A day after considering cutting taxes to promote economic growth, President Donald Trump changed course and said he would abandon the idea because the nation already had "a strong economy."
Trump's flip-flop on Wednesday came after recent market volatility and economic uncertainty, and amid a debate about whether the United States was heading for a slowdown that would imperil his reelection chances.
Trump earlier this week acknowledged, for the first time, that his China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans, though he insisted the tariffs are needed for more important long-term benefits.
But his consideration of cutting payroll taxes appeared short-lived.
"I'm not looking at a tax cut now," he told reporters at the White House.
"We don't need it. We have a strong economy."
Trump also knocked down the idea of indexing to the capital gains tax, which applies when investors sell assets, to inflation.
He said he feared "it will be perceived, if I do it, as somewhat ...

Trump flip-flops on tax cuts, saying US has 'strong economy'

PTI Automatic

If Lionel Messi listens to Real Betis and sits out another match, Barcelona will likely have to rely on Antoine Griezmann to finally get some points on the board.
Betis, which visits the Camp Nou on Sunday, responded to a tweet by Barcelona that Messi was back to practicing with the team for the first time since being injured in the preseason by saying: "Don't rush, Leo. No need for you to force it!" Barcelona couldn't make up for Messi's absence last weekend when its attack was held scoreless in a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao.
That was the first time the two-time defending champions had lost a Spanish league opener in a decade. And after both Real Madrid and Atltico Madrid won, the pressure is on.
Barcelona acquired Griezmann after triggering the 120 million euro ($133 million) buyout clause in his contract with rival Atltico. The France forward was supposed to be the fourth piece to an already world class attack featuring Messi, Luis Surez and Ousmane Dembele. But Griezmann may be ...

Griezmann could be the key for Barcelona against Betis

England won the toss and chose to bowl first under cloudy skies in the third Ashes test against Australia at Headingley on Thursday.
The toss was held back for 35 minutes because of some drizzle in the morning, and more rain has delayed the start of play.
England, trailing 1-0 in the five-match series, was unchanged but tinkered with its batting lineup by playing Ben Stokes at No. 5, lifting wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to No. 6 and dropping Jos Buttler to No. 7.
Australia recalled opener Marcus Harris and paceman James Pattinson in place of Cameron Bancroft and Peter Siddle. Marnus Labuschagne came in for Steve Smith, who was diagnosed with delayed-onset concussion after being hit in the neck by a delivery from Jofra Archer during the second test at Lord's.
Lineups:
England: Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root (captain), Joe Denly, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach.
Australia: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Marnus ...

England wins toss, bowls 1st in 3rd Ashes test

A Polish minister says rescuers have found the body of a celebrity businessman who went missing after falling from his motorboat into a lake.
Piotr Wozniak-Starak, 39, who produced some of Poland's most popular movies, hadn't been seen since late Saturday. A search began early Sunday after his empty motorboat was spotted floating on the Kisajno Lake, in northeastern Poland.
Deputy Interior Minister Jaroslaw Zielinski tweeted Thursday to say "Everything indicates that the body of Piotr Wozniak-Starak has been found." He extended condolences to the family.
The US-educated Wozniak-Starak and his wife, a television journalist, have been a flamboyant couple regularly featured in the country's tabloids.
His stepfather, Jerzy Starak, is among Poland's richest men, with business chiefly in pharmaceuticals.

Polish minister: Body of missing wealthy film producer found

A senior Chinese officer says the country "will not sit idly by" if the US proceeds with a sale of advanced F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, and warned of other potential countermeasures in addition to punishing foreign firms involved in the deal.
Col. Chen Rongdi, chief of the Institute of War Studies at the Academy of Military Sciences, said at a defense forum Thursday that Beijing considered the sale a violation of previous US commitments to China regarding the island it considers its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
He did not elaborate on what additional measures China might take.
Beijing has repeatedly said it will levy sanctions against US companies linked to a planned USD 8 billion sale and demanded Washington cancel it immediately.

