Trump Drops 50% Tariff Bomb on Canadian Imports
The Morning Sixpack - 07/21/2026: Trump tariffs, Pentagon cash crunch, IRS allegations, lettuce recall, NYT subpoenas, Cuba report. #MorningSixpack
Canada is getting hit with another round of tariffs, and now the trade fight is getting even more expensive for everyone involved. You’re about to pay a lot more for your hockey sticks! (Not kidding.)
Trump Slaps 50% Tariffs on Many Canadian Imports, Escalating Trade Fight
President Donald Trump has ordered new 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports, accusing Ottawa of unfairly targeting American products.
The move cranks up an already tense trade battle and raises the odds of another costly showdown between two of North America’s biggest trading partners.
The new tariffs take effect Aug. 19 and hit a wide range of goods, including wine, hockey sticks, electrical equipment, and concrete. The White House said Canada unfairly discriminates against U.S. dairy products, motor vehicles, and alcohol, arguing the action is necessary to protect American workers. Some products—including energy, potash, critical minerals, and fish—are exempt.
Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, marking the first time the rarely used law has been employed to impose tariffs of up to 50% without congressional approval. The move is expected to face legal challenges, especially after earlier sweeping tariff efforts were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court before the administration shifted to a broad 10% import duty.
Canada blasted the decision, with Prime Minister Mark Carney calling it another unilateral U.S. action that violates existing trade agreements.
“This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.,” Carney said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Canada to respond “tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” while Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also backed retaliatory measures if the tariffs move forward.
Source: UPI
Editor: Washington keeps calling these trade fights “America First,” but consumers usually end up first in line when the higher prices arrive.
Washington’s war bill is growing faster than Congress can write checks, and the Pentagon is starting to feel the squeeze.
Pentagon Burning Through Cash as Iran War Costs Pile Up
The Pentagon is rapidly running short of money as the war with Iran stretches on, forcing cuts to training and maintenance while Congress remains deadlocked over billions in new funding.
When the military starts raiding its own budget just to keep operations going, that’s a sign the meter is running a lot faster than the politicians are moving.
According to The Washington Post, some Pentagon funding accounts could run dry within weeks as the Trump administration seeks an additional $67 billion from Congress to pay for the expanding conflict war. Officials say the cash crunch has already led to reduced training exercises, delayed maintenance, and internal budget shifts to keep military operations afloat.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine are expected to press lawmakers for emergency funding, but Congress remains divided over both the cost of the war and how to pay for it. The Pentagon has also requested permission to shift another $4.3 billion from training and weapons purchases to cover immediate operational needs.
The funding battle comes as questions grow over long-term military readiness. Officials have privately expressed concern about replenishing precision-guided munitions and maintaining forces prepared to deter rivals like China and Russia, even as public assurances from the administration remain upbeat.
Rep. Pat Harrigan summed up the urgency by saying, “Everybody needs to look at this situation and get rid of the complacency that they have.”
The administration has requested a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, but lawmakers from both parties are raising concerns over mounting debt, the rising cost of the Iran war, and the lack of detailed spending information coming from the Pentagon.
Source: The Washington Post (free)
Editor: Wars may begin with speeches, but eventually somebody has to pay the invoices. Turns out the Pentagon’s credit card has a limit after all. They’ll get money, but it won’t come with a lot of grandstanding.
Running the IRS is supposed to require trust, not old allegations of snooping through other people’s emails.
IRS Chief Faces Allegations He Spied on JPMorgan Colleagues
A Wall Street Journal investigation alleges IRS Commissioner Frank Bisignano directed staff to access colleagues’ emails and other sensitive internal records while serving as a top executive at JPMorgan Chase.
The accusations reach back more than a decade, but they’re landing at an awkward moment for the man now overseeing some of the federal government’s most sensitive taxpayer information.
According to the Journal, former JPMorgan employees claim Bisignano used his authority over the bank’s security operations to monitor rival executives, review confidential communications, and track employee activity without a clear business reason. The report says investigators later found digital evidence of unauthorized access after Bisignano left the bank, prompting JPMorgan to tighten internal controls over sensitive employee data.
Bisignano’s attorney flatly denied the allegations, saying he “never directed anyone to look through any employee’s or executive’s communications or engaged in any form of surveillance.”
She also disputed claims that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon encouraged Bisignano to leave the bank, insisting he departed voluntarily to become CEO of First Data.
The Journal reports the allegations come as Bisignano oversees both the IRS and Social Security Administration, giving him responsibility for enormous amounts of Americans’ personal financial information. While the report states there are no allegations he improperly accessed customer data at JPMorgan, critics are certain to question whether the claims raise concerns about his current role.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (free)
Editor: If you’re asking Americans to trust you with their tax returns, stories about allegedly reading co-workers’ emails aren’t exactly the résumé booster you’d order up.
