World Report - May 31: Saturday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

<p>As wildfires force 17-thousand people out of their homes, Prime Minister Mark Carney convenes an incident response group</p><p><br></p><p>US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth is calling on Indo-Pacific allies to raise defence spending to counter the threat from China.</p><p><br></p><p>U.S. fugitive Patrick Lutts Jr., arrested after fleeing to Toronto is now speaking out.</p><p><br></p><p>Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk makes surprise visit to B.C. mountain town to open skate park expansion.</p>

The ocean is vast, beautiful, and lawless. I'm Ian Urbina back with an all new season of The Outlaw Ocean. The stories we bring you this season are literally life or death. We look into the shocking prevalence of forced labor, mine boggling overfishing, migrants hunted and captured. The Outlaw Ocean takes you where others won't. Available on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast.

This is World Report. Good morning, I'm John Northcott. We begin with the latest federal response to the wildfires gripping the country. Prime Minister Mark Carney has convened the Incident Response Group. His office says the group of senior ministers and officials is being briefed on ways they can provide support. This includes helping evacuate First Nations communities. Thousands of people across the prairies have been forced from their homes. The area in and around Flynn Flawn, Manitoba is facing multiple fires and changing winds. Cranberry Portage, the latest community of 600 to face a mandatory evacuation. We're joined now by the CBC's Mark Carcaso. Mark,

what's the situation in Flynn Flawn? Yeah, it's been a real emotional toll for the people of Flynn Flawn, John. I mean, there was a period of time there were it seemed as though the wind would be favorable to them and it seemed to be pushing the fire away or at least holding it back from the city and then we heard from the mayor that uh... things have changed as of yesterday and the wind was actually pushing the fire closer to flin flon from what we understand it's now within two kilometers of the city limits this is a massive massive fire, 40,000 hectares. And at this point, the entire city is essentially a ghost town.

Aside from emergency responders, there is no one left. All the residents are gone. City officials, the mayor and councilors also out of the city at this point. They have cleared out of this city of 5,000 people and are just waiting with bated breath to see what happens. No one really knows what will be left for them when they eventually get to go back. And all they can really do is pray, and that's the message from Premier Wabkanoo as well.

Pray for rain. We haven't seen rain in the forecast yet. That could really help, sustained rainfall in particular. But in the absence of that, the past few days have been very challenging. Yeah, the weather's been very difficult, and it's not just a lack of rain, it's hot temperatures as well, low humidity, strong winds as mentioned earlier, and that's all just contributing to essentially the perfect recipe for the spread of this fire.

Now, Mark, that's the Flintland situation. Let's talk a little about the evacuation of those Manitoba First Nations communities. Yeah, that has been a difficult situation to listen into and to hear the stories from, and we're getting conflicting information. We had heard that specifically in Marcel Colombe First Nation, also known as Pukatawagan Cree Nation, that there were issues with the airstrip there. High smoke, low visibility. Provincial officials, Premier Wab Kanu, had said that things had gotten a little bit better

and that that would aid the evacuation process. But we heard from officials in the First Nation yesterday, after we heard from the Premier, that that's not the case at all. They say they've got over 2,000 people still trapped there. They say there's no way in or out via car, via train, or via airplane at this point, that the airstrip is still off limits. And so the only way they have to evacuate people is via helicopter. And they say that is a trip of about six people at a time. They're asking for a lot of help

from the government on that. With the latest, Mark Harkisol joining us in studio. Thanks, Mark. Thank you. As the fires rage across the country, one of Manitoba's neighbors also under a state of emergency this morning, Alexander Silverman has more. Across the border in Saskatchewan, fires are also threatening homes and forcing evacuations. The province's largest fire, burning 305,000 hectares, winds pushing it closer to the village of Candle Lake.

Volunteers in the community are going door to door offering rides and evacuation assistance. Maggie Curry says she has her bags packed and is ready to leave. I'm very happy that they declared a state of emergency. That's an important step in making everybody aware of how serious this situation is. A situation wildfire officials warn could get worse if gusty winds keep pushing fires towards communities. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. To international news now, where the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth is calling on Indo-Pacific allies

to raise defense spending to counter the threat from China. Hegseth is speaking at an annual gathering of defense leaders in Singapore. Patrick Falk has more on the Shangri-La talks. The United States is not interested in the moralistic and preachy approach to foreign policy of the past. It was a highly anticipated address before global defense leaders. Pete Hegseth is the most senior level Trump administration official to touch on Indo-Pacific policy since President Trump returned to office. His message, America is here to stay and that it won't be pushed out of the region by Beijing.

