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Trump says NBC’s Kristen ‌Welker should face ‘punishment’ from FCC

Trump’s threat comes after host described success record of candidates whom president had endorsed as ‘mixed’

Donald Trump ⁠on Sunday said NBC’s Kristen ‌Welker – host of Meet the Press – should face “rebuke or punishment” from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Welker, during a live segment for a local Washington DC affiliate, described the success record of political candidates whom the president had endorsed as “mixed”. The segment aired before Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press.

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© Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

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The Guardian view on rare earths: it’s common sense to secure essential supply chains | Editorial

Par : Editorial

Outsourcing the industry to China cannot continue, but Europe knows it can no longer count on the US for a solution

The alarm sounded 16 years ago. In 2010, China blocked exports of key rare earths to Japan in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The critical minerals are essential to everything from advanced weaponry and iPhones to electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, so the rest of the world took note. But it didn’t take much action. China still accounts for about 70% of rare-earth mining globally and 90% of separation and processing.

Then, last year, Beijing forced Donald Trump to back away from his trade war – not with its retaliatory tariffs, but the curbing of rare-earth exports. A scramble for new supplies began in earnest. The year-long trade truce is due to expire in November. The price of erbium, an element essential to communications infrastructure, has already jumped because of fears that export controls will soon be renewed.

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© Photograph: Imaginechina Limited/Alamy

© Photograph: Imaginechina Limited/Alamy

© Photograph: Imaginechina Limited/Alamy

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Canada erects giant ‘Lake Ontario’ sign as spat with Trump over name escalates

Meanwhile, Trump posts video of himself kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with Lake America sign

Donald Trump and Canada continued a verbal duel on Saturday over the US government’s administrative renaming of Lake Ontario, with the Ontario premier erecting a giant sign saying “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” – and the American president posting a video of him tearing down an avatar of that sign, erecting a replacement saying Lake America, and dancing to YMCA.

Rhetoric over the naming of Lake Ontario is the public face of an escalating trade dispute between the US and its northern neighbor involving a 50% US tariff on Canadian steel and retaliatory tariffs from Ottawa.

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© Photograph: Carlos Osorio/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Osorio/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Osorio/Reuters

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Ontario premier unveils Lake Ontario sign in response to Trump’s ‘Lake America’ order – video

The Canadian province's premier, Doug Ford, installed a billboard-sized sign on the lake's shoreline after the US president signed an executive order on Thursday directing US federal agencies to change the lake's name on US maps, documents and databases to 'Lake America'. Ford told reporters that the lake's name, which is more than 400 years old, would remain unchanged. Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed last week, with each side ‌blaming the ⁠other for derailing three days of intensive negotiations

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© Photograph: The Canadian Press/AP

© Photograph: The Canadian Press/AP

© Photograph: The Canadian Press/AP

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Trump the renamer-in-chief keen to leave his mark – or his stain – on world

As Americans face an affordability crisis and war with Iran, the president is focused on … changing the names of things

Is it a key policy move which will “recognize the extraordinary contributions of the American people”? Or “real foolishness”?

Whatever the impact of Donald Trump unusual decision to retitle Lake Ontario as Lake America, days after Canada’s prime minister refused to be cowed by Trump’s punitive tariffs, it has certainly divided opinion – but perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

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© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Documents leaked by Trump official to bolster a conspiracy show ‘absolutely nothing’

Inside the US state department, critics are still attacking a shuttered office established to counter foreign propaganda. Now, some of its work is also being resumed

A botched leak of purportedly explosive government files to a prominent conservative online personality was supposed to offer proof of what the Trump administration and its allies have long alleged: that a little-known office inside the US state department, created to fight foreign propaganda, had secretly become a tool for domestic censorship.

Two former high-ranking officials at the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a target of Republican ire that lost its funding in 2024 and was disbanded after Donald Trump’s return to office in 2025, say the documents show nothing of the kind.

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© Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/AFP/Getty Images

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Trump’s ‘economic D-day’ against Iran risks driving the stakes even higher | Sina Toossi

As with its approach to Hormuz, the US has mistaken applying pressure for an actual strategy. But Tehran has chips of its own to play

Donald Trump has found a new way to promise victory over Iran. After months of war have failed to force Iran’s capitulation or collapse, his administration has unveiled what the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, calls Operation Economic Outcast: an effort to cut it off from what remains of the global economy and threaten foreign governments, banks and companies with sanctions if they continue doing business with Tehran.

There is no question that Iran is vulnerable. Its economy has been battered by years of sanctions, war and a months-long US naval blockade. Iranian officials acknowledge that oil exports and access to foreign currency have been severely constrained. Ordinary Iranians are already enduring high inflation, currency depreciation and worsening living standards. Further economic strangulation will inflict significant additional hardship.

