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Japan budget requests swell to pandemic-era scale under Takaichi agenda

(Corrects number in paragraph two to 143.1 trillion yen from 143.66 trillion yen, and its dollar conversion)By Makiko Yamazaki and Takaya YamaguchiTOKYO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Japan's budget requests for the next fiscal year have ballooned to a size similar to during the pandemic era, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's expansionary fiscal agenda pushes government borrowing costs to three-decade highs.Budget requests from government agencies totalled 143.1 trillion yen ($917.78 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, after the government adopted a budgeting framework that integrates ini

Brazil's Vale drops IPO plans for critical minerals unit, The Globe and Mail reports

Milei vows tougher sanctions, defense push over Falklands oil drilling

Business|Economy|Finance

US official directs Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to approve VantageScore for all lenders

U.S. Director of Federal Housing Bill Pulte said on Thursday he directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, created by the U.S. Congress to support the housing market, to approve all lenders to use credit scoring system VantageScore."Fannie and Freddie's initial rollout of VantageScore has been incredibly successful, with 50 LENDERS DELIVERING LOANS. So, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, I'm instructing Fannie and Freddie to approve ALL lenders to use VantageScore," Pulte wrote on X. "FICO has enjoyed a monopoly. No more," Pulte added. Shares of Fair Isaac, better known as FICO, had slipped in April after Fred

Asian benchmarks mostly rise after tech stocks lead rally on Wall Street

Musk super PAC wades into US midterms with $800,000 for Republicans in close races

Asian shares climb ahead of US jobs data, Fed's Waller soothes bonds

Asian shares rose on Friday as investors embraced a global rally before crucial U.S. jobs data, while bonds found some much needed relief after a top Federal Reserve official cooled rate hike fears and dragged the dollar lower.The dollar's retreat turbocharged a rally in the yen, which has gained 2.6% this week to trade at 155.7 a dollar, putting it within striking distance of the 155.2 level reached after joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington in late July.In remarks for a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said that recent data suggested some signs

In blow to Trump, Missouri top court blocks Republican-drawn congressional map

Trump appoints Adam Telle as acting US Army Secretary

US News

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Election|Political|US

Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map and orders it to be put to a vote

The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously blocked new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map. The decision Thursday marks a rare setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle. Republicans had hoped Missouri’s new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in the midterms. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately app

Election|Political|US

Trump asks Supreme Court to OK sweeping changes for mail ballots

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to give the US Postal Service sweeping power to withhold delivery of mail ballots, setting up an extraordinary showdown over voting at the high court less than two months before the November midterm election.The emergency appeal, which leapfrogged lower courts still considering the case, is the culmination of a monthslong legal fight over an executive order the president signed in March that gave federal agencies an unprecedented role in elections. Voter advocacy groups and a coalition of 23 Democratic-led states cha

Abdul El-Sayed meets with Black leaders in Downriver area for roundtable discussion

Lutnick apologizes for asserting that there ‘haven’t been American deaths’ from the Iran war

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|US

Rising Treasury yields could rattle US stocks as earnings season ends

U.S. stock investors are warily watching the rise in Treasury yields as a stumbling block for Wall Street's record-setting rally, with particular trouble seen if the benchmark 10-year yield jumps abruptly toward 5%.Higher bond yields pose a number of obstacles for stock performance. These obstacles include stiffer investment competition and pressure on equity valuations, as well as higher borrowing costs, which can eventually stymie economic growth.So far, rising yields have not inflicted serious damage on stock prices. The 10-year Treasury yield has risen over 80 basis points since the start

A love triangle and a witness: New details in Virginia stabbing death

GREAT FALLS, Virginia (WTOP) -- The man accused of fatally stabbing a woman last month in Great Falls, Virginia, told a witness he was going to kill the woman, according to a Fairfax County criminal complaint.Alexis Cedillos-Campos, of Herndon, was charged in the Monday, Aug. 17 stabbing death of 42-year-old Carmen Puch along Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls Park.Puch and Cedillos-Campos worked together at a restaurant in Herndon and had been involved for some time in an intimate relationship, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.The witness told police

Federal judge blocks Trump’s newest attempt to crack down on birthright citizenship

