Do U.S. Olympians pay taxes on their gold medals?
Americans for Tax Reform created a furor last week by claiming America's Olympians will be taxed for every medal they win. The tax bill on a gold medal and the $25,000 honorarium that goes with it would be nearly $9,000, they said. An outraged Sen. Marco Rubio introduced legislation to exempt Olympic medals from taxes. But PolitiFact calls ATR's claim "mostly false," noting that various tax deductions could substantially lower Olympians' tax bills, possibly to zero.
Can Kwame Brown make a political comeback?
Talking Points incorrectly reported last month that the former D.C. Council chairman is, along with former Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., barred from running again by a new ethics law that prohibits convicted felons of seeking office. But the law only bans felons who are convicted while in office. Both Brown and Thomas resigned and then were charged, Brown with bank fraud and Thomas with stealing from a children's sports fund. So both can run again.
Why does Congress leave town every August?
The tradition began in the early years of Congress, when lawmakers adjourned in the spring to escape Washington's summer heat and threat of diseases, such as malaria, that came along with it. Air conditioning extended the congressional work period, but lawmakers still couldn't handle D.C.'s steamy late summer and developed the habit of abandoning the Capitol each August. They return in mid-September.
