By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. cities most vulnerable to a trade war with Canada turn out to largely be in the states that helped return Donald Trump to the White House — a sign of the possible political risk he’s taking with his tariff plans.

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A new analysis released Thursday by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce detailed the areas most dependent on exports to Canada, with San Antonio and Detroit topping the list of 41 U.S. metro areas. The findings show that the United States’ 25% tariffs on Canada and Canada’s retaliations could inflict meaningful damage in key states for U.S. politics.

The analysis was conducted before the Republican president announced Wednesday that he was placing additional 25% tariffs on imported autos and parts starting on April 3.

“The consequences of today’s escalation in this destructive tariff war will not be contained to Canada, as much as the U.S. administration would like to pretend,” said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “Throwing away tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border will mean giving up North America’s auto leadership role, instead encouraging companies to build and hire anywhere else but here. This tax hike puts plants and workers at risk for generations, if not forever.”

Nearly half of what San Antonio exports, with its aerospace, auto and energy sectors, goes to Canada. About 40% of what the auto-driven Detroit area exports also goes to Canada. Trump’s wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were crucial for his overall victory in November’s presidential election — and Milwaukee and Pittsburgh also rank in the top 10 for exposure to a trade war with Canada.

Other cities most dependent on exports to Canada include Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; and Cleveland. All of those states aside from Illinois backed Trump in the last election.

Canadian Bourbon sits on a shelf at a store in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Trump has placed 25% tariffs on many goods from Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tax on energy products from Canada. Some of those tariffs have been suspended or delayed, though they’re set to fully hit in April.

Canadian leaders have warned that the United States would suffer in the form of higher prices, fewer jobs and slower growth because of the trade war. But an analysis by the Brookings Institution found that the economic pain would be more severe in Mexico and Canada because those countries are more reliant on the United States in terms of trade.

Trump’s stated reason for the tariffs is to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling, though he’s also said that he dislikes the trade deficit with both countries and has taunted Canada by suggesting that it could become the 51st U.S. state.

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Major anti-abortion groups were gathering in the nation’s capital on Thursday to begin a lobbying effort with Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood ahead of the Supreme Court hearing a case in April that could strip the organization’s funding in South Carolina.

The anti-abortion groups are taking aim at abortion providers under an initiative called Defund Planned Parenthood, which targets federal Medicaid funding for the reproductive health care provider.

“This event begins an intensive round of outreach to the GOP, calling on them to take advantage of this unique moment to defund the abortion industry,” Students for Life, the national anti-abortion group organizing the event, said in a statement.

The Hyde Amendment already restricts government funding for most abortions, and less than 5% of the services Planned Parenthood provides are abortions, according to the organization’s 2023 report. Planned Parenthood also provides other forms of reproductive health care, including contraception, treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings, often for low-income patients.

Vicki Ringer, Planned Parenthood’s South Carolina director of public affairs, said claims that Planned Parenthood uses Medicaid funding for abortion is “an attempt to mislead the public” and emphasized Planned Parenthood’s role in providing broader reproductive health care.

“We should be expanding health care to low-income people rather than trying to kick off these people who rely on us for health care,” Ringer said.

Rachel Rebouche, dean of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, said the Defund Planned Parenthood movement has been building for 10 years but has gained momentum as the anti-abortion movement has been emboldened by Trump’s presidential victory and by his fellow Republicans winning control of Congress in November.

“We’re seeing more enthusiasm in states like South Carolina and others to close down Planned Parenthood under the banner of stopping abortions, which their laws already do,” she said.

The Supreme Court announced it would hear a case involving South Carolina’s attempt to strip Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. Experts say the lawsuit could prompt similar efforts in conservative states across the country to chip away at the organization’s funding.

Almost 100 conservative members of Congress signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to side with South Carolina. The state already bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people know they’re pregnant.

In February, a panel of judges in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that attempted to force Planned Parenthood to repay millions of dollars of Medicaid funding in Texas and Louisiana.

If the Supreme Court sides with South Carolina, Rebouche said, there may be a wider impact on health care by “giving states broad power to exclude health care that is unpopular or politically disfavored,” such as contraception. Targeting Planned Parenthood might also have a negative effect on maternal and infant mortality rates and could cost more money in the long run by cutting off low-income patients from vital preventive reproductive health care, she said.

During a 2015 push to strip Planned Parenthood funding, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that doing so would cost the government $130 million over 10 years.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in at least three states — Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina — have introduced bills this year aiming to create tax breaks for anti-abortion centers.

The strategies come during a time when abortion rights advocates are warning that Trump and his Cabinet hold significant power to restrict medication abortion access nationwide.

Rather than immediately heeding calls from anti-abortion allies to restrict Medicaid funding for clinics that provide abortions, Trump has made quieter moves after waffling on the issue on the campaign trail.

