Your World Tonight - Another planetary boundary crossed, ostrich cull put off, Zelenskyy warning at UNGA, and more

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Scientists say another planetary boundary — the environmental speed limits that warn us of a destabilizing planet — has been crossed. Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have pushed the acidity of the world's oceans past a safe threshold.And: The Supreme Court of Canada grants a stay on the cull of about 400 birds on an ostrich farm in B.C.. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the flock destroyed last year, after tests showed avian flu in some ostriches that had died. The court is allowing the delay as the farm applies for leave to appeal the decision.Also: One day after unexpected support from the U.S. president, President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy pleads with the United Nations General Assembly not to give up on Ukraine.He warns Russia wants to expand its war beyond his country.Plus: Carney challenged on public safety minister’s comments, middle school at grade six may not be good for grades, deadly shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas, and more.

Hugh is a rock climber, a white supremacist, a Jewish neo-Nazi, a spam king, a crypto-billionaire, and then someone killed him. It is truly a mystery. It is truly a case of who done it. Dirtbag Climber, the story of the murder and the many lives of Jesse James. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC podcast. We're predicting that the conditions in the ocean are still going to deteriorate for at least 50 years.

Absolutely is urgent that we drastically reduce our emissions. Degree by degree, the climate keeps crossing dangerous new lines and the latest could be an existential threat to the world's oceans, with a new report suggesting they are overloaded, with carbon dioxide, getting more acidic and less hospitable to marine life that also supports humankind. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Wednesday, September 24th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern, also on the podcast. Will the Prime Minister stop wasting money banning go for guns? Read his briefing notes so that he knows what he's talking about and fire that

incompetent minister. In question period, more pushback to the federal government's gun buyback, the opposition wants it scrapped, and they want the minister responsible to step down. After a secret recording, the public fight over a controversial program intensifies. The planet's oceans provide a frontline defense against climate change. They absorb massive amounts of carbon emissions from human activities. But a new warning says, they're reaching a breaking point that will affect the food we eat and how we live. Onan Rahm explains. It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.

Less than a day after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered this opinion on climate change. Then they said global warming will kill the world. All of these predictions were wrong. They were made by stupid people. Some of those informed and experienced scientists were also at the UN, warning against imbalances on our planet, now getting more dangerous. Johan Rockstrom is the director of the Potsdam Institute. We fail unless we safeguard the world's most powerful carbon sink and planetary cooling system, a healthy planet.

The latest health stressor in that Potsdam report, how acidic our oceans have become. Because they've been absorbing the carbon, humans have been burning. Just like when we add carbon dioxide to, Coke. That makes the soft drink more acidic. Chris Harley teaches ocean science and climate change at the University of British Columbia. He says the latest report shows the soaking up of that carbon. It's changing the chemistry of the ocean, leaving fewer building blocks for corals, oysters, mussels, and crabs. It makes it harder to build shell. And you need to add shell if you want to grow bigger. Sort of like building a house and all of a sudden the building materials become more costly.

You're either going to build smaller homes or not as many. And when you bring in boatloads of seafood, size matters. Consider BC's dungeness crab industry estimated to be worth $250 million annually. Casimaportius at the University of Toronto has studied those crabs. These kinds of levels of ocean acidification were affecting their sense of smell, reducing their ability to find food. So we potentially could see smaller animals. They could produce fewer eggs.

and offspring. Not only affecting the food we eat, but the food are food eats. And keep in mind, the oceans protect us by absorbing all that CO2, but too much and that ability to absorb weakens. Ocean aspectation is a global problem with local impacts. Ida Jimenez studies acidification's impact with the Hakai Institute in British Columbia. With oceans covering 70% of our planet, there's only one solution. We're predicting that the conditions in the ocean are still going to deteriorate for at least 50 years, if not more. So absolutely it's urgent that we drastically reduce our emissions. The carbon footprint is a hoax. But as the ocean grows more acidic, it seems the toxicity in climate discourse might stand in the way of the progress needed to save it.

Anandram, CBC News, Toronto. In Ottawa, the Prime Minister faced tough questions about the government's gun buyback program and the man in charge of it. Mark Carney has defecutive. Mark Carney has defending his public safety minister after he was caught on tape questioning the plan to compensate gun owners. As Tom Perry reports, Conservatives want the minister and the program gone.

Oral questions oral general leader of the opposition. Fort Mark Carney, still fairly new to the job of prime minister, this was a fresh challenge standing in the House of Commons fending off calls to fire one of his ministers. Mr. Speaker,

the public safety minister has admitted that going after farmers and hunters hunt rifles is not going to fight crime. Opposition leader Pierre Palliev targeting public safety minister Gary Anandesangery, who in a secretly recorded conversation released by a gun rights group is heard talking about Ottawa's plan to buy back guns declared illegal by the government. In the recording, the minister has heard questioning how strenuously police will pursue gun owners who don't turn in their weapons, while explaining the plan is a big deal for voters in Quebec who supported the liberals in the last election. Will the Prime Minister stop the politics, fire the minister, and leave

Grandpa Joe's hunting rifle? The Prime Minister shot back. What the government is doing with the gun registry is putting in place a much more efficient way, an efficient way for Canadians to voluntarily return prohibited firearms, voluntarily return prohibited firearms for fair compensation. This government is going to do it right. Pollyev countered, accusing Carney of not even knowing what guns he was banning. Carney, he said, should read his briefing books. Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's Knowledge Bank on this subject is now depleted, so we'll move on to something else. Pollyev eventually switched topics, though his MPs kept up the pressure on the public safety minister.

This is stunning incompetence. Why hasn't he been fired? Why won't he fire this minister? Because not doing so calls into question the prime minister's judgment. This public safety minister has failed miserably. How does the prime minister still have confidence in this minister? Why won't he fire him? By that point, the prime minister remained fixed in his seat.

The public safety minister forced to defend himself. Mr. Speaker, I was proud to launch the assault style firearm compensation program in Nova Scotia. We look forward to expanding it across Canada. Ananda Sangare, taking the hits, trying his best to fight back, a minister under sustained opposition attack who gets to keep his job, at least for now. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. The RCMP has charged an Ottawa Royal Bank of Canada employee after he allegedly accessed multiple customer profiles,

including Prime Minister Mark Carney's. Abraham L. Hakeem's charges include suspected fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized use of a computer. Police were made aware of the security breach in June and believed the plot was linked to organized crime, let's say there was no risk to the Prime Minister's safety or to national security. The 23-year-old bank employee is expected to appear in court next week. Coming up, a day after Donald Trump called Russia a paper tiger, Ukraine's president tells the UN Moscow is a real threat and no one should feel safe and more fear about political violence in the U.S. after a deadly shooting at an immigration facility.

Later, we'll have this story. This space suit has been designed for the astronauts to pretty much survive any anomaly. I'm Paul Hunter at the Johnson Space Center in Houston where NASA has brought together all things space ahead of the now looming Artemis II mission. around the moon and home again. I'm proud to wear the flag on this mission. I'm proud that Canada's here. We sit down with Canada's Jeremy Hansen,

who along with three U.S. astronauts, is set to go further from the earth than any human has ever traveled. A mission update later on your world tonight. At the UN General Assembly today, a dire warning from Ukraine's president. Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged, global leaders to do more to end Russia's war or risk it getting much worse.

