New tax changes coming into effect this week mean your take home salary should increase

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Changes announced in Philip Hammond's Budget last year will take effect this week
The current tax year comes to an end this week and with new rules coming into effect, an increased personal allowance should see workers’ take-home pay go up.
The personal allowance is the amount of income a worker is not required to pay tax on.
Following an announcement in last year’s Autumn Budget, the personal allowance for earners in the basic rate band (those on salaries between £11,501 and £45,000) will rise to £11,850 on Friday 6 April. For earners in the higher rate band – those on salaries from £45,001 to £105,000 – the personal allowance will increase to £46,350.
Read more Council tax burden for poorest in London more than the wealthiest When the chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced the new rates in November last year, the Treasury said the changes would represent a £1,075 reduction in the amount of tax paid by the typical taxpayer in 2018-2019. The average worker on the national ..

Trade War, Oklahoma, March Madness: Your Evening Briefing

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Trade War, Oklahoma, March Madness: Your Evening Briefing (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)
Good evening. Here’s the latest.
Photo Credit Richard Drew/Associated Press 1. The stock market tumbled.
The cause: tit-for-tat tariffs imposed by China, and tech’s dark hour of the soul.
Facebook is trying to contain the loss of about $100 billion in value. Amazon is under presidential attack.
And Tesla shares fell amid concerns about the electric car maker’s quarterly production numbers for its Model 3 sedan, which are expected in the next day or so. Elon Musk, the chief executive, joked for April Fool’s that the company had gone “completely and totally bankrupt.”
Market Snapshot View Full Overview _____
Photo Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times 2. “DACA is dead.”
Thus tweeted President Trump, venting about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and blaming Democrats for failing to salvage it. But if history is a guide, his position on shielding young, u..

Now Read This: Discussion Questions for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times Book Club’s April Pick: ‘The Death and Life of the Great Lakes’

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Discussion Questions for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times Book Club’s April Pick: ‘The Death and Life of the Great Lakes’ Photo Our April pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club, “Now Read This” is Dan Egan’s “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes.” It’s an epic and wonderfully told story of history, science and reportage about the largest source of freshwater in the world, and the threat to America’s waterways. Become a member of the book club by joining our Facebook group, or by signing up to our newsletter. Learn more about the book club here.
Below are questions to help guide your discussions as you read the book over the next month. You can also submit your own questions for Dan Egan on our Facebook page, which he will answer on the NewsHour broadcast at the end of the month.
1. The five great lakes — Lake Erie, Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario — make up the world’s largest freshwater system. Some 40 million people live near their shores, and many more of us depend ..

Trump Tweets Transform Immigrant Caravans Into Political Cause Célèbre

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Trump Tweets Transform Immigrant Caravans Into Political Cause Célèbre
MEXICO CITY — It has become a regular occurrence, particularly around the Easter holiday: scores or even hundreds of Central American migrants making their way north by foot and vehicle from the southern border of Mexico. They include everyone from infants to the elderly, fleeing violence and poverty in their homelands.
They travel in large groups — the current is one of the largest at about 1,200 participants — in part for protection against the kidnappers, muggers and rapists that stalk the migrant trail, but also to draw more attention to their plight. Some have the United States in mind, but many are only thinking as far as a new home in Mexico.
Called “caravans,” most of the journeys, which date back at least five years, have moved forward with little fanfare, virtually unnoticed north of the border with the United States. But tweets by President Trump have suddenly turned the latest caravan into a major inter..

Giving Babies Antibiotics or Antacids May Increase Allergy Risk

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Supported by Well | Family Giving Babies Antibiotics or Antacids May Increase Allergy Risk Photo Babies given antibiotics or antacids in infancy may be at increased risk for allergies in childhood.
Researchers retrospectively studied 792,130 infants covered by a health insurance program. Of these, 131,708 received antibiotics, 60,209 got histamine-2 receptor antagonists and 13,687 were given proton pump inhibitors. Both H2 blockers and P.P.I.s are prescribed for gastroesophageal reflex, or GERD.
The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, followed the children for an average of four and a half years. It found that infants given H2 blockers or P.P.I.s were more than twice as likely to have a food allergy as those who were not; the risk was especially high for allergy to cow’s milk. Those given antibiotics were at a 14 percent increased risk for food allergy, a 51 percent increased risk for anaphylaxis (a potentially fatal type of allergic reaction), and more than double the risk for asthma.
Th..