Moderna has been fined for “luring children into COVID vaccine trials” with teddy bears. Britain’s pharmaceutical watchdog found that the US-based biotech firm discredited the industry when their online advertising offered free teddy bears to bribe children into taking the experimental gene therapy injections. Moderna was fined £44,000 (81,000 CAD), a mere drop in the bucket compared to the profits they’ve gained.

Aligning with the interests of some of its major funders (including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Walmart) the American Heart Association (AHA) testified against a Texas bill that would limit the use of food stamps for purchasing soda, candy, and chips. The AHA argued the proposal could reduce program participation and maintained that nutrition education is a more effective solution. During the hearing, Walmart also voiced its opposition to the bill.

A startling new study predicts that about 60% of adults and a third of children worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050. The article published in the Lancet (Ng et al.) also noted that the prevalence of obesity more than doubled worldwide between 1990 and 2021 in both men (from 5.8% to 14.8%) and women (from 10.2% to 20.8%).

A major study published in the Oxford Academic Journal of Sexual Medicine (Lewis et al.) raises serious concerns about the mental health outcomes of individuals who undergo sex-change surgeries. Drawing on data from over 107,000 patients diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the research found that those who opted for surgical intervention faced significantly higher rates of mental health issues compared to those who did not. These findings challenge the prevailing narrative that so-called “gender-affirming” surgeries improve mental well-being.

In a sweeping nationwide crackdown, dozens of police teams across Germany raided the homes of social media users last month—targeting them for so-called “harmful” online speech. Under Germany’s expansive hate speech laws, content deemed insulting, misleading, or inciting—even satire or reposted material—can be treated as a criminal offence. While the law has been on the books for nearly a decade, recent weeks have seen a dramatic escalation in enforcement, with state power now knocking down the doors of people who posted cartoons and memes.

Efforts being made for Alberta to become the 51st State of America. Alberta lawyer Jeffrey Rath announced plans to lead a “delegation” to Washington, DC, to pitch the Trump administration on Alberta statehood. Rath claimed that “I don’t think any of us are Canadians anymore because what we used to take as Canadian values have been completely shredded by the government we have in Ottawa.”

After pioneering the world’s first large-scale program to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade opioids to individuals with opioid use disorder in 2020, the BC government has announced it will end the take-home portion of its “safe supply” initiative. The decision follows extensive reporting revealing that drugs dispensed through the program were being diverted to the black market.

A new Fraser Institute study (Green et al.) found that Canada’s goal of achieving “Net Zero by 2050” is unattainable due to the growing demand for electricity driven by population and economic growth. The report also highlights the immense energy required to support emerging technologies and artificial intelligence systems.

A poll by the Metropolis Institute found that nearly twice as many Canadians believe stating their gender identity and/or pronouns during work calls reinforces stereotypes rather than helps reduce them.

The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto released a startling report revealing evidence that Canadian law enforcement may have used spyware to hack mobile devices. The report uncovered a technical connection between Paragon, an Israel-based maker of military-grade spyware, known as Graphite, for government clients and entities in Ontario—including the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Pokémon Go players were duped into training a powerful AI map of the real world. While you thought you were training your Pikachu, you were actually training AI to see the world. In a recent blog post, the game’s developer, Niantic, announced that it is constructing what it calls a Large Geospatial Model (LGM) from users’ cameras capturing high-resolution, GPS-tagged images of real-world locations. Niantic was purchased by a Saudi investment fund for $3.5 billion USD last month.

The parents of the six-year-old girl widely reported by mainstream media as “the first measles-related death in over a decade” are speaking out to challenge that narrative. In a series of videos released by Children’s Health Defense, the parents explained that their daughter died from a form of pneumonia not typically associated with measles. They were joined by Dr. Pierre Kory, a physician who reviews medical cases for malpractice, who stated, “She did not die of measles by any stretch of the imagination.” According to Dr. Kory, the girl contracted Mycoplasma pneumonia after recovering from measles and ultimately died due to a medical error—having been given the wrong medication upon hospital admission.

Around 14.6 million Canadians are currently insolvent—unable to afford bills and debts with their income, according to the MNP Consumer Debt Index, conducted by Ipsos — one of the most cited sources for assessing Canadians’ finances. The latest report, covering Q4 2024, found that 35% of surveyed Canadians reported being broke — unable to meet their financial obligations with current income.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of advancing a $290 million lawsuit targeting Freedom Convoy organizers and participants. The court reviewed evidence suggesting the defendants may have acted together to disrupt Ottawa’s downtown through street blockades, horn honking, and engine idling. Named defendants include Chris Barber, Tamara Lich, and Patrick King, identified by the plaintiffs as key organizers, along with other participants, truckers, and donors accused of supporting the protest. The plaintiffs seek $290 million in damages for private and public nuisance, including $60 million for general damages, $70 million for business losses, $150 million for lost wages, and $10 million in punitive damages.

Amazon has announced that it has removed a key privacy safeguard: local voice processing on select Echo devices. This means that every Alexa request must be sent to the cloud for processing.