Michael Whatley, RNC chairman endorsed by Trump, launches Senate bid in North Carolina
The contest is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive 2026 races. Speaking at an event held at an old textile mill near Charlotte, Whatley pledged his allegiance to the president, who will be a major focus for both sides in a swing state where Trump had one of his smallest margins of victory last year.
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Global News
4 minutes ago
- Global News
Could higher tariffs mean more layoffs in Canada? What industry experts say
Canada's job market could be getting squeezed if the economy shrinks further, and an increase in tariffs could mean more tough times ahead for some sectors and industries — which experts say could lead to further job cuts. 'We are in a very difficult moment and workers are already feeling the pain, but it would be even more destructive if we were to sign a bad deal,' says national president Lana Payne of Unifor, a private sector union which employs 320,000 workers in Canada. 'We need to put maximum pressure on the United States so that they are feeling the heat because it's getting worse and worse there now. And that puts us in a better position to be able to negotiate as well.' On Friday, the trade war escalated yet again after United States President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Canada by 10 per cent. This means that all Canadian goods imported into the U.S. that do not comply with the terms in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement free trade agreement (CUSMA) will see a 35 per cent duty added on — a jump from 25 per cent. Story continues below advertisement The new tariff effectively increases the base level for all goods that do not comply with the agreement, but there continue to be exceptions. These include a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel, aluminum and copper products, 25 per cent on automobiles and parts, and a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy imports into the U.S. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was 'disappointed' in Trump's decision to increase tariffs, after several weeks of negotiations failed to reach a new trade deal by Friday's deadline. Prior to the deadline, Carney said he will only make a deal that is 'best for Canada.' 'The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) supports the view that no deal is better than a bad deal, but the lack of resolution means small firms will not be able to plan for the future or continue to put off difficult choices,' says president Dan Kelly at the CFIB. 'I do worry deeply that that layoffs will start to happen in large numbers. I spoke to one small business owner who said that he's run out of money to be able to support his staff, and is in real need of some support.' Many business owners in Canada have been able to absorb some or all of the tariff increases, sacrificing potential profits, and opting to support their workers as well as keep prices for customers relatively stable. However, sacrificing profits to maintain operations amid higher costs may not be an effective long-term strategy, so layoffs could be the other shoe that drops. Story continues below advertisement Many industry leaders are pushing the federal government to support Canadian workers impacted by the trade war with the revenue generated from retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. 'We need to use the tariff revenue that we have been collecting from the United States to help workers and industries that are being impacted the most right now. We have seen that happen in the steel industry. My advice would be that if we have to do this in the auto industry, that we are using these revenues to keep people working,' says Payne. 0:36 Steel and aluminum workers need immediate action from feds, facing job losses 'now': Bruske Not all industries have been impacted by Friday's tariff increase, but some of the hardest-hit to date, including Canadian steel, are already in tough times, resulting in job cuts. 'Since March, we've seen 1,000 job losses. We've see production decline by 30 per cent at the 25 per cent tariff level. Then we've also seen the 50 per cent tariffs really putting an immense amount of challenge on our ability to serve the U.S. market. That is just not a feasible circumstance,' said president and CEO Catherine Cobden at the Canadian Steel Producers Association. Story continues below advertisement 'With the job losses to date, our concern is that things are going to accelerate very quickly. Now that we've passed another deal marker, I think that there were some customers that were willing to wait it out. But we've had deal date after deal date that have come and gone, and now we must get very serious about our own circumstances here at home.' 'I also want to encourage everyone, every government in Canada, to use their government dollars to support Canadian jobs,' Cobden said.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Veteran federal judge T.S. Ellis III, who presided over trial of Trump aide Paul Manafort, has died
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Federal judge T.S. Ellis III, whose legal scholarship and commanding courtroom presence was evident in numerous high-profile trials, has died after a long illness. He was 85. Ellis oversaw the trials of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and former U.S. Rep. William 'Dollar Bill' Jefferson as well as the plea deal of 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh across a judicial career that lasted more than 35 years. His acerbic wit sometimes drew muted complaints at the courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where Ellis was based, but his legal reasoning was unquestioned. Ellis died Wednesday at his home in Keswick, according to the Cremation Society of Virginia. Thomas Selby Ellis III was born in Colombia in 1940 and frequently found ways in court to utilize his Spanish-language skills. He often told Spanish-speaking defendants who relied on interpreters to speak up as they pleaded for leniency, saying he wanted to hear their words for himself. He joined the Navy after receiving an undergraduate degree from Princeton, and completed graduate studies at Oxford. He received his law degree from Harvard, graduating magna cum laude. He was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. In a courthouse known as the 'Rocket Docket' for its speedy disposition of cases, Ellis' courtroom reflected his iconoclastic nature. Rarely did his hearings start on time, though when he presided over jury trials his punctuality improved as he zealously guarded jurors' time commitments. He frequently chastised lawyers to cut short long-winded arguments, in what he called 'a concession to the shortness of life.' But he was easily coaxed or diverted into telling stories from the bench recalling episodes from his long legal career. He snapped at lawyers who annoyed him, but would often adopt a more conciliatory tone later in the same hearing, and apologize for his short temper. His penchant for speaking freely drew raised eyebrows at what was arguably the highest-profile trial over which he presided: the prosecution of Manafort, on charges of tax and bank fraud related to his work advising pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians before managing Trump's campaign. Ellis ultimately delivered a 47-month sentence, and said as an aside that Manafort appeared to have lived 'an otherwise blameless life,' a phrase he often used at criminal sentencings. Critics who found much to blame in Manafort's long career working for clients including the tobacco industry and international despots were outraged by the comment. In 2009, Ellis sentenced Jefferson, a former Louisiana congressman, to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, including $90,000 found hidden in his freezer. The case threw multiple curveballs at Ellis, including a sexual relationship between a key witness and an investigating FBI agent. In 2017, Ellis reduced Jefferson's sentence to time served after a Supreme Court case changed the rules for what constitutes bribery of public officials. He made clear, though, that he believed Jefferson's actions were criminal, and called his conduct 'venal.' 'Public corruption is a cancer,' he said at the time of Jefferson's resentencing. 'It needs to be prosecuted and punished.' Ellis' sentencing hearings often followed a familiar script in which he invited defendants to explain themselves 'by way of extenuation, mitigation, or indeed anything at all' that they wanted to say on their behalf. He invariably told defendants before passing judgment that 'you write the pages to your own life story.' Ellis took senior status as a judge in 2007 but regularly worked an extensive docket. In recent years, with his failing health, his cases were reassigned.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Appeals judges order ICC prosecutor to recuse himself from Venezuela investigation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday ordered chief prosecutor Karim Khan to recuse himself from an investigation into Venezuela, citing a conflict of interest. Khan's sister-in-law, international criminal lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra, has been part of a team representing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the five-judge appeals panel at the ICC says her involvement creates an issue of 'bias' for the prosecutor. The British barrister, who is currently on leave from the court, stepped down temporarily pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Alagendra and Khan worked together previously on cases, including as defense counsel for Kenyan President William Ruto and for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Alagendra is the sister of Khan's wife, human rights lawyer Shyamala Alagendra. The Washington-based Arcadia Foundation, which focuses on human rights issues in Venezuela, filed a complaint with the court in 2024, asking for Khan to be removed from the case over a conflict of interest. The court dismissed the initial complaint in February. In written filings, Khan told the court he could not 'recall' any discussion with his sister-in-law about the facts of the case and did not attend any meetings where she was present. The ICC has an ongoing investigation into violence that followed Venezuela's 2017 election but has so far not sought any arrest warrants. Khan announced in late 2021 that he was opening the investigation after a lengthy preliminary probe and an official referral — a request to investigate — in 2018 from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. However, the full-scale investigation was put on hold when Venezuelan authorities said they wanted to take over the case. The ICC is a court of last resort that only takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, a system known as complementarity. Khan pressed ahead with efforts to continue the court's first investigation in Latin America. ICC judges agreed with Khan and authorized him to resume investigations in Venezuela in 2023.
