Four days after an earthquake and tsunami struck Indonesia, more than 1,200 are confirmed dead and nearly 800 are badly injured, according to national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Palu, population 380,000, is the biggest affected city in the region and has been heavily damaged, as seen in photos from DigitalGlobe, a satellite imaging company. Images also show neighboring communities, where many remain trapped, have been swamped by mud and waters.
New York State officials are reviewing allegations of fraud against President Donald Trump and his father Fred made in a bombshell New York Times investigation.
The New York Times report alleges that the Trumps undervalued assets in an attempt to circumnavigate large state and gift tax bills as part of the wealth transfer from Fred to his children, including Donald.
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance told Business Insider that the state is looking into the allegations.
“The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations in the NYT article and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The Internal Revenue Service, which collects federal taxes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For example, The New York Times detailed an instance in which the Trump family claimed on a tax return that the Park Briar development in the Queens borough of New York City was worth just $2.9 million while executing the will of Donald’s brother Fred Jr. But, just 18 days before the Times said, the Trump family valued the same development at $17.1 million.
By lowering the value in the development, the Trumps could then avoid a larger tax bill from the IRS, The Times said.
The report also detailed Fred Trump’s complex series of trusts and shell companies that allowed the Trump children — in particular Donald — to inherit millions of dollars with minimal tax liabilities.
Carlos Ezquerra, the comics artist best known for co-creating the character Judge Dredd for the British sci-fi title 2000 AD, has died at age 70.
Ezquerra’s death was confirmed in a post on the 2000 AD website Monday. “It is difficult to put this into words, but we have lost someone who was the heart and soul of 2000 AD,” a statement from the publication’s staff said. “It is no exaggeration to call Carlos Ezquerra one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and his name deserves to be uttered alongside Kirby, Ditko, Miller, Moebius, and Eisner.”
Ezquerra revealed that he had lung cancer in 2010, and the cancer returned earlier this year.
A native of Zaragoza, Spain, Ezquerra broke into the U.K. comics scene in the mid-1970s with his work for Battle Picture Weekly, drawing the World War II-set strips Rat Pack and Major Eazy. He was instrumental in the early success of 2000 AD, which launched in 1977. Ezquerra was not only responsible for the iconic design for Judge Dredd, a series about a fascistic future-lawman, but also co-created Strontium Dog, which concerned the adventures of the mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha and became hugely popular with 2000 AD readers after the strip’s original home, the comic Starlord, merged with the title.
Those paying tribute to Ezquerra in the wake of his death include actor Karl Urban, who played the title role in the 2012 film Dredd, and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright.
“My thoughts and prayers go out [to] the family of legendary artist and Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra,” Urban wrote on Twitter. “His exemplary work served as inspiration for me and countless other filmmakers and artists worldwide.”
“A fond farewell to the great Carlos Ezquerra, one of my favourite artists & comic book creators growing up,” wrote Wright. “A creative genius with an inimitable style of drawing (though me & my brother tried). For so many great visions of the future, especially Strontium Dog, I thank you Carlos.”
There aren’t many communities more divisive than fandoms. Whether it’s Marvel superhero ships or Harry Styles songs, they LOVE to rank things. So perhaps it’s fitting that an old comedy sketch has resurfaced to become the most relatable, and most controversial, meme.
In the original Key & Peele sketch from 2014, Jordan Peele plays Barack Obama. He walks around cordially shaking hands with white audience members and warmly greeting every black bystander like family. Peele politely turns down a white woman’s hug with a firm handshake, then comfortably beckons a black trio into a group hug with, “Bring it in, bring it in!”
He hesitates at Keegan-Michael Key, but affectionately pulls him into a hug when he finds he’s one-eighth black.
Putting a 2018 twist on the sketch, Twitter user @matte_black edited the video so that each character was a Marvel movie.
Iron Man 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 deserve handshakes, but Spider-Man: Homecoming? All the hugs.
Speaking of Harry Styles songs, when the heck will we get a studio version of “Medicine?” You can’t add that one YouTube recording to Spotify playlists!
People ranked Jay-Z and Kanye albums, and fans were pretty divided. “808s & Heartbreak” deserves better than this!
