As a result of nearly 300,000 U.S.-based Haitians having their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) revoked by the Trump administration last month, many are heading north of the border. But while they look to join a country that has a vibrant Haitian diaspora, fleeing to Canada presents its own challenges.

‘Difficult to predict’
Canada’s asylum rules “allow migrants with close family members to enter the country and seek protection,” and many have roots in the nation, said The Atlantic. There are about 100,000 people of Haitian descent living in Canada, according to the country’s 2021 census — a number that likely increased during the last five years. 

But Haitians “without close family members in Canada who arrive at the land border are generally ineligible to seek asylum,” so it’s “difficult to predict how many Haitians may try” crossing into Canada, said The Atlantic. Canadian immigration rules have “changed significantly” since the first Trump administration, and it’s “much harder to make asylum claims at Canada’s border,” said CNN. 

This hasn’t stopped numerous people from trying. Haitians who “do apply for asylum are more likely to be rejected than approved,” but officials say that “U.S. work experience, along with English and French proficiency, could provide qualified applicants with a major advantage in the Canadian job market,” said WLRN. 

‘Part of the answer’
Canada has an “extensive immigration system separate from its refugee protection system,” so for some Haitians, the better question may be not “‘Can I claim asylum in Canada?’ but ‘Could I qualify to immigrate to Canada?’” said The Haitian Times. Canada may be “part of the answer,” but that “doesn’t necessarily mean claiming asylum.”

For many Haitians fleeing ICE, the “only route into Canada is a path through the woods,” said The Atlantic. It can be a risky venture, as Haitians who are denied entry by Canadian border officials are usually “turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and typically transferred to ICE.” But many Haitians are still “willing to risk a dangerous and illegal journey” into Canada, said USA Today, to “avoid returning to their home country.”

Artificial intelligence is officially being incorporated into air traffic control systems, as the FAA rolls out an AI tool already used in control towers at several major airports. But some aviation experts are wary of letting this technology take off.

What’s the new technology?
The tool is a software called the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories (SMART). It “centralizes 200 data streams, including weather patterns, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing metrics, into one platform,” said the FAA in a press release. An AI engine then analyzes the data to “provide a comprehensive visualization of where planes are going, how much traffic the system can handle and where congestion or weather could cause challenges.”

The SMART system “will not replace human operators or direct any changes to flight routes but merely offer recommendations that controllers can choose to heed or ignore,” said The New York Times. SMART is headquartered at the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia, where officials will “disseminate the AI recommendations to controllers at the regional towers and other air traffic facilities.”

SMART is the brainchild of the AI firm Air Space Intelligence, which earned an $875 million contract from the government to develop it. For now, the rollout is “limited to the Washington region, affecting three airports,” said the Times, though officials expect its implementation at other airports in the future. 

Why are experts worried?
Many in the aviation industry are skeptical about SMART’s widespread use. There are remaining questions about “where the system would get its data,” and “controllers must be able to veto its recommendations,” said S. Todd Yeary, a former air traffic controller, to NewsNation. AI has a tendency to hallucinate false information, and since air traffic control information is always changing, any data “fed into a system cannot be assumed to remain reliable.” 

The airlines themselves have expressed similar concerns. There were “weeks of industry confusion over the FAA’s vague description of its much-hyped plans” for SMART, said Politico, which only eased when the agency said it would “use the tool in just a limited way at first.”

A short-eared owl flies over the salt marshes of British Columbia’s Fraser River Delta captured in a photograph by Ivan Sjogren. The Swedish photographer has won the gold award in the Birds in Flight category of the Bird Photographer of the Year competition.
Ivan Sjogren / Bird Photographer of the Year

Japanese animated series based on a popular manga have long been an internationally loved medium in both television and film. These anime series are the best of the best, spanning decades and ever-evolving art styles.

‘Attack on Titan’ (2013-23)
While it’s one of the newer entries, “Attack on Titan” is regarded by many as the “most popular modern anime series” and is adapted from Hajime Isayama’s original manga, said Slash Film. The show “successfully built a broad audience” consisting not only of “diehard anime and manga fans” eager to see its “horrific imagery and action translated from page to screen” but also “newcomers to the medium.” (Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix)

‘One Piece’ (1999-present)
Written by Eiichiro Oda, “One Piece” is the “best-selling manga series of all time,” said Collider.
For over 25 years, Toei Animation has “produced epic, sprawling adventure sagas worthy of the manga’s legendary reputation,” said Slash Film, and the show helped define the shonen subgenre, which is primarily marketed to young boys ages 12 to 18. (Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix)

Sailor Moon (1992-97)
Naoko Takeuchi’s “Sailor Moon” is one of the most “globally recognized anime series of all time,” said IGN. The show’s “gorgeous animation, stunning character designs” and an “all-time great transformation sequence” make this the “granddaddy of all magical girl anime.” It helps that each of the Sailor Scouts is “as well built-out and unique as Sailor Moon,” allowing audiences to “find their own favorites” as they revisit the “hilarious, heartfelt and action-packed” series over the years. (Hulu)