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Oct. 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will add a 10% tariff to Canadian goods after the airing of a controversial ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan during the World Series.

As the Toronto Blue Jays were on their way to winning the opening game by an 11-4 score over the Los Angeles Dodgers, an anti-tariffs ad featuring edited comments made by Reagan regarding his tariffs on Japanese goods.

The ad spurred Trump to follow through on an earlier threat to increase the tariff on Canadian goods exported to the United States.

“Canada was caught red-handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s speech on tariffs,” Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social post.

“The sole purpose of this fraud was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their ‘rescue’ on tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” the president said.

“Ronald Reagan loved tariffs for the purpose of national security and the economy, but Canada said he didn’t,” Trump added.

The president said Canada was supposed to immediately cease airing the ad and remove it, but “they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a fraud.”

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,” Trump added.

Reagan made the comments during an April 25, 1987, radio address to defend his tariff policy, but the Ontario government used and edited them without permission from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

The Ontario ad runs for a minute and edits the former president’s comments, which Trump and others have called “misleading.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the ad’s intent is to “initiate a conversation” with U.S. officials and to reach “U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” CBS News reported.

The U.S. imposes a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, energy resources and potash and 35% for all other products that are not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, according to the ReedSmith Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker.

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Kamela Harris said she may run again for U.S. president in the 2028 election.

The interview will be broadcast Sunday on the BBC and excerpts were released on Saturday.

The former vice president told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that her grandnices would “in their lifetime for” see a woman in the White House and “possibly” it could be her.

“I am not done,” Harris said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.”

Harris, who turned 61 on Monday, said she hasn’t made a decision yet, more than three years before the election.

Harris lost to Donald Trump in the 2024 election after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, just than a month before the Democratic convention.

Her book, 107 days, released on Sept. 23, details the short length of her campaign.

Harris dismissed polls that have her trailing in the Democratic nomination behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“If I listened to polls I would have not run for my first office, or my second office – and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here,” said Harris, the former California senator, attorney general and state attorney who challenged Biden for the top spot on the ticket in 2020.

Harris again criticized her 2024 opponent, calling him a “tyrant.”

The White House responded to Harris’s comments.

“When Kamala Harris lost the election in a landslide, she should’ve taken the hint –the American people don’t care about her absurd lies,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.

“Or maybe she did take the hint and that’s why she’s continuing to air her grievances to foreign publications.”

Trump defeated Harris in the popular vote, 77.3 million to 75 million, and the Electoral College vote 312-226.

She noted warnings about him while campaigning have come true.

For example, “He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice – and he has done exactly that.”

And she noted changes to other agencies.

“You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponised, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists … His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke, and attempted to shut down an entire media organisation in the process.”

Business leaders and institutions are wrong to bow to the president’s demands, she said.

“There are many… that have capitulated since day one, who are bending the knee at the foot of a tyrant, I believe for many reasons, including they want to be next to power, because they want to perhaps have a merger approved or avoid an investigation.”

In July, Harris said she won’t run for California governor in 2026.

“For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office,” Harris said at the time.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Former special counsel Jack Smith wants to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees about his investigations of President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Smith’s lawyers sent letters to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who lead the chambers’ panels. Trump was indicted in two cases: attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

On Oct. 14, Jordan demanded that he testify behind closed doors with a transcript available, writing “your testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement.” Jordan accused him of prosecutorial overreach and evidence manipulation.

But Smith, who resigned from his position before Trump returned to office in January, wants the hearings in public.

“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” his attorneys, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, wrote.

Smith will need approval from the Justice Department, where he was employed when Joe Biden was president.

Smith’s attorneys said he will need guidance so he won’t violate rules to guard jury testimony.

“He is prepared to answer questions about the Special Counsel’s investigation and prosecution, but requires assurance from the Department of Justice that he will not be punished for doing so,” the letter said.

Smith’s lawyers also asked for “access to the Special Counsel files, which he no longer has the ability to access.”

“Jack Smith certainly has a lot of answering to do, but first, Congress needs to have all the facts at its disposal,” Grassley told CNN in a statement. “Hearings should follow once the investigative foundation has been firmly set, which is why I’m actively working with the DOJ and FBI to collect all relevant records that Mr. Smith had years to become familiar with.”

Smith issued reports on both cases but the one on Trump’s handling of sensitive documents found at Mar-a-Lago hasn’t been released. Attorney General Merrick Garland, before leaving office, said he wouldn’t release the report because of a criminal case involving two of Trump’s co-defendants was ongoing. But when Trump was elected president again, both cases were dropped.

