Raindrops keep fallin'

Back in the ’70s, a new kind of umbrella hit the streets. Not only did the bubble umbrella keep your upper half totally dry, that plastic shield kept meant you could see your way to jumping through the biggest puddles all the way home from school.

Those bubbly beauties kept you dry when you didn’t wanna get showered by rain, but there are of course times when you do want to shower. Which time is best? A microbiologist has weighed in, and it turns out the morning is the way to go.

Just ask Kool & The Gang ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)

IN THE NEWS

Carney expected to end Trudeau tradition

While former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have left office with historically poor public approval, one thing he did consistently for his whole term will likely be missed even by his and current PM Mark Carney’s detractors.

Despite consistent bombardment from opposition MPs looking to create social media content, Trudeau would attend Question Period on Wednesdays and answer every question MPs had until there were no more.

While Carney is preparing to attend today’s Question Period as Parliament gets underway, a spokesman for the Prime Ministers Office confirmed the PM will not be holding up his predecessor’s tradition. He may sporadically attend on Wednesdays to answer MPs’ questions, but he’s not looking to make it a weekly routine.

Parliament is set to get back in business with one the strongest minority governments ever elected and an emboldened Official Opposition that also picked up dozens of seats in last month’s election.

His Majesty, King Charles III delivered a historic Throne Speech yesterday, marking the first occasion a sitting monarch has done so in Canada in decades, declaring Canada is and will remain “strong and free.”

GOVERNMENT

NATO set to raise target spending

Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely be the target of criticism from the vast majority of NATO allies when the alliance meets in June at The Hague.

While Carney is new to the job and not to blame for Canada’s abysmal record when it comes to the alliance’s pledge to meet certain spending and equipment targets, he is, nonetheless, now the guy in charge, meaning he’ll have to answer for why the country continues to appear unserious about meeting its targets.

Carney campaigned on making sure Canada would hit the spending target of 2% of the national GDP by 2030, two years ahead of the pledge former PM Justin Trudeau gave last year.

Still, on top of that being further away than the last possible date for Canada’s next election, it will also fail to meet even half of the new target NATO is expected to adopt at this year’s summit of 5% of the ally’s GDP.

Carney is being encouraged by experts, academics, and possibly even some in his circle to leverage the situation by saying it’s difficult to more-than-double defence spending while in the middle of a trade war.

HOUSING

Higher-educated less likely to age in place

A study conducted by researchers at McGill University found that while overall health and well-being play a part in whether or not someone is able to age in place (live in their home during retirement rather than in long-term care), their level of education also seems to play a role.

The researchers assumed if this factor had any influence, it would be that higher-educated individuals are more likely to be able to age in place, mostly due to better financial circumstances. It turned out they were less likely.

“This is surprising because higher education is usually linked with having more resources, which could support aging in place,” said first author Clara Bolster-Foucault, a PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill, published in Age and Ageing. 

“This could be because of how education influences family structure, as people with more education tend to have children later in life and have fewer children as a result,” she said. “All these factors make it less likely for people with more education to receive care if they need support to age in place. People with more education also tend to live longer and may need more care in later life.”

Still, Bolster-Foucault and her team found that, generally speaking, the more well-off someone is, the more likely it is that they’ll at least be able to choose to age in place, whereas many have no choice but to opt for public long-term care.

WHAT UP WEDNESDAYS

Men more likely to die of a broken heart

According to a study published last week in the Journal of the American Heart Association, men are more likely to die of a broken heart than women.

The official term for this condition is Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, and it’s typically developed in the throes of severe emotional distress caused by stressful events, such as the loss of a loved one.

In other words, grief can literally break a person’s heart, with symptoms ranging from chest discomfort, to shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and arrythmia.

"Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a serious condition with a substantial risk of death and severe complications," study author Dr. Mohammad Reza Movahed, an interventional cardiologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center, said in a news release.

The study analyzed roughly 200,000 American adults from 2016 to 2020, and though the condition is found more commonly in women, only 5.5% of women die from it, whereas 11.2% of men do, according to the analysis.

