ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to rally the world’s largest economies this week at a time when the United States has disrupted the international order with aggressive tariffs on major allies and an unpopular war on Iran is keeping gas prices high for consumers.
As Bessent hosts meetings of the Group of 20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday and Tuesday, he intends to put the focus on a range of issues intended to draw uncontroversial support, from economic growth to addressing mounting debt.
However, the event comes shortly after hostilities renewed between the U.S. and Iran, and as trade friction with Canada spiked following a breakdown in negotiations that led to escalating tariffs.
Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the George W. Bush administration, said the U.S. may "find it difficult to rally its usual friends and allies” under the circumstances.
If Bessent and other administration officials want international support, he said, they will need to “take greater care in consulting with allies and partners than the U.S. has shown in recent months.”
Bessent wants other countries to help the U.S. isolate Iran in order to force its capitulation during a war that recently crossed its six-month mark. Although the U.S. struck Iran again on Sunday, the administration has previously signaled its intention to focus on economic pressure rather than military action to achieve its goals.
Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Treasury plans to impose sanctions on another bank. He also said the administration is prepared to exact “financial violence if we have to."
So far, President Donald Trump has not followed through on threats of an “economic D-Day” for Iran, instead largely relying on warnings to Iran's trading partners. A particular challenge is China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.
Bessent told the AP that “all options are on the table” in terms of sanctioning Beijing for its continued purchases.
But he rejected the idea that the administration was reluctant to confront China, calling it “a completely false narrative that the media picked up on.” He insisted that China and the U.S. agree on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The G20 meetings are taking place in Asheville, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The natural disaster killed more than 250 people and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas.
Bessent cites Asheville’s rebuilding as a symbolic backdrop for discussions about economic growth.
“We want the rest of the world to come along with our growth agenda, whether it’s deregulation, the energy independence, and we want to discuss global imbalances, banking regulations, some sovereign debt restructuring for developing countries,” Bessent told the AP.
He added that "the world has this mountain of debt, and we do have to grow our way out of it.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Asheville, N.C., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Asheville, N.C., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — One person died and about 15 people are missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood at the Grand Canyon forced evacuations, pushed large boulders into the Colorado River and knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents, the National Park Service said Sunday.
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service said without providing additional details. Officials from an Arizona coroner's office were on scene.
The flooding Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona Department of Public Safety was helping with additional evacuations Sunday.
The limited potable water supply because of the damaged pipeline means tourists won't be able to stay overnight at lodges and hotels within the park, starting Monday. Year-round residents are being asked to conserve water.
“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.
Visiting the Grand Canyon — a crown jewel of the national park system — can be particularly dangerous in the summer because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon, or rainy season. Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours.
Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling Saturday.
“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.
Later, as they made their way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted “Up, Up, Up, Up!” as a 4-foot (1-meter) debris wall headed toward them and they ran up into a patch of cacti, he said. They were rescued by helicopter late Saturday after making it to the Phantom Ranch area, he said.
Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood was a major blow to an enduring effort to modernize the pipeline that serves 6 million visitors a year and roughly 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.
“Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “Where are they going to get the money?”
Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline frequently has failed over the years. While the Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for potable water on the South Rim, they won't be refilled while the pipeline is out of service.
A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.
Popular tourist spots, including the Bright Angel Campground, the North Kaibab Trail and Phantom Ranch, home to a historic canteen and dormitories, remained closed Sunday. Lodging is still available just outside the park’s South Rim entrance station in Tusayan.
Erica Viola said she and about 50 other hikers at that campground watched the creek rise Saturday and debris start to flow by, including what looked like a bunkhouse. The helicopter ride out cut her adventure short by two days, she said.
About half an inch to 1 inch (1 to 2.5 cm) of rain fell within about 20 minutes on a rocky slope where there’s a steep drop in elevation, said National Weather Service meteorologist Darren McCollum in Flagstaff. The deluge was preceded by two smaller systems that drenched the area hours earlier.
“So when the main storm moved in, torrential rain fell on everything that was already soaked, and that caused all the problems that we're seeing," McCollum said.
The weather service said the flooding happened on the north side of the Grand Canyon, where Bright Angel Creek comes from the North Rim down to the Colorado River, dropping around 6,000 feet (1,828 meters).
More rain and thunderstorms were possible for the area into Monday.
Stengle reported from Dallas. Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles also contributed.
This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)
This photo shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier. (Craig Sanderson via AP)
Bright Angel Creek near the Phantom Ranger Station in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, is seen after flash flooding from storms, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Parth Desai via AP)
