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Source: Canadian Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, has ended about $10 million in annual funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, a CISA spokesperson said in an email Monday.

It’s the latest move by Trump administration officials to rein in the federal government’s role in election security, which has prompted concerns about an erosion of guardrails to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

CISA announced a few weeks ago that it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave. That followed an administration move to disband an FBI task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.

“I have grave concern for state and local election officials and for the security of our elections going forward,” said Larry Norden, an election security expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU’s School of Law.

In recent years, CISA has faced sustained criticism from Republicans over past efforts to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic. Previous CISA leadership had said the agency never engaged in censorship and only worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms.

When asked Monday if the review of CISA’s election work was complete and if the agency could share a copy of the report, an agency spokesperson said it was an internal review to “help inform how the agency moves forward to best support critical infrastructure” and was not planned for public release.

The two cybersecurity initiatives facing cuts are the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which included state and local election officials along with representatives of voting system manufacturers, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which has benefited state, local and tribal government offices.

Both have been organized within a nonprofit, the Center for Internet Security.

The activities no longer being funded include cyber threat intelligence, cyber incident response and engaging with state and local government officials. In a statement, the agency said ending the funding will help “focus CISA’s work on mission critical areas, and eliminate redundancies.”

Following CISA’s decision, the Center for Internet Security posted a notice online that it was no longer supporting the election-specific initiative. A spokesperson for the Center for Internet Security did not respond to questions sent by email about the effects of the cuts.

The National Association of Secretaries of State, comprised of top state election officials from across the country, was seeking information from CISA about the move and its recent election-specific review, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who is president of the bipartisan group.

Simon said he was waiting for more information before drawing conclusions. He said the group’s executive board recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging CISA to continue services to state and local election officials, including support for the election information sharing center.

“We got a lot out of it,” Simon said Monday.

CISA falls under the Department of Homeland Security, although it has its own Senate-confirmed director. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate someone as CISA director. The agency was formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and is charged with protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems.

A spokesperson for the National Association of State Election Directors said the group was hoping to learn more from the Center for Internet Security about the effect of the federal cuts on its operations.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who served as chair of the executive committee for the election information sharing initiative, said it provided crucial support during last year’s presidential election. Election officials were reporting malicious cyberattacks and sharing important details in real time, which she said allowed Maine to preemptively block those attempting to target her state’s networks.

“We will find a way to protect our elections,” said Bellows, a Democrat. “But given the sophistication of these threats, the elimination of the (information sharing initiative) is both inefficient and extremely dangerous.”

Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press

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EDMONTON — The Alberta and federal governments have ratified a $42-million agreement to expand meal programs for students.

Officials say the federal money will come over three years and supplements Alberta’s existing school nutrition program.

The federal government says the agreement means Alberta families with two children in school can save an estimated $800 a year on groceries.

Alberta is the last province in Canada to sign onto Ottawa’s national school food program, after Saskatchewan announced an agreement earlier in the day.

The three territories have also joined the program, which was first announced in April 2024.

Alberta’s recently introduced budget proposes an additional $20 million for the provincial school nutrition program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

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WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the search of a landfill for two murdered First Nations women is under budget, as work continues on identifying a set of remains found last month.

The province and the federal government each committed $20 million to search the Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.

The search began in early December and two sets of remains were recently found at the site.

RCMP have said one set belongs to 39-year-old Harris.

Kinew declined to say what percentage of the allocated funds has been spent so far.

He says the project is “way under budget” because the government is still in the early stage of its search at the Prairie Green landfill.

The premier says the province will consult with the families on what the future may hold once the identification process is complete.

“That’s what we want to discuss, once we’ve had the identification process and time for the families to absorb the information,” he told reporters Monday.

The province expected searchers would be going through 20,000 cubic metres of waste in an area the size of four football fields.

Kinew wouldn’t comment on how much of the area was searched before remains of Harris remains were found.

He said more information would be provided once the identity of the second set of remains has been determined and after consultation with the families and the committee overseeing the search.

Jeremy Skibicki was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the slayings of Harris, Myran and two other Indigenous women.

A trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at homeless shelters in Winnipeg and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood.

The remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a different landfill. Those of an unidentified woman Indigenous grassroots community members named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, have not been found and police have not said where they might be.

It’s believed the remains of Myran also ended up at the Prairie Green landfill.

Police refused to search the site over safety concerns. The Progressive Conservative government at the time also said it wouldn’t support a search, and it touted the decision during the 2023 provincial election campaign.

Last week, the interim leader of the Tories, now in Opposition, apologized in the legislature to the families of Harris and Myran.

Families of the women and Indigenous leaders in the province advocated for years for a search of the landfill, taking their fight to Parliament Hill and the Manitoba legislature.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk told the Fox Business Network. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The comments on the popular program and other benefits provided to Americans could rattle politicians on both sides of the aisle as Musk works to downsize the federal government, especially as he already faces blowback for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs.

Musk’s estimate for the level of fraud in entitlements far outpaces figures from watchdogs like Social Security’s inspector general, who previously said there was $71.8 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. That’s less than 1% of benefits paid out during that time period.

Musk also said there were “20 million people who are definitely dead marked as alive in the Social Security database.” However, the leader of the agency has rejected claims about widespread payments to dead people.

“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” said Lee Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner.

The interview with Fox Business was a reminder of Musk’s deep skepticism and even hostility toward the program, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. Trump has promised to defend Social Security from cuts, but Musk has described it as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down some of the agency’s offices.

Musk said Monday that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.” The allegation echoed the “great replacement” theory, which claims that politicians are trying to expand their power by reshaping the country’s racial demographics.

The interview was conducted in the White House complex by Larry Kudlow, who served as an economic adviser to Trump during his first term. During the conversation, Musk seemed to acknowledge the unusual nature of his role in the administration.

“Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here doing this,” Musk said. “It’s kind of bizarre.”

Musk is the world’s richest person and still runs his private enterprises as he advises the president on ways to overhaul the federal government.

He also thanked Trump for his confidence, saying, “Without the president’s support, we couldn’t make any progress here.”

Trump has publicly backed Musk and given him extraordinary influence over the federal government. However, the Republican president has indicated a shift in approach, saying that Musk’s team would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.”

Musk has not often spoken publicly since joining the administration, preferring instead to present a stream of consciousness on X, his social media platform. On Monday, he accused Democrats of attacking Tesla dealerships; bragged about X being “the top source for news on Earth;” and accused Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, of being a traitor for visiting Ukraine over the weekend.

Musk’s sitdown with Kudlow was his third interview since joining Trump’s administration, and he hasn’t strayed from his ideological safe space. He previously did a joint interview with the president and Sean Hannity of Fox News, and he sat down with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who endorsed Trump last year.

Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, and many have cheered Musk’s work.

“The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee. “For the first time ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going to reward us.”

But there are signs of backlash and skepticism. Some Republicans have even boasted of blocking budget cuts.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole issued a statement saying three federal offices in his state — the National Weather Center in Norman, the Social Security Administration Office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services Office in Oklahoma City — would stay open.

“I am thrilled to announce that common sense has prevailed,” he said. Cole added that “all three of these places provide vital and valuable services to Oklahomans and I am so proud to have advocated for them.”

About half of Americans said it’s “a bad thing” that Trump has given Musk a prominent role in his administration, according to a mid-February CNN/SSRS poll. Only a third saw it as “a good thing.”

Another mid-February survey by The Washington Post and Ipsos found that Americans were divided on whether Musk is mainly cutting wasteful spending or necessary programs, with about a third falling into each camp. Another quarter said they weren’t sure.

Chris Megerian, The Associated Press

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul waded into the state’s Supreme Court race Monday, renewing an old feud with conservative candidate Brad Schimel over delays in testing sexual assault evidence kits almost a decade ago.

