Good morning! This is Chris Bilton. 

Canada is working on its relationship with Mexico — and we have the latest on how that’s going. Also, Sophia Harris looked into what happened when customers reported their Costco digital gift cards were drained of cash. Plus, what Canada can learn from new research into the wider health impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires.

THE LATEST

• Three men accused of facilitating terrorism in an alleged extremist anti-government plot were denied bail. The three accused will return to court in September.
   
• Canadian teen tennis sensation Victoria Mboko fought her way into the National Bank Open final with a tiebreaker win last night.
   
• Hamilton will honour Shai Gilgeous-Alexander today after one of the best seasons in NBA history.
   
• Just after midnight today, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10 per cent or higher imposed by the Trump administration. 

Why doesn't Canada already have a stronger relationship with Mexico?

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the G7 Summit in Alberta earlier this year. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

With Canada-U.S. trade negotiations once again heating up, Canadian officials are scrambling to build new relationships, including with one of its closest neighbours: Mexico.

The latest: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand was in the Mexico City this week with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to build a "bilateral economic relationship." While the two senior ministers met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for more than an hour and Champagne hailed the talks as "quite extraordinary," Sheinbaum poured cold water on the idea of a bilateral trade agreement yesterday.

What experts say: Getting over the halting nature of Canada and Mexico's relationship will take work. The two countries buy fewer than three per cent of each other's overall exports. And while Canadian investments in Mexico have increased "dramatically" since 2010, Mexican investment in Canada stalled at $3.1 billion US in 2023, according to the Business Council of Canada.

Costco customers shocked after someone drains all the funds from their gift cards

Shelly Xu, of Perth, Ont., is still waiting and hoping for a refund from Costco after roughly $200 disappeared from her Costco Shop card. (Submitted by Shelly Xu)

A number of Costco digital gift card customers are reporting that their cards have been mysteriously drained.

What happened: CBC News found dozens of complaints posted on social media and on Costco's online shopping site from people who said the money on their Shop cards had vanished. CBC interviewed five affected customers from B.C. and Ontario. They said they discovered in June or July that between $150 and $1,000 had been drained from their digital Shop cards. 

The response: The customers also said they found dealing with Costco frustrating, saying the retailer provided little to no information about what went wrong. Three people reported Costco eventually provided a refund, one said she was denied, and another is still awaiting a resolution. Costco also temporarily suspended online sales of digital Shop cards.

The bigger picture: Gift card fraud is big business in Canada. The Retail Council of Canada says that in 2021, Canadians reported $3.8 million in losses due to the crime.

More than 400 deaths linked to L.A. wildfires, researchers say

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy monitors flames caused by the Hughes Fire along Castaic Lake in Castaic, Calif., on Jan. 22. (The Associated Press/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Thirty people died as a direct result of the wildfires that swept through Los Angeles this year, but researchers now estimate another 440 people died from health conditions related to the blaze. The researchers are calling for better health tracking in the wake of natural disasters, to get a sense of the true burden of health impacts related to wildfires.

The situation in Canada: As Canadian communities from B.C. to Newfoundland battle flames and drifting smoke, health officials this week have warned vulnerable residents — such as those over age 65, pregnant people, young children and those who have underlying medical conditions or who have to exert themselves outside for work or sports — that they are at a higher risk of suffering side effects from smoke.

In other wildfire news: 

• AI-generated wildfire images are spreading misinformation in B.C., fire officials warn.
• Newfoundland and Labrador is considering a ban on ATVs and is increasing fines for breaking a provincewide fire ban.
• Summer 2025 is now Winnipeg's smokiest on record.
• Here's your up-to-date look at the country's wildfire situation.

In case you missed it

• Ask CBC News: We answered your questions about Canada-U.S. trade.
   
• Pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensifies as Israel's military chief opposes Gaza war expansion.
   
• Forecasters say the quiet Atlantic hurricane season won't last.
   
• New research suggests algae growth is increasing in Canada's lakes — even remote ones — and climate change is the main culprit.

IN LIGHTER NEWS

P.E.I. photographer finally captures rare moment as piping plover chicks hatch

Glen Strickey spent years trying to capture a moment like this — a newly hatched piping plover chick calling out for its mother. (Glen Strickey Photography/Facebook)

Last month, after years of waiting and trying to capture the rare moment when endangered piping plover chicks hatch, P.E.I. photographer Glen Strickey finally realized his dream. "They're some of the cutest baby birds out there. They look like little cotton balls with legs and beaks," Strickey told CBC's Island Morning. Only about 60 of the birds are typically seen on P.E.I. each year. Strickey said their nests are so tiny and well-camouflaged that spotting them, let alone photographing the chicks hatching, can be incredibly difficult.