Biden: 55 companies have not paid a penny in taxes and I will go after them

 President Joe Biden confirmed that the number of federal tax evaders last year amounted to at least 50 companies, noting that these companies did not pay a single penny in income taxes during the past year,” as he put it.

Biden stressed that this situation will not last long and will change in the near future, vowing to pursue the evaders. Biden wrote, in a tweet on the official page of the “Twitter” website. “There are at least 55 companies that have not paid a penny of federal income tax in the past year,” he said, adding that “this will change according to the reform agenda I am preparing.”

According to Investopedia, the federal income tax is one of the most important sources of government funding in the country, and is collected from individuals, companies and various legal entities.

The Internal Revenue Service, affiliated with the Treasury Department, is the agency responsible for collecting federal income taxes, which President Joe Biden spoke about.

It is noteworthy that the tax issue is one of the most prominent contentious issues between Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, as Biden adopts an economic policy based on making the wealthy pay their fair shares of taxes, and focuses on supporting the middle classes. On the other hand, Trump focused on granting large companies tax exemptions, under the pretext of stimulating investment.

Billions of dollars are "floating" outside the largest California ports

 Clear evidence of the supply chain crisis has emerged in the United States of America, through dozens of container ships floating outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, waiting to unload their cargo.

And severe congestion at the ports "has become a major nuisance that will not go away this year, and unfortunately, it may be one of the biggest problems of 2022 as well," according to CNN Business.

Goldman Sachs estimates that there is $24 billion in merchandise outside of these two ports alone.

The bank warned customers, in a note Monday, that "the backlog and high shipping costs are likely to continue through at least the first half of next year."

The bank's economists concluded in a research report that "there is no immediate solution to the underlying imbalance between supply and demand in US ports."

This is "bad news" for the economy and for Americans, because "congestion in the supply chain raises costs, delays shipments, and reduces shoppers' choices."

Consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in a 12-month period, since 2008. The amount of online out-of-stock products increased by 172%, compared to January 2020, according to Adobe Analytics.

Even if ships are able to dock and unload their cargo, shipping containers remain in ports for several days.

Goldman Sachs found that last September, about a third of shipping containers remained in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports for more than five days after being unloaded from ships, compared to low rates before the Corona epidemic.

Two weeks ago, US President Joe Biden confirmed that his administration was working to solve the problems of global supply chain congestion, and said that "the Port of Los Angeles announced that it would start working around the clock," adding that "American companies have committed to increasing the number of transport trucks."

The US president added, "We are working to solve the problem of the Port of Long Beach to secure the arrival of goods," pledging to take "the necessary measures to strengthen the supply chain."

Ports suffer from stifling congestion, amid a severe shortage of digital processors, and a decline in the number of truck drivers, according to CNN.

And global agency Moody's warns that "supply chain disruptions will get worse before they get better", as commodity prices are expected to rise, amid a slowdown in the economic recovery. "The rise in costs and prices will affect the growth of the gross domestic product in the world," she said.

Goldman Sachs said the move (the ports operate 24/7) "might help" to solve the problem, but that it would also require cooperation from other ports, truck drivers, rail operators and warehouses. The biggest problem remains a shortage of workers, including truck drivers.

CAPTAIN KIRK SUCCESSFUL FIRST TRUE TRIP TO SPACE

 As with Jeff Bezos' flight, made a few months earlier, the actor and his three acolytes were able to enjoy microgravity for a few minutes before returning to Earth. After takeoff, the rocket separated from the capsule as expected. The latter continued its race at a height of more than 100 km. In all, the flight lasted 11 minutes.

At 90, man has simply become the oldest human being to ever travel to space. He breaks a record that had only been set very recently. In fact, the aviator Wally Funk had placed the previous mark at 82 years old thanks to her flight last July.

No video of the interior of the capsule has yet been broadcast by Blue Origin. This had already been the case during Jeff Bezos' flight. The recording was released later, after the crew returned unharmed.

Upon his return to Earth, William Shatner immediately jumped into the arms of Jeff Bezos, present to greet the space travelers. “Everyone on Earth has to do this. It was incredible, ”said the actor. “What you have given me is the most profound experience of my life. (...) I hope that I will never get over it, ”he then declared to the American billionaire, without managing to hold back a sob. Let it be said, going to space for real will always be out of step with the fact of experiencing it artificially for the small screen.

TRAVELER GABBY PETITO WAS KILLED BY STRANGULATION

 The young traveler Gabby Petito, whose disappearance caused great emotion in the United States, died of strangulation and her death is a homicide, announced Tuesday the forensic scientist who supervised her autopsy.

"The cause of death is strangulation and it is homicide," said Dr. Brent Blue, of Teton County in the state of Wyoming (northwest), where the body of the young woman 22-year-old was found on September 19.

She was killed three to four weeks before her body was found near Grand Teton National Park, he added without giving further details of the autopsy.

Her ex-boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, is actively wanted by the authorities but remains untraceable.

THE MAN HUNT TO FIND THE GIRLFRIEND

Described as "person of interest in the investigation", he was charged with fraudulent use of a bank card.

The couple had left New York in July for a trip in a converted van that was supposed to last four months and whose stages, in the awe-inspiring settings of the national parks of the American West, were regularly shared on Instagram and YouTube, through photos and videos.

But on September 1, Brian Laundrie returned home alone with the van, to their Florida home.

On September 11, Gabrielle Petito's family reported her missing, saying they had not heard from her since the end of August.

The manhunt launched by the police, which takes place in a marshy reserve in Florida, and the intervention of a bounty hunter, star of the reality TV, fascinate American and foreign Internet users, who follow and comment all the stages of the investigation.

America admits the failure in the assassination of Shahli in Yemen

On January 3, Shahlae’s name was repeated again after he survived an American raid that targeted him in Yemen, on the same day that the raid in which Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, was killed in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

It is not known whether the two raids were carried out at the same time, but the US Department of Defense said that the targeting of Shahlae was his involvement in a long series of plans to launch operations targeting American forces in Iraq, and supplying Shiite militias with weapons.

On January 20, 2007, Shahlahi was behind an attack in the city of Karbala, in Iraq, targeting US forces stationed there. This attack killed five American soldiers, and wounded three others.

And this attack ended up being the first listed on the lists of terrorism in 2008, and became one of the names that the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions, among the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The United States says that one of Shahlai’s most important tasks is to transport weapons and provide training for Iran's arms in the region, led by armed groups in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.

The fact that Al-Jubeir was targeted in Washington in 2011 was one of the most prominent events that put Shahly on top of the most wanted lists in the United States.

This year, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Shahly, and placed it on terrorist lists.

According to the testimonies of the owners of a car, he was pushed to carry out the bombing after threats against him and his family. The US administration said at the time that Shahlai allocated $ 5 million to train and provide the weapons and explosives necessary for the operation. Iran has not responded to any of these accusations.

Then, on December 6, 2019, US Special Envoy to Iran, Brian Hook, announced that the US State Department had earmarked $ 15 million for information about Shahlahai.

Hook said at a press conference that intelligence indicates that Shahhali has moved to Yemen, where he undertakes the operations of the Jerusalem Corps there by supporting the Houthis and providing them with training and weapons.

He added: "We are very concerned about his presence in Yemen, and the role he can play in providing advanced weapons of the kind that we prevent from the Houthis."

After the failed assassination attempt, Shah Raisy, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense, said her country had already carried out a raid in Yemen in early January, and that Yemen "has long been a safe haven for terrorists and other enemies of the United States."