The president and Republicans in Congress have accused Smith of pursuing politically motivated cases against Trump in an effort to undermine his candidacy for a second term.

But Smith “steadfastly adhered to established legal standards and Department of Justice guidelines, consistent with his approach throughout his career as a dedicated public servant,” while leading the investigations, the letter said.

Rep. Jamie Raskkin, a Democrat serving a district in Maryland, told The Hill that Smith’s offer should be accepted.

“Mr. Smith has made clear that he is prepared to address those allegations publicly, and I can think of no reason to deny the American people the opportunity to hear his testimony, under oath and with questioning from Members of both parties, and to let all Americans judge for themselves the integrity of Mr. Smith’s investigations,” Raskin wrote Thursday.

“There is no reason his appearance should be in the shadows of a backroom and subject to the usual tiresome partisan tactics of leak-and-distort.”

This week, it was reported Trump is pressing for his Justice Department to pay roughly $230 million as a settlement for two investigations. One involved the documents case and the other was ties of his 2016 campaign to the Russian government, which was investigated by another special counsel, Robert Mueller. No charges in the latter were made because of the ability to indict a sitting president.

Smith hadn’t spoken much publicly about his office’s investigations or through case failings.

On Oct. 8, he was interviewed by Andrew Weissman at University College London. Weissman was part of Mueller’s investigations and is now an MSNBC analyst.

“The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case, or who got chosen, is ludicrous,” Smith told Weissmann.

“The people on my team were similar to what I saw throughout the [Department of Justice] throughout my career,” he said. “Apolitical people who wanted to do the right thing and do public service.”

Oct. 24 (UPI) — YouTube TV subscribers might lose access to several popular Disney-owned networks if a deal is not reached with the Google-owned streaming service by Thursday.

Officials for Disney gave Google until midnight on Oct. 30 to reach an agreement or lose access to all Disney-owned content on YouTube TV.

If a deal is not made, YouTube TV subscribers would lose access to all ESPN programming, FX, ABC News, local ABC channels, the Disney Channel, NatGeo and other popular networks owned by Disney until a deal is made.

“Google’s YouTube TV is putting their subscribers at risk of losing the most valuable networks they signed up for,” a Disney spokesperson told Deadline in a prepared statement.

“This is the latest example of Google exploiting its position at the expense of their customers,” the statement continued.

“We invest significantly in our content and expect our partners to pay fair rates that recognize that value.”

If that content is lost, YouTube TV would give subscribers a $20 credit if the Disney-owned content providers go dark for an extended period, as reported by Variety.

YouTube TV has more than 10 million subscribers and is the nation’s largest Internet-based television subscription service and is using that status to demand carriage fees that are lower than market levels for the Disney-owned channels.

The current deal between Disney and YouTube TV ends on Thursday, which could deprive YouTube TV subscribers of one of the largest carriers of sports, including the NFL, college football and basketball, NBA and NHL contests.

The contract dispute with Disney is the fifth this year for YouTube TV, which also has negotiated new deals with the Fox Corp., NBCUniversal, and Paramount Global, which now is known as Paramount Skydance.

YouTube TV failed to reach an agreement with TelevisaUnivision and stopped offering its Univision and related channels from the YouTube TV lineup on Oct. 1.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — The Department of Justice filed a motion Friday to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, a country to which he has no ties.

The Department of Homeland Security has received “diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcia’s] removal,” the filing said.

DHS expects “to be able to effectuate removal as soon as Oct. 31.”

Abrego Garcia, a Baltimore resident, is a native of El Salvador. He was accidentally deported to a Salvadoran prison in March against a court order. In recent months, DHS has been looking for a new place to send him. It’s tried Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, but those countries refused.

But an immigration judge ordered that Abrego Garcia not be removed from the United States.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney said the government “has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.”

“Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told ABC News. “Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and remains a viable and lawful option.”

The DOJ said Liberia is “a thriving democracy” and is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.”

Abrego Garcia has been accused of being a gang member and of human trafficking, stemming from a 2002 traffic stop in Tennessee. Police stopped the vehicle in Tennessee and found several Latino men with no identification. Charges for that case were filed this year. He still awaits trial.

On Oct. 4, a federal judge in Tennessee granted a motion by Abrego Garcia’s defense team that seeks a hearing for vindictive prosecution.

“The timing of Abrego’s indictment suggests a realistic likelihood that senior DOJ and [Homeland Security] officials may have induced Acting U.S. Attorney [Robert] McGuire (albeit unknowingly) to criminally charge Abrego in retaliation for his Maryland lawsuit,” U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. wrote.

