Weekly News Recap: September 18, 2026

Weekly News Recap: September 18, 2026

kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) collaborated with the Simon Fraser University Indigenous Naming Family to name the Burnaby campus. (ECU Photography)

Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable. -- W. H. Auden

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: Outdoor-loving northern Ont. cats take the internet by storm (CTV) ONTARIO STORY #Adorable "Vladdy and Fitz are two northern cats that love kayaking, hiking trails and the open water. The felines, owned by Heidi Korte, a content creator in the Temiskaming region, have captured the hearts of more than one million followers across all their platforms, trading typical indoor pet life for outdoor escapades."

  • Will Soper Ran 1.5 Miles 1,000 Feet up a Mountain to Deliver Blood to a Fallen Climber (Periscope) #Hero "A North Carolina climber was leading an ascent with his son on Shortoff Mountain, a rugged, remote wall in Linville Gorge [...] when he fell 20 feet. Jacob Gregory, the climber, slammed into a rock and suffered a critical injury. He needed a blood transfusion to save his life. So, Will Soper ran, literally, to the rescue."

  • VIDEO: Old friends reunite in seniors' home after 76 years | The Moment (CBC) PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND STORY #TimeHasNoBounds "Jennifer Baker and Juliette Dimascio tell The National about the moment their mother, Dot McIver, reunited with her school friend Olga Callbeck in the hallway of her seniors' home in Summerside, P.E.I., 76 years after they'd last seen each other."

  • Iceland to propose whaling ban, leaving Norway and Japan isolated (CBC) #Yay "Iceland’s government will submit a bill in February to ban whaling, a move that would leave Norway and Japan as the only two countries in the world to continue commercial whaling. Whaling in Iceland has ⁠sparked years of protests from animal welfare campaigners and Hollywood celebrities. The bill will include 'a permanent ban on whaling,' the government, which has a majority in parliament, said on its website late on Wednesday."

  • The women saving Borneo: battling fire, patriarchy and super El Niño on Indonesia’s peatland frontlines (The Guardian) What an amazing group of women. "Irma puts on her heavy rubber boots as she prepares for a volunteer firefighting shift in her village of Sungai Putri, on the Indonesian side of Borneo island. Dressed in full safety gear she heads into fire zones on her motorbike, the air thick with toxic smoke. The 39-year-old is a member of the Power of Mama, Indonesia’s first-ever all female firefighting team, formed to protect one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet."

  • 'Nobody wanted it to end': Seniors prom brings together long-term care residents, Brock University students (CBC) ST. CATHERINE'S STORY Nice work! "Their high school days might be in the rearview mirror, but residents of four long-term care homes in Ontario's Niagara region got to feel as if they were fresh-faced teenagers again, just like they were half a century ago or longer. Residents at the special seniors prom even got to party with Brock University students at Linhaven long-term care home in St. Catharines. The seniors prom had all the fixings of a high school one —balloons, food, music and dancing, minus the teenage angst and someone trying to spike the punch bowl."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Simon Fraser University campus receives Indigenous place names in 2 languages (CBC) BURNABY STORY This is something I regularly advocate for in my naming work. Well done SFU. "Four First Nations in British Columbia have collaborated with Simon Fraser University to give the school's Burnaby campus names in two Coast Salish languages. Simon Fraser University said in a statement the campus will now be known as xʷtatəl̕ləm ʔə ƛ̓ səltaɬ sme:nt and Xwta7ltáw̓txw tl’a Lheḵw’lhúḵw’aytn, which means 'learning place' in Halq'eméylem and 'learning house' in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh."

  2. AUDIO: Sheila, please! Regina musician turns infamous weather rant into song (CBC) REGINA STORY #Brilliant "One of the most memorable moments in CBC Saskatchewan's history is being turned into a song. Christopher Sleightholm tells The 306 what inspired him to create Don't Say It's Gonna Be Nice Shelia."

  3. Canada helped save the bald eagle from near extinction in the US – does the White House know? (The Guardian) CANADIAN STORY You're welcome! "In late August, the White House posted a real photograph on social media of a bald eagle standing atop the limp neck of a Canada goose. The raptor presses the goose’s face into the grey winter slush. With its stark white head and brilliant yellow talons, the eagle looks victorious and defiant. As trade talks failed and tensions between Canada and the US rose, the image, viewed millions of times, apparently proved irresistible to the social media handlers at the White House for sending a clear message: the United States could not be challenged by Canada. But experts say the bald eagle, long prized by Americans as a symbol even before becoming the country’s national bird in 2024, came perilously close to disappearing from much of the country – and that it was neighbouring Canada that played a critical role in its recovery, even going as far as to fly juvenile eagles south by plane to return them to US skies."

  4. 15-year-old rescued after clinging to capsized boat for days in Alaska's Bering Sea (CBC) #ToughKid "Bobbing for days atop a capsized skiff in Alaska's frigid Bering Sea, a 15-year-old boy held on until he was rescued by a fishing vessel this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The boy's brother and a cousin died sometime after the small boat flipped, according to the rescuers. Their bodies were found after the teen was hoisted to safety near St. Lawrence Island — a remote Alaskan island that's closer to Russia than it is to the United States mainland. The captain of the fishing boat The Northwest Explorer said the boy had clung to the skiff for close to three days."

