Today In News: April 26, 2017

Today in News:

(ടുഡേ ഇൻ ന്യൂസ്):

• During the campaign trail, Trump touted his future tax cuts to his base as something that would "benefit working families while ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share."   Trump's tax plan will do the exact opposite.  The Trump administration will cut the income tax rate paid by public corporations to 15 percent from 35 percent and sharply cut the top tax rate by pass-through businesses, including many small business partnerships and sole proprietorships, to 15 percent from 39.6 percent, an official said.

• After another loss to the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday (click here for article),   Trump has repeatedly attacked sitting federal judges and decisions he does not like, an unprecedented criticism for a sitting president toward the judiciary in modern times.   Seems our very own President does not understand what Democracy is after claiming this rejection an "egregious overreach by a single, unelected district judge."

• As a standoff escalated over the reclusive North Korean's development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, President Donald Trump invited all 100 members of the Senate to attend a very unusual meeting at the White House with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Many US Senators believed this unusual meeting was a selfish opportunity for the President to have a photo op for his First 100 Days.

• Trump policy on North Korea appears to be...nothing. It seems, instead, that the NoKo briefing was about optics — an opportunity to make it look like Trump is taking a significant new stance on North Korea when in reality, they’re basically doing the exact same thing the Obama administration did.

• A new amendment to the House Republicans' ObamaCare replacement bill exempts members of Congress and their staff from its effects.   The best evidence yet that the new GOP repeal plan is a disaster for people’s health care is that the GOP exempted members of Congress from living under it,” said Leslie Dach, director of the Protect Our Care Campaign, one of the main groups fighting repeal.  A Washington Post/ABC News poll this week found that 70 percent of the public wants pre-existing condition protections to apply nationwide and not be up to each state. 

• Israel received three F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States at the weekend - a new generation of "near-invisible" planes that critics fear will free the country's hand to launch air strikes and spying operations against neighbouring states undetected.  Israel receives more than $20 billion/year in help from the USA, including aid, cooperation with military industries, preferential trade status, and donations from a network of philanthropic organizations. 

• As the 100-day mark of Donald Trump's presidency approaches, ORC poll finds the President reaches this milestone holding on to the lowest approval rating of any newly-elected president at this stage with 54% disapproval rates, amid sharp partisan divides and a failure to capitalize on post-election strengths.