From left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. John McCain, speak to reporters at the Capitol as the Republican-controlled Senate is unable to fulfill their political promise to repeal and replace "Obamacare" because of opposition and wavering within the GOP ranks, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 27, 2017.The Associated Press
TOP STORIES
Republican Obamacare repeal bill fails in U.S. Senate
In a stinging blow to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Republicans failed on Friday to dismantle Obamacare. Voting in the early hours, three Republican senators, John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, crossed party lines to join Democrats in a dramatic 49-to-51 vote to reject a "skinny repeal" bill that would have killed some parts of Obamacare.
Trump's failure sent the dollar down against a basket of other currencies on Friday. The setback leaves him without a major legislative win after more than six months in power, despite Republicans controlling the White House, Senate and House. He had been expected to make rapid changes to health-care, taxes and infrastructure spending.
"3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let Obamacare implode, then deal. Watch!" Trump tweeted after the vote.
Russia orders some U.S. diplomats to leave in response to sanctions
Russia told the United States on Friday that some of its diplomats had to leave the country in just over a month and said it was seizing some U.S. diplomatic property as retaliation for what it said were proposed illegal U.S. sanctions.
Russia's response, announced by the Foreign Ministry, came a day after the U.S. Senate voted to slap new sanctions on Russia, putting President Donald Trump in a tough position by forcing him to take a hard line on Moscow or veto the legislation and anger his own Republican Party.
Canadian job creation is at its worst since 2009, new survey suggests
Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicated job creation was going splendidly. But another one of its jobs surveys paints a much different picture. The new numbers suggest "paid employment creation so far this year is the worst since the 2009 recession," said Krishen Rangasamy, senior economist with National Bank of Canada (for subscribers).
Roughly 11,000 new jobs were created per month in the first five months of the year, according to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH). That's a marked difference from the 21,000 new positions a month reported in the LFS. So what's the takeaway? "The truth is probably something in between," Rangasamy said. "Maybe things are not as great as what the LFS is saying but then maybe things are not as bad as what the SEPH is saying."
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Prosecutors in China say a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur played a role in a pyramid scheme
Prosecutors in China are accusing a Chinese-Canadian businessman of playing a part in a pyramid scheme that brought in more than $350-million. Edward Gong, a wealthy entrepreneur who lives in Markham, Ont., and attended one of Justin Trudeau's cash-for-access fundraisers last year, is rejecting the allegations. According to a Chinese state-run news agency, prosecutors are accusing Gong of recruiting personnel for a pyramid scheme. But he was not named as one of the 11 people sentenced or fined in connection with the scheme. It's not clear if China's Communist Party is looking to go after Gong as it has with prominent corporate tycoons. Beijing has been pushing for an extradition treaty with Canada as it carries out a corruption crackdown.
The new White House communications boss attacks his fellow top adviser
Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, attacked chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon in an interview with the New Yorker. He called Priebus a "paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac," and accused him of leaking confidential information to the media. He also insulted Bannon for being full of himself. Scaramucci's frustration with leaks were a big part of his profanity-laced rant, which will surely raise White House tensions even further. "What I want to do is I want to … kill all the leakers and I want to get the President's agenda on track so we can succeed for the American people," he said.
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif removed from office by court
A five-judge panel of Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday disqualified thrice-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding office over allegations of corruption against him and his family. The court in a unanimous decision said Sharif was disqualified for not remaining "truthful and honest" after considering evidence against him. It also ruled Sharif could no longer serve as a member of the National Assembly, a powerful lower house of the parliament. General elections are to be held in Pakistan next year and the Supreme Court ruling ensures he won't be in the running.
Mr. Horgan goes to Washington
After two days in Washington, B.C. Premier John Horgan says he's hopeful a deal to end the softwood-lumber dispute will come before negotiations over the North American free-trade agreement kick off next month (for subscribers). "I'm confident there's a deal to be had," Horgan said. One deal being discussed would put a cap on Canadian softwood exports to the U.S. In exchange, Washington would get rid of the duties it slapped on Canadian producers in April.
Meanwhile, another contentious trade issue has been dropped by the Trump administration. A proposed border-adjustment tax is being set aside after lobbying from Canada and U.S. businesses such as Wal-Mart that rely on imports.
Fort McMurray's rebuild is happening too cheaply, a report argues
The rebuild in Fort McMurray is happening too quickly and cheaply, according to a new report. KPMG found the city isn't enforcing its own bylaws and residents aren't always using the right materials to protect their homes from natural disasters like the 2016 fire that destroyed nearly 1,600 buildings. Those damages led to nearly $4-million in insurance claims.
Amazon's earnings miss hits world stocks
An earnings miss by Amazon that hit U.S. technology stocks overnight rippled through into other markets on Friday, with Asian stocks retreating from recent highs and European tech shares opening lower. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.60 per cent around 5 a.m. (ET), while Germany's DAX was off 0.69 per cent. France's CAC 40 fell 1.36 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei finished down 119.80 points at 19,959.84. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.56 per cent. The Shanghai composite index edged up 0.13 per cent. Crude prices were mostly flat. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.69 cents (U.S.). Wall Street futures were lower.
WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT
First they came for trans Americans. Who will be next?
"The declared ban on transgender service members was was followed by a Justice Department statement that LGBT citizens should not be protected from work-force discrimination. … Transgender citizens who serve in the military do not get to choose their battles. Citizens who seek to ensure all Americans have civil rights should not choose their battles either, but recognize that an attack on one group is part of an attack on all. Martin Niemoeller's famous poem First they came … was shown in action over a mere 12-hour period: First they came for the transgender military members, then for the rest of LGBT Americans." – Sarah Kendzior
Four years after crisis, are Bangladeshi workers any safer?
"The world reacted with horror and revulsion at the collapse in 2013 of Rana Plaza, an eight-story building near Dhaka which produced clothing for export. More than 1,100 garment workers perished in the collapse; another 2,500 were injured, many seriously. ... The government has [since] instituted a large new bureaucracy for inspecting factories, but this bureaucracy has yet to finish its first round of inspections four years after the collapse. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety – and the brands which belong to it – is comfortable with the status quo. We do not feel comfortable with this and neither should consumers of Bangladesh-made garments." – Kirk Hepburn, recent graduate of SFU's School of Public Policy, and John Richards, professor at SFU's School of Public Policy
HEALTH PRIMER
E-cigarettes might help smokers quit, study suggests
The largest study yet on electronic cigarette users has found using the devices can help smokers quit. Of course, that doesn't mean e-cigarettes are necessarily healthy – they use a liquid nicotine solution. But they've grown in popularity, being marketed as a reduced-chemical, odourless alternative to cigarettes.
MOMENT IN TIME
Jerry Lee Lewis appears on TV for the first time
July 28, 1957: TV host Steve Allen was not a fan of the newfangled rock 'n' roll music. When Elvis Presley was booked for Allen's eponymous variety TV show in 1956, the host made him sing Hound Dog to a basset hound in a top hat. But when Jerry Lee Lewis appeared on the show – after an interminable commercial for floor wax – there was no clowning around. The Killer laid waste to the piano in his performance of Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, his slicked-back curls soon cascading down his forehead, then turned to the camera in a cocksure display of intimacy to moan: "Easy now / Shake it / Ah, shake it, baby / Yeah / You can shake it one time for me." Allen invited his other guests to close the show by dancing with him to the rockabilly beat. And they shook it. – Massimo Commanducci
Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.
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