Province launches first Liquor Mart pop-up store next to new Costco

Trailer, created so MLL could open nearby in time for Costco’s opening date, will be open daily — from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — through the holiday season.

Aviation, wellness entrepreneurs honoured at VIBE Awards

E. Oliver Owen might need a bigger mantel.

The entrepreneur was honoured last week in Winnipeg at the 19th annual Visionary Indigenous Business Excellence Awards.

He received a custom trophy depicting a floatplane in recognition of what he’s accomplished with his business, Amik Aviation Ltd., which provides air services to remote First Nations communities in northwestern Manitoba.

The prize follows recognition from the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, which presented Owen with its Indigenous Business of the Year award in May, and a nod from the Manitoba Aviation Council, which presented him with its Pioneer of Flight award in 2019.

USDA data casts doubt on China’s soybean purchase promises touted by Trump

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — New data the Agriculture Department released Friday created serious doubts about whether China will really buy millions of bushels of American soybeans like the Trump administration touted last month after a high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The USDA report released after the government reopened showed only two Chinese purchases of American soybeans since the summit in South Korea that totaled 332,000 metric tons. That's well short of the 12 million metric tons that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said China agreed to purchase by January and nowhere near the 25 million metric tons she said they would buy in each of the next three years.

American farmers were hopeful that their biggest customer would resume buying their crops. But CoBank's Tanner Ehmke, who is its lead economist for grains and oilseed, said there isn't much incentive for China to buy from America right now because they have plenty of soybeans on hand that they have bought from Brazil and other South American countries this year, and the remaining tariffs ensure that U.S. soybeans remain more expensive than Brazilian beans.

“We are still not even close to what has been advertised from the U.S. in terms of what the agreement would have been,” Ehmke said.

Trump scraps tariffs on beef, coffee and tropical fruit in a push to lower grocery store prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was scrapping U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swath of other commodities — a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices.

Trump has built his second term around imposing steep levies on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of encouraging domestic production and lifting the U.S. economy. His abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to the American diet is significant, and it comes after voters in off-year elections this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey and other key races around the country.

“We just did a little bit of a rollback on some foods like coffee,” Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida hours after the tariff announcement was made.

Pressed on his tariffs helping to increase consumer prices, Trump acknowledged, “I say they may, in some cases" have that effect.

At least 7 victims remain hospitalized as Oklahoma town cleans up leak of ammonia gas

At least seven people remained hospitalized Friday from injuries they suffered from an ammonia leak in a small Oklahoma town as authorities focused on how the potentially deadly gas began spewing out of the tanker truck carrying it.

The leak Wednesday night from a truck outside a hotel in Weatherford forced at least 500 to 600 people to evacuate their homes early Thursday while others were ordered to remain inside theirs for several hours. Firefighters went door-to-door to tell those who needed to leave.

The truck was carrying 25,000 pounds (11,340 kilograms) of ammonia, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has blamed a leaky gasket for the release of the gas. The company transporting the gas, Philadelphia-area-based supplier Airgas, said the leak had been contained.

“Our primary concern remains with all those impacted by this accident,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We are grateful for the coordinated efforts of first responders and emergency personnel to prioritize the safety and well-being of the community of Weatherford.”

China’s ambassador to Canada makes co-operation pitch to Manitoba premier, local business

As Canada and China look to ease tariff-fuelled trade tensions, Wang Di has been making rounds in Manitoba and planting seeds for future collaboration.

Tourism, infrastructure and artificial intelligence are among the sectors China’s ambassador to Canada is eyeing.

He sat down for an exclusive interview with the Free Press in between meetings with Premier Wab Kinew and University of Manitoba leadership on Wednesday.

“In this world full of turbulence and changes and challenges, the more co-operation between China and Canada — and a better relationship between our two countries — will be good for both sides,” Wang said through a translator inside the Hampton Inn in Winnipeg.

Fears over migration and crime push Chile’s presidential race to the right

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Fans sported MAGA-style caps. AC/DC blasted from the speakers. Red, white and blue flags flapped in the wind. Crowds whooped and cheered as the man of the hour lamented the surge of migrants across the border.

“This country isn’t falling apart,” he bellowed. “It is being shot to pieces, by bullets.”

You’d be forgiven for assuming this was a rally for U.S. President Donald Trump.

But this eruption of visceral rage at immigrants took place in Santiago, Chile, at the final campaign event for Johannes Kaiser, a radical libertarian gaining traction before Sunday's presidential election in Chile, where rising fears of uncontrolled migration have pushed everyone in this race — even the governing coalition's Communist candidate, Jeannette Jara — to the right.

No evidence of systemic issue on Keystone system following N.D. spill, South Bow says

CALGARY - South Bow Corp. aims to gradually return its Keystone pipeline to normal operations next year, as the system continues to run at reduced pressure following an April spill in North Dakota.

Chief operating officer Richard Prior says the company has seen no evidence of a systemic issue with the Alberta-to-Texas network after the six in-line inspections and 37 integrity digs it's done.

A segment of the pipeline ruptured this spring and released more than 556,000 litres of oil onto farmland.

South Bow says the costs related to the spill have totalled US$55 million and are largely expected to be recovered through insurance by early next year.