Connect with us

World

Groceries around the country remain expensive. That's why more states want to stop taxing them

Published

on

Groceries around the country remain expensive. That's why more states want to stop taxing them

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The number of states imposing sales taxes on groceries has shrunk over the years, and the number may decrease further in the coming months as lawmakers hear complaints about high prices for eggs and other household staples.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday unveiled the details of her proposal to eradicate the remaining 1/8th of a cent sales tax the state levies on groceries. Lawmakers in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama and are also calling for grocery-tax reductions.

The efforts come as states face uncertainty about their budgets because of cuts in Medicaid and other federal programs being eyed by Republicans in Washington. But supporters of the tax cuts are citing headlines about soaring egg prices as the reason they are needed now.

“We’re getting rid of Arkansas’ most regressive tax and giving a helping hand to those who need it the most,” Sanders, a Republican, said at a news conference to discuss the proposal.

The number of states taxing groceries has decreased in recent years, with laws eliminating the state levy taking effect in Oklahoma and Kansas over the last year. A law eliminating Virginia’s tax on groceries took effect in 2023. A law eliminating Illinois’ 1% grocery tax is set to take effect next year.

Advertisement

State sales taxes are levied on groceries in nine states: Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah. Hawaii and Idaho offer tax credits to residents to help offset the tax, though.

In Tennessee, Republican legislative leaders have proposed abolishing the state’s 4% sales tax on groceries. The legislation comes after the state’s handful of Democratic lawmakers have unsuccessfully introduced similar proposals as they argue that Tennesseans are paying as much as 6.75% in sales tax on essentials like bread and milk in some areas with local sales taxes.

However, it is unclear how far even a GOP-backed bill will fare in Republican-dominant Tennessee. State revenues are expected to be tighter this year, and Gov. Bill Lee didn’t include a cut in his proposed budget, nor did he include a grocery sales tax holiday that has typically been included in his legislative priorities.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, one of the sponsors of the repeal, said the bill could be narrowed down to only apply to essentials hitting people’s pocketbooks the hardest rather than junk foods.

“Milk, eggs, bread, I mean, that’s a great place to start,” Lamberth said.

Advertisement

Alabama Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce tax cut legislation that will include eliminating the state’s remaining 3% grocery tax. Lawmakers in 2023 approved legislation to gradually drop it from 4% to 2%.

Democrats said families need relief.

“If we’re serious about helping working people get ahead, the best and most impactful way to do that is to take less in taxes and give them some peace of mind when they pay the rent or go to the grocery store,” Democratic Rep. Adline Clarke said in a news release.

Lawmakers have for decades have discussed removing the tax, but the proposals never came to fruition because of the loss it would cause to education funding.

A tax cut package moving its way through the Mississippi legislature would cut that state’s 7% sales tax on groceries.

Advertisement

Other grocery tax cut proposals have run into obstacles. South Dakota voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have repealed the state’s grocery tax.

Arkansas had all but eliminated the grocery tax under Sanders’ predecessors, Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe and Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. All that remains is the 1/8th sales tax that’s applied under a voter-approved constitutional amendment for outdoors programs.

Eliminating that will cost Arkansas nearly $11 million a year, a figure Sanders said the programs can absorb.

Reducing or getting rid of grocery taxes can make a state’s tax system less regressive, but it comes at a time that states face the potential of additional costs because of federal budget cuts.

States could instead look at other cuts such as earned income tax credits or child care tax credits, said Aidan Davis, state policy director for the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Advertisement

“If the goal is to make sure people can make ends meet, then I think doing it in a more targeted way makes a lot of sense,” Davis said.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, and Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report

Advertisement

World

Minneapolis on edge after fatal shooting of woman by ICE officer

Published

on

Minneapolis on edge after fatal shooting of woman by ICE officer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis was on edge Thursday following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer taking part in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, with the governor calling for people to remain calm and schools canceling classes and activities as a safety precaution.

State and local officials demanded ICE leave the state after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good was shot in the head. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said agents are not going anywhere.

