Biden Looks to Raise US Corporate Taxes, with Dozens of Companies Now Paying Nothing 

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U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to raise corporate income tax rates to help pay for his proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure spending plan, but dozens of the country’s biggest and best-known companies are currently legally avoiding paying any federal taxes. Biden says he wants to raise the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. The rate was cut from 35% in 2017 under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.  FILE – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a virtual roundtable with participants from Black Chambers of Commerce across the country to discuss the American Rescue Plan, Feb. 5, 2021.On Monday, U.S. Treasurymore

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Supreme Court Dismisses Case over Trump and Twitter Critics

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The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case over former President Donald Trump’s efforts to block critics from his personal Twitter account.The court said there was nothing left to the case after Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and ended his presidential term in January.Twitter banned Trump two days after the deadly attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6. The company said its decision was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”The court also formally threw out an appeals court ruling that found Trump violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to silencemore

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Energy Secretary: Biden to Push Through Infrastructure Plan if No Republican Support

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U.S. President Joe Biden would be willing to push through his $2 trillion infrastructure plan without the support of Republican lawmakers if he cannot reach a bipartisan deal, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Sunday. Granholm said Biden would prefer that his plan have Republican backing but, if that does not work, he would likely support using a procedural strategy called reconciliation to allow Democrats to pass it in the Senate. “As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America. And if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, across the country support spendingmore

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To the Bank! Suggs Hits the Winner, Zags Top UCLA 93-90

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Jalen Suggs took the inbounds pass and saw nothing but clear sailing. Three dribbles. Past the half-court line. A little stutter-step.And straight into history.The Gonzaga freshman banked in a shot at the buzzer from near the Final Four logo for a 93-90 overtime win over UCLA on Saturday night that vaulted the Bulldogs to within one win of an undefeated season and the national title.  Talk about a perfect finish!This thriller in the national semifinal was the best game of the tournament, and, considering the stakes, it served up possibly the best ending in the history of March Madness —more

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US, Japan and South Korea Agree to Keep Up Pressure on North Korea

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The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed in high-level security talks Friday to work together to keep up pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.In a joint statement after a day of talks, U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Kitamura, and South Korea’s national security adviser, Suh Hoon, reaffirmed their commitment to address the issue “through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization.”The three countries also agreed on the need for full implementation by the international community of U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea, “preventing proliferation,more

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Scholars Rally to Defend Colleagues Sanctioned by Beijing

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Hundreds of academics and intellectuals around the world are signing onto a joint statement in support of European colleagues who have been banned by Beijing from visiting China and hit with other sanctions because of their work.The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the sanctions last week against the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Germany, the Alliance of Democracies Foundation in Denmark and other individuals and institutions, accusing them of actions that “severely harm China’s sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation.”In announcing the move, the ministry made clear it was reacting to sanctions announced earlier this month bymore

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Blind Pakistani Student is Fully Able to Win Rhodes Scholarship 

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For Khansa Maria, a student at Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar, her advocacy work for people with disabilities is personal.Maria is blind and has faced disability challenges growing up in Pakistan. And she will use that experience, she said, when she heads to Oxford University next fall as Pakistan’s 2021 Rhodes Scholar-elect, to pursue a master’s degree in evidence-based policy intervention and social evaluation.“I do have a disability, I am blind, and I firsthand experienced the impacts of not having an inclusive society,” Maria said, noting she wants to give back.“I do have a certain responsibility to my community tomore

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Biden Taps 5 Cabinet Members to Advance Infrastructure Plan

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U.S. President Joe Biden held his first Cabinet meeting Thursday, directing five Cabinet members to lead the way in explaining his $2 trillion infrastructure plan to the American public.Biden, who unveiled the massive program to repair the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges and ramp up broadband internet connections on Wednesday, also instructed all of his agency chiefs to look at their spending plans to make sure “Buy American” rules are being followed, to maximize job opportunities for U.S. workers.Biden Unveils $2 Trillion US Jobs, Infrastructure PlanPresident’s plan aims to put the United States in position to out-compete China and othermore

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Economists See Biden Infrastructure Plan Powering Growth; Criticism Muted

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President Joe Biden’s plan announced Wednesday to plow $2 trillion into an eight-year overhaul of U.S. infrastructure was met with only limited carping from many voices normally critical of government spending. Meanwhile, economists expressed broad agreement that the plan, as proposed, would power long-run economic growth.It is certainly possible that pumping that much money into the economy, with interest rates near zero and a nascent recovery already taking shape, could cause inflation, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com.However, he said, “The other part of the discussion is, there’s clearly a huge risk from failing to address infrastructure needs.more

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US Federal Student Debt Forgiven for Disabled Borrowers

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Student loan borrowers in the United States with total and permanent disability will have their debt discharged, the U.S. Department of Education (DoED) has announced.”Borrowers with total and permanent disabilities should focus on their well-being, not put their health on the line to submit earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a press release.”Waiving these requirements will ensure no borrower who is totally and permanently disabled risks having to repay their loans simply because they could not submit paperwork.” US Students With Disabilities Afforded Equality Reasonable accommodations have been available to students in the US sincemore

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Biden Releases First Diverse Slate of Judicial Nominees

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President Joe Biden released his first slate of 11 federal judicial nominations on Wednesday, including three Black women for federal circuit court vacancies, a Muslim American and an Asian American and Pacific Islander. “This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession,” Biden said in a statement that emphasized their “broad diversity of background experience and perspective.” The nominees, which include nine women, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The Black women nominated for federal circuit court vacancies include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Court of Appeals formore

