The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/13 at 12:00 EST

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/13 at 12:00 EST

Hi, everybody. I'm Jamie Poisson and I host Frontburner. How many podcasts have you heard where people are searching out facts on the fly? Or where they just talk in circles and two hours later, you're not really sure what you just learned? Well, Frontburner is not that. Five days a week, you get one story a day. It's deeply researched, about 20 minutes long, and hopefully we answer all the questions that you want asked. We do lots of Canadian news, but a wide range of topics too. We've searched about 20 minutes long and hopefully we answer all the questions that you want asked. We do lots of Canadian news, but a wide range of topics too.

Find and follow FromBurner wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. The day after meeting with Donald Trump in Florida, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's convinced the president-elect will carry through with his tariff threats. She says she impressed upon Trump that it's in the best interest of the United States to exempt Alberta Oil and Gas. Richard Madden reports.

Premier Smith said she made the case directly to incoming President Donald Trump on the importance of Alberta energy to flow freely into the US. She says she warned him tariffs would damage both economies and drive up oil prices for American consumers. She's hoping Trump would consider exempting Canadian energy from his tariff threat a so-called carve-out but she believes Trump will follow through. I haven't seen anything that suggests that he's changing course so our job is going to be to work over time to make sure that we start that we can make the case for carve-outs if that potential does happen and I think an obvious way of making the argument is to is to be talking about this important energy relationship so I wanted to begin that conversation. Smith also added she didn't pay to get her unprecedented access to Trump. She said she was an invited guest by celebrity entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary.

Richard Madden, CBC News, Washington. Now to Los Angeles and the city's ongoing wildfire emergency. It's just one of dozens of emergency crews attempting to bring three of the largest fires under control. But after a break over the weekend, weather forecasts are calling for strong winds to pick up again straight through Wednesday. This says the number of dead has now reached 24, with another 23 people listed as missing. And now Cal Fire is issuing a special warning to those outside the fire zone in San Diego.

And so San Diego County and the city both need to take immediate precautions amid concerns that their region could be next. US health officials are warning of a deadly surge in respiratory illnesses that are sweeping across at least 35 American states. COVID and RSV are the two biggest concerns, along with stomach viruses and flu. Meanwhile, here in Canada, public health officials in southern Ontario have now confirmed that the norovirus is responsible for the 190 students who have fallen ill in recent days at the University of Guelph. The British government is rolling out a multi-billion dollar initiative that will significantly increase the use of AI in the public sector.

Crystal Gmancing has the details from London. This technology offers huge potential in dealing with productivity problems. Senior cabinet member Pat McFadden selling the practical benefits of artificial intelligence. The Labour government is starting to implement recommendations from an AI advisory review launched last summer. Later on this morning, I'm going to see AI in action in the classroom where it's being used by about 30,000 teachers in England, saving them about three and a half hours a week.

From administrative work in the education sector to viewing images of road conditions, the Labour government is banking on AI to save money. Government borrowing costs have hit their highest level in 16 years, and this month the pound fell to a 14-month low against the dollar. The government says its AI Opportunities Action Plan could create more than 13,000 jobs. Crystal Gamansing, CBC News, London. Iran is bolstering its fleet of military drones.

That's an Iranian army commander announcing that the military has obtained 1,000 state-of-the-art drones. State media is saying they are highly stealth, with a reported range of over 2,000 kilometers. Foreign analysts are saying that Iran appears to be preparing for heightened tensions with the United States once Donald Trump returns to the White House. The cost of mailing a letter here in Canada just went up and it is a big increase. As of today, a single stamp will now cost you $1.44. That's a 29-cent jump. Canada Post says with more than $3 billion in losses since 2018, it needs to generate

more revenue. And that is The World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings.