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Everybody knows April 15 is the deadline every year for individual tax returns to be filed, either electronically or postmarked in the mail.

And if everybody thinks that, everybody is wrong. This year, April 18 will be the final day, without extensions being filed, that ones 2021 returns must be filed to avoid late penalties.

Why is that?

This year, April 15 falls on a Friday. So? April 16 is a Saturday. So? April 16 happens to be a federal holiday in the District of Columbia. Huh?

April 16 is Emancipation Day, which is an observed holiday in the District of Columbia. It marks the date in 1862 during the Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln signed a Congressional act freeing all people held as slaves in the District of Columbia. Under that act, the owners of those slaves then had 3 months to file a claim for reimbursement by the U.S. government for the value of their forcibly freed slaves.

Reimbursement had to be made because slaves were recognized as property under many states laws and those of the District of Columbia. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents the government from taking property away from private parties without compensation. So, the government had to reimburse slave owners for the value of their emancipated slaves.

The D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act, as it was called, is the only time the federal government compensated slave owners of their emancipated slaves. Over 3,000 slaves were freed. This was done prior to the summer of 1862 when Lincoln drafted his Emancipation Proclamation, which was to become effective on Jan. 1 of the following year.

The Emancipation Proclamation ordered the freeing of all slaves then located in rebel-held territory. No compensation was to be paid to those slave owners because this was an act of the commander-in-chief during wartime to suppress a rebellion. Freeing slaves whose labor benefited the rebellion could thus lawfully occur without compensation, so the legal analysis went, because it was no different than seizing cannons, horses or gunpowder that was also property owned and used by enemy insurgents. You dont have to reimburse your enemies for taking their weapons of war.

Washington, D.C., was not in rebel territory. The slaves there were not then being used to aid the rebellion. Thus, those slave owners needed compensation for the emancipation to be constitutionally lawful.

In 2005, federal legislation was enacted in D.C. making April 16 an observed public holiday. By law, when April 16 falls during a weekend, that holiday will be observed on the nearest workday. The holiday thus affects the IRS and other federal offices, as they will be closed on either April 16 if it is on a workday or the workday closest to the 16th if it falls on a weekend.

If the tax-filing deadline is on a weekend, it becomes the next non-holiday anyway.

So, April 16 this year is on a Saturday, which means the holiday is on Friday the 15th, and the IRS is closed. That means tax day is Monday, April 18.

Beware the ides of April. And celebrate Emancipation Day when you emancipate yourself by finally filing those 2021 returns.

Brett Kepley is a lawyer with Land of Lincoln Legal Aid Inc. Send questions to The Law Q&A, 302 N. First St., Champaign, IL 61820.

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The Law Q&A | Why your taxes aren't due till April 18 this year - News-Gazette.com

Virginia Thomas, image taken by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

In an explosive controversy, Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia Ginni Thomas, face the spotlight after leaked texts showed Ginni Thomas pressured the White House to overturn the election. Previously, Justice Thomas was known as the only Justice to side with former President Donald Trump in a case involving White House documents that the Jan. 6 Committee sought. However, with the revelation that Ginni Thomas was engaging with the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election and had publicly condemned the Jan. 6 Committee questions have been raised about Thomas impartiality and his decision not to recuse himself from the case.

The controversy has inevitably raised concerns on Capitol Hill, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemning the thin line between Justice Thomas and his wifes career, referring to Mrs. Thomas as an admitted and proud member of a coup. She further asserted that Thomas should not have been appointed to the Court but avoided saying whether he should resign.

Other Democrats were more blunt. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called for his resignation and warned that previous controversies surrounding arch-conservative justice could justify impeachment.

It is not the only time that Justice Thomas has come under scrutiny. His impartiality was previously questioned thanks to undisclosed payments that Ginni Thomas received from far-right, anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney through his Center for Security Policy. The payments to Ginni make Justice Thomas an indirect recipient of those funds. Under current law, justices are not required to recuse themselves, and it is up to them to decide whether to avoid a case. However, they are encouraged to be reasonably informed about their interests and the financial interests of their spouses.

While there have always been questions about the justices and their obligation to recuse themselves from cases they have a stake in, the argument that previous issues of recusal may prove hollow as the issue at hand pertains directly to the Jan. 6 Committees ongoing investigation and the dangers of last years attack on the capitol.

Moreover, Mrs. Thomas herself has become a target by the committee as they are now considering interviewing the famed conservative activist about her involvement on Jan. 6, though it will likely be difficult to get Mrs. Thomas to testify willingly as she has previously signed a letter calling the committee an overtly partisan political persecution.

With impeachment likely off the table and the fight over the committees authority ongoing, it is unclear how Thomas role on Jan. 6 will pan out, but if the committee deems it necessary, Americans should not be surprised if they see a supreme court justices wife testifying under oath. That is, of course, if she does not invoke the Fifth Amendment first.

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Ginni Thomas' Texts Indict Clarence Thomas and The Supreme Court - The Journal

Three fox babies were humanely euthanized, after a female fox bit several people on Capitol Hill and tested positive for the rabies virus after she was euthanized.

WASHINGTON The three kits of a female fox that bit several people on Capitol Hill earlier this week were "humanely euthanized," D.C. Health officials say.

"Since the mother tested positive for the rabies virus and the kits could have been exposed during grooming or other means, they were no longer able to be safely rehabilitated," a DC Health statement said.

