EDITOR'S NOTE - A look at issues at stake in the election and their impact on people

WASHINGTON (AP) - A selection of issues at stake in the presidential election and their impact on Americans, in brief:TradeIn this angry election year, many U.S. voters are skeptical about free trade - or hostile to it.The backlash threatens a pillar of American policy: The United States has long sought global trade.Economists say imports cut prices for consumers and make the U.S. more efficient.But unease has simmered, especially as American workers faced competition from low-wage Chinese labor. Last year, the U.S. ran a $334 billion trade deficit with China - $500 billion with the entire world.The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are both playing to public suspicions about trade deals. Hillary Clinton broke with President Barack Obama by opposing an Asia-Pacific trade agreement that she had supported as secretary of state.Donald Trump vows to tear up existing trade deals and to slap huge tariffs on Chinese imports.But trade deals have far less impact on jobs than forces such as automation and wage differences between countries. Trump's plans to impose tariffs could start a trade war and raise prices.Supreme courtThe ideological direction of the Supreme Court is going to tip one way or the other after the election. The outcome could sway decisions on issues that profoundly affect everyday Americans: immigration, gun control, climate change and more.The court has been operating with eight justices since Antonin Scalia died in February. His successor appears unlikely to be confirmed until after the election. The court is split between four Democratic-appointed, liberal justices and four conservatives who were appointed by Republicans - although Justice Anthony Kennedy has sided with the liberals on abortion, same-sex marriage and affirmative action in the past two years.The ninth justice will push the court left or right, depending on whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump becomes president. President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland to take Scalia's seat, but the Republican Senate has refused to consider Garland's nomination, in an effort to prevent a liberal court majority.ChinaTensions have been rising over China's assertive behavior in the seas of Asia. The U.S. also accuses China of unfair trading practices and cyber theft of business secrets.Donald Trump says that the sheer volume of trade gives the U.S. leverage over China. He accuses China of undervaluing its currency to make its exports artificially cheap and proposes tariffs as high as 45 percent on Chinese imports if Beijing doesn't change its behavior. Such action could risk a trade war that would make many products in the U.S. more expensive.Clinton says the U.S. needs to press the rising Asian power to play by international rules, whether on trade or territorial disputes.While many of China's neighbors are unnerved by its military buildup, the wider world needs the U.S. and China to get along, to tackle global problems. The U.S. and China are also economically interdependent, and punishment by one party could end up hurting the other.Income inequalityIncome inequality has surged near levels last seen before the Great Depression. The average income for the top 1 percent of households climbed 7.7 percent last year to $1.36 million, according to tax data. That privileged sliver of the population saw pay climb at almost twice the rate of income growth for the other 99 percent, whose pay averaged a humble $48,768.Dogged on the issue during the primaries by Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton has highlighted inequality in multiple speeches. She hopes to redirect more money to the middle class and impoverished. Clinton would raise taxes on the wealthy, increase the federal minimum wage, boost infrastructure spending, provide universal pre-K and offer the prospect of tuition-free college.Donald Trump offers a blunter message about a system "rigged" against average Americans. To bring back jobs, Trump has promised new trade deals with better terms, greater infrastructure spending than Clinton foresees and higher budget deficits. But Trump has also proposed a tax plan that would allow the wealthiest Americans to keep more money.This story is part of AP's "Why It Matters" series, which will examine three dozen issues at stake in the presidential election between now and Election Day. You can find them at:

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