U.S. booze is back on the shelf in two provinces. But is anyone buying?

Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan will see U.S. booze back on the shelf after the two provinces lifted their bans on American-made alcohol imports. Andrew Ferguson, the owner of an independent liquor store, says he does not expect this change to have a big impact because not a lot of people are buying American anyway.

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San Francisco Chronicle​

an hour ago

• San Francisco Chronicle​

GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill. The guns provision was first requested in the House by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican gun store owner who had initially opposed the larger tax package. The House bill would remove silencers — called 'suppressors' by the gun industry — from a 1930s law that regulates firearms that are considered the most dangerous, eliminating a $200 tax while removing a layer of background checks. The Senate kept the provision on silencers in its version of the bill and expanded upon it, adding short-barreled, or sawed-off, rifles and shotguns. Republicans who have long supported the changes, along with the gun industry, say the tax infringes on Second Amendment rights. They say silencers are mostly used by hunters and target shooters for sport. 'Burdensome regulations and unconstitutional taxes shouldn't stand in the way of protecting American gun owners' hearing,' said Clyde, who owns two gun stores in Georgia and often wears a pin shaped like an assault rifle on his suit lapel. Democrats are fighting to stop the provision, which was unveiled days after two Minnesota state legislators were shot in their homes, as the bill speeds through the Senate. They argue that loosening regulations on silencers could make it easier for criminals and active shooters to conceal their weapons. 'Parents don't want silencers on their streets, police don't want silencers on their streets,' said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The gun language has broad support among Republicans and has received little attention as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., work to settle differences within the party on cuts to Medicaid and energy tax credits, among other issues. But it is just one of hundreds of policy and spending items included to entice members to vote for the legislation that could have broad implications if the bill is enacted within weeks, as Trump wants. Inclusion of the provision is also a sharp turn from the climate in Washington just three years ago when Democrats, like Republicans now, controlled Congress and the White House and pushed through bipartisan gun legislation. The bill increased background checks for some buyers under the age of 21, made it easier to take firearms from potentially dangerous people and sent millions of dollars to mental health services in schools. Passed in the summer of 2022, just weeks after the shooting of 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas, it was the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. Three years later, as they try to take advantage of their consolidated power in Washington, Republicans are packing as many of their longtime priorities as possible, including the gun legislation, into the massive, wide-ranging bill that Trump has called 'beautiful." 'I'm glad the Senate is joining the House to stand up for the Second Amendment and our Constitution, and I will continue to fight for these priorities as the Senate works to pass President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill,' said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who was one of the lead negotiators on the bipartisan gun bill in 2022 but is now facing a primary challenge from the right in his bid for reelection next year. If the gun provisions remain in the larger legislation and it is passed, silencers and the short-barrel rifles and shotguns would lose an extra layer of regulation that they are subject to under the National Firearms Act, passed in the 1930s in response to concerns about mafia violence. They would still be subject to the same regulations that apply to most other guns — and that includes possible loopholes that allow some gun buyers to avoid background checks when guns are sold privately or online. Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who supports the legislation, says changes are aimed at helping target shooters and hunters protect their hearing. He argues that the use of silencers in violent crimes is rare. 'All it's ever intended to do is to reduce the report of the firearm to hearing safe levels,' Keane says. Speaking on the floor before the bill passed the House, Rep. Clyde said the bill restores Second Amendment rights from 'over 90 years of draconian taxes.' Clyde said Johnson included his legislation in the larger bill 'with the purest of motive.' 'Who asked for it? I asked,' said Clyde, who ultimately voted for the bill after the gun silencer provision was added. Clyde was responding to Rep. Maxwell Frost, a 28-year-old Florida Democrat, who went to the floor and demanded to know who was responsible for the gun provision. Frost, who was a gun-control activist before being elected to Congress, called himself a member of the 'mass shooting generation' and said the bill would help 'gun manufacturers make more money off the death of children and our people.' 'There's a reason silencers have been regulated for nearly a century: They make it much harder for law enforcement and bystanders to react quickly to gunshots,' said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. Schumer and other Democrats are trying to convince the Senate parliamentarian to drop the language as she reviews the bill for policy provisions that aren't budget-related. 'Senate Democrats will fight this provision at the parliamentary level and every other level with everything we've got,' Schumer said earlier this month.