Kaul, a Democrat, ousted Schimel, then a Republican, from the attorney general post in the 2018 elections. Kaul hammered Schimel relentlessly during the campaign for taking more than two years to test about 4,000 kits sitting unanalyzed on police department and hospital shelves.

Kaul brought up the delays again Monday during an afternoon news conference organized by the state Democratic Party. He accused Schimel of not paying close attention to the testing project and prematurely declaring he had completed the work when his administration left hundreds of kits for Kaul’s administration to test.

When asked what the testing delays have to do with being a state Supreme Court justice, Kaul said justices must be straightforward and Schimel isn’t candid about what went on with the kits.

Schimel campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Schimel defended himself in the days before the 2018 election by saying the state Justice Department needed time to inventory the kits and struggled to find private labs to test them because labs were overwhelmed with untested kits from other states.

Schimel and his opponent, Susan Crawford, are vying for an open seat on the Supreme Court in an April 1 election. The race is officially nonpartisan, but Schimel was a Republican attorney general and has GOP backing while Democrats are rallying behind Crawford.

The race has enormous implications in swing state Wisconsin, with majority control of the state’s highest court on the line as it is expected to face issues that will affect abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.

Crawford and her allies are increasingly trying to nationalize the contest against Schimel by focusing on Elon Musk, a top adviser to President Donald Trump. America PAC, a group created by Musk, has spent $3.2 million on digital ads, mailers and canvassing to support Schimel in the Supreme Court race. Another Musk-funded group, Building America’s Future, has spent more than $2 million on TV ads attacking Crawford.

In 2014, the state Justice Department learned of some 6,800 sexual assault evidence kits that had not been tested. They went unanalyzed for various reasons. Prosecutors may have decided cases were too weak to pursue or been forced to drop cases because victims wouldn’t cooperate, according to Schimel’s administration.

The problem wasn’t unique to Wisconsin. A USA Today Network investigation in 2015 found at least 70,000 untested kits nationwide, leading to calls from victim advocacy groups to analyze them all in hopes of getting DNA hits that would identify serial offenders.

Schimel took over as attorney general in 2015. He secured a $4 million federal grant in September of that year to start testing Wisconsin’s kits, but the work didn’t begin until January 2017. He announced in September 2018, two months before the election, that his administration had finished testing 4,150 kits and declared the project finished. He chose not to test the rest because victims in those cases wouldn’t consent to analysis or prosecutors had already won a conviction in those cases, according to Schimel’s administration at the time.

Kaul announced in November 2019 that his administration finished the work after discovering Schimel had left about 300 kits untested.

Todd Richmond, The Associated Press


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WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the province’s Crown-owned energy corporation could use its purchasing power to fight back against tariffs imposed by the United States.

Kinew says Manitoba Hydro is expected to spend roughly $35 billion over the next two decades on goods required for maintenance and upgrades.

He says countries that may want to work well with Canada — such as South Korea — could benefit from that, while countries that don’t want to work together may not.

For now, Manitoba is not going as far as the Ontario government, which has placed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exported to the U.S.

Kinew signalled last week that Manitoba may curtail future exports of hydroelectricity to the U.S. under a rule requiring cabinet approval for new or extended power contracts with firms south of the border.

Kinew says he would prefer U.S. President Donald Trump drop the tariffs on Canadian goods but is willing to consider restricting American firms from Manitoba Hydro infrastructure projects as retaliation.

“Manitoba Hydro actually has tremendous buying power and that’s one of the tools we’re looking to use effectively,” Kinew said Monday.

“It so happens that because of what’s happening with the Trump tariff threats that a lot of that conversation is now, like, ‘How do we push back against the Trump administration? How do we stand up effectively?’ But we can also use that in a positive way to say, ‘Hey, countries and companies that want to work well with us — let’s do some deals.'”

Manitoba has taken other measures to counter the U.S. tariffs, such as pulling American alcohol products from liquor store shelves and taking out advertisements to urge people to buy Canadian goods.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

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EDMONTON — A rural United Conservative backbencher kicked out of caucus last week for opposing the government’s budget says he’s disappointed but isn’t ruling out a return to the party.

Scott Sinclair, the now-independent legislature member for Lesser Slave Lake, has been critical of the proposed budget for spending more on Edmonton and Calgary than rural communities like his.

He says he stands by those concerns, and the feedback he’s received from his constituents for speaking up has been overwhelmingly positive.

Sinclair says he has no plans to cross the floor and join the Opposition NDP.

He says he’s spoken with Premier Danielle Smith since being ousted from caucus and he hopes to keep the lines of communication open.

With Sinclair sitting as an independent, the UCP now have an 11-seat majority in the 87-seat house.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press

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Formalizing another withdrawal from both climate and foreign aid programs, the Trump administration has told world financial institutions that the U.S is pulling out of the landmark international climate Loss and Damage Fund.

Climate analysts Monday were critical of the Treasury Department’s decision to formally pull out from the fund designed as compensation for damage by polluting nations to poor countries especially hurt by the extreme storms, heat and drought caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas. A Treasury official said in a letter last week that the U. S. board members of the fund were resigning but gave no reason for the withdrawal.

“It’s a great shame to see the U.S. going back on its promises,” said Mohamed Adow, founder of Power Shift Africa and a veteran of United Nations climate negotiations. “This decision will result in great suffering for some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. These people have contributed the least to the climate emergency they are now living through.”

The Treasury did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

When the fund was agreed upon in 2022, then-President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S., the world’s biggest historic carbon dioxide emitter, would contribute $17.5 million. A dozen countries that have polluted less — Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom — and the European Union have pledged more than the U.S.

The two biggest pledges — $104 million — came from Italy and France. As of January, the Loss and Damage Fund had $741.42 million in pledges, according to the United Nations.

“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Loss and Damage Fund is yet another cruel action that will hurt climate vulnerable lower income nations the most,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director of the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The richest nation and the world’s biggest contributor to global heat-trapping emissions is choosing to punch down and walk away from its responsibility toward nations that have contributed the least to the climate crisis and yet are bearing an unjust burden from it.”

Poorer nations, often in the global south, had long framed the fund as one of environmental justice. It was an idea that the U.S. and many rich nations blocked until 2022, when they accepted the creation but insisted it was not reparations.

“Three long decades and we have finally delivered climate justice,” Seve Paeniu, the finance minister of Tuvalu, said when the UN climate negotiations established the fund. “We have finally responded to the call of hundreds of millions of people across the world to help them address loss and damage.”

In its first 50 days, the Trump administration has eliminated or cut funding for environmental justice domestically, foreign aid, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion. The president also started the one-year process to once again pull out of the historic 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Earlier this month, the U.S. withdrew from a a special climate agreement in which rich nations help small poor nations switch to cleaner energy.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON — Ontario placed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States on Monday as Canada braced for steel and aluminum duties the Trump administration is set to deploy on Wednesday.

“I feel terrible for the American people, because it’s not the American people who started this trade war,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday at a news conference called to announce electricity price increases for about 1.5 million homes in three U.S. states.

“It’s one person who’s responsible — that’s President Trump.”

Canadian leaders have vowed to push back against U.S. tariff threats after President Donald Trump launched — and partly paused — a trade war with Canada and Mexico last week.

Ford called on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reconsider her opposition to using oil and gas exports to retaliate against the tariffs. Smith quickly shot down the idea, calling it “self-destructive.”

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said provincial leaders are taking different approaches. Wilkinson said the federal government is not “interested in escalating this fight” with Washington.

Turmoil in the markets continued Monday as Wall Street responded to the ongoing tariff uncertainty and Trump’s refusal to rule out a recession.

While U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that Trump will follow through on his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., the billionaire financier added Trump’s most recent tariff threat — against Canada’s dairy and lumber exports — would not take effect until April.

“Canada is supposed to have a free-trade agreement with us — 250 per cent on dairy products. It’s outrageous,” Lutnick told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And you know the president is going to respond to it. But he’s agreed not to respond until April 2.”

Trump floated on Friday the idea of hitting Canadian lumber and dairy with “reciprocal” tariffs as soon as Monday or Tuesday.

The president’s team spent the weekend on U.S. TV news programs repeating the claim that Canada imposes 250 per cent dairy tariffs. They did not explain how dairy duties actually work or note that the U.S. also has industry-related tariffs of its own and a highly subsidized agricultural market.

Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, also called CUSMA, most importers don’t actually pay those high tariffs on Canadian dairy. Canada uses “tariff rate quotas,” which place a limit on the quantity of a product that can be imported at a lower tariff rate.

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is up for mandatory review next year.

One minute after midnight on March 4, the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on almost all Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

On Thursday, after days of market chaos, Trump signed an executive order delaying those tariffs for goods that meet the rules-of-origin requirements under CUSMA. In response, Canada paused its second wave of retaliatory tariffs.

Trump pushed ahead with those levies using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) — a national security statute that gives him authority to control economic transactions — after he declared an emergency on fentanyl trafficking at the northern border.

Ottawa responded with a plan to boost border security but Canadian officials have said the Trump administration’s use of fentanyl to justify tariffs is farcical.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who has described relations with the Trump administration as a “psychodrama,” has said the president wants to weaken Canada through devastating duties.

“And once he has weakened us, possibly try to annex Canada,” Joly said last week.

Trump has repeatedly claimed he wants to make Canada a U.S. state.

When asked about the legitimacy of the tariffs Sunday, President Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted Canada is a major source of fentanyl.

“I can tell you in the situation room I’ve seen photographs of fentanyl labs in Canada that the law enforcement folks were leaving alone,” the National Economic Council director told ABC News.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows only a small volume of fentanyl crosses illegally into the United States from Canada. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.

The White House has not responded to a request for comment or information about the administration’s claims regarding Canada and fentanyl. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — the federal agency tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution — has not responded to a request for information.

The department’s national drug threat assessment for 2024 does not mention Canada. It does mention Mexico, China and India.

— With files from Allison Jones in Toronto

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

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VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government will move as quickly as it can to remove the consumer-based carbon tax once the federal law upholding it is removed.

Eby’s response comes after Mark Carney won the federal Liberal leadership race and reiterated during his speech Sunday that he will reverse the consumer carbon price.

The premier says he feels it is “unfortunate” that the policy — which has been in place since 2008 — was “politicized” when it was an “important tool” used to drive down carbon pollution in the province.

However, he says his NDP government already committed to get rid of the consumer carbon price if Ottawa did the same, and the province will move forward as soon as the federal law that holds the current carbon pricing in place is gone.

In a written statement released after Carney’s victory as new Liberal Leader, B.C. Opposition Leader John Rustad called for Eby to immediately scrap the tax.

Rustad also warned Eby “not to try hiding the tax on the backs of businesses and workers” through the implementation of other levies on industry.

Eby says his government will “continue to make sure that big polluters pay in the province,” while consumers get some relief during these times of high prices and costs of living.

“For the people who are filling up their cars, who are heating their homes, for the residents of British Columbia, we’re going to make sure that the carbon tax is not there for them.”

Rustad, meanwhile, said B.C. “cannot just shift this tax to industry” as it would still drive up living costs for residents in the province.

He says B.C. residents won’t fall for a “sneaky shell game” where the tax is scrapped at the pump but boosted for businesses so that prices for consumers still rise.

Carney met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today and promised a quick transition, but it’s unclear when the federal carbon pricing system would be scrapped.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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