NewsReutersPalestinian rocket attack on Israeli city draws Gaza air strikes
Egypt, which sent a delegation to Gaza on Tuesday for the latest round of talks on a long-term ceasefire, postponed a visit there by its intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, following Wednesday's surge in violence, Palestinian officials said. The family living there managed to take shelter in a reinforced room after alert sirens sounded, said officials in the city about 40 km (25 miles) from the Gaza Strip. Another rocket launched from Gaza and aimed at central Israel fell into the Mediterranean Sea, the military said.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Ontario pot consumption bill passes, cannabis available through online store
Ontario passed its cannabis legislation Wednesday, firmly establishing the right to smoke marijuana in public in the province hours after recreational use of drug became legal across Canada. The Progressive Conservative government's bill changing previously established regulations on where recreational pot can be used was put to a final vote around 4:40 p.m. after closing statements from legislators, with 69 voting in favour and 41 against. "It's a historic day," Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said in a speech to the legislature.
NewsReutersFall in healthcare shares pulls main index down
Canada's main stock index declined on Wednesday as the healthcare sector fell more than 6 percent, led by losses in Cannabis shares. * Canada became the first industrialized nation to legalize recreational cannabis on Wednesday, but a lawful buzz will be hard to come by in its biggest cities like Toronto and Vancouver, which will have no stores open. * Aurora Cannabis fell 11.6 percent, the most on the TSX.
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Photos: These are the first Canadians to buy legal weed
As of 12:01 a.m., recreational cannabis became legal across Canada. Well before the hour struck, lineups were queueing up outside pot stores in the country’s biggest cities. Ian Power was the first person to purchase legal marijuana in Canadian history. He lined up at midnight in St. John’s during the opening of the Tweed retail location. That event was attended by Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation, which owns the Tweed brand. “I’m elated,” Power told CBC News. “I’m so excited, I can’t stop smiling. I’m not cold. It’s freezing cold out, but I’m not cold.” Power also told The Canadian Press he was not actually going to smoke the first bud he bought, and would keep it as a memento “forever.” On Wednesday morning, stores began opening in other provinces, and more Canadians made their first purchases. Among those waiting outside the store in Sydney River, N.S. was none other than Canadian fiddling legend Ashley MacIsaac. “I don’t need to be a criminal anymore, and that’s a great feeling,” MacIsaac told The Canadian Press. In 2001, he was arrested for possession in Saskatchewan. “And my new dealer is the prime minister!” But not every province and territory has brick-and-mortar locations available. Sales in Ontario will only be through the Ontario Cannabis Store’s website until April 2019 at the earliest. It was down early Wednesday morning, but was back up as of this writing. Alberta’s online pot store also received heavy traffic as soon as 12:01 a.m. hit. At 12:07 a.m. local time, the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission tweeted: “You like us! Our website is experiencing some heavy traffic. We are working hard to get it up and running.” Here’s a look at some of the first Canadians to get their hands on legal pot. With files from The Canadian Press.
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Singer k.d. lang, 7 others to receive Alberta Order of Excellence
Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell will invest the newest members of the Alberta Order of Excellence in a ceremony at Government House. Born in Edmonton and raised in the central Alberta village of Consort, the 56-year-old lang is one of Canada's most versatile and gifted singer-songwriters.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Ontario trainer says feline stars shared five trailers on set of 'Pet Sematary'
Melissa Millett, who runs a stunt dog show out of London, said she was scouted to work on the remake of the 1989 horror flick because of her rare ability to wrangle feline performers. Millett said the cats spent two months training for the roughly 10 weeks of filming, some of which took place in Montreal. Cats don't aim to please, said Millett, so the film crew made sure they were having fun on the job, providing them with an outdoor "catio" where they could play in between takes.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
For Ed Asner, comic-books and autism are family matters
Even at age 88, actor Ed Asner still hangs out at the comic-book store with his kid. Early last week, the Asners could be spotted at Hollywood's legendary Golden Apple Comics. Instead, the two were promoting an internet comic-art auction to raise funds for The Ed Asner Family Center.
- NewsCBC
All Nations Healin' Thru Artz program in Regina goes on hiatus due to lack of funding
Regina's All Nations Healin' Thru Artz (ANHTA) program has closed its doors due to a lack of funding. The after school art program for youth aged 13 to 22 was federally funded through the Department of Indigenous Services Canada. ANHTA) also received funding from organizations at the local and provincial level, but Executive Director and founder Monica Fogel said it wasn't enough to cover operational costs.
NewsReutersExclusive: Amazon zooms in on central Mexico for large new warehouse
The retail titan's target is Queretaro state in the industrial center of Mexico, where it is looking to hire a developer to build a large hub, two real estate professionals familiar with Amazon's property hunt said. The expansion plan highlights Amazon's intent to plant roots beyond Mexico's bustling capital, banking on the nation's potential to grow into an e-commerce engine of Latin America. Online shopping in Mexico comprised just 3.0 percent of total sales last year, according to market research firm Euromonitor International, but it is projected to more than double by 2022, reaching $14 billion.
NewsReutersApple gives U.S. users tool to see what data it has collected
Apple updated its privacy website with the tool, which was unveiled earlier this year for users in the European Union in response to the region's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Apple will now let users in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand see and download all information that Apple has collected on them. It also gives users a simpler way to make changes to the data, suspend their Apple account or even permanently delete it.
- NewsCBC
Ontario killer and rapist Paul Bernardo denied parole
A National Parole Board panel has decided Paul Bernardo will remain behind bars. "I don't want to be here," Mahaffy said at the hearing in Millhaven Correctional Centre, east of Bath, Ont. "I do not want to be in the same room [with Bernardo]. Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, rapes and first-degree murders of two teenaged girls in the early 1990s, including Mahaffy's daughter, and two counts of aggravated sexual assault.