The Department of Homeland Security has deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area in what it says is its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. Noem said more than 1,500 people have been arrested.

Macklin Good’s killing Wednesday morning in a residential neighborhood south of downtown was recorded on video by witnesses, and by the evening hundreds of people came out for a vigil to mourn her and urge the public to resist immigration enforcement. Some then chanted as they marched through the city, but there was no violence.

“I would love for ICE to leave our city and for more community members to come to see it happens,” said Sander Kolodziej, a painter who came to the vigil to support the community.

Advertisement

The videos of the shooting show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.

Follow on

Advertisement

It is not clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.

In another recording made afterward, a woman who identifies Macklin Good as her spouse is seen crying near the vehicle. The woman, who is not identified, says the couple recently arrived in Minnesota and they had a child.

Noem called the incident an “act of domestic terrorism” against ICE officers, saying the driver “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”

President Donald Trump made similar accusations on social media and defended ICE’s work.

Noem alleged that the woman was part of a “mob of agitators” and said the officer followed his training. She said the FBI would investigate.

Advertisement

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Noem’s version of events “garbage.”

“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense,” Frey said. “Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullshit.”

He also criticized the federal deployment and said the agents should leave.

The shooting marked a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. Wednesday’s is at least the fifth death linked to the crackdowns.

The Twin Cities have been on edge since DHS announced the operation’s launch Tuesday, at least partly tied to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

Advertisement

A crowd of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting to vent their anger at local and federal officers.

In a scene that hearkened back to crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, people chanted “ICE out of Minnesota” and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during the operations.

Gov. Tim Walz said he was prepared to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He expressed outrage over the shooting but called on people to keep protests peaceful.

“They want a show,” Walz said. “We can’t give it to them.”

There were calls on social media to prosecute the officer who shot Macklin Good.

Advertisement

Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities would investigate the shooting with federal authorities.

___

Dell’Orto reported from St. Paul, Minnesota. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, Mark Vancleave in Las Vegas, Michael Biesecker In Washington, Jim Mustian in New York and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

‘Irregular’ armed guards aboard Russian shadow tankers alarm Nordic-Baltic governments

Published

on

‘Irregular’ armed guards aboard Russian shadow tankers alarm Nordic-Baltic governments

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The seizure of a Russian-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic has highlighted “worry” among NATO and Nordic-Baltic governments over dark fleet vessels and the type of crews onboard, according to a maritime intelligence analyst.

U.S. military and Coast Guard personnel boarded the Marinera between Iceland and the U.K. Wednesday as it operated under deceptive shipping practices, including flying a false flag and violating sanctions.

According to Reuters, Russian authorities demanded the humane treatment and repatriation of the crew members.

Windward maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann claimed the Marinera’s ownership had just been transferred to Burevestmarin LLC, a Russian company.

Advertisement

TREASURY TARGETS OIL TRADERS, TANKERS ACCUSED OF HELPING MADURO EVADE U.S. SANCTIONS

U.S. forces seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, according to the U.S. military. (US European Command)

“We do not know the status of these sailors and seafarers, who are Russian nationals,” Wiese Bockmann told Fox News Digital. “That lack of clarity is common with dark fleet tankers.

“The Marinera did have its ownership transferred to a newly formed Russian company, with the registered owner, ship manager and commercial manager being Burevestmarin LLC.”

She also suggested NATO and the Nordic-Baltic 8+ group of governments have been “worried” about sanctioned oil tankers with unauthorized personnel onboard, including “armed guards.”

Advertisement

WORLD’S BIGGEST OIL RESERVE HOLDER FACES US CHOKEHOLD AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELA’S SHADOW TANKER FLEET

U.S. forces seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker in the North Atlantic Sea Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, according to the U.S. military. (US European Command)

“Increasingly, and I know the Nordic Baltic 8+ governments are worried about the fact that you are having unauthorized people also on board, also known as armed guards,” Wiese Bockmann said. “But it is highly irregular.

