said he was in his apartment when he heard a tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier the city was hit by a tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” said Mann, who brought a folding chair, two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and medications: “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

2 States Poised to be First Since 1980 to Eliminate Income Tax

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2 States Poised to be First Since 1980 to Eliminate Income Tax

(Headline USA) About 45 years have passed since a U.S. state last eliminated its income tax on wages and salaries. But with recent actions in Mississippi and Kentucky, two states now are on a path to do so, if their economies keep growing.

The push to zero out the income tax is perhaps the most aggressive example of a tax-cutting trend that swept across states as they rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic with surging revenues and historic surpluses.

But it comes during a time of greater uncertainty for states, as they wait to see whether President Donald Trump’s cost cutting and tariffs lead to a reduction in federal funding for states and a downturn in the overall economy.

Some fiscal analysts also warn the repeal of income taxes could leave states reliant on other levies, such as sales taxes, that disproportionately affect the poor.

Which governments charge income tax?

The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to levy income taxes. It was ratified by states in 1913. Since then, most states have adopted their own income taxes.

Eight states currently charge no personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. A ninth state, Washington, charges no personal income tax on wages and salaries but does tax certain capital gains income over $270,000.

When Alaska repealed its personal income tax in 1980, it did so because state coffers were overflowing with billions of dollars in oil money.

Though income tax eliminations have been proposed elsewhere, they have not been successful.

“It’s a lot easier to go without an individual income tax if you’ve never levied one,” said Katherine Loughead, a senior analyst and research manager at the nonprofit Tax Foundation. “But once you become dependent on that revenue, it is a lot more difficult to phase out or eliminate that tax.”

What is Mississippi doing?

Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves recently signed a law gradually reducing the state’s income tax rate from 4% to 3% by 2030 and setting state revenue growth benchmarks that could trigger additional incremental cuts until the tax is eliminated. The law also reduces the sales tax on groceries and raises the gasoline tax.

If cash reserves are fully funded and revenue triggers are met each year, Mississippi’s income tax could be gone by 2040.

Supporters of an income tax repeal hope it will attract both businesses and residents, elevating the state’s economy to the likes of Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Their theory is that when people pay less in income taxes, they will have more money to spend, thus boosting sales tax collections.

The tax repeal “puts us in a rare class of elite, competitive states,” Reeves said in a statement. He added, “Mississippi has the potential to be a magnet for opportunity, for investment, for talent –- and for families looking to build a better life.”

Mississippi is among the most impoverished states and relies heavily on federal funding. Democratic lawmakers warned the state could face a financial crises if cuts in federal funding come at the same time as state income tax reductions.

The income tax provides “a huge percentage of what the state brings in to fund things like schools and health care and services that everybody relies on,” said Neva Butkus, senior analyst at the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

What has Kentucky done?

A 2022 Kentucky law reduced the state’s income tax rate and set a series of revenue-based triggers that could gradually lower the tax to zero. But unlike in Mississippi, the triggers aren’t automatic. Rather, the Kentucky General Assembly must approve each additional decrease in the tax rate.

That has led to a series of tax-cutting measures, including two new laws this year. One implements the next tax rate reduction from 4% to 3.5% starting in 2026. The second makes it easier to continue cutting the tax rate in the future by allowing smaller incremental reductions if revenue growth isn’t sufficient to trigger a 0.5 percentage point reduction.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed the legislation for next year’s tax cut but let the other measure passed by the Republican-led legislature become law without his signature. Beshear called it a “bait-and-switch” bill, contending lawmakers had assured the guardrails for income tax reductions would remain in place while pushing for the 2026 tax cut, then later in the session altered the triggers for future years.

What actions have other states taken?

New Hampshire and Tennessee already did not tax income from wages and salaries, but both states had taxed certain types of income.

In 2021, Tennessee ended an income tax on interest from bonds and stock dividends that had been levied since 1929.

New Hampshire halted its tax on interest and dividends at the start of this year.

Some other states also are pushing to repeal income taxes. The Oklahoma House passed legislation in March that would gradually cut the personal income tax rate to zero if revenue growth benchmarks are met. That bill now is in the Senate.

New Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, also wants to phase out the income tax. The House and Senate have advanced legislation that would take an incremental step by exempting capital gains income from taxes.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Russia Sends American to an Insane Asylum

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Russia Sends American to an Insane Asylum

(Headline USA) A U.S. citizen awaiting trial in Moscow has been forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital, Russian state media reported Sunday.

Joseph Tater, 46, was arrested in August 2024 after being accused of assaulting a police officer during a confrontation with staff at an upmarket hotel in the Russian capital.

A Moscow court agreed to admit Tater to a psychiatric hospital non-voluntarily after a medical evaluation on March 15, Russian state news agency Tass reported.

It said that doctors had described Tater as displaying signs of “tension, impulsivity, persecutory delusions, and lack of self-awareness regarding his condition.”

Tater had been due to stand trial on April 14 on charges of assaulting a police officer, which is punishable with a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. It is unclear when the court made its decision to detain him on medical grounds, but Tass previously reported that he had been released from pre-trial detention at the end of March.

At a September court hearing, Tater claimed he came to Russia to seek political asylum and that he was being persecuted by the CIA.

Tater’s defense lawyer has appealed his forced hospitalization, accusing officials of trying to “isolate the defendant from society,” Tass reported.

Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Russia of forcing citizens into psychiatric institutions due to their political views — a Soviet-era practice they say has been increasingly used by President Vladimir Putin’s government.

Tater has already served 15 days in jail for the same incident after being found guilty on administrative charges of “petty hooliganism.”

He was detained in August 2024 when he became abusive to hotel staff who requested to see his documents, Russian state news agencies reported. They reported that Tater swore and “behaved aggressively” when the hotel refused to accommodate him, and later grabbed the arm of a police officer called to the scene.

Tater is just one of several Americans detained in Russia on drug or assault convictions, with many serving sentences of several years. They include Robert Gilman, 72, who was handed 3 1/2-year sentence at the age of 72 after being found guilty of assaulting a police officer following a drunken disturbance on a train, and Travis Leake, a musician who was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison in July 2024.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

State Democrat Lawmakers Pass Bill to Limit Future Sex Abuse Liabilities

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State Democrat Lawmakers Pass Bill to Limit Future Sex Abuse Liabilities

(Headline USA) Led by a Democrat majority, Maryland lawmakers passed a measure Saturday to try to limit future liabilities from claims of sexual abuse at state and private institutions after thousands of people unexpectedly came forward with allegations of abuse, many of them in youth detention centers, putting potentially billions of dollars at stake for the state.

The wave of cases targeting the state’s juvenile justice system resulted after Maryland eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims two years ago with the Catholic Church abuse scandal in mind.

The measure, which now goes to Democrat Gov. Wes Moore, reduces caps on settlements from $890,000 to $400,000 for cases filed after May 31 for state institutions and from $1.5 million to $700,000 for private institutions. It also changes the 2023 law to only allow each claimant to receive one payment, instead of being able to collect for each incident of abuse.

In California on Friday, Los Angeles County officials announced they had reached a $4 billion agreement to settle nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959.

Other private and public entities have been rocked by allegations of wide-ranging abuse and subsequent settlements.

The agreement in California, which still needs a county board’s approval, far surpasses a $2.6 billion settlement reached in 2022 with Boy Scouts of America, which recently renamed itself Scouting America. That settlement involved more than 80,000 men who said they were molested as children by scouting leaders and others.

Maryland state Sen. Will Smith, who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said it has been estimated that Maryland is facing a potential liability between $3 billion and $4 billion.

Smith, a Democrat, noted that lawmakers approved the 2023 Child Victims Act in response “to a long fight to have justice for victims of child sex abuse, where our prior framework barred some of those claims if you were above the age of 38.”

“But what we could never have anticipated was just the sheer volume of cases that ensued,” Smith said.

During debate Saturday, lawmakers said about 1,500 cases already have been filed. In addition, another 4,500 cases are known about, lawmakers said, and attorneys for plaintiffs have been in settlement discussions with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office.

Sen. Justin Ready, a Republican who is the Senate minority whip, said the state liability could potentially be even higher than the estimate cited by Smith.

