Susan Bonner (4:39)

Kimmel's suspension may have turned up the intensity on the issue of American free speech, but that fire has been burning for a while. From crackdowns on protests and judges to lawsuits targeting the media and higher education. Critics warn this is the latest example of an intentional attack on democratic institutions. Kayla Hounsl has that angle for us tonight.

Narrator/Reporter (5:04)

We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang.

Susan Bonner (5:08)

It may have been these words that got Jimmy Kimmel tossed off the air, but experts say the battle over his right to make that comment is no coincidence, rather part of a larger coordinated effort on the part of President Donald Trump to dismantle his dissenters and the democratic institutions they employ.

Narrator/Reporter (5:26)

The United States government is on the midway point, or early midway point, towards a dictatorship.

Susan Bonner (5:33)

Jason Stanley is a professor of American Studies at the Munk School of Global affairs at the University of Toronto. He notes the US has far more free speech protections than Canada. It's in the Constitution, but says Trump has taken control of what should be independent levers of government and and instructed them to target his opponents.

Narrator/Reporter (5:53)

You can deliver a hate speech against trans people. You can deliver a hate speech against immigrants. You can deliver a hate speech against Democrats. But one thing you can't do is mildly criticize Donald Trump and the movement behind him. It is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left.

Susan Bonner (6:17)

Trump and his team say the US Is being attacked by the radical left.

Narrator/Reporter (6:21)

It is a vast domestic terror movement.

Susan Bonner (6:24)

Since the start of his second term, Trump has sued CBS and 60 Minutes, which resulted in the network settling and paying $16 million, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal for news reporting. He didn't like waged war on higher education, attacking universities such as Harvard and Columbia. And today he vowed to designate ANTIFA a major terrorist organization.

Narrator/Reporter (6:47)

ANTIFA is not a specific organization. It's the kind of mode of radical politics in opposition to fascism in the far right.

Susan Bonner (6:54)

Mark Bray is a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey and an expert on the Antifa movement.

Narrator/Reporter (7:00)

To me, it seems like a rather transparent effort by Trump and his allies to demonize the left writ large under the rubric of a term that has generated a kind of negative publicity in the mainstream eye.

Susan Bonner (7:13)

But Trump says these far left groups are sick and dangerous.

Narrator/Reporter (7:17)

What he thinks about every moment of the day is how do I head off a free and fair election in 2026?

Susan Bonner (7:23)

David Frum is a Canadian American political commentator and former speechwriter for Republican President George W. Bush. He has this stark must never lose.

Narrator/Reporter (7:33)

Your ability to be shocked. That's a resource for dictators when we lose our ability to be shocked.

Susan Bonner (7:37)

Kayla Hounsell, CBC News, Halifax. Coming right up, the king, the prime minister and the president. Donald Trump heads home after a UK State visit. Long on pageantry and deep in billion dollar business deals and cross border funding fears how a US Government's decision on pediatric research could directly impact childhood cancer trials in Canada. Later, we'll have this story.

Narrator/Reporter (8:11)

These wriggling worms are destroying wild rice in northern Saskatchewan, eating away the crop and leaving little behind to harvest. You depend on rice for a lot of things, so it's pretty devastating. I'm Alexander Silberman in Pinehouse Lake, Saskatchewan. Later on youn World Tonight, the push to save wild rice from an insect threatening its future.

Susan Bonner (8:52)

Mexico welcomed Prime Minister Mark Carney this afternoon for a two day visit. He's expected to sign a strategic partnership agreement with President Claudia Sheinbaum. It will cover trade, agriculture, security and emergency preparedness. Ottawa is starting formal consultations on the North American trade pact Kuzma after the US Started its own review, questions about the future of trade with the US Are encouraging a closer bilateral relationship between Canada and Mexico. Donald Trump has wrapped up his two day visit to the UK before leaving, he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed some major business deals. They also sidestepped several thorny issues that have strained their transatlantic relationship. Chris Brown reports.

Narrator/Reporter (9:41)

The Red Devil's parachutists dropped in on Donald Trump and Keir Starmer at Checkers, the Prime Minister's country retreat, as the US President's state visit turned from royal ceremony to business. This tech partnership has the power to change lives with the signing of deals on artificial intelligence and nuclear reactors. Their joint appearance began with some cringe worthy flattery. He's a tough negotiator. I think it was a better deal for you than us. But these are minor details. It's a very good deal for both of us. He's a great negotiator. But confronting the media was the big test of the visit for two leaders who differ on key issues, notably the war in Gaza. Starmer has condemned Israel's invasion of Gaza City and says he plans to recognize a Palestinian state next week. We absolutely agree on the need for peace and a roadmap because the situation in Gaza is intolerable. Trump, who says he's the greatest friend Israel has ever had, rejects a Palestinian state. But he did it fairly politely. I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score. On Ukraine, Trump's friendly relationship with Russia's Vladimir Putin is another contentious point. He's let me down. He's really let me down. But if that's so, why not hit Russia with much harder sanctions? Came the follow up question. Trump said Europe must stop buying Russian oil first. Finally, if I may, the elephant in.

Susan Bonner (11:10)

The room, Lord Mandelson.

Narrator/Reporter (11:12)

That would be Starmer's recent firing of Lord Peter Mandelson as the US Ambassador because of his historic ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who Trump also associated with and and is facing pressure over. But Trump deflected. Thank you very much. I don't know him actually. I had heard that and I think maybe the Prime Minister would be better. Speaking of that, that was a choice that he made and I don't know. What is your answer to that? Well, I mean, it's very straightforward. Some information came to light last week which wasn't available when he was appointed and I made a decision. But that was about as awkward as things got otherwise. First Lady Melania and Princess Catherine spent time with children doing arts and crafts. And a piper piped the Trumps off with smiles all round. It's very unusual for a leader to receive two state visits, and Donald Trump appeared to bask in the royal spectacle that was rolled out for him here. It may also explain why there were no sharp words for Keir Starmer. Having Trump leave happy was what this visit was all about. Chris Brown, CBC News, London.

Susan Bonner (12:23)

The Trump administration has cut more scientific funding, this time for experimental trials for children fighting brain cancer. And Canadian families are also feeling the hit. Alison Northcott explains, when you have a.

Narrator/Reporter (12:39)

Child with cancer, none of the decisions are easy or straightforward.

Susan Bonner (12:43)

Keith McIntosh's son was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 9. He had surgery, proton radiation and chemotherapy. Now 17, he's getting ready to graduate high school. After treatment, his son also took part in an ongoing clinical trial testing a medication.

Narrator/Reporter (12:58)

You make a choice to participate in a trial with the hope that it will work.

Susan Bonner (13:03)

McIntosh says. In some cases, clinical trials are a last hope for children with hard to treat cancers. But Canadian researchers say funding and policy changes in the US Are limiting access.

Narrator/Reporter (13:14)

Losing any option that provides an opportunity for for a cure or for a meaningful benefit can be devastating.

Susan Bonner (13:22)

The US Government is not renewing funding for the Pediatric Brain Tumour Consortium. It's a network of experts focused on improving treatments for brain tumors. Toronto SickKids Hospital is its only Canadian site. Dr. Jim Whitlock, head of hematology oncology at Sickkids, says they had to stop enrolling new patients in three clinical trials.

Narrator/Reporter (13:41)

Some of the most promising therapies for children with those particular diseases, and there are really not studies of equivalent promise that we have access to.

Susan Bonner (13:54)

The U.S. national Institutes of Health says it's moving the group's work to a broader network to align resources and strengthen pediatric brain tumor research. It says it plans to find ways for Canadian institutions to enroll in clinical trials in the future.

Narrator/Reporter (14:08)

This change is but that network has.

Susan Bonner (14:12)

Frozen funding for trials outside the U.S. says Dr. Tai Hoa Tran, the network's medical director for Canada and a pediatric oncologist at St. Justine Hospital in Montreal. He says because of that, two other trials in Canada have also stopped accepting patients.

Narrator/Reporter (14:27)

The message that we have received is that enrollment has ceased for Canadian children.

Susan Bonner (14:33)

Very often with pediatric brain cancer, we come to a point where it's no longer treatable by standard therapeutic methods, and the only hope for these children is to seek an experimental therapy. Childhood cancer is rare, and these trials are for the hardest to treat cases. Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Sheila Singh at McMaster University says while the number of affected children is small, it's still a big loss. We actually had two patients recently who had difficult to treat treatment refractory brain cancers who could have been eligible for one of those trials. But now those trials have been closed. She and other experts say the Canadian government needs to build capacity to do more clinical trials here. Alison Northcott, CBC News, Montreal. Canada's targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions have always been ambitious, but they came with some hope for helping to slow down the planet's warming. Now, the Canadian Climate Institute says with no improvement in emissions last year and government policy prioritizing economic growth, it's impossible for the country to meet its climate change targets by 2030. David Thurton reports.

