Trump has hot dogs brought out for his Secret Service agents - and his own golf club is reportedly sending the bill afterward to the very agency tasked with protecting him. What first sounds like an absurd side story gets expensive pretty fast: Trump’s golf trips have already reportedly cost American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, while money keeps ending up at companies in his own business empire.
Also in today’s brief news: Canada is imposing new retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on the United States, Finland has completed 200 kilometers of border barriers with Russia, Moscow is closing the German Consulate General in St. Petersburg, and in the United States thousands of officially “affordable” apartments are sitting empty while the poorest people still have no real chance of finding a home of their own.
In the US, “Affordable” Apartments Sit Empty While the Poorest Remain Homeless
In Austin, Mathew Davis sleeps in a homeless shelter even though more than 4,500 apartments in the city that are officially classified as affordable are sitting empty. Even a tiny home costing $450 a month, with no running water and a shared bathroom, is barely affordable for the 49-year-old. His income consists of a few hundred dollars a month, which he earns in part by donating blood plasma. At the same time, nearly 16 percent of the apartments classified as affordable in Austin are vacant. The problem is not that there are no subsidized apartments at all, but that many of them were built for people who earn significantly more than those who need them most. Nationwide, roughly 11 million renter households with extremely low incomes are competing for only about 4 million affordable rental units. Around three-quarters of those households spend more than half of their entire income on rent and utilities. That leaves very little for food, medication, clothing, or unexpected bills.
Even so, in 2024 only about 12 percent of the apartments financed through the major US housing tax-credit program were actually intended for people with extremely low incomes. Most are aimed at households earning at least 50 percent of the median income in their area. In Austin, that means roughly $47,000 a year for a single person, while an extremely low-income person earns less than around $28,000. That creates a completely lopsided situation: Apartments carry the label “affordable” but are still too expensive for the poorest people. At the same time, rents for many subsidized apartments are getting closer and closer to regular market rents. People who can afford either option often choose a regular apartment instead because the application process is easier and faster. Applicants for subsidized housing may have to hand over bank statements, pay stubs, bills, and even private money transfers. While a regular landlord can approve someone within minutes, the process for subsidized housing can take considerably longer.
In Denver, the vacancy rate for subsidized apartments aimed at households earning 60 percent of the area median income is around 13 percent, while for apartments aimed at 80 percent it is as high as 21 percent. At the same time, there is a shortage of housing for the people at the very bottom. In Portland, more than 1,700 subsidized apartments are vacant, with an overall vacancy rate of 7.5 percent. Many of these apartments are intended for people earning around 60 percent of the area median income and can cost up to $1,444 a month. A regular one-bedroom apartment there averages around $1,581. For some renters, paying an extra $100 or $200 is more attractive than going through months of reviews and requirements. The result is absurd: Subsidized apartments sit empty while people with the lowest incomes barely have any chance of getting a place of their own.
Austin had set a goal of building 20,000 apartments for extremely low-income residents between 2018 and 2027. By 2024, just 543 had been completed. By contrast, all 15,000 planned apartments for households earning 60 to 80 percent of the area median income were built. Developers say housing for the poorest people is barely financially viable without additional government support because mortgage costs, operations, and maintenance eat up almost the entire rent. Housing vouchers could make up the difference, but only about one in four eligible families receives one at all, and waiting lists can stretch on for years. So in the United States, housing that was officially created for people with little money sits empty while the people who have the least are the ones left outside. Mathew Davis puts his wish much more simply: He just wants to be able to close a door at night and sleep.
Russia Closes German Consulate General in St. Petersburg - Staff Must Leave the Country by September 18
Russia is withdrawing its consent for the German Consulate General in St. Petersburg to operate and is also demanding that the Goethe Institutes in the country be shut down. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the move. Moscow describes the measures as a response to the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the “Russian House” in Berlin.
The German Consulate General in St. Petersburg must stop operating by September 18 at the latest. All staff members are supposed to leave Russia by that date. The Goethe Institutes must also close. An even shorter deadline applies to posted staff: They are supposed to leave the country by September 13 at the latest. The corresponding diplomatic notes were handed to the chargé d’affaires at the German Embassy. Berlin announced its measures against Russia on September 1 after German authorities held Moscow responsible for a suspected attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport. In August, a drone with a detonator was found near a Ukrainian transport aircraft there. Germany then decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn on September 18, end the agreement governing the “Russian House” in Berlin, tighten entry controls for Russian citizens, and push for additional European Union sanctions.
The operation of the “Russian House” and the Goethe Institutes was directly linked through bilateral German-Russian agreements. Germany’s Foreign Ministry had already confirmed in August that measures against one of the two cultural institutions could have direct consequences for the other. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had already said on September 3 that the Goethe Institutes in Russia would “of course be closed.” Gesche Joost, president of the Goethe-Institut, described the coming end of its work as the “end of an era of German-Russian cultural relations.” Until the latest decision, the German cultural centers in Russia had continued operating. It was still possible to register for German-language exams in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 13 offices of Rossotrudnichestvo abroad, known as “Russian Houses,” have stopped operating. Moscow, however, did not respond with equivalent measures in every case. The “Russian House” in Berlin was Rossotrudnichestvo’s largest foreign office outside Russia.
Canada Hits Back: Carney Moves Ahead With New Tariffs on the US and Ignores Trump’s Threats
Canada is drawing the next line in its trade war with the United States and will impose new retaliatory tariffs of 15, 25, and up to 50 percent on American goods starting Tuesday. Prime Minister Mark Carney is sticking to his position even though Donald Trump is openly threatening another round of US tariffs. Around 700 products are affected, including aluminum foil, locomotives, steel bridges, clothing, and wood products. Existing Canadian tariffs on American steel and aluminum will be doubled. Altogether, the package targets about $20 billion worth of goods. Carney had already pulled out of talks with Washington last month after efforts to prevent the new American tariffs on Canadian exports failed. Canada is no longer responding with hopes for a quick deal, but with countermeasures and an effort to make its own economy less dependent on the United States.
