Updated September 09, 2026, 11:03 AM EDT By NBC News What to know todayGOP MIDTERM CONVENTION: Republicans are kicking off their first midterm election convention in Dallas today, with President Donald Trump delivering a keynote address tonight. Dozens of Republicans in tight races, however, have said they will not attend, according to an NBC News count.RHODE ISLAND PRIMARIES: Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee today could become the first sitting governor in the country to lose a primary in eight years. He is trailing Democratic challenger Helena Foulkes, a wealthy former CVS executive, by double digits. SENATE RACE SET: The battleground New Hampshire Senate race is set between Republican former Sen. John Sununu and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas after both prevailed in their primaries last night.TRADE WAR ESCALATES: Trump has moved to sharply escalate the trade war with Canada, seeking to block imports of some motorcycles, dairy products and alcohol. 19m ago / 11:03 AM EDTFord pushes back on Trump administration criticism over deals with Chinese firmsFord Motor pushed back against criticism from the Trump administration that its business deals with Chinese companies raise national security concerns, saying its licensing deal with a Chinese battery maker will strengthen American manufacturing.The White House said yesterday that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley urging him to cut ties with Chinese companies such as CATL, a world-leading battery manufacturer whose technology Ford is licensing at its plant in Marshall, Michigan. CATL is on a Pentagon list of companies accused of having ties to the Chinese military, which it denies.Duffy, whose comments came as major automakers push Congress to tighten a ban on Chinese vehicles in the U.S., also cited Ford’s ties with Chinese automakers Geely and BYD.Ford said Duffy’s letter was “a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines,” noting that the Michigan facility is Ford-owned and -operated. “While others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build batteries here in America,” the company said in a statement yesterday, adding that the Michigan project was touted in a White House news release last week.20m ago / 11:01 AM EDTWhite House removes ‘Build the Wall’ game from website after Tetris posts warningThe White House removed a MAGA-themed game called Build the Wall from its website this week after the Tetris Company issued a statement online alluding to copyright infringement.Last week, the White House unveiled a series of video games centered on President Donald Trump’s agenda, which mirrored popular games like Tetris, Snake and Flappy Bird.Read the full story here.2h ago / 10:14 AM EDTTrump says firefighters near ground zero carried him to safety ‘right after’ 9/11 attackAt an event ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Trump told a story yesterday in which he said two firefighters picked him up off the ground near the U.S. Steel Building close to ground zero “right after” the terrorist attacks and whisked him away because they thought the building was going to collapse on them.Trump, who said in his remarks that he was “down there right after this happened,” later said on Truth Social that he was not at the World Trade Center “on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter.”“Everything I said was exactly accurate,” he said of his remarks at the Ellipse outside the White House, sharing a TV news clip of him speaking after the attacks.He has spoken many times about what he saw on Sept. 11, 2001, and his actions in the immediate aftermath. Here’s a look back at what he has said, much of which has not been independently verified.Read the full story here.2h ago / 9:59 AM EDTConflicting court rulings leave Missouri’s congressional map in limboA fast-moving fight over whether Missouri Republicans can use a redrawn congressional map for this fall’s midterm elections was cast into chaos on Tuesday with two different courts issuing conflicting rulings.In one, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an order issued by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, left in place a Missouri Supreme Court ruling from last week that said the map could not be used while a ballot initiative that could lead to voters rejecting the newly drawn district lines moves forward. Kavanaugh handles emergency requests that arise from Missouri.Read the full story here.2h ago / 9:40 AM EDTOil hits $100 a barrel for first time in months as Middle East conflict intensifies againThe price of oil breached the $100 threshold today for the first time in months, as new flare-ups in the United States’ war with Iran stoked fresh concern for global energy markets.The spike came a day after the U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship. Tehran responded with attacks on U.S. ships and a base in Jordan, the latest bout of fighting in a conflict that remains unresolved after months of disruption.Read the full story here.2h ago / 9:26 AM EDTTrump gave $45,000 holiday gifts to Natalie Harp and two other White House aidesTrump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration.The gifts of $45,000 each to executive assistant Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris, as well as a $20,000 gift to director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta, were noted in the staffers’ annual financial disclosure forms that were published by the administration last week.Harp, Martin and Harris make $150,000 annually and Nauta is paid $175,000 a year, according to the White House’s salary disclosure report to Congress.Read the full story here.3h ago / 9:20 AM EDTA New Hampshire political dynasty could continue after House primary resultStefany Shaheen, a health advocate and former local government official whose mother is New Hampshire's senior U.S. senator, won the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District, NBC News projects.Shaheen won the crowded and, at times, contentious, primary featuring a swirl of candidates from different backgrounds and ideological parts of the party. Her nearest rival was Maura Sullivan, a former national security official who had unsuccessfully sought the seat in 2018. As the Democratic primary winner, Shaheen will be the front-runner to succeed Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for Senate. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is retiring this year after serving three terms.3h ago / 9:03 AM EDTIran attacks American warships and base after U.S. sinks five Iranian tankersThe U.S. military struck five Iranian tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to attempted attacks by the IRGC on an American warship, according to U.S. Central Command.“The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.Two American warships were attacked and damaged by ballistic missiles, the IRGC said in a statement, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.The IRGC also said in a statement yesterday that it had retaliated by launching missiles at American forces on the Al Azraq military base in Jordan, according to Fars.Read the full story here.3h ago / 8:26 AM EDTGOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Cinde Warmington to face off for New Hampshire governorshipNew Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, will face off against Democrat Cinde Warmington in November’s general election, NBC News projects, as she seeks another two-year term.Ayotte did not face any major challenges in the GOP primary; Warmington ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.New Hampshire is one of two states — Vermont is the other — where Republican governors are up for re-election after then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the state in 2024.Read the full story here.4h ago / 7:28 AM EDTTrump escalates trade war with Canada, moving to ban imports of some motorcycles, dairy and alcoholTrump moved yesterday to sharply escalate the trade war with Canada, seeking to block imports of some motorcycles, dairy products and alcohol.Senior Trump administration officials said in a call with reporters that the move was in direct response to Canada’s latest retaliatory tariffs, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.Read the full story here.4h ago / 7:28 AM EDTRepublican John Sununu and Democrat Chris Pappas win New Hampshire Senate primaries, setting up battleground raceThe battleground New Hampshire Senate race is set between Republican former Sen. John Sununu and Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, NBC News projects, after both prevailed in their primaries last night.Pappas defeated scientist Karishma Manzur, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, in his primary, leading 62% to 36% with about one-fifth of the vote counted. But it appears he could fall short of the support from primary voters that his campaign touted in recent internal polling.The race could be key to the fight for the Senate majority in November. Read the full story here.4h ago / 7:28 AM EDTRhode Island’s Democratic governor may fall in his primary because of a bridgeRhode Island Democratic Gov. Dan McKee is at risk today of becoming the first sitting governor in the country to lose a primary in eight years — and it might be all because of a bridge.Public polls have shown McKee, who is running for re-election for a second full term, trailing by double digits to Democratic challenger Helena Foulkes, a wealthy former CVS executive, whose campaign has outspent his on the airwaves 3 to 1. And while there has been a wave of anti-incumbent energy in Democratic primaries throughout the year, Rhode Island’s contest hasn’t broken along generational or ideological lines. Foulkes, 62, isn’t running to the left or to the right of McKee, 75. Rather, the race has been defined by hyperlocal issues. In Rhode Island, the smallest state by area in the U.S., it may be McKee’s decision to close a major bridge for safety reasons that is to blame for his potential political demise. His 2023 closure of the Washington Bridge in Providence has created huge traffic problems in the state’s largest city — and problems for him politically. Read the full story here.4h ago / 7:28 AM EDTRepublicans gather in Dallas for Trump’s unusual midterm conventionRepublicans will descend on Dallas this week for a two-day convention dreamed up by Trump to rally his supporters for this year’s midterm elections.Republicans have never held a midterm convention before, although Democrats did in the 1970s and 1980s. Midterms are often difficult for the party in power in Washington, and Trump believes the event can juice enthusiasm for the party and boost turnout among his voters.Republicans said the event will help catapult its candidates into November, but it will also showcase the first two years of Trump’s term. Although the president’s poll numbers are sagging, he insists that running on his record will give Republicans their best shot at winning.More than 100 Republican House members and candidates are expected to be in Dallas, according to a person familiar with the event who requested anonymity before it begins. They were required to pay $25,000 for tickets and lodging, which the person described as typical for political conventions.Some lawmakers in competitive races have indicated they won’t go or hadn’t determined their plans less than a week before the convention.Today, Trump is delivering a keynote address. Tomorrow, he’s scheduled to appear again after a speech from Vice President JD Vance. A long list of speakers includes members of Trump’s Cabinet such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.The party’s candidates will be showcased, including Ken Paxton, the Texas Senate hopeful, whom Trump controversially threw his support behind instead of backing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. But much of the program is focused on Trump’s agenda, from his crackdown on immigration, efforts to lower prescription drug prices, the sweeping tax cuts and spending law he signed last year and his tariffs, along with a partisan case against Democrats. Expect many of the speakers to echo Trump’s attack lines portraying Democrats as communists. 0NBC NewsNBC News