Midday Roundup: New tax rules nix big pharma merger

Big pharma breakup. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Allergan canceled their much anticipated $160 billion merger today after the Obama administration adopted new regulations to nix any tax advantages to the deal. Botox-maker Allergan is based in Dublin, where corporate taxes are much lower than in the United States. Although Pfizer is the much larger company, the merged entity planned to operate out of Allergan’s headquarters, cutting its tax bill from 24 percent to 17 percent and saving about $35 billion. Under the new rules, the merged company would continue to be considered a U.S. corporation because of Pfizer’s much larger stake. While President Barack Obama touted the new rules as closing “insidious tax loopholes,” critics of the U.S. corporate tax code say the country’s highest-in-the-world tax rate encourages companies to look for relief overseas. Often, U.S. companies find ways to keep profits from coming home so they don’t have to pay taxes on them. So-called unrepatriated foreign profits totaled $2.4 trillion last year, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, and would have generated up to $695 billion in taxes.

Defamation deposition. A judge has ordered the woman at the center of the University of Virginia gang-rape scandal to submit to questioning in a defamation case brought by a university administrator against Rolling Stone magazine. Lawyers from both sides will depose the former student, identified only as “Jackie,” tomorrow. The Rolling Stone story, “A rape on campus,” told Jackie’s account of being gang-raped during her freshman year at a fraternity party. It caused an uproar, and the college temporarily suspended campus Greek organizations. But questions about the details quickly emerged, and the magazine eventually retracted the story. An independent investigation found reporting and editing lapses. Police in Charlottesville, Va., who investigated the incident said they found no evidence to show Jackie was raped at the fraternity party. Nicole Eramo, an associate dean of students, sued the magazine over the article’s portrayal of her as callous and indifferent to Jackie’s plight.

Too good? The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team made history last night with a decisive win over Syracuse University, ending the season with a perfect 38-0 record and securing its fourth consecutive championship. Last night’s NCAA Final Four victory extended the school’s winning streak to 75 games. Players Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck became the only players in NCAA college basketball history to win four titles in either the women’s or men’s divisions. And Huskies coach Geno Auriemma secured his 11th overall championship, moving past legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden. But last night’s victory didn’t come without criticism: Some say the UConn women are too dominant and are ruining the game for their competitors.

Back to battle? The Pentagon confirmed two of al-Qaeda’s top explosives experts are now out of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and in the African country of Senegal. Despite fears the men will return to terror activities, the White House insists their release is a safe bet. “Senegal has agreed to put in place appropriate mechanisms that would mitigate the risk these individuals could pose to U.S. national security down the line,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby fought coalition forces in Osama bin Laden’s Tora Bora stronghold in Afghanistan. Omar Abu Baker Umar was described in a 2008 government assessment as likely to immediately re-engage in hostilities upon release. The Pentagon released the two high-level al-Qaeda operatives as part of the administration’s plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which it sees as a recruiting tool for terrorists.

Locked and loaded. March was another record-breaking month for gun sales in the United States, with 2.5 million firearms-related background checks performed by the FBI. That’s an increase of 35,000 checks over the previous record for March—set in 2014. The March number also continues the string of 11 record-breaking months in a row of background checks and gun sales. And for the year, 2016 is on track to set an all-time annual sales record.

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry and Kristen Eicher contributed to this report.