INTERNACIONAL
GOP push to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, say going back would be a ‘dramatic’ change for many
Tax season is done.
And this year, Congressional Republicans converted tax season to «sales» season. Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to approve a bill to reauthorize his 2017 tax cut package. Otherwise, those taxes expire later this year.
«We absolutely have to make the tax cuts permanent,» said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., on FOX Business.
«We’ve got to get the renewal of the President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’s absolutely essential,» said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on FOX Business.
Rates for nearly every American spike if Congress doesn’t act within the next few months.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with the media after the House passed the budget resolution on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«We are trying to avoid tax increases on the most vulnerable populations in our country,» said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which determines tax policy. «I am trying to avoid a recession.»
If Congress stumbles, the non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that a married couple with two children – earning $165,000 a year – is slapped with an extra $2,400 in taxes. A single parent with no kids making $75,000 annually could see a $1,700 upcharge on their tax bill. A single parent with two children bringing home $52,000 a year gets slapped with an additional $1,400 in taxes a year.
«Pretty significant. That’s an extra mortgage payment or extra rent payment,» said Daniel Bunn of the non-partisan Tax Foundation. «People have been kind of used to living with the policies that are currently in law for almost eight years now. And the shift back to the policy that was prior to the 2017 tax cuts would be a dramatic tax increase for many.»
But technically, Republicans aren’t cutting taxes.
«As simple as I can make this bill. It is about keeping tax rates the same,» said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, on Fox.
Congress had to write the 2017 tax reduction bill in a way so that the reductions would expire this year. That was for accounting purposes. Congress didn’t have to count the tax cuts against the deficit thanks to some tricky number-crunching mechanisms – so long as they expired within a multi-year window. But the consequence was that taxes could climb if lawmakers failed to renew the old reductions.
«It sunsets and so you just automatically go back to the tax levels prior to 2017,» said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
A recent Fox News poll found that 45% of those surveyed – and 44% of independents believe the rich don’t pay enough taxes.
Democrats hope to turn outrage about the perceived tax disparity against Trump.
«He wants his billionaire buddies to get an even bigger tax break. Is that disgraceful?» asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a rally in New York.
«Disgrace!» shouted someone in the crowd.
«Disgraceful! Disgraceful!» followed up Schumer.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., (R) speaks alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., (L) to reporters during a news conference on the impacts of the Republican budget proposal at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Some Republicans are now exploring raising rates on the wealthy or corporations. There’s been chatter on Capitol Hill and in the administration about exploring an additional set of tax brackets.
«I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,» said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
«We’re going to see where the President is» on this, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while traveling in Argentina. «Everything is on the table.»
A Treasury spokesperson then clarified Bessent’s remarks.
«What’s off the table is a $4.4 trillion tax increase on the American people,» said the spokesperson. «Additionally, corporate tax cuts will set off a manufacturing boom and rapidly grow the U.S. economy again.»
Top Congressional GOP leaders dismissed the idea.
«I’m not a big fan of doing that,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox. «I mean we’re the Republican party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone.»
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«I don’t support that initiative,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on FOX Business, before adding «everything’s on the table.»
But if you’re President Donald Trump and the GOP, consider the politics of creating a new corporate tax rate or hiking taxes on the well-to-do.
Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is set to begin Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The president has expanded the GOP base. Republicans are no longer the party of the «wealthy.» Manual laborers, shop and storekeepers and small business persons now comprise Trump’s GOP. So maintaining these tax cuts helps with that working-class core. Raising taxes on the wealthy would help Republicans pay for the tax cuts and reduce the hit on the deficit. And it would shield Republicans from the Democrats’ argument that the tax cuts are for the rich.
Congress is now in the middle of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter. GOP lawmakers and staff are working behind the scenes to actually write the bill. No one knows exactly what will be in the bill. Trump promised no taxes on tips for food service workers. There is also talk of no taxes on overtime.
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Republicans from high-tax states like New York and Pennsylvania want to see a reduction of «SALT.» That’s where taxpayers can write off «state and local taxes.» This provision is crucial to secure the support of Republicans like Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. But including the SALT reduction also increases the deficit.
So what will the bill look like?
«Minor adjustments within that are naturally on the table,» said Rounds. «The key though, [is] 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.»
In other words, it’s about the math. Republicans need to develop the right legislative brew which commands just the right amount of votes in both chambers to pass. That could mean including certain provisions – or dumping others. It’s challenging. Especially with the slim House majority.