We can all agree that Zuko had one of the best character developments of all time, but where is the cabbage man?
The meme has been used to rank everything from anime to video games.
A version that ranks memes is totally wrong about our beloved Johny Johny Yes Papa, but we’ll let it slide because Walmart Yodel Boy was definitely overrated.
One take on the meme gets a little too real when it comes to dealing with mental health issues. Sure, eating a balanced meal and building healthy habits is great and all, but nothing is as fun as venting on social media!
US First Lady Melania Trump has kicked off her first big solo international trip with a wave, a smile and a baby in her arms, aiming to promote child welfare during a five-day tour of Africa.
She arrived in the West African nation of Ghana on Tuesday after an overnight flight from Washington and quickly made her way to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The first lady saw how babies are weighed – they’re placed in sacks that are then hung from a hook attached to a scale.
She also watched a nurse demonstrate how vitamins are administered to babies by mouth and toured the neonatal intensive care unit.
Melania Trump also cradled an infant and declared the baby a “beautiful boy” as she handed him back to his mother.
Mothers at the hospital for her visit received gifts of teddy bears nestled in white baby blankets, personally handed out by the first lady, according to her spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham.
The items carried the logo of “Be Best,” the child well-being initiative Melania Trump launched last May.
Melania Trump is greeted by Ghana’s first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo in Accra [Francis Kokoroko/Reuters]
‘Warm and gentle’
The first lady did not make a speech but those who met her said afterwards that unlike her mysterious public image she was “warm” and “gentle” in the flesh.
“She’s very friendly, easy-going and interactive,” said Rabiu Fauziya, a 28-year-old paediatric nurse who helped show Trump the neonatal room in the hospital.
The first lady also had a private tea with her Ghanaian counterpart, Rebecca Akufo-Addo. They exchanged gifts.
The women met for the first time at the UN General Assembly last month at which President Trump railed against globalism, earning him stern rebukes from world leaders.
She has typically stayed out of the spotlight since her husband became president yet she has made headlines for rare public appearances.
In June, she made a surprise visit to Texas to visit detained children at the Mexican border, wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don’t care. Do U?”
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NFL indefinitely suspends Seahawks LB Mychal Kendricks in insider trading case
Mychal Kendricks pleaded guilty to insider trading on Sept. 6 but still played in three games for the Seattle Seahawks.
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Mychal Kendricks’ run with the Seattle Seahawks might be brief.
The NFL on Tuesday indefinitely suspended the linebacker for violating the league’s personal conduct policy in the wake of his guilty plea to insider trading.
Kendricks signed with the Seahawks on Sept. 14 despite his prior guilty plea eight days earlier. He played in three games, recording 13 tackles and two sacks.
Federal prosecutors said that in 2014, Kendricks made approximately $1.2 million in profit after receiving non-public information from Damilare Sonoiki, who was then an employee at Goldman Sachs. Kendricks played for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time of the alleged illegal tips, for which prosecutors say the linebacker gave $10,000 in cash as well as tickets to games.
After the charges were announced, Kendricks was subsequently released by the Cleveland Browns, whom he signed a one-year deal with in June.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24.
“We had done a lot of homework on it,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters after the signing. “It happened four and a half years ago, so it’s a story that’s been worked on for a long time. There’s a lot of good information. We’ve come to learn who he is and what he’s all about and how remorseful he was and how he admitted to his mistake a long time ago.”
Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.
Bill Cosby’s legal team is readying a long-shot bid to get his sexual assault conviction overturned. They’re also fighting civil lawsuits filed by some accusers that threaten to drain his vast fortune. (Sept. 27) AP
Convicted sex assailant Bill Cosby has spent one week in a Pennsylvania prison as of Tuesday, and so far, according to his spokesman and a prison spokeswoman: He is in “good spirits” and feels safe with prison trustees to guide him around. He’s not been attacked or in a fight; he talks daily by phone to his wife Camille; and he’s pleased the prison staff has treated him “respectfully.”
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on Cosby’s vow to appeal his three-to-10 years sentence and his April conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent sexual assault.