The Maryland lawsuit was Garcia’s successful legal challenge in a federal court in which he showed DHS made a mistake when it deported him to El Salvador.

Federal officials also contend Abrego Garcia was a member of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, though he and his family deny it. They argue that Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador because of gang violence.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it will monitor some polling sites in California and New Jersey “to ensure transparency.”

Both states are having elections on Nov. 4.

“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a press release. “We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”

The California counties where the department plans to monitor the polls are: Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange and Los Angeles. It will also monitor polls in Passaic County, N.J.

While election monitoring is not unusual, the two states listed are Democratic strongholds.

The effort will be overseen by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and will be led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.

“The Department of Justice will do everything necessary to protect the votes of eligible American citizens, ensuring our elections are safe and secure,” Dhillon said in a statement. “Transparent election processes and election monitoring are critical tools for safeguarding our elections and ensuring public trust in the integrity of our elections.”

Civil Rights Division personnel will be available to take questions and complaints from the public on possible violations of federal voting rights laws, the release said.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is headed to the Caribbean Sea to escalate the nation’s military presence amid strikes on alleged drug-running vessels.

The carrier strike group currently is in the Mediterranean Sea and includes three destroyers, in addition to the aircraft carrier, NBC News reported.

“The enhanced U.S. force presence in the [Southern Command area] will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a social media post.

“These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle [transnational criminal organizations],” he added.

The strike group will take about a week to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Caribbean for its new deployment, where it will nearly double the number of vessels already deployed there.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike group to the Caribbean, where the U.S. military conducted its first nighttime strike on a vessel allegedly running drugs, he announced on Friday.

“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transitioning along a known narco-trafficking route and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said in a post on X.

“Six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters,” Hegseth said. “All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed.”

The nighttime strike was the third conducted this week, including one in the Pacific Ocean near Central America.

The strike also was the 10th conducted by the U.S. military against alleged drug runners, during which 43 reportedly have been killed while in international waters.

The United States has eight surface vessels, a submarine and about 6,000 sailors deployed in the Caribbean as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on drug running to the United States.

President Donald Trump previously notified Congress that the United States is engaged in conflict with drug cartels that send fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and other potentially deadly and illicit drugs to the nation.

The president also has designated several transnational gangs as terrorist organizations, including the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua.

Trump also has authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela, where it is gathering intelligence on what the administration says is planned drug-smuggling to the United States.

The president is considering allowing strikes inside Venezuela to weaken President Nicolas Maduro‘s administration.

Trump has accused Maduro of profiting from Venezuelan drug smuggling to the United States and flooding the nation with deadly fentanyl and other narcotics.

The Trump administration recently raised to $50 million its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Protesters on Friday clashed again with Customs and Enforcement Agency agents and other law enforcement outside an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.

Other ICE operations have been reported in the southwest Chicago area, where there is a sizable immigrant population.

About 12 miles from the ICE processing center in Broadview, an elementary school was on lockdown amid reports of agents in the area.

On Thursday, about 10 miles from Broadview, two Chicago Public Schools students allegedly were assaulted by federal agents on their way to school in Little Village near the Discount Mall. The area is part of Chicago’s Mexican community.

And in Gary, Ind., about 37 miles southeast of Broadview, there was an anti-ICE protest about deportation flights from an airport.

President Donald Trump has ordered National Guard personnel into Chicagoland but a federal judge has barred them before a full trial or the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. FBI agents also have been sent to the area, along with local police and Illinois state troopers.

In Broadview, protesters have been showing up weekly at the processing center. On Friday, the protests were contained in what authorities called a safety zone.

They are demonstrating against the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” in an immigration crackdown that began Sept. 9.

“I believe that we are creating huge wounds, not only for the people who are being detained, but for the ICE officers who are doing these horrible things. I feel terrible for everybody,” Mary Kelly, who lives in nearby Oak Park, told WLS-TV.

Last Friday, Illinois State Police arrested 14 people, including one charged with obstructing/resisting police.

Residents and activists have challenged Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson’s executive orders that limit protests to between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and restrict access to areas near the facility.

They showed up on Monday at a Village Board meeting, saying the rules infringe on their free speech.

“I witnessed agents hitting people on the ground who were doing nothing,” protester Amanda Tovar told officials.

She noted a viral incident in which the Rev. David Black was struck in the head by pepper balls by federal agents.

“We’ve been brutalized first by ICE, now by the Illinois State Police,” one speaker said. “I mean, what happened to us on Saturday is insane. We’re peaceful protesters. It’s a National Day of Protesting and we get beat up for staying past 6 p.m.”

Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez and State Sen. Celina Villanueva have criticized “fascist” tactics by federal authorities.

Alderman Daniel La Spata told WLS-TV there have been “numerous confirmed sightings of ICE” throughout the West Town community area, including Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park and the Humboldt Park border.

School on soft lockdown

A.N. Pritzker School, an elementary school, had a soft lockdown for the second day and won’t open “until further notice,” the school’s principal said in a message posted on its website.

The school is named after a business magnate, attorney and philanthropist who is the grandfather of Illinois Gov. JD Pritzer.

“This is a Soft Lockdown, it is not an actual emergency, but rather a safety precaution,” the message said.

The soft lockdown began in the early afternoon.

“I want to take a moment to speak to each of you with care and concern. It has been brought to our attention that ICE agents have been reported in our neighborhood. As your principal, my top priority is your safety and well-being,” the principal said in the message.

WMAQ-TV didn’t receive a response from the Department of Homeland Security.

Two protesting students detained

In Little Village, WGN-TV reported two students saw masked ICE agents in the area, and decided to join in a protest and were subsequently detained.

“These kids were en route to school,” Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez said. “They saw the horrific scenes when you see masked individuals coming for your neighbors. They were unfortunately detained. One had blood on his face.”

In all, four students from Benito Juarez High School watched the protest.

“I am so angry and frustrated that these students have to add this worry to their school day,” Liz Winfield, teacher at Benito Juarez told WGN. “They should be worrying about college acceptance or if they’re going to get a date for the school dance. It is outrageous and unacceptable. They shouldn’t be worried about being taken by ICE on the way to school in the morning.”

Witnesses said the agents, donning military-style camouflage gear and gas masks, deployed tear gas.

“I started coughing a bit and went to the park to recover and then they started throwing tear gas closer to Sacramento. They detained two young people,” State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez said.

A security guard was also arrested when he asked the agents to show a warrant.

Chicago police, responding to the situation, said they arrested one person for battery to one of their officers.

It was the second day that federal immigration agents targeted the area.

Photos and video were posted on social media. People also blew whistles warning neighbors about the agents, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

The agents were led by U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered to attend a hearing Tuesday after he was accused of violating a temporary restraining order limiting federal agents’ use of certain tactics to suppress protests or prevent media coverage of immigration enforcement in Illinois.

Ellis, appointed by President Barack Obama, earlier ordered Bovino to sit for a deposition with attorneys in the case.

Protests in Indiana

Organizers on Friday led an anti-ICE demonstration at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, a joint civil-military public airport in Indiana. The airport is adjacent U.S. Customs facility where immigration processing takes place.

“There is a direct connection between NWI and Chicago ICE raids and it’s facilitated by the Gary/Chicago International Airport,” a protest flyer reads that was obtained by The TRiiBE, a collaboration with indie investigative newsroom Unraved Press and alt-weekly Chicago Reader.

On Oct. 10, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton’s statement condemned the increased ICE activity.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — A 41-year-old Guatemalan man was extradited to the United States on charges related to a December 2021 crash in Mexico that killed 55 and injured 105 people who were smuggled.

Daniel Zavala Ramos was arrested on Aug. 7 in Boqueron, Guatemala, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The crash took place on Dec. 9, when a tractor-trailer hit a pedestrian bridge, collided with a truck and overturned in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala. There were survivors.

On the third anniversary of the crash in 2024, Zavala Ramos and five others were charged with human smuggling. Among them, Jorge Agapito Ventura was arrested at his home in Cleveland, with one later in custody last May and three in September.

Zavala Ramos’ name in the indictment was blacked out.

If convicted, they face up to life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

The case was certified as complex.

The six face charges of conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the U.S, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily harm and resulting in deaths.

“The Justice Department is holding accountable the individuals who we allege preyed on vulnerable migrants and are responsible for this heinous crime that resulted in the deaths of over 50 people and injured over 100 more,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “Human smugglers should heed these charges and arrests as a warning: you will be held accountable for your deadly crimes.”

Zavala Ramas surrendered to U.S. authorities on Tuesday and made his initial court appearance in Laredo, Texas, on Thursday.

From October 2021 to February 203, DOJ said they worked with others smugglers to transport people from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States.

“They allegedly recruited them, collected payment and arranged travel by foot, microbuses, cattle trucks and tractor-trailers,” DOJ said in a news release.

Unaccompanied children were smuggled, DOJ said.

Those being transported were given instructions on what to say if apprehended, authorities said.

Conducting the joint investigation were Immigration and Customs Enforcement with Homeland Security Investigations.

“This DOJ is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before, and Joint Task Force Alpha is the tip of the spear,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in September. “We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people — including many unaccompanied children — face severe, comprehensive justice.”

The investigation was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative utilizing the full resources of the DOJ to prevent illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations in an effort to “protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” DOJ said.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — An anonymous ally of President Donald Trump has donated $130 million that will help to pay the U.S. military during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The Defense Department confirmed the donation on Friday and said it is intended to fund the military.

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN.

Parnell said the funds were donated via the Pentagon’s general gift acceptance authority.

While the donation will help the military to pay service members, it is not enough to fully pay its 1.3 million personnel.

It also might be a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending more than Congress has appropriated for them, according to The New York Times.

The federal government can accept donations that go to its general fund, but Congress has to appropriate those funds to pay for the salaries of federal employees, including the military, Romina Boccia, the Cato Institute’s director of budget and entitlement policy, told Fox News.

“The department is welcome to acknowledge this donor’s intent, but that does not change the legal restrictions on Congress needing to appropriate funds to pay military salaries,” Boccia said.

Private donations to the military only can be used to support military schools, museums, libraries and similar institutions, she said.

They also can be used to support service members or civilian workers who are killed or wounded while carrying out their duties, Boccia added.

Trump earlier in October ordered the Pentagon to redirect money intended for research and development to pay the military, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that option won’t last.

The Senate recently voted on a measure that would have funded the military, but Senate Democrats mostly voted against it, which caused it to fail.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Thursday terminated all trade negotiations with Canada over an ad campaign using a speech on tariffs by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

In the statement on his Truth Social media platform, Trump said, “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

In the 1-minute ad, excerpts of Reagan’s April 25, 1987, radio address are heard.

“When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs,” Reagan is heard saying in the commercial over scenes of people working on farms and in cities.

“And sometimes it looks like it works, but only for a short time. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute took exception to the commercial and said the Ontario government did not seek permission to use and edit the former Republican president’s remarks.

Editing omitted the context of Reagan’s comments, which was to defend tariffs that he placed on Japanese imports, according to CNBC.

“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is reviewing its legal options in this matter,” it said in a statement.

CNBC published transcripts of the ad and Reagan’s original comments in their entirety for comparison.

In unveiling the reportedly $53.5 million ad campaign, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, “Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together.”

Ford on Friday morning took to social media to quell the controversy.

“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbors and allies,” Ford said in a post on X.

“President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together,” he continued. “God bless Canada and God bless the United States.”

Relations between the close trade allies have been greatly strained under the Trump administration over the president’s tariffs as well as remarks about making Canada the 51st state.

Trade tensions between the two have intensified, with the trade negotiations that Trump severed intended to bring stability and calm to their partnership.

Last week, the government of Ontario, Canada’s most populated province and home to its largest city, Toronto, unveiled a new ad campaign that uses Reagan’s words to criticize Trump’s tariffs.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — U.S. House Democratic Party leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday endorsed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, 11 days before the Nov. 4 election.

Jeffries hasn’t issued a public statement but his endorsement was confirmed in a statement to The New York Times, with sources telling USA Today and Politico about the House minority leader’s plans.

Early voting begins Saturday.

Mamdani, who was born in India and raised in Uganda, is attempting to become the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Jeffries, who serves Brooklyn in New York, had held off endorsing Mamdani, who is a state assembly member serving Queens since 2020.

The state’s two U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, haven’t endorsed Mamdani.

Mamdani has been endorsed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letita James.

Also, he has been backed by New York Reps. Jerry Nadler, Adriano Espaillat and Yvette Clarke. Two other House members, Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, have said they don’t plan to endorse in the election.

And New York Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said he doesn’t plan to endorse him.

In the June 24 primary, Mamdani, 34, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67, and Mayor Eric Adams, 65. His opponents then chose to run as independents, but Adams dropped out on Sept. 28 and endorsed Cuomo on Thursday.

Mamdani is favored to defeat Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, 71, a Guardian Angels founder and radio show host. President Donald Trump has pressured Sliwa to drop out to give a better chance for Cuomo over Mamdani, whom he has labeled as a Communist.

Jeffries told The New York Times said they have had “areas of principled disagreement,” including Israel’s war in Gaza, but agreed on other matters, such as the desire to retain New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries wrote.

“In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”

Jeffries first met with Mamdani in July in Brooklyn before the primary. They met again in August.

Jeffries had said he was focused on the federal government shutdown rather than the New York City race.

