Weekly News Recap: September 5, 2025

Weekly News Recap: September 5, 2025

A stylist prepares Isela Santiago Morales for her 15th birthday party, organized by the community after her father’s social media appeal drew support following her first sparsely attended celebration, in Axtla de Terrazas, Mexico, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Mauricio Palos)

The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever. – Sonia Sotomayor

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: 'Quite the show': Video shows orcas getting up close with B.C. boaters (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY Amazing video. #BeautifulCreatures "A B.C. resident says he got the show of a lifetime when a pod of orcas got up close with him and a group of friends on the waters of Howe Sound, just north of Vancouver, in an encounter captured on video. Joshua Lepin says he and his friends were in boats and inflatables [...] and had been floating off Gambier Island for a couple of hours, when the pod of six or seven orcas swam directly toward them."

  • VIDEO: B.C. man digs through dump to find wife’s lost wedding rings (CTV) MISSION STORY Never say never. "After an outing at the movies, Jeannine Van Ysseldyk had brought some popcorn home, but spilled it on the lawn. Somehow, while picking it up and tossing it into the compost, the jewelry must have come off. By the time the couple figured it out, their garbage and compost had already been collected. 'I said I’d go to the dump in the morning and ask them if I could go through the compost pile,' said her husband. Few people thought he had any chance of finding the rings, including an employee at the Mission Sanitary Landfill."

  • Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death (Politico) #Woot "Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year, municipal officials revealed [...] Although road deaths are on the decline across the EU, with a 3 percent decrease in 2024, accidents with tragic outcomes are still commonplace in metropolitan areas. To go a full year without one is a remarkable feat for most cities — let alone a European capital."

  • VIDEO: From empty party to an all-night stadium bash, a Mexican teen’s 15th birthday goes viral (AP News) This story made me cry. I have been to a quinceañera in Mexico. It is a very important cultural event. "Cameras flashed and reporters crowded around 15-year-old Isela Anahí Santiago Morales as she stepped from a vintage car into the pouring rain. Her friends formed a cordon so she could make it to the stage. The daughter of local garbage collectors, dressed in a voluminous pink gown, looked both overwhelmed and exhausted. Just six weeks earlier, Isela’s quinceañera — a traditional coming-of-age celebration in Latin America that marks a girl’s 15th birthday — had gone almost unnoticed. Her parents had prepared food and invited friends, but, she recalled, 'Some didn’t come. My dad said we couldn’t let the food go to waste, so he posted on Facebook that we had enough left for 40 people.' That simple post transformed her life."

  • At 86 she started an art gallery. Now almost 98, she's not stopping any time soon (CBC) LONDON STORY I love this woman! "For those lucky enough to make it to 86 years old, it's understandable that only a few will remain in workforce. Audrey Cooper, by her own admission, is a bit different. When she was 86, she opened her first art gallery: Art With Panache. The gallery is located in the Talbot Centre a shopping space in downtown London at the intersection of Richmond and Fullarton Streets. Now 12 years later with a few weeks to go until her 98th birthday, Cooper continues to run the gallery she started late in life after deciding she wanted to stop painting and focus on promoting other artists."

  • How Thunder Bay, Ont., climbers rescued a Tennessee hunter's dog, who fell off a cliff (CBC) THUNDER BAY STORY #LuckyDog "After being stranded on a cliffside for two nights, Boomer the dog has been reunited with his owner — who has left northwestern Ontario with a newfound appreciation of Thunder Bay, Ont.'s climbing community. [...] After a long day of tracking last Tuesday, Boomer — an eight-and-a-half-year-old Treeing Walker Coonhound — fell off a ledge."

  • VIDEO: No shoe, no problem: Olympian Clara Hughes completes West Coast Trail wearing borrowed Croc (CBC) CANADIAN STORY We have hiked this trail. It is a beast (and totally worth it!). Clara Hughes is a national treasure and I am not at all surprised that she found a way to make this happen. "The West Coast Trail is a tough hike even for the most experienced outdoor enthusiasts. Seventy-five kilometres of steep ladder climbs, deep mud, slippery boulders and rugged terrain isn't for everyone. Now imagine making that multi-day trek with one trail shoe and one slightly-too-small Croc. Six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes, 52, found out just how much tougher the hike can be when you lose a shoe."