His comments follow a surprise tone shift from U.S. President Donald Trump, raising new questions about America's role in the effort to end the war. Margaret Evans reports. I request protocol to escort his excellency and invite him to address the assembly. A big week in New York for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. His address to the gathered nations an appeal to save Ukraine, and with it, he said, faith in the international community. Peace depends on all of us, on the United Nations. So don't stay silent while Russia keeps dragging this war on. Please join us in defending life and international law. His address followed some unexpected cheerleading, Donald Trump posting on social media that Ukraine could be in a

position to regain all its territory from Russia, with European help. Reporters asked Zelensky about it afterwards. It's a big shift. It's a big shift. Disposed of Trump? It's a big shift. It was just over a month ago that Trump hosted Vladimir Putin on U.S. soil, handing the Russian president what critics called a PR coup. And in the past, Trump has insisted Ukraine will have to seed terrorism.

to Russia in exchange for peace, meaning his latest remarks are being taken with a grain of salt in some quarters. After all, it's become a common maxim amongst world diplomats, trying to decipher Donald Trump's real intentions, that he's often swayed by whoever he speaks to last. That's why the Kremlin's response to Trump's remarks has been relatively subdued, according to Mikhail Sinilikov Orishak, a Russian analyst specializing in U.S. relations. In Moscow, they understand that no matter what Trump says at one moment, there is still time to shift the situation in their favor, he says. In Ukraine, the verdict was much the same from people enduring ongoing Russian attacks.

He's the kind of person who changes his mind. Every week, says Alexander, a soldier. You can't take him seriously. At least he wasn't accusing Ukraine of anything, says Irina, hearkening back to April when Trump accused Zelensky of starting the war with Russia. President of Ukraine. In New York, Zelensky said changes in warfare,

including drones and the development of artificial intelligence risked unleashing a new arms race. And every year that this war goes on, weapons become even more deadly. And only Russia deserves to be blamed for this. A position he will be hoping Donald Trump is indeed coming around to and that he will stick with it. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. Police in Dallas, Texas, say a deadly shooting at a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement facility

was a targeted attack. A sniper opened fire killing one detainee. knee and injuring two more. Authorities say the gunman was motivated by hatred for immigration enforcement officials. And two weeks after the killing of Charlie Kirk, it's creating new fears about politically charged violence. Katie Simpson reports. Police arrived just before 7 a.m., called to an immigration processing center in Dallas.

Authorities say a sniper had positioned himself on a nearby roof and started fire indiscriminately at the building, hitting a secluded entrance area where ice agents loaded passengers in and out of vans. I can confirm at this time that the FBI is investigating this incident as an act of targeted violence. Joe Rothrock, the FBI special agent in charge, says the suspect was found dead of his self-inflicted gunshot wound. Multiple U.S. news agencies have identified him as 29-year-old Joshua John, a Texas man with a prior arrest on a marijuana charge. No ICE agents were hurt in the attack, but authorities believe they were at the target. Early evidence that we've seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ice in nature.

A photo posted on social media by FBI director Cash Patel shows shell casings that he says were recovered near the shooter, with the words anti-ice written on one of the rounds. The work done by ICE agents carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda is a source of intense division across the U.S. The rhetoric has to stop. It's just got to stop. It's dangerous. And people are losing their lives.

Josh Johnson, the acting director of the Dallas Ice Office, says a factor in this case, is the volatile political climate. Black they're free. Ice raids targeting migrants, sparking major protest. some of the largest in Los Angeles this past summer. And the Department of Homeland Security says violent attacks against ICE agents are significantly on the rise. This attack comes two weeks after right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. And commit violence.

Vice President J.D. Vance blaming the unrest in this moment broadly on Democrats and the media. But if your political rhetoric encourages violence against our, law enforcement. You can go straight to hell and you have no place in the political conversation of the United States of America. While the Trump administration has called for political temperatures to be lowered, they've also ratcheted up their own attacks against their perceived opponents, deepening the tensions at an already strained time. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Dubbed 2025's most powerful storm, Typhoon Ragasa has crashed into China's south coast. The storm roared ashore with fierce winds and a downpour of rain.

Officials evacuated nearly 2 million people from the heavily populated region. Warning of storm surges and widespread flooding. Ragasa is already blamed for at least 20 deaths in the Philippines and Taiwan. Dozens more are either injured or missing. 400 ostriches on a British Columbia farm have been given at least another week to live. The Supreme Court of Canada has granted a temporary stay on plans to call the birds following an avian flu outbreak last year. Georgie Smyth has details. They are our animals. They're not the government's animals. They're our animals.

Fresh out of police custody, Katie Pasitney, is back at her mother's ostrich farm in the West Kootenies. The pair was arrested yesterday for obstructing agents from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, also called the CFIA from performing their duty, says the RCMP. We got released yesterday, came back to the farm. We have to stay on this side of the property. We're not allowed to be near the birds. The CFIA is on the farm to kill 400 ostriches. It's how the agency is trying to contain an outbreak of avian flu there.

Specifically, an infection of H5N1, which was confirmed on the property by lab tests late last year. That outbreak killed 69 of the farm's, But the rest of the herd is healthy, says Pasitney. Test one animal, 253 days healthy today. They're going to lose their life. The CFIA says they have to be killed to make sure the virus doesn't spread or mutate. There are no plans to test more of the birds because the priority is containment.

But that explanation hasn't stopped dozens of farm supporters from congregating on the rural property, leading to increased tensions in the area. The RCMP says it's received complaints of local businesses being threatened and harassed for their perceived involvement in the cull. Protesters are not allowed to be on the farm anymore. They stand on the other side of the fenced paddock covered in police tape now where the wandering ostriches can be heard vocalizing from the other side. You know, like I just see this as incredibly unjust and I just felt compelled.

You could say I'm a... Daniel Nilo traveled from the... valley over to protest the cull order, he says people should be able to just say no to orders from the government. Today's supporters had another legal delay to celebrate with the Supreme Court of Canada granting a temporary stay on their application to stop the cull. The order reads the CFIA will retain custody of the ostriches for now. Lawyer Kevin Smith says it's a minor setback for the CFIA. And so what the Supreme Court of Canada in issuing a stay has found is that there's a serious issue to be adjudicated on appeal.

That doesn't mean that they agree, but they just say this is a serious issue, and it deserves to be considered. The court order states the CFIA has until next Friday to respond. Georgie Smyth, CBC News, Vancouver. A new study in Ontario suggests transitioning to middle school in grade six can have a negative impact on student success. The study found standardized test scores for middle school students were lower than for students who stayed in a K-to-8 school. And it has some asking, should middle schools be phased out?

Deanna Sumanak Johnson reports. It's going great. I love it. Great seven student, Cleo Trisonar, has spent three weeks at her new middle school and so far gives it thumbs up. I like my teachers and I like how you have to do a certain subject at a certain time. Mom Emily agrees, but says it was the right time for her to move on to middle school. She thinks starting it in grade 6 would not have gone as smoothly. Her son, Cleo's brother, is now in grade 5. I think even from a puberty standpoint, you have kids at really different points in time on that continuum.

A new study suggests if and when kids go to middle school can have academic impact. Specifically, the study found that kids who transitioned to middle school, at the beginning of grade 6 had poorer outcomes on EQAO, Ontario's standardized tests, than kids who got to do the test in the school they've attended since kindergarten. About four and a half percentage points,

fewer students would pass both the literacy and the mathematics test. The study done by retired economics professor David R. Johnson for the CD-How Institute mined EQAO math and literacy results across different school boards. Only 8% of Ontario the students attend stand-alone middle schools that start in grade six.

Professor Johnson cedes the sample is small but says it still reveals something notable. The biggest concern is that we are introducing an unnecessary transition, which clearly does harm, and we have very little evidence that does any good. Kelly Gallagher Mackay is an associate professor of law and society at Wilfrid Laurier University and says the study has some interesting findings. There is research from elsewhere from BC and. in particular, that suggests that middle schools can be a little disruptive. All this comes as the Ontario government is doing a large-scale rethink

of how schools and school boards function. The province has taken over the supervision of four large school boards. Could middle schools be on the chopping block next? Gallagher-McKye doesn't think it's imminent, but... Middle school was designed to be protective, but with all things education, it's worth asking, is it working as we intended? Still, for the Trisonar family, middle school starting in grade 7 is a sweet spot. I can bring my book to school and just read it at lunch.

