Weekly News Recap: November 21, 2025

Weekly News Recap: November 21, 2025

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris hoists the Grey Cup. Electric Umbrella / Liam Richards

It's not the will to win that matters. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. -- Paul 'Bear' Bryant

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer reveals Bowser Jr. and Rosalina — meet the new cast (Entertainment Weekly) #NerdAlert (I am excited). "Nintendo released the trailer for the sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie during one of the company's Direct livestreams on Wednesday. Among the big reveals are the introductions of Bowser Jr. and Princess Rosalina."

  • With one touch, they vanish. Meet the delicate, icy wonders called frost flowers (AP News) #Beautiful "The first major blast of wintry weather in the U.S. this week brought snow, frigid temperatures and in some places something a little more magical: Frost flowers. Made of thin ribbons of ice that extend out in intricate patterns when frozen water breaks through the slits of certain types of plant stems, the icy blooms can disintegrate with a single touch and only appear for hours at a time."

  • Ferry-tale romance: Prince Rupert couple meets, falls in love and marries on B.C. Ferries vessel (CBC) PRINCE RUPERT STORY #RomanceIsNotDead "What was supposed to be a quick and quiet elopement turned into a nearly 70-person wedding aboard a B.C. Ferries vessel that travels along the northern coast of British Columbia. B.C. Ferries employees Jordyn Sankey, 23, and Leslie Fox, 41, met two years ago while working on the Northern Expedition, which services Prince Rupert, Port Hardy, Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii."

  • New York Lacked an Affordable Housing Portal. So These Teenagers Made One. (New York Times) Brilliant! "In July, after countless bleary-eyed hours on bedroom computers, [Beckett Zahedi] and Derrick Webster Jr. launched Realer Estate, a website that combines public data with real estate listings, allowing users to search for below-market and rent-stabilized apartments — something the grown-ups who run New York City have never managed to do."

  • VIDEO: Sperm whales use vowels like humans, new study finds (Popular Science) We are likely not the only sentient beings on this world. "For the scientists eavesdropping on sperm whales, it’s a race to decode their mysterious clicks and whistles in a very alien environment. A new study discovered a fresh component of their various vocalizations and could hint at potential language structures. Sperm whales exhibit patterns similar to human vowels and diphthongs–a connected pair of vowels in a word, such as the 'oi' in coin."

  • VIDEO: WWII veteran's bracelet from 1946 found in France and returned to his daughter (ABC) #Wow "It was an incredible research mystery. Now, Joan Sheehan will receive her dad's WWII bracelet 80 years later."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: 3 Bob Ross paintings auctioned for more than $600K to help after funding cuts to public broadcasting (NBC) I am pretty sure Bob would be thrilled. (I would love one of his paintings.) "Three original paintings by Bob Ross were auctioned Tuesday for more than $600,000 combined as part of a series to help raise money for public broadcasting after the Trump administration cut funding. The pieces were featured in the famed painter's beloved show 'The Joy of Painting,' which introduced the art form to millions of people. He hosted the show from 1983 until 1994, one year before he died."

  2. The Giving Journey: From Training Wheels to Purposeful Impact (Helen Brown Group) Very insightful. "These conversations feel especially timely given the pending intergenerational wealth transfer [...] The pending transfer is also prompting many donor families to ask deeper questions: How do we prepare the next generation not just to inherit wealth, but to steward it wisely? What’s clear is that multi-generational philanthropy isn’t just about passing down assets—it’s about passing down purpose."

  3. VIDEO: It Takes a Lot of Work to Make Gary Oldman Look Unwashed (Hey Whatever Nevermind) If you have not watched Slow Horses, you are really missing out. It is a terrific series and Gary Oldman is a tour-de-force. "Back in June, Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jonathan Pryce stopped by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to plug the funny, twisty season five of 'Slow Horses.' Colbert wisecracked that Oldman, who plays the endearingly caustic and disheveled MI5 spymaster Jackson Lamb, never sits in the hair and makeup chair. Scott Thomas quickly threw a formidably-chic side-eye, and clarified, 'He spends hours in hair and makeup' — as I shouted to no one, 'It takes A LOT of work to make him look like that!'." For fun, here is a video with the cast.

  1. VIDEO: How McKinsey Became One Of The Most Powerful Companies In The World (YouTube) As the owner of a small consulting agency, I have always been very interested in the McKinsey story. "When the most powerful executives in the world have a problem they just can't crack, many of them turn to McKinsey - a prestigious and secretive consulting firm that has been influencing business and government decisions for decades. But now, as consumers require more transparency, the company has been thrust into the spotlight."

  2. VIDEO: ‘Parasocial’ is Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year (CBC) "If you felt more excited for Taylor Swift’s engagement announcement earlier this year than you did for your friend or family member’s, you might relate to Cambridge Dictionary’s word of 2025. 'Parasocial' earned the title, Cambridge announced [...] thanks to some high-profile uses and the rise of digital communications and AI technology that make these kinds of connections easier to form. The adjective describes a one-sided connection that a person has with someone they do not know — such as a celebrity or an influencer, a fictional character in a book or an AI chatbot."

  3. VIDEO: Is the U.S. starving for Canadian travellers? | About That (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Canadian travel to the United States has dropped sharply since President Donald Trump retook office earlier this year. Andrew Chang breaks down the numbers to explain the impact on the U.S. economy, and how many American businesses are trying to win Canadians back."

  4. Gustav Klimt painting sells for $236M US, smashing auction records (CBC) I love Klimt. "A Gustav Klimt painting that helped save the life of its Jewish subject during the Holocaust sold Tuesday for $236.4 million US, with fees, breaking a record for a modern art piece. Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold at Sotheby's in New York City after a 20-minute bidding war, also becoming the most expensive artwork sold by the fine art broker worldwide."

  5. VIDEO: Celebration in Rider Nation from above (CBC) Congrats to #RiderNation (I married into it). SASKATCHEWAN STORY "CBC's drone pilot Cory Herperger was out on the streets of Regina on Sunday after the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 112th Grey Cup over the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in Winnipeg. The party continued in Regina on Tuesday as the team took the Grey Cup for a ride to the Legislature for a celebration in Rider Nation."

  6. L.A. Olympics schedule released, with women's 100m on Day 1 (ESPN) Nice move. "For the first time in Olympic history, the fastest woman in the world will be crowned on the first official day of competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The women's 100-meter final on July 15, 2028, will cap a day of competition that will begin with the first gold medal of the Games being awarded on Venice Beach in the women's triathlon, which last opened Olympic competition in Sydney in 2000 [...] 'The women's 100 meters will be one of the most-watched events, and we wanted to start with a showcase of the fastest females in the world,' Shana Ferguson, chief of sport and Games delivery for LA28, said on a media call."

  7. VIDEO: West Chicago brothers are on the front lines against ‘Operation Midway Blitz.’ And they’re only teenagers. (Chicago Tribune) I love this. "With a goodbye to their mom, Sam and Ben Luhmann walked out the screen door of their West Chicago home on a recent weekday morning. A few minutes shy of 7:30 a.m., Ben pulled their midsize sedan out of the garage as Sam stood in the driveway, adjusting the straps around his shoulders and checking his phone. But the brothers weren’t gunning to beat the first bell at school. They were racing to find ICE. At 16 and 17 years old, Sam and Ben for the past two months have made it their mission to follow, investigate and capture federal immigration activity across the Chicago area. It’s an undertaking the brothers say happened naturally after growing up in a household where social justice and civic duty were as much a part of their homeschool curriculum as math and science."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. VIDEO: The 3 best predictors of how well you’ll age - Juulia Jylhävä (YouTube) As I age, this has increasingly become a fixation of mine.

  2. Spotify now lets you exclude tracks from your taste profile, improving recommendations (TechCrunch) Great tip and useful to help your playlist remain...awesome.

  3. VIDEO: The History of Typography - Animated Short (YouTube) I am a big typography nerd. This is terrific.

  4. To Truly Understand Tequila, You Have to Know These 5 Mexican States (Matador Network) I am not a huge tequila fan but I do love a good margarita.

  5. 5 books that teach you how to die well — by living better (Big Think) I have only read one of these (Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl) but I will be reading the rest.

  6. 13 dizzying and dazzling images from 2025 Drone Photo Awards (Popular Science) Amazing!

  7. Where to find media to consume instead of doomscrolling (Mac Purist) Great suggestions. You're welcome.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $10M donation will support eye-care AI at St. Joe’s (Canadian Health) HAMILTON STORY "Retired chartered accountant and St. Catharines resident Thomas Kevill has donated $10 million to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation, marking one of Ontario’s largest philanthropic investments in eye health and ophthalmology."

  2. Thunder Bay hospital receives nearly $23M in donations for new equipment, renos (CBC) THUNDER BAY STORY "The two-decade-old Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is replacing aging equipment thanks to a record-breaking donation. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation announced on Tuesday a donation of nearly $23 million to the hospital. It's the largest single donation in the foundation's history."

  3. Charity gives $35M to 2 children's hospitals in Ontario to improve mental health care (CBC) ONTARIO STORY "A Canadian charity has given $35 million to two Ontario children's hospitals with the aim of improving mental health care for children and youth. The Waverley House Foundation and its founder, Bruce McKean, a philanthropist, announced the gift to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and Ottawa's Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Toronto. Each hospital will receive $17.5 million to fund what is called Precision Child and Youth Mental Health, a population-based child and youth mental health system created three years ago."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo President & CEO Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by ViTreo Group Inc. of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. ViTreo Group does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the ViTreo Group Inc. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate.

Vincent DuckworthComment