Weekly News Recap: September 11, 2026

Weekly News Recap: September 11, 2026

Rendering of the 625,000-square-foot Advanced Skills Centre being built at NAIT in Edmonton. Dialog architecture

The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. -- Warren Buffett

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • The 2026 Audubon Photography Awards (The Atlantic) Birds are beautiful. "Winners and honorable mentions from the Audubon Society’s 17th annual competition featuring some of the best images of bird life from around the world"

  • South Park pulls a Trump, to be renamed South America for new season (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "South Park appears to be taking a page out of Donald Trump's book: if you don't like a name, change it. For its 29th season, the animated satire has announced a new title — and will be now known as South America. True to the ironic tone the show is known for, the announcement is intended as a direct dig at the U.S. president and his ongoing efforts to rename gulfs, lakes and even states to include America. 'Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in a [statement.]"

  • A little bird told her: scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding birdsong (The Guardian) Great name for this prize! Thanks to Recap contributor, Mick Mulloy for this story (he also contributed the Teenage Apprentice, Braids & beers, and The place that never freezes stories -- thanks Mick!) "A scientist who decoded the vocalisations that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with a blank response. Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication after working out the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings."

  • The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice (New York Times) This is a captivating story of mentorship and relationship. "Joan Birman thought her major discoveries were behind her. Then came an email from a young neighbor — a girl who knew little but wanted to learn."

  • Lottery winner inspired by Dolly Parton gives away half of £115m winnings (Sky News) "A Lottery winner has given away half of her £115m winnings - citing country legend Dolly Parton as an 'inspiration' for her philanthropy. Frances Connolly set up a charitable trust to support good causes after winning the enormous EuroMillions jackpot with her husband Paddy in 2019. Her father was a country and western music fan, with Parton - whose death last month sparked an outpouring of tributes - a favourite."

  • Braids & beers (The Globe and Mail) TORONTO STORY #LoveThisIdea "A couple years ago, Justin Podur was left to care for the kids on his own while his wife was away. The 49-year-old Mr. Podur is, by all accounts, a very competent person. He’s a professor at York University in Toronto, and has written several books on geopolitics and social movements around the world. He’s calm, collected and, as a parent, considers himself to be hands-on. Still, in those few days with his wife away, Mr. Podur quickly realized there was a glaring hole in his competencies. His now-eight-year-old daughter is a gymnast, and her hair had to be up and out of her face for practice. It was supposed to be in a braid, but he had no idea where to start. He did his best. Even now, years later, the look of pity on the coach’s face during drop-off is burned into his memory. 'She was like, ‘Dad did your hair today, didn’t he?' he said, shaking his head."

  • A storm destroyed her tea factory. One Canadian friend kept the business alive 2,300 miles away (The Guardian) CANADIAN CONTENT "When Jessie Dean and Alexandra Sangster met in the summer of 2024, they made a pact. The two women both ran tea companies – Dean’s Asheville Tea Company in North Carolina and Sangster’s Sarjesa, more than 2,300 miles away in Calgary, Canada – and they pledged to support each other if their businesses ever needed it [...] Neither expected that to become a reality so quickly. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene tore through Asheville and surrounding areas in western North Carolina, washing out roads, destroying homes and killing dozens of people. The Asheville Tea Company building was near the Swannanoa River, and despite not being in a flood zone, was completely washed away when the river rose more than 20ft above its normal level."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Gloria Steinem, leading U.S. feminist and author, dead at 92 (CBC) All of us owe a huge debt to Ms. Steinem. RIP. We will not see her like again. "Gloria Steinem, the celebrated U.S. author and activist who became one of the most potent voices of the feminist movement, has died. She was 92. Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. magazine, was a hugely recognizable presence wherever she went. And she went everywhere: Much of her life as an advocate was spent on the road, speaking at college campuses and community centres, at rallies and marches."

  2. Meet Canada's Boldest Women: WXN Media Unveils the 2026 Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners (Presswire) CANADIAN STORY "WXN Media and its partners [...] announced the 2026 Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners, recognizing 104 exceptional women whose leadership, innovation, and impact are shaping industries, organizations, and communities across Canada. A complete list of the 2026 Top 100 Honorees is available here."

  3. VIDEO: 'Conditions are set': Calgary poised to become the Nashville of the north (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY I love this idea. "Industry experts say the conditions are right after Premier Danielle Smith calls for massive growth of city's music scene"

  4. VIDEO: Trump to Canadian plane maker Bombardier: You can't sell in U.S. unless you build in U.S. (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "U.S. President Donald Trump said that Montreal-based airplane maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell in the United States unless it starts manufacturing in the states [...] Trump's post, ⁠which comes amid a ⁠growing trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa, was the latest salvo in his campaign to pressure foreign and domestic companies to manufacture more products in the U.S."

  5. VIDEO: Bank of Canada unveils new vertical $20 bill featuring King Charles (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem unveiled the new, vertical bill featuring a portrait of King Charles on Thursday in Ottawa. It's the first Canadian bank note to feature Charles, whose image replaces that of the late Queen Elizabeth II. In a news conference, Macklem called the unveiling 'historic.' It's been more than 70 years since a new monarch appeared on a Canadian bank note."

  6. The place that never freezes: the Arctic habitat where global heating threatens more ice, not less (The Guardian) CANADIAN CONTENT "A stretch of year-round open water (known as a polynya) this far north is a boon to life of all kinds, from the algae that bloom in the summer and feed an entire web of other creatures to the whales that need access to the air in the depths of winter. Polar bears are drawn in by the whales, seals and walruses that migrate there; seabirds, too, have flown and paddled their way there by the millions, over millennia."

  7. Snowbirds to fly iconic CT-114 jets for final time at Grey Cup in Calgary (Fraser Valley Today) CANADIAN STORY #EndOfAnEra "The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will make a historic appearance at the 2026 Grey Cup game. The legendary aerobatic team will retire its CT-114 Tutor jets following the 2026 season, ahead of transitioning to new planes in the early 2030s. The Grey Cup will mark the iconic jets’ final performance. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds have flown aerial demonstrations with the CT-114 jets since 1971. The Grey Cup game will be played Nov. 15 in Calgary."

  8. VIDEO: NAIT expansion aims to address Alberta's skilled labour shortage (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "NAIT has officially broken ground on the Advanced Skills Centre (ASC), marking the start of construction on the largest capital project in the polytechnic's history. The 625,000-square-foot facility will transform skilled trades and technology education, creating new opportunities for thousands of future students while supporting Alberta's growing demand for skilled workers."

  9. VIDEO: The biggest dinosaurs couldn't sit on their eggs. Scientists say they did this instead (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "Fossil eggshells believed to be from some of the biggest dinosaurs that ever lived have been found in a surprisingly cool climate far from the equator. But those massive titanosaurs couldn't keep their volleyball-sized eggs warm by sitting on them. 'They're too big,' said University of Calgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky, who has been studying the problem. 'The nest would be one big omelette.' A new study published on Wednesday by Zelenitsky and collaborators from Japan and Argentina has taken a microscopic look and figured out what they did to keep the eggs warm enough to hatch without sitting on their nests."

  10. VIDEO: Parents are pushing back on classroom screen time in a 'techlash' over too much technology in schools (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "As an occasional substitute teacher for middle- and high-schoolers in Nova Scotia, Kim Herrick often gets a front-row seat seeing how teens use tech at school. Whether students are tasked with assignments, work for another class or granted free time, Herrick regularly sees them checking Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram accounts, shopping online, gaming or even trading Bitcoin — easily bypassing school board security methods aimed at blocking such use. The ubiquity of students engaging in non-educational online activities — and the futile attempts to clamp down on it — have contributed to her view that we need to reconsider the tech used by default in classes today."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. What I Watched One CEO Do Three Times Before Every Board Meeting (Winning Presentations) Interesting and useful guidance on meeting prep.

  2. This 15-Minute Planning System Removes My Monday Morning Chaos at Work. (Simon Performs)

  3. 6 Fitness Hills I’ll Die On After 30 Years of Coaching (In Fitness And In Health) Good myth debunking...and there are a lot of myths in health and fitness.

  4. Best Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity in 2026 (Ellis Ruperth) Any list that has both Grammarly and Perplexity on it is likely a good list.

  5. A Simpler Way to Plan a Week When You Have No Energy Left (Minu Writes) Can you do it? Focus on just one task (the most important task) per day?

  6. 4 Small Habits That Save Me 10+ Hours Every Week (Echo Frame) I always have a much better day if I start the day with my hardest task. The deadlines that nobody else can see is also a genius move.

  7. Forbidden planet: was Pluto’s 2006 demotion a big mistake? (The Guardian) #PlutoDeservesToBeAPlanet Since it was stripped of planetary status, Pluto’s defenders have been fighting the decision – and they’re only getting more passionate

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Two UBC alumni donate historic $40 million to university's nursing school (Vancouver Sun) VANCOUVER STORY "The University of B.C. has received a $40 million donation from two alumni, a gift the university says is the largest donation ever made to a school of nursing in Canada. To honour the donation from local philanthropists Matthew and Natalie MacIsaac, UBC says it will formally name the school the MacIsaac School of Nursing, to be housed in the MacIsaac Health Building, formerly Gateway Health Building."

  2. An exceptionnal $1M donation benefits thousands young people of the Fondation du Centre Jeunesse de la Montérégie (Desmoines Register) MONTREAL STORY "A perfect illustration of this major donor’s social commitment, the Blackburn Athletics Fund, created by Jerry Blackburn in 2017, this exceptional donation of $1 M will enable thousands of children under the care of youth protection services to actively participate in sports before reaching adulthood, develop their full potential, and, at the same time, enjoy the benefits of the sports environments of their choice—which will boost their confidence while providing positive experiences that contribute to their personal growth."

  3. Nvidia donates $10 million to flood recovery, one of Nepal’s biggest corporate donations (Kathmandu Post) "Nvidia, the technology company at the centre of the global artificial intelligence boom, has donated $10 million to help Nepal recover from devastating floods and landslides."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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