(Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to take away funding from self-proclaimed sanctuary cities had one big exemption for one of his favorite constituencies: the police, who would be protected from cuts. But Trump’s opponents say that very exemption makes it much more likely that a judge could strike down that section of the order as unconstitutional. It is just one example of the legal arguments that cities, immigration groups and other opponents are readying as they prepare to fight an executive order signed by Trump on Wednesday that would cut federal aid to “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Lawyers for the potential challengers pointed to court rulings that said the federal government can only withhold funds to local jurisdictions if the money is directly tied to the behavior it objects to. The Trump administration cannot cut funds for sanctuary cities’ healthcare and education while preserving money for police, since those jobs relate more closely to immigration enforcement, said Richard Doyle, city attorney in San Jose, California. He said it was not clear whether existing federal funding or only future grants would be targeted.    Supporters of the new Republican president’s actions say that sanctuary cities ignore federal law and think the White House will be able to answer with a strong case in court. Federal law allows Trump to restrict public assistance “of any kind where an illegal alien could possibly benefit,” said Dale Wilcox, executive director of the Washington-based conservative Immigration Reform Law Institute.  The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio in a news conference said his chief legal officer would be in court the “hour” after any specific action to withhold money came through. “There is less here than meets the eye. This executive order is written in a very vague fashion,” said de Blasio, a Democrat. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, also a Democrat, said his office was still examining whether it could sue before Trump made any specific move to cut funds.  Trump’s order directed that funding be slashed to all jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a statute that requires local governments to share information with immigration authorities.  Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the cities can argue “they are fully in compliance with that statute,” since they do share information with federal authorities, but offer limited cooperation when it comes to turning over immigrants who are not convicted criminals. There could also be procedural snarls to implementing the cuts, lawyers who specialize in federal grants said. If the U.S. government seeks to cut off grants to a certain recipient, it must go through a complicated process known as “suspension and debarment,” and cities would have the right to appeal. “It’s fair to say that they don’t understand the scope and reach of federal grants law,” said Edward Waters, who heads the federal grants practice at the law firm Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell in Washington, referring to the Trump administration. The White House would also have to negotiate with states that are home to sanctuary cities. Nearly 90 percent of $652 billion the federal government handed out through more 1,500 separate grant programs in the most recent fiscal year went to states, not directly to cities, according to a Reuters review of federal spending data. If the Trump administration wanted to try to cut off Medicaid money to Chicago, for example, it would have to work through the state government of Illinois, which could pose an additional barrier, Waters said. Advocacy groups for immigrants’ rights said they are also preparing their own legal challenges to other aspects of two executive orders Trump signed on Wednesday, examining sections that deal with expanding detention of immigrants and changing how asylum requests are processed.  “All of our legal research is done, most of the complaints are all drafted,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, based in Los Angeles. She said litigation could be filed in the next days.

Summary: अभयारण्य शहरों में ट्रम्प के आप्रवासन आदेशों में कानूनी खामियां दिखाई देती हैं


(Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council has issued a wide range of sanctions against North Korea, including entities and individuals in the reclusive country, for pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of U.N. resolutions. The United States, Japan and South Korea have also issued sanctions on North Korea, but they are not binding on other countries. The United Nations has blacklisted 39 North Korean individuals and 42 entities, which are subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. U.N. member states are obliged to enforce the sanctions, which are far-reaching and comprehensive. However, many include gray areas and exceptions which are subject to interpretation. The following U.N. sanctions are currently in force: North Korea is under a total U.N. arms embargo. The sale of all arms and related materiel is banned. Any financial transactions related to the procurement of North Korean arms are also included under the sanctions.  The embargo has been in place since 2006 and was expanded in 2009 to include small arms and light weapons. North Korea is also prohibited from selling helicopters under U.N. sanctions. Under U.N. sanctions, North Korea is banned or partially banned from selling coal, iron, iron ore, gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, copper, nickel, silver, zinc and rare earth minerals. Coal exports are allowed up to a maximum of $400.87 million or 7,500,000 metric tonnes a year, whichever is lower, provided U.N. member states do not purchase the coal from a sanctioned entity, and can prove that the coal is for “livelihood purposes”. China, North Korea’s biggest trade partner, said in February it would suspend all imports of coal from North Korea for the rest of the year as part of its efforts to implement the sanctions.   Externally-sourced coal which transits through the North Korean city of Rason, where Russia maintains a warm-water port, is exempt from the ban. Sales of North Korean copper, nickel, silver and zinc are completely banned under U.N. sanctions. Only sales of aviation fuel, jet fuel and rocket fuel to North Korea are banned under U.N. sanctions. The ban does not apply to North Korean civilian aircraft, including state airline Air Koryo. There are no restrictions on crude oil or other oil products. Any financial services which contribute to North Korea’s banned missile and nuclear programs, or help Pyongyang evade sanctions, are banned by the United Nations. Member states are prohibited from opening branches, subsidiaries or offices of North Korean banks. Joint ventures, ownership, or correspondent banking relationships with North Korean banks is banned.  Member states are required to expel and repatriate any individuals working for a North Korean bank or institution on their territory, and limit the number of bank accounts for North Korean diplomatic missions. U.N. member states are required to de-register any vessel which is owned, operated or crewed by North Korea, meaning North Korean-owned ships cannot fly the flag of another country, which has been one way of evading detection. Member states are also not allowed to provide insurance services to North Korean ships. North Korea is prohibited from selling its ships under U.N. sanctions. It also cannot provide North Korean crews to ships from other countries. The U.N. has not sanctioned North Korea’s state-owned airline, Air Koryo. It has, however, banned the sale of aviation fuel, jet fuel and rocket fuel to North Korea, but Air Koryo and any North Korean civilian aircraft refueling overseas are exempt from this. U.N. member states are required to prohibit, inspect or deny landing of any North Korean aircraft within their territory they suspect to be carrying banned items, or taking part in any prohibited activities.  Separately, the United States has unilaterally sanctioned Air Koryo, banning its citizens from doing business with the airline. It is unclear, however, if the sanctions cover U.S. citizens using the airline to travel to North Korea for tourism. U.N. member states are required to inspect any cargo destined for, coming from or brokered by North Korea, whether by air, sea, road or rail. This includes the inspection of checked or carry-on baggage of people traveling to or from North Korea. It is illegal under U.N. sanctions to directly or indirectly supply luxury goods to North Korea. In the case of North Korea, the U.N. defines luxury goods as: Jewellery and precious stones, yachts, luxury cars, racing cars, luxury watches, snowmobiles, jet skis, recreational sports equipment, tableware worth more than $100 and rugs or tapestries worth more than $500. The resolutions require member states to reduce the number of staff at North Korean diplomatic missions. North Korean diplomats or consular officials are only allowed one bank account each. The use of real estate for any non-diplomatic or consular activities in member states’ territories is banned. The training of or by North Koreans in military, police and paramilitary techniques is banned.  With the exception of medical exchanges, U.N. member states are not allowed to provide training or cooperation in the fields of nuclear science, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and advanced aeronautical, chemical, mechanical, electrical or industrial engineering. The sale of North Korean statues is banned under U.N. sanctions.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः उत्तर कोरिया पर संयुक्त राष्ट्र के प्रतिबंध वर्तमान में लागू हैं


MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami area police arrested more than 50 suspected looters during Hurricane Irma, including 26 people who were accused of breaking into a single Wal-Mart (WMT.N> store, authorities said on Tuesday. City officials on Tuesday lifted a local 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew that had been in place since Sunday. As normality began to return, police commanders said officers will work 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, to discourage any more criminality.  I said we would not tolerate criminal activity or looting or anybody who takes advantage of our residents,  Deputy Chief of Police Luis Cabrera said at a news conference.  I was not joking.  The Wal-Mart incident took place on Saturday night at a store on the north side of the City of Miami, said Miami-Dade Police Department spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta. Among others suspected of looting were six men arrested on Monday and accused of breaking into stores at the Midtown Miami shopping complex, near the fashionable Wynwood district, before making off with merchandise that included shoes, bags and laptops. The looting attempts spanned the city, said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, from the well-heeled Brickell and downtown neighborhoods to the low-income Liberty City and Little Haiti areas. He said police will stay vigilant as the cleanup goes on. Officers have also been busy trawling roads that can be perilous for motorists because power cuts shut off traffic lights at intersections and streets have accumulated shredded vegetation spread by the storm s powerful winds.  We have never experienced, not even with Hurricane Andrew, the amount of trees that are downed in the city,  Regalado told the news conference. Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992.  Since Irma began bearing down on the state late last week, authorities have been warning any would-be looters against taking advantage of the situation. Rick Maglione, the police chief of Fort Lauderdale, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami, told residents to stay home during the storm and look after their loved ones.  Going to prison over a pair of sneakers is a fairly bad life choice,  Maglione said in a statement. Miami police posted a photo on Facebook of several accused looters sitting in a jail cell under the caption:  Thinking about looting? Ask these guys how that turned out. #stayindoors.

