President Donald Trump "has no intention" of releasing his tax returns to the public, the US treasury secretary has said.
Mr Trump has repeatedly refused to make his past returns public, breaking a decades-long tradition adhered to by his predecessors in the White House.
He has claimed the decision is because his taxes are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary, made the claim during a news conference on the President's new proposed tax plan on Wednesday.
He said: "The president has released plenty of information and I think has given more financial disclosure than anybody else.
"I think the American population has plenty of information."
It comes as Mr Trump proposed slashing the US tax rate on corporate tax from 35% to 15% as he looks to boost economic growth and bring jobs to America.
:: Trump administration proposes corporate tax cuts of 20%
Mr Trump also wants to reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three, double the standard deduction that Americans can claim on their tax returns and repeal the estate tax and alternative minimum tax.
Under those proposals, Mr Trump's family would stand to save significantly in future years. Mr Mnuchin declined to comment on any potential conflict of interest the changes could raise.
Under US law, only Congress can make major tax law changes.
A petition launched in January calling for Mr Trump's full tax returns to be released received more than one million signatures, meaning the White House has to make a formal response to it.
The wording of the petition read: "The unprecedented economic conflicts of this administration need to be visible to the American people, including any pertinent documentation which can reveal the foreign influences and financial interests which may put Donald Trump in conflict with the emoluments clause of the Constitution."
Protests have taken place across the US asking for the returns to be published, but earlier this month Mr Trump claimed those taking part had been "paid" to do so.
Mr Trump's tax returns dating from 2005 were leaked last month, and revealed he had paid $36.5 or roughly 25% on the $153m he earned that year.
That figure is well above the 10% rate the average American taxpayer is faced with, but below the average of 27.4% of those earning more than $1m a year.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Lib Dems drop 'anti-Semitic' candidate David Ward
A former Liberal Democrat MP branded "anti-Semitic" has been dramatically sacked as a candidate only hours after being condemned by Theresa May in the Commons.
David Ward, MP for Bradford East from 2010-15, was selected by party activists in the constituency as their General Election candidate in a bid to win back the seat from Labour.
But just two hours after the Prime Minister hit out at his "questionable views", the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron - in an abrupt and spectacular U-turn - announced that he had sacked him.
"I believe in a politics that is open, tolerant and united," said Mr Farron. "David Ward is unfit to represent the party and I have sacked him."
Yet two hours before PMQs, Mr Farron - despite saying Mr Ward had said things that were "wrong, offensive and above all anti-Semitic" - had declared: "It is not the job of the leader to impose who and who isn't the candidate."
Mr Ward's dismissal by his party leader came after he was attacked during the final Prime Minister's Questions before the election by the former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Eric Pickles.
Sir Eric, a former leader of Bradford City Council who is quitting as an MP, said party leaders must do more than "pay lip service" to tackling anti-Semitism.
And he asked the PM: "Do you share my disgust that a former member of this House, criticised by the Home Affairs Select Committee for his anti-Semitic utterances, is now the official candidate in Bradford East for the Liberal Democrats?"
Mr Ward has been a controversial figure since accusing Jews of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians" in a 2013 blog in which he compared Jewish suffering in the Holocaust with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
In 2014 he was forced to apologise after suggesting he might be ready to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. A year later he lost his seat to Labour in the 2015 general election.
But when Mr Farron gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee's anti-Semitism inquiry last year, he said the ex-MP had "served his time".
Replying to Sir Eric's question, Mrs May said: "People will be, I think, rightly disappointed to see the Liberal Democrats re-adopt a candidate with a questionable record on anti-Semitism.
"It is important that all parties maintain the strongest possible censure on all forms of intolerance and send that message to our communities."
David Ward, MP for Bradford East from 2010-15, was selected by party activists in the constituency as their General Election candidate in a bid to win back the seat from Labour.
But just two hours after the Prime Minister hit out at his "questionable views", the Lib Dem leader Tim Farron - in an abrupt and spectacular U-turn - announced that he had sacked him.
"I believe in a politics that is open, tolerant and united," said Mr Farron. "David Ward is unfit to represent the party and I have sacked him."
Yet two hours before PMQs, Mr Farron - despite saying Mr Ward had said things that were "wrong, offensive and above all anti-Semitic" - had declared: "It is not the job of the leader to impose who and who isn't the candidate."
Mr Ward's dismissal by his party leader came after he was attacked during the final Prime Minister's Questions before the election by the former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Eric Pickles.
Sir Eric, a former leader of Bradford City Council who is quitting as an MP, said party leaders must do more than "pay lip service" to tackling anti-Semitism.
And he asked the PM: "Do you share my disgust that a former member of this House, criticised by the Home Affairs Select Committee for his anti-Semitic utterances, is now the official candidate in Bradford East for the Liberal Democrats?"
