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Ardern’s Labor Party, comfortably ahead in the election contest according to opinion polls, said it plans a new higher tax rate of 39% for people earning over NZ$180,000 ($118,908), which would only affect 2% of New Zealanders. “Our plan strikes a balance as we recover from Covid-19,” Finance Minis…

“Joe Biden’s agenda is made in China. My agenda is made in the U.S.A,” Trump said while speaking to thousands of supporters at an outdoor campaign rally at the airport in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. China has emerged as a flashpoint ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with Trump repeatedly accusing Bi…

He may keep some in place anyway if he is elected president of the United States in November. Republicans largely abandoned traditional party goals such as unfettered trade and balanced budgets to embrace Trump’s “America First” agenda. For Democratic-party challenger Biden, with a history of suppo…

Trump described Biden, whom he trails in national polls, as a threat to the economy and “stupid,” while Biden took aim at Trump’s reported disparaging of fallen troops. At a White House news conference, Trump said: “Biden and his very liberal running mate (Kamala Harris), the most liberal person in…

Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton was jailed in 2015 for killing Jennifer Laude near a former U.S. navy base. A trial court signed off on his early release last week for good conduct, but was blocked by an appeal from Laude’s lawyers. “Cutting matters short over what constitutes time served, and si…

So far, voters are signaling they want to finish the job they started in 2018 by installing Democrats for House majority control. Now, they’re on track to potentially do the same in the Senate. “The president continues to overshadow and impact the races for the Senate and the House,” said Nat…

Other data put that challenge in perspective, with household spending and wages falling in July as the broadening impact of the pandemic kept consumption frail even after lock-down measures were lifted in May. The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualized 28.1% in April-June, more than a p…

The health department confirmed 1,383 new infections, bringing total cases to 238,727, the highest in Southeast Asia, but the least since July 14. It reported 15 new deaths, taking total fatalities to 3,890. Officials warned against complacency as the economy reopens. “This challenge of Covid-19 co…

The measure would help avert a government shutdown when current funding runs out Sept. 30. Mnuchin and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had agreed to extend funding, according to a Democratic aide, but details on the bill have yet to emerge. “We’re going to move forward with a clean CR (continuing r…

Police described what they called “tumultuous and violent conduct” by protesters on the city’s Southeast Stark Street. One of the fire bombs caught a community member on fire and he was taken to hospital, Portland police said in a statement, adding that a sergeant was also struck by a commercial-gr…