Por Priscilla Alvarez y Tierney Sneed, CNN

El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS, por sus siglas en inglés) está redoblando los esfuerzos en las investigaciones en curso del Gobierno sobre posible fraude electoral, revisando casos que involucran a ciudadanos estadounidenses y si se registraron para votar, o votaron, antes de ser naturalizados, según un memorando interno revisado por CNN.

La solicitud, que surge a raíz del decreto de marzo del presidente Donald Trump sobre votación, es una de las últimas iniciativas de su Gobierno para amplificar las denuncias de fraude electoral y buscar la desnacionalización de ciudadanos estadounidenses.

El memorando, distribuido a los líderes la semana pasada, afirma que la Unidad de Fraude de Identidad y Beneficios de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI, por sus siglas en inglés) está supervisando la iniciativa “diseñada para identificar, investigar e interrumpir actividades que socaven la integridad de las elecciones federales, estatales y locales, y garantizar el cumplimiento de las leyes electorales aplicables”.

También solicitó que las oficinas de HSI “revisen todos los casos abiertos y cerrados de fraude electoral… e identifiquen a cualquier persona que se haya registrado para votar y/o haya votado en alguna elección federal, estatal o local, y posteriormente se haya naturalizado como ciudadano de Estados Unidos”.

CNN se puso en contacto con el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para solicitar comentarios.

La iniciativa fue reportada por primera vez por MSNOW.

Además de la iniciativa de la Casa Blanca sobre el fraude electoral, el Gobierno ha intentado ampliar el poder federal para revocar la ciudadanía como parte de un esfuerzo más amplio vinculado a las políticas migratorias restrictivas de Trump.

La amenaza del voto de no ciudadanos ha sido un enfoque de Trump y sus aliados, incluso en el Congreso, donde los republicanos están impulsando legislación que requeriría que los estadounidenses muestren documentos que prueben su ciudadanía al registrarse para votar.

Los casos de no ciudadanos votando son raros, pero los funcionarios electorales y defensores del voto reconocen que a veces los no ciudadanos terminan en los padrones electorales, a menudo de forma inadvertida.

Varios estados ya están utilizando datos federales de inmigración para verificar sus listas y esas revisiones con frecuencia han señalado falsos positivos, según ha informado CNN. Por ejemplo, en Idaho, después de que una búsqueda en esos datos señalara a 760 posibles no ciudadanos entre más de un millón de residentes empadronados, una revisión adicional por parte de funcionarios electorales redujo la lista a una decena de casos que fueron remitidos para una posible investigación criminal federal.

El nuevo memorando cita una serie de estatutos federales de carácter penal dirigidos al voto y registro fraudulentos para que las autoridades migratorias los consideren. Esos estatutos requieren que la persona se haya “registrado para votar o haya votado a sabiendas” siendo inelegible.

El nuevo memorando se publica cuando la Casa Blanca ya había estado coordinando planes el otoño pasado entre el Departamento de Justicia (DOJ, por sus siglas en inglés) y el DHS para compartir datos como parte del esfuerzo conservador de perseguir el fraude electoral.

El objetivo de ese impulso, según una fuente familiarizada con las discusiones internas del Gobierno que tuvieron lugar a finales del año pasado, era identificar nombres en los padrones electorales que podrían no ser ciudadanos estadounidenses.

El Departamento de Justicia está actualmente en una campaña sin precedentes para Read more

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - We received between 0.5 and 1.5 inches for most cities during Thursday morning's rainstorm. We will be dry through the weekend.

Friday will be cold with most of the region not warming out of the 50s, clouds and breezy winds are likely to be leftover.

Increasing clearing and slight warming arrives Saturday, rising to near 68 degrees on Sunday.

Monday and Tuesday will be warm - in the low 70s - as high pressure is expected to build.

Rain chances for midweek next week are decreasing. Warm weather is looking to be the more likely outcome through next weekend to finish off February.

Wind alerts will expire Thursday night, winter weather mountain alerts and high surf advisories expire Friday morning.

The post Chilly Friday, warmer weekend appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

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If you’re a contractor, business insurance is often required before you can bid on a project and get to work, ERGO NEXT reports. A certificate of insurance, also called a COI, is quick, shareable proof that your business is covered, active and up to date. It proves to clients that you’re a professional who takes their work seriously. And it shows that you know how business insurance and liability insurance can help protect you and your clients from the costs of accidents or property damage.

Companies or individuals you work with will request your COI to make sure they won’t get stuck with a large bill if something goes wrong.

Most insurance companies issue certificates of insurance that meet standards set by a nonprofit organization called the ACORD. That’s why these documents are often referred to as ACORD certificates or certificates of ACORD.

If you’ve had insurance for some time, you’re probably familiar with the PDF version and may even carry a physical copy to job sites. Contractors also use digital COIs — which can be shared instantly from a phone or tablet — a must-have for time-sensitive projects.

A COI shows details about your business insurance coverage, including:

• The types of insurance you carry: It lists your active policies, such as general liability insurance or workers’ compensation insurance.
• Policy numbers and coverage limits: They detail how much protection your policies could help provide.
• Effective and expiration dates: This lets clients know when your coverage starts and ends.
• Your business name and insurance company: This information is used to confirm the policy is active and valid.
• Additional insureds (if any): Other parties covered under your policy.

When do contractors need a certificate of insurance?

Clients, property owners and general contractors usually want proof that your business has active coverage in case something goes wrong. Contractors are often asked to show a COI before starting a new job or signing a contract.

You may need to provide a COI when you:

• Apply for or renew licenses or professional certifications that require active insurance.
• Bid on projects that require proof of contractor insurance.
• Apply for a permit for a job.
• Work with subcontractors or vendors who need confirmation of coverage.
• Enter commercial job sites that have liability or safety requirements.

Having your COI ready — especially a

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Some say the rich don’t pay taxes. Whether or not this is true, it seems as though the well-to-do keep a detailed playbook for holding much of their wealth out of the tax man’s reach. How do they do it? Diving into tax laws may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s how savvy wealth-builders unearth strategies for hanging on to their assets.

Below, Finder.com breaks down some of these tactics and whether they might work for you.

Incorporate

Above a certain income level, corporations have it easier, at least by income tax standards.

Personal income tax rates are around 10%-20% for low earners in both the U.S. and Canada, and high earners could pay up to 50% or more in tax.

On the other hand, corporate income tax rates start around 21% in the U.S. and 9% in Canada, and peak at around 30%.

It’s possible to save thousands of dollars by creating a corporation and classifying your earnings as business income so you can pay income tax at a more favorable rate. Not everyone can use this strategy, though, and the rules can get complicated.

How it works

To create a corporation, you’ll need to spend at least several hundred dollars in filing fees, plus up to thousands more for lawyers and other initial costs. Expect to pay hundreds of dollars annually in reporting fees.

Once you’re set up, you can begin earning income under your corporation’s name.

The rules vary based on where you’re incorporated and the type of corporate structure you have, but you can often access money by paying out salaries, bonuses or dividends.

Under specific circumstances, you may also be able to pay income to family members who are in a lower tax bracket, provided they are legitimately tied to the business.

Of course, money paid out of a corporation to individuals is still taxed at the personal income tax rate. But whatever you don’t reasonably need for living costs can be kept within the business, grown through investment and taxed at a lower corporate rate.

Corporate tax bills can be lowered even further by deducting expenses such as:

• Salaries paid to employees
• Employee health insurance premiums
• Accounting and lawyer fees
• Business vehicle costs
• Certain work-from-home expenses

Put simply, you do the same work you’ve always done, but for a corporation you own, which lets you access a heap of tax benefits.

What’s the catch?

If incorporating can be so advantageous, why isn’t everyone employed under their own corporation?

Salaried e

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Why a president’s personal morality may matter less than we think

The best presidents — including figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington — are celebrated not only as good leaders, but as good men. They embody not simply political skill, but personal virtue.

Why, though, should anyone expect a president to demonstrate that sort of virtue? If someone is good at the difficult job of political leadership, must they demonstrate exceptional moral character as well?

Character and democracy

Voters disagree about the extent to which the president must demonstrate moral leadership. Scholars who study political ethics disagree as well, Michael Blake, a professor of philosophy, public policy and governance at the University of Washington writes for The Conversation.

Those who insist that the president must be virtuous often begin with the thought that a person in that office will face new and unanticipated problems during his or her term. A president whose decision-making is informed by a consistent character, will, in the face of new challenges, rely upon the lessons that have built that character.

As scholar James David Barber wrote, the best way to understand a president’s likely responses to a crisis is to understand what that president values most highly.

Abraham Lincoln, for instance, consistently and publicly referred to the same set of moral values throughout his life — values centered on a deep, while imperfect, belief in the moral equality of people. These principles provided him with guidance throughout the horrors of the Civil War.

A president whose decisions are not grounded in the right sort of ethical values may be less well-equipped to respond well — and, more importantly, might be frighteningly unpredictable in his or her respo