  • VIDEO: This 16-year-old found his passion growing and arranging flowers (CBC) BALGONIE STORY Go Laken! "Laken Boyd has cracked the code for happiness — flowers. The 16-year-old from Balgonie, Sask., grows a variety of beautiful flowers from seed every year. He makes carefully designed floral arrangements to sell at local markets, and his mother says he dreams of becoming a horticulturist and starting his own greenhouse one day."

  • VIDEO: #TheMoment a couple’s phone number became a barbecue hotline (CBC) SUMMERLAND STORY Ha, I love how they embraced it! "Mirjana Komljenovic and Jim Klassen, of Summerland, B.C., tell The National about the moment they became an unofficial helpline for Napoleon Grills after their phone number was mistakenly listed online."

  • VIDEO: Thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands (YouTube) #GingersAscend "The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food trucks and workshops tailored to particular needs of redheads - including make up explainers and skin cancer prevention. Organizers expect over several thousand attendees from some 80 countries to join during the three-day event."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Trans Mountain board chair to lead new federal Major Projects Office based in Calgary (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Excellent choice. "Dawn Farrell, chair of the board of directors of the Trans Mountain Corporation, has been named the CEO of the Liberal government's Major Projects Office, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced [...] 'Canada has always been a nation of builders,' Carney said in a statement announcing the opening of the office."

  2. That Bloated Feeling: Why Tuition Keeps Going Up at Canada’s Universities (C2C Journal) CANADIAN STORY "When a student protest against rising tuition fees disrupted his classes at the University of Calgary, Jonathan Barazzutti had questions. He didn’t have to look far for the answer. While it has become popular to blame government for the financial crisis on Canadian campuses, Barazzutti uncovered that the real reason lies much closer to home. Metastasizing school bureaucracies are not only pushing tuition fees higher but also shifting the focus of universities away from the pursuit of academic excellence towards woke-minded empire-building. If students want to see their school costs come down, Barazzutti concludes, they ought to be targeting the administrative Leviathan on campus."

  3. The frugal life of Stanford’s ‘professor billionaire’ David Cheriton, who helped launch Google (vnExpress) CANADIAN CONTENT "Worth nearly US$18 billion, mainly from an early investment in Google, David Cheriton is famed for his modest lifestyle, including cutting his own hair and driving a 40-year-old van. Born in Vancouver, Canada, the Stanford University professor was the third of six children born to two Canadian engineers who grew up during the Great Depression in the 1930s. His father, Ross, recalled him as an independent, 'self-sufficient' boy who avoided team sports and once built his own timber fort in the family yard away from other children. Cheriton skipped 11th grade because he found the curriculum too slow."

  4. VIDEO: Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene dead at 73 (CBC) CANADIAN STORY A great human and a decorated star. RIP Mr. Greene. We will not see your like again. "Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene died [...] in Stratford, Ont., at the age of 73, his manager has confirmed to CBC News. 'It is with deep sadness we announce the peaceful passing of award-winning legendary Canadian actor Graham Greene,' Gerry Jordan said. The Oneida actor from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario was best known for film roles such as Kicking Bird, a Sioux medicine man, in 1990's Dances with Wolves, which earned him an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor. He was also in The Green Mile with Tom Hanks in 1999 and The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009."

  5. Opening Day!!! After years of planning, design, construction and setting up, Yukon's own Hyatt Place Whitehorse is finally open! (LinkedIn) WHITEHORSE STORY Congrats to our friends in Whitehorse and special kudos to Michael and his team on this achievement!

  6. ‘A little watermelon on legs’: Malayan tapir calf born at the Calgary Zoo (CTV) CALGARY STORY #Gorgeous Congrats to all. "The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has announced the birth of a Malayan tapir calf — the first to ever be born at the location. First-time mom Sempurna had her baby girl last Thursday. Officials say the calf will eventually take on the black-and-white colouring of her parents, but has distinctive white stripes and spots for now."