Sina Toossi is a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, where his work focuses on US-Iran relations, US policy toward the Middle East and nuclear issues

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

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Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets

Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez wagered on Kalshi about words president used in speeches

A White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump’s speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.

Gabriel Perez illicitly exploited “material, nonpublic information” that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform “for his personal benefit”, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday.

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© Photograph: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

© Photograph: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

© Photograph: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

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Is Donald Trump’s bid to brand Democrats as ‘radical’ communists working?

In deep red South Carolina, the president helped stoke apprehension of a deeper red surge ahead of November’s US midterm elections

After casting his vote in South Carolina, a man who introduced himself as Chestnut was unwilling to give his full name. “You don’t have a need to know,” the air force veteran declared. He was, however, happy to share his views.

“I’m a true American. I believe in the USA,” said the man, outside Christ the Servant Lutheran church in Conway. “And I don’t believe in communism or socialism.”

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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‘Inept, incompetent, craven’: Scott Bessent struggles to clean up the president’s mess

There’s little optimism about treasury secretary’s ability to handle Trump’s tariffs, Iran sanctions and colossal US debt

History remembers Gen Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe during the second world war, for his role in the D-day invasion of Normandy. Whether Scott Bessent will achieve similar posterity as the face of the “economic D-day” in Iran remains to be seen.

The US treasury secretary, already trying to manage a $40tn national debt pile, this week took charge of Donald Trump’s effort to reverse-engineer his war of choice. Whereas the US would typically take on an adversary with diplomacy, sanctions and military force, in that order, the US president started with a six-month bombing campaign and now hopes that economic isolation can finish the job.

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

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The rebranding of ‘Lake America’ is Trump’s desperate attempt to distract us | Arwa Mahdawi

Ignore Iran, the Epstein files, and your wallet – not to mention Trump’s plummeting approval ratings

Don’t mention the war! Or the economy, for that matter. Or the Epstein files. Or Natalie Harp. Or “affordability”, which, as Donald Trump recently said at a rally, is a word that was “never used” by the media before he took office. Best not to talk about anything that affects ordinary people or embarrasses the president, really. Instead, let’s all rejoice in Trump’s latest triumph: renaming Lake Ontario, which is shared by Canada and the US, as Lake America.

On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to America-fy the lake’s name on US maps and documents, which is an excellent use of time and resources. I suppose we can at least be thankful that the president, who is trying to slap his own name on everything from airports to the Kennedy Center, didn’t decree that the body of water be called Lake Trump.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Al Drago/Pool/Al Drago - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Al Drago/Pool/Al Drago - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Al Drago/Pool/Al Drago - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

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Trump announces new US oil agreement with Venezuela

US president says US will have ‘majority’ control of 65bn barrels of proven oil reserves

Donald Trump announced Friday a new US oil agreement with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, saying the US will have “majority” control of 65bn barrels of proven oil reserves.

The terms of the agreement remain to be seen, but the US president said on his social-media platform that it had been brokered “through a partnership with ⁠private business” by his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Los Angeles fire survivors face record wait for federal disaster aid under Trump

Nearly 600 days after the devastating 2025 fires, thousands of Los Angeles residents are still waiting for more than $15bn in federal funds to rebuild their communities

As thousands of residents in Spokane, Washington, begin to grapple with a long recovery after a destructive set of blazes that consumed hundreds of homes in the state’s second most populated city this month, victims of the Los Angeles firestorm broke a grim record – they have faced the longest delay in modern history for federal aid.

Nearly 600 days since a historic firestorm roared into communities across Los Angeles, reducing more than 16,000 structures to ash and toxic debris, the Trump administration has failed to appropriate more than $15bn in long-term recovery funds that are crucial to rebuilding. The delay in supplying the badly needed funds is months longer than the last record set when victims of the Maui fires had to wait 500 days to receive the support, LAist noted this week.

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© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

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Trump arch will alter sightlines of many Washington DC landmarks, report says

National Park Service, which backs the 250ft arch, says it is likely to disrupt historical significance of dozens of sites

A new National Park Service report backs Donald Trump’s proposed arch, despite what it says are adverse effects to the sightlines of a host of landmarks in Washington, including the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.

The report released on Friday says the 250ft-tall (76-meter) memorial arch is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location adjacent to the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

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© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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Trump administration pushing to hand parcel of Yosemite land to private developer – report

Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to acquire land to construct private road to development outside park

The Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, the country’s first national park and one of its most popular, to a Nevada-based private developer.

Staff with the National Park Service have been exploring how the agency can give a quarter-mile parcel to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the news outlet Notus reported on Friday, citing agency documents and unnamed sources “directly familiar with discussions”.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Trump pledges to allow cattle ranchers to process own food amid beef imports backlash

President faces criticism over plan to import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffs

Donald Trump has pledged to allow cattle ranchers and farmers to process their own food amid a backlash from the US agricultural sector over his decision to pause US tariffs on foreign beef.

The US president has been sharply criticized, including from members of his own party, since announcing the US will temporarily import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffs in an effort to bring down prices.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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White House construction played part in Trump helicopter incident, safety officials say

Helipad relocation led in part to incident where Marine One, carrying the president, had close call with passenger jet

Safety officials say the relocation of a helipad amid Donald Trump’s multi-project White House reconstruction led in part to an incident earlier this month in which a military helicopter carrying the president came too close to a passenger jet.

A preliminary report published on Thursday by the National Transportation ⁠Safety Board (NTSB) blamed “communication issues” for the failure of the crew of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, to give the required three minutes’ notice to air traffic controllers that they were about to take off from the White House.

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© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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Dolly Parton was the polar opposite of our bullying president | Robert Reich

Terrified of being seen as a loser, Donald Trump is nonsensically lashing out – even against our old friend Canada

I’m still grieving Dolly Parton. I never met her and always wanted to. She was almost exactly my age and my height and had values I deeply admired. Her death leaves a hole in the firmament.

Which brings me to the person whose values are as far from Dolly Parton’s as any human could possibly be and still claim to be human. I’m referring, of course, to the current occupant of the Oval Office.

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© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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National Park Service supports Trump’s arch even though it would have ‘adverse effects’ on other DC monuments, report says – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

A reminder that we are covering the latest out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Kevin Warsh – the new chair of the Federal Reserve – will deliver his first speech as the head of the US central bank at the annual economic policy symposium.

As my colleagues note, Warsh is under pressure to provide clarity on how the Federal Reserve should handle with inflation if price pressures don’t abate.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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Trump’s midterm campaign theme is unrequited love | Sidney Blumenthal

The president senses a crisis in his cult of personality. He believes the path to victory is through unwavering devotion

Donald Trump has framed his theme for the midterm elections. It has come to him as naturally and inevitably as staring into the mirror, beyond any logic or argument, his definitive answer to no specific issue, providing no understanding of any particular problem, but transcending all of them. His political theme is more primal than programmatic, more instinctive than analytical, a heartfelt expression to protect his greatest romantic attachment, his obsessive fixation, his idealized object: himself.

Trump’s campaign theme is unrequited love. Unlike the pollsters, media consultants and pundits, he alone has grasped the magnitude and the source of the existential crisis threatening his politics. He has identified the problem for the Republicans as the faltering measure of complete devotion to him. His demand has nothing to do with mutual affection. It is a ploy to reassert his slipping control, a manipulative test to prove loyalty to him, or else. There can be no absolute rule without an absolute ruler; no absolute ruler without absolute submission; no absolute submission without the expression of absolute love. His sadness at its fading gives way to anger, paranoia and greater acts of retribution. He equates the fear he instills as a form of love. Trump accepts subservience, from whatever motive, as affection or its closest equivalent. He cares nothing about sincerity, so it’s all in the show. The less love displayed, the more fear required. Yet there is no rebound, but only deeper rejection.

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© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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Le Québec se retrouve au cœur de la guerre commerciale 

Mark Carney avait expliqué la semaine dernière que plusieurs raisons l’avaient poussé à suspendre les négociations commerciales avec les États-Unis. 

Parmi ces raisons, Carney a cité la volonté de Washington d’exempter les entreprises américaines des règles sur l’étiquetage bilingue et l’affichage en français.

Donald Trump et plusieurs membres de son gouvernement ont soutenu depuis qu’ils n’avaient jamais fait une telle demande. 

Howard Lutnick, ministre américain du commerce, a même laissé entendre hier que le gouvernement canadien aurait suspendu les négociations pour nuire au Parti québécois et à son projet d’indépendance, à l’approche des élections québécoises. 

[L'article Le Québec se retrouve au cœur de la guerre commerciale  a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Aux États-Unis, Donald Trump a rebaptisé le lac Ontario

Le président américain a signé hier un décret pour le renommer «lac d’Amérique», en représailles à l’annonce récente de contre-tarifs douaniers par le Canada. 

Mais ce changement ne s’appliquerait qu’aux documents et aux services fédéraux américains. 

Lorsque Trump avait renommé l’an dernier le golfe du Mexique en «golfe de l’Amérique», certains services de cartographie avaient adopté ce changement.

Le lac Ontario est l’un des cinq Grands Lacs situés entre le Canada et les États-Unis. 

  • Ses rives bordent l’Ontario et l’État de New York. 

[L'article Aux États-Unis, Donald Trump a rebaptisé le lac Ontario a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Democrats to investigate ‘miraculous’ rise of Trump Jr’s investment firm

Congressman Jamie Raskin asks president’s son to detail firm’s recent success after he joined 1789 Capital as partner

Democrats on a powerful US congressional committee have launched an investigation into a venture capital firm which has thrived since recruiting Donald Trump’s son.

Donald Trump Jr joined 1789 Capital as a partner just days after his father won a second term in office in November 2024. Congressman Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the US House of Representatives judiciary committee, has asked the president’s son to detail the firm’s recent success.

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© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Trump signs executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America

Mark Carney rejects attempt to rename lake as did several US governors, with Tony Evers mocking the move

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario, making it Lake America, amid his escalating trade war with Canada.

The order directs federal agencies to adopt the name-change on US maps, documents and databases. But Trump has no authority to rename Canada’s portion of the lake, nor to compel Canada, international legal bodies, international mapmakers, or the rest of the world to adopt a new name.

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© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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Trump’s war on Iran is rapidly draining US navy budget, documents and interviews reveal

Exclusive: Experts and former officials say accounts are running dry, and funding a war with no clear endgame is the main challenge

Donald Trump’s war on Iran has driven the US military into a severe financial crisis, with the US navy forced to transfer money from its payroll and other sources to cover the costs of combat, according to documents seen by the Guardian, and interviews with navy officials, contractors and defense analysts.

The US-Israeli operation, which has depleted US munitions stockpiles and prompted retaliatory Iranian strikes that have wrecked strategic bases across the Middle East, is piling pressure on budgets across the military.

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© Photograph: US Navy/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Navy/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Navy/Getty Images

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Judge orders mental health evaluation for man found with gun at Trump golf course in LA

Judge ruled Jeanine John Taele, discovered with firearm days before Trump visit, was unfit to face felony charge

A judge in California has suspended criminal proceedings against a man found with a loaded gun near Donald Trump’s golf course in Los Angeles, and instead ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, California, was arrested for weapons violations days before the president spoke at a 5 August Republican fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.

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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Unlike needy Keir, trash-talking Andy speaks a language Trump understands | John Crace

Burnham has nothing to hide as he prepares to meet president he once called poisonous. It may actually win him more respect

It makes a pleasant change. Not so long ago, Keir Starmer was falling over himself in his efforts to keep things sweet with Donald Trump. Offering the US president a second state visit within minutes of meeting him. Everyone knows you should never put out on the first date: it only makes the other person think you’re a pushover. Sure enough, The Donald banked the marching bands and the Windsor silver service, made polite conversation for three days and then went back to trash-talking him.

Yet still, Starmer just sat there and took it. As if one word of criticism would be too much. Wittering on about the “special relationship” as if Trump gave a moment’s thought to the UK before he did anything. The rest of us wouldn’t have put money on the US president even being able to locate Britain on a map. It was only latterly, when The Donald chose to bomb Iran, that the penny finally dropped for Keir. And even then he looked pained by the apparent betrayal, as he resisted the calls of Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage to join in the war.

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© Composite: Kin Cheung/Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

© Composite: Kin Cheung/Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

© Composite: Kin Cheung/Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

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AI slopper in chief: Trump turns to social media amid tough questions

As the US president struggles to end his Iran war, and approval ratings hit new lows, he leans on a familiar gambit

Donald Trump knows the power of an image – of himself, with everyone from Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un to Kim Kardashian. How about George Washington?

As the US president struggles to end his war with Iran, and with his approval ratings hitting the lowest levels of his second term, he has in recent weeks posted a series of AI-generated images of himself alongside key historical American figures.

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© Illustration: Guardian Design/@realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial

© Illustration: Guardian Design/@realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial

© Illustration: Guardian Design/@realDonaldTrump/TruthSocial

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Jon Ossoff went low on Natalie Harp. The plan worked | Moira Donegan

The senator’s remarks reflect a turning point in Democrats’ attacks on the president. What should we make of them?

Apparently, he likes to say her name with a French accent. “Na-tah-lee!” the president cries out, in that affected tone of faux-formality that one might use with a person they love but do not quite respect, and she comes running, her thin legs teetering on her heels.

Natalie Harp, Trump’s 35-year-old “executive assistant”, was an odd recurring character in the latest blockbuster Trump administration book, Regime Change, by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. In the book, Harp features like a silent sentinel, ever present but eerily quiet as Trump rants and raves. It’s not exactly clear what the scope of her responsibilities is; though, as Jamelle Bouie points out, the fact that she evidently helps run the president’s social media accounts, which can sway markets and influence his foreign counterparts, makes her one of the most powerful people in the federal government.

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© Photograph: American Photo Archive/Alamy

© Photograph: American Photo Archive/Alamy

© Photograph: American Photo Archive/Alamy

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Trump downplays Moscow visit by CIA director as ‘semi-routine’

President denies visit was to gain support for Iran sanctions or due to fears that Putin plans to ‘test Nato resolve’

Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.

Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland.

