Good morning.
Donald Trump has canceled plans for a deployment of federal troops to San Francisco that had sparked widespread condemnation from California leaders and sent protesters flooding into the streets.
The Bay Area region had been on edge after reports emerged on Wednesday that the Trump administration was poised to send more than 100 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agents to the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, a city in the East Bay, as part of a large-scale immigration-enforcement plan.
By early yesterday morning, hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the Coast Guard base, holding signs with slogans such as: “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!”
What did Trump say about his change of mind? Trump confirmed he had a conversation with the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, writing on social media: “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”
Trump says all Canada trade talks ‘terminated’ over ad criticising tariffs
Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to “all trade negotiations” with Canada over a television advertisement opposing US tariffs that quoted the former US president Ronald Reagan.
The ad, which was paid for by the province of Ontario, uses excerpts of a 1987 speech where Reagan says “trade barriers hurt every American worker”.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Canada had “fraudulently used an advertisement”, which he called “fake”, and accused the country of trying to interfere with US court decisions on the levies.
What are current tariffs on goods from Canada? Washington originally imposed a 25% tariff on imports of goods including timber, steel, aluminum and cars in the spring, prompting retaliatory action from Ottawa. The rate was raised to 35% by Trump in August.
How did Carney respond to Trump’s fusillade? His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment last night. The prime minister was due to leave on Friday morning for a summit in Asia, while Trump is to do the same on Friday evening.
Putin says he will never bow to US but concedes sanctions may cause ‘some losses’
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will never bow to US pressure but conceded new sanctions could cause some economic pain, as China and India were reported to be scaling back Russian oil imports after Washington targeted Moscow’s two largest producers.
On Wednesday, the US imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as nearly three dozen of their subsidiaries, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. The EU separately agreed to a phased ban on the import of Russian liquefied natural gas, and added two Chinese oil refiners to its Russian sanctions list.
What did Putin say? The Russian leader yesterday described the US sanctions as an “unfriendly act that does nothing to strengthen Russian-American relations” and “an attempt to put pressure on Russia”, which he said was futile.
In other news …
The Florida man charged with starting the Palisades fire pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Earlier this year, the Palisades fire killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures in Los Angeles, turning swaths of the city into a wasteland.
Donald Trump said his administration could soon expand its military attacks on alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela, and also begin pursuing them on land.
Irish voters are going to the polls to elect a new president, with final opinion polls predicting a landslide for Catherine Connolly, an outspoken leftwing independent who has captured the imagination of many younger people.
The NBA, one of the world’s most prominent sports leagues, found itself associated with illegal gambling again yesterday after two prominent stars – the Heat’s Terry Rozier and the Trail Blazers’ Chauncey Billups – were arrested in a sweeping federal investigation.
Don’t miss this: ‘When I told him I’d secretly seen his films, his eyes filled with tears’ – Isabella Rossellini remembers her father, Roberto
The Italian director Roberto Rossellini’s career was briefly derailed when his “scandalous” affair with the Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman hit the headlines in the 1950s. The story of Roberto’s last two decades is told in Living Without a Script, a new archive-based documentary, which premieres this week in Rome. Their daughter Isabella remembers a devoted parent and a brilliant film-maker.
… or this: New book details infighting behind Trump’s ‘obviously unqualified’ cabinet picks
The factional infighting behind Trump’s cabinet selection, where inexperience was no barrier to success, is detailed by the journalist Jonathan Karl in Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Climate check: White House approves increased oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s national wildlife refuge
The Trump administration has approved more oil and gas drilling across Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR), prompting widespread criticism from environmental conservation organizations. Yesterday, the interior secretary announced the opening of 1.56m acres across ANWR’s coastal plains
Last Thing: ‘Dictator-for-life vibes’ – our architecture critic on Trump’s bulletproof ballroom bling
He has already turned the Oval Office into a wrestler’s changing room. Now the president is building a faux classical bulletproof ballroom, capable of seating up to 650 partygoers, that is so gilded Nero would feel at home. Why did he pick an architect whose speciality is Catholic churches?
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