In the news today: Is Canada ready for ‘new reality’ of flash floods?

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Is Canada ready for ‘new reality’ of flash floods?

Ryan Ness of the Canadian Climate Institute says he’s been following the “terrible tragedy” of deadly flash flooding unfolding in Texas, where more than 100 people have died.

But he’s also worried Canada isn’t doing enough to prevent such disasters here, saying the country needs to invest in flood mapping, infrastructure and early warning systems.

Flood warning systems are also needed to help people in the path of flash floods “prepare or get away, if they can,” while long-term infrastructure upgrades are needed to protect risk zones.

The raging flash floods in Texas — among the worst in the United States in decades — slammed into camps and homes along the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday. Some survivors were found clinging to trees.

The disaster has put a focus on both the risk of flash flooding as well as how to predict or prevent it.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Israeli minister rejects outside probes of Gaza

As Canada escalates its criticism of how Israel is fighting the war in Gaza, one Israeli junior minister says her government won’t submit to international investigations of the war that it feels are meant to undermine the state’s legitimacy.

“We are a democracy with checks and balances and a robust judicial system,” said Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy minister of foreign affairs.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the Toronto-born Haskel — whose role in Israel’s cabinet makes her the equivalent of a Canadian junior minister — said Canada needs to do more to combat the threats posed by Iran abroad and antisemitism at home.

She said Israelis are fighting Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. The Iranian regime has for years called for the destruction of Israel.

But Canada has increasingly expressed concerns about casualty numbers and Israeli tactics in Gaza, and with how Israel’s occupying soldiers are patrolling the West Bank.

5 Israeli soldiers killed overnight in northern Gaza and 18 dead in Israeli strikes

Five Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in Gaza, the Israeli military said Tuesday, while health officials in the Palestinian territory said 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes.

The bloodshed came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about a ceasefire plan to pause the Gaza fighting. While there was no word of a breakthrough, the killings of the soldiers could add to the pressure on Netanyahu to strike a deal in Israel, where polls have shown widespread support for ending the war.

An Israeli security official said explosive devices were detonated against the soldiers during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza, which was an early target of the war and an area where Israel has repeatedly fought regrouping militants.

Militants also opened fire on the forces who were evacuating the wounded soldiers, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the incident with the media.

The military said 14 soldiers were wounded in the attack, two of them seriously. It brings the toll of soldiers killed to 888 since the war against Hamas began in 2023.

Group claims court win in psychedelic therapy case

A non-profit group that advocates for access to therapy using psychedelic drugs has won a legal battle in a years-long fight with Health Canada — one the organization believes is far from over.

“There’s an obvious societal turning point here, one where the public, for sure, clinicians and certainly parts of the government are waking up to the reality that psychedelics work,” said John Gilchrist, director of communications for Therapsil.

Therapsil obtained exemptions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2020 that allowed 19 health-care workers to undergo experiential training that involved taking mushrooms containing psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms.

In 2022, Therapsil applied for exemptions for 93 more health-care workers as it worked to expand access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. Health Canada denied the application.

The case made its way late last fall to the Federal Court of Appeal, which ruled in June that the health minister failed to provide justification for refusing the second round of exemptions. The court ordered the government to make a new decision.

Crowd control tested at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium

Coldplay fans appeared to experience a smoother exit from Toronto’s Rogers Stadium on Monday night, after complaints of poor crowd control following the outdoor venue’s inaugural show last week.

As crowds leaving the stadium thickened, staff held up the red lights and instructed people to wait inside the venue before they could proceed to transit areas. A green light meant go.

The practice, which operator Live Nation Canada refers to as “pulsing,” was also in use at the venue’s first show. This time, the operator promised to reconfigure the exit routes so that crowds would be dispersed to multiple nearby subway stations.

While some fans complained about the temporary standstills, the crowd control technique appeared to help prevent overcrowding at Downsview Park, the nearest subway and GO train station, with a limited number of people flowing through at a time.

It appeared to be a significant improvement over the venue’s inaugural show last week, when some attendees said it took up to two hours to exit the 50,000-person capacity stadium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025.

The Canadian Press