  5. VIDEO: Departin' from Parton: Nashville International Airport to be renamed in Dolly Parton's honour (CBC) Now my favourite U.S. airport. Well done all. "It's official. The late Dolly Parton will be gaining a new namesake — and it's taking off. Nashville International Airport in Tennessee is set to be renamed in honour of the celebrated singer, after its board of commissioners voted in favour of the move [...] The idea was first floated last year but gained momentum following Parton's death last month at the age of 80."

  6. Calgary Transit launches naming rights sponsorship opportunity for Free Fare Zone (City of Calgary) CALGARY STORY "Calgary Transit has launched an opportunity for organizations to explore naming rights sponsorship of the downtown Free Fare Zone. The Free Fare Zone is an important part of downtown mobility, connecting customers, visitors and workers between Downtown West/Kerby and City Hall/Bow Valley College stations. Currently, customers can travel within the zone without paying a transit fare. This initiative will help Calgary Transit assess market interest in a naming rights partnership that could generate non-fare revenue while providing a sponsor with a prominent presence along the 7 Avenue transit corridor."

  7. Temple University cancels record $55M gift as donor faces fraud allegations (Higher Ed Dive) #Eeek "Revelations about a federal investigation into the donor’s company resulted in the donation being 'mutually' called off, the institution said."

  8. Ed Sheeran reportedly donating $2M to 'aid in the region' amid Macklemore fallout (CBC) "The billionaire stadium owner who allegedly led efforts to remove Macklemore as Ed Sheeran's opening act over his pro-Palestinian comments onstage is now donating $2 million US to 'aid in the region.' The news came shortly after Macklemore announced plans [...] to donate $1 million US from his net earnings from the tour to six organizations helping Palestinians — including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees — and challenged Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft to do the same. While Kraft did not specify in his statement where his funds would be going, and a spokesperson did not clarify, he said Sheeran had asked him to match a $2 million US donation from Sheeran 'before Macklemore challenged me.' "

  9. VIDEO: Alberta's end to seasonal clock changes causing digital calendar chaos for some (CBC) ALBERTA STORY #Hiccups "Calgary hairstylist Jordan Janovcik says he hadn't given much thought to Alberta's decision to eliminate seasonal clock changes until he went to book an appointment with a client the other day. 'I was trying to get a client in in November and I noticed, why is my start time an hour later?' he said. Janovcik said he usually starts at 11 a.m., but the start time in the online booking system had been pushed to noon. He quickly realized all of the appointments he had prebooked from November to March had also been pushed back an hour."

  10. Behr Names 2027 Color of the Year, Marks 10th Anniversary With Donation (Hardware Retailing) A bit boring but also, soothing. "Behr Paint Company recently unveiled a new color, Grounded, (T27-01) as its 2027 Color of the Year. An earthy olive green that captures restorative essence and quiet energy, this natural shade moves effortlessly between olive and moss, anchored by subtle brown undertones that bring the outdoors in."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. 7 Things I Do Every Week to Stay Consistent (Pen With Paper) Are you scheduling your habit or your goal? (hint: probably good practice to do the former)

  2. The Anti-To-Do List: What I Refuse to Do Every Day (Lili Gunawan) Ha, I love this. I also have a short list of things I refuse to do every day. One of the big ones is not looking at my email until an hour after I get up.

  3. 8 Ways to Stop Paying for Tech Subscriptions Every Month (Illumination) In a subscription-intensive world, this is a useful way to manage the inevitable bloat.

  4. 14 Underrated Python Libraries I Wish I Knew 5 Years Ago (Git Connected) #NerdAlert I use Python pretty regularly so this is helpful.

  5. Scientists Studied 185,896 Miles of Roman Roads—and That’s Still the ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ (Gizmodo) The Romans were pretty cool.

  6. We Can Practically Hear Sigourney Weaver Screaming at Us (Gizmodo) 40th anniversary. Congrats to Aliens and to Ms. Weaver. #Iconic

  7. How to improve the audio quality on your iPhone (Engadget) I did not know about many of these tips.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Historic $100M gift will transform Kelley School graduate education, expand Lilly School of Philanthropy scholarships (Indiana University) "A $100 million gift from Indiana University alumni Jeffrey H. and Benita L. Thomasson will transform graduate education at the Kelley School of Business and expand scholarship opportunities for undergraduate students in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy."

  2. Providence announces $1.1 billion pledge from Phil and Penny Knight (OPB) "Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny Knight, have pledged $1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and to Providence Heart Institute, Providence announced [...]."

  3. Beyoncé just gifted this Harlem museum $2 million—here's what the space has planned for fall 2026 (Timeout) "Beyoncé celebrated her 45th birthday by giving herself a present she presumably won’t be taking home: a $2 million gift to the Studio Museum in Harlem."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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