Everything You Need To Know For July 8

Good morning — Andrew from Narcity here! ☕

If you're reading this right now, it means you've likely been spared from massive mobile and internet service outages plaguing Rogers this morning. If your service is indeed down, light a fire; when I see the smoke, I will dispense a carrier pigeon to deliver a print-out of today's Canada Morning Brief.

Psst... You can now sign up for the (far superior) email version of the Canada Morning Brief right here.

In Case You Missed It

1. Elon Musk Won't Stop Fathering Kids With Canadians

Per court filings obtained by Business Insider, Elon Musk fathered twins with an executive at one of his companies. That brings the richest person on earth's tally of (publicly known) children to nine, Josh Elliott writes: five with his first wife, Justine Wilson; two with the musician Grimes; and two with Shivon Zilis, the director of operations and special projects at Musk's brain implant firm Neuralink. Here's what else you need to know about Musk now having enough kids to field a baseball team.

• My take: The CEO of a company probably shouldn't be having secret romances with his subordinates. Also, the eventual reallocation of Musk's absurd wealth to his heirs is going to make Succession look like This Is Us.

2. Read This Before Flying Within, To Or From Canada

It's no secret that Canada's aviation industry is really going through it these days. You've seen the anguished posts about longer than long security lines and overflowing carousels of severely delayed luggage — and with gas expensive as ever, it's not like road-tripping is a much more viable option in most cases. So, in the event that you have to brave a Canadian airport in the near future, you're going to want to know your rights surrounding cancellations and delays. Helena Hanson breaks down everything you need to know about being compensated for your troubles.

3. The Noble Career Path Of Being A Stay At Home Daughter

Look, we can't all have super important jobs — like doctors, diplomats and newsletter writers. For self-proclaimed "stay at home daughter" Roma Abdesselam, her contribution to society is being a one-woman stimulus package: the social media starlet spends upward of $50,000 of her parents' cash each day to support her lavish lifestyle. Cata Balzano details how Abdesselam is spending her time (and parents' money) on an average day.

4. Cops Warn Of A Big Rise In 'Swarming-Style' Thefts Near Wonderland

If you thought the price of admission at Canada's Wonderland was larcenous, you are going to absolutely hate the actual robberies. York Regional Police are warning would-be thrill-seekers of a rise in "swarming-style" thefts in the area surrounding the amusement park. So far, at least 10 kids have been arrested, Brooke Houghton reports. The cops say there are a few things you should keep in mind when heading out to Wonderland anytime soon.

5. A Ukrainian Refugee Gave An Honest Take On One Of Our Most Sacred Sites

Some aspects of Canadian life are so culturally rich that their reputation precedes us on the global stage, like playing hockey on a frozen pond or buying patio furniture from the same company that services your car. A Ukrainian TikToker named Semion — who you may remember from his poutine video earlier this week — recently made a pilgrimage to Canadian Tire and gave an honest review of the big-box retailer. Sarah Rohoman breaks it down here.

• My take: If Canada had an official national smell, it'd probably be maple syrup or Tim Hortons coffee — but that distinct blast of rubber-infused oxygen you get when you step into literally any Canadian Tire would be a dark horse contender.

What Else You Need To Know Today

🇯🇵 WORLD POLITICS
Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was killed after being shot in the back while giving a campaign speech in western Japan on Friday. Abe suffered cardiopulmonary arrest at the scene of the incident.

🐎 CALGARY STAMPEDE
Throw on your cowboy boots and grab your lasso; the Calgary Stampede returns to Cowtown starting today through July 17. Charlie Hart breaks down all the festivals happening in the city over the next while.

🎥 WIDE RELEASE
Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth standalone flick starring Marvel's favourite Norse god, hits theatres today. Our Josh Elliott caught up with star Tessa Thompson to chat about her central role as King Valkyrie. Watch the full video here.

🎮 VIDEO GAMES
July 8 marks National Video Game Day — so dust off that oddly designed N64 controller and take an old classic for a spin. Or go new-school with something like Minecraft, the top-selling video game of all time.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Jaden Smith is now 24. Billy Crudup, who has certainly exceeded being simply almost famous, is 54. Kevin Bacon is 64 — and is literally four degrees of separation or fewer away from everyone else on this list. Pick up your Bananaphone and wish children's music legend Raffi a happy 74th trip around the sun. Arrested Development major domo Jeffrey Tambor is 78 today.

Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — and remember: there's always money in the Bananaphone stand.

Let me know what you liked (and disliked) about today's edition at andrew.potter@narcity.com.

Have a great day and see you back here on Monday!