Meet the Canadians boycotting all things American

Plus: 9/11 tributes  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Olivia-Anne Cleary | September 11, 2026     Hello, readers. I’m writing to you on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. It’s hard to know how to mark a day as significant as this. Finding strength in community seems like a good place to start. The nonprofit organization 9/11 Day is asking people to “unite for good” and do “one good deed, for anyone.” At TIME, we’re looking at how 9/11 helped shape our politics, and hearing from people whose lives were forever altered by the day. In today’s The Brief, we’re also covering the “Buy Canadian” movement and where marriage rates are highest in the U.S. IN TODAY’S BRIEF Houthis' bid to control Yemen’s Red Sea coastline U.S. sanctions on Iran carry global impact A closer look at food packaging The resurgence of the "Buy Canadian" movement Here comes the bride 9/11 remembered         READ THIS FIRST Yemen’s Houthis capture Red Sea port city, threatening new front in war Khaled Ziad—AFP/Getty Images Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have captured Yemen’s port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed government forces, potentially opening up a second theater in the war between the U.S. and Iran. The capture of Mokha marks the Houthis’ largest territorial gain since a 2022 cease-fire in Yemen that paused major fighting between the group and Yemen’s government. The Houthis also disrupted shipping in 2024 in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which prompted the U.S. and U.K. to carry out deadly strikes on Yemen. The Houthis swept south along the Red Sea coast before taking the city on Thursday and subsequently reached the Hanish archipelago, Yemeni government sources told Reuters. A Yemeni commander and a member of the Houthis’ political bureau separately confirmed the capture of Mokha to the Associated Press. —Miranda Jeyaretnam         SPONSORED Hiring abroad? The real cost might surprise you Compensation is just the starting point. Taxes, benefits, employer contributions, and compliance costs can add up quickly, and vary by country. Use Oyster’s calculator to estimate what a global hire could really cost, so you can build a more accurate hiring budget and avoid surprises. Calculate your hiring costs         THE CONTEXT How the U.S. Treasury's aviation sanctions on Iran extend beyond Tehran Peter Zay—Getty Images The U.S. Treasury issued sweeping new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, targeting the country’s airlines and their international service providers as it ramps up its effort to isolate Tehran from the global economy. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines, accusing them of having “long supported the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities.” The sweeping measures were largely focused on grounding Mahan Air, which was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2011 and is subject to E.U. sanctions. The U.S. also sanctioned firms based in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and the UAE that it said had helped Mahan Air maintain operations by providing goods or services. The sanctions, and their international reach, are intended to "intensify Iran's economic isolation, to further degrade their military capability, and push them to some kind of a concession or settlement that favors the United States,” Jack Roush, a PhD candidate affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative at the London School of Economics, tells TIME. —Callum Sutherland         HEALTH CHECK Thousands of food-packaging chemicals lack safety data Tatsiana Volkava—Getty Images We don’t often look with suspicion at the plastic wrapping a block of cheddar, the waxed carton containing milk, or the plastic bottle of ketchup. We expect food packaging to be more or less inert.  But evidence suggests that many food-contact materials, as food packaging is known, leach chemicals into the products they house. The most famous is likely bisphenol A (BPA), an ingredient in plastic and a potent endocrine disruptor. In 2025, the E.U. banned BPA’s use in food-contact materials, and in the U.S. it’s banned in baby bottles, sippy cups, and formula packaging. But when one chemical is demonized, its replacement may not be any safer, says Helene Wiesinger, a chemist at the Swiss nonprofit Food Packaging Forum.  In a recent paper in Environmental Science and Technology, she and her colleagues propose a new system for avoiding this situation, in which chemically similar substances are grouped together and may be banned or regulated together, rather than one by one—an idea that could simplify what’s proving to be a difficult process. —Veronique Greenwood         SPONSORED Aimfox lets sales teams, founders, and agencies rent dedicated LinkedIn profiles, start more conversations, and hand interested replies to existing sellers. See Aimfox Avatars.         IN FOCUS Meet the Canadian consumers boycotting American products VCG/VCG—Getty Images When Lynn Henderson walks into her local grocery store in British Columbia, she has one label at the top of her mind: “Made in Canada.” The 47-year-old is among a wave of Canadian consumers trying to boycott U.S. products in a show of solidarity amid the ongoing trade war. “Even when I'm shopping with my toddler, he now asks specifically, ‘Oh, are these apples Canadian?’ And he will ask that before putting it in the cart,” Henderson tells TIME. The resurgence of the “Buy Canadian” movement comes amid a deepening U.S.-Canada trade dispute that shows no signs of waning. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect Tuesday, with Prime Minister Mark Carney matching the economic pressure imposed by the U.S. after trade negotiations collapsed last month. The U.S. has since announced a ban on Canadian dairy, motorcycles, and most alcoholic beverages. It’s all unfolding against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly talking of his ambitions to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. While Carney’s government is going toe-to-toe with the Trump Administration, he’s urging the public to take action, too. Canadian consumers have responded en masse to the call. A Build Canada poll conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 4 found that many are already making sacrifices at the tills, as 69% of respondents reported “choosing Canadian products despite higher prices” and 55% said they had “stopped buying specific American brands.” Reports also indicate a surge in demand for Canadian products. Henderson, a public relations consultant, says Trump’s threats against Canada’s sovereignty last year signified a turning point and inspired her patriotic shopping. “Nobody wants to be spoken about like that by their friends and neighbors. It's really hurtful,” she says.  For some, the boycott efforts extend beyond trips to the grocery store. Shireen Jeejeebhoy, a 63-year-old writer based in Toronto, says she has also deleted WhatsApp, stopped using Zoom, and is even trying to find alternatives to Google and Apple products. The Bank of Montreal estimated in April 2025 that the shift in consumer attitudes could redirect roughly C$10 billion to the Canadian economy annually. —Tiago Ventura         ONE NUMBER 13.2% New research compiled by the Institute for Family Studies has mapped the places around the United States with the highest marriage rates for young adults. The Provo, Utah, region is the highest-ranking area on the list, with a marriage rate of 13.2% for 22 to 39 years-olds who married for the first time in the last year. SOURCE: INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES         A VIRAL MOMENT 9/11 tribute New York City marked the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a stunning aerial drone light show on Wednesday evening.         SPONSORED Never worry about roaming again Stay connected on every trip with Saily eSIM plans. From beach vacations to business travel, access data in 200+ destinations. VIP perks available. Activate instantly upon arrival. Download SAILY in your app store and use code newsletter15 at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. Get 15% off now Chat support available 24/7. Get a full refund if your device isn’t eSIM compatible.       Linked In this addictive word-association game, find the steps that will unite two seemingly unrelated words in just four moves. PLAY NOW       ALSO WORTH YOUR TIME AI  AI Should Be a Wake-Up Call For Universities SCIENCE  The Planet Mercury Has Been Shrinking—More Than Scientists Expected     EMAIL US: thebrief@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +HEALTH MATTERS +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Connect with TIME   PRIVACY POLICY     © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe