Rhianna Schmunk

Senior Writer

Rhianna Schmunk is a senior writer for CBC News based in Vancouver. Over nearly a decade, she has reported on subjects including criminal justice, civil litigation, natural disasters and climate change. You can send story tips to rhianna.schmunk@cbc.ca.

Latest from Rhianna Schmunk

Diamond vanishes in consignment deal gone wrong, B.C. woman claims

Fariba Pourbaba says she and her father once owned a round, three-carat diamond. It was a brilliant cut — one of the most expensive ways to shape a stone, to give it the best shine — valued at tens of thousands of dollars. But that was four years ago, before it supposedly went missing.

NASA involvement a big step in having UFO study taken seriously, researchers say

Many researchers and astrophysicists said they were glad to hear NASA is taking research of UAPs more seriously, hoping the endorsement from an official government agency might validate their field of study and bring it into the mainstream.

Why India's ruling government might be pushing to change the country's name

A dinner invitation has prompted speculation that India might become the latest country to change its name, potentially joining a list of nations that includes Turkey, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Experts agree changes need to come with careful consideration.

Canada's energy drink crackdown needs more than recalls to dissuade kids, say parents and teachers

Teachers and experts say they're glad to see Canadian officials seemingly cracking down on caffeine-loaded energy drinks, but agree any recall needs to be paired with tighter rules and a better understanding of influencer marketing if they're going to make a dent in a billion-dollar market.

Vancouver's architecture, by design, was never meant to handle extreme heat

Experts agree much of Vancouver's architecture is uniquely vulnerable to intensifying heat in Canada, because it was only ever designed for a milder climate, leaving the city with tens of thousands of older buildings needing urgent upgrades.

Why we can't get enough high-profile mug shots — of ex-presidents or otherwise

Within minutes of its release from a county sheriff's office near Atlanta on Thursday, Donald Trump's mug shot exploded onto screens around the world. Experts say society can seize on high-profile mug shots for a number of reasons, but particularly because they shatter the idea that powerful people are above the law.

After eerily similar fires 20 years apart, frustrated experts say advice for Kelowna is much the same

Experts say the eerie similarities between the Okanagan Mountain Park fire in 2003 and the McDougall Creek wildfire last week are a sign that officials haven't done enough work on fire prevention and mitigation in the last 20 years, leaving the next generation even more vulnerable than the last because they're still up against climate change.

Wildfire smoke is spreading again. Here's how you can protect your health

As intense wildfires continue to send smoke drifting across parts of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, it's important for residents to keep an eye on their health.

Cases dropped against 146 Fairy Creek protesters over RCMP's failure to read full injunction at arrests

Prosecutors in B.C. have withdrawn cases against nearly 150 protesters who were arrested for participating in a blockade around old-growth logging on Vancouver Island after a judge this year found Mounties did not read the full text of a court order to the group.

For these researchers, an ideal summer night is spent chasing bats through Vancouver's parks

Researchers in Vancouver are racing to gather more information about the city's urban bat population in an effort to protect the mammals — and the benefits they bring to the economy — from an extremely deadly disease.

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