The tightening presidential race has touched off a wave of tax planning by ultrawealthy investors, especially given fears of a higher estate tax, according to advisers and tax attorneys.

The scheduled “sunset” of a generous provision in the estate tax next year has taken on new urgency as the odds of a divided government or Democratic president have increased, tax experts say. Under current law, individuals can transfer up to $13.61 million (and couples can send up to $27.22 million) to family members or beneficiaries without owing estate or gift taxes.

The benefit is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025 along with the other individual provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If it expires, the estate and gift tax exemption will fall by about half. Individuals will only be able to gift about $6 million to $7 million, and that rises to $12 million to $14 million for couples. Any assets transferred above those amounts will be subject to the 40% transfer tax.

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Mayor Rob Rue of Springfield, Ohio, said during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW” that a visit by Trump could be a “very difficult visit for Springfield.”

The town is embroiled in tension as Trump and his allies have spread lies about Haitian migrants. The former president said today that he was considering a visit to the town.

When asked what he would say to Trump if he visited, Rue said he was not sure if he would have the chance to meet with the Republican presidential nominee.

A day after posting on social media that he would not take part in another presidential debate, Trump left the door open to another round with his Democratic opponent.

"I did great with the debates, and I think they’ve answered everything, but maybe if I got in the right mood, I don’t know. Right now, I’m leading," he said when asked by a reporter about what it would take for him to agree to another debate.

"I wouldn’t need anything. I could do it tomorrow, but I’ve done two debates. Everything was crooked in the second one," he said, referring to his ABC debate against Harris on Tuesday.

Speaking at a rally in North Carolina yesterday, Harris said, "I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.”

President Joe Biden said in an interview with the Washington Blade that he congratulated Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride after she won a Democratic primary that puts her in a strong position to become the first transgender member of Congress.

Biden said that in talking with McBride he referenced his late son, Beau, who served as Delaware attorney general before he died in 2015.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized Biden's message that attacks and conspiracy theories regarding Haitian immigrants in Ohio need to stop.

"There is absolutely no place, absolutely no place certainly in our political discourse, for this type of vitriolic, smearing, hateful language, and certainly, as we have done throughout this career and the vice president as well, we’re going to continue to call that out and condemn that type of vitriolic behavior," she said.

She also said that the White House "wants to do more" to ensure safety in Springfield and assist with the migrant crisis.

While addressing supporters at a rooftop restaurant at Michigan State University, Walz commented on Trump's baseless claim during the debate that Haitian immigrants "were eating the dogs," telling supporters that the rest of the world is wondering "what the heck happened to our country."

"The rest of the world is sitting there wondering what the heck happened to our country, when one presidential candidate on stage is yelling, 'they eat dogs' and the other one is talking about how to make housing more affordable," he said.

Walz also made reference to the “weirdness” trope that the Harris-Walz campaign has used to describe both Trump and Vance, specifically saying they have “weird fascinations” with other peoples’ bedrooms and bodies. 

"I keep talking about this, a weird fascination with other people’s bedrooms not healthy. A weird fascination, especially when you’re a man telling women about their bodies, is not healthy in any way," he said. "And I keep saying so many of these things, we’ve got real issues we’ve got to solve."

Pope Francis told reporters today that he believes Trump and Harris "are both against life" and urged citizens to vote for whoever they consider the "lesser of two evils."

"You must choose the lesser evil. Who is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone with a conscience should think on this and do it," the pope said.

He made the comments when asked for his thoughts on the election on a plane ride back from Asia. He referred to the candidates as "the one who throws away the migrants as well as the one who kills children. Both are against life."

During remarks in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Trump railed against one of the moderators of Tuesday's debate, David Muir, calling him "a joke."

"That David Muir character has lost so much respect. Everyone’s talking about him. He’s a joke. And ABC News is a joke, too," Trump said.

Earlier in his remarks, Trump claimed that Muir fact-checked him incorrectly on crime statistics, telling reporters, "You remember where David Muir tried to correct me when I said that crime is rampant like never before. He said, 'Oh no.' He said, 'crime is going down.'"

Muir was referencing a quarterly FBI crime statistics report, which in June found that the rates of violent and property crimes had major drops in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of last year.

Trump also blamed Muir for fact-checking him more often than he fact-checked Harris, saying, "I think he corrected me 11 times ... I don’t think -- he didn’t correct her once."

ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During remarks at the White House during a brunch to celebrate Black excellence, Biden called out attacks that have been made against Haitian immigrants and said it "has to stop."

"I want to take a moment to say something like, so many Americans, like Karine, as she pointed out, a proud Haitian American, a community that’s under attack in our country right now; it’s simply wrong," he said.

"There’s no place in America. This has to stop, what he’s doing, it has to stop," Biden continued, apparently referring to comments being made by Trump, Vance and others claiming, without evidence, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are causing a rise in crime and disease and eating the pets of residents.