News roundup, 10 Sept 2026

- Donald Trump has promised every American adult $5,000 if the Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms this November. The effectiveness of this in winning votes, and its very legality, is far from clear.

- New York mayor Zohran Mamdani has released 170,000 previously suppressed documents regarding the impact of the 9/11 attacks on the city's air quality. This probably would be harmful to Rudy Giuliani's legacy were it not already in ruins as a result of his support of Trump.

- Canada and France are following the UK's lead in banning imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. A good move, if overdue; notably Pierre Poilievre is not mentioned at all in the article. This is rather interesting; you'd expect him to come out with an unhinged rant about the Liberals being antisemites, but maybe in these times he is counting on actual antisemites to support him and doesn't want to give them cause to reconsider their support for his party.

- The Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Winnipeg's South River Heights neighbourhood over the weekend, the second to strike the city this year. While it caused substantial damage, no injuries were reported.

- One of the pilots of the Amazon Boeing 767 that overran the runway in Miami on the weekend, killing five people, reportedly recognized that they were coming in too fast well before touchdown, but his colleague did not give a "consistent verbal response" and they proceeded with the landing nonetheless. This probably will not serve the crew well at their next employee evaluation.

- Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were denied bail by a federal judge in Miami on Wednesday, concluding (not unreasonably) that they are dangerous and could pose a flight risk. The two face possible extradition to the UK, where they face numerous charges including rape and human trafficking. No doubt we'll see more of their fanboys doing pushups outside the jail as a form of protest like they did earlier this summer; unfortunately I fully expect Trump to veto the extradition.

News roundup, 28 Aug 2026

- Donald Trump has signed an executive order officially renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America". Some folks on social media are suggesting that we should respond by closing the Welland Canal to American vessels, which would create a rather awkward situation for the US Midwest as they depend on the canal to ship their goods overseas. On a related note, Danielle Smith, predictably, continues to be vehemently opposed to using oil and gas exports as a bargaining chip with the US, and her fellow collaborator Scott Moe has similar opinions about potash.

- The investigation into the runway collision between an Air Canada jet and an airport fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing the pilots and injuring more than 40 other people, has found that two air traffic controllers had clocked out early, leaving the tower seriously understaffed. The FAA is looking to fire the controllers. Other factors in the accident, including the fact that the truck lacked a transponder, are still under investigation.

- Some Republican strategists are sufficiently concerned about Trump's collapsing approval ratings that they favour focusing on specific races. Trump's ego, of course, can't tolerate that, so his PAC, aptly known as MAGA Inc, is reportedly planning to bombard the country with ads making it all about himself.

- The spike in fuel prices resulting from Trump's war in Iran has led to a surge in the popularity of electric vehicles in pretty much every country except the US. This bodes poorly for the long term future of the American auto industry unless something changes soon.

- A civilian professor at the US Military Academy at West Point, NY has been fired for continuing to teach about human-caused climate change. Adam Kalkstein, who taught at the institution for 17 years, compares the prohibition to "trying to teach the law without being able to even mention the Constitution"; he is suing for reinstatement and requesting a jury trial.

- UK prime minister Andy Burnham is facing pressure from his MPs to move ahead with electoral reform. Burnham has advocated doing away with first-past-the-post for quite some time, and now nearly 100 of his MPs are calling on him to create a commission on the subject in his first 100 days in office. This is a refreshing stance for Labour; the party has long benefited from the status quo, but perhaps they're now realizing that this might be the best defense the country has against the rise of Reform UK.

- A car belonging to Salma Zahid, the Liberal MP for Scarborough Centre, was torched early Thursday morning by person or persons unknown; the fire spread to two other vehicles before being extinguished. Toronto police have not yet confirmed that Zahid was the target.

- A security guard at a Dollarama in suburban Winnipeg was stabbed after confronting a shoplifter. The suspect, who has a significant criminal record already, was captured quickly and charged with aggravated assault as well as robbery and failure to comply with a probation order.