2 P.M. UPDATE:
TOLEDO, Ohio — Hillary Clinton tore into Donald Trump's tax history, business acumen and trustworthiness on Monday after news that the New York real estate mogul may not have paid federal taxes for years.
Campaigning at a union hall, Clinton cast Trump as a cold-hearted and bungling businessman who "represents the same rigged system that he claims he's going to change." She called for a new law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns, something Trump has refused to do.
Clinton mocked Trump for losing money in the casino industry and claimed he left workers and taxpayers to pick up the bill from his failed enterprises.
"He's taken corporate excess and makes a business model out it," she said. "It's Trump first and everyone else last."
The Democrat's comments were her first response to a weekend New York Times report that Trump claimed a loss of nearly $916 million in a single year on his personal income taxes. The Times said the size of the loss could have allowed Trump to avoid owing federal taxes for nearly two decades, an assertion his campaign neither confirmed nor disputed.
While Trump's allies contended the Republican presidential candidate was a "genius" for using the tax system to rebuild his fortune, the Clinton campaign released a new TV ad, asking "If not paying taxes makes him smart, what does that make the rest of us?"
Trump made no reference to the tax trouble at an event with veterans in Virginia on Monday, but he dispatched several surrogates to mount his defense.
Trump went after Clinton's commitment to fighting cybersecurity threats and pointed to her use of a private, email server when she served as secretary of state.
He said Clinton's handling of classified emails on the server makes her "totally unfit" for the Oval Office. He said he would make cybersecurity an "immediate and top priority."
"To truly make America safe, we must make cybersecurity a major priority — which I don't believe we're doing right now — for both government and the private sector," Trump said. The Republican nominee was to hold two rallies in Colorado later Monday, and his campaign said he would accuse Clinton of using the State Department and the Clinton Foundation to enrich her family.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
EARLIER:
NEW YORK — In his years as a reality TV boss on The Apprentice, Donald Trump repeatedly demeaned women with sexist language, according to show insiders who said he rated female contestants by the size of their breasts and talked about which ones he'd like to have sex with.
The Associated Press interviewed more than 20 people — former crew members, editors and contestants — who described crass behavior by Trump behind the scenes of the long-running hit show, in which aspiring capitalists were given tasks to perform as they competed for jobs working for him.
The staff members and contestants agreed to recount their experiences as Trump's behavior toward women has become a core issue in the presidential campaign. Interviewed separately, they gave concurring accounts of inappropriate conduct on the set.
Eight former crew members recalled that he repeatedly made lewd comments about a camerawoman he said had a nice rear, comparing her beauty to that of his daughter, Ivanka.
During one season, Trump called for female contestants to wear shorter dresses that also showed more cleavage, according to contestant Gene Folkes. Several cast members said Trump had one female contestant twirl before him so he could ogle her figure.
Randal Pinkett, who won the program in December 2005 and who has recently criticized Trump during his run for president, said he remembered the real estate mogul talking about which female contestants he wanted to sleep with, even though Trump had married former model Melania Knauss earlier that year: "He was like 'Isn't she hot, check her out,' kind of gawking, something to the effect of 'I'd like to hit that.' "
The Trump campaign issued a general denial. "These outlandish, unsubstantiated, and totally false claims fabricated by publicity hungry, opportunistic, disgruntled former employees, have no merit whatsoever," said Hope Hicks, Trump's campaign spokesman. "The Apprentice was one of the most successful prime-time television shows of all time and employed hundreds of people over many years, many of whom support Mr. Trump's candidacy." She declined to answer specific questions that were emailed and declined an interview request.
Former producer Katherine Walker said Trump frequently talked about women's bodies during the five seasons she worked with him and said he speculated about which female contestant would be "a tiger in bed."
Other cast and crew interviewed said they had positive, professional experiences with Trump, and added that they had never heard comments that made them uncomfortable.
"He was extremely supportive. You could tell there was so much respect there on all sides, especially with the female athletes," said contestant and U.S. softball star Jennie Finch, a two-time Olympian. "Obviously, he was complimentary, but never in an inappropriate way."
Contestant Poppy Carlig, who performed the twirl, said she considered Trump's request "playful banter." She added: "I don't immediately jump to the conclusion that people are having bad intentions with what they are saying. He said I reminded him of his daughter and I thought that was really touching because I know how much he values his family."