Salem-News.com United-nations articles Page 37

US Stocks Hit a Bump in the Road

Traders are now not as certain that the Fed will reduce rates when they meet in July.

(SALEM, Ore.) - US stocks surged during the first week of July with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting fresh all-time highs. Stocks were buoyed as traders forecast that the Federal Reserve would decrease interest rates 2-times in 2019.

On Friday, July 5th, the day after the US Independence Day, a fly was added to the ointment. This came in the form of the US payroll report which showed that the number of jobs created in June was more than expected.

Bank of America Pulls Out of Private Prisons

Profit incentives lose importance when the public interest of safety and rehabilitation is at risk.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank, just announced they will stop financing private prisons and immigrant detention centers. Grassroots activists are lauding these actions as the success they've been working years to achieve.

"This announcement is a huge victory in the fight towards ending mass incarceration and detention of Black and brown people across the United States," said the Daily KOS.

Is Trump Above the Law?

It is a long shot that the Democrats will win a majority in the Senate in 2020.

(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) - Although the Supreme Court in Clinton v. Jones ruled a sitting president is not above the law, I'm not so sure this is true in fact in the case of President Donald Trump.

Normally the U.S. Constitution’s checks and balances would rein in a rogue president like Trump. But presently we have a U.S. Senate controlled by Trump-enabling Republicans and a Supreme Court packed by a Republican-controlled Senate.

Former President of Oregon Foster Care Agency Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison

Mary Ayala Holden, via Give Us This Day, took in thousands of kids through the past 15 years.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - After eight days of trial, Ayala was convicted by a federal jury in Portland on five counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property and seven counts of filing a false federal tax return.

Mary Holden Ayala was sentenced June 21st to 33 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for stealing over $1 million from an Oregon foster care agency, and other crimes.

Is Interest on HELOCs and Home Equity Loans Tax Deductible?

Tap into your home equity lenders advice on the topic as well.

(SALEM, Ore.) - For homeowners who decide to borrow against the equity in their homes, either via a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or a home equity loan, it is possible to sometimes deduct the insurance expense on a federal tax return.

The laws have recently changed due to the legislation called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In most cases, it's now harder to deduct loan interest than it used to be.

Trump Continues his Anti-Immigrant Politics

Trump opposes asylum-seekers, even those running from deadly situations.

(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) - At the eleventh hour, Trump suspended the tariffs saying that Mexico had agreed to new and broader concessions to curb migration, which included deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border, and an expansion of a program to allow asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while their legal cases proceed.

In the announcement of the tariff suspension, Trump failed to disclose that Mexico had already agreed to these “new and broader” concessions last December.

ZIP Code: Amazing Facts That May Surprise You

With the help of only five (or nine) symbols the post office is able to find the destination fast and easy.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Do you often send letters? If not, then it's very possible you have wondered about that strange set of numbers at the end of the mailing address. Some people are sure that those numbers aren't important and omit the ZIP code. In a couple of days, they get their mail back.

So, why is the ZIP code an essential part of postal service? What does it actually mean? Let’s get acquainted with these seemingly erroneous numbers.

On the Virginia Beach Mass Shooting

Ignoring the gun violence problem is only making it worse.

(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) - I am saddened at the killing of 12 people in Virginia Beach by a disgruntled government employee who later died after a shootout with police.

“It’s not just mass shootings,” said U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), adding that each day in America gun violence occurs “on sidewalks and playgrounds and people’s backyards.

"It’s happening family by family across the country. And it doesn’t get the same headlines. And that is wrong.”

Texas Man Sentenced to 9 Years for Oregon Pill Mill

Pill mill clinic manager will go to Federal Prison for illegal opioid distribution

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Idumwonyi and DeMille split the clinic’s cash proceeds. In a typical day at the clinic, DeMille saw up to 20 patients, charging each $200 in cash. In 2015, the clinic generated at least $388,000 in revenue.

DeMille's prescriptions resulted in the distribution of more than 219,000 pills, 96.7% of which were opioids.

National Animal Rights Day

Each state has enacted laws to punish those who engage in cruelty to animals.

(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) - The 9th National Animal Rights Day was celebrated on Sunday June 2, 2019. Let’s salute our non-human friends and companions.

Anyone whose family includes a pet knows that animals think and feel. In fact, a number of scientific studies has shown that animals are far closer to us than recently believed. The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness in Human and Nonhuman Animals, signed by a group of leading animal researchers, asserts that mammals, birds and other creatures posses consciousness and, in all likelihood, emotions and self-awareness.