MORNING NEWS SCRAMBLE

Olivia Chow promises to make the TTC a better way

Some lofty promises from Mayor Chow to make TTC the place to be, including a fare freeze, 5.8% increase in service hours and six-minute or better service, seven days a week on three streetcar routes. So, are you convinced?

BREAKING: Powerful winds whip up fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles forcing over 30,000 residents to evacuate

High winds that are expected to worsen are fanning at least three wildfires in the L.A. area, prompting evacuations and a huge firefighter response.

JUST IN: Strike averted for Ontario colleges

The bargaining agent for Ontario's 24 public colleges and the union representing faculty have agreed to enter into binding arbitration, avoiding a strike.

AHEAD TODAY: Liberal MPs meet in Ottawa for the first time since PM Trudeau announced resignation

The national caucus meeting, set to take place both in person and online, will focus on national search for new leader. 

Trudeau’s talking tough now

Trudeau’s tweet comes after Trump threatens to use “economic force” to merge the nations

Back on the air: Ford makes Fox News appearance

Ford working to get on the ‘right’ side of Trump by beefing up the border

As part of ‘Operation Deterrence’ Premier Doug Ford says we will see 200 OPP officers focus on boosting border security in response to Trump tariff threats.

Want to catch a renovation break?

Ontario is introducing two new energy efficiency programs, including offering rebates for up to 30% of the cost of energy efficient windows, doors and rooftop solar panels.

Meta makes a boatload of changes

zuck

View more on Instagram

You can hear them directly from Mark Zuckerburg in the video above, but the key highlights include getting rid of independent fact checking as Zuckerburg believes “The fact checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they created.”  The company is also getting rid of content restrictions on topics like immigration and gender, and moving trust & safety and content moderation teams out of California to Texas.

How does your kid’s school rank?

The Fraser Institute is out with its annual ranking of the province’s high schools. 742 schools across Ontario were ranked. You can check out the full results here.

New twist in Blake Lively /Justin Baldoni battle

Will it EVER END with them??? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawyers both issue new statements amid their legal battle.

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KEEP THE CHANGE

From one thing… to the next

The CEO of RBC says mortgage renewal risks are lowering as rates come down, but the bank is now worried about political uncertainty and tariffs. CP reports that Dave McKay made the comments at a bank CEO conference, and says the bank is preparing for a variety of scenarios, despite confidence that “sensible minds will prevail”.

Air Canada flight attendants looking for a new deal

The ten-year contract between the airline and its attendants is up on March 31^st, and negotiations are underway. The union has launched a PR campaign and is pushing hard for an end to what it calls “unpaid work”, which it says adds up to 35 hours a month. That work includes things before and after a flight, like boarding passengers and conducting safety checks. The Financial Post reports “the anecdotal reason for the apparent pay discrepancy is an industry standard dating back to a time when flight attendants’ in-flight compensation was high enough to cover the surrounding duties.”

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HEALTHY START

Sickness check-in

Did you catch a cold (or worse) over the holidays? Well, it is that time of year. Checking in on Public Health Ontario’s latest numbers, it shows COVID-19 and Influenza cases are “moderate” right now, with flu cases rising. RSV cases are registering as “high”.

Cancer warnings on booze?

The U.S. Surgeon General is calling for cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages. Dr. Vivek Murthy says there are around 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths in the U.S. each year, and that the risk may start with as little as one drink per day. The U.S. Distilled Spirits Council and Wine Institute call this a “complex” issue. 

AND… ANOTHER THING!

Have you made it through the first week?

Now that we’ve got the first week of January behind us, have you managed to keep your New Year’s resolution this long? If so, congrats! Turns out 23% of people have usually given up by now according to a study by Drive Research. The study also suggests watching out for Fridays as that’s a top day for dropping those resolutions!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!  Thanks for subscribing to Cockadoodle News!