People attend a press conference and rally in support of fair taxation near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2025. (Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
«There were trade-offs and offsets within that bill that many people are dissatisfied with,» said Bunn of the 2017 bill. «And it’s not clear how the package is going to come together with those various trade-offs.»
Johnson wants the bill complete by Memorial Day. Republicans know this enterprise can’t drag on too late into the year. Taxpayers would see a tax increase – even if it’s temporary – if working out the bill stretches into the fall when the IRS begins to prepare for the next tax season.
It’s also thought that finishing this sooner rather than later would provide some stability to the volatile stock markets. Establishing tax policy for next year would calm anxieties about the nation’s economic outlook.
«The big, beautiful bill,» Trump calls it, adding he wants the legislation done «soon.»
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And that’s why tax season is now sales season. Both to the lawmakers. And to the public.
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A Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge is among several drawing criticism for continuing to order the release of some of the 650 illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in Operation Country Roads.
In one case that drew public attention, Judge Joseph Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia granted the release of Salvadoran national Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos, a decision the man’s attorney told Bloomberg Law «reinforces that immigration enforcement must operate within constitutional limits.»
In his order, Goodwin lashed out at ICE agents’ masks and warrant-free arrests, saying «antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening.»
Goodwin characterized DHS’ behavior as an «assault on the constitutional order [and] what the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent,» according to WVMetroNews, and he permitted habeas corpus, a detained defendant’s ability to challenge his confinement.
ICE and DHS agents make an arrest. (Mostafa Bassim/Getty Images)
In Goodwin’s order releasing Yuri Aroca and Arley Valenzuela, he lambasted their detention after a traffic stop along the West Virginia Turnpike near Pax, West Virginia.
«I am not blind to the practical demands of immigration enforcement, including cooperation between state and federal authorities, but the Constitution presupposed restraint as the default of lawful authority,» he wrote in his ruling.
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., who represents the southern half of the state, did not hold back in her response to the situation.
«If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda,» Miller said.
«Thankfully, he, his family and his home are free from the fear of doxxing and danger coming from the radical leftists — our ICE agents are not as fortunate.»
Miller said masking protects ICE agents from those who want to harm them and keeps their families out of the «crosshairs of the mobs that continue to terrorize our cities.»
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN LARGE PARTS OF TRUMP MASS DETENTION POLICIES FOR MIGRANTS
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V. (Bill Clark)
Operation Country Roads netted hundreds of illegal immigrants from Charles Town in the north to Beckley in the south, and many of the cases fall within the Charleston-based Southern District of West Virginia.
Moore Capito, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, defended the state’s partnership with federal law enforcement in comments to Fox News Digital.
«We in the Southern District of West Virginia have the most committed and cooperative law enforcement partners that you will find,» Capito said.
«Day after day, they are on the front lines working to keep our communities safe. Our officers take precautions to protect themselves and their families from retaliation, the same way members of the judiciary rely on institutional protections every day.»
Capito said his office will continue to support law enforcement while responding to several petitions, adding that the cases involving the now-released individuals are ripe for appeal.
In one of his orders, Goodwin wrote that «no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest,» a statement the White House took particular exception to.
«ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats,» spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
«ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.»
An Obama-appointed judge, Irene Berger, who also recently blunted a key tenet of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s «MAHA» agenda, ordered the similarly reasoned release of a noncitizen big rig driver detained at the Ghent Toll Plaza on the turnpike.
Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., who represents the northern half of the state, including Jefferson County, where local law enforcement collaborated with ICE to quickly remove suspects from the streets, agreed with Miller that judges should understand the dangers faced by agents.
«ICE agents are being doxxed, and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs,» Moore told Fox News Digital.
«We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment.»
FEDERAL JUDGE RELEASES FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF MURDER, SEX CRIMES FROM ICE CUSTODY
Moore called Goodwin’s ruling «shameful» and said it puts ideology above protecting American families.
«I am grateful to the brave ICE agents who are doing their duty to defend America,» he said. Gov. Patrick Morrisey shared the sentiment.
«We stand with President Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we are confident that as these cases move through the justice system, the court will find that the protection and safety of federal agents is constitutional,» Morrisey told Fox News Digital.
«We also stand firmly with ICE. The safety of law enforcement officers is paramount.»
Morrisey said that threats of doxxing, targeted harassment and violence are «very real.»
«There is a clear need to protect those who serve,» he said, disagreeing with the tact from the bench.
«These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law, and we will always stand alongside our fellow officers.»
