Showing posts with label Panama Papers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Panama Papers. Show all posts

Monday, April 4, 2016

Your Monday Briefing: Panama Papers, Amtrak, Kansas City Royals


How to hide a billion dollars | The Panama Papers
Photo The authorities on the Greek island of Lesbos began deporting refugees to Turkey this morning. Credit Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

(Want to get this briefing by email? Heres the sign-up.)

Good morning.

Heres what you need to know:

Busy April for campaigns.

The primary season kicks back into gear this week with voting on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where Senators Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders are positioned to win. This is the first of several important contests this month.

Some of Mr. Sanderss allies and advisers say the campaign missed an opportunity last year to present a bigger challenge to the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

Donald J. Trumps general election prospects look grim, possibly putting reliably Republican states in play, our review of recent polls suggests.

{{= c_phrase }}

The Panama Papers.

Millions of leaked documents tied to a Latin American law firm were published on Sunday and are said to shed light on the hidden funds of several current and former world leaders.

The revelations come as a Chinese billionaires vow to build a canal connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific in Nicaragua is shrouded in mystery.

Supreme Court fight.

The prospects for Judge Merrick B. Garland to receive a confirmation hearing took a hit as two Republican senators reversed their positions and now back a plan not to hold hearings.

But the White House is optimistic that its strategy of ignoring Republican opposition to President Obamas nominee will work.

The justices ruled unanimously today that states may count all residents, not just eligible voters, when drawing election districts, a move that mostly benefits Democrats.

A subways midlife crisis.

Washingtons Metro, once a shining example of mass transit for the country, is 40 years old, short on funds and a terrible mess.

The systems problems add to concerns of Americas aging rail infrastructure. On Sunday, two workers were killed when an Amtrak train struck a backhoe on the tracks near Philadelphia.

Deporting Europes migrants.

Greece began sending hundreds of migrants and refugees to Turkey today as part of a divisive new European Union plan to limit migration.

An Arctic route used by some migrants is leading to suspicion in the West that Russia is exploiting the crisis for political gain.

Sweetening a tough political sell.

Attempts to tax sugary drinks have been unpopular across the U.S., but Philadelphias mayor is proposing one that would be the highest in the country.

His pitch to voters isnt pegged to combating obesity. Instead, hes promising to use the extra revenue to fund popular city projects.

Drug wars and laws.

As cheap heroin has led to a surge in overdose deaths, addiction and gang violence nationwide, we look at a city where the epidemic is particularly acute: St. Louis.

And last week, a model inmate serving a life term for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense had his sentence commuted by President Obama. He told our reporter about his reaction to the news.

Business

An effort by students to have President Woodrow Wilsons name removed from Princeton Universitys buildings because of his support for racial segregation has fallen short.

A disgraced Brazilian senators accounts of colossal bribes, back-room oil deals and cover-ups offer a rare glimpse into the countrys wide-ranging corruption scandal.

The push for driverless cars is getting a boost in China, where conditions for the technology may be more favorable than in the U.S.

Rent or buy? Our latest take on the vexing question.

Here are snapshots of the U.S. and global markets.

Over the Weekend

High winds and stormy weather left more than 250,000 homes in 14 states across the Midwest and East Coast without power.

The baseball season has started and is looking a lot like how last season ended, as the reigning World Series champion Royals beat the Mets.

Caitlyn Jenner will appear on the next season of Transparent, the hit shows creator said.

In memoriam: The jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri and the counterculture celebrity Coca Crystal.

Catching up on TV: Episode recaps for Billions and the season finale of The Walking Dead.

Noteworthy

The last dances.

College basketballs national championship matchups are set. Villanova plays North Carolina tonight for the mens title (9 p.m. Eastern, TBS). On the womens side, Syracuse faces Connecticut tomorrow night.

Life help.

Want to be happier or start a running regimen? We round up research that may point the way.

Our recipes of the day.

Keep it simple and healthy tonight with roasted fish. Maybe pair it with a seaweed salad to make a fine meal, with thin slices of carrot, radish, cucumber and daikon.

Back Story

A new space shuttle launched over the Atlantic, just eight hundredths of a second behind schedule, flying 70 miles downrange before it vanished from sight in its climb to space. Four people were aboard.

Photo The space shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Station on this day in 1983. Credit Associated Press

The sky over launching pad 39-A, where the Times correspondent John Noble Wilford noted the salt air of the sea mingles with the fragrance of orange blossoms, was a clear blue. Challenger was the second member of NASAs shuttle fleet, and its first flight on this day in 1983 was the shuttle programs sixth.

Its carrying capacity was larger than that of its sister ship Columbia, thanks in part to increasingly light, inexpensive and streamlined construction in the design of bridges and buildings, The Times noted.

Its main cargo was a satellite that would eventually help replace a patchy ground-based network for tracking spacecraft.

Less than three years later, Challenger exploded during its tenth liftoff. Now its almost impossible to think of the space shuttle without the word disaster coming to mind.

But on April 4, 1983, Challenger logged a quiet, almost mundane triumph. The consensus up here, the mission commander said from orbit over Africa, is that we heartily recommend this for everybody.

Michael Owen contributed reporting.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning.

What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com.

You can sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox.

Continue reading the main story

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/nytnow/your-monday-briefing-panama-papers-amtrak-kansas-city-royals.html

Continue Reading ..