As the debate goes on about how to provide the best educational solution for twins and early teens, Deanna Suminac Johnson, CBC News, Toronto. This is Your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and never miss one of our episodes, Follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. NASA is gearing up for a historic mission around the moon next year, the first of its kind in half a century.

It will also mark a first for this country with a Canadian astronaut on the journey. Paul Hunter is at the Johnson Space Center in Houston with a behind-the-scene look at the preparation. for liftoff. This is the Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit. So this space suit has been designed for the astronauts to pretty much survive any anomaly. Jammed with space experts and space stuff at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, its media day. One last chance for NASA to talk up and show off its long-awaited historic mission sending astronauts around the moon and back to Earth for the first time in more than 50 years.

Look at all the data we have. The Artemis II mission set for early next year. So some cool things about these shoes. On display, space boots with special clamps to keep feet in place during liftoff. This actually locks into their seat. So when they're getting in their seat, there's a mechanism. Do we see that? So you click it off.

There's a mock-up of the space capsule, simulators in action, and biological test kits that'll go up aimed at testing the effects of radiation for a crew going further from Earth than any human has ever gone before. Off to the side, a big TV screen showing the kind of thing mission control will see through all of it. So as they do the lunar flyby operation, they're going to be taking photos out the windows. They have a little guide as to all the different features that they're going to look for on the moon. But the real focus is the four astronauts who'll make the trip, including, of course, the first Canadian who will ever leave Earth's orbit, Jeremy Hansen. And to my fellow Canadians, you should also be extraordinarily proud that we are represented

in the Artemis program. And it wasn't a gift. You earned it. At a news conference today, Hansen gave a shout out to NASA and the Canadian Space Agency and his three American fellow astronauts, who in turn credited Hansen for his hard work, sense of humor. He's funny. And constant creative thinking. Artemis II commander Reed Wiseman. There is nothing that he doesn't just think about. Like, well, what if you did this?

What if you did that? What if you did this? Why does it work this way? How could it work a different way? And those questions, when you're flying a spacecraft for the very first time, those questions lead to a lot of discovery. The mission itself is a testing ground for Artemis 3 aimed at landing up there for Hansen and crew.

Looping around the moon and then home safely is a giant leap toward that. Are you having fun? I'm having a great time. I really am. Yeah, I love this. I love this stuff. When we sat down with him, Hansen underlined the lesson for those at home while he goes beyond the far side of the moon.

I think it's extraordinary that we're the second country in the world to send a human into deep space. And if we're doing this, imagine what we can do next. So it's very powerful for me. With the launch now set as soon as February, the training for Hansen and others intensifies, as the moon awaits. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Houston.

Finally, in his nearly hour-long speech at the United Nations yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump had a lot to say about things he believes are not working, from the organization itself to European immigration policy, even the escalator at the UN headquarters. I ended seven wars. All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn't in great shape, she would have fallen. Trump during his speech, recalling the moment earlier in the day when the escalator abruptly

stopped, forcing the president and first lady to walk the remaining steps. And it wasn't the only mechanical problem. The teleprompter is not working. I can only say that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big trouble. Finger wagging in Trump's speech was soon followed by finger pointing from the White House. On Fox News press secretary Caroline Levitt blamed UN staffers for the mishaps, even accusing them of doing it deliberately. All right, Caroline, it does appear to be sabotaged. Well, Jesse, that's definitely what it appears to be to me.

Purposefully trying to trip up, literally trip up the president. And I know that we have people, including the United States Secret Service, who are looking into this to try to get to the bottom of it. The Secret Service wasn't the only agency looking into it. The United Nations did its own quite thorough investigation. That included a readout of the escalator's central processing unit. 9.50 a.m. was the exact time it stopped, according to the UN, halted.

After the machine's emergency stop was likely triggered by a White House videographer. And as for the teleprompter, the Associated Press is reporting. The operator, that person Trump said, is in big trouble, also works for the White House. Thank you for joining us. This has been your world tonight for Wednesday, September 24th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.