Politics

Just one day before Apple's CEO Tim Cook is expected to argue for corporate tax reform on Capitol Hill, a new report claims that the company is avoiding paying taxes on billions of dollars in profits.The U.S.-based software giant is parking $102 billion in overseas tax havens, allowing the company to pay a near zero global tax rate on that money, according to a new report from the left-leaning think tank, Citizens for Tax Justice.More...

Stephen Harper’s haters came out in full force on Twitter on Monday, using the hashtag #PMHarperMustResign to voice their anger over the prime minister’s leadership and eventually causing the term to trend.The 140-character comments pointed to a number of recent topics that have drawn negative attention to Harper and the Tory government, including the recent controversy involving Harper’s now-former chief of staff Nigel Wright giving Sen. Mike Duffy a $90,000 cheque to pay off housing expenses. Other sources of anger included cuts to science research, rebranding the government to include Harper’s name, and Harper welcoming Chinese pandas to Canada while First Nations protesters marched to Parliament.More...

A former member of the Supervisory Committee of the Executive Directorate of Revenues (DEI) -- Honduras' equivalent to the U.S. International Revenue Service (IRS) -- estimates that the Honduran government is being defrauded of tax revenue by as much 40 percent. Jorge Yllescas Oliva confirmed this week that the government loses between 12-15 billion lempiras ($600-750 million) per year due to corruption at Honduras' 18 Customs offices -- the main ones being in the airports at Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the port of Puerto Cortés, and the border towns of El Amatillo and Agua Caliente.According to an audit done in 2012 by Honduras' Superior Tribunal for Accounts (TSC), the biggest losses occurred at the Customs offices at Tegucigalpa's Toncontín airport, followed by the port of Puerto Cortés, and San Pedro Sula's Ramón Villeda Morales airport. At Toncontín, the corruption is so bad that many refer to it as "Happy Hour" -- the entry of two cargo containers for the price of one.More...

People use to willingly wear tie-dyed shirts. "Dead Heads" and Phish fans probably still do but that's besides the point. Fads come and go, and sometimes they come back again. Take family bands for example which were all the rage back in the day with acts like The Shangri-Las, Osmonds, and - of course - The Jackson Five. After a drought for a few decades (I'm not counting the Gallagher brothers of Oasis thank you very much), we've recently seen a surge in sibling-consisting bands like Kings of Leon and The Band Perry.The California-based Sledge Grits Band (No relation to Sister Sledge, who were also a band of sisters) are bringing back a more traditonal family dynamic that evokes the days of a pre-"Off the Wall" Michael Jackson-fronted Jackson Five. The Sledge sibs consist of ten-year-old drummer bo-Pah, 13-year-old lead vocalist Mimi, 16-year-old bass player, backup vocalist Ella, and 18-year-old lead guitarist and songwriter Keiko. The Littlerock, CA sisters, who write, sing, play and perform all of their own music, are currently featured on Cozi TV's "Next Great Family Band," and have reached the finals. Last week, they performed radio-friendly original track "So What If We're Young" and a cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" on A-Sides (filmed at the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains). Watch "Young" and an interview below, and check out "Rolling" exclusively on asidesmusic.com. Watch. Listen. Love.More...

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Today's cute kid note tells it like it is.Title: "I Am A Freeloader"More...

Is the wage Goodwill pays its employees with disabilities exploitative or empowering?Investigative journalist John Hrabe recently reported for Watchdog.org that Goodwill pays some of its employees less than minimum wage, when some of its executive team makes more than $1 million -- a practice he calls out as unfair.More...

Jay Pharoah tweeted a fond farewell to his "Saturday Night Live" castmates Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader on Sunday, but deleted his tweet shortly thereafter.Although Pharoah deleted his tweet, it remains archived on Favstar.More...

t the risk of sounding like my great-grandmother, longing for the good ol' days, I can't help but think back on simpler times when people would come home from work, throw their mail down on the counter, check their answering machine for messages and call it a day. These days it's more like checking voicemails while driving home, checking emails and Facebook once we arrive, Tweeting out something clever, and Instagramming some selfies while checking the queue on the DVR!Now I have nothing against modern technology. I think it's miraculous and revolutionary. Yet I often find myself wondering, can we be connected to our devices all the time and still be connected to each other and ourselves?More...

Aaron Paul and fiancee Lauren Parsekian are gearing up for their wedding, Vegas-style!The "Breaking Bad" actor hit Las Vegas club Marquee on Saturday with Parsekian and a group of friends to celebrate the couple's upcoming wedding on Memorial Day weekend, People magazine reported Monday.More...