- NewsCBC
19 years on, these Columbine survivors are parents — and they're reaching out to the Parkland teens
None of these survivors likely imagined the remote possibility that gunfire and explosive devices would rip through Columbine High School that April 20, setting off 49 minutes of horror that still echo through their lives. Less than two weeks after the Columbine massacre killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others, 8,000 demonstrators in Denver marched for stricter gun control. A National School Walkout begins Friday, coinciding with the 19th anniversary of Columbine, and coming in the wake of February's mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
NewsReutersQueen Elizabeth to celebrate 92nd birthday at concert party
Britain's Queen Elizabeth will attend a special concert on Saturday as the world's oldest and longest-reigning living monarch celebrates her 92nd birthday. Singers Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue, Sting and Shaggy will be among those who will entertain Elizabeth and other British royals at the concert, known as "The Queen's Birthday Party" at London's Albert Hall. The concert comes at the end of a week in which leaders and dignitaries from 53 countries came to London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and it will feature performers from the network of mostly former British colonies.
- NewsCBC
Police not expecting challenges as 420 pot rally occurs on Winnipeg whiteout party day
When thousands of Jets fans pour into downtown Winnipeg to watch Game 5 of the NHL playoffs Friday evening, some of the city's marijuana smokers will be marking 420 just a few blocks away — but police say they don't anticipate major challenges. Starting at 10 a.m. Friday, city workers will shut down southbound Donald Street between Portage and St. Mary avenues for the Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party on Friday afternoon. With warm, sunny weather and the second round of playoffs in sight, organizers are preparing for as many as 15,000 people to turn up to cheer on the Jets at the event, which will feature food and drink for sale.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Prince Charles reportedly to lead Commonwealth
British media say Commonwealth leaders have agreed that Prince Charles should succeed his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the 53-nation group. The BBC, Sky News and others say Commonwealth heads of government, holding a private retreat Friday at Windsor Castle, have agreed that Charles should be the next leader of the group. The queen is head of state in some Commonwealth countries, while others are republics.
- NewsCBC
Canada hopes 11th time is a charm in mixed doubles curling
Fresh off winning the Canadian mixed doubles curling title earlier this month, Laura Crocker and Kirk Muyres are now donning the red and white in Sweden as they prepare to take on the world. Crocker and Walker are in Group E, where they'll play Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Guyana, Ireland and Korea in the round robin. Canada enters the championship as the top-ranked country in the world in the discipline, based on world championship and Olympic results.
- NewsCBC
Ont. pot producer Aphria launches new brand ahead of legalization
In the days leading up to today's 4/20 pot celebrations, which will likely be the last before the planned cannabis legalization by the summer, Aphria introduced a new marijuana brand. "Many users were waiting for a green light to dive into the cannabis segment and we also knew that stigma would be melting away relatively quickly," said Megan McCrae, Aphria's vice president of marketing and communications, about research the company conducted.
NewsReutersAlibaba buys Chinese chipmaker to aid IoT biz, help drive local chip sector
By John Ruwitch SHANGHAI (Reuters) - E-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has bought a Chinese microchip maker to further its cloud-based "internet of things" (IoT) business, underscoring its commitment to the chip industry, an Alibaba spokeswoman said on Friday. "Alibaba aims to empower different industries through our cloud-based IoT solutions, in which chips play a significant role," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "The acquisition of Hangzhou C-SKY Microsystems, a leading Chinese supplier of embedded CPU cores, underlines our commitment to driving the development of the chip industry," she said, referring to central processing units.
- NewsCBC
Suspended Fredericton officer pleads guilty to defrauding police association
A suspended Fredericton Police Force officer has pleaded guilty to defrauding the New Brunswick Police Association of more than $5,000 — an indictable offence that could come with a 14-year prison sentence. Michael [Mike] Cook, 39, a former treasurer for the association, was charged with fraud and theft over $5,000. The theft charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
- NewsCBC
Rules still hazy around where to smoke legal pot
A cloud of cannabis smoke will envelop Parliament Hill Friday during what will be, by all accounts, the last 420 celebration before recreational cannabis is legalized. When the Ontario government passed its Cannabis Act, the province made it clear that smoking will not be allowed in any public places. "Right now you can still smoke [cigarettes] in a federal park.
NewsReutersJapan's cryptocurrency exchanges need tighter rules: Monex CEO
By Taiga Uranaka and Thomas Wilson TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's cryptocurrency exchanges should be regulated more like banks as they hold investors' assets while offering trading platforms, the chief executive of online brokerage Monex Group Inc said. Monex, Japan's No.3 online brokerage, on Monday completed the 3.6 billion yen ($33.6 million) acquisition of Coincheck Inc - the exchange hit by a $530 million digital money heist - in the most significant move yet by a major financial company into Japan's crypto sector.
- BBC News
Newborn makes history at US Senate - and so does her mother
The Senator's daughter, Maile, was allowed into the chamber after rules were changed the day before.
- NewsCBC
Faith-based camps in Manitoba scramble to make up lost funding
Some faith-based camps in Manitoba are scrambling to find other sources of funding after their applications for grant money through the Canada Summer Jobs program were deemed incomplete or rejected. The camps are dealing with the fallout from a new part of the application that requires them to check a box to indicate the job and the organization's mandate respect individual human rights, including reproductive rights. Manitoba Camping Association president Wayne Eisbrenner, who is also executive director of Camp Nutimik, said his camp planned to hire an assistant cook without the $10,000 in grant money from the program.
