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Increased standard deductions means millions would stop itemizing mortgage and gift write-offs under U.S. tax bill


Reuters
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 17:54 UTC
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Millions of households would no longer benefit from federal tax deductions for charity donations, mortgage interest payments and property tax under Republican tax plans being debated in the U.S. Congress, a think tank said on Thursday.

The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said that up to 29 million U.S. households now writing off donations, home loan interest and state and local property tax payments would no longer be able to do so under either of the two plans.

While all three deductions are maintained in some form in one or both of the rival Senate and House of Representatives bills, far fewer taxpayers could take advantage of them because of other proposed changes, said the Washington-based group.
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Treasure Chest

Census Bureau: 5 richest counties in U.S. are D.C. suburbs

Terence P. Jeffrey
CNSNews.com
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 17:41 UTC
usa eeuu capitol building
© Imagen ilustrativa Flickr / Brandon Hirsch
The five richest counties in the United States when measured by median household income are all suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to the American Community Survey data released today by the Census Bureau.

According to the American Community Survey's new five-year estimates (2012-2016), the five richest counties in the country are: Loudoun County, Va., where the median household income was $125,672; Falls Church City, Va., where it was $115,244; Fairfax County, Va., where it was $114,329; Howard County, Md., where it was $113,800; and Arlington County, Va., where it was $108,706.

Comment: Wealth disparity: America's richest 1% now owns 40% of country's wealth

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Piggy Bank

Wealth disparity: America's richest 1% now owns 40% of country's wealth


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:35 UTC
US dollar
© Global Look Press
America's richest one percent own a whopping 40 percent of the country's wealth, a new study has revealed. The finding marks a widening gap between rich and poor in the United States.

The paper, written by economist Edward N. Wolff, used data from the federal Survey of Consumer Finances. The data showed that the wealth owned by the one percent shot up by nearly three percentage points since 2013, from 36.7 percent to 39.6 percent. That number represents the most wealth owned by the one-percenters since at least 1962.

Meanwhile, wealth owned by the bottom 90 percent has decreased. As a result, the top one percent of households now own more than the bottom 90 percent combined. The top 20 percent own 89.9 percent of the wealth.
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Network

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom ready to help Japan remove defective fuel from Fukushima


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 17:01 UTC
Fukushima, Japan
© Kimimasa Mayama / ReutersFukushima, Japan
Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom is ready to take defective fuel from the Fukushima-1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), said Rosatom department's director Andrei Ivanov on Friday.

"Different options of such cooperation were discussed," he said, adding that no specific decisions have been made so far.

In September, Rosatom offered its services to Japan to assist in cleaning up at the Fukushima NPP and in decommissioning other unsafe nuclear power plants.

That followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia and Japan will start joint efforts to clean up after the accident.

Comment: Despite efforts from Western propaganda outlets to turn Russia into the world's "bad guy", it's actions like this that show Putin has turned Russia into a savior around the world. The West would do well to take notice on how being a world leader is properly done.

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Heart - Black

Samurai sword bloodbath: Head priestess violently butchered at Tokyo religious shrine along with others


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:57 UTC
Religious shrine
© Kyodo / ReutersA policeman stands guard in front of the main temple of the Tomioka Hachimangu shrine in Tokyo, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo on December 8, 2017.
A family feud escalated into an apparent murder-suicide in Tokyo when a man launched a violent samurai attack at a religious shrine, killing three including his sister, a chief priestess and his wife.

The brutal attack, which took place on Thursday night at the Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, was captured on CCTV and showed head priestess Nagako Tomioka, 58, being attacked by her brother, Shigenaga, 56, and her brother's wife, Mariko,49, according to Kyodo News.

After attacking his sister, Shigenaga apparently turned the sword on his wife and fellow assailant before then taking his own life, reports the Japan Times, citing the Metropolitan Police Department.
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Magnify

DOJ launches investigation into Planned Parenthood over sale of fetal tissue

Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson
Fox News
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 16:40 UTC
planned parenthood
The Justice Department has launched a federal investigation into Planned Parenthood's practices and the sale of fetal tissue.

In a letter first obtained by Fox News, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd formally requested unredacted documents from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the same panel that led the congressional probe into the women's health organization.

"The Department of Justice appreciates the offer of assistance in obtaining these materials, and would like to request the Committee provide unredacted copies of records contained in the report, in order to further the Department's ability to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of that report based on the full range of information available," Boyd wrote.

Fox News has learned that last month, the FBI first requested the unredacted documents from the committee.

Fox News is told that Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said they needed to receive a letter and be assured that the documents would be used for investigative purposes.
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Heart - Black

Innocent Minnesota woman sues after being viciously attacked by police dog (VIDEO)


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:44 UTC
Lady attacked by police dog
© Charlotte Alerts / YouTube
Footage has emerged showing the moment a Minnesota woman was attacked by a police dog while innocently taking out the trash. The victim has filed a lawsuit against the officer handling the canine.

The video, which was captured by an officer's body cam, shows Officer Thaddeus P. Schmidt walking a German Shepherd on a leash near a dumpster in the city of St. Paul while he and his colleagues were in search of suspects implicated in a nearby home burglary.

The dog is not initially seen in the video, nor is Desiree Collins, the victim. However, her screaming can soon be heard behind the dumpster.

An officer approaches the dumpster and discovers the terrified victim. "There's a lady," he says.
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Star of David

Report finds 20 Palestinians from Gaza Strip have died this year waiting for Israeli exit permits


Middle East Monitor
Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:03 UTC
palestinian man hospital
© Ashraf Amra/ApaimagesA Palestinian man receives medical care at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 16 April 2017
Since the start of this year, 20 Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip died due to an Israeli ban on their travel, Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed.

The Israeli newspaper cited rights groups' reports noting the "unjustified" increase of the Israeli "trend" to prevent issuing exit permits for patients.

Haaretz reported the case of four-year-old Yara Bakheet who vomited frequently for an entire week and became dehydrated. After a series of tests in the European Hospital in Gaza, doctors told her mother that she suffers from a heart disease.

She was granted a medical transition report to Al-Maqasid Hospital in East Jerusalem where she should have been treated.
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People 2

Dutch people vote 'genderneutraal' as most annoying word of 2017


DutchNews.nl
Thu, 07 Dec 2017 14:45 UTC
gender neutral bathroom
'Genderneutraal' has been chosen as the most annoying word of 2017 in the annual poll 'Weg met dat woord!' (Down with that word), conducted by language lobby group Instituut van de Nederlandse Taal.

Some 43% of the Dutch respondents voted for the word to disappear as quickly as possible, ahead of 'in je kracht staan (to be in your power)' and 'papadag (day off for dads)'. Among Flemish voters, the expression 'ik heb zoiets van (I'm like)' raised most hackles. Some 2,300 people participated in the poll.

One reason 'Genderneutraal' was chosen was the use of the English word 'gender' - the word should be 'geslachtsneutraal', one commenter wrote.

People are also annoyed by the implications of the word: 'Another hype!' wrote another commenter while a third opined there is no such thing as gender neutrality because 'you're either male or female'. Last year's most annoying word was 'diervriendelijk' - or animal friendly.

Comment: One wonders just how many more people in other countries want 'gender neutral' to disappear as quickly as possible. It's probably likely that a lot of Westerners resent being forced to alter their language, and their behavior, by a small vocal minority:

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Handcuffs

Disgraced former US gymnastics doctor Nassar gets 60yr sentence for child porn, 100's of lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse


RT
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 15:10 UTC
Larry Nassar
© AFPFormer Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Former US Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to the maximum 60 years in federal prison for possessing thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

Nassar, who worked for nearly 30 years as the US gymnastics team doctor, pleaded guilty to three federal child pornography charges in July 2017 and received the maximum sentence in court on Thursday.

This was the first of three punishments for Nassar, who will be sentenced in a separate sexual abuse case on January 18 after admitting to molesting female gymnasts when they sought treatment for hip and back pain.

More than 100 women filed lawsuits against Nassar accusing him of sexual abuse, with Michigan State and USA Gymnastics being co-defendants in many cases.

Comment:
Michigan State's former director of sports and former Olympic gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nasser - accused of sexual assault by more than 150 women, including several Team USA gymnasts - now has pleaded guilty to 10 sexual assault counts as well as possession of child pornography. He also admitted in court to committing sexually abusive procedures thousands of times throughout his 20-year career.

See article: Michigan State accused of covering up worst sex abuse scandal in US sports


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