The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/23 at 04:00 EST

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/23 at 04:00 EST

There is no shortage of scam artists and true crime. But I'm guessing you've never heard of one quite like Caitlin Braun. For over two years, Caitlin Braun conned more than 50 birth workers into thinking that she was pregnant. I'm Kathleen Goldtar, and this week on Crime Story, I sit down with Sarah Trelevin, the host of the con, Caitlin's baby. Find Crime Story wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Neil Herland.

U.S. President Donald Trump is suggesting he's open to seeking revenge against his predecessor, questioning why Joe Biden didn't grant himself a pardon. Trump made the comments during an interview with Fox News last night. Katie Simpson reports. Any Canadian tuning into Donald Trump's interview hoping to get some sort of insight or update about his latest terror threat, well the issue didn't come up. Instead, the president slammed his predecessor over Joe Biden's decision to grant preemptive pardons to members of his own family,

lawmakers and other public servants. And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn't give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him. Several times Trump was asked directly whether he'd like Biden or others to be investigated either by Congress or the Attorney General, to which he began musing about revenge. I went through four years of hell. I spent millions of dollars in legal fees and I won, but I did it the hard way. It's really hard to say that they shouldn't have to go through it all.

So it is very hard to say that. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. The federal government has told a majority of provinces and territories to cut their allotted spaces for local economic immigration programs by half in the new year, triggering concerns about drastic impacts on labor and the economy. Rafi Boudjikanean has more. It is doing nothing but just phasing us out. The Biyandu Chatterjee says trying to stay in Canada is becoming harder all the time.

Both Chatterjee and his wife are about to lose their work permits. They've set their sights on an immigration option called the Provincial Nominee Program. It allots a yearly number of skilled workers into all provinces and territories other than Quebec and Nunavut. But this year, Ottawa is reducing those spots by 50%. If we want to build houses and apartments, we will need people with trades. Jean-Claude Damour is New Brunswick's immigration minister. He says the top three sectors in his province that rely on PNP spots are construction, education and health care.

And if we don't have them, what will be the impact? Federal Immigration Minister Mark Miller's office says he's willing to show flexibility but points out the department has reduced levels across all categories as part of its plan to lower immigration for the next two years. Rafi Boudjikani on CBC News, Ottawa. More than 31,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes after a new fire broke out north of Los Angeles. Matthew Van Hagen is a fire information officer. We're not dealing with a large population and a large amount of residential homes. Out here it's more sparsely populated.

However, we are dealing with high winds. It's a historic day in Thailand. Same-sex marriage is now legal in the country. The third nation in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal, Kiyoka Shodlide is an activist who campaigned for marriage equality. There's a lot of people here, not just celebrities, politicians and couples that are getting married. There's just a lot of people from the community coming together and it's just an exciting day today. Some couples decided to tie the knot in a mass wedding while others chose private ceremonies.

Israel has picked its contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest, and it's a woman who survived the deadly attack on the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. Yuval Rafael won a music competition show in Israel last night, shall now go on to represent Israel at this year's Eurovision in Switzerland. She survived the Hamas attack on the Nova Festival by hiding under a pile of dead bodies for eight hours. How do I breathe when you're not here? I'm suffocated. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Neal Herland.