It’s not fully clear why there’s such a diversion between the genders, but the study’s author suggests it may have to do with hormonal differences that make men more susceptible to physical stress than emotional stress.

HEALTH

Anti-inflammatories may suppress immunity

A new study published by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found a certain class of anti-inflammatory medication may suppress a part of the human immune response, allowing viral infections to take hold more easily.

Specifically, Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors—which are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and atopic dermatitis, among others—were found to slow a part of the immune response that stops viruses like influenza and COVID-19 from replicating and spreading throughout the body.

The immune response mechanism in question is called Type I interferon, which allows infected cells to “sound the alarm,” notifying other cells they’ve been hit and to trigger the body’s defence.

“These inhibitors remove the first line of hurdles—our innate immune defences—allowing viruses to run faster,” said study co-author Denis Kaynov. “Without that early delay, the adaptive immune system doesn’t have time to respond properly, which increases the risk that the virus spreads rapidly from cell to cell and organ to organ.”

Other experts say this research is in the “extremely early stages” and though it raises helpful questions, it shouldn’t drive anyone currently on JAK inhibitors to do anything more than speak with their doctor if they’re concerned.

SPORTS

Las Vegas “Hall of Excellence” set to open

When you think of Las Vegas, you think of bright lights, shiny objects, decadence, and out-of-this-world performances. The latter is perhaps where the Hall of Excellence fits in.

Opening June 20, the Las Vegas Hall of Excellence is a museum at the Fountainbleu Hotel that’s bound to widen the eyes of sports fans everywhere. Musical and comedic greats tend to semi-retire to Vegas residencies; some of the greatest athletes’ greatest achievements are set to be on display at this one-of-a-kind showcase that was partly curated by Tom Brady—greatness personified.

Some of the items displayed include:

• A bat used by Jackie Robinson while breaking major league baseball’s color barrier in 1947

• Michael Jordan’s first pair of Air Jordans and his first NBA championship shoes from the 1991 NBA Finals

• All seven of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl rings

• Ring-worn gloves from Muhammad Ali’s 1966 fight against George Chuvalo

• A golf ball used during Tiger Woods’ first Masters victory in 1997

• Billie Jean King’s 1974 tennis dress

There will also be items unrelated to sports, but emblematic of greatness, including Oprah Winfrey’s 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom, Clint Eastwood’s Oscar trophy for 1993’s Unforgiven, and more.

“So much of this memorabilia represents the incredible journey that I, like so many others, have been fortunate enough to experience,” Brady said. “Artifacts like these do not belong hidden away, they should be shared with the fans who were along for the journey with us.”

MUSIC

Steve Perry opens up about covering Journey

Steve Perry has demonstrated a newfound willingness to play Journey songs in recent years, most notably with his vocal contributions to duets of Faithfully and Open Arms by Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, respectively.

As wonderful as that is to hear for Journey fans, it shouldn’t be construed as a hint that Perry is leaning toward a reunion.

"I mean, we're all good. We were great together," he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "I think the material and our accomplishments stand the test of time, which proves that we were good together. I'm really proud of what we accomplished together, because we were kind of like soldiers in the trenches trying to do something together. We knew we could do what we believed in."

After leaving Journey in 1998, Perry didn’t put out any solo material for 20 years, only returning with 2018’s Traces a further 24 years since his last solo record. He followed it up with 2021’s The Season, and has re-released both multiple times, partly due to his love of being in the studio—a love that appears to be sufficient in terms of any desire to perform live.

"You know, I really don't have any plans for that at this moment," he told the Times. "I'm really having so much fun recording, writing, mixing and mastering at this moment that I just don't want to break up the flow I'm in right now."

STAKE TRIVIA

Oh happy day

The show may have literally jumped the shark several seasons in, but there’s no denying that Happy Days is one of the all-time great sitcoms 😎 

If you’re a fan of the show, then get ready to relive those happy days of watching it with today’s 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!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.