Pricey oil, GOP convention and a folding iPhone (Update)

Hi, I'm Carmel Cremens in London and I'm Christopher Walgesper in Chicago. It's Wednesday September 9th. Today, oil tops $100 a barrel as the war between the U.S. and Iran escalates. Republicans try something new, a convention before the midterms. Apple unfolds its newest phone. And the Trump administration sets its sights on Venezuela's mineral wealth. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week. Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Delta mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all-day comfy grip. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue. Just clump to a hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Maybe it's Mabelie! Yeah, the back and forth is pretty straightforward and that is that Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers. And I think you'll see that again today. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning Tehran that the U.S. will keep attacking its oil tankers if Iran targets U.S. ships. More than a dozen vessels have been targeted in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the conflict began. The tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the threat from the Iran-backed Houthi movement in the Red Sea are spooking energy markets, with the price of oil reaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July. Our Energy Editor, Tony Monroe, says this week's escalation has had a compounding impact on oil markets. Brent crude prices have risen by about a quarter over the past month, as hopes fade for a permanent resolution to this six-month-old U.S. Iran crisis. Houthi attacks could also imperil oil shipping via the Red Sea, which has been a key alternative outlet to the Strait of Hormuz, where oil shipments have been severely curtailed since the start of the war in late February. While non-OPEC producers, including the United States, have increased their oil output, the International Energy Agency said last month that expects global oil production to decline about 4% this year. Republicans kick off their midterm convention today, and if you're confused, that's because midterms don't traditionally have conventions. U.S. President Donald Trump and other guests won't have any official business to conduct at the Dallas event, other than trying to fire up their voters to help the party hold onto Congress. White House reporter Steve Holland will be traveling with the president. He says the convention could give Republicans a boost, but there's also some risk. A central character in this whole convention is going to be President Trump. The RNC chairman, Grooters, is his name, said that he called this a Trump of Paloosa. Now, there are going to be some candidates, some Republican candidates, who are not going to want to show up at this event, because they don't want to be tied too closely to the president. And what Republicans want help on, they want to see gasoline prices go down, they want to see things more affordable. They feel like the economy is dragging down their campaigns, and that Trump is less focused on that, and more focused on building a ballroom and cleaning up the reflecting pool, and some of these other ancillary things. Trump, I'm sure, will speak to these issues, but he tends to want to blame Democrats for them, like gasoline prices went up. Well, he blames Biden for that, even though they've gone up about $1 since he started the Iran War. So there's this kind of conflict between Trump and some of the Republicans. Apple's newest iPhone is here, and it folds. For a device that plays such a central role in your life, a larger display would open up entirely new possibilities. That's new CEO John Ternis at Apple Headquarters in California, unveiling the iPhone Duo. And we think the best way to achieve that is with a foldable design. It's the most significant overhaul of Apple's flagship product since it removed the physical home button from the iPhone X back in 2017. And it's also a big deal for Ternis. It's his first major public event since taking over from Tim Cook. The new phone will retail for $2,000, and it'll be available in October. We'll take a deeper look at how it's being received in tomorrow's show. The U.S. Canada trade war is escalating as Washington bans Canadian alcohol, motorcycles, and dairy imports starting at the end of the month. That move coming on the heels of Oshawa's own retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. President Trump has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he wants a swift end to the war in Ukraine. That message, in a phone call on Tuesday, follows a weekend visit to Moscow in Kiev by U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner. Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine after they left. Meanwhile, Ukraine's defense minister says Kiev is acquiring around 1,000 Patriot missiles with the help of allies and an EU loan, although most of them won't arrive for years. 25 years after 9/11, Americans feared domestic extremists more than foreign attacks. That's according to a new Reuters' Ipsos poll. When Americans were asked about the biggest threat to their safety, a third pointed to domestic terrorism. Just 20% named foreign terror groups. More people, 42%, said random acts of violence, including mass shootings, were the greatest concern. That's a big shift. A decade ago, Americans were more likely to see threats coming from overseas. But the legacy of 9/11 remains powerful. 6 in 10 Americans say they still think about the attacks. A similar number say they would support military action if the U.S. suffered another major attack. Jeldermist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible, all-day comfy grip. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Maybe it's Mabelie. Police in Ecuadorial Guinea point their guns at migrants deported there from the United States. In video obtained by Reuters, officers wearing shirts marked National Police. Aimed what looked like semi-automatic assault rifles directly at a group in a hotel in the city of Mabel. The incident, highlighting concerns about the treatment and safety of people sent to the Central African Nation under a U.S. deportation program. One man kneels on the ground, others scream nearby. The confrontation starts when a Cuban deportee tries to get his confiscated phone back. Officers ignore his request. Another deportee, an Egyptian man named Ahmed Salaman, filmed the exchange on his phone. They cocked their guns, took it off of safety, and a player that guns at me telling me to get on my knees with my hands up, where I had to remain in that position for, you know, 10-15 minutes, while there was chaos going on in the hotel. 31 deportees are being held at the hotel, some of complained of inadequate medical care, denial of legal assistance and severe psychological distress. Equatorial Guinea's government did not respond to requests for comment. The Trump administration has struck multiple agreements with African governments to accept migrants who had can't legally return to their home countries. The State Department says the U.S. will use all legal means to remove those with no right to remain. The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to revive its revamped immigration database for checking voter roles. In June, a federal judge blocked the system, saying it contained unreliable citizenship data. The Justice Department calls the ruling indefensible and says it threatens election integrity. But voting rights groups say the database has wrongly flagged naturalized citizens as non-citizens, getting eligible voters kicked off the roles. With midterms less than two months away, the High Court now has to decide whether states can keep using the system. The Trump administration is exploring ways to expand U.S. access to Venezuela's mineral wealth, including gold and other strategically important resources. That's after last week's oil deal between Venezuela and the U.S. The effort comes as Washington looks to strengthen its foothold in Latin America and compete with China for influence in the region. Roy Dez reporter Ernest Scheider explains. Venezuela has deposits of gold, which is especially of interest to the administration, reporting shows, as well as boxite, iron ore, nickel and other critical minerals. It's not clear though how much is in the ground because many of the geological reports are quite dated and even those that were dead about 10, 20, 30 years ago were not up to snap with current modern geological surveys. The push for oil and minerals is also fueling concern about who ultimately benefits. There are fears with this latest move by the Trump administration into the country's oil and now mining sector that that could be turning it as well and some kind of modern day colony. So let's see if those fears play out. But definitely the type of administration's eyes on the natural resources of Venezuela, which are abundant, are sparking fears that Caracas could end up being subservient in the long term to Washington's greater strategic needs. - Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Geltamist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all-day comfy grip. - Maybe it's Mabelie. - For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. There's a link in the description to download it and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player and you're for listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week.