Weekly News Recap: September 4, 2026

Weekly News Recap: September 4, 2026

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, right, and Niagara West Member of Provincial Parliament Sam Oosterhoff unveil a sign for Lake Ontario at the Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. -- Rumi

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Kinley Rasmus’ Little League World Series is over, but her legacy will live on (New York Times) #WhatAnInning "Kinley Rasmus’ portion of the 2026 Little League Baseball World Series story is now written and sealed after her Alabama team was eliminated [...] Her legacy, however, will echo. Every August, when the LLBWS record books reopen, her name will line them for what she did over the last week in Williamsport. The 12-year-old two-way star went out fairly quietly, going 0-for-1 at the plate in her Phenix City, Ala. team’s 11-2 loss to Hamilton, Ohio, in the U.S. Elimination Bracket Semifinal."

  • VIDEO: Dog missing for 12 years reunited with Chicago family (NBC) #NeverGiveUpHope "It’s a story straight out of Hollywood for a suburban Evanston woman, as she was reunited with a dog missing for a staggering 12 years. Vanessa Antonino lost her beloved dog Flor 12 years ago on the north side of Chicago, but [...] an incredible reunion took place as a volunteer organization was able to bring a long-running mystery to an end."

  • VIDEO: 'I don't feel like a hero,' says Winnipeg woman who rescued father, toddler from Red River (CBC) WINNIPEG STORY #Hero "A Winnipeg woman says she's still recovering, but glad everyone is safe, days after rescuing both a child who fell into the Red River and the girl's father, who attempted to save the child. Jayclyn Morrissette, 33, was on a walk with her neighbour at St. John's Park, in Winnipeg's North End [...] They stopped at a bench overlooking the Red River, where she "noticed a little girl flailing in the water," Morrissette told CBC [...]."

  • VIDEO: Japan enlists 1,800 people to drag a 360-tonne castle keep using ropes and rollers (The Guardian) #Wow "To chants of 'so-re, so-re', about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations. The keep – a fortified tower within a castle – had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake. Rotating teams of 80 people heaved on 30-metre ropes as the keep of Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture edged closer to its destination."

  • VIDEO: 85-year-old Ontario athlete wins gold at World Masters | The Moment (CBC) ONTARIO STORY #IHopeThisIsMe "Ontario seniors Aileen Burgin, 85, and her husband, Harold, 87, tell The National about competing at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea, where Aileen won gold in the 100-metre dash."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Mind the gap: Philanthropy and Canada’s high-net-worth data deficit (Canadian Family Offices) CANADIAN STORY A great piece by my colleague and friend, Sharilyn Hale. "A mere six per cent of Canadian donors contribute a staggering 40 per cent of all charitable donations. As referenced in a recent report published by Watermark Philanthropic Counsel, charities in Canada are deeply dependent on donations and other types of gifts from high-income and high-net-worth Canadians. But when it comes to understanding who these people are, how they think, and why they give, Canada’s charitable sector is operating in the dark. This is a material knowledge gap. It leaves generous families without benchmarks, and it leaves charities fundamentally hindered in their ability to understand and speak to their most critical donor audience."

  2. Canada claps back at Trump's efforts to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' (WBHM) CANADIAN STORY #ForeverAndAlways "Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a giant billboard on the Canadian shoreline [...] with the message 'Lake Ontario — Now and Always,' hitting back at President Trump's efforts to rename the lake 'Lake America.' The sign, written in both English and French, was put up near the U.S. border, along a major road many Americans travel on when visiting Canada."

  3. VIDEO: Consumers say 'resolve is strengthened' to buy Canadian, bringing patriotic shopping movement back to life (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #StrongAndFree "Since the U.S. first imposed tariffs on Canada in early 2025, Francine Piché has made a point not to buy American products. 'The rule in our house,' said the Burlington, Ont., resident, 'is Canada first, non-U.S. second, and never American, if we can avoid it.' Piché has switched her personal care product brands, cancelled her Amazon membership and abandoned plans for a trip to New York in an effort not to give her dollars to the States, except when she can't find another alternative. But after the most recent round of trade talks fell through and new 50 per cent U.S. tariffs came into force, Piché says she won't be making any more exceptions."

  4. VIDEO: Drinking among Gen Z adults has gone up, busting the sober myth (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "After years of being viewed as the 'sober generation,' Gen Z is changing up the narrative by going out more and sipping on boozy beverages. Andrea Shipka, 27, is one of them. She says her peers are 'for sure" drinking more. 'I've gone out more this year than any other year in my 20s,' Shipka said, adding that she typically goes out once or twice a week. Shipka, who is originally from Edmonton, is doing a stint in Paris. New consumer research from alcohol data and analytics group IWSR shows that young people have indeed steadily increased their drinking habits."

  5. VIDEO: Canada's top soldier expresses pride in 'who we are' after Hegseth targets cadets in post (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #Grrr "The Canadian cadet and her instructor singled out by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will be the ones to decide how — or even if — they will respond to a controversial social media post, says Canada's top military commander. Gen. Jennie Carignan, speaking from a conference of chiefs of the defence staff currently underway in Victoria, B.C., said both members are receiving support from the Canadian military after the inflammatory post and suggested they'll be given agency to respond should they want to do so."

  6. How chickens tripled in size since the 1950s (ZME Science) Have you seen the Hutterite Chickens? "Chicken is by far the most popular protein in the United States, accounting for over 40% of all meat consumed in the nation. USDA-derived put per-capita chicken consumption at 104.5 pounds in 2025, compared with 59.3 pounds of beef and 49.3 pounds of pork. Americans now eat nearly three times as much chicken per person as they did in 1965."

  7. Can Australia become a more generous nation? Global leaders gather in Brisbane to confront our giving paradox (Philanthropy Australia) "Australia is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, yet new global research suggests wealth alone does not create generosity. This year’s World Giving Donor Insights Report found that 66 per cent of Australians engaged in some form of giving in 2025 and 56 per cent donated to charity. However, Australians contributed an average of 0.8 per cent of their income, less than people in some countries with far fewer economic resources."

  8. Rewilding the Arts (Alberta Views) ALBERTA STORY "[Reducing] the Werklund Centre’s reliance on grant funding played a significant role in securing provincial support for its expansion [...] 'The concern for any order of government is ‘Why am I going to double the size of a beast that I’m going to have to feed for the next 40 years?' "

  9. At 100, the Legion makes its biggest push yet for new members (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Step into the Billy Bishop Legion in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood on an average Thursday and you might see something a little unexpected. Pass the veterans sipping pints in the English-style pub that serves as the main lounge, head upstairs and you'll spot bright, shiny yoga mats unfurled beside the decades-old military memorabilia."

  10. VIDEO: Get your rhinestones ready: Dollyfest 2027 set to honour Dolly Parton's legacy (CBC) I bet it will be the biggest ever. "Grab your glitteriest outfit and your tallest blonde wig. Dollyfest is set to go ahead in 2027 without its titular star, with the festival now transformed into a celebration of Dolly Parton's life. The cross-continental music festival, originally planned to coincide with Parton's 80th birthday and feature her as main performer alongside a lineup of other musical acts, was postponed amid health issues. But Parton's estate has announced that the 'star-studded' music festival will still be coming to fans in Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends next year."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Voltaire’s Rules for Thinking Clearly Right Now (Thomas Oppong) My favourite: 'Learn to distinguish fact from tradition.'

  2. How to Get Your Brain to Want Hard Things Again (The Useful Life) Hint: It has to do the with physical world.

  3. I Fell in Love With This High-Protein Seed With as Much Magnesium as Some Supplements (Health Science) #PumpkinSeeds

  4. How to Get 10x Better AI Answers Without Writing Better Prompts (Artificial Corner) I spend way more time on my briefs than on my prompt.

  5. The 18-Minute Habit That Beats Almost Everyone Who Never Shows Up (Illumination) 18 minutes a day for more than 100 reps will get you where you need to go.

  6. 13 Daily Habits to Replace Social Media and Reclaim Your Focus (Without Distraction) I am going for a walk.

  7. 7 Productivity Habits That Save More Time Than They Cost (Scripting Horizons) Are you putting buffers in your calendar?

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Olivia Rodrigo's music festival raises $20M US for charities that help women and girls (CBC) "Prior to the start [...] Rodrigo announced that they had raised $10 million US for the festival's 10 non-profit partners, including Planned Parenthood, the National Institute for Reproductive Health and Black Mamas Matter Alliance — a figure which was then matched by Melinda French Gates to bring the total to $20 million US."

  2. Mystery Donor Is ‘Inspired’ to Give Historic Ballet Company an Eight-Figure Sum, Largest Endowment Gift Ever (People) "Someone just gave the Boston Ballet the largest donation in its 60-year history. The total? $10 million. The benefactor’s identity? Unknown."

  3. VIDEO: Lutheran High School gifted $6 million donation (The State Journal Register) "A donation from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chatham of $6 million is spearheading the new High School development in Springfield."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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