Weekly News Recap: January 23, 2026

Weekly News Recap: January 23, 2026

Gene Tagaban, a Tlingit tribal member, wears a ceremonial 'Spirit of the Hawk' mask as he peers in from the right at a Kwakwaka'wakw mask on display at the Burke Museum following a rally for Seattle Seahawks' fans there Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, in Seattle. The transformation mask, left, is believed to be the original inspiration for the Seahawks' team logo. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit which it fears and its desire to present itself to the world as a Scotch banker. -- Robertson Davies

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: Dear America, We’d Like to Speak to the Manager (New York Times) "Talks in Washington among Greenland, Denmark and the United States over Greenland’s future have stalled, with no compromise in sight. Greenlanders have made it clear that they want to remain under Denmark. This impasse has left Greenlanders and Danes asking an uneasy question: What comes next? In [this] Opinion video [...] the Danish comedian Huxi Bach argues that America should stand down. One important phone call could get the job done. If only someone would pick up."

  • VIDEO: #TheMoment Kawhi Leonard joined kids on the basketball court (CBC) TORONTO STORY What a great moment for these kids. "Martha Ramos tells the National about the moment former Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard joined a group of local kids to play basketball on a new court in Scarborough, Ont."

  • VIDEO: Why this little deer took on a full-sized rhino (CBC) The commentary is as fun as the actual event. "A small deer, known as a muntjac, went toe-to-toe with a fully grown Indian rhino in this viral video from the Wrocław Zoo in Poland."

  • San Francisco to make childcare free for families earning up to $230,000 (The Guardian) It does seem a little crazy that the ceiling for earnings to qualify is $310K but hey, this is San Francisco. "San Francisco will offer free childcare to families earning less than $230,000 a year, and a 50% subsidy to those earning up to $310,000, in an expansion of the city’s childcare offerings designed to make one of the world’s most expensive cities more affordable for residents."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Dalhousie University strips Buffy Sainte-Marie of honorary degree (CBC) HALIFAX STORY "Dalhousie University in Halifax has revoked the honorary degree it awarded to Buffy Sainte-Marie in 2018 after a Mi’kmaw student raised concerns about the harms of maintaining the honour. The decision comes more than two years after a CBC News investigation into Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous identity. The report uncovered a birth certificate indicating she was born in Massachusetts to Italian-American parents, contradicting earlier press that identified her as Algonquin, Mi’kmaw and later Cree."

  2. Concordia University seeks and gets injunction against Polaris Aerospace in ‘Launch the North’ dispute (SpaceQ) MONTREAL STORY Don't steal IP. "As Canada embarks on a path of sovereign launch through the Department of National Defence (DND) ‘Launch the North‘ IDEaS Challenge, there is one less entrant with a provisional renewable 10 day injunction granted to Concordia University against a former employee and co-founder of Polaris Aerospace."

  3. Expanded emergency department at Peter Lougheed Centre set to open next month (CBC) CALGARY STORY The addition of mental health beds is a welcome move. "The long-awaited expansion and renovation of the Peter Lougheed Centre in northeast Calgary has officially wrapped construction [...] Altogether, the expansion adds space for 97 new patient beds. That includes 28 new emergency department beds, as well as mental health short stay beds, psychiatric ICU beds and minor surgical beds."

  4. Alberta commits $4M to plan Children’s Hospital expansion (Okotoks Online) CALGARY STORY "Alberta’s government and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation are committing a combined $4 million to plan an expanded inpatient tower and a new research centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, with no construction funding committed and no timelines announced."

  5. VIDEO: Yellow no more: Butterdome makeover to renew pavilion in green and gold (CBC) EDMONTON STORY #EndOfAnEra "The University of Alberta’s central sports pavilion — commonly called the Butterdome — is getting a makeover that will see it shed its iconic yellow exterior [...] With a $27-million grant from the province, its exterior will be refreshed in green and gold to reflect the university’s colours and and the surrounding river valley’s fall foliage, a news release says."

  6. VIDEO: Timelapse video shows northern lights glowing in Yukon (CBC) YUKON STORY Beautiful and verified to not be AI ;-) "The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, put on a show in parts of Canada, the U.S. and Europe [...] with the vivid display seen much farther south than usual amid intense geomagnetic and solar radiation storms."