“Stay tuned,” he told reporters this week in Washington. “I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily, at some point, in advance of early voting.”

Jeffries has questioned how Mamdani would implement his policies and combat antisemitism and gentrification.

“We’ve got to figure out moving forward how we turn proposals into actual plans so that he is successful if he becomes the next mayor, because we need the city to be successful,” Jeffries told CNN last month.

Jeffries noted that his district, which includes historically Black communities, has “been subjected to gentrification and housing displacement.”

Mamdani has sharply criticized Israel and the war in Gaza, which Mamdani describes as genocide.

During Wednesday’s debate, he said: “I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls the city home. All 8.5 million New Yorkers, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I’ve shared about Israel and Palestine.”

Hundreds of rabbis had signed a letter criticizing him.

And powerful real estate and finance industries have donated millions of dollars to political action committees opposing his candidacy.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that diplomats will help American military officers monitor the cease-fire in Israel and Gaza.

Rubio is visiting Israel as part of a series of visits by American officials that have been in Israel this week.

While touring the new Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat Friday, Rubio made the comments.

“There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made,” The New York Times reported that Rubio said.

Steven Fagin, ambassador to Yemen, will lead the effort at the center, the State Department said.

A reporter asked on Friday if Israel would need to apply for permission from the United States to resume fighting. “I wouldn’t phrase it that way,” Rubio responded, The Washington Post reported. “The bottom line is that there’s no nation on Earth that’s contributed more to help Israel and its security.”

Israelis have been increasingly alarmed at the United States’ presence in the cease-fire, wondering how much control America will have over Israel.

The United States is also committed to Israel’s long-term security, including ensuring that Hamas is demilitarized, Rubio said.

There is “no plan B,” he said. “It’s not just the United States. … Over two dozen countries signed onto this, including regional Arab countries … that there would be a demilitarized Gaza and that there would not be a Hamas with the capability to threaten Israel.”

On Thursday, a far-right faction in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted to annex the West Bank, drawing rebuke from President Donald Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Trump, in an interview with Time Magazine, said that he would not allow it.

“We don’t think it’s going to happen,” Trump said. “Because I gave my word to the Arab countries. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

Earlier this week, Vance arrived in Israel with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and investor Jared Kushner. They opened the CMCC in Israel, and Vance said the peace plan is “durable.”

Rubio said he plans to join Trump in Qatar to fly to Asia this weekend to attend leadership summits in Malaysia and South Korea, the Post reported. He said he also plans to visit Japan.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — New York Attorney General Letitia James will be arraigned Friday for her charges of lying on a mortgage application, a prosecution pushed by President Donald Trump.

James’ arraignment will be in Norfolk, Va., in the first court appearance since her indictment on Oct. 9. A grand jury in the U.S.District Court of Eastern Virginia indicted James on the criminal charges after the Justice Department alleged she falsely claimed a Norfolk, Va., property that she bought in 2020 would be her primary residence to get better mortgage terms.

James is expected to plead not guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.

The indictment came a few weeks after Trump posted on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi should prosecute James, former FBI director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Bondi also recently indicted former national security advisor John Bolton.

James is accused of lying about the purpose of a house purchase in Norfolk in 2020. She said on the mortgage application that it would be her primary home, but instead made it a rental. She allegedly rented it to a family of three. But her great-niece has lived in the home since 2020 and testified to a grand jury that she has never paid rent. James has only reported $1,350 in rent on her taxes.

Career federal prosecutors decided against prosecuting James, but Trump forced out Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney overseeing the office, and replaced him with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide. Halligan brought the case against James and got the indictment.

Trump dislikes James because she filed a civil fraud lawsuit in 2022, accusing Trump of giving false property valuations and estimates of Trump’s net worth in order to get beneficial loan rates and insurance deals he wouldn’t otherwise have gotten. Trump lost the case and was ordered to pay $364 million. A judge later overturned the fine for being excessive.

Halligan made headlines on Tuesday for her messages to a reporter who wrote an article about the case in the New York Times. Halligan allegedly harassed reporter Anna Bower on Signal for 33 hours.

James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, asked the court to intervene and warn Halligan about making extra-judicial comments about the case.

“These extrajudicial statements and prejudicial disclosures by any prosecutor, let alone one purporting to be the U.S. attorney, run afoul of and violate the federal rules of criminal procedure, the code of federal regulations, this court’s local rules, various rules of ethical and professional responsibility and [Department of Justice’s] justice manual,” Lowell wrote in a filing, The Times reported. He wanted the judge to warn Halligan “to prevent any further disclosures by government attorneys and agents of investigative and case materials, and statements to the media and public.”

Oct. 24 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the Consumer Price Index report Friday, two weeks after calling back economists and other employees to prepare the document despite the government shutdown.

The CPI report was originally scheduled to be published Oct. 15, but the shutdown delayed work. However, federal law requires the Social Security Administration to make its cost-of-living adjustment annually based on inflation from the third quarter.

That adjustment, known as COLA, must be published by Nov. 1, though it was originally expected to be released in mid-October.

The BLS called back economists and IT specialists to prepare the report the second week of October.

Economic experts expect Friday’s report will show that inflation has risen to its highest level since May 2024 — 3.1%, ABC News reported. The Federal Reserve‘s target annual inflation rate is 2%.

NBC News reported the report is expected to be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Thursday marked the 23rd day the government was closed for business pending the passage of a stopgap funding bill, making it the second-longest federal shutdown in U.S. history. Friday is Day 24.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — A district attorney in Southern California has filed manslaughter and DUI charges against a 21-year-old man in connection with a highway crash that killed three people and injured several others.

Jashanpreet Singh, 21, of Yuba City, was arrested Tuesday after the semi-truck he was driving at a high rate of speed crashed into stopped traffic on the 10 Freeway West near Ontario, Calif.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson filed a four-count complaint Thursday charging Singh with three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving while under the influence of a drug causing injury, with great bodily injury and multiple victims enhancements.

Three people were killed and at least three others were injured, at least two seriously, according to the complaint.

One of the deceased victims has been identified in court documents as Jamie Flores Garcia. The other two were identified as Jane Doe and John Doe.

Federal immigration authorities have identified Singh as an Indian citizen and an undocumented immigrant.

Anderson rebuked law enforcement over the crash, which he said “was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired.”

“Had the rule of law been followed by state and federal officials, the defendant should have never been in California at all,” he said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday said it has lodged an immigration detainer for the suspect. It said Singh entered the United States in 2022 through the southern border and was then released into the country.

It blamed the Biden administration for the crash.

“It’s a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

The crash comes amid a political immigration fight, with the Trump administration seeking to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

The Trump administration and Republicans frequently blame the previous Biden administration and Democrats.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rebuked Democrat-run California for failing to “enforce my new rules for obtaining licenses to operate trucks.”

The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat feuding with President Donald Trump, responded that Duffy was manipulating facts “to score cheap political points” as the state does not determine commercial driver’s license eligibility.

“The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAl employment authorization multiple times — which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with FEDERAL law,” it said on X.

“State rules and regulations for commercial driver’s licenses must be CONSISTENT with the standards set by FEDERaL law.”

Singh is to be arraigned Friday at the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse. No bail was set and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said it will request the suspect not be granted bail due to the seriousness of the offense and his potential to be a flight risk.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Alaska Airlines late Thursday announced it was “actively restoring operations” after issuing a ground stoppage due to an IT outage.

The airline said the temporary ground stop was caused by an IT outage affecting all operations.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” it said on X.

The FlightAware air traffic tracking website states that 54 Alaska Airlines flights were canceled as of early Friday, though it was unclear which, if any, were related to the ground stoppage.

The ground stop comes as flights in the United States have been impacted by the ongoing government shutdown that began Oct. 1, during which many air traffic controllers are ordered to work without pay. The shutdown has worsened staffing shortages, leading to an increase of canceled and delayed flights.

In July, Alaska Airlines issued a system-wide ground stoppage due to an IT issue.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are to meet and discuss trade and other matters during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Trump is scheduled to leave the United States on Friday, with stops planned in Malaysia and Japan ahead of the APEC conference that has a leaders meeting scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov.1.

He and Xi agreed to meet on Oct. 30, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday.

The planned meeting comes after Trump announced he would impose 100% tariffs on top of existing tariffs on all Chinese-made goods in retaliation for China’s earlier announcement of global restrictions on the use of rare earth minerals.

China dominates the world’s rare earth minerals market and intends to restrict their export and require companies to sign licensing agreements to use them, no matter where those firms might be headquartered.

“We’ll make a deal on everything,” Trump told media while at the Oval Office on Wednesday.

The in-person meeting would be the first between the two since 2019 and could include discussions regarding the war in Ukraine.

Trump said Xi would “like to see that war end,” Politico reported.

The president also anticipates discussing a variety of issues with the Chinese leader, including nuclear power, China’s reliance on Russian oil and trade.

