The Supreme Court has blocked Missouri Republicans from moving forward with a U.S. House map that the state’s highest court had already invalidated ahead of the November election. (ABC News Live)
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has blocked Missouri Republicans from moving forward with a U.S. House map that the state’s highest court had already invalidated ahead of the November election.
In a brief unexplained order, and over no noted dissent by any justices, the court granted a request by a Democrat-backed advocacy group to pause a lower federal court order that greenlit the GOP-favored map just days ago.
The decision likely ends the legal whiplash over Missouri’s map two months before the high-stakes midterm election takes place. It also hands Democrats a small victory in the nationwide mid-decade redistricting war.
State Republicans could still technically attempt to ask the justices to take the case for oral argument and decide the merits, but that process would very likely exceed the time left before the vote — and the Democratic-favored map would remain in effect in the meantime, the order indicated.
State election officials will now bear the brunt of having to quickly lay groundwork for administering the vote with a district map different from the one used in the primary.
The group that sought to preserve the 2022 map calls this the “definitive answer” in Missouri for November.
“The law is the law, the Missouri constitution is clear as was the Missouri Supreme Court,” Richard von Glahn, executive director of the group pushing the referendum vote, People Not Politicians, said in a statement. “Over 305,000 Missouri voters — Republicans, Democrats and Independents took action to block this political power grab last fall. People, not politicians, will have the final say when they vote NO on Proposition A this November.”
The state’s Republican-controlled legislature last year passed into law a new congressional map that redrew the district currently held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to lean Republican as part of a nationwide mid-decade redistricting push encouraged by President Donald Trump.
But Democrats and other opponents of the new map filed legal challenges, pushing for a ballot initiative to put the new map up for a vote in November. They also argued that if the new map was put up for a referendum vote in November, that would suspend the law establishing the new map unless voters approved it and that Missouri’s elections should be held under the state’s older congressional map.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins initially decided in early August that he would not certify the referendum to the ballot, saying he had determined it was unconstitutional. People Not Politicians successfully appealed that ruling to the state Supreme Court, which ruled to block the new map from being used in November and to allow the ballot initiative to proceed.
Republicans appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking intervention as they simultaneously pursued a second-track legal front.
Just days ago, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who oversees Missouri federal courts, declined to intervene in the dispute over Missouri’s congressional map.
Earlier this month, a federal district court judge directed the state to use the GOP-favored map, which was used in the primary, even though the state’s highest court directed the opposite.
Missouri Republicans had pushed back against a change to the map, saying in a court filing that a change-up at this late hour would “disenfranchise millions of primary voters” and “unilaterally void a congressional map before a statewide vote.”
(NEW YORK) — Walking faster for 30 minutes per day can lower the risk of death in some adults, a new study suggests.
Researchers from Australia and Spain looked at 1approximately 70, 000 adults between ages 40 and 69.
Participants were broken into four categories: under 5,000 steps a day, between 5,000 and 7,000 steps a day, between 7,500 and 10,000 steps a day and above 10,000 steps a day.
The researchers also timed each participant’s peak 30-minute cadence, or the average steps per minute during the most active 30 minutes of the day.
Results showed that the group with under 5,000 steps a day, a level considered as a sedentary lifestyle — but with a peak 30-minute cadence of between 60 to 90 steps per minute — had a lower risk of death than those with a slower peak 30-minute cadence.
Results showed that the group with under 5,000 steps a day — but with a peak 30-minute cadence of 80 steps per minute — had a lower risk of death than those with a slower peak 30-minute cadence.
The death risk was similar to those within the 5,000 to 7,500 steps per day group who walked at a slower pace, but with a peak cadence of 60 steps per minute.
However, the group with 7,500 to 10,000 steps per day had the lowest chance of death regardless of how fast those steps were accumulated, according to the study, published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The authors said their findings provide evidence for stepping up the intensity when walking.
They added that the results “may inform step-based interventions for middle-aged and older adults, particularly individuals with barriers to increasing daily step counts or stepping intensity.”
The study had some limitations; participants only needed to log three days of activity to qualify, for example.
“Our study moves beyond single-metric approaches (e.g., focusing solely on daily step counts) to examine combinations of different step dimensions in relation to mortality risk, informing future step-related public health and clinical guidelines,” the authors wrote.
