CBC News Morning Brief

Some things stay the same — like tariff threats

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Good morning! It's Hanna Lee.

Today we'll go over some key points from Donald Trump's inauguration, as well as a new study on Ozempic, and what Hamas is signalling about its hold on Gaza, post-ceasefire deal.

If you have questions about tariffs, Trump's second term or Canada-U.S. relations in general, you can send them to ask@cbc.ca or reply to this email directly. Our Washington correspondent Alex Panetta will answer them today at this link, going live at 1:30 p.m. ET.

For America, the golden age has begun, Trump declares. For Canada, tariffs may still be coming

U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on screen as he delivers his inaugural address in Washington on Monday. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)

"From this moment on, America's decline is over," Donald Trump said in his inauguration speech inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington yesterday, moved indoors due to cold weather.

It's a return to form for the 78-year-old U.S. president, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and two assassination attempts to win a second term. And he began that term by pardoning more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, commuting six others' sentences, revoking 78 Biden-era executive actions and signing nine of his own, including withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again) and the World Health Organization.

Some other Day 1 orders: Declaring a national emergency at the southern border and starting deportations, as well as undoing green energy policies, like what Trump calls an electric vehicle mandate. Also, the U.S. will now recognize just two genders — male and female — and they can't be changed. (More on that here.)

Further promises: Trump will stop "all wars," he vowed at his inauguration, as well as regain U.S. control of the Panama Canal and pursue putting astronauts on Mars (a longtime goal of SpaceX CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk). The president was sparse on specifics.

And the tariffs? Though there was no direct mention of them at the inauguration, Trump later mused he could put a 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1.

Canada is ready for whatever happens, said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc. "There's nothing new this evening that was different from a week ago," LeBlanc said.

Businesses here appear to be in wait-and-see mode. Specifically, the Nova Scotia forestry sector, Canadian lobster industry officials, the Manitoba hog industry and the Alberta oilpatch.

READ | My colleague Alex Panetta has an analysis of the day's events

Other inauguration observations:

First Lady Melania Trump sported a fascinating hat.
Prominently in attendance alongside Musk were several of tech's wealthiest titans, like Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai.
Also in attendance: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, sitting in the area usually reserved for distinguished guests like former presidents. His app briefly went dark in the U.S. on Saturday, restored service a day later — and credited Trump for the move.

View photos from the event here.

Drugs like Ozempic could also curb addictions — but they might boost other health risks, study suggests

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may carry myriad health benefits and risks beyond diabetes and obesity. (George Frey/Reuters)

Ozempic may have more health benefits — but also increased risks — than previously thought, according to a new study.

How it works: Medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are GLP-1 agonists, which mimic the natural hormone that helps curb appetite and slows digestion. Though Ozempic was first approved to treat diabetes in Canada seven years ago, it's become popular over the last few years for weight loss, because it extends how long people feel full.

What's new: The study, the largest of its kind, spanned 3.5 years and tracked 200,000 people with diabetes in the U.S. taking GLP-1s and 1.7 million with diabetes using other medications. It looked at associations between the drugs and 175 health conditions.

Among the benefits to which the GLP-1 drugs were linked:

Lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, for which Type 2 diabetes is a known risk factor.
Lower risk of addiction disorders, as GLP-1s work on areas of the brain involved with impulse control and reward-signalling — meaning they could help curb the desire for things like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.
Lower risk of heart disease, stroke, most kidney diseases, less suicidal ideation and lower incidence of schizophrenia.

But it also found new risks, including around pancreatitis and increased risk of nausea and vomiting, arthritis and low blood pressure that can lead to fainting.

Get the full story here

Hamas makes a show of strength during hostage exchange

Hamas fighters in Gaza City escort a Red Cross vehicle to collect Israeli hostages released after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on Sunday. (Abood Abusalama/AFP/Getty Images)

Three Israeli hostages were released on Sunday, as part of the recently announced ceasefire deal.

Escorting them to their handover location in Gaza City, videos show, were dozens of Hamas fighters, wearing almost-new-looking combat fatigues and matching black balaclavas. Their convoy of white vehicles also appeared clean and near undamaged, standing out from the mass destruction of buildings around them.

It was the group's first major public appearance in months. What is Hamas trying to show now?

Part of it is control and power, wrote my colleague Chris Brown in an analysis.

The situation: A devastating Israeli bombing campaign over 15 months — sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on the country — has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, as well as much of the group's senior leadership. It's unclear how strong Hamas is now, with Israel saying it has killed nearly 20,000 militants. (The group says this is an exaggeration.) Its rival, the Palestinian Authority, has said it's ready and willing to assume full responsibility of Gaza, though both Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rebuffed this option.

What's happening now: The group appears to be framing the moment as a victory, despite the enormous cost to its people and territory. Whether the stop in fighting amounts to a temporary truce or a more permanent ceasefire, Hamas seems to quickly be taking steps to reassert its presence in Gaza.

Read the analysis

Need a simple way to destress? Stop and notice nature, experts say

An Edmonton researcher says simply noticing nature can boost your mood and help beat the winter blues. (Mathieu Deroy/CBC)

In these colder and darker months — and especially right now — life can feel demoralizing and relentless. But simply noticing the nature around you is an easy way to boost your mood, says Holli-Anne Passmore, an associate psychology professor at Concordia University of Edmonton.

It's something we may intrinsically know, but often forget. Observing everything, from a snowflake gently landing on the ground to a fat squirrel expertly navigating a thin railing, can help us feel more connected to our surroundings and or even spark some joy.

"When people notice nature — and not necessarily even just spend extra time, but just [notice] it — we know it enhances our positive emotions," she told The Current host Matt Galloway.

Today in History: Jan. 21

1793: King Louis XVI is guillotined in Paris.

1924: Soviet leader and founder Vladimir Lenin dies at age 54.

2021: Julie Payette resigns as Governor General, after an investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace at Rideau Hall.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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