U.S. and world news for July 11

Trump makes another tariff threat against Canada

In an escalation of his trade war, Donald Trump has threatened a 35% tariff on goods imported from Canada. Trump’s announcement of higher tariffs for America’s northern neighbor occurred just days after the president sent nearly two dozen letters to world leaders detailing the rates at which their goods would be taxed as of August 1 — if they don’t make a deal with the U.S. Trading partners who did not receive letters and have yet to reach a deal with the Trump administration would be charged a blanket tariff rate. Although the U.S. currently imposes a 10% tariff on nearly all foreign goods coming into the country, Trump said he might double that.

Israeli attack kills people outside of heath center in Gaza

An Israeli air strike killed 15 people standing outside a U.S.-run health center in central Gaza according to medical staff and officials in the enclave. Eight of those killed were children; the youngest was 2 years old and the oldest was 14. All were waiting to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections and other illnesses at a clinic run by an American aid group when the attack occurred. “What happened is indescribable. It’s a massacre. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against children,” said Nidal Al-Nouri, who lost his daughter and a nephew in the attack. The Israel Defense Forces said the strike was targeting a Hamas militant who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks — and that the incident is under review. “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” the Israeli military said in a statement to CNN.

Trump’s Texas trip

While defending Homeland Security head Kristi Noem against charges that her actions delayed a response by FEMA to the Texas floods, President Trump and his wife Melania were surveying the flood area in central Texas today. Their schedule included a briefing from local officials and meetings with both first responders and families that were affected by the flood. Homeland Security Secretary Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Rafael Cruz blocked out their schedules to spend time with the trumps. One week after the floods, the death toll has climbed to at least 121 people, with 96 of those fatalities occurring in hard-hit Kerr County. More than 160 others are still missing.

Rubio meets with Russia’s Lavrov

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia and the two discussed possible ways to end the war that Russia started when it invaded Ukraine. The meeting took place ion the sidelines of a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It came just days after Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not engaging in peace talks with Ukraine. Rubio told reporters after the meeting that he and Lavrov “shared some ideas and comments, which I’ll take back to Washington as early as this evening in terms of calls.” He described what Russia had put forward as a “new and different approach.”

Immigration agents fire into a California crowd

An intense standoff transpired between several hundred protesters and armed federal immigration agents at two Southern California cannabis farms. ICE was raiding the farms in Ventura County to execute criminal warrants when the incident occurred. Numerous calls were made to 911 after the federal agents deployed tear gas canisters into the crowd, causing several people to experience breathing problems. The federal agents also shot at the crowd using non-lethal ammunition. About 10 children were taken into custody by the federal agents. The farms reportedly were being investigated for allegedly violating child labor laws.

Trump Administration steps up campaign against Federal Reserve chairman.

Just two weeks after President Trump sent a handwritten letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demanding lower interest rates, Russell Vought, Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, accused Powell of breaking the law. He alleged that Powell failed to comply with government oversight regulations and lied to Congress about details of an approximately $2.5 billion planned renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Vought posted on social media a letter he wrote to Powell. He told Powell, “Instead of attempting to right the Fed’s fiscal ship, you have plowed ahead with an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington D.C. headquarters.” Trump believes that he should control the Federal Reserve instead of it being an independent agency.