The three kits were captured from the den site of the female fox who was reported for nine biting incidents on Capitol Hill. Among those who were bitten was U.S. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.).

He received rabies shots at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. The congressman confirmed he was bitten by a fox on Monday.

"What does the fox say? Last night, I found out[,]" he tweeted. "Joking aside, animal bites are extremely serious. In the case of an encounter, please speak with a physician immediately."

The female fox was captured on Capitol Hill grounds Tuesday and euthanized on Wednesday. The fate of her kits was unclear until she tested positive for rabies.

Bera tweeted after the news broke that the fox was euthanized Wednesday saying he was back working and feeling healthy. He also tagged Capitol Fox on Twitter, a parody account poking fun at the incident.

"Despite the dustup, I hold no grudge or ill will against @thecapitolfox. Hoping the and its family are safely relocated and wishing it a happy and prosperous future," Bera tweeted.

The parody Capitol Fox responded to Bera, tweeting, "On the advice of counsel I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege."

The World Health Organization says that rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease, but once symptomsappear the virus is deadly.

Anyone who encounters a potentially sick, injured or aggressive fox should call animal control at 202-723-3730. People who come in physical contact with a fox should call DC Health at 202-442-9143.

Read more here:
DC Health: 3 kits of euthanized fox with rabies 'no longer able to be safely rehabilitated' - WUSA9.com

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Will Congress finally act on legalization?

Congress is once again making progress, however futile, toward decriminalization of cannabis in the United States. Why is Congress having to deal with cannabis policy in 2022, and how did we get here?

At the federal level, cannabis prohibition has been the official policy of the government for more than 80 years. In 1937, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act, which effectively began prohibition of the plant. The law was spurred on in part by industrial magnates whose products were competing with products made from hemp, as well as the racism of the day "marihuana" is the Spanish spelling of the word, and it was used intentionally to allow the public at large to associate the plant with Hispanic communities.

The Marihuana Tax Act was enforced until 1969. Famed psychedelic researcher and activist Timothy Leary was charged with violating the act in 1965, and with the help of the ACLU, appealed his way to the Supreme Court, which overturned the law in Leary v. United States. The court found it unconstitutionally violated the Fifth Amendment.

That wasn't the end of prohibition, though, obviously. Cannabis remained illegal federally under the Narcotic Control Act of 1956.

In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act was introduced in Congress. Less than two months after first being introduced, President Richard Nixon had signed it into law. As a result, cannabis was placed onto Schedule I, where it remains to this day alongside drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstacy.

In the five decades since, the federal government has softened considerably on cannabis. Last Friday, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the House of Representatives by a 220-204 vote. If that sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened in the previous Congress. In December 2020, the MORE Act passed the House before running out of time in the Senate that Senate version was sponsored by then-Sen. and now-Vice President Kamala Harris.

As was the case two years ago, the MORE Act made it through the House largely along party lines. Unlike in 2020, however, the Democrats now control the Senate. Albeit barely. To avoid a filibuster, the Senate version would need support of all 50 Democrats as well as 10 Republicans. That's unlikely.

It is safe to say that in the 85-year dance between Congress and cannabis, there will be more to come.

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The U.S. House seems ready to legalize cannabis, but prospects aren't great in the Senate - Inlander

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A Washington Post column called for gender, including male and female labels, to be removed from U.S. passports in an effort to advance inclusion for transgender travelers.

In the Sunday column, transgender artist and writer Abeni Jones said that transitioning from male to female has made travel "more difficult" and claimed that transgender individuals are frequently subjected to additional airport screenings.

The U.S. State Department, in conjunction with the Biden administration, announced in June 2021 that passport applicants would soon have the option of marking X as their gender, a third gender marker as an alternative to male (M) or female (F). The change went into effect on April 11 and the department announcement claimed the change was enacted in an effort to "advance inclusion."

STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES FIRST GENDER X US PASSPORT

Diffterent forms of identification. pictured are three social security cards on top of a birth certificate covered by two american passports. (iStock)

However, Jones said that despite being a "nice symbol of support," the change will likely "invite danger" for transgender people, opening them up to "extra scrutiny" and added "persecution" wherein travelers would have to "out themselves." Instead of a third gender option, Jones proposed another idea.

"If the State Department really wanted to take a step forward, theres an easier, cheaper and more powerful option: remove gender from passports altogether," Jones said.

Jones later added that "pointless gendering" is a "well-documented phenomenon" embedded within consumerism, and asked why people even have to mark gender at all.

"Is there a legitimate reason anyone other than my doctor needs to know my gender? Does my dentist need to know? My credit-card issuer? The library? The veterinary clinic? The airline or TSA?" Jones asked.

PASSPORT BACKLOG SURGES TO NEARLY 2.2M AS APPLICANTS WAIT UP TO 24 WEEKS

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after viewing the "Burma's Path To Genocide" exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. (Kevin Lamarque, Pool via AP) (AP)

The State Department's decision to include a third gender marker comes more than two years after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit urged it to reconsider its decision two deny intersex and nonbinary U.S. Navy veteran Dana Zzyym a passport that reflects the individual's gender.

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ZZyym, a Lambda Legal plaintiff, filed a lawsuit against the State Department in 2015, claiming it violated the due process and equal protection subsections of the Fifth Amendment by not providing a passport that reflects the passport holders preferred gender label.

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Washington Post column calls for gender to be removed from U.S. passports - Fox News