Some released individuals named President Donald Trump as a defendant, signaling the federal government would be the party to appeal. Others listed West Virginia corrections official Christopher Mason, ICE Director Todd Lyons and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Asked about the cases and what next steps might be, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that concerns over agents’ tactics and masking have been «reaffirmed» through a recent California court case.
«Laws banning federal agents from wearing protective masks are unconstitutional,» the spokesperson said.
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«This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free.»
Fox News Digital reached out to the rest of West Virginia’s delegation — Sens. Jim Justice II and Shelley Moore Capito — for comment.
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INTERNACIONAL
Tras décadas oculto en el Museo de Historia Natural de Chile, identifican una nueva especie de pulpo
Un equipo de científicos chilenos identificó una nueva especie de pulpo de aguas profundas en el Pacífico suroriental. El anuncio, realizado en Santiago de Chile, involucra a académicos del Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad de la Universidad Andrés Bello. El hallazgo responde a la pregunta sobre qué nuevas formas de vida habitan las profundidades del océano en esa región.
La investigación, publicada en la Revista de Ciencias Marinas e Ingeniería, señala que los ejemplares fueron encontrados entre los años 1980 y 2007 y permanecieron sin identificar en colecciones biológicas internacionales y chilenas. La nueva especie pertenece al género Graneledone y recibió el nombre de Graneledone Sellanesi.
El descubrimiento destaca la riqueza oculta de la fauna marina y sugiere la existencia de especies aún no documentadas en la zona.
Los investigadores María Cecilia Pardo y Christian Ibáñez lideraron el trabajo y eligieron el nombre en homenaje a Javier Sellanes, académico de la Universidad Católica del Norte de Chile y referente en la investigación oceánica nacional. Según los investigadores, este hallazgo representa la primera identificación de una nueva especie de Graneledone en 25 años. El género ahora suma once especies reconocidas a nivel mundial, lo que reafirma la importancia del Pacífico suroriental como un reservorio clave de biodiversidad marina.
El avance científico fue posible gracias al análisis de ejemplares conservados en museos de Alemania, Estados Unidos, Nueva Zelanda y Chile. Siete de estos ejemplares, recolectados por el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Santiago, permanecieron décadas sin identificar. Un ejemplar adicional apareció en 2007 durante una captura de bacalao y nunca se clasificó oficialmente. El estudio sistemático de estos especímenes permitió confirmar la existencia de una especie única. El equipo analizó rasgos fenotípicos, como las verrugas que cubren la piel, cuyo número y disposición resultaron determinantes para distinguir al nuevo pulpo de otras especies del género descubierto.
El hallazgo pone en valor el trabajo de los museos y la importancia de revisar ejemplares históricos.
Las colecciones biológicas internacionales y chilenas guardaban ejemplares desde hace décadas. Muchos de estos pulpos permanecieron sin clasificar, esperando una revisión exhaustiva. Los registros más antiguos corresponden a capturas realizadas entre 1980 y 1997 en el sur de Chile. El análisis de los ejemplares observaciones morfológicas detalladas, que permitieron identificar características únicas de la nueva especie.
Además, la colaboración internacional resultó clave para reunir información suficiente y confirmar la singularidad del Graneledone Sellanesi. Según los investigadores, la revisión de especímenes conservados contribuye a esclarecer la diversidad marina del Pacífico suroriental y puede inspirar nuevas investigaciones en la región.
El hallazgo de ejemplares en capturas accidentales, como el caso de 2007 durante una pesca de bacalao, demuestra que la biodiversidad marina aún oculta sorpresas. El trabajo meticuloso de los científicos permitió rescatar información valiosa de especímenes que, de otro modo, habrían permanecido en el anonimato.
La especie presenta rasgos morfológicos únicos, especialmente en la disposición de las verrugas de su piel.
Los investigadores destacan la importancia de los rasgos fenotípicos en la identificación del nuevo pulpo. Las verrugas que cubren la piel varían en número y disposición respecto a otras especies del género. Esta característica se suma a diferencias genéticas que confirman su condición de especie única. Las observaciones morfológicas resultaron determinantes para comprender el valor del hallazgo.
De acuerdo con el estudio de las verrugas y otros rasgos visibles, se pudo concluir que era un ser único en el ecosistema marino. La aparición de una nueva especie de pulpo en el oceáno confirma el potencial inexplorado de la región. El estudio de la especie sienta bases para investigar la evolución y adaptación en ambientes extremos.
