Your World Tonight - U.S. Coast Guard calls off search for missing medical plane, and more

Episode Date: October 4, 2026

After a rigorous search in the open waters off the Massachusetts coast, the U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for six people that were onboard a Canadian medical flight that vanished on Saturday. The Ontario registered jet travelling from Bermuda to Boston lost radar contact after the pilot signaled an in-flight emergency.Also: With four weeks until the U.S. midterms decide control of Congress, President Donald Trump is on a swing through conservative strongholds. Confronting low poll numbers, the President is promising economic disaster if voters defect - while pitching cash payouts if Republicans hold power. And: In Italy, The fight against organized crime is remembered through stories of police officers, prosecutors and judges who took it on...and sometimes paid with their lives. But women from Mafia families have also played a crucial role. As Italy marks 35 years since the creation of its witness protection program, you'll hear from the women who've spoken out. Plus: Final campaign day in Quebec, Bosnia's election, Filipino roots in "Forgotten Island", and more.

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the U.S. Coast Guard suspends the search for the air ambulance missing near Nantucket. Six people were on board, including four Canadians. This is Your World Tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Also on the podcast with the U.S. midterms just 30 days away, Donald Trump tries to shore up the MAGA vote. As polls suggest, his Republican Party could take big losses. And it's election eve in Quebec.

It's really about now, mostly whether we'll have, you know, there will be in majority or minority territory, and that will make a big difference. More on the party leaders, the polls, and the key issues. We begin with an update in the search for the air ambulance that went missing off the coast of Massachusetts. The U.S. Coast Guard says it has called off the search for the jet that was carrying six people, including four Canadians.

Joining us now with more is the CBC's Philip Lee Shanock. Phil, what is the latest from the U.S. Coast Guard? Well, certainly sad news for everyone involved in many of us who are actually following the story. The U.S. Coast Guard says after 40 hours, after beginning their search, they and their partner agencies as of sunset tonight have suspended the search for the people aboard the latitude medical transport aircraft. They also sent out a statement expressing their deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the crew and their passengers. And what do we know about those on board and the Canadian company to which the jet is registered? Well, this jet had a call sign, Heartbeat 104.

It was one of four Gulfstream G-100 jets registered to this Hamilton-based company in latitude air ambulance. And basically they work with insurance companies, you know, when you purchase medical insurance for travel interruptions. Companies like Latitude would be the ones that come and do the medical evacuations and repatriate you. They do this for hundreds of people every year. So there were four Canadians on the crew of this flight. There are two pilots and two medical personnel. They departed Hamilton, Ontario, Friday night. They landed in the island of Bermuda and picked up a patient and a family member, both Bermuda

and citizens. Then they left for Boston around midnight, about half an hour from their destination. They advised a New York-based air traffic controller of an unknown emergency. And shortly after around 2 a.m. Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration notified the Coast Guard. that they lost contact and that's when the search began. CBC's Philip Lyshenock in Toronto, thank you so much. You're welcome. Polls open in under 24 hours in Quebec's provincial election.

But with five parties on the ballot, whether Quebecers choose a majority or a minority government is still anyone's guess. Alexander Silberman has more on the final day of the campaign. I'm trying to make up my mind. Voters in Montreal split between five parties, say a range of issues are top of mind in Monday's election. Health care and taxes.

And many say they want change. That's exactly what Parti Quebecoe leader Paul Saint-Pierre Plamandandand is promising. His party is positioned as the frontrunner. We all want change. We are that change. Give us a chance. The PQ leader in Laval, urging voters to elect his separatist party as a majority government. The parties made the party. their last push of the campaign on Sunday.

Christine Frischette, leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, spent her final day in her own riding in Troix Rivier, the CAQ in power over the last eight years, now fighting for survival. Frichette telling voters she offers a third choice for Quebecers who are neither sovereignist nor federalist. I think I haven't spoken enough about the consequences of planning a referendum. Liberal leader Charmilleille met with supporters in Sherbrook and stopped by an apple orchard.

We can have a strong Quebec within a strong Canada. The party appears likely to maintain its official opposition status, but struggles to find support from Francophones. And two smaller parties in the race, the conservatives and left-leaning Quebec Salidar, spent the day in regions where they're competitive. But with the PQ likely to form government, there are growing concerns about the likelihood of a third-year-old.

referendum on Quebec independence, especially among English-speaking voters like Joe Moreno. I think it would be a disaster, short-term, for the economy of Quebec. It's a bit paradoxical. You see support for sovereignty in Quebec is low from an historical standpoint. Mark Carney is the most popular politician in Quebec right now. A PQ government will likely be a thorn in Ottawa's side, says Danielle Belin. The director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada says the PQ was able to successfully present itself as the main alternative to the CAQ.

