New analysis suggests national debt could increase under Harris, but it would surge under Trump

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By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — No one is likely to be happy with the projected higher deficits laid out in a new analysis of Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s economic plans.

The analysis released Monday by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests a Harris presidency could increase the national debt over 10 years by $3.5 trillion. That’s even though the vice president’s campaign insists her proposed investments in the middle class and housing would be fully offset by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Her campaign policy guide states that Harris is “committed to fiscal responsibility — making investments that will support our economy, while paying for them and reducing the deficit at the same time.”

The same analysis says former President Trump’s ideas could heap another $7.5 trillion onto the debt and possibly as much as $15.2 trillion. That’s even though he suggests growth would be so strong under his watch that no one would need to worry about deficits.

The 34-page report released by the fiscal watchdog group puts a spotlight on the issue of government borrowing that will confront the winner of November’s election. Total federal debt held by the public now tops $28 trillion and is expected to keep climbing as revenues can’t keep up with the growing costs of Social Security, Medicare and other programs. The analysis noted that the expense of servicing that debt in dollar terms has “eclipsed the cost of defending our nation or providing health care to elderly Americans.”

Drawing on the candidates’ speeches, campaign documents and social media posts, the analysis warns bluntly: “Debt would continue to grow faster than the economy under either candidates’ plans and in most scenarios would grow faster and higher than under current law.”

Neither candidate has meaningfully stressed budget deficit reduction in their pitch to voters. But multiple analyses show a clear difference of Harris being much more fiscally responsible than Trump.

Harvard University professor Jason Furman, who was the top economist in the Obama White House, estimated in an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal that Harris’ plans could cut deficits by $1.5 trillion or raise them by $1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, his estimates show that Trump’s plans would increase deficits by $5 trillion, though that figure does not include his plans to charge no taxes on overtime pay and scrap the limit on deductions of state and local taxes.

There are other estimates by The Budget Lab at Yale and the Penn Wharton Budget Model that also show Harris would be better at keeping the deficit in check.

The Harris campaign said it sharply disagreed with the analysis of Harris’ policies by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, saying that she would reduce the deficit if she became president. The Trump campaign did not respond to questions about its response to the analysis.

The committee analysis estimates that Harris’ policy ideas could add $3.5 trillion to the national debt through 2035. That conclusion depends on its treatment of how much various programs could cost.

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It forecasts that Harris would implement $4.6 trillion in tax reductions, including extensions of some of the expiring 2017 tax cuts that Trump signed into law and tax breaks for parents and no taxes on tipped income for hospitality workers. Roughly $4 trillion in higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy would be insufficient to cover the total cost of her agenda and the additional interest on the debt that it could generate.

Still, the analysis notes that its numbers depend on various interpretations of what Harris has said. It’s possible that Harris’ agenda would add nothing to baseline deficits, but the report also said it might plausibly add as much as $8.1 trillion in debt in what appears to be a worse-case scenario.

By contrast, Trump’s ideas would likely add another $7.5 trillion to the debt. His $2.7 trillion in tariff revenues would be unable to cover $9.2 trillion in tax cuts and additional expenditures such as $350 billion to secure the border and deport unauthorized immigrants.

But the analysis includes other possibilities that show far higher deficits under Trump. If his tariffs raised less money and there were higher costs for his mass deportations and tax breaks, the national debt could jump by $15.2 trillion.

On the other hand, if the tariffs raised $4.3 trillion and there were no costs tied to deportations, Trump’s plans could only increase the debt by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

Wild include Liam Ohgren, Jesper Wallstedt on opening night roster

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The Wild practiced with the team they will take into the regular season opener this morning, a roster that includes rookies Liam Ohgren, Marat Khusnutdinov and Jesper Wallstedt.

NHL teams have until 4 p.m. CDT to finalize their 23-player rosters but this is the team Minnesota will ice when they play host to Columbus in a 7 p.m. puck drop Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

For now, the Wild will carry three goaltenders, rookie Wallstedt, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury. That is likely to change at times this season as the Wild use roster space to accommodate their schedule.

The Wild start the season with a pair of home games Thursday and Saturday, then play their next seven on the road, the rest of their October schedule.

Ohgren, the Wilds first-round pick in the 2022 entry draft (19th overall), made his NHL debut last spring after his professional team in Sweden was bounced from the playoffs. A 6-foot, 188-pound wing, he had a goal and assist in four games.

WILD ROSTER

Forwards: Matt Boldy, Yakov Trenin, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Khusnutdinov, Marco Rossi, Ohgren, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, Freddy Gaudreau, Marcus Johansson, Jakub Lauko and Kirill Kaprizov.

Defensemen: Jon Merrill, Jake Middleton, Brock Faber, Zach Bogosian, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and Declan Chisholm.

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury, Wallstedt, Filip Gustavsson.

Voyageurs National Park boat rescue claims life of park ranger

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VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK — A park ranger died Sunday while responding to a call from a distressed civilian boat on Namakan Lake in St. Louis County.

While towing the civilian vessel late Sunday morning, the National Park Service law enforcement ranger’s boat capsized, according to a news release from Voyageurs National Park. High winds and rough water were reported.

The three people being assisted fell into the water and swam to safety, but the ranger couldn’t be found.

The ranger’s body was recovered from the lake at approximately 3:20 p.m. after a three-hour search. The release said the ranger’s name is being withheld until all notifications are made.

The incident is under investigation.

The U.S. Border Patrol, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and Kabetogama Fire Department assisted in the search and recovery.

Just before the report of the missing park ranger, rescue resources were being coordinated at 11:03 a.m. for a capsized canoe on Big Shell Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said.

Two people capsized a canoe and were safe on land, however, they were soaking wet and without any gear. The Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Air Rescue Team were dispatched. When the Air Rescue Team arrived, they learned the two people were able to retrieve some gear and were headed back to their vehicles, so the rescue effort was canceled.

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Supreme Court declines Biden administration appeal in Texas emergency abortion case

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By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate the law in Texas, which has one of the country’s strictest abortion bans.

Without detailing their reasoning, the justices kept in place a lower court order that said hospitals cannot be required to provide pregnancy terminations that would violate Texas law. There were no publicly noted dissents.

The Biden administration had asked the justices to throw out the lower court order, arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. The administration pointed to the Supreme Court’s action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues.

The administration also cited a Texas Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. The administration said it brings Texas in line with federal law and means the lower court ruling is not necessary.

Texas asked the justices to leave the order in place, saying the state Supreme Court ruling meant Texas law, unlike Idaho’s, does have an exception for the health of a pregnant patient and there’s no conflict between federal and state law.

Doctors have said the law remains dangerously vague after a medical board refused to specify exactly which conditions qualify for the exception.

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There has been a spike in complaints that pregnant women in medical distress have been turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere as hospitals grapple with whether standard care could violate strict laws against abortion.

Pregnancy terminations have long been part of medical treatment for patients with serious complications, as way to to prevent sepsis, organ failure and other major problems. But in Texas and other states with strict abortion bans, doctors and hospitals have said it is not clear whether those terminations could run afoul of abortion bans that carry the possibility of prison time.

The Texas case started after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to abortion restrictions in many Republican-controlled states. The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.

Texas sued over that guidance, arguing that hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate its ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.