Mr Ward has been a controversial figure since accusing Jews of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians" in a 2013 blog in which he compared Jewish suffering in the Holocaust with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
In 2014 he was forced to apologise after suggesting he might be ready to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. A year later he lost his seat to Labour in the 2015 general election.
But when Mr Farron gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee's anti-Semitism inquiry last year, he said the ex-MP had "served his time".
Replying to Sir Eric's question, Mrs May said: "People will be, I think, rightly disappointed to see the Liberal Democrats re-adopt a candidate with a questionable record on anti-Semitism.
"It is important that all parties maintain the strongest possible censure on all forms of intolerance and send that message to our communities."
Jurassic Park: Jeff Goldblum reprises role in sequel
Jeff Goldblum will reprise his Jurassic Park role in the upcoming sequel to the 2015 spin-off Jurassic World.
The 64-year-old actor will play sarcastic mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm for the third time in his career, after starring in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goldblum will appear alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the upcoming spin-off, directed by JA Bayona.
The Spanish filmmaker was behind the 2016 fantasy film A Monster Calls and the 2012 disaster movie The Impossible.
Colin Trevorrow, who directed Jurassic World, wrote the script for the sequel with Derek Connolly.
Jurassic World earned $1.67bn worldwide in 2015 and is the fourth-highest-grossing film in history.
It comes after Goldblum said he had not been asked to appear in Jurassic World and he was "entirely satisfied" with his work on the franchise.
"If I never did any more, I'd be entirely nourished and happy and fulfilled from having done these," he said.
"They're doing spectacularly well without me."
Later this year, Goldblum will appear in Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok as the Grandmaster - the first film since his latest box-office flop Independence Day: Resurgence.
The as-yet-untitled Jurassic World sequel - the fifth instalment in the franchise - is due to be released in June 2018.
The 64-year-old actor will play sarcastic mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm for the third time in his career, after starring in the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goldblum will appear alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the upcoming spin-off, directed by JA Bayona.
The Spanish filmmaker was behind the 2016 fantasy film A Monster Calls and the 2012 disaster movie The Impossible.
Colin Trevorrow, who directed Jurassic World, wrote the script for the sequel with Derek Connolly.
Jurassic World earned $1.67bn worldwide in 2015 and is the fourth-highest-grossing film in history.
It comes after Goldblum said he had not been asked to appear in Jurassic World and he was "entirely satisfied" with his work on the franchise.
"If I never did any more, I'd be entirely nourished and happy and fulfilled from having done these," he said.
"They're doing spectacularly well without me."
Later this year, Goldblum will appear in Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok as the Grandmaster - the first film since his latest box-office flop Independence Day: Resurgence.
The as-yet-untitled Jurassic World sequel - the fifth instalment in the franchise - is due to be released in June 2018.
UN warned Trump that ObamaCare repeal could violate international law
The United Nations warned the Trump administration earlier this year that repealing ObamaCare without providing an adequate replacement would be a violation of multiple international laws, according to a new report.
Though the Trump administration is likely to ignore the U.N. warning, The Washington Post reported the Office of the U.N. High Commission on Human Rights in Geneva sent an "urgent appeal" on Feb 2.
The Post reported that the confidential, five-page memo cautioned that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would put the U.S. “at odds with its international obligations.”
The warning was sent to the State Department and reportedly said the U.N. expressed “serious concern” about the prospective loss of health coverage for 30 million people, that in turn could violate “the right to social security of the people in the United States.”
Congressional Republicans failed in March to pass an ObamaCare replacement bill. A new proposal is emerging on Capitol Hill, but it's unclear when it might be considered and how sweeping it may be.
A spokesman for the U.N.’s human rights office in Geneva confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was sent by Dainius Puras, a Lithuanian doctor who serves the U.N. as “Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”
Xabier Celaya, a spokesman for the U.N., said Puras cannot comment on his ObamaCare letter until it becomes public in June.
Though the report calls out the Trump administration, there’s very little the U.N. can actually do.
According to the report, the letter sent to the Trump administration also was supposed to be shared with the majority and minority leaders in both houses of Congress -- but that did not happen.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s office said they never received the letter, as did officials in House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. The letter from Puras did make its way to the Department of Health and Human Services, where an unnamed employee supposedly leaked it.
Though the Trump administration is likely to ignore the U.N. warning, The Washington Post reported the Office of the U.N. High Commission on Human Rights in Geneva sent an "urgent appeal" on Feb 2.
The Post reported that the confidential, five-page memo cautioned that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would put the U.S. “at odds with its international obligations.”
The warning was sent to the State Department and reportedly said the U.N. expressed “serious concern” about the prospective loss of health coverage for 30 million people, that in turn could violate “the right to social security of the people in the United States.”
