McDonald&#39;s apologised Thursday after it briefly posted on Twitter a blast criticising President Donald Trump, which the company blamed on a hack from an external source.

The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, &quot;You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands.&quot;

The tweet was removed mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of McDonald&#39;s official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles.

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<h5>The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, &#39;You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands&#39;</h5>
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&quot;Based on our investigation, we have determined that our Twitter account was hacked by an external source,&quot; said McDonald&#39;s spokeswoman Terri Hickey in a statement.

&quot;We took swift action to secure it, and we apologise this tweet was sent through our corporate McDonald&#39;s account.&quot;

Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites.&nbsp;

In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic.

(AFP)

McDonald's blamed the tweet on a hack by an 'external source'

McDonald's apologised Thursday after it briefly posted on Twitter a blast criticising President Donald Trump, which the company blamed on a hack from an external source. The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, "You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands." The tweet was removed mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of McDonald's official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles. The quickly deleted tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, 'You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands' × "Based on our investigation, we have determined that our Twitter account was hacked by an external source," said McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey in a statement. "We took swift action to secure it, and we apologise this tweet was sent through our corporate McDonald's account." Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites. In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic. (AFP)

McDonald's apologises after tweet calling Trump 'disgusting excuse of a president'

Just hours before President Donald Trump&#39;s revised travel ban was set to go into effect, a US&nbsp;federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday issued an emergency halt to the order&#39;s implementation.

The action was the latest legal blow to the administration&#39;s efforts to temporarily ban refugees as well as travellers from six predominantly Muslim countries.

The new ban, signed by the president on March 6, had aimed to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February.

US&nbsp;District Judge Derrick Watson put an emergency stop to the new order in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Hawaii, which argued that the order discriminated against Muslims in violation of the US&nbsp;Constitution. President Trump has said the policy is critical for national security and does not discriminate against any religion.

Judge Watson concluded in his ruling that while the order did not mention Islam by name, &quot;a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavour a particular religion.&quot; Watson was appointed to the bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama.

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<h5>Judge Watson concluded in his ruling that while the order did not mention Islam by name, &#39;a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavour a particular religion&#39;</h5>
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Trump said the judge&#39;s legal block &quot;makes us look weak&quot; and represented &quot;unprecedented judicial overreach,&quot; speaking at a rally in Nashville, Tennessee. He said he&#39;ll take the case &quot;as far as it needs to go&quot; including to the Supreme Court.

Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the US&nbsp;House of Representatives, said the ban was needed to improve vetting of people entering the United States and he had no doubt that it would be upheld by higher courts.

The legal battle is likely to move now to the federal appeals circuit and could eventually get to the US&nbsp;Supreme Court.

Rebuke

Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claimed that the motivation behind it was Trump&#39;s campaign promise of &quot;a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.&quot;

Trump later toned down that language and said he would implement a policy of &quot;extreme vetting&quot; of foreigners coming to the United States.

Watson&#39;s order is only temporary until the broader arguments in the case can be heard. He set an expedited hearing to determine if his ruling should be extended.

Trump&#39;s first travel order was more sweeping than the second revised order. Like the current one, it barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days, but it also included Iraq, which was taken off the list of banned countries in the subsequent order.

Refugees were blocked from entering the country for 120 days in both orders, but an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria was dropped in the new one.

The revised ban also excluded legal permanent residents and existing visa holders. It provided a series of waivers for various categories of immigrants with ties to the United States.

The government has maintained in court that the changes resolve any legal issues with the original order and maintained that it was not discriminatory.

The government, in its court filings cautioned the court against looking for secret motives in the executive order and against performing &quot;judicial psychoanalysis of a drafter&rsquo;s heart of heart.&quot;

Watson said he did not need to do that, because evidence of motive could be found in the president&#39;s public statements. He said he did not give credence to the government&#39;s argument that the order was not anti-Muslim because it targeted only a small percentage of Muslim-majority countries.

&quot;The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed,&quot; the judge wrote.

Several cases

The case was one of several moving through US&nbsp;courts on Wednesday that were brought by states&#39; attorneys general and immigrant advocacy groups.

In Maryland, refugee resettlement agencies represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center argued in court for a restraining order.

In Washington state, a group of plaintiffs applying for immigrant visas asked US&nbsp;District Judge James Robart in Seattle -who suspended the first ban - to stop the new order. Robart was appointed to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush.

Washington state, joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon, said in court filings they supported the plaintiffs in Seattle.

Various groups and companies said they would be harmed by the travel restrictions.

A group of 58 tech companies, including Airbnb, Lyft and Dropbox, filed a &quot;friend of the court&#39; brief in the case saying the order hurt their ability to recruit the best talent from around the world. A longer list of companies - that included giants like Apple , Facebook and Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google&nbsp;filed a brief opposing the first ban in a different court challenge brought by Washington state, which is ongoing.

Both judge Robart and US&nbsp;District Judge Theodore Chuang said they would issue written rulings in their cases, but did not specify a time line.

If more judges side with Watson, the government&#39;s case may be harder to make at higher courts. The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld Robart&#39;s ruling against the first ban and Watson referenced that decision in his order.

(Reuters)

The lawsuit was filed by the state of Hawaii, which argued that the order discriminated against Muslims in violation of the US?Constitution

Just hours before President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was set to go into effect, a US federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday issued an emergency halt to the order's implementation. The action was the latest legal blow to the administration's efforts to temporarily ban refugees as well as travellers from six predominantly Muslim countries. The new ban, signed by the president on March 6, had aimed to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. US District Judge Derrick Watson put an emergency stop to the new order in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Hawaii, which argued that the order discriminated against Muslims in violation of the US Constitution. President Trump has said the policy is critical for national security and does not discriminate against any religion. Judge Watson concluded in his ruling that while the order did not mention Islam by name, "a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavour a particular religion." Watson was appointed to the bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama. Judge Watson concluded in his ruling that while the order did not mention Islam by name, 'a reasonable, objective observer ... would conclude that the Executive Order was issued with a purpose to disfavour a particular religion' × Trump said the judge's legal block "makes us look weak" and represented "unprecedented judicial overreach," speaking at a rally in Nashville, Tennessee. He said he'll take the case "as far as it needs to go" including to the Supreme Court. Paul Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said the ban was needed to improve vetting of people entering the United States and he had no doubt that it would be upheld by higher courts. The legal battle is likely to move now to the federal appeals circuit and could eventually get to the US Supreme Court. Rebuke Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claimed that the motivation behind it was Trump's campaign promise of "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." Trump later toned down that language and said he would implement a policy of "extreme vetting" of foreigners coming to the United States. Watson's order is only temporary until the broader arguments in the case can be heard. He set an expedited hearing to determine if his ruling should be extended. Trump's first travel order was more sweeping than the second revised order. Like the current one, it barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days, but it also included Iraq, which was taken off the list of banned countries in the subsequent order. Refugees were blocked from entering the country for 120 days in both orders, but an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria was dropped in the new one. The revised ban also excluded legal permanent residents and existing visa holders. It provided a series of waivers for various categories of immigrants with ties to the United States. The government has maintained in court that the changes resolve any legal issues with the original order and maintained that it was not discriminatory. The government, in its court filings cautioned the court against looking for secret motives in the executive order and against performing "judicial psychoanalysis of a drafter’s heart of heart." Watson said he did not need to do that, because evidence of motive could be found in the president's public statements. He said he did not give credence to the government's argument that the order was not anti-Muslim because it targeted only a small percentage of Muslim-majority countries. "The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed," the judge wrote. Several cases The case was one of several moving through US courts on Wednesday that were brought by states' attorneys general and immigrant advocacy groups. In Maryland, refugee resettlement agencies represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center argued in court for a restraining order. In Washington state, a group of plaintiffs applying for immigrant visas asked US District Judge James Robart in Seattle -who suspended the first ban - to stop the new order. Robart was appointed to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush. Washington state, joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon, said in court filings they supported the plaintiffs in Seattle. Various groups and companies said they would be harmed by the travel restrictions. A group of 58 tech companies, including Airbnb, Lyft and Dropbox, filed a "friend of the court' brief in the case saying the order hurt their ability to recruit the best talent from around the world. A longer list of companies - that included giants like Apple , Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google filed a brief opposing the first ban in a different court challenge brought by Washington state, which is ongoing. Both judge Robart and US District Judge Theodore Chuang said they would issue written rulings in their cases, but did not specify a time line. If more judges side with Watson, the government's case may be harder to make at higher courts. The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld Robart's ruling against the first ban and Watson referenced that decision in his order. (Reuters)

Hours before it was to take effect, Hawaii judge puts stop to Trump's revised travel ban

Mexican presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday against US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s planned border wall and his administration&#39;s treatment of immigrants.

Lopez Obrador, a fiery leftist who has led recent polls for the 2018 election, said he expects the commission to &quot;speak out in accordance with the law to protect immigrants from the harassment they are suffering since Trump took office.&quot;

Trump has ordered a wall built along the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border, has moved to strip federal funding from &quot;sanctuary&quot; states and cities harboring illegal immigrants, and expanded the force of U.S. immigration agents.

During his election campaign, Trump described Mexican illegal immigrants as rapists and criminals and insisted that Mexico would pay for the wall. That caused simmering diplomatic tension and angered everyday citizens south of the border.

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor and two-time runner-up for the presidency, said he hoped the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights would view Trump&#39;s moves as a &quot;violation of human rights and discriminatory.&quot;

The commission, an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights in the American hemisphere.

(Reuters)

Lopez Obrador, who has led recent polls for the 2018 election, filed his complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Mexican presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday against US President Donald Trump's planned border wall and his administration's treatment of immigrants. Lopez Obrador, a fiery leftist who has led recent polls for the 2018 election, said he expects the commission to "speak out in accordance with the law to protect immigrants from the harassment they are suffering since Trump took office." Trump has ordered a wall built along the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border, has moved to strip federal funding from "sanctuary" states and cities harboring illegal immigrants, and expanded the force of U.S. immigration agents. During his election campaign, Trump described Mexican illegal immigrants as rapists and criminals and insisted that Mexico would pay for the wall. That caused simmering diplomatic tension and angered everyday citizens south of the border. Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor and two-time runner-up for the presidency, said he hoped the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights would view Trump's moves as a "violation of human rights and discriminatory." The commission, an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights in the American hemisphere. (Reuters)

Mexico presidential hopeful files complaint against Trump wall

McDonald&#39;s is investigating an apparent hack into its Twitter feed following a briefly-posted diatribe against President Donald Trump, the fast-food giant said Thursday. 
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Twitter notified us that our account was compromised. We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this.
&mdash; McDonald&#39;s (@McDonaldsCorp) <a href="https://twitter.com/McDonaldsCorp/status/842380484260818945">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The fake tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, &quot;You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands.&quot;

The tweet was deleted mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of the McDonald&#39;s official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles, as well as witty responses.

&quot;Twitter notified us that our account was compromised,&quot; McDonald&#39;s said subsequently on the feed. &quot;We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this.&quot;

Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites.&nbsp;

In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic. 
 
(AFP)

 
&nbsp;

The fake tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, 'You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President'

McDonald's is investigating an apparent hack into its Twitter feed following a briefly-posted diatribe against President Donald Trump, the fast-food giant said Thursday. Twitter notified us that our account was compromised. We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this. — McDonald's (@McDonaldsCorp) March 16, 2017 × The fake tweet offered an uncharitable appraisal of Trump, saying, "You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have Barack Obama back, also you have tiny hands." The tweet was deleted mid-morning Thursday soon after being posted to one of the McDonald's official Twitter feeds, but not before being retweeted more than a thousand times and garnering plenty of attention in political and media circles, as well as witty responses. "Twitter notified us that our account was compromised," McDonald's said subsequently on the feed. "We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this." Hacking has been a persistent problem in recent years with the growing influence of Twitter and other social media sites. In April 2013, a hack of the Associated Press resulted in an erroneous post that the White House had been attacked, briefly sending US stocks markets down in a panic. (AFP)

McDonald's probes hacked tweet slamming Donald Trump

A nonpartisan Congressional research report which states that 14 million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare has forced President Donald Trump and Republicans to reconsider whether they could modify the plan.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that White House officials and leaders in the Republican-controlled US&nbsp;House of Representatives were considering whether they could tweak the plan, which has Trump&#39;s own party divided.

Republican senators held a lunch on Capitol Hill with Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to discuss possible changes, Reuters reported.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill could be amended in the Republican-controlled Senate.

&ldquo;The first step is in the House. We&#39;re hopeful and optimistic they&#39;re going to send us over something. It will be open for amendment,&rdquo; he said.

The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO)&nbsp;forecast on Monday&nbsp;that 14 million Americans would lose health insurance by 2018 and 24 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 if the legislation to replace Obamacare were to go through.

It added that 52 million people would be uninsured by 2026 if the bill became a law, compared with 28 million who would not have coverage that year if the law remained unchanged.

The CBO, however, said that budget deficit would be reduced by $337 billion between 2017 and 2026 if the plan to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act was adopted.

Obamacare, as President Barack Obama&#39;s signature piece of domestic policy is commonly called, expanded insurance to about 20 million Americans.&nbsp;

Republicans&#39; plan to replace Obamacare&nbsp;would repeal a requirement that every American have health insurance and will slash spending on the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. It will also replace Obamacare&#39;s&nbsp;income-based subsidies with fixed tax credits for the purchase of private insurance.

The bill&nbsp;will&nbsp;revamp the tax subsidies that help people buy insurance if they do not get it from work. The amounts would be based on age, not income.

The new health bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives. Two House of Representatives committees have approved the legislation to dismantle Obamacare that was unveiled by Republican leaders a week ago, but it faces opposition from not only Democrats but also medical providers including doctors and hospitals and many conservatives.&nbsp;

Hours after the CBO report was released, the House Budget Committee postponed its consideration of the Republican bill to Thursday from Wednesday.&nbsp;

Prior to the report, Republicans had been planning to vote soon on the bill in the House, where it is likely to pass, and send it to the Senate, where its outlook is uncertain.&nbsp;

Details of the Congressional Research report

The CBO estimated that insurance premiums would rise 15 per cent to 20 per cent in both 2018 and 2019 because fewer healthy people would sign up after the repeal of the Obamacare penalty for declining to obtain insurance. But it said the hikes would be offset after 2020 by a $100 billion fund allocated to states in the bill and deregulation in the insurance market.&nbsp;

By 2026, average premiums for single policyholders in the nongroup market under the legislation would be roughly 10 per cent lower than the estimates under current law, in part because insurers will be able to offer plans that cover a lower share of healthcare costs.

While the federal government would lose revenues through the repeal of Obamacare&rsquo;s individual and employer mandates&rsquo; tax penalties, CBO said the loss would be surpassed by savings on insurance subsidies and Medicaid payments that Washington would no longer have to provide for people who lost coverage.&nbsp;

At the same time, CBO said the repeal of the individual mandate&rsquo;s tax penalties would mean higher health insurance premiums for those who retained coverage, because insurers would still have to cover any applicant without being free to raise premiums for older, sicker people, despite lower numbers of younger, healthier customers who are cheaper to insure.

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center on Monday said the Republican plan would benefit the wealthiest US households far more than middle-income families. A family making $51,600 to $89,400 a year, including fringe benefits like employer-provided health insurance, would get a tax cut averaging $300. The top 0.1 percent of earners with incomes of at least $3.9 million would get a tax cut of about $207,000, the study said. 
 
Implications of the report for Trump

The CBO report&#39;s findings could make the Republican plan a harder sell for lawmakers, particularly in the US Senate.

Democratic leaders in Congress said the bill could result in elderly people being kicked out of nursing homes as it simultaneously gives tax cuts for the richest Americans.

&quot;How can they look their constituents in the eye when they say 24 million of you no longer have coverage and those of you who do have it, will have less coverage at more cost to you,&quot; House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.

Doctors groups and patient advocates have for long been saying that the bill must be abandoned.

Democrats say the Republican plan would hurt the elderly, the poor and working families but give tax cuts to the rich.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s own party has been&nbsp;divided. Moderates, particularly in the Senate, worry about causing people to lose coverage, while conservatives do not think the bill goes far enough in undoing Obamacare.

Some Republicans worry a misfire on the Republican healthcare legislation could hobble Trump&#39;s presidency and set the stage for losses for the party in the 2018 congressional elections.&nbsp;

Trump administration defends healthcare plan

While Trump himself made no comment on the report, his administration defended the healthcare plan, which they say will have a second and third phase that will entice consumers.&nbsp;Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said at the White House that Trump&#39;s plan would cover more individuals at a lower cost and it was &quot;virtually impossible&quot; to envision that 14 million people would lose insurance coverage by next year.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a key backer of the plan called the American Health Care Act, said the CBO estimates showed it would ultimately lower premiums. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, one-size-fits-all coverage. It is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down,&quot; Ryan said.

