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ByMarciaDunn The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. Marsappearstobeflowing with rivulets of salty wa- ter, at least in the summer, scientists reported Mon- day in a finding that boosts the odds of life on the red planet. "It suggests that it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars," NASA's science mission chief, John Grunsfeld, said at a news conference. Scientists in 2008 con- firmed the existence of fro- zen water on Mars. Now in- struments aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Or- biter have yielded the stron- gest evidence yet that salt water in liquid form trick- les down certain Martian slopes each summer, ac- cording to the researchers. "Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past," said Jim Green, di- rector of planetary science for NASA. "Under certain circumstances, liquid wa- ter has been found on Mars." The rivulets — if that's what they are, since the ev- idence for their existence is indirect — are about 12 to 15 feet wide and 300 feet or more long, scientists said. "What we're dealing with is wet soil, thin layers of wet soil, not standing wa- ter," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona at Tucson, the principal scien- tist for the Mars Reconnais- sance Orbiter's high-resolu- tion imaging experiment. Because liquid water is essential to life, the find- ings could have major im- plications for the possi- bility of Martian life. The researchers said in the journal Nature Geoscience that further exploration is warranted to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet. McEwen said he, for one, believes the possibility of life on Mars to be "very high," though it would be microbial and somewhere in the Martian crust. The presence of liquid water could also make life easier for astronauts visit- ing or living on Mars. Wa- ter could be used for drink- ing and for creating oxygen and rocket fuel. NASA's goal is to send humans there in the 2030s. The evidence of flow- ing water consists largely of dark, narrow streaks on the surface that tend to ap- pear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year. Mars is extremely cold even in summer, and the streaks are in places where the temperature is as low as minus-10 degrees Fahr- enheit. But salt can lower the freezing point of water and melt ice. The source of the water is a mystery. Scientists noted it could be melting ice, an underground aquifer, water vapor from the thin Mar- tian atmosphere, or some combination. McEwen said that there appears to be a "significant volume" of water, speculat- ing it could fill many Olym- pic swimming pools, but that it is spread thin. The streaks were spotted by the orbiter's high-resolu- tion, telescopic camera. An- other on-board instrument detected the chemical sig- nature of salt compounds combined with water. Michael Meyer, lead sci- entist for NASA's Mars ex- ploration program, said the only definitive way for now to determine whether there's life on Mars is to col- lect rocks and soil for analy- sis on Earth — something a U.S. lander set for liftoff in 2020 will do. Now that scientists know what they're looking for, a better, more methodical search can be carried out, Green said. "Water is one of the most precious resources nec- essary for a human mis- sion to the red planet," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House sci- ence, space and technology committee. "The more evi- dence we find of it, the more encouraged I am for future Mars missions." Present-day Mars is noth- ing like ancient Mars. Three billion years ago, our most Earthlike neighbor had a huge ocean, but something radical happened, and ex- actly what remains a mys- tery. The idea of water — and life — on Mars has been ir- resistible to earthlings for generations. In 1877, Italian astron- omer Giovanni Schiapa- relli spied what he called "canali" on Mars — Italian for "channels" — but the word was mistranslated as "canals" in English, causing imaginations to run wild. In the early 1900s, amateur astronomer Percival Lowell claimed to have spotted ir- rigation canals and the- orized they were built by Martians. In 2008, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed on Mars and confirmed the long- suspected presence of ice in the soil. The Mars Re- connaissance Orbiter has been circling the planet since 2006. The lead author of the research paper, Lujendra Ojha, is a Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Institute of Tech- nology. RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER NASA says Mars appears to have flowing water NASA Scientists believe dark, narrow, 100meter-long streaks on the surface of Mars were caused by streams of salty water. By Jill Colvin The Associated Press NEW YORK After weeks of vowing to raise taxes on "hedge fund guys" and high-income earners, Re- publican presidential front- runner Donald Trump un- veiled a tax plan Monday that would cut rates across the board and reduce the amount paid by wealthiest Americans and corpora- tions into the U.S. Treasury. The plan, which Trump said would "provide major tax relief for middle-income and for most other Ameri- cans," appears certain to come with a significant price tag that experts said would likely add to the na- tional debt, despite Trump's assurances. "There will be a major tax reduction," Trump said at a news conference at