Dr. Varun Mehta is a fourth-year resident at Mount Sinai Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Nick Dargie, 25, a juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, speaks with ABC News’ Aaron Katersky on Sept. 9, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — A juror in the trial of Lindsay Clancy is sharing new details about what he said happened inside the jury room that led to a mistrial in the case of the Massachusetts woman facing first-degree murder charges for the 2023 deaths of her three young children.
Nick Dargie, one of the three men on the 12-person jury, told ABC News’ Aaron Katersky that the lone holdout juror who prevented a unanimous verdict did not show any evidence explaining his vote.
“There was several times I would ask him to show us evidence or, you know, describe a witness testimony that helped to prove what he was saying, and … he couldn’t,” Dargie, 25, said in an interview that aired Thursday on “Good Morning America.”
Jury deliberations eventually yielded an 11-1 split in favor of not guilty by reason of insanity, but the final juror would not change his position favoring conviction, despite expressing reasonable doubt, according to Dargie and three other jurors who also spoke out publicly.
“There wasn’t a single piece of evidence or witness testimony that he used to prove why he was thinking the way he was, which is why we ultimately sent in that note,” Dargie said, referring to a note the jury foreperson gave to Judge William Sullivan, leading him to declare a mistrial. “Otherwise, like there’s nothing wrong with somebody having a completely opposite opinion … that would be a hung jury. That is our justice system.”
Clancy pleaded not guilty to three murder charges for the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan at the family’s home in Duxbury, a Boston suburb, on Jan. 24, 2023.
The former nurse attempted suicide on the night of her children’s deaths, leaving her paralyzed and in a wheelchair, according to state prosecutors.
Her five-week trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4, after a week of deliberations.
Throughout Clancy’s trial, much of the testimony centered on whether or not she was suffering from postpartum psychosis — considered a psychiatric emergency, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life, and whether she should be held criminally liable for the killings.
Jurors in Massachusetts are instructed that in order to prove a defendant is criminally responsible for their conduct, prosecutors must “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not suffer from a mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense,” according to the Massachusetts Court System.
Dargie said the holdout juror, who has not been publicly identified, often “wouldn’t engage” with fellow jurors, and would spend time “scrolling on his phone” during deliberations.
Dargie said at one point he confronted the juror during deliberations when he claims the man picked up the exercise band Clancy used to strangle her children. The band was presented as an exhibit during the trial.
“He took the exercise band out of the bag, grabbed an empty water bottle, and tied the band around the water bottle and pulled it,” Dargie said, adding that he asked the juror, “Why are you doing that?”
“I was shocked. It didn’t make any sense to me,” Dargie said. “We’re not in here to play detective or it’s not a game of ‘Clue.’ This is serious.”
Dargie — a military veteran who was deployed internationally at the time Clancy was charged with the deaths of her children — said he was dismayed to learn after the trial about online conspiracies falsely accusing Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, of murdering their children.
Patrick Clancy’s attorney issued a statement on Tuesday calling for an end to the conspiracy theories, saying, “Enough is enough.”
“This spread of blatant and baseless falsehoods must stop,” Howard Cooper, Patrick Clancy’s attorney, said in a statement. “Those responsible should understand that there will be consequences, and every appropriate measure will be pursued to hold them accountable, including legally. Law enforcement has been notified.”
Lindsay Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington has also defended Patrick Clancy, calling the false conspiracy theories about him “reprehensible.”
“He was by her side. He talked to these doctors. He told one of them that you’re turning her into a zombie, and he was with her literally days after and forgave her,” Reddington told Katersky in an interview earlier this week. “I think what’s happened to that man is reprehensible.”
Dargie said the trial haunts him still, particularly the 911 call that Patrick Clancy made after finding his children. The 911 call was played in the courtroom but was not broadcast publicly under order of the judge.
“I’ve never heard something like that, like a scream like that come out of someone’s mouth. It’s horrifying,” Dargie said of the 911 call, adding of the conspiracies surrounding Patrick Clancy, “I think if everyone heard that 911 call, they would change their mind.”
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not yet announced a decision on whether to retry Lindsay Clancy.
“I appreciate the fact that there are strong feelings and opinions tied to this case,” Cruz said outside the courthouse on Sept. 4, when the mistrial was declared. “However, our job is to set aside our feelings and focus solely on the facts. The facts are Lindsay Clancy killed her three children and the evidence suggested to us that she was in control of her actions when she committed those homicides.”
The two sides are scheduled to be in court on Sept. 29 to determine next steps following the mistrial.
Dargie said he believes if Lindsay Clancy is tried again, she would not be found criminally responsible.
“I think if they tried the trial again the way they did, I think nine times out of 10, I think a jury would come back with not guilty by reason of insanity,” he said. “No doubt in my mind.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy of Elyas Abu Safiya)
(WASHINGTON) — Nearly 70 Democratic and independent members of Congress are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to work with the Israeli government to help secure the release of a prominent Palestinian doctor who has been held in custody for more than 500 days.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was arrested in December 2024 and has been held by Israeli authorities since. No formal charges have been filed against him, and no trial has been held.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told ABC News earlier this year that Abu Safiya “was apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities, and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization.” The doctor, his family and advocates have denied he is a member of Hamas or that he has engaged in terrorist activities. In June, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Abu Safiya for his release.
Human rights groups have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Abu Safiya amid reports that he has been denied food and proper medical care and has been subjected to abuse. The Israel Prison Service told ABC News earlier this year that the allegations are “false” and said it “rejects allegations of abuse, starvation, or denial of medical treatment.”
The letter, led by Reps. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., and Raul Ruiz, D-Calif. — and first viewed by ABC News — expressed “urgent concern” over Abu Safiya’s physical well-being.
“Given the imminent threats to Dr. Abu Safiya’s life, we urge you to do everything in your power to ensure he receives the necessary medical care,” the letter reads. “We also urge you to advocate for an end to his seemingly indefinite detention during any upcoming engagements with the Israeli government.”
During the first 14 months of the Israel-Hamas war — which began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in southern Israel — Abu Safiya became one of the most prominent voices in Gaza, speaking out on social media about the strip’s collapsing healthcare system. He documented the struggle to keep his hospital open despite multiple sieges.
“During the war in Gaza, he played a critical role in providing wounded civilians with vital medical care,” the letter reads. “Among his most notable contributions was the construction of a malnutrition unit that treated hundreds of children.”
The letter documents that Abu Safiya continued his work amid his 15-year-old son being killed during the war and suffering an injury to his thigh and back.
Since his arrest, Abu Safiya has been held in five different prisons, according to his attorneys and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), a non-profit human rights organization representing Abu Safiya in his civil case.
Naji Abbas, director of the prisoners and detainees department at PHRI, told ABC News in June that Abu Safiya has lost 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and was denied access to high blood pressure medication for at least two months until PHRI and his private attorney appealed. During one of the most recent visits in May, Abbas said Abu Safiya told his attorneys he was suffering from scabies, a skin disease.
Abu Safiya’s personal attorney said that during a recent visit, the doctor had fresh bruises and was struggling to remain conscious, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International.
“Nothing obviates any government’s obligation to provide basic medical care and due process to detainees,” the letter reads. “We urge you to engage your Israeli counterparts to end Dr. Abu Safiya’s indefinite and dangerously inhumane detention.”
“Every day Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is detained puts his health and safety in jeopardy,” Dexter told ABC News in a statement. “I spent my career caring for patients, and no physician should be punished for answering the call to care for people in crisis. The reports of Dr. Abu Safiya’s mistreatment and declining health require immediate action. The State Department must urgently make contact with the Israeli government to secure his release and reunite him with his family.”
In a statement to ABC News, Ruiz said he was “concerned” by reports that Abu Safiya has not received adequate care “for his deteriorating and life-threatening health conditions. I am calling on Secretary Rubio to work with the Israeli government to release Dr. Abu Safiya so he can get the urgent medical care that he needs.”
Members of the Emergency Military Unit utilize controlled burns to halt the spread of wildfires in the Madrid border region, July 28, 2026, in Cebreros, Spain. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Global temperatures are once again reaching new records as potentially historic El Niño conditions continue to unfold across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, according to a report released Wednesday.