La comunidad científica valora el aporte de este descubrimiento para la conservación y el manejo sustentable de los ecosistemas marinos. Los investigadores instan a fortalecer la exploración de aguas profundas y la protección de la biodiversidad en el Pacífico suroriental, una de las regiones más ricas y menos exploradas del planeta.
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As the Trump administration weighs its next move on Iran, one of the most advanced aircraft in the U.S. arsenal has taken up position closer to Tehran.
Eleven U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have arrived at Israel’s Ovda Air Base in the country’s south, Fox News reported, marking the first-ever operational deployment of American combat aircraft to Israel. The move comes amid a broader U.S. military buildup in the region not seen at this scale in years and as concerns grow over Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities.
For American decision-makers, the significance is straightforward: The F-22 changes the military equation.
«The F-22 is indeed the most air-to-air capable fighter in the world; nothing comes close to it in the air-to-air role,» said retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, former deputy chief of staff for operations at U.S. Air Force headquarters. During a May 26 webinar hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), he described its presence as «a very clear deterrent signal» that allows the United States to «negotiate with strength.»
An F-22 Raptor flies in this undated image provided by Lockheed Martin. (Lockheed Martin via Getty Images)
Designed to establish and maintain air superiority, the F-22 can operate in heavily defended airspace and suppress enemy air defenses. In any potential strike scenario against Iran, that capability would be critical. Before bombers or strike aircraft can reach hardened nuclear or missile targets, someone has to clear the skies. That is the F-22’s core mission, former generals explained in the webinar.
Guastella underscored what forward positioning means in practical terms. «The advantage of the large force that’s there is that it can hold almost any target in Iran at risk … if that’s what the president wants to do,» he said.
Retired Lt. Gen. Charles Moore, former deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command, said in the webinar that the deployment is about expanding presidential options rather than signaling a predetermined strike.
TRUMP ISSUES STERN IRAN WARNING AS TEHRAN ANGRILY REACTS TO SPEECH AMID MUTED WORLD REACTION
Two U.S. F-22 Raptor fighters fly over European airspace during a flight to Britain from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania April 25, 2016. (Reuters)
«There is a lot of combat capability that’s been moved into the region … the more capability, the more assets we put, the more options that the President has. We don’t box him in,» Moore said.
He added that the posture allows the United States «to be prepared for a long-term type of deployment and sustainment of combat capability if that’s what the President decides he wants us to do.»
Trump signaled Friday that diplomacy remains his preference but did not rule out force. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas, he said he was not happy with Iran and wants to make a deal with Tehran, but warned that «sometimes you have to» use military force. He added that Iran remains unwilling to forswear nuclear weapons as demanded by the United States.
The choice of Israel as the deployment site also matters. Unlike some Gulf bases, where operational restrictions can apply, Israel offers fewer political constraints, they explained. That gives U.S. planners additional freedom of action in a fast-moving crisis.
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A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet climbs after taking off from the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Puerto Rico, Jan. 4, 2026. (Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters)
JINSA’s fellow for American Strategy, Jonathan Ruhe, said the move follows a JINSA recommendation to expand U.S. basing options in Israel, outlined in a report the organization published last fall.
That report argued that forward basing in Israel would enhance U.S. flexibility and deterrence in the region. The organization has for months pushed the idea that Israel could function as a land-based platform for American airpower in the Middle East.
Former Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amikam Norkin said deploying such high-end aircraft to the region is not routine and framed the move as both operational and strategic. «It presents the American commitment to Israeli security once you are landing with your best airplane in Israel,» he said, adding that regional actors «understand the very strong commitment of the American government, American military, American President, to the national security of Israel.»
At the same time, he rejected the idea that the deployment represents a shift toward American «boots on the ground» in Israel.
«Well, it’s not the first time that America is on the ground. As you remember the 12-Day War, the American Air Defense System supported us. So it’s already been done,» Norkin said.
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Map shows where the U.S. is building up military forces near Iran. (Fox News )
More broadly, he emphasized that Iran is not solely an Israeli problem. «The Iranian threat, it’s not just an Israeli threat, it’s a regional threat, and the American forces support the region, not just Israel.»
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command briefed President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday on potential military options targeting Iran, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to Fox News. The president’s top military adviser, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, also attended the briefing.
For now, officials describe the move as part of preparedness rather than a prelude to immediate conflict. But the arrival of America’s premier air-dominance fighter on Israeli soil signals a new phase in U.S.-Israel military coordination and a clear message to Tehran: If the president chooses to strike, the tools are already in place.
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