Evan Rachel Wood accuses Marilyn Manson of 'horrific' abuse

Evan Rachel Wood released a statement Monday morning alleging that Marilyn Manson abused her during the course of their relationship, which ended in 2010.

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  • Schitt's Creek, star Catherine O'Hara win Golden Globes

    (NBC/The Associated Press, NBC/Reuters - image credit) Schitt's Creek won the Golden Globe for best television comedy on Sunday, shortly after star Catherine O'Hara captured the award for best actress for her portrayal of Moira Rose. Dan Levy — who co-created the show with his father, Eugene Levy — accepted the award remotely and paid homage to the Canadian cast and crew. "The incredible work you all did over these past six seasons have taken us to places we never thought possible, and we are so grateful to all of you for it," he said. "Thank you to the CBC and Pop TV for making the active choice to keep this show on the air and give it the time and space it needed to grow." The show topped fellow nominees Ted Lasso, The Great, The Flight Attendant and Emily in Paris. "This acknowledgement is a lovely vote of confidence in the messages Schitt's Creek has come to stand for: the idea that inclusion can bring about growth and love to a community," Dan Levy said. "In the spirit of inclusion, I hope that this time next year, the ceremony reflects the true breadth and diversity of the film and television being made today because there is so much more to be celebrated." Earlier, O'Hara thanked Eugene and Dan Levy for creating "an inspiring, funny, beautiful family love story in which they let me wear 100 wigs and speak like an alien." "Thank you CBC for making this show in Canada," she said. Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy were each nominated for acting awards as well. Jason Sudeikis bested Eugene Levy for best actor in a television series for his role in Ted Lasso, John Boyega won the award for best supporting actor for his role in Small Axe over Dan Levy and Gillian Anderson's turn on The Crown earned her best supporting actress over Murphy. Schitt's Creek, which aired on CBC and Pop TV, ended its sixth and final season last April. The Ontario-shot show swept the comedy category at the Emmy Awards last fall. Nomadland wins 2 awards, Boseman honoured posthumously Nomadland won best drama film while its director, Chloé Zhao, became the first woman of Asian descent to win best director at the Golden Globes. The film follows a woman, played by Frances McDormand, who leaves her small town to join a group of wanderers in the American West. Accepting the best picture award, Zhao paid tribute to all those who have been on difficult journeys, quoting a line from the film: "We don't say goodbye, we say see you down the road." Meanwhile, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm won best movie, musical or comedy, while star Sacha Baron Cohen won best actor for his portrayal of the fictional journalist from Kazakhstan. In a major surprise, the Globe for best actress in a drama film went to Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Day played the legendary jazz and blues singer in the biopic directed by Lee Daniels. A tearful and overwhelmed Day spoke through tears as she said she was "in the presence of giants," naming her fellow nominees Viola Davis, Carey Mulligan, Vanessa Kirby and Frances McDormand. Six months after his death at age 43, Chadwick Boseman won the Golden Globe for best actor in a dramatic film for his final role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Boseman's widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award for her late husband, saying "he would thank God, he would thank his parents, he would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices." Through tears, Ledward added: "I don't have his words, but we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we love." In the Netflix film, Boseman plays an ambitious trumpeter named Levee who aims to launch himself with his own updated version of the songs of Ma Rainey, the powerhouse blues singer played by Viola Davis. Boseman, who starred in the Marvel blockbuster "Black Panther," died in August after privately battling colon cancer for four years. Netflix, which came in with a commanding 42 nominations, won the top TV awards. The Crown, as expected, took best drama series, along with acting wins for Anderson, Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin. O'Connor and Corrin portrayed Prince Charles and Princess Diana, respectively. The Queen's Gambit, another Netflix show, won best limited series or TV movie and star Anya Taylor-Joy won best actress in a limited series. Jodie Foster, meanwhile, won her first Golden Globe in nearly three decades. Foster won the Globe for best supporting actress in a film for her role in The Mauritanian. Jane Fonda accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award, praising the "community of storytellers" for their vital role in troubled times, and calling for greater diversity in Hollywood. The 83-year-old actor and activist, star of Barbarella, Klute, Coming Home, On Golden Pond and 9 to 5, received the Globes' version of a lifetime achievement award, one of the few honorees to accept a Globe in person in Beverly Hills. The DeMille award honours "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment." Previous winners include Walt Disney, Judy Garland, John Wayne, Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Fonda's father Henry Fonda. The Fondas become the first parent and child to both receive the DeMille award. Norman Lear accepted the Carol Burnett Award on Sunday at the Golden Globes for his storied career in television, saying he "could not feel more blessed." The 98-year-old still-working television legend, creator of All in the Family, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time, is the third winner of the award that honours "outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen." Hosts on different coasts Earlier, co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler began the pandemic-era award show by delivering a split-screen opening from separate coasts. With Poehler at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Fey in New York's Rainbow Room, the two did an initial gag where Fey reached out through the screen and stroked Poehler's hair. Golden Globes hosts Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler, opened the show from New York and Beverly Hills, Calif., respectively. When attendees would normally be streaming down the red carpet on Sunday evening, many stars were instead posing virtually. Regina King, resplendent in a dazzling dress, stood before her yawning dog. Carey Mulligan, nominated for Promising Young Woman, said from a London hotel room that she was wearing heels for the first time in more than a year. Lee Isaac Chung, writer-director of the tender Korean-American family drama Minari (a movie the HFPA was criticized for ruling ineligible for its top award because of its non-English dialogue), accepted the award for best foreign language film while his young daughter embraced him. "She's the reason I made this film," said Chung. "Minari is about a family. It's a family trying to learn a language of its own. It goes deeper than any American language and any foreign language. It's a language of the heart. I'm trying to learn it myself and to pass it on," said Chung. Other awards included Pixar's Soul for best animated film; Rosumund Pike took best actress in a comedy or musical film for I Care a Lot; and Aaron Sorkin won for best screenplay for Trial of the Chicago 7. The film, a favourite to win best drama film at the Globes, was sold to Netflix by Paramount Pictures last summer due to the pandemic. "Netflix saved our lives," said Sorkin. Issues in lead-up to show On a night when the organization that gives out the Golden Globes is facing condemnation for having no Black voting members, the night's first award went to a Black actor, with Daniel Kaluuya winning best supporting actor in a film for his work in Judas and the Black Messiah. Kaluuya's acceptance speech could not be heard from his location at first, and he jokingly shouted, "You did me dirty!" once the audio was restored. Kaluuya didn't mention the issue directly in his acceptance, though he praised the man he played to win the award, Blank Panther leader Fred Hampton, who was was killed in an FBI raid in 1969. The Globes, normally a loose-and-boozy party that serves as the kickoff for Hollywood's awards season, has been beset with problems beyond the coronavirus leading up to this year's ceremony. They include a revelation in the Los Angeles Times that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which gives out the awards, has no Black voting members in the group. LISTEN | Why the Golden Globes' shady reputation persists: Fey took a shot at the organization in the show opening, explaining to the two small live audiences made up of first responders and essential workers that "the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is made up of around 90 no Black journalists." This year, none of the most acclaimed Black-led films — Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, One Night in Miami, Judas and the Black Messiah and Da 5 Bloods — were nominated for the Globes' best picture award. With the HFPA potentially fighting for its Hollywood life, Sunday's Globes were part apology tour. Within the first half hour of the NBC telecast, members of the press association also appeared on stage to pledge change. "We recognize we have our own work to do," said vice president Helen Hoehne. "We must have Black journalists in our organization."

  • UN: At least 18 killed by Myanmar forces in several cities

    YANGON, Myanmar — Security forces in Myanmar opened fire and made mass arrests Sunday as they sought to break up protests against the military’s seizure of power, and a U.N. human rights official said it had “credible information” that at least 18 people were killed and 30 were wounded. That would be the highest single-day death toll among protesters who are demanding that the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi be restored to power after being ousted by a Feb. 1 coup. About 1,000 people are believed to have been detained Sunday. “Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku,” the U.N. Human Rights Office said in a statement referring to several cities, adding that the forces also used tear gas, flash-bang grenades and stun grenades. An Associated Press journalist was taken into police custody on Saturday morning while providing news coverage of the protests. The journalist, Thein Zaw, remains in police custody. The AP called for his immediate release. “Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution. AP decries in the strongest terms the arbitrary detention of Thein Zaw,” said Ian Phillips, AP vice-president for international news. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar also condemned the arrest. The Democratic Voice of Burma reported that as of 5 p.m. in Myanmar, there had been 19 confirmed deaths in nine cities, with another 10 deaths unconfirmed. The independent media company broadcasts on satellite and digital terrestrial television, as well as online. DVB counted five deaths in Yangon and two in Mandalay, the largest and second-largest cities. It registered five deaths in Dawei, a much smaller city in southeastern Myanmar that has seen tens of thousands of protesters nearly every day since the coup. Witnesses said Sunday’s march was also large and people were determined not to be driven off the streets. Confirming the deaths of protesters has been difficult amid the chaos and general lack of news from official sources, especially in areas outside Yangon, Mandalay and the capital of Naypyitaw. But in many cases, photos and video circulated showed circumstances of the killings and gruesome photos of bodies. The independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners reported it was aware that about 1,000 people were detained Sunday, of whom they were able to identify 270. That brought to 1,132 the total number of people the group has confirmed being arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup. Gunfire was reported almost as soon the protests began Sunday morning in Yangon, as police also fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets. Photos of shell casings from live ammunition used in assault rifles were posted on social media. Initial reports on social media identified one young man believed to have been killed. His body was shown in photos and videos lying on a sidewalk until other protesters carried him away. In Dawei, local media reported at least three people were killed during a protest march, supported by photos and video. Photos on social media showed one wounded man in the care of medical personnel. Before Sunday, there had been eight confirmed reports of killings linked to the army’s takeover, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the crackdown, calling the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters and arbitrary arrests “unacceptable,” and expressed serious concern at the increase in deaths and serious injuries, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The secretary-general urges the international community to come together and send a clear signal to the military that it must respect the will of the people of Myanmar as expressed through the election and stop the repression,” Dujarric said. U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the violence. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement saying the U.S. is “alarmed” by the violence and stands in solidarity with Myanmar people “who continue to bravely voice their aspirations for democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights." Washington has imposed sanctions on Myanmar because of the coup, and Sullivan said it would “impose further costs on those responsible,” promising details “in the coming days.” The Feb. 1 coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party would have been installed for a second five-year term in office, but the army blocked Parliament from convening and detained her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of Suu Kyi’s government. On Sunday morning, medical students marched in Yangon near the Hledan Center intersection, which has become the gathering point for protesters who then fan out to other parts of the city. Videos and photos showed protesters running as police charged at them, and residents setting up makeshift roadblocks to slow their advance. Some protesters managed to throw tear gas canisters back at police. Nearby, residents were pleading with police to release those they picked up from the street and shoved into police trucks to be taken away. Dozens or more were believed to be detained. “The world is watching the actions of the Myanmar military junta, and will hold them accountable,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. “Live ammunition should not be used to control or disperse protests and lethal force can only be used to protect life or prevent serious injury.” Security forces began employing rougher tactics on Saturday, taking preemptive actions to break up protests and making scores, if not hundreds, of arrests. Greater numbers of soldiers also joined police. Many of those detained were taken to Insein Prison in Yangon’s northern outskirts, historically notorious for holding political prisoners. According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, as of Saturday, 854 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced at one point in relation to the coup, and 771 were being detained or sought for arrest. The group said that while it had documented 75 new arrests, it understood that hundreds of other people were also picked up Saturday in Yangon and elsewhere. The Associated Press

  • Spacewalking astronauts prep station for new solar wings

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year. NASA's Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the first set of mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to the station's oldest and most degraded solar wings. But the work took longer than expected, and they barely got started on the second set before calling it quits. Rubins will finish the job during a second spacewalk later this week. The spacewalkers had to lug out the hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts in 8-foot (2.5-meter) duffle-style bags. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch. Some of the attachment locations required extra turns of the power drill and still weren't snug enough, as indicated by black lines. The astronauts had to use a ratchet wrench to deal with the more stubborn bolts, which slowed them down. At one point, they were two hours behind. “Whoever painted this black line painted outside the lines a little bit," Glover said at one particularly troublesome spot. “We’ll work on our kindergarten skills over here,” Mission Control replied, urging him to move on. With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to NASA. The six new solar panels — to be delivered in pairs by SpaceX over the coming year or so — should boost the station’s electrical capability by as much as 30%. Rubins and Glover tackled the struts for the first two solar panels, due to launch in June. Their spacewalk ended up lasting seven hours, a bit longer than planned. “Really appreciate your hard work. I know there were a lot of challenges,” Mission Control radioed. The eight solar panels up there now are 12 to 20 years old — most of them past their design lifetime and deteriorating. Each panel is 112 feet (34 metres) long by 39 feet (12 metres) wide. Tip to tip counting the centre framework, each pair stretches 240 feet (73 metres), longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan. Boeing is supplying the new roll-up panels, about half the size of the old ones but just as powerful thanks to the latest solar cell technology. They’ll be placed at an angle above the old ones, which will continue to operate. A prototype was tested at the space station in 2017. Rubins' helmet featured a new high-definition camera that provided stunning views, particularly those showing the vivid blue Earth 270 miles (435 kilometres) below. “Pretty fantastic," observed Mission Control. Sunday’s spacewalk was the third for infectious disease specialist Rubins and Navy pilot Glover — both of whom could end up flying to the moon. They’re among 18 astronauts newly assigned to NASA’s Artemis moon-landing program. The next moonwalkers will come from this group. Last week, Vice-President Kamala Harris put in a congratulatory call to Glover, the first African American astronaut to live full time at the space station. NASA released the video exchange Saturday. “The history making that you are doing, we are so proud of you,” Harris said. Like other firsts, Glover replied, it won't be the last. “We want to make sure that we can continue to do new things,” he said. Rubins will float back out Friday with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to wrap up the solar panel prep work, and to vent and relocate ammonia coolant hoses. Glover and Noguchi were among four astronauts arriving via SpaceX in November. Rubins launched from Kazakhstan in October alongside two Russians. They’re all scheduled to return to Earth this spring. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

  • Auckland coronavirus lockdown tests New Zealanders' patience

    The mayor of Auckland called for residents to be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccines after New Zealand's biggest city was thrown into its fourth pandemic lockdown over the weekend. The seven-day lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on a city of 2 million was prompted by just a single new COVID-19 case, reinforcing the New Zealand leader's strict "go hard, go early" response throughout the crisis. That approach has been credited with making New Zealand one of the most successful countries in the world at controlling the spread of the coronavirus, but the latest shutdown has been criticised by some on social media.

  • NASA's Perseverance Mars rover sends back stunning first images

    NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021 and it has already begun to send back jaw-dropping images of the surrounding area.

  • 'Nomadland,' 'Borat' win at a socially distant Golden Globes

    NEW YORK — With homebound nominees appearing by remote video and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on different sides of the country, a very socially distanced 78th Golden Globe Awards trudged on in the midst of the pandemic and amid a storm of criticism for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with top awards going to “Nomadland,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Crown” and “Schitt's Creek.” The night's top award, best picture drama, went to Chloé Zhao's elegiac road movie “Nomadland," a Western set across economic upheaval and personal grief. Zhao, the China-born filmmaker of, became the first woman of Asian descent to win best director. She’s only the second woman in the history of the Globes to win, and the first since Barbra Streisand won for “Yentl” in 1984. “'Nomadland at its core for me is a pilgrimage through grief and healing,” said Zhao, accepting the awards remotely. “For everyone who has gone through this difficult and beautiful journey at some point in their lives, this is for you." With a cancelled red carpet and stars giving speeches from the couch, Sunday's Globes had little of their typically frothy flavour. But they went on, nevertheless, with winners in sweats and dogs in laps, in a pandemic that has sapped nearly all the glamour out of Hollywood. Facing scant traditional studio competition, streaming services dominated the Globes like never before — even if the top award went to a familiar if renamed source: Searchlight Pictures, formerly the Fox specialty label of “12 Years a Slave” and “The Shape of Water” now owned by the Walt Disney Co. Amazon's “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” — one of the few nominated films shot partly during the pandemic — won best film, comedy or musical. Its star guerilla comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen, also won best actor in a comedy. Referring to Rudy Giuliani's infamous cameo, Cohen thanked “a fresh new talent who came from nowhere and turned out to be a comedy genius.” “I mean, who could get more laughs from one unzipping," said Cohen. Netflix, which came in with a commanding 42 nominations, won the top TV awards. “The Crown,” as expected, took best drama series, along with acting wins for Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles), Emma Corrin (Princess Diana) and Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher). “The Queen's Gambit” won best limited series, and best actress in the category for Anya Taylor-Joy. “Schitt's Creek,” the Pop TV series that found a wider audience on Netflix, won best comedy series for its final season. Catherine O'Hara also took best actress in a comedy series. Chadwick Boseman, as expected, posthumously won best actor in a drama film for his final performance, in the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — a Netflix release. Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, tearfully, emotionally accepted the award. “He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices,” said Ledward. “He would say something beautiful, something inspiring.” Apple TV+ scored its first major award when a sweatshirt-clad Jason Sudeikis won best actor in a comedy series for the streamer's “Ted Lasso.” The NBC telecast began in split screen. Fey took the stage at New York's Rainbow Room while Poehler remained at the Globes' usual home at the Beverly Hilton. In their opening remarks, they managed their typically well-timed back-and-forth despite being almost 3,000 miles from each other. “I always knew my career would end with me wandering around the Rainbow Room pretending to talk to Amy," said Fey. “I just thought it would be later.” They appeared before masked attendees but no stars. Instead, the sparse tables — where Hollywood royalty are usually crammed together and plied with alcohol during the show — were occupied by “smoking-hot first responders and essential workers,” as Fey said. In a production nightmare but one that's become familiar during the pandemic, the night's first winner accepted his award while muted. Only after presenter Laura Dern apologized for the technical difficulties did Daniel Kaluuya, who won best supporting actor for his performance as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” get his speech in. When he finally came through, he waged his finger at the camera and said, “You're doing me dirty!" Pandemic improvising was only part of the damage control for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Globes. After The Los Angeles Times revealed that there are no Black members in the 87-person voting body of the HFPA, the press association came under mounting pressure to overhaul itself and better reflect the industry it holds sway in. This year, none of the most acclaimed Black-led films — “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “One Night in Miami,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Da 5 Bloods” — were nominated for the Globes’ best picture award. With the HFPA potentially fighting for its Hollywood life, Sunday's Globes were part apology tour. Fey and Poehler started in quickly on the issue. “Look, a lot of flashy garbage got nominated but that happens,” said Poehler. “That’s like their thing. But a number of Black actors and Black-led projects were overlooked.” Within the first half hour of the NBC telecast, members of the press association appeared on stage to pledge change. "We recognize we have our own work to do," said vice-president Helen Hoehne. “We must have Black journalists in our organization.” Whether those statements — along with a diverse group of winners — did enough to remedy anything remained unclear. The moment the show ended, Time's Up sent letters to both the HFPA and NBCUniveral demanding more than lip service. “The Globes are no longer golden. It’s time to act,” wrote Tina Tchen, the group's president. COVID-19 circumstances led to some award-show anomalies. Mark Ruffalo, appearing remotely, won best actor in a limited series for “I Know This Much Is True” with his kids celebrating behind him and his wife, Sunrise Coigney, sitting alongside. Lee Isaac Chung, writer-director of the tender Korean-American family drama “Minari" (a movie the HFPA was criticized for ruling ineligible for its top award because of its non-English dialogue), accepted the award for best foreign language film while his young daughter embraced him. “She's the reason I made this film,” said Chung. “'Minari' is about a family. It's a family trying to learn a language of its own. It goes deeper than any American language and any foreign language. It's a language of the heart," said Chung. “I'm trying to learn it myself and to pass it on." John Boyega, supporting actor winner for his performance in Steve McQueen's “Small Axe” anthology, raised his leg to show he was wearing track pants below his more elegant white jacket. Jodie Foster ("The Mauritanian") won one of the biggest surprise Globes, for best supporting actress in a film, while, sitting on the couch next her wife, Alexandra Hedison, and with her dog, Ziggy on her lap. Some speeches were pre-taped. The previously recorded speeches by Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the wining “Soul" score went without hiccup even though presenter Tracy Morgan first announced “Sal" as the winner. Even if speeches sometimes lacked drama without Hollywood gathered in one place, representation was a common refrain. Pointedly referring to the diversity of the HFPA, presenter and previous winner Sterling K. Brown began, “Thank you. It is great to be Black at the Golden Globes,” he said. “Back.” Jane Fonda, the Cecil B. DeMille Award honoree, spoke passionately about expanding the big tent of entertainment for all. “Art has always been not just in step in history but has lead the way,” said Fonda. “So let’s be leaders.” Other awards included Pixar's “Soul” for best animated film; Rosumund Pike took best actress in a comedy or musical film for “I Care a Lot"; Aaron Sorkin ("Trial of the Chicago 7") for best screenplay; and, in the night's biggest surprise, Andra Day ("The United States vs. Billie Holiday") for best actress in a drama, besting Carey Mulligan ("Promising Young Woman") and Frances McDormand ("Nomadland"). As showtime neared, the backlash over the HFPA threatened to overwhelm the Globes. Yet the Globes have persisted because of their popularity (the show ranks as the third most-watched award show, after the Oscars and Grammys), their profitability (NBC paid $60 million for broadcast rights in 2018) and because they serve as important marketing material for contending films and Oscar hopefuls. The Academy Awards will be held April 25. Jake Coyle, The Associated Press

  • Korda wins Gainbridge LPGA, Canadian Henderson finishes tied for 16th

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Jessica Korda opened the LPGA Tour season last month by winning the Tournament of Champions. On Sunday, it was Nelly's turn. Nelly Korda followed in big sister's footsteps with a three-shot victory that looked easier than it felt. She seized control with three birdies through six holes, closed with 12 pars and shot a 3-under 69 at Lake Nona to win the Gainbridge LPGA. “Yeah, Jess' win, I was like, ‘OK, I got to get one now,’" Korda said. “We were close that one year. She won in Thailand and I was leading in Singapore. But it's nice to get back-to-back Korda wins now.” More than just matching her sister, Korda won for the first time on American soil. The other three victories for 22-year-old Nelly were in Australia and twice in Taiwan. It also was the first time she won with her parents watching. Her father, Petr Korda, is a former Australian Open tennis champion. “I’ve had an amazing week and I made some clutch putts when I needed to and pulled it off,” Korda said. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a tie for 16th place. Henderson ended her tournament with a 6-under 282. On the other side of the course, Annika Sorenstam wrapped up her return after more than 12 years of retirement with a par on the ninth hole for a 76, finishing last among the 74 players who made the cut. The 50-year-old Swede was making this one-time appearance because Lake Nona has been her home course for two decades. “I'm just thankful being here, playing here and being able to make the cut,” Sorenstam said. “I think I never gave up, even though it was not really going my way and I wasn't hitting as well as I should be to be out here. The purpose was to get some tournament rounds, and I did that.” She has said she plans to play the U.S. Senior Women's Open this summer and she'll need to get sharp, though Sorenstam said preparing for that would not include another LPGA event. “I have so much respect for these players,” she said. Sorenstam finished 29 shots behind Korda, who won by three over Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko. Korda, who finished at 16-under 272, began the final round with a one-shot lead over rookie Patty Tavatanakit, the former UCLA star who fell back quickly and wound up with 74 to tie for fifth. There wasn't much drama on the final day. Korda made sure of that with a steady diet of pars and picking up enough birdies when she needed them. That doesn't mean it was easy. “Honestly, I did not play very good golf today, and I just stayed really solid,” Korda said. “I don’t even know what I did. It was definitely very stressful.” Ko, a former world No. 1 trying to end nearly three years without winning, had a 69. Thompson closed with a 68. Jin Young Ko, the current No. 1, took bogey on the par-5 second hole and dropped too many shots along the way to mount any sort of a rally. She shot 71 and finished fourth. ___ More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press

  • U.S. doubles down on protecting university research from China

    A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, is set to vote Monday on its final report to Congress. A new section on university research was added to a recently published final draft, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including competition in artificial intelligence and the semiconductor supply chain.

  • Sask Chamber CEO says positivity the key to growth

    Southeast Saskatchewan is growing, according to Sask Health numbers, particularly Moosomin and its surrounding areas. Over the last 10 years Moosomin has grown by 14.6 per cent and by 32 per cent over the last 15 years—surrounding municipalities have also either stayed about the same or grown. This isn’t the case outside the region, with other rural communities seeing a decrease in size in the last decade. Moosomin and its surrounding area have the benefit of the mining industry playing an important role in growth, but Sask Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan says there’s more to it than that. “There are some certain natural assets that have been capitalized on—like the oil sector, like the potash sector—but even within Moosomin’s geographic area, not every community has grown,” he said. “My assessment would be quite simple, Moosomin looks like a great place to live, and it is a great place to live, and that’s drawn people who will drive outside of the community to work elsewhere. It’s got those basic amenities, it’s got a hospital, it’s got a nice downtown, it’s got restaurants, it’s got hotels out on the highway, and it’s got a positive attitude. It looks like a winner and that’s what people want, so if it looks like a community that’s going backwards with how it looks and how it feels, then people won’t want to live there and they won’t stay there. “Moosomin has got those amenities that will keep people in the neighbourhood, rather than driving all the way to Yorkton and commuting to the mines, or driving from Carlyle to the oil sector. Moosomin has people who say, ‘I want to live in this town, it’s got everything I need and looks like a winner, I’d be wise to live here.’ All of amenities make a difference. There are different things to look for in a town—younger people want to make sure there’s things to do, places for their kids to skate, good schools that aren’t falling apart and at risk of closing, and as they get older they want to make sure there’s a healthcare facility that will look after them. Everybody wants to know that there’s decent retail that will give me all the products that I need and at easy access. “I think we’re going to see places like Moosomin become even bigger and grow even faster as smaller towns who can’t fit that bill start to decrease in population,” he said. “The only exception will be smaller communities that are near a lake or something that has a draw like that, but I think Moosomin will always be a very popular and lively growing community.” McLellan also thinks publicizing the assets a town has plays a key role in attracting people from surrounding areas and building buzz about the community. “The reality of it is, not only do you have to have those things, but you have to tell people that you have them,” he said. “For example, the skate way that Moosomin has in town, I saw in an issue of the paper. Those things make a difference, that’s good exposure. Everyone that is relatively new to town and even those who have been around a while, when they’re on the phone or on a Zoom with someone living elsewhere and they say, ‘what did you do this week?’ and one person from another community says, ‘I’m bored as can be,’ and the Moosomin person says, ‘we went skate,’ or even if they didn’t go on it, they know about it because it’s been covered so well and they’ve got plans to use it. “Not every town has someone out there to let everybody know that they have these things. That’s a part of the responsibility, but also the opportunity of a community newspaper to make sure people know all these assets and keep remind them because you might not be a skater today, but in two weeks when you’re as bored as can be and want to get outside you’ll go downtown buy a pair of skates and figure out you love skating because you haven’t done it in thirty years. All those things are part of what keeps communities vibrant and keeps people in those communities.” Continuity in the community between the town council, economic development officer, rec department, business leaders, and everybody in-between is paramount for promoting growth and ensuring strong involvement says McLellan. “They need to get active,” he said. “Growth is not accidental and very seldom is it totally organic. It’s intentional, Moosomin’s economic development folks have been active to invite companies like Canalta to come to town. The town has worked very closely with the mines and the oil company to make sure what they need is available and that they feel welcome in the community. It’s absolutely an intentional outcome and if you’re not intentional, strategic, and co-ordinated in how you do that. “Whether it’s the rec board working with the economic development board or local chamber helping to identify new opportunities and celebrate new businesses, but it has to be a co-ordinated effort without it being overly organized. It’s got to be intentional and communities that are sitting on their heels saying, ‘jeez, poor us,’ they’ll continue to go down because nobody wants to be part of that attitude and it’s a long way often from a negative attitude to a positive growth rate—there’s a direct link between the two.” If a rural area is to thrive, McLellan believes it has everything to do with the collective positivity of the townspeople and he says that starts at the top with community leaders and it trickles down. “Even to the young person that works at the gas station, when someone drives through and they say, ‘welcome to Moosomin!’ or something that just shows the positive attitude, that matters,” he said. “If they’re driving across the country and they stop at 20 gas stations, which is the one they remember? Those sorts of goodwill assets are certainly useful and again, when you drive through it, it looks like a town you want to live in and that’s the attitude Moosomin projects. “It has potential with surrounding industries—there’s a lot of work that has made it so successful—but I think it will continue because of the collective will. Moosomin’s local chamber is very active, the economic development folks work well, and there’s good leadership at the municipal level and certainly the MLA, Steven Bonk, is a champion for the Moosomin area and the province. All of those things combined, like I say, there’s a direct line between a negative attitude and negative growth.” Something McLellan sees as a quick fix is help from the provincial and federal government. He believes if the change doesn’t start from within the community then assistance from outside of it won’t have a lasting impact. “It has to start with the communities,” he said. “The worst thing and the shortest term success would be a government grant that helped the community do something. It has to start internally and the only way for it to be sustainable is for it to be done that way. If the municipality puts money into it, then that’s great because it’s your own community. The province can’t give you a grant that creates a positive environment, they can give you a grant to help strategy, but it’s much better done if it’s done at the municipal level. “They can assist things, like making sure there’s a program to have a senior centre built where there’s community shared ownership or fundraising, they can make sure they’re very careful on determination of healthcare services and how those facilities are funded, and they can certainly have a bigger stake—as can the private sector—in things like infrastructure for internet. Those types of things make life in a smaller community different, not more challenging, but different if indeed things like access to internet or business or kids learning are harder to access in rural Saskatchewan—the province has a role in helping there, but I don’t think they have a direct role in making people more positive. “You need to want to come together as a community and when you do that, you don’t need a grant, you just need a group of committed individuals and great things will happen. All the provincial or federal government can give you is a temporary high,” he said. “It needs to be sustainable because otherwise you become a one hit wonder and people may say, ‘oh my gosh this is good, I’m going to move there,’ and then they get there and there’s no positivity. Even elected leadership can be ambassadors for it, but you need people who aren’t on council to help produce events and celebrate great things that are happening in the community. “Delegates can do that, they should recognize the good things Moosomin is doing and congratulate the town and expansion, and they do that through people like Steven Bonk. But other than that, I’d argue, it has got to be at the grassroots level for it to be sustainable because it’s not a short-term high you’re looking for.” Rob Paul, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator

  • Brace becomes general duty constable

    Trina Brace has been keeping a close eye on crime prevention in Moosomin for the past four years through the Community Constable program, and has now become a full general duty constable with the RCMP Through the Community Constable program, Brace worked on keeping crime down in the community, but over the years she worked towards a bigger role. “The Community Constable Program was sort of a new pilot program that was initiated about six years ago,” Brace explained. “It will be five years in February when I finished the training, what it is a program that is similar to the regular cadet program with a little bit more focus on crime prevention and community policing. So I did that and I was the community constable here in Moosomin since March 2016 until just this week when I converted over to being a General Duty Constable.” The program requires applicants to spend 23 weeks in Regina at the RCMP training academy as well as having to meet several other requirements before being considered for the role. It was in Saskatoon that she first started with her enforcement career, working as a Customs Officer before using that to make her way into the Community Constable program. “We moved to Moosomin in 2005 and prior to that we lived in Saskatoon and I was a Customs Officer in Saskatoon for a number of years, so that’s how I started out.” Despite taking on a new role in Moosomin, Brace explains that she will still be keeping an eye on crime preventionand community policing. While her horizons have expanded and she will be taking part in additional investigations and enforcement, she will always keep an eye on the community. “My role doesn’t change a whole lot, except that as a Community Constable my mandate was to focus on crime prevention and community policing and then everything else kind of came secondary. And now I’m just the same as everybody else and I’m just a general duty investigator,” Brace explained. “Community policing is still a part of my role.” Brace said she is looking forward to working more in this new position. Her new position will see additional duties on top of what she used to do as well as continuing some old duties as well. Spencer Kemp, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator

  • 'We crushed the goal': Orangeville food bank gets big boost from Coldest Night of the Year

    Fundraising efforts for this year’s Coldest Night of the Year have surpassed expectations. The Orangeville Food Bank had set a goal to raise $65,000 through the virtual-only fundraiser Feb. 20. Instead, it brought in $77,544. “We crushed the goal,” said Savanaha O'Reilly, food manager for the Orangeville Food Bank. “We thought, since the pandemic, we wouldn’t get a good of a turnout as we have in the past with it being virtual, but the community as always has surprised us." About 249 walkers signed up, with 47 teams registered. The top three teams were the Care Bears, raising $7,450, Marching Marks with $5,690, and the Young and the Rest of Us contributing $4,627. The Care Bears represented Orangeville District Secondary School. “We had a lot of support from the schools, not just the food drive, but with Coldest Night of the Year now,” said O’Reilly. “They blew our minds, and we didn’t expect that at all.” Those registered could join in on a two-kilometre walk or a distanced five-kilometre walk covering most of the town. Adult walkers who raised $150 and children contributing $75 received a commemorative tuque as a sign of appreciation from the organization. Participants were encouraged to raise money for charities serving people experiencing homelessness, hurt and hunger. The Orangeville food bank serves 700 people a month, 35 per cent of them children. “We have continued to see an increase in clients,” said “O’Reilly. “We are seeing people we haven’t seen before.” They state seniors continue to be the fastest-growing demographic each year. The organization receives no annual provincial or federal funding and is primarily supported by the community. Funds raised will support the food bank operations, including fresh food purchases, gardening programs, seniors' markets, food packages for children, and the community food share initiative. Joshua Santos, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Orangeville Banner

  • Atlético Madrid wins again, stays 5 points ahead in Spain

    MADRID — Atlético Madrid got back to winning on Sunday, beating Villarreal 2-0 to halt its slump and restore a five-point lead at the top of the Spanish league. An own-goal by Alfonso Pedraza in the first half and a goal by forward João Félix in the second helped Atlético end a three-game winless streak and rebuild its lead over second-place Barcelona, which won 2-0 at fourth-place Sevilla on Saturday. Atlético has a game in hand compared to the Catalan club. Third-place Real Madrid can get back to within three points of Atlético on Monday with a win against fifth-place Real Sociedad at home. Madrid will have played one more game more than Atlético. Atlético hosts Madrid in the city derby next Sunday. Diego Simeone's team was coming off a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. It also lost 2-0 to Levante at home in the Spanish league, and had previously drawn with Levante in a league match postponed from the second round because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It was a very important victory,” Atlético defender Stefan Savic said. “We were coming off a bad streak of results and the team responded well. That’s what makes me happy.” It was Atlético's first clean sheet after eight matches, which had marked the team's worst streak conceding goals since Simeone arrived in late 2011. Unai Emery's Villarreal, winless in six consecutive Spanish league games, dropped to seventh place. Atlético went ahead in the 25th minute after Savic's header was saved by Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo but the ball ricocheted off Pedraza and went in. The goal was initially disallowed for offside but later confirmed by video review. Félix, who recently was sidelined for testing positive for COVID-19, scored his first goal since January with a low shot from inside the area in the 69th. The Portugal forward, who came off the bench after halftime, celebrated profusely and put a finger to his mouth, as if asking someone to be quiet. It wasn't clear to whom he was sending a message. MURILLO SCORES LATE Colombian defender Jeison Murillo scored in the final minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Celta Vigo against relegation-threatened Valladolid. Murillo netted the equalizer with a header from a set piece taken by Iago Aspas in the fourth minute of added time. Fabián Orellana had opened the scoring for the hosts in the 70th. The result extended Valladolid's winless streak in the league to eight matches. The team owned by former Brazil great Ronaldo stayed just outside the relegation zone with 22 points from 25 matches. Celta, which has one win in its last 10 matches in all competitions, was in 11th place with 30 points from 25. OTHER RESULTS Eighth-place Granada ended a six-match winless streak by beating second-to-last-place Elche 2-1 at home. Earlier, Juanmi Jiménez scored in the 84th as Real Betis won 1-0 at Cádiz. It was the third win in a row for Betis, which moved to sixth. Cádiz, winless in seven consecutive league games, is three points from the relegation zone. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press

  • For manga's striving artists, success lurks online

    Manga artist Kamentotsu didn't expect much when he uploaded a four-panel strip about an anthropomorphic bear who runs a cake shop to his Twitter account three years ago. "Publishing company editors have gone from bringing up manga artists, like they are farming, to hunting for them," said Kamentotsu, who goes by his pen name and wears a mask in media appearances. For Japan's striving manga artists, many of whom toil in obscurity for low pay, that means going viral can be life changing.

  • What Trudeau said about vaccines, Saudi Arabia and Keystone XL on NBC's Meet the Press

    (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press - image credit) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commended U.S. President Joe Biden on getting the United States to re-engage with its allies during a wide-ranging interview on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that touched on everything from COVID-19 vaccines, Saudi Arabia and the Keystone XL pipeline. "I think certainly there were things that were more challenging under the previous administration in terms of moving the dial in the right direction on the international stage," Here are some of the other key moments from Trudeau's Meet the Press appearance. Vaccine rollout less than ideal Trudeau conceded that Canada's COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been slow. "We all want this pandemic to be over yesterday and to vaccinate everyone as quickly as possible," Trudeau told Todd. The U.S., in contrast, is outpacing its northern neighbour in terms of administering vaccines — but there have been challenges as well. "But we're confident that in the coming weeks, hundreds of thousands of vaccines every week, millions into the coming months," Trudeau said. "We are going to have everyone vaccinated probably by the end of the summer. And that is something that we're very positive and excited about." WATCH | Trudeau admits Canada's vaccine effort has lagged: Trudeau calls Saudi Arabia a business partner, not ally Todd brought up the 2018 murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi after a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday said Saudi Arabia's crown prince likely approved the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The public blaming of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely to set the tone for the new administration's relationship with a country Biden has criticized, but which the White House also regards in some contexts as a strategic partner. When asked if Saudi Arabia was an ally to Canada, Trudeau said no. He said it is, however, "a country we do business with." "They're a country that we continually advocate for greater transparency, greater human rights protection of women, of activists. There are a lot of challenges." WATCH | Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder, U.S. intelligence report says: While Canada did freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia following Khashoggi's killing, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called on the federal government to stop selling light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. 'Moving forward' after Keystone XL decision One of Biden's first moves after taking office on Jan. 20 was to revoke the permit for Calgary-based TC Energy's Keystone XL oil pipeline. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called the decision "a gut punch for the Canadian and Alberta economies." In a letter sent to Trudeau, Kenney also accused the prime minister of not advocating hard enough for the project. CBC News reached out to Kenney's office on Sunday for comment on Trudeau's remarks on Meet the Press. "I think it's fairly clear that the U.S. administration has made its decision on that, and we're much more interested in ensuring that we're moving forward in ways that are good for both of our countries," Trudeau said, though he also called the decision a disappointment. "But when you talk about clean energy and hydro-electricity from Canada, when we talk about what we can do around smarter grids, what we can do around electric vehicles and transportation. There is so much we spoke about earlier this week and so much we're going to continue to do together," he said, referring to his bilateral meeting with Biden on Feb 22. Working with U.S. to free detained Canadians in China The two leaders also emerged from their meeting with a renewed pledge to free two Canadians currently imprisoned in China. Trudeau told Todd that Canada's current relationship with China is "deeply coloured" by the arbitrary detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. He accused China of holding Kovrig and Spavor in order to pressure the Canadian government into releasing Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver in line with an extradition treaty with the U.S. WATCH | China needs to release detained Canadians 'immediately,' top U.S. diplomat says: "The conversation I had with President Biden earlier this week was very positive in us working together to try and resolve this situation and hold China to account," Trudeau said.

  • Many exemptions to Manitoba quarantine order

    The Government of Manitoba has in place a public health order putting restrictions on interprovincial travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The public health order requires all non-essential travellers that are entering or returning to Manitoba to go into self-isolation for 14 days. The province is strongly encouraging those who make interprovincial travel to get two Covid-19 tests—one on the day of arrival and another on the seventh day in the province. Along with the public health order, there are exemptions that allow non-essential travellers to avoid having to quarantine for two weeks. “There will continue to be exemptions for people who regularly travel to and from communities near the borders for essential purposes,” a provincial spokesperson told the World-Spectator. “Further details about interprovincial essential worker travel, border town travel and those travelling to neighbouring communities where they own property will be available later in the week when the formal orders are released. As in the spring, exemptions will be made and will be outlined when the orders are released.” The 14 day self-isolation exemptions for travellers entering or returning to Manitoba that do not have symptoms includes: Health care providers. Persons transporting goods and materials into or out of the province. Aircraft and train crew members. Persons providing vital services (i.e. police officers, emergency service personnel, corrections officers, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, social service workers and elected officials and their staffs). Persons travelling directly through the province if they only stop in Manitoba to obtain gasoline, food or other necessities. Persons travelling into Manitoba for emergency medical purposes. Persons travelling into Manitoba to facilitate shared parenting arrangements. Players, coaches, managers, training and technical staff and medical personnel employed by, or affiliated with, a professional sports team based in Manitoba. Cast, crew and other persons directly involved in a film production. Persons who reside outside of Manitoba and are responsible for construction or maintenance of critical infrastructure. Manitoba residents who regularly cross the provincial border for work, attend school, access health services, tend to their property or business or for other essential purposes if they restrict their travel to the minimum required for the purpose of their visit and limit their use of local services. Persons who reside outside of Manitoba and are engaged in construction or maintenance of any building, structure or other project in Manitoba and the failure to complete the project would create a threat to people, property and the environment. Persons travelling to Manitoba to participate in a trial or other judicial proceedings. Travellers who have completed a period of isolation elsewhere in Canada and travel directly to Manitoba immediately after their isolation period ends. Persons traveling to Manitoba to visit a family member or friend in a health care facility with a life-threatening illness or injury must self-isolate for 14 days but can visit their friend or family member in the isolation period if the health care facility authorizes the visit and the person visiting is not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19. Persons traveling to Manitoba to attend a funeral of a family member or friend must self-isolate for 14 days, but can attend the funeral during the self-isolation period to attend the funeral if they are not displaying ay symptoms of COVID-19. Persons traveling to Manitoba to care for a seriously ill family member or friend must self-isolate for 14 days. However, if the person is not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, they can complete their required isolation at the residence of the seriously ill person and provide care to that individual, or can provide care to that individual during the isolation period. In the early spring of 2020, Manitoba issued a similar health order and originally had police officers at border crossings to inform travellers of the Covid rules. As of Friday, January 29, there was nobody patrolling the border, nor signage regarding the public health order. Despite the province recently loosening some lockdown restrictions—that has allowed for some businesses to re-open at a lesser capacity—Manitoba remains in code red. Rob Paul, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator

  • Financial literacy class introduced in McNaughton High School in Moosomin

    Students at McNaughton High School in Moosomin are being offered the opportunity to further their knowledge when it comes to financial literacy through the Financial Literacy 20 course being offered for the first time this semester. From loans to credit scores, teachers Paul Stillman and Tegan Matichuk are helping students in Grade 11 and 12 prepare for adult life. “It’s looking at how we can make our knowledge and understanding not just the mathematics side of finance, but more so moving into the decision making and goal-setting sides of finance,” Matichuk explained. “We’re looking to give kids a bit of a foundation into things like credit, and investing and saving, and even a little bit into the idea of renting versus owning.” She says the course is not just informing kids through a curriculum, but also answering the questions the students might have. She noted that the students have asked many questions about saving and long term financing for items such as vehicles and houses. “It’s not that it’s never been taught, but it’s hard for students to take the mathematics of finance, which has been taught since grade 9 where we calculated interest,” she explained. “The mathematics has always been taught, but we’re expanding that and looking into how it impacts your wellness and your lifestyle.” She added that in the course they not only just talk about the numbers involved when it comes to finances, but also how it might impact your mental health as well as ways to work around that impact. Matichuk noted a difference in questions being asked between the Grade 11 class and the Grade 12 class. She noted the Grade 12 class asking questions about the immediate future, about paying for college or university while the Grade 11 class focused more on questions regarding loans for vehicles or for houses. The course not only covers finances themselves, but also dips its toes into the potential careers based around financial jobs, according to Matichuk. “We’ve kind of sat down and did a bit of surveying with our students to see which areas and which modules they were wanting to learn the most about,” Matichuk explained. After having surveyed the class, the students expressed the most interest in investing and saving with budgeting being another large concern of theirs. Matichuk explained that thanks to the survey, they are more well prepared with what they need to teach their students. So far around 44 stu sdents have signed up for the course, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they have had to split the class in two with one half being taught by Matichuk and the other half being taught by Stillman. “We’ve divided for a couple of reasons. Because of our COVID protocols we’re keeping our Grade 11 students together and our Grade 12 students in Mr Stillman’s class,” Matichuk added. Despite being the same course, Matichuk notes that they are two completely different classes due to the difference in concerns between the Grade 11 class and the Grade 12 class. “It does give a different perspective, because Grade 12 are five months potentially from moving away from home, going to university, or joining the work-force full time,” she said. This is the first semester the Financial Literacy 20 course has been made available. Spencer Kemp, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator

  • Bathing suit toboggan ride on Saturday to raise funds for Special Olympics Dufferin

    A father and son duo will take to the hills in freezing temperatures for charity this Saturday - and they'll be doing so without the benefit of proper winter wear. Brad Brown and his son will toboggan down Murray’s Mountain Park wearing bathing suits at noon. The challenge is part of the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Ontario in his bathing suit. “I jumped in cold water already in the middle of February,” said Brown. “My son has done it too. Last year was his first time jumping in the pool.” Brown is one of the basketball coaches for Special Olympics Dufferin. He is also involved in curling and bocce ball. His son is also an autistic athlete. Brown and his colleagues, of about four coaches, participated in various activities. As a group, they set a goal of $3,000 and raised $3,500. Brown set a goal of $300 himself and has surpassed that amount with $460. His son raised $430 himself as well. About 70 per cent of the funds raised will be sent to Special Olympics Dufferin, with the remaining 30 per cent to the parent organization, Special Olympics Ontario. Other participants plunged into a water body, such as a lake or river, to raise awareness and funds for the campaign. Some of his colleagues, the other coaches, have opted to plunge at a lake elsewhere. He couldn’t go deciding to do a different activity. Those registered for a polar plunge of their own will receive a polar plunge toque with a $30 registration fee. Those who raised $100 will receive a commemorative long-sleeve shirt. Those who raised $500 will get you a YETI 26-ounce bottle with a triple haul cap, the top individual fundraiser, Special Olympics athlete, and volunteer fundraiser gets an Xbox One. The most creative video plunge gets a weighted blanket. The park has “use at your own risk” signs in place, redacting a previous ban on tobogganing altogether. Brown would usually participate in the annual event in Shelburne, but he decided to do it close to home with no end in sight with the pandemic here. “We normally do it in Shelburne, as a big group, but because of COVID, everybody is back home and told to do it virtually and do what you can,” said Brown. “I don’t have a pool or anything, so we decided we’re going to toboggan in our bathing suits.” Polar plunges began on Feb. 1 and ran until Feb. 28. To take part in the fundraising effort, visit www.polarplunge.ca. Joshua Santos, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Orangeville Banner

  • From lockdowns to spring break, provinces split on next steps in COVID-19 fight

    Canada's COVID-19 hotspots showed diverging approaches to handling the crisis on Sunday, as Ontario and Prince Edward Island prepared for new lockdowns while Quebec entered a week of spring break complete with some activities meant to ease the monotony of life during a global pandemic.Prince Edward Island announced it was entering a 72-hour lockdown starting at midnight as the province struggled to contain an outbreak of COVID-19.The short-term public health order was announced as officials reported five new infections of the disease in a province that has seen few cases for most of the pandemic. The Island has now recorded 17 new infections over the past five days. Health officials identified two clusters of COVID-19 in the cities of Summerside and Charlottetown, and said it’s possible the island has community spread of the virus. The province has a total of just 132 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.The three-day lockdown requires residents to stay home as much as possible and will close all kindergarten to Grade 12 schools, with post-secondary education moving online only."We would rather go harder and stronger now than wait for an outbreak like we have seen in other provinces that could put us in an extended period of lockdown for weeks or even months," Premier Dennis King said late Sunday during a briefing with reporters.Ontario, meanwhile, passed the 300,000 case mark on Sunday as the government prepared to hit a so-called 'emergency brake' in two northern public health units grappling with surging case numbers.The Thunder Bay and Simcoe-Muskoka District health units will enter the lockdown phase of the province's pandemic response plan on Monday in order interrupt transmission of COVID-19 at a time when new variants are gaining steam.The province has also pushed back its spring break until April in an effort to limit community spread.Quebec, in contrast, has allowed movie theatres, pools and arenas to open with restrictions in place to give families something to do as the traditional winter break kicks off, even as most other health rules remain in place.The province opted to allow students and teachers the traditional March break, even though Premier Francois Legault has said he's worried about the week off and the threat posed by more contagious virus variants. Quebec's health minister said the situation in the province was stable on Sunday, with 737 new cases and nine additional deaths — even as confirmed cases linked to variants of concern jumped by more than 100 to 137.Most of the variant cases have been identified as the B.1.1.7 mutation first identified in the United Kingdom, including 84 in Montreal.Ontario, meanwhile, reported 1,062 new infections linked to the pandemic on Sunday as it became the first province to record more than 300,000 total cses of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.The country's chief public health officer urged Canadians on Sunday to continue following public health measures as a way of buying critical time as vaccine programs ramp up."Aiming to have the fewest interactions with the fewest number of people, for the shortest time, at the greatest distance possible is a simple rule that we can all apply to help limit the spread of COVID-19," Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement.Canada's immunization program received a boost last week with the approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine, raising hopes that provinces will be able to inoculate their most vulnerable populations before the more contagious variants can fully take hold.Toronto announced Sunday that it was expanding the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive to include residents experiencing homelessness, noting that they have a higher risk of serious health impacts due to COVID-19 and are vulnerable to transmission in congregate settings.Quebec, meanwhile, is set to begin vaccination of the general population on Monday, beginning with seniors 80 and over in the Montreal area, or 85 and over in the rest of the province.While some regions with extra doses began administering shots late last week, the pace of inoculation will ramp up on Monday when mass vaccination clinics in Montreal throw open their doors.Case counts were more stable elsewhere in the country. Manitoba reported just 50 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday and two new virus-related deaths, while Saskatchewan saw its overall tally climb by 181 but did not log any new deaths.Alberta reported three new virus-related deaths and 301 new infections, including 29 identified as variants of concern. In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia logged three new cases while officials in Newfoundland and Labrador reported seven. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2021 Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

  • AP FACT CHECK: Trump clings to his core election falsehoods

    WASHINGTON — Donald Trump clung to his core election falsehoods in his first post-presidential speech, wrongly blamed wind power for the catastrophic power failures in Texas and revived a variety of the baseless claims that saturated his time in office, on immigration, the economy and more. A look at Trump's remarks Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference: WIND POWER TRUMP, assailing Democrats on energy policy: "The windmill calamity that we’re witnessing in Texas ... it’s so sad when you look at it. That will just be the start.” TRUMP, on President Joe Biden: "He wants windmills. ... The windmills that don’t work when you need them.” THE FACTS: “Windmill calamity” is a false characterization. The power outages during the severe February storm in Texas were primarily due to failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems, not wind and solar. Those traditional sources were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid. ERCOT reported that of the 45,000 total megawatts of power that were offline statewide during the winter storm, about 30,000 consisted of thermal sources — gas, coal and nuclear plants — and 16,000 came from renewable sources. Wind only supplies about a quarter of the electricity in Texas. “It’s not like we were relying on it to ride us through this event,” Joshua Rhodes, a research associate at the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin, said of wind power. “Nor would it have been able to save us even if it were operating at 100% capacity right now. We just don’t have enough of it.” Wind power comes from turbines, not windmills. Windmills grind grain. Trump always gets that wrong. ___ ELECTION TRUMP: “Had we had a fair election, the results would’ve been much different." TRUMP: "You cannot have a situation where ballots are indiscriminately pouring in from all over the country ... where illegal aliens and dead people are voting.” TRUMP: “This election was rigged and the Supreme Court and other courts didn’t want to do anything about it.” TRUMP on Democrats: “They just lost the White House. ... I may even decide to beat them for a third time.” THE FACTS: All of this is flatly wrong, except it is true that the high court did not intervene, because the justices — Trump nominees among them — saw no reason to. Biden won the election. It was run and counted fairly. His victory was affirmed in Congress, with Trump's vice-president presiding over the process in the Senate, in the hours after the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection by a mob stoked by Trump. Trump’s allegations of massive voting fraud were either refuted or brushed off as groundless by a variety of judges, state election officials, an arm of his own administration’s Homeland Security Department, and his own attorney general. His campaign’s lawsuits across the country were thrown out of court or otherwise came to nothing. No case established irregularities of a scale that would change the outcome — no flood of dead people voting or ballots “indiscriminately pouring in from all over the country." Biden earned 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, the same margin that Trump had when he beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, which he repeatedly described as a “landslide.” (Trump ended up with 304 electoral votes because two electors defected.) ___ IMMIGRATION TRUMP, on foreign countries that are the source of migrants to the U.S.: "They're not giving us their best and their finest.” THE FACTS: This falsehood goes way back in the Trump administration. Foreign countries do not select people to send to the U.S. That is not at all how immigration works. He is referring to the diversity visa lottery program, although he did not identify it as such in these remarks. As president, Trump routinely assailed the program, mischaracterizing it as one in which other countries pick out undesirable citizens to send to the U.S. The U.S. government runs the visa program and foreigners who want to come to the U.S. apply for it. The program requires applicants to have completed a high school education or have at least two years of experience in the last five years in a selection of fields identified by the Labor Department. Out of that pool of people from certain countries who meet those conditions, the State Department randomly selects a much smaller pool of winners. Not all winners will have visas ultimately approved. It's not a pipeline for countries to send their troublemakers to the U.S. ___ CHINA TRUMP: “We took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China during my administration. They never gave us 10 cents.” THE FACTS: False and false, and very familiar. It’s false to say the U.S. never collected a dime in tariffs on Chinese goods before he took action. They are simply higher in some cases than they were before. It’s also wrong to say the tariffs are being paid by China. Tariff money coming into the treasury is mainly from U.S. businesses and consumers, not from China. Tariffs are primarily if not entirely a tax paid domestically. ___ ECONOMY TRUMP: “We built the strongest economy in the history of the world.” THE FACTS: No, the numbers show it wasn’t the greatest in U.S. history, much less in the history of the world. He was actually the first president since Herbert Hoover in the Depression to leave office with fewer jobs than when he started. The U.S. did have the most jobs on record before the pandemic, but population growth explains part of that. The 3.5% unemployment rate before the pandemic-induced recession was at a half-century low, but the percentage of people working or searching for jobs was still below a 2000 peak. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer looked at Trump’s economic growth record. Growth under Trump averaged 2.48% annually before the pandemic, only slightly better than the 2.41% gains achieved during Barack Obama’s second term. By contrast, the economic expansion that began in 1982 during Ronald Reagan’s presidency averaged 4.2% a year. ___ Yen reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck Hope Yen And Calvin Woodward, The Associated Press

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