Nation

IRS Offers Affordable Care Act Webinars

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IRS News:
 
PHOENIX ― If you’re an employer or health coverage provider, you can attend a series of educational webinars this summer to help you understand the Affordable Care Act’s employer provisions and related requirements.
 
The IRS is presenting three different webinars in July that will each be repeated in August and September.
 
The IRS designed these webinars for business owners, tax managers, employee benefits managers and health coverage providers. All time listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.
 
Employer Shared Responsibility and Information
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Udall, Heinrich Announce $3.3 Million For Support Services At College Campuses Across New Mexico

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON ― U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced 13 grants totaling more than $3.3 million to fund the TRIO Student Support Services program, which helps provide additional support for low-income and first-generation college students, as well as students with disabilities.
 
College campuses across New Mexico will receive funding to provide services designed to help students stay in school and graduate, such as tutoring, personal counseling, mentoring, and financial guidance. 
 
The New Mexico schools
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Luján Statement On 70th Anniversary Of Trinity Test

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U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján
 
CONGRESSIONAL News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement Thursday on the 70th anniversary of the first test of an atomic bomb detonation at the Trinity test site in southern New Mexico:
 
“Today, we honor the memory of those who have fallen ill or passed on due to radiation exposure from the Trinity test. On this day 70 years ago, rural New Mexico became ground zero for the detonation of the first nuclear bomb. While it would usher in the start of the atomic age, it also
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Report Shows Nuclear Trumped By Renewables Worldwide

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BEYOND NUCLEAR News:
 
TAKOMA PARK, Md. — The 2015 edition of an annual empirical analysis of the state of nuclear power globally, confirms a continued decline that belies claims to a “nuclear renaissance.”  
 
Instead, the report shows, solar energy in particular, is soaring ahead while nuclear stagnates and falters.
 
The findings of the 2015 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, published July 15 in the UK and available on-line, illustrate, as Forum for the Future trustee, Jonathon Porritt, wrote in the foreword:
 
“The impressively resilient
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Heinrich Votes To Overhaul No Child Left Behind, Expand High-Quality Education For New Mexico Students

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., voted to pass S.1177, the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and overhaul the country’s current K-12 education law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

The bill passed the senate by a vote of 81 to 17.

Under NCLB, accountability was centered on test scores, which pressured schools, teachers, and students to focus more on testing than instruction. NCLB set a high bar for student achievement, but never followed through with the Read More

Senators Heinrich And Flake Introduce Bill To Protect And Restore Watersheds In National Forests

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Wednesday July 15, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., both members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, introduced S. 1780, the Restoring America’s Watersheds Act, a bill to protect, restore, and improve the health of watersheds in national forests.
 
The proposal would prioritize fire-impacted watersheds and encourage partnerships with non-federal stakeholders to invest in forests that provide important water resources.
 
Last year, Heinrich
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File 2014 Taxes Now For Advance Payments In 2016

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IRS News:
 
PHOENIX ― If you received advance payments of the premium tax credit in 2014 under the health care law (https:////www.irs.gov/), you should file your 2014 tax return as soon as possible this summer to ensure you can timely receive advance payments next year from your Marketplace (https:////www.irs.gov/).
 
If advance payments of the premium tax credit (https:////www.irs.gov/) were paid on behalf of you or an individual in your family in 2014, and you do not file a 2014 tax return, you will not be eligible for advance payments
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IRS Offers Penalty Relief For Retirement Plan Returns

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IRS News:
 
PHOENIX ― The Internal Revenue Service today encouraged eligible small businesses that did not file certain retirement plan returns to take advantage of a low-cost penalty relief program enabling them to quickly come back into compliance.
 
The program is designed to help small businesses that may have been unaware of the reporting requirements that apply to their retirement plans.
 
Small businesses that fail to file required annual retirement plan returns, usually Form 5500-EZ(https:////www.irs.gov/uac/Form-), can face stiff penalties
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DOE Secretary On Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action

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Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
 
DOE News:
 
Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz issued the following statement on the Joint Comprehensive Plant of Action:
 
“Today’s announcement between the P5+1 and Iran is a historic accomplishment. Building on the Lausanne framework, it will ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is―and will remain―a peaceful one, or that the international community will have more than enough time to respond if Iran’s program proves otherwise.
 
This deal will extend the time it would take for Iran to produce enough fissile material
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Valles Caldera Trust Board To Hold Final Meeting

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Valles Caldera National Preserve. Photo by Rourke McDermott

 

VCNP News:

  • Board Will Celebrate 15 Years of Staff Accomplishments During ‘Preserve Days’ Celebration Weekend

JEMEZ SPRINGS – The Valles Caldera Trust (Trust) board of trustees will conduct its final public meeting 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 25 on the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

The meeting will be followed by the annual storytelling jamboree held as part of the Trust’s weekend-long Preserve Days celebration commemorating the 15th anniversary of the passage of the Valles Caldera Preservation Act, which established Read More