Summary: मियामी में इरमा के दौरान लूटपाट के आरोप में 50 से अधिक गिरफ्तारः पुलिस


LONDON (Reuters) - A spokesman for Iran s armed forces warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday against threatening the Islamic Republic and said Iranian forces would teach the United States  new lessons .  It seems the Trump administration only understands swear words, and needs some shocks to understand the new meaning of power in the world,  Iranian Armed Forces spokesman Masoud Jazayeri, who is also a Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying by ISNA.  It is time to teach Americans new lessons  he said.

Summary: ईरान के सशस्त्र बलों ने अमेरिका को 'नए सबक' सिखाने का समय बतायाः ISNA


MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suicide bomb attackers killed 10 people and wounded 30 in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Wednesday, an emergency agency official said.  Islamist militant group Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people since 2009 as part of its attempt to create an Islamic state in the Lake Chad basin.  No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which emergency officials and members of a government-approved vigilante group said was carried out by four female bombers in the Muna Garage district of Maiduguri at about 06:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).  The use of female bombers is a hallmark of Boko Haram attacks.   We have so far recorded 10 people s deaths and about 30 victims injured,  said Bello Dambatta, a spokesman for the State Emergency Agency (SEMA). Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state and the city worst hit by the jihadist insurgency. At least 221 people have been killed in bombings and gun attacks in northeast Nigeria since June, according to a Reuters tally.

Summary: नाइजीरिया के मैदुगुरी में आत्मघाती हमलावरों ने 10 लोगों की हत्या कीः आपातकालीन अधिकारी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump is taking some of his potential vice presidential running mates out for a test drive this week, meeting in private and trotting them out in public as he seeks to make his choice before the Republican National Convention less than two weeks away.  Republicans close to the campaign say Trump and his team are considering announcing his running mate pick next week ahead of the convention, to be held July 18-21 in Cleveland, to try to get maximum media buzz from the decision. As his aides vet the people on his short list, Trump is getting an up-close look at some of the candidates and talking about it publicly, dispensing with the usual tradition of keeping secret the process of choosing a running mate. Trump, who is to be formally nominated at the convention as the Republican candidate for the Nov. 8 election, met privately on Tuesday with one possible pick, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, at Trump Tower in New York. On Tuesday night, the two appeared together at a Trump rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. Trump introduced Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as “a great friend of mine, somebody respected by everybody.” Then it was Corker’s turn.  “I’ve figured out the reason why you love him so much,” the senator told the crowd. “The reason you love him so much is because he loves you. He loves you and he wants the best for you.”      On Wednesday, Trump is to be joined for an event in Cincinnati by Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who is another possible pick by Trump for the No. 2 position. Gingrich has been a close Trump adviser and is well regarded at Trump Tower. On Monday, Trump met on Monday with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, another candidate on his short list. Others on Trump’s running mate list include Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who Trump met with on Saturday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Christie, a former Trump rival for the Republican nomination, and Sessions are among Trump’s earliest supporters in the party and closest advisers.

Summary: टेस्ट ड्राइव के लिए संभावित वी. पी. दौड़ने वाले साथियों को ले जाते हैं ट्रम्प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said in a statement to congressional committees on Monday that he “did not collude” with Russia or seek back channels with Moscow last year. “I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,” Kushner said in a written statement released before his appearance in closed-door meetings with members of the U.S. Congress. “I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector,” he said. Kushner said he had “perhaps four contacts with Russian representatives” during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition period after Trump’s victory.

Summary: कुशनर ने बयान में कहा, 'मैंने विदेशी सरकार के साथ सांठगांठ नहीं की'


PARIS (Reuters) - ITER, an international project to build a prototype nuclear fusion reactor in southern France, said it is facing delays if the Trump administration does not reconsider budget cuts. Seven partners - Europe, the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia and South Korea - launched the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) 10 years ago but the project has experienced years of delays and budget overruns. ITER hopes to generate power from a process similar to the nuclear fusion that powers the sun, unlike existing nuclear reactors that produce energy by splitting atoms. ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot, in Washington for talks with the U.S. administration, said the U.S. 2017 contribution had been cut from a planned $105 million to $50 million and its 2018 contribution from a planned $120 million to $63 million. The United States has already spent about $1 billion on the prototype reactor and was scheduled to contribute up to another $1.5 billion through 2025, when ITER is scheduled to run a first operational test.  If we do not respect deadlines in the beginning, we cannot respect them in the end,  Bigot told Reuters by telephone. Bigot said that following a letter from French President Emmanuel Macron to President Donald Trump in August, Trump had asked his administration to reconsider the issue.   We hope for a decision this weekend or this week,  he said.  If the U.S. does not provide the necessary funds in 2018, then there will be an impact on the entire project,  he added.  Earlier this year, ITER s total budget was revised upwards from 18 to 22 billion euros ($21-26 billion), with a U.S. share of nine percent. The Trump administration is conducting a review of civilian nuclear policy, including research and development, which will inform U.S. policy toward ITER in the future, said Shaylyn Hynes, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy.  U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has told Macron that  we understand the history and the scale of the project,  she said.  Bigot said that after Trump cut the U.S. energy department s budget, the department reduced funding for the U.S. companies making ITER components.  ITER member countries finance the manufacturing of ITER components via their own national companies. The parts are then shipped to France and assembled on ITER s Cadarache, southern France site. ITER s main U.S. supplier is California-based General Atomics, which is building its central solenoid, an 18-metre tall pillar-like magnet that will be one of the first components to be installed by 2020. The project is now half way towards the first test of its super-heated plasma by 2025 and first full-power fusion by 2035.  ITER says nuclear fusion will not produce nuclear waste like traditional nuclear power plants and will be much safer to operate.  But the challenges of replicating the sun s fusion on earth are enormous and critics say that it remains unclear whether the technology will work and can eventually be commercially viable.

Summary: आई. टी. ई. आर. परमाणु संलयन परियोजना में देरी, ट्रंप ने बजट में की कटौती


AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch citizen will go on trial in the Netherlands next Monday on charges he committed war crimes in Ethiopia in the 1970s. The 63-year-old Dutchman, who was born in Ethiopia, is accused of the incarceration, torture and murder of opponents of former Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam in the late  70s.  As Mengistu s representative in the Ethiopian province of Gojjam, the man is accused of ordering the killing of 75 young prisoners in 1978 and of being responsible for the incarceration and inhumane treatment of more than 200 people. An Ethiopian court has sentenced the man to death, in absentia, for his role in what was called the  red terror , which the communist military junta of Mengistu conducted after the ouster of the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, in 1974. The Ethiopian sentence can t be carried out in the Netherlands, making a new trial the best option to hold the man to account, the Dutch national prosecutor s office said on Tuesday. The trial in The Hague is based on an investigation by the International Crimes Team of the Dutch national police. It contains the statements of several Ethiopian witnesses, some of whom will be present at the trial, the prosecutor s office said.  The accused has been held in provisional custody in the Netherlands since 2015.   Mengistu was found guilty in absentia of genocide in 2007, after he and top members of his military government were accused of killing thousands during his 17-year rule. Mengistu was ousted in 1991 and fled to Zimbabwe, where he still lives.

Summary: 1970 के दशक में इथियोपियाई युद्ध अपराधों के लिए डचमैन पर मुकदमा चलाया गया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates hardened their  positions on Sunday on blocking a move by President Barack Obama to fill the Supreme Court seat left by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, a lifetime appointment that would help decide some of the most divisive issues facing Americans.  The next justice could tilt the balance of the nation’s highest court, which was left with four conservatives and four liberals. The vacancy quickly became an issue in the 2016 presidential race. “We ought to make the 2016 election a referendum on the Supreme Court,” U.S. Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The normally nine-justice court is set to decide this year its first major abortion case in nearly a decade, as well as cases on voting rights, affirmative action and immigration. Scalia, 79, died on Saturday at a West Texas resort. The cause of death will not be determined for several days, the top official in the county where he died, Presidio County Judge Cinderela Gueara, said on Sunday in an interview with local TV station WFAA-TV. Obama, a Democrat, will nominate someone to fill the empty seat but will wait until the U.S. Senate is back in session, the White House said on Sunday. The Senate returns from recess on Feb. 22. “At that point, we expect the Senate to consider that nominee, consistent with their responsibilities laid out in the United States Constitution,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. The White House declined to give a more specific timeline for Obama to announce his nominee. The nomination will set up a battle with the Republican-controlled chamber, which must approve any nominee. Shortly after news of Scalia’s death, Republicans vowed not to act on the vacancy until Obama’s successor takes office next January. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said failure to act would be a “shameful abdication” of the Senate’s constitutional duty. Both sides said history was on their side.  Reid said it would be unprecedented to have a vacancy on the court for a year. In the modern era, the longest Supreme Court vacancy was 363 days after Abe Fortas resigned in May 1969.  Republicans cited 80 years of tradition in which no Supreme Court nominees were approved in presidential election years. In fact, Justice Anthony Kennedy was approved in 1988, after a bruising battle in which the Senate rejected President Ronald Reagan’s first nominee, conservative Robert Bork. Supreme Court nominations are rare, so neither side has much data to rely on in determining precedents. History is also an unreliable guide as the nomination process has become significantly more politicized in recent years. For Obama’s previous two Supreme Court picks, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, he took about 30 days each to announce the elections after their predecessors, Justice John Paul Stevens and Justice David Souter, respectively, said they planned to step down. Ohio Governor John Kasich, a moderate among the Republicans vying for the White House, said the Senate should wait because a battle this year would only deepen divisions in the country. “You know how polarized everything is,” Kasich said on ABC’s “This Week.” “What I don’t want to see is more fighting and more recrimination.” Democratic U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy warned that a delay could have consequences in November’s election, when voters get to decide who fills one-third of the Senate’s seats. “If the Republican leadership refuses to even hold a hearing, I think that is going to guarantee they lose control of the Senate, because I don’t think the American people will stand for that,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”    Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said the Constitution was clear. “The president makes the appointment, Senate confirms, let’s get on with that business,” the senator from Vermont said on “Fox News Sunday.” One possible contender to replace Scalia is an Indian-American appeals court judge, Sri Srinivasan, who has pro-business credentials and a stellar resume. His nomination could make it more politically challenging for Republicans to block anyone put forward by Obama. Cruz, a Texas lawmaker, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee that takes the lead on Supreme Court nominees, said the vacancy left by Scalia made the presidential election even more critical. He warned that a justice chosen by Sanders or his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, would mean the Second Amendment right to bear arms would be “written out” of the Constitution and abortion on demand would become the law of the land.  Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, another White House candidate, said he would want someone who echoed Scalia’s “originalist” ideology that looks at the U.S. Constitution through the lens of its framers’ 18th-century intentions. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, appearing on NBC, was more direct when asked what he would want: “Someone just like Justice Scalia.” That would mean someone who did not let ideological differences preclude civility or even friendship, former President Bill Clinton told CNN, citing Scalia’s bond with liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg, in a statement on Sunday, called her friend “a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit” with whom she disagreed “now and then.” She cited a duet sung by the two justices in the 2015 opera “Scalia/Ginsburg” titled: “We are different, we are one.” She and Scalia, Ginsburg wrote, were “different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve.”  (Additional reporting by Joan Biskupic, Alana Wise, Timothy Gardner in Washington; Sara Vasquez in Marfa, Texas; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

