For years, Toronto mayor Rob Ford has provided comedy shows with punchlines — but the joke is over. After years of scandals involving things like drunk driving and crack cocaine abuse, Rob Ford is no longer mayor, and his brother lost his bid to fill his seat.
If you’ve been paying attention to the news at all, you’ve heard about Rob Ford. And you’ve probably wondered how he got elected. The answer? Ford Nation — an intensely loyal and ethnically diverse group of supporters who are sticking with him, despite the recent scandals and revelations.
CBC radio program Day 6 has produced an opera focusing on the troubles of Rob Ford — Toronto’s embattled mayor. Ford is mayor in name only. The City Council has stripped him of all substantive powers. His story of drunken binges, crack smoking and driving while intoxicated can be seen as a saga worthy of a tragic opera.
Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, described as Egypt’s version of Daily Show host Jon Stewart, found himself without a TV network after his show was pulled by his own network last week, with no sign he’d be allowed back on. Plus, the Philippines are reeling after the strong storm to make landfall ever recorded slammed into the island nation. Those stories and more in today’s Global Scan.