The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/12/23 at 08:00 EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/12/23 at 08:00 EST

Hey, I'm Gavin Crawford. Each week I quiz a panel of comedians. All About the News. This week, Steph Tolliv makes her debut. Her Netflix special is just named by the L.A. Times is one of the best comedy specials of the year. She's joined by Miguel Revis and Andrew Fung. The news is pelting us with coal, so we're looking for the candy canes. How are Canadians altering their holiday plans? Does the Prime Minister have a secret plan to turn us all British? And what AI slop do we have to look forward to from Person of the Year?

Follow us on Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts to find out. From CBC News, it's the world this hour. I'm Joe Cummings. The U.S. Justice Department has released another round of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This overnight document dump is the eighth since Friday, but even as this new release is being examined, concerns are being raised about what material is being withheld or redacted. Steve Futterman reports. many of the survivors were just like all of these documents to be completely released they would like it all out they'd like to be done with this drip drip drip of some documents being released even though these are significant numbers they would like all the documents released it's very very difficult for them each time a new batch of documents are released to wonder are their names going to be mentioned some of these victims by the way have been talking about how as much as these documents are redacted and this new batch includes lots of redacted

from some of the PDFs I've looked at so far, but there have been some names that have gotten through this redaction process, and it's been very difficult for some of the victims to see their names mentioned. There were a couple Jane Does who had their names mentioned, and they've been very upset having their names exposed. So it's not a perfect process. No one thought it would be, but again, the victims and the lawmakers who were demanding that these Epstein files be released, basically they would like it all released once and for all. Mr. Futterman, CBC News, Los Angeles. And what is the largest bombardment in months?

Ukrainian officials say Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles into Ukraine overnight. That's police in Kiev, cordoning off a badly damaged apartment building. The widespread attack continued for hours with at least three people being killed, including a four-year-old child. The Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says the barrage has damaged homes and knocked out the power grid across 13 regions of the country. Zelensky says the bombardment just before Christmas and during peace talks is, quote, a clear signal of Russian priorities. Alberta is now a step closer to getting a referendum on separating from Canada.

The Provincial Elections Agency has approved a citizen petition to gather the signatures needed to trigger a province-wide vote. Mitch Sylvester is with the Alberta Prosperity Project, which is organizing the petition. I think this is going to be the biggest political decision anybody in Canada will ever make in their lifetime. I believe every Albertan will be much better at the end of this referendum vote if we vote to leave Canada. The Canada that I grew up with is no longer the Canada that I'm living in. And my fervent hope is to have that back. The organizers of the campaign now have four months to collect more than 177,000 signatures to formerly trigger a separation vote. Another petition calling for Alberta to remain part of Canada

has already collected more than enough signatures and has been certified. Thanks to the Trump administration's tariff campaign, it has been a difficult year to say the least for Canada's automotive sector. But in Windsor, a reimagined classic is sparking some optimism. Emma Loup explains. That's the Canadian-built muscle car that's turning heads across the continent. The Reborn Dodge Charger six-pack is assembled in Windsor, but is racking up awards in the U.S. It's won top-gears U.S. car of the year and the Detroit News' vehicle of the year. The 550 horsepower six-pack started rolling off the line in Windsor earlier this month. The six-pack embodies the enduring cross-border nature of the North American auto industry.

For Canada's car capital, the Reborn Charger is also a glimmer of hope. Windsor's unemployment rate was among the highest in Kansas. for much of the year. Mike Stevenson is from Unifor Local 444, which represents workers at the plant. Stalantis is putting these cars here in spite of the tariffs. So that's a testament to the workforce. The six-pack is now a finalist for North American car of the year. The winner will be revealed next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Emma Loop, CBC News, Windsor. And that is the world this hour. For CBC News, I'm Joe Cummings. Thank you.