In the news today: Quebec man killed in Florida boat explosion

One passenger was 41-year-old Sebastien Gauthier of Quebec, who died from his injuries.

The FWC says six other occupants were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Video posted on social media shows the vessel engulfed in flames following the explosion, with a thick column of black smoke billowing into the sky. Local media reported the explosion happened at the Lauderdale Marina, but the FWC release gives no such specifics.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

What Canada can learn from Trump’s campaign

Donald Trump smiled wide in front of cheering supporters after millions of Americans went to the polls, choosing the divisive Republican leader as the next president of the United States in an astonishing comeback that signalled an American turn to isolationism, protectionism and tariffs.

Trump has not yet moved into the White House but his victory sent shockwaves around the world. Not even a month after the election, Trump brought back “Twitter diplomacy,” posting on social media threats of devastating 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

“That sense that Canada was a special friend and therefore was protected, I think is dead,” said Christopher Sands, director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. “It’s still special but it’s not the bulletproof shield that we all thought it was.”

Bombshell political events in Ottawa this month have added even more uncertainty around the Canada-U.S. relationship. Chrystia Freeland’s sudden resignation as finance minister has touched off growing calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, a move he is reflecting on over the holidays.

As the world prepares for a second Trump administration, experts say there are lessons to be learned from the tumultuous and unrelenting 2024 campaign.

Bird flu, measles top-of-mind for Dr. Theresa Tam

As we enter 2025, Dr. Theresa Tam has her eye on H5N1 bird flu, an emerging virus that had its first human case in Canada this year.

At the same time, Canada’s chief public health officer is closely monitoring measles — a virus that was eliminated in this country more than two decades ago, but is making an accelerated resurgence.

H5N1, a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses carried by wild birds, has been on the rise globally. It has decimated poultry farms in Canada and infected dairy cattle herds in several states south of the border.

But its spread to humans is especially worrisome.

Canada’s only confirmed H5N1 patient — a teen in B.C. — was severely ill and hospitalized in November. Health officials there have still not been able to determine how the teen got infected.

Bad news for Arctic whales — orcas have moved in

Killer whales are expanding their territory and have moved into Arctic waters as climate change melts sea ice, with two genetically distinct populations being identified by Canadian scientists.

But their study says that could have “severe consequences” for potential prey whales such as belugas, narwhals and bowheads, that lead researcher Colin Garroway called “slow, chubby and delicious.”

Garroway, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Manitoba, said in an interview that the situation was complex — the Arctic orcas have the potential to upend ecosystems as apex predators, even as they merit conservation concern.

The study says the orcas could also affect humans, by “adding top-down pressure on Arctic food webs crucial to northern communities’ social and economic well-being.”

It says killer whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic have been observed preying mostly on beluga whales and narwhals, followed by bowhead whales and seals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today: Quebec man killed in Florida boat explosion

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