World Report - February 26: Thursday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Hillary Clinton testifies under oath today in Chappaqua, New York, as House Oversight investigators search for names linked to the Jeffrey Epstein network. Mohawks in Akwesasne are worried ICE agents are on the doorstep of their eastern Ontario First Nation.Iran and United States meet in Geneva today for a third round of talks mediated by Oman. Some Canadians skeptical of newly-thawed relationship with India, as Prime Minister Mark Carney embarks on trade trip. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says US government personnel were not involved in speedboat shooting off coast of Cuba. Oil-rich Alberta poised to post another deficit when provincial budget is tabled today. Nearly a quarter of Canadian long-term care residents are being given anti-psychotic medication without a psychological diagnosis. 

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N-E-T-H-R-I-S dot com. Nethris, much more than just a payroll software. This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning, I'm John Northcott. Hillary Clinton is testifying under oath today in Chappaqua, New York. The former Secretary of State is facing a closed-door deposition about her knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network. House oversight chair Republican James Comer spoke moments ago,

defending the decision to hold the hearing in private despite the Clinton's push for cameras to be allowed in. As always, we're going to release the transcripts. We're going to release the video as soon as everyone has approved it. The normal process in a deposition is the attorneys would have the opportunity to review the transcript and review the video to make sure that there are no errors. Investigators are specifically questioning Clinton about her ties to Epstein's co-conspirator, Galane Maxwell, who was a guest at her daughter, Chelsea Clinton's wedding. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify tomorrow. We know what can happen when ice agents come into a community south of the border. Well, now Mohawks on an eastern Ontario First Nation are worried ice agents are on their doorstep. Aquasasasna straddles the Canada-US border and community members

cross it daily. And now, the New York County next door has authorized ICE to train its jail staff. Liam Baker has more on how the Mohawk community is feeling. We cross that border every single day. Ali Hooney David lives on the Ontario side of Aquasusne, and works on the New York side. David was watching closely last month when three Oglala Sioux tribe members were detained by ICE in Minnesota. He says he's seen social media posts claiming to see ICE agents in St. Lawrence County, New York, which includes some Aquasusne territory. People have seen them driving around and really concerning. St. Lawrence County has greenlit ice to train its correction facility

staff, but only to use its databases to check if anyone in jail is in the country illegally. Now that the county is signed off, the sheriff's office and ICE just need to sign a contract, and they'll be allowed in to begin training. Matthew Rourke is the chief of the tribal police in St. Regis, Akwasasne's American side. He says social media posts are heightening anxiety. ICE was not here. They haven't been here. I know exactly who's here in this community. The Assembly of First Nations is warning people to be wary about crossing the border. Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict agrees, but says indigenous people should be able to move freely in their territory, no matter the country.

ICE may come up to them and ask them for documentation of their residency or where they're born, and that's frankly insulting. Still, many in Akwesasne say the agreement won't stop them from crossing the border. Liam Baker, CBC News, Akwesne. Iran and the United States are deep in another round of negotiations in Geneva, and the stakes are high. high. In his state of the union address on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump did not rule out an attack on Iran. The U.S. has been deploying guided missiles, fighter jets and combat vessels to the Middle East, but today Iran's foreign minister is signaling his country is open to diplomacy. And President Massoud Peseshkian says Tehran has already committed to one demand.

He says both he and the Ayatollah are clear. Iran will not have nuclear. weapons at all. But Tehran is signaling it will not give up its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Prime Minister Mark Carney is leaving on his trip to India today and he's hoping to hammer out new trade deals that will help diversify Canada's economy. The trip comes after years of choppy relations between the two countries. While officials on both sides are optimistic about a new trade relationship, some in Canada are questioning this reset. J.P. Tasker reports. Given what had happened in the last two years. This is a big receipt. India's High Commissioner to Canada,

Dinesh Pat Nayik, says the two countries are turning the page on an era of bilateral bad blood. Past allegations that Indian agents were involved in the murder of a Canadian sick are being put aside, as Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues a free trade agreement with the world's most populous country. I'm confident

that given the intent on both sides, both prime ministers are very keen to do it. Pat Nayick says a comprehensive economic agreement could come together quickly, with Carney getting some valuable face time with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on this five-day visit. We are looking at one year, but I have a feeling it will be faster. Some sick activists, meanwhile, are raising red flags about normalizing relations. BC's sick leader, Moninder Singh was warned by police last weekend.

