Before appearing on television and radio, Ali Hassan worked for over a decade in the culinary industry. Aptly titled, Does This Taste Funny?, Hassan’s show will be largely based around his decade working in the food industry as a professional chef, his connection to fine cuisine, and his struggles with overeating. “I realized that I need pretty quick gratification. “The diversity of food and the various levels of excitement around food, and what you can do in a smaller city, is pretty cool. “Given that this show is really about food, I think it’s a great place to start the tour,” he added.

(Evan Vucci/The Associated Press - image credit)Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden are set to meet just before the start of a summit of North American leaders next week in Mexico City. Trudeau and Biden will meet Tuesday morning before the three-leader summit begins. When it comes to Canada, the United States' policy priority is increasingly to protect trade supply chains to lessen reliance on China. Story continuesTrudeau is also expected to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador next Wednesday, during the leaders' summit. Asked if he hoped to make progress at the summit in Mexico City, Trudeau said: "Absolutely."

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Carolina Hurricanes (25-8-6, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (11-24-2, eighth in the Metropolitan Division)Columbus, Ohio; Saturday, 4 p.m. ESTBOTTOM LINE: The Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. Columbus has a 3-8-1 record in Metropolitan Division play and an 11-24-2 record overall. The Blue Jackets have a -51 scoring differential, with 96 total goals scored and 147 given up. Carolina has a 25-8-6 record overall and a 10-2-0 record in Metropolitan Division play. Hurricanes: Ondrej Kase: out (concussion), Frederik Andersen: out (undisclosed), Jake Gardiner: out (hip/back), Stefan Noesen: day to day (lower body).

© Kate Bueckert/CBC Plenty of Canadians caught the flu before the holidays, but the latest federal data suggests the country is now well past the peak of infections. While the early months of the year often mark the peak of flu season, Canada is starting 2023 already through the worst — though physicians are now bracing for more hospitalizations ahead, largely due to a potential spike in COVID-19. "Which is: Early season, sharp peak, but then coming down pretty quickly," McGeer said. Over the course of Canada's flu season, more than 1,500 pediatric influenza-associated hospitalizations have been reported, including 183 children ending up in intensive care. Several physicians told CBC News they're now planning for a potential wave of COVID to start up, while flu is still winding down.

Predicted surge in patients prompts B.C. to reopen hospital emergency centresVANCOUVER — As the number of patients in British Columbia hospitals spikes, with the typical post-holiday surge still to come, the province's health minister said it will reactivate 20 emergency operation centres initially set up to deal with COVID-19. has 9,202 base hospital beds as well as 2,478 "surge" beds, or beds that need extra resources to operate. He said the occupancy rate was 88 per cent of the province's total hospital beds, but 111 per cent of base bed capacity, "which is significant and high." Staff at the centres will help patients who are ready to be discharged in an attempt to reduce overall hospital occupancy and ensure emergency departments have patient care beds available.

The contest winner will see their story published in the Toronto Star and on its website, thestar.com. This is the 15th consecutive year that Toronto Public Library has been a partner with the Star in presenting the contest. About the Toronto Star:The Toronto Star, founded in 1892, is read in print and online (thestar.com) by 5.0 million readers every week. About Toronto Public Library:Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system, with more than 46 million annual visits to our branches and online. SOURCE Toronto StarFor further information: Bob Hepburn, Director, Community Relations and Communications, Toronto Star, [email protected]; Toronto Public Library, [email protected]

McCarthy makes big gains for speaker, but he’s still shortWASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leader Kevin McCarthy flipped 15 colleagues to supporters in dramatic votes for House speaker on Friday, making extraordinary gains on the fourth day and the 12th and 13th ballots of a historic standoff that has tested American democracy and the GOP majority's ability to govern. “I believe at that time we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all,” McCarthy told reporters. But not this time: About 200 Republicans have been stymied by 20 far-right colleagues who said he’s not conservative enough. McCarthy had resisted allowing a return to the longstanding rule that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had done away with, because it had been held over the head of past Republican Speaker Boehner. Pressure has grown with each passing day for McCarthy to somehow find the votes he needs or step aside.

According to the same filing, Department of Agriculture staff were 5% female, and 18% were visible minorities. Corrections Canada has a workforce that is 11% Indigenous compared to 2% at the CBC. Tara Henley: Why I quit the CBC, via @NationalPostAnd yet the ⁦@liberal_party⁩ elite leader ⁦@JustinTrudeau⁩ just keeps plugging all spare Ottawa change into the ⁦@CBC⁩ coffers…. "To work at the CBC in the current climate is to embrace cognitive dissonance and to abandon journalistic integrity," wrote Henley. CBC CEO Catherine Tait testified at a 2019 Commons Heritage Committee that "We will do more to reflect all the richness of contemporary Canada – multicultural, Indigenous, urban, rural and regional."

International Bobsleigh & Skeleton FederationRahneva slides to silver at skeleton World Cup in WinterbergMirela Rahneva stood on her second podium of the 2022-23 IBSF World Cup season after capturing the silver medal in Winterberg, Germany on Friday. In the first World Cup women’s skeleton race since mid-December, Rahneva finished with a two-run time of 1:57.24. That gave her a lead of 0.08 of a second over Bos, the reigning overall World Cup champion. The IBSF World Cup circuit has now reached Europe after starting with three stops in North America in November and December. The silver in Winterberg is her 13th career World Cup medal.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has made a number of pre-budget announcements this week, including more funding for police and the TTC. Tory told CBC Radio's Metro Morning he has heard from many residents and business owners who want more police officers in their communities. WATCH | Mayor John Tory pressed on proposed spending increases for police:In response, Tory said he and "the people of Toronto" disagree with that position. Tory told Metro Morning guest host Jason D'Souza that dramatic increases in costs paired with sagging ridership from the pandemic mean a fare increase was unavoidable. Tory noted Friday that after commitments from the province, the city needs roughly $500 million to fill its financial gaps for 2022.

High-risk offender in Yarmouth County temporarily banned from Canada – CBC.caHALIFAX –Canada got the revenge it desperately cut – and is gold again at the junior hockey world championship. Jiri Kulich and Jakub Kos replied on behalf of the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic – the country commonly known as the Czech Republic – finished fourth in the summer, earning its first medal since 2005. Bedard, the Canadian phenom who rewrote page after page of both the tournament and national record books in Halifax, was taken off the scoresheet on Thursday. The sparkling 17-year-old from North Vancouver, BC, Bedard holds the national record with 23 all-time points and 17 all-time goals in the world juniors.

“The transformation they seek is already well under way.”Meanwhile, back at the CCPA, Mr. Macdonald describes something that’s actually happening, and that really is getting progressively worse. Getting back to the Post, Mr. Oliver has worries that Canada’s corporate sector presumably shares as well. Even worse, Mr. Oliver warned, there are obviously turncoats in the camp of the capitalists. (Mr. Oliver understands: “That will inevitably undermine the free enterprise system.” Which, when you think about it, is an interesting observation about capitalism.) Over at the CCPA, Mr. Macdonald suggests some remedies to the problem of corporate pay.

When it comes to gun control, the Liberal government is either being sneaky, is deeply confused or is simply the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Then came an 11th-hour amendment to the legislation that has unnecessarily reignited the gun debate in this country. The Liberal error was not in intent — it was a fumble on substance in an admittedly complex area and a complete fail on communication. Even Heidi Rathjen, a tireless gun control advocate and co-founder of PolySeSouvient, concedes the Liberals could have done a better job of communicating the amendments. Rathjen believes the Liberals’ list is solid, but imperfect, but in reality the government is endangering its entire gun control program with such a scatter shot effort.

‘River of rain’ spreads death and destruction in CaliforniaDuration: 01:38Destructive weather is raining down hard on California, with 35 million people under a flood watch and tens of thousands of people in northern and central parts of the state without power. At least two deaths have been reported thus far.