The briefing for Tuesday, September 8.

A wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia early Tuesday wounded more than 70 people and set fire to several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, Saudi officials said. The strikes hit cities including Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, according to Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, who called the attacks a "serious escalation" and a "flagrant violation" of Saudi sovereignty.

The Houthis claimed responsibility, saying the attacks were retaliation for recent Saudi strikes on the rebels in Yemen. Rebel military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said dozens of ballistic missiles and drones targeted oil and industrial facilities, including a major Aramco site in Jazan, along with an air base in Khamis Mushait. The escalation follows weeks of renewed clashes that shattered a four-year truce in Yemen's civil war, with government forces claiming territorial gains on multiple fronts.

The fighting threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical Arabian Peninsula trade route, at a moment when the Iran war has already nearly halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Together, the two chokepoints handle a large share of global oil shipments, and simultaneous instability in both raises the stakes for energy markets already on edge. Saudi Arabia has vowed retaliation against the Houthis, raising the risk of further escalation in a region already strained by nearly three years of overlapping conflicts.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, said Monday that a nuclear reactor under construction during Bashar Assad's rule in Syria was configured in a way well-suited to producing weapons-grade fissile material. Grossi said the reactor's design and technical features were "very efficient" for producing material that could be directly used in nuclear weapons, though he stopped short of asserting Syria's intentions could be judged.

IAEA inspectors visiting a previously undeclared site in Syria in August confirmed cooling infrastructure consistent with a nuclear reactor and verified roughly 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal in the form of fuel rods, according to a confidential agency report. Grossi described inspectors having to tear down walls and navigate narrow passages to reach nuclear material that had been hidden at the site, which Syria's new government disclosed to the IAEA in a July letter.

Nuclear security experts note that natural uranium metal cannot be used directly in a weapon, but could be diverted to a covert program that further processes it into weapons-usable material. The IAEA says the material is now under its safeguards, with cameras installed at the site, though it remains up to Syria's government to decide whether the uranium stays in the country or is transferred elsewhere. The find underscores how much of Assad's nuclear ambitions remained concealed even after his ouster.

Canada's retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of American goods took effect Tuesday, hitting products including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing and farm equipment at rates up to 50%. The move matches Washington's tariffs dollar-for-dollar and follows the collapse of trade talks in late August. Canada initially included fish and lobster on the list but removed them after pushback from its seafood industry.

The escalation comes as President Trump threatened Monday to block sales of aircraft from Bombardier, one of Canada's largest companies, unless it moves manufacturing to the US. Bombardier said its operations support tens of thousands of American jobs and did not directly address the threat. Trump has also targeted Canada with a series of social media posts, including one mocking its exchange rate and another depicting a map of North America covered by the US flag.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says US demands could hollow out Canadian industries and threaten the country's independence, while Trump's rhetoric has rallied domestic support behind him. Historian Robert Bothwell said Trump appears intent on making an example of Canada to warn other US allies against resistance. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has suggested Washington could respond to Canadian retaliation by banning some Canadian goods outright, while both sides say they remain open to resuming talks.

The dispute is notable given the depth of US-Canada ties: nearly $900 billion in bilateral trade last year and roughly 400,000 people crossing the border daily before relations soured. Economists warn Canada's counter-tariffs will raise prices for consumers on everyday goods, and business groups have urged a measured approach even as polls show most Canadians support retaliation.

Republicans entered this election cycle expecting to comfortably hold the Senate, but with less than two months until Election Day, control of the chamber is now genuinely competitive. Democrats need to net four seats for a majority, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged he "worries" about losing the chamber, calling the environment "competitive."

Democrats' original path ran through holding Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire while flipping Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio, but Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says the party now sees additional openings in states like Iowa and Texas. Some races once considered favorable for Democrats have grown harder: in Michigan, Democrats are struggling to unite behind nominee Abdul El-Sayed after a bruising primary, while in Maine, a sexual assault allegation forced progressive favorite Graham Platner out of the race, leaving lesser-known Troy Jackson to challenge five-term Senator Susan Collins.

Meanwhile Democrats see new opportunity in traditionally Republican territory, including Texas, where Democrat James Talarico faces state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been dogged by legal and ethical controversies. The outcome will have major consequences for President Trump's ability to confirm nominees and fill court vacancies for the remainder of his term, with spending across all Senate races expected to exceed $3.4 billion.

The five people killed and five injured when an Amazon cargo plane crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday were in two vehicles on the ground, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air and arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overshot the runway, struck an airline cleaning van carrying seven people, broke through a perimeter fence and hit a Toyota Corolla with three people inside before coming to rest about 1,300 feet beyond the runway.

Homendy described the crash scene as "utter devastation" and said it was too early to determine a cause. Investigators have recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders and will examine flight systems, crew experience, radar data and weather conditions, including an active thunderstorm with gusts up to 26 knots near the airport shortly before the crash.

The investigation will also examine whether the runway should have had an engineered materials arresting system designed to slow aircraft that overrun a runway, which Homendy called a key focus. Two of the airport's four runways remained closed following the crash, which occurred during the Labor Day holiday travel weekend, and further disruptions are expected. Amazon said it was "heartbroken" by the loss of life.