News roundup, 24 April 2026

- Some reports allege that Donald Trump wanted to use nuclear weapons in Iran and was blocked from doing so by a general, Dan Caine. Fact checkers have not confirmed this; the folks at Snopes are calling the story "false", but it's worth noting the basis for this rating:

We found no evidence from reputable news outlets or official sources supporting the claim, which appeared to stem from a dubious source. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly also told Snopes via email that the claim was "totally false." We have also reached out to the Pentagon for a response to the claim and await a reply.  

Given the above, we've rated this claim false.

I'd be inclined to rate it as "unconfirmed" rather than "false"; the White House's denials (or any other statement from there) are hardly something that can be taken at face value. That said, the original source of this story is a blogger who has been caught up in falsehoods before; hopefully this is another one, but given everything we do know about Trump I wouldn't put it past him.

- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is threatening retaliatory action against Canada if the provinces that have refused to stock American liquor don't lift the bans. Mark Carney retorted that the bans could end quickly if the US lifts tariffs on such things as steel, aluminum, and vehicles. Certainly neither BC nor Ontario has any plans to reverse their policies.

- The International Criminal Court is proceeding with charges against former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. A panel found that the evidence suggests that Duterte was responsible for dozens of murders, as a result of a policy during his reign of "neutralizing" alleged criminals.

- Only 25% of American 16 year olds had a driver's license in 2022, compared to nearly 50% in 1983. On the face of it this might seem to be good news, however biking and walking rates are down as well; the implication seems to be that they just aren't going out at all.

- The Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool in inner-city Winnipeg has installed buzzers for pool users to request admittance to the facility, following a series of concerning incidents including theft, threats, and assaults against staff and patrons. Unfortunately this is causing collateral damage for some users; the automatic opener previously used by people with disabilities was itself disabled in the course of the change. On the face of it I don't see why this is necessary; it shouldn't be difficult to set it up so that the person inside who responds to the buzzer could activate the opener from inside. If this isn't possible for some reason, then this might be a necessary evil, assuming that it excludes fewer people than would be excluded due to fear if such measures weren't in place (or by reduced hours if it becomes hard to staff the pool due to employee concerns). But this should be looked at before settling on the current situation.

- An intoxicated man who showed up at the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg was found to be in possession of a smoke grenade. How he obtained it has yet to be determined.

- French authorities are investigating after someone allegedly made a bet on the temperature in Paris on the online betting site Polymarket, then used a hair drier to warm the sensor so that the recorded temperature would be in line with the bet. 

News roundup, 23 July 2025

- A Nouvelair Airbus A320-200 attempted to land on the wrong runway at Nice on Sunday and was forced to execute a last-minute missed approach, coming within three metres of another A320 operated by Easyjet that was lined up on the runway. The Easyjet flight returned to the gate because the pilots were too shaken to continue; passengers reported that the captain was crying and his hands were shaking as he exited the cockpit.

- ABC is walking back their cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and FCC chair Brendan Carr is denying that any threats were made to the licenses of ABC stations. I guess he didn't explicitly threaten to pull licenses, though when he said things like "These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead", it's hard not to interpret this as a threat. Nonetheless, the show is set to return to the airwaves tonight.

- The US Supreme Court has issued an "emergency order" allowing Donald Trump to fire Rebecca Slaughter, the last remaining Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission. The agency, like many federal agencies, was designed to be bipartisan, and a unanimous 1935 ruling of the Supreme Court forbade then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt from firing commissioners, but that precedent seems to be of no merit to the MAGA-dominated court. The court has so far indicated that the Federal Reserve will be handled differently, but it remains to be seen if this will be the case.

- Not satisfied with the existing sanctions against the International Criminal Court in the wake of their call for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump regime reportedly has a bunch more coming up the pipeline. Possible sanctions could include prohibiting banks that do business with the ICC from doing business with the US. The court has responded by paying the remainder of their staff's 2025 salaries in advance, which if nothing else gives the staff time to make alternative plans for their livelyhoods. Perhaps the court should follow the lead of New South Wales premier Jack Lang, who in 1932 withdrew the state's assets from the bank and stored it in cash at the Sydney Trades Hall in response to a threat to seize the state's bank accounts in order to move forward with their deflationary plans. Lang's government was dismissed by Governor Philip Game soon after, but Trump can't do that to the ICC, much as he'd like to.

- In other ICC-related news, the court has issued an indictment against former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity, including murder.

- Winnipeg police are investigating after fires were set on four different occasions since August at the constituency office of housing minister Bernadette Smith. Damage in all cases was relatively minor and the office remains open. Police say they do not know if the fires were random or targeted. Tellingly, however, there were no signs of similar attempts on nearby buildings.

- The noted American shock-rock band GWAR beheaded Elon Musk in effigy on stage at Riot Fest in Chicago. Of course, stuff like this is nothing new to GWAR, who have previously pulled the same stunt with effigies of other people (including both Donald Trump and Joe Biden). The stunt is getting a bit more scrutiny in the present political climate, though.

- A 47 year old math teacher at a middle school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was arrested after a drug-sniffing dog brought into the school by police took an unusual interest in her purse. Police searched and found cocaine inside a wallet, and subsequently found marijuana and pipes in her car.

News roundup, 13 May 2025

- The so-called "Alberta Prosperity Project" has come up with a potential referendum question on secession from Canada. The organization hopes to push Danielle Smith into holding a referendum later this year; they expect to have the signatures needed to force the issue onto the ballot by the end of June. Polling indicates that 19% of Albertans would "definitely" vote to secede, while another 17% lean in that direction. Of course, there could be something analogous to the "shy Tory" phenomenon here (call it the "shy traitor" phenomenon I guess); on the other hand, many interpretations of the Clarity Act indicate that a supermajority would be required to proceed with negotiations to secede. Where it could get tricky, of course, is if a majority, but not a supermajority, of Albertans vote to leave. Myself, as I've said before, I have my suspicions that these separatist agitators are getting help from south of the border. If that's the case, the Trump regime might well decide that they need to "liberate" Alberta from the tyranny of having to pay a part of the costs of their pollution, just like Putin wants to "liberate" Donetsk and Luhansk from Ukraine. In such a case, things could get ugly real fast (with not only an invasion, but with car bombs going off in Washington and Dallas as Canadians decide not to take it lying down). One hopes that it doesn't come to that, of course, but that's up to Albertans (and Americans).

- Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey (and candidate for the Democratic primary for state governor) was arrested on a trespassing charge after showing up at an ICE facility in his city. Assault charges are now being considered against three Democratic members of Congress following a scuffle that occurred following Baraka's arrest.

- Canadians increasing distaste - not to mention fear - of travelling south of the border has led the organizers of some academic conferences to hold their events in Canada instead. Of course, this could create new problems, as foreign residents of the US might be unwilling to leave the country for fear of having trouble getting back.

- The Trump regime is generally not too accepting of refugees, but they're making an exception for Afrikaners, based on widely debunked claims that mass killings and seizure of land without compensation is occurring. Trump may not know much, but he knows what his base likes.

- A large grass fire on the outskirts of Winnipeg threatened residential and commercial properties along Gunn Road, which forms part of the boundary between Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Springfield. Some commercial buildings were damaged, but no homes, and the fire is now considered under control. Further north, in the RM of St. Clements and Brokenhead First Nation, some homes are being evacuated due to a fire believed to have been started by a lightning strike at the Netley-Libau Marsh at the southern end of Lake Winnipeg. Another fire, also thought to have been sparked by lightning, came within 300 metres of the newly renovated Discovery Centre at Oak Hammock Marsh. The fact that marshes are actually vulnerable to fire right now says something about how dry things are.

- Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appears to have won the mayoral election in his home town of Davao City. This is despite the fact that he is currently in a jail cell in The Hague, awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. His son Sebastian, who is expected to be vice-mayor, will presumably have to handle his duties.

News roundup, 12 March 2025

- A Portuguese container ship, the Solong, collided with an anchored American tanker, the Stena Immaculate off the UK's east coast. The tanker was full of jet fuel, which ignited and caused a series of explosions, setting fire to both ships; to make matters worse, the freighter's cargo included sodium cyanide. Despite this, everyone except one crew member of the Solong has been rescued. Sadly the missing crew member was not the captain but some hapless low-level sailor; the captain is, however, facing manslaughter charges.

- The Trump regime is backing off on their plans to raise tariffs on aluminum and steel to 50% from the 25% already planned. In return, Ontario is suspending their planned 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US. Hopefully that's not deterring the feds from keeping all options on the table, up to and including fees, restrictions, or a complete stoppage of oil exports if necessary. Although in the latter case I don't think the Americans would take it very well.

- The regime has abruptly withdrawn $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, accusing the institution of being soft on antisemitism. They've also gotten ICE to arrest a Palestinian student at the university, Mahmoud Khalil, for his activism, but a court has blocked his deportation for the time being. They apparently arrested him claiming his student visa was cancelled, apparently not realizing that he had a green card.

- Former Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in his zeal to arrest drug traffickers (or certain drug traffickers, or people accused of being drug traffickers, or...)

- BC's Liquor Distribution Branch has removed all American alcohol from its shelves (previously they had selectively removed products from red states). Premier David Eby, commenting on the situation, said "if the president so interested in Canadian water, then we're gonna help him out by letting him keep his watery beer".

- Ukraine has agreed to a 30 day ceasefire negotiated by the US; in turn, the US will resume military aid and intelligence sharing. The ceasefire is, however, subject to Russian approval.

- Amazon is actually complying with the Manitoba government's request that it follow the law on the sale of machetes in the province. 

- US Customs has seen a 36% increase in the smuggling of eggs at the Windsor-Detroit border crossing since October, and a 158% increase at the Tijuana-San Diego crossing. The customs service has made 3,768 seizures of eggs and poultry at its crossings in that time, compared to 352 fentanyl seizures.

- An automated assistant for moderators at Reddit is flagging posts containing the name "Luigi" as potentially violent content thanks to the Luigi Mangione case.