The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/02/20 at 12:00 EST

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/02/20 at 12:00 EST

1942, Europe. Soldiers find a boy surviving alone in the woods. They make him a member of Hitler's army. But what no one would know for decades, he was Jewish. Could a story so unbelievable be true? I'm Dan Goldberg. I'm from CBC's Personally, Toy Soldier. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, it's the World This Hour. I'm Joe Cummings. First to Montreal where Mohammed Shahzeb Khan has consented to extradition to the United States. Khan, a 20-year-old from Pakistan, is accused of planning an alleged ISIS-inspired mass

shooting targeting Jewish people in New York City. Living near Toronto, he was arrested in September in Ormiston, Quebec, a town close to the US border. He's agreed to extradition today as legal proceedings got underway this morning in Montreal. With the digital and media landscape rapidly evolving, Federal Heritage Minister Pascal Saint-Ange says the CBC needs a new mandate. The richest people on the planet control much of our means of communication, is that these people want to influence our stories, the political conditions of every country, and the collective choices we make

with an efficiency unrivaled in human history. That's St. Ange rolling out her proposal to modernize the current mandate for CBC Radio Canada. It hasn't been updated now since 1991. Among other things, she wants to create a stable funding model for the CBC that won't be impacted by changes in government. St. Onge's vision for the CBC comes at a time when parliament is parodied, so there's no guarantee it will survive beyond the next federal election.

Now to the Middle East, where Hamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attacks. Included are the bodies of Shiree Bebus and her two young children, who Hamas say were all killed in an Israeli airstrike. Sasha Petrusik has more now from Jerusalem. Right until this week, many in Israel hoped the Bebus children had survived, says family friend Yifta Cohen. Last week, many in Israel hoped the Bebus children had survived, says family friend Yifta Cohen.

Shireen and the kids became a symbol. I still hope that they will be alive. A symbol of hope for many in Israel, not knowing how many of the remaining 69 hostages survived 16 months in captivity. A shocking day, a day of grief, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many here blame him for dragging out ceasefire negotiations and the hostage releases. But today, as some gathered in hostage square and others lined the route home for the coffins, the focus was on the youngest ones lost. Sasha Petrusik, CBC News, Jerusalem.

Looks like the Pentagon could be the next target as the Trump administration continues with its campaign of government spending cuts. Cameron McIntosh has more from Washington. The Washington Post is reporting it obtained a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hagstaff calling for 8% cuts to the Pentagon budget for each of the next five years. Now the Pentagon's budget is about $850 billion, so this is almost $70 billion a year. Now Hagstaff says these cuts aren't supposed to affect service personnel, people in uniform, nor Trump priorities like securing the southern border.

But Haig-Seth says spending should reflect America's shifting priorities towards China, away from Ukraine and Europe. Dark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe. Hague Seth is telling the Pentagon to have a list of cuts ready for Monday. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News, Washington. It's Canada against the United States tonight in the championship game of the Four Nations Faceoff Tournament.

It's been something probably even more than maybe what people expected as far as the intensity and everything that's been part of it. That's team captain, team Canada captain Sydney Crosby amid U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff threats and his references to Canada becoming the 51st state. This already intense rivalry has moved now to the next level. These two teams met over the weekend in the round robin with the U.S. posting a 3-1 win. That game featured three fights breaking out in the first nine seconds.

Game time tonight is 8 o'clock Eastern. And that is The World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings.