Washington, DC

1. Trump pokes Canada
2. Paxton gets Trump’s help
3. College sports ad campaign
4. Economic D-Day questions
5. Europe’s gas warning

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said today renovations to the Kennedy Center are expected to cost $257 million.

Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario, ‘Lake America’

In the last 24 hours, Canada hinted that a path to deescalation might be at hand. Then President Donald Trump turned the dial. This afternoon, the president signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario, which sits between the US and Canada, “Lake America.” Trump said: “We have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded, saying the lake was named before either country existed, and that Canadians would continue to call it “Ontario.” Yesterday, Canadian officials canceled planned tariffs on American seafood, and today, Canadian trade official Dominic LeBlanc said in a social media post that the two countries were drawing closer on the issue of Canadian laws that encourage the use of the French language. But Trump’s move suggests a truce isn’t near.

Trump to attend Texas fundraiser to help Paxton

Trump is heading to Texas to provide Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton with some much-needed help as the general election nears. To kick off the two-day trip, Trump will attend a Republican National Committee fundraiser tonight that comes as Paxton trails his opponent, Democrat James Talarico, in some recent polling. Defeating Talarico will be crucial for the GOP’s goal of keeping control of the Senate; some Republicans were openly frustrated when Trump backed Paxton in the primary, fearing that the state attorney general’s scandal-plagued record could make a general election victory more difficult. Getting Paxton across the finish line will likely require more party spending, adding another dimension to Trump’s visit — the president’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., is sitting on a huge war chest that it has yet to spend widely.

— Shelby Talcott

Sports bill ad blitz aims to persuade Congressional Black Caucus

The Senate’s bipartisan college sports bill is getting air support as it faces resistance from the Congressional Black Caucus. Saving College Sports, a group founded by wealthy businessman and Texas Tech University Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell, is launching a seven-figure ad buy supporting the legislation, according to details first shared with Semafor. The first ad will air during HBCU games this and the following weekend, and run on national cable in the second week of September. The spot features the commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a conference of HBCUs, touting support for the Protect College Sports Act from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund. “This legislation protects the rights of student athletes everywhere and provides nearly $1 billion for historically Black colleges and universities,” says Charles McClelland, the conference’s commissioner.

— Burgess Everett

Trump dodges questions on Iran sanctions

Specifics of the “economic D-Day” plan for Iran the Trump administration announced Monday became no clearer today after the president took questions from reporters. Asked if he’d punish Vladimir Putin, who plans to meet with Iran’s leader this week, if Russia continues to do business with Tehran, Trump said, “It depends.” When probed on why he exempted Chinese banks from new Iran sanctions, Trump parried. “Who said I’m not? You don’t know if I’m doing it,” Trump said. “I don’t have to announce everything, do I?” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the president would call world leaders individually to enforce the economic pressure campaign, but Trump today suggested he doesn’t plan to do that. “There’s not a lot to speak to,” Trump said. “We don’t want to speak to them.”

Europe’s warning for US gas exporters

Europe is facing a test of how much it has learned from half a decade of successive energy shocks — and US gas exporters should pay attention. Natural gas prices in Europe hit their highest point in three years this week. With global gas undersupplied, US LNG is rushing in to fill the gap, and Europe and Asia have been forced to bid against each other for a limited number of cargoes. Over the past two weeks, European prices have caught up enough to send more US LNG tankers there than to Asia. But the competition is just getting started. While the LNG price boost is a short-term win for US exporters, it points to a deeper warning. Emerging economies watching Europe’s experience are “losing trust” in LNG as a reliable energy source, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné cautioned this week.

Even as the AI economy is booming, Blackstone is investing “through the lens that this may change,” says Jon Gray, chief operating officer of the $1.3 trillion asset manager. On this week’s episode of The CEO Signal, presented by PwC, Gray tells Penny Pritzker and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson that he is constantly checking to ensure Blackstone has not blindly “fallen in love” with an idea.

Gray also says fears of private credit triggering the next financial collapse are “not very logical” and explains why recent shocks can strengthen the system. Plus, he shares how he and CEO Steve Schwarzman run Blackstone, along with the business case behind his “dorky Dad” running videos.Watch the latest episode of The CEO Signal now.

White House

• The Trump administration is nearing a major deal for US ownership stakes in Venezuelan oil fields. — Axios

Congress

• Republican efforts to prosecute Anthony Fauci for contempt of Congress have stalled. — WSJ
• Senator Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., plans to introduce a resolution ordering the Trump administration to provide Congress with details on Israel’s human rights practices in the West Bank. — NYT

Immigration

• A surge in arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this summer included thousands of people with no criminal records. — NYT

Campaigns and Elections

• A former staffer for Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., posted an image of a swastika and photos of the staffer wearing Ku Klux Klan robes. — WaPo
• A Postal Service executive warned that plans to comply with President Trump’s executive order on mail ballots could result in an error rate of 20-30%. — NOTUS
• Nvidia launched a political action committee, the latest move to increase political influence amid debates over AI regulation.

Courts

• A jury found the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “misappropriated” $10 million to a charity run by DeSantis’ wife.

World

• European officials are seeking to subpoena Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, and his fund, Thrive Capital Management, in connection with a criminal inquiry into Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA. — WSJ
• The US’ shortage of missile interceptors is “beyond critical” in Europe, a top official says. — AP

Health

• The fresh produce lobby asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to be more specific about which products have been recalled amid several foodborne illness outbreaks. — Bloomberg

— White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to reporters on her last day in the role.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel