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President Donald Trump’s meeting Thursday with China’s top leader Xi Jinping produced a raft of decisions to help dial back trade tensions, but no agreement on TikTok’s ownership.“China will work with the U.S. to properly resolve issues related to TikTok,” China’s Commerce Ministry said after the meeting.It gave no details on any progress toward ending uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the U.S.The Trump administration had been signaling that it may have finally reached a deal with Beijing to keep TikTok running in the U.S.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the two leaders will “consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”Wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner to replace China’s ByteDance. The platform went dark briefly on a January deadline but on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration tries to reach an agreement for the sale of the company.Three more executive orders followed, as Trump, without a clear legal basis, extended deadlines for a TikTok deal. The second was in April, when White House officials believed they were nearing a deal to spin off TikTok into a new company with U.S. ownership. That fell apart when China backed out after Trump announced sharply higher tariffs on Chinese products. Deadlines in June and September passed, with Trump saying he would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns.Trump’s order was meant to enable an American-led group of investors to buy the app from China’s ByteDance, though the deal also requires China’s approval.However, TikTok deal is “not really a big thing for Xi Jinping,” said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program, during a media briefing Tuesday. “(China is) happy to let (Trump) declare that they have finally kept a deal. Whether or not that deal will protect the data of Americans is a big question going forward.”“A big question mark for the United States, of course, is whether this is consistent with U.S. law since there was a law passed by Congress,” Glaser said.About 43% of U.S. adults under the age of 30 say they regularly get news from TikTok, higher than any other social media app, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, according to a Pew Research Center report published in September.A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren’t sure.Among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about 8 in 10 cited concerns over users’ data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision, according to the report.The security debate centers on the TikTok recommendation algorithm which has steered millions of users into an endless stream of video shorts. China has said the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But a U.S. regulation that Congress passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok would require the platform to cut ties with ByteDance.American officials have warned the algorithm a complex system of rules and calculations that platforms use to deliver personalized content is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, but no evidence has been presented by U.S. officials proving that China has attempted to do so. Associated Press Writer Fu Ting contributed to this story from Washington. Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration has agreed to resume student loan forgiveness for an estimated 2.5 million borrowers who are enrolled in certain federal repayment plans following a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers.Under the agreement reached Friday between the teachers union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in certain repayment plans that offer lower monthly payments based on a borrower’s earnings. The government had stopped providing forgiveness under those plans based on its interpretation of a different court decision.The agreement will also protect borrowers from being hit with high tax bills on debt due to be forgiven this year.“We took on the Trump administration when it refused to follow the law and denied borrowers the relief they were owed,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Our agreement means that those borrowers stuck in limbo can either get immediate relief or finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.”The Education Department said the Trump administration is reviewing forgiveness programs to identify ones that were not affected by court rulings that blocked much of the Biden administration’s efforts to cancel student debt.“The Administration looks forward to continuing its work to simplify the student loan repayment process through implementation of the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the department said in a statement. Several forgiveness programs are included According to the deal, the Trump administration must cancel student debt for eligible borrowers enrolled in the following plans: income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, income-contingent repayment plans, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plans.If borrowers have made payments beyond what was needed for forgiveness, those payments will be reimbursed. The Education Department must also continue to process IDR and PSLF “buyback” applications. Balances forgiven before Dec. 31 will not be treated as taxable income, as they will in 2026 due to a recent change in tax law.The administration must also file progress reports every six months with the court to show the pace of application processing and loan forgiveness, according to the AFT. How many borrowers are waiting for forgiveness? An estimated 2.5 million borrowers in IDR plans will be affected by the agreement, and another 70,000 are waiting for forgiveness through the PSLF program.Even with the agreement in place, mass layoffs at the Education Department could factor into processing times for forgiveness, said Megan Walter, senior policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.If borrowers continue to make payments while their application is pending forgiveness, that will be refunded to them if they are successful, Walter said. “But keep really good records,” she said. What are the PSLF and buyback forgiveness programs? Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which has been in place since 2007, forgives federal student loans for borrowers who have worked at non-profit organizations or in public service after 120 payments, or 10 years. The Biden administration also created an option for borrowers to “buy back” months of payments they missed during forbearance or deferment in 2023, to allow more people to qualify for that forgiveness.To determine if you qualify for a buy-back under the PSLF program, consult this page at the Education Department. The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. Cora Lewis, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
