The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2026/01/04 at 16:00 EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

The World This Hour for 2026/01/04 at 16:00 EST

Choose clicks, choose the algorithm, choose doom scrolling at 3am, eyes tired, brain rewired, choose headlines that scream, choose fake friends, deepfakes, bots, and comment wars that never end. Choose truth bent and broken until you can't tell up from down or write from wrong. Choose the chaos, choose the noise. Or don't. Choose news, not noise. from cbc news the world this hour i'm kate mcgilfrey in the aftermath of the u.s military operation in venezuela washington is a buzz with questions how does the trump administration plan to quote run

venezuela and the big question on capital hill why wasn't congress notified katie nicholson has more on that it wasn't necessary because this is not an invasion we didn't occupy a country U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration didn't need to run its plan past Congress because it wasn't an act of war. This is a law enforcement operation. He was arrested on the ground in Venezuela by FBI agents. But Democrats and some Republicans have argued this was a military operation and required congressional approval. On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump had suggested briefing Congress would be problematic because Congress leaks.

An argument, Democratic Representative Jim Himes, ranking member of that, House Intelligence Committee isn't buying. Whether you think Congress leaks or not, the law says you must brief the Congress. So this is just yet another example of absolute lawlessness on the part of this administration. Rubio said the U.S. military presence will remain your Venezuela as leverage until it sees changes. Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. Another big outstanding question in all of this. What will happen to Venezuela's oil reserves?

If the country ramps up its production, it could be. become a major competitor for Canada since both produce heavy crude oil. But Heather Exner-Perrault with the McDonald-Loree Institute says she doesn't expect that to happen anytime soon. Venezuela will not be a very attractive place for investment. And it would take tens of billions of dollars, you know, probably several years to really meaningfully increase production up to, let's say, 3 million barrels a day. Trump has said that U.S. oil companies will go into Venezuela to fix up infrastructure and ramp up that production. but Exner Perrault says she expects private capital will want to see stability in the country before they invest.

Meanwhile, Ottawa's urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Venezuela while recommending those currently in the country shelter in place and keep a supply of essential items. North Korea is serving up notice that it intends to ramp up its nuclear program. Its latest move is to fire at least two missiles into the sea of Japan, and it's coming as its chief rival's South Korea, is reaching out to North Korea's main ally, China. Both countries are hoping to improve their economic and diplomatic ties there. Dominic Volaitis reports. The last time North Korea tested a ballistic missile was on November 7th. According to Japan, Pyongyang launched at least two missiles yesterday,

each flying around 900 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan. The latest launches. came as South Korean President Li J. Miong arrived in Beijing for a state visit to China and just hours after the United States attacked Venezuela. Analysts believe the North's missile tests are a message to China to deter close ties with South Korea while acting as a warning to Washington that Pyongyang is not Caracas, that it is ready and able to respond to any aggression. Japan's defense ministry today condemned the launches

and lodged a stern protest with North Korea. Dominic Volaitis for CBC News, Bristol, England. And in Crown Montana, Switzerland, a memorial mass was held in the ski resort town today for the victims of the deadly New Year's Eve fire at a bar. All 40 people killed in that fire have now been identified by Swiss authorities. Among the dead, teenagers as young as 14 and 15 years old.

The managers of the bar are under criminal investigation, suspected of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and causing a fire by negligence. That's the world this hour. To get the latest updates on these stories, any time, go to our website, cBCnews.ca. I'm Kate McGilfrey. Thank you.