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What to Actually Buy (or Skip) Before the Aug. 19 Tariffs Hit

  Pulished August 15, 2026 Four days out, the "stock up now" advice making the rounds is mostly aimed at exporters, not shoppers. Here's what genuinely moves the needle on your car, wine, and grocery bill — and what's just noise. At 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, a new round of U.S. tariffs is set to hit roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian exports — dairy, alcohol, and vehicles among them — unless Ottawa and Washington reach a deal first. As of this weekend, the signals are genuinely mixed. Canada's chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, told a government advisory group Friday that there's still "a significant amount of work to do," with talks expected to run through the weekend. At the same time, industry executives following the negotiations told the Washington Post the two sides are inching closer to an arrangement that would pair Canadian concessions on autos, alcohol, and dairy with commitments on energy, defence, and critical minerals — in e...

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A major power outage is reported in Spain and Portugal, disabling their capitals

 

A major power outage has struck Spain and Portugal, including their capitals, Madrid and Lisbon, causing significant disruptions across the Iberian Peninsula. The blackout has affected subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights, and ATM machines, leaving millions of residents grappling with the sudden loss of electricity.

Spanish power grid operator Red Eléctrica and Portuguese distributor E-Redes are working to restore power and stabilize the network. Early reports suggest the outage may be linked to issues in the European electricity system. The blackout has also impacted parts of France, further highlighting the scale of the problem.

Authorities in both countries have urged residents to limit travel and prioritize safety as traffic lights and public transportation remain non-operational. This rare and widespread outage has disrupted daily life, with courts halting work and mobile networks experiencing outages.

Efforts to restore power are underway, but the cause of the outage remains under investigation. This developing situation underscores the vulnerability of interconnected power systems and the need for robust infrastructure to prevent such incidents in the future.

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