Top Stories — Monday, April 20, 2026
What is trending in the USA today? Here is Breaking News:
- Air Canada scraps key US routes as fuel costs surge amid Iran war — Fox Business
- Popular baby food brand hit by 'criminal act' as rat poison found in seized jar — Fox Business
- China keeps benchmark lending rates unchanged as economic growth revs up, Mideast risks loom — CNBC
Air Canada scraps key US routes as fuel costs surge amid Iran war
Source: Fox Business • Published: 4/20/2026, 7:24:24 AM
Air Canada announced on Friday that the airline is suspending select U.S.-bound flights as jet fuel prices continue to skyrocket in the wake of the Iran war.
The cuts, set to take effect this summer and last at least five months, will impact all service to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City and the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah, the airline said.
"As we regularly do, we monitor and review our network to ensure that routes are meeting profitability targets," the air carrier said in a statement.
"Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, affecting some lower profitability routes and flights which now are no longer economically feasible. Schedule adjustments including some frequency reductions are being made in response."
An Air Canada plane lands at Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 1, 2024. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Affected customers will be contacted with alternative travel options, the Canadian carrier said.
The airline specified that JFK will not see service from June 1 through Oct. 25, 2026, from its two hubs in Montreal and Toronto.
The move could reflect a consolidation strategy, as routes to nearby Newark (EWR) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports remain unaffected, according to the release.
Air Canada operates more heavily out of those two airports than JFK, its website shows, with local outlet CTV News reporting roughly 34 daily departures from across Canada.
A person watches an Air Canada airplane being towed away from a gate at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Feb. 6, 2024, in Toronto, Canada. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Flights to Salt Lake City, typically served only from Toronto Pearson (YYZ), will be suspended beginning June 30, with service expected to resume in 2027, creating a roughly six-month gap.
The airline also said two domestic routes and one international service were affected.
Routes between Vancouver and Fort McMurray will be suspended on May 28, while service between Toronto and Yellowknife will be halted on Aug. 30.
Both Fort McMurray and Yellowknife, which are considered lower-volume markets, were not given a resumption date.
Travelers at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (uki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The airline was also planning to launch service between Montreal and Guadalajara, Mexico, which has now been indefinitely suspended.
Air Canada said the changes represent only a small portion of its global operations, affecting about 1% of its total annual flying capacity for 2026.
Jet fuel prices increased to $3.79 on Friday, more than a 50% increase since the day before the Iran war broke out on Feb 27, according to Airlines for America.
Several U.S. airlines have also adopted new cost-cutting measures to offset rising jet fuel prices, with JetBlue, Southwest, American and United Airlines increasing checked bag fees.
FOX Business reached out to Air Canada for more information.
Read the full story at Fox Business.
Popular baby food brand hit by 'criminal act' as rat poison found in seized jar
Source: Fox Business • Published: 4/20/2026, 7:15:00 AM
Austrian police announced Saturday that a commercially sold baby food product was found to be laced with rat poison.
Authorities said the tampered HiPP-brand item may have been sold in Austria, with similar products also circulating in neighboring countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
"With the assistance of the Federal Criminal Police Office, a sample of the seized product was examined on Saturday afternoon and tested positive for rat poison," the Burgenland State Criminal Police Office said.
Officials described the substances as "potentially life-threatening" and urged all shoppers to inspect their pantries for similar affected products.
Hipp Organic baby food sits on a shelf in a Camberwell, south London, food resource center. (Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company said that jars sold at major retail partner Spar in Austria are being recalled out of precaution, and emphasized that the issue is linked to a "criminal act" and not a quality control problem.
"This recall is not due to a product or quality defect on our part. The jars left our HiPP factory in perfect condition. The recall is linked to a criminal act being investigated by the authorities," the company said.
"As part of ongoing criminal investigations, isolated cases of tampered HiPP baby food jars have been seized – as previously reported in Austria, now also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia."
HiPP Holdings, a German-Swiss company known for its organic, preservative-free baby food, primarily sells its products in European retail stores. However, consumers in the U.S. and other international markets can also obtain them through specialized online importers.
Police said the suspected baby food jar, a carrot and potato variety, was first alerted by a customer who ultimately did not feed it to their baby.
The suspicious item was identified by a white sticker featuring a red circle on the bottom of the glass container and reportedly gave off a spoiled odor after being opened, according to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety.
Those who bought the item were urged to check their products for suspicious markings and signs of tampering, including damaged or already-opened lids, missing safety seals, or containers that fail to produce a clicking sound when first opened.
Customers who suspect they may have purchased the affected product are urged not to consume it under any circumstances or feed it to a child. Officials advised setting the item away from other food, ideally while wearing gloves, and washing hands thoroughly before handling anything else.
HiPP added that refunds may be issued at their retail partners — Spar, Eurospar, Interspar and Maximarkt — even without a receipt.
Authorities said rat poisons contain various active ingredients, including bromadiolone, which inhibits the effects of vitamin K, a key component in blood clotting.
A HiPP baby food jar containing a red-colored purée with a label featuring noodles, tomatoes, ham and vegetables. (Schöning/ullstein bild via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Possible consequences include bleeding from the gums, nosebleeds, bruising and blood in the stool. Symptoms may appear with a delay of two to five days after ingestion.
Officials said consumers who experience extreme weakness or paleness should seek medical attention immediately. With appropriate treatment, particularly the administration of vitamin K, the poisoning is considered treatable.
Read the full story at Fox Business.
China keeps benchmark lending rates unchanged as economic growth revs up, Mideast risks loom
Source: CNBC • Published: 4/20/2026, 7:10:23 AM
China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an 11th straight month, keeping its powder dry as policymakers weigh the economic fallout from the Middle East war against resilient growth at home and fading deflationary pressure that has given Beijing less urgency to act.
The People's Bank of China kept the loan prime rate, or LPR, unchanged on Monday, as surging global oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions pushed up energy prices and clouded the growth outlook.
The one-year LPR, a benchmark for new loans, was kept at 3.0% while the five-year LPR, a reference for mortgage rates, was unchanged at 3.5%.
The decision came after the world's second-largest economy grew 5% in the first quarter, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter, and at the top end of its full-year target range. Beijing lowered its growth target for 2026 to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal on record since the 1990s.
China's factory-gate prices also rose for the first time in more than three years, climbing 0.5% in March from a year earlier, signaling that import-cost pressure has started seeping into the economy. Consumer inflation logged its biggest jump in more than three years, rising 1.3% in February, before easing to 1% in March.
The upbeat growth at the start of 2026 has reduced pressure for additional stimulus, prompting economists to push back expectations for interest rate cuts.
Policymakers will likely take a "wait-and-see" approach, with rising inflation reducing the PBOC's incentive to cut policy rates or roll out major easing in the near term, said Yu Song, chief China economist at UBS Securities.
"The government may also need time to assess the impact of external uncertainties amid Middle East conflict," Song added.
The PBOC said that it would maintain a "supportive" and "moderately loose" monetary stance this year to shore up growth, while keeping its currency stable.
Speaking at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington last week, China's central bank governor Pan Gongsheng warned that rising geopolitical tensions, protectionism, and trade barriers have weighed on global growth and fuelled financial market volatility. Pan urged deeper international policy coordination to safeguard macroeconomic and financial stability.
Lan Fo'an, China's finance minister, also reiterated Beijing's call to expand domestic demand and boost consumption, while providing more "global public goods" for shared benefits.
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