US Politics Live Updates: Canada hits back against Trump tariffs

Trump administration lawyers have argued the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington DC may have to be torn down unless the building bears the president’s name somewhere on it.

The warning is the latest in the long-running legal saga over whether Donald Trump’s name can be added to the cultural institution built to honour former president John F. Kennedy after his assassination.

US Justice Department lawyers in a court filing on Monday argued without a name change, the money from donors for renovations would dry up and the “decrepit, dilapidated” building may be “required to be taken down”.

If allowed to deteriorate further, they continued, the Kennedy Center “will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site.”

An outdoor amphitheatre, overlooking the Potomac River, could be built on the site if the venue is torn down, the Justice Department court filing wrote.

- With Associated Press

The economic fallout from the Iran war has impacted Flight Centre Travel Group.

Reporting its full-year results today, the travel giant says it was heading for a $200 million underlying profit before tax during the third quarter.

But when the conflict disrupted Middle Eastern travel, leisure travel was hit by about $60 million.

The company’s profit target was impacted by a spate of flight cancellations and refunds of airline sales.

Underlying profit before tax this year dropped to $278 million, a 4 per cent fall from $289 million in the previous year.

The father of a US Navy sailor who has been deployed in the Middle East for a record-breaking nine months was released from immigration detention, according to his family.

His arrest sparked intense backlash after The Associated Press reported that his son was entering his ninth month on the USS Abraham Lincoln when his father was detained.

The aircraft carrier set a US military record for uninterrupted time at sea and raised concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among soldiers.

Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was arrested last Saturday after leaving his house to take his car to the mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles.

Originally from Nicaragua, he has lived in the US for 19 years and holds a work permit.

Aviles’ son, Joshua Aviles, posted on Facebook on Tuesday that his father had been released from federal immigration custody after a judge dismissed the case.

Queues outside fuel stations across Iran have been growing over the past days ahead of a new wave of US sanctions, but the regime shows no signs of capitulating.

Economic uncertainty among Iranians grew to a new level when the Trump administration launched a new wave of sanctions this week.

But there’s no sign on the streets of Tehran that it or the earlier US naval blockade has brought Iran’s leaders to their knees, reports the Associated Press.

“I’m filling my car as much as possible since soon it will be sold at higher prices,” said 51-year-old taxi driver Mahmoud Chavoshi.

“Everything I buy has grown more expensive over the last week, from milk to pasta.”

Tehran’s banks, grocery stores and pharmacies are still well-stocked, but customers complained about being able to afford less.

“Some of our regular customers buy now and pay later, since their pockets are not as full as before,” said Morteza Daryani, who runs a grocery store in the Iranian capital.

Just hours after the US launched the first salvos of a trade war with Canada, Donald Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario to become “Lake America”.

Trump flagged the rechristening of the huge lake on the US-Canada border shortly before the Canadian government hit back with punitive tariffs on US imports.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Predictably, reaction in the Canadian province of Ontario was far from enthused.

“He can blow out his hole as much as he wants to, but it’s never going to happen, because Canadians are strong,” local resident Patricia Wiseman told the Associated Press.

US media is reporting the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has flown to Moscow for unannounced talks.

John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday, according to CBS.

Neither the US or Russian governments have confirmed what the visit is about or who he was due to meet.

Face-to-face talks between senior officials from the two countries are rare.

Flight tracking data confirmed a large US military aircraft travelled to Russia from the US via Latvia on Tuesday.

It departed later on Tuesday.

China is warning the wave of new US sanctions targeting Iran and its economic partners raises the risk of the war spreading.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures overnight after Donald Trump threatened to unleash “Economic D-Day”.

Bessent, says the US is sanctioning “over 60 entities, individuals, and vessels across the world” accused of helping the Iranian regime acquire nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue.

Companies and individuals that continue to do business with Iran in the fields of digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping risk attracting US sanctions.

Bessent also says US officials are meeting with governments worldwide to explain what the Trump administration expects. They’ll be given a deadline to shut down economic activities in their countries linked to Iran.

But China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, reacted by saying trade shouldn’t be disrupted.

“Economic warfare and maximum pressure will not help resolve the issue. They will only further intensify tensions and conflicts, create spillover risks…” said China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.

Trump warned Iran overnight that the US military will destroy any of its ships that lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Writing on Truth Social, the president says all mines in the key waterway have been removed or detonated.

“I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have held talks to jointly establish a temporary shipping channel through the strait.

The talks were based on setting up a “temporary shipping corridor” and to “clear mines,” a press statement from the Iranian and Omani foreign ministries said.

Trump’s border chief is in Sydney today for a meeting of the Five Eyes security and intelligence coalition.

US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will hold talks with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and representatives from the UK, Canada and New Zealand, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Their discussions will be followed by a demonstration of surveillance and border protection technology at the Garden Island Naval base in Sydney Harbour.