Global National: July 4

Millions of Canadians and Americans are under multi-day heat wave alerts, as the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations’ weather agency, sounds the alarm about the return of the El Niño weather phenomenon. The group’s predictions for record-breaking warmth, the climbing financial costs of climate change going beyond property losses, and what insurance companies want governments to do. Negotiations between the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have stalled. What’s keeping the two sides apart, how the British Columbia port strike is affecting the Canadian economy, and the potential consequences for workers in other parts of the supply chain. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is about to debut Threads, its new social media platform. Why some experts are calling it a “Twitter killer.” And, first there was Brexit, could Orxit be next? Why some people in Scotland’s Orkney Islands want to divorce the United Kingdom for Norway.