Opposites attract

Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum as Tenspeed and Brown Shoe were your classic odd couple. One was a street-savvy hustler, the other a nerdy accountant. They made a heck of a detective team, but the show mightāve been too goofy for its own good. Cancelled after one season š
Not all odd couples are fated to succeed, although it does seem to be working out for Reggie and Pearl. The pair are the worldās tallest and shortest dogs respectively, and their recent playdate is making headlines.
Sing it, Paula ;)
(Love nostalgia? Play todayās trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)
SPONSORED BY ZENBEV
Celebrating 1000 issues š„³

Weāre giving away a $1000 Amazon eGift Card to celebrate our 1000th issue. For every poll you vote in between now and May 14th youāll earn one entry into the giveaway, so vote below to get in on the action. The winner will be drawn on May 15th!**
I got the music in meSure your Walkman was awesome...but was it as magical as your transistor radio? |
Special shout out to Zenbev for sponsoring our milestone 1000th issue and giveaway.
Your Walkman didnāt come with a sleep playlistābut it did the trick. Slow music helps your brain wind down, and so does Zenbev. It supports natural melatonin production with clean, clinically studied ingredients. Use code STAKE20 for 20% off. No earbuds required. Just better sleep.
IN THE NEWS
Carney holds first press conference

X/@CTVNews
Prime Minister Mark Carney held his first press conference on Friday since securing one of the strongest minority governments in Canadian history earlier in the week.
He spoke about several of his priorities, the most important of which will be positioning Canada to emerge a winner from the ongoing trade rift with the United Statesāa big task for a newcomer going toe-to-toe with Americaās Commander-in-Chief.
āWe can have a bigger boost to our economy, to incomes, to jobs, by focusing on building one Canadian economy, building these nation-building projects, by focusing on getting productivity up, by reducing revenue waste, by driving investment in this country,ā he said. āWeāre going to focus on that while we have these negotiations with the Americans, and if negotiations with the Americans take longer, so be it.ā
He also spoke about fiscal policy and its relation to the cost of living, noting heāll introduce a tax cut of 1% on the lowest marginal rate by July 1, cut GST on new homes valued under $1 million for first-time buyers, and introduce historic funding to help developers build the millions of homes needed across the country.
āIn the coming weeks, I will unveil more of our plan to engage with Canadians as we embark on the biggest transformation of our economy since the end of the Second World War,ā he said.
GOVERNMENT
King Charles to deliver throne speech

Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press
The throne speech is read every time a new session of parliament is opened. It sets forth the goals and direction the government will take, and is traditionally read by the governor general, who represents the reigning monarch in Canada.
However, for the first time since 1977, the monarch will deliver the speech, with King Charles himself visiting Canada for the occasion on May 27.
In fact, the speech has only been delivered by a reigning monarch twice in Canadaās historyāonce in 1977, and the other in 1957, both by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.
The 1957 speech was during Elizabethās first visit to Canada as queen. She opened Prime Minister John Diefenbakerās Parliament, who made sure the event was televised, marking the first time television cameras had entered the House of Commons. National Film Board of Canada cameras were also there to shoot a documentary on the event, which led to every fuse in the House blowing and power being lost for five minutes.
The 1977 visit was less celebratory, as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeauās government was growing increasingly supportive of separating from the Monarchy, while at the same time, Quebec was growing increasingly supportive of separating from Canada. The Queen addressed Parliament in both English and French in an effort to foster a unity that had been lacking in the Canadian psyche as it pertained to Quebecās place in the federation.
MONEY MONDAYS
Cost of car ownership skyrocketing
Vecteezy
According to a Leger survey conducted on behalf of Turo, the cost of owning a car has risen 9% in just the last year, and with tariffs on the way, could rise by another 25%.
Itās not just the cost of actually buying a car that Turo is investigating, but actually owning one. Maintenance and insurance are among the factors that could see costs soar as tariffs are introduced and inflation roars back.
āOne of the biggest costs is your fuel. Another thing is maintenance. Everyone has to replace tires at one point, the brakes, oil changesāwe donāt necessarily put that all in the bucket of what itās cost to own our vehicle,ā says Kristine DāArbelles at the Canadian Automobile Association. āYou also have your insurance costs and that number varies significantly.ā
As costs rise, they become less sustainable, forcing owners to get out of their investment and try to unload the car. The more one spends on a car above its actual value, the more they have to factor in depreciation when trying to sell it.
āIt can be up to 50% of the cost of owning and operating your vehicle,ā says DāArbelles.
SCIENCE
FDA approves gene-edited pigs