“Armed guards are rarely seen and typically used on ships that are transiting the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea and are therefore assessed as at risk from attack by Houthis or pirates,” she added.

After the seizure, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected Russian demands for special treatment of the Marinera’s crew during her regular briefing Wednesday.

Advertisement

“This was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that had transported sanctioned oil,” Leavitt said.

“The vessel was deemed stateless after flying a false flag, and it had a judicial seizure order. And that’s why the crew will be subject to prosecution.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “closely following” the situation, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

US COAST GUARD PURSUES THIRD ‘DARK FLEET’ OIL TANKER AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELAN SANCTIONS EVASION NETWORK

A crude oil tanker waits its turn to be loaded with crude oil at Lake Maracaibo in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, May 9, 2025.  (Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images)

Advertisement

Wiese Bockmann noted that dark fleet crews are often multinational, typically involving a Russian master with Chinese, Indian or Filipino crew members.

“There is a blurring of commercial and military shipping around the dark fleet,” she said. “What we’re seeing now is something that has really only emerged in the last six or seven months.”

European authorities have also begun holding crews accountable, particularly when captains are “facilitating dangerous deceptive shipping practices, such as spoofing and going dark,” she explained.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The EU recently sanctioned the captain of a tanker who refused orders from the Estonian navy (Jaguar) to be stopped for inspection last May. And the French charged a captain over his refusal to comply with orders and failure to justify a flag’s nationality after authorities intercepted a dark fleet tanker in the Atlantic last October,” Wiese Bockmann added.

Advertisement

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, a second vessel, the M. Sophia, was also boarded in international waters near the Caribbean while en route to Venezuela.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland

Published

on

Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland

DEVELOPING STORY,

Secessionist leader took a boat to Berbera and then boarded a plane that flew to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu, coalition says.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen has announced that the leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) has fled to the United Arab Emirates via Somaliland after skipping planned peace talks in Riyadh.

In a statement on Thursday, the coalition said Aidarous al-Zubaidi “escaped in the dead of night” on Wednesday on board a vessel that departed Aden in Yemen for the port of Berbera in Somaliland.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

Al-Zubaidi then boarded a plane along with UAE officers and flew to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. “The plane turned off its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, then turned it back on 10 minutes prior to arrival at Al Reef military airport in Abu Dhabi,” the statement said.

Advertisement

There was no immediate comment from the STC or the UAE.

If confirmed, the move could deepen the feud between Saudi Arabia and the UAE that came to light after the Abu Dhabi-backed STC launched an offensive against the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government troops in December.

The STC – which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen – is seeking an independent state in southern Yemen. It seized the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, which border Saudi Arabia, in a campaign that Riyadh described as a red line for its national security.

The Saudi-led coalition responded with air strikes on the Yemeni port of Mukalla on December 30, targeting what it called a UAE-linked weapons shipment, and backed a call by Yemen’s internationally recognised government for Emirati forces to withdraw from the country.

For its part, Abu Dhabi denied that the shipment contained weapons and expressed a commitment to ensure Riyadh’s security. On the same day, it announced an end to what it called its “counterterrorism mission” in Yemen.

Advertisement

Yemeni government troops, backed by Saudi Arabian air attacks, went on to reclaim Hadramout and Mahra, and the STC said on Saturday that it would attend peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia.

But the coalition said al-Zubaidi was not on board the Yemeni Air flight that took the STC delegation to Riyadh on Wednesday.

It launched strikes on al-Zubaidi’s forces in Yemen’s Dhale governorate, while Yemeni government’s ground forces moved on the STC controlled Aden and seized the presidential palace in the city.

The head of the internationally recognised government’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has meanwhile announced that al-Zubaidi has been removed from the council for “committing high treason”.

Al-Alimi said he has asked the country’s attorney general to launch an investigation against al-Zubaidi and take legal action.

Advertisement

INTERACTIVE_YEMEN_CONTROL_MAP_DECEMBER 9_2025-1765288083

Continue Reading

Trending