Trump hits Canada with import bans; Republican midterm convention set to open in Dallas

Before we get started this morning, a quick programming note

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So things may look a little different around here for the next few days, but we'll still have all the news you count on each morning

For now, here are today's Unbiased Updates. President Trump turns up the heat on Canada

Now he's banning some Canadian goods entirely, as the trade fight between the two countries escalates again

Plus, Britain takes new action against Israel, banning goods from West Bank settlements

Our argument is not with the people of Israel. Our argument is with the conduct of its government

And Israel is already hitting back. And Republicans try something new for the midterms

The party's first ever midterm convention starts today, with Trump taking the stage tonight

The stories that matter, clear and credible from across the country to around the world

These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow. President Trump is escalating the trade war with Canada, hitting back at new Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods by banning some imports from our northern neighbor entirely

The banned items include some dairy products, motorcycles and most alcoholic beverages

That ban takes effect September 29th and comes after Canada's retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion in U.S. goods kicked in Tuesday

Canada imposed those tariffs after the U.S. hit some Canadian goods with 50% tariffs last month

Following the collapse of trade talks between the two countries In Tuesday's directive, Trump also moved to shut Canadian products out of large, long-term federal government contracts

He directed the U.S. General Services Administration to declare Canadian products ineligible for those contracts until Canada allows what he calls full and fair reciprocity for American products

And a White House official says Trump's threat to impose 50 percent tariffs on Canadian made cars and trucks starting January 1st remains on the table

This morning Iran released video of what it says were missiles and drones being launched toward U vessels and oil tankers retaliation for American strikes on five Iranian oil tankers Tehran also says it fired missiles at U targets in Jordan

Jordan's military says 20 ballistic missiles were launched toward its territory, 18 were intercepted, and two fell in remote areas

No one was killed. A U.S. official told ABC News the attack was ineffective

The U.S. released video of its forces destroying the five Iranian tankers Tuesday

Central Command says they were targeted after Iran's Revolutionary Guard tried to hit a U.S. Navy warship with missiles

The Revolutionary Guard also warned oil tanker crews near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their ships, warning they could be targeted in retaliation

And the escalation is keeping oil prices high. Brent crude the international benchmark, surpassing $100 per barrel early this morning

Britain is taking new action against Israel over its expanding settlements in the West Bank, and Israel is already hitting back

The British government is banning imports from Israeli settlements there and will also bar British companies from providing services that help build or expand them

That includes things like financing, construction and real estate. Britain now also says it considers Israel's occupation of the West Bank illegal, not just the settlements

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced the shift in Parliament Tuesday, accusing some Israeli settlers of carrying out what he called ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

We call out what is unlawful. We act on the import of goods from illegal settlements

We ban advertising of illegal settlements. We act on services to prevent new settlement expansion

We act on settler violence. We support accountability for what has happened in Gaza

And we pledge to galvanize the international community to confront the ongoing and urgent humanitarian crisis

France and Canada are taking similar action and several other countries have backed further restrictions

The British ban is expected to take six to nine months to go into effect. Israel condemned the move and announced its own response

It plans to close the British consulate in Jerusalem and bar a dozen British lawmakers and other UK citizens from entering Israel

The Trump administration is also pushing back. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will not follow Britain lead And US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has warned Britain it could face retaliation from the U And I guess a big question is why put this kind of pressure on Israel

Is the U.K. also putting the same kind of very strong sanction on North Korea, on China, on Russia

I don't know why Israel is being singled out for this kind of attention

Britain says the measures are aimed at Israeli settlements, not a broader boycott of Israel

And it says the goal is to stop settlement expansion from further undercutting the possibility of a future Palestinian state

New Hampshire voters have set the matchup for one of this fall's key U.S. Senate races

Former Republican Senator John Sununu and Democratic Rep Chris Pappas won their party's nominations Tuesday

They'll compete for the open seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Gene Shaheen

Republicans currently hold 53 seats. Democrats need a net gain of four to take control

Sununu previously served in both the House and Senate. His father and brother each served as governor of New Hampshire

To everyone who voted for a different candidate in the primary, those that didn't come out to vote, I'm asking you, join us

Reject the chaos in Washington. Give the granted state a senator who'll put the people of New Hampshire first every single day

Pappas has represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019 and campaigned as an independent voice for New Hampshire

Voters also set the governor's race. NBC News projects Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte will face Democrat Cindy Warmington as Ayotte seeks a second two-year term

For the first time ever, Republicans are holding a national convention in the middle of a midterm election year

The RNC's two-day event kicks off today in Dallas, an idea spearheaded by President Trump to rally Republican voters ahead of November

Some Republicans are skipping the convention to campaign back home, but the lineup in Dallas includes some of the party's biggest names

The president will deliver the keynote address tonight with Vice President J.D. Vance speaking tomorrow

Other big speakers include Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Trump will then return to the stage to close out the convention tomorrow night

Other Republican leaders will be there as well, including House Speaker Mike Johnson

The convention will also feature some of this year's most notable candidates, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who's running for U.S. Senate

And this won't look quite like the presidential conventions we're used to. There are no delegates or nominations

The event's also open to the public, with more than 50 speakers and presentations planned each night

Trump has promised plenty of entertainment, even a big balloon drop to close things out

Finally this morning, the man who has led the Smithsonian through an increasingly public fight with the Trump White House is now stepping down

Lonnie Bunch announced Tuesday he will retire as Secretary of the Smithsonian at the end of the year

after seven years in the top job and nearly four decades with the institution

Bunch says the decision is his and that pressure from the White House did not drive him out

But he acknowledged to The New York Times that the past year, quote, has been stressful

Bunch leaves as the Smithsonian is under intense scrutiny from the Trump administration

The White House has accused some of its museums of presenting American history through a liberal

lens and has been pushing for changes in how exhibits talk about the country's past

The administration has also launched a broad review of Smithsonian exhibits and other public-facing material

Trump explained what he wanted from the museums last year. We want the museums to treat our country fairly

We want the museums to talk about the history of our country in a fair manner, not in a woke manner or in a racist manner

which is what many of them, not all of them, but many of them are doing. Bunch has pushed back on some of that, reasserting the Smithsonian's independence while also cooperating with parts of the White House review

The Smithsonian's Board of Regents will name an acting secretary and then begin a national search for Bunch's successor

Bunch remains on the job through the end of the year. Unbiased Updates is the fastest, fairest few minutes in news

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For all of us at Straight Arrow, I'm Simone Del Rosario. Have a great day