Trump has stepped up the pressure even further. He threatened to end trade with Canada altogether and announced that Bombardier would be shut out of the American market unless the Canadian aircraft maker starts producing in the United States. At the same time, he accuses Canada of blocking American banks and companies. Carney, for his part, publicly said Canada had been attacked by the United States and that the two countries were now “at war.” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected that wording and said Canada is far too small economically to engage in an open tit-for-tat fight with the United States. But that fight is already happening. Washington has already imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on Canadian steel, aluminum, and other goods. Additional tariffs on cars and auto parts are also on the table if Trump removes the current exemptions under the North American trade agreement.
An attack on the auto industry would be especially dangerous for Canada. Auto parts often cross the border several times before a vehicle is finished. Canadian manufacturers are therefore warning that new American tariffs would not just hit Canada, but could damage the entire North American production system within a very short time. Flavio Volpe of Canada’s auto-parts manufacturers association says openly that Washington is willing to hurt its own industries to pursue political goals. At the same time, he believes the United States could eventually back down on auto parts because American plants themselves could otherwise be forced to stop production. Canada has already revised part of its own tariff list and removed several fish products after the Canadian fishing industry warned that domestic businesses would be hurt. Other products were apparently deliberately selected from regions where Trump has especially strong voter support.
Despite the intensity of the dispute, a large share of trade between the two countries remains tariff-free. Oil, gas, and many minerals from Canada have so far been spared by Trump’s measures, and numerous goods also continue to qualify for exemptions under the North American trade agreement. But Carney is now making clear that Canada is no longer waiting around to see what Trump announces next. He wants to find new trading partners, strengthen the domestic economy, and return to the negotiating table with Washington only when Canada believes it actually makes sense. In Canada, he currently has broad support for that approach. Many Canadians back the course even as concern grows that Trump could escalate the conflict even further. What used to be one of the closest economic relationships in the world is increasingly turning into an open trade war between two neighbors putting pressure on each other with ever-higher tariffs.
Finland Builds 200 Kilometers of Border Fence With Russia - Cost: 356 Million Euros
Finland has completed construction of its new border barrier with Russia. A total of 200 kilometers of fencing was built along selected sections of the more than 1,300-kilometer border. The project cost 356 million euros, with future maintenance and operating costs estimated at around 1.5 million euros a year. The barrier consists of a tall metal mesh fence topped with barbed wire, a cleared strip of land, a patrol road, and technical surveillance systems. It runs from Lapland to the coast of the Gulf of Finland and had to be built through forests, fields, rocky terrain, and wetlands. Additional bridges and pontoons were required in especially difficult areas.
Land belonging to around 1,000 property owners was affected. The Finnish government paid a total of about 3 million euros in compensation. Not everyone accepted the route without a fight. Retiree Raimo Jokela from Virolahti challenged the planned route in court together with a relative but lost before the administrative court. According to him, the construction also reduced income from leasing family farmland. The land has belonged to his family since the 19th century. The fence itself has already become something of a local attraction. It can be seen from public roads, although some visitors have been fined for entering the border zone.
Finland’s parliament approved the construction back in 2022. The barrier is intended to make illegal border crossings more difficult and prevent larger groups of migrants from being deliberately brought from Russia to the Finnish border. Finland has viewed exactly that as a possible form of pressure from Moscow for years. In late 2023, reports described how Russian security forces allegedly transported migrants close to Finnish border crossings and in some cases handed them bicycles. During that crisis, Finland ultimately closed all road border crossings with Russia. The new fence is therefore not just a construction project, but the permanently visible result of a deep break between two neighboring countries.
Trump Has Hot Dogs Brought Out for the Secret Service - and His Own Golf Club Bills the Taxpayer for Them
Donald Trump likes to play the generous host at his golf course in Virginia. At the 11th hole of Trump National Golf Club in Lowes Island, there is a snack stand where the president is reportedly especially proud of the hot dogs. A former club employee says Trump has the chef come out and hand out hot dogs to the Secret Service agents protecting him on the course. Trump reportedly does not pay for the hot dogs himself. According to the former employee, the Trump club then sends the bill to the Secret Service - and ultimately to the American taxpayer. A billionaire whose wealth has reportedly risen sharply since the start of his second term is therefore having the government pick up the tab even for a few hot dogs.
The whole thing would be nothing more than a bizarre side story if Trump’s golf trips were not already costing taxpayers enormous sums. An analysis from last November found that his golf outings in just the first 10 months after returning to the White House had reportedly cost nearly $71 million. Extrapolated through the end of his term, that total could exceed $300 million. Trump regularly spends time at his own properties in Virginia, New Jersey, and other states while Secret Service agents, vehicles, lodging, and security operations travel with him. Some of that money repeatedly ends up at businesses in his own company. The fact that the Secret Service is now reportedly also being charged for hot dogs at Trump’s golf course fits into a long list of similar allegations. During his first term, his hotels were already criticized for allegedly charging the Secret Service room rates far above normal government limits. A 2024 report by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee concluded that the former Trump International Hotel in Washington sometimes charged more than 300 percent above the authorized government per diem.
The episode gets even more striking because the Secret Service itself has recently faced financial cuts. In June, $352 million was reportedly redirected from its budget to help fund, among other things, Trump’s planned White House ballroom. So while money is being moved away from the very agency that has to protect the president around the clock, his own golf club is now reportedly billing that same agency for hot dogs. The White House and the Secret Service initially did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. Trump himself has also not publicly commented on the story so far.
