(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Friday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 3,000 points or 7 percent to a fresh record closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 41,600-point plateau although it's expected to open in the gre
(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market on Friday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 3,000 points or 7 percent to a fresh record closing high. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 41,600-point plateau although it's expected to open in the gre
The Trump administration proposed a rule to expand employers’ ability to offer fertility benefits, as part of its effort to expand access to fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury announced the proposed rule Sunday that would establish a new category of limited excepted benefits — the same category as dental and vis...
The Trump administration proposed a rule to expand employers’ ability to offer fertility benefits, as part of its effort to expand access to fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury announced the proposed rule Sunday that would establish a new category of limited excepted benefits — the same category as dental and vision benefit coverage — to cover fertility. Similar to dental and vision coverage, the proposed rule could exempt employer-sponsored fertility benefits from Affordable Care Act requirements and certain other federal healthcare coverage laws, according to the Department of Labor. The employer-sponsored fertility benefits would have the same structural principles as other limited excepted benefits, under the proposed rule, including a lifetime benefit cap of $120,000 and notice requirements. The aim is to expand employers’ offerings and lower the cost of fertility treatments, though the proposed rule does not entirely eliminate costs to the recipient. This move aims to build on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February 2025 requesting policy recommendations on “protecting IVF access” and “aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.” This measure comes at a time when the Republican Party and “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement enthusiasts have raised concerns about the birth rate hitting record lows in the US in recent years, and while states continue their push to curtail abortion access. Read More: Trump’s ‘MAHA’ Blitz Loses Momentum as Midterm Dilemmas Grow
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, located next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30, 2025. Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will seek a truce in their bruising trade war on October 30, with the US president predicting a "great meeting" but Beijing being more circumspect. (Photo by ANDREW...
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, located next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30, 2025. Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will seek a truce in their bruising trade war on October 30, with the US president predicting a "great meeting" but Beijing being more circumspect. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images SINGAPORE – When U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping meet in Beijing on Thursday, they and their teams will seal outcomes on potentially a huge range of issues. The agenda spans trade, technology, rare earth export controls, Taiwan, the Iran war, and artificial intelligence. China's decision to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets, and its ban on semiconductors from Nexperia China, upended supply chains central to global automakers , with political and economic consequences across Europe, Japan, and South Korea. "Virtually everyone has a stake in the outcome of this meeting," said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. That also means other world leaders and interested parties will likely be paying close attention — even if they won't be in the room when decisions are made that might have far-reaching consequences for them. Leading up to the summit, both sides have been ratcheting up pressure, with Washington accusing Beijing of running "industrial-scale" campaigns to steal American AI technology, and China ordering companies not to comply with U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil as well as hosting Iran's foreign minister for a visit. The future trajectory of the relationship — whether toward cooperation or confrontation — will have massive consequences for the global economy. "The entire world will be hoping that the two leaders can reach agreement on at least a ...
More States Enact New Laws Curbing Teachers Unions Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), New organized labor reforms signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week require a majority of members to be present for teachers union certification or recertification votes, increase fines for illegal strikes, and establish merit-based pay for educators. Students join strik...
More States Enact New Laws Curbing Teachers Unions Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), New organized labor reforms signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week require a majority of members to be present for teachers union certification or recertification votes, increase fines for illegal strikes, and establish merit-based pay for educators. Students join striking teachers as they demand higher pay and smaller class sizes outside Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2019. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images In Idaho, after July 1, teachers unions will be prohibited from collecting dues directly from members’ paychecks, using paid time off for union activities, or recruiting new members during school hours. A similar law in Arizona, which also bans teacher strikes and prohibits organized labor members from using any school property—even email addresses—for union activities, will be decided on by voters in the November election. “They can’t consume taxpayer-funded resources during the school day,” said Rusty Brown, special projects director for the Freedom Foundation policy organization, which assisted state legislators with those measures and helps teachers opt out of union membership. These ideas are expected to gain ground throughout the nation in the months and years ahead, Brown told The Epoch Times. Individually, the Freedom Foundation’s Teacher Freedom Alliance has so far helped more than 272,535 teachers opt out of union membership, including more than 50,000 in 2025 alone, according to data provided to The Epoch Times. This includes educators in red and blue states. At the state level, Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced legislation that would allow teachers to withdraw from a union at any time and would terminate “closed shop” provisions that prevent teachers from accessing alternative labor or professional organizations, such as the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Brown calls this an “equal access and an end to ...