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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Phoenix Convention Center during a rally on August 22, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona.Ralph Freso/Getty Images

TOP STORIES

Trump: 'I think we'll end up probably terminating NAFTA'

Donald Trump says he's not confident there's a deal to be had to salvage the North American free-trade agreement. "I think we'll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point," Trump said during a rally in Phoenix last night. His comments come just just a week after renegotiation talks began.

The U.S. lumber industry isn't letting up on softwood

In late April, the U.S. Department of Commerce slapped tariffs averaging nearly 20 per cent on Canadian softwood-lumber exports. Now, with those duties set to end on Sunday, the U.S. lumber industry is calling on the White House to extend them indefinitely. The push from American firms comes just a week after North American free-trade agreement renegotiations began. The biggest point of contention in those discussions are trade panels, which the U.S. wants removed because it says the mechanism favours Canada in disputes like softwood. The rift over panels has many in the industry concerned that a resolution to the softwood dispute will be put on the back-burner. (for subscribers)

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Canada calls on Five Eyes allies to monitor far-right extremist groups

With far-right extremism attracting more international attention, Canada called on its intelligence allies to keep a close eye on the issue. Ottawa raised the subject with its Five Eyes partners, including the U.S., during a meeting in June. "We were making the point that radicalization to violence and extremism comes from a variety of sources and it would be foolish to maintain there is only one source," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said. Recently, a number of Canadians attended a violent white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Anti-Islam and anti-immigration rallies were subsequently held in Quebec City, Calgary and Vancouver.

Charlottesville has prompted a shift in the debate over Confederate statues

The events in Charlottesville, meanwhile, have prompted a debate about Confederate monuments. At least 12 statues and plaques honouring Confederate leaders were removed in states across the U.S. over the past two weeks. And politicians, like the governor of North Carolina, have now come out in favour of removing monuments.

Canada's Immigration Minister is defending Ottawa's response to influx of asylum seekers

As opposition parties criticize the federal government for its response to an increase in asylum seekers entering through Quebec borders, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says Ottawa has always been on top of the situation. "We were prepared. We were always on top of this," Hussen said. More than 7,000 people, mostly Haitians, have entered Canada illegally since June. The government is sending a Liberal MP to Miami in an effort to counter "misinformation" that's led to the influx of border-crossers.

MORNING MARKETS

The euro and euro zone government bond yields rose on Wednesday after a survey showed the bloc's manufacturing businesses clocked up their best month of growth in six-and-a-half years.  Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.26 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.9 per cent higher at 5:50 a.m. ET. The Shanghai composite was down slightly. In Europe, the FTSE 100 and Germany's Dax were down slightly while the Paris CAC was up. New York futures were down and the Canadian dollar was trading at 79.52 cents (U.S.).

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

Conventional conservatism is making a comeback

"One week does not a permanent shift make. But conventional conservatism, beaten down for so long by the Tea Party, Breitbart and Trump is making a resurgence. Mr. Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party is running aground. A lot of crazy things had to happen for the insurgents to win the election, and they did – not the least of which was the late-campaign intervention by former FBI director James Comey when Hillary Clinton had a sizable lead and was set to win more than just the popular vote. In power, the insurgency lacks a chief executive who knows what he is doing. It lacks infrastructure and institutional loyalty. It lacks media support – not because of fake news, as Mr. Trump claims, but because of real news, which for him is bad news." – Lawrence Martin

Yes, Team Trudeau has to try to be 'friends' with Trump's people

"When Steve Bannon was still President Donald Trump's Chief Strategist, he became fast friends was Gerald Butts, Prime Minister Trudeau's Principal Secretary. That claim – or as some see it, that accusation – was made last week in an article about Mr. Bannon in the New Yorker magazine. … If a top advisor to the President of the United States thinks the top advisor to Canada's PM is a swell guy, then the latter needs to be congratulated, not condemned. He's doing his job. The point of diplomacy, particularly diplomacy with Canada's closest ally, largest trading partner and the most powerful nation on Earth, is to get the other side to like us, trust us and work with us. Yes, even in the Trump era. Especially in the Trump era." – Globe editorial

Glen Abbey golf course does not deserve historical preservation

"There are golf courses in Canada that changed the way the game is played and should be retained. Glen Abbey just isn't one of them. At its core, a golf course is a playing field upon which history happens. Baseball history was made at Toronto's old Exhibition Stadium, but no one thought it needed to be preserved when a new dome was developed. The same can be said for Glen Abbey." – Robert Thompson, senior writer at SCOREGolf

HEALTH PRIMER

Take hold of your weak links before they control you

"You are only as strong as your weakest link" is one of those adages that we say – but how often do those weak links get our full attention? Too often, our weak spots are ignored or babied. At worst, they are taxed. We might complain that our shoulders are weak, for example, then proceed to golf 18 holes or shovel the sidewalk. Most weaknesses feel inconsequential. There is minimal pain – and thus minimal incentive to address the problem – when an injury is in remission or a weakness has not progressed into a full-fledged injury. The key problem is that every injury – if the offending link or improper loading pattern is not addressed – potentially lowers the threshold at which injury can occur. – Kathleen Trotter, personal trainer

MOMENT IN TIME

John Lennon's UFO encounter

Aug. 23, 1974: The musician who wrote about Lucy and diamonds in the sky saw an unidentified flying object up there, too. On 1974's Walls and Bridges, John Lennon included a curious entry within the album's liner notes: "On the 23rd Aug. 1974 at 9 o'clock I saw a UFO." In a magazine article later that year, the former Beatle said that from the deck of his Manhattan penthouse apartment he, while nude and "very straight," had observed a circular object with blinking lights hovering above a nearby building. He called for a friend – likely girlfriend May Pang; Mr. Lennon was separated from Yoko Ono at the time – to bear witness. They took a photograph, but the film was found to be corrupted. The musician later recorded the song Nobody Told Me, with the line "There's a UFO over New York and I ain't too surprised." – Brad Wheeler

Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.

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