Tonight:

Changing the rules of engagement. According to Ottawa, same-sex couples who married in Canada might not be married where they are right now -- and Dan Savage isn't pleased.

Cents and insensibility. Former Governor-General Michaelle Jean says Haiti is getting a fraction of a penny for every dollar of aid -- and that has to change.

Sins of admission. Thousands show up to enroll at the University of Johannesburg -- and the resulting stampede leaves one woman dead and sends dozens of students to hospital.

The ring cycle. We'll talk to someone who was there when the New York Philharmonic stopped mid-performance, because of a guy whose cellphone wouldn't stop ringing.

Forget about working tirelessly -- he's working Tire-fully. That is, musician Corin Raymond is bankrolling his next album with the help of a wad of Canadian Tire money.

And...nasty, brutish, and Shortz. New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz tells us how a clue involving hip-hop slang resulted in some harshly-worded criticism about -- and possibly among -- a bunch of squares.

As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that gets its point across. Or down.

Dan Savage has been happily married now for nearly seven years. But today, he was shocked to discover his marriage may be in trouble. Don't blame that on any problems with his partner, Terry Miller. Blame Canada.

Dan and Terry wed in Vancouver in 2005. Like thousands of other same-sex couples, they came to Canada because they couldn't get married at home. The state of Washington, where he lives, does not perform same-sex marriage.

And now, it seems the Canadian government is also having second thoughts about their union.

Dan Savage hosts the popular syndicated sex-advice column, Savage Love. He's also the editor of Seattle's alternative weekly newspaper, The Stranger. We reached Mr. Savage in Seattle.

It started out as a simple arithmetic problem: too many students applying for too few spots at the University of Johannesberg. And ended in tragedy. One woman died and at least twenty-two people were injured in a stampede -- the result of thousands attempting to register for admission to the university. For many, admission would mean a hope at getting a job in a country that boasts twenty-five percent unemployment.

Angel Doakude was one student vying for the chance to apply. She was accompanied by her sister, Sheila. We reached them in Johannesburg, South Africa.

And now, an update to a story we told you on Monday.

We reported that remains uncovered in Ivory Coast were thought to be those of journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer.

Unfortunately, the mystery surrounding his whereabouts continues: today, As It Happens received word from Mr. Kieffer's wife, Osange, that DNA taken from the remains was not a match.

We spoke to Mr. Kieffer's son, Sebastien, on Monday about the toll this uncertainty has taken on his family.

he reference to American money, "It's all about the Benjamins." A Canadian singer-songwriter is making the case it's all about the "Sandy McTires".

That's the guy pictured on Canadian Tire money.

Corin Raymond says his fans have started mailing him envelopes of Canadian Tire money, because of a love song he penned with a friend. And now, as it piles up, he's found a perfect use for it. He'll use it to cover at least some of the cost of making his first record.

We reached Corin Raymond, counting Canadian Tire money, at his home in Toronto.

Two years ago today, Haiti was shaken to its core by an earthquake. Hundreds of thousands died, and many more were left homeless and without the necessities of life.

The already-poor country was left in ruins. But Haitians clung to the hope that the country would be built back stronger.

That hasn't happened. With millions of dollars in aid flowing into the country, the Haitian government is receiving less than a penny for every dollar of that money. Haitian NGO's are not faring much better.

Former Governor-General Michaelle Jean is now the Special Envoy to Haiti for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. And she says more of that money must go to the Haitian government.

We reached Michaelle Jean in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

On this week's Things We Read This Week, we ask the question: what colour is the Milky Way?

Full disclosure: we didn't really ask that question. Science did. It also provided the answer: white.

That sounds kinda stupidly obvious, I know. But really, it's not. Astronomers have been trying to determine for some time the exact colour of the galaxy -- not as we see it, from the inside, but how it appears from the outside. That makes all the difference, right? I mean, just think about a carton of milk. When poured out, it's totally white. But from the inside of the carton, I bet it looks just the opposite -- black. See? Simple science, people.

OK, turns out there's a bit more to it than that. We can't really detect the true colour of the Milky Way from our vantage point, say astronomers, because our view is blocked by dust. We can't see beyond a mere one or two thousand light years in any direction. And it's important to know the colour of a galaxy, because it tells us how old the stars in that galaxy are.