He faces a credible threat to his life, and he suspects it comes from Indian agents. I think in the wake of all that, we're going to India to reward. them with trade deals. I think nothing could be a bigger slap in the face of the people that are under risk. Still, federal officials say India is a hugely attractive market for Canadian companies and a key piece to the puzzle as the country tries to urgently diversify trade away from the U.S. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. It is an international incident off the coast of Cuba with the potential to escalate. It is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It's not something that happens

Every day, it's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that American officials are still trying to verify exactly what happened yesterday. According to the Cuban government, a Florida registered speedboat with 10 people on board entered Cuban waters and opened fire on its soldiers. Four of the people in the boat were killed, six others injured. Rubio says they were not U.S. government personnel. And we're going to figure out exactly what happened. And there are a number of things that could have happened here. I'm not even going to speculate as to what it could have been.

It's a wide range of things. We obviously want to have access to these people if they are American citizens or U.S. residents. Cuba's Interior Ministry says the people on the boat were anti-government Cuban, some of whom were previously wanted in Cuba. Russia's foreign ministry is calling this incident an aggressive provocation by the United States. Alberta's provincial government is tabling its budget today. The oil-rich province posted a deficit last year. It was the first since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then as Sam Sampson reports, Alberta could be in the red again this year. This year's budget will again include the largest ever investment in Alberta's education system. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith served dessert yesterday before the meat of the provincial budget drops. She's promising more than $10 billion for education funding, even in tough times. This year, we're dealing with a significant deficit resulting from the twin pressures of low energy prices. and near record high population growth. But investing in the next generation of Albertans remains the utmost priority for our government.

Fair deal now! Fair deal now! Education is a major sticking point after Alberta teachers went on strike for three weeks last fall. The province also says budget 2026 contains more funding for health care, including a 22% increase in doctor pay spending. But that means cuts to other sectors and a second consecutive year in the red.

And I'm also interested to know whether that matters to Albertans. Calgary pollster Janet Brown says Alberta could be in the same boat as most provinces, which reported significant deficits for the past year. And while Albertans are finally tuned to economic ups and downs, there could be other things catching their attention right now. Separation, immigration, referendum questions. Though the Premier has hinted she's ruled out big social service cuts and tax hikes, The fine print will reveal just how Daniel Smith's government plans to attack this debt.

Sam Samson, CBC News, Edmonton. New data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows a worrying trend in long-term care homes. On average, one in four residents is being given strong, sedative drugs without a psychological diagnosis. The CBC's Toshana Reid has that story. The numbers haven't been trending the right way. Andrea Fobel is a research manager with the Canadian Institute for Hesoneman. health information in Ottawa. Their latest report says 24% of long-term care residents in Canada received an antipsychotic medication without a psychological diagnosis. So often we turn to those

antipsychotics far too quickly. It's an issue Rosalind Compton has seen in Saskatoon. She's the executive director of Better LTC, a non-profit that supports seniors. And often it's because either not enough staff, not enough one-on-one. Anti-psychotic medication. for disorders like schizophrenia are sometimes used to address symptoms like aggression in patients with dementia. But there are risks. Increased risk of falls, increased risk of fractures, increase in frailty because they're not up and moving around. In 2024 to 2025, provincial rates of potentially inappropriate use of antipsychotics was high, ranging from 20% to 36% in some provinces.

Last year, the Appropriate Use Coalition, a group of Canadian health organs, set a national target for long-term care homes of 15% or less. It just shows that this is a persistent problem. Dr. Samir Sinha is a geriatrician at Sinai Health in Toronto. And it represents a lot more work that we need to be doing to make sure that we're appropriately prescribing. Health experts say reviewing medications every three months and specialized care to manage behaviors can make a difference. Tashana Reid, CBC News, Toronto. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report.

I'm John Northcott. This is CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.