Obama earns less in 2012, pays $112,000 in taxes
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama made less in 2012 than in any other year since taking office, with about 40 percent of the nearly $609,000 in income that he and first lady Michelle Obama reported coming from book sales.
Obama, who renewed his call for higher taxes on the wealthy in the budget he released Wednesday, paid $112,214 in taxes last year, putting his effective federal tax rate at 18.4 percent. The Obamas donated almost one-quarter of their income to charity, according to tax returns released by the White House.
Most of the $608,611 that the Obamas reported in adjusted gross income came from the presidents salary, as he reported $394,840 in wages. An additional $258,772 came from royalties from his books, including his 1995 memoir Dreams From My Father, his 2006 political book, The Audacity of Hope, and a 2010 childrens book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.
Package sent to Ariz. sheriff could have injured, killed
PHOENIX Arizona authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio discovered in a northern Arizona mailbox would have exploded if opened, leading to injuries or death.
Maricopa County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment Friday at a news conference in Phoenix. He said investigators are trying to locate one person who may have been involved in mailing the package addressed to his boss.
The package intercepted late Thursday was addressed to Arpaio at his downtown Phoenix office. It had been left in a parcel locker that was part of a multiple address mailbox in a rural part of Coconino County, outside Flagstaff city limits.
Immigration bill may exclude hundreds of thousands
WASHINGTON A promised path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally may leave out hundreds of thousands of them.
Bipartisan Senate legislation would make legalization and ultimately citizenship available only to those who arrived in the U.S. before Dec. 31, 2011, according to a Senate aide with knowledge of the proposals. Anyone who came after that date would be subject to deportation.
The bill, expected to be introduced next week, also would require applicants to document that they were in the country before the cutoff date, have a clean criminal record and show enough employment or financial stability that theyre likely to stay off welfare, the aide said.
Associated Press
