GOP nears Senate OK of tax bill after flurry of final dealsabout 1 hour ago

Republicans used a burst of eleventh-hour horse-trading Friday to edge to the brink of Senate passage of a $1.4 trillion tax bill, as a party starved all year for a major legislative triumph took a giant step toward giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. "We have the votes," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared after leaders swayed holdout senators by agreeing to fatten tax breaks for millions of businesses and let people deduct much of their local property taxes.

Jim Booth dancing with the Duchess of Cornwall in 2015

Day veteran seriously injured in a claw hammer attack has left hospital to continue his rehabilitation at home, his family said. Jim Booth, 96, described as an "exceptional person", was left in a life-threatening condition following the incident on November 22. He suffered serious injuries to his head and body after being attacked at his home on Gipsy Lane in Taunton, Somerset.

Donald Trump Draws Pathetically Small Audience At The National Christmas Tree Lighting

For a man who is so obsessed with size, tonight's pathetically tiny showing at the Washington, DC Christmas Tree Lighting has got to really sting. After all, Donald Trump promises that we can finally say "Merry Christmas" again...which would imply that we haven't been saying it, forever.

U.S. stocks gain on tax outlook as treasuries drop

Santa Claus visited the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in Nov. 2015, before the opening bell. Stocks have already exceeded most expectations in 2017, and it looks like Santa Claus will drop by to give investors another gift before the year comes to a close.

Senate tax drama intensifies as bill faces key panel vote

President Donald Trump's drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code headed toward a new drama on Tuesday in the Senate, where a pair of Republican lawmakers demanded changes to the party's tax bill in exchange for their help in moving the measure forward. Trump was due to lobby Republicans at their weekly policy luncheon in the U.S. Capitol, with the Senate poised for a possible vote on tax legislation as early as Thursday.

Latest: Paschal Donohoe says election is not wanted

Update 12pm: Negotiations between the Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin are likely to intensify before tomorrow's no confidence vote, the Finance Minister has said. Speaking at a housing development in Dublin this morning Paschal Donohoe said Leo Varadkar "will also be looking at any options that are open to him to avoid an election that nobody wans."

GOP sidesteps shutdown attempts in push to pass unfinished reform plans

President Donald Trump and his congressional leaders plan a meeting Tuesday to discuss how to avoid a shutdown and work through their legislative to-do list before a Christmas deadline. President Donald Trump and his congressional leaders plan a meeting Tuesday to discuss how to avoid a shutdown and work through their legislative to-do list before a Christmas deadline.

Congress coming back to crush of business in a fraught time

The crush of unfinished business facing lawmakers when they return to the Capitol would be daunting even if Washington were functioning at peak efficiency. It's an agenda whose core items - tax cuts, a potential government shutdown, lots of leftover spending bills - could unravel just as easily as advance in factionalism, gamesmanship and a toxic political environment.

Melania Trump, son Barron receive White House Christmas tree

Melania Trump and son Barron joined in a time-honored tradition of receiving the official White House Christmas tree, which will become the showstopper for a president who has vowed to put Christmas back at the center of the winter holidays. A military quartet played holiday tunes Monday as a horse-drawn wagon carried the 19 1/2-foot Balsam fir from Wisconsin up the White House driveway.

Trump promises Americans ‘huge tax cut’ for Christmas

President Donald Trump on Monday promised a tax overhaul by Christmas, even as a nonpartisan tax analysis group said the Senate package would leave half of taxpayers facing higher levies by 2027. Speaking before a Cabinet meeting, Trump said, "We're going to give the American people a huge tax cut for Christmas - hopefully that will be a great, big, beautiful Christmas present."

Tax bills remain at odds

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, joined by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member, and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., offers his manager's amendment as the GOP tax bill debate enters the final stage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House's tax-writing committee said Sunday that he's confident that chamber won't go along with the Senate's proposal to eliminate the deduction for property taxes, setting up a major flash point as Republicans aim to put a tax cut bill on President Donald Trump's desk before Christmas.

Clinton advisor: Hillary had a plan to ‘help support the European project’

EXCLUSIVE / Julianne Smith was the head of Hillary Clinton's Europe team during last year's presidential campaign. In an interview with EURACTIV.com, she said Hillary had a dedicated team and a detailed strategy for Europe ready to start from day one in the White House.

Firing the ‘diversity’ bullet at the Marines

Dying in foreign lands in the service of a nation that enshrines freedom of religion in its Constitution doesn't cut any mustard with the irreligious Left. Alarmed by the presence of a crche complete with three Wise Men last Christmas on the grounds of the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, the American Civil Liberties Union has joined forces with the oxymoronically-named Military Religious Freedom Foundation to put the camp's commanders in hot water.

I Cannot believe what liberals are planning to do 5 days before the inauguration

On the Friday before Christmas, can you believe the Obama administration abstained from the UN Security Council vote that condemned Israel over "settlements?" We must once again reiterate that term is used to delegitimize Israel's right to build neighborhoods and communities for its people. How can it be that one single nation can be so vilified for its existence? And so, ol' Barry Soetoro, as part of his scorched earth policy, has unleashed the hounds of hell by assisting in the creation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and enabling it to pass.

Mad Minute stories for January 4, 2017

Seven-year-old Mackenzie Blankenship loves playing the Nintendo Wii U she got on Christmas Eve from her family, but it's not what she found inside the case on Christmas Day from Santa. Krista Greider, Mackenzie's mother says, "She opened the top and her face just kind of went and she looked and she goes, what is this? and I looked over her shoulder and I grabbed it, saw the picture on it and she was just 'why? what is that? why are they naked?" Greider says instead of the colorful, creative video game -- Mackenzie found Sensual Seductions 2 -- a pornographic film released in 2008.