Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest of ex-president Bolsonaro
Why it matters: The move is likely to infuriate President Trump, who has demanded that Brazil drop criminal charges against Bolsonaro in a letter threatening to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports.
The U.S. Treasury Department last week imposed sanctions on the Brazilian judge leading the investigation into Bolsonaro.
Driving the news: Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order after finding that Bolsonaro had failed to comply with "preventative measures" that the court imposed, which restricted the former president's social media use.
The judge accused Bolsonaro of using allies including sons that contained "clear encouragement and incitement to attack the Supreme Federal Court, and overt support for foreign intervention in Brazil's judiciary."
Bolsonaro was last month banned from using social media and ordered to wear an ankle bracelet.
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Newsweek
8 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows States Where Homeowners Benefit Most from Capital Gains Tax Plan
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Blue states, including California and Washington, are among those that stand to benefit the most from President Donald Trump's idea to eliminate the federal capital gains tax on home sales, according to a new study. A proposal to abolish the tax was first pushed forward by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last month and then echoed by Trump, who told reporters on July 22 that he was "thinking about…no tax on capital gains on houses." While it is not yet clear if the president's suggestion may lead to a real change in the way home sales are taxed by the government, real estate brokerage Redfin has calculated that homeowners in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey, in this order, would benefit the most from the abolition of the capital gains tax. What Is the Federal Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales—and Why Does Trump Want To Abolish It? Homeowners who sell a property where they have been living for longer than a year may have to pay capital gains taxes if they sell their property for more than they originally purchased it for. Capital gains taxes are a portion of the profit made by homeowners through the years that their property has appreciated in value. At the moment, capital gains taxes are limited by a cap. Homeowners who have lived in a home as their primary residence for at least 24 months in the five years before the sale receive an exemption on the first $250,000 of gains for individuals and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly. This cap, however, has not been updated since it was introduced in 1997 nor adjusted for inflation—leading many experts to support urgent changes to the exclusion. "It is not indexed for inflation. In real terms, the exclusion has gone down over these last 20-something years," William McBride, Chief Economist & Stephen J. Entin Fellow in Economics at the Tax Foundation, told Newsweek. "The high inflation we had in recent years, during the pandemic and consequently, is one of the things that has caused a lot of home price appreciation." While this is a problem that typically affects wealthier homeowners the most, the rapid appreciation that occurred during the pandemic homebuying frenzy means that "this is no longer just a concern for high-end properties," Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), told Newsweek. According to a recent report by NAR, nearly 29 million homeowners, about one-third of the U.S. market, already face potential capital gains taxes if they sell, "and that number is expected to climb sharply over the next decade," McGahn said. If no change is made to the way capital gains are taxed, nearly 70 percent of homeowners could exceed the $250,000 cap, according to NAR. "A sizable portion of homeowners, especially in states with high home prices that have grown quickly, are sitting on more than the $250k/$500k of capital gains that are exempt from capital gains taxes," Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, previously told Newsweek. "These homeowners generally have owned their homes for a long period of time, but in some places, people are exceeding the current capital gains exemptions solely based on appreciation during the pandemic." Trump has hinted at the idea of abolishing the capital gains tax on home sales as a solution to the ongoing affordability crisis in the U.S. housing market. On July 22, he told reporters that "if the Fed would lower the rates, we wouldn't even have to do that." Greene has framed the tax as an "unfair burden" hurting the "American dream." Which States Will Benefit the Most—and the Least According to Redfin, more than a quarter of homes across the U.S. have gained at least $250,000 in value since the last time they were purchased, with 8 percent having gained more than $500,000. The owners of these homes are the ones that stand to benefit by a potential elimination of the capital gains tax. By the same reasoning, the states where homeowners stand to gain from the abolition of the tax are those where homes have appreciated the most in recent decades. These include some of the most expensive housing markets in the country: California and Hawaii. In the Golden State, the median home value is $766,896 and the typical capital gain of all homes is $332,659, according to Redfin. A total of 62.3 percent of homes in the state have gained at least $250,000 since they were last sold—the highest share of any state in the nation. One in three (33 percent) have gained more than $500,000. Hawaii followed with 61 percent of homes having gained more than $250,000 in value since they were last sold, while 34.6 percent gained over $500,000. The overall capital gain was even higher than that of California, however, at $338,346. The top five states that would benefit most from the abolition of the federal capital gains tax also include Massachusetts, Washington and New Jersey, with respectively 58.4 percent, 54.1 percent, and 52.2 percent of homes that have gained at least $250,000 in value since they were last sold. Do you think abolishing the federal capital gains tax on home sales is a good or bad idea? Let me know your opinion by emailing The states where homeowners would benefit the least from the change, on the other hand, are Mississippi, North Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming, which have seen the smallest share of homes that have appreciated over $250,000 in the country, respectively at 1.2 percent, 2.2 percent, 2.4 percent, 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent. What Would Be the Impact of Eliminating the Capital Gains Tax? According to experts, eliminating the federal capital gains tax could have a positive impact on the U.S. housing market, unlocking homes that homeowners were previously holding on to to avoid a high fiscal burden. "Ending the capital gains tax could potentially spur some sales by removing a barrier to selling. Home sales have been in a slump for the past couple years, and this might nudge some sellers to consider," Bankrate's Jeff Ostrowski told Newsweek. "However, the tax burden is far from the main cause of the housing market slowdown." Some experts fear that such a move could have unwanted consequences. "Ongoing affordability issues could be exacerbated by abolishing this tax as it could fuel demand and lead to a more competitive housing market, especially where supply is constrained," Hannah Jones, senior economist at told Newsweek. "Removing this tax would favor wealthy owners which could worsen equity inequality and make the market even more challenging for low-to-mid-earning buyers." McBride also said the measure does not address another cause of home price appreciation in recent years: the lack of supply. "There's a shortage of supply and that's the fundamental problem that needs to be addressed directly. This proposal does not address that," he said. "We have a penalty on investment in housing, on the supply of housing, due to its tax treatment through our depreciation system. That should be addressed, that's the way to directly address this."