China 'will not sit idly by' over US arms sale to Taiwan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and key Cabinet ministers are meeting their Dutch counterparts Thursday to discuss ways of tackling climate change together.
The meeting at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's official residence comes as Germany is set to miss its emissions goals for 2020 by a wide margin, even as Merkel's government acknowledges that it has to further ramp up its ambition by next year as part of its commitment under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
The Dutch ministers will explain how they reached broad consensus in June this year for a wide-ranging raft of measures, from a carbon tax to more bicycle parking at railway stations, to slash the country's emission of carbon by half by 2030.
In a typically Dutch approach, that could appeal to the German government, sectors of industry and society that will have to implement changes sat down together for months to thrash out details of the climate package.
Environmental groups welcomed parts of the Dutch deal, but said it was ...

German, Dutch governments meet to discuss climate change

A former Danish prime minister on Thursday lashed out at US President Donald Trump for his tweet about military spending, saying defense willingness is not just about the amount of money spent.
Lars Loekke Rasmussen's comment is the latest in an escalating spat between the US and Denmark after Trump scrapped a visit to the country, saying current Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was "nasty" when she rejected his idea of buying Greenland as an absurdity.
Loekke Rasmussen, who led the country until June, tweeted Thursday to Trump: "We have had (proportionally) exactly the same numbers of casualties in Afghanistan as US. We always stands firm and ready."
Trump, who has urged NATO members to do more to meet the alliance's goal of committing 2 per cent of gross domestic product to defense, earlier tweeted that "Denmark is only at 1.35%".
"We will not accept that our defence willingness is only about percentages," Loekke Rasmussen tweeted. "I told you at the NATO Summit in Brussels last ...

Danish ex-PM attacks Trump for comments on defence spending

Iran's president struck a muscular tone on dealings with the US, saying Thursday that "talks are useless" as Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers crumbles further.
President Hassan Rouhani made the comment in a speech in Tehran during the unveiling of the Bavar-373, a long-range surface-to-air missile system that he described as an improvement to the Russian S-300.
"Now that our enemies do not accept logic, we cannot respond with logic," Rouhani said in the televised speech.
He added: "When the enemy launches a missile against us, we cannot give a speech and say: 'Mr. Rocket, please do not hit our country and our innocent people. Rocket-launching sir, if you can please hit a button and self-destroy the missile in the air.'"
On Wednesday, Iran's state TV reported that the Bavar-373 is able to recognize up to 100 targets at a same time and confront them with six different weapons.
Since 1992, Iran has developed a homegrown defense industry that has produced light and heavy weapons ...

Iran's president says 'talks are useless' in dealing with US

Tokyo's Paralympics could be the big winner with Olympic tickets hard to find and costly.
The lottery for Paralympic tickets for Japan residents opened on Thursday with 2.3 million available. The lottery closes on Sept. 9. A second lottery will be held early next year.
Olympic tickets are experiencing unprecedented demand in Japan and elsewhere. Demand is at least 10 times over supply for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and probably much more than that.
Paralympic tickets should be more available, and less expensive. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremony are about half the price of Olympic tickets. Some event tickets sell for as low as 900 yen, or about $8.
The Paralympics open on Aug. 25, 2020  one year from Sunday.

Tokyo Paralympic lottery opens with 2.3M tickets available

Having trouble getting tickets for next year's Tokyo Olympics? That's no problem if you have $60,000 to spare.
Tokyo Olympic organizers are offering high-end hospitality packages to Japan residents with prices soaring to 6.35 million yen  about $60,000. This is good for the opening and closing ceremony, nine days of track and field with luxury seating and sumptuous dining. Low-end packages dip down to about $1,500 for one session at a less popular event.
Tokyo is shaping up as a very pricey Olympics.
Ticket demand is unprecedented, so unofficial re-selling likely will flourish. Hotel rates are soaring. And getting here will be costly, particularly for people traveling from the Americas and Europe.
"I don't know if I can afford to go to the Olympics," Brant Feldman, a Los Angeles-based sports agent, told The Associated Press. He's attended seven straight Olympics and represents American and Canadian athletes for AGM Sports.
"For the average family right now to head to the Olympics, ...

