Election 2024 Latest: Trump and Harris focus on tax policy ahead of next week's debate

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will debate for the first time next Tuesday as the presidential candidates fight to sway voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics. The meeting comes just 75 days after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance triggered a political earthquake that ultimately forced him from the race.

Ahead of that, Trump and Harris are discussing tax policy plans with voters. Harris touted a small- business tax plan during a campaign visit to New Hampshire on Wednesday, while Trump on Thursday promised to cut the corporate tax from 21% to 15% for companies producing in the U.S.

There are 61 days until the November election. Early voting will be underway in at least four states by the end of this month and a dozen more to follow by mid-October.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the Latest:

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is promoting Donald Trump’s plans to deport people living in the country illegally at record levels.

The Ohio senator spoke to a friendly crowd of about 300 people at a Phoenix hotel, saying a second Trump administration would “finish that beautiful border wall,” stop releasing asylum seekers while they await a court hearing and end Medicare benefits for people living in the country illegally, though unauthorized immigrants are not currently eligible for Medicare.

“I have a message from Donald J. Trump,” Vance said. “If you are in this country illegally in six months, pack your bags.”

The federal election interference case against Donald Trump is inching forward.

A judge on Thursday permitted prosecutors to file court documents later this month that could detail unflattering allegations about the former president as the Republican nominee enters the final weeks of his White House run.

The order came hours after a court hearing in which U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sparred with a Trump lawyer who accused the government of trying to rush ahead with an “illegitimate” indictment in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

Chutkan made clear she would not let the upcoming election affect how she proceeds. She turned aside defense efforts to delay the process while also acknowledging that the case is nowhere close to a trial date.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are bitterly at odds over the next steps in the case after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the prosecution by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. The case against Trump charges him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team filed a revised indictment last week to strip out certain allegations against Trump for which the Supreme Court said the former president enjoyed immunity. Defense lawyers, however, believe that that indictment did not fully comply with the justices’ ruling.

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Former President Donald Trump has suggested that his plans to increase tariffs on foreign imports would solve seemingly unrelated challenges such as the rising cost of child care in the U.S.

At his appearance before the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee was asked about his plans to drive down child care costs to help more women join the workforce.

Trump said his plans to tax imports from foreign nations at higher levels would “take care” of such problems, saying the effort would take in “trillions of dollars."

Trump has embraced tariffs as he appeals to working-class voters who oppose free-trade deals and the outsourcing of factories and jobs.

In June, the right-leaning Tax Foundation estimated that Trump’s proposed tariffs would amount to a $524 billion yearly tax hike that would shrink the economy and cost the equivalent of 684,000 jobs. Some economists have said such taxes on imports could worsen inflation.

Former President Donald Trump is attacking Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on Israel.

In a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump called Harris “the candidate of the forces who want to destroy Western civilization and Israel.”

In contrast, he declared himself “the candidate of those who want to defend Western civilization.”

Trump accused Harris of abandoning support for Israel by associating her with President Joe Biden’s easing of sanctions on Iran, a devout enemy of Israel. He added that Israel would cease to exist under Harris.

Harris has strongly backed Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

On that day, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, triggering the war in Gaza. The war is now in its 11th month. Gaza health officials say more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll.

Trump’s remarks were delivered live via satellite to the group’s session at a Las Vegas casino conference center.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Pittsburgh, a key part of the battleground state of Pennsylvania where she will spend the next several days preparing for next week's presidential debate.

The Democratic presidential nominee intentionally chose the city to hone her ideas ahead of Tuesday's showdown with former President Donald Trump. The debate will require both candidates to distill their ideas into two-minute answers as they vie for public support.

The 90-minute debate begins at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday inside Philadelphia’s National Constitutional Center. It will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. Per rules negotiated by both campaigns, there will be no live audience.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is promising to drastically increase the United States' domestic energy supply.

In a speech to the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, Trump said if elected in November, he would immediately issue a “National Emergency Declaration” to “blast through every bureaucratic hurdle to issue rapid approvals for new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, and new power plants and reactors.”

Trump accused Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris of conducting an “anti-energy crusade,” citing what he said was an 80% reduction in the amount of land available for oil drilling under President Joe Biden's administration. He also said that a plan to shutter coal-fired plants in the next few years would cause a “catastrophic energy shortfall that will make inflation far worse.”

The former president also vowed to “rescind all unspent funds” in the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s landmark climate law that was approved with only Democratic support.

Former President Donald Trump says that if he's elected in November, he will ask Congress to pass legislation that would ban the spending of taxpayer money on people who have entered the country illegally.

Trump also told executives and industry leaders at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that he would bar such migrants from obtaining mortgages in California.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has railed against the economic impact of the influx of migrants in recent years and what he says is their strain on some government services.

Former President Donald Trump is promising to cut 10 government regulations for every new regulation implemented if he is elected in November.

Trump also told executives and industry leaders at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that he would create a “Government Efficiency Commission” to conduct a financial audit of the entire federal government. Trump said the idea was the suggestion of billionaire Elon Musk and that Musk might lead the commission.

The Republican presidential nominee claimed that in 2022, “fraud and improper payments alone cost taxpayers an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars.”

He said the commission would develop an action plan “to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months.”

Trump also promised to cut the current 21% corporate tax rate to 15%, an idea he has floated previously. On Thursday, he clarified that would be solely for companies that produce in the U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have agreed to meet on Sept. 16 as the Democratic presidential nominee courts the powerful union's endorsement.

The union said in a statement Thursday that the meeting with union members and officers will take place at the Teamsters headquarters in Washington.

Harris has already been endorsed by most major labor unions, including the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of Teachers. She is now seeking support of the 1.3 million-member Teamsters, one of the last unions to make a choice.

The statement said the meeting will give Harris a chance to discuss how she and the Teamsters “can work together to empower and protect workers, promote high labor standards and strengthen the American economy while expanding the middle class."

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump met with the Teamsters members and leaders in January.

No matter who the Teamsters endorse, it won’t guarantee support of all the union’s members. In an interview with CBS on Sunday, President Sean O’Brien noted that the union is different from most because its membership is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump is touting his past accomplishments on the economy before a group of executives and industry leaders.

In a speech to the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, Trump said he "took care of our economy like I would take care of my own company.”

The Republican presidential nominee also blasted Vice President Kamala Harris' economic plans, saying the Democratic presidential nominee "wants four more years to enforce the radical left agenda that poses a fundamental threat to the prosperity of every American family and America itself.”

Trump said he was promising “low taxes, low regulation, low interest rates, low, low, low crime, and surging incomes for all.”

Days before their first debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are laying out starkly different visions for the U.S. economy.

Trump has floated the idea of chopping the 21% corporate tax rate to 15%, a proposal liked by companies, in addition to no taxes on tips and Social Security income. The corporate rate had been 35% when he became president in 2017, and he later signed a bill lowering it.

Harris has called for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%. In New Hampshire on Wednesday, she also called for expanding tax deductions tied to the expenses of starting a business and set a goal of 25 million applications to form new companies over the next four years.

Economists have warned about Trump’s plans to impose tariffs that he says would return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Some have said such taxes on imports could worsen inflation, though he is vowing to cut down costs. Inflation peaked in 2022 at 9.1% but has since eased to 2.9% as of last month.

Trump was scheduled to appear before the Economic Club of New York on Thursday to make his case.

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A coalition of education, entertainment and political groups is launching an HBCU voter registration drive aimed at getting students from historically Black colleges to the polls.

Initiated Thursday, The Vote Loud: HBCU Voter Registration Challenge allows current students, alumni, professors and extended family members of historically Black colleges and universities to register to vote, logging a point for their school. Special prizes will be announced soon and may include special performances, organizers said.

The competition is open until Oct. 5. It was launched by BET, HBCU Buzz, Live Nation Urban, and former first lady Michelle Obama’s nonpartisan voting initiative When We All Vote.

Luke Lawal Jr. is founder and CEO of HBCU Buzz. He says the effort is not just about voting, but about "shaping policies that impact our education, our communities and our future.”

Before voters even begin casting ballots, Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a sprawling legal fight over how the 2024 election will be run — a series of court disputes that could even run past Election Day if the outcome is close.

Both parties have bulked up their legal teams for the fight. Republicans have filed more than 100 lawsuits challenging various aspects of vote-casting after being chastised repeatedly by judges in 2020 for bringing complaints about how the election was run only after votes were tallied.

After Donald Trump has made “ election integrity ” a key part of his party’s platform following his false claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020, the Republican National Committee says it has more than 165,000 volunteers ready to watch the polls in November.

Democrats are countering with what they are calling “voter protection,” rushing to court to fight back against the GOP cases and building their own team with over 100 staffers, several hundred lawyers and what they say are thousands of volunteers for November.

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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will debate for the first — and perhaps, last — time on Tuesday night as the presidential candidates fight to sway voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics.

The meeting comes just 75 days after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance triggered a political earthquake that ultimately forced him from the race. Few expect such a transformative result this time, but Trump is on a mission to end Harris’ “honeymoon” as polls suggest the Democratic vice president is now even — or slightly ahead — of the Republican former president in some swing states.

Harris, a former courtroom prosecutor, will enter the night with relatively high expectations against a Republican opponent with 34 felony convictions and a penchant for false statements. The question is whether Harris, who did not particularly stand out during primary debates in her 2020 presidential campaign, can prosecute Trump’s glaring liabilities in a face-to-face meeting on live television with the world watching.

The 90-minute meeting begins at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday inside Philadelphia’s National Constitutional Center. It will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. Per rules negotiated by both campaigns, there will be no live audience.

▶ Here’s what we’re watching for on a historic night.

Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted the rules for next week’s debate with former President Donald Trump, although the Democratic nominee says the decision not to keep both candidates’ microphones live throughout the matchup will be to her disadvantage.

The development, which came Wednesday via a letter from Harris’ campaign to host network ABC News, seemed to mark a conclusion to the debate over microphone muting, which had for a time threatened to derail the Sept. 10 presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Economic Club of New York, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attends a campaign event at the Economic Club of New York, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Pittsburgh International Airport, in Coraopolis, Pa., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, and is greet by from left, Col. Raymond Hyland Jr., commander of the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Gisele Barreto Fetterman and Sen. John Letterman, D-Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Pittsburgh International Airport, in Coraopolis, Pa., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, and takes a selfie with Sen. John Letterman, D-Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump appears via a live satellite video feed during the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership summit Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives in Pittsburgh International Airport, in Coraopolis, Pa., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, where she is expected to prepare for the first presidential debate. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he departs a campaign event at the Economic Club of New York, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump participates in a town hall with FOX News host Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen arrive for a campaign stop at Laborfest Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign event Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris greets people after speaking during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump participates in a town hall with FOX News host Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

TOKYO (AP) — Hong Kong’s share benchmark has fallen more than 9% as traders dumped shares following recent sharp gains.

The Hang Seng index lost 9.4% to close at 20,926.79. Technology and China-related shares led the decline.

Hong Kong shares had logged strong gains over the past week while markets in mainland China were closed for a weeklong holiday. The advances were fueled by recent announcements of plans by Beijing for more support for the economy and for financial markets.

Shares initially soared in Shanghai on Tuesday but then gave up a chunk of those gains as details of economic stimulus plans from officials in Beijing fell short of what investors were hoping for. Shares elsewhere in Asia declined.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Shares soared Tuesday in Shanghai as Chinese markets reopened after a weeklong holiday but then gave up a chunk of their initial gains as the details of Beijing's plans to revive the world's second-largest economy appeared to fall flat.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 3.1% at 3,438.16, though in Shenzhen, Japan's smaller market, the main index gained 6.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 7.6% to 21,336.70 as traders, apparently underwhelmed by the update from Beijing, sold to lock in profits from recent gains.

The Shanghai benchmark initially gained 10% but fell back as officials of China's main economic planning agency briefed reporters about a slew of policies announced earlier that were meant to address various problems such as a protracted slump in the property market.

“China’s markets rally has hit a wall, leaving investors deflated. The reopening surge from the week-long holiday barely had time to gather steam before fizzling out, and now the once-thrilled bulls are licking their wounds,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets were mostly lower.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.3% to 38,842.75. as the dollar fell to 147.89 Japanese yen from 148.18 yen. A weaker yen tends to push share prices higher.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.4% to 2,599.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 8,176.90.

On Monday, U.S. stocks slid after Treasury yields hit their highest levels since the summer and oil prices continued to climb.

The S&P 500 dropped 1% to 5,695.94 and is still close to its all-time high set a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 41,954.24, coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite sank 1.2% to 17,923.90.

It’s a stall for U.S. stocks after they rallied to records on relief that interest rates are finally heading back down, now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation. A blowout report on U.S. jobs growth released Friday raised optimism about the economy and hopes that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing for it.

When Treasury bonds, which are seen as the safest possible investments, are paying more in interest, investors become less inclined to pay very high prices for stocks and other things that carry bigger risk of losing money.

It’s more difficult to look attractive to investors seeking income when a 10-year Treasury is paying a 4.02% yield, up from 3.97% late Friday and from 3.62% three weeks ago.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, jumped more on Monday. It rose to 3.99% from 3.92% late Friday.

Treasury yields may also be feeling upward push from the recent jump in oil prices. Crude prices have been spurting higher on worries that worsening tensions in the Middle East could ultimately lead to disruptions in the flow of oil.

Brent crude, the international standard, shed $1.23 to $79.70 per barrel. It had jumped 3.7% Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, slipped $1.21 to $75.93. It also gained 3.7% on Monday.

Stocks that are seen as the most expensive can feel the most downward pressure from higher Treasury yields, and the spotlight has been on Big Tech stocks. They drove the majority of the S&P 500’s returns in recent years and soared to heights that critics called overdone.

Apple fell 2.3%, Amazon dropped 3% and Alphabet sank 2.4% to act as some of Monday's heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

An exception was Nvidia, which rose another 2.3%. It rode another upswell in excitement about artificial-intelligence technology after Super Micro Computer soared 15.8% after saying it recently shipped more than 100,000 graphics processing units with liquid cooling.

If Treasury yields keep rising, companies will likely need to deliver bigger profits to drive their stock prices much higher, and this week marks the start of the latest corporate earnings reporting season.

Analysts say earnings per share grew 4.2% during the summer for S&P 500 companies from a year earlier, led by technology and health care companies, according to FactSet. If those analysts are correct, it would be a fifth straight quarter of growth.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the euro rose to $1.0982 from $1.0977.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed.

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 24, 2024., 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)