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Source: Canadian Press

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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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is known best for enforcing the right to disability services across America’s schools. But under President Donald Trump, it’s taking a frontline role in his political battles.

Trump appointees have halted thousands of pending cases while they open new investigations aligned with the president’s campaign promises. Career staffers have been sidelined and pressured to quit, and those who remain are being ordered to refocus priorities on antisemitism, transgender issues and anti-DEI complaints.

A memo Friday from the civil rights office’s chief announced antisemitism cases are now the top priority, taking aim at colleges where pro-Palestinian protests brought accusations of anti-Jewish bias. That followed a decision to cut $400 million in federal money going to Columbia University, where on Saturday immigration officials arrested a Palestinian activist who was involved in leading student protests.

Hanging in the balance are the types of cases the office traditionally has focused on — students with disabilities who need services they aren’t getting, or students facing harassment tied to their skin color.

It’s normal for new presidential administrations to pause civil rights cases while they get acclimated, but this transition brought a longer and more rigid freeze than others. Trump officials lifted the freeze for disability cases on Feb. 20, and last week, new Education Secretary Linda McMahon said all cases could resume as normal.

During Trump’s first month in office, the Office for Civil Rights resolved about 50 cases, according to a staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. By comparison, the office resolved more than 3,000 complaints in the same window of Trump’s first term, and almost 500 under former President Joe Biden.

Even the most urgent cases, which are traditionally granted exceptions, sat idle during the freeze. Staff lawyers were told not to respond to outside calls or emails, leaving families in the dark.

Another staff member at the civil rights office described desperate emails from parents whose schools refused to make accommodations for their children’s disabilities. “We were just ignoring their emails,” said the person, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Tylisa Guyton of Taylor, Michigan, filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights on Jan. 20 over her 16-year-old son’s repeated suspensions from a suburban Detroit school district, alleging a white administrator was targeting him and a group of other Black children. The teen has been out of school since Dec. 4. Even as investigations resume, she has heard nothing from the civil rights agency.

“He’s still asking every day, ‘When can I go back to school?’” Guyton said of her son.

The memo Friday told staffers antisemitism would be an “investigative and enforcement priority.” It added the memo should not be interpreted as “‘deprioritizing’ any other form of OCR enforcement activity.” But staffers said that’s the most likely outcome as dwindling ranks of employees face heavier caseloads tied to the president’s agenda.

Politics usually play into the office’s priorities to some degree, and Republicans similarly accused Biden officials of going too far when they opened cases into COVID-19 mask bans or in support of transgender students. But several longtime staffers said this is the first time they’ve seen cases tied to political agendas edge out their everyday work.

Trump has called for a total shutdown of the Education Department, calling it a “con job” infiltrated by leftists. At her Senate hearing, McMahon said the civil rights office might be better served if it moves to the Justice Department.

Some cases are moving forward, but others appear to be stalled, Marcie Lipsitt, said a special education advocate in Michigan.

“I’ve said to everyone, ’You’re going to have to fight harder for accountability because there will be no accountability at the U.S. Department of Ed, if there is a U.S. Department of Ed,” she said.

At the same time, Trump’s officials have continued to open their own “directed investigations” — proactive inquiries that depart from the office’s typical work responding to complaints. The office has opened more than a dozen such investigations, many aimed at pressuring universities to stop allowing transgender athletes or to take a harder stance against pro-Palestinian protesters.

It adds up to more work for fewer employees at the office of about 500 workers. Staffers say field offices across the country were hit after dozens of department workers were put on leave in response to Trump’s orders against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Many others took buyouts pushed by the Trump administration, leaving some field offices without administrators in key leadership jobs.

Minor changes to the office’s policies could also carry outsize impact. Complaints to the office can’t move forward unless the filer signs a consent form allowing their name to be disclosed during the investigation. For years, the office sent reminders if the form was not submitted — parents often didn’t know it was required. But an updated case manual from the Trump administration drops the reminders.

Staffers say it means more cases will be dismissed on a technicality.

Some special education advocates have begun filing more cases with state agencies, said Brandi Tanner, an Atlanta-based psychologist and special education advocate. In conversations at a recent conference in California, disability advocates expressed uncertainty and anxiety, Tanner said.

