In the news today: An AP VoteCast survey says worries about the economy helped Trump return to the White House; China is bracing for fresh tensions with Trump; and deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon sees a significant drop from last year. Also, a step forward at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Democracy depends on an independent, free press. Power our fact-based journalism with a meaningful gift. Donate Now. |
Donald Trump at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
|
AP VoteCast: Voters who focused on the economy broke hard for Trump
|
President-elect Donald Trump tapped into deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable, despite its recent growth, to meet the needs of the middle class, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Read more. |
|
|
-
Worries about everyday expenses helped Trump return to the White House. In key states, Trump’s voters saw illegal immigration as imposing new costs on their communities. Many believed that their own financial well-being was at risk after the burst of post-pandemic inflation. Trump decisively won among voters who said their family finances were “falling behind” — a group that grew from about 2 in 10 voters in 2020 to about 3 in 10 this year.
Trump made inroads among lower-income voters, middle-income voters and voters without college degrees, AP VoteCast found. All those groups appeared to put as high a priority — if not somewhat more so — on their family budgets than the worries about the future of democracy that motivated much of Vice President Kamala Harris’ coalition.
- Harris’ bet on rallying voters around abortion rights didn’t pan out as planned. She had relative strengths with college graduates and higher-income voters, but Trump held onto his base and also made marginal gains with some of Democrats’ core constituencies.
|
|
|
China is bracing for fresh tensions with Trump over trade, tech and Taiwan
|
As the President-elect prepares to start his second term in office, China is bracing for unpredictability in its ties with the United States and renewed tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan. Read more. |
|
|
Perhaps the biggest consequence for China — if Trump stays true to his campaign promises — is his threat to slap blanket 60% tariffs on all Chinese exports to the U.S. Tariffs like that would be a blow to China’s already unstable economy, which is suffering from high youth unemployment, a lengthy property slump and government debt. A 60% duty on Chinese imports could shave off 2.5 percentage points, or about half, of China’s projected economic growth, according to an analysis published earlier this year by UBS.
There is one scenario in which Trump has threatened to impose even higher tariffs — 150% to 200% — on Chinese goods: if China invades Taiwan. Trump angered Beijing in December 2016 by taking a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen in a breach of diplomatic protocol. No U.S. president had spoken directly to a Taiwanese leader since Washington and Beijing established ties in 1979. That created anxiety in China-watching circles, but ultimately he stuck to supporting the status quo in relations between Taipei and Beijing.
|
|
|
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops by 30% compared to previous year
|
Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, officials said Wednesday, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. Read more. |
|
|
The results sharply contrast with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. Deforestation hit a 15-year high during his term.
The Amazon holds the world’s largest rainforest, about two-thirds of it within Brazil. It stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. The Amazon thus prevents the climate from warming even faster than it would otherwise. The basin also holds about 20% of the world’s fresh water and biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species.
|
|
|
A hibiscus flower in bloom. (Chris Petersen via AP)
|
How to help your tropical plants survive the winter blues
Nothing conjures up the feeling of the tropics like giant, lush-leaved plants, and if you live in the tropics or subtropics, you get to enjoy them year-round. The rest of us have to buy them every year and treat them as annuals or, if you’re in the know, save them from year to year. |
|
|
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
|
| |
|
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
|
| |
|
*Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in advertising, contact us here. |
|
|
|
