Canada:

Canada recognizes State of Palestine, offers help to build peaceful future with Israel

. Canada now officially recognizes the State of Palestine and is doing so with international partners to preserve the prospect of a two-state solution, according to a statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney's office released Sunday morning. The PMO said that the possibility of a two-state solution "has been steadily and gravely eroded" by several developments, including the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, the Israeli parliament's resolution supporting annexation of the occupied West Bank and the Israeli government's restrictions on humanitarian aid. The announcement comes as Carney prepares to meet with world leaders in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, with Australia and the United Kingdom also announcing their recognition of Palestinian statehood on Sunday. Carney first announced the move in July with recognition conditional on the Palestinian Authority making certain commitments including governance reforms, general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and the demilitarization of the Palestinian state.

 

Canadian politicians, experts push back against U.S. ambassador's anti-Americanism concerns

. Canadian politicians and experts are pushing back against U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra's frustration over the anti-American sentiment he's seen in Canada after U.S. President Donald Trump hit the world with tariffs. Hoekstra said at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce event that he's "disappointed that I came to Canada — a Canada that it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship." Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, called Hoekstra's comments "gaslighting 101," saying "When you kick the dog, you can't blame it for snarling back." Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer noted that any time a foreign country slaps tariffs or raises the idea of annexation, "of course Canadians are going to react negatively to that."

 

How the votes need to land to get legislation passed this parliamentary session

. April's election saw Canadians elect a slim Liberal minority government — the sixth minority government in the past two decades — meaning parties will need to co-operate to pass legislation. If the Liberals and Conservatives agree on an issue, it is a foregone conclusion that it will pass in the House, as combined, the two parties have 312 votes, more than ten times the others combined. The Liberals, only a few seats shy of a majority, could also seek to woo one of the smaller opposition parties, with both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP having enough seats to hold some leverage. Despite having lost recognized party status in the House, the NDP still has some leverage with just seven seats, as if they support Liberal legislation, those two parties could outvote the others 175 to 167.

 

Thousands rally in Toronto to 'draw the line' against PM Carney agenda

. A large crowd of close to 2,000 people marched through downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon as part of Canada-wide protests calling on the new Liberal government to prioritize the climate, Indigenous rights, migrants and workers ahead of the fall budget. Protesters' concerns included Prime Minister Mark Carney's support for new fossil fuel projects, potential public service cuts as well as other issues like Indigenous rights, anti-war activism and more. The protest was organized by a coalition of 14 partner organizations that represent movements for migrant justice, economic justice, Indigenous rights, anti-war activism and climate justice, with similar protests planned around Canada and other places around the world. Among the issues raising alarm bells for protest organizers are the new Liberal government's promise to make significant cuts to federal program spending at the same time as the government adds billions of dollars to its military budget.

 

Carney's 'Buy Canadian' policy expected to be fully in place next year: source

. Ottawa's "Buy Canadian" policy will be featured in the fall federal budget and is expected to be fully in place by next spring, according to a senior federal source, with initial elements of the policy expected to be in effect by as early as November. The policy will require "domestic and foreign suppliers contracting with the federal government to source key materials from Canadian companies in defence and construction procurements exceeding a certain threshold" and will extend to infrastructure spending, grants, contributions and loans. The Government of Canada is the country's largest buyer of goods and services, purchasing about $37 billion worth each year, with Public Services and Procurement Canada and Shared Services Canada accounting for 75 per cent of those purchases. According to a BMO Economics report, a shift toward buying Canadian among both consumers and the government could add roughly $10 billion to the economy annually, though the report warns this comes with higher costs.

 

'I would seek a tariff-free deal': Poilievre says Canada shouldn't settle for sectoral tariffs

. Amid a protracted trade war with the United States, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canada shouldn't settle for a deal that includes sectoral tariffs, telling CTV's Question Period that "I would seek a tariff-free deal." Poilievre argued that Canada "used to have that privileged access to the American economy, and in exchange for that, we could provide more continental security that would make both our countries more secure and stable." The Conservative leader blamed Liberal environmental policies for Canada's over-dependence on the U.S., saying Prime Minister Carney has "unfortunately negotiated out of a position of weakness." Poilievre pointed to what he's called "anti-development Liberal policies," such as the oil and gas sector emissions cap, the industrial carbon tax, and Bill C-69, which many Conservatives have dubbed the "no more pipelines act."

 

Champagne promoting Canadian critical mineral and energy exports in Europe

. Canada's finance minister says the country could be a "supplier of choice" for European markets looking to bolster energy security and defence capabilities, following a meeting in Denmark with European Union finance ministers. François-Philippe Champagne said Saturday that Canadian critical mineral and energy exports could help European economies become more resilient while diversifying Canada's trade relationships, stating "We are redesigning the world economic order at a speed and at a scale that I would say has not been seen in a generation." The European outreach comes ahead of what are expected to be challenging negotiations to review the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement next year, with Champagne noting that "it would be prudent for Canada to also diversify its market." He pointed to critical minerals, energy resources and shipbuilding expertise as key assets that Canada brings to the table, and compared the opportunity to the role played by Canadian industry in supplying munitions and other military equipment to Allied forces during the Second World War.