Summary: स्कैलिया की मौत के बाद सुप्रीम कोर्ट की लड़ाई के लिए रिपब्लिकन तैयार


SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s trade minister Kim Hyun-chong said on Friday the United States may demand that Seoul guarantees it will step up arms purchases and imports of U.S. shale gas if the two countries renegotiate a free trade agreement.  The comments, made at the parliament, came as Seoul indicted last week that it was open to talks on amending the  five-year-old bilateral deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to terminate unless it was renegotiated. U.S. President Donald Trump said in his tweet last month that he was allowing Japan and South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States, amid rising tensions with North Korea. Last month, Seoul deployed the four remaining launchers of the U.S. anti-missile system designed to protect against mounting threats from Pyongyang. South Korea, the world’s second-biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer after Japan, received its first LNG cargo under a 20-year supply deal with U.S. exporter Cheniere in early July through Korea Gas Corp. Asked about China’s trade retaliation against South Korea’s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defence system, Kim said Korea has not “abandoned” an option to file complaints to the World Trade Organization (WTO). China had been taking punitive measures such as restricting tourism with South Korea against the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system as Beijing worries the system can threaten its security and undermine regional stability.

Summary: दक्षिण कोरिया को व्यापार वार्ता में अमेरिकी एजेंडे पर हथियार, शेल गैस की उम्मीद है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s drive to win passage of a sweeping Republican tax bill in the U.S. Congress hit potential obstacles on Thursday as two more Republican senators insisted on changes, joining a list of lawmakers whose support is uncertain. Florida’s Marco Rubio, a former presidential contender, told reporters on Capitol Hill that if the bill’s proposed refundability to taxpayers of the child tax credit is not expanded, “I’m a no ... It has to be higher than $1,100.” Rubio and Mike Lee of Utah are in talks with other senators about expanding child tax credit refundability, said Conn Carroll, a Lee spokesman. Lee is now “undecided on the tax bill as currently written,” Carroll said in a telephone interview. The child tax credit now in the U.S. tax code is meant to lower the tax bills of working families with children. As the fast-moving Republican tax package has evolved, it has tilted increasingly toward benefiting businesses and wealthy taxpayers, a trend that aides were saying privately is a growing concern for some lawmakers. Provisions for offsetting the revenue costs of last-minute changes also were becoming worrisomely unclear, they said.  After resisting demands for weeks to cut the top income tax rate for the richest taxpayers, the bill’s authors did agree in recent days to lower it to 37 percent from 39.6 percent. “My concern is that if you found the money to lower the top rate ... you can’t find a little bit to at least somewhat increase the refundable portion” of the child credit? Rubio said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House will continue to work with Rubio on the child tax credit. The headline feature of the bill is a deep cut to 21 percent from 35 percent of the corporate income tax rate, a step that corporate tax lobbyists have been pursuing for many years. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate tax committee and one of the bill’s chief authors, said the Senate would probably vote on a final Senate-House measure on Monday. He said he hoped Rubio’s concerns could be addressed. “He’s important to us,” Hatch said. “I don’t know what leadership wants to do on that. It’s a problem, no question.” The Senate approved a wide-ranging tax bill of its own on Dec. 2 by a vote of 51-49. Senator Bob Corker was the only Republican to join all 46 Senate Democrats and two independents in voting against the bill. Earlier, the House of Representatives had approved its own tax legislation. In recent days negotiators from both chambers have been scrambling to reconcile the two bills, changing specific parts on the fly to lock in enough votes to pass it. Trump has said he wants a final bill on his desk for enactment before Christmas. If it is enacted, the bill would be the first major legislative achievement for Trump and the Republicans since he took office in January.  Corker, a leading Republican fiscal hawk, reiterated that his concerns about the bill’s expansion of the federal deficit have not been addressed. Independent and nonpartisan tax analysts have estimated that the bill will expand the $20 trillion national debt by at least $1 trillion in the next 10 years. Moderate Senator Susan Collins also has been non-committal on the bill, in part out of concern about its provision to repeal an Obamacare federal fine imposed on Americans who do not buy health insurance. The Senate vote outlook has been further muddled by Senator John McCain’s admission to the hospital for treatment for side effects of cancer therapy. His office said he “looks forward to returning to work as soon as possible.”  Carroll said if the child tax credit were to be made fully refundable, it would cost about $7 billion in lost revenues over 10 years. Lee and Rubio want expanded refundability. Under current law, a maximum child tax credit of $1,000 per eligible child under 17 is allowed on a portion of family earnings. In its current form, the legislation expands that credit but Lee and Rubio are seeking more help for families, especially in lower-income brackets. The two senators failed in an effort to do that on the Senate floor when the tax bill initially was debated. Republicans have a 52-vote Senate majority. So they can lose no more than two of their own votes and still win approval, with Vice President Mike Pence able to vote to break a tie. Pence has delayed a planned trip to the Middle East in case his vote is needed on the final tax bill.

Summary: जैसे-जैसे रिपब्लिकन कर मतदान करीब आ रहा है, अधिक सीनेटर डगमगा रहे हैं


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union wants a transition period after Brexit to end no later than Dec. 31, 2020, according to the European Commission s negotiating directives agreed on Wednesday.  The transitional arrangements should apply as from the date of entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement and should not last beyond 31 December 2020,  the published text showed.  Coinciding with the end of the EU s current seven-year budget period, the end of 2020, 21 months after Brexit at the end of March 2019, had long been expected as the target end date of the transition but this was the first official confirmation that this is the official goal of the Union negotiators. British Prime Minister Theresa May had formally asked for a transition to last around two years. The four pages of new directives for EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier were in line with guidelines issued by EU leaders at a summit on Friday and will form the basis of talks on the transition which Barnier hopes to start next month. They spell out that Britain will be effectively still a member of EU institutions, bound by all their rules including new ones, while not having a say in their making. The EU will also offer Britain a non-voting place at some meetings where decisions may affect specific issues and will set up special arrangements for a UK role in setting annual EU fishing quotas. The directives also spell out more clearly that EU treaties with other countries and international organizations will no longer apply to Britain during the transition period. However, the document adds:  Where it is in the interest of the Union, the Union may consider whether and how arrangements can be agreed that would maintain the effects of the agreements as regards the United Kingdom during the transition period.  This has been important to Britain since it could mean that it no longer benefits automatically from free trade agreements which the EU has with, say, Canada or South Korea, while, as the directives underline, it would still have to apply EU trade policy   for example collecting EU customs duty at UK ports. Among elements spelled out more in the transition directives than in the leaders  guidelines last week was a repetition of a previously agreed EU position that everything applying to Brexit for Britain would also apply to other British territories. Brussels has previously said the Spanish government must agree any future arrangements with Britain that affect the British territory of Gibraltar on Spain s southern coast.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ ब्रेक्सिट संक्रमण को अंत से पहले समाप्त करना चाहता हैः 2020


(Reuters) - The assistant to a billionaire real estate developer from Macau accused of engaging in a scheme to pay bribes to a former United Nations General Assembly president is in plea talks, his lawyer said on Tuesday. The negotiations involving Jeff Yin, who was arrested along with billionaire Ng Lap Seng in 2015, were disclosed in a letter filed in Manhattan federal court by his attorney, who said prosecutors had extended him a plea offer. The lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, sought to extend court deadlines so that Yin, 31, could consider the plea offer, which “is complex and involves civil tax assessments and liabilities,” according to her letter. The plea talks come ahead of a jury trial scheduled for May 15, in which Yin and his boss could face substantial prison time if convicted. It was unclear what charges Yin would have to plead guilty to if he accepted the offer. He had faced bribery, money laundering and tax-related charges, and was also accused of violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Shroff declined comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which is pursuing the case, also declined comment. Ng, who was once linked to a campaign fundraising investigation during former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s administration, is one of seven individuals charged since October 2015 in the U.N.-related probe. Prosecutors accuse Ng and Yin of paying more than $500,000 in bribes to John Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served as General Assembly president from 2013 to 2014. Ashe died in June awaiting trial. The indictment said Ng and Yin also paid bribes to Francis Lorenzo, a then-deputy U.N. ambassador from the Dominican Republic who pleaded guilty in March 2016 to bribery and money laundering charges as part of a deal to cooperate in the probe. The main goal of the bribes, according to the indictment, was to have both ambassadors take steps to help obtain United Nations’ support for a multibillion-dollar U.N.-backed conference center in Macau that Sun Kian Ip Group would develop. Yin, a U.S. citizen who currently lives in California, also faces charges for taking steps to evade paying income taxes and helping Lorenzo conceal portions of his income from U.S. tax authorities. Ng, the founder of Macau-based real estate developer Sun Kian Ip Group, has denied wrongdoing. A lawyer for Ng declined to comment.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र रिश्वत मामले में मकाऊ के अरबपति के सहयोगी ने याचिका दायर की


BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany s Social Democrats came under growing pressure on Thursday to drop his opposition to a new  grand coalition  with Angela Merkel s conservatives, with senior politicians arguing the party had a duty to promote stability. Merkel is facing the biggest political crisis of her career since efforts to forge a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed last weekend. That has raised worries across Europe of a prolonged leadership vacuum in the continent s economic powerhouse. The Social Democrats (SPD) have governed in coalition under Merkel since 2013. But leader Martin Schulz said the party must heed the will of voters by going into opposition after achieving its worst result of the postwar period in the Sept. 24 election. Pressure is growing on the party to revisit his decision, either by agreeing to prop up a conservative-led minority government by not voting against it, or by forming a renewed coalition. In either case, the position of Schulz as party leader could become untenable. If changing course and teaming up with the conservatives requires a change of leadership at the SPD, that would be unlikely before a party conference on Dec. 7-9. Schulz held a lengthy meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former SPD lawmaker and foreign minister, on Thursday afternoon before heading to party headquarters to consult senior party members. Steinmeier is trying to help facilitate a coalition government and avoid fresh elections.  We will talk about if and how one can get a federal government in Germany,  a senior SPD member said ahead of the meeting, adding that one option on the table was to support Merkel only indirectly by not blocking a minority government. But Stephan Weil, the SPD premier of the state of Lower Saxony, one of the party s most influential figures after he defied polls by winning re-election this year, implied a full coalition would preferable to a minority government.  Minority governments are fragile constructs,  he told the RND newspaper consortium. The SPD had to chart a path between a party rank-and-file reluctant to repeat the bruising experience of a grand coalition and its democratic obligations.  Everyone understands that the stakes are high, involving the stability of an extremely important member of the European Union,  he added. Volker Kauder, leader of the conservative parliamentary group and a key ally Merkel ally, echoed the sentiment, calling for the grand coalition to be reprised.  Europe is waiting for a Germany capable of acting so that it can finally respond to the questions raised by French President (Emmanuel) Macron,  he said, referring to Macron s call for fiscal reforms to strengthen the euro zone. Germany, the world s fourth largest economy, has long been a bastion of stability in the EU, and officials in Brussels and Paris fear months of political uncertainty could harm plans to reform euro zone governance and EU defense and asylum policies. Merkel, who remains acting chancellor until a new government is agreed, has said she would prefer to work with the SPD, but if that option fails, she would favor new elections over an unstable minority government. Another election would also provide no speedy resolution. Under Germany s constitution, the president could call another election only after Merkel had lost several votes in the Bundestag   a process that could take several months. The mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday that 30 members of the SPD s 153-strong parliamentary group this week had questioned Schulz s preference for going into opposition during a meeting of the parliamentary party. Speaking to ZDF television on Thursday, SPD deputy leader Karl Lauterbach said his party might have to rethink its opposition to another  grand coalition , but added he was still skeptical about joining one led by Merkel. The SPD supports Macron s proposal to give the euro zone the power to spend money to protect members of the single currency bloc against external shocks. If the SPD changes tack about a  grand coalition , however, the leader of Merkel s sister party in the state of Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU), said on Thursday it should not expect the conservatives to grant any significant concessions.  We can t be blackmailed,  said Horst Seehofer, who is himself fighting to hang on as CSU leader in the face of internal opposition.

Summary: जर्मन सोशल डेमोक्रेट्स पर भारी गठबंधन बनाने का दबाव


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had been a better leader than U.S. President Barack Obama, as the Republican presidential nominee used a televised forum to argue he was best equipped to reassert America’s global leadership.  Trump suggested at the event in which he and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton made back-to-back appearances that U.S. generals had been stymied by the policies of Obama and Clinton, who served as the Democratic president’s first secretary of state. “I think under the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the generals have been reduced to rubble. They have been reduced to a point that’s embarrassing for our country,” Trump said at NBC’s “Commander-in-Chief” forum in New York attended by military veterans.  It was the first time Trump and Clinton had squared off on the same stage since accepting their parties’ presidential nominations in July for the Nov. 8 election. Clinton was grilled over her handling of classified information while using a private email server during her tenure at the State Department. FBI Director James Comey had declared her “extremely careless” in her handling of sensitive material but did not recommend charges against her. “I did exactly what I should have done and I take it very seriously, always have, always will,” she said.Trump’s praise of Putin and his suggestion that the United States and Russia form an alliance to defeat Islamic State militants could raise eyebrows among foreign policy experts who feel Moscow is interfering with efforts to stem the Syrian civil war. “If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him,” Trump said of the Russian president. “Certainly in that system, he’s been a leader, far more than our president has been.” Trump had called Obama “the founder of ISIS,” an acronym for Islamic State, in stump speeches several weeks ago. The statement drew broad criticism, prompting him to take a more disciplined approach to campaigning. He has since picked up ground on Clinton in national opinion polls. Trump also flirted with revealing what he had been learning in classified intelligence briefings given to him by U.S. officials because he is the Republican nominee. “There was one thing that shocked me,” Trump said. “What I did learn is that our leadership, Barack Obama, did not follow what our experts ... said to do, and I was very, very surprised. ...Our leaders were not following what they recommended.” Earlier on Wednesday, Trump pledged to launch a new U.S. military buildup, saying America was under threat like never before from foes like Islamist extremists, North Korea and China. The event offered a prelude to how Clinton and Trump will deal with questions on national security issues in their three upcoming presidential debates later in September and in October. Clinton began the forum saying her long experience in government as a U.S. senator and secretary of state made her uniquely qualified to serve as president. She said she had “an absolute rock steadiness” to be able to make tough decisions, a not so subtle dig at Trump, who Democrats say is temperamentally unfit for the White House. Moderator Matt Lauer doggedly pressed her about her handling of emails from a private server while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. The issue has raised questions about whether she can be trusted to serve as president. Clinton said none of the emails she sent or received were marked top secret, secret or classified, the usual way such material is identified.  Appearing in the second half of the hour-long show, Trump faced questions about his fitness for office. Asked if he would be prepared on Day One to be commander in chief, Trump said: “One hundred percent.” Trump quickly abandoned Lauer’s entreaties to avoid attacking his opponent and focus on what he would do if elected president in November. “She’s been there for 30 years,” Trump said. “We need change, and we need it fast.”  The event brought together the meticulously prepared Clinton, 68, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, and Trump, 70, a New York businessman whose brash, freewheeling style has allowed him to dominate the headlines during his campaign. Clinton said she regretted her decision as a U.S. senator from New York to vote in favor of the much-criticized 2003 Iraq war and that Trump had been in favor of it as well. Trump has condemned the war during his campaign and said he would avoid lengthy conflicts in the Middle East. On the U.S. intervention in Libya in 2011, Clinton rejected Trump’s criticism of her support for the effort as secretary of state. “Permitting there to be an ongoing civil war in Libya would be as threatening and as dangerous as what we are seeing in Syria,” she said. Trump said Clinton’s handling of Libya proved disastrous. Republicans have made much of the fact that the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, was killed in an Islamist attack in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. “She made a terrible mistake in Libya,” said Trump. Clinton said U.S. policies under her leadership at the State Department had helped promote security. “We made the world safer,” she said.

Summary: क्लिंटन के साथ टीवी कार्यक्रम में ट्रंप ने कहा, ओबामा से बेहतर नेता हैं पुतिन


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over...and so much more. A rigged system! [0756 EDT] - General John Kelly is doing a great job as Chief of Staff. I could not be happier or more impressed - and this Administration continues to.. [0835 EDT] - ...get things done at a record clip. Many big decisions to be made over the coming days and weeks. AMERICA FIRST! [0847 EDT] - Texas is healing fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard. But still so much to do. Will be back tomorrow! [0858 EDT] - 'President Donald J. Trump Proclaims September 3, 2017, as a National Day of Prayer' #HurricaneHarvey #PrayForTexas (link: 45.wh.gov/PrayForTexas) 45.wh.gov/PrayForTexas [1547 EDT] - Stock Market up 5 months in a row! [1947 EDT] - I will be going to Texas and Louisiana tomorrow with First Lady. Great progress being made! Spending weekend working at White House.[2003 EDT] - On behalf of @FLOTUS Melania & myself, THANK YOU for today's update & GREAT WORK! #SouthernBaptist @SendRelief, @RedCross & @SalvationArmyUS bit.ly/2wZvajV [2034 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (1 सितंबर)-टेक्सास, लुइसियाना, स्टॉक


MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Thousands of Somalis demonstrated on Wednesday against those behind bombings that killed more than 300 people, defying police who opened fire to keep them away from the site where their loved-ones were killed. The twin blasts in the heart of Mogadishu on Saturday also injured more than 400 in what were the country s deadliest truck bombings. Police initially opened fire to prevent people from accessing the rubble-strewn scene of the attack, injuring at least two people, the emergency response service said. But, overwhelmed by the number of people, they eventually let thousands of protesters gather at the site. Residents said they had never seen such a big protest in the city.  We are demonstrating against the terrorists that massacred our people. We entered the road by force,  said Halima Abdullahi, a mother who lost six of her relatives in the attacks. The Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which began an insurgency in 2007, has not claimed responsibility, but the method and type of attack - a large truck bomb - is increasingly used by the al Qaeda-linked organization. Mohamed Ali, a police captain at the scene, said it was fine for protesters to access the site to express their grief.  For some who could not see their relatives alive or dead, the only chance they have is to at least see the spot where their beloved were killed,  he told Reuters. Later President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed addressed demonstrators at a football field in the city and called on Somalis to join the national army.  Take your guns and let s liberate our country. Come forward for recruitment (into) government forces in order to fight and eliminate al Shabaab,  he said. The government buried at least 160 of those killed because they could not be identified after the blast. Masked security officers kept an eye on the protest on foot and on motorbikes. Some protesters sat on police trucks waving sticks and chanting:  We do not want al Shabaab .  The militants were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 and have been steadily losing territory. But they retain the capacity to mount large bomb attacks. Over the past three years, the number of civilians killed by insurgent bombings has steadily climbed as al Shabaab increases the size of its bombs. In the central town of Dusamareb, residents also marched for several hours to protest against the bombings in Mogadishu and clerics called for the war on the militants to be stepped up. Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Aamin Ambulances, said one pregnant demonstrator was evacuated from the Mogadishu protest after she developed complications.  The other two were also demonstrating. They were injured by bullets which the police fired to disperse the demonstrators who wanted to enter the blast scene by force,  he said.

Summary: घातक ट्रक बम विस्फोटों के विरोध में सोमाली लोगों ने पुलिस की अवहेलना की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two major mergers in agricultural technology and seeds could hurt competition in the industry and make it harder for smaller companies to compete, Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter on Wednesday sent to antitrust enforcers. Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, urged the Federal Trade Commission, which is reviewing the purchase of Syngenta AG by the China National Chemical Corp [CNNCC.UL], and the Justice Department, which is looking at the merger of Dow Chemical Co and DuPont Co, to coordinate on the two reviews. “It is important that these transactions not be reviewed in isolation,” wrote Grassley. “I urge the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to collaborate, as appropriate, with input from the Department of Agriculture, in their analysis of the agricultural biotechnology and seed industry and the impact of these proposed transactions.” Dow and DuPont said in December that they would combine in an all-stock merger with plans to then break into three separate businesses. In February, China’s state-owned ChemChina [CNNCC.UL] made a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta. The deals by some of farmers’ biggest global suppliers concerned Grassley, who represents a largely agricultural state. “I am concerned that the convergence of these proposed transactions – as well as others currently being discussed – will have an enhanced adverse impact on competition in the industry and raise barriers to entry for smaller companies,” he wrote. “I also am concerned that further concentration in the industry will impact the price and choice of chemicals and seed for farmers, which ultimately will impact choice and costs for consumers. Finally, I am concerned that further consolidation will diminish critical research and development initiatives,” added Grassley.  The letter was dated Tuesday and sent to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Renata Hesse, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेटर ने ए. जी. तकनीक विलय के बारे में चिंता व्यक्त की


BANGKOK (Reuters) - Police in Thailand on Wednesday arrested a woman wanted in connection with a 2015 bombing in Bangkok that killed 20 people, 14 of them foreign tourists. The blast at a central Bangkok shrine popular with visitors from China and elsewhere in Asia raised fears of a spillover of violence from China s western Xinjiang region, where some members of the Uighur Muslim minority oppose Beijing s rule. No group claimed responsibility for the blast that killed five people from mainland China and two from Hong Kong and wounded more than 120 people. The Thai woman suspect, Wanna Suansan, 29 was arrested at Bangkok airport, said deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul. He declined to say where she had arrived from. Wanna faced various charges including premeditated murder and co-possession of explosives and weapons, police said. She is one of 17 people wanted in connection with the bombing.  After questioning police will send her to prosecutors,  Srivara told reporters at Bangkok s national police headquarters. Two ethnic Muslim Uighur men from China were accused of carrying out the bomb attack and are on trial in Thailand. They have denied all charges. Investigators said in 2015 Wanna rented a room in Bangkok to one of those men. She fled the country shortly after the attack. Police ruled out  terrorism , saying the bombing was prompted by a crackdown on human smuggling networks. But many analysts and diplomats said it was likely an act of revenge for Thailand s deportation to China of the more than 100 Uighurs in July that year. A relative of Wanna s told reporters at the national police headquarters that Wanna wanted to come back to Thailand to prove her innocence.

Summary: थाईलैंड ने 2015 में धार्मिक स्थल पर हुए घातक बम विस्फोट के मामले में वांछित महिला को गिरफ्तार किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - With Republican efforts to dismantle Obamacare in disarray, hundreds of U.S. counties are at risk of losing access to private health coverage in 2018 as insurers consider pulling out of those markets in the coming months. Republican senators failed this week to repeal and replace Obamacare, former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform law, creating new uncertainty over how the program providing health benefits to 20 million Americans will be funded and managed in 2018. In response, Republican President Donald Trump on Friday again suggested that his administration would let the Obamacare program “implode.” He has weakened enforcement of the law’s requirement for individuals to buy insurance, threatened to cut off funding and sought to change plan benefits through regulations.  Anthem Inc, Cigna Corp, Health Care Service Corp and Molina Healthcare, four of the biggest health insurers selling Obamacare plans, said they are weighing whether to pull out of more markets for 2018 rather than face financial losses. They have until Sept. 27 to finalize their plans.  So far, 40 U.S. counties are expected to have no insurer offering individual coverage next year, but that number could rise by the hundreds, according to U.S. government data, Kaiser Family Foundation analysis and insurer disclosures. More than 1,300 counties, primarily in 15 states, currently have only one insurer participating in 2018. Anthem and HCSC are the last man standing in one-third of those counties and states - putting those areas in particular at risk. “Right now the number of counties at immediate risk of having no insurers in 2018 is small, but it could easily grow significantly if a couple major insurers decide to exit,” Larry Levitt, health economist at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said.  Many insurers have been waiting for an answer from Trump or lawmakers on whether they will continue to fund $8 billion in annual government subsidies. Without assurances, many insurers plan to raise rates an additional 20 percent by an Aug. 16 deadline for premium prices. Others say that the many unknowns will make the business too risky. The last-minute drama has left millions of Americans questioning whether they will have medical coverage next year. Julie Grady, a 59-year-old small business owner in Carson City, Nevada, is currently covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nevada, part of Anthem, which has already decided to leave the exchanges in her county and most of the state. Carson City will have no insurer on the exchanges next year.      Grady’s pays a reduced premium of $70 per month and a deductible under $1,000 for her plan, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. Grady is looking at being uninsured, as she was before the law.     “I would have to go without health insurance,” she said. “I would just stay healthy, hike, eat well. I’d be in trouble if something catastrophic happened. I would lose everything.”      Anthem, the second-largest U.S. health insurer, sells Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states. It has already decided to pull out of most individual markets in Nevada, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin in 2018. Earlier this week, Chief Executive Officer Joe Swedish said he was still weighing 2018 participation in its other states.    In states like Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia, Anthem sells plans in more than 250 counties where it is the only insurer, and they could be left “bare” next year, according to government data.      Health Care Services Corp is a Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in five states and is the only Obamacare individual insurer in more than 90 Texas counties, more than 75 Oklahoma counties, and half a dozen Illinois counties. It confirmed on Friday that it has submitted products for its five states but is still weighing next year.     “We’re working through the regulatory filing process and hope to fully participate...in 2018, however no final decisions have been made,” HCSC spokeswoman Kristen Cunningham said.     Molina, which has more than 1 million members in Obamacare plans, and Cigna, with more than 250,000 participants, have said they need more certainty from the government to decide on 2018 participation and would weigh their decisions up until the late September deadline.      State insurance regulators have worked hard in recent months to replace insurers who have left. In Nevada, for instance, Centene Corp and Aetna Inc entered in some counties that Anthem left after the insurance commissioner said he would favor these insurers for its Medicaid contract bids. But they are unlikely to find replacements for new dropouts in these final weeks, particularly if the Trump administration signals it won’t fund $8 billion in subsidies for out-of-pocket medical costs.     “There is almost no chance they would step in to participate,” said Kurt Wrobel, a fellow at the Society of Actuaries and chief financial officer of the Geisinger Health Plan in Pennsylvania.          Some insurers say they will likely just raise rates and hope it works. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan filed two sets of rates with the state department of insurance, one up to 32 percent higher if the fate of subsidies remains unclear.      “We don’t have any plans to pull out,” said Rick Notter, director of the individual business at BCBS Michigan. “But it would certainly help to have more certainty around what the market holds.”

Summary: 2018 में कोई ओबामाकेयर बीमाकर्ता नहीं होने के जोखिम में सैकड़ों काउंटी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Republicans in Congress on Monday unveiled their ideas for what should happen to so-called ‘Dreamer’ immigrants when an Obama-era program expires in March, touting tougher restrictions than those proposed by Democrats. The bill offered by Republican Senators Thom Tillis and James Lankford was in response to President Donald Trump’s move to end former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump gave Congress six months to write replacement legislation. DACA temporarily shielded from deportation certain undocumented immigrants, known as ‘Dreamers,’ who were brought to the United States as children by family, many from Central America. The program allows work permits and other protections for around 800,000 people. The Tillis-Lankford measure would bar Dreamers from applying for citizenship for at least 15 years and would cover fewer people than a Democratic proposal. Trump has previously voiced support of a Democratic “Dream Act” bill, but wants to add new border security measures to it. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and top House of Representatives Democrat Nancy Pelosi have said that in a meeting with Trump they had discussed a path to citizenship for Dreamers after eight years. Lankford told reporters at a press conference that he recently had a long telephone conversation with Trump and briefed him on the legislation he and Tillis were crafting. Trump “was very supportive of the concepts, saying that is the right way to go,” said Lankford. Democrats are waiting for the White House to publish a list of ‘principles’ to guide Dreamer legislation. It was not clear whether those principles would be influenced by the Republicans’ bill. Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat who has been pushing Dreamer legislation for 16 years, said the Republicans’ bill “falls short” because it “excludes tens of thousands of Dreamers” and would require those that do qualify to waive certain legal rights that could allow for deportations without due process. Nevertheless, there is bipartisan hope in Congress that differences can be ironed out now that Trump, who anchored his 2016 presidential campaign on an anti-immigration platform, says he wants to protect the Dreamers. “These are kids that literally do not have a home anywhere,” Lankford said. “They do not remember a home country they came from originally. They are not really considered (at) home here ... In American law we don’t hold children accountable for the actions of their parents.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेट के रूढ़िवादियों ने 'ड्रीमर्स' पर सख्त प्रतिबंधों का प्रस्ताव रखा


RENO, Nevada/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump was rushed off stage by security agents  at a rally in Reno, Nevada, on Saturday night after a false alarm as someone in the crowd shouted “gun” during scuffles with a man who held up a “Republicans against Trump” sign. The incident occurred as Trump and Democratic rival  Hillary Clinton crisscrossed the United States a late push to win over undecided voters and make sure supporters turn out enthusiastically on Election Day. Two security agents seized Trump by the shoulders and hustled him backstage as police officers swarmed over a man in the front of the crowd and held him down and searched him before escorting him away with his hands behind his back. Trump, seemingly unruffled, returned to the stage and continued his speech after a short time, saying “Nobody said it was going to be easy for us” and adding “We will never be stopped.” After being released, the man who was apprehended told CBS News Reno affiliate KTVN-2 that he was a Republican supporter who attended the rally to express his opposition to Trump. “I came here with this sign expecting boos ... But it was just a sign,” Austyn Crites said.  Crites said when he took it out, the crowd began to attack him, choking and beating him before “someone yelled about a gun.” After being held for a few hours’ questioning and security  and background checks, Crites said he was released, and that the police “did their job.” Crites said he wanted to contrast President Barack Obama’s reaction to a protestor during a rally a few days ago, in which he urged the crowd to respect the protester, with Trump’s, saying he wanted “people to understand” the difference. “I have  nothing against Trump supporters,” Crites told the station. “We are all registered Republicans and support many of the same candidates for local offices. I have serious concern against Trump,” he added. The Secret Service confirmed that the incident erupted when an unidentified individual in front of the stage shouted “gun.” “Secret Service agents and Reno Police Officers immediately apprehended the subject. Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found,” the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident began when Trump noticed what he considered a heckler. Seconds later people near the stage began pointing at someone in the crowd near the front, and agents took Trump away. In a statement, Trump thanked the Secret Service, Reno and Nevada law enforcement for “their fast and professional response.” Meantime, in Philadelphia, pop singer Katy Perry performed at a Clinton rally, the latest in a string of celebrity appearances aimed at getting out the vote among millennials. “When your kids and grandkids ask you what you did in 2016, when it was all on the line, I want you be able to say you voted for a better, stronger, America,” Clinton said.   Opinion polls show Clinton still holds advantages in states that could be critical in deciding the election. But her lead has narrowed after a revelation a week ago that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into a new trove of emails as part of its probe into her handling of classified information while she was secretary of state. A McClatchy-Marist opinion poll released on Saturday of  voters nationwide showed Clinton leading by 1 percentage point compared to 6 percentage points in September. A Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll on Saturday showed Clinton ahead by 4 percentage points nationally compared to 5 points on Friday, while an ABC News-Washington Post tracking poll had Clinton ahead by 48 to 43 percent. Both candidates spent time in Florida, considered one of the most hotly contested states. The 2000 presidential election was decided in Florida after a dispute over votes and recounting of ballots went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore. The Real Clear Politics average of Florida opinion polls found Clinton with a lead of about 1 percentage point - indicating the race there is a virtual tie. Trump spoke at a rally on Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida, where he continued to criticize Clinton for supporting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in the wake of an announcement that premiums are going to rise next year. “It’s not going to matter because if we win I’m throwing it out anyway,” Trump said. Shortly before Clinton took the stage in Pembroke Pines, Florida, rain poured down. People in the crowd waiting for Clinton at the outdoor rally remained in place, taking out umbrellas and fashioning garbage bags into head coverings. “I’m thrilled to be here and boy is this a hardy group, rain or shine you are ready,” Clinton said, her voice cracking with hoarseness. She cut her speech short as she became soaked in rain, saying, “I don’t think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump.” At the JFK library in Hialeah, Florida, people lined up outside for early voting. Nearby, supporters of both candidates waved signs and shouted slogans, urging passing drivers to honk their horns. “We want someone to come in and clean house,” said Cuban-American Ariel Martinez, 42, a Trump supporter. Early voting began in September and the data firm Catalist estimates more than 30 million ballots have been cast in 38 states. There are an estimated 225.8 million eligible U.S. voters. Saturday was the final day for early voting in many Florida counties. Trump and Clinton campaigns adjusted travel schedules for the next two days to states where they saw opportunity. Trump told the crowd in Tampa that there would be a campaign event in Minnesota this weekend, although one had not previously been scheduled. Minnesota has not voted for a Republican since 1984. His campaign confirmed a rally scheduled for Wisconsin on Sunday has been canceled. Clinton started the day by stopping by the West Miami Community Center, a Cuban American neighborhood, with telenovela star Jencarlos Canela, a Miami native of Cuban descent. She then visited her campaign’s office in Little Haiti where there is a large concentration of Haitian-American residents. Clinton was joined by Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead in 2012 by a Sanford, Florida neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman. While Trump prefers large-scale rallies, Clinton has filled her campaign schedule with targeted appearances meant to court voters in specific demographics. Cuban voters have historically favored Republicans, but younger generations have shifted toward Democratic Party candidates. In what was seen as an effort to defend typically Democratic turf, Clinton on Monday will campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, before returning to Pennsylvania for a rally in Philadelphia with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, and former President Bill Clinton. Trump is to make stops on Sunday in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia to try to steal away some states that have gone Democratic in recent presidential elections.  (Story corrects dateline to remove “N.C.”.)

Summary: प्रदर्शनकारियों के संकेत दिखाने के बाद सुरक्षा बलों ने ट्रम्प को मंच से हटाया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration notified Congress last week that it soon planned to begin delivering precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia under a 2015 weapons deal, congressional officials said on Tuesday. The Senate voted 53 to 47 to narrowly defeat legislation that sought to block portions of a new, separate arms sale to Saudi Arabia, agreed during a visit there by President Donald Trump in May. Arms sales to Riyadh have become increasingly contentious in the U.S. Congress, where some lawmakers object that American weapons have contributed to widespread civilian casualties in a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Republican Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, a Democrat,  suspended the planned sale of precision-guided munitions in December because of concerns over civilian casualties in Yemen, where the civil war pits Iran-allied Houthi rebels against the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Trump, however, has said he wants to encourage weapons sales as a way to create jobs in the United States.  Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the administration had notified Congress about the start of deliveries on the 2015 sale. He said in a statement that Trump’s decision was another reason for the Senate to disapprove the new sale. “We need to send a message to both the Trump Administration and the Saudis to work much harder to avoid civilian casualties, expedite humanitarian relief, and push for a peaceful end to the war through a negotiated political settlement,” Cardin said. Republicans control both chambers of Congress. A senior congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the notification was received last Thursday. The decision to move ahead with deliveries was first reported by Bloomberg. The 2015 sale included more than 8,000 Laser Guided Bombs for the Royal Saudi Air Force. The package also includes more than 10,000 general purpose bombs, and more than 5,000 tail kits used to inexpensively convert “dumb” bombs into laser or GPS-guided weapons. Some of the weapons systems included in the sale were made by Raytheon Co and Boeing Co.  The arms deal announced in May was for $110 billion, with options running as high as $350 billion over 10 years. Tuesday’s Senate vote, which would block about $500 million of that sale, including precision-guided munitions and other offensive weapons, coincides with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other officials in Washington.

