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A U.N. Plan to Stop Corporate Tax Abuse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

Hey, let’s debate international tax policy! The United Nations has released an advance version of a report from Secretary-General António Guterres titled “Promotion of Inclusive and Effective International Tax Cooperation at the United Nations,” which explicitly criticizes the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s proposed base erosion and profit shifting 2.0 reforms, which in turn obviously means that zzxzxvcaspppmmmdzzzzzzzzzz.This is the problem with talking about taxes, especially taxes on international corporations. In a famous essay 100 years ago, H.L. Mencken argued that the subject of taxation should be “eternally lively; it concerns nine-tenths of us more directly than either smallpox or golf, and has just as much drama in it.” After all, with the possible exception of sex, there’s nothing that mesmerizes human beings more than money and who’s getting how much.Yet somehow, as Mencken said, taxation and related topics remain “swathed in dullness.” It’s har...

Van Gisbergen hoping to build on momentum from Chicago win in 2nd NASCAR start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shane van Gisbergen has spent six weeks getting acclimated to his new celebrity racing status.He has been revising his schedule, changing travel plans, linking up with new and old acquaintances and, yes, still clarifying the pronunciation of his last name. These are busy days for the three-time Supercars champion, busier than anticipated when he started pondering a move to NASCAR.Everything changed for one of New Zealand’s most popular drivers when he posted an impressive victory on the streets of Chicago.“A few other guys in the field dropped me a message after the race, which is cool, and just the reach that race had,” the 34-year-old van Gisbergen said. “People I hadn’t heard from for years, racing royalty and stuff. The amount of messages (I had) — winning a Supercars championship — I’ve never had such a response from so many people.”He has become so popular that Trackhouse Racing opted to bring back van Gisbergen for Sunday’s Brickyard 200 ...

Suarez holds off Reddick for Brickyard 200 pole, van Gisenberg qualifies 8th

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Daniel Suarez posted the fastest lap time in Brickyard 200 qualifying Saturday, claiming his first pole since July 2019.The Mexican driver completed Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course in 1 minute, 27.968 seconds. Tyler Reddick qualified second after posting a fast lap of 1:28.113 while Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champ, will start third.It was a solid start for all three, each of whom started the weekend below the NASCAR playoff cutline.Shane van Gisbergen, Suarez’s teammate with Trackhouse Racing, will start eighth Sunday after going 1:28.544. The New Zealander won his only other Cup race, on the streets of Chicago last month. He became the first driver to win in his series debut since three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford in 1963 and will try to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win his first two career starts.William Byron owns a series high four wins this season but will start from the back o...

Damar Hamlin makes an early impact in returning to field in Bills’ preseason game against Colts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin reached another major milestone in his return to football by suiting up for Buffalo’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.And it didn’t take long for the Bills safety to make an impact in his first appearance in a competitive setting since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2.On his second defensive snap, Hamlin crashed the line and brought down running back Evan Hull for no gain in preventing the Colts from converting a fourth-and-1 at Buffalo’s 40. Hamlin was initially credited with an assist on the tackle, before being awarded a solo tackle.On Buffalo’s next defensive series, Hamlin made tackles on back-to-back plays, with a cheer going up from the crowd each time his name was mentioned. Hamlin was part of Buffalo’s kickoff coverage unit following Dalvin Cook’s 8-yard TD run 3:22 into the game.Hamlin’s return was briefly placed on...

England captain Harry Kane ‘buzzing’ after Bayern Munich move in pursuit of trophies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

England captain Harry Kane has left Tottenham behind. Now he’s chasing trophies at Bayern Munich.The fee for Kane could hit more than 100 million pounds ($110 million), which breaks the Bundesliga transfer record and is a huge sum for a player who would have been out of contract next year.After 19 years at Tottenham and no trophies, Kane is almost assured of winning something at Bayern, the German league champion 11 years running. Bayern’s also a Champions League contender. Tottenham isn’t playing in Europe at all this season.“Buzzing to have signed for such a massive club with an incredible history, can’t wait to get started!” Kane wrote on his social media channels.The 30-year-old Kane could lift a trophy — though hardly a major one — on his first day at Bayern if he plays in Saturday’s German Super Cup season-opener against Leipzig. He was named on the bench for the game ahead of kickoff.After months of negotiations came 24 hours of the transfer as public theate...

