Tax reform a major victory for Trump

with people connected to Russia. In the hours after Flynn admitted lying, two names surfaced as integral players in his actions.

Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported that Kushner was identified as a “very senior” transition official, who directed Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, about a UN Security Council resolution last December.

And K.T. McFarland, who served as Flynn’s deputy national security adviser, was a “senior” transition official involved in discussions with Flynn. — AP, AFP Washington, Dec. 2: US Senate Republicans narrowly passed landmark tax reform on Saturday, a critical step toward delivering a monumental legislative victory for President Donald Trump in his first year in office.

After a marathon session that stretched overnight, the chamber voted 51 to 49 in favour of the nation’s largest tax overhaul in 31 years, overcoming stubborn internal Republican resistance and dismissing Democrats angry over the last-minute revisions to the Bill.

The Senate version and one passed recently by the House of Representatives must now be reconciled into a single Bill, and approved again by both chambers, before it can be signed into law.

Both versions dramatically lower the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent. — AFP