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© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

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How to lose Trump’s trade war: test Canada’s resolve with threats to hockey sticks

The US president expected Ottawa to bow to tariff demands, but Canada is striking back – and it could cost Americans

Earlier this year, a survey found that Canada, along with Switzerland, was the best-liked country in the world. We all know this kind of polling is about as scientific as a high school popularity contest, but at least anecdotally, Canadians have a reputation for being friendly and welcoming, respectful and polite. Many people would find it difficult to dislike Canadians.

But not Donald Trump, who in a “hold my beer” moment this week demonstrated that he, at least, finds it easy to resent Canadians. The US president called the country “difficult and unreasonable”, and in a particularly hysterical moment, threatened to rename a lake, after trade talks collapsed.

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© Photograph: Saul Loeb,andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb,andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb,andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images

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Decoding America: Could datacentres lose Trump the midterms? - podcast

In this episode of Guardian Australia’s US politics podcast Decoding America, co-hosts Jonathan Yerushalmy and Reged Ahmad explore why datacentres in the US have provoked such anger – and whether that could harm Republicans in the midterms given Donald Trump is such a supporter of the growing industry.

They also look at why the US and Canada are fighting over tariffs. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is pushing back and both countries could be on the cusp of a full-blown trade war.

Finally: why does the Trump administration’s secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, have his very own YouTube show – and is he the only one?

Read more:

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on wide range of US goods

Trump-backed Ken Paxton unveils ‘Texas first’ datacenter plan aimed at ‘negative impact’

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© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

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This is the question Democrats should ask voters in order to win this November | Robert Reich

They should ask the question Reagan asked at the end of his debate against Jimmy Carter: ‘Are you better off now than you were before this presidency?’

The midterm elections are already upon us, and every Democrat and independent running against a Republican should ask voters the question Ronald Reagan asked on 28 October 1980, at the end of his televised debate against Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off now than you were before this presidency?”

Unless you’re very, very rich, the answer is obviously: “No, I’m worse off.”

Energy bills have increased three times faster than the rate of inflation while Trump has been president. The national average monthly utility bill reached $280 in early 2026, a 12% increase since the end of 2024, just before the second Trump administration took office.

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© Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

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ICE arrested 50,000 people in July – quietly the biggest month in Trump’s second term

Administration moved away from high-profile raids that defined immigration enforcement approach last year but still deported record number of people

The Trump administration arrested and deported a record number of immigrants in July, according to newly released government data – apprehending an average of 1,500 people and removing 1,100 people daily.

This latest data confirms what attorneys and immigrant advocates have been seeing across the US – although the administration has moved away from the high-profile, militarized raids that came to define its immigration enforcement approach last year, it is quietly ramping up its operations.

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© Photograph: Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Blake Fagan/AFP via Getty Images

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How Mark Carney’s speeches have become political earthquakes | Ted Widmer

The quiet-spoken Canadian prime minister has spoken unutterable truths

Is it perhaps a sign of the times that Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, has become a thrilling orator? A sober banker, he speaks calmly, without many vocal inflections. We expect Canadians to be somewhat flat; even a little boring, and yet Carney has already delivered two remarkable speeches in 2026, and the year is far from over.

The first, at Davos, described a “rupture in the world order”, and “the end of a pleasant fiction”. By that, he meant that the world could no longer depend on the United States to lead the Pax Americana that has largely kept the peace since the end of the second world war.

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© Photograph: Andrej Ivanov,saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrej Ivanov,saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrej Ivanov,saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

Paper products among hardest-hit sectors after trade negotiations broke down, with 25-50% tariffs estimated

Using the bathroom or having a cry is about to become more expensive for North Americans as the US and Canada enter a full-fledged trade war that threatens to flush away decades of peaceful trading between the two nations.

After trade negotiations broke down between the two countries last weekend, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, vowed to match US tariffs “dollar for dollar” and unveiled a list of nearly 900 American goods that will face 25% to 50% tariffs starting on 8 September.

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© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

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With no friends left to burn, Trump is running out of diplomatic ammunition | Rafael Behr

Everyone can see that the Iran war has been a strategic disaster for the US, while a failing president pretends he is winning

Now is the twilight of Donald Trump’s supremacy. The US is still the richest and most heavily armed nation on Earth. That status is secure. The current president, contemptuous of law and indulged in lawlessness by a supine Congress, enjoys even greater power than the constitution allows.

With those advantages it takes a special talent for incompetence to look as thwarted and impotent as Trump does with more than two years of his second term still to run.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Riposte canadienne aux tarifs douaniers américains – voici l’essentiel 

Le gouvernement fédéral a présenté des mesures en représailles aux droits de douane américains entrés en vigueur samedi dernier. 

À compter du 8 septembre, le Canada imposera des taxes à l’importation de 15%, 25% ou 50% sur environ 700 produits américains.

