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Peter Martin | (TNS) Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — U.S. spies believe China’s leaders see little or no upside to the looming electoral showdown between President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump.

Ahead of next week’s first debate of the presidential campaign, U.S. intelligence agencies assess that China has no clear preference between the two candidates, according to American officials, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic assessments.

The conclusion suggests that officials in Beijing, like their counterparts in Washington, believe that ties between the world’s two largest economies will continue on their long-term downward trajectory despite a recent increase in high-level meetings billed as efforts to manage differences. In recent years, the two countries have clashed over everything from technology to human rights and the South China Sea.

The U.S. assessment is matched in interviews with Chinese officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. They say the view in Beijing is that both candidates are intent on containing China and disrupting its rise. read more

Curse of the Werewolf will be a spinning, family coaster at Epic Universe. The ride will be part of Dark Universe, a monsters-themed land inside Epicm which is set to open as part of Universal Orlando next year. (Universal Orlando)

Dark Universe will be a monsters-themed land inside Epic Universe theme park, which is set to open as part of Universal Orlando in 2025. Visitors will be able to experience Monster Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a dark ride within Dark Universe. (Universal Orlando)

Dark Universe will be a monsters-themed land inside Epic Universe theme park, which is set to open as part of Universal Orlando next year. Visitors will be able to check out the Burning Blade Tavern. (Universal Orlando)

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Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience will allow Epic Universe visitors to transform their looks to salute Universal monsters. The attraction will be part of Dark Universe, a monsters-themed land inside the theme park, which is set to open at Universal Orlando in 2025. (Universal Orlando) read more

Walt Disney Co. continues to face fallout from its scuttled plans to move 2,000 California employees to a proposed Florida campus — a controversial decision the company reversed last year following the return of Chief Executive Bob Iger.

In 2021, then-CEO Bob Chapek and parks and experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced plans to relocate employees supporting Disney theme parks and resorts — including the celebrated Imagineers — to a planned $1-billion office park in the Lake Nona area of Orlando. The move was designed for Disney to take advantage of Florida tax credits, but the cross-country shift was deeply unpopular among employees who were asked to uproot their lives in Southern California.

Now some Disney employees are suing the company over the canceled relocation.

According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Disney in Los Angeles County Superior Court, numerous workers heeded the company’s calls, dutifully sold their homes in the Los Angeles area and moved to Central Florida. read more

By MARK SHERMAN (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a tax on foreign income over a challenge backed by business and anti-regulatory interests, declining their invitation to weigh in on a broader, never-enacted tax on wealth.

The justices, by a 7-2 vote, left in place a provision of a 2017 tax law that is expected to generate $340 billion, mainly from the foreign subsidiaries of domestic corporations that parked money abroad to shield it from U.S. taxes.

The law, passed by a Republican Congress and signed by then-President Donald Trump, includes a provision that applies to companies that are owned by Americans but do their business in foreign countries. It imposes a one-time tax on investors’ shares of profits that have not been passed along to them, to offset other tax benefits.

But the larger significance of the ruling is what it didn’t do. The case attracted outsize attention because some groups allied with the Washington couple who brought the case argued that the challenged provision is similar to a wealth tax, which would apply not to the incomes of the very richest Americans but to their assets, like stock holdings. Such assets now get taxed only when they are sold. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)

Amazon is shifting from the plastic air pillows used for packaging in North America to recycled paper because it’s more environmentally sound, and it says paper just works better.

The company said Thursday that it’s already replaced 95% of the plastic air pillows with paper filler in North America and is working toward complete removal by year’s end.

“We want to ensure that customers receive their items undamaged, while using as little packaging as possible to avoid waste, and prioritizing recyclable materials,” Amazon said.

It is the company’s largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America to date and will remove almost 15 billion plastic air pillows from use annually.

Almost all customer deliveries for Prime Day this year, which happens next month, will contain plastic no air pillows, according to Amazon.

The e-commerce giant has faced years of criticism about its use of plastic from environmental groups, including a nonprofit called Oceana, which has been releasing its own reports on Amazon’s use of plastic packaging. read more