Narrator/Reporter (15:43)

It is hard. Dave Sawyer doesn't want to say it, but the environmental economist says the numbers cannot be ignored. I think the data makes it obvious and we had to basically call it. Sawyer is with the Canadian Climate Institute. Their new report says it's now impossible possible for Canada to meet its legally binding 2030 climate target. The year over year changes about 40 megatons a year, which is a lot, simply, simply can't be achieved with the current policy trajectory. The way the economy is going, more oil and gas production. So yeah, we're not going to hit our targets. The upcoming 2030 goal is an international commitment by Canada to slash carbon emissions by at least 40% below 2005 levels. But at the rate we're going, we'd be lucky to get more than halfway there. What's stalling progress? Oil sands production and further proposed LNG expansion, plus provincial and federal governments repealing or weakening climate policies like carbon pricing, electric vehicle rebates and the sales mandate. There is still time for the Carney government to decide to increase its efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. Green Party leader Elizabeth May called today's report a wake up call, And I.

Susan Bonner (17:04)

Urge Mr. Carney to step up and.

Narrator/Reporter (17:09)

Live up to what he told voters he would be. The climate movement domestically is also growing despondent with Carney, a former central banker who has an impressive environmental cv. According to Climate Action Network's Caroline Brillette, there is no one better place than.

Susan Bonner (17:26)

Mark Carney to tell us about how being competitive in 2025 means fighting climate change.

Narrator/Reporter (17:35)

Environment and climate change minister Julie DeBruzen wouldn't say if she agrees with the report's harsh conclusions, but she did blame Stephen Harper's government that hasn't been in power for more than a decade.

Susan Bonner (17:45)

When we started under the previous Conservative.

Narrator/Reporter (17:47)

Government, emissions were at a 30 year high. There was no trajectory to bringing them down.

Susan Bonner (17:53)

And so we were At a point.

Narrator/Reporter (17:54)

Where we had emissions tracking upwards, we had to turn that ship around and to actually start bringing them down. And we have. Debruzen says Canada has an economic, moral and existential obligation to fight climate change. The minister says liberals remain committed and they will have more to say when the government releases soon, or what she's calling a climate competitiveness strategy. David Thornton, CBC News, Ottawa.

Susan Bonner (18:23)

One creature taking advantage of climate change. Rice worms. Warmer temperatures mean they're spreading rapidly into northern Saskatchewan. And that's contributing to the destruction of the wild rice crop gathered by indigenous communities for generations. As Alexander Silberman reports, harvesters and scientists are teaming up to search for a solution.

Narrator/Reporter (18:48)

On a remote northern lake in Saskatchewan's Boreal forest, Tommy Smith is driving a propeller powered boat to harvest wild rice, a traditional food for Cree communities for generations. But as the rice gets bagged, they can see rice worms feasting on their harvest. It is a huge lot. Smith and his wife gathered just 20 bags last harvest. The average before the rice worms, 400. You depend on rice for a lot of things, so it's pretty devastating. Wild rice is a major economic driver. In many northern Saskatchewan villages, a good harvest can bring in as much as $100,000 for a family. But at the local rice wing station, stacked bags of purchased rice waiting to head to the processing plant are crawling with worms. So many, you can hear them wriggling. They're removed during processing, but it takes longer. These worms are getting to be a big problem. Lionel Smith, who works as a local buyer, is also a longtime harvester. This season, the bugs are killing so much of his rice, he's decided not to harvest at all. 20, 30% of your crop is damaged. So we don't even pick that area because we can tell that it's heavily infested by worms. Researchers are now testing a type of trap using pheromones to attract the insects away from the rice. Experts don't know exactly why the worms are making their way north from Manitoba and the U.S. it's kind of like the perfect storm in many ways, I think. And we're really trying to find the best way to mitigate them. Tim Charbel is a professor of plant sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. He believes forest fires could be one of the causes. You get new growth. It provides an opportunity to the rice worm moths. On Agamic Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Phyllis Smith is starting the fall harvest using a traditional airboat to scoop the rice off the surface of the shallow water. Every year, it seems to get worse While hard rice tumbles out of some kernels, others are empty. The worms are already hurting the crop. Smith is also considering leaving the industry behind. He almost feel like there's no use for me having a harvesting boat, so I almost want to give up, she says. The search for a solution to save her livelihood can't come soon enough. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, near Pinehouse, Saskatchewan.

Susan Bonner (21:44)

Toronto Blue Jays fans would not have predicted it in the spring, but now, as Major League Baseball's regular season winds down, playoff hype is ramping up. There's buzz Canada's only team could be on a path to the World Series. Thomas Daigler has that story.

Narrator/Reporter (22:05)

The text line is open. 59590 name and location, please. At a radio call in show in Toronto called Blue Jays Talk, the phone lines are lighting up. Man, the Jays defense is just unreal. Producer Shoali is fielding the calls unbloody, believable from fans with a much different outlook on the team than at this time last year. The response from fans is great. They call in all the time, which makes my job a lot easier, actually. Last year we did a lot of shows where people were questioning should the GM stay on, should the manager stay on? The club's front office chose this season to keep the same leadership and the same core roster, from slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. To veteran George Springer. And has it ever paid off? So then he hits it high and deep to left and it's gone. The team has been on a tear, leading the American League in hits and batting average, sending the Jays soaring to the top of the standings. This is feeling really good. I think this team is a team of destiny. It's a relief for long suffering Toronto sports fans like Aaron Barbarian, a local restaurant owner who's been to 1800 Jays games. These are Vladdy's cleats in here, collecting decades of memorabilia along the way, from bobbleheads to signed baseballs. This reminds me of some of the years, like 2015, and this has that kind of sense about it. In 2015, the Jays clinched the American League east, paving the way for Jose Bautista's unforgettable October bat flick left field. No doubt about it now Toronto is on track to win the division title again. Setting aside a decade of missteps and disappointments, they should be able to finally get that elusive playoff win. The Jays haven't made it to baseball's biggest stage since 1993, but Sportsnet host Jeff Blair says this could finally be the year. Yeah, I think they have a chance of going to the World Series. Sportsnet has even struck a rare deal with Apple tv, ensuring tomorrow's key match up in Kansas City is broadcast across Canada and not just on a streaming platform. A sign of the growing hype around the Jays. For many Canadians, fall baseball is about to become must see tv and the Blue Jays win the ball game. Thomas Dagg, CBC News, Toronto.

Susan Bonner (24:38)

Finally tonight, are you serving that ape a martini?

Narrator/Reporter (24:47)

She's a loud one. It'll calm her down.

Susan Bonner (24:49)

A scene from the movie Congo highlighting the idea sometimes played for laughs. The Drunken monkey. But a new study suggests our fellow primates actually do seek out alcohol in the form of fermented fruits. And that perhaps there's an evolutionary reason, an ancient fight for the calories to survive to why humans drink.

Narrator/Reporter (25:10)

I do drink myself from the time to time. Nothing more pleasant than a nice beer on the veranda after a day in the field. So one day I just put two and two together. I sort of wonder, why are these monkeys? We know why they're going after the fruit, but why am I drinking this alcohol? And was there any possible link?

Susan Bonner (25:26)

That's the co author of the new study, University of California, Berkeley, evolutionary physiologist Robert Dudley. And he's been following this hunch for a long time. A decade ago, he published the Drunken Monkey why We Drink Alcohol. His new findings in the latest edition of Science Advances bolster his early hunches and suggest chimps in Cote d' Ivoire and Uganda consume the equivalent of one to one and a half drinks a day to stay alive.

Narrator/Reporter (25:54)

It's very competitive, that's for sure, because you're fighting it out with the microbes, the bacteria. And yeast, of course, are trying to consume the sugars in the fruit. There are insect larvae inside these developing fruits and ripe fruits, and then a scramble competition amongst all the vertebrates as well.

Susan Bonner (26:09)

Dudley's team saw the chimps ignoring fresh tree fruit and going for fermented pieces on the ground for the extra sugar and alcohol. But don't judge our fellow apes. They usually fill up on fruit before they get drunk. Dudley says he hopes one day he can use his evolutionary understanding to help humans know when they should quit. Thanks for joining us on youn World Tonight for Thursday, September 18th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.

Narrator/Reporter (26:50)

For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC CA podcasts.