Ultimately, a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage. China envies what we have together, and it sees what we can collectively bring to bear on defence. And a stark warning to Indo-Pacific nations that the China threat could be imminent. It was a departure from previous US administrations that insisted conflict was neither imminent nor inevitable. Higgs had also urged Asian nations to increase defense spending and said that countries must prepare for war in order to deter war.

The speech may have answered some questions on Washington's commitment to the Indo-Pacific, but it could also have raised fears among nations, hoping China and the U.S. might dial down tensions. If anything, this hinted Washington expects an escalation in tensions between the world's two biggest powers. Patrick Falk for CBC News, Singapore. A report by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says Iran is continuing to stockpile uranium at a high enough grade to enrich nuclear weapons. It accuses Iranian officials of concealing several sites

where this is being done. The International Atomic Energy Agency is now urging Iran to change course and comply with its investigation. News of the report comes at a sensitive time as Tehran and Washington hold talks over a possible nuclear deal. We have an update on a CBC News investigation, the case of a US fugitive arrested after living in Toronto for more than 20 years. Patrick Lutz Jr. now says it was a mistake to evade authorities who wanted him in Florida. The CBC's Thomas Degg first broke this story and this morning he has more.

In a sworn affidavit filed in an Ontario court as Patrick Lutz Jr. asked to be released on bail, he admits it was a mistake to flee manslaughter charges in Florida and come hide in Toronto. The 51-year-old is accused of manslaughter in connection with a drunk driving crash in 1998 that killed two teens, including Ralph Cordero's stepsister, Nancy Lopez. It was very pleasing to see that he's no longer running free. In 2003, Lutz skipped a plea hearing and vanished, instead working as a self-styled psychic and hosting a monthly trivia night at a Toronto bar. He was arrested in the city in February. In his affidavit, Lutz writes,

I thought that authorities would be able to find me as I stayed in the same place in Toronto for over 20 years. All the while Lopez's loved ones held on to hope Lutz would be caught. He didn't even call to apologize to us or say, you know, I'm sorry. Her mother, Nelida Cordero, agonized in this 2014 interview. If he doesn't get justice here, God's gonna punish this guy. It's not clear how Lutz entered the country. A U.S. citizen, he says he has no passport and no Canadian bank account. Lutz was denied bail and now faces extradition and up to 30 years in a Florida prison if

convicted. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. And finally, we take you to Smithers, B.C., population about 5,000. It's often described as a gem of northern British Columbia for its beautiful scenery. But this weekend, it's metal and concrete that's being celebrated. The town is marking the expansion of their skate park. Of course, it didn't hurt that one of the legends of the sport was there for the party. Jessica Chung has more. for the party. Jessica Chung has more. Fans and skaters of all ages lined the bowl of a newly renovated skate park in Smithers, BC. All to watch American skateboard legend Tony Hawk drop in.

Hawk, who revolutionized the sport in the late 90s, made a surprise appearance to celebrate the expansion of the community's skate park. He's also there because he wants the sport to be more accessible and accepted than it was when he was growing up. When I started skating, the skate park that I lived near was one of the only ones in existence at the time. It was my salvation. I mean, that's where I found my sense of belonging, my sense of community, ultimately my sense of purpose.

The whole community is fired up. Jake Daly with the Smithers Skate Park Society says the plan to bring Hawk to Smithers has been in the making for months and people came in by the hundreds, some driving hours when they found out. They're just like, what? Tony Hawk's in Smithers? Let's go. Skip work, skip school. And can you blame him? I think it's worth it. And for the younger generation, it was worth it. Oh my, it was pretty hype.

It was awesome, man. Definitely a good event. It was crazy. The skate park was first built in 1996 and was the only park that sized north of Kamloops. The expansion has been in the works for several years and cost close to a million dollars. Daley says he hopes it will inspire the next generation of athletes. You gotta see it to be it. The new park includes features like an eight-foot bowl, new rails and ramps, and lighting. Jessica Chung, CBC News, Vancouver. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm John Northcott.

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with us here at CBC News. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.