Really about now, mostly whether we'll have, you know, there will be in majority or minority territory, and that will make a big difference. The Pertzi Quebecois has only garnered about 30% of support in the polls, but that margin could still be enough to win a majority. Alexander Silverman, CBC News, Montreal. Still ahead, the Italian women who have worked to fight against organized crime from inside mafia families. Their story and why they say they don't regret speaking out, even if it means living under police protection.

That's coming up on your world tonight. With four weeks until the U.S. midterms decide control of Congress, President Donald Trump is on a swing through conservative strongholds. Confronting low poll numbers, the president is promising economic disdain. disaster if voters defect, while pitching cash payouts if Republicans hold power. J.P. Tasker reports from Washington. I'm here to say hello. I love you. And I'm coming really as a sign of respect. U.S. President Donald Trump is on a campaign blitz a month out from the crucial midterm elections that will decide the balance of power in Washington.

It's the most important midterm election we've ever had because we have a lot of common. Conceding his party could be in tough, Trump is swinging through reliably Republican states to shore up the MAGA vote. Hitting five in the last four days, including Ohio, a state Trump carried by 11 points in the last election, but one where his tariffs have hit hard. What I'm going to do is ask you to just pretend that I'm running. Because if we do, and if you draw the people, you're going to win. Poll after poll released over the weekend suggests November's vote could be a Republican. bloodbath. A New York Times Sienna survey shows Democrats have an edge in key Senate races, including a six-point lead in Ruby Red, Texas. It's such a big race. If the Democrats win,

also campaigning from the Oval Office, Trump claimed a Democratic victory could prompt a depression. It'll be a 1929 disaster if they get in. While dangling the prospect of big government checks if Republicans defy the odds and win. I'm going to give all adult citizens, in the United States of America, $5,000. These are not good signs. All of its smacks of desperation, says Aisha McCurcher. He's an expert on U.S. politics at the Brian Maruni Institute of Government. Trump is bribing voters with their own money,

as the walls close in on his party, he says. All of these issues that are really coming to a head to be sort of a perfect storm, that again, could be not just a blue wave, but a blue tidal wave or blue tsunami for the Democrats. Meanwhile, those Democrats like John Ossoff, a Democratic Senate candidate in Georgia, are keeping the focus on Trump's war in Iran. Join me in demanding an end to this foolish and reckless and self-destructive war in the Middle East, a war based on lies.

The Republicans have one thing going for them, and that's a huge campaign war chest. Trump's super PAC alone is sitting on some $415 million U.S. dollars that he can. can deploy in the closing weeks of this campaign. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Washington. Prime Minister Mark Carney is hoping to make Canada a global energy superpower by fast-tracking the Pacific Link Pipeline Project. But as the federal government promises to expedite the approval and construction process, there are concerns. Ottawa is also fast-forwarding through environmental issues and consultations with First Nations. David Thurton reports. Canada does not have a great record historically around building oil pipelines.

Canada's energy minister, Tim Hotson, says the private sector is still gun-shy about building pipelines, including the Pacific Link. The Pembina Pipeline Corporation owns a 10% stake, but Alberta and Ottawa are paying for most of the pipeline that could cost as much as $43 billion. And the private sector is a little bit reticent, given, that there have been so many delays. There have been so many challenges. Challenges in court and on the ground plagued the previous Trans Mountain expansion.

Its owner, Kinder Morgan, backed out in 2018. Ottawa then bought the company financing and building the multi-billion dollar project itself. Once again, the government is stepping in and fronting another pipeline. But Alberta Finance Minister Jason Nixon says this is necessary. The regulatory regime that was built underneath the former federal government, government is a failure, which requires governments to be able to step in to be able to create the atmospheres where investments can take place. The current government faces little opposition to its plans in the House of Commons.

It holds a majority of seats, meaning opposition parties like the NDP can't do much to push back. But voices outside government are... I think that they are rushing through these processes way too fast. Beatrice Frank is with the BC Environmental Group, the Georgia Strait Alliance. Groups like hers are not just taking issue with the pipeline, but how the government is going about building it. Designating it a national interest project gives the federal government power to exempt the pipeline from environmental law.

While I see the geopolitical moment being really challenging, I also think that Canada has always shown the ability to be really on the forefront of environmental protection, and we should be keeping doing so. Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs says its members are concerned. Grand Chief Stuart Phillips says Ottawa is breaching its constitutional obligations to First Nations. I believe that like all other pipeline wars in B.C., we're heading back to the courts. Despite concerns about the environment and the costs, the government of Alberta says it hopes to get shovels in the ground within a year and maybe get the private sector to take more ownership. David Thornton, CBC News, Ottawa.

