WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he had an “excellent conversation” with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after the president-elect's threat to impose significant tariffs on two of America’s leading trade partners raised alarms in Ottawa and Mexico City . It was unclear, as Trudeau headed back to Canada from Florida, whether the conversation had alleviated Trump’s concerns. A person familiar with the details of the leaders' hastily arranged meeting Friday night said it was a “positive wide-ranging dinner that lasted three hours.” The official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said topics included trade, border security, fentanyl, defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Mideast and pipelines, as well as the the Group of Seven meeting in Canada next year. The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January. As he was leaving his West Palm Beach hotel, Trudeau stopped briefly to answer a reporter’s question about the dinner meeting, saying it was "an excellent conversation." Trump’s transition team did not respond to questions about what the leaders had discussed. Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest,” but it was the prime minister who was the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the Nov. 5 election. "Tariffs are a crucial issue for Canada and a bold move was in order. Perhaps it was a risk, but a risk worth taking,” Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. Among those at the dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, in line to lead the Interior Department; and Mike Waltz, Trump's choice to be his national security adviser. Accompanying Trudeau were Canada's public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, and Katie Telford, Trudeau's chief of staff. Trudeau had said earlier Friday that he would resolve the tariffs issue by talking to Trump. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said a day earlier after speaking with Trump that she is confident a tariff war with the United States will be averted. Trudeau said Trump got elected because he promised to bring down the cost of groceries but now he's talking about adding 25% to the cost of all kinds of products including potatoes from Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. “It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said before his leaving for Florida. “Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business,” he added. To Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, Trump "doesn’t need convincing that new tariffs on Canadian products would not be in U.S. interests. He knows that, but cannot say it because it would detract from what he has said publicly. His goal is to project the image that he gets action when he talks.” Those tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted they were able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he calls a “win win” for both countries. Trump made the tariff threat Monday while citing an influx of migrants entering the country illegally, even though the numbers at the Canadian border pale in comparison to those at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump also spoke about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border are few in comparison to the Mexican border. Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are ready to make new investments in border security. When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US $2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. ___ Gillies reported from Toronto.LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Cavan Reilly's 18 points helped Delaware defeat Rider 72-66 on Saturday. Reilly went 6 of 12 from the field (4 for 10 from 3-point range) for the Fightin' Blue Hens (4-3). Izaiah Pasha added 15 points while finishing 7 of 10 from the floor and also had six rebounds. Erik Timko shot 5 for 9, including 3 for 7 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points. Jay Alvarez led the Broncs (4-4) in scoring, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. TJ Weeks Jr. added 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals for Rider. Tariq Ingraham also put up 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Pembina Pipeline Corporation Announces 2025 Guidance and Provides Business Update
Many of us have felt it, and now it's official: "brain rot" is the Oxford dictionaries' word of the year. Oxford University Press said Monday that the phrase "gained new prominence in 2024," with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before. Oxford defines brain rot as "the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging." And the official 2024 Oxford Word of the Year is... Brain rot 📱🧠 #OxfordWOTY pic.twitter.com/ePgpL28p9H The word of the year is intended to be "a word or expression that reflects a defining theme from the past 12 months." "Brain rot" was chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers. It beat five other finalists: demure , slop, dynamic pricing , romantasy and lore. While it may seem a modern phenomenon, the first recorded use of "brain rot" was by Henry David Thoreau in his 1854 ode to the natural world, "Walden." Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said that in its modern sense, "'brain rot' speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time." "It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology. It's not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year," he said. Last year's Oxford word of the year was "rizz," a riff on charisma , used to describe someone's ability to attract or seduce another person. Collins Dictionary's 2024 word of the year is "brat" – the album title that became a summer-living ideal.Fianna Fail and Fine Gael eye independent TDs as option to secure Dail majority