General U.S. NewsJul 16, 2026·3 min read

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor

The Guardian – World

2h ago

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor

Summary

Delay seen as move to protect interests of Matthew Moroun, the owner of nearby Ambassador Bridge and a Trump donor The Trump administration for months blocked a $4.7bn publicly owned bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a move critics allege is a quid pro quo for a billionaire Donald Trump donor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe international bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor was initially scheduled for early June but was abruptly cancelled amid dispute between US and Canadian officials. On 10 July, Canada announced it reached a deal with the US, and the bridge will open on 27 July. The delay was heavily scrutinized by Democrats, including Rashida Tlaib, a US representative, who said the Trump administration blocked the bridge’s opening as a favor to a donor who owns a nearby bridge. Canada paid for the Howe’s construction, and it will be jointly owned and operated by Michigan and the Canadian government. It was first set to open earlier this year after eight years of construction. The new deal requires US government approval if toll fees are lowered below regional averages, according to media reports. A letter the Congress members sent to Moroun accuses him of trying to “derail the project”. “It appears that you may have used your influence as a donor to President Donald Trump to jeopardize American commerce to protect your company’s bottom line,” the February letter states. Abdul El-Sayed, the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination for an open US Senate race, linked it to GOP frontrunner Mike Rogers, calling it in a campaign video “A sordid taleof collusion, of corruption.” For the bridge to open, the federal government must staff the US entry plaza at the Howe, and Markwayne Mullin, the DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) secretary, told the Senate appropriations committee on 13 June: “We have the personnel dedicated, ready to move.” In February, a Trump spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press the president “has consistently and vocally stood up for American interests – including against Canada”. Trump bizarrely claimed in February that China would “terminate all ICE (immigration enforcement agency) hockey in Canada” and cancel the Stanley Cup.

From the source

Read the full article

Published by The Guardian – World on theguardian.com

Open on theguardian.com ↗

Decision to hit Brazil with 25% tariffs becoming ‘election gift’ to President Lula, predecessor Bolsonaro tells US

(Bloomberg) — The US decision to hit Brazil with 25% tariffs renews a trade fight with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government just months ahead of elections, potentially influencing the outcome of a highly polarized race. While the Trump administration cited unfair trade practices for imposing tariffs on certain Brazilian goods from July 22, the impact may end up political with presidential elections due in October. Lula , as Brazil’s president is known, has successfully rallied public opinion behind him when faced with earlier US trade pressure. He is set to face off with right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who flew to the US earlier this month to testify against the trade penalties then under consideration, saying they’d only help the leftist leader’s re-election bid. “The proposed tariffs would reward the very offenders they are meant to punish,” Bolsonaro wrote in his submission to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Those appeals from the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro , an ally of Donald Trump, appear to have been set aside during the US investigation. Brazilian business groups have already started criticizing the measure, warning it could deal a significant blow to the country’s exporters. The yearlong inquiry “found a number of Brazil’s practices to be unreasonable and discriminatory, restricting the competitive position of American farmers, workers, innovators, and exporters,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a post on X late Wednesday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the action was necessary “to address these unfair trade practices to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field.” The US remains open to negotiations to address the issues identified, he said in a statement. On Monday, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice barred Flávio Bolsonaro from visiting his father for 90 days, effectively preventing any visits until after the first round of October’s election. Stay updated with the latest Trending , India , World and US news.

Mafia law gives Italian families right to break free from a life of crime

Wives and children offered new identities to try to stop gangsters recruiting down the generations Children and young adults raised in mafia families will be given a chance to break away from organised crime under new legislation in Italy that aims to stop the inter-generational recruitment of gangsters. In an unprecedented effort to sever the family chain, the Italian state will offer children aged under 25 and other close relatives of mafia bosses a chance to start over: a new home in another city, a new school and, if necessary, a new identity. On Wednesday, the ‘free to choose’ bill won final approval in the senate. “Today, parliament is translating into law a dream that for years seemed impossible,” said Chiara Colosimo, the president of the parliamentary anti-mafia commission. About 400 children born into mafia families are expected to enter the programme each year, according to Colosimo. In many Italian mafia clans, power is passed from one generation to the next. While hereditary succession is not a fixed rule in Sicily’s Cosa Nostra or in the Neapolitan Camorra, it is deeply embedded in the culture of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, one of the world’s most powerful criminal organisations, where the son of a boss is often expected to inherit his father’s position as the head of the clan. These blood ties have long made the ’Ndrangheta exceptionally difficult to penetrate and largely resistant to the system of pentiti – former mafia members who choose to cooperate with the authorities. For many, confessing the crimes of their clan would mean betraying not only fellow gangsters, but their own fathers, grandfathers and uncles. Despite sweeping arrests and a succession of maxi trials involving hundreds of defendants, the organisation has proved remarkably resilient. If the mother remains involved with the clan, children are placed with vetted foster families or, where necessary, in protected care homes, where they receive education and psychological support. “Today, we don’t just celebrate the approval of a law; today, we celebrate the victory of freedom,” said Luigi Ciotti, an anti-mafia priest and campaigner who voiced “enormous joy for a law protecting those who leave mafia environments”. “It is the right law,” said Salvatore Vella, the chief prosecutor in Gela, Sicily, one of the island’s historic criminal strongholds. “It recognises that defeating the mafia is not just about policing, but also about culture and the social environment.” Of course, challenges remain. “I worry it risks remaining largely on paper,” Vella said, warning that the new law placed responsibility for providing safe housing, financial support and, where necessary, new identities on the state’s beleaguered central protection service. “Without additional funding, staff and specialist support, I fear it will struggle to deliver, especially when Italy’s local social services are already overstretched.”

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor

From the source

More in General U.S. News

Decision to hit Brazil with 25% tariffs becoming ‘election gift’ to President Lula, predecessor Bolsonaro tells US

Mafia law gives Italian families right to break free from a life of crime

Supreme Court shifts contempt pleas on ‘bulldozer justice’ to High Courts