Last month was the warmest August on record globally, surpassing 2023 and 2024, according to new data analyzedby the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The planet’s average surface air temperature was 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
The report said that August 2026 was a “remarkable month in the global climate record” and marks the first record-breaking month for global temperatures since January 2025.
It was not only the warmest August on record, but the joint-warmest month for the planet across all calendar months, tied with July 2023, according to the organization’s dataset, which begins in 1940.
Last month was also the first month since November 2025 to register more than 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, reaching 1.65 degrees Celsius.
The 1.5-degree Celsius, 2.7-degree Fahrenheit, warming limit was established in the 2015 Paris Agreement and is a threshold climate scientists view as critical for avoiding the worst impacts of human-amplified climate change.
“Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for Western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement.
“The impacts of these conditions are increasingly being felt by communities, economies and ecosystems across the world,” she added.
In the United States, a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that meteorological summer, which lasts from June to August, was the warmest summer on record, surpassing 1936 and 2021.
Record highs in global average temperature often occur during El Niño years, but the phenomenon isn’t the sole reason for the record-breaking warmth, climate scientists say.
Short-term El Niño temperature spikes occur on top of the long-term global warming trend, which is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
Last month, global sea surface temperatures reached an all-time high, as El Niño conditions continued to strengthen across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, and marine heatwaves persisted around the world.
On Aug. 22, the daily average global sea surface temperature between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north reached 69.98 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest value on record, according to Copernicus.
It surpasses the previous record of 69.96 degrees Fahrenheit set in February and March 2024, during the last El Niño event. Global sea surface temperatures also reached a record for August, setting a new monthly record for the second consecutive month.
“This record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress. El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming,” Burgess said.
The meteorological summer in Western Europe brought exceptionally early, persistent and intense heat waves across the region and ranked as the warmest summer on record, surpassing 2003.
The prolonged hot and dry conditions fueled devastating wildfires throughout the summer months.
Over the summer season, conditions were much drier than average in western and central Europe, southern Scandinavia and southeastern Europe, with water levels in several major rivers dropping dramatically and disrupting water supplies, irrigation and energy production in several countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on stage on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention on Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas, Texas.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would give American adults a $5,000 “dividend” if Republicans kept the House and Senate in the midterm elections this fall, marking at least the second time he’s promised to use tariff revenue to send payments to Americans.
“Because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said, likening it to what “a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”
ABC News has reached out to the White House for further details.
The president’s claim, which came during his speech on the first night of the GOP’s midterm convention, followed a promise he made last year to use tariff revenue to give Americans a $2,000 “dividend.”
Ten months later, those previously promised returns have yet to materialize.
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” Trump posted on Nov. 9, 2025, on his social media network, before adding, “A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
The next day, Trump doubled down.
“And one of the things we’re going to do, we’re going to issue a dividend to our middle-income people and lower income people of about $2,000,” the president said at the time. “And we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.”
White House officials were exploring ways to execute the plan put forward by Trump, then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time, but she did not provide details about specific options.
“The president made it clear he wants to make it happen,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “So his team of economic advisers are looking into it.”
ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment on the $2,000 “dividend.”
A “dividend” typically describes a payout to individual shareholders, funded by a company’s profits. Trump as he announced the $2,000 “dividend” said they would be coming at a time of prosperity, touting in his post that U.S. stock markets were near all-time highs and there had been a “record” investment in the U.S. He said that “plants and factories going up all over the place.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos at the time that the $2,000 dividend “could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda — you know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans.”
He said the “dividend” may come “in lots of forms.”
If Trump’s proposals came in the form of a one-time payout to Americans, they could be similar to the three stimulus checks mailed to Americans during the pandemic, two of which were authorized by Trump.
Those three payments totaled as much as $3,200 per tax filer, as well as $2,500 per child, according to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a watchdog established by Congress.
Trump said in his speech on Wednesday that at least some of that $5,000 would be expected to come from tariff revenue, though the mechanism and legality of delivering on that promise are unclear.
Not only did the $2,000 “dividend” payments never come for Americans — but much of the revenue collected by the government from Trump’s tariffs had to be paid back to the companies.
The Trump administration paid out a milestone $100 billion in tariff refunds through the end of July, according to an August court filing. That was more than half of the $166 billion owed to thousands of American businesses who paid the tariffs that were later struck down by the Supreme Court.
Trump added on Wednesday that the only condition attached to the proposed “dividend” would be that the distributed money must be spent in the U.S.
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attends a Cabinet Meeting at Camp David on July 31, 2026 in Camp David, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff made nearly $107 million last year from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency firm he cofounded with President Donald Trump and members of their respective families, according to financial disclosures obtained by a government watchdog.
Witkoff, one of President Trump’s top negotiators working to broker peace deals in the Middle East and Ukraine, was at one point listed as a “co-founder emeritus” on World Liberty’s website, a title he shared with President Trump.
The firm is operated by Witkoff’s son, Zach Witkoff, and Trump’s three sons.
Trump and Witkoff have both attracted scrutiny for their involvement in World Liberty Financial, which recently secured preliminary approval from the Trump administration to operate as a bank. Critics say their private enterprise presents the appearance of a conflict of interest.
World Liberty has repeatedly brushed aside conflict-of-interest concerns. In May 2025, World Liberty wrote on X that Witkoff was in the process of divesting himself from the firm and “has no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions.”
Trump himself has reported earning $526 million from the sale of cryptocurrency tokens through World Liberty Financial, according to financial disclosures filed over the summer. He earned another $65 million from sales of equity in WLF’s holding company.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told ABC News on Wednesday that Witkoff has now “fully divested from World Liberty Financial, and his prior commercial activities are completely unrelated to his efforts to end global conflicts on the President’s behalf.”
Executive assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump Natalie Harp looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an agriculture event in the Oval Office of the White House on Sept. 4, 2026, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump doled out gifts totaling $155,000 for the holidays to four staff members in 2025, according to personal financial disclosures from the aides published by the White House.
The president gave $45,000 each to Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris as “cash gift[s] for the holidays,” gifts that appear to be personal, according to documents the White House made public this month.
Walt Nauta, a longtime ally of Trump’s, received a $20,000 holiday gift, according to the documents.
The aides received the gifts in addition to their six-figure salaries. Harp, the president’s executive assistant, makes $150,000 annually, according to the White House. Martin and Harris, the president’s communication adviser and deputy director of Oval Office operations, respectively, make the same. Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, makes $175,000 a year.
“The President has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector,” a White House official said in a statement to ABC News. “The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties, and therefore are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.”
Harp, who is often seen with the president, has come under scrutiny from Democrats on the midterm campaign trail. Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff invoked her name during a rally in August, telling a crowd Trump “wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Trump is expected to fly aboard the new Air Force One gifted to the U.S. by Qatar when he travels to Ireland this week, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News, marking his first foreign trip on the jet since he secretly switched planes in July while leaving a NATO summit in Turkey amid threats against him from Iran. The president previously said the plane would be updated in October.
Asked to respond to Ossoff’s remark in the Oval Office the next day, Trump said that he “would much rather do other things,” before veering into various renovation projects at the White House.
Martin and Nauta are also close to the president. Nauta, Trump’s valet during the first term, was charged alongside Trump in the special counsel investigation into Trump’s alleged taking of classified information. Martin has been a longtime staffer for Trump, dating back to his first administration, and later joined his 2024 campaign. She has been a key social media conduit for Trump, often capturing and posting up-close and behind-the-scenes content of him engaged in his duties.
Harris also served under the first Trump administration and continued working for the president in Florida after he left office. She returned to Washington to work under the second administration and was appointed to the Commission of Fine Arts earlier this year.
The documents don’t include dates detailing when the gifts were given, aside from describing them as “for the holidays.” They appear to be personal gifts and in three cases list the president’s Palm Beach address.
Trump released his own financial disclosure back in June showing that he made a record amount of income for an American president, drawing in over $2.2 billion, including over $1.4 billion from various crypto ventures.
Back in July, another White House staffer’s finances came under public scrutiny after ABC News reported that Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, made more than $100,000 on Kalshi’s so-called “mention markets,” according to regulators. Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leave and later fired.
