Charlie Huston's Blog, page 2

In China, Trump Wins a Trove of New Trademarks

In China, Trump Wins a Trove of New Trademarks:

In February, the Chinese government announced that it was granting Mr. Trump the right to protect his name brand for construction projects, after a decade-long legal battle. That trademark approval was announced just days after Mr. Trump pulled back from his challenge to China’s policy on Taiwan in a call with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

A number of trademarks have followed, with China’s Trademark Office giving preliminary approval for the...

E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics

E.P.A. Head Stacks Agency With Climate Change Skeptics:

In the days since, Mr. Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who built a career out of suing the agency he now leads, has moved to stock the top offices of the agency with like-minded conservatives — many of them skeptics of climate change and all of them intent on rolling back environmental regulations that they see as overly intrusive and harmful to business.

WikiLeaks Releases Trove of Alleged C.I.A. Hacking Documents

WikiLeaks Releases Trove of Alleged C.I.A. Hacking Documents:

A program called Wrecking Crew explains how to crash a targeted computer, and another tells how to steal passwords using the autocomplete function on Internet Explorer. Other programs were called CrunchyLimeSkies, ElderPiggy, AngerQuake and McNugget.

The document dump was the latest coup for the antisecrecy organization and a serious blow to the C.I.A., which uses its hacking abilities to carry out espionage against foreign targets....

Who Wins and Who Loses Under Republicans’ Health Care Plan

Who Wins and Who Loses Under Republicans’ Health Care Plan:

The biggest losers under the change would be older Americans with low incomes who live in high-cost areas. Those are the people who benefited most from Obamacare.

For some people, the new tax credit system will be more generous. The winners are likely to be younger, earn higher incomes and live in areas where the cost of health insurance is low.

Obamacare’s subsidies were structured to limit how much low- and middle-income Americans co...

‘No Comment,’ Justice Dept. Says, Asked About a Trump Inquiry

‘No Comment,’ Justice Dept. Says, Asked About a Trump Inquiry:

With questions still swirling over President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that he was wiretapped on orders of President Barack Obama, the Justice Department on Thursday declined to confirm statements a day earlier from the White House that Mr. Trump was not the target of a counterintelligence investigation.

Officials also said the White House had not relied on any information from the Justice Department in offering a statement de...

Profitable Companies, No Taxes: Here’s How They Did It

Profitable Companies, No Taxes: Here’s How They Did It:

Although the top corporate rate is 35 percent, hardly any company actually pays that. The report, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington, found that 100 of them — nearly 40 percent — paid no taxes in at least one year between 2008 and 2015. Eighteen, including General Electric, International Paper, Priceline.com and PG&E, incurred a total federal income tax bill of less than zero ove...

White House Officials Say Trump Isn’t Target of Any Investigation

White House Officials Say Trump Isn’t Target of Any Investigation:

The problem for the White House is that Mr. Trump fueled this week’s cycle of stories himself. On Wednesday, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate’s Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism asked the F.B.I. and the Justice Department for evidence that the government had sought legal permission to tap Mr. Trump’s phones.

The request came in a letter from Senators Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and She...

Health Providers Denounce G.O.P. Bill as House Panels Get to Work

Health Providers Denounce G.O.P. Bill as House Panels Get to Work:

Since congressional Republicans released the repeal-and-replace plan on Monday, a stream of medical and health advocacy groups, and AARP, have come out against it. Supporters of the bill so far are largely limited to those who would most directly benefit from its passage — groups that represent industries and individuals whose taxes would be cut, including the United States Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Tax Reform, a c...

Here’s the Reality About Illegal Immigrants in the United States

Here’s the Reality About Illegal Immigrants in the United States

Hawaii Sues to Block Trump Travel Ban; First Challenge to Order

Hawaii Sues to Block Trump Travel Ban; First Challenge to Order:

The court filing from the office of the attorney general of Hawaii, Doug Chin, a Democrat, may signal a wave of legal assaults on Mr. Trump’s second take on the travel ban, which preserves the fundamentals of the first while lifting restrictions on Iraqis, green card holders and lawful permanent residents, and people who are already approved to enter the United States.