  7. Mamma mia! Contested Swedish cultural heritage list includes IKEA — but not ABBA (CBC) This.Is.A.Travesty! How could they miss the greatest bad of all time? #DancingQueen "Pippi Longstocking, IKEA and the Nobel Prize are among 100 works, brands and ideas deemed to define what it means to be Swedish, according to a cultural heritage list presented to the government on Tuesday. But one of the country's most notable exports was snubbed — the legendary pop group ABBA."

  8. VIDEO: Portuguese officials plan several probes into deadly Lisbon funicular accident (CBC) This is terrible. We have visited this beautiful city and, while we did not ride the funiculars, they are such an iconic part of the city. Our thoughts are with the families affected. "Portuguese officials focused [...] on establishing the causes of the crash of a Lisbon streetcar popular with tourists that killed 16 people and injured 21, five of them seriously. 'The city needs answers,' Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas said in a televised statement about [the] derailment, as the country observed a national day of mourning."

  9. VIDEO: Canadians caught in crossfire as U.S. customs searches of electronic devices rise at borders (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #Ugh "U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released new data showing a sharp rise in electronic device searches at border crossings. From April to June alone, CBP conducted 14,899 electronic device searches, up more than 21 per cent from the previous quarter (23 per cent over the same period last year). Most of those were basic searches, but 1,075 were 'advanced,' allowing officers to copy and analyze device contents."

  10. VIDEO: Canadian author Margaret Atwood takes another shot at Alberta's book ban with satirical story (CBC) ALBERTA STORY I love you Margaret! "Margaret Atwood is taking aim at Alberta's controversial ban on school library books containing sexual content with a new, satirical short story after the famed author's novel The Handmaid's Tale was yanked from some shelves due to the province's sweeping new rules. In a social media post on Sunday, Atwood said since the literary classic is no longer suitable in Alberta's schools, she has written a short story for 17-year olds about two 'very, very good children' named John and Mary."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Here’s What You Should Know About the Tinned Fish Trend (My Fitness Pal) Some people really don't like tinned fish. Me, I love them. Bring on the tuna, the sardines, the smoked oysters...yum.

  2. How to Drive a Tank (Art of Manliness) You will thank me when the world ends and you need to made a slow but steady getaway.

  3. In Defense of History’s Greatest Bar Snack: The Hard-Boiled Egg (Inside Hook) Personally, not a fan but I know many who are. You're welcome.

  4. Inside The Brilliant Career Of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, The Man Who Sculpted The Statue Of Liberty (All That's Interesting) A great story. Well told.

  5. 2 Ways to Fold a Letter Into Its Own Envelope (Art of Manliness) Ha, I used to do this as a kid.

  6. VIDEO: The 5 Steak Sauces You Need to Know—and How to Make Them (The Robb Report) These will impress all who partake of your grilling skills.

  7. Skill of the Week: Tie a Scarf 5 Different Ways (Art of Manliness) As fall and winter descend upon us, a little primer.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Home Depot Foundation commits $10 million to skilled trades training (Philanthropy News Digest) "The Home Depot Foundation has announced a $10 million commitment in support of skilled trades training and education as well as a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)."

  2. Kew Gardens receives £5 million donation towards Palm House restoration project (Ian Visits) "Kew Gardens has received a £5 million donation towards the cost of a major restoration and upgrade project from the Julia Rausing Trust."

  3. How a 75-year friendship between college buddies led to $1 million donation (Westfair Online) I love this story. "The latest donation to Nuvance/Northwell Health Norwalk Hospital’s new patient pavilion has its roots in a 75-year friendship between two Washington University students who met in 1950. It’s a tale of two families living on two coasts whose lives have benefited this Connecticut city. George, 94, and Carol Bauer, 93, longtime Norwalk Hospital volunteers and board members, started a campaign for the pavilion back in 2022 when they donated money toward the $275 million project."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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