The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/25 at 00:00 EST

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/25 at 00:00 EST

What does a mummified Egyptian child, the Parthenon marbles of Greece and an Irish giant all have in common? They are all stuff the British stole. Maybe. Join me, Mark Fennell, as I travel around the globe uncovering the shocking stories of how some, let's call them ill-gotten, artifacts made it to faraway institutions. Spoiler, it was probably the British. Don't miss a brand new season of Stuff the British Style. Watch it free on CBC Gem. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Mike Miles.

The jury in the coroner's inquest in BC has ruled the 2018 death of a woman with Down syndrome as a homicide. Florence Gerard weighed only 50 pounds when she died of starvation in the home of her caretaker. Lindsay Duncombe reports on what the juries recommended. The 13 recommendations come after a week and a half of testimony, revealing a system in what one witness described as crisis mode, a crisis that contributed to the tragic death

of 54-year-old Florence Gerard. The jury says family members of people in care should be compensated to care for them at home if they want to. It also called for a living wage for caretakers and a new case management system to ensure people are getting the care they need. Florence Gerard had been living with Astra Dahl at the time of her death, part of a program funded by the Crown Corporation, Community Living BC. Dahl was convicted in 2022 of failing to provide the necessities of life for Gerard.

Community Living BC has an annual budget of $1.6 billion, which it uses to support 29,000 eligible people. About 4,200 of those people live in a home-share arrangement. Lindsay Duncombe, CBC News, Vancouver. — U.S. President Donald Trump was in Los Angeles Friday surveying the destruction caused by the wildfires. — I don't think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it.

I didn't realize. I mean, I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it, we flew see it. I didn't realize, I mean, I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it, we flew over it in a helicopter, we flew to a few of the areas and it is devastation, it's incredible. It's really an incineration. Trump also said he stands behind California 100 percent, adding he's looking at waiving federal permits and tariffs on construction materials needed to rebuild. Trump's contentious pick for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, was narrowly confirmed Friday night by just one vote. I just heard that we won. Winning is what matters, right?

Senators were deadlocked 50-50 with three Republicans breaking ranks. Vice President J.D. Vansk's cast this deciding vote. Hegseth was controversial not only for his vow to fight the so-called woke, but also because of accusations of being drunk on the job and sexual misconduct. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith continues her calls for diplomacy as Trump threatens to damage Canada's economy with tariffs. National Observer columnist Max Fossett says Smith is taking a much different approach than in her grievances with the federal government.

Why is it that she can always find a cross and strong word for Justin Trudeau, but cannot find a critical word for Donald Trump? The disconnect there between what is happening to Alberta and the way she describes it is just so striking to me. Fossett says Trump's talk of tariffs and cutting off Canadian imports is a much bigger threat to the Alberta economy than federal environmental policies. Vancouver's mayor says he wants to revitalize the city's downtown east side. In crisis for decades, conditions further deteriorated during the pandemic. The new plan includes keeping criminals off the streets. Critics say it will do more harm to people living on those streets. Michelle Gassup with details. In this neighborhood, the current approach has failed. Speaking at a forum for groups concerned about crime, Mayor Ken Sim announcing a major shift in his approach to Vancouver's downtown east side. I'll be bringing a motion to council to pause any net new supportive housing

units in the city of Vancouver. Sim says instead of providing new subsidized homes, the city will focus on revitalizing existing buildings, arguing Vancouver is bearing the brunt of the region's homeless crisis. Sim says the city has three-quarters of the region's supportive services, but only 25 percent of the population. Tents cover sidewalks, and public drug use and property crime shot up. Encampments have been dismantled by police only to pop up again. SIM's new approach to the neighborhood will also focus on building a business and cracking down on gang activity. A new plan to help a long-suffering neighborhood soon to be tested.

Michelle Kosub, CBC News, Vancouver. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Mike Miles.