Shares fall

Shares of hospitals and health insurers slipped, partly on worries the plan would mean fewer insured patients. 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

A congressional research report forecast that 14 million Americans would lose health insurance by next year if the new health bill is passed

A nonpartisan Congressional research report which states that 14 million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare has forced President Donald Trump and Republicans to reconsider whether they could modify the plan. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that White House officials and leaders in the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives were considering whether they could tweak the plan, which has Trump's own party divided. Republican senators held a lunch on Capitol Hill with Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to discuss possible changes, Reuters reported. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill could be amended in the Republican-controlled Senate. “The first step is in the House. We're hopeful and optimistic they're going to send us over something. It will be open for amendment,” he said. The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast on Monday that 14 million Americans would lose health insurance by 2018 and 24 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 if the legislation to replace Obamacare were to go through. It added that 52 million people would be uninsured by 2026 if the bill became a law, compared with 28 million who would not have coverage that year if the law remained unchanged. The CBO, however, said that budget deficit would be reduced by $337 billion between 2017 and 2026 if the plan to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act was adopted. Obamacare, as President Barack Obama's signature piece of domestic policy is commonly called, expanded insurance to about 20 million Americans. Republicans' plan to replace Obamacare would repeal a requirement that every American have health insurance and will slash spending on the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. It will also replace Obamacare's income-based subsidies with fixed tax credits for the purchase of private insurance. The bill will revamp the tax subsidies that help people buy insurance if they do not get it from work. The amounts would be based on age, not income. The new health bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives. Two House of Representatives committees have approved the legislation to dismantle Obamacare that was unveiled by Republican leaders a week ago, but it faces opposition from not only Democrats but also medical providers including doctors and hospitals and many conservatives. Hours after the CBO report was released, the House Budget Committee postponed its consideration of the Republican bill to Thursday from Wednesday. Prior to the report, Republicans had been planning to vote soon on the bill in the House, where it is likely to pass, and send it to the Senate, where its outlook is uncertain. Details of the Congressional Research report The CBO estimated that insurance premiums would rise 15 per cent to 20 per cent in both 2018 and 2019 because fewer healthy people would sign up after the repeal of the Obamacare penalty for declining to obtain insurance. But it said the hikes would be offset after 2020 by a $100 billion fund allocated to states in the bill and deregulation in the insurance market. By 2026, average premiums for single policyholders in the nongroup market under the legislation would be roughly 10 per cent lower than the estimates under current law, in part because insurers will be able to offer plans that cover a lower share of healthcare costs. While the federal government would lose revenues through the repeal of Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates’ tax penalties, CBO said the loss would be surpassed by savings on insurance subsidies and Medicaid payments that Washington would no longer have to provide for people who lost coverage. At the same time, CBO said the repeal of the individual mandate’s tax penalties would mean higher health insurance premiums for those who retained coverage, because insurers would still have to cover any applicant without being free to raise premiums for older, sicker people, despite lower numbers of younger, healthier customers who are cheaper to insure. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center on Monday said the Republican plan would benefit the wealthiest US households far more than middle-income families. A family making $51,600 to $89,400 a year, including fringe benefits like employer-provided health insurance, would get a tax cut averaging $300. The top 0.1 percent of earners with incomes of at least $3.9 million would get a tax cut of about $207,000, the study said. Implications of the report for Trump The CBO report's findings could make the Republican plan a harder sell for lawmakers, particularly in the US Senate. Democratic leaders in Congress said the bill could result in elderly people being kicked out of nursing homes as it simultaneously gives tax cuts for the richest Americans. "How can they look their constituents in the eye when they say 24 million of you no longer have coverage and those of you who do have it, will have less coverage at more cost to you," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said. Doctors groups and patient advocates have for long been saying that the bill must be abandoned. Democrats say the Republican plan would hurt the elderly, the poor and working families but give tax cuts to the rich. Trump's own party has been divided. Moderates, particularly in the Senate, worry about causing people to lose coverage, while conservatives do not think the bill goes far enough in undoing Obamacare. Some Republicans worry a misfire on the Republican healthcare legislation could hobble Trump's presidency and set the stage for losses for the party in the 2018 congressional elections. Trump administration defends healthcare plan While Trump himself made no comment on the report, his administration defended the healthcare plan, which they say will have a second and third phase that will entice consumers. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said at the White House that Trump's plan would cover more individuals at a lower cost and it was "virtually impossible" to envision that 14 million people would lose insurance coverage by next year. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a key backer of the plan called the American Health Care Act, said the CBO estimates showed it would ultimately lower premiums. "Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, one-size-fits-all coverage. It is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down," Ryan said. Shares fall Shares of hospitals and health insurers slipped, partly on worries the plan would mean fewer insured patients. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

White House may tweak health bill after damning report that repealing Obamacare would leave millions uninsured

President Donald Trump paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income in 2005, the White House said on Tuesday, responding to an MSNBC report that the network had obtained two pages of the returns.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said she received the documents from journalist David Cay Johnston, who said on her show that he received them in the mail.

The returns, which MSNBC posted on its website, showed Trump paid an effective federal tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 after writing off $100 million in losses.

The White House said in a statement that Trump took into account &quot;large-scale depreciation for construction&quot;.

The Guardian reported that the document also shows that 82 per cent of the total taxes he and his wife paid for 2002 was incurred due to a tax that Trump has said should be abolished.

The &quot;alternative minimum tax&quot; (AMT) was introduced to ensure the mega wealthy pay a fairer share of tax. This law compelled Trump to pay $31 million in taxes for 2005, compared to $5.3 milllion in regular federal income tax. During the election, Trump pledged to eliminate the AMT altogether.&nbsp;

Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, drawing criticism throughout his campaign last year and speculation from his political rivals he was hiding something.

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<h5>The returns, which MSNBC posted on its website, showed Trump paid an effective federal tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 after writing off $100 million in losses</h5>
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A New York Times report in October said Trump, a New York real estate developer, declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns. The newspaper said the large tax deduction could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years.

But the returns posted by MSNBC on Tuesday showed that he did pay taxes in 2005. The returns do not indicate whether he paid taxes in other years or how much he might have paid. The Washington Post reported last year that Trump paid no federal income taxes for at least two years in the late 1970s.

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that Trump, as head of the Trump Organization, had a responsibility &quot;to pay no more tax than legally required.&quot;

Presidents and major candidates for the White House have routinely released their income tax returns.

Trump says he has not released his tax returns because they are under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Experts say an IRS audit does not bar someone from releasing the documents.

During a September presidential debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton criticised Trump, a Republican, for paying no federal income taxes.

&quot;That makes me smart,&quot; he responded.

Trump has feuded with the media since his inauguration, often accusing it of promoting &quot;fake news&quot; intended to undermine his presidency.

&quot;The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans,&quot; the White House said on Tuesday.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Over 80% of the tax Trump had to pay, or $31 million, was due to a law that he pledged to abolish as president

President Donald Trump paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income in 2005, the White House said on Tuesday, responding to an MSNBC report that the network had obtained two pages of the returns. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said she received the documents from journalist David Cay Johnston, who said on her show that he received them in the mail. The returns, which MSNBC posted on its website, showed Trump paid an effective federal tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 after writing off $100 million in losses. The White House said in a statement that Trump took into account "large-scale depreciation for construction". The Guardian reported that the document also shows that 82 per cent of the total taxes he and his wife paid for 2002 was incurred due to a tax that Trump has said should be abolished. The "alternative minimum tax" (AMT) was introduced to ensure the mega wealthy pay a fairer share of tax. This law compelled Trump to pay $31 million in taxes for 2005, compared to $5.3 milllion in regular federal income tax. During the election, Trump pledged to eliminate the AMT altogether. Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, drawing criticism throughout his campaign last year and speculation from his political rivals he was hiding something. The returns, which MSNBC posted on its website, showed Trump paid an effective federal tax rate of 25 per cent in 2005 after writing off $100 million in losses × A New York Times report in October said Trump, a New York real estate developer, declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns. The newspaper said the large tax deduction could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years. But the returns posted by MSNBC on Tuesday showed that he did pay taxes in 2005. The returns do not indicate whether he paid taxes in other years or how much he might have paid. The Washington Post reported last year that Trump paid no federal income taxes for at least two years in the late 1970s. The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that Trump, as head of the Trump Organization, had a responsibility "to pay no more tax than legally required." Presidents and major candidates for the White House have routinely released their income tax returns. Trump says he has not released his tax returns because they are under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Experts say an IRS audit does not bar someone from releasing the documents. During a September presidential debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton criticised Trump, a Republican, for paying no federal income taxes. "That makes me smart," he responded. Trump has feuded with the media since his inauguration, often accusing it of promoting "fake news" intended to undermine his presidency. "The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans," the White House said on Tuesday. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

We now know how much tax Trump paid (in 2005)

Large swaths of the US East Coast declared a state of emergency, cancelled flights and shut&nbsp;schools&nbsp;as&nbsp;millions&nbsp;braced for potentially the worst winter storm of the season with up to two feet of snow forecast to fall.

Winter Storm Stella is expected to begin overnight with accumulation becoming&nbsp;most&nbsp;intense Tuesday morning,&nbsp;combined with winds of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) to cause treacherous whiteout conditions.

The alarming forecast forced the postponement of the first meeting between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington from Tuesday until Friday.

New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency.

The National Weather Service issued a 24-hour blizzard warning from midnight Monday (0400 GMT Tuesday) for New York, America&#39;s financial capital and largest city, stretching north into Connecticut and south into New Jersey.

Additional winter storm warnings were posted from southern Maine to Virginia, south of Washington, where the National Park Service warned that the blustery weather could wipe out up to 90 per cent of the city&#39;s famed cherry blossoms.

In New York, UN headquarters will close and Wall Street largely expected to work from home with low trade volume anticipated, if also due to Wednesday&#39;s decision from the Federal Reserve on whether to raise interest rates.

More than 6,500 US flights were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, with airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia hardest hit, according to the tracking service FlightAware.

Schools will close Tuesday in New York, Providence, Rhode Island and in towns across Connecticut and Massachusetts. In New York City, home to 8.4 million people, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency from midnight.

Blizzard conditions&nbsp; 
 
Non-essential state workers were told to stay home. In Connecticut, the governor announced a statewide travel ban from 5 am as Americans across the heavily populated northeast were advised to stay off the roads.

Trump, facing the first major weather event of his presidency after a mild winter, said Monday he had spoken to Homeland Security and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to provide assistance if necessary.

&quot;Everybody in government is fully prepared and ready,&quot; he said. &quot;Let&#39;s hope it&#39;s not going to be as bad as some people are predicting. Usually it isn&#39;t.&quot;

But de Blasio wasn&#39;t taking any chances, with 16 to 24 inches (41 to 61 centimeters) of snow forecast for New York and expected to fall as quickly as two to four inches an hour.

&quot;We&#39;re tracking a major storm with blizzard conditions,&quot; said de Blasio.&nbsp;

&quot;High end could be as much as 24 inches which would therefore put this in the category of one of the biggest snowstorms in recent memory,&quot; he said.

New York last year experienced the biggest snowstorm in the city&#39;s history with a record 27.3 inches falling in Central Park in 24 hours. Winter Storm Jonas paralysed parts of the Northeast and left 18 people dead.

This week&#39;s Winter Storm Stella formed near the coast, the collision of two low pressure systems expected to dump snow on a wide area home to tens of millions of Americans from the central Appalachian Mountains to New England.

Worst of season 
 
The heaviest snow is expected to wallop New York, parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

&quot;We&#39;re expecting it to be the worst snow of the season,&quot; National Weather Service meteorologist Melissa Di Spigna told AFP, following winter temperatures &quot;well above normal&quot; this year.

The National Weather Service cautioned that the storm could bring record-low temperatures, as well as &quot;difficult travel and power outages.&quot;&nbsp;

Temperatures on Monday were already icy, with afternoon highs hovering around the freezing point.

Around 5,000 flights within, into or out of the United States have been cancelled for Tuesday, mostly along the East Coast, according to FlightAware.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo instructed residents to have seven to 10 days&#39; supply of food and an emergency supply of bottled water.

In New York, the subway will be suspended above ground at 4am (0800 GMT) and express subway service will end at midnight, with bus and commuter rail services into Long Island and north of the city also likely to be suspended.

In Washington, the Metro is planning to operate on a Saturday schedule and Metrobus will start the day on a &quot;severe&quot; modified schedule. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

A 24-hour blizzard warning has been issued for New York, stretching north into Connecticut and south into New Jersey

Large swaths of the US East Coast declared a state of emergency, cancelled flights and shut schools as millions braced for potentially the worst winter storm of the season with up to two feet of snow forecast to fall. Winter Storm Stella is expected to begin overnight with accumulation becoming most intense Tuesday morning, combined with winds of up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) to cause treacherous whiteout conditions. The alarming forecast forced the postponement of the first meeting between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington from Tuesday until Friday. New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency. The National Weather Service issued a 24-hour blizzard warning from midnight Monday (0400 GMT Tuesday) for New York, America's financial capital and largest city, stretching north into Connecticut and south into New Jersey. Additional winter storm warnings were posted from southern Maine to Virginia, south of Washington, where the National Park Service warned that the blustery weather could wipe out up to 90 per cent of the city's famed cherry blossoms. In New York, UN headquarters will close and Wall Street largely expected to work from home with low trade volume anticipated, if also due to Wednesday's decision from the Federal Reserve on whether to raise interest rates. More than 6,500 US flights were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, with airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia hardest hit, according to the tracking service FlightAware. Schools will close Tuesday in New York, Providence, Rhode Island and in towns across Connecticut and Massachusetts. In New York City, home to 8.4 million people, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency from midnight. Blizzard conditions Non-essential state workers were told to stay home. In Connecticut, the governor announced a statewide travel ban from 5 am as Americans across the heavily populated northeast were advised to stay off the roads. Trump, facing the first major weather event of his presidency after a mild winter, said Monday he had spoken to Homeland Security and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to provide assistance if necessary. "Everybody in government is fully prepared and ready," he said. "Let's hope it's not going to be as bad as some people are predicting. Usually it isn't." But de Blasio wasn't taking any chances, with 16 to 24 inches (41 to 61 centimeters) of snow forecast for New York and expected to fall as quickly as two to four inches an hour. "We're tracking a major storm with blizzard conditions," said de Blasio. "High end could be as much as 24 inches which would therefore put this in the category of one of the biggest snowstorms in recent memory," he said. New York last year experienced the biggest snowstorm in the city's history with a record 27.3 inches falling in Central Park in 24 hours. Winter Storm Jonas paralysed parts of the Northeast and left 18 people dead. This week's Winter Storm Stella formed near the coast, the collision of two low pressure systems expected to dump snow on a wide area home to tens of millions of Americans from the central Appalachian Mountains to New England. Worst of season The heaviest snow is expected to wallop New York, parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont. "We're expecting it to be the worst snow of the season," National Weather Service meteorologist Melissa Di Spigna told AFP, following winter temperatures "well above normal" this year. The National Weather Service cautioned that the storm could bring record-low temperatures, as well as "difficult travel and power outages." Temperatures on Monday were already icy, with afternoon highs hovering around the freezing point. Around 5,000 flights within, into or out of the United States have been cancelled for Tuesday, mostly along the East Coast, according to FlightAware. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo instructed residents to have seven to 10 days' supply of food and an emergency supply of bottled water. In New York, the subway will be suspended above ground at 4am (0800 GMT) and express subway service will end at midnight, with bus and commuter rail services into Long Island and north of the city also likely to be suspended. In Washington, the Metro is planning to operate on a Saturday schedule and Metrobus will start the day on a "severe" modified schedule. (AFP)

Trump, Merkel meet cancelled over alarming snowstorm predictions

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says US President Donald Trump has assured him of his commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Abbas today spoke about what he described as a constructive phone call with Trump two days earlier. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying that Trump &quot;asserted his full commitment to the peace process.&quot;

Abbas says he told Trump he opposes extremism and will cooperate with the US to reach a peace deal based on the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel.

The phone call helped allay concerns the Palestinians were being ignored by Trump, who has embraced Israel&#39;s leader and at one point suggested the two-state solution was optional. 
 
Abbas says he is to meet Trump at the White House in &quot;the near future.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(PTI) 
&nbsp;

Mahmoud Abbas told Trump he will cooperate with the US to reach a peace deal based on establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says US President Donald Trump has assured him of his commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Abbas today spoke about what he described as a constructive phone call with Trump two days earlier. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying that Trump "asserted his full commitment to the peace process." Abbas says he told Trump he opposes extremism and will cooperate with the US to reach a peace deal based on the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel. The phone call helped allay concerns the Palestinians were being ignored by Trump, who has embraced Israel's leader and at one point suggested the two-state solution was optional. Abbas says he is to meet Trump at the White House in "the near future." (PTI)

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says Trump committed to Mideast peace process

High-profile New York prosecutor Preet Bharara -- who was among the federal attorneys asked to resign by the White House -- was fired Saturday, he announced on Twitter. 
 
US President Donald Trump&#39;s&nbsp;administration on Friday demanded the resignations of 46 US prosecutors appointed during the two terms of his predecessor Barack Obama. 
 
Bharara was included in the group asked to leave, even though he said he had met with Trump before the Republican took office and had been asked to stay on.&nbsp; 
 
The federal attorney&#39;s firing capped a standoff with the Trump administration that started when Bharara refused the White House order to resign. 
 
&quot;I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired,&quot; Bharara tweeted Saturday using his recently created personal account. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;Being the US Attorney in SDNY (Southern District of New York) will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.&quot; 
 
Presidents often order political appointees from the previous administration to resign when they take office, but the abrupt nature of the move caught some by surprise -- especially given that so many were asked to leave at one time. 
 
The Southern District of New York, the high profile post to which Obama appointed Bharara in 2009, includes the Manhattan and Bronx boroughs as well as neighboring areas just north of the city. 
 
Bharara rose to prominence after overseeing a number of insider trading and public corruption cases. 
 
Time magazine famously lauded the prosecutor on its cover as the man who is &quot;busting Wall Street.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

 
&nbsp;

Preet Bharara was among the 46 US prosecutors -- appointed during the terms of Barack Obama -- who were asked to quit

High-profile New York prosecutor Preet Bharara -- who was among the federal attorneys asked to resign by the White House -- was fired Saturday, he announced on Twitter. US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday demanded the resignations of 46 US prosecutors appointed during the two terms of his predecessor Barack Obama. Bharara was included in the group asked to leave, even though he said he had met with Trump before the Republican took office and had been asked to stay on. The federal attorney's firing capped a standoff with the Trump administration that started when Bharara refused the White House order to resign. "I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired," Bharara tweeted Saturday using his recently created personal account. "Being the US Attorney in SDNY (Southern District of New York) will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life." Presidents often order political appointees from the previous administration to resign when they take office, but the abrupt nature of the move caught some by surprise -- especially given that so many were asked to leave at one time. The Southern District of New York, the high profile post to which Obama appointed Bharara in 2009, includes the Manhattan and Bronx boroughs as well as neighboring areas just north of the city. Bharara rose to prominence after overseeing a number of insider trading and public corruption cases. Time magazine famously lauded the prosecutor on its cover as the man who is "busting Wall Street." (AFP)

Trump fires prominent Indian-American US prosecutor Preet Bharara

Former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone said&nbsp;he had &quot;completely innocuous&quot; private contact during the election with Guccifer 2.0, the online handle involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee,&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;told <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/10/roger-stone-trump-confidant-acknowledges-innocuous/" target="_blank">The Washington Times</a> Friday.

&quot;It was so perfunctory, brief and banal I had forgotten it,&quot; he told The Times. &quot;The content of the exchange is, as you can see completely innocuous and perfunctory,&quot; Mr Stone said. The interaction he provided to The Times&nbsp;consisted of only three messages from his own Twitter account.