So Professor Jeffrey Newman of the University of Pittsburgh set out to find out the true colour of the Milky Way. And it is, indeed, white. But not just any old, boring vanilla white. Here's how Newman describes it:

"...if you looked at new spring snow, which has a fine grain size, about an hour after dawn or an hour before sunset, you'd see the same spectrum of light that an alien astronomer in another galaxy would see looking at the Milky Way."

I think I just discovered something else. On the outside, Professor Newman may look like an astronomer. But inside, he's pure poet.

Someone's got a beef with Will Shortz. See, Mr. Shortz used some language they didn't like. "Wack" and "illin'" to be precise.

Mr. Shortz is the editor of the New York Times crossword. And we reached him at his home office in Pleasantville, New York.

This is a fast-moving world. That YouTube video I saw this morning? You saw it yesterday. That new iPhone app I got today? You downloaded it last week, and you've already deleted it. In fact, by the time I'd got the new iPhone, you'd already got a newer one, and given your old one to a goat to eat.

Scientists know this, of course. Never before has the public demanded so many discoveries and developments so quickly. Take frogs, for example. Last month, Fred Kraus of Hawaii's Bishop Museum made an exciting announcement: he had discovered the smallest frog on Earth. It was in Papua New Guinea, and it was a mere eight to nine millimetres in length -- smaller, we were told, than a penny. We all loved it! "Check out this cute small frog!" we all tweeted.

But then we were over it. Smaller than a penny? Whatever, guess what: a penny isn't even the smallest coin. You know what's smaller? A dime.

And guess what? Just a month after Fred Kraus's announcement, Eric Rittmeyer and Christopher Austin of Louisiana University have announced that they've found the smallest frog. Also in Papua New Guinea. It's related to the previous smallest frog -- but this one's smallest-er. At between seven and eight millimetres in length, it's smaller than...a dime!

Moreover, it's not just the smallest frog, it's the smallest vertebrate. So small that the researchers could hear it, but couldn't see it. So they determined out where its piercing call was coming from, scooped up a bunch of forest gunk, and put it in a bag -- and only found the frog while sorting through the gunk later on.

Nice work, science. We've tweeted about it. But in about three seconds...right about...now...Yep. We're bored again. Try making one smaller than an M & M or something.

Meantime, big frogs are so out they're in again. Which is why we'll play this song: "Bull Frog Blues", by the Royal City Saxophone Quartet.

All over the country, people are talking about what a warm winter it's been. Even in Edmonton, where it hovered around zero today. But that's about to change. Temperatures are expected to drop dramatically in the next few days. And that has community groups worried about the homeless.

The concern is that all this warm weather lulls people into a false sense of security -- and when the temperature suddenly does drop, the homeless are not prepared.

Aidan Inglis is the outreach team leader for Boyle Street Community Services. This morning he spoke with CBC Radio's Rick Harp on the Edmonton A-M show. Here is part of their conversation, for the record.

The whooping crane has hovered on the brink of extinction for decades. And this year, a drought in Texas in once again threatening the whooping crane population.

And so, because of that drought in the southwestern United States, a conservation group is trying to start a new flock of whooping cranes on the southeast coast of the U.S.

Using an ultralight aircraft, with pilots dressed like birds, the folks at Operation Migration are leading a flock from Wisconsin to Florida. Or at least they were -- until they ran into trouble with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Joe Duff is the CEO and lead pilot for Operation Migration. We reached Mr. Duff on the ground in Franklin County, Alabama.

And now, Quote/Unquote.An artist in Ottawa is selling a Lego man on Kijiji. Not just any Lego man. One that looks like Stephen Harper.

Here's what the on-line ad says. Quote:

"Whatever your political leanings, you have to admit it. The PM looks like a Lego figure. He especially looks like this custom Lego figure that I made, right down to the smirk.

"Don't get me wrong. I mean no disrespect by this. I wish I had a Lego figure that looked that much like myself. Imitation is flattery."

Unquote. The unidentified artist adds that the winning bid will be donated to charity.

Alaska is on track to have one of the snowiest winters on record. And, for people who live in Valdez, the white stuff just keeps on falling.

Valdez is situated on Prince William Sound, nearly five hundred kilometres south of Anchorage. And it's John Hozey's job to dig the city out. He's the city manager in Valdez. And we reached him at this office.

That's kind of what it sounded like during a New York Philharmonic concert at the Lincoln Center this week. It began with the music of Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. Unfortunately, it ended with Steve Jobs's marimba ringtone.

What happened next was a performance in itself.

Max Kinchen is a film student who happened to be in the audience. We reached him at home in New York.