Amber Kipp/Unsplash
Gene-editing is being used in pigs primarily to protect them from a virus thatās become extremely common and destructive to the global swine industry.
Called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), itās been in wild pigs forever but became common in commercial livestock several decades ago. It can and does kill off young ones, and also causes reproductive failure.
Using CRISPR, the powerful gene editing tool that allows scientists to modify the DNA of organisms, the Pig Improvement Company (PIC) removed the cell receptor the virus typically binds to, hijacks, and infects the animal.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration officially approved PIC-edited pigs for use as livestock and food.
āWe have spent years conducting extensive research, validating our findings and working with the FDA to gain approval,ā said Matt Culbertson, chief operating officer at PIC, in a statement released Thursday by the National Pig Association in the UK.
It will still take several years before the pigs are bred and ready to be introduced, but once they are, itās expected the CRISPR-edited genes will be passed down generationally, ostensibly eradicating PRRS.
CURIOSITIES
Peter the pigeonās Atlantic crossing

Giphy
Pigeon no. 9550 was released by Spanish fancier David Fernandez on Feb. 22 on the island of Ibiza to compete in a race to Majorca, which is about 120 kilometres across the Mediterranean Sea.
Instead of turning up in Majorca, though, he was instead found weak and tired over a month later on the sandbar of Sable Island, which is about 290 km south of Halifaxāor 5,000 km from Ibiza. š¤Æ
Sable Island is a remote home to plenty of wildlife, including thousands of seals, hundreds of wild horses, and various birds. Pigeons, however, rarely turn up on the island. According to Kristina Penn of Parks Canada, the last known pigeon to turn up on Sable Island was in 2017.
She and her colleagues believe that Peterāthe name they gave to the tenacious messenger birdāstopped for a rest on a cargo ship during the race and ended up on a detour across the Atlantic. They determined his point of origin by running a search on the leg bracelet he was wearing.
He was in pretty rough shape when Pennās colleague found him, and they helped him recover until he was strong enough to take to Hope For Wildlife, a nonprofit on mainland Nova Scotia where heās being fully nursed back to health, much to the delight of Mr. Fernandez.
MUSIC
Billy Idol: Iām lucky to be here

Giphy
Thereās no sugar coating it when it comes to Billy Idolās new documentary. Titled Billy Idol Should Be Dead, it chronicles the rockstar lifestyle of the British icon, including overindulgence in drugs and alcohol and a near-fatal motorcycle accident he was involved in after running a stop sign.
āIām lucky to be here,ā he told USA TODAY. āIf I was doing today what I was doing in the ā80s, I would be dead. A lot of people didnāt make it out.ā
Like most rock stars who did manage to live through the ā80s, Idol says exercise, a good diet, and staying āCalifornia soberā are the main contributors to the fact that heās somehow about to live to see 70.
Heās staying busy, too, though. His latest album, Dream Into It, came out last weekend and he just hit the road with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts for a Northe American and European tour that will run through September.
Jett is featured on the album in a melodic banger called Wildside, which Idol also spoke candidly about.
āI most definitely still have a wild side,ā he said. āThereās still the guy who doesnāt mind risking things, just trying to keep it in check. The guy who is willing to move to another continent to start his life again or gamble his future a lot of the time.ā
STAKE TRIVIA
Box office bombs

Giphy
For every truly great movie, thereās gotta be about a dozen bad ones. And for every dozen bad movies, oneās gotta be a real dud š¤£
Some go on to become cults classics and others are just plain badātheyāre all on the table with todayās trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card ;)
Winner will be notified tomorrow afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox!*
Have a great day ahead Staker!
Todayās issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.
*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.
**SEE FULL 1000TH ISSUE GIVEAWAY RULES HERE.