Summary: सऊदी अरब को सटीक हथियारों की आपूर्ति फिर से शुरू करेंगे ट्रंपः अधिकारी


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday to form a strong coalition government that could help shape Europe s future after her re-election. In a published letter, Juncker wrote:  In view of the great global challenges, now more than ever Europe needs a stable German government which will actively help shape our continent.

Summary: जंकर ने मर्केल से कहाः यूरोपीय संघ को यूरोप को आकार देने के लिए स्थिर जर्मन सरकार की आवश्यकता है


TRIPOLI (Reuters) - In a square behind Libya s central bank, black market dealers, some of them armed, carry small plastic bags filled with dollars and larger ones with dinars in and out of one of many informal exchanges. Traders buy food and other goods from abroad at the official rate and sell them at the unofficial one, pocketing vast profits; others make equally large sums by smuggling out heavily subsidized fuel. In the back streets of the old city meanwhile, ordinary people have resorted to selling jewelry or dollars hidden at home as six years of post-dictatorship chaos take their toll.  I haven t been paid for four months,  said Fatima, 40, from the southern city of Sabha as she sold three small gold charms to pay for diabetes treatment for her sister, Hasina, who added:  We re helpless, there s nothing else we can do.  In other signs of rising poverty, elderly women beg motorists for cash on Tripoli s streets and families queue for charity food handouts. The U.N. estimated that about 1.3 million people in Libya need humanitarian assistance this year. Their situation took another turn for the worse in the past two weeks after the black market rate of the dinar, which has long languished at record lows, slid again, fuelling inflation that is already around 25-30 percent. The central bank blamed the audit bureau and the U.N.-backed government for restricting letters of credit that fund basic supplies to a divided country where a security vacuum and smuggling networks have destabilized the wider region. Officials had come across suspect requests - one to import tuna worth $120,000, more than the country consumes in a year, according to a Libyan entrepreneur who declined to be named, fearing retribution from Libya s powerful armed groups. Just $2.5 billion of an expected $7.4 billion of credit has been allocated, the trader said, helping knock the dinar from around 8.5 to 9.25 against the dollar on the black market. Its value has fallen by more than 600 percent since early 2014. The economy ministry was not immediately available for comment on a complex credit system that passes through commercial banks and where the audit bureau had documented earlier abuses and lack of oversight.  We re talking about an extremely bad economic and financial situation,  Central Bank Governor Sadiq al-Kabir said in a rare news conference on Tuesday.  Everyone, whether legislative or executive, holds responsibility equally.  Traders and economists say political uncertainty is a major factor weakening the currency, with U.N. talks to broker a deal between rival factions currently suspended. Libya is struggling to fund food imports and defend its foreign reserves, which the World Bank estimates will stand at $67.5 billion at the end of this year, compared to $123.5 billion in 2012. International experts say the only way to resolve the issue is to devalue the dinar from the official exchange rate of 1.37 to the dollar, but agreeing an economic strategy in a country dominated by armed factions with rival governments and no budgets is no simple task. A powerful or well-connected minority who are profiting from a flourishing shadow economy have little interest in change.      The central bank did not comment on devaluation, but economists and diplomats say the bank is reluctant to devalue without a policy plan in place to deal with the resulting shock. Libya managed this year to lift oil production to about 1 million barrels a day, but output is stuck well below the levels before the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. Revenues that normally account for about 80 percent of gross domestic product are largely used to pay salaries, including those of armed factions added to the state payroll for their role in the uprising. Subsidies include a $4 billion-plus annual fuel subsidy that is among the most generous in the world. Premiums on the official exchange rate and subsidized fuel make Libya  a criminal and terrorist cross-border funding paradise , said Husni Bey, chairman of HB Group, one of Libya s biggest private firms.  Most instability in Libya today is of a criminal nature... due to the lack of equitable exchange rate for the Libyan dinar and the subsidies that must be changed from goods to direct cash contributions.  Last year Libya spent around $26 billion, but earned just $6 billion.  This year we estimate that revenues should increase to around $14 billion, but spending will likely be more than double this,  said Mark Griffiths, Libya Mission Chief for the International Monetary Fund.  This is not sustainable.   The government has sought to reduce the public salary bill by 5 billion dinars annually, clamping down on abuse by removing some 100,000 people who had been claiming several salaries, according to a finance ministry report. Libyans became used to plentiful public jobs and state handouts as Gaddafi sought to buy loyalty like other Middle Eastern oil producers. Migrant workers used to do the manual work, now Libyans without contacts have taken their place. Salman Rashid, a public servant, said he had received just three months-worth of pay in the past year.  It s not enough for basic needs,  he said.  Now I work on construction sites and in buildings maintenance.  Entrepreneurs have withdrawn deposits from banks for fear of employees leaking word of them to kidnappers and others also prefer to keep money at home. In a second shop in the old city, a woman who gave her name as Karima was changing 500 euros.  I need to go to Tunis for surgery and am selling my foreign currency holdings,  she said.  Times are very difficult now.  Shop owner Salahedin Zarti, 52, said up to 10 people come in daily to sell necklaces, bracelets and rings.  In the beginning it was every day, but now I think people are starting to run out of jewelry,  he said.

Summary: लीबिया के लोग चिकित्सा उपचार के लिए गहने की अदला-बदली करते हैं क्योंकि यह संकट का दंश है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. House of Representatives Republican Tom Cole said on Wednesday more funds will be needed to fight the Zika virus in the United States, signaling a shift from insistence by many Republicans that the Obama administration should use existing funds for the effort to combat the growing threat. The Zika outbreak began last year in Brazil and has spread rapidly through the Americas. U.S. officials say local outbreaks are possible in the United States, particularly in southern states like Florida and Texas where the mosquitoes that carry the virus are active. Democrats and Obama administration officials have been urging the Republican-controlled Congress to grant nearly $1.9 billion in emergency funds to fight the virus. In a temporary fix, the White House said last week that it would redirect $589 million in allocated funds to prepare for Zika’s arrival in the continental United States. Representative Cole, who chairs the health appropriations subcommittee, said the funds should last until the end of the government’s fiscal year on Sept. 30. “There’s going to need to be additional money, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Cole told reporters after a House Republican meeting. “We’re having discussions about that now.” Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who is from Florida, broke with other congressional Republicans on Zika last week, announcing his support for President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion request to fight the virus. On Wednesday, Rubio wrote to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to urge it to clear a backlog of Zika diagnostic tests and prioritize testing for pregnant women, saying he had seen media reports that some pregnant women have waited up to a month for CDC to complete their tests. The White House on Wednesday said a bill that passed on Tuesday was a positive first step in combating Zika but lamented its lack of additional funds needed to fight the virus, which has been linked to a rare birth defect in babies called microcephaly and neurological disorders in adults. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he anticipated that President Barack Obama would sign the bill, which provides financial incentives to companies developing treatments for Zika. Cole said lawmakers have not decided whether any new money to fight Zika would be provided in an appropriations bill, or attached to a “continuing resolution” keeping the government open at current spending levels, if lawmakers end up passing such a measure later this year. “I think the problem is real, certainly there will need to be additional money at the NIH on this,” Cole said, referring to the National Institutes of Health. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, however, that if more money is needed to fight Zika, lawmakers will address the matter through the regular appropriations process. “We will address the situation through the regular appropriations process as the need arises, and our appropriators are looking at how to do just that,” Ryan said at a press conference.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन, एक बदलाव का संकेत देते हुए कहते हैं कि जीका लड़ाई के लिए और अधिक धन की आवश्यकता है


RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - Virginia’s governor vetoed a bill on Monday that would have made the state the first in the country to require that parents be notified if students were assigned readings labeled “sexually explicit.”  A mother’s objection to Toni Morrison’s novel “Beloved” being taught in her son’s classroom helped spur the legislation that would have given parents more control over classroom materials. “This requirement lacks flexibility and would require the label of ‘sexually explicit’ to apply to an artistic work based on a single scene, without further context,” Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said in a statement. The bill passed the Republican-controlled legislature by votes of 77-21 in the House of Delegates and 22-17 in the Senate. That would not be enough to override McAuliffe’s veto, which would require a two-thirds vote in each chamber. The measure would have made Virginia the first U.S. state to mandate that schools notify parents if teachers planned to use the labeled materials, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.  McAuliffe said the Virginia Board of Education was studying the issue, focusing on existing local policies and potential state policies. The measure had been opposed by a number of free speech groups, including the American Library Association and the National Coalition Against Censorship. The novel by Morrison, a Nobel laureate, is the story of a runaway slave who kills her 2-year-old daughter to save her from a life in slavery. “Beloved” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988. The American Library Association has it on a list of banned or challenged classics.  Virginia House Speaker William Howell, a Republican who was among the bill’s sponsors, said he was unaware of McAuliffe’s veto and had no reaction.  “I have to see what his veto message said,” he said.

