Weekly News Recap: January 2, 2026
Weekly News Recap: January 2, 2026
Canadians are spending less time with friends than they did three decades ago, according to a recent study. Experts say friendships are uniquely important to people’s well-being. (igorstevanovic/Shutterstock)
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -- C.S. Lewis.
SOME GOOD NEWS
Courthouse canines help ease the tension, one tail wag at a time (CBC) OTTAWA STORY Brilliant! More please. "At the courthouse, the therapy dogs accompany victims and witnesses from their first meetings with prosecutors all the way through to trial, a process that can sometimes stretch over years. Handlers like Sylvia Nicholson bring their dogs into waiting areas, meeting rooms and sometimes right into the courtroom."
VIDEO: 'Truly a Christmas miracle': Black bear cub survives being burned in northern B.C. (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #AnimalRescueHeroes "The survival of a black bear cub, believed to have been burned earlier this week, is being described as a Christmas miracle by rescuers. On Dec. 20, the Northern Lights Wildlife Society said it was alerted to a bear cub in 'dire need' near Dawson Creek in northeast B.C., and said a volunteer rushed to the site to find the animal buried in snow at the base of a tree. Northern Lights said the clock was ticking on whether the cub would even survive the night, given it was at least a nine-hour drive away to the society's headquarters in Smithers amid bitterly cold conditions that were enveloping the province throughout the week."
VIDEO: Meet Pascal, the therapy horse who’s become the ‘mane’ attraction in Quebec care homes (CBC) QUEBEC STORY Love it! "Perfectly coiffed and sporting a bowtie, Santa hat and glittery hooves, Pascal shows off his jump, wave and bow to residents at the Wales Home in Cleveland, Que. He may not be a typical therapy animal, but the tiny nine-year-old horse has become a crowd favourite and one of the 50 animals working on rotation with the zoo animation organization, Toutous Poilus."
VIDEO: Inside a B.C. ‘dementia village' that researchers hope could reshape long-term care (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY I love the humanity of this idea. "Doreen Freeland used to be what's known as a 'land girl' in Britain during the Second World War. She was one of thousands of women recruited to work in orchards and on farms to help keep food production going while men went off to fight. 'It was fun sometimes, but it was a bit hard other times when everything's frosty and you got to pick those sprouts,' she says. Now 94, Freeland is rekindling some of that connection to the outdoors at The Village Langley, a care facility southeast of Vancouver that caters to people with dementia. But instead of a hospital setting, the five acre facility is designed to look and feel like a community, complete with a store, a hair salon, a local café, a woodworking shop and a barn with animals."
Deep snow, regional tourism fuel Jasper’s winter comeback (CBC) JASPER STORY Time to go skiing!! "More than 80 centimetres of snow fell at Marmot Basin over the last two weeks — and the impact is felt beyond the ski resort. The tourism-dependent economy of Jasper, Alta., has been recovering from extensive wildfire damage and two consecutive poor snow seasons. Snow is a form of currency for the town, which relies on Marmot attracting regional tourists to keep the lights on in the winter season."
TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK
How the N.W.T.'s polar bear licence plate became a 'holy grail' for collectors (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I so wish I had collected a few when I had the chance. They are SO cool! "Iconic. Beloved. Unique. Desirable. The holy grail. Those are just some of the ways collectors describe the Northwest Territories’ polar-bear shaped licence plate."
VIDEO: Do grizzly bears really hibernate? The answer's complicated (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Hey, I go into torpor! "If you're talking to a scientist, try not to use the words 'bear' and 'hibernate' in the same sentence. It's common knowledge that bears enter a deep sleep during winter, but what's the proper terminology for that? Calgary naturalist Brian Keating says it's more complicated than many might think. 'It's been argued as to whether or not it's a hibernation with bears,' he said. 'They definitely go into what I would call a hibernation. Professionals, I guess, call it a torpor.' "
VIDEO: 'Joy to the World' performed by U.S. armed forces musicians (YouTube) Lovely. "We continue with a News Hour holiday tradition in which we ask members of the armed forces to record a holiday song. For Christmas Eve, we bring you 'Joy to the World.' This video was produced by the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service."
The photographs that defined 2025 – and the stories behind them (The Guardian) Thanks to ViTreo recap contributor, Mick Mulloy, for this post. "As wars in Ukraine and Gaza continued, anti-government protests erupted around the world. Amid the violence, there were moments of humanity, sporting glory and stunning natural beauty. Photographers reflect on the moments behind the pictures"
VIDEO: More Canadians head to Mexico for winter getaways (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Charles Birt and Merilee Mollard are doing what many other Canadians have decided to do — pulling the plug on their annual trip to Texas and opting to travel in Canada and Mexico instead. They usually spend weeks or even months at a trailer park in Weslaco, Texas, about 10 kilometres from the Mexican border. But not this year."
VIDEO: Many Canadians are spending less time with friends. How can we build deeper connections? (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I feel this. I plan on seriously improving on this for 2026. "Canadians have been “spending less and less time with friends,” according to a Statistics Canada study conducted from 1986 to 2022. In 1986, 47.9 per cent of Canadians saw friends on an average day. By 2022, that figure had fallen to just 19.3 per cent. Bocian has noticed the same trend in his own life. Since turning 40, he’s seen his friendships fade."
VIDEO: Elbows up in 2025: How a year of Canadian boycotts on U.S. products played out (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "It became a rallying cry, a cultural touchstone, a marketing strategy and — our favourite — often described in international media as 'a hockey term' or 'a Canadian phrase.' We are, of course, referring to 'Elbows Up,' Gordie Howe's signature move to ward off opponents. The 2025 #ElbowsUp movement may have started as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada, but it also came to symbolize the boycott of U.S. products as Trump's tariffs launched a cross-border trade war."
The cosy book trend getting us through the colder months (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "In books, the word 'cosy' has traditionally described mysteries and even romances that have no swearing, no overt violence nor sexual content. They’re often character-driven, with quaint or idyllic settings and lower stakes. [...]These 'cosy' stories are marketed as ideal for the fall and winter months — and they’ve become increasingly popular in recent years."
University community mourns passing of former president Dr. Bill Cade (ULethbridge) LETHBRIDGE STORY RIP Dr. Cade. We will not see your like again. "During his presidency, Bill guided the University of Lethbridge through a period of significant growth, strengthening the institution’s academic reputation and reinforcing its commitment to teaching, research and community engagement. He led the development of major campus infrastructure, including the Centre for Sport & Wellness, Markin Hall, the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building, the Community Sports Stadium and the campus daycare."
The pandemic changed borrowing habits at the Edmonton Public Library. Here’s how (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "The story of how much physical media is used at the Edmonton Public Library compared to digital media isn’t as straightforward as you might think. While digital media consumption at the library has been gradually but steadily increasing since 2018, the demand for physical media has rebounded after it understandably plummeted in 2020, the year that the COVID-19 pandemic started. The demand for each was particularly similar in 2022, but still remains quite close."
SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS
The Fourteen Points: Words Smart People Misuse (The Gene Pool) My favourite is definitely disinterested v. uninterested. LANGUAGE WARNING
Some Spiders Build Fake Versions of Themselves to Trick Predators (Vice) Tricky! Icky! #KindaCool
How To Remove Lingering Food Smells From Glass Jars Without Lifting A Finger (The Takeout) "Such an easy fix."
The 26 Most Important Ideas For 2026 (Derek Thompson) Not a ton of feel good ideas here.
How to Be Old (Oldster) I am this guy.
How to Improve Your Grip Strength (GQ) Apparently, grip strength is one of the key determinants of how long you will live. Just saying.
VIDEO: Meet The Master: Auro Montanari (YouTube) This guy is just...cool.
TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK
Anonymous $2M donation boosts plans for first Cedar Rapids senior center since flood (YouTube) "A senior center is coming to Cedar Rapids with construction set to begin this upcoming February."
Students Thought They Were 'In Trouble.' Instead They Learned Anonymous Donor’s $50M Gift Was Covering Their Tuition (People) "Some students at the University of Washington will now have their tuition covered — and it’s all thanks to an anonymous donor. The University of Washington announced in a press release earlier this month that the donor’s approximately $50 million donation will help pay for undergraduate students enrolled in the UW’s Medical Laboratory Science Program, covering their senior-year tuition for their clinical rotations."
VIDEO: Iconic Oasis drag club saved with multi-million-dollar donation (YouTube) "A patron donated several million dollars to the venue upon hearing that it was just days away from closing."
LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES
Yes, There's a Parallel Parking Championship, and I Was a Contender (Car and Driver) My kids know which club they are in ;-) "When someone asks if you're a good parallel parker, there should be no hesitation, because you already know. You're either a Parallel Parking Wu-Tang Master, sliding into that spot with silent swagger, or you're a member of the Curb Kisser Club, whispering a prayer and hoping no one's watching. There's no in-between, just legends and white-knucklers."
She collected snowmen for 50 years. When she died, her husband built a Christmas village in her honour (CBC) #TrueLove "Kathy Allen Duncan was a young newlywed in 1974 when she assembled her first snowman village in the apartment she shared with her new husband. She would continue that Christmas tradition for the next 50 years, until she died in September at the age of 73 of complications from diabetes. Now, her husband has taken all the snowman ornaments she collected over the course of their life together — more than 1,000 in total — and created a Christmas village display in her honour at the mall in their hometown of Topeka, Ka."
VIDEO: Catholic Priest Who Moonlights as a DJ Got Pope Leo XIV to Appear at a Rave (My Modern Met) Love this! "A Portuguese priest named Guilherme Peixoto rose to fame not for what happens inside his church, but for what goes on when the temple doors have closed for the day and his love for music shines. After experimenting with mixing electronic music with religious songs, he has become a famous DJ that tours the world—and even earned a nod from Pope Leo XIV himself."
Meet the 'head elf' running emailsanta.com for 3 decades (CBC) CALGARY STORY #ChristmasHero "Alan Kerr has been operating emailsanta.com for nearly three decades as “Santa’s head elf.” In that time, he’s received millions of letters from children (and adults) from across the world, all addressed to the jolly old man who lives at the North Pole. Kerr says Santa receives 10 emails a second on Christmas Eve — some asking for the latest toys, a new sibling or, in one case, a girlfriend for his dad."
$5M donation made to the Dartmouth General Hospital (CBC) DARTMOUTH STORY "The Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation says a recent $5-million donation is the largest contribution made in the Dartmouth, N.S., hospital's history. The gift was given by Lisa O'Regan in memory of her late husband, Sean [O'Regan.]"
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