May 23 2013

BREAKING: I-5 BRIDGE IN WASHINGTON STATE COLLAPSED

Live Video at http://live.foxnews.com/#/1155606219001

http://www.foxnews.com/

Cars in the water, they’re doing rescue.

I-5 bridge collapses in NW Wash.; people in water

By MANUEL VALDES and MIKE BAKER | Associated Press – 29 mins ago

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and people into the water, the Washington State Patrol said.

The four-lane bridge over the Skagit River collapsed about 7 p.m., Trooper Mark Francis said. There was no immediate estimate of how many people were in the water or whether there were any injuries or deaths, he said.

It also was not known what caused the collapse of the bridge about 60 miles north of Seattle in Skagit County, which stretches from the North Cascades National Park to a cluster of islands off the Washington coast.

Xavier Grospe, 62, who lives near the river, said he could see three cars with what appeared to be one person per vehicle. The vehicles were sitting still in the water, partially submerged and partly above the waterline, and the apparent drivers were sitting either on top of the vehicles or on the edge of open windows.

“It doesn’t look like anybody’s in danger right now,” Grospe said.

Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed several rescue boats at the bridge collapse scene with several ambulances waiting on the shore. One rescue boat left the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher.

A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car’s hood.

Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s office said he was on his way to the scene to assess the situation.

The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being “functionally obsolete” – a category meaning that their design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders are low clearance underneath, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

Democratic Rep. Judy Clibborn, who leads the transportation committee in the state House, said the bridge wasn’t one that has been a focus for lawmakers.

“It isn’t anything that was on our radar screen as being an issue,” Clibborn said. “It is shocking that I-5 would have something happen like this.”

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department, 42 of the county’s 108 bridges that are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state’s bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington’s 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient of functionally obsolete.

http://news.yahoo.com/5-bridge-collapses-nw-wash-people-water-024939823.html

May 16 2013

I’m Confused

Weren’t the liberals trying to pin the tail on this guy originally? I seem to remember talk about the person in charge of the IRS/Tea Party scandal being a Bush appointee. – Phoebe

Obama appoints Werfel as IRS commissioner

By Amie Parnes – 05/16/13 03:04 PM ET

President Obama on Thursday appointed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Controller Danny Werfel as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.

Steven Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, stepped down on Wednesday amid a growing scandal after it was discovered that the IRS targeted conservative groups based on their politics.

Over the last year at OMB, Werfel, who also worked at OMB under President George W. Bush’s administration, has been charged with planning out how the sequester would be implemented.

The White House announced President Obama was appointing Werfel, 42, in a press release.

“Throughout his career working in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Danny has proven an effective leader who serves with professionalism, integrity and skill,” Obama said. “The American people deserve to have the utmost confidence and trust in their government, and as we work to get to the bottom of what happened and restore confidence in the IRS, Danny has the experience and management ability necessary to lead the agency at this important time.”

Obama said Werfel will lead efforts to ensure the IRS implements new safeguards to restore public trust and administer the tax code with fairness and integrity. He said Werfel has agreed to serve through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Obama has sought to get on top of the scandal at the IRS, which has threatened to sink much of his second-term agenda. The first congressional hearing on the controversy will be held on Friday.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday suggested some officials at the IRS could head to jail for their actions.

Speaking to reporters earlier Thursday, Obama said his “main concern” was to immediately remedy the IRS debacle.

“I promise you this, the minute I found out about it, my main focus was making sure we get the thing fixed.”

On Wednesday, after reviewing the Treasury Department’s watchdog report on the matter, Obama called the IRS situation “inexcusable.”

“Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it,” Obama said. “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives.”

The president is turning to Werfel to right the ship at the IRS. He climbed the ranks of the budget office during the Bush administration, after spending a decade at OMB. He holds a law degree from the University of North Carolina, and spent two years as a trial attorney at the Justice Department.

In 2009, Obama nominated Werfel to be controller of the OMB.

“In government, like in the private sector, the ability to execute is the key to success. Danny Werfel has world class execution skills,” Jeff Zients, the deputy director of OMB said of Werfel in March. “He simply knows how to get things done. Coupling that with his 15 years of experience working at OMB has enabled him to drive productivity gains and service.”

Clay Johnson, Bush’s deputy OMB director, said Werfel built government-wide relationships during his time there and “earned the respect of people across government.”

“He’s not someone who will just start ordering people around,” Johnson told The Hill in an interview in March. “He’s calm under pressure and very composed. He has a lot of depth and puts in a lot of thought. He’s very measured and doesn’t respond to things emotionally”

“He implemented government-wide projects very well with clear, time-specific goals and accountability for follow through,” Johnson said.

May 16 2013

WOMAN IN CHARGE DURING ‘TEA PARTY’ TARGETING NOW RUNS IRS OBAMACARE OFFICE

May 16, 2013 6:15pm

By John Parkinson
@jparkABC

Steven Portnoy
@stevenportnoy

May 16, 2013 6:15pm

gty internal revenue service building ll 130412 wblog IRS Official in Charge During Tea Party Targeting Now Runs Health Care Office

(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.

Her successor, Joseph Grant, is taking the fall for misdeeds at the scandal-plagued unit between 2010 and 2012. During at least part of that time, Grant served as deputy commissioner of the tax-exempt unit.

Grant announced today that he would retire June 3, despite being appointed as commissioner of the tax-exempt office May 8, a week ago.

May 16 2013

BREAKING: HOUSE VOTES TO REPEAL OBAMACARE IN 229-195 VOTE

Published May 16, 2013

FoxNews.com

The Republican led house has voted, for the 37th time, to repeal President Obama’s health care law, even though GOP lawmakers know the Senate will not follow suit.

Democrats have called efforts to defund or partly scale back the Affordable Care Act a waste of time — even an obsession.

But Republicans see a political advantage to keeping the pressure up as the administration tries to get all the moving parts of the law working in the next few months.

They’re hoping that problems with its implementation will help them recapture the Senate in next year’s midterm elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

May 16 2013

Hillary Clinton Was Right

When she said, on Benghazi, “What difference does it make?” It really makes no difference, nothing will come of it, no one will be held accountable, no one will be punished, they never are. Watergate was the only scandal that ever changed things, the only time when someone was held accountable.

Who got punished in the Fast and Furious scandal? NO ONE!

Who got punished on the DOJ/Black Panthers voter intimidation scandal? NO ONE!

Who got punished over the Corzine scandal? NO ONE!

Boehner says, it’s not what happened it’s who’s going to jail for it, over the IRS scandal. No one will go to jail and even if it’s shown that the big O himself ordered it, nothing will happen. It’s all bullshit so why even talk about it.

May 15 2013

OH GREAT!!! HERE COMES THE FEDS

That’s what this one eagle appears to be thinking, he looks pissed.

Fighting Eagles At Airport In Duluth, Minnesota Crash Land On Runway

DULUTH, Minn. — Two bald eagles locked together by their talons in a midair battle survived a crash landing onto a runway at a northeastern Minnesota airport.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Randy Hanzal says the adult eagles couldn’t separate Sunday before slamming into the tarmac at the Duluth International Airport.

Hanzal tried to take the birds to a Duluth wildlife rehabilitation center. He covered them with blankets and jackets on the back of his pickup and held them down with webbing straps. En route, Hanzal says, he heard a ruckus and saw one bird jump out and fly away.

The Duluth News Tribune ( ) says the other eagle made it to the rehab center and is now being cared for by the University of Minnesota in St. Paul’s Raptor Center. http://bit.ly/12rDalM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/minnesota-bald-eagles-fight-duluth-airport_n_3272878.html#slide=2448652

May 12 2013

Get Ready, Here It Comes….2014: New Tax Forms For Obamacare

Obamacare: Taxpayers Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS

When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form.

The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.

So why will the Obama IRS require your personal identifying health information?

Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme. Every January, health insurance companies across America will send out tax documents to each insured individual. This tax document—a copy of which will be furnished to the IRS—must contain sufficient information for taxpayers to prove that they purchased qualifying health insurance under Obamacare.

This new tax information document must, at a minimum, contain: the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer; the name and tax identification number of the health insurance company; the number of months the taxpayer was covered by this insurance plan; and whether or not the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s “exchanges.”

This will involve millions of new tax documents landing in mailboxes across America every January, along with the usual raft of W-2s, 1099s, and 1098s. At tax time, the 140 million families who file a tax return will have to get acquainted with a brand new tax filing form. Six million of these families will end up paying Obamacare’s individual mandate non-compliance tax penalty.

As a service to the public, Americans for Tax Reform has released a projected version of this tax form to help families and tax specialists prepare for this additional filing requirement. Taxpayers may view the projected IRS form at www.ObamacareTaxForm.com. On the form, lines 3-4 show where taxpayers will disclose their personal health ID information.