


NEWS BRIEFING
Trump adviser insists tax cut proposal won’t favor rich

The White House and congressional Republicans released the broad strokes of a plan last week that would dramatically cut corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent, reduce the number of personal income tax brackets and boost the standard deduction.
The Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution released an analysis Friday that found the plan would deliver 50 percent of its total tax benefit to taxpayers in the top 1 percent, those with incomes above $730,000 a year.
But White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN’s “State of the Union” it was too early for analysts to gauge that figure because the plan leaves out for now many crucial details, such as which income levels the new tax brackets would apply to.
“In fact, I don’t think anybody can. And anybody who says they can is simply lying to you,” Mulvaney said. “It is impossible to sit down and say, this will be the impact on this wage earner or this family at this particular time.”
Still, that didn’t stop Trump from doing that during a speech in Indiana last week. In his remarks, Trump pointed to locals, including Jonathan Blanton, a janitor from Greentown, who earns a combined $90,000 a year with his wife. “Under our tax plan they would have saved more than $1,000, and it could be substantially more,” Trump said.
Hezbollah leader warns Israel as Shiites mark Ashoura
Hassan Nasrallah told observers in a televised speech that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was working with President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the Iran nuclear deal signed with world powers and start a regional war.
He warned Israel not to underestimate Hezbollah’s capabilities.
“The current Israeli government, presided over by Netanyahu is leading its people to death and destruction,” Nasrallah warned. “I can confirm that they do not have an accurate idea of what is waiting for them if they embark on this stupid war.”
Suspect arrested in Canada terror attack, van chase
Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht said officers took the suspect, later described as a 30-year-old Edmonton man, into custody and he is believed to have acted alone. Knecht said an Islamic State group flag was found in the car that hit the officer, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a terror attack.
Police declined to identify the man because he had not yet been charged, saying the pending charges included terrorism.
As Supreme Court term opens, workers’ rights laws challenged
At issue is whether businesses may require employees to waive their rights to join with co-workers and instead agree to act alone to settle disputes before an arbitrator.
If the court agrees with the administration, the outcome could sharply restrict the rights of private-sector workers who do not belong to a union.
About 60 million nonunionized workers in the private sector are covered by arbitration agreements that bar them from going to court to sue over alleged violations of federal workplace laws.
WWII soldier portrayed in ‘Band of Brothers’ dies
Malarkey was one of several members of “Easy Company” to be widely portrayed in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.” He died Saturday in Salem, Ore., of age-related causes, his son-in-law John Hill said Sunday.
Malarkey fought across France, the Netherlands and Belgium and with Easy Company fought off Nazi advances while surrounded at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
He was often praised for his actions during the war, and was presented with the Legion of Honor Medal — the highest honor awarded by the French government — in 2009.
Germany celebrates 1st same-sex weddings
Town halls in Berlin, Hamburg and elsewhere opened their doors to mark the event, made possible by a surprise vote in parliament.
“We’re making a single exception to fire a symbolic starter pistol because same-sex marriages are possible from today,” said Gordon Holland, a registrar in Berlin’s Schoeneberg district.
Germany introduced registered partnerships in 2002, but those gave same-sex couples fewer rights than heterosexual couples who married. Chancellor Angela Merkel long opposed same-sex marriages, only agreeing to a free vote in parliament on the matter in June.
Paris has experimented with car-free days in the past, but Sunday marked the first time the entire city was handed over to ramblers, cyclists and in-line skaters.