Yesterday it was announced that Russia will be banned from competing in the 2018 Olympic games in South Korea. They have had a pervasive state-run doping program that has likely tainted Russian results for much of modern Olympic history. That being said individual Russian athletes will still be able to compete - if clean - but not under the Russian flag. Is this fair? Does it go far enough? Are they scapegoating Russia when doping is rampant in the Olympics?

Guest: Mark Johnson - Author of Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports

Donald Trump says he's fulfilling a campaign promise - becoming the first U-S president to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and working to move the U-S embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This has many worries about the safety of Americans and even Canadians living in or travelling to Jerusalem. We’ll look at this and other Trump related news… there’s so much of it with our next guest Brian Kennedy President of the Can-Am Group.

Guest: Brian Kennedy - President of the Can-Am Group/Former White House correspondent

Facebook announcing its most talked about moments of 2017 today… and they are International Women’s Day both in Canada and around the world in 2017. In Canada, the other most talked about events were Gord Downie’s death and the Las Vegas Massacre.

A newly discovered dinosaur is so strange that scientists thought it was fake after is fossil was found in a dealer's shop in France. The turkey-sized cousin of Velociraptor has paddle-like front limbs and other features that suggest it spent a large part of its time in the water. It is being described as part duck, part penguin and part swan.

If your office Christmas party seems a little less spectacular than last year, you’re not alone. According to a survey by an employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 11 per cent of companies say they will not even hold parties (that’s up 4 per cent since last year).

Monday night the The Steelers and Bengals did horrible things to each other. A violent game where players were carried off the field on stretchers because of suspected spinal injuries. Head shot after head shot, which begs the questions is football too violent? Can NFL deal with this? Should kids play football? What are the long term impacts for players?

Guest: Sally Fryer Dietz - Doctor/Football Concussion Expert

Monday the BC NDP government announced $33 million dollars in funding for new childcare spaces across 52 communities province-wide. But a new report by think tank Cardus uses the government’s own documents to show that there just isn’t the need for those spots. In fact, on average, almost one in three child care spaces lies vacant every month. Helen Ward, president of Kids First Parents Association, and co-author of Daycare Vacancy Rates in British Columbia: The Untold Story joins us now.

Guest: Helen Ward - President of Kids First Parents Association, and co-author of Daycare Vacancy Rates in British Columbia: The Untold Story

Some olympians are now weighing in on the decision by the Olympic Committee to ban Russia from competing in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Postmedia Network C-E-O Paul Godfrey is defending a deal announced last week that had Postmedia and Torstar agree to trade 41 newspapers and close 36 of them. The closed papers are mainly in parts of Ontario served by multiple publications. Nearly 300 will be looking for new employment as a result of the deal.

Meanwhile in just one of many Donald Trump stories. His lawyers say he is too busy to be sued by a former "Apprentice'' contestant.

The BC Government has unveiled details on how recreational marijuana will be distributed and sold once legalized. Will check in with Kirk Tousaw about these new regulations and what it might mean for BC, and also how they compare to the rest of the country’s.

Guest: Kirk Tousaw - Barrister Focusing on Cannabis Related Issues

A new campaign is drawing attention to the taxes us Canadians pay on booze...the level of taxation makes us look like suckers, and it’s only getting worse.Launched by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the “no escalator tax” campaign centres around a move by the Trudeau Liberals to hike federal liquor taxes by two per cent this year, and hike it every year after, in-line with inflation.

Guest: Aaron Wudrick - Federal Director Canadian Taxpayers Union

Prime minister Trudeau is in China this week and has the tricky task talking trade, climate, tourism, and more on Canadian terms. David Akin, Global’s Chief Political Correspondent, is in China as well and updates us with the latest on Trudeau.

Guest: David Akin - Chief Political Correspondent