The Trump administration cut funds for natural hazards monitoring in Nepal

World News

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Fact check: Vance repeats Trump’s fictional ‘$19 trillion’ investment figure

President Donald Trump has for months been using a fictional economic figure. Vice President JD Vance echoed it on Thursday.Vance, listing the administration’s “wins” while speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, claimed “we’ve seen $19 trillion of new investment come into the country.” But there is no basis for the “$19 trillion” number, which the White House has never been able to explain – and again failed to explain when CNN happened to inquire hours before Vance’s comments.When Vance spoke, the White House’s own website claimed there had been “$

Environment|Science|World

'Supersized' El Niño may become strongest ever recorded, UN says

The El Niño weather phenomenon is set to intensify further into 2027 and could be the strongest ever, raising risks of extreme weather into next year, the World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday.The U.N. weather agency said its forecasts showed a near 100% likelihood that El Niño would persist through February 2027, fuelled by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. This is the first time it has expressed such a degree of certainty, the WMO said."If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began. So literally off the charts," WMO

Nepal to rebuild early-warning system on China border after deadly flood, sources say

Messi to get mid-game tribute by soccer teams across Argentina after international retirement

Travel|World

USS Lincoln crew hits the streets of Thai beach city after lengthy Middle East deployment

Buses carrying crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier streamed into Thailand’s seaside resort city of Pattaya on Thursday, as part of a port call after a lengthy deployment to the Middle East. The Lincoln was supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days. Its lengthy deployment drew concerns last month about deteriorating mental health among the crew as well as shortages of key food supplies aboard. The Navy downplayed any problems, and President Donald Trump co

Business|Economy|Travel|World

With Japan tightening rules for foreign residents, some wonder if it’s time to say ‘sayonara’

Zen gardens, futuristic cityscapes and a vibrant food scene, combined with a favorable exchange rate against the yen, have turned Japan into a tourist magnet that has been drawing in record numbers of visitors in recent years.The number of people settling down for longer-term stays, including work and study, also hit an all-time high last year, likely due to the reliable safety and convenient infrastructure the world’s fourth-largest economy has to offer.But recently, a series of tightened immigration policies imposed by the government has made those who’ve come to call Japan their second

60 targets struck, 18M barrels of oil protected: The US military’s record day in the Strait of Hormuz

Tens of thousands in Spain protest Ceuta border crisis

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Arts|Political

Trump administration plows ahead with groundbreaking for the president’s ‘triumphal arch’

Business|Economy|Technology

What to expect from Friday’s jobs report – and AI in the future

Business|Political

Maria Bartiromo out at Fox News after more than a decade; no reason specified

Fox News Media has announced that Maria Bartiromo is no longer with the company

Environment|Political

Judge declares she’s ‘not the Lorax’ during hearing on Trump’s DC golf course renovation

Health|Political

GOP lawmaker gives expected timeline for Mitch McConnell’s return

Business|Economy

Trump turns to a dual economic and military approach in latest attempt to squeeze Iran

Confronted by an intransigent Iranian government that has refused to back down in the face of a massive military campaign, President Donald Trump appears to have settled on a dual-prong approach

Business|Economy|Science|Technology

Tesla keeps hyping robotaxis as its future. But it’s trailing rival Waymo in a field yet to prove profitable

Arts|Political

Trump administration says agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian

Arts|Education|Finance|Health|Travel

Is dumping a Cuban person in Africa ‘deportation’?

Business|Economy|Finance

Dutch central bank shifts billions in gold to London in 'crisis preparedness' move

The Dutch central bank has moved billions of dollars worth of its gold reserves from North America to London

California & Local

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Local

From LA to Scottsdale: The Founder Behind AdDynamix Is Building the Bridge Between AI and Business Tools

An LA digital advertising veteran of 28 years has moved to Scottsdale and is building what he calls the missing piece between business software and the AI assistants people now use every day. SCOTTSDALE, AZ. When Benoit Pecqueur talks about his latest company, he sounds less like a founder pitching a product and more like an operator who got tired of watching the same problem repeat itself. “Most small business owners are watching the AI revolution from the sidelines,” he says. “Not because they don’t want it. Because their tools don’t talk to ChatGPT or Claude. Their accountant still pulls