The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/13 at 03:00 EST

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/13 at 03:00 EST

Overwhelmed by debt? You are not alone. Empower yourself with trusted solutions. Visit Canada.ca slash debt dash solutions and regain control with confidence. A message from the Government of Canada. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Neil Herland. Canada has just one week left to convince Donald Trump to back off his tariff threat.

He's promised to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on his first day in office. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith visited Trump at his Florida home this past weekend. Katie Simpson reports. Posing for a photo on the patio at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump is giving a thumbs up. On one side of him is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. On the other, Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary. He says Smith spoke to Trump about the Canada-U.S. trading relationship, comparing it to a marriage. People, you know, have issues in marriage, but we're long-term married and we know we have to work

this out. Smith is the first Canadian Premier to travel to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the President-elect and is in her circle. She described the conversation as friendly and constructive, highlighting the hundreds of thousands of American jobs that rely on Alberta energy exports. Officials in Ottawa are increasingly concerned that Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico his first day in office. Canada has presented a plan to improve border security as per Trump's demand but his language around tariffs has not changed. Katie Simpson,

CBC News, Washington. Now to California, where the death toll from the wildfires around Los Angeles have reached a grim new milestone. Last night, officials confirmed 24 people have been killed. Another 16 are missing. And there are fresh fears this morning about what's coming this week in the forecast, with strong winds expected from now until Wednesday. Kristin Crowley is the Los Angeles City Fire Chief. I want to reassure you that your LEFD, all of our regional partners, every single agency that has come from up and down this state and outside of this state, we are ready. Mayor Bass, Chief McDonald, myself, our city leaders are fully, fully committed to ensure

that we're ready for this next event. The L.A. Fire Chief is facing heavy criticism for her department's response last week. Meantime students are returning to class today. Alberta Carvalho is the Los Angeles school superintendent. We have made the decision to reopen all schools with exception of those schools that remain in a mandatory evacuation zone. And more resources from Canada are heading to California including water bombers and firefighters. The fires in California have sparked a frenzy of theories online

as Yvette Brenn reports scientists are urging people to set aside conspiracies about alien laser beams and secret weapons and consider the possibility of climate change. One post suggests laser beams, another blames secret weapons and aliens. Actor Mel Gibson even wonders if there's an orchestrated plan to burn L.A. Whether or not there is a purpose in mind, do they want the state empty? I don't know. For scientists like Ramla Koreshi of McMaster University,

speculation like this is bizarre, but understandable. This is a natural human need to want to point the blame somewhere. For people who keep asking why some trees are left standing, she says it's a valid question, but the answer is not targeted laser beam attacks. Inside a tree there's moisture there is active moisture control and moisture repels fire. Climate change scientist Peter Kalmas moved his family out of Altadena California to North Carolina two years

ago fearing fire danger. A place can reach a tipping point like that's where it's just becomes essentially impossible to put the fires out. He says blaming fires on arson or aliens and ignoring climate change misses the point. Yvette Brent, CBC News, Vancouver. And finally, we're following a developing space story right now. We are waiting this morning for a launch of the new Glenn rocket by Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. If it works then Blue Origin could compete with SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk.

And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Neil Herland.