His defense lawyer, Joseph Green, declined to comment to USA TODAY on when he plans to file pleadings or what arguments he might make. “We’ll let our pleading speak for itself,” he said.
But Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s fiery publicist who accused prosecutors, accusers and their lawyers of conducting “the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States,” says Cosby, 81, and legally blind, is coping well in SCI Phoenix, a new state prison outside Philadelphia.
“Don’t believe the tabloids,” Wyatt scoffed to USA TODAY. “They said someone threw a banana at him, that he was in a gang fight. The tabloid reports are false, asinine and ridiculous.”
Amy Worden, a spokeswoman Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, said the staff at the prison report Cosby has been in “good spirits.”
“His attitude is great; Mr. Cosby is a very strong human being,” Wyatt said. “He had prepared himself for this moment.”
Worden said Cosby is not yet in the general prison population but integration remains a “long term goal” for Inmate No. NN7687.
“They’re not putting him in (anytime) time soon, because he can’t see who is coming towards him, he can’t see objects or persons or even colors,” Wyatt said.
In the meantime, other prisoners, known as “trustees,” have been assigned to help guide him around some areas of the facility, such as the library or the yard, Wyatt and Worden said.
“There are several inmate staff assigned to assist Mr. Cosby for several hours a day,” Worden said. “This is standard procedure for any elderly or infirm inmate who needs assistance getting around.”
Wyatt said Cosby is pleased that he’s been treated well by prison staff. “He said they’re not being mean to him or anything, they’ve treated him with respect, everyone has been respectful,” Wyatt said. “He feels safe.”
He can’t yet receive visitors – that could begin in a few weeks once potential visitors have been vetted, Wyatt said – but he takes daily calls from his wife of 54 years; he and Camille talk mostly about how he’s doing and how she’s doing, Wyatt said.
She and their three surviving daughters also are coping well, Wyatt said. Even before the sentencing, Cosby’s wife attacked the judge and prosecutors, accusing Judge Steven O’Neill of being biased and unethical during the trial and asserting that District Attorney Kevin Steele played a doctored audio tape for the jury.
“Her attitude is great, she feels exactly the same as Mr. Cosby,” Wyatt said. Camille Cosby is leading the Cosby effort to get the state judicial conduct board to investigate O’Neill for alleged bias during the trial.
After Cosby was sentenced by O’Neill on Sept. 25, Wyatt said Cosby would appeal his sentence for conviction for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004.
According to Pennsylvania law, a defendant who seeks to appeal his sentence via a motion must file a motion no later than 10 days after sentencing, which would be Friday. If such a motion is not filed in time, the defendant’s notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of sentencing.
After he was sentenced, Cosby was immediately taken into custody and driven in handcuffs to a county jail facility. From there he was taken to SCI Phoenix where he was assessed for his physical, medical and security needs.
Green argued at sentencing that those needs were reasons to allow Cosby to remain on house arrest while he appeals, but O’Neill refused, saying it was time for Cosby to face “justice.”
Legal experts have said Cosby faces long odds of winning on appeal, and Steele has said he is confident Cosby’s conviction will stand.
Appellate courts don’t retry cases; they look at the trial record to see if legal errors were made. But they give trial judges broad discretion to make decisions affecting how a case is tried, and they overturn only a fraction of convictions.
Cosby’s lawyers would have to demonstrate that O’Neill made serious errors that violated his constitutional right to a fair trial.
One of the key issues Cosby is expected to raise on appeal is O’Neill’s unexplained change of mind in allowing five other women to testify against Cosby at his second trial about uncharged crimes they said he committed against them. He allowed only one such other accuser to testify at the first trial, which ended in a mistrial in June 2017.
State law permits such testimony if it is aimed at showing a larger pattern of “prior bad acts,” and as long as the probative value of the testimony outweighs its prejudicial effect on the defense.
During the second trial, Cosby’s lawyers criticized the other accusers’ testimony as excessive and prejudicial, and twice demanded a mistrial over some of the things they said on the stand. O’Neill refused.
The New York Times reported in an extensive investigation published Tuesday that President Donald Trump engaged in what it described as “dubious tax schemes” in the 1990s that even included “instances of outright fraud” that enhanced the fortune his parents — mainly his father, Fred — passed on to him.
What The Times reported runs counter to Trump’s personal narrative, which he has repeated for decades: that he is a self-made billionaire who built his own empire.
While The Times was not able to review Trump’s personal tax returns — which he has refused to release, breaking with decades of precedent for presidential nominees — it examined “trove of confidential tax returns and financial records.” They revealed Trump received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from when he was a small child through the present day.
The Times reported that this money was passed on to Trump because he assisted his parents in dodging taxes, setting up a sham corporation and helping his father take millions in improper tax deductions.
The Internal Revenue Service apparently did not offer much “resistance” to the schemes, The Times wrote.
In total, The Times reported that the president’s parents transferred more than $1 billion in wealth to their kids, an amount that could’ve produced as much as $550 million in tax revenue. Instead, the Trumps paid just north of $50 million in taxes.
Charles Harder, an attorney for the president, told The Times in a statement that the report is “100% false and highly defamatory.”
Trump’s brother, Robert Trump, also issued a statement to The Times.
“All appropriate gift and estate tax returns were filed, and the required taxes were paid” following their parents’ deaths, Robert wrote. “Our father’s estate was closed in 2001 by both the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State tax authorities, and our mother’s estate was closed in 2004.”
Harder, the White House, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Here’s are the key points from The Times report:
Tax experts told The Times it’s unlikely these findings open Donald Trump up to criminal prosecution, because the actions happened too long ago.
He could still face civil fines, however.
The Times reviewed more than 100,000 pages of documents.
By the time he was 3 years old, Donald Trump was earning $200,000 per year in today’s dollars. By the time he was 8 years old, he was a millionaire.
Soon after graduating college, Trump was earning the equivalent in today’s dollars of $1 million annually from his father.
That increased to more than $5 million annually when Donald Trump was in his 40s and 50s.
Trump’s father gave millions to his kids in a way that was structured to sidestep gift and inheritance taxes. Experts told The Times the methods were suspect, possibly even illegal.
When Donald Trump and his siblings gained ownership of their father’s real estate empire in 1997, they dodged hundreds of millions in taxes by undervaluing the properties.
They then sold off the properties for 16 times the amount they were listed at, which was just north of $41 million.
The Trump family in 1992 formed what The Times described as “the most overt fraud,” a company called All County Building Supply and Maintenance.
Its purpose was to be a purchasing agent for their father’s buildings. It did not function in that manner, the Times said.
The company instead was used to siphon millions from the elder Trump’s empire by marking up purchases that were already made.
The Times found 295 revenue streams Fred Trump created to enrich his sons over five decades.
In 2004, the Trumps sold off their father’s empire. The future president made $177.3 million off the sale.
By 1990, Fred Trump had transferred today’s equivalent of $46.2 million to Donald Trump.
Had Donald Trump done nothing but invest all the money Fred Trump gave him into an index fund tracking the S&P 500, he would be worth $1.96 billion today.
Trump said his father only gave him a $1 million loan, but he actually lent him at least $60.7 million, The Times found. That is $140 million in today’s dollars.
Watch the full episode of Couch Surfing streaming now on PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite device.
At the beginning of our careers, we’re all uncertain about what we’re doing. There’s a reason “fake it ’till you make it” is a popular catchphrase.
For actor Michael Rapaport, one of his earliest professional acting gigs guest starring on Murphy Brown was a situation rife with uncertainty. “I had no idea what I was doing when I was doing this show, like I had never done a sitcom, the audience laughing threw me off,” he told Lola Ogunnaike while sitting down for a session of PeopleTV’s Couch Surfing.
It didn’t help matters that he didn’t get a lot of preparation. “They don’t explain it to you — you just get cast and you’re there, like the laughing in the audience and all that stuff. That was wild,” he remembered. “That was the third job I ever got, but it was the first sitcom guest star, not even guest star, guest spot.”
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Rapaport admits that though he’s not a viewer of the show, he was aware of its reach. “I wasn’t really a fan of the show,” he said. “I was aware of the show because it was such a big hit.”
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