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Hazy Forecast for Biden’s Goal of a Green Electrical Grid

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Powering a large, industrialized country can be a dirty business.The United States still relies primarily on fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal to produce nearly 400,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually for commercial, industrial and residential consumers.President Joe Biden wants the United States, by the year 2035, to have carbon-free electricity or what is termed “net zero,” meaning an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and so-called carbon offsets, such as planting of trees.“There’s no way that it is feasible without technologies that aren’t currently in the marketplace today,” Mike Sommers, president and chief executive officer ofmore

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Thai Teen Faces Jail for Allegedly Defaming King

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A 16-year-old Thai is potentially facing jail for allegedly defaming the country’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn by wearing a crop top, as Thailand’s youth-driven pro-democracy protests are gradually being quashed by a royalist establishment armed with draconian laws.The country’s lèse-majesté law, known better as “112,” after its section in the Thai criminal code, carries three to 15 years in jail for each charge of “defaming, insulting or threatening” key players in the palace, effectively shielding the powerful monarchy from criticism.Lèse-majesté allegations have been filed against at least 71 protesters, with seven key leaders denied bail so far as they await trial.Themore

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Universities Serve as Mass Vaccination Centers

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Mass vaccination centers are emerging around the U.S. as more doses are rolled out more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Colleges and universities around the U.S. have turned into these centers, serving thousands of patients a day. VOA’s Kathleen Struck reports. Producer and camera: Mike Burke.  …

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US House Impeaches Trump for Second Time

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The Democratic-majority US House impeached President Donald Trump Wednesday, charging him with inciting an insurrection attempting to overturn the Electoral College vote count at the US Capitol last week. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, the trial in the US Senate will not start until after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated next week. Producers: Katherine Gypson and Jesse Oni  …

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Washington Beefs Up Security Ahead of Presidential Inauguration

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The same day the U.S. Congress voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, the nation’s capital prepared to welcome thousands more National Guard troops to help keep the peace during next week’s transfer of power.“I think you can expect to see somewhere upwards of beyond 20,000 members of the National Guard that will be here,” Robert Contee, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, told reporters Wednesday.Defense officials confirmed the increased authorization, which came just days after the National Guard said it was sending up to 15,000 troops to the city tomore

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Trump Administration Slashes Imperiled Spotted Owls’ Habitat

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The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would slash millions of acres of protected habitat designated for the imperiled northern spotted owl in Oregon, Washington state and Northern California, much of it in prime timber locations in Oregon’s coastal ranges. Environmentalists immediately decried the move and accused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under President Donald Trump of taking a parting shot at protections designed to help restore the species in favor of the timber industry.  The tiny owl is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and was rejected for an upgrade to endangered status last year by themore

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Can Trump Pardon Himself Before He Leaves Office?

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Once confined to scholarly circles, the debate over whether a president can pardon himself has gained urgency in the wake of last week’s violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters. The riots led to Trump’s historic second impeachment this week and sparked Democratic calls for a federal investigation into Trump’s role in inciting the violence.  That in turn has renewed the question of whether Trump may use the power of presidential pardon on himself in order to escape future prosecution. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California signs the article of impeachment against President Donald Trump in an engrossmentmore

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US House Impeaches Trump for Inciting Deadly Capitol Riot

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The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on Wednesday, declaring that he incited insurrection last week when he implored thousands of his supporters to march to the Capitol to try to overturn his reelection loss, prompting a mob demonstration that turned into deadly mayhem.The 232-197 majority for impeachment, with just a week remaining in Trump’s four-year term as the U.S. leader, was made up of Democratic Party lawmakers joined by 10 of Trump’s fellow Republicans.The House vote made Trump the first of the country’s 45 presidents in its 245-year history to be impeached twice.He was acquitted by themore

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US House Impeaches Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’

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The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted in favor of an unprecedented second impeachment of President Donald Trump, with the majority Democrats accusing him of inciting insurrection by encouraging what became a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol. The final vote tally was 232 – 197. Ten Republicans joined Democrats in approving the measure.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump a threat to “liberty, self-government and the rule of law.”   U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) walks to the House Chamber as Democrats debate an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.But a staunch Trumpmore

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House Begins Debate on Article of Impeachment Against Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’

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The U.S. House of Representatives is voting Wednesday on the unprecedented second impeachment of President Donald Trump. Democrats hold a majority in the chamber and have enough votes to approve impeachment on their own, but they are being joined by a growing number of Republicans. */ /*–>*/ WATCH LIVE: US House of Representatives floor proceedingsCongresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler announced late Tuesday she would vote in favor of impeachment, saying in a statement Trump “acted against his oath of office.” “The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Herreramore

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NYC to Cancel Business Contracts with Trump Organization

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New York City, U.S. President Donald Trump’s hometown, says it will cancel all contracts with his business organization because of the deadly insurrection by Trump supporters last week at the U.S. Capitol. “The City of New York will not be associated with those unforgiveable acts in any shape, way or form,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday in a formal statement.  De Blasio said he has begun the process of “severing all contracts” to operate a carousel and two ice rinks in Central Park that net Trump’s company about $17 million a year.Trump’s son, Eric, denounced the move and said itmore

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Biden Picks Samantha Power for USAID Post

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President-elect Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has picked Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama, to run the agency overseeing American foreign humanitarian and development aid.   If confirmed by the Senate, Power will head the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has an annual budget of about $20 billion. Biden also announced that he is elevating the position to the National Security Council within the White House, a signal that he will prioritize outreach to other nations.   Biden has said that USAID will coordinate America’s work to lead a global responsemore

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