US intelligence says&nbsp;that Guccifer 2.0 is not the self-procaimed&nbsp;Romanian&nbsp;hacktivist&nbsp;it claims to be,&nbsp;but really the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. They claim with high confidence that it hacked the Democrats to interfere in the US election to get Trump elected. It claims that&nbsp;Russian hackers penetrated the DNC and released the documents to WikiLeaks, among other websites, in part of a multi-pronged operation to interfere with the US election.&nbsp;

Last week,&nbsp;Roger Stone also&nbsp;admitted to having a&nbsp;&quot;perfectly legal back channel&quot; to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ally-says-he-worked-with-assange-pre-election-to-spread-clinton-emails-in-abusive-twitter-tirade-13089" target="_blank">WikiLeaks</a>. Actually, more than a &quot;back channel&quot;, previously he has said: &quot;I have communicated with Assange&quot;.&nbsp;Watch the video&nbsp;of Stone claiming he&nbsp;commuicated&nbsp;with Assange below:

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Listen to &quot;long time Trump advisor&quot; Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: <a href="https://t.co/EclA0jpXIU">pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU</a>
&mdash; justin kanew (@justin_kanew) <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_kanew/status/838485426050641920">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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This latest admission about Guccifer 2.0 confirms that an official Trump campaign advisor&nbsp;had been&nbsp;in direct contact during the&nbsp;election with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hackers who US intelligence says&nbsp;interfered&nbsp;with the election specifically to benefit Trump.&nbsp;

Mr Stone wrote in an email Thursday night to The Washington Times:&nbsp;&quot;I myself had no contacts or communications with the Russian State, Russian Intelligence, or anyone fronting for them or acting as intermediaries for them.&quot;

The next evening&nbsp;he wrote to The Times again: &quot;Even if [Guccifer 2.0] is/was a Russian asset, my brief Aug. 14 correspondence with him on twitter comes AFTER I wrote about his role in the DNC hacks (Aug 5) and AFTER Wikileaks released the DNC material...How does one collaborate on a matter after the fact?&quot;

Roger Stone wrote an article on August 5 for Breitbart claming that the DNC hack was perpetrated by Guccifer 2.0, not by Russia. The Washington Times was provided &quot;a handful&quot; of copies of direct messages between Stone and Guccifer 2.0.

When asked last month if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his campaign, Mr&nbsp;Trump said: &ldquo;Nobody that I know of&rdquo;.&nbsp;

<h3>Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://Trump campaign communicated with Russian hackers during election, claims report" target="_blank">Trump campaign communicated with Russian hackers during election, claims report</a>.</h3>

&nbsp;

Recently it emerged that at least six members of Trump&#39;s&nbsp;staff met with Russian officials during the election, and lied about it. These include: Paul Manafort, JD Gordon, Carter Page, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and even <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-himself-met-russian-ambassador-before-election-report-13160" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> himself. Donald Trump&#39;s Son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner also met with Russian ambassador Serkey Kislyak, but it was after the election.

Both the DNC hack and President Trump&#39;s alleged connections to Russia are being investigated right now by US intelligence.

President Trump and Russian president&nbsp;Vladimir Putin have both denied being involved in the hacks.

(WION)&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Roger Stone said that he communicated directly with Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says hacked the Democrats to help get Trump elected

Former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone said he had "completely innocuous" private contact during the election with Guccifer 2.0, the online handle involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee, Stone told The Washington Times Friday. "It was so perfunctory, brief and banal I had forgotten it," he told The Times. "The content of the exchange is, as you can see completely innocuous and perfunctory," Mr Stone said. The interaction he provided to The Times consisted of only three messages from his own Twitter account. US intelligence says that Guccifer 2.0 is not the self-procaimed Romanian hacktivist it claims to be, but really the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. They claim with high confidence that it hacked the Democrats to interfere in the US election to get Trump elected. It claims that Russian hackers penetrated the DNC and released the documents to WikiLeaks, among other websites, in part of a multi-pronged operation to interfere with the US election. Last week, Roger Stone also admitted to having a "perfectly legal back channel" to WikiLeaks. Actually, more than a "back channel", previously he has said: "I have communicated with Assange". Watch the video of Stone claiming he commuicated with Assange below: Listen to "long time Trump advisor" Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU — justin kanew (@justin_kanew) March 5, 2017 × This latest admission about Guccifer 2.0 confirms that an official Trump campaign advisor had been in direct contact during the election with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hackers who US intelligence says interfered with the election specifically to benefit Trump. Mr Stone wrote in an email Thursday night to The Washington Times: "I myself had no contacts or communications with the Russian State, Russian Intelligence, or anyone fronting for them or acting as intermediaries for them." The next evening he wrote to The Times again: "Even if [Guccifer 2.0] is/was a Russian asset, my brief Aug. 14 correspondence with him on twitter comes AFTER I wrote about his role in the DNC hacks (Aug 5) and AFTER Wikileaks released the DNC material...How does one collaborate on a matter after the fact?" Roger Stone wrote an article on August 5 for Breitbart claming that the DNC hack was perpetrated by Guccifer 2.0, not by Russia. The Washington Times was provided "a handful" of copies of direct messages between Stone and Guccifer 2.0. When asked last month if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his campaign, Mr Trump said: “Nobody that I know of”. Read: Trump campaign communicated with Russian hackers during election, claims report. Recently it emerged that at least six members of Trump's staff met with Russian officials during the election, and lied about it. These include: Paul Manafort, JD Gordon, Carter Page, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and even Donald Trump himself. Donald Trump's Son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner also met with Russian ambassador Serkey Kislyak, but it was after the election. Both the DNC hack and President Trump's alleged connections to Russia are being investigated right now by US intelligence. President Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin have both denied being involved in the hacks. (WION)

Former Trump advisor admits to 'innocuous' private contact with Russian DNC hacker during election

Donald Trump has thrown his full weight behind a contested plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, battling to overcome resistance from the Republican Party&#39;s right wing and meet a key campaign pledge 50 days into his presidency.

With Democrats expected to unite against the new health care plan, Trump can ill afford defections from within as he seeks to drive through the top legislative priority of his new administration.

While the bill winds its way through Congress in the coming weeks, Trump is using his bully pulpit, powers of persuasion, and deal-making savvy to try and salvage the controversial plan.

On Friday Trump met in the White House with senior House Republicans to discuss the way forward on the repeal and replacement of Barack Obama&#39;s signature health care law.

&quot;We must act now to save Americans from the imploding Obamacare disaster,&quot; Trump said as he sat down with the lawmakers.

&quot;This is the time we&#39;re going to get it done.&quot;

The president has spent much of the week huddling with key health care players, including Republican lawmakers who support and oppose the bill, known as the American Health Care Act.

On Wednesday he hosted several conservative groups that have expressed concerns about how the plan to use tax credits for people to buy insurance on the free market is too similar to the subsidies in Obamacare.

Trump dispatches Vice President Mike Pence to Kentucky Saturday to talk up the bill. It could be an arm-twisting gesture of sorts, as Kentucky&#39;s Senator Rand Paul is one of its chief Republican critics.

The president has signalled he is open to &quot;negotiation&quot; on the AHCA -- a potentially critical acknowledgement as some conservatives in his party warn that the bill will not pass Congress without significant changes.

At the heart of the debate, Trump wants to repeal Obama&#39;s landmark reforms and remove the federal government from its role as health care architect, while maintaining the high levels of coverage for Americans entitled to Obamacare.

Trump has stated he ultimately wants a plan in place that allows for &quot;insurance for everybody.&quot;

&#39;Binary choice&#39;

The chief champion of the plan in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, claimed that millions of US taxpayers would benefit from a rollback of Obamacare&#39;s subsidy system.

In a crisp rolled-up-sleeves presentation Thursday, Ryan also sounded a clear warning to Republicans who are considering bucking the president.

&quot;This is the closest we will ever get to repealing and replacing Obamacare,&quot; the charismatic 47-year-old said, describing the path forward as &quot;a binary choice&quot; between reform and the status quo.

House Republican Steve Scalise reiterated the us-versus-them approach Friday on CNN. &quot;Members are going to have to pick a side: (House Democratic leader) Nancy Pelosi or President Trump.&quot;

Polls show that Obama&#39;s Affordable Care Act, which helped 20 million Americans gain coverage, remains popular. About half of those people are covered through Obamacare&#39;s expansion of the Medicaid insurance program covering the poorest Americans -- an expansion that would phase out by 2020 under the new plan.

Several health-related interest groups, including the American Medical Association, are opposed to the Republican reform, fearing millions could lose their coverage.

According to the Washington Post, citing figures from New York University research, the Republican plan would strip away vital drug addiction or mental health treatment benefits from as many as 1.3 million people.

The new legislation&#39;s cost remains a major unknown. Next week the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its &quot;score&quot; on the bill&#39;s costs and the estimate on the number of people who could lose or gain coverage.

A preliminary analysis by Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s concluded that between six million and 10 million people could lose coverage if the Republican plan replaces Obamacare.

Ryan told his footsoldiers in Congress to gird for battle, as he framed the fight as between the free market and government mandates -- which under Obamacare required people to take out health insurance.

&quot;Our goal is not to show a pretty piece of paper that says we&#39;re mandating great things for Americans,&quot; he told the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

&quot;Our goal is to get a vibrant health care system that&#39;s patient-centered, that brings down costs (and) that increases choices.&quot;

(AFP)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

He has spent much of the week huddling with key health care players who support and oppose the bill, known as the American Health Care Act

Donald Trump has thrown his full weight behind a contested plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, battling to overcome resistance from the Republican Party's right wing and meet a key campaign pledge 50 days into his presidency. With Democrats expected to unite against the new health care plan, Trump can ill afford defections from within as he seeks to drive through the top legislative priority of his new administration. While the bill winds its way through Congress in the coming weeks, Trump is using his bully pulpit, powers of persuasion, and deal-making savvy to try and salvage the controversial plan. On Friday Trump met in the White House with senior House Republicans to discuss the way forward on the repeal and replacement of Barack Obama's signature health care law. "We must act now to save Americans from the imploding Obamacare disaster," Trump said as he sat down with the lawmakers. "This is the time we're going to get it done." The president has spent much of the week huddling with key health care players, including Republican lawmakers who support and oppose the bill, known as the American Health Care Act. On Wednesday he hosted several conservative groups that have expressed concerns about how the plan to use tax credits for people to buy insurance on the free market is too similar to the subsidies in Obamacare. Trump dispatches Vice President Mike Pence to Kentucky Saturday to talk up the bill. It could be an arm-twisting gesture of sorts, as Kentucky's Senator Rand Paul is one of its chief Republican critics. The president has signalled he is open to "negotiation" on the AHCA -- a potentially critical acknowledgement as some conservatives in his party warn that the bill will not pass Congress without significant changes. At the heart of the debate, Trump wants to repeal Obama's landmark reforms and remove the federal government from its role as health care architect, while maintaining the high levels of coverage for Americans entitled to Obamacare. Trump has stated he ultimately wants a plan in place that allows for "insurance for everybody." 'Binary choice' The chief champion of the plan in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, claimed that millions of US taxpayers would benefit from a rollback of Obamacare's subsidy system. In a crisp rolled-up-sleeves presentation Thursday, Ryan also sounded a clear warning to Republicans who are considering bucking the president. "This is the closest we will ever get to repealing and replacing Obamacare," the charismatic 47-year-old said, describing the path forward as "a binary choice" between reform and the status quo. House Republican Steve Scalise reiterated the us-versus-them approach Friday on CNN. "Members are going to have to pick a side: (House Democratic leader) Nancy Pelosi or President Trump." Polls show that Obama's Affordable Care Act, which helped 20 million Americans gain coverage, remains popular. About half of those people are covered through Obamacare's expansion of the Medicaid insurance program covering the poorest Americans -- an expansion that would phase out by 2020 under the new plan. Several health-related interest groups, including the American Medical Association, are opposed to the Republican reform, fearing millions could lose their coverage. According to the Washington Post, citing figures from New York University research, the Republican plan would strip away vital drug addiction or mental health treatment benefits from as many as 1.3 million people. The new legislation's cost remains a major unknown. Next week the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its "score" on the bill's costs and the estimate on the number of people who could lose or gain coverage. A preliminary analysis by Standard & Poor's concluded that between six million and 10 million people could lose coverage if the Republican plan replaces Obamacare. Ryan told his footsoldiers in Congress to gird for battle, as he framed the fight as between the free market and government mandates -- which under Obamacare required people to take out health insurance. "Our goal is not to show a pretty piece of paper that says we're mandating great things for Americans," he told the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "Our goal is to get a vibrant health care system that's patient-centered, that brings down costs (and) that increases choices." (AFP)

Trump meets lawmakers over replacing Obamacare with new health care plan

Donald Trump has been grilled for months about his ties to Russia, all the while steadfastly denying&nbsp;he had any contact with Russian officials during the US election. It turns out members of Trump&#39;s administration certainly have, and now we know Trump himself also&nbsp;met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, as per a report by <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-personally-met-with-russian-ambassador-during-campaign-cc59ae305032#.l38j375zb" target="_blank">Think Progress</a>.

The report states that on April 27, 2016, Donald Trump met Kislyak right before a major foreign policy speech. The meeting was written about by <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Vladimir-Putin-Russia-Trump-Relations/2016/05/14/id/728839/" target="_blank">Newsmax </a>in an article called &quot;Putin &#39;pleased&#39; with Trump&quot;, published on&nbsp;May 14 of last year, and also by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-goes-his-own-way-with-vladimir-putin-1463172396" target="_blank">The&nbsp;Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;May 23, 2016. Trump&#39;s connections with Russia wasn&#39;t making headline news at the time, but these reports are being widely revisited now.&nbsp;

In the Newsmax piece, Trump states, &quot;...and I&#39;ve had a sort of a semi-nice relationship with Putin.&quot;

The WSJ report (which is only available to subscribers) states: &quot;A few minutes before he made those remarks, Mr Trump met at a VIP reception with Russia&#39;s ambassador to the US, Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak. Mr Trump warmly greeted Mr Kislyak and three other foreign ambassadors who came to the reception.&quot;

Think Progress reports that Kislyak was seated in the front row of the invite-only event, and shows a picture of the ambassador at the event.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s denials have been&nbsp;unequivocal.

&quot;Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven&#39;t made a phone call to Russia in years. Don&#39;t speak to people from Russia,&quot; Trump said in a press conference on&nbsp;February 16, 2017. Trump&nbsp;stated&nbsp;that his only contacts with Russia were two phone calls with Vladimir Putin after election day, which were widely reported on at the time.

Since then&nbsp;it&#39;s come to light that at least five members of his team&nbsp;talked with Russian officials during the 2016 US presidential campaign. Joining&nbsp;Donald Trump himself, the list also&nbsp;includes Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn, Carter Page and JD Gordon. Trump&#39;s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner also met with Kislyak, but after the election.

Here is a picture of Donald Trump&#39;s son Don Jr, Jeff Sessins,&nbsp;Jared Kushner and Sergey Kislyak at a Donald Trump&nbsp;speech from April, 2016:

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.Photos: Last night I released these photos of Don Jr-Sessions-Kushner &amp; Russian Amb Kislyak at Trumps April speech <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/trumprussia?src=hash">#trumprussia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/russiagate?src=hash">#russiagate</a> <a href="https://t.co/5EANzyUCRK">pic.twitter.com/5EANzyUCRK</a>
&mdash; Scott Dworkin (@funder) <a href="https://twitter.com/funder/status/839701531888922624">March 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had to recuse himself from any investigation on the Trump campaign&#39;s contact&nbsp;with Russia after he told the Judiciary Committee, falsely, that he had not met with any Russian officials.

The Trump campaign has not explained why&nbsp;so many people on their team keep meeting with Russian officials, only to deny it.

While the story about Trump meeting the&nbsp;Russian ambassador was months old, it happened to recirculate&nbsp;on the same day that headlines were dominated by&nbsp;WikiLeaks releasing&nbsp;thousands of pages of&nbsp;documents purporting to show that the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-says-it-releases-files-proving-cia-can-spy-on-all-iphones-androids-13155" target="_blank">CIA </a>can hack any iPhone and Android user in the world.

US intelligence is united in saying that Russian&nbsp;hacked the Democrats during the election. WikiLeaks&nbsp;published Clinton&#39;s emails during the election, which was a theme taken up by Trump repeatedly during the campaign. Some in the US intelligence committee believe that WikiLeaks is a front for the Kremlin.

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Like to remind that I&#39;ve been calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-2013. Took epic shit for speaking truth. Believe me now?
&mdash; John Schindler (@20committee) <a href="https://twitter.com/20committee/status/839143945871441920">March 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump has been in an open war with US intelligence.

He claimed, without evidence, that Trump Tower had been wiretapped by President Obama himself before the election.&nbsp;Before that characterised the treatment he was receiving at the hands of American intelligence as being like &quot;<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-nazi-germany-tweet-doesn-article-1.2943473" target="_blank">Nazi Germany</a>&quot;.&nbsp;

If the president&nbsp;has an&nbsp;explanation for why he and his administration met with Russian officials during&nbsp;an election campaign that&nbsp;US intelligence claims Russia&nbsp;interefered with, he is obliged to share it.

(WION)

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US intelligence agrees Russia interfered with the US election. Donald Trump met their ambassador in April 2016, and lied about it

Donald Trump has been grilled for months about his ties to Russia, all the while steadfastly denying he had any contact with Russian officials during the US election. It turns out members of Trump's administration certainly have, and now we know Trump himself also met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, as per a report by Think Progress. The report states that on April 27, 2016, Donald Trump met Kislyak right before a major foreign policy speech. The meeting was written about by Newsmax in an article called "Putin 'pleased' with Trump", published on May 14 of last year, and also by The Wall Street Journal on May 23, 2016. Trump's connections with Russia wasn't making headline news at the time, but these reports are being widely revisited now. In the Newsmax piece, Trump states, "...and I've had a sort of a semi-nice relationship with Putin." The WSJ report (which is only available to subscribers) states: "A few minutes before he made those remarks, Mr Trump met at a VIP reception with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak. Mr Trump warmly greeted Mr Kislyak and three other foreign ambassadors who came to the reception." Think Progress reports that Kislyak was seated in the front row of the invite-only event, and shows a picture of the ambassador at the event. Trump's denials have been unequivocal. "Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia," Trump said in a press conference on February 16, 2017. Trump stated that his only contacts with Russia were two phone calls with Vladimir Putin after election day, which were widely reported on at the time. Since then it's come to light that at least five members of his team talked with Russian officials during the 2016 US presidential campaign. Joining Donald Trump himself, the list also includes Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn, Carter Page and JD Gordon. Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner also met with Kislyak, but after the election. Here is a picture of Donald Trump's son Don Jr, Jeff Sessins, Jared Kushner and Sergey Kislyak at a Donald Trump speech from April, 2016: .Photos: Last night I released these photos of Don Jr-Sessions-Kushner & Russian Amb Kislyak at Trumps April speech #trumprussia #russiagate pic.twitter.com/5EANzyUCRK — Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 9, 2017 × US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had to recuse himself from any investigation on the Trump campaign's contact with Russia after he told the Judiciary Committee, falsely, that he had not met with any Russian officials. The Trump campaign has not explained why so many people on their team keep meeting with Russian officials, only to deny it. While the story about Trump meeting the Russian ambassador was months old, it happened to recirculate on the same day that headlines were dominated by WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of documents purporting to show that the CIA can hack any iPhone and Android user in the world. US intelligence is united in saying that Russian hacked the Democrats during the election. WikiLeaks published Clinton's emails during the election, which was a theme taken up by Trump repeatedly during the campaign. Some in the US intelligence committee believe that WikiLeaks is a front for the Kremlin. Like to remind that I've been calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-2013. Took epic shit for speaking truth. Believe me now? — John Schindler (@20committee) March 7, 2017 × Trump has been in an open war with US intelligence. He claimed, without evidence, that Trump Tower had been wiretapped by President Obama himself before the election. Before that characterised the treatment he was receiving at the hands of American intelligence as being like "Nazi Germany". If the president has an explanation for why he and his administration met with Russian officials during an election campaign that US intelligence claims Russia interefered with, he is obliged to share it. (WION)

Donald Trump himself met Russian ambassador before election: Report

Thousands of protesters, mostly women, took to the streets of New York and Washington to criticse Donald Trump&#39;s policies towards women on International Women&#39;s Day.

Some 2,000 demonstrators, many of them wearing red, massed outside Central Park in New York, two blocks from Trump Tower, to rail against the current president&#39;s discriminatory attitude towards women.

Both the cities were awash with red tops or bandana or coats while others wore the pink &quot;pussy hats&quot; that has come to symbolise women&#39;s anti-Trump protests in the US.

Some women also decided to skip work and their daily pay to participate in the event, which has snowballed not just in the other parts of America but also across the world, according to Reuters.

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From the podium, Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and a range of other community activists exhorted demonstrators to &quot;keep resisting&quot; and &quot;keep motivated.&quot; Another New York rally is scheduled Wednesday night.

Arielle Datz, who works in publishing, said she took the day off -- dubbed &quot;Day Without a Woman&quot; -- to take part in the demonstration and described the speeches as &quot;very inspiring.&quot;

&quot;We hope it won&#39;t be four years... but we will keep it up as long as we have to,&quot; she told AFP in reference to Trump&#39;s four-year term.

Many men also were protesting, such as Corey Ford, who closed his small venture capital firm to take to the streets.

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&quot;Fifty per cent of our team, eight employees, and 50 per cent of the CEOs of our companies are women,&quot; he said. &quot;This is a women&#39;s demo, anti-Trump is part of it but it&#39;s not all of it.&quot;

Guardian reported that around 10 protesters were arrested by the police in New York.

In Washington at Lafayette Park across from the White House, many of the several hundred demonstrators carried signs decrying Trump&#39;s order&nbsp;blocking US aid to foreign nonprofits that provide or actively promote abortions.

&quot;Donald Trump has got to go!&quot; and &quot;This is what democracy looks like!&quot; the crowd chanted.

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&nbsp;

Susanne Lowen, a 55-year-old baker, decried the president&#39;s plan to link foreign aid to a prohibition against disseminating information on birth control as &quot;cruel and immoral.&quot;

Plenty of anger was also directed at other Trump administration policies.

Sheila Collins choked on her words when she tried to explain the many reasons she was protesting, ranging from Trump&#39;s refusal to release his tax returns to controversial statements by cabinet officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

&quot;Every day I wake up thinking, &#39;this can&#39;t be real,&#39;&quot; said the 40-year-old marketing director with a sign that read &quot;Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Vote.&quot;

&quot;They are doing things to undermine our democracy,&quot; she said.

As the crowd streamed into Lafayette Park, knots of demonstrators broke off and paused to take selfies with the White House as a backdrop.

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&nbsp;

Police officers clad in black, several on bicycles, discreetly eyed the crowd from a distance.

For demonstrator Tess Thapalia, 20, the main issue was what she described as &quot;reproductive justice.&quot;

&quot;These are our bodies and we decide what to do with them. For anyone else to say what to do with them is truly shameful,&quot; said Thapalia, a college student from New York.

Hundreds of women also descended on the Utah State Capitol, urging lawmakers to come out and speak to them, the Guardian reported.

IWD march across the world

Women in other parts of the world also gathered on International Women&#39;s Day to demand equal pay.

In Brazil, hundreds of people slammed the government&#39;s new policies for being unfriendly to poor&nbsp;and rural women.

The demonstrators said the pension reforms and raising the retirement age of women would make it family farmers, who produce 70 per cent of the country&#39;s nutritional needs, would find it harder to stay on their land, Reuters reported.

Women across Poland also demanded equal rights in their everyday lives. &nbsp;

Similar demonstrations have been reported from Australia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Japan and Indonesia.

In Australia, women demanded abortion to be decriminalised in states such as New South Wales and Queensland.

In Spain, around 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Madrid on Wednesday to call for an end to domestic violence.

Gathered in the central square, the protesters carried posters reading &quot;Justice&quot; and &quot;We are not all here&quot; -- in reference to victims of violence who have lost their lives.&nbsp;

&quot;Gender violence must end, equality must be attained and the &#39;glass ceiling&#39; for women in business broken,&quot; Marta Garcia, a protester at the Madrid rally, told AFP.

In the last three months of 2016 there were 38,402 reports of domestic violence, marking a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to figures provided by a watchdog group.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The one-day protest, which will take place in 50 countries, will demand pay parity, chastise Trump's anti-women stance, among others

Thousands of protesters, mostly women, took to the streets of New York and Washington to criticse Donald Trump's policies towards women on International Women's Day. Some 2,000 demonstrators, many of them wearing red, massed outside Central Park in New York, two blocks from Trump Tower, to rail against the current president's discriminatory attitude towards women. Both the cities were awash with red tops or bandana or coats while others wore the pink "pussy hats" that has come to symbolise women's anti-Trump protests in the US. Some women also decided to skip work and their daily pay to participate in the event, which has snowballed not just in the other parts of America but also across the world, according to Reuters. × From the podium, Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and a range of other community activists exhorted demonstrators to "keep resisting" and "keep motivated." Another New York rally is scheduled Wednesday night. Arielle Datz, who works in publishing, said she took the day off -- dubbed "Day Without a Woman" -- to take part in the demonstration and described the speeches as "very inspiring." "We hope it won't be four years... but we will keep it up as long as we have to," she told AFP in reference to Trump's four-year term. Many men also were protesting, such as Corey Ford, who closed his small venture capital firm to take to the streets. × "Fifty per cent of our team, eight employees, and 50 per cent of the CEOs of our companies are women," he said. "This is a women's demo, anti-Trump is part of it but it's not all of it." Guardian reported that around 10 protesters were arrested by the police in New York. In Washington at Lafayette Park across from the White House, many of the several hundred demonstrators carried signs decrying Trump's order blocking US aid to foreign nonprofits that provide or actively promote abortions. "Donald Trump has got to go!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" the crowd chanted. × Susanne Lowen, a 55-year-old baker, decried the president's plan to link foreign aid to a prohibition against disseminating information on birth control as "cruel and immoral." Plenty of anger was also directed at other Trump administration policies. Sheila Collins choked on her words when she tried to explain the many reasons she was protesting, ranging from Trump's refusal to release his tax returns to controversial statements by cabinet officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. "Every day I wake up thinking, 'this can't be real,'" said the 40-year-old marketing director with a sign that read "Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Vote." "They are doing things to undermine our democracy," she said. As the crowd streamed into Lafayette Park, knots of demonstrators broke off and paused to take selfies with the White House as a backdrop. × Police officers clad in black, several on bicycles, discreetly eyed the crowd from a distance. For demonstrator Tess Thapalia, 20, the main issue was what she described as "reproductive justice." "These are our bodies and we decide what to do with them. For anyone else to say what to do with them is truly shameful," said Thapalia, a college student from New York. Hundreds of women also descended on the Utah State Capitol, urging lawmakers to come out and speak to them, the Guardian reported. IWD march across the world Women in other parts of the world also gathered on International Women's Day to demand equal pay. In Brazil, hundreds of people slammed the government's new policies for being unfriendly to poor and rural women. The demonstrators said the pension reforms and raising the retirement age of women would make it family farmers, who produce 70 per cent of the country's nutritional needs, would find it harder to stay on their land, Reuters reported. Women across Poland also demanded equal rights in their everyday lives. Similar demonstrations have been reported from Australia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Japan and Indonesia. In Australia, women demanded abortion to be decriminalised in states such as New South Wales and Queensland. In Spain, around 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Madrid on Wednesday to call for an end to domestic violence. Gathered in the central square, the protesters carried posters reading "Justice" and "We are not all here" -- in reference to victims of violence who have lost their lives. "Gender violence must end, equality must be attained and the 'glass ceiling' for women in business broken," Marta Garcia, a protester at the Madrid rally, told AFP. In the last three months of 2016 there were 38,402 reports of domestic violence, marking a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to figures provided by a watchdog group. (WION with inputs from agencies)

International Women's Day 2017: Thousands take part in anti-Trump protests

The top prosecutor in the state of Washington said Thursday that his office was filing a motion to block President Donald Trump&#39;s revised travel ban targeting citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.

This comes after Hawaii became the first US state to challenge the travel decree brought in by Trump.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump&#39;s initial travel ban that created chaos worldwide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states are expected to join the new legal battle.

He said his motion calls on an existing injunction against the travel ban issued in January to be applied to the new directive.

&quot;We&#39;re asserting that the president cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court&#39;s restraining order and injunction,&quot; Ferguson told reporters.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s our view that the temporary restraining order that we&#39;ve already obtained remains in effect.&quot;

He said although the revised order issued on Monday was narrower in scope, it still could be challenged on constitutional grounds.

Hawaii on Tuesday filed the first legal challenge to the new executive order.

The new order denies US entry to all refugees for 120 days and halts for 90 days the granting of visas to nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. It is due to take effect on March 16.

The first order had also applied to citizens of Iraq but the country was dropped from the new list.

(AFP)

Washington was also the first state to challenge Trump's initial travel ban that aimed to debar travellers from 8 mainly Muslim countries

The top prosecutor in the state of Washington said Thursday that his office was filing a motion to block President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting citizens of six Muslim-majority countries. This comes after Hawaii became the first US state to challenge the travel decree brought in by Trump. Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump's initial travel ban that created chaos worldwide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states are expected to join the new legal battle. He said his motion calls on an existing injunction against the travel ban issued in January to be applied to the new directive. "We're asserting that the president cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court's restraining order and injunction," Ferguson told reporters. "It's our view that the temporary restraining order that we've already obtained remains in effect." He said although the revised order issued on Monday was narrower in scope, it still could be challenged on constitutional grounds. Hawaii on Tuesday filed the first legal challenge to the new executive order. The new order denies US entry to all refugees for 120 days and halts for 90 days the granting of visas to nationals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. It is due to take effect on March 16. The first order had also applied to citizens of Iraq but the country was dropped from the new list. (AFP)

Washington, Hawaii plan to block Trump's revised travel ban

Two US congressional panels approved Donald Trump&#39;s administration to repeal Obamacare following a heated debate that lasted&nbsp;hours.

The two panels approved the new bill that would replace Obamacare amid protests from Democrats, several major hospitals and medical organisations.

There were grumblings within the Republican party as well, with some calling out Trump to make &quot;major changes&quot; to the bill.

&quot;House health-care bill can&#39;t pass Senate w/o major changes,&quot; Senator Tom Cotton tweeted early Thursday, joining a host of other Senate Republicans opposed the measure in its current form.&nbsp;

But approval from the two congressional panels --&nbsp;House Energy and Commerce Committee -- means the bill will now head to the House Budget Committee.

&quot;Today, the House took a decisive step forward in fulfilling a promise to the American people that has been years in the making: repealing and replacing Obamacare with affordable, patient-centered reforms,&quot; Energy and Commerce chairman Greg Walden said.

Tempers frayed overnight during several testy exchanges, including one over military veteran coverage in the proposed legislation and another on its costs -- still unknown because the Congressional Budget Office has yet to &quot;score&quot; the bill.

Republican leaders indicate they want to pass the bill by early April. But that timeline was put in question after House Speaker Paul Ryan said the bill will take three weeks to move through the House, before facing scrutiny in the Senate.

With its future in doubt, Ryan delivered a crisp presentation Thursday in a bid to salvage the plan, but also offered a direct warning to Republicans sitting on the fence.

&quot;This is the closest we will ever get to repealing and replacing Obamacare,&quot; he said. &quot;The time is here, the time is now.&quot;

The plan suffered a setback Wednesday when several major hospital and medical organizations including the American Medical Association, which represents more than 200,000 doctors, lined up in opposition.

Backers say the legislation would gut Obamacare&#39;s mandates to purchase health care, roll back its taxes and stabilize costs.

Republican opponents warn the plan is too similar to Obamacare, and could cost even more.

Democrats, expected to unanimously oppose the bill, say it would leave millions of Americans without coverage.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The new bill has been slammed by medical organisations and also by some Republican party members for possibly being a costly alternative

Two US congressional panels approved Donald Trump's administration to repeal Obamacare following a heated debate that lasted hours. The two panels approved the new bill that would replace Obamacare amid protests from Democrats, several major hospitals and medical organisations. There were grumblings within the Republican party as well, with some calling out Trump to make "major changes" to the bill. "House health-care bill can't pass Senate w/o major changes," Senator Tom Cotton tweeted early Thursday, joining a host of other Senate Republicans opposed the measure in its current form. But approval from the two congressional panels -- House Energy and Commerce Committee -- means the bill will now head to the House Budget Committee. "Today, the House took a decisive step forward in fulfilling a promise to the American people that has been years in the making: repealing and replacing Obamacare with affordable, patient-centered reforms," Energy and Commerce chairman Greg Walden said. Tempers frayed overnight during several testy exchanges, including one over military veteran coverage in the proposed legislation and another on its costs -- still unknown because the Congressional Budget Office has yet to "score" the bill. Republican leaders indicate they want to pass the bill by early April. But that timeline was put in question after House Speaker Paul Ryan said the bill will take three weeks to move through the House, before facing scrutiny in the Senate. With its future in doubt, Ryan delivered a crisp presentation Thursday in a bid to salvage the plan, but also offered a direct warning to Republicans sitting on the fence. "This is the closest we will ever get to repealing and replacing Obamacare," he said. "The time is here, the time is now." The plan suffered a setback Wednesday when several major hospital and medical organizations including the American Medical Association, which represents more than 200,000 doctors, lined up in opposition. Backers say the legislation would gut Obamacare's mandates to purchase health care, roll back its taxes and stabilize costs. Republican opponents warn the plan is too similar to Obamacare, and could cost even more. Democrats, expected to unanimously oppose the bill, say it would leave millions of Americans without coverage. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Two US congressional panels approve Obamacare replacement bill

Home minister Rajnath Singh said today that alleged hate crimes against Indians in the US are being viewed seriously by India, and the government will make a statement on the matter next in Parliament, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-views-hate-crimes-against-indians-in-the-us-seriously-rajnath-singh/articleshow/57553238.cms" target="_blank">Times of India reports.&nbsp;</a>

At least two people of Indian-origin&nbsp;in recent weeks have been killed in the US&nbsp;in incidents of apparent hate crimes.&nbsp;

On February 22,&nbsp;in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/kansas-shooting-gunman-thought-hed-shot-two-iranians-12898" target="_blank">Kansas</a>, Olathe, a man shot three&nbsp;men--including Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who died--because he said he thought they were Iranian. Before firing, a witness heard the shooter say,&nbsp;&quot;Get out of my country&quot;.

On March 3, 43-year-old&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/indian-origin-businessman-harnish-patel-shot-dead-in-us-13025" target="_blank">Harnish Patel</a> was killed in South Carolina, when he was shot dead within ten minutes of closing up his store for the night.&nbsp;

While it wasn&#39;t fatal,&nbsp;on March 5,&nbsp;a 39-year-old Sikh man, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/sikh-man-shot-in-us-in-suspected-hate-crime-13052" target="_blank">Deep Rai</a>,&nbsp;was shot in the arm. Rai alleges he also heard the shooter&nbsp;say prior to firing, &quot;Get out of my country!&quot;.

Opposition members have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, and the home minister said that the government has taken serious&nbsp;note.

During Question Hour he said&nbsp;a statement from the government&nbsp;would be forthcoming from Parliament next week.

Ananth Kumar, the Parliamentary affairs minister, also said the government was very concerned about the violent incidents in the US.

(WION)

 
 
 
&nbsp;

Rajnath Singh said a statement would be forthcoming from Parliament next week

Home minister Rajnath Singh said today that alleged hate crimes against Indians in the US are being viewed seriously by India, and the government will make a statement on the matter next in Parliament, Times of India reports. At least two people of Indian-origin in recent weeks have been killed in the US in incidents of apparent hate crimes. On February 22, in Kansas, Olathe, a man shot three men--including Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who died--because he said he thought they were Iranian. Before firing, a witness heard the shooter say, "Get out of my country". On March 3, 43-year-old Harnish Patel was killed in South Carolina, when he was shot dead within ten minutes of closing up his store for the night. While it wasn't fatal, on March 5, a 39-year-old Sikh man, Deep Rai, was shot in the arm. Rai alleges he also heard the shooter say prior to firing, "Get out of my country!". Opposition members have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, and the home minister said that the government has taken serious note. During Question Hour he said a statement from the government would be forthcoming from Parliament next week. Ananth Kumar, the Parliamentary affairs minister, also said the government was very concerned about the violent incidents in the US. (WION)

Hate crimes against Indians in US are being viewed seriously by the government: Home minister

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump&#39;s offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday.

Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight.

The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US&nbsp;intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump&#39;s favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia&#39;s annexation of Ukraine&#39;s Crimea and the two countries&#39; backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.

President Trump is being officially <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-russia-investigation-cia-intelligence-235774" target="_blank">investigated </a>by&nbsp;US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

This comes after Democrats expelled 35 Russian suspected spies amid US intelligence's claim that Russia interfered with the 2016 US election

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump's offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday. Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight. The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and the two countries' backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. President Trump is being officially investigated by US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Ex-Utah Governor Huntsman accepts Trump offer to be ambassador to Russia: Official

Trump&#39;s former campaign member, long-time friend&nbsp;and mega supporter Roger Stone was apparently in email communication with the Russian hackers being probed by the FBI, known as &quot;Guccifer 2.0&quot;, according to &quot;a source&quot; in a report filed by <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/investigation/roger-stone-and-guccifer-913684" target="_blank">The Smoking Gun</a>&nbsp;(TSG).

Guccifer 2.0 claims to be an independent hacker, but US intelligence says &quot;with high confidence&quot;&nbsp;that it was in fact GRU, Russian Military Intel Service simply&nbsp;operating&nbsp;under the alias &quot;Guccifer 2.0&quot;,&nbsp;with the specific aim&nbsp;to help Donald Trump get elected president.

The email from Guccifer 2.0&nbsp;is dated from&nbsp;June 15, 2016, when Roger Stone was still officially a member of the Trump campaign.

Attached in TSG&#39;s long&nbsp;article about Roger Stone was an&nbsp;email&nbsp;from &quot;Guccifer 2.0&quot; purportedly&nbsp;to Stone himself. Nowhere in the email does it say &quot;Roger Stone&quot;, but TSG&#39;s article also contained&nbsp;an IRS tax document with Roger Stone&#39;s name on it. This does not mean that the email from Guccifer 2.0 is authentically addressed to Roger Stone, but TSG&nbsp;does have a leak that provided&nbsp;official correspondence between Stone and the American Government, ie the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).&nbsp;&nbsp;

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If this email is truly from Russian hackers to an official member of Donald Trump&#39;s election campaign, it would be very, very damning. Photo source: The Smoking Gun. (Others)
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WION contacted&nbsp;TSG to ask about the source of the leak, and for proof that the email from Guccifer 2.0 was indeed mailed to Roger Stone. So far they have not&nbsp;responded, and we will update the article if they do.

&nbsp;

Why would this email prove?

If this email is truly from Guccifer 2.0 to Roger Stone, it means that an official&nbsp;Trump campaign member was in communication with the Russian government, and worked with them as they&nbsp;interfered with the US election on Trump&#39;s behalf.

Before, it was clear that Russia hacked the Democrats,&nbsp;who then&nbsp;sent emails&nbsp;to WikiLeaks. In fact, the first time WikiLeaks published the Democrat&#39;s emails was on October 7, just <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/dec/18/john-podesta/its-true-wikileaks-dumped-podesta-emails-hour-afte/" target="_blank">hours </a>after the recording leaked of Trump saying, &quot;Grab them by the p*ssy&quot;.&nbsp;

But there was no proof that Trump worked directly with Russia, or with WikiLeaks.

That changed days&nbsp;ago when the same <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ally-says-he-worked-with-assange-pre-election-to-spread-clinton-emails-in-abusive-twitter-tirade-13089" target="_blank">Roger Stone </a>took to Twitter to say he had a &quot;perfectly legal back channel with WikiLeaks&quot; and also&nbsp;said, &quot;Assange does NOT work for Russians and nobody has proved otherwise&quot;. Actually, Stone has admitted to being in &quot;direct contact&quot; with Julian Assange himself. Essentially,&nbsp;the Trump campaign&nbsp;did&nbsp;have open communication with WikiLeaks.

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Listen to &quot;long time Trump advisor&quot; Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: <a href="https://t.co/EclA0jpXIU">pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU</a>
&mdash; justin kanew (@justin_kanew) <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_kanew/status/838485426050641920">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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It may be&nbsp;noteworthy that WikiLeaks was responsible for the&nbsp;biggest ever leak of secret&nbsp;CIA <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/07/wikileaks-publishes-biggest-ever-leak-of-secret-cia-documents-hacking-surveillance" target="_blank">documents</a>, and it came amid Trump&#39;s ongoing war with US intelligence, and&nbsp;just days after Stone admitted to having a channel of communication with WikiLeaks.

Here is Trump encouraging Russia to hack Clinton&#39;s emails:

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNa2B5zHfbQ" width="560"></iframe>

While Russia&#39;s interference in the US election may constitute an act of war between the countries, this doesn&#39;t necessarily reflect on President Trump.&nbsp;

But if the Guccifer 2.0-Stone email is confirmed, it&nbsp;proves that the exact same aide in Trump&#39;s campaign was in contact with not just WikiLeaks but with the Russian Military Intelligence Service,&nbsp;the very people who hacked the Democrats.

&nbsp;

Does anything else suggest Russia and Trump are connected?

Jeff Sessions&nbsp;recused himself from the US intelligence&#39;s&nbsp;investigation into the Trump-Russia connection after it emerged that he at least twice met the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and lied about it under oath.

Shortly after Sessions met Kislyak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last summer, the Republican Party changed the language in their policy to become more aligned with Russia. Former Trump aide <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jd-gordon-trump-adviser-ukraine-rnc-2017-3" target="_blank">JD Gordon</a> just claimed this alignment was on the insistence of&nbsp;Donald Trump himself. Historically, Jeff Sessions has been decidedly<a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/2/14790818/jeff-sessions-russia-attorney-general-lie-congress-perjury-recusal" target="_blank"> anti-Russia</a>.

It was also just reported that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-himself-met-russian-ambassador-before-election-report-13160" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;himself&nbsp;met the Russian ambassador and lied about it. Other members of his administration or his campaign who have done the same include: National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Carter Page, Paul Manafort, JD Gordon, and as mentioned Jeff Sessions. Trump&#39;s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner also met Kislyak, but after the election.

Flynn had to resign from his position as the head of national security after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_usrussia-%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.4def7586fab0" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported that not only did Flynn lie about meeting with the Russian ambassador, but that he called Kislyak repeatedly the day Obama levelled sanctions against Russia to discuss those&nbsp;sanctions. The phone calls were recordedm as per ordinary US intelligence protocol.

From the report, which cited&nbsp;nine senior officials in US intelligence: &quot;All of those officials said Flynn&#39;s reference to the election-related sanctions were explicit.&quot;&nbsp;

The notorious Christopher Steele dossier alleges that Putin, the former head of Russia&#39;s spy agency, has enough information over Trump to blackmail him. That dossier contains allegations that are false, mostly slight error about inessential items.&nbsp;But&nbsp;more and more of it&nbsp;is being <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RbpBxJ3QNyvts_w16UcSSGeH7cSrXK9U3wIq0OOq-Xs/preview" target="_blank">corroborated</a>.

Trump has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/analysis-trump-russia-and-deutsche-banklinks-that-raise-many-many-questions-11975" target="_blank">many </a>links with Russia, and has had them for decades.&nbsp;

Trump dismisses&nbsp;his&nbsp;alleged connection to Russia as Fake News. It&#39;s a real possibility that this email is not what it claims to be. &nbsp;

But Trump is definitely lying about aspects of his connection to Russia. It would be funny if the stakes weren&#39;t so high, but here is Trump denying he&nbsp;knows Vladimir Putin, while also&nbsp;bragging about his personal relationship with Putin.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WadK_pXsEGE" width="560"></iframe>

(WION)

A published email claiming to be from 'Guccifer 2.0' to Roger Stone would prove that Trump's campaign communicated with Kremlin hackers

Trump's former campaign member, long-time friend and mega supporter Roger Stone was apparently in email communication with the Russian hackers being probed by the FBI, known as "Guccifer 2.0", according to "a source" in a report filed by The Smoking Gun (TSG). Guccifer 2.0 claims to be an independent hacker, but US intelligence says "with high confidence" that it was in fact GRU, Russian Military Intel Service simply operating under the alias "Guccifer 2.0", with the specific aim to help Donald Trump get elected president. The email from Guccifer 2.0 is dated from June 15, 2016, when Roger Stone was still officially a member of the Trump campaign. Attached in TSG's long article about Roger Stone was an email from "Guccifer 2.0" purportedly to Stone himself. Nowhere in the email does it say "Roger Stone", but TSG's article also contained an IRS tax document with Roger Stone's name on it. This does not mean that the email from Guccifer 2.0 is authentically addressed to Roger Stone, but TSG does have a leak that provided official correspondence between Stone and the American Government, ie the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). If this email is truly from Russian hackers to an official member of Donald Trump's election campaign, it would be very, very damning. Photo source: The Smoking Gun. (Others) × WION contacted TSG to ask about the source of the leak, and for proof that the email from Guccifer 2.0 was indeed mailed to Roger Stone. So far they have not responded, and we will update the article if they do. Why would this email prove? If this email is truly from Guccifer 2.0 to Roger Stone, it means that an official Trump campaign member was in communication with the Russian government, and worked with them as they interfered with the US election on Trump's behalf. Before, it was clear that Russia hacked the Democrats, who then sent emails to WikiLeaks. In fact, the first time WikiLeaks published the Democrat's emails was on October 7, just hours after the recording leaked of Trump saying, "Grab them by the p*ssy". But there was no proof that Trump worked directly with Russia, or with WikiLeaks. That changed days ago when the same Roger Stone took to Twitter to say he had a "perfectly legal back channel with WikiLeaks" and also said, "Assange does NOT work for Russians and nobody has proved otherwise". Actually, Stone has admitted to being in "direct contact" with Julian Assange himself. Essentially, the Trump campaign did have open communication with WikiLeaks. Listen to "long time Trump advisor" Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU — justin kanew (@justin_kanew) March 5, 2017 × It may be noteworthy that WikiLeaks was responsible for the biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents, and it came amid Trump's ongoing war with US intelligence, and just days after Stone admitted to having a channel of communication with WikiLeaks. Here is Trump encouraging Russia to hack Clinton's emails: While Russia's interference in the US election may constitute an act of war between the countries, this doesn't necessarily reflect on President Trump. But if the Guccifer 2.0-Stone email is confirmed, it proves that the exact same aide in Trump's campaign was in contact with not just WikiLeaks but with the Russian Military Intelligence Service, the very people who hacked the Democrats. Does anything else suggest Russia and Trump are connected? Jeff Sessions recused himself from the US intelligence's investigation into the Trump-Russia connection after it emerged that he at least twice met the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and lied about it under oath. Shortly after Sessions met Kislyak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last summer, the Republican Party changed the language in their policy to become more aligned with Russia. Former Trump aide JD Gordon just claimed this alignment was on the insistence of Donald Trump himself. Historically, Jeff Sessions has been decidedly anti-Russia. It was also just reported that Donald Trump himself met the Russian ambassador and lied about it. Other members of his administration or his campaign who have done the same include: National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Carter Page, Paul Manafort, JD Gordon, and as mentioned Jeff Sessions. Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner also met Kislyak, but after the election. Flynn had to resign from his position as the head of national security after The Washington Post reported that not only did Flynn lie about meeting with the Russian ambassador, but that he called Kislyak repeatedly the day Obama levelled sanctions against Russia to discuss those sanctions. The phone calls were recordedm as per ordinary US intelligence protocol. From the report, which cited nine senior officials in US intelligence: "All of those officials said Flynn's reference to the election-related sanctions were explicit." The notorious Christopher Steele dossier alleges that Putin, the former head of Russia's spy agency, has enough information over Trump to blackmail him. That dossier contains allegations that are false, mostly slight error about inessential items. But more and more of it is being corroborated. Trump has many links with Russia, and has had them for decades. Trump dismisses his alleged connection to Russia as Fake News. It's a real possibility that this email is not what it claims to be. But Trump is definitely lying about aspects of his connection to Russia. It would be funny if the stakes weren't so high, but here is Trump denying he knows Vladimir Putin, while also bragging about his personal relationship with Putin. (WION)

Trump campaign communicated with Russian hackers during election, claims report

WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing the&nbsp;US&nbsp;intelligence agency.

The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc&nbsp;iPhones, Google Inc&nbsp;Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.

Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage.

Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate.

&nbsp;

Recent US-Russia context

This comes at a time when President Donald Trump is in a battle with the US spy agencies, who he has likened to &quot;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/15/john-brennan-trump-nazi-germany-russia" target="_blank">Nazi Germany</a>&quot;,&nbsp;who are investigating him for ties to Russia. Trump has claimed, without citing any evidence, that he was wiretapped in Trump Tower before the election.&nbsp;

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Like to remind that I&#39;ve been calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-2013. Took epic shit for speaking truth. Believe me now?
&mdash; John Schindler (@20committee) <a href="https://twitter.com/20committee/status/839143945871441920">March 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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US&nbsp;intelligence agencies have said that WikiLeaks has ties to Russia&#39;s security services. During the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential campaign, WikiLeaks published internal emails of top Democratic Party officials, which the agencies said were hacked by Moscow as part of a coordinated influence campaign to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidency.

WikiLeaks has denied ties to Russian spy agencies.

Trump praised WikiLeaks during the campaign, often citing hacked emails it published to bolster his attacks on Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton.

WikiLeaks&#39; dump about the CIA was released&nbsp;the same day&nbsp;it came to light that <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-personally-met-with-russian-ambassador-during-campaign-cc59ae305032#.l38j375zb" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> himself met with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, on April 27, before a major foreign policy Speech. Trump has repeatedly&nbsp;claimed that neither he nor anyone on his campaign had contact with Russian officials.&nbsp;Four other members of his administration talked to Russian officials.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Back to the hack

A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in US&nbsp;hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct &quot;cover&quot; terms describing active cyber programs.

Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other US&nbsp;and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.

The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised.

The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from US&nbsp;intelligence agencies.

Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage US&nbsp;cyber espionage. Many said that, while harmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden&#39;s revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection.

&quot;This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices...I haven&rsquo;t yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices,&quot; said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec.

Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance, an Irvine, California, cyber security firm, said that one of the most significant disclosures shows how CIA hackers cover their tracks by leaving electronic trails suggesting they are from Russia, China and Iran rather than the United States.

Other revelations show how the CIA took advantage of vulnerabilities that are known, if not widely publicised.

In one case, the documents say, US&nbsp;and British personnel, under a program known as Weeping Angel, developed ways to take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room.

The CIA and White House declined comment. &quot;We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,&quot; CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement.

Google declined to comment on the purported hacking of its Android platform, but said it was investigating the matter.

Snowden on Twitter said the files amount to the first public evidence that the US&nbsp;government secretly buys software to exploit technology, referring to a table published by WikiLeaks that appeared to list various Apple iOS flaws purchased by the CIA and other intelligence agencies.

Apple Inc&nbsp;did not respond to a request for comment.

The documents refer to means for accessing phones directly in order to catch messages before they are protected by end-to-end encryption tools like Signal.

Signal inventor Moxie Marlinspike said he took that as &quot;confirmation that what we&rsquo;re doing is working&quot;. Signal and the like are &quot;pushing intelligence agencies from a world of undetectable mass surveillance to a world where they have to use expensive, high-risk, extremely targeted attacks&quot;.

&nbsp;

CIA cyber programs

The CIA in recent years underwent a restructuring to focus more on cyber warfare to keep pace with the increasing digital sophistication of foreign adversaries. The spy agency is prohibited by law from collecting intelligence that details domestic activities of Americans and is generally restricted in how it may gather any US&nbsp;data for counterintelligence purposes.

The documents published Tuesday appeared to supply specific details to what has been long-known in the abstract: US&nbsp;intelligence agencies, like their allies and adversaries, are constantly working to discover and exploit flaws in any manner of technology products.

Unlike the Snowden leaks, which revealed the NSA was secretly collecting details of telephone calls by ordinary Americans, the new WikiLeaks material did not appear to contain material that would fundamentally change what is publicly known about cyber espionage.

WikiLeaks, led by Julian Assange, said its publication of the documents on the hacking tools was the first in a series of releases drawing from a data set that includes several hundred million lines of code and includes the CIA&#39;s &quot;entire hacking capacity&quot;.

The documents only include snippets of computer code, not the full programs that would be needed to conduct cyber exploits.

WikiLeaks said it was refraining from disclosing usable code from CIA&#39;s cyber arsenal &quot;until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA&rsquo;s program and how such &lsquo;weapons&rsquo; should be analysed, disarmed and published&quot;.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WikiLeaks said on Tuesday that the documents showed that the CIA hoarded serious security vulnerabilities rather than share them with the public, as called for under a process established by President Barack Obama.

Rob Knake, a former official who dealt with the issue under Obama, said he had not seen evidence in what was published to support that conclusion.

The process &quot;is not a policy of unilateral disarmament in cyberspace. The mere fact that the CIA may have exploited zero-day [previously undisclosed] vulnerabilities should not surprise anyone,&quot; said Knake, now at the Council on Foreign Relations.

US&nbsp;officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they did not know where WikiLeaks might have obtained the material.

In a press release, the group said, &quot;The archive appears to have been circulated among former US&nbsp;government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive&quot;.

US&nbsp;intelligence agencies have suffered a series of security breaches, including Snowden&#39;s.

In 2010, US&nbsp;military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning provided more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to Wikileaks.

Last month, former NSA contractor Harold Thomas Martin was indicted on charges of taking highly sensitive government materials over a course of 20 years, storing the secrets in his home.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

This WikiLeaks dump embarrasses US intelligence at a time Trump is at war with them. Some US intel think WikiLeaks is a Russian front

WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing the US intelligence agency. The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software. Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage. Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate. Recent US-Russia context This comes at a time when President Donald Trump is in a battle with the US spy agencies, who he has likened to "Nazi Germany", who are investigating him for ties to Russia. Trump has claimed, without citing any evidence, that he was wiretapped in Trump Tower before the election. Like to remind that I've been calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-2013. Took epic shit for speaking truth. Believe me now? — John Schindler (@20committee) March 7, 2017 × US intelligence agencies have said that WikiLeaks has ties to Russia's security services. During the 2016 US presidential campaign, WikiLeaks published internal emails of top Democratic Party officials, which the agencies said were hacked by Moscow as part of a coordinated influence campaign to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidency. WikiLeaks has denied ties to Russian spy agencies. Trump praised WikiLeaks during the campaign, often citing hacked emails it published to bolster his attacks on Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton. WikiLeaks' dump about the CIA was released the same day it came to light that Donald Trump himself met with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, on April 27, before a major foreign policy Speech. Trump has repeatedly claimed that neither he nor anyone on his campaign had contact with Russian officials. Four other members of his administration talked to Russian officials. Back to the hack A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in US hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct "cover" terms describing active cyber programs. Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other US and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal. The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised. The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from US intelligence agencies. Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage US cyber espionage. Many said that, while harmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection. "This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices...I haven’t yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices," said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec. Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance, an Irvine, California, cyber security firm, said that one of the most significant disclosures shows how CIA hackers cover their tracks by leaving electronic trails suggesting they are from Russia, China and Iran rather than the United States. Other revelations show how the CIA took advantage of vulnerabilities that are known, if not widely publicised. In one case, the documents say, US and British personnel, under a program known as Weeping Angel, developed ways to take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room. The CIA and White House declined comment. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement. Google declined to comment on the purported hacking of its Android platform, but said it was investigating the matter. Snowden on Twitter said the files amount to the first public evidence that the US government secretly buys software to exploit technology, referring to a table published by WikiLeaks that appeared to list various Apple iOS flaws purchased by the CIA and other intelligence agencies. Apple Inc did not respond to a request for comment. The documents refer to means for accessing phones directly in order to catch messages before they are protected by end-to-end encryption tools like Signal. Signal inventor Moxie Marlinspike said he took that as "confirmation that what we’re doing is working". Signal and the like are "pushing intelligence agencies from a world of undetectable mass surveillance to a world where they have to use expensive, high-risk, extremely targeted attacks". CIA cyber programs The CIA in recent years underwent a restructuring to focus more on cyber warfare to keep pace with the increasing digital sophistication of foreign adversaries. The spy agency is prohibited by law from collecting intelligence that details domestic activities of Americans and is generally restricted in how it may gather any US data for counterintelligence purposes. The documents published Tuesday appeared to supply specific details to what has been long-known in the abstract: US intelligence agencies, like their allies and adversaries, are constantly working to discover and exploit flaws in any manner of technology products. Unlike the Snowden leaks, which revealed the NSA was secretly collecting details of telephone calls by ordinary Americans, the new WikiLeaks material did not appear to contain material that would fundamentally change what is publicly known about cyber espionage. WikiLeaks, led by Julian Assange, said its publication of the documents on the hacking tools was the first in a series of releases drawing from a data set that includes several hundred million lines of code and includes the CIA's "entire hacking capacity". The documents only include snippets of computer code, not the full programs that would be needed to conduct cyber exploits. WikiLeaks said it was refraining from disclosing usable code from CIA's cyber arsenal "until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA’s program and how such ‘weapons’ should be analysed, disarmed and published". WikiLeaks said on Tuesday that the documents showed that the CIA hoarded serious security vulnerabilities rather than share them with the public, as called for under a process established by President Barack Obama. Rob Knake, a former official who dealt with the issue under Obama, said he had not seen evidence in what was published to support that conclusion. The process "is not a policy of unilateral disarmament in cyberspace. The mere fact that the CIA may have exploited zero-day [previously undisclosed] vulnerabilities should not surprise anyone," said Knake, now at the Council on Foreign Relations. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they did not know where WikiLeaks might have obtained the material. In a press release, the group said, "The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive". US intelligence agencies have suffered a series of security breaches, including Snowden's. In 2010, US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning provided more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to Wikileaks. Last month, former NSA contractor Harold Thomas Martin was indicted on charges of taking highly sensitive government materials over a course of 20 years, storing the secrets in his home. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

WikiLeaks says it releases files proving CIA can spy on all iPhones, Androids

The state of Hawaii said it will ask a federal court on Wednesday for an emergency halt to President Donald Trump&#39;s new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries, becoming the first state to challenge the ban in court.

In a court filing on Tuesday, Hawaii said it would seek a temporary restraining order against the new travel ban. Hawaii&#39;s suit against the original executive order was put on hold.

The Trump administration this week issued the new executive order that supplanted an earlier, more sweeping one which had been challenged in court by several states in addition to Hawaii.

The new order is much more narrowly tailored than the first one issued in January. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen but excludes Iraq, and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants.

&quot;To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one,&quot; Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, said in an interview with CNN. He said the new travel ban still &quot;suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects&quot;.

&quot;We are confident that the president&#39;s actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country,&quot; the Justice Department said in a statement.

In a joint filing, Hawaii and the US&nbsp;government asked for oral arguments in the case to be held March 15, a day before the new travel order is set to take effect.

Separately, in a case brought by Washington state against the first Trump travel order, the Justice Department on Tuesday said it would voluntarily dismiss its own appeal of a Seattle federal court ruling that had suspended the order.

Washington state did not oppose the administration&#39;s request to end its appeal, the filing said.

Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminates against Muslims and fails to address some of their concerns with the previous directive. Legal experts said the new ban would be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said his office was evaluating whether it would challenge the new order and would likely decide this week.

The 9th US&nbsp;Circuit Court of Appeals last month had blocked Trump&#39;s first order, saying Washington state would likely be able to prove that it violated constitutional protections.

That appeals court ruling has not been withdrawn and its legal reasoning can still be cited as precedent in future cases, Washington attorney general spokesman Peter Lavallee said on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminates against Muslims, but legal experts say it'll be harder to challenge

The state of Hawaii said it will ask a federal court on Wednesday for an emergency halt to President Donald Trump's new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries, becoming the first state to challenge the ban in court. In a court filing on Tuesday, Hawaii said it would seek a temporary restraining order against the new travel ban. Hawaii's suit against the original executive order was put on hold. The Trump administration this week issued the new executive order that supplanted an earlier, more sweeping one which had been challenged in court by several states in addition to Hawaii. The new order is much more narrowly tailored than the first one issued in January. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen but excludes Iraq, and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants. "To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one," Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, said in an interview with CNN. He said the new travel ban still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects". "We are confident that the president's actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country," the Justice Department said in a statement. In a joint filing, Hawaii and the US government asked for oral arguments in the case to be held March 15, a day before the new travel order is set to take effect. Separately, in a case brought by Washington state against the first Trump travel order, the Justice Department on Tuesday said it would voluntarily dismiss its own appeal of a Seattle federal court ruling that had suspended the order. Washington state did not oppose the administration's request to end its appeal, the filing said. Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminates against Muslims and fails to address some of their concerns with the previous directive. Legal experts said the new ban would be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said his office was evaluating whether it would challenge the new order and would likely decide this week. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals last month had blocked Trump's first order, saying Washington state would likely be able to prove that it violated constitutional protections. That appeals court ruling has not been withdrawn and its legal reasoning can still be cited as precedent in future cases, Washington attorney general spokesman Peter Lavallee said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Hawaii to file first court challenge to new Trump travel order

US private-sector hiring posted the biggest increase in nearly six years last month, while the goods-producing sector saw record job growth, payroll services firm ADP reported Wednesday.

The second straight month of very strong jobs data will play into President Donald Trump&#39;s focus on manufacturing jobs, which he has promised to bring back to America.

But if the strong gains continue, it could mean lending rates will rise faster than currently expected, as the US central bank closely monitors the so-far tame inflation threat.

Total private payrolls increased an eye-popping 298,000 in the month, beating the consensus forecast for a 180,000 rise, and outpacing the strong 261,000 increase in January, which was revised up from the initial figure.

It was the biggest increase in private employment since April 2011.

But the highlight of the data was the goods-producing industries which posted&nbsp;the biggest increase in the history of the report, going back to April 2002. The sector added 106,000 workers last month, while services firms increased 193,000.&nbsp;

&quot;February proved to be an incredibly strong month for employment with increases we have not seen in years,&quot; said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.

The data, which is extracted from ADP payroll data, is frequently seen as a predictor of the Labor Department&#39;s monthly employment report, which is due out Friday.&nbsp;

The consensus forecast is for an increase of 188,000 in total payrolls and 185,000 for private jobs, but economists may revise their estimates upward following the ADP report.

Trump has consistently repeated his campaign pledge to bring manufacturing jobs back to US shores, and has turned to Twitter frequently to pressure specific companies -- a tactic that has had some success.

ADP reported a gain of 32,000 manufacturing jobs, taking the sector to its highest level since January 2009.

In a tweet early Wednesday, prior to release of the ADP data, Trump touted a little-know Linkedin hiring report released Tuesday, showing jobs increases in January and February that were the &quot;strongest consecutive months of hiring since August and September 2015.&quot;

Fed could hike faster&nbsp;

The ADP report also is likely to increase confidence in markets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week, given the solid indications the economic recovery is picking up steam.&nbsp;

But the Fed&#39;s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which meets March 14-15, may start thinking about more increases that the two to three expected for the year, if tightening labor markets fuel fears of accelerating wages that could lead to more inflation.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the strong hiring &quot;will push the&nbsp; unemployment rate down further, forcing the Fed to tighten more&nbsp; quickly than markets -- and policymakers -- currently expect.

He cautioned that the ADP report &quot;is not a consistent reliable guide to the initial official private payroll number, but it probably would be unwise to ignore it altogether.&quot;

Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital Markets, agreed the Fed will be under more pressure to prevent the economy from overheating. &nbsp;

&quot;The Fed will certainly acknowledge the strong job gains along with other data and soaring confidence,&quot; he said in a research note.&nbsp; &quot;If job gains of this magnitude continue and wages tilt up and inflation pressures build, the Fed will be forced to hike more than expected in 2017-2018.&quot;

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody&#39;s Analytics said in the ADP statement,&nbsp;the unseasonably mild winter weather &quot;undoubtedly played a role&quot; in the strong ADP numbers.

&quot;But near record high job openings and record low layoffs underpin the entire job market,&quot; he said, noting strength in construction, mining and manufacturing.

Broken down by size, medium-sized business increased 122,000 and small businesses added 104,000. Large firms lagged with 72,000.

(AFP)

The second straight month of very strong jobs data will play into President Donald Trump's focus on manufacturing jobs

US private-sector hiring posted the biggest increase in nearly six years last month, while the goods-producing sector saw record job growth, payroll services firm ADP reported Wednesday. The second straight month of very strong jobs data will play into President Donald Trump's focus on manufacturing jobs, which he has promised to bring back to America. But if the strong gains continue, it could mean lending rates will rise faster than currently expected, as the US central bank closely monitors the so-far tame inflation threat. Total private payrolls increased an eye-popping 298,000 in the month, beating the consensus forecast for a 180,000 rise, and outpacing the strong 261,000 increase in January, which was revised up from the initial figure. It was the biggest increase in private employment since April 2011. But the highlight of the data was the goods-producing industries which posted the biggest increase in the history of the report, going back to April 2002. The sector added 106,000 workers last month, while services firms increased 193,000. "February proved to be an incredibly strong month for employment with increases we have not seen in years," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. The data, which is extracted from ADP payroll data, is frequently seen as a predictor of the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which is due out Friday. The consensus forecast is for an increase of 188,000 in total payrolls and 185,000 for private jobs, but economists may revise their estimates upward following the ADP report. Trump has consistently repeated his campaign pledge to bring manufacturing jobs back to US shores, and has turned to Twitter frequently to pressure specific companies -- a tactic that has had some success. ADP reported a gain of 32,000 manufacturing jobs, taking the sector to its highest level since January 2009. In a tweet early Wednesday, prior to release of the ADP data, Trump touted a little-know Linkedin hiring report released Tuesday, showing jobs increases in January and February that were the "strongest consecutive months of hiring since August and September 2015." Fed could hike faster The ADP report also is likely to increase confidence in markets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week, given the solid indications the economic recovery is picking up steam. But the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which meets March 14-15, may start thinking about more increases that the two to three expected for the year, if tightening labor markets fuel fears of accelerating wages that could lead to more inflation. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the strong hiring "will push the unemployment rate down further, forcing the Fed to tighten more quickly than markets -- and policymakers -- currently expect. He cautioned that the ADP report "is not a consistent reliable guide to the initial official private payroll number, but it probably would be unwise to ignore it altogether." Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital Markets, agreed the Fed will be under more pressure to prevent the economy from overheating. "The Fed will certainly acknowledge the strong job gains along with other data and soaring confidence," he said in a research note. "If job gains of this magnitude continue and wages tilt up and inflation pressures build, the Fed will be forced to hike more than expected in 2017-2018." Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics said in the ADP statement, the unseasonably mild winter weather "undoubtedly played a role" in the strong ADP numbers. "But near record high job openings and record low layoffs underpin the entire job market," he said, noting strength in construction, mining and manufacturing. Broken down by size, medium-sized business increased 122,000 and small businesses added 104,000. Large firms lagged with 72,000. (AFP)

US private sector posts largest hiring in six years

Tech Mahindra Ltd, India&#39;s fifth-biggest software services exporter, will buy US-based healthcare IT consulting firm CJS Solutions Group for an enterprise value of $110 million.

Tech Mahindra, which will acquire CJS through a unit, will make an upfront cash payment of $89.5 million for the acquisition of 84.7 per cent stake in CJS with the remaining 15.3 per cent to be acquired over three years, the company said in a statement.

CJS, which operates as the HCI Group, specialises in the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) software.

Healthcare and life sciences business, which accounts for around 7 per cent&nbsp;of Tech Mahindra&#39;s revenues, has been a key focus area for the Indian company and the acquisition of CJS will help it consolidate its position, the company said.

Ernst &amp; Young acted as the due diligence advisor to Tech Mahindra while Allen &amp; Company LLC were the financial advisors to HCI Group.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of April.

Indian companies are speeding up acquisitions of US&nbsp;firms with local staff as they try to beat challenges posed by an expected tightening of visa rules in their biggest market.

India&#39;s $150 billion information technology industry uses H-1B visas to fly engineers and developers to the United States to provide services to clients.&nbsp;

Any tightening of the visa scheme rules could restrict the companies&#39; ability to send staff to the United States.

President Donald Trump&#39;s administration last week announced it would temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1B visas.

(Reuters)

Indian companies are speeding up acquisitions of US?firms, trying to beat challenges as Visa rules are expected to tighten under Trump

Tech Mahindra Ltd, India's fifth-biggest software services exporter, will buy US-based healthcare IT consulting firm CJS Solutions Group for an enterprise value of $110 million. Tech Mahindra, which will acquire CJS through a unit, will make an upfront cash payment of $89.5 million for the acquisition of 84.7 per cent stake in CJS with the remaining 15.3 per cent to be acquired over three years, the company said in a statement. CJS, which operates as the HCI Group, specialises in the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) software. Healthcare and life sciences business, which accounts for around 7 per cent of Tech Mahindra's revenues, has been a key focus area for the Indian company and the acquisition of CJS will help it consolidate its position, the company said. Ernst & Young acted as the due diligence advisor to Tech Mahindra while Allen & Company LLC were the financial advisors to HCI Group. The transaction is expected to close before the end of April. Indian companies are speeding up acquisitions of US firms with local staff as they try to beat challenges posed by an expected tightening of visa rules in their biggest market. India's $150 billion information technology industry uses H-1B visas to fly engineers and developers to the United States to provide services to clients. Any tightening of the visa scheme rules could restrict the companies' ability to send staff to the United States. President Donald Trump's administration last week announced it would temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1B visas. (Reuters)

Tech Mahindra to buy US healthcare IT firm CJS for $110 million

A Canadian woman born to Indian parents seeking to enter&nbsp;the United States with a valid Canadian passport was denied entry at the border, and was told she needed a valid&nbsp;immigrant visa, the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/montreal/canadian-denied-entry-us-immigrant-visa-1.4011202" target="_blank">CBC reports</a>.

Manpreet Kooner is a thirty-year-old Canadian citizen born&nbsp;in&nbsp;Montreal, where she was raised and where she currently lives.

Kooner told the CBC that she was trying to get to a spa in Vermont for a day trip, but never reached&nbsp;because she was held at the border for six hours&nbsp;before eventually being turned away.

A border agent told her, &quot;I know you may feel like you&#39;ve been Trumped,&quot; referencing the American president, Donald Trump.

Adding to her confusion, Kooner was told to apply for the visa at the US Embassy in Ottawa, where she went Monday morning, but was told they could not help her, and that actually she needed to talk to US Customs and Border Protection, CBC reports.

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In a statement, the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said it does not discuss individual cases, but that anybody seeking entry must prove they meet the requirements for admission, and that ultimately border officers are given discretion on entry.

A 2014 policy&nbsp;&quot;prohibits the consideration of ethnicity in law enforcement, investigation, and screening activities, in all but the most exceptional circumstances&quot;.

&nbsp;

Her recent, innocent past

Kooner told the CBC that her mother was turned away at the border last summer. She wasn&#39;t told why, but Manpreet was assured her mother&#39;s issues wouldn&#39;t affect her.&nbsp;

Her first trouble entering the United States came last December, after Trump was elected but before he took office, the CBC reports. They say she was pulled over for a random search, where she was fingerprinted and made to fill out numerous forms. Eventually they were told something was wrong with the computer and to return the next&nbsp;morning; She did, and&nbsp;was admitted entry without issue.

But this time around&nbsp;they asked why she was stopped last&nbsp;December. She told them she is a Canadian citizen without a criminal record, who never had any issues entering the US, until the previous December. The CBC report says she was fingerprinted and photographed, then signed a form withdrawing her application for entry into the country.

This is when she was told, &quot;I know you may feel like you&#39;ve been Trumped&quot;.

Even though there weren&#39;t any flags on her on her file, a border guard advised her not to fly into the US without the valid immigrant visa, and without saying what kind of visa she needed recommended simply she go&nbsp;to the US Embassy in Ottawa to get one.

At this point, Kooner tells the CBC, she started to cry.

&nbsp;

Standard protocol&nbsp;at border

Travellers from Canada and Bermuda typically do not need visas to visit the US, a US Embassy official told the CBC.

Among the category of Canadians who do need visas to enter the US are Canadians intending to immigrate or those planning to marry a US citizen, but Kooner doesn&#39;t fall into either group.

There is a kind of visa used for short term, non-immigrant travel into the United States, called the B1/B2 visa.

The <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/about" target="_blank">website </a>for US Customs and Border Protections describes its mandate: &quot;To safeguard America&#39;s borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation&#39;s global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel&quot;.

The site&nbsp;claims that on average, 1.2 million people enter&nbsp;the US a day at all crossings. Of those, the CBC says that between 300 to 500 people are denied entry for one reason or another.

(WION)

Usually Canadians need just a passport to enter the US, which she had, not a visa

A Canadian woman born to Indian parents seeking to enter the United States with a valid Canadian passport was denied entry at the border, and was told she needed a valid immigrant visa, the CBC reports. Manpreet Kooner is a thirty-year-old Canadian citizen born in Montreal, where she was raised and where she currently lives. Kooner told the CBC that she was trying to get to a spa in Vermont for a day trip, but never reached because she was held at the border for six hours before eventually being turned away. A border agent told her, "I know you may feel like you've been Trumped," referencing the American president, Donald Trump. Adding to her confusion, Kooner was told to apply for the visa at the US Embassy in Ottawa, where she went Monday morning, but was told they could not help her, and that actually she needed to talk to US Customs and Border Protection, CBC reports. In a statement, the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said it does not discuss individual cases, but that anybody seeking entry must prove they meet the requirements for admission, and that ultimately border officers are given discretion on entry. A 2014 policy "prohibits the consideration of ethnicity in law enforcement, investigation, and screening activities, in all but the most exceptional circumstances". Her recent, innocent past Kooner told the CBC that her mother was turned away at the border last summer. She wasn't told why, but Manpreet was assured her mother's issues wouldn't affect her. Her first trouble entering the United States came last December, after Trump was elected but before he took office, the CBC reports. They say she was pulled over for a random search, where she was fingerprinted and made to fill out numerous forms. Eventually they were told something was wrong with the computer and to return the next morning; She did, and was admitted entry without issue. But this time around they asked why she was stopped last December. She told them she is a Canadian citizen without a criminal record, who never had any issues entering the US, until the previous December. The CBC report says she was fingerprinted and photographed, then signed a form withdrawing her application for entry into the country. This is when she was told, "I know you may feel like you've been Trumped". Even though there weren't any flags on her on her file, a border guard advised her not to fly into the US without the valid immigrant visa, and without saying what kind of visa she needed recommended simply she go to the US Embassy in Ottawa to get one. At this point, Kooner tells the CBC, she started to cry. Standard protocol at border Travellers from Canada and Bermuda typically do not need visas to visit the US, a US Embassy official told the CBC. Among the category of Canadians who do need visas to enter the US are Canadians intending to immigrate or those planning to marry a US citizen, but Kooner doesn't fall into either group. There is a kind of visa used for short term, non-immigrant travel into the United States, called the B1/B2 visa. The website for US Customs and Border Protections describes its mandate: "To safeguard America's borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation's global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel". The site claims that on average, 1.2 million people enter the US a day at all crossings. Of those, the CBC says that between 300 to 500 people are denied entry for one reason or another. (WION)

Canadian citizen of Indian origin stopped at US border, told she needs immigrant visa

US Senator John McCain on Monday called for President Donald Trump to release any evidence supporting his claim the Obama administration wiretapped him while probing Russia&#39;s influence in the 2016 election.

&ldquo;I think the president of the United States, if he has any information that would indicate that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower, then he should come forward with that information. The American people deserve it,&rdquo; McCain, a Republican from Arizona, told Reuters.

Jason Chaffetz, a Republican lawmaker who heads the US&nbsp;House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CBS in an interview on Monday that he had &quot;not seen anything directly that would support what the president has said.&quot;

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who heads the Senate Judiciary subcommittee looking into allegations Russia meddled in the election, said the panel would be asking both Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and the Justice Department whether he had told the law enforcement agency this weekend to reject Trump&#39;s wiretapping claim.

The White House said on Monday that Trump still has confidence in Comey despite his assertiveness in challenging Trump&#39;s claim that the administration of former President Barack Obama had wiretapped him.

Asked whether Trump still had confidence in Comey, White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said, &quot;There&rsquo;s nothing that I have been told by him that would lead me to believe that anything is different than what it was prior.&quot;

He was &quot;almost 100 percent certain&quot; Trump had not spoken to Comey since the Republican president made the allegation on Twitter on Saturday. &quot;I&#39;m not aware that that occurred,&quot; Spicer told reporters.

But, when asked during an early-morning interview on Monday with ABC&#39;s &quot;Good Morning America&quot; whether Trump accepted Comey&#39;s assertion, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, &quot;I don&#39;t think he does.&quot;

The FBI declined to comment on Comey&#39;s communications.

Trump has given no evidence for his claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped. The allegation is the latest twist in a controversy over ties between Trump associates and Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency.

The wiretapping allegation hit US&nbsp;stocks on Monday. Some investors worried that the affair could distract Trump from his economic agenda of introducing tax cuts and simplifying regulations that has powered a record-setting rally on Wall Street since the election.

The lack of detail on Trump&#39;s proposals, his isolationist stance and setbacks in filling his Cabinet have made investors question whether the post-election rally has run its course.

Democrats accused Trump of making the wiretapping claim to try to distract from the controversy about possible links to Russia. His administration is facing FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between members of his campaign team and Russian officials.

The White House has asked the Republican-controlled Congress to examine, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia&#39;s influence on the election, whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority.

(Reuters)

Trump claims that Obama wiretapped his phone during last year's election campaign

US Senator John McCain on Monday called for President Donald Trump to release any evidence supporting his claim the Obama administration wiretapped him while probing Russia's influence in the 2016 election. “I think the president of the United States, if he has any information that would indicate that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower, then he should come forward with that information. The American people deserve it,” McCain, a Republican from Arizona, told Reuters. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican lawmaker who heads the US House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CBS in an interview on Monday that he had "not seen anything directly that would support what the president has said." Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who heads the Senate Judiciary subcommittee looking into allegations Russia meddled in the election, said the panel would be asking both Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and the Justice Department whether he had told the law enforcement agency this weekend to reject Trump's wiretapping claim. The White House said on Monday that Trump still has confidence in Comey despite his assertiveness in challenging Trump's claim that the administration of former President Barack Obama had wiretapped him. Asked whether Trump still had confidence in Comey, White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said, "There’s nothing that I have been told by him that would lead me to believe that anything is different than what it was prior." He was "almost 100 percent certain" Trump had not spoken to Comey since the Republican president made the allegation on Twitter on Saturday. "I'm not aware that that occurred," Spicer told reporters. But, when asked during an early-morning interview on Monday with ABC's "Good Morning America" whether Trump accepted Comey's assertion, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "I don't think he does." The FBI declined to comment on Comey's communications. Trump has given no evidence for his claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped. The allegation is the latest twist in a controversy over ties between Trump associates and Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency. The wiretapping allegation hit US stocks on Monday. Some investors worried that the affair could distract Trump from his economic agenda of introducing tax cuts and simplifying regulations that has powered a record-setting rally on Wall Street since the election. The lack of detail on Trump's proposals, his isolationist stance and setbacks in filling his Cabinet have made investors question whether the post-election rally has run its course. Democrats accused Trump of making the wiretapping claim to try to distract from the controversy about possible links to Russia. His administration is facing FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between members of his campaign team and Russian officials. The White House has asked the Republican-controlled Congress to examine, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia's influence on the election, whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority. (Reuters)

John McCain calls on Trump to back up wire-tapping claim

US civil rights groups on Monday roundly slammed President Donald Trump&#39;s revised immigration order as a &quot;Muslim ban&quot; in all but name, and vowed to keep fighting it in court.

&quot;The&nbsp;Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws,&quot; said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union&#39;s Immigrant Rights Project.&nbsp;

&quot;The only way to actually&nbsp;fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban,&quot; Jadwat said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;Instead,&nbsp;President Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination, and&nbsp;he can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people.&quot;&nbsp;

The New York Immigration Coalition called the revised ban, which halts new visas for people from six majority-Muslim countries, &quot;a mask for the same old hatred, fear and incompetence.&quot;

&quot;This is just one more example of the president&#39;s concerted effort to divide this country and instill panic and fear in immigrant, refugee and Muslim communities,&quot; said NYIC director Steven Choi.

Human Rights Watch said the changes to the original January 27 order, which fell afoul of the US constitution because it appeared to overtly target Muslims, &quot;are merely cosmetic.&quot;

&quot;President Trump still seems to believe you can determine who&#39;s a terrorist by knowing which country a man, woman or child is from,&quot; said the group&#39;s US immigration researcher Grace Meng.

Rabbi Jack Moline, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said they expect as well to battle the revised order in court.

&quot;Even in its slightly revised form, President Trump&#39;s Muslim ban violates constitutional principles and undermines America&#39;s standing in the world,&quot; Moline said.

&quot;We must be clear that discriminating against millions of people on the basis of their religion does nothing to make Americans safer.&quot;

The United Farm Workers of America, a union fighting a separate Trump effort to expel millions of mostly Latino undocumented immigrants, branded the new travel ban &quot;a grievous affront to the fundamental values that make America an exceptional nation.&quot;

(AFP)

The new order is a 'scaled-back version' that shares the 'same fatal flaws', one of the rights group director said

US civil rights groups on Monday roundly slammed President Donald Trump's revised immigration order as a "Muslim ban" in all but name, and vowed to keep fighting it in court. "The Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws," said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrant Rights Project. "The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban," Jadwat said in a statement. "Instead, President Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination, and he can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people." The New York Immigration Coalition called the revised ban, which halts new visas for people from six majority-Muslim countries, "a mask for the same old hatred, fear and incompetence." "This is just one more example of the president's concerted effort to divide this country and instill panic and fear in immigrant, refugee and Muslim communities," said NYIC director Steven Choi. Human Rights Watch said the changes to the original January 27 order, which fell afoul of the US constitution because it appeared to overtly target Muslims, "are merely cosmetic." "President Trump still seems to believe you can determine who's a terrorist by knowing which country a man, woman or child is from," said the group's US immigration researcher Grace Meng. Rabbi Jack Moline, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said they expect as well to battle the revised order in court. "Even in its slightly revised form, President Trump's Muslim ban violates constitutional principles and undermines America's standing in the world," Moline said. "We must be clear that discriminating against millions of people on the basis of their religion does nothing to make Americans safer." The United Farm Workers of America, a union fighting a separate Trump effort to expel millions of mostly Latino undocumented immigrants, branded the new travel ban "a grievous affront to the fundamental values that make America an exceptional nation." (AFP)

Trump's revised travel order remains Muslim ban: US rights group

US&nbsp;stocks retreated on Monday in a broad decline as investors took a dim view of the latest turbulence surrounding the Trump administration along with geopolitical tensions emanating from Asia.

The S&amp;P 500 has rallied 11 per cent in the wake of President Donald Trump&#39;s victory in November, with investors betting on the implementation of reduced regulations, lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending.

But a lack of detail on Trump&#39;s proposals, his isolationist stance and setbacks in filling his Cabinet have made investors question whether the post-election rally has run its course as stock valuations become stretched.

Trump accused predecessor Barack Obama on Saturday of wiretapping him during the late stages of the 2016 election campaign, but offered no evidence.

Some investors worried that the accusation could delay Trump&#39;s economic agenda.

&quot;The bottom line is, investors have predicated this rally on this new administration getting things done,&quot; said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

&quot;The more news that circulates that is now whipping Washington into a frenzy, the less bandwidth they have to focus on getting these measures through.&quot;

Adding to investor caution were rising tensions in East Asia after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan&#39;s northwest.

Trump also signed a revised executive order on Monday for a 90-day travel ban to the United States from six Muslim-majority countries, removing Iraq from the list after his controversial first attempt was blocked in the courts.

Valuations are a cause for concern. The S&amp;P 500 is trading at nearly 18 times forward earnings estimates against the long-term average of about 15 times, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Investors are also grappling with the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the US&nbsp;Federal Reserve at its meeting next week, with traders now expecting about an 85-per cent chance of a hike versus roughly 30-percent at the start of last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average&nbsp;fell 41.33 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 20,964.38, the S&amp;P 500 lost 7.65 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 2,375.47 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.07 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 5,849.69.

Of the 11 major S&amp;P sectors, only energy up 0.2 per cent, managed a modest advance.

Among stocks, Netflix, advanced 2 per cent to $141.94 following a UBS rating upgrade to &quot;buy&quot;.

Tyson Foods dropped 2.1 per cent at $2.26 after a strain of bird flu was detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted with the company.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.74-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.57-to-1 ratio favoured decliners.

The S&amp;P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 54 new lows.

(Reuters)

A lack of detail on Trump's proposals, his isolationist stance and setbacks in filling his Cabinet have vexed the Wall Street

US stocks retreated on Monday in a broad decline as investors took a dim view of the latest turbulence surrounding the Trump administration along with geopolitical tensions emanating from Asia. The S&P 500 has rallied 11 per cent in the wake of President Donald Trump's victory in November, with investors betting on the implementation of reduced regulations, lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending. But a lack of detail on Trump's proposals, his isolationist stance and setbacks in filling his Cabinet have made investors question whether the post-election rally has run its course as stock valuations become stretched. Trump accused predecessor Barack Obama on Saturday of wiretapping him during the late stages of the 2016 election campaign, but offered no evidence. Some investors worried that the accusation could delay Trump's economic agenda. "The bottom line is, investors have predicated this rally on this new administration getting things done," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago. "The more news that circulates that is now whipping Washington into a frenzy, the less bandwidth they have to focus on getting these measures through." Adding to investor caution were rising tensions in East Asia after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest. Trump also signed a revised executive order on Monday for a 90-day travel ban to the United States from six Muslim-majority countries, removing Iraq from the list after his controversial first attempt was blocked in the courts. Valuations are a cause for concern. The S&P 500 is trading at nearly 18 times forward earnings estimates against the long-term average of about 15 times, according to Thomson Reuters data. Investors are also grappling with the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve at its meeting next week, with traders now expecting about an 85-per cent chance of a hike versus roughly 30-percent at the start of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.33 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 20,964.38, the S&P 500 lost 7.65 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 2,375.47 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.07 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 5,849.69. Of the 11 major S&P sectors, only energy up 0.2 per cent, managed a modest advance. Among stocks, Netflix, advanced 2 per cent to $141.94 following a UBS rating upgrade to "buy". Tyson Foods dropped 2.1 per cent at $2.26 after a strain of bird flu was detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted with the company. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.74-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.57-to-1 ratio favoured decliners. The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 54 new lows. (Reuters)

Trump's travel ban and North Korea tension tempers down US stocks

Trump was not the only one&nbsp;to have a Twitter meltdown this weekend.

Trump loyalist and former top adviser Roger Stone claimed on Twitter that he had a&nbsp;back channel to&nbsp;work with Julian Assange at Wikileaks&nbsp;to spread damaging leaked Clinton emails.

US intelligence has unanimously said that Russia interfered in the US election in what it called a &quot;multifaceted campaign&quot; of&nbsp;&quot;cyber espionage&quot;, and that&nbsp;Clinton&#39;s emails were obtained&nbsp;by Russian hackers.

Stone&#39;s claim that he worked with Assange&nbsp;to&nbsp;spread Clinton&#39;s emails comes&nbsp;amid growing reports of Trump staffers meeting&nbsp;with Russian officials, then&nbsp;lying about it.

Here is the screengrabbed Tweet that Stone deleted.

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Here&#39;s the screengrab of Roger Stone admitting the Trump campaign colluded with Asange and Wikileaks (I know, real stunner) <a href="https://t.co/TcBrMrSTig">pic.twitter.com/TcBrMrSTig</a>
&mdash; Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps) <a href="https://twitter.com/kristoncapps/status/838259900627156992">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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But he responded to the claim that he did any wrongdoing.&nbsp;

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Attention MSM Losers!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeftistSpasm?src=hash">#LeftistSpasm</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FakeNews?src=hash">#FakeNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/iKTT5buhlq">pic.twitter.com/iKTT5buhlq</a>
&mdash; Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/838487222454272002">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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While the tone of Stone&#39;s&nbsp;Tweet is defiant, claiming he didn&#39;t hide anything, actually there is video footage of Stone from 2016&nbsp;saying, contrary to the claim in his deleted Tweet, that he did have direct communication&nbsp;with Assange.

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Listen to &quot;long time Trump advisor&quot; Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: <a href="https://t.co/EclA0jpXIU">pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU</a>
&mdash; justin kanew (@justin_kanew) <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_kanew/status/838485426050641920">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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At issue in the investigation into Trump-Russia, conducted by six different US intelligence agencies,&nbsp;is whether anyone in Trump&#39;s campaign actively worked with the Russians against their Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Colluding with a foreign and hostile government to sabotage a national election is illegal.

<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>reported that Trump staffers were in &quot;constant touch&quot; with Russian officials during the election campaign. The subject of these talks has not been disclosed publicly.

Officials emphasised that it is not unusual for campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments to communicate, but that these communications stood out for their frequency, and for the level of Trump advisers involved.

&nbsp;

Vulgar abuse

Yesterday, Roger Stone also abused&nbsp;the same&nbsp;female&nbsp;citizen journalist, calling her a &quot;stupid, ignorant, ugly bitch&quot; in a now-deleted Tweet.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling denounced the attack in a screen grab:

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This man is an advisor to the leader of the free world. This guy, right here. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rogerstone?src=hash">#rogerstone</a> <a href="https://t.co/brxqZAfw09">pic.twitter.com/brxqZAfw09</a>
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/838294536170389504">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Stone also abused Republican strategist Ana Navarro, calling her&nbsp;&quot;fat and stupid&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Deflection&nbsp;

Stone&#39;s Twitter meltdown&nbsp;comes as Trump&#39;s campaign is trying hard to deflect attention from their various connections to Russia.

US Attorney General and Trump loyalist Jeff Sessions just recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it became known that he met with the Russian ambassador twice, and lied about it under oath.

Before that, Trump&#39;s pick to head national security Michael Flynn resigned after it became known that he too met the Russian ambassador and lied about it.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s son-in-law <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jared-kushner-donald-trump-russia-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-meeting-michael-flynn-white-house-jeff-a7609166.html" target="_blank">Jared Kushner</a>, who is a White House adviser,&nbsp;met&nbsp;the Russian ambassador in Trump Tower. No cameras&nbsp;captured Kislyak entering the building, suggesting he was ushered in a <a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/03/trump-white-house-downplay-failure-reveal-russian-ambassadors-smuggled-visit-trump-tower.html" target="_blank">back door.</a>&nbsp;A White House spokesman denied this was a secret meeting.

Paul Manafort and Trump&#39;s long-time&nbsp;lawyer Michael Cohen also met with Russian officials and failed to disclose it.

&nbsp;

This weekend former Republican adviser <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-republican-pro-putin-ukraine-stance-rnc-ambassador-kislyak-meeting-a7610621.html" target="_blank">JD Gordon</a>&nbsp;claimed that&nbsp;a pro-Russia change in language to the GOP platform came after&nbsp;the Republican convention in Cleveland of July 2016, and was especially ordered to align with Trump&#39;s own personal views. Gordon claimed he and Carter Page, then a Trump adviser who resigned amid his connections to Russia, also <a href="http://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/3/14789354/russian-ambassador-trump-sergey-kislyak" target="_blank">met </a>Kislyak.

The July convention in Cleveland&nbsp;took place shortly after Sessions met the Russian ambassador. In 2015, Sessions was staunchly anti-Russia. Sessions&nbsp;pro-Russia views seem to have set in&nbsp;after meeting Kislyak.

US intelligence also says that the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak&nbsp;is also Russia&#39;s top spy and spy-recruiter in Washington. The Kremlin has officially <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/russia-kislyak-spy-claim-sessions/" target="_blank">denied </a>this claim.

(WION)

Roger Stone's meltdown came as US intelligence investigates Russia's interference in the US election and Trump's connections to Russia

Trump was not the only one to have a Twitter meltdown this weekend. Trump loyalist and former top adviser Roger Stone claimed on Twitter that he had a back channel to work with Julian Assange at Wikileaks to spread damaging leaked Clinton emails. US intelligence has unanimously said that Russia interfered in the US election in what it called a "multifaceted campaign" of "cyber espionage", and that Clinton's emails were obtained by Russian hackers. Stone's claim that he worked with Assange to spread Clinton's emails comes amid growing reports of Trump staffers meeting with Russian officials, then lying about it. Here is the screengrabbed Tweet that Stone deleted. Here's the screengrab of Roger Stone admitting the Trump campaign colluded with Asange and Wikileaks (I know, real stunner) pic.twitter.com/TcBrMrSTig — Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps) March 5, 2017 × But he responded to the claim that he did any wrongdoing. Attention MSM Losers!#LeftistSpasm#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/iKTT5buhlq — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) March 5, 2017 × While the tone of Stone's Tweet is defiant, claiming he didn't hide anything, actually there is video footage of Stone from 2016 saying, contrary to the claim in his deleted Tweet, that he did have direct communication with Assange. Listen to "long time Trump advisor" Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU — justin kanew (@justin_kanew) March 5, 2017 × At issue in the investigation into Trump-Russia, conducted by six different US intelligence agencies, is whether anyone in Trump's campaign actively worked with the Russians against their Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Colluding with a foreign and hostile government to sabotage a national election is illegal. CNN reported that Trump staffers were in "constant touch" with Russian officials during the election campaign. The subject of these talks has not been disclosed publicly. Officials emphasised that it is not unusual for campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments to communicate, but that these communications stood out for their frequency, and for the level of Trump advisers involved. Vulgar abuse Yesterday, Roger Stone also abused the same female citizen journalist, calling her a "stupid, ignorant, ugly bitch" in a now-deleted Tweet. Harry Potter author JK Rowling denounced the attack in a screen grab: This man is an advisor to the leader of the free world. This guy, right here. #rogerstone pic.twitter.com/brxqZAfw09 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 5, 2017 × Stone also abused Republican strategist Ana Navarro, calling her "fat and stupid". Deflection Stone's Twitter meltdown comes as Trump's campaign is trying hard to deflect attention from their various connections to Russia. US Attorney General and Trump loyalist Jeff Sessions just recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it became known that he met with the Russian ambassador twice, and lied about it under oath. Before that, Trump's pick to head national security Michael Flynn resigned after it became known that he too met the Russian ambassador and lied about it. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is a White House adviser, met the Russian ambassador in Trump Tower. No cameras captured Kislyak entering the building, suggesting he was ushered in a back door. A White House spokesman denied this was a secret meeting. Paul Manafort and Trump's long-time lawyer Michael Cohen also met with Russian officials and failed to disclose it. This weekend former Republican adviser JD Gordon claimed that a pro-Russia change in language to the GOP platform came after the Republican convention in Cleveland of July 2016, and was especially ordered to align with Trump's own personal views. Gordon claimed he and Carter Page, then a Trump adviser who resigned amid his connections to Russia, also met Kislyak. The July convention in Cleveland took place shortly after Sessions met the Russian ambassador. In 2015, Sessions was staunchly anti-Russia. Sessions pro-Russia views seem to have set in after meeting Kislyak. US intelligence also says that the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak is also Russia's top spy and spy-recruiter in Washington. The Kremlin has officially denied this claim. (WION)

Trump ally says he worked with Assange pre-election to spread Clinton emails in abusive Twitter tirade

FBI Director James Comey has asked the Justice Department to publicly refute President Donald Trump&#39;s explosive accusation that Barack Obama tapped his phones, US media reported on Sunday.

The New York Times, citing senior US officials, first reported that Comey believes Trump&#39;s unsubstantiated claim about his predecessor to be false. The department has not made any statement.

Comey made the request on Saturday because &quot;there is no evidence to support it, and it insinuates that the FBI broke the law,&quot; the paper reported the officials as saying.

Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department immediately responded to an AFP request for comment.

Questioning the president&#39;s truthfulness, Comey&#39;s extraordinary measure provides an indication of the implications of the uncharted territory Trump has entered with his accusation.

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<h5>Trump made his claim in a tweet on Saturday. &#39;How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process,&#39; he wrote. &#39;This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!&#39;</h5>
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However, although the Justice Department -- which is headed by Trump&#39;s staunch supporter Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- oversees the FBI, it is not clear why Comey didn&#39;t issue a statement himself.

Trump made his claim in a tweet on Saturday.

&quot;How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process,&quot; he wrote. &quot;This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!&quot; He provided no evidence to back up the claim.

Obama denied the allegation via a spokesman as &quot;simply false&quot;.

However, the Republican chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Devin Nunes, said his panel would look into Trump&#39;s claim after the White House on Sunday urged Congress to investigate his allegation.

The accusation has prompted a firestorm of criticism, with many saying Trump&#39;s incendiary claim was aimed at diverting attention from a series of revelations about his aides&#39; meetings with Russian officials.

(AFP)

Trump had claimed, without offering evidence, that Barack Obama had tapped his phones

FBI Director James Comey has asked the Justice Department to publicly refute President Donald Trump's explosive accusation that Barack Obama tapped his phones, US media reported on Sunday. The New York Times, citing senior US officials, first reported that Comey believes Trump's unsubstantiated claim about his predecessor to be false. The department has not made any statement. Comey made the request on Saturday because "there is no evidence to support it, and it insinuates that the FBI broke the law," the paper reported the officials as saying. Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department immediately responded to an AFP request for comment. Questioning the president's truthfulness, Comey's extraordinary measure provides an indication of the implications of the uncharted territory Trump has entered with his accusation. Trump made his claim in a tweet on Saturday. 'How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process,' he wrote. 'This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!' × However, although the Justice Department -- which is headed by Trump's staunch supporter Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- oversees the FBI, it is not clear why Comey didn't issue a statement himself. Trump made his claim in a tweet on Saturday. "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process," he wrote. "This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!" He provided no evidence to back up the claim. Obama denied the allegation via a spokesman as "simply false". However, the Republican chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Devin Nunes, said his panel would look into Trump's claim after the White House on Sunday urged Congress to investigate his allegation. The accusation has prompted a firestorm of criticism, with many saying Trump's incendiary claim was aimed at diverting attention from a series of revelations about his aides' meetings with Russian officials. (AFP)

FBI director asks Justice Department to publicly refute Trump's Obama claim: Reports

United States President Donald Trump&#39;s explosive claim on Twitter that Barack Obama wiretapped his phone during last year&#39;s election campaign will be probed by a Congressional committee.

The chairman of the&nbsp;House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Devin Nunes, said they will investigate &quot;whether the government was conducting surveillance activities on any political party&#39;s campaign officials or surrogates&quot;. Nunes, however, stopped short of directly mentioning Trump&#39;s claims about the alleged Obama bugging.

The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-seeks-inquiry-into-allegations-that-obama-tapped-his-phones.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reports that FBI Director James Comey has this weekend asked the justice department to reject in public Trump&#39;s assertion, that Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump&#39;s phone. Comey argued that the highly charged claim is false, and must be corrected.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has been examining Russian interference in last year&#39;s US presidential election as well as Russia&#39;s cyber-activity, which has been viewed by many as a key reason for the withering of Hillary Clinton&#39;s presidential push.

The Committee&#39;s decision comes hours after the Donald Trump administration urged the Congress to follow up on the president&#39;s tweets, which without providing any evidence, accused Obama of tapping his phone.

On Saturday, Trump had tweeted: &quot;How low has President Obama gone to tapp &nbsp;my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!&quot;

Trump&#39;s insinuation was based on a report that came out in right-wing media organisation Breitbart News, which was until recently run by his chief advisor Steve Bannon.

Scrambling to contain the potential fallout, Trump&#39;s team requested the Congress to probe into what his spokesman Sarah Sanders said would be&nbsp;the &quot;greatest abuse of power and overreach that has ever occurred in the executive branch&quot;.

But Obama, through his spokesman, has denied ordering any surveillance on Trump.

US presidents cannot legally order such wiretaps, which require the approval of a federal judge and reasonable grounds for suspicion.

Obama&#39;s director of national intelligence James Clapper told NBC there was &quot;no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign&quot;.

Trump&#39;s latest incendiary statement comes at a time when his fledgling presidency has been rocked by a series of scandals linking his team members with Russian officials.

Amid this and several other revelations of Trump aides holding meetings with Russian officials, the White House has denied allegations of collusion.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a campaign to meddle in last November&#39;s presidential election in a bid to tilt it in Trump&#39;s favor.

Former CIA director Leon Panetta accused Trump of diversionary tactics.

&quot;They are trying to obfuscate and trying to cover up. They are trying to somehow raise other issues,&quot; he told CBS. &quot;In the end, it is going to be the truth that will determine what is involved here, and not Tweets, but the truth.&quot;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Trump's accusation of Obama ordering a surveillance on him has been viewed by some as a diversion from his Russia links scandal

United States President Donald Trump's explosive claim on Twitter that Barack Obama wiretapped his phone during last year's election campaign will be probed by a Congressional committee. The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Devin Nunes, said they will investigate "whether the government was conducting surveillance activities on any political party's campaign officials or surrogates". Nunes, however, stopped short of directly mentioning Trump's claims about the alleged Obama bugging. The New York Times reports that FBI Director James Comey has this weekend asked the justice department to reject in public Trump's assertion, that Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump's phone. Comey argued that the highly charged claim is false, and must be corrected. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has been examining Russian interference in last year's US presidential election as well as Russia's cyber-activity, which has been viewed by many as a key reason for the withering of Hillary Clinton's presidential push. The Committee's decision comes hours after the Donald Trump administration urged the Congress to follow up on the president's tweets, which without providing any evidence, accused Obama of tapping his phone. On Saturday, Trump had tweeted: "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!" Trump's insinuation was based on a report that came out in right-wing media organisation Breitbart News, which was until recently run by his chief advisor Steve Bannon. Scrambling to contain the potential fallout, Trump's team requested the Congress to probe into what his spokesman Sarah Sanders said would be the "greatest abuse of power and overreach that has ever occurred in the executive branch". But Obama, through his spokesman, has denied ordering any surveillance on Trump. US presidents cannot legally order such wiretaps, which require the approval of a federal judge and reasonable grounds for suspicion. Obama's director of national intelligence James Clapper told NBC there was "no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign". Trump's latest incendiary statement comes at a time when his fledgling presidency has been rocked by a series of scandals linking his team members with Russian officials. Amid this and several other revelations of Trump aides holding meetings with Russian officials, the White House has denied allegations of collusion. US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a campaign to meddle in last November's presidential election in a bid to tilt it in Trump's favor. Former CIA director Leon Panetta accused Trump of diversionary tactics. "They are trying to obfuscate and trying to cover up. They are trying to somehow raise other issues," he told CBS. "In the end, it is going to be the truth that will determine what is involved here, and not Tweets, but the truth." (WION with inputs from AFP)

US Congressional body to probe Trump's wire-tap claim against Obama

Tony B<a aria-controls="home" aria-expanded="true" data-toggle="tab" href="http://wioncms.cloudapp.net/dashboard/webdesk/addeditstory.aspx#home" role="tab">Metadata</a>lair has had no discussions about working for US President Donald Trump, his spokesman said Sunday after reports that the former British prime minister sought to become his Middle East adviser.

According to The Mail on Sunday newspaper, Blair met with Trump&#39;s son-in-law and key aide Jared Kushner last week to discuss taking a role with Trump.

The weekly tabloid said Blair had met Kushner three times since September.

A spokesman for Blair initially said: &quot;I&#39;m not going to comment on private conversations.&quot;

But a statement on his website later said: &quot;The story in The Mail on Sunday is an invention.

&quot;Mr Blair has made no such &#39;pitch&#39; to be the president&#39;s Middle East envoy. Neither has he had any discussions about taking such a role or any role working for the new president.&quot;

It continued: &quot;He has been working on the peace process for 10 years. He continues to do so. He does so in a private capacity. He will continue to do it in that way.&quot;

After leaving office in 2007, Blair was the envoy of the Middle East Quartet until 2015.

The group comprises the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.

Blair was prime minister from 1997 to 2007, winning three general elections but his role in leading Britain into the war in Iraq has badly damaged his legacy at home.

However, he has been making more interventions in British politics since leaving his Middle East role.

Last month he urged Britons who support the European Union to &quot;rise up&quot; and persuade Brexit voters to change their mind about leaving the bloc, in a high-profile speech.

Blair wrote an article in The New York Times newspaper on Friday where he called for a centrist new coalition that is &quot;popular, not populist&quot;, in order for liberal democracy to survive and thrive in the face of rightist populism. 
 
(AFP)

A media report claimed Blair met with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner last week to discuss taking a role with Trump

Tony BMetadatalair has had no discussions about working for US President Donald Trump, his spokesman said Sunday after reports that the former British prime minister sought to become his Middle East adviser. According to The Mail on Sunday newspaper, Blair met with Trump's son-in-law and key aide Jared Kushner last week to discuss taking a role with Trump. The weekly tabloid said Blair had met Kushner three times since September. A spokesman for Blair initially said: "I'm not going to comment on private conversations." But a statement on his website later said: "The story in The Mail on Sunday is an invention. "Mr Blair has made no such 'pitch' to be the president's Middle East envoy. Neither has he had any discussions about taking such a role or any role working for the new president." It continued: "He has been working on the peace process for 10 years. He continues to do so. He does so in a private capacity. He will continue to do it in that way." After leaving office in 2007, Blair was the envoy of the Middle East Quartet until 2015. The group comprises the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States. Blair was prime minister from 1997 to 2007, winning three general elections but his role in leading Britain into the war in Iraq has badly damaged his legacy at home. However, he has been making more interventions in British politics since leaving his Middle East role. Last month he urged Britons who support the European Union to "rise up" and persuade Brexit voters to change their mind about leaving the bloc, in a high-profile speech. Blair wrote an article in The New York Times newspaper on Friday where he called for a centrist new coalition that is "popular, not populist", in order for liberal democracy to survive and thrive in the face of rightist populism. (AFP)

Tony Blair dismisses reports of pitching for post of Trump's middle-east envoy

US authorities are temporarily suspending the speedy, premium processing of a visa which is often used by tech firms to recruit foreign skilled workers.

Although the move comes as President Donald Trump pledges to prioritize jobs for Americans, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the suspension was only meant to help the agency reduce overall processing time.

The H-1B visa is issued to tens of thousands of highly skilled foreign nationals each year, but as of April 3, applicants will no longer be able to use a costly shortcut to rush the processing of their visas.

On Friday, USCIS announced that the &quot;premium processing&quot; of H-1B visas -- which saw wait times reduced from several months to 15 days for the price of $1,225 -- would be temporarily suspended for up to six months.

The visa has drawn particular attention since Trump&#39;s election, with White House spokesman Sean Spicer suggesting&nbsp;that presidential and congressional action could be taken on H-1B visas as &quot;part of a larger immigration reform effort.&quot;

According to USCIS, the visas go to scientists, engineers, computer programmers or anyone &quot;in specialty occupations that require the theoretical or practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.&quot;

The United States offers 85,000 H-1B visas every year, most of which are snapped up by Indian outsourcers whose employees fill a skill gap in US engineering. Applications are vastly oversubscribed and are allocated via a lottery system.

(AFP)

The decision to suspend the process comes as the Donald Trump administration looks to prioritise jobs for Americans

US authorities are temporarily suspending the speedy, premium processing of a visa which is often used by tech firms to recruit foreign skilled workers. Although the move comes as President Donald Trump pledges to prioritize jobs for Americans, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the suspension was only meant to help the agency reduce overall processing time. The H-1B visa is issued to tens of thousands of highly skilled foreign nationals each year, but as of April 3, applicants will no longer be able to use a costly shortcut to rush the processing of their visas. On Friday, USCIS announced that the "premium processing" of H-1B visas -- which saw wait times reduced from several months to 15 days for the price of $1,225 -- would be temporarily suspended for up to six months. The visa has drawn particular attention since Trump's election, with White House spokesman Sean Spicer suggesting that presidential and congressional action could be taken on H-1B visas as "part of a larger immigration reform effort." According to USCIS, the visas go to scientists, engineers, computer programmers or anyone "in specialty occupations that require the theoretical or practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge." The United States offers 85,000 H-1B visas every year, most of which are snapped up by Indian outsourcers whose employees fill a skill gap in US engineering. Applications are vastly oversubscribed and are allocated via a lottery system. (AFP)

US temporarily suspends speedy H-1B visa process to reduce backlog

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