“We just spent all session wrestling with a $3 billion deficit, which is a huge deficit, and we’ve been fighting about that and debating it discussing it … Just one settlement from this very well could end up being that entire amount, and that is not the end of this,” Ready said.

Sen. Chris West said he doubted the provision in the bill that would limit someone to only sue for one individual case, rather than for each incident of abuse, would survive a court challenge, based on prior rulings by the Maryland Supreme Court.

“If the Supreme Court follows the guidance of prior Supreme Court decisions, they will hold that our attempt to deny people the right to file cases to recover for multiple occurrences is unconstitutional, because those rights for the past two years have been vested,” West, a Republican, said. “The people have had the right to file those cases.”

Smith told reporters on Friday that he believed a settlement “is the optimal solution here.”

“We’re hoping that the attorney general and the plaintiffs can get together and work out a settlement,” Smith said.

Maryland lawmakers passed the Child Victims Act in the immediate aftermath of a scathing investigative report by the attorney general’s office that revealed widespread abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Before its passage, victims couldn’t sue after they turned 38. The law change prompted the archdiocese to file for bankruptcy to protect its assets.

The Maryland Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in a 4-3 ruling in February.

The measure approved Saturday also would cap attorneys’ fees at 20% for cases that settle out of court and 25% for cases resolved in court.

The Senate voted 36-7 for the bill on Saturday, and the House voted 92-40 for the bill a short time later, sending the bill to the governor.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press



DOJ Opposes Alleged Would-be Trump Assassin’s Request to Test-Fire Rifle

Ken Silva
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DOJ Opposes Alleged Would-be Trump Assassin’s Request to Test-Fire Rifle

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department has opposed a request from the attorneys of alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh to test-fire his rifle, arguing that the rifle’s operability has nothing to do with the fact that he willfully attempted to assassinate the President.

“Routh’s ‘complete defense’ claim rests on the idea that it might have been factually impossible for him to assassinate the President with this rifle, and therefore he must explore this idea. But impossibility, or a defendant’s inability to execute his plan, is not a defense to an attempt crime,” prosecutors said in a Friday court filing, which cited case law: “A defendant’s culpability for a charge of attempt depends only on the circumstances as he believes them to be, not as they really are.”

Prosecutors further noted an FBI munitions expert already successfully test-fired the rifle, and has provided his expert report to the defense as part of discovery.

“Moreover, the Defendant has not proffered any good faith basis for suggesting the rifle was inoperable when Routh had it—or today, six months later,” they added.

Prosecutors said they would be fine allowing defense attorneys to photograph the rifle and examine it again. But they asked Judge Aileen Cannon to deny Routh’s motion to test-fire the weapon. They said they plan to file another motion that addresses the matter on Monday.

Prosecutors were responding to a motion from Routh that accuses the FBI of tainting evidence in his case by disassembling the rifle—making it impossible to determine its accuracy or usefulness the day he allegedly tried killing Trump last September at his Florida golf course.

“The scope, black tape, brackets, and paper/plastic tubing were all removed from the rifle. Defense counsel does not know the exact circumstances surrounding the removal of these items from the scope, as those items were apparently boxed separately from the rifle and not made available for our evidence view,” defense attorneys Kristy Militello and Renee Sihvola said in a March 28 court filing.

The defense attorneys said that the FBI has “irreparably harmed” their case by disassembling the rifle.

“For example, it is now impossible for the defense to test whether the scope was attached in a wildly inaccurate or useless fashion, as it was taken off the rifle prior to any accuracy testing or location preservation by the government,” they said.

Prosecutors have accused Routh, 58, of Hawaii, of stalking Trump for a month before he built a sniper’s nest near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach.

Federal prosecutors charged Routh with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, assault on a Secret Service agent, and attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.

Routh’s trial is set for September.

The FBI also tainted evidence in the other assassination attempt against Trump last July. In that incident, the FBI hosed down the rooftop used by gunman Thomas Crooks immediately after the incident, and released Crooks’s body for cremation before members of Congress could examine it. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., later revealed that bullet fragments were still in Crooks’s body when it was cremated.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

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