Check out this spectacular drone footage of this ice formation on the Riverwalk And Ogden Dunes in Indiana. Filmed with a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom.
The debate about the U.S. Electoral College pits those who think the president should be chosen via popular vote versus those who believe the interests of small and large states must be balanced.
It's perhaps one of the more unusual trends to emerge from TikTok, the video-sharing app popular largely among teenagers and young adults, but a sudden interest in sea shanties has taken the internet by storm. Newfoundland musician Séan McCann had taken a break from writing music as he and his wife worked on a new book, but was eager to return to songwriting with a renewed focus on sea shanties. Initially, his kids were less than impressed. "I started to write some new shanties and I thought they were cool, and I sang a couple for my kids," said McCann, who began penning new music just before Christmas. "And I sang it for my kids, who are 15 and 13, and they were like, 'Dad, that's so lame. That's not cool. They're old songs.'" That attitude changed this week, said McCann, when his son showed him a TikTok video with millions of views, of a sea shanty. "All of a sudden, I'm the cool dad again," McCann said. "So now, apparently, I've got to get on TikTok to be super cool." What will we do with a trending sailor A far cry from the digital age, the traditional sea shanty dates back to the time of tall ships, and are perhaps seen in the popular imagination today as catchy tunes that were sung by sailors at work. Fergus O'Byrne says there's more to it than that. The Irish-Canadian folk musician said there are historically three distinct types of sea shanties: a capstan chant, a halyard shanty and one for a short-haul. Each of these, said O'Byrne, corresponded to a specific duty. "So, for example, for the capstan, for those people who don't know, a capstan was like a great big round wheel with spokes coming out of it to haul up the anchor back in those days," he said. Something as simple as hauling an anchor could take well over an hour, said O'Byrne, and so the capstan shanty was integral in keeping the work moving. "There'd be a whole bunch of men on the shanty on the wheel, walking around and singing," O'Byrne said. "So a song like General Taylor, for example, was a capstan, sometimes called 'a-stamp-and-go', and they'd stamp and they'd go and they'd walk around." Scroll the old chariot along While the origins of the sea shanty come as practical work songs, sung by sailors who were doing the physically demanding labour needed to keep their vessels moving, most sea captains didn't care what was being sung about so long as the work got done. While this led to a few X-rated songs, said McCann, shantys like General Taylor were also an opportunity for sailors to voice their opinions. "A lot of them were political too," McCann said. "We used to sing a song called General Taylor that we sang with great joy, and people love to sing along with it. But, the reality is, that song is not about celebration of a man, General Taylor, it's about people wanting to find and kill General Taylor." Though new to TikTok, McCann, a long-time champion of the traditional sea shanty, said it's an interesting fascination, and he can understand why this new trend has picked up, even if it's just another internet blip. "They've got strong melodies, they say things that matter and they help people work through difficult times," McCann said. "And I think that's why they're popular again. I think they have a role to play." Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Comment se met en place la résistance aux médicaments ? Pourquoi la résistance aux vaccins est-elle si rare ?
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is reporting 36 new cases of COVID-19, the largest single day total in the province since the pandemic began. Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health, says 24 of the new cases are in the Edmundston area, which is being moved to the red alert level of virus precaution as of 12:01 a.m. Monday as a result of the recent spike. Russell says schools will remain open under the red-zone rules, but many businesses will be required to close or reduce services to essential levels, while residents will be asked to stay home as much as possible. Russell says five of the remaining cases are in the Moncton region, four are in the Saint John area, two in the Fredericton region and one is in the Bathurst area. She says while the other zones will remain at the orange alert level for the time being, it's clear the Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton regions are on the cusp of moving to the red alert level. The number of active COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick currently stands at 292. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021. The Canadian Press
Un immense projet d’exploitation de charbon métallurgique à ciel ouvert dans les Rocheuses, signifiant ni plus ni moins la « décapitation » des montagnes, fait débat en Alberta. Une filiale de la compagnie Riversdale Resources Limited, Benga Mining Limited, propose de construire et d’exploiter une mine pour produire de l’acier, près de Crowsnest Pass, à sept kilomètres au nord de la communauté de Blairmore, dans le sud-ouest de l’Alberta. Le projet Grassy Mountain, s’il aboutit, produirait 4,5 millions de tonnes de charbon métallurgique par an, et ce, durant 25 ans. Ce projet minier trouve actuellement un écho négatif dans la province. « Il n’a pas fait l’objet d’une consultation publique auprès des Albertains », déplore Leor Rotchild, directeur de l’association professionnelle Canadian Business for Social Responsability, basée à Calgary. Cependant, le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé le 19 mars 2020 le début d’une période de consultation publique, qui se terminait vendredi. Le 1er juin dernier, afin de faciliter le projet, le premier ministre, Jason Kenney, a levé l’interdiction d’une réglementation environnementale datant de 1976. Le gouvernement albertain a décidé en effet de ne pas la renouveler en la laissant expirer. Cette réglementation interdisait jusqu’à présent les compagnies de charbon d’extraire du minerai à ciel ouvert le long des pentes des montagnes Rocheuses. Dans certaines zones, l’exploitation souterraine était elle aussi limitée, en fonction des effets qu’elle pouvait occasionner en surface. La ministre de l’Énergie, Sonya Savage, avait salué la nouvelle, voyant dans cette décision un moyen « d’attirer de nouveaux investissements pour une industrie importante ». Cependant, Leor Rotchild, l’entrepreneur écomilitant, y voit un manque de vision. « Je comprends que le gouvernement cherche à créer désespérément de l’activité économique en Alberta, mais le désespoir est une mauvaise stratégie », lance-t-il. Pour ce faire, il faudrait décapiter le haut de la montagne, à l’instar du projet minier de Teck Resources à Elk Valley, se situant entre l’Alberta et la Colombie-Britannique. « Quand tu élimines le haut d’une montagne, c’est très mauvais pour le tourisme, surtout en période de crise économique, car ce secteur est important ici. Ça sera difficile de continuer comme avant », explique Joseph Vipond, président de l’Association canadienne des médecins pour l’environnement. Cependant, il n’y a pas que le secteur touristique qui risque des dommages collatéraux. La faune est elle aussi en danger, l’habitat des caribous, des grizzlys, ainsi que celui de certaines espèces de truites étant menacés. En Colombie-Britannique, d’après le Dr Vipond, « il a déjà été démontré que ces mines de charbon à ciel ouvert rejettent de fortes concentrations d’un élément appelé sélénium, que l’on retrouve dans le bassin de la rivière Elk ». Aujourd’hui, « ce qui effraie vraiment les Albertains, c’est la contamination de l’eau potable. On retrouve maintenant dans toutes les rivières du sud-est [de la Colombie-Britannique] cet élément qui tue tous les poissons. C’est un phénomène qu’on devrait éviter ici », alerte-t-il. Ces concentrations de sélénium dans l’eau inquiètent aussi les éleveurs de l’Alberta quant aux effets sur l’agriculture et leur élevage. « La qualité de l’eau a une répercussion sur les bovins », précise Joseph Vipond. Le Conseil des Canadiens, une organisation citoyenne, s’est exprimé clairement sur son compte Twitter en invitant les gens à répondre jusqu’à vendredi à la consultation publique lancée par l’Agence d’évaluation d’impact du Canada. « Décapiter les montagnes et ouvrir de nouvelles mines de charbon ne devraient pas être une option en 2021, l’audition pour le projet de mine de charbon de Grassy Mountain dans les montagnes Rocheuses continue d’avancer. Dites non au charbon », tweetent-ils. Les professionnels du charbon, eux, se déclarent satisfaits, a indiqué Robin Campbell, président de l’Association canadienne du charbon et ancien ministre provincial de l’Environnement. Ce projet de mine, s’il voit le jour, créerait dans la région de Crowsnest Pass, ancienne ville minière, 500 emplois durant sa construction et 385 postes à plein temps durant son exploitation. Selon l’Association canadienne du charbon, l’estimation des recettes fiscales de Grassy Mountain s’élèverait à plus de 1,7 milliard de dollars de redevances et de taxes gouvernementales, sur environ 25 ans. Les taxes municipales devraient, elles, s’élever à 1,5 million de dollars par an, soit 35 millions de dollars en un quart de siècle. Cependant, il faudra encore attendre le résultat des consultations publiques sur ce projet qui divise l’opinion publique.Hélène Lequitte, Initiative de journalisme local, Le Devoir
WASHINGTON — The Latest on President Donald Trump's impeachment, President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack of the Capitol by pro-Trump loyalists (all times local): 9:05 a.m. Actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are among the stars who will highlight a prime-time virtual celebration televised Wednesday night after Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president. Biden’s inaugural committee announced the lineup Sunday for “Celebrating America,” a multinetwork broadcast that the committee bills as a mix of stars and everyday citizens. Miranda, who wrote and starred in Broadway’s “Hamilton,” will appear for a classical recitation. Musicians John Legend, Demi Lovato and Justin Timberlake, among others, will join Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Actresses Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria will act as hostesses, with former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also scheduled to appear. The segments will include tributes to a UPS driver, a kindergarten teacher and Sandra Lindsey, the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinical trial. The broadcast is in lieu of traditional inaugural balls. Biden plans still to be sworn in on the Capitol's West Front, but with a scaled-down ceremony because of the coronavirus and tight security after the Jan. 6 violent insurrection on the Capitol as Congress convened to certify his victory. ___ HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IMPEACHMENT, THE INAUGURATION AND THE FALLOUT FROM THE JAN. 6 RIOTING AT THE CAPITOL: Across the country, some statehouses are closed, fences are up and extra police are in place as authorities brace for potentially violent demonstrations over the coming days. The safeguards will remain in place leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. Biden plans to roll back some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial policies and take steps to address the coronavirus pandemic hours after taking office. Read more: — Deceptions in the time of the ‘alternative facts’ president — Biden outlines ‘Day One’ agenda of executive actions — Gen. Milley key to military continuity as Biden takes office — Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call — Harris to be sworn in by Justice Sotomayor at inauguration — Biden to prioritize legal status for millions of immigrants — Will Trump’s mishandling of records leave a hole in history? — Biden says his advisers will lead with ‘science and truth’ — More backlash for GOP’s Hawley as Loews Hotel cancels event ___ HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON: 8 a.m. Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will resign her Senate seat on Monday, two days before she and President-elect Joe Biden are inaugurated. Aides to the California Democrat confirm the timing and say Gov. Gavin Newsom is aware of her decision. That clears the way for Newsom to appoint fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, now California’s secretary of state, to serve the final two years of Harris’ term. Padilla will be the first Latino senator from California, where about 40% of residents are Hispanic. Harris will give no farewell Senate floor speech. The Senate isn’t scheduled to reconvene until Tuesday, the eve of Inauguration Day. ___ 3 a.m. The threat of extremist groups descending on state capitals in a series of demonstrations Sunday prompted governors to roll out a massive show of force and implement tight security measures at statehouses across the country. Fencing, boarded-up windows and lines of police and National Guard troops have transformed statehouse grounds ahead of expected demonstrations leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The stepped-up security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob supporting President Donald Trump overran the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests in the nation’s capital and all 50 state capitals. Some social media messages had targeted Sunday for demonstrations, though it remained unclear how many people might show up. The Associated Press
Never has so little curling action created so many headlines ahead of the national championships. With many teams, clubs and provincial playdowns on ice due to the pandemic, several curling associations have had to get creative in this most unusual season. Curling Canada is no exception. The national federation added two more wild-card teams to the field at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier to create 18-team competitions. "Unique circumstances call for unique solutions," read the top of last week's release announcing the news. The one-time switch will allow a few more highly ranked teams into the mix. Now the big question is who will get in and when can they pack their bags for the so-called bubble in Calgary. Many associations recently cancelled their championships and declared representatives. Other provinces and territories are planning to hold playdowns over the next few weeks. The big decision that will have a ripple-down effect on wild-card spots is expected soon. Curling Alberta cancelled its championships Jan. 8 but didn't declare representatives for nationals, pending a "decision by the organization’s board of directors." Board members were scheduled to meet over the weekend to decide. An announcement will be made no earlier than Monday, executive director Jill Richard said in an email. Many member associations used last year's championship results to determine their representatives. Others considered recent results, rankings and standings for their picks. Normally at the Scotties and Brier, the top two teams in the Canadian rankings not already entered in the draw square off in a play-in game to become Team Wild Card. Curling Canada scrapped that setup for this season only and will instead give wild-card spots to the teams that would have played in the game, based on the 2019-20 final standings. The third wild-card spot - based on criteria to be determined - will get the final entry and create two even pools of nine teams each. Here's where it gets interesting and Alberta has a unique hammer. Brendan Bottcher is the reigning men's provincial champion. Kevin Koe was not in the playdowns last year since he had an automatic Brier berth as Team Canada. Jeremy Harty, meanwhile, has a slight lead on the second-place Koe in the provincial points race. Bottcher is ranked fourth in Canada, Koe is sixth and Harty is 15th. If Curling Alberta goes with an under-the-radar Harty pick, it would give the province a worthy representative and allow all three teams to enter rather than just two. Manitoba's Mike McEwen can rest easy in the No. 5 spot knowing he's in. If Bottcher is Team Alberta, McEwen and Koe are in as wild-card entries and No. 9 Glenn Howard is a potential pick for the third spot. If Koe wears provincial colours, Bottcher and McEwen would be wild-card entries. Howard would be a good bet for the third but the selection is not necessarily a slam dunk. If Harty gets the Alberta nod, Bottcher and McEwen would secure wild-card spots and Koe would be a virtual lock for the final berth. Boosting Harty's case was Nova Scotia's recent decision to give Jill Brothers the Scotties spot based on this season's standings. On the women's side, Laura Walker is the favourite to be named Team Alberta. The reigning provincial champion is ranked seventh in Canada and is second in the provincial standings. Alberta leader Kelsey Rocque, the Canadian No. 6, only has two returning members from last season, one short of the required minimum. The 3-of-4 rule also affects No. 10 Robyn Silvernagle of Saskatchewan, since she has two new players as well. Fifth-ranked Chelsea Carey, also of Alberta, is a free agent. Manitoba's Tracy Fleury is the only Scotties wild-card lock at No. 2. World junior champion Mackenzie Zacharias is in the mix at No. 11 along with fellow Manitoban Beth Peterson at No. 12. Suzanne Birt is a heavy favourite to win the two-team Prince Edward Island championship at the end of the month, but a loss would move her into a wild-card spot at No. 9. Like the men's pick, the third spot is a real guessing game, thanks in part to the uncertain criteria. A Curling Canada spokesman said the 3-of-4 rule will apply to the first two wild-card teams in each gender, but noted qualifying criteria for the third wild-card team won't be finalized until after all member associations have declared teams. That would appear to give teams in a 2-of-4 situation at least a little bit of hope. The veteran Howard, a four-time Brier champion, could very well get the men's spot. But it's also possible a youngster like No. 14 Tyler Tardi, a world junior champ from B.C., could get the selection. The third women's spot is also a crapshoot. Several worthy teams could be in the mix from Zacharias and Peterson to No. 19 Casey Scheidegger of Alberta, a perennial contender who has played a limited schedule over the last couple seasons. The Scotties is set for Feb. 19-28 at Markin MacPhail Centre. The Brier is scheduled for March 5-14 at the same venue on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
Lakeview Pioneer Lodge reports that of the 31 residents still on site, 30 residents requested and were given the vaccine, and several of the residents experienced some side effects from the vaccine, such as mild nausea. Five residents are continuing to be watched carefully as their health is beginning to decline and family members have been asked to sit with these residents to assist with fluid intake and rehydration efforts. The remaining 26 residents on site are in stable health at this time. The six resident who were transferred to community hospitals in Melfort and Nipawin continue to be in good stable condition. The first of the tree residents in the Nipawin hospital will return to the Lodge today, followed tomorrow by the second resident, and the third resident will be transferred on Tuesday January 19thcompleting the repatriation of the residents from Nipawin. The Board, administration and the staff of Lakeview Pioneer Lodge send a huge thank you to the Nipawin Hospital administration and staff for looking after the Lodge family’s loved ones. On January 20th and 21st, two more residents will make their way back home from the Melfort Hospital. The transfer of the final resident at the Melfort Hospital is pending approval after having a medical assessment completed. Two other residents are in hospital, one in the Intensive Care Unit at Victorian Hospital in Prince Albert and another at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. The resident in hospital in Saskatoon is being watched for their decreasing health outcomes, with extra attention being paid to mental health and well-being. The Lodge continues to extend their prayers for the families of these two residents and the five that are being monitored on site. This weekend the Lodge will be saying good-bye to some of the labour pool staff who came to help when it was so badly needed and quickly became friends. A sincere thank-you and an immense amount of appreciation goes out to all who have come and helped over the past weeks. Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Wakaw Recorder
La pandémie a donné un coup de frein à la mobilité étudiante dans le monde. Les universités américaines en sont bien sûr affectées. Mais elles font face aussi à une baisse des inscriptions nationales.
KENOVA, W.Va. — Griffith & Feil Drug has been in business since 1892, a family-owned, small-town pharmacy. This isn't their first pandemic. More than a century after helping West Virginians confront the Spanish flu in 1918, the drugstore in Kenova, a community of about 3,000 people, is helping the state lead the nation in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. West Virginia has emerged as an unlikely success in the nation's otherwise chaotic vaccine rollout, largely because of the state's decision to reject a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens and instead enlist mom-and-pop pharmacies to vaccinate residents against the virus that has killed over 395,000 Americans. More shots have gone into people’s arms per capita across West Virginia than in any other state, with at least 7.5% of the population receiving the first of two shots, according to federal data. West Virginia was the first in the nation to finish offering first doses to all long-term care centres before the end of December, and the state expects to give second doses at those facilities by the end of January. “Boy, have we noticed that. I think the West Virginia model is really one that we would love for a lot more states to adopt,” said John Beckner, a pharmacist who works at the Alexandria, Virginia-based National Community Pharmacists Association, which advocates for pharmacies across the country. It's early in the process, but that has not stopped Republican Gov. Jim Justice from proclaiming that the vaccine effort runs counter to preconceived notions about the Mountaineer State. “Little old West Virginia, that was thought of for hundreds of years, you know, as a place where maybe we were backward or dark or dingy,” Justice said last week. Instead, it turns out that “West Virginia has been the diamond in the rough,” Justice said on CBS’ "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Rather than relying on national chains, 250 local pharmacists set up clinics in rural communities. The fact that residents who may be wary of the vaccine seem to trust them makes a difference. “As my uncle always told me, these people aren’t your customers, they’re your friends and neighbours,” said Ric Griffith, the pharmacist at Griffith & Feil in Kenova, a town near the Kentucky state line. A chatty raconteur and former mayor of Kenova, he can recall generations of patrons frequenting the shop, which is almost unchanged since the 1950s, with a soda fountain and jukebox in the front and prescriptions in the back. Griffith, 71, began taking over the pharmacy from his father in the early 1990s and was elected to the House of Delegates as a Democrat last year. His daughter, Heidi Griffith Romero, 45, followed into the family business and is also administering shots. Holding a vaccination clinic at the town high school, he recalled his uncle telling him he lost four classmates to the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed more than 50 million people worldwide. “And it was a tragedy that I thought I would never be involved with,” he said, taking a break from giving vaccines to teachers aged 50 and over. When Mark Hayes, a middle school guidance counsellor in Kenova, walked up to receive his first dose, he spotted Griffith, who holds local celebrity status for hosting an extravagant annual Halloween pumpkin-carving party that attracts thousands. “I recognized him right away,” Hayes said. “‘The Pumpkin King? Are you giving me the shot?’” Kevin Roberts, a 59-year-old school bus driver in Kenova, said “it makes a difference” for a pharmacist he knows to administer the shots. “I hope that a lot of these skeptics change their mind,” he said. Officials also credit a 50-person command centre at the state’s National Guard headquarters in the capital of Charleston. Inside a cavernous hall, leaders of the vaccine operation and state health officials sit between plexiglass dividers to oversee shipments of the precious doses to five hubs. From there, deliveries go to drugstores and local health departments. CVS has so far declined to work with state officials on vaccinating people at its stores, but Walgreens is participating and has joined in to hold clinics at some nursing homes, officials said. The federal partnership involving both companies would have allowed Washington officials to dictate the terms of nursing home vaccinations, said Marty Wright, the head of the West Virginia Health Care Association, which represents health care companies. “If the state would've activated the federal plan, the state would've had zero control over the situation,” Wright said. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar praised West Virginia's efforts to vaccinate the elderly. “Expanding eligibility to all of the vulnerable is the fastest way to protect the vulnerable,” Azar said Tuesday at an Operation Warp Speed meeting. He also highlighted Connecticut as a bright spot in the vaccine rollout. Given West Virginia's success so far, leaders are now seeking more doses so they can open vaccinations for more groups. The Griffith & Feil store has had to decline shots for out-of-state customers who caught word of West Virginia's success. The governor recently lowered the age of eligibility for members of the general public to 70. The efforts have not been without errors. The Boone County Health Department was barred from distributing the vaccine last month after it mistakenly gave 44 people an antibody treatment instead of vaccines. The state began vaccinating school workers aged 50 or older less than two weeks ago. The governor wants in-person learning to resume at as many schools as possible by Tuesday, long before teachers will have received their second vaccine doses. As of Sunday, over 130,100 first doses have been administered, and 23,066 people have received both shots in the state with a population of about 1.78 million people. Nearly 55,800 of the first doses have gone to residents aged 65 and older. Mitchel Rothholz, who leads immunization policy at the American Pharmacists Association, said other governors would be wise to enlist local pharmacies. “Especially at a time when you have vaccine hesitancy and concerns in vaccine confidence, having access to a health care provider like a community pharmacist provides a comfort level to the patients and communities,” Rothholz added. ___ Associated Press Writer John Raby contributed to this report. Cuneyt Dil, The Associated Press
Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. As darkness fell, there were no reports of any clashes. Security was stepped up in recent days after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests in Washington and at all 50 state capitol buildings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Crowds of only a dozen or two demonstrated at some boarded-up, cordoned-off statehouses, while the streets in many other capital cities remained empty. Some protesters said they were there to back President Donald Trump. Others said they had instead come to voice their support for gun rights or decry government overreach. “I don’t trust the results of the election,” said Michigan protester Martin Szelag, a 67-year-old semi-retired window salesman from Dearborn Heights. He wore a sign around his neck that read, in part, “We will support Joe Biden as our President if you can convince us he won legally. Show us the proof! Then the healing can begin.” As the day wore on with no bloodshed around the U.S., a sense of relief spread among officials, though they were not ready to let their guard down. The heavy law enforcement presence may have kept turnout down. In the past few days, some extremists had warned others against falling into what they called a law enforcement trap. Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said he hoped the apparently peaceful day reflected some soul-searching among Americans. “I would love to say that it’s because we’ve all taken a sober look in the mirror and have decided that we are a more unified people than certain moments in time would indicate,” he said. The security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that broke out at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when far-right Trump supporters galvanized by his false claims that the election had been stolen from him overran the police and bashed their way into the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote. The attack left a Capitol police officer and four others dead. More than 125 people have been arrested over the insurrection. Dozens of courts, election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have all said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the presidential race. On Sunday, some statehouses were surrounded by new security fences, their windows were boarded up, and extra officers were on patrol. Legislatures generally were not in session over the weekend. Tall fences also surrounded the U.S. Capitol. The National Mall was closed to the public, and the mayor of Washington asked people not to visit. Some 25,000 National Guard troops from around the country are expected to arrive in the city in the coming days. U.S. defence officials told The Associated Press those troops would be vetted by the FBI to ward off any threat of an insider attack on the inauguration. The roughly 20 protesters who showed up at Michigan’s Capitol, including some who were armed, were significantly outnumbered by law enforcement officers and members of the media. Tensions have been running high in the state since authorities foiled a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year. At the Ohio Statehouse, about two dozen people, including several carrying long guns, protested outside under the watchful eyes of state troopers before dispersing as it began to snow. Kathy Sherman, who was wearing a visor with “Trump” printed on it, said she supports the president but distanced herself from the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. "I’m here to support the right to voice a political view or opinion without fear of censorship, harassment or the threat of losing my job or being physically assaulted,” she said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said he was pleased with the outcome but stressed that authorities "continue to have concerns for potential violence in the coming days, which is why I intend to maintain security levels at the Statehouse as we approach the presidential inauguration.” Utah's new governor, Republican Spencer Cox, shared photos on his Twitter account showing him with what appeared to be hundreds of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers standing behind him, all wearing masks. Cox called the quiet protests a best-case scenario and said many ”agitating groups" had cancelled their plans for the day. At Oregon's Capitol, fewer than a dozen men wearing military-style outfits, black ski masks and helmets stood nearby with semiautomatic weapons slung across their bodies. Some had upside-down American flags and signs reading such things as “Disarm the government.” At the Texas Capitol, Ben Hawk walked with about a dozen demonstrators up to the locked gates carrying a bullhorn and an AR-15 rifle hanging at the side of his camouflage pants. He condemned the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and said he did not support Trump. “All we came down here to do today was to discuss, gather, network and hang out. And it got blown and twisted completely out of proportion,” Hawk said. At Nevada's Capitol, where demonstrators supporting Trump have flocked most weekends in recent months, all was quiet except for a lone protester with a sign. “Trump Lost. Be Adults. Go Home,” it read. More than a third of governors had called out the National Guard to help protect their capitols and assist local law enforcement. Several governors declared states of emergency, and others closed their capitols to the public until after Biden's inauguration. Some legislatures also cancelled sessions or pared back their work for the coming week. Even before the violence at the Capitol, some statehouses had been the target of vandals and angry protesters during the past year. Last spring, armed protesters entered the Michigan Capitol to object to coronavirus lockdowns. People angry over the death of George Floyd under a Minneapolis police officer's knee vandalized capitols in several states, including Colorado, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. Last last month, crowds in Oregon forced their way into the Capitol in Salem to protest its closure to the public during a special legislative session on coronavirus measures. Amid the potential for violence in the coming days, the building's first-floor windows were boarded up and the National Guard was brought in. "The state capitol has become a fortress,” said Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat. “I never thought I’d see that. It breaks my heart.” ___ Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in Columbus, Ohio; Gillian Flaccus in Salem, Oregon; Mike Householder and David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; Sam Metz in Carson City, Nevada; Marc Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. David A. Lieb And Adam Geller, The Associated Press
ISTANBUL — Mesut Ozil said farewell to Arsenal teammates and flew to Turkey on Sunday to join Fenerbahce in a bid to reignite a once-flourishing career that faltered in London. The former Germany midfielder, who is of Turkish descent, hasn’t played for Arsenal since March after falling out of favour with manager Mikel Arteta over concerns about the player’s work rate. “I am very excited. I’ve said I’m a Fenerbahce fan. I am very happy to be coming to Fenerbahce," Ozil said in a telephone interview with Turkish broadcaster BBO Sports. "God has granted me the chance to wear the Fenerbahce uniform as a Fenerbahce fan. I will do my best for the team.” The 32-year-old Ozil wasn’t even included in Arsenal’s Premier League squad for the season despite being one of the highest earners and has been ostentatiously tweeting his support for the team from his home during matches. Now Arsenal has managed to offload Ozil before his contract expires in June. Fenerbahce posted images of Ozil leaving London on a private jet on Sunday night. After 7 1/2 years at Arsenal, which he joined from Real Madrid, Ozil is heading to one of the favoured clubs of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Welcome to your home, your country dear @MesutOzil1088," Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted. Ozil posed for photos with Erdogan in May 2018 in the run-up to the Turkish general election — prompting serious criticism from German soccer officials and antagonizing some in Germany who felt the player wasn’t fully behind the national team — while the president was an official witness at Ozil’s wedding ceremony. Fenerbahce won the last of its 19 Turkish league titles in 2014. The team has not been in the Champions League group stage since a match-fixing scandal broke in 2011. Ozil’s last match for Arsenal was in March, a week before soccer was suspended at the outbreak of the coronavirus, so he might not be match-sharp to start immediately for Fenerbahce. Ozil became ostracized by Arsenal just as Arteta was hired as manager in December 2019. The club distanced itself from Ozil standing up for Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China after he condemned the detention of more than 1 million Uighurs and other minorities in so-called re-education camps. A social media post from Ozil also denounced China for burning Qurans, closing mosques and the killing of religious scholars. Ozil's criticism of China led to Arsenal’s match being pulled from Chinese television. The Chinese government accused Ozil of being “blinded and misled” and Arsenal said “the content he expressed is entirely Ozil’s personal opinion” and stressed it was not getting involved as a club. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Russia’s prison service said opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport after returning from Germany on Sunday. The prison service said he was detained for multiple violations of parole and terms of a suspended prison sentence and would be held in custody until a court makes a decision in his case. Navalny had spent the previous five months in Germany recovering from a nerve agent attack that he blamed on the Kremlin, and the prison service earlier said that his being outside the country violated terms of a 2014 suspended sentence for embezzlement. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. The plane carrying Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny landed Sunday in Moscow, where he faces the threat of arrest. But the flight landed at a different airport than had been scheduled, a possible attempt to outwit journalists and supporters who wanted to witness the return. Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent and determined foe, was returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from poisoning by a nerve agent, which he blames on the Kremlin. Russia’s prison service last week issued a warrant for his arrest, saying he had violated the terms of suspended sentence he received on a 2014 conviction for embezzlement. The prison service has asked a Moscow court to turn Navalny’s 3 1/2-year suspended sentence into a real one. After boarding the Moscow flight in Berlin on Sunday, Navalny said of the prospect of arrest: “It’s impossible; I’m an innocent man.” The Kremlin has repeatedly denied a role in the opposition leader’s poisoning. Navalny supporters and journalists had come to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, where the plane was scheduled to land, but it ended up touching down at Sheremetyevo airport, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. There was no immediate explanation for the flight diversion. The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests, said at least 37 people were arrested at Vnukovo Airport, although their affiliations weren't immediately clear. Vnukovo banned journalists from working inside the terminal, saying in a statement last week that the move was due to epidemiological concerns. The airport also blocked off access to the international arrivals area. Police prisoner-detention vehicles stood outside the terminal on Sunday. The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and opposition social media reported Sunday that several Navalny supporters in St. Petersburg had been removed from Moscow-bound trains or been prevented from boarding flights late Saturday and early Sunday, including the co-ordinator of his staff for the region of Russia’s second-largest city. Navalny fell into a coma while aboard a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. He was transferred from a hospital in Siberia to a Berlin hospital two days later. Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent. Russian authorities insisted that the doctors who treated Navalny in Siberia before he was airlifted to Germany found no traces of poison and have challenged German officials to provide proof of his poisoning. They refused to open a full-fledged criminal inquiry, citing a lack of evidence that Navalny was poisoned. Last month, Navalny released the recording of a phone call he said he made to a man he described as an alleged member of a group of officers of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly poisoned him in August and then tried to cover it up. The FSB dismissed the recording as fake. ___ Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Jim Heintz in Moscow, contributed to this report. Mstyslav Chernov, The Associated Press
Les alertes se multiplient sur l’état des océans. Comment les sciences océaniques, entre diversité, coopération et ouverture, posent-elles les premiers jalons d’un océan bien commun ?
A Saskatchewan man is braving the winter elements in a bid to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic. Ilajah Pidskalny is cycling from Saskatoon to Vancouver and shares the details of his journey so far.
Ce sont 19 nouveaux cas de COVID-19 qui s’ajoutent au bilan régional ce dimanche. Au total, depuis le début de la pandémie, ce sont 8 559 cas qui ont été déclarés dans la région. On répertorie quatre nouveaux décès liés au virus ce dimanche au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Le total depuis le début de la pandémie est de 244 décès. On retrouve actuellement 20 hospitalisations, dont six aux soins intensifs. Janick Emond, Initiative de journalisme local, Le Lac St-Jean
The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The action - likely the last against Huawei Technologies under Republican President Donald Trump - is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat. The notices came amid a flurry of U.S. efforts against China in the final days of Trump's administration.
Canada's ambassador to the United States said on Sunday that while the two countries have shared vision on many issues, President-elect Joe Biden's economic policy is slightly more protectionist than what Canada would like. While Ottawa has been quick to embrace of Biden in an effort to turn the page on the Donald Trump era, the incoming U.S. administration's "buy America" policy is worrying to Canada.
An 18-year-old is facing a second-degree murder charge following the death of a woman on Ermineskin Cree Nation in early December. Maskwacis RCMP were called to assist EMS at a residence in the the central Alberta community at about 1:50 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2020. Police say first responders found a woman who was already deceased and who appeared to have been injured. The community is about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton. The major crimes unit took over the investigation, and on Jan. 15 arrested and charged an 18-year-old man with second-degree murder in the case. Police say he was taken into custody at his residence on Ermineskin Cree Nation without incident. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 28.
When P.E.I.'s Adam Robbins set out to make a hip-hop album with a wrestling theme, he knew the best way was from the perspective of a bad guy or, as they are known in the wrestling world, a heel. "My voice and presentation was much more suited for a heel. So I wanted the whole album to kind of sound like from the perspective of the Mr. Bad Guy kind of deal." The result is his fifth album, Hip Hop's Heel. But first he needed to find a way to get Kowboy Mike Hughes of Red Rock Wrestling on board. "I gave him a little bit of an armbar and convinced him to do a little bit of vocal work on the album," he said in an interview with Mainstreet P.E.I. host Angela Walker. Roster of wrestlers Hughes also provided a roster of wrestlers to help with the "vibe" of the album. "The premise throughout the album is that I somehow managed to steal the Red Rock championship belt and Kowboy Mike Hughes isn't very pleased with that. So he's leaving me some pretty angry voicemails on the album," Robbins said. If you're going to make a move, if you're going to make a sound, it should be emphasized and bigger and better than you thought or it should be originally. — Adam Robbins Robbins has had a passion for hip hop since his stepbrother gave him his first Wu-Tang Clan CD about 18 years ago and he became "obsessed with the word play." Wrestling is in Robbins's blood — his brother is a professional wrestler. Wrestlers and hip-hop artists are similar in ways, Robbins said — especially when there is an audience. "You're working an angle, you're working the camera, the audience.… If you're going to make a move, if you're going to make a sound, it should be emphasized and bigger and better than you thought or it should be originally." Robbins said the album has surpassed his expectations and has been well-received by Islanders, including one of his biggest fans, his seven-year-old son. "He was very, very excited to see the album come together, and he was actually a part of some of the music videos and got to meet the wrestlers and whatnot during the whole process of it all. So it was fantastic to see that passion being instilled and in my son, as well." More from CBC P.E.I.