Secteurs les plus touchés 

  • acier
  • produits laitiers
  • électroménagers
  • matériel agricole
  • pâtes et papiers 
  • électronique

Ces contres-tarifs ne visent que des produits frappés par des tarifs américains. 

Ils s’appliqueront à presque 28 milliards $ d’exportations annuelles des États-Unis vers le Canada.

  • C’est un montant équivalent à celui des exportations canadiennes vers les États-Unis visées par les nouveaux tarifs américains. 

Réponse américaine à la riposte canadienne 

Donald Trump avait dès lundi, avant qu’on connaisse le détail des contre-tarifs, menacé de porter à 50% en janvier prochain les tarifs américains sur les voitures, les camions, les pièces automobiles et l’acier canadiens.

[L'article Riposte canadienne aux tarifs douaniers américains – voici l’essentiel  a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Trump administration threatens to demolish Kennedy Center if $250m renovation not done

US president’s lawyers in court filing say Washington arts complex must undergo repairs or risk demolition

The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could be demolished if repairs are not carried out, the Trump administration warned in a court filing on Monday.

Lawyers for the US president said the national arts complex in Washington DC must undergo a $250m renovation or risk facing the wrecking ball.

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© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

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The Guardian view on Trump’s economic threats: bullies can overplay their hand | Editorial

Par : Editorial

Tariffs on Canada, threats against Iran’s partners and bond market intervention show a president weaponising US power while making Americans poorer at home

Three moves in the last week have exposed the limits of Donald Trump’s economic bullying. The US slapped 50% tariffs on another $20bn of Canadian goods – then threatened the same rate on the cars, trucks, parts and steel that America Inc depends on. On Monday, the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, menaced Iran’s trading partners with exclusion from the US financial network, hoping that coercion can deliver what months of war have not. And as the costs of war, tariffs and pro-billionaire tax cuts helped send US bond yields higher, the Treasury stepped in to tame long-term rates. These are not contradictory policies but a gamble: that US economic power can be repeatedly weaponised without reducing others’ willingness to depend on it.

The Trump administration’s “D-day” sanctions are potentially the most consequential because they expose the scaffolding of American financial power. While markets shrugged off the immediate threat, that calculation might change were the US to target a major Chinese refinery or bank. Such an escalation could spark a trade war with Beijing. The US has leverage. But China has pressure points – especially farmers in Republican states – that make using it costly. In the long run, there is a price to pay. Nations hold one another’s currencies partly because they trust the political relationship. Mr Trump is testing what happens when they don’t.

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© Photograph: Will Oliver/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Will Oliver/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Will Oliver/UPI/Shutterstock

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Trump endorsement helps boost Darline Graham in South Carolina primary to replace her late brother in US Senate – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

On Truth Social, however, the president shot down assertions that the US talks with Canada collapsed in part due a proposed trade deal that would have weakened French language protections.

“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” he wrote. “In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec.”

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© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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Trump’s justice department has found a new way for presidents to avoid accountability | Claire Finkelstein

A recent memo claiming executive privilege over communications with private advisers invites corruption

A recent office of legal counsel memo on executive privilege maintains that private advisers to a president can avoid responding to a subpoena by asserting the president’s executive privilege. The ability of presidents to shield communications from public view through claims of executive privilege, whether their own or those of a senior adviser, was already a powerful tool for presidents to avoid accountability. But if courts accept the OLC’s new interpretation of presidential privilege, it will be substantially harder to call witnesses to testify before Congress or in court proceedings regarding possible wrongdoing by the presidents.

Equipping presidents with extensive power to block witnesses in legal proceedings is a dangerous practice that invites corruption by presidents and their advisers. Consider the former White House counsel Don McGahn’s 2019 refusal to testify in response to a subpoena by the House judiciary committee in connection with the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Donald Trump. McGahn didn’t come up with that idea on his own. It was the Trump White House that sought to bar McGahn from testifying through an assertion of a type of executive privilege known as “testimonial immunity.” Ironically, Mueller was investigating whether Trump obstructed justice, among other things, by demanding that McGahn fire Mueller himself. Trump’s insistence that McGahn not testify, backed up by a 2019 OLC opinion, effectively made the first Trump administration complicit in the very obstruction under investigation.

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© Photograph: Samuel Corum/PI/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Samuel Corum/PI/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Samuel Corum/PI/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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La guerre commerciale reprend entre le Canada et les États-Unis

Mark Carney a suspendu vendredi soir les négociations commerciales avec les États-Unis.

Il a expliqué que des modifications demandées par Washington étaient «inéquitables, non rentables et remettaient en cause la fiabilité de tout accord».

Selon Carney, les négociateurs américains voulaient: 

  • restreindre les ententes commerciales que le Canada pourrait conclure avec d’autres pays; 
  • maintenir des droits de douane trop élevés sur le secteur automobile; 
  • exempter les entreprises américaines de l’obligation d’afficher et d’étiqueter leurs produits en français.

