by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Social Media, World
Washington : US President Donald Trump’s lawyers have asked Facebook to provide the private account information of the social media giant’s users engaged in “anti-administration activists”.
“The warrants specifically target the accounts of three Facebook users who are described by their attorneys as anti-administration activists who have spoken out at organised events, and who are generally very critical of this administration’s policies,” CNN reported on Saturday.
The social media giant went through seven months of legal proceedings so it could make all three users aware that administration lawyers wanted their online details.
“We successfully fought in court to be able to notify the three people whose broad account information was requested by the government,” a Facebook spokesperson told CNN.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the targeted activists, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has moved to block the warrants.
The ACLU said in a filing that enforcing the warrants would “reach deeply into individuals’ private lives and protected associational and political activity”, according to Independent.co.uk.
It warns that giving the government access to such broad repositories of data would stifle future speech.
Earlier in February, warrants were issued by the Attorney for the District of Columbia that asked Facebook to furnish details about the activities of three users who spearheaded mass protests against Trump’s inauguration.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, World
Washington : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday presented his tax reform plan, an ambitious proposal that includes lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 percent.
The reform plan also eliminates the estate tax and reduces the number of tax brackets for individuals from seven to three: 12 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent.
The plan, entitled the “Unified Framework For Fixing Our Broken Tax Code,” was announced jointly by the White House and Republican lawmakers heading the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees and is the working document whereby the administration is seeking to craft the biggest US tax reform since 1980.
Trump’s proposal reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent, a little higher than the 15 per cent that the president had initially promised, Efe reported.
“Too many in our country are shut out of the dynamism of the US economy, which has led to the justifiable feeling that the system is rigged against hardworking Americans,” the nine-page plan states.
“With significant and meaningful tax reform and relief, we will create a fairer system that levels the playing field and extends economic opportunities to American workers, small businesses, and middle-income families,” it adds.
The three new individual tax brackets would shave the taxes that people in the current highest bracket — 39.6 per cent — pay and slightly raise the minimum percentage income tax to 10 per cent.
As had been previously announced, Trump is proposing to raise tax deduction amounts for families with children and create a new deduction for dependent adults such as the elderly or ill.
The president’s plan also eliminates the estate tax on inherited assets, known as the “death tax,” something that the White House had already announced, and it raises the standard deduction for individuals from $6,350 to $12,000 and for couples from $12,700 to $24,000.
It also eliminates most itemised deductions with the only deductions specifically preserved in the plan being those for charitable gifts and home mortgage interest.
It remains to be clarified how the tax cuts will be compensated for to balance the public accounts and avoid raising the deficit.
The president is traveling to Indianapolis on Wednesday to discuss the tax plan.
The tax reform proposal is Trump’s big legislative play for the remainder of the year after the apparent failure to repeal and replace ObamaCare, which the Republicans have been unable to move forward on despite holding majorities in both the House and Senate.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
San Francisco : Dismissing US President Donald Trump’s claim that Facebook was hostile against him like The New York Times and The Washington Post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Trump’s allegations were baseless.
Trump tweeted late Wednesday: “Facebook was always anti-Trump. The Networks were always anti-Trump hence, Fake News, @nytimes (apologised) and @WaPo were anti-Trump. Collusion?”
Zuckerberg responded: “Trump says Facebook is against him. Liberals say we helped Trump. Both sides are upset about ideas and content they don’t like. That’s what running a platform for all ideas looks like”.
According to Zuckerberg, the facts suggest the greatest role Facebook played in the 2016 US election was different from what most were saying.
“More people had a voice in this election than ever before. There were billions of interactions discussing the issues that may have never happened offline. Every topic was discussed, not just what the media covered,” he posted.
Facebook is facing intense fake news scrutiny after disclosing the details about the presence of Russian political ads worth $100,000 on its platform during the presidential election.
“This was the first US election where the internet was a primary way candidates communicated. Every candidate had a Facebook page to communicate directly with tens of millions of followers every day.
“Campaigns spent hundreds of millions advertising online to get their messages out even further. That’s 1000x more than any problematic ads we’ve found,” he added.
After an extensive legal and policy review, the social media giant announced that it would share 3,000 Russian ads with Congressional investigators.
Congressional leaders have sent a letter to Facebook, Google and Twitter, requesting them to provide information on whether Russia purchased any advertisements on their platforms.
Facebook earlier handed over the details to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is currently investigating claims of alleged Russian meddling in the election, included copies of the ads and details about the accounts that bought them and the targeting criteria they used.
Facebook, Twitter and Google have also been summoned to testify before the US Senate Intelligence Committee.
According to Zuckerberg: “After the US election, I made a comment that I thought the idea misinformation on Facebook changed the outcome of the election was a crazy idea.
“Calling that crazy was dismissive and I regret it. This is too important an issue to be dismissive. But the data we have has always shown that our broader impact — from giving people a voice to enabling candidates to communicate directly to helping millions of people vote — played a far bigger role in this election,” he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Washington : US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Education Department to invest at least $200 million annually in grants funding schools in the country so they can expand their teaching in the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
“Greater access to STEM and computer science programs will ensure that our children can develop the skills they need to compete and to win in the workforce of tomorrow,” Efe quoted Trump as saying.
The president signed a memorandum instructing his Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to prioritise educational projects related to STEM and computer science when it comes to distributing funds to schools.
“Currently, more than half of high schools do not offer computer programming, and nearly 40 per cent do not offer physics,” Trump said.
Trump’s daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, explained in a telephone conference call that the aim of the initiative is “aligning the skills that are taught in the classroom with the skills that are in demand in the modern economy.”
“So we’re very excited about today’s announcement and towards really focusing on the goal of putting Americans to work and making sure that all Americans get great-paying jobs,” Ivanka Trump added.
The president, for his part, suggested students to engage themselves in the future to “do what you love – but then it’s not work. Because if you love it, it’s not working. It’s like a pleasure.”
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Donald Trump
Washington : US President Donald Trump has announced new travel restrictions for eight countries including North Korea, replacing the previous ban on six Muslim-majority countries, citing threats to national security posed by letting their citizens into Washington.
Starting next month, most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, Venezuela and North Korea will be banned from entering the US, Trump said in a proclamation released on Sunday night.
“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” Trump tweeted just after the proclamation was released.
In a statement, the White House called the new restrictions a “critical step toward establishing an immigration system that protects Americans’ safety and security in an era of dangerous terrorism and transnational crime,” CNN reported.
“We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable danger to our country.
“My highest obligation is to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation,” Trump said in the White House statement.
For the last three months, the administration used an executive order to ban foreign nationals from six Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan — from entering the US unless they had a “bona fide” relationship with a person or entity in the country.
Individuals with that “bona fide” exception, such as a foreign grandparent of a US citizen, can still apply for visas until October 18. After that date, the new restrictions will begin.
According to the new list, travel will be broadly suspended, while in other cases, travellers will have to undergo enhanced screening and vetting requirements.
For instance, foreign nationals from North Korea are banned, but a student from Iran will be allowed in, subject to “enhanced screening and vetting requirements”, CNN quoted the White House statement as saying.
However, no current validly issued green cards, visas or travel documents will be revoked.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that with the new restrictions, “the President is carrying out his duty to protect the American people.
“The State Department will coordinate with other federal agencies to implement these measures in an orderly manner… We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners who share our commitment to national and global security.”
A revised travel ban effecting those from six-Muslim majority countries officially expired earlier on Sunday, reports CNN.
Trump signed the initial travel ban during his first week in office, but it was met with immediate legal challenges, which have continued to hinder implementation of the full scope of the executive order.
The administration released a second version in March, which included substantial changes.
The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the legality of the travel ban next month.
—IANS
