Unless a bill moving through Congress becomes law, thousands of survivors of the 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, could face tax burdens for upfront settlements from the utility accused of causing it — and possibly be disqualified from other government benefits.
Plus, Virginia's redistricting vote, looking ahead to Indiana's primary and one extraordinary photo from NYC. |
|
|
An American flag hangs on the gate of a home destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) |
Wildfire survivors who lost their homes could face another blow from taxes on settlement payouts — By Gabriela Aoun Angueira
As survivors watch lawmakers lock horns over the Iran war and the record-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown, some worry extending disaster tax relief will be de-prioritized.
Congress in recent years has shielded wildfire settlements from taxes, but legislation to do so was short-lived and a struggle to pass, leaving gaps between laws that risk saddling some survivors with a possible tax burden on their compensation. A tax exemption on wildfire-related compensation expired at the end of 2025.
According to legislation approved unanimously by the House Ways and Means Committee last month, payments related to federally declared wildfire disasters from 2015 through 2026 would not count toward taxable income. The measure would extend expanded tax relief for property losses from federal disasters through this year, a provision that helped attract bipartisan support from lawmakers representing states vulnerable to hurricanes and other extreme weather.
Florida Rep. Greg Steube — a Republican who championed the 2024 tax relief bill — told The Associated Press he expects the legislation to ultimately pass, but he acknowledged “the exact timeline remains uncertain.” Read more from Angueira on the disaster settlement tax debate. |
|
|
AP Elections Spotlight: Virginia redistricting |
Campaign direct mail advertisements about a Virginia special election on redistricting are on display in Arlington, Va., on April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert Yoon) |
The big picture: Virginians will decide a statewide ballot measure on Tuesday that could have big implications for the midterm congressional elections in November. A proposed constitutional amendment would give the General Assembly temporary power to redraw the state’s congressional districts, and the Democratic majority has a new map ready to go that could give the party a net pick-up of four seats in the congressional delegation.
Background: If the measure is adopted, Virginia would become the latest state to enter the mid-decade redistricting fray that began in July 2025, when Texas Republican lawmakers redrew their state’s congressional map to favor Republicans at President Donald Trump’s urging. Since then, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have adopted new maps that are expected to benefit Republicans, while California and Utah have new maps expected to benefit Democrats.
The early vote: As in-person early voting concluded on Saturday, turnout of early and absentee voters reached about 91% of the level in the 2025 gubernatorial election, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. The number will only get bigger as mailed absentee ballots postmarked by Tuesday are added to the total.
Read more of Yoon's reporting on Virginia's redistricting vote. |
|
|
AP is there: Indiana primary will test Trump’s GOP control |
Julie Wise, 48, speaks with Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, who represents District 23, as he canvasses a neighborhood, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in West Lafayette, Ind. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) |
Handing it over to Thomas Beaumont, our national politics reporter on the ground in Indiana. "I was in western Indiana last week — a rural stretch of the Wabash River valley and includes the university town of West Lafayette — following state Sen. Spencer Deery. He was talking to voters at their doors about this avalanche of advertising falling on him and six other state senators, targeted by President Donald Trump for opposing a state redistricting measure he was pushing. Trump is backing Deery’s Republican challenger, and voters like Julie Wise told me that while she voted for Trump, she isn’t going to vote for Deery’s opponent simply because he’s endorsed her. The whole thing is a test of Trump’s effort to use his influence to sway voters in state legislative primary campaigns in his own party and in a state he carried." Read more of Beaumont's reporting on the Indiana primary. |
|
|
Former President Barack Obama, left, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani read a book to children at Learning Through Play Pre-K in New York, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis) |
New York City-based photo journalist Angelina Katsanis was on hand Saturday as former President Barack Obama and Mayor Zohran Mamdani read to preschoolers and led a singalong. Obama, a former two-term president and standard-bearer for the Democratic Party has offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, whose star power, youth and progressive agenda has made him stand out in Democratic politics. The democratic socialist, who marked his 100th day in office just over a week ago, is also trying to build a working relationship with Trump. Read more from Scott Bauer on the Obama-Mamdani meet-up. |
|
|
That’s all from me for the day, thanks for reading Ground Game. Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. - Meg
|
| |
|
That’s all from me for the day, thanks for reading Ground Game. Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. - Meg
|
| |
|
|
