Your World Tonight - Nova Scotia flooding, AfD wins German state election, Trump envoys in Kyiv, and more

Episode Date: September 6, 2026

Three Nova Scotia counties remain under a state of emergency. Cape Breton and the eastern mainland were drenched with a month's worth of rain in just two days. Floodwaters have washed out countless roads, bridges and driveways. Residents are being told to stay home, while emergency crews assess the damage.Also: In Germany, the ultra-nationalist Alternative for Germany party (a.k.a AfD) has surged to first place in a state election. It fell short of a majority, but today's vote in Saxony-Anhalt is still a notable departure from the last 80 years of German politics. And: U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv today with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was their second stop on a diplomatic tour, just a day after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks are aimed at finding a pathway to peace between the two countries - after months of stalled negotiations.Plus: Kids with disabilities losing support staff in schools, Canada's upcoming counter-tariffs on the U.S., The centuries old fish in the Great Lakes, and more.

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Basically, there was three washouts on that road. Cape Bretners are used to rain, but not like this. A torrential downpour has destroyed roads, down trees, and knocked out power for thousands of people. This is your world tonight. I'm Gina Louise Phillips. Also tonight, Berlin's political establishment is dealt a devastating electoral blow.

The far-right alternative for Germany, has won the most votes in a crucial state election, shaking the foundations of Germany's post-war status quo. And... We seek a diplomatic resolution to this conflict, not a kinetic resolution to this conflict. U.S. negotiators push for peace between Russia and Ukraine. Three Nova Scotia counties remain under a state of emergency this weekend.

Cape Breton and the eastern mainland were drenched with a month's worth of rain in just two days. Flood waters have washed out countless roads, bridges, and driveways. Residents are being told to stay home while emergency crews assess the damage. Philip Lee-Shanock reports. We would urge Nova Scotians, if at all possible, to stay home and let crews do their work. Nova Scotia Minister of Public Works, Fred Tilley, says the storm caused extensive damage on Cape Breton and eastern parts of the mainland. culverts, bridges, roadways, asphalt, all of these things will have to be repaired and replaced.

So it will be a significant cost. On Saturday, a 46-year-old Cape Breton woman who was reported missing in the morning was found dead later in the day. Her hearts just break for that family. Richmond County warden, Lois Landry, says she drove past the flooded area where the woman's body was found. Police say they don't suspect foul play, but didn't confirm if her death was related to the flooding. You know, this is a very difficult time and a very sad time for our province. Kim Maslin is Nova Scotia's Minister of Emergency Management. Sadly, the storm continues.

We still have heavy rain, and we expect to see that, according to Environment Canada, until the wee hours of the morning. She says it's difficult to give residents a timeline for repairs as officials are still assessing the damage. Terry Doyle is C-A-O of the town of Port Hawkesbury. He says the magnitude of the storm is unconstitutional. unprecedented. We've never experienced anything to this size and effect. And certainly that's what I'm being told by others as well. He's also asking people to stay off the roads if possible to allow

crews to work. Doyle says it will take time to repair roads. Some suffered extensive damage. There are significant numbers of washouts, fairly serious issues to deal with, including bridges and very large culverts. Inverness County warden, Bonnie McClellan. Isaac says she is seeing fallen trees and dangerous roads. She's asking people to stay inside and only travel when absolutely necessary. People just don't understand what they're seeing on the flood. Like if you're seeing water on the road, you might not know how deep that is or what's under it. Over 200 millimeters of rain has fallen across the region and more is expected into Monday.

Philip Lyshenock, CBC News, Toronto. Five people are dead after an Amazon. cargo plane crashed while landing at Miami International Airport. Officials say it overshot the runway and slammed into multiple vehicles. Video shows a plume of black smoke coming from the plane. Dozens of fire rescue units have been deployed. Police say another five people were injured. Still ahead, these days, everybody is looking for the secret to longevity. Well, it turns out, it may have been hiding at the bottom of the Great Lakes. New research on Lake Sturgeon suggests the large freshwater fish could live for hundreds of years. More on that later, on your world tonight.

In Germany, the ultra-nationalist alternative for Germany, or AFD, has surged to first place in a state election. It fell short of a majority, but today's vote in Saxony-on-Halt is still a notable departure from the last 80 years of German politics. As Lisa Mayer reports, the AFD says it's now looking for partners in a bid to form government. A historic election in Germany tonight. Ulrich Zygmant, leader of the far-right alternative for Germany,

calling himself the now leader of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, celebrating tonight at the party's election headquarters. We hauling us our land back. It begins here in Saxon-Halt. The AFD has won a lot. landslide victory, making history in Germany. The first time this once fringe party has had this positive a result. You've achieved the impossible, the party's federal leader Alice Vidal said.