Trump reinstated a policy that requires foreign nongovernmental agencies to certify that they don’t provide or promote abortion if they receive U.S. aid for family planning assistance. He also pardoned several anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinics and used wording related to fetal personhood in an executive order rolling back protections for transgender people.

The Republican president has appointed abortion opponents in some key Cabinet positions that could affect the availability of medication abortion and contraception, Medicaid coverage for family planning services, collection of abortion-related data and abortion access for troops and veterans.

Advocates on either side of the abortion debate are waiting to see if Trump’s Department of Justice will revive the Comstock Act, a 19th-century obscenity law, to restrict the mailing of medication abortion or other materials used for abortions. Attorney General Pam Bondi has a history of defending abortion restrictions, and her confirmation was celebrated by abortion opponents.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CAIRO (AP) — Six people died and nine others were injured after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, two municipal officials said Thursday. They were speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Emergency crews were able to rescue 29 people, according to a statement released by the Red Sea governorate. The submarine, which was sailing off one of the beaches in the tourist promenade area, had carried 45 tourists of various nationalities.

It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink.

In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued.

Tourism is an important sector of Egypt’s economy but many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.

Some weeks, my job is better than others.

This was a great week.

Last week, I hit up some of my favorite spots in St. Paul for meetings and friend hangs, but this past seven days was about a few new experiences, including a new favorite fish fry.

Friday fish fry at St. Paul Brewing

This isn’t really a secret — I’ll tell anyone who asks — but I am not a fan of beer-battered fish. Not only is it nearly impossible not to find some uncooked batter under the crust, but it also hides the flavor of the fish.

I grew up eating lake fish on Fridays — mostly perch and sunfish — lightly dredged in a breading and pan-fried to crispy perfection. I love that version of a fish fry so much that almost every time I visit family there, I leave with enough time to hit a supper club or bar for a Friday dinner.

So imagine my delight when I found out that St. Paul Brewing is serving perch and sunfish that are breaded, not battered!

My husband and I arrived on a very busy pre-St. Patrick’s Day Friday. Live music from a Scottish duo was happening in the main taproom, and because of some unseasonably warm weather, the patio was open. This all meant that staffing levels were a little below what’s optimal and that brings me to make this point: If you’re dining on a patio before May, it’s unlikely that the restaurant will have had time to properly staff up to increase its capacity. In other words, be patient.

Our fish fry, a small pile of super-crisp panfish atop a generous portion of steak fries and served with a pile of coleslaw and some homemade tartar sauce, was worth every second of the wait.

We’ll be back as frequently as we can manage.

One small piece of advice: If you like ketchup with your fries, you have to order it as a separate side for an additional 75 cents. Order it when you order your food (via QR code at the tables) or you won’t get it in time to enjoy your fries hot and with ketchup.

St. Paul Brewing: 688 E. Minnehaha Ave., St. Paul; 651-698-1945; stpaulbrewing.com

Night at the Gas Station #12 at El Sazon in Eagan

I can’t believe I hadn’t been to one of these fancy-pants, multi-course dinners in a not-fancy Eagan BP station before!

El Sazon, which will open its fourth location in Eat Street Crossing any day now, celebrated its third anniversary slinging tacos and other Mexican favorites out of a window in that BP with an amazing five courses.

It’s the 12th time they’ve closed the interior of the station and put out long tables and folding chairs to serve some of the best Latino food in the Twin Cities. It started, chef Cristian de Leon said, as a joke. The trio who started the operation were brainstorming places to hold a pop-up dinner and someone said, “We could do it at the gas station!” And while de Leon initially envisioned tables outside, they ended up doing it inside, amidst the aisles of cold medicine, salty snacks and energy drinks. And it caught on like wildfire.

They sell out most dinners, which happen “when they have time.” The first one was just 22 people, but now they can accommodate 50. Follow them on social media to find out when the next one might be.

Our dinner was fabulous, from an unforgettable, creamy corn gazpacho with olive-oil-poached lobster, to pillowy masa and potato (gluten-free!) gnocchi with wild mushrooms and an ultra-creamy ricotta to a burnt cheese plate to a masa and yuca (also gluten-free) beef wellington that was insanely tender and flavorful. We ended with capirotada, the Mexican version of bread pudding, spiked with raisins and coconut and some of the best horchata I’ve tasted.

Because it’s served in a gas station and they quite understandably don’t have a liquor license, each course was paired with a delicious non-alcoholic cocktail, which was funny because we were indulging on what has become a national drinking holiday: St. Patrick’s Day.

For a more traditional pairing experience, the outfit hosts a taco omakase experience at its Stillwater location (Xelas by El Sazon, 1180 Frontage Road, Stillwater) three days a week. It’s a ticketed dinner, so check their website for availability.

El Sazon: Three (soon to be four) metro locations. Find them all at elsazonmn.com.

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