Seems like Canada isn’t afraid to put one of the world’s largest trading relationships on ice. Canada slapped tariffs of up to 50% on American exports Tuesday, responding to US duties that kicked in over the weekend.

Following days of the two countries playing the blame game over failed trade negotiations, Canada decided to strike back at the US:

They’re strategic: The tariffs only cover 7% of US exports to Canada, but measures like seafood duties could disproportionately hurt Maine… where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is locked in a tight reelection battle.

Experts say “meh.” The US is the nation’s largest trading partner by a wide margin, accounting for roughly 72% of all Canadian exports. That puts Canada in a pretty fragile position. According to economists:

The potential drawbacks aren’t stopping them: Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he and Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed a tax on electricity exports to the US, which could raise energy costs for Americans.

Can the trade war still be averted? It’s possible. Despite the escalating tensions, Carney and senior Trump administration officials have signalled they’re willing to resume trade talks.

🌎 Why does this matter? Americans will likely see higher prices on a wide range of everyday items as US businesses pay higher costs for Canadian goods and materials and pass some of those increases on to shoppers. Industries dependent on Canadian customers could especially take a hit if they respond by buying fewer American goods.

We’re tracking the US’ relationship with a wide range of countries. Click below to see live updates on US-China, US-Iran, and more.

The Justice Department and FBI said they disrupted a multi-year Chinese hacking operation that allegedly breached or targeted some of the nation’s most sensitive government networks.

The hacking operation dates back to at least 2018, and the group responsible, known as QTFY, has been selling stolen data and offensive hacking services to China’s Ministry of State Security and the People's Liberation Army. See more about the group here (scroll to page four).

How did they just get caught now? QTFY disguised its attacks by infecting vulnerable devices (mostly citizens’ routers) and directing activity through them, making the hacks appear to come from somewhere else. The Justice Department said it has since shut down key parts of the operation, though experts warn the hackers could eventually rebuild it.

What was QTFY trying to do? Cybersecurity experts say much of the activity appears focused on espionage (gathering intelligence and stealing valuable data) rather than immediately shutting systems down, which could give them a leg up in a future confrontation with the US.

🌎 Why is this important? The plot shows foreign cyberattacks are increasingly targeting the systems Americans use every day, and that even ordinary routers and smart devices can be secretly hijacked to facilitate attacks. The development may make home cybersecurity part of the US’ broader national-security defenses.

See what's changed, recent data, what we're watching next, and every other major story that affects you with our Cybersecurity index.

Meta agreed to a settlement worth as much as $18 billion over allegations that it intentionally designed its platforms to addict children and illegally collected data from users under 13.

The impact across the tech giant’s platforms will be significant.

The settlement ends the historic trial that began in California last week (see previous briefing) and is a big win for the dozens of states involved. Under the agreement:

As part of the settlement, Meta agreed to make massive changes to Instagram and Facebook:

That’s not all: Meta says it will strengthen parental controls, restrict content involving bullying, eating disorders, and self-harm; kids will also no longer see likes and reactions and will be blocked from using “extreme makeup filters.”

Children and teens spend a lot of time brainrotting on their platforms, and these restrictions could heavily impact their business.

Meta said Wednesday it expects the agreement to result in around $10 billion in legal expenses this quarter. However, that’s far less than the original $1.4 trillion the states were seeking, which likely would’ve bankrupted the company.

What’s the big picture? The payout represents only a fraction of Meta’s $201 billion in annual revenue, but it’s the largest state consumer protection settlement since Big Tobacco paid over $206 billion in the 1990s.

🌎 How does this affect you? Meta’s $18 billion settlement will dramatically change how kids use Instagram and Facebook. More importantly, the agreement could ripple to other platforms by pressuring TikTok, YouTube, and others to adopt similar protections… or risk becoming the next targets of lawsuits.

Track the latest updates on cybersecurity, AI adoption, digital privacy, and more with our Technology index.

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If your barista giggled when your bill came out to $6.70, now you know why. After decades of decline, more American teenagers are beginning to work summer jobs again.

But it's still nowhere close to previous generations. More than half of American teens routinely worked during the summer through the 1990s, with the rate peaking at 58% in 1978.

Regardless, teen employment is going up this summer:

What jobs are they working? Restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality businesses account for 32% of working teens, while retail accounts for another 21%. Combined, those two industries employ more than half of the nation’s teenage workforce.

The types of jobs available to them are changing too: An average of 701,000 teens worked in transportation and material-moving jobs this summer, up from 539,000 last year. Meanwhile, office and administrative employment among teens fell from 563,000 to 449,000.

While teen employment may be rising now, it’s typically been headed in the opposite direction:

Why isn’t it higher now? Today, teens face fewer entry-level openings, leading many to spend their summers volunteering or taking college courses.

🌎 Why should you care? Rising teen employment could give restaurants, retailers, and other businesses a larger pool of workers to fill seasonal and entry-level positions, potentially easing some staffing and wage pressures.

We’re tracking a wide range of topics on our Watchlist. Click below for new developments on the housing market, housing affordability, inflation, and more.

Bill Gates rang the alarm bell on AI earlier this week, saying the technology could eliminate large numbers of jobs faster than workers and governments can adapt.

In a lengthy essay published Wednesday, the Microsoft co-founder said AI could transform the “social, political, and economic” atmosphere in the US within roughly a decade. Gates said:

What’s his solution? Gates proposed taxing AI use, protecting some jobs exclusively for humans, and increasing global cooperation on regulation, especially between the US and China.

It’s not all bad: Gates remains optimistic about AI's ability to improve medicine, science, and productivity.

🌎 Why is this important? If AI allows companies to produce more with far fewer workers, Americans could face fewer job openings, greater competition for remaining positions, and weaker bargaining power even as businesses become more productive.

Track the latest updates on cybersecurity, AI adoption, digital privacy, and more with our Technology index.

> A new study found that at least 25% of former NFL players who died from 2016 to 2021 had CTE, highlighting the brain disease’s prevalence among professional football players.

> Scientists created 3D-printed high-protein cookies that are made from crop waste and recycled plastic, as part of a NASA-linked project aimed at feeding astronauts in deep space.

> Getting older may slow some parts of the brain, but language appears remarkably resistant to aging, with researchers finding nearly identical language-network activity in adults ranging from their teens to their 80s.

> A 20-minute workout or a 90-minute nap could help protect your memory after pulling an all-nighter, with both improving test performance by about 22% in a new study.

> A woman killed in the 9/11 attacks has finally been identified nearly 25 years later, thanks to a first-of-its-kind use of genetic genealogy on remains recovered from the World Trade Center.