Congressional Republicans failed in March to pass an ObamaCare replacement bill. A new proposal is emerging on Capitol Hill, but it's unclear when it might be considered and how sweeping it may be.
A spokesman for the U.N.’s human rights office in Geneva confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was sent by Dainius Puras, a Lithuanian doctor who serves the U.N. as “Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”
Xabier Celaya, a spokesman for the U.N., said Puras cannot comment on his ObamaCare letter until it becomes public in June.
Though the report calls out the Trump administration, there’s very little the U.N. can actually do.
According to the report, the letter sent to the Trump administration also was supposed to be shared with the majority and minority leaders in both houses of Congress -- but that did not happen.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s office said they never received the letter, as did officials in House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. The letter from Puras did make its way to the Department of Health and Human Services, where an unnamed employee supposedly leaked it.
Thailand Facebook Live killing: Mum doesn't blame social media site for daughter's murder
The wife of a man in Thailand who filmed himself killing his 11-month-old daughter live on Facebook has said she bears no anger towards the social media site or the users who shared the videos.
The disturbing footage showed her husband Wuttisan Wongtalay tying a rope around his daughter's neck before dropping her from the roof of a building in Phuket.
His body was found next to his baby but his suicide was not broadcast.
Two video clips showing the child's murder were accessible on his Facebook page for around 24 hours before they were taken down.
Thai police said Wongtalay was paranoid about his wife leaving him.
Local television images later showed the child's mother, 21-year-old Chiranut Trairat, in tears as she held her dead baby girl in her arms.
"I am not angry at Facebook or blaming them on this," she told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Two video clips showing the child's murder were accessible on his Facebook page for around 24 hours before they were taken down.
Thai police said Wongtalay was paranoid about his wife leaving him.
Local television images later showed the child's mother, 21-year-old Chiranut Trairat, in tears as she held her dead baby girl in her arms.
"I am not angry at Facebook or blaming them on this," she told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
The disturbing footage showed her husband Wuttisan Wongtalay tying a rope around his daughter's neck before dropping her from the roof of a building in Phuket.
His body was found next to his baby but his suicide was not broadcast.
Two video clips showing the child's murder were accessible on his Facebook page for around 24 hours before they were taken down.
Thai police said Wongtalay was paranoid about his wife leaving him.
Local television images later showed the child's mother, 21-year-old Chiranut Trairat, in tears as she held her dead baby girl in her arms.
"I am not angry at Facebook or blaming them on this," she told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Two video clips showing the child's murder were accessible on his Facebook page for around 24 hours before they were taken down.
Thai police said Wongtalay was paranoid about his wife leaving him.
Local television images later showed the child's mother, 21-year-old Chiranut Trairat, in tears as she held her dead baby girl in her arms.
"I am not angry at Facebook or blaming them on this," she told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Alice Ruggles murder: Soldier Trimaan 'Harry' Dhillon jailed for 22 years
A soldier who stalked his ex-girlfriend before cutting her throat from ear to ear has been jailed for 22 years after being found guilty of her murder.
Lance Corporal Trimaan "Harry" Dhillon left Alice Ruggles to bleed to death on her bathroom floor after breaking into her flat in Gateshead and slashing her neck.
He fled without calling 999 but remembered to take her phone and the murder weapon.
The 26-year-old had denied the killing, saying it was Miss Ruggles who had attacked him with a knife, accidentally stabbing herself in the process.
However, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court took less than two hours to dismiss his story.
The court heard that Miss Ruggles, 24, had been terrified of her former partner, and had received an official police warning to stop him from contacting her.
However, the Special Forces hopeful ignored it, driving from his Edinburgh barracks to Gateshead to kill her in October.
Sentencing Dhillon to life with a minimum of 22 years, Judge Paul Sloan said the murder was an act of "utter barbarism".
He said: "Not a shred of remorse have you shown from first to last - indeed you were concentrating so hard on getting your story right when giving evidence you forgot even to shed a crocodile tear."
Miss Ruggles, from Leicestershire, had met Dhillon online, while he was serving in Afghanistan.
When she ended the relationship in August last year he became obsessive, hacking into her Facebook account and sending her pleading messages.
He continued even after the police order, the court heard.
When Miss Ruggles contacted police again, they asked if she wanted him to be arrested but she declined. However, she later told a friend she felt she had been "palmed off", and told her sister that the police would only "respond when he stabs me".
Following her murder, Dhillon initially denied being at her flat altogether, but was forced to change his account after Miss Ruggles' blood was found on his Help for Heroes wristband and in his BMW.
He then claimed that she had attacked him.
Miss Ruggles suffered 24 injuries while Dhillon, who was almost a foot taller and three stone heavier, escaped unharmed.
The jury was played a harrowing 999 call from Miss Ruggles' flatmate, Maxine McGill, who discovered her body.
Miss McGill named Dhillon as the culprit in the emergency call, and he was arrested at his barracks that evening.
Lance Corporal Trimaan "Harry" Dhillon left Alice Ruggles to bleed to death on her bathroom floor after breaking into her flat in Gateshead and slashing her neck.
He fled without calling 999 but remembered to take her phone and the murder weapon.
The 26-year-old had denied the killing, saying it was Miss Ruggles who had attacked him with a knife, accidentally stabbing herself in the process.
However, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court took less than two hours to dismiss his story.
The court heard that Miss Ruggles, 24, had been terrified of her former partner, and had received an official police warning to stop him from contacting her.
However, the Special Forces hopeful ignored it, driving from his Edinburgh barracks to Gateshead to kill her in October.
Sentencing Dhillon to life with a minimum of 22 years, Judge Paul Sloan said the murder was an act of "utter barbarism".
He said: "Not a shred of remorse have you shown from first to last - indeed you were concentrating so hard on getting your story right when giving evidence you forgot even to shed a crocodile tear."
Miss Ruggles, from Leicestershire, had met Dhillon online, while he was serving in Afghanistan.
When she ended the relationship in August last year he became obsessive, hacking into her Facebook account and sending her pleading messages.
He continued even after the police order, the court heard.
When Miss Ruggles contacted police again, they asked if she wanted him to be arrested but she declined. However, she later told a friend she felt she had been "palmed off", and told her sister that the police would only "respond when he stabs me".
Following her murder, Dhillon initially denied being at her flat altogether, but was forced to change his account after Miss Ruggles' blood was found on his Help for Heroes wristband and in his BMW.
He then claimed that she had attacked him.
Miss Ruggles suffered 24 injuries while Dhillon, who was almost a foot taller and three stone heavier, escaped unharmed.
The jury was played a harrowing 999 call from Miss Ruggles' flatmate, Maxine McGill, who discovered her body.
Miss McGill named Dhillon as the culprit in the emergency call, and he was arrested at his barracks that evening.
'Muddy' men's jeans on sale for £330 at Nordstrom in US
US clothing chain Nordstrom has launched a line of 'dirty' jeans which come with a 'crackled, caked-on muddy coating'.
The new product is apparently aimed at those with plenty of cash, as the retailer pockets a cool $425 (£330) for each pair.
The firm's website describes the jeans as typifying 'rugged, Americana workwear' and 'hard-working action... that shows you're not afraid to get down and dirty'.
Some reviewers, however, have not given them a clean bill of health, including the host of TV show Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe.
"Finally - a pair of jeans that look like they have been worn by someone with a dirty job… made for people who don't. And you can have your very own pair for just $425," Rowe wrote in a Facebook post that was shared thousands of times.
"The Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans aren't pants. They're not even fashion. They're a costume for wealthy people who see work as ironic - not iconic."
Another review wrote: "This is a joke, right? Do you also sell jeans covered in cow manure? Oh, that must be the deluxe model."
But not everyone was so dismissive.
"What's the beef about buying mud jeans?" one commentator said on Twitter. "If someone can afford $400 for a pair of dirty jeans, so what? Go for it!"
The chain is no stranger to pushing fashion boundaries, launching jeans with 'knee windows' last month - but for a far cheaper $95 (£74).
If you fancy giving the idea a leg-up by investing in a pair, beware of the strict cleaning instructions - machine wash cold, line dry only.
The new product is apparently aimed at those with plenty of cash, as the retailer pockets a cool $425 (£330) for each pair.
The firm's website describes the jeans as typifying 'rugged, Americana workwear' and 'hard-working action... that shows you're not afraid to get down and dirty'.
Some reviewers, however, have not given them a clean bill of health, including the host of TV show Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe.
"Finally - a pair of jeans that look like they have been worn by someone with a dirty job… made for people who don't. And you can have your very own pair for just $425," Rowe wrote in a Facebook post that was shared thousands of times.
"The Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans aren't pants. They're not even fashion. They're a costume for wealthy people who see work as ironic - not iconic."
Another review wrote: "This is a joke, right? Do you also sell jeans covered in cow manure? Oh, that must be the deluxe model."
But not everyone was so dismissive.
"What's the beef about buying mud jeans?" one commentator said on Twitter. "If someone can afford $400 for a pair of dirty jeans, so what? Go for it!"
The chain is no stranger to pushing fashion boundaries, launching jeans with 'knee windows' last month - but for a far cheaper $95 (£74).
If you fancy giving the idea a leg-up by investing in a pair, beware of the strict cleaning instructions - machine wash cold, line dry only.
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