Summary: वर्जीनिया के गवर्नर ने स्कूलों में किताबों पर 'यौन स्पष्ट' लेबल लगाने के लिए विधेयक को वीटो कर दिया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it was too early to comment on a proposal by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to do a deal with Moscow on nuclear arms cuts in exchange for Washington lifting sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Trump told The Times of London in an interview published online on Sunday that he would propose offering to end sanctions imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in return for a nuclear arms reduction deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a conference call with reporters, said Russia would wait until Trump took office before commenting on any proposed deals. There were currently no talks on possible nuclear arms cuts with the United States and Russia did not intend to raise the sanctions issue itself in negotiations with foreign countries, said Peskov. He also dismissed media reports of a planned meeting between Putin and Trump. “All these statements about preliminary agreements about a meeting do not correspond to reality,” said Peskov.  “Right now there are no agreements, drafts or any preparations underway for a meeting because the president and Mr Trump have not discussed this in any way.” Asked if the Kremlin agreed with Trump’s view that NATO is obsolete, something the U.S. president-elect repeated in the same interview, Peskov pointed out that the Kremlin had long been making the same point.

Summary: क्रेमलिन ने कहा कि ट्रम्प के परमाणु कटौती के प्रस्ताव पर प्रतिक्रिया देना जल्दबाजी होगी


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Agriculture leaders including lawmakers from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party on Thursday criticized his planned 21 percent cut to discretionary spending at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), saying it could take a toll on the rural communities that helped elect him last November. Trump has proposed slashing the USDA’s discretionary budget by $4.7 billion to $17.9 billion by halting funding for rural clean water initiatives and rural business services, reducing some USDA statistical services and cutting county-level staff. The president has already vowed to alter trade deals that have largely boosted farm incomes and targeted health care policies that have particularly benefited the rural poor. “America’s farmers and ranchers are struggling, and we need to be extremely careful not to exacerbate these conditions,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway. Farm incomes are down 50 percent from four years ago, he added. Opposition is already building in Congress. “I strongly oppose the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to programs that are critical to farmers, ranchers and families in small towns across America,” Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the country’s largest organization representing farmers, said county-level USDA staffing cuts and reduced statistical services could hurt members. “A lot of farmers and growers rely on USDA’s statistical capabilities to make a lot of marketing and risk management decisions and planting decisions,” said John Newton, AFBF director of market intelligence. The proposal did not give details of which services could be cut. Trump’s blueprint aims to save $498 million by eliminating a program that helps fund clean water and sewer systems in small communities. The budget proposal would also eliminate a food aid program, which had $182 million in funding earmarked for fiscal 2017. Its planned $6.2 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is about $150 million less than fiscal 2016. Under former President Barack Obama, the program was reduced by $273 million between fiscal 2015 and 2016. The plans for USDA spending were part of Trump’s budget blueprint, a broad outline of spending proposals for the fiscal year ahead. It does not cover “mandatory” spending established by law, like farm subsidies, only “discretionary” programs where lawmakers can adjust spending. The White House has said it plans to release a traditional full budget in mid-May. The USDA oversees agriculture, rural communities and nutritional programs, including funding for school lunches. The agency also publishes closely watched global farming production statistics.

Summary: कृषि नेताओं ने ट्रम्प के यूएसडीए बजट कटौती प्रस्ताव की निंदा की


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stepped up his war of words over National Football League players’ silent protests against racial injustice, saying the world’s top-grossing sports league should not be given tax breaks while athletes kneel during the national anthem. The NFL gave up its tax-free status two years ago, but new or renovated stadiums are often funded at least in part by tax-exempt municipal bonds issued by local governments or states. Team owners benefit from government financing via lower interest rate bonds backed by team lease payments, stadium-generated revenue and even tax dollars.  The administration could push for changes to the laws that allow professional sports teams to enjoy tax breaks normally aimed at city governments. Below are five facts about the financing of sports stadiums. 1) Laws allowing teams to fund stadiums with tax-exempt bonds have cost the United States $3.7 billion in lost tax revenue from 2000 through 2014, according to a Brookings Institution paper released last year, a figure that reflects the lower interest rates paid on municipal debt and the tax exemption for bondholders. 2) Of the 16 NFL stadiums built or renovated from 2000 through 2014, 13 were financed in part by tax-exempt bonds with an average financing worth $360.2 million, according to Brookings, a Washington-based policy think tank. 3) Trump could propose tax reform legislation to remove the federal tax exemptions on debt financing for stadiums. However federal changes would not necessarily hinder any potential incentives offered by state and local authorities. The latest and largest subsidy offered to an NFL franchise is the $750 million Las Vegas is using to lure the Oakland Raiders to a $1.9 billion stadium. The money will come from public funds raised via a visitors’ tax on Las Vegas strip hotel rooms. 4) There are two bipartisan bills, one in the Senate and one in the House, before the U.S. Congress that seek to remove federal tax exempt status for bonds tied to sports stadiums by treating them as private activity bonds. 5) Former U.S. President Barack Obama proposed in two previous budgets for 2015 and 2016 legislation to eliminate the tax exemptions on stadium financing, Brookings said.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः क्या ट्रम्प एन. एफ. एल. स्टेडियम कर छूट को खत्म कर सकते हैं? विचार करने के लिए पाँच तथ्य


(Reuters) - U.S. Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday asked Kaleo Pharmaceuticals to justify the more than 550 percent surge in the price of its device to treat painkiller overdoses, becoming the second senator to question Evzio’s $4,500 price tag. Evzio contains the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and can be used in emergencies by people without medical training. Privately held Kaleo has raised the price of a twin-pack to $4,500, from $690 in 2014, according to a Kaiser Health News report. (bit.ly/2kFzxaq) The concerns over Evzio’s price comes at a time when pharmaceutical companies are facing intense scrutiny over “price-gouging”, and as lawmakers struggle with the epidemic of opioid abuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 91 Americans succumb every day to opioid overdose, which experts partly blame on unrestricted painkiller prescriptions. "At a time when Congress has worked to expand access to naloxone products and to assist state and local communities to equip first responders with this life-saving drug, this startling price hike is very concerning," McCaskill said in a letter to Kaleo Chief Executive Spencer Williamson. (bit.ly/2kYbUMP) The letter, which was signed by 30 U.S. senators, asked Kaleo for information on Evzio’s price structure and why the company chose to adjust prices. “We received the letter from the Senators and are in communication with them to ensure all questions are addressed,” Williamson told Reuters in an e-mailed statement. Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar sent Kaleo a letter earlier this month, voicing similar concerns. Williamson said that Americans with commercial insurance and a prescription could get Evzio, which was approved in 2014, for no out-of-pocket cost, or for $360 if they paid cash. He added that people without insurance and with household income under $100,000 could get Evzio for no out-of-pocket cost. Kaleo’s other product is Auvi-Q, an emergency allergy auto-injector that is a rival to Mylan NV’s EpiPen, which came under intense criticism last year for its high price. Kaleo said last month that it would offer Auvi-Q at no cost to many consumers, but set a list price – to be used as the benchmark cost to insurance companies – at a whopping $4,500.

Summary: सीनेटरों ने ओपिओइड ओवरडोज उपचार पर कालियो के 4,500 डॉलर के टैग पर सवाल उठाया


DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen s Houthi forces denied detaining a U.S. citizen and said he had been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the capital Sanaa, a statement from the movement said. Colleagues of Danny Lavon Burch, an engineer who had been working in Yemen since the late 1980s, said on Monday that Houthi forces had detained him in Sanaa.  The Iran-aligned Houthis and their ally former president Ali Abdullah Saleh control much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, and are battling a Saudi-led coalition that is trying to restore the internationally recognized government. An armed gang was behind  the criminal and cowardly act  of kidnapping Burch, a statement carried by the Houthi-controlled state news agency SABA said late on Wednesday.  The security services are tracking the perpetrators of the kidnapping and they will be brought to justice,  it said. His wife, Nadia Burch, told Reuters earlier this week that her husband had been seized on Saturday after taking their children to school. He has worked in Yemen since the late 1980s, currently with the oil company Safer, said Burch, a Yemeni.  He has no problems or disputes with anyone, which is why he didn t leave as others did,  she said.  I ask for the release of my husband and his safe return to me.  She said the kidnappers had not contacted her and she was unsure of their identity. A U.S. State Department official said they were aware and concerned about the report of Burch s disappearance. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen s civil war. It began in March 2015 when the Houthis advanced on the interim headquarters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the southern port city of Aden, forcing him to flee the country and seek Saudi help.

Summary: यमन के हौथियों का कहना है कि अज्ञात बंदूकधारियों ने अमेरिकी नागरिक का अपहरण कर लिया है