With Ulrich Zygmonde, we have the first state premier for Saxony-on-Halt. The AFD didn't win a majority or complete control of the state yet. That will likely take them joining a coalition with another party in Saxony-Anhalt to get them past the finish line, something Zygmend, left to. himself open to. A majority mandate would give them complete control over many aspects of life in Saxony-Anhalt, including education, culture, and the justice system. The AFD in Saxony-Anhalt is classified by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as far-right extremist. Officials said their policies treat Germans from migrant backgrounds as second-class citizens. The party opposes

immigration to Germany and wants to deport as many immigrants without residency as possible. They say refugee children, like those from Ukraine, won't be allowed in the same classrooms as Germans. And they want to change the history curriculum in school to put less focus on the Nazi era. Democracy is in danger. Experts like political scientist Judith Enders are worried about what a win for the AFD could mean for the future. It's not only on this little Saxon-Hael focus. It's a whole problem of the Western world and the Western societies. And others, like extremism expert Fabian Wichmann, say with more elections,

Coming up, this could be the start of a movement for the party. The question how many votes they get here. And that's just the short term. I think the long term is much more interesting. The result is a major breakthrough for the AFD, who is currently the main opposition party in Germany's federal parliament. These small elections in that state, if you look at all in Germany, it's maybe the first time they reach such a high level on voters.

And that is the significant. because another or different other federal states may follow. The next state that could follow is another in Eastern Germany. They head to the polls in two weeks. The AFD hopes these two states could be a springboard to success in the next federal election in Germany, scheduled for 2029. Lisa Mayer, CBC News, Berlin. U.S. special envoys Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner

held talks in Kiev with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky. It was their second stop on a diplomatic tour. aimed at finding a pathway to peace between Russia and Ukraine. Catherine Tunney reports from Washington. With a hug and a backslap, Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelenskyy, welcomes the U.S. delegation to Kiev. Steve Whitkoff, a former real estate agent turned special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, making their first official visit to the Capitol.

All part of a renewed push to end the war now into its fifth year. The president asked Jared and I to come here and to restart conversations, negotiations. Whitkoff, peddling fresh optimism after previous rounds of peace negotiations stalled. I think we really feel good about what has happened in the conversations in Moscow and now the conversations here. Slensky took the two Americans to the St. Sophia Cathedral with its golden mosaic of the Virgin Mary, considered one of the most sacred symbols in Ukraine. UNESCO's site not far from where a Russian drone hit on Friday. A reminder to the U.S. negotiators of the violence.

The U.S. envoy's trip to the Ukrainian capital comes hours after meeting separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow. Outside of a 72-hour ceasefire on the two countries' capitals, the U.S. trip did not yield any public announcements of a breakthrough, and little is known about what was discussed behind closed doors. Kushner suggested progress on getting the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia back to the same table. These are some of the hardest problems that's in the world, you know, and I think that you have to try. Zelensky stressed those trilateral meetings are crucial.

The weekend meetings come at a dangerous moment in the conflict, as both sides have been intensifying their aerial attacks. Russia and Ukraine have been deadlocked over peace concessions, with Putin's demands for territory, a non-negotiable for Zelensky. Andrew Rasulis with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute says the trip brings a glimmer of hope. The fact that, you know, Trump has San Kershner and Wittkov back at it, suggests that perhaps there's something new in the American proposals that might, you know, get the Russians and Ukrainians to move closer together.

Zelensky announced today he will visit Canada. Sources told Radio Canada he's expected some time this week. The president is expected to raise the need for more aid ahead of what could be a deadly winter if peace talks don't move. Catherine Taney, CBC News, Washington. While the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, not too far away, another long-standing conflict is closer than ever to ending. Turkey is taking significant steps toward concluding its decades-long war with the Kurdistan Workers' Party,

or PKK. The move comes after the PKK announced last. Last year, it was ending its armed insurgency. Freelance reporter Natalie Carney has more on this. Mehmet Oran lost his son, Issa, during one of the darkest periods of Turkey's conflict with Kurdish militants. A university chemistry student, his father says Issa was repeatedly detained and threatened by Turkish authorities because of his political activities. He says the Turkish state terrorizes Kurdish youth because Ankara knows that educating them and allowing them to secure their own futures can lead them to become leaders of the Kurdish people.