After LK-99 letdown, scientists still hopeful to find ‘Holy Grail’ superconductor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

Image concept of magnetic levitating above a high-temperature superconductor, cooled with liquid nitrogen.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/ktsimage) Image concept of magnetic levitating above a high-temperature superconductor, cooled with liquid nitrogen.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/ktsimage) Tech enthusiasts were abuzz for the last few weeks about the possibility of a new superconductor called LK-99, and while recent studies show the material may not be a superconductor after all, scientists are still excited about the possibility of the “Holy Grail” of material sciences.A superconductor is a material that, when below a certain critical temperature, exhibits general electrical resistance — meaning that an electrical curren...

Vitinha scores Marseille’s winner against Reims. PSG faces Lorient without Mbappe and Neymar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Portugal forward Vitinha scored a second-half winner as Marseille opened its French league campaign with a 2-1 home win against Reims on Saturday.Later, Paris Saint-Germain began its title defense with a home game against Lorient. Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti were all left out by new PSG coach Luis Enrique.Marseille’s new coach Marcelino kept veteran striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench with Marseille facing Panathinaikos in the return leg of a Champions League qualifier next Tuesday. Marseille, which finished third in the French league last season, trails 1-0.Marseille struggled at home last season and the match started badly at Stade Velodrome when Japan forward Junya Ito put Reims ahead in the 10th minute.After midfielder Azzedine Ounahi equalized for Marseille midway through the first half, Ito and Vitinha both had a goal disallowed in quick succession.But club-record signing Vitinha did celebrate in the 73rd when he ran onto a cross from...

Bear breaks into home, attacks 82-year-old woman near Trinidad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado Parks and Wildlife are searching for a small black bear that broke into an 82-year-old woman's home in Southern Colorado and scratched her before leaving shortly after midnight Friday.The incident happened in Boncarbo, west of Trinidad. The woman said she was awakened by a crashing sound and her dog growling. When she opened the doors to her mudroom, a small bear leaped at her.The woman immediately pushed the bear off of her and closed the doors to the room.The bear scrambled frantically around the room, climbed a shelf, and exited the house by tearing through an open window screen. Bear attacks camper relaxing in hammock: CPW The bear was a cinnamon-colored black bear, and the woman estimated the bear weighed less than 100 pounds. Based on the description, it may have been a cub or a yearling, CPW said.The woman suffered minor scratches and declined medical attention, CPW said.A CPW officer was notified of the attack later in the day and immediately bega...

Hotel rooms considered for sheltering fire survivors, disaster responders. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Emergency managers in Maui were still assessing the scope of the damage Saturday in the center of Lahaina and searching for places to house people displaced from their homes.One possibility was to put some of the survivors and disaster responders at the Sheraton Hotel, with 200 rooms available there, FEMA said in a briefing Saturday morning. But the need for shelter was much higher, estimated at as many as 4,500 people, according to the assessment posted on Facebook early Saturday and based on figures from FEMA and the Pacific Disaster Center.Flyovers by the Civil Air Patrol found 1,692 struct...

Starting next year, child influencers can sue if earnings aren’t set aside, says new Illinois law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:04:02 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois is the first state in the U.S. to ensure child social media influencers are compensated for their work, according to Sen. David Koehler, of Peoria, who sponsored a bill that was signed into law and will go into effect on July 1, 2024. “The rise of social media has given children new opportunities to earn a profit,” Koehler said in an emailed press release after the bill was signed Friday afternoon. “Many parents have taken this opportunity to pocket the money, while making their children continue to work in these digital environments.” The idea for the law, which covers children under the age of 16 featured in monetized online platforms, including video blogs (also known as vlogs), was brought to Koehler by a 15-year-old in his district, the Democratic senator said.Besides coordinated dances and funny toddler comments, family vlogs nowadays may share intimate details of their children’s lives — grades, potty training, illnesses, misbehaviors, first peri...