“’It’s kind of like, we’re very scared about what else is going to continue to come down the pike,” she said. “Are students going to lose their rights?”

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Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.

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The Associated Press’ education 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.

Collin Binkley And Heather Hollingsworth, The Associated Press

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NEW YORK (AP) — Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into a trade war abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

Since taking office less than two months ago, Trump has rolled out hefty import taxes on goods coming from America’s three biggest trading partners — Mexico, Canada and China — and promises that more targets are on the horizon.

Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He also launched a trade war during his first term in office, but has more sweeping plans now. Economists stress there could greater consequences on businesses and economies worldwide this time — and that higher prices will likely leave consumers footing the bill.

There’s also been a sense of whiplash from Trump’s back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation, including recently-postponed levies for some goods from Canada and Mexico that followed a 30-day pause for the auto industry. The uncertainty has roiled financial markets, lowered consumer confidence, and enveloped many businesses with questions that could delay hiring and investment.

Here’s a timeline of how we got here:

Trump’s first term

Trump launches a trade war during his first term in office — taking particular aim at China.

The two countries exchange a series of tit-for-tat levies affecting hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods. The dispute centers around U.S. allegations that China deploys underhanded tactics — including stealing trade secrets and pressuring U.S. companies to hand over sensitive technology — in an effort to supplant the U.S. in advanced fields such as quantum computing and automated cars.

Trump puts tariffs on most Chinese goods. Meanwhile, Beijing responds with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from fruit, soybeans and wine to aircraft, automotive and chemical imports.

Separately, Trump slaps tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. And in 2018, he imposes taxes of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum imports on national security grounds, escalating tensions with other trading partners. He also uses the threat of more tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2020.

Tariffs under Biden

President Joe Biden largely preserves most of the tariffs Trump previously enacted against China, but his administration claims to take a more targeted approach.

In October 2022, he issues sweeping new restrictions on selling semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China. These curbs will be expanded in October 2023 and December 2024 — when China responds with a ban of U.S. exports for various high-tech materials like gallium and germanium.

Biden also hikes tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment in May 2024. And in July, he imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico but made elsewhere in an attempt to stop China from circumventing import taxes.

2024 campaign trail promises

Biden’s 2024 tariff moves come in the middle of a heated presidential campaign — with both Biden and Trump taking jabs at each other in attempts to show who’s tougher on China.

On the campaign trail, Trump says that he plans to impose tariffs of at least 60% on all Chinese imports if he wins a second term. He also floats the idea of a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the U.S. imports while threatening to impose even bigger levies for specific countries or manufacturers that take their business outside the U.S.

While the Biden-Harris administration uses tariffs to target China, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — who becomes the Democratic nominee after Biden drops out of the race — maintain that Trump’s promise of more broad tariffs worldwide would be a mistake. Harris labels Trump’s call for tariffs as a “national sales tax” — with her campaign later saying that a 20% tariff applied across the board would raise expenses for a typical family by almost $4,000 annually.

November 2024

Trump wins the U.S. presidential election. He continues to promise steep tariff hikes in the coming weeks and months leading up to his first day back in office.

January 20

Trump is sworn in. In his inaugural address, he again promises to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” And he reiterates plans to create an agency called the External Revenue Service, which has yet to be established.

On his first day in office, Trump also says he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1, while declining to immediately flesh out plans for taxing Chinese imports.

January 26

Trump threatens 25% tariffs on all Colombia imports and other retaliatory measures after President Gustavo Petro’s rejects two U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to the country, accusing Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation.

In response, Petro also announces a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods. But Colombia later reversed its decision and accepted the flights carrying migrants. The two countries soon signaled a halt in the trade dispute.

February 1

Trump signs an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 4. Trump invoked this power by declaring a national emergency — ostensibly over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking. The levies on Canada and Mexico threaten to blow up Trump’s own USMCA trade deal, which allowed many products to cross North American borders duty free.

The action prompts swift outrage from all three countries, with promises of retaliatory measures.

