Canada
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Poilievre supporters say they're ready to go beyond 'axe the tax'
“I get it,” said Amber Hall, of Poilievre’s rhetoric around the carbon tax. “It would be nice if he could soften things up so he’s a little bit more approachable because I worry that he’s just not very approachable by a lot of Canadians.”
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Near ‘catastrophic’: How Windsor’s mayor says tariffs could hit
Windsor, Ont., Mayor Drew Dilkens says tariffs could be near 'catastrophic' for his city and have a dramatic impact on the supply chain.
Canada must counter border ‘crisis’ rhetoric, internal report urged
The report flagged early rumblings in the U.S. about irregular migration and fentanyl from Canada and concluded that the facts were largely being misrepresented.
Gérard Deltell trouve «honteux» que l’hymne national américain soit hué
Ceux qui huent l’hymne national américain au hockey devraient avoir «honte», selon un député-vedette du parti de Pierre Poilievre, Gérard Deltell. Sa position ne fait pas l’unanimité chez les conservateurs.
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East Ferris mayor Rochefort running for federal Liberal nomination
Rochefort, in her second term as East Ferris mayor, threw her name into the hat for the federal Liberals in Nipissing-Timiskaming on the weekend. The Incumbent here is Liberal Anthony Rota, the former speaker who is not re-offering. Rota says nice things about Rochefort in this report so I'm guessing Rochefort will win the nomination. But the Conservatives in this riding have had their candidate in place for more than a year. She is Cassidy Villeneuve, a Parliament Hill political staffer who has been working the riding and been getting tons of support from CPC caucus members. In my model right now, this is a CPC win by 7 points.
The Provinces
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Direction du PLQ | Charles Milliard propose le salaire minimum pour les stagiaires
La campagne de séduction des jeunes se poursuit dans la course à la direction du Parti libéral du Québec (PLQ). Après Pablo Rodriguez qui veut augmenter le budget de l’aile jeunesse du parti, Charles Milliard, propose de répondre à une demande de longue date des associations étudiantes en rémunérant les stages dans le secteur public à hauteur du salaire minimum.
Elsewhere
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‘Salute and execute’: A new generation of military veterans takes center stage as Trump remakes US foreign policy
Together, they form a key component of Trump’s national security team — and represent a generation of younger veterans that is often described as disillusioned, inherently skeptical of traditional institutions that many see as having failed them across years of inconclusive wars in the Middle East. It’s a worldview that maps neatly onto Trump’s messaging, including his stated reluctance to using the American military abroad and his broader distrust of government agencies and the so-called deep state
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Why a former CSIS official says the U.S. is positioned for ‘another 9/11’
Former CSIS executive manager Dan Stanton said that President Donald Trump was 'degrading the efficiency' of U.S. intelligence through layoffs and buyouts of officials.
Media
USAID funded 6,200 journalists, supported 707 media outlets globally: Report
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed that USAID funded 6,200 journalists, 707 non-state media outlets, and 279 media-focused NGOs in more than 30 countries in 2023. The 2025 US foreign aid budget allocated $268.4 million to support “independent media and the free flow of information,” the organization reported citing a now-removed fact sheet.
Reader Notes
A reminder that: The headlines, excerpts, and photos here are generated by the publishers of the clipping. The publisher is at the bottom left of the clipping. If I've got a comment, you''ll see that in italics. But if I've generated the headline and the excerpt, you'll see me taking attribution by finishing with -DA in bold. The stamp stuff at the bottom are scans from my collection and, if there’s a stamp blurb, I’ve written that bit. -DA
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Science and tech
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OpenAI tries to 'uncensor' ChatGPT
OpenAI is changing how it trains AI models to explicitly embrace “intellectual freedom … no matter how challenging or controversial a topic may be,” the company says in a new policy. As a result, ChatGPT will eventually be able to answer more questions, offer more perspectives, and reduce the number of topics the AI chatbot won’t talk about.
Issued this day ...
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… in 2000: Sc 1826 The Millennium Collection: 9 — Canada’s First Peoples. Design, clockwise from top left: Rolf Harder for “Chief Pontiac”, Sunil Bhandair and Georges Khayat for “Tom Longboat, Runner”, Jerry Evans and Steven Slipp for “Healing from Within", James Skipp for “The Power of the Inuit Shaman.” This quartet was the ninth of 17 quartets issued by Canada Post to mark the end of one millennium and the beginning of another.