The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/06/08 at 01:00 EDT

Episode Date: June 8, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/06/08 at 01:00 EDT

At Desjardins Insurance, we know that when you're a building contractor, your company's foundation needs to be strong. That's why our agents go the extra mile to understand your business and provide tailored solutions for all its unique needs. You put your heart into your company, so we put our heart into making sure it's protected. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Desjardins.com slash business coverage. From CBC News, the world this hour. I'm Claude Fague. The number of wildfire evacuation orders is climbing and the flames in western Canada are sending smoke into the atmosphere prompting air quality warnings to the east and in parts of the

United States. Sam Sampson has more. What if we come home to nothing? I'm gonna have to start all over for my kids. Snow Lake is the latest community under evacuation order in Manitoba under threat from one of the 28 wildfires in that province. Everyone had to be out by noon on Saturday. Wildfires have forced 18,000 people in Manitoba out of their homes and it's not much better heading west. 33 communities in Saskatchewan have been forced to evacuate due to 24 wildfires. Next door, a fire that started in BC recently crossed into Alberta, forcing people from their homes in both provinces.

Coast to coast, we're under an air quality warning or statement. Rebecca Sorey, Canada research chair in global change, atmosphere and health, says wildfire smoke traveling across Canada is a risk to everyone. But it's sensitive people like seniors and children who should take extra precautions, not just in provinces that are burning, but across Canada. Sam Sampson, CBC News, Edmonton. In British Columbia, windy weather in the Northeast is making firefighting conditions more challenging.

There are 69 wildfires burning in the province right now. Emily Peacock is a BC Fire Information Officer. Some things that our crews are seeing, they're seeing things like danger trees. So trees that are weakened by drought or previous wildfires. There's areas that are experiencing blow downs. This is where large numbers of trees are knocked over by wind. As well, a lot of the fires in our Northeast

have very large fire perimeters. One of those fires has crossed from BC into Alberta. An evacuation order was already in effect but now that order is expanding as the out-of-control fire threatens small communities near the city of Grant Prairie. In Los Angeles, protesters voiced their displeasure with the Trump administration for their decision to deploy ICE agents in the city. The Department of Homeland Security says 118 people have so far been arrested by ICE, including

five tied to criminal organizations. Some protesters have thrown items at law enforcement, including a Molotov cocktail, while cars have been set on fire. No injuries have been reported. U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed 2,000 National Guard troops into the city. Trump took to his social media platform saying that if both Governor Gavin Newsom and the city's mayor, Karen Bass, can't do their jobs, then the federal government, quote, will step in and solve the problem the way it should be solved. The 2024-25 flu season has so far been one of the worst in recent memory.

And over the past few months, influenza has killed more Nova Scotians than COVID-19. That hasn't happened since the pandemic began. Infectious diseases Dr. Lisa Barrett says that the fact that there are fewer COVID deaths isn't necessarily a positive development. Some people have said, Oh, thank goodness, we're back to normal. And I'm like, well, now we've got two viruses, not just one that are still in the really important category for hospitalization, bad lungs and death.

Flu season isn't over. And for people who want to avoid catching or spreading the virus, the advice from doctors is the same as it was during the pandemic. Wash your hands, stay home when you're sick, wear a mask when appropriate and get vaccinated. Swimmer Summer Macintosh has set a new world record in the pool.

She has not let up at all. She's actually picking it up as she comes to the wall. Keep your eye on the clock. 355. 38. World record. Again. The 18-year-old Toronto native broke the record in the women's 400-metre freestyle at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria tonight. The time was more than a second faster than the previous record held by Australian swimmer Arianne Titmuss said in 2023 McIntosh lost out on gold to Titmuss at last summer's Paris Olympics. And that is your World This Hour. For CBC News, I'm Claude P.