HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Bryce Lindsay had 18 points in James Madison's 78-61 win against Utah Valley on Saturday night. Lindsay added five rebounds for the Dukes (6-4). Xavier Brown scored 12 points and added seven assists. AJ Smith went 4 of 6 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding seven rebounds and three steals. The Wolverines (4-5) were led in scoring by Osiris Grady, who finished with 12 points. Tanner Toolson added 10 points and two steals. Hayden Welling had nine points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .As New York City prosecutors worked Thursday to bring murder charges against Luigi Mangione in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, supporters of the suspect are donating tens of thousands of dollars for a defense fund established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried Mangione is being turned into a martyr. Several online defense funds have been created for Mangione by anonymous people, including one on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo that as of Thursday afternoon had raised over $50,000. The GiveSendGo defense fund for the 26-year-old Mangione was established by an anonymous group calling itself "The December 4th Legal Committee," apparently in reference to the day Mangione allegedly ambushed and gunned down Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as the executive walked to his company's shareholders conference at the New York Hilton hotel. "We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation," the anonymous group said in a statement. The crowdfunding campaign prompted donations from more than 1,500 anonymous donors across the country, many of them leaving messages of support for Mangione, including one person who called themselves "A frustrated citizen" and thanked Mangione for "sparking the awareness and thought across this sleeping nation." The GiveSendGo fund for Mangione appeared to be briefly taken down before it was restored on Thursday. In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for GiveSendGo said the company "operates with a principle of not preemptively determining guilt or innocence." "Our platform does not adjudicate legal matters or the validity of causes. Instead, we allow campaigns to remain live unless they violate the specific terms outlined in our Terms of Use. Importantly, we do allow campaigns for legal defense funds, as we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to access due process," the GiveSendGo spokesperson said. The spokesperson added, "We understand the concerns raised by such campaigns and take these matters seriously. When campaigns are reported, our team conducts a thorough review to ensure they comply with our policies. While other platforms may choose a different approach, GiveSendGo's core value is to provide a space where all individuals, no matter their situation, can seek and receive support, with donors making their own informed decisions." Other crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe have also taken down campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione's defense. "GoFundMe's Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes," the crowdfunding website said in a statement. "The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded." MORE: Executive 'hit lists' and wanted posters: NYPD warns about threats to executives Amazon and Etsy have removed from their websites merchandise featuring Mangione, including T-shirts and tote bags reading "Free Luigi" and the phrase "Deny, Defend, Depose," words police said were etched in the shell casings discovered at the scene of Thompson's homicide. "Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. It's deeply disturbing," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told ABC News senior investigative reporter Aaron Katersky in an interview Wednesday night. "And what I would say to members of the public, people who as you described are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable. We are at the ready." Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney's office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to try to secure an indictment against Mangione, sources told ABC News on Thursday. MORE: UnitedHealthcare CEO killing sparks hostility by some toward chief executives Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey of Altoona, Pennsylvania, where the suspect was arrested Monday following a five-day manhunt, said his client is presumed innocent and will plead not guilty to any charges filed against him. Mangione is contesting extradition to New York. Asked about people contributing to Mangione defense funds that have popped up, Dickey said, "People are entitled to their opinion and, like I said, if you're an American and you believe in the American criminal justice system, you have to presume him to be innocent and none of us would want anything other than that if that were us in their shoes. So, I'm glad he had some support." In a later interview on CNN, Dickey said he is leaning toward not accepting any money from his client's supporters for his defense. "To be honest with you, I probably wouldn't," Dickey told CNN. "I just don't feel comfortable about that. So, I don't know. I haven't given that much thought. Obviously, my client appreciates the support that he has, but I don't know, it just doesn't sit right with me, really." Retired FBI special agent Richard Frankel said that in previous politically-charged violent crimes, suspects have received unsolicited support. "We saw it with the Unabomber," said Frankel, an ABC News contributor, referring to Ted Kaczynski -- the mathematician-turn-domestic terrorist who blamed technology for a decline of individual freedom and mailed handcrafted explosives to targeted individuals between 1978 and 1995. Frankel said Eric Rudolph, who detonated a bomb in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympic Games and carried out three additional bombings as he eluded capture for five years, also attracted supporters. "In my opinion, they're supporting individuals who have committed potentially terrorist acts, but it's a politically charged act," Frankel said Referring to the Thompson killing, Frankel added, "You can be up in arms about the healthcare industry, but you can't threaten or actually hurt members of the healthcare industry." Most recently, Marine veteran Daniel Penny was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was acting erratically on a New York City subway, after supporters donated more than $3 million to his legal defense fund. Law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Mangione is being turned into a martyr. Someone this week pasted "wanted posters" outside the New York Stock Exchange naming other executives. MORE: Fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson prompts wake-up call for nation's executives: Experts A bulletin released Wednesday by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a multi-agency law enforcement intelligence-sharing network based in Philadelphia, included a photo of a banner hanging from an overpass reading, "Deny, Defend, Depose." "Many social media users have outright advocated for the continued killings of CEOs with some aiming to spread fear by posting 'hit lists,'" the bulletin, obtained by ABC News, reads. Meanwhile, New York Police Department investigators continue to build a murder case against Mangione, who is being held in Pennsylvania on charges stemming from his arrest there, including illegal possession of ghost gun and fraudulent identification. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the three shell casings recovered at the scene of Thompson's shooting matched the gun found in Mangione possession when he was arrested. She also confirmed that Mangione's fingerprints were recovered from a water bottle and the wrapper of a granola bar found near the crime scene.NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday following some potentially discouraging data on the economy . The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% for its fourth loss in the last six days. It’s a pause for the index, which has been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 234 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7% from its record set the day before. A report early in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. A separate update, meanwhile, showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches U.S. consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected. Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that’s driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year : Inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession. Of the two reports, the weaker update on the job market may be the bigger deal for the market, according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. A surge in egg prices may have been behind the worse-than-expected inflation numbers. “One week doesn’t negate what has been a relatively steady stream of solid labor market data, but the Fed is primed to be sensitive to any signs of a softening jobs picture,” he said. Traders are widely expecting the Fed will ease its main interest rate at its meeting next week. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. A cut next week would have the Fed following other central banks, which lowered rates on Thursday. The European Central Bank cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as many investors expected, and the Swiss National Bank cut its policy rate by a steeper half of a percentage point. Following its decision, Switzerland’s central bank pointed to uncertainty about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory will affect economic policies, as well as about where politics in Europe is heading. Trump has talked up tariffs and other policies that could upend global trade. He rang the bell marking the start of trading at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to chants of “USA.” On Wall Street, Adobe fell 13.7% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company gave forecasts for profit and revenue in its upcoming fiscal year that fell a bit shy of analysts’. Warner Bros. Discovery soared 15.4% after unveiling a new corporate structure that separates its streaming business and film studios from its traditional television business. CEO David Zaslav said the move “enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities,” raising speculation about a spinoff or sale. Kroger rose 3.2% after saying it would get back to buying back its own stock now that its attempt to merge with Albertsons is off . Kroger’s board approved a program to repurchase up to $7.5 billion of its stock, replacing an existing $1 billion authorization. All told, the S&P 500 fell 32.94 points to 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 234.55 to 43,914.12, and the Nasdaq composite sank 132.05 to 19,902.84. In stock markets abroad, European indexes held relatively steady following the European Central Bank’s cut to rates. Asian markets were stronger. Indexes rose 1.2% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai as leaders met in Beijing to set economic plans and targets for the coming year. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6% for its third straight gain of at least 1%, as it pulls back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. In the bond market, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.33% from 4.27% late Wednesday. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, is the 10th-richest person in the United States, worth $US127 billion ($198.6 billion). In theory, when he dies, his estate should pay 40 per cent of his net worth to the government in taxes. But Huang, 61, is not only an engineering genius and Silicon Valley icon whose company, the world’s second-most valuable, makes the chips that power much artificial intelligence. He is also the beneficiary of a series of tax dodges that will enable him to pass on much of his fortune tax-free, according to securities and tax filings reviewed by The New York Times . His family’s savings are on pace to be roughly $US8 billion ($12.5 billion). This likely ranks among the largest tax dodges in the United States. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Credit: Bloomberg The types of strategies Huang has deployed to shield his wealth have become ubiquitous among the ultrawealthy. It is just one sign of how the estate tax – imposed on a sliver of the country’s multimillionaires – has been eviscerated. Revenue from the tax has barely changed since 2000, even as the wealth of the richest Americans has roughly quadrupled. If the estate tax had kept pace, it would have raised around $US120 billion ($187 billion) last year. Instead, it brought in about a quarter of that. The story of Huang’s tax avoidance is a case study of how the ultrarich bend the US tax system for their benefit. His strategies were not explicitly authorised by Congress. Instead, they were cooked up by creative lawyers who have exploited a combination of obscure federal regulations, narrow findings by courts, and rulings that the IRS issues in individual cases that then served as models for future tax shelters. ‘Don’t expect anyone in Congress to stop this’ “You have an army of well-trained, brilliant people who sit there all day long, charging $US1,000 an hour, thinking up ways to beat this tax,” said Jack Bogdanski, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and the author of a widely cited treatise on the estate tax. “Don’t expect anyone in Congress to stop this.” The richest Americans can pass down approximately $US200 billion ($312 billion) each year without paying estate tax on it, thanks to the use of complex trusts and other avoidance strategies, estimated Daniel Hemel, a tax law professor at New York University. Enforcement of the rules governing the estate tax has eased in part because the IRS has been decimated by years of budget cuts. In the early 1990s, the agency audited more than 20 per cent of all estate tax returns. By 2020, the rate had fallen to about 3 per cent. Newly elected Senate majority leader John Thune. Credit: AP The trend is likely to accelerate with Republicans controlling both the White House and Capitol Hill. They are already slashing funding for law enforcement by the IRS. The incoming Senate majority leader, John Thune, and other congressional Republicans for years have been trying to kill the estate tax, branding it as a penalty on family farms and small businesses. Yet, Huang’s multibillion-dollar manoeuvre – detailed in the fine print of his filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and his foundation’s disclosures to the IRS - shows the extent to which the estate tax has already been hollowed out. An Nvidia spokesperson, Stephanie Matthew, declined to discuss details of the Huangs’ tax strategies. The United States adopted the modern estate tax in 1916. In recent decades, congressional Republicans have successfully watered it down, cutting the rate and increasing the amount that is exempt from the tax. Today, a married couple can pass on about $US27 million ($42 million) tax-free; anything more than that is generally supposed to be taxed at a 40 pr cent rate. Can you dig it? In 2012, Huang and his wife, Lori, took one of their first steps to shield their fortune from the estate tax. They set up a financial vehicle known as an irrevocable trust and moved 584,000 Nvidia shares into it, according to a securities disclosure Huang filed. The shares were worth about $US7 million ($11 million) at the time, but they would eventually generate tax savings many times greater. The Huangs were taking advantage of a precedent set nearly two decades earlier, in 1995, when the IRS blessed a transaction that tax professionals affectionately nicknamed “I Dig It.” (The moniker was a play on the name of the type of financial vehicle involved: an intentionally defective grantor trust.) One of the beauties of I Dig It was that it had the potential to largely circumvent not only the estate tax but also the federal gift tax. That tax applies to assets that multimillionaires give to their heirs while they’re alive and essentially serves as a backstop to the estate tax; otherwise, rich people could give away all their money before they die in order to avoid the estate tax. Loading In Huang’s case, the details in securities filings are limited. But multiple experts, said it was almost certainly a classic I Dig It gift, loan and sale transaction. The $US7 million of shares Huang moved into his trust in 2012 are today worth more than $US3 billion ($4.7 billion). If those shares were directly passed on to Huang’s heirs, they would be taxed at 40 per cent – or well over $US1 billion. Instead, the tax bill will probably be no more than a few hundred thousand dollars. The Huangs soon took another big step toward reducing their estate tax bill. In 2016, they set up several vehicles known as “grantor-retained annuity trusts” or GRATs, securities filings show. They put just over 3 million Nvidia shares into their four new GRATs. The shares were worth about $US100 million ($156 million). If their value rose, the increase would be a tax-free windfall for their two adult children, who both work at Nvidia. That is precisely what happened. The shares are now worth more than $US15 billion ($23.4 billion), according to data from securities filings compiled by Equilar, a data firm. That means the Huang family is poised to avoid roughly $US6 billion ($9.4 billion) in estate taxes. If the Huangs’ trusts sell their shares, that will generate a hefty capital gains tax bill – more than $US4 billion ($6.2 billion), based on Nvidia’s current stock price. The Huangs can pay that bill on behalf of the trusts without it counting as a taxable gift to their heirs. Tax strategy Starting in 2007, Huang deployed another technique that would further reduce his family’s estate taxes. This strategy involved taking advantage of his and his wife’s charitable foundation. Huang has given the Jen Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation shares of Nvidia worth about $US330 million ($516 million) at the time of the donations. Such donations are tax-deductible, meaning they reduced the Huangs’ income tax bills in the years that the gifts took place. Loading Foundations are required to make annual donations to charities equal to at least 5 per cent of their total assets. But the Huangs’ foundation is satisfying that requirement by giving heavily to what is known as a donor-advised fund. Such funds are pools of money that the donor controls. There are limitations on how the money can be spent. Buying cars or vacation homes or the like is off-limits. But a fund could, say, invest money in a business run by the donor’s friend or donate enough money to name a building at a university that the donor’s children hope to attend. There is a gaping loophole in the tax laws: Donor-advised funds are not required to actually give any money to charitable organisations. When the donor dies, control of the fund can pass to his heirs – without incurring any estate taxes. In recent years, 84 per cent of the Huang Foundation’s donations have gone to its donor-advised fund, named GeForce, an apparent nod to the name of an Nvidia video game chip. The Nvidia shares the Huangs have donated are today worth about $US2 billion ($3.1 billion). The fund is not required to disclose how its money is spent, though the foundation has said the assets will be used for charitable purposes. Matthew said those causes included higher education and public health. But there is another benefit. Based on Nvidia’s current stock price, the donations to the fund have reduced Huang’s eventual estate tax bill by about $US800 million ($1.2 billion). This article originally appeared in The New York Times . The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Tax avoidance AI Nvidia Income tax Most Viewed in Business Loading
Man City stumble again while Arsenal and Bayern Munich earn dominant wins
Nearly half of US teens are online 'constantly,' Pew report finds
MAPUTO, Mozambique. (AP) — At least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique's capital on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the country's police chief said, as widespread post-election riots and violence are roiling the country. Police chief Bernardino Rafael said 33 prisoners died and 15 others were injured during a confrontation with the security forces. The prisoners fled during violent protests that have seen police cars, stations and infrastructure destroyed after the country's Constitutional Council confirmed the ruling Frelimo party as the winner of the October 9 elections. The escape from the Maputo Central Prison, located 14 kilometres (9 miles) southwest of the capital, started around midday on Wednesday after “agitation” by a “group of subversive protesters” nearby, Rafael said. Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees. “A curious fact is that in that prison we had 29 convicted terrorists, who they released. We are worried, as a country, as Mozambicans, as members of the defence and security forces,” said Rafael. “They (protesters) were making noise, demanding that they be able to remove the prisoners who are there serving their sentences”, said Rafael, adding that the protests led to the collapse of a wall, allowing the prisoners to flee. He called on the escaped prisoners to surrender to authorities and for the population to be informed about the fugitives. Videos circulating on social media show the moment inmates left the prison, while other recordings reveal captures made by military personnel and prison guards. Many prisoners tried to hide in homes, but some were unsuccessful and ended up being detained again. In one video, a prisoner still with handcuffs on his right wrist says he was held n the disciplinary section of the prison and was released by other inmates. Violence has engulfed Mozambique since the country's highest court confirmed ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as the winner of disputed October 9 elections on Monday. Mozambique's Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a news conference in Maputo late Tuesday that the violence was led by mostly youthful supporters of losing candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 24% of the vote, second to Chapo, who got 65%. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned at the violence and urges all political leaders and relevant parties “to defuse tensions including through meaningful dialogue (and) legal redress,” UN associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said Thursday. The UN chief also calls for a halt to the violence and redoubled efforts “to seek a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis,” she said. Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com .Brazil’s federal police last Thursday formally accused Mr Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. “The evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-president Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organisation aiming to launch a coup d’etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire,” the document said. At another point, it says: “Bolsonaro had full awareness and active participation.” Mr Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces, according to the police report, signed by four investigators. The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the powers of the nation’s electoral court. The navy’s commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration, the report said. Those refusals are why the plan did not go ahead, according to witnesses who spoke to investigators. Mr Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action. Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or awareness of any plot to keep him in power or oust his leftist rival and successor. “No one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd. For my part, there has never been any discussion of a coup,” Mr Bolsonaro told journalists in the capital Brasilia on Monday. “If someone came to discuss a coup with me, I’d say, that’s fine, but the day after, how does the world view us?” he added. “The word ‘coup’ has never been in my dictionary.” The top court has passed the report on to prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet. He will decide whether to formally charge Mr Bolsonaro. Rodrigo Rios, a law professor at the PUC university in the city of Curitiba, said Mr Bolsonaro could face up to a minimum of 11 years in prison if convicted on all charges. “A woman involved in the January 8 attack on the Supreme Court received a 17-year prison sentence,” Mr Rios told the Associated Press, noting that the former president is more likely to receive 15 years or more if convicted. “Bolsonaro’s future looks dark.” Ahead of the 2022 election, Mr Bolsonaro repeatedly alleged that the election system, which does not use paper ballots, could be tampered with. The top electoral court later ruled that he had abused his power to cast unfounded doubt on the voting system, and ruled him ineligible for office until 2030. Still, he has maintained that he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 race. Since Mr Bolsonaro left office, he has been targeted by several investigations, all of which he has chalked up to political persecution. Federal police have accused him of smuggling diamond jewellery into Brazil without properly declaring them and directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ Covid-19 vaccination statuses. Authorities are also investigating whether he incited the riot on January 8 2022 in which his followers ransacked the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia, seeking to prompt intervention by the army that would oust Mr Lula from power. Mr Bolsonaro had left for the United States days before Mr Lula’s inauguration on January 1 2023 and stayed there for three months, keeping a low profile. The police report unsealed on Tuesday alleges he was seeking to avoid possible imprisonment related to the coup plot, and also await the uprising that took place a week later.