Brazil's presidential election is heading to a runoff, according to the country's electoral authority. With nearly all the ballots counted from Sunday's first round, the top two finishers are incumbent president Luis Inacio Lula to Silva and conservative Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who is the son of jailed former president Jair-Belsenero. Neither candidate secured the 50% majority needed for an outright win. Brazilian voters will return to the polls in October 25th for a head-to-head matchup that will determine the direction of Latin America's largest economy. Polls are closed in Bosnia-Herzegovina's election. Bosnia has one of the world's most

complex political systems with different ethnic groups sharing power along two different entities along with a three-headed presidency. The result could either hasten or hinder the country's efforts to join the European Union. Freelance reporter Ali Barrett is watching this for us from London. Ali, Bosnia-Herzegovina's elections are considered the most complicated on earth. Why are they so confusing? Well, Stephanie, this is a system that was put together in a United States-brokered peace arrangement in the 1990s, off the back of a bloody civil war.

And the idea of the system is to make sure that the ethnic groups, that make up Bosnia are all represented in the political system. And therefore, that means that the three and a half million or so voters who were eligible to vote today were voting for a number of different things. One is the three members of the multi-ethnic presidency for the country. Then they're also voting for the lawmakers for the national parliament. And then they're voting for the heads. of the institutions for the two entities that actually make up the country, one of which is the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the other is called the Republica Serbska, which is dominated by ethnic Serbs. And so there are all of those elements that voters have been voting on today. So what's at stake in this election? Well, there have been some major issues throughout the campaign. One has been the potential push towards European Union membership, a path to potential membership of the NATO military alliance in the future as well. Some of the Bosniak parties have therefore been pushing for a stronger state to move in that direction. One other issue has been the influence or otherwise of Russia in the country and some in Bosnia and Herzegovina have accused Russia of trying to slow down that potential path towards the European Union.

There have been Croat nationalist parties also saying that electoral reform should be something that is moved forwards in the country. But lots of other issues at play too, including the economy, the cost of living, and the future of young people, many of whom have been leaving the country in search of better opportunities elsewhere. And a lot of voters have been saying in the run-up to these polls that they fear the election may not lead to the change that they desire. And they also say that some of the parties often revert to some of those nationalist issues because they feel they simply don't have the solutions to the actual problems that affect their lives. Okay. Olly Barrett in London,

thank you so much for giving us this snapshot into this. My pleasure, Stephanie. In Italy, The fight against organized crime is remembered through stories of police officers, prosecutors and judges who took it on and sometimes paid with their lives. But women from mafia families have also played a crucial role. As Italy marks 35 years since the creation of its witness protection program, Megan Williams reports on the women who have spoken out. Pierre Alliello reaches up across the counter. of a street vendor and takes a bite of an authentic Sicilian canolo, the ricotta-filled pastry with a crisp shell. It's something she's dreamed of,

since famous mafia prosecutor, Paolo Borsellino, later murdered, told her that if she testified against the mafia, she'd have to leave her homeland forever. He said to me, take a map of Italy, tear Sicily out of it, and throw it away. Aiello left in 1991 after testifying against members of the mafia family

she'd been forced to marry into as a teen. She had a three-year-old daughter, two suitcases, and a new identity. For women, especially mothers, breaking with the mafia, can mean leaving behind not only family and community, but the people and money they depend on. Senator Vincenza Rando

has spent years working with women who make that choice. Women who are neither justice witnesses nor cooperating witnesses, I call them cultural collaborators, Rando says. They may have no crime to report, but by simply rejecting the mafia world around them,

it means putting themselves and their children at risk. Until now, many fell outside Italy's traditional protection system. This summer, Italy passed a new law called Liberi di Schellier. free to choose, offering protection and support to children and the women caring for them when they leave crime families. Journalist Federica Angeli came to protection another way.

For 13 years, mafia threats have kept her underarmed escort in Ostia, outside Rome, and the local mafia boss knew exactly where she was most vulnerable. He said, you have three children. What shall we do? Shall we start with the youngest? Her children were later put under protection too. Ferangeli, being under police escort, has meant terrible loneliness, loss of friendships and freedom. But...

She says, I thought about my children. Do I teach them how to bow to the mafia out of fear? Or do I try to change things? And 13 years later, it's a choice she says she doesn't regret. Megan Williams, CBC News, Ostia. The animated movie Forgotten Island takes audiences deep into a fantasy world, full of supernatural beings from Filipino folklore. As Christine Pagelion tells us, it's also about family, friendship, and the heartache of leaving home.

I'm Joe. I'm Risa. Do you want to be best friends? Cool. At the heart of Forgotten Island is a friendship tested by distance. It's the first major Hollywood. animated film to center Filipino culture. Childhood friends Joe and Risa are drawn into the fantasy world of Nkali, a play on the Tagalog word for Forgotten.

