With the Brief taking a short break from all-new episodes, we instead feature other podcasts in the APTN News line-up. Today, it's our 'Truth & Politics' panel, our regular expert breakdown of what's making headlines. In this excerpt, a discussion of Manitoba's sudden pause on what would have been Canada's first Indigenous-led supervised consumption site.

Extro music: 'Pay It Forward' by 1000 Handz (CC BY)

Our lead story: almost two decades after her daughter's body was found in a rural Manitoba ditch, the mother of the late 24-year-old Crystal Saunders says she won't receive justice after her killer accepts a plea bargain.

Our lead story: the federal government announces just over $17M in support for northern Indigenous languages audio/video content from broadcasters operating above the 55th parallel.

Our lead story: fierce criticism emerges in some scholarly circles over a Saskatchewan court ruling a well-known researcher of Indigenous ancestry claims had defamed an academic who once believed herself to be Algonquin.

Our lead story: a Saskatchewan judge orders scholar Darryl Leroux to pay $70,000 in defamation-related damages to literature professor Michelle Coupal for alleging she'd consciously and deliberately misled others about her ancestry.

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Our lead story: the Kanehsatake Perimeter Response Team—a partial solution to the Mohawk community's lack of a police force since 2004—faces an uncertain future with its federal funding set to run out soon.

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Our lead story: Indigenous Services Canada minister Mandy Gull-Masty catches an earful over the weekend from Kashechewan evacuees, whose water issues forced them to flee their northern Ontario First Nation in January.

Our lead story: the Nunavut premier reacts to the recent announcement by Mark Carney's government of $35 billion in northern defence infrastructure investments, expressing hopes it will help benefit Nunavut-based companies and residents.