Fwd: NYT Now: Your Wednesday Briefing

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From: NYTimes.com <nytdirect@nytimes.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 12:21 PM
Subject: NYT Now: Your Wednesday Briefing
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View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. Wednesday, April 15, 2015 Wednesday, April 15, 2015 nytnow.com » Enjoy this newsletter? Get continuous updates on today's most important stories with the NYT Now app for iPhone. Download now. Migrants captured off the coast of Libya. A record number are expected to try to cross the Mediterranean this spring. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters Your Wednesday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN Good morning. Here's what you need to know: • On Capitol Hill. After months of negotiations, House and Senate leaders are expected to unveil today a bipartisan bill to grant President Obama "fast-track" negotiating power for a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would be the largest trade accord since Nafta went into effect in 1994. The legislation is strongly opposed by many congressional Democrats. • The president's Tax Day. President Obama travels to Charlotte, N.C., today to highlight his call for Congress to expand tax credits for working families. He'll also answer questions at a town-hall-style meeting. In the morning, Mr. Obama meets the leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries most affected by last year's Ebola outbreak. • Cuba and the blacklist. Cuba will officially be removed in six weeks from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, after Tuesday's decision by the Obama administration. It is one of the last hurdles toward reopening embassies in each other's capitals. The three countries left on the list? Iran, Sudan and Syria. • Lots to discuss. Foreign ministers from the Group of 7 nations, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are meeting in the German city of Lübeck today. The escalating war in Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal are high on the agenda. Russia won't be represented because it was kicked out of what was then the Group of 8. President Obama says he will sign a compromise bill on the proposed nuclear accord that gives Congress a voice. • African migrants lost at sea. At least 400 people may have drowned this week after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast, according to interviews of survivors in southern Italy. A record number of migrants across the Mediterranean is expected this spring. Over the weekend, 5,600 people were rescued from an armada of wooden and rubber boats. • Domestic terrorism. A moment of silence, the tolling of church bells and a call for kindness today in Boston will observe the second anniversary of the marathon bombings. Sentencing for the convicted bomber begins next week and is expected to take about a month. MARKETS • Wall Street stock futures are slightly ahead. European shares are up moderately, and Asian indexes ended mixed. • Europe's antitrust chief today accused Google of abusing its dominant position in Internet search results, particularly for shopping and in smartphone software. Google could face a huge fine and be forced to alter its business practices to give smaller competitors like Yelp greater prominence in its search queries. • Nokia is indeed taking over Alcatel-Lucent, in a deal that values its French rival $16.6 billion, the companies said today. The two provide hardware and software services to many of the world's largest Internet and phone carriers but have struggled to remain profitable. • Fast-food and other low-wage workers plan a nationwide walkout today to rally support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Economists credit their campaign in part for recent decisions by Walmart and McDonald's to increase their pay. • New Enterprise Associates plans to announce today that it has raised the biggest venture capital fund ever, at $2.8 billion. NOTEWORTHY • Playoff pucks set to drop. The Stanley Cup playoffs start tonight, with eight teams taking the ice (all times Eastern): 7 p.m.: Ottawa at Montreal (NHL), and New York Islanders at Washington (USA); 8:30 p.m.: Chicago at Nashville (NBCSN); 10 p.m.: Calgary at Vancouver (USA). • Playoff possibilities. Today is the last day of the N.B.A. regular season, and teams are vying for higher seeds, which decide matchups and home-court advantage. Some are just trying to get in. In the Western Conference, New Orleans is close to edging out Oklahoma City for the last playoff spot. Brooklyn is trying to beat out Indiana and Miami for the eighth seed in the East (Indiana at Memphis, 9:30 p.m., ESPN). • Math made ... fun? "Nova: The Great Math Mystery" is promising a dash across history and the universe that may demystify the science of mathematics (9 p.m. Eastern, PBS, but check local listings). • In memoriam. Joel Spira, who changed the ambience of homes around the world when he patented the first light dimmer for homes in 1962, died on April 8 in Coopersburg, Pa. He was 88. BACK STORY Taxes are due today, and many Americans will be cheating. The I.R.S. loses about $270 billion a year because of "underreported" income. Then there are the loopholes. Private museums, for instance, let their rich founders deduct the full market value of art, cash and stocks they donate, even when the museums are literally in their backyard. They have to be open to the public for only a few days to qualify for the benefit. Another rule appears to benefit songwriters, who can sell their music catalogs and pay a capital-gains tax on the earnings. That is significantly less than what other artists, including writers, are subject to. They have to pay income taxes when they're selling their creations. Wealthy alumni who make special donations so that they can secure tickets to their college's home games can deduct 80 percent of their cost. And a lottery ticket maneuver could allow gamblers to avoid paying taxes on winnings by buying or renting losing lottery tickets. As long as they're not caught. Victoria Shannon 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. Want to get the briefing by email? Here's the sign-up. 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