Good morning. The Trump-Xi call is finally happening. Late night comics give Jimmy Kimmel a shout-out. And it might be time to start thinking about long evenings by the fire, with an American peaty pour. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Angela Cullen

The much-anticipated phone call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is finally happening, at 9 a.m. Washington time. The talks may determine TikTok’s US future and ease trade tensions that have preoccupied the world’s two biggest economies all summer. But the mood music is mixed. China skipped buying US soybeans at the start of the export season for the first time since at least the 1990s, and slammed the US over Gaza. Meanwhile, Trump reportedly froze $400 million in  military aid to Taiwan. Here’s what to expect.

Not to be outdone, Canada and Mexico put on a show of unity ahead of next year’s high-stakes review of their trade pact with the US. Mark Carney traveled to Mexico City, where he and Claudia Sheinbaum pledged close coordination and announced a new “action plan,” patching up the sometimes frosty relationship that emerged between their predecessors. Carney also heaped compliments on the US, though. 

An indigenous group in Canada vowed to challenge Teck Resources’ merger with Anglo American unless the companies consult it over expansion plans for a smelter in British Columbia. Teck’s Trail Operations, which sit on lands that are the responsibility of the Osoyoos Indian Band, has faced historic complaints about pollution.

Global stocks cooled after the Bank of Japan caught markets off guard with a plan to unwind $4.2 billion a year in ETF holdings. It’s also “triple-witching” day in the US, when equity-linked options and futures contracts expire, which could stoke volatility. As for that “Sell America” panic from earlier in this year? Misplaced. The real mantra is “Hedge America,” whereby the notion of American exceptionalism remains intact, just with a twist: sidestepping the dollar.

A customer compares iPhones at the Apple Store in Beijing. Photographer: Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg

Apple could get a boost from demand for its new iPhone. Early sales across Asia on its launch day showed strong interest in the Pro models of the new 17 series. The Pro versions return the iPhone to an aluminum shell and have a redesigned back, while the iPhone Air is Apple’s first attempt at a radically different design with its thin shape as the main selling point. Potentially marring the launch, many shoppers in China took to social media to complain about scratches on the back of the just-released smartphone.

Bloomberg Green New York: Join us Sept. 25 for a solutions-focused look into a new era of climate action during Climate Week NYC. Following the 80th United Nations General Assembly, we’ll hear how top leaders in business, finance and government are approaching climate issues during times of geopolitical uncertainty. Learn more here.

Deep Dive: Trump’s Media War

Jon Stewart. Photographer: Phillip Faraone/Comedy Central

Late-night comics rallied behind Jimmy Kimmel after ABC suspended his program over comments he made about Charlie Kirk. Jon Stewart feigned extreme anxiousness in a rare return to Comedy Central, in what was introduced as “the all-new, government-approved Daily Show, with your patriotically obedient host.”

• Others, including Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, didn’t shy away from poking fun at President Trump but steered clear of outright attacks on the government.
• Trump’s adversarial relationship with the American media industry lurched forward this week with Kimmel’s snap suspension.
• The saga cements “political pressure” on the laundry list of things weighing down Hollywood, and follows CBS’ cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July.

The Big Take

Micah Niemeier-Walsh. Photographer: Amy Lynn Powell for Bloomberg Businessweek

Businesses are begging the White House and RFK Jr. to restore Niosh, a tiny agency that helps keep workplaces safe. From N95 testing to post-9/11 health care, it’s quietly saved the US billions. Now, with 90% of its staff on the chopping block, proponents are scrambling to stop the crushing of America’s first line of defense for workers, a spectacle one employee compared to a child pulling the wings off a butterfly.

Opinion

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has exposed deep partisan divides, Michael Bloomberg writes, with some on the left celebrating his death and others on the right using it to undermine free speech. In dark times, Americans need leadership.

Before You Go

Westland Distillery Source: Westland Distillery

As we prepare for falling leaves and brisk evenings, it’s time to imagine cozy nights beside a crackling fire with a smoky Scotch. But perhaps not one born on the windswept bogs of Islay in Scotland. How about American peat? Wait until you taste it.