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

President Donald Trump escalates the trade war with Canada by banning some Canadian imports entirely, widening the fight beyond tariffs.

Plus, Britain bans goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, prompting Israel to retaliate by closing the British consulate in Jerusalem.

And Republicans host their first-ever national convention during a midterm election year, bringing the party to Dallas for two days.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.

Trump bans certain Canadian goods, moves to shut Canada out of government contracts

Trump has escalated the trade war with Canada, responding to new Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods by banning some imports from our northern neighbor entirely. The banned items include certain dairy products, motorcycles and most alcoholic beverages.

The ban takes effect Sept. 29 and follows Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion in U.S. goods, which took effect 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 bar Canadian products from 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.

A White House official said Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian-made cars and trucks starting Jan. 1 remains on the table.

Jordan intercepts 18 ballistic missiles over its territory as Iran strikes back at US targets

Iran has released video it said showed missiles and drones launched toward U.S. vessels and oil tankers, in retaliation for American strikes on five Iranian oil tankers. Tehran also said it fired missiles at U.S. targets in Jordan.

Jordan’s military said Iran launched 20 ballistic missiles toward its territory, with 18 intercepted by their forces and two landing 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 said 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, saying they could be targeted in retaliation.

And the escalation is keeping oil prices high. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading around $99 a barrel Wednesday morning.

After Britain bans Israeli settlement goods, the country retaliates by closing British consulate

Britain has taken new action against Israel over its expanding settlements in the West Bank, and Israel has already hit back.

The British government banned imports from Israeli settlements there and will also bar British companies from providing services that help build or expand those settlements. That includes financing, construction and real estate.

Britain said it now considers Israel’s occupation of the West Bank illegal, not just the settlements themselves.

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’ll 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.”

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom

France and Canada have taken 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 has also pushed back. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will not follow Britain’s lead.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned Britain it could face retaliation from the U.S.

“I guess a big question is, why put this kind of pressure on Israel?” Huckabee said. “Is the UK 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 said the measures are aimed at Israeli settlements, not a broader boycott of Israel. It said the goal is to stop settlement expansion from further undercutting the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

Sununu and Pappas secure Senate nominations, setting up race for Shaheen’s seat

New Hampshire voters have set the matchup for one of this fall’s key U.S. Senate races. Former Republican Sen. John Sununu and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas won their parties’ nominations Tuesday.

They’ll compete for the open seat left by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats; Democrats need a net gain of four to take control.

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

“To everyone who voted for a different candidate in the primary, and to those who didn’t come out to vote, I’m asking you: join us. Reject the chaos in Washington. Give the Granite State a senator who will put the people of New Hampshire first every single day.”

John E. Sununu, U.S. Senate Republican candidate

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 projected Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte will face Democrat Cinde Warmington as Ayotte seeks a second two-year term.

Trump to headline both nights of Republican midterm convention in Dallas

For the first time ever, Republicans will host a national convention in the middle of a midterm election year. The RNC’s two-day event kicks off Wednesday in Dallas. Trump spearheaded the idea to rally Republican voters ahead of November.

Some Republicans will skip the convention to campaign back home, but Dallas’ lineup features some of the party’s biggest names.

The president will deliver the keynote address Wednesday night, and Vice President JD Vance will speak Thursday. Other big-name speakers include Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Thursday night, Trump will return to the stage to close out the convention. Other Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, will also be there.

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

And this won’t look quite like the presidential conventions we’re used to. There won’t be any delegates or nominations, and the event is open to the public, featuring more than 50 speakers and presentations each night.

Trump has promised plenty of entertainment, including a big balloon drop to close out the event.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch retires as White House pushes exhibit changes

The man who has led the Smithsonian through an increasingly public fight with the Trump White House has announced he will step down. Lonnie Bunch said Tuesday that he will retire as the Smithsonian’s secretary at the end of the year, after seven years in the top job and nearly four decades with the institution.

Bunch said the decision is his and that White House pressure did not force him out. But he told The New York Times that the past year “has been stressful.”

Bunch leaves as the Smithsonian faces 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 discuss the country’s past.

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

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 elements of the White House review.

The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents will appoint an acting secretary and then launch a national search for Bunch’s successor.

Bunch remains on the job through the end of the year.

More from Straight Arrow:

Inside the effort to make data centers pay their share of electricity costs

Lynn LaMance turns off the air conditioning at night. She unplugs appliances when they’re not in use. Whenever possible, she barbecues outside to avoid using her electric stove. 

These actions are part of LaMance’s personal pledge to keep her monthly bill as low as possible, despite the rising rate she pays per unit of electricity.

In recent years, LaMance remembers paying about $200 for electricity during summer’s hottest months. This year, her August bill was $347. 

“It felt like I was paying another car payment,” said LaMance, who lives in Dayton, Ohio, with her daughter, their cat Pete and an estimated 90 houseplants.

Many Americans share the stress of rising electricity bills, as rates increased twice as fast as inflation in 2025, according to a Columbia University white paper. At the same time, development of large-scale data centers that train and run artificial intelligence systems has surged. The buildings packed with computers can consume as much electricity as entire cities — and that has residents wanting to know if data centers affect their electricity bill. 

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