February 3

Trump agrees to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, with both trading partners taking steps to appease Trump’s concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

February 4

Trump’s new 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S. still go into effect. China retaliates the same day by announcing a flurry of countermeasures, including sweeping new duties on a variety of American goods and an anti-monopoly investigation into Google.

China’s 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10% levy on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S., take effect Feb. 10.

February 10

Trump announces plans to hike steel and aluminum tariffs. He removes the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%, and also raises his 2018 aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10% set to go into effect March 12.

February 13

Trump announces a plan for “reciprocal” tariffs — promising to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports “for purposes of fairness.” Economists warn that the reciprocal tariffs, set to overturn decades of trade policy, could create chaos for global businesses.

Beyond China, Canada and Mexico, he indicates that additional countries, such as India, won’t be spared from higher tariffs. And in the following weeks, Trump suggests that European countries could face a 25% levy as part of these efforts.

February 25

Trump signed an executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether a tariff on imported copper is needed to protect national security. He cites the material’s use in U.S. defense, infrastructure and emerging technologies.

March 1

Trump signs an additional executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether tariffs on lumber and timber are also needed to protect national security, arguing that the construction industry and military depend on a strong supply of wooden products in the U.S.

March 4

Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico go into effect, though he limits the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. He also doubles the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20%.

All three countries promise retaliatory measures. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country would respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods without specifying the targeted products immediately, signaling hopes to de-escalate.

China, meanwhile, imposes tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports. It also expands the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

March 5

Trump grants a one-month exemption on his new tariffs impacting goods from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers. The pause arrives after the president spoke with leaders of the “Big 3” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

March 6

In a wider extension, Trump postpones 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month. But he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.

Trump credited Sheinbaum with making progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for again pausing tariffs — and the Mexican president said in a post on X that she and Trump “had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.”

Trump’s actions also thawed relations with Canada somewhat, although outrage and uncertainty over the trade war remains. Still, after its initial retaliatory tariffs of $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) on U.S. goods, the government said it had suspended its second wave of retaliatory tariffs worth $125 billion Canadian (US$87 billion).

March 10

China retaliates against Trump’s tariffs by imposing additional 15% taxes on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef. The escalating trade tensions push stocks lower on Monday as investors worry about the pain Trump’s trade wars risk inflicting on the American economy.

The Chinese tariffs were a response to Trump’s decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China’s Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12.

Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press






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WASHINGTON (AP) — Crews have begun work to remove the large yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street one block from the White House.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the change last week in response to pressure from activists Republicans in Congress. The work is expected to take about six weeks and the words will be replaced by an unspecified set of city-sponsored murals.

The painting of those words was an act of government-sponsored defiance during President Donald Trump’s first term. The removal amounts to a public acknowledgement of just how vulnerable the District of Columbia is now that Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control both houses of Congress.

Bowser, a Democrat, ordered the painting and renamed the intersection Black Lives Matter Plaza in June 2020. It came after days of chaotic protests at that location over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Bowser had clashed with Trump over her handling of the protests.

But now Bowser has little power to fend off encroachments on D.C.’s limited autonomy. Bowser said last week on X that, “The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”

As construction equipment began tearing up the pavement some gathered to witness the moment.

“I needed to be here today. I can’t just let this go away,” said Starlette Thomas, a 45-year old Bowie, Maryland resident who attended the 2020 Floyd protests. At the plaza, Thomas discretely secured a chunk of pavement and said holding it made her both happy and sad.

“For me to walk away with a piece of that means that it’s not gone,” she said. “It’s more than brick and mortar.”

Also on the scene was Megan Bailiff, CEO of Equus Striping, the pavement marking company that originally painted the letters.

Bailiff called the dismantling of Black Lives Matter Plaza, “historically obscene” and said its presence was, “more significant at this very moment than it ever has been in this country.”

The far right celebrated the shift online, with conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk visiting the site to hail, “the end of this mass race hysteria in our country.”

In Trump’s second term, Bowser has worked to avoid conflict and downplay any points of contention. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with Trump after the election and has publicly emphasized their points of agreement.

Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a federal “takeover” of the nation’s capital, describing Washington as being riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has refused to comment on reports that the White House is preparing an executive order targeting Washington. She publicly said that the greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was “some of the people in Congress.”

Congressional Republicans have repeatedly threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A measure currently before Congress, named the BOWSER Act, seeks to completely revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the capital city limited autonomy.

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Associated Press journalists Nathan Ellgren and Jacquelyn Martin contributed reporting.

Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press








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Seattle (AP) — Seattle fire officials said a late Sunday fire that damaged four Tesla Cybertrucks is under investigation.

The four Cybertrucks were parked in a Tesla lot in Seattle’s industrial district.

No one was injured, and the four trucks were the only property damaged. The first call came at 11:13 p.m. Sunday, said David Cuerpo, Seattle Fire spokesperson.

Tesla has been a target of protests and vandalism in the U.S. and elsewhere after CEO Elon Musk took a prominent role in President Donald Trump’s administration. People have protested Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been moving to slash the size of the federal government through large-scale layoffs, contract cancellations and other moves.

Police in Oregon last week said they are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership. That shooting came a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado, including Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on the building.

The Associated Press

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The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that would put her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections at a time when the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees.

Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Department of Labor, one of several executive departments named in lawsuits challenging the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to order layoffs and access sensitive government data.

The Labor Department had nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025. Some of its vast responsibilities include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating minimum wage, child labor and overtime pay disputes, and applying laws on union organizing and unlawful terminations.

Several prominent labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, endorsed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. The former Republican congresswoman from Oregon is the daughter of a Teamster, and during her one term in the House earned a reputation as pro-labor.

During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, several Republican senators grilled Chavez-DeRemer about her decision to co-sponsor legislation that would have made it easier for workers to unionize and penalized employers who stood in the way of organizing efforts.

She declined to explicitly state whether she still backed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act.

Chavez-DeRemer explained she had signed on as a co-sponsor because she wanted a seat at the table to discuss important labor issues. Under further questioning, she walked back some of her support of the bill, saying that she supported state “right to work” laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace.

The PRO Act did not come up for a vote during her time in Congress. Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored legislation which sought to protect public-sector workers from having their Social Security benefits docked because of government pension benefits. That bill also stalled because it didn’t have enough Republican support.

Chavez-DeRemer walked a fine line during her confirmation hearing, attempting to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans. On the subject of whether the federal minimum wage was overdue for an increase, she said she recognized it hadn’t been raised from $7.25 an hour since 2009 but that she would not want to “shock the economy.”

Some Democratic senators and workers’ rights advocates have questioned how much independence Chavez-DeRemer would have as President Donald Trump’s labor secretary and where her allegiance would lie in an administration that has fired thousands of federal employees.

Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press



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EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing calls to cancel a speaking appearance with conservative media personality Ben Shapiro at a fundraiser for Florida-based PragerU.

PragerU, a conservative content company, describes itself as an educational media platform devoted to furthering U.S. values.

Its content, which a number of U.S. states have approved for use in schools, has been criticized for downplaying the harms of slavery and climate change while distorting historic events.

Shapiro has referred to Canada as the 51st state of the U.S.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says it would be “despicable” for the United Conservative Party premier to speak at the March 27 fundraiser and is calling on her to cancel.

Smith’s office says the event gives her an opportunity to share Canada’s message with an influential U.S. audience as the trade war between the two countries continues.

Nenshi also says Smith’s trip to Florida, at a time when many Canadians are trying to keep their money in the economy of their home country, sends the wrong message to Albertans.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press

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OTTAWA — The Conservative candidate for a northern Ontario riding has dropped out just weeks ahead of an expected election, citing issues with the local electoral district board.

Cassidy Villeneuve, who was nominated to run for the Tories in Nipissing-Timiskaming, says in a letter posted to social media that she’s been working tirelessly on the campaign for the past 18 months.

Villeneuve says the challenges in politics are magnified for women and that she received pushback from some members of the local Conservative association.

In her statement, she says that she fought for “greater transparency and accountability” and she still thinks the Conservatives are the best choice for Canada’s future.

Her bio on the Conservative website says Villeneuve was raised in North Bay and is the chief of staff to MP Raquel Dancho.

The riding has been a Liberal stronghold for years and is currently held by former House Speaker Anthony Rota, who is not running in the next election.

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

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

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