Want Tokyo Olympic tickets? No problem if you have $60,000

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who made fighting climate change the central theme of his presidential campaign, announced Wednesday night that he is ending his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
Inslee said that he was confident that Democrats would select a nominee who would champion climate change issues but that it had become clear that he wouldn't be the person selected. Inslee said he was not endorsing anyone but would support whoever is the nominee.
"I believe we're going to have a candidate to fight this battle," he said on MSNBC. "I'm inspired by the people I've met across the country. I'm not going to carry the ball but we're going to make sure somebody is."
Two people close to Inslee told The Associated Press that Inslee planned to announce in an email to supporters Thursday that he would be seeking a third term as governor. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the announcement publicly.
Inslee, 68, became the third Democrat ..

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he's ending presidential bid

A pilot who said Wednesday he was forced to ditch his newly purchased aircraft in the ocean off California during a photo shoot believes bad gasoline caused the plane to malfunction.
Pilot David Lesh said he had siphoned particulate matter out of the gas but doesn't think he got all of it.
"This definitely was more stuff than I was used to seeing," he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said investigators had not yet spoken to Lesh.
The 34-year-old pilot said he had taken his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza propeller plane out Tuesday for an aerial photo shoot over Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, when it lost power.
"I just did everything I could to get the motor going again," he said. "Nothing was working." Lesh said the plane "skipped along the water" for a few hundred feet without much of an impact before he and his passenger, a friend, grabbed anything they could use to float.
A .

Pilot blames bad gas in California small plane crash

Student loan debt held by disabled veterans will be forgiven under an order signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump.
Trump said the order would direct the Department of Education to "eliminate every penny of federal student loan debt" owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled.
"There will be no federal income tax on the forgiven debts," Trump said, saying he'll also ask states to waive their taxes on the loans.
America, he said, owes its heroes "a supreme debt of gratitude."
The administration says just half of the roughly 50,000 disabled veterans who are qualified to have their federal student loan debt forgiven have received the benefit because of a burdensome application process.
Trump issued the order during his address at the AMVETS convention in Louisville and signed it afterward.
The document directs the government to develop an "expedited" process so veterans can have their federal student loan debt discharged "with minimal burdens."
Trump was ...

Trump signs student debt forgiveness for disabled veterans

The World Health Organization says the levels of microplastics in drinking water don't appear to be risky, but that research has been spotty and more is needed into their effects on the environment and health.
Microplastics are created when man-made materials break down into tiny particles smaller than about 5 millimeters, although there is no strict scientific definition.
In a report published Wednesday, the UN health agency said the minuscule plastics are "ubiquitous in the environment" and have been found in drinking water, including both tap and bottled, most likely as the result of treatment and distribution systems.
"But just because we're ingesting them doesn't mean we have a risk to human health," said Bruce Gordon, WHO's coordinator of water, sanitation and hygiene.
"The main conclusion is, I think, if you are a consumer drinking bottled water or tap water, you shouldn't necessarily be concerned." Gordon acknowledged, however, that the available data is "weak" and that more ..

UN: Don't worry about drinking microplastics in water

A Pennsylvania Roman Catholic priest is accused of stealing nearly USD 100,000 from his parish and spending it on a beach house and men he met on dating apps.
The Chester County District Attorney's Office says 56-year-old Monsignor Joseph McLoone was arrested Wednesday for theft from St Joseph's Catholic Church in Downingtown.
Prosecutors allege the priest diverted funds into secret accounts and misappropriated fees charged to parishioners.
They say McLoone used the money for a beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey, as well as spending it on men he was dating.
Prosecutors allege McLoone gave himself a raise by doubling the amount he collected as a stipend for each Mass, wedding and funeral.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says McLoone is on leave and they're cooperating with authorities.
No attorney is listed in court documents.