 

'Not going to be able to police our way out of hate,' says Elghawaby amid new hate crime bill

. The federal government has introduced legislation to strengthen protections against hate-motivated crimes, including new Criminal Code offences aimed at curbing public intimidation, hate symbols, and violence targeting identifiable communities. The bill would remove the Attorney General's consent requirement for all existing hate propaganda offences, allowing police to act more quickly, and create a new fifth offence for displaying hate symbols. Most police-reported hate crimes targeting religion were directed towards Jewish (68%) and Muslim (17%) populations, while since 2020, Black people have been the most frequently targeted population as victims of hate crimes motivated by race or ethnicity, accounting for 37% of these hate crimes in 2024. Canada's Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, emphasized the importance of comprehensive approaches beyond just policing in addressing hate-motivated crimes.

 

United States:

MAGA movement will bid farewell to Charlie Kirk with a hometown funeral in Arizona

. Tens of thousands of Charlie Kirk's supporters will join with top Republican political leaders on Sunday for the funeral of the right-wing activist, less than two weeks after he was killed. The 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA was a close ally of President Trump and seen as one of the most prominent young leaders within the MAGA movement, with his death reverberating across the Republican Party. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance are set to deliver remarks at his service, along with several other top administration officials, while supporters will also hear from Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, who was named the new CEO of Turning Point on Thursday. The late activist's memorial comes just days after prosecutors charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with murdering Kirk as he was speaking at a Turning Point event at Utah Valley University, with authorities citing a text message in which Robinson allegedly explains why he targeted Kirk, writing, "I had enough of his hatred."

 

Trump's new $100K fee on H-1B visas will hurt the tech companies trying to woo him

. President Trump's latest executive order on immigration will sharply curtail a visa program used by hundreds of thousands of people currently living in the United States by adding a $100,000 fee for high-skilled workers to enter the country through the H-1B visa program. The steep and dramatic overhaul threatens operations of big tech companies that have tried hard to curry favor with Trump this year, with companies like Amazon, Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase sending urgent messages to employees to return to the United States before the deadline. More than half a million U.S. residents are in the United States on H-1B visas, with Congress allowing 85,000 H-1B visas to be issued through a lottery each year, for which the U.S. currently charges a $215 registry fee. The White House says that U.S. employers have abused and "deliberately exploited" the H-1B visa program to "replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor," though the new $100,000 fee only applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders.

 

California bans masks meant to hide law enforcement officers' identities

. California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning law enforcement from wearing masks on duty except for things like riot gear, medical masks and undercover work, saying it's the first bill of its type in the country. The Democrat and frequent critic of President Trump said it was a sign of growing authoritarianism to have detentions by masked men "hidden from accountability, any transparency, any oversight," calling masking "a new construct conceived to terrorize our diverse communities." The law, called the "No Secret Police Act," comes in response to increased immigration enforcement in California, particularly scenes of masked federal agents detaining people off the streets, often without badges or indicating what agency they're from. Several California organizations representing local law enforcement agencies opposed the bill, calling it reckless and dangerous to officers and their families, while ICE officials have said their agents wear masks to prevent from being identified in videos or photos posted online, sometimes resulting in threats to them or their families.

 

Defense Secretary Hegseth requires new 'pledge' for reporters at the Pentagon

. The Pentagon will drastically change its rules for journalists who cover the Department of Defense, with reporters now required to sign a pledge not to gather any information, including unclassified reports, that hasn't been authorized for release. The 17-page document outlining the new rules says those who fail to obey the new policy will lose their press credentials, and journalists who report on news outside of the explicit commands of the Pentagon could be deemed "a security or safety risk" and have their credentials stripped. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Friday on social media that "The 'press' does not run the Pentagon — the people do," and "The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility." The move drew sharp criticism from news organizations, with National Press Club President Mike Balsamo calling it "a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the U.S. military."

 

Trump nominates White House aide to be top US prosecutor for office probing Letitia James

. President Donald Trump said Saturday that he would be nominating senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan to serve as the top federal prosecutor for the Virginia office that was thrown into turmoil when its U.S. attorney was pushed out Friday. The nomination would place one of the president's legal defenders in charge of an office in tumult over political pressure by administration officials to criminally charge New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime foe of Trump, in a mortgage fraud investigation. Erik Siebert, who had been the office's top prosecutor, resigned amid a push by Trump administration officials to bring charges in the investigation, which stems from allegations of paperwork discrepancies on James' Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home. Halligan has been part of Trump's legal orbit for several years, including serving as one of his attorneys in the early days of the FBI's investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

 

Top Democrats ask for a meeting with Trump ahead of government shutdown

. Top congressional Democrats are asking President Trump for a meeting before an impending government shutdown, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries writing in a Saturday morning letter that they "demand a meeting in connection with your decision to shut down the federal government." The pair say that GOP leaders have "repeatedly and publicly refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open," while the House voted Friday to approve a short-term spending bill to fund the government though Nov. 21. The spending bill failed in the Senate, as did a competing bill by Senate Democrats, with Congress needing to act by Sept. 30 to fund the government in order to avoid a shutdown. Each party seems insistent that the other will "own" the effects of a government shutdown and shoulder the blame from the American public, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that if Democrats "choose to vote against this clean, completely nonpartisan [spending bill], then they will be choosing to shut the government down and they'll own the consequences."

 

After cuts to food stamps, Trump administration ends government's annual report on hunger in America

. The Trump administration is ending the federal government's annual report on hunger in America, stating that it had become "overly politicized" and "rife with inaccuracies." The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the poor, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that the tax and spending cuts bill Republicans muscled through Congress in July means 3 million people would not qualify for food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. In a press release Saturday, the USDA said the 2024 report, to be released Oct. 22, would be the last, stating "The questions used to collect the data are entirely subjective and do not present an accurate picture of actual food security." Critics were quick to accuse the administration of deliberately making it harder to measure hunger and assess the impact of its cuts to food stamps, with Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress saying "Trump is cancelling an annual government survey that measures hunger in America, rather than allow it to show hunger increasing under his tenure."

 

TikTok China Trump social video platform Oracle

. A deal has been reached between the Trump administration and China to keep TikTok operational in the United States, with administration officials announcing Monday that a framework agreement has been reached, and Trump scheduled to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Friday to finalize the deal. President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. business, which will be owned by an investor consortium that includes Oracle and Silver Lake, with the deal expected to close in the next 30 to 45 days. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that six Americans will sit on the seven-seat board that will control the company, the U.S. would control the app's algorithm, and the data and privacy aspects of the platform will be in the hands of Oracle. The Trump administration did not name the US-backed buyer, but the group is widely expected to be led by Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, who last week briefly became the world's richest person and whom Trump had said he would champion buying the app's US assets.

 

Students turn back to books as more school districts implement phone bans

. Students at a school district in Kentucky are putting down their phones and cracking books at a record pace now that devices are banned during class, with library books flying off the shelves following the enactment of a statewide ban of electronic devices in classrooms. At Ballard High School in Louisville, 891 books were checked out in August, compared to 533 last year — an increase of 67 percent, while students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School have already borrowed more than 1,200 books during the first 17 days of the school year, nearly half of last year's total. Restrictions on the use of electronic devices in classrooms are currently in place in 35 states, with Kentucky's new law taking effect in late June, while 16 other states and the District of Columbia started this school year with new policies. The massive surge in Kentucky hasn't been limited to teens, as students at Crosby Middle School and Farnsley Middle School borrowed 2,088 books last month, compared to 662 in August 2024.

 

Oklahoma Bill to Mandate Charlie Kirk Statues

. Oklahoma state senators have introduced a bill requiring all state colleges to erect and protect statues honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with the proposal coming as President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other leading Republicans attended a memorial service for the late 31-year-old podcaster and activist who was killed in Utah on September 10. The legislation, introduced by Senators Shane Jett and Dana Prieto, would require every institution of higher education in Oklahoma to devote a prominent location on its main campus to a memorial for Kirk, with permanent signage describing Kirk as a "voice of a generation, modern civil rights leader, vocal Christian, martyr for truth and faith, and free speech advocate." The deadline for full construction is March 1, 2028, and if the public colleges fail to comply with the new rules, they may face financial penalties, while the colleges will be responsible for protecting the statues from vandalism. Critics argue that treating Kirk like historic civil rights figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. is deeply problematic, with MLK's children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, publicly rejecting the comparison.

 

Thousands protest on NYC streets ahead of climate week

. Thousands of climate activists marched through Manhattan streets today as part of a coordinated global wave of protests demanding urgent environmental change, with the demonstration taking place on the eve of Climate Week NYC, the world's largest climate event, which runs September 21-28 across all five boroughs of New York City. Protesters specifically targeted Billionaires' Row and Trump Tower, chanting "Make Billionaires Pay" while connecting climate justice to broader social and political issues, linking environmental concerns with calls for democracy, gender equality, free speech, immigration reform, and a ceasefire in Gaza. The timing of these protests underscores growing tensions between grassroots climate activism and institutional climate discussions, as world leaders, business executives, and policy makers prepare to gather for Climate Week NYC's official programming. Climate Week NYC features hundreds of events across New York's five boroughs, from policy gatherings and climate fintech discussions to community-led initiatives and art installations, with most official events being free and designed to be accessible to all participants.