NBC News
8 minutes ago
- NBC News
Russia's Medvedev warns enemies of 'new reality' as Kremlin ditches nuclear treaty
Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the country's rivals now faced a 'new reality' as the Kremlin formally announced it was no longer bound by a treaty limiting the use of short and medium-range nuclear missiles. Medvedev, who today serves as the deputy chairman of the country's Security Council and is known for issuing frequent apocalyptic threats on social media, was continuing a war of words that prompted President Donald Trump to redeploy two nuclear submarines last week. His latest warning came after the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it would no longer abide by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, an agreement banning Washington and Moscow from deploying ground-based missiles with ranges between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,418 miles). It also comes days before the expiration of Trump's deadline ultimatum for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face additional tariffs. The INF was already obsolete, with the United States accusing Russia of violating the pact for decades and i tself withdrawing from the agreement in 2019, and Russia has made little secret of its use of these missiles during its war with Ukraine. On Monday the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was formally abandoning any 'efforts to maintain restraint in this area' because the U.S. was moving to deploy similarly ranged weapons systems to Europe and Asia. Russia 'no longer considers itself bound by the corresponding previously adopted self-restrictions,' it said. Medvedev said the withdrawal from the INF was 'the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy' — a reference to Moscow's longstanding claim that the Western military alliance is aggressively encircling Russia. 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.' NBC News has contacted NATO for comment on his remarks. Last week the former Russian leader became involved in a social media spat with Trump. While in Scotland, Trump reduced his initial 50-day deadline for Russia to cease fighting, instead giving it 10-12 days. Medvedev responded by saying that 'each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war' between Russia and the U.S. On Friday Trump reacted by ordering two nuclear submarines to be deployed to 'appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.' This social media back-and-forth is playing out as Russia makes slow, grinding gains on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine. From the skies, Ukrainian civilians endured another hellish night of Russian drone and missile attacks, as well as shelling on the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson and Donetsk regions. Over the past 24 hours at least 15 civilians were killed, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump for putting pressure on the Kremlin. 'Russia is dragging out the war against Ukraine for one reason only — it has the money to keep the war going,' he said in his nightly address Monday. 'All sanctions that restrict Russia help bring peace. All weapons that strengthen Ukraine help bring peace. All political actions that isolate Russia help bring peace.' Vocing an opinion common among Western experts on Russia, Mark Galeotti, warned against reading too much into comments by Medvedev. 'Medvedev is a professional troll these days. Trying to dig too much meaning into his various iterations is a fool's errand,' said Galeotti, the British-based director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence. 'Indeed, sometimes I wonder if his statements are precisely intended to tie us into knots as we try to interpret them!'
CNBC
8 minutes ago
- CNBC
5 things to know before the Tuesday open: Palantir earnings Trump applauds American Eagle
Investors who might have had anxiety checking their holdings over the weekend got a nice reprieve on Monday. Stocks rallied to start the new week, with the S&P 500 snapping its four-day losing streak and the Dow Jones Industrial Average erasing its Friday sell-off. All three major indexes ended Monday's session more than 1% higher. Stock futures are slightly higher on Tuesday morning. Follow live market updates here. Tariff news continues to make headlines as market participants count down to Thursday — the most recent deadline set by the White House for it to start collecting tariffs from some trading partners. President Donald Trump said Monday that he would "substantially" hike tariffs on goods coming from India because the country buys Russian oil. The European Union also announced Monday that it would delay enacting planned tariffs on the U.S. for six months. Trump will join CNBC's "Squawk Box" for an interview at 8 a.m. ET Tuesday morning. Stream CNBC live here. Palantir, the buzzy and mysterious defense technology stock, recorded quarterly revenue of $1 billion for the first time. It's an important milestone for the company, which has seen its shares skyrocket and become a favorite of retailer investors given its futuristic focus and eccentric CEO, Alex Karp. As CNBC's Samantha Subin notes, the Denver-based company has become a beneficiary of Trump's governmental cost-cutting initiatives, with its U.S. government revenues jumping 53% year-over-year. Palantir shares popped in extended trading following its earnings report. This week, OpenAI's ChatGPT products are poised to reach 700 million weekly active users. There's a few ways to show just how much that number has ballooned with artificial intelligence's move into the mainstream. First, it's up about 40% from March alone. Even more eye-popping, the number has grown more than fourfold from a year ago. ChatGPT's number of paid business users is also accelerating, up to five million from three million in June. After getting caught in controversy over its new advertising campaign starring actress Sydney Sweeney, American Eagle got a vote of confidence from the White House on Monday. Trump called the campaign the "'HOTTEST' ad out there" in a social media post. He also said that Sweeney, who's known for roles in "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus," is a registered Republican. American Eagle's shares surged more than 23% following the president's post, marking the Pittsburgh-based company's best day in about a quarter of a century. —