According to sources, Kalshi alerted its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to the suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market, where users can bet on whether specific words, phrases or topics are uttered during a public speech.
Perez made $175,000 per year in his role, according to the White House.
Apple CEO John Ternus speaks during the keynote address at Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event at the company’s corporate headquarters on Sept. 9, 2026, in Cupertino, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Apple announced its first-ever foldable iPhone at its annual products event on Wednesday as customers worldwide watched for fresh products, as well as the debut of Apple CEO John Ternus.
The foldable smartphone, called iPhone Duo, folds open like a book, producing one continuous screen that is 80% larger than the company’s latest version of the iPhone Pro, the company said, adding that when opened it will also be the thinnest iPhone ever.
The screen will be compatible with the iPhone Pencil, currently available only for iPad users, and can also be unlocked with Apple Watch, according to Apple.
iPhone Duo will come in two colors, Apple said — Star White and Night Sky — and can also be used partially folded.
The announcement marked Apple’s splashy entry into a long-existing product category. Foldable phones came onto the market in 2018, but they account for a small fraction of smartphone sales.
“Others have created a foldable that feels like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” Ternus said, adding that iPhone Duo will “redesign the experience of using a foldable phone.”
Prices for the iPhone Duo start at $1,999. It will be available for pre-order on Oct. 16 and in-store on Oct. 23, Apple said.
The company also unveiled the latest models of its smartphone: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The products boast an improved camera, a bolstered memory chip and a longer battery life compared to their predecessors, Apple said. Each of the models is also equipped to integrate Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI capability.
The price of the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Both smartphones are available for pre-order on Sept. 12 and in-store on Sept. 18, according to Apple.
The glossy showcase comes days after Ternus took the helm of the tech giant on Sept. 1, after having worked at the company for 25 years. Ternus replaced former CEO Tim Cook, who succeeded co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011.
The world’s second-largest company, as measured by market capitalization, depends largely on its smartphone business while offering an array of other products such as its iPad, Apple Watch and MacBook.
Shares of Apple have surged 22% in value over the past six months, far outpacing the S&P 500’s growth of 13% over that period.
The expected announcement of a foldable iPhone marks Apple’s latest effort to weigh in with a standout option in an existing product category, often at a higher price point.
In 2024, the company unveiled Apple Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset meant to compete with Meta Quest and other early-to-market offerings. At the time, the most affordable version of Apple Vision Pro sold for $3,499.
Apple also unveiled AI-driven features across several key products in 2024, heralding its long-awaited entry into the high-stakes AI race. The AI capability, dubbed Apple Intelligence, amounts to the “next big step for Apple,” Cook said at the time.
Apple released Apple Watch in 2014, referring to it then as the company’s latest “category-defining product.”
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speak to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Barters Island Bees, a honey seller in Maine with flavors like “Gentle Ginger” and “Blueberry Lemon,” grew year after year — until a trade dispute broke out between the United States and Canada, chief executive Garret Denniston said.
Sales shrank last year after a drop-off in Canadian tourists hammered business at farmers’ markets and fairs, Denniston said. But revenue has bounced back, he added, surging 75% this year compared to the same period in 2025, in part due to an uptick in Canadian customers as tensions appeared to thaw.
“We thank Canadian tourists every time we see them,” Denniston told ABC News, but he said he’s worried a rekindled trade spat will curtail tourism again. “I’m just astounded. It’s only reasonable to expect it will go back in the other direction.”
When asked whether the trade war could help shape a highly competitive U.S. Senate contest in Maine, Denniston said, “Oh, absolutely. It definitely can.”
Tit-for-tat tariffs issued by the U.S. and Canada in recent weeks risk outsized harm for consumers and businesses in states near the northern border, some analysts told ABC News. Many of those states play host to key races in the battle for control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, including Senate contests in Maine, Ohio and Michigan.
Fresh levies on $20 billion in Canadian goods are expected to hike prices for imports ranging from orchids to hockey sticks, many of which are sold predominantly in states along the border, some analysts said.
A set of matching retaliatory tariffs that took effect on Tuesday, they added, may crimp sales for nearby U.S. businesses that export products to Canada. A drop in cross-border tourism could also damage companies located within a short trip from Canada, they said.
