Why Canada is uniquely vulnerable to nuclear war

Plus, Doug Ford backs down, senior-aged skydivers and meeting the first (and maybe only) Olympic B-boy champion [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning. With the Olympics coming to a close Sunday, these Games have already been Canada’s most successful in a non-boycotted year. Before accounting for any final-day hardware, [here’s which Canadians reached the podium over the past two weeks](. And here’s the latest on everything else MUST READS AP File Photo global security [Why Canada is uniquely susceptible to a nuclear apocalypse]( In the not impossible event of global nuclear war, a pioneering researcher says Canada would be one of the worst places on earth to live — or more aptly put: to die. Rutgers professor Alan Robock, who helped create the hypothesis of a “nuclear winter” scenario, tells Alex Ballingall that beyond the mass casualties of any initial blast, [the ensuing impact on world agriculture would trigger the starvation of billions](. Steve Russell/The Star Ontario politics [Doug Ford said no; this Durham Region mayor got her way anyway]( Amid a coordinated constituent email campaign, Ontario’s premier said he wouldn’t be “bullied” by Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy into funding the construction of a new hospital in the town. Ford’s casual revelation last week that they would fund the hospital after all caught Roy so off guard that she wasn’t even present for the announcement, David Rider reports. [Here’s how the retired health-care worker managed to call the premier’s bluff](. Alex Torre/Swoop Skydive feel Good [Seniors are celebrating life to the fullest — by jumping out of planes]( To celebrate their 80th birthdays, Mary Kelcey and Lina Zatzman threw themselves out of a single-propeller Cessna 206, many thousand feet above terra firma. Research shows that strong female friendships can trigger the release of calming hormones — particularly beneficial to older women, Moira Welsh writes. [Surprisingly, scratching skydiving off the bucket list has become a popular pastime for many long-term care residents](. Ramon Ferreira/The Star personal finance [The three crucial lessons young savers should know before college]( Know someone pursuing post-secondary education in the fall? Before cracking those textbooks, Lesley-Anne Scorgie writes that the first lesson they need to learn is how to budget, followed in short order by how to manage credit and value consciousness 101. One practical tool that any young adult can incorporate into their weekly spending is the concept of loud budgeting. [Here’s how sharing openly can be a boon to your financial health](. Richard Lautens/The Star city life [At the historic Wheat Sheaf, tavern time marches on]( Often billed as Toronto’s oldest pub, the King West mainstay has come a long way since the days of staging cockfights. The Wheat Sheaf’s $2 million renovation in 2019 would’ve swept away any signs of fowl play. Things may be different these days, David Silverberg notes, but between the popularity of their wings and long-standing rumours of a secret tunnel, [there are still plenty of links to its past](. UP CLOSE Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi B.C.’s Phil “Wizard” Kim captured the gold medal in the Olympics’ first-ever breaking contest. Sadly, he might be the first and last B-boy champion in the hip-hop-infused sport, Rosie DiManno writes. [Here’s why](. read THIS Shutterstock It’s not too late to pad your summer reading stats. Steven W. Beattie breaks down four recently released crime novels — [including a suspenseful page-turner about an all-girl rock band that suffers a mysterious car crash in the Catskills](. Thanks for reading. Remember, the first rule about First Up’s secret tunnel system is that we don’t talk about it. You can reach our team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_218172), and Kevin will see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](