- NewsCBC
Community food program back for 2nd year
The Community Food Leader Certificate Program, which helps local businesses and organizations in Nova Scotia start projects related to food and community, is back for its second year. "It's been different for each person," said Jody Nelson, community food co-ordinator for Cape Breton. Projects include a community clay oven at the Coady and Tompkins Memorial Library in the Margaree area that will be built this spring, education around urban farming, and development of community gardens.
- NewsCBC
Summerside wants more police trained to recognize drug-impaired drivers on P.E.I.
Summerside, P.E.I., is hoping to get more officers trained as soon as possible to recognize drug-impaired drivers in advance of Canada's planned legalization of recreational marijuana. Deputy chief administrative officer Gordon MacFarlane told CBC News only a handful of city officers are trained and the only available training is in Florida. "Hopefully ... there will be something that will be able to be done through the Atlantic Police Academy because … no doubt there's going to be a huge demand in Canada for that training," he said.
- NewsCBC
United Nations representative to visit Halifax to pitch more refugee sponsorship
The United Nations refugee agency is getting ready to make a visit to Atlantic Canada to pitch the idea of increasing sponsorship of refugees in this region.
- NewsCBC
City-wide spring cleanup aims for 200,000 volunteers, 30 tonnes of trash
After a week of snow and ice, a small army of Torontonians is getting set to take on the city's biggest spring cleaning job. This weekend, as many as 200,000 people are scheduled to take part in Clean Toronto Together, the 15th annual city-wide cleanup of public spaces. "In terms of how our public spaces look, that makes a very big, visible difference," said Mark Singh, a program manager at the city's environment and energy division.
- NewsCBC
Fredericton considers paying buskers to perform downtown
A busker pilot program got approval for a second year Thursday during a meeting of the city's development committee.
- NewsCBC
From shed to success: St. Mary's Supermarket celebrates 15th anniversary
The St. Mary's Supermarket marks a decade and a half in its current form as a large retail facility at the First Nation on Fredericton's north side. "St. Mary's Supermarket started off in a shed that was probably about 10 feet by 25 feet across the street in a parking lot," said Brooks. The retail space now includes a pharmacy, restaurant and gas bar, but the anchor is still the supermarket.
NewsReutersEU's Barnier says still some 25 percent of work to do on Brexit
The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday some 25 percent of work remained to be done on a pact covering UK withdrawal from the EU, including crucial issues such as management of the Ireland/Northern Ireland border. "In terms of what has been agreed so far, it's about 75 percent," Barnier told France 2 television. Britain and the EU are committed to keeping a free flow of people and goods over the Irish border without returning to checkpoints which would be a reminder of the three decades of violence largely ended by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
- NewsCBC
These students won a trophy for failing — and they're proud
Four students at Memorial University say they've been working away enthusiastically at other projects after winning an award for a failed business idea. The Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship in St. John's named the first-ever winners of its Fail Tale Cup last summer. The idea is to encourage students to expect lots of flops on the journey to create a solid venture.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Kushner Cos. subpoenaed by feds after AP report
The Kushner Cos. has been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors for information related to an Associated Press report that the company filed dozens of false documents about its buildings in New York City. The statement Thursday acknowledged that the federal subpoena arrived last month, a day after the AP reported the Kushner Cos. routinely filed false paperwork with the city stating it had zero rent-regulated tenants in buildings across the city when, in fact, it had hundreds. The AP report covered a three-year period when the real estate company was run by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law who is now a senior adviser.
- BBC News
Sheriff: 'Law enforcement has been demonised'
After two police officers in Florida were shot dead, Sheriff Bobby Schultz criticised the portrayal of law enforcement.
- NewsCBC
Butcher testifies girlfriend attacked him in his sleep and he killed her by accident
Nicholas Butcher testified Friday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that his girlfriend Kristin Johnston attacked him with a knife in his sleep and he killed her by accident before trying to take his own life with a power saw. According to Butcher, 36, he found his girlfriend with another man hours before she died and the couple argued. But he said he and Johnston, 32, had gone to bed cuddling at her Purcells Cove-area home early March 26, 2016. Butcher said he flipped his attacker over, seized the knife and stabbed the person.
- NewsCBC
Emotional parents say public board's French immersion plan will split families
Parents who attended a public meeting in South Windsor Thursday night said their families will be torn apart because of the way the public school board plans to add French immersion. Starting in September, French immersion will be added to Central Public School in an attempt to take pressure off Bellewood, which is overcrowded. Andrea Hafez has one child in junior kindergarten at Bellewood now, and a sibling who is still at home who will eventually go to Central, meaning her two kids will be split up.
- NewsCBC
Inuvik's homeless shelter temporarily moves after bedbug infestation
Inuvik's homeless centre temporarily moved to a building on Reliance Street Thursday after being infested with bedbugs. "We are in a crisis," said Christina Kasook, manager of the shelter. Kasook said when she poured vinegar on the client's mattress, the bedbugs came out.