Priest accused of stealing nearly USD 100K from parish

Officials say all 10 people aboard a jet escaped injury after the aircraft aborted takeoff at a small Northern California airport, went off the runway and burst into flames.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the twin-engine Cessna Citation slid off the end of the runway at Oroville Municipal Airport shortly before noon Wednesday. It went into dry grass and caught fire.  Gregor said it's not clear why the pilot aborted takeoff.
Gregor says the plane was flying from Oroville to Portland International Airport in Oregon. Oroville's fire chief says it was a personally chartered jet and its corporate passengers had stayed overnight in Oroville.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

Jet catches fire in Northern California; 10 aboard unhurt

Spacewalking astronauts added another parking spot to the International Space Station on Wednesday.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan successfully installed a docking port delivered by SpaceX last month. It will be used by SpaceX and Boeing once they start launching astronauts to the orbiting lab late this year or early next year.
The two had to wrestle with old, stiff cables in order to get power and data flowing to the port. They also attached reflectors for navigation.
"Really well done ... You gave us a brand new docking port for our next-generation spacecraft," Mission Control radioed as the 6 -hour spacewalk ended.
This is the station's second docking port for commercial crew capsules. The first was attached three years ago. The newest port was a replacement for one that was destroyed during a SpaceX launch accident in 2015.
Ever since its space shuttles retired in 2011, NASA has been limited to Russian rockets for getting astronauts to the space station. While US ...

Spacewalking astronauts add parking spot to space station

Escalating an international spat, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he scrapped his trip to Denmark because the prime minister made a "nasty" statement when she rejected his idea to buy Greenland as an absurdity.
"You don't talk to the United States that way, at least under me," Trump told reporters in Washington.
"I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the whole thing "an absurd discussion" and said she was "disappointed and surprised" that Trump had cancelled his visit.
Trump said Frederiksen's comment labelling his idea as absurd "was nasty.
I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to say was say, 'No, we wouldn't be interested.'"
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the US ally, and Frederiksen said the US remains one of Denmark's close allies.
The political brouhaha over the world's largest island comes from its strategic location in the Arctic.
Global warming is making Greenland ..

Greenland fallout: Trump scolds Denmark over rejection

A Chinese woman accused of trespassing at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and lying to Secret Service agents is frustrating the federal judge hearing her case as she ignores his questions and leaves him bewildered with her answers.
The woman, 33-year-old Yujing Zhang, is acting as her own attorney and faces up to six years in prison if convicted at her trial set to start in two weeks.
But for the second straight pretrial hearing, US District Judge Roy Altman accused Zhang on Tuesday of feigning ignorance and pleaded with her to work with her public defenders, whom she fired in May without explanation.
He also ruled she will be tried by a jury after she refused to respond to a prosecution suggestion that Altman decide whether she is guilty.
"I know full well that you understand what I am saying to you both in English and in Mandarin," Altman told her, alluding to the translator who whispered to her throughout the 20-minute hearing.
"I know full well you are trying to play ...

AP

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Page 1446 - Ap/pti

Trump flip-flops on tax cuts, saying US has 'strong economy'

Griezmann could be the key for Barcelona against Betis

England wins toss, bowls 1st in 3rd Ashes test

Polish minister: Body of missing wealthy film producer found

China 'will not sit idly by' over US arms sale to Taiwan

German, Dutch governments meet to discuss climate change

Danish ex-PM attacks Trump for comments on defence spending

Iran's president says 'talks are useless' in dealing with US

Tokyo Paralympic lottery opens with 2.3M tickets available

Want Tokyo Olympic tickets? No problem if you have $60,000

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he's ending presidential bid

Pilot blames bad gas in California small plane crash

Trump signs student debt forgiveness for disabled veterans

UN: Don't worry about drinking microplastics in water

Trump signs student debt forgiveness for disabled veterans

Trump signs student debt forgiveness for disabled veterans

Priest accused of stealing nearly USD 100K from parish

Jet catches fire in Northern California; 10 aboard unhurt

Spacewalking astronauts add parking spot to space station

Greenland fallout: Trump scolds Denmark over rejection