With federal SNAP food assistance set to run dry this weekend amid the protracted U.S. government shutdown, Louisiana, New Mexico and Vermont became the latest states Wednesday to announce help for low-income households that rely on the funds to eat.They join states from New York to Nevada in scrambling to find ways to get food to people who are increasingly anxious and will otherwise go hungry without their normal monthly payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Several states take action Wednesday In Louisiana, where nearly one in five residents receive SNAP benefits, lawmakers authorized $150 million in state funding Wednesday to help avoid Saturday’s expected interruption. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed a bipartisan measure to allow most of the state’s nearly 800,000 SNAP recipients to receive their full monthly benefit amount.“Our priorities are specific, we’re going to protect the most vulnerable population in Louisiana which is our kids, disabled and elderly,” Landry said.But officials said that while program details are still incomplete, the effort will likely exclude “able bodied” adults who aren’t caring for children or don’t share a household with elderly or disabled members about 53,000 recipients.Elsewhere, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday that her state will provide $30 million in emergency food assistance to residents through EBT cards, backfilling SNAP benefits temporarily. The Democrat leads a state where 21% of the population relies on SNAP the highest rate in the nation. Officials said the benefit would cover about 30% of what residents usually see at the start of the month.New Mexico held a two-day special legislative session at the outset of the shutdown to shore up food banks and pantries with $8 million in new funding, along with $17.5 million in SNAP-related costs to offset cuts under President Donald Trump’s spending and tax cut bill.The emergency funding is expected to last about 10 days, while Democratic state House Speaker Javier Martínez said the Legislature is positioned to approve more if necessary because “children going without basic food staples is an emergency.”Lujan Grisham said state officials are aware that 10 days isn’t enough but they are prepared to deal with the issue for as long as they can.“We’re not going to let food insecurity creep into this state,” she said.In Vermont, Republican Gov. Phil Scott and Democratic legislative leaders approved using $6.3 million in state funds to cover 15 days of SNAP benefits and provide $250,000 to food banks. The Legislature had previously put $50 million aside for such emergencies. Different strokes for different states So far, state responses have been mixed. Some, like Rhode Island, say they will funnel reserve federal welfare funds directly onto the debit cards issued to people who buy groceries with SNAP. States including Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, West Virginia plan to boost funds to food pantries to help cover for low-income families needing food. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo are both seeking to direct $30 million in state funds to cover food assistance.Other states such as Alabama, Texas, Kansas and Florida have not acted.In Nebraska, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement Tuesday announcing it would pause SNAP benefits the next day. It said it is “actively coordinating with food banks, nonprofit partners, and community organizations,” and listed area food banks for those seeking help.Leaving people to fend for themselves will mean the most vulnerable like children and the elderly will go hungry, said Tashara Leak, a registered dietitian and nutritional researcher and professor at Cornell University. She also serves on New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy that routinely meets with New York’s governor.“The panic is already starting,” Leak said, adding families with limited resources are “already rationing food in preparation to not receive benefits on Nov. 1.” States can’t do what the federal government can Despite the best efforts of states, local governments and food charities, it won’t be enough to cover what the federal government does under SNAP. Even states with fat budget surpluses couldn’t cover the SNAP tab much beyond November. That tab nationwide totaled about $100 billion in 2024.“There’s no way for the states to be able to fill in the gap for the month of November, especially with such short notice,” Leak said.Democrats have called on the Trump administration to release contingency funding to ensure uninterrupted SNAP payments, but it has declined to do so.Recently, a group of Democratic state officials filed suit, asking a judge to require the Trump administration to keep funding SNAP benefits. They say that the government is required to use one contingency fund, which has around $5 billion, for that purpose and that another larger reserve fund of about $23 billion is also available. A hearing is set for Thursday in federal court in Boston.Delays in benefits are nearly certain for most beneficiaries whose debit cards are replenished early in the month even in states that are planning to pay for benefits or if a judge orders the federal government to load the cards immediately.The legal filing asserted that in California, for instance, there will be a one-day delay in benefits available for every day after Oct. 23 that the process of putting money on cards hasn’t begun. That means that if a judge orders the program to continue on Thursday, the first cards would likely not be ready until around Nov. 10.Christopher Bosso, a Northeastern University professor of public policy and political science who has published a book about SNAP, said even a delay would be deeply felt. Beneficiaries often stock up on groceries at the start of the month, and stores often hold sales then that encourage shoppers to do so.“We’re about to find out how much this program matters, in ways that people hadn’t realized,” Bosso said. AP writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. Margery A. Beck and Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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