Here is a roundup of stories from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø designed to bring you up to speed...
Trudeau to meet with Pope at G7 summit
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed into the second day of the G7 leaders' summit, which will feature a special appearance by Pope Francis.
The pontiff is slated to deliver an address to leaders about the promises and perils of artificial intelligence.
He is also expected to renew his appeal for a peaceful end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Leaders of the G7 countries announced on Thursday that they will deliver a US$50-billion loan to Ukraine using interest earned on profits from Russia's frozen central bank assets as collateral.
Trudeau is scheduled to meet with the Pope, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Here's what else we're watching...
Second undercover officer speaks at Coutts trial
A second RCMP officer who went undercover as a supporter at the 2022 blockade in Coutts, Alta., has testified that one of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder said all police officers at the blockade "should be hung."
Known only as HQ1516 to protect her identity, she is the second undercover officer to testify at the trial of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert.
She told the court she has been doing this kind of work since 2015 and has been involved in more than 100 operations.
The officer and her partner met Olienick at Smuggler's Saloon in Coutts on Feb. 9, 2022, bringing perogies in a show of support for the blockade.
Olienick and Carbert are on trial in Court of King’s Bench on charges related to the blockade, which snarled traffic at the Canada-U.S. border at Coutts for two weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
Science centre business case cost nearly $1M: docs
Ontario awarded nearly $1 million in contracts to various companies to write a business case on moving the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place on Toronto's waterfront, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has learned.
The $925,075 in contracts, an amount disclosed through a freedom-of-information request, is a fraction of the province's overall $215-billion budget.
However, it is still far too large for a report that seemed designed to give the Progressive Conservatives cover for a deal with European company Therme to build a privately owned spa at Ontario Place as it redevelops the waterfront attraction, critics said.
Liberal critic Adil Shamji, whose riding is home to the science centre, said it is "outrageous" that Premier Doug Ford spent $1 million of public money on consultants "to tell him what he wanted to hear."
A report in December from the auditor general found that a proposal in the spring of 2023 to government decision makers to relocate the science centre, including the business case, noted that a "site-wide parking solution" was needed to meet Ontario's lease obligations with Therme.
How Meta's AI systems are using your data
If you're annoyed with the Meta AI feature that's cropped up on Facebook and Instagram recently, the tech company has bad news for you.
A Meta spokesperson says the feature cannot be disabled.
The feature works like a chatbot where users can search for information like recipes or webpages.
Meta's privacy centre says it saves any messages you send the A-I assistant and details about you so it can "carry on the conversation."
For example, if you share with the A-I feature that you like Italian food, the company says it will save that detail, so if you later ask for restaurant recommendations, it can suggest one that serves Italian food.
Meta says users can ask the A-I to reset itself, which will delete a copy of your messages from its memory and prevent it from using prior information you supplied to shape what it sends to you.
Program helps incarcerated dads connect with kids
A father of four says it wasn't until he went to prison that he became a consistent presence in his kids' lives.
While he always loved his kids and wanted to provide for them, he said his approach to fatherhood transformed during his five-and-a-half years behind bars for drug-related crimes.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is not identifying the man because he fears reprisal from his former associates.
The man says he learned a lot about fatherhood behind bars because of the programming he opted into.
One of those programs is called Dad HERO, and it is run by the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Families and Corrections Network with funding from Movember.
Louise Leonardi is the head of that network and says nearly one thousand men have gone through the program, and it currently operates at 26 sites across Canada.
This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published June 14, 2024.
