The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that the United States' ban on select Canadian imports took effect just after midnight, marking another escalation in the ongoing trade war between the two countries.
CBC said the affected products include Canadian alcohol — whiskies, rum, gin and brandy — along with molasses, motorcycles and whey. It said Canada sends very little dairy and few motorcycles south of the border, but alcohol exports are higher, citing a Scotiabank investor note that Canada sent about $1.2 billion worth of such products to the U.S. last year. CBC reported that about 93 per cent of spirits sent outside Canada are destined for the U.S., and that the ban will not apply to barrels of certain kinds of liquor over a certain volume, meaning smaller producers will be hurt most.
According to CBC, lawyer Barry Appleton said tariffs can be negotiated down but bans are harder to undo, adding that Washington is signaling a "new ball game." It said a senior Trump administration official has said the bans are meant to discourage other countries from following Canada's example in retaliating against U.S. tariff policy.
Separately, CBC is reporting that a new study in The Lancet Oncology found one in eight cancers worldwide are caused by infections. It said about 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024 were linked to microbes such as viruses and bacteria, roughly 12 per cent of all new cases. CBC said researchers found the largest number of cases that year was linked to Helicobacter pylori, which can increase the risk of stomach cancer, mostly in East Asia. It said a 2019 study attributed about four per cent of Canadian cancers to infections.
CBC also reported that the Epstein-Barr virus, which has no antiviral treatments or vaccines, was linked to about 260,000 cases in 2024 and can lead to certain cancers, including Hodgkin's lymphoma. It said study co-author Gary Clifford noted the virus has been linked to so many chronic diseases that people should focus on prevention.
CBC is reporting that the hacking group ShinyHunters, which claimed responsibility for a massive FBI data breach, says it will not publish the information it obtained but cannot guarantee what happens to data it has already shared. It said the group told CBC News it never planned to release the sensitive data, which included officials' social security numbers and addresses, and that it was fighting what it called false assumptions about its tactics. CBC said the group's dispute with the FBI stems largely from a May agency report claiming ShinyHunters intimidates targets' family members, which the group denies.