Issa's body was left in the street for nearly a month after he was killed during a bout of intense urban fighting in Diyarbakur. That interview was recorded as Turkey's last attempt to make peace with the Kurdish Workers' Party or PKK was collapsing. A decade later, they're trying again. After the PKK announced in May of last year that it would disband and end insurgency, Turkey's parliament approved a legal framework for disarmament and the possible return of former militants to civilian life.

Martin Bar Association head Ahmed Dujan says the new law does offer protections for some former PKK members once they give up their weapons. But it's not a general amnesty and leaves unresolved deeper questions over Kurdish political and cultural rights. This time, the process has gone through parliament. But disarming fighters may prove easier than reintegrating those who have spent decades in the mountains. Duyan says there needs to be a process for their return and reintegration. For some who have spent 20-some years or more of their lives in such circumstances,

reintegration into society will entail serious sociological and psychological difficulties. But ultimately, peace will be judged in communities like Martin that have lived with the conflict for generations. Every house in Mardin has experienced grief, says Dujan. There is suffering everywhere. The sentiment is shared by both sides. Let this pain come to an end. And Isa Oran's father, Mehmet, would agree.

We are all in the same boat. If this ship sinks, Turkey sinks, he says. After 40-plus years, laying down weapons may be the most visible step, but building enough trust to ensure they are never picked up again, could prove much harder. Natalie Carney for CBC News in Martin, Turkey. The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is outpacing efforts to track and contain it. The disease has killed more than 3,000 people since mid-May, and data from the Congolese government says more than twice as many people have been infected.

Freelance reporter Chris Ocimringa has more from Kinshasa. The north-eastern Ituri province, which borders Uganda and South Sudan, has recorded the highest number of cases. But mistrust and misinformation are making the outbreak hard to contain, says local leader Saiz Mubair. The population in Ituri has struggled to accept the reality of Ebola. Some influenced by African traditional beliefs view the outbreak as a curse. Health officials say that mistrust. can have deadly consequences. People may delay seeking treatment or avoid health facilities altogether, according to Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedris Adanam Gabriesses.

The majority of this are still happening in communities rather than in treatment centers, and many of those who die are not being buried safely, which is fueling transmission. Reaching some communities is another challenge. The Goldrich province is a at the center of a decades-long conflict between rebel groups who are fighting over land and resources. Frontline health worker Bob Missima says rebel activity in parts of Ituri can make it difficult for health workers to reach patients. He says, I've traveled to two health zones in Ituri where rebels are present. The rebels do not want civilians from other regions in their territory. It takes a lot of negotiation and maneuvering for help workers to go there. The government

has promised to reinforce security. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibuja strain of Ebola for which there's currently no approved vaccine. Scientists in the United Kingdom and Canada are conducting clinical trials on vaccine candidates. But until those vaccines are approved, health workers are relying on testing, isolation and contact tracing to slow transmission. And with the outbreak continuing to spread, health authorities say they need more resources to keep the response going. Chris Ochanringa for CBC News, Kinshasa. With trade talks completely stalled, Canada is pushing ahead with billions of dollars in counter-tariffs on American goods. Starting Tuesday, some Canada-bound items will be hit with tariffs of up to 50%.

As Kimberly Molina reports, analysts warn many businesses won't be able to absorb the costs for long. This is not good news and if this escalates further, well then it's, then the real impact could be much, much larger. That's Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. He worries about the effect this latest round of tariffs will have on small businesses and whether they'll be able to eat some of the price hikes before passing them along to customers. Kelly says some importers and exporters businesses are in jeopardy. If the tariff, lasts more than three months. For some of these small businesses that have already not been in a position to retire their

pandemic debt, it continue to be in rough shape, this is a big deal. Canada is set to roll out its own tariffs against the U.S. on Tuesday, including 50% tariffs on items like milk and swimwear, while stoves, carpets, toilet paper, and even the semi-trailers used to haul those goods, or at 25%. Late last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney, told people in Thunder Bay that nothing has changed much since Canada walked away from the negotiating table. One of the core things that we were fighting for and will continue to fight for in our trade negotiations with the United States is real relief on these unjustified tariffs. When you're ready and prepared to behave like adults, we're certainly prepared to come back to the

table. Van Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carlton University, in Ottawa says Canadians want to see the government retaliate, and he says the tariffs aren't meant to move the American economy, but politics. And hopefully President Donald Trump will figure it out soon. There are no winners in a trade war. Our prime minister knows it, and he's betting that Trump is eventually and hopefully sooner rather than later figure it out. But Trump has a different view. In a post on true social today, he says Canada's dollar imbalance with the U.S. is unacceptable. And while it's been like that for years, he vows no longer. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besant, spoke about the contentious trade negotiations on Fox News.

Everyone says, oh, sanctions don't work. I can tell you, blockade and sanctions are one of the most powerful one-two punches in the history of economic isolation. So when Canadians will get back to the negotiating table with the Americans is still up in the air. Kimberly Molina, CBC News, Ottawa. As the new school year begins, many students with disabilities will be missing the special support staff they rely on. Budget cuts across the country have reduced or completely removed the positions from schools. Advocates say an alarming number of children with disabilities are now being excluded and stripped of their. fundamental right to learn. Gloria Enriquez reports.

Nervous. Scary. A bit exciting. That's what 10-year-old Ellie is feeling about heading back to a classroom after nearly a year of being tutored at home. Yeah, feels exciting. Ellie is now heading to a new school with specialized resources for her. She is autistic and has dyslexia. CBC News is withholding her last name to reduce online harm and bullying. She used to go to an elementary school in Montreal's South Shore, but after losing some of her in-class specialized resources, Ellie was having meltdowns.

The school and her mother, Kellingharding Jones, agreed to pull her out. What essentially we're telling her is that you don't fit in the school and you have to leave. And that it's incredibly difficult. Ellie is one of an estimated thousands of students with disabilities across Canada who have been sent home from school. And it's actually becoming a bigger issue. Krista Karr is the head of Inclusion Canada, a nonprofit organization working to advance the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. She says school exclusions have negative effects on children and those around them. It has a real effect on the student academically, socially and mentally and physically, but also on the family.

One parent is getting called to come and pick a child up and is having to leave work or is having to leave jobs off. or losing jobs? She says one of the problems is shrinking education budgets, which don't prioritize support staff or specialized resources. A 2025 report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities expressed concern for the inconsistent access to inclusive education across provinces and territories. The report recommended Canada implements a national inclusive education plan. Wilfred Laurier University Professor Steve Sider,

agrees. We don't have good data that would then tell us, okay, what are the effective practices that are shifting us into a spot where we are actually seeing children with diverse abilities better supported in schools? Quebec's education ministry did not respond to CBC's request for comment. As for Ellie, do you think that the politicians heard what we were fighting for? Yeah. She has now become an advocate, even going to Quebec's National Assembly to send a message to politicians. Ellie says she wants them to know children with difficulties like her need help. It's literally their job. Gloria Enrique, CBC News, Montreal.

Actor, screenwriter, and director, Georgina Lightning has died. Lightning was born in Edmonton as a member of the Samson Cree Nation. In 2008, Lightning directed, wrote, and starred in the supernatural thriller Older Than America. made her the first North American Indigenous woman to direct a major feature film. Lightning was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for her supporting role in the CVC drama series Trickster in 2021. She was 63 years old.

Rescuers are looking for a Canadian athlete who has gone missing on the Matterhorn. Friends say Kaylee McChrystal is a skilled mountaineer who wouldn't take reckless chances. Caroline Bargut has more on the details of the search. Hi, I'm Kaylee. I'm from Canada. It's been five days since anyone heard from Kaylee McChrystal. The 38-year-old lawyer and skyrunner from Squamish, BC, disappeared on the Matterhorn. The most iconic mountain peak in the Alps, while training to set a world record. She wanted to climb up and down the Matterhorn in five hours via the Lions Ridge,

the main route from the Italian side. McChrystal was last seen on Tuesday. This is a really tough blow for all of us. Skyrunning is an extreme sport, combining trail running and mountaineering. Hillary Girardi is a friend and skyrunner living in France. She was supposed to meet up with McChrystal at the end of the week to train together. I think that it's a shock for me and for all of us because it's so hard to lose track of somebody that we love so much. And also because for so many of us, we can see ourselves in Cayley.

Search and rescue crews used an air ambulance and then a smaller helicopter to look for McChrystal, but suspended aerial operations on Thursday after a full day of searching turned up nothing. Vallaro Segor is with the Mountain Rescue Service. He says a guide saw MacChrystal on Tuesday at a hut on the Matterhorn at an altitude of about 3,830 meters. She saw her still going up and going quite quickly and she told the guide that she was training because she wanted to try the records. So that's the only information we have. And no one saw her since then. Chris Winter is with Athletics Canada. He says ground crews are still searching for McChrystal.

There are guides and teams going up and down that mountain daily. So the hope was that, you know, if not found via the helicopter, that, you know, ground teams may be able to find her. McChrystal is one of the best sky runners in the world. She placed fourth at a 52-kilometer mountain race in Italy called the Trofeo Kima and holds the record for the fastest female time of Squamish's Tantilus Traverse, which she did in nine hours and 40 minutes. It's a serious mountain, but well within Kaley's technical ability.

Duncan O'Regan is a mountain runner from Squamish and a friend of McChrystal's. She wasn't actually doing a speed attempt on Tuesday when she went missing. She was just doing a reconnaissance. So she was moving much more slowly. She would have been travelling more carefully and potentially had more equipment with her. Search and rescue crews are trying to narrow down the area where McChrystal disappeared by looking at cell phone data and trying to pin her location. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver.

A Great Lakes fish has been keeping a 400-year secret. New research suggests lake sturgeon may live for centuries. But despite their longevity, the fish have barely survived us. The finding could change how conservationists try to bring back the species from the brink of extinction. Colin Butler reports. It's a lesson this Michigan field researcher learned the hard way. I got her. At two meters long, weighing nearly 70 kilos, Lake Sturgeon are big enough, they can knock a full-grown man off his feet.

Stop it! Getting a handle on these fish is one thing. Getting a handle on how old they are is even harder. Well, the typical way that fish age is determined is by counting annual rings on a bony structure, something like a scale. Ed Baker is a research manager with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. For Lake Sturgeon, their growth is so slow that we just simply can't accurately count annual rings. So researchers tried something different, measuring Lake Sturgeon, then catching the same fish years or even decades later and measuring it again. Some had barely grown.

When researchers compared those growth rates to how long that fish had been growing, its age stretched into centuries. I was taken aback and surprised, and we're pretty comfortable saying that there are potentially 400-year-old. Lake Sturgeon swimming around. Sturgeon have survived since the age of the dinosaurs. Humans nearly wiped them out in just a few decades through overfishing. Today, barely 1% of their historic population remains, and scientists are trying to bring them back. We actually collected the age ourselves, and you can see how beautiful they are.

Trevor Pitcher is a biologist at the University of Windsor. He raises Lake Sturgeon for conservation. The young fish and his tanks are nearly a meter long, armored, whiskered, and unmistakably prehistoric. looking. Assuming that they do live, let's say, two to 400 years, we need to reframe the way we do conservation. That includes raising more young

sturgeon, rethinking habitat restoration and planning even further into the future. But the idea of sturgeon living for centuries isn't new to everyone. Because of their longevity, they were considered like a grandfather

fish. Perry MacLeod Shabogisik is an elder and knowledge keeper with Ontario's Nipissing First Nation. He says, For generations, First Nations understood as simple truth, sturgeon are built to last. Duh. This, you know, in a way, it's kind of humorous for our people who hear the scientists now, oh, guess what? They're older than we thought, you know.

Even though the sturgeon have been around since the age of the dinosaurs, it seems, some of us are still getting to know them. Colin Butler, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. We end tonight in the Yukon. Picture yourself driving along the South Klondike Highway. You're enjoying the gorgeous forest view with a mountainous backdrop. You make a familiar turn. And suddenly, you see there's a police car on patrol up ahead.

But upon closer look... What in the world? Is that a fake cop car? Like TJ visuals on Instagram, you realize the cruiser parked on the side of the road is fake. A two-dimensional cutout, painted to look like an RCMP vehicle with lights and all. It's there to get drivers to slow down. It's a good reminder to those who have led feet. Deputy Chief Darla Jean Lindstrom from Carcross-Tegis First Nation says the decoy is a joint effort with Yukon RCP. It was installed last month just north of her community, positioned where the speed limit drops from 90 to 50 kilometers per hour.

A number of big trucks that go through our little community, just the safety of our citizens and our children. She says it's been drawing a lot of attention on social media as people pull over to snap a pick. Like local Nancy Bliss. This is the first time I've seen it, so it really struck me. Lindstrom says the decoy is working. She's already seeing people slow down, and it's really driving home the message of safety in 2D. We leave you with Some of Police Car by Larry Wallace. This has been your world tonight for September 6th. Gina Louise Phillips. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca.com