 

Trump demands Venezuela accept 'worst in the world' criminals

. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Venezuela on Saturday via Truth Social, demanding the country "immediately accept" what he described as prisoners and individuals from mental institutions who were allegedly sent to the United States. This coordinated approach represents a significant escalation in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement strategy, with the administration concurrently asking the Supreme Court on Friday for an emergency order to strip legal protections from more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants currently under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Trump's latest Truth Social post claimed that "thousands of people have been badly hurt, and even killed" by individuals he characterized as coming from Venezuelan prisons and mental institutions, though the president's post provided no specific evidence or data to support these claims about harm caused by Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. However, states like Texas and Georgia have recently begun sharing data on illegal immigrant crime in their regions, showing non-citizens are committing crimes at a lower rate than their American-born counterparts.

 

Trump publicly pushes Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political foes

. President Donald Trump exerted public pressure Saturday night on Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying it was time for the Justice Department to take action against a number of his political foes. "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump said in a Truth Social post, name-checking former FBI Director James Comey, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Alongside the extraordinary demand to prosecute his adversaries, the president also named his former defense attorney, now a senior White House aide, to replace the head of a key prosecutor's office he forced out a day earlier. Trump also complained about former acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik S. Siebert, who was tasked with looking into mortgage fraud allegations against James and resigned from office on Friday, though Trump contradicted this saying he fired Siebert and named Lindsey Halligan as his nominee to replace him.

 

International:

U.K, Canada and Australia formally recognize a Palestinian state, breaking with the U.S.

 The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognized Palestine as a state on Sunday, marking a significant shift in foreign policy and a step away from their alignment with the United States, with several other European nations and U.S. allies set to follow suit this week. Canada became the first Group of 7 nation to recognize the state of Palestine, with Prime Minister Mark Carney promising a "peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel," followed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the U.K. was formally recognizing Palestine "to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution." The move is largely symbolic and grants the Palestinians increased diplomatic standing and the potential for treaty-making, but does not fundamentally change the realities on the ground in Gaza, where more than 65,000 people have been killed since October 2023, or the occupied West Bank. The U.K.'s recognition brings them closer to the more than 140 out of 193 U.N. member states that have already recognized Palestine as a state, with France expected to formally declare its recognition on Monday and other countries including Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg and New Zealand likely to act soon.

 

Taliban rejects Trump's bid to retake Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan

. The Taliban government on Sunday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to retake Bagram Air Base, four years after America's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left the sprawling military facility in the Taliban's hands. Trump on Saturday renewed his call to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram, saying "we're talking now to Afghanistan" about the matter, and when asked by a reporter if he'd consider deploying U.S. troops to take the base, Trump said "We want it back, and we want it back right away. If they don't do it, you're going to find out what I'm going to do." Chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected Trump's assertions and urged the U.S. to adopt a policy of "realism and rationality," stating that under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that "it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs." While the U.S. and the Taliban have no formal diplomatic ties, the sides have had hostage conversations, with an American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist released by the Taliban in March.

 

Airports race to fix check-in glitch after cyberattack hits Europe

. Some of Europe's biggest airports, including the region's busiest, London's Heathrow, raced to restore normal operations on Sunday after hackers disrupted automatic check-in systems. Hackers on Saturday targeted check-in and boarding systems provider Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX, disrupting operations at Heathrow, Berlin Airport and in Brussels, where passengers faced long queues, cancellations and delays. Disruption had eased significantly by early Sunday despite some continuing delays, with Brussels Airport saying that 45 out of 257 scheduled departing flights on Sunday were cancelled but operational adjustments had kept waiting times down to delays between 30 and 90 minutes. The disruption is the latest in a string of hacks to hit sectors from healthcare to autos, with RTX calling the incident a "cyber-related disruption" that impacted its MUSE software, which is used by several airlines.

 

US House China lawmakers military dialogue

. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers pushed for more military-to-military dialogue in a meeting Sunday with China's Premier Li Qiang, a rare congressional visit since the U.S.-China relations soured. The last trip by a group of senators was in 2023, and Sunday's delegation was the first from the House of Representatives to visit Beijing since 2019. Li welcomed the delegates led by Rep. Adam Smith and called it an "icebreaking trip that will further the ties between the two countries," saying "It is important for our two countries to have more exchanges and cooperation, this is not only good for our two countries but also of great significance to the world." Smith, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said "Certainly, trade and economy is on the top of the list... (but also) we're very focused on our military-to-military conversations," adding "As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I'm deeply concerned that our two militaries don't communicate more".