  7. VIDEO: How this Indigenous mask from B.C. inspired the Seattle Seahawks logo (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY And here we are, with the four teams left as Super Bowl candidates and the Hawks are one of them. "More than a decade ago, as the Seattle Seahawks were on the verge of their first of two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, Robin K. Wright’s art history students at the University of Washington became curious about the NFL team’s logo. 'My students had some sort of bizarre theories, they thought it was the Egyptian god Horus or equally funny things,' said Wright, now a professor emerita at the university’s school of art, art history and design. The inspiration for the team's logo, she says, which consists of a profile of a raptor, is a transformation mask from the Kwakwakaʼwakw of northern Vancouver Island."

  8. VIDEO: Worldwide shortages of hormone replacement medication leave women struggling (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "The long list of symptoms of perimenopause and menopause range from inconvenient to debilitating. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be a huge help, but a worldwide shortage of HRT is leaving women in the lurch. Alison Shea, an Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychiatry at McMaster University explains why the shortage is so problematic."

  9. Scientists Develop Spray-On Powder That Instantly Seals Life-Threatening Wounds (SciTech Daily) This is super sci-fi. I hope it works. "Severe blood loss remains the primary cause of death from combat injuries. To address this challenge, a research team at KAIST that included an active duty Army Major set out to develop a faster and more reliable way to stop bleeding. Their work led to a next-generation powder-type hemostatic agent that can halt bleeding within one second when sprayed directly onto a wound, offering a potential breakthrough for saving lives on the battlefield."

  10. VIDEO: 'The old order is not coming back,' Carney says in provocative speech at Davos (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a frank assessment of how he views the world in a provocative speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said the longstanding U.S.-led, rules-based international order is over and middle powers like Canada must pivot to avoid falling prey to further 'coercion' from powerful actors. Without invoking U.S. President Donald Trump by name, Carney referenced 'American hegemony' and said 'great powers' are using economic integration as 'weapons.' 'Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security is no longer valid,' Carney said."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. This Common Ingredient Kick-Starts Immunity (Even In Small Amounts) (Mind Body Green) I have a love/hate relationship with ginger. I know it is good for me, just can't handle the taste in its raw form.

  2. How to understand Einstein’s relativity without math (Starts With A Bang) It has been a while since I posted a super nerdy piece. You're welcome.

  3. This Prompt Trick Improves ChatGPT Responses Manyfold (Oxair) Super important for critical information queries.

  4. VIDEO: Finding the Soul of Switzerland's Food Culture | How We Made DIRT Switzerland (Huckberry) If you have ever been to Switzerland, this is very on point. If you have not, this will inspire you to go. In either case, worth a watch.

  5. What You Quietly Lose When You Replace Paper With "Distraction-Free" Tablets (The Learning Strategist) I use a reMarkable and I have had this inkling that something is missing when I write on it, especially for journaling.

  6. The Psychology Behind Why We Discuss the Weather as Small Talk (Mental Floss) So...I hear it's going to get colder...

  7. Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai (My Fitness Pal) This looks yummy especially since I am off gluten (I love gluten but my diabetes does not).

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Feeding America receives $75 million from Lilly Endowment (Philanthropy News Digest) "Feeding America has announced a three-year, $75 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to support its mission and national strategy to help end hunger in the United States."

  2. Indian Developer Pledges Record $50 Million to The Rotary Foundation (EIN Presswire) This is a truly mind-blowing gift, not only for its size but also that it was made to Rotary. "In a transformative moment for international philanthropy, Ravindra Chamaria, a Kolkata-based real estate developer and chairman of the Infinity Group, has committed $50 million to The Rotary Foundation. This gift represents the largest single individual contribution in the foundation’s 107-year history, signaling a significant shift in how high-net-worth individuals in emerging economies are engaging with global humanitarian organizations to address systemic domestic challenges."

  3. Penn State receives anonymous $55 million scholarship gift (Philanthropy News Digest) "Penn State University (PSU) has announced a $55 million estate gift from an anonymous couple in support of undergraduate scholarships to benefit students from Pennsylvania with financial need."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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