Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Donald Trump has warned Iran that its "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" unless the country's rulers agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US president has given the Iranian regime until 8 PM ET to agree a deal, explaining that "something revolutionarily wonderful can happen" in the country if his terms are met. If no deal is agreed, Trump has pledged to destroy Iran's infrastructure.
In less baleful Trump news, the US president has also spoken with the astronauts on NASA's Artemis II lunar mission, with a particularly interesting message for Canadian crew member Jeremy Hansen. The London, Ontario-born astronaut thanked Trump for allowing a Canadian to come on the US mission, prompting the president to respond: "You have a lot of courage doing what you're doing, a lot of bravery, and a lot of genius ... Wayne Gretsky's a great friend of mine and he's very proud of [Hansen] and the prime minister I spoke to, they're very, very honoured that you have a courageous person from Canada. You have a lot of courageous people from Canada."
WATCH IN FULL 🇺🇸 https://t.co/NBEzoT1uwR pic.twitter.com/V2e1pY4wlv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 7, 2026
British Columbia's latest credit downgrade is a sign that there's "something wrong" with the province's finances, according to an economist from the Business Council of BC. Jairo Yunis said Standard & Poor's decision to relegate BC this month – coming hot on the heels of a similar decision by Moody's – means the province will be forced to pay more for debt and will therefore have less cash to spend on British Columbians. He added: "When a province's fiscal trajectory is deteriorating, and there is no credible plan to stabilize it, then that gets factored into decisions about where to invest, about where to put a new facility, about where to hire."
B.C.'s latest credit downgrade signals 'something wrong' with finances: economist https://t.co/kENb9wGtom
— CTV National News (@CTVNationalNews) April 7, 2026
Canadian Armed Forces members violated intelligence-gathering rules during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a calamitous operation, according to a report, including by gathering information about Canadians. According to a document obtained by CBC News and previous reporting by the Ottawa Citizen, Operation Laser – the military's response to the pandemic – was seen as a chance to test out propaganda techniques on Canadians and thwart any potential uprisings by the public. The document explains that the military didn't have enough laptops for its poorly trained staff, meaning some had to use their personal devices at home when they were asked to scour Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram "to measure public opinion about the military's work in Canada to help with planning and decision-making." One team used personal social media accounts when it created more than 50 reports "including about political discourse around COVID-19, misinformation and non-government statements" online. CBC's article adds: "Without enough oversight or training, the team gathered information about Canadians that the government and military's top commander didn't explicitly ask them to collect."
How Canadian military members violated intelligence-gathering rules during COVID-19, 'It was a nonsensical operation from beginning to end,' national security expert says, @AshleyBurkeCBC reports https://t.co/cqcNxRntCr
— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) April 7, 2026
Find out more at https://t.co/1zbPY5GAhV pic.twitter.com/QKG6YDWrRT
The company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, has told employers to consider trying out a four-day work week with no loss of pay as the use of artificial intelligence continues to increase in the workplace. It said the policy – part of its "people-first" plan – could help society adjust to the age of AI. The firm added: "If progress continues, we can expect systems to be capable of carrying out projects that currently take people months. This shift will reshape how organizations run, how knowledge is created, and how people find meaning and opportunity."
OpenAI encourages firms to trial four-day weeks to adapt to AI era https://t.co/CvsvT6R1vM
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 7, 2026