The FDA’s investigation just hit a speed bump, but the lettuce recall isn’t going anywhere.
FDA Retracts Positive Test but Keeps Taylor Farms Lettuce Recall in Place
The FDA says a laboratory test that appeared to link Cyclospora to recalled Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, but health officials are still warning consumers not to eat the recalled products.
When more than 1,600 people are sick, one bad lab result doesn’t erase the bigger public health picture.
The FDA announced it had reexamined a lettuce sample that initially appeared to contain Cyclospora and determined the result was a false positive. Despite that reversal, the agency says the recall remains in effect because interviews with sick patients continue to point investigators toward iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico.
The recalled lettuce was served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia and was also distributed to retailers in dozens of states, including Walmart stores in 15 states. Taco Bell says it has stopped using the affected lettuce, while Taylor Farms says it is no longer sourcing iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico for the rest of the growing season.
The outbreak has now sickened more than 1,600 people, with 94 hospitalizations reported. There have been no deaths. The parasite causes diarrhea, fatigue, and nausea, and investigators are continuing to test lettuce and imported produce in hopes of identifying the source.
Rutgers University microbiologist Donald Schaffner cautioned that Cyclospora outbreaks happen nearly every summer and don’t always stem from a single source.
“Sometimes we can figure out what’s causing it, and sometimes we can’t,” he said.
Source: NPR
Editor: It’s never comforting when investigators say, “We’re still looking.” The only thing spreading faster than the parasite right now is uncertainty.
One thing is certain: Vegetables want to kill you.
Going after reporters is one thing. Going after their families’ phone records is a whole different level.
DOJ Sought Phone Records of New York Times Reporters—and Their Relatives
The Trump administration secretly sought the phone records of New York Times reporters, their spouses, and even one reporter’s mother as part of a leak investigation into stories about security concerns involving the president’s new Air Force One.
When investigators start casting a net that includes family members, the debate quickly shifts from finding leaks to testing the limits of press freedom. It was great knowing you, First Amendment!
According to court filings, the Justice Department subpoenaed third-party phone providers for reporters’ call and text records while also attempting to compel journalists to testify before a federal grand jury. The Times argues the subpoenas violate the department’s own policies governing investigations involving the news media and has asked a federal judge to block the requests.
The leak investigation began after The New York Times reported that federal officials had serious concerns about the security capabilities of President Trump’s Qatari-donated Air Force One. The White House directed FBI Director Kash Patel to oversee the inquiry after the reporting reportedly angered the president.
The Times says some of the subpoenas sought records dating back to Jan. 1—months before the Air Force One articles were published—raising concerns the government was broadly searching reporters’ source networks rather than focusing on a specific leak. The newspaper also objected to subpoenas targeting relatives, including one reporter’s mother and another reporter’s spouse, arguing the effort amounted to “a bad-faith effort to intimidate the journalists and chill their ability to report on the administration.”
For now, all of the subpoenas have been paused while a federal judge considers The Times’ motion to quash them. A hearing is scheduled this week.
Source: The New York Times
Editor: Protecting classified information matters. So does protecting a free press. The hard part is making sure one doesn’t become the excuse for dismantling the other.
The State Department isn’t just criticizing Cuba anymore—it’s naming American activists it says are helping prop up the regime.
State Department Report Targets Hasan Piker, DSA, and Ilhan Omar’s Daughter Over Cuba
The State Department has released a report accusing several prominent left-wing activists and organizations of serving as “front groups and fellow travelers” for Cuba’s communist government.
It’s an extraordinary move that shifts the focus from criticizing a foreign regime to publicly calling out American political activists by name.
The report, titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” identifies political commentator Hasan Piker, Democratic Socialists of America, labor activist Christian Smalls, and environmental activist Isra Hirsi—the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar—as part of what it describes as a network of Western activists whose visits and activities support the Cuban government.
According to the report, these activists are connected through Cuba-backed nonprofits, academic partnerships, cultural organizations, and travel programs. It also claims the Democratic Socialists of America maintains what it describes as a “fierce, almost religious commitment” to defending the Cuban regime, while stopping short of alleging the group is directly controlled by Cuban agents.
The report reflects Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tougher approach toward Cuba, including expanded economic pressure on the island. Critics argue the administration is attempting to stigmatize domestic political opponents by linking them to a hostile foreign government, while supporters contend the report shines a light on long-overlooked foreign influence efforts.
Whether the report changes policy remains to be seen, but it is certain to intensify an already heated political debate over Cuba, free speech, and where activism ends and foreign influence begins.
Source: The New Republic
Editor: Naming American activists in an official government report is guaranteed to generate headlines. Whether it changes any minds is a different question entirely. But it certainly has dangerous implications.