his Trump Tower skyscraper in Manhattan. "It'll sim- plify the tax code. It'll grow the American economy at a level that it hasn't seen for decades, and all of this does not add to our debt or our deficit." The plan Trump unveiled proposes eliminating in- come taxes entirely for mil- lions of single Americans earning less than $25,000 and married couples earn- ing less than $50,000 a year. Individuals would receive a new one-page form to send the IRS saying, "I win." Wealthier Americans would also see large reduc- tions in their annual tax bill. Under Trump's four- bracket plan, the highest marginal tax rate would be cut from the current 39.6 percent to 25 percent. Businesses — from ma- jor corporations to mom- and-pop shops — would also see their rates slashed to no more than 15 percent, down from the current corpo- rate tax rate of 35 percent. Trump also said he would eliminate the estate tax. The billionaire real es- tate mogul said he plans to pay for the tax cuts by elim- inating and reducing un- specified deductions and loopholes, both on the "very rich" and corporations. He also wants to eliminate the so-called carried interest loophole that allows man- agers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals. "In other words, it's go- ing to cost me a fortune," Trump said. Tax experts rejected that analysis. Steve Gill, a tax and accounting profes- sor at San Diego State Uni- versity, said his quick cal- culation found that as a group, Americans making more than $200,000 a year would pay $400 billion to $500 billion less in taxes under Trump's plan. "This is not a serious plan," said Michael Strain, a resident scholar at the con- servative American Enter- prise Institute in Washing- ton. "He strongly indicated in television interviews the rich wouldn't like this plan. The rich love this plan." Kyle Pomerleau, an econ- omist at the Tax Founda- tion, which advocates for lower rates, said Trump's tax cuts are far larger than those proposed by any other Republican candi- date and could easily cost more than $7 trillion over the next decade. That'd be double the cost of the pro- posal from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "It looks mostly like Bush's plan, except it is a much, much larger tax cut," Pomerleau said. "The Trump tax cut is bigger than what we've seen so far from Republican candi- dates." Trump said the changes he wants to make to the U.S. tax code would not add to the annual federal bud- get deficit and the overall national debt, in part be- cause his plan would bring in new sources of revenue to the Treasury. Among them: a one-time tax of 10 percent on money corporations are holding overseas that is brought back to the U.S, and the elimination of the ability of companies to defer taxes on income earned overseas. Es- timates peg the amount of money U.S. firms have over- seas at more than $2 tril- lion, although Trump said he believes the figure is far higher. Trump also predicted his plan would "create tremen- dous numbers of jobs" and spark the economy to grow at least 3 percent a year, and as much as 5 or 6 percent. PRESIDENTIAL RACE Trump unveils plan to lower taxes for millions JULIE JACOBSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pauses while speaking about his tax plan during a news conference Monday in New York. TED S. WARREN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Seattle Police officers look under a "Ride the Ducks" tourist vehicle as a tire and wheel from the bus lies nearby Thursday. By Gene Johnson and Rachel La Corte The Associated Press SEATTLE Washington state regulators suspended the operations of a Seattle tourcompanyMondayafter one of its amphibious vehi- clesswervedintoanoncom- ing charter bus last week, killing five people and hurt- ing dozens of others. The state Utilities and Transportation Commis- sion met in an emergency session to keep the re- purposed military "duck boats" off the streets pend- ing inspections and a re- view of driver and main- tenance records. The decision came a day after federal investigators announced that the duck boat involved in the crash did not have an axle repair thatwasrecommendedtwo years ago. Early indications are that Ride the Ducks of Seattle had not repaired axles on any of its vehicles, said David Pratt, the com- mission's assistant director for transportation safety. "Because of the possi- bility of continuing safety problems and a current lack of confidence sur- rounding the company's operations, we believe it is important to act immedi- ately to protect the public safety," commission chair- man David Danner said. In anticipation of the move, Brian Tracey, owner of Ride the Ducks of Seat- tle, said Sunday night that he was in "complete agree- ment" with keeping the boats parked pending the inspections. Ride the Ducks Inter- national, which in 2005 refurbished the vehicle in- volved in the crash, warned its customers in 2013 about potential axle failure and recommended a specific repair or increased moni- toring, National Transpor- tation Safety Board mem- ber Earl Weener said. "Thisparticularduckhad not had the fix," he said. Witnesses described seeing the duck boat's left front tire lock up Thurs- day before it veered into the bus. Federal investi- gators said they found the left front axle sheared off, though it wasn't clear if the axle had broken before or after the crash. 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