Newsweek

an hour ago

• Newsweek

How Iran Could Close the Strait of Hormuz

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Iranian lawmakers have said blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz could be one retaliatory response to U.S. and Israeli attacks, and have given symbolic approval to the decision. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China on Sunday to press Iran against closing the Strait following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Why It Matters If the Iranian government blocks passage through the Strait, Asian markets are expected to be most hit, but American markets will be too, with energy prices likely to rise. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January following the U.S. strikes. Located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, connecting to the wider Indian Ocean, the chokepoint on one of the world's busiest maritime routes is vital to global energy security and it handles roughly 20 percent of global oil trade. In this photo released by the Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, a missile is launched from a boat during a naval drill in the Persian Gulf, Iran. In this photo released by the Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, a missile is launched from a boat during a naval drill in the Persian Gulf, Iran. Iranian Revolutionary Guard/AP What To Know Since 2019, Iran has repeatedly used the Strait of Hormuz to apply pressure. In June 2019, it was accused of attacking two oil tankers with limpet mines. It also seized the British-flagged Stena Impero in retaliation for Britain detaining an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar. In 2023, units of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps briefly seized oil tankers in Gulf waters, prompting U.S. naval deployments. That demonstrated Iran's ability to target shipping. The strait is little over 20 miles wide at its narrowest point and while it could not be closed in the traditional sense, Iran could make it too dangerous for ships to pass — so that shipping companies and their insurers would stop According to one lawmaker, Seyyed Ali Yazdi Khah, speaking before the U.S. strikes, Iran would be compelled to shut down the Strait to "protect its national interest," in the face of "global arrogance" from the U.S. and the West, Mehr News Agency reported earlier this week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said an average of 20 million barrels per day—around one fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption—moved through the waterway in 2024 and that volume has remained stable through the first quarter of 2025. Iran's Options H.I. Sutton, an independent and open-source intelligence analyst, outlined several scenarios for disruption on his YouTube channel. One feasible option is mining the strait. Bottom sea mines are placed on the seabed and designed to detonate when a ship passes nearby. Iran could also employ anti-ship ballistic missiles—a method used by its allied Yemeni Houthis since 2023 to disrupt Red Sea traffic. The IRGC has drone carriers, fast attack boats, and Ghadir-class submarines—small, short-range vessels capable of launching torpedoes and laying mines. Sutton noted that despite limited lethal power, Iran's numerous platforms and long-range strike ability pose a serious deterrent. Iran has been conducting large-scale naval drills in the region, including with Chinese and Russian naval vessels, signaling broader strategic coordination and an additional challenge for the U.S. and Western allies. But Iran would need to operate carefully in the Strait to avoid disrupting Chinese oil shipments, a lifeline for its economy and a cornerstone of its strategic partnership with Beijing. What People Are Saying U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Fox Business Sunday Morning Futures: "Well, I would encourage the Chinese Government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil. If they do that, it'll be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that. But other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response not just by us but from others." Marko Papic, chief strategist at BCA Research, told Newsweek: "Oil prices would likely double, to well above $100. The extent to which that price shock would be sustainable is unclear." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in a report last week: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have some infrastructure in place that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which may somewhat mitigate any transit disruptions through the strait." What Happens Next Iran has signaled that there will be a response to U.S. strikes, but has not said exactly what yet and whether that would include targeting shipping in the Strait or Hormuz.

Business Insider

3 hours ago

• Business Insider

A former Disney exec says peak TV is over, and there's only so much AI can do to help

A former Disney executive said TV's golden era has passed, and even AI can't help it now. Kevin Mayer, who spent more than 14 years in leadership roles at Disney, spoke on Yahoo Finance's "Opening Bid" podcast on Friday about how television is past its peak. Mayer, who is the co-CEO and founder of Candle Media,served as the CEO of TikTok for a few months in 2020. "Content's squeezed right now, and it takes a lot of money to create great content. If you're doing traditional film and TV-length content at a high production value, it's expensive, it's getting more expensive," he told Brian Sozzi, the podcast host. "AI might be helpful there a little bit, because AI is a tool that can help increase efficiencies in creating video and storylines and everything else," he said. However, he also said there's a limit to how much AI can help the industry. "You can't really depend on AI too much," he said. "But as a tool for creative executives and creative people, I think it may it'll actually help with the efficiency, but content's squeezed." Mayer said TV peaked three to four years ago, and "there's no longer the revenue base to afford as much content as once was the case." "This is not enough money to cover that anymore, so content is definitely coming down," Mayer said. In his 14 years at Disney, Mayer was involved in the acquisitions of Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and 21st Century Fox. As the chair of Disney's direct-to-consumer and international division, he led a team that launched Disney's streaming service, Disney+, in 2019. The use of AI in film and content production is a contentious issue. In 2023, more than 11,000 Hollywood film and TV screenwriters went on strike to protest the use of AI in their industry and demand more regulation. Mayer's comments come at a difficult time for the US media industry. Traditional TV companies have for years been grappling with the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+, which have rendered once-essential cable TV networks obsolete. Comcast, the American mass media, telecommunications, and entertainment megaconglomerate that owns MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, and other cable TV networks, said in November that it would spin off almost all of its TV networks into a separate company.