It's definitely hot — but is it climate change?

Plus, a child killed in Kleinburg and a drop in international student intake [The Star] First Up [By Andy Takagi] By Andy Takagi Good morning. Here’s the latest on the human impact of this week’s heat wave, the death of six-year-old Matteo Caputi in Kleinburg and a massive drop in international student approvals. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Frank Gunn heat wave [Is today’s heat wave climate change? These teams are finding answers — quickly]( On the sweaty commute to work or as your kids beg for another ice cream to cool down, this week’s heat wave has everyone asking: is it climate change? Researchers for Environment and Climate Change Canada are trying to answer that question with a new rapid extreme weather attribution system meant to identify just how human-caused unusual and dramatic weather events are. The group is attempting to assess the human impact on weather events and notify the public as soon as possible — the group hopes to get its findings on this week’s heat wave as early as the end of next week. [Learn more about the new research group in reporter Kate Allen’s rundown](. - Why it matters: Meteorologists warned on Wednesday that this week’s heat wave is extremely rare for this early in the summer — and can have deadly consequences. [Heat can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups]( including children, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses. - Go deeper: A new StatCan report released Wednesday [underscores just how dangerous extreme heat can be](. - Who cares? Students. They’re struggling with the heat, especially in classrooms without air conditioning. [Only 177 of the 582 schools in the Toronto District School Board have central air]( while the rest have designated areas for cooling off. Calvi Leon/The Star crime [A six-year-old boy is dead after being struck by a school bus driver]( Children could be heard screaming when a school bus driver stuck and killed a six-year-old Matteo Caputi in Kleinburg early Wednesday morning. “The bus driver didn’t even know what she had done,” a witness told the Star’s Calvi Leon. The child’s mother was seen holding her son in her arms, visibly distraught. The community is described by neighbours as being full of young families with a nearby park and schools. “The boy was so full of life,” a witness added. [Here’s how the tragedy unfolded](. - What we know: “Matteo will always be remembered as a happy little boy who lit up the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to have known him,” a GoFundMe page organized by colleagues of Caputi’s grandmother reads. “He adored his little brother Luca very much.” - The aftermath: York police said victim services and peer support groups are being offered to the community. Investigators are appealing to any witnesses who haven’t already spoken with police or anyone with dash cam footage of the incident. The bus driver remained on the scene and is cooperating with the investigation, police said. Dreamstime Photo international students [With dipping study permit approval rates for international students, Canada may not meet its reduced target]( A drastic drop in the number of international student applications from India has led to a halving of Canada’s processing of new study permits, first quarter immigration data shows. That means Canada might not even meet its reduced 2024 target, which was introduced to slow the intake of students from abroad. After Immigration Minister Marc Miller imposed new international student policies in January, one expert said Canada is already seeing those restrictions come to bear. Between January and April, the overall approval rate for study permits was 50 per cent — eight percentage points lower than the 2023 average. [Here’s how far the numbers have come down](. - By the numbers: The dip in study permit approval rates will be a shock to the 152,000 applicants — just 76,000 of which will be let into Canada to study. Indian students accounted for about a third of all study permits processed.  - Miss something? [Miller pumped the brakes on foreign student growth earlier in the year]( imposing a cap on study permits, with the aim of reducing issued permits by 35 per cent from 2023 levels. That will mean big changes for Ontario, home to 51 per cent of Canada’s international students. - Bad news for: Colleges, some of which have already started cancelling classes and letting go of instructors. [One college in Toronto expects their revenues to drop by as much as $40 million](. WHAT ELSE After refusing for years, [the Trudeau government is branding Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terror organization](. Can Justin Trudeau counter Pierre Poilievre’s claim that his time is up? [Obama’s former adviser has some advice](. As Doug Ford contemplates an early election, [Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is making moves to ready her party](. Google chose a Canadian group to administer a $100M news fund — [and set off a dispute over who should dole it out](. A fourth girl charged in the Kenneth Lee swarming case is [now headed to a jury trial](. The head of NATO says he [expects Canada to hit its defence spending target](. A man has been charged with first-degree murder after a Hamilton [woman was killed in a “targeted” Vaughan Mills mall shooting](. WestJet passengers should expect “another wave of cancellations,” [as 670 mechanics are poised to walk off the job as early as tonight](. A drunk driver has been sentenced to eight years for [killing a Toronto bartender in a horrific downtown pileup](. Police and family of the victim in a Roncesvalles hit-and-run [appeal for help identifying the suspect](. It’s one of the most difficult roles in musical theatre. [Here’s why it takes two actors to play Tina Turner](. A rate cut had almost no effect on Toronto’s housing market. [Here’s what it would take to get it moving again](. POV Derek Cain/Getty Images [The Maple Leafs were in on Jacob Markstrom and fell short. It’s time to make goaltending a priority.]( CLOSE-UP R.J. Johnston/The Star 361 UNIVERSITY COURT HOUSE: U of T’s lawyers are back in court, making their case for an injunction to boot pro-Palestinian protestors from campus. While they said it was the university’s “deepest wish” that police don’t get involved, [they are asking an Ontario judge to grant authorization for police to clear the camp of nearly 200 tents](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_215404). I’ll 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](