Good morning. The time people rise and go to bed is highly personal, but also highly divisive – more on that below, along with the latest updates from the Middle East. But first:
Today’s headlines
- A central figure accused in the Project South police corruption probe has been linked to an alleged accomplice in the Ryan Wedding drug case
- Border authorities have identified nearly 30 suspected Iranian officials in Canada who they believe should be banned
- Japan may join Canadian Arctic military exercises as part of a new strategic partnership
- Canada’s top soldier is meeting European counterparts today to discuss supporting Gulf states in the Iranian war
Displaced families gather at Martyrs' Square in Beirut on Thursday after the Israeli army's warning prompted residents to evacuate.Khalil Ashawi/Reuters
The latest
The Middle East conflict widens
Iran launched more missiles at Israel and U.S. bases as the war in the Middle East moves past the first week. Israel said it was intercepting the missiles, and has launched targeted attacks in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The conflict continued to rattle financial markets as oil prices resumed their ascent yesterday. Follow here for the latest updates today.
- Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war has sparked anger and confusion among Lebanese residents.
- Sudan, Ethiopia and other African countries are trying to calculate the impact of the United Arab Emirates’s involvement in the Iran conflict.
- Azerbaijan vows to retaliate after an Iranian drone attack, marking another country the war has reached.
Early birds have always carried a halo - but what if listening to your internal clock is actually the superior way?Illustration by Hanna Barczyk
How we live
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Hi, this is Zosia Bielski; I write about time use for The Globe.
Time changes are hotly divisive, as politicians were reminded this week in British Columbia. Sunday marks the last time most people in the province will change their clocks, after B.C. announced it was putting an end to spring forward, fall back.
The move comes nearly seven years after public consultations found people are (shocker) fed up with time changes. B.C. will now observe daylight time year-round, joining neighbouring Yukon, which made the same switch in 2020.
Making the announcement in front of perplexed elementary school students on Monday, B.C. Premier David Eby described the havoc of resetting clocks every March and November. Car accidents. People feeling disoriented and unwell. Groggy kids, groggier parents. Dogs and cats tormenting owners for food and walks at ungodly hours, unaware of the time change.
With permanent daylight time, British Columbians will get more sunlit hours after work. The trade-off: December mornings shrouded in darkness. In Vancouver, the sun won’t peek out until 9 a.m., and not till 10 a.m. in Prince Rupert.
Some were dismayed the province didn’t opt for year-round standard time. Chronobiologists, those who study circadian rhythms, argue that standard time more closely synchronizes our schedules with our bodies, which want to follow the sun.
Time change: It’s a hot potato. Some like their sunshine early in the morning, others later in the day. Nobody likes the time change itself.
Rising predawn signals discipline and productivity, but it also might ignore our natural rhythms.Illustration by Hanna Barczyk
Writing about time use, I look at the wildly different ways people like to shape their days. But I’m also interested in how much workplace norms and social constraints end up dictating our schedules.
There’s little doubt that the rhythm of our days changed in the pandemic. Flexible, remote work made more room for different start and end times to the day, at least for some lucky office workers. Large-scale shifts in how, where and when we work gave more people the opportunity to tap into their most energetic hours – hours that don’t always align with the standard 9 to 5.
My interest was piqued by British author Bruce Daisley, who writes the newsletter Make Work Better. Daisley sees more of us living life earlier since the pandemic – 5 to 9 a.m. becoming a new kind of 9 to 5, as people rise before the sun to try to get on top of it all before the world stirs.
Nearly two-thirds of Britons now humble-brag about getting up before 7 a.m. On TikTok and Instagram, ultra-early birds are loud and proud, sharing their predawn rituals across millions of posts tagged #MorningRoutine, #MorningMotivation, #5amcrew, #5amworkout. Crawled back under your duvet yet?
Researchers who study circadian rhythms have their reservations. Some people just aren’t built to spring out of bed at 5 a.m., even though many have to for demanding front-line and shift work. No one should be sacrificing their sleep to don a red-light face mask, jump on a Peloton and document the wild ride for IG.
As we hit peak 5 a.m. smugness, night owls are feeling ever more like outliers. Some are calling out the showier aspects of early-bird culture online – time-stamped videos of women peeling collagen masks, whisking electrolyte potions before dawn.
“Late-night owls seem to be doing something more individualistic, rather than something that increases their value in society,” Montreal architect and late-nighter Samantha Willman told me. “I’m not doing protein shakes and planning my day to come at 2 a.m. I’m doing introspection.”
Let the feathers fly. For a feature this week, I look at what divides and unites night owls and morning larks: a desire for peace and quiet, early and late.
Don’t forget those clocks on Sunday.
The Shot
‘Numerous and spectacular results.’
Kristi Noem is sworn in before testifying in front of a House judiciary committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.Kevin Wolf/The Associated Press
Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem as Homeland Security chief after criticism for his signature mass-deportation program and a contretemps over a US$220-million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign that even drew the ire of fellow Republicans.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Nova Scotia intends to broaden its publication ban on identifying children who have been in the child protection system to apply even after they have died.
Abroad: The U.S. House follows the Senate in rejecting an Iran war powers resolution. The House approved a separate measure affirming that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism.
Trade business: Dominic LeBlanc, the federal minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, heads back to Washington for talks.
Monkey business: Punch, the monkey that stole hearts around the world, is outgrowing his plushie and making friends.