The bilateral summit will be a “pretty long meeting” to enable the two world leaders to “work out a lot of our questions and our doubts,” Trump said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Trump will depart the United States late Friday night and arrive in Malaysia on Sunday morning, local time.

“President Trump will participate in a bilateral meeting with the prime minister of Malaysia in the afternoon, and then we will attend the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] leaders’ working dinner that evening,” Leavitt said.

The president will depart Malaysia on Monday morning and arrive in Tokyo to meet with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is the first woman to be elected to the position.

Following his meeting with Takaichi, Trump will continue to Busan, South Korea, to hold a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ahead of his meeting with Xi.

The president will return to the United States after meeting with the Chinese president, Leavitt said.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — The U.S. Anglican archbishop has been accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, according to a recently filed complaint.

Stephen Wood, 62, has been accused by a former children’s ministry worker of putting his hand on the back of her head and attempting to kiss her in his office in April 2024. The alleged incident happened two months before Wood ascended to the church’s top post, The Washington Post reported.

The woman, Claire Buxton, also accused Wood of unexpectedly giving her approximately $35,000 from church coffers before he made the alleged advance. Wood, the father of four children, remains the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Charleston, S.C., and a bishop who oversees more than 40 churches across the southern United States.

Woods stands to be defrocked and forced to resign if his case goes to an ecclesiastical trial.

Woods issued a statement but refused to answer questions about the alleged incident.

“I do not believe these allegations have any merit,” he said in the statement. “I place my faith and trust in the process outlined in our canons to bring clarity and truth in these matters and respectfully decline to comment further at this time.”

In her statement to the Post, Buxton accused Wood of calling her “Claire Bear” in front of other people and offered to send her to a resort for spa treatments and relaxation.

“I was literally trapped in a church that felt like hell,” Buxton told The Post. She said she turned her face to avoid the kiss and immediately told a colleague about the incident.

“He put his hand on the back of my head and tried to turn it up towards him while he slowly brought his face towards my face to kiss me,” she wrote in her affidavit. “I dropped my face down towards his shoulder so he couldn’t. He held for a second and then let go, and I said, ‘Ok, bye,’ and ran out of his office.” The Post reported that at least four other church employees voiced concerns about Wood’s behavior.

The allegations against Wood come as the ecclesiastical trial of another denominational leader, Bishop Stewart Ruch, draws to a close. Ruch oversees a diocese in the Midwest and has been accused by parishioners and clergy of responding slowly to allegations against a lay leader, Mark Rivera, of abuse and grooming.

Rivera has been convicted of felony child sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty to felony sexual assault in a different case. A verdict in Ruch’s ecclesiastical trial is expected later this year.

Oct. 23 (UPI) — The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has scheduled a virtual confirmation hearing for surgeon general nominee Dr. Casey Means five months after she was nominated.

The hearing is scheduled on Oct. 30, and Means, 38, who is pregnant, will be in Kilauea, Hawaii, when she testifies remotely, ABC News reported.

If the committee votes in favor of her recommendation, she then would be subject to a confirmation vote before the full Senate.

President Donald Trump cited her “impeccable” credentials as an advocate for the Make America Healthy Again movement begun by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Means also is an advocate for wearable health devices and co-founded health tech firm Levels, which promotes the use of technology to track individuals’ health information, according to The Hill.

Kennedy, likewise, favors the use of wearable health-tracking devices and wants to make it possible for everyone in the United States to wear one within four years.

Means also is the sister of Kennedy adviser Calley Means.

Trump nominated Means in May after withdrawing his prior surgeon general nomination for Janette Nesheiwat when her qualifications were questioned.

Means obtained her medical training at Stanford University but exited her residency program when she was disillusioned by the financial incentives for and practice of surgical care.

She since has become known for her advocacy for wellness and the roles of diet and nutrition in people’s health.

Means says diet is the root cause of much of the chronic illnesses that people experience.

Her HELP committee confirmation hearing was delayed due to Means not submitting financial and ethics records until recently, according to The New York Times.

Her financial records show Means has turned her support for diet as a root cause of illnesses into a moneymaker by accepting payments from companies that sell dietary supplements, deliver home meals and other revenue sources.

She also receives sponsorship money for her newsletter, which generated about $116,000 in income over a recent 18-month period, according to The New York Times.

Her financial disclosures also show Swiss firm Amazentis contributed another $79,000 in newsletter sponsorship funding and paid $55,000 for Means’ book tour fees.

She also reported earning less than $1 million but more than $100,000 on the sales of her book, “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.”

Some of Means’s critics say her health advocacy is not rooted in science and might cause harm.