As It Happens

As It Happens: Wednesday Edition

Wednesday, February 26. 2020

Full Episode Transcript

Part One

Blockades: Kahnawake
Quebec's Premier says rail blockaders in Kahnawake may be armed with AK47s. We talk to the secretary of the Mohawk Nation there, who calls that accusation inflammatory and irresponsible. 

Coronavirus: Italy
Northern Italy is now the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak. And investigators are putting local hospitals under the microscope. Milan resident Chiara Ziboni tells us how she's coping, with her city on lockdown. 

Halifax quiet fireworks
Halifax City Councillor David Hendsbee explains why he wants his city to explore the possibility of so-called "silent fireworks." And why his proposal has ignited quite the controversy. 

Part Two

Anti-lynching act
Sixty-five years after Emmett Till's murder, The United States Congress has passed a bill named for the 14-year-old. Its sponsor tells us why it took nearly 200 attempts to make lynching a federal crime. 

Jens Nygaard Knudsen obit
The inventor of the Lego mini-figure left a huge impact generations of children — and on his colleagues. According to Niels Milan Pedersen, a longtime collaborator, a brain-storming session with Jens Nygaard Knudsen was more like a brain hurricane. 

Part Three

Iran plane petition
Armin Morattab's twin brother died when Iran shot down a Ukranian Airlines flight last month. And after weeks of inaction, he's ready to take the fight for justice all the way to the Hague. 

Pope Pius XII archives
For decades, Catholics have debated whether Pius the 12th did enough to prevent the Holocaust. Now, a new archive could help demystify the Pope during wartime.