The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/08/21 at 13:00 EDT

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/08/21 at 13:00 EDT

We are gathered here today to celebrate life's big milestones. Do you promise to stand together through home purchases, auto-upgrades, and surprise dents and dings? We do. To embrace life's big moments for any adorable co-drivers down the road. We do. Then with the caring support of Desjardin insurance, I pronounce you covered for home, auto, and flexible life insurance. For life's big milestones, get insurance that's really big on care at Dejardin.com slash care. From CBC News, The World This Hour, I'm Gina Louise Phillips.

In 2024, there were 17% fewer opioid use deaths in Canada compared to the previous year. The findings are in a new study from the Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use. The authors found the main reason for the drop in numbers is less adulterated street drugs. Here's researcher Radia Malam. Each participating region reporting a deep. decreased off fewer identifications of carfentanyl, decrease in benzodiazepines, and ceased fentanyl-containing samples. Malam says there has also been a drop in the number of opioid users, in part because so many have died in recent years. There have been changes in how users are ingesting the drugs with more smoking them.

And finally, the availability of supports like drug testing sites has also made a difference. Court documents show an Ontario man allegedly used a knife against a home intruder. 44-year-old David MacDonald from Lindsay is now facing charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Police say the alleged intruder was seriously injured in a fight and airlifted to a Toronto hospital. That man is also facing multiple charges, including weapon possession. A New York court has thrown out a massive financial penalty against the U.S. president. Last year, Donald Trump was ordered to pay nearly half a billion dollars for fraud. today's ruling is a major financial win for Trump, but not a complete legal victory.

Ashley Burke explains. A New York Appeals Court ruled that the penalty against Donald Trump was excessive and is tossing it out. Last year, a lawsuit in New York accused Trump and his family businesses of dramatically exaggerating his net worth for more than a decade to do bankers into giving him better terms for loans. A judge found Trump and his executives fraudulently overstated his. his wealth at the time New York Attorney General Letitia James said justice was served. Today we prove that no one is above the law. But Trump's legal team appealed, now a panel of five judges found the original order was well crafted to curb business culture, but the degree of punishment violates the Eighth Amendment

that protects Americans from unduly harsh penalties. Trump is calling it a total victory but is still liable for fraud, and the case will continue to move through the courts. Ashley Burke, CBC News, Washington. The U.K. has summoned Israel's ambassador to protest the approval of new Jewish settlements. The widely condemned Israeli plan would divide the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem. Britain calls it a flagrant breach of international law that would undermine the idea of a two-state solution. More than 20 countries, including Canada, signed a joint statement which calls for the immediate reversal of Israel's plan.

plan. Far-right minister Bazalel Smotrich greenlit the settlements yesterday. He had said the plan would bury the idea of a future Palestinian state. Meantime, Israel says its troops established a foothold on the outskirts of Gaza City. That's in preparation for a full-out invasion in the coming weeks. Margaret Evans reports. Israeli strikes in the early hours of the morning. A spokesman for the Israel defense forces says Israeli troops already control the city's outskirts and call-up notices have been issued to 60,000 reservists for an operation expected to begin in earnest in September.

The UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez added his voice to those warning of catastrophic implications for Palestinian civilians. It is vital to avoid the massive deaths and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause. The Israeli decision, which it says, is aimed at rooting out what remains of Hamas and rescuing hostages, has dampened optimism that a 60-day ceasefire might be agreed. Margaret Evans, CBC News, Jerusalem.

And that is the world this hour. For news any time, visit our website, cbcnews.a. For CBC News, I'm Gina Louise Phillips. Thank you.