Trump takes aim at major pharmaceutical companies, demands lower drug prices
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
21 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Texas Democrats leave the state to block vote on redrawn House map backed by Trump
Texas Democrats are leaving the state in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. The dramatic move Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties — with the state's attorney general having previously threatened to arrest them if they took such an action. Refusing to attend legislative session is a civil violation, however, so Democrats legally could not be jailed and it's unclear who has the power to carry out the warrants. Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans who hold full control of the Texas government from pushing through a rare mid-decade redrawing of the congressional map at the direction of President Donald Trump. 'This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,' said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement. To conduct official business, at least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present. Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the majority-Republican chamber. At least 51 Democratic members are leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus. 'Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,' he said. The move marks the second time in four years that Texas Democrats have fled the state to block a vote. In 2021, a 38-day standoff took place when Democrats left for Washington in opposition to new voting restrictions. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort, as well as to respond to flooding in Texas Hill Country that killed at least 135 people in July. Trump has urged Texas Republicans to redraw the map to help the party net a handful of seats in the midterms next year. Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned new U.S. House map that would create five new Republican-leaning seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state's 38 seats. By leaving the state, Democrats are looking to block Republicans from the needed quorum to hold votes on the map set for Monday. The Texas House has rules to fine lawmakers $500 each day they break a quorum. GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton has said previously that if Democrats break quorum, 'they should be found and arrested no matter where they go.' 'My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater,' Paxton said on the social media platform X on July 15. A large chunk of the Texas Democrats are heading to Illinois, where Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker had been in quiet talks with them for weeks about offering support if they chose to leave the state to break quorum. Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, has been one of Trump's most outspoken critics during his second term. Last week, Pritzker hosted several Texas Democrats in Illinois to publicly oppose the redistricting effort. California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a similar event in his own state. Pritzker also met privately with Texas Democratic Chair Kendall Scudder in June to begin planning for the possibility that lawmakers would depart for Illinois if they did decide to break quorum to block the map, according to a source with direct knowledge who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Now, with Texas Democrats holed up in Illinois and blocking the Trump-backed congressional map, the stage may be set for a high-profile showdown between Pritzker and the president. Trump is looking to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House just two years into his presidency, and hopes the new Texas map will aid that effort. Trump officials have also looked at redrawing lines in other states, such as Missouri, according to a person familiar with conversations but unauthorized to speak publicly about them.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Trade talks with U.S. will likely continue 'over the next couple of days,' says LeBlanc
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, says he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will have a conversation with each other 'over the next couple of days' as Canada tries to find a way out of a 35 per cent blanket tariff on exports to the U.S.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Tariffs trigger layoffs and closures in Quebec as U.S. trade war deepens
Layoffs have begun and at least one Quebec business has shut down, as the effects of new U.S. tariffs ripple through the province, a clear sign the trade war with the United States is escalating. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods from 25 per cent to 35 per cent on products not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). For many Montrealers, the latest news is a reminder to buy local. On Facebook, a lumber mill in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, two hours north of Montreal, announced it was letting go of 250 employees and suspending its activities until October, and cited tariffs as the reason. Another company based in Saint-Georges, known for manufacturing semi-trailers, is planning to lay off more than a hundred workers. Economist Julian Karaguesian said more companies could potentially face the same fate. 'At the local, regional level, we can see more closures, more unemployed,' he said. Karaguesian added that in Quebec, the aluminum and steel industries are being hit the hardest, as tariffs are already high in those sectors. 'The 50 per cent tariffs on steel. And now there's 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper products. Those are hurting more than the previous 25 per cent tariff, which is now 35 per cent.' On X, Premier François Legault wrote that the tariffs are harmful to businesses and workers, and that it was important for Quebec to diversify its markets. 'President Trump is shaking up the system, and we have an opportunity in this crisis to build out our export markets and to build a Canadian economy once more,' Karaguesian said.
