August 18: U.S. Midterm Monitor Deployment and Canada Tariff Talks

In U.S. elections Senator Elissa Slotkin is seeking written assurances from Pentagon leaders that federal troops will not be sent to polling places or used to seize election materials during the midterms. Separately, the Justice Department says its Civil Rights Division plans to deploy at least 1,000 election monitors at precincts nationwide, an unusually large operation announced by division chief Harmeet Dhillon. The electoral map is tightening. Fox News has moved Senate races in both Michigan and Texas to toss-up status, putting two major contests for control of the chamber more firmly in play. In North American trade Canadian negotiators were in Washington seeking a last-minute deal with the United States ahead of a midnight tariff deadline. No agreement was reported, leaving businesses on both sides waiting to see whether the deadline produces a deal or another round of tariffs. In federal court Ryan Michael English of Massachusetts was sentenced to six years in prison over an attempted assassination plot targeting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Prosecutors said English confessed the plot to Capitol Police after his arrest last year. In Portugal More than 2,000 emergency workers are battling wildfires across Portugal. Nine districts are under an orange weather warning, while most of mainland Portugal remains under a yellow warning as authorities manage continued fire risk.