- NewsCBC
Befriending enemies: Black musician who infiltrated KKK to speak in Edmonton
Daryl Davis has a rare kind of audacity. The blues pianist and race relations activist was in Edmonton Wednesday for a talk about his interactions with white supremacists. The author of Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man's Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan and the subject of the 2016 documentary Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America, he has won numerous awards for his work.
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Yellowknife's retail store sells out of product on first day of N.W.T. cannabis sales
Stores across the N.W.T. are selling legal cannabis for the first time, and the demand is high, with Yellowknife's only retail store running out of product by early Wednesday evening. Edward Eggenberger, the owner of The Liquor Shop uptown, says the store ran out of product at approximately 5:35 p.m. Wednesday evening, though it is expecting a new shipment Thursday morning. The Liquor Shop is the only physical place that people in Yellowknife can buy cannabis.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
The top 10 largest US Jackpots
Lottery players will have a chance at winning an estimated $900 million jackpot in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, which would be the second-largest prize in U.S. history. Here is a look at the 10 largest U.S. jackpots that have been won and the states where the winning tickets were sold:
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Oldest fossils on Earth? New look finds might just be rocks
What were billed as the oldest fossils on Earth may just be some rocks, according to a new study. Two years ago, a team of Australian scientists found odd structures in Greenland that they said were partly leftovers from microbes that lived on an ancient seafloor. The Australian scientists, however, still maintain they are.
NewsReutersNoel Gallagher scoops two prizes at music Q Awards
LONDON (Reuters) - British rocker Noel Gallagher triumphed at the Q Awards in London on Wednesday, scooping two prizes at the annual ceremony hosted by UK music magazine Q. The former Oasis songwriter, who released his third album "Who Built the Moon?" with his High Flying Birds band last year, won Q Best Solo Artist and Q Outstanding Contribution To Music at the awards which were established in 1990. Singer-songwriter Paul Weller, who came to fame with The Jam in the 1970s and last week played a career-spanning gig at London's Royal Festival Hall, was named Best Act In The World Today. ...
- Rumble
Corgi sings along to Barney's 'I Love You' theme song
Charlotte the Corgi loves to sing Barney's "I Love You, You Love Me" song every morning with her owner. Watch as she really puts her heart and soul into singing along, really hitting some high notes and some long notes, too! Is it a Grammy-worthy performance? You decide!
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Pennsylvania priest pleads guilty to sexual abuse of 2 boys
One of two Roman Catholic priests charged as a result of the damning Pennsylvania grand jury investigation admitted he sexually abused children, pleading guilty Wednesday to corruption of minors and child endangerment. The Rev. David Lee Poulson , 65, of Oil City, was arrested earlier this year during a grand jury probe that concluded hundreds of clergy in the state had sexually abused at least 1,000 children over seven decades. Prosecutors say Poulson abused an altar boy in church rectories and had him confess afterward.
- NewsCBC
Suspect in custody after crash, pursuit involving both RCMP and RNC
Police say they have a man in custody after he was driving erratically and speeding, which prompted an urgent warning from the RCMP for a brief time early Wednesday afternoon.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
CBS says Secret Service blocked reporter from Kushner
CBS News says a Secret Service agent blocked one of its correspondents from asking Jared Kushner a question when he was walking out of an airplane, saying there was a "time and a place" for such interactions. A network spokeswoman said Wednesday that reporter Errol Barnett happened to be on the same Washington to New York flight as the presidential son-in-law. CBS said he showed a press credential and attempted to ask a question about Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Puppeteer who played Big Bird on 'Sesame Street' retiring
The puppeteer who has played Big Bird on "Sesame Street" is retiring after nearly 50 years on the show. Caroll Spinney announced in a statement Wednesday that he's handing over Big Bird and his other character, Oscar the Grouch, to younger performers. Spinney says he didn't feel like his work was important until Big Bird helped him find his purpose.
- NewsCBC
Calgary Stampede 2019 poster salutes women
The Calgary Stampede poster for 2019 will be a salute to women in western culture. "The whole experience of being involved in the poster competition was surreal," said Shuttleworth in a prepared release. Shuttleworth is from Balzac, Alta. Her love for art started the moment she was able to hold a crayon.
- NewsThe Canadian Press
Manitoba NDP calls for inquest into Indigenous man's death on a bus
The leader of Manitoba's Opposition has called for an inquest into the death of an Indigenous man who died during a 10-hour bus trip for a medical appointment. Abraham Donkey of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation was travelling from Thompson to Winnipeg for a followup appointment after a recent heart surgery. "In a circumstance like this where he was on a bus — alone — and he had just received medical treatment, and was on his way to get further treatment, it certainly raises a lot of questions," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Wednesday.
- NewsCBC
'It feels absolutely incredible to be here': 2 hikers complete epic trek to the Arctic Ocean
Two hikers on an epic adventure across the Yukon to the Arctic Ocean have finally made it. The two were greeted at the visitors centre in Tuktoyaktuk where they were joined by locals to take pictures by the Arctic Ocean. The hikers were robbed of crucial gear at Whitehorse's Robert Service campground in July and had to come up with a new cart to carry supplies up the Dempster Highway after a custom cart didn't arrive in Dawson City.
- NewsCBC
'We're doing the best we can': Minister defends lack of Sask. cannabis retailers operating on legalization day
With only seven of 51 approved cannabis stores in Saskatchewan open on legalization day, the minister responsible says the delays were expected. Gene Makowsky, who is responsible for Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming (SLGA), said Wednesday the province wanted to delay legalization but its hand was forced by Ottawa. Makowsky said there are known hurdles for businesses to get over, including permits from SLGA, municipal permits, finding a retail space, hiring staff and establishing a supplier.