“If you go far up north, it’s an arbitrary line in the dirt between what’s in Canada and what’s in the U.S.,” Tyler Schipper, a professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, told ABC News.
For now, levies apply to a sliver of goods that travel between the U.S. and Canada, limiting the overall impact of the trade dispute. The tariffs issued in recent weeks apply to only 6% of U.S. imports into Canada and 5% of Canadian imports into the U.S.
Still, some analysts said, the effects will likely be more pronounced in several states near the U.S.-Canada border, which account for a disproportionately large share of trade with the nation’s northern neighbor.
Canada is the top foreign buyer of exports from 26 U.S. states, and the top source of imports for 22 states, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data issued by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) late last month.
Maine and Michigan each rank among the top 10 states in combined annual import-export business with Canada, while Ohio ranks as the 15th-highest state, RBC found. Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota also rank among the top states on the measure.
“Someone in Oklahoma doesn’t feel this as much as someone in Dearborn, Michigan,” Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told ABC News, pointing to a major city in the U.S. auto industry. “It’s purely a geography story.”
Even as supply chains stretch across a vast, global economy, trade remains simpler and cheaper along short distances, Miller said.
“Business-to-business relationships still matter, and at the end of the day, the farther you have to transport something, the more challenging and expensive things are,” Miller said.
In Michigan, the powerhouse auto sector has already felt the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and car companies would face additional fallout from a potential escalation, Glenn Stevens Jr., an executive director of MichAuto, a statewide industry trade group, told ABC News.
Last spring, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, putting strain on a highly integrated auto supply chain between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
The measure excluded goods compliant with United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a free trade agreement, but it still resulted in $12.5 billion in duties paid on auto-related imports last year, according to the Anderson Economic Group.
Last month, Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs from 25% to 50% on Canada-made cars and auto parts beginning in January. Trump did not mention an exemption for USMCA-compliant products.
The potential measure, Stevens said, “would absolutely be untenable for the industry to operate under. It would decimate supply chains and virtually grind business to a halt.”
A higher tariff would likely raise prices for consumers and threaten job losses in the state, Stevens added, before noting the attention garnered by trade policy as midterms approach.
“There’s no question in an increasingly intense, rhetoric-filled political season, tariffs and trade are very much a primary issue,” Steven said.
On the campaign trail, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said Republican Rep. Mike Rogers would be a “rubber stamp” for Trump in the Senate as Rogers has largely defended the president’s trade strategy, arguing that economic pressure on Canada is necessary to protect American jobs.
“Trump is escalating a trade war with Canada for his own vanity,” El-Sayed wrote in a social media post.
Rogers’ campaign previously declined to comment on the new round of tariffs on Canada, pointing instead to his past comments on bolstering U.S. manufacturing.
The White House said the tariffs put Americans first.
“Countless American workers, farmers, and businesses have borne the brunt of America’s lopsided trade relations, including with Canada which has demanded total access to the American market without reciprocity,” Desai wrote in a statement. “President Trump will never stop fighting to put Americans and America First.”
In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is running for reelection, said the dispute would raise costs for families and businesses in the state.
“The on-again/off-again trade talks between the U.S. and Canada lead to higher costs, risk, and uncertainty for Maine businesses. If the Administration proceeds with these tariffs, they will increase costs for Maine families, as most businesses will have no choice but to pass on the tariffs to their customers through higher prices,” she wrote on X late last month.
Despite her opposition, Trump’s tariffs have become a campaign talking point as Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, a former state senator, attempted to tie Republicans to Trump’s policies.
Jackson called the tariffs a “direct tax on working families.”
“Having spent most of my life working along the border, I know how vital trade with Canada is to Maine. Trump’s tariffs are a direct tax on working families,” Jackson said.
For some who live in states near the U.S.-Canada border, however, the trade war may not play a role in their ballot decisions.
Fred Fritz, a retiree who lives in East Lansing, Michigan, sharply criticized the tariffs on Canada imposed by Trump. Still, Fritz added, he remains undecided in the state’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest between Rogers and El-Sayed.
“I don’t like either candidate,” Fritz said, before describing what he considers flaws of each one. “I’m not impressed.”
ABC News’ Gaby Vinick and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