Le premier ministre fédéral a résumé samedi: «quand vous êtes attaqués, c’est que vous êtes en guerre», avant d’affirmer: «nous avons été attaqués».

[L'article La guerre commerciale reprend entre le Canada et les États-Unis a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Washington a finalement imposé ses droits de douane de 50%, Ottawa va riposter

Le gouvernement américain applique depuis samedi des tarifs douaniers de 50% sur de nombreux produits canadiens:

  • les produits laitiers
  • les alcools 
  • des matériaux de construction
  • d’autres produits très variés, dont des appareils électroniques, des meubles et des bâtons de hockey

Ces tarifs affecteraient 5% des exportations canadiennes aux États-Unis.

  • La proportion est de 9% pour les exportations venant du Québec.

Le gouvernement canadien a l’intention d’imposer le 8 septembre des droits de douane d’un montant total équivalent, «au dollar près», sur les exportations américaines vers le Canada.

Ces contre-tarifs viseraient notamment les produits laitiers, l’acier et les appareils électroniques. 

[L'article Washington a finalement imposé ses droits de douane de 50%, Ottawa va riposter a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Ukraine says it hit an Iskander launcher near the border—part of a dedicated hunt for Russia’s ballistic launch sites

ukraine says hit iskander launcher near border—part dedicated hunt russia’s ballistic launch sites · post russian missile under ukrainian drone attack taganrog russia 30 2026 1st separate center unmanned systems

Ukraine has struck a Russian Iskander launcher near its border as part of a dedicated operation against nearby ballistic-missile launch positions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists, according to Ukrinform

Russia continues using ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities while Ukraine has rationed Patriot interceptors and warned of acute shortages, pushing Kyiv to combine interception with strikes on the systems and positions used to launch those missiles.

President says Ukraine hit an Iskander launcher

President Zelenskyy described the strike as a success but said the sensitivity of the operation prevented him from providing many details.

We struck an Iskander launcher near our borders,” he said. “I am grateful to our warriors who are carrying this out. This is our operation to hunt their systems positioned nearby.”

The president, however, didn't disclose where the launcher was located or what weapon Ukrainian forces used to hit it.

Zelenskyy said strikes on launchers are one way Ukraine is trying to counter Russian ballistic attacks when anti-ballistic interceptor stocks are limited.

When our anti-ballistic missile stocks are at a minimum, there is another tactic. It is more difficult, and we developed it,” he said. “It is hunting their nearby positions from which ballistic missiles are launched.

He described the effort as a separate program and operation. Euromaidan Press could not independently verify the reported strike.

Russian Iskander-M missile system, 2020. Illustrative photo. Photo from Russian government sources via Militarnyi
Russian Iskander-M missile system, 2020. Illustrative photo. Photo from Russian government sources via Militarnyi

Ukraine has already targeted Russian ballistic missile infrastructure in several operations this year. In April, Ukrainian drone forces reported strikes on two bases linked to Iskander systems in occupied Crimea.

On 30 May, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said they destroyed an Iskander system at a launch position near Taganrog in Russia’s Rostov Oblast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 7 July 2026. Photo: Zelenskyy / Telegram
Explore further

5% of US Patriot stocks gets Ukraine through winter, 10% ends the ballistic threat — and Zelenskyy has just 1%, he tells CNN

SpaceX rejected Ukraine’s request to use Starlink inside Russia

The launcher strike comes as Ukraine is also looking for better ways to operate long-range drones against military targets in Russia. Zelenskyy said SpaceX ultimately refused to let Ukraine use Starlink inside Russia because of escalation concerns.

Kyiv had wanted Starlink to work over Russian territory for defense operations, including drone strikes on Russian ballistic-missile launchers near the border. The Defense Ministry asked him in the first half of 2026 to raise the issue with US President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy said Trump relayed that decision to him at a later meeting. Ukraine continues discussing the issue with the US side.

Ukraine and European partners are separately developing the FREYJA anti-ballistic system, with Kyiv seeking a prototype capable of demonstrating practical results by mid-2027. The project is intended to combine Ukrainian missile technology with European radars, sensors, and command systems.

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Kyiv is asking Musk to let it strike inside Russia. Its best line to Musk is gone

kyiv asking musk let strike inside russia its best line gone · post elon 2026 world economic forum / ciaran mccrickard wef ukraine news ukrainian reports

Ukraine is asking Elon Musk to let it arm deep-strike drones with his Starlink network and turn them on Russian ballistic-missile launchers far inside Russia, the Financial Times reported. The plan needs Musk's approval — and US President Donald Trump was cool to the idea when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised it at the White House on 28 July, with people present expecting Musk to refuse.

Kyiv is chasing the workaround because its air defenses are stretched: Russia keeps escalating its missile and drone strikes, and Ukraine is running low on the Patriot interceptors that are its only dependable answer to Russian ballistic missiles. As Russia builds more missiles and drones, Ukraine's interceptor needs run into the hundreds before the year is out.

At the meeting, FT reported, Zelenskyy pressed Trump to lobby Musk for permission to fly Starlink-linked drones across the Russian border. He capped the pitch at 200 km into Russia — far enough to reach launch sites, command posts, and other targets on the calculation that a shallower limit might make Musk likelier to agree.

Starlink could extend Ukrainian drone strikes

Riding SpaceX's satellites, Starlink drones hold a steadier link to their pilots at long range than ordinary radio allows, and they shrug off the jamming that grounds other drones. The drones have already shown their worth in the fighting at home, and Vienna-based military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady said that across the border they "could be very useful in hunting" Russian launchers, FT wrote.

Kyiv's best channel to Musk has also just closed: Zelenskyy recently fired his defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who had a direct line to the billionaire.

mykhailo fedorov during an interview in june 2026
Mykhailo Fedorov during a June interview, a month before his dismissal, in which he described leaks and private-company influence inside the defense ministry. Photo: screenshot from PRESSING / Army-Media of Ukraine's Defense Forces

Speaking to a Ukrainian podcast on 6 August, Fedorov said that even with a channel to Musk still open after his firing, he had made no progress on cross-border Starlink use—"a difficult task right now."

A column of protesters demanding reinstatement of Mykhailo Fedorov as Defense MInister walks in vul. Khreschatyk in Kyiv, 1 August 2026. Photo: Serge Kostezh/Kyivpost
Explore further

The Fedorov protesters lost. But they backed a man for what he built, not what he promised—and that may be new in Ukraine.

Musk’s Starlink decisions have affected both sides in the Russo-Ukrainian war

Musk has backed Ukraine's heavy dependence on Starlink for military command and comms. In 2022, Musk declined to extend Starlink coverage for Ukrainian troops mid-operation near occupied Crimea, citing his fear of triggering a nuclear escalation.

He has also acted against Moscow: in February, at Fedorov's direct request, Musk shut down the Starlink terminals that Russian forces had been operating illicitly against Ukraine.

Now, Musk answered Fedorov's Monday post with a line about "trying to do the right thing" and wanting peace — and said nothing about the Starlink ask.

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Que sait-on sur le futur accord commercial Canada–États-Unis? 

À la suite du report de l’instauration de nouveaux droits de douane américains, le gouvernement fédéral a confirmé hier qu’il finalisait un accord avec Washington.  

Mark Carney s’est toutefois contenté d’évoquer des «progrès substantiels», en soulignant qu’«il reste encore du travail important à accomplir».

Aucun des deux gouvernements n’a dévoilé le contenu de l’accord qui serait en cours de finalisation. Seules indications:

  • Dominic LeBlanc, ministre responsable du commerce Canada–États-Unis, a indiqué que le système de gestion de l’offre resterait intact.
  • Tim Houston, premier ministre de la Nouvelle-Écosse, a dit que Carney avait demandé aux provinces de remettre en vente l’alcool américain.

[L'article Que sait-on sur le futur accord commercial Canada–États-Unis?  a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Donald Trump a annoncé une entente de principe avec le Canada sur les tarifs douaniers

Dans une publication sociale en fin de soirée mardi, le président américain a indiqué qu’il reportait de trois jours l’instauration de nouveaux droits de douane américains sur de nombreux produits canadiens.

Ces tarifs douaniers, de 50%, avaient été annoncés le mois dernier et devaient entrer en vigueur aujourd’hui.

D’intenses négociations commerciales entre le Canada et les États-Unis ont eu lieu ces derniers jours.

Trump a justifié le report de l’entrée en vigueur par le fait que les deux pays seraient parvenus à une entente, qui resterait cependant à finaliser par écrit.

[L'article Donald Trump a annoncé une entente de principe avec le Canada sur les tarifs douaniers a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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Un gouvernement péquiste attendrait le départ de Trump pour tenir un référendum

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon a annoncé hier que si le Parti québécois remporte les élections en octobre:

  • il consultera les Québécois sur l’indépendance du Québec; 
  • mais il n’organisera pas de référendum sur la question tant que Donald Trump sera président des États-Unis.

Le second mandat de Trump doit se terminer en janvier 2029. 

Le mandat du prochain gouvernement québécois doit, lui, se terminer en octobre 2030.

Le chef péquiste soutient que l’avenir politique du Québec exige «un débat éclairé et serein», et que ce débat ne doit pas «être confisqué par les coups d’éclat d’un président imprévisible».

[L'article Un gouvernement péquiste attendrait le départ de Trump pour tenir un référendum a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

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