It's a world where Filipino mythology breathes. Filipino Canadian Tricia Sirdon grew up loving animated movies, but says Forgotten Island is the first time she's ever seen herself on screen. The accuracy, I was very impressed because sometimes it gets lost in translation or even the pronunciation. is never truly like, yeah, it's like so-and-so, it's not accurate. But this film, I think, did a really great job. Co-director Januel Mercado, who is Filipino-American, wanted to introduce audiences to the richness of Filipino folklore.

We wanted to tell a Filipino story or make a movie set in the Philippines. They're like, wow, they have this rich mythology, the Aslan, and that's something like we don't see that much. Co-director Joel Crawford says the creatures also reflect the characters emotional struggles. Take the wear dog, part human, part animal, caught between identities. In this coming of age story, we all kind of treat it like puberty. There's a sense of, as you're in the formative years, finding your identity. The cast is a powerhouse of Filipino talent, Liza Soberano, Laia Salonga, Mani Jacinto, and Jo Koi. Even the animation is homegrown,

with Manila-based snipple animation handling the 2D flashbacks. Mercado says that representation was intentional. It was important to us. We would love as many Filipino artists, Filipino American and homegrown in the Philippines, to be a part of this. Michael Angelo Masunkai of the CNAe Institute says Filipino creators also need a say in which stories get made. It's really important for us to be able to get into that decision-making matrix to be able to say, take a chance on this. This is what is authentic. Sir Don remembers looking for a Disney princess who looked like her. Now she hopes the next generation of young Filipinos won't have to search someone. hard. I want children to be inspired that they're not limited to costumes that are

not really representative of their culture, but like now they can do Riza and Joe for a costume. A Filipino story on a global stage. A forgotten island doesn't just reflect a community on screen. It helps open the door for the Filipino stories still waiting to be told. Christine Pagulayon, CBC News, Toronto. 59 years ago today, multiple Nova Scotians looked up at the the sky and saw something strange. A glowing orb, or bright lights that hovered overhead for hours. It's been dubbed the night of the UFOs. Richard Woodbury in Halifax now with one man's account of that eerie night. I'm quite fearful and I look around. I realize I'm all alone here.

Chris Stiles was 12 when he came face to face with a mysterious object on the shore of the Dartmouth side of the Halifax Harbor. There's this huge, sphere, and it was a very dull orange, and it was glowing just like a poker in a fireplace. He says the sphere made the water tremble as it passed over, but the object made no noise. If you were outside that time of night and you looked up, and for some hours afterwards, you would have seen something. It was a clear night. People were seeing the faintest stars without binoculars. The date was October 4, 1967. A date UFOlogists like Stiles called the Night of the UFOs, because there were multiple purported sightings

across Nova Scotia, in places including Wedgport, Mahone Bay, and Deepby Neck. These other sightings very quickly fell out of the press and the media coverage because they were all eclipsed by what happened in Shag Harbor. The Shag Harbor incident is Canada's most famous UFO sighting. Multiple witnesses reported seeing an object with flashing lights crash into the Atlantic. In the area where it happened, there was a yellow foam almost a kilometer long. Some said it smelled like sulfur. A military diving team was called in, but did not find anything.

In a document, the Defense Department's Director of Operations, Colonel W.W. Turner, wrote the sighting was not produced by aircraft, flares, floats, or any other known objects. His son, John, told CBC News in an email that his father would sometimes speak about the alleged UFO sightings at home. There's no doubt seeing, is believing. As for Chris Stiles' citing, it was written up in the local newspaper. The Chronicle Herald contacted the nearby Air Force base to see if it was detected on their radar. But the base said nobody was watching the radar at the time. Richard Woodbury, CBC News, Halifax.

The song that made Sass Jordan a star. Tell Somebody, the breakout hit from her debut album in 1988. The Canadian rocker with the raspy voice has died at the age of 63. She was born in England, the daughter of a French literature professor and a valerina. She moved to Montreal very young, and by 16 was fronting bands in downtown clubs. She'd go on to win a Juno and be a judge for all of Canadian Idol, famous for songs, like this one, High Road Easy. But it's her bright personality that's being remembered now. Jeff Kulowick, former president of Stony Plain Records, calls her bold, beautiful, and brave.

Canadian producer Derek Downham says she was a ray of light and a hilarious person who came up in a time where there were few other women in rock and led with love. In a 2018 interview with CBC Radio, Sass Jordan showed that spark. I love music, you know, to me, it's the healing nectar of the planet. That and wine. Those two things. I think this is an incredible gift to get to do what I love and get to have some people who like it.

I really, you know, that's the best gift ever. The cause of Sass Jordan's death hasn't been released. A spokesperson says she died Friday, surrounded by family, and they shared a poem that describes embracing death with arms wide open and without fear or regret. And moving on, sing. Here's more of one of Sass Jordan's biggest hits. This is Make You a Believer on Your World Tonight.

I'm Stephanie Skendaris. Thank you for listening. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca.