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Work from Home Lunch

Santa Fe issues “code blue” due to winter weather [Video]

SOMETHING TO WATCH OUT FOR. THANK YOU OLGA. WELL, CITIES ACROSS THE STATE ARE WORKING TO KEEP PEOPLE WARM AND SAFE DURING THESE LOW TEMPERATURES. ALYSSA MUNOZ IS LIVE IN ALBUQUERQUE WITH ONE OF THE CITYS EFFORTS. HEY, JULIAN. THATS RIGHT. THE NEXT FEW NIGHTS ARE GOING TO BE REALLY COLD RIGHT NOW IN ALBUQUERQUE, ITS 29 DEGREES, BUT IN OTHER CITIES LIKE SANTA FE, THEYRE EXPECTING MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES, AND THATS WHY THEYVE ACTIVATED COLD BLUE CODE BLUE BACK IN NOVEMBER. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, PASSED AWAY FROM WEATHER EXPOSURE. SO THATS KIND OF WHAT WERE TRYING TO PREVENT. LIEUTENANT ISMAEL GUTIERREZ WORKS AT THE SALVATION ARMY IN SANTA FE. STARTING SATURDAY, THE CITY MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS OF THE STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE SALVATION ARMY ARE TEAMING UP FOR CODE BLUE, AN INITIATIVE TO HELP THE COMMUNITY DURING SEVERE WEATHER. WE PROVIDE THE SPACE, WE PROVIDE THE SUPPLIES. YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS BEEN GRACEFUL IN HELPING US WITH SECURITY, WITH, YOU KNOW, POLICE JUST MAKING SURE THIS IS A SAFE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO COME. THE SALVATION ARMY IS OFFERING 35 COTS FOR PEOPLE TO STAY AT THROUGHOUT CODE BLUE, INCLUDING SNACKS AND DRINKS. THERES A PLACE TO KEEP PEOPLE WARM DURING THE DAY, AND THEY CAN COME IN. WE DO HAVE SOME COTS AVAILABLE FOR SOME OF THEM. FOR SOME OF THEM TO, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE NAPS. WE PROVIDE BREAKFAST. WE PROVIDE LUNCH, WE PROVIDE SHOWERS AND LAUNDRY SERVICES. THE RED CROSS REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER SAYS THEYRE ON STANDBY, BUT WANTS PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF HOUSE FIRES, WHICH SHE SAYS ARE FREQUENT DURING TIMES LIKE THIS. IF YOURE USING A SPACE HEATER, KEEP IT OUT IN THE OPEN. DONT HAVE IT NEXT TO FLAMMABLE ITEMS. IF YOU ARE USING A FIREPLACE, KEEP IT NICE AND CLEAN AND THINGS AWAY FROM IT. JUST REALLY ENSURE THAT ALL YOUR HEAT SOURCES ARE ALSO BEING MONITORED AT ALL TIMES. NOW CODE BLUE WILL BE ACTIVATED UNTIL WEDNESDAY, UNTIL WEDNESDAY, AND AS OF ALBUQUERQUE, THE ALBUQUERQUES WESTSIDE SHELTER IS AT 100% CAPACITY AND OTHER SHELTERS AROUND THE CITY. THERE ARE ABOUT 150 BEDS LEFT.

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Remote Work Opportunities

IRS tax season starts January 27 [Video]

Hi. Yeah, if you have *** freelance job or *** side hustle where you get paid through Venmo or paypal, we’ve told you before. The IRS is shaking up the rules for third party payment platforms and they just released new guidelines on how they’re gonna handle payment transactions on those apps. So listen up for the 2024 tax year, you have to report earned income of more than $5000 on *** 1099 K form for 2025 that drops to 25 $500 and for 2026 and beyond, it drops again to just $600. Remember, this is strictly if you make income, not personal transactions. So if you’re using Venmo to split rent with your roommates doesn’t count. But let’s say you’re flipping furniture on Facebook marketplace for *** profit that would count depending on how much money you made. I’m gonna share the new rules in my Ross and reports newsletter. Just scan the QR code on your screen to sign up. We share bonus content exclusive deals. You’ll love it and it’s free back to you.

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Work from Home Lunch

Shoppers browse for local day-after Christmas deals [Video]

WHETHER ITS TO USE A NEW GIFT CARD… MAKE A RETURN… OR FIND A POST- HOLIDAY SALE… PEOPLE ARE STILL HEADING TO STORES AFTER CHRISTMAS. MADELEINE AHMADI IS TALKING TO MERCHANTS AND SHOPPERS. THE GIFTING SEASON ISN’T OVER YET. WE ARE HERE IN ESSEX JUNCTION WHERE SHOPPERS SAY THEY’RE KEEPING THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ALIVE. THE ARTHOUND GALLERY IS ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR VISITORS LOCALS ARE BRINGING IN THEIR GIFTS FOR CUSTOM FRAMING TOURISTS ARE SEARCHING FOR VERMONT MAPLE SYRUP AND KIDS ARE USING THEIR CHRISTMAS CASH TO FIND NEW TOYS CO-OWNER JOHN CHURCHMAN SAYS THEY DON’T SLOW DOWN AFTER THE 25TH 3:13-3:28 0176.MXF < John Churchman, Co-Owner at ArtHound Gallery We sell a lot of gift cards. A lot of people came and got gift cards in October, November, all the way through Christmas eve. So we'll be doing a lot of gift card business today. So, you can get it for any denomination, give it to someone, they can come in and go buy what they want.> VERMONT ARTIST KARLA VAN VLIET SELLS HER WORK IN THE ARTHOUND GALLERY. SHE SAYS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS IS AN IMPORTANT ECONOMIC BOOST FOR THE BUSINESS… WHOSE SALES ARE UP COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. 2:18-2:33 0182.MXF

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Work from Home Lunch

Government funding bill clears Congress, heads to Biden’s desk [Video]

Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would meet our obligations and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures start now.The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.This is a good outcome for the country, Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.There will be no government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.Trump’s last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldnt be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash federal government and certainly wouldnt allow more debt.Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill? scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.Video below: Get the Facts on the debt ceilingThe drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.Gone is Trumps demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.Its essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans minus Trumps debt ceiling demand.But it’s far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.Who is in charge? she asked during the debate.Still, the Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill’s passage. Almost three dozen conservative Republicans voted against it.The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the vote, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan.In the Senate, almost all the opposition came from the Republicans except independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said Musk’s interference was not democracy, that’s oligarchy.Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump’s not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, Trump posted early in the morning on social media.More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn’t want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation’s borrowing capacity. Now, Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling, Trump posted increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees and members of the military into the holiday season without paychecks.Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side wont take the blame for it.At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.It wasnt just the shutdown, but the speakers job on the line. The speakers election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the extraordinary challenges of this job.___Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.