Kerry Vincent, a judge on “Food Network Challenge” and the host of “Save My Bakery," died on Jan. 2 from an illness. She was 75.
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.
MILAN — No traffic jams, no rush to the next venue, no front rows — not even socially distanced. Milan Fashion Week is unfolding entirely on computer screens and social media platforms this round for the first time ever, as the persistent virus resurgence dashed any hopes of even a handful of physical shows. Luxury is in an enforced period of evolution in this new world order of rotating lockdowns, where virtually no one has anywhere to go. So it was a mostly captive audience that flocked to social media by the hundreds of thousands (and counting as the shows live on virtually) to watch Milan designers unveil new menswear collections for next winter, which, vaccines willing, may see a return to in-person shopping. In its digitally conceived preview, Prada on Sunday introduced the new anti-uniform that speaks to our new intimacy in our ever-tighter circles: luxury long-johns. The first menswear collection by the Miuccia Prada-Raf Simons collaboration announced almost a year ago was unveiled on a runway traversing spaces clad in soft faux fur in purple, celeste and scarlet. Skinny men in tight knit union suits in graphic architecture-inspired patterns grooved in outtakes spliced into the runway show. The union suits emphasized both the human body and freedom, elements fundamental to the collection, the designers said in notes. They were worn tightly under oversized coats and huge V-neck sweaters, or as a layer of comfort under a work suit, should the occasion arise. “It is not often we find in fashion something that's so flexible, with so many facets,” Prada said in a video conversation with international fashion students. “With one piece you can express so many things, leaving open many possibilities.” The designers said their still-new collaboration was based on the principle: if the other didn’t like an idea, it gets dropped. Or the other is won over, which was the case with Prada accepting pinstripes she has long loathed. “What I think is good, is the possibility to change my mind,’’ Prada said. The show, like others, was broadcast on a maxi-screen in the heart of Milan’s shopping district. But with the city and region around it plunged into yet another partial lockdown on Sunday, the previews attracted little notice. What energy was missing from the streets of Milan was recouped on social media. Fendi, Etro and outdoor brand Kway intended physical shows with guests, but had to scale back to closed-door runways. Dolce&Gabbana cancelled, saying the restrictions in place wouldn't have allowed the necessary conditions for them to show. Fendi's collection, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, featured quilted pieces made for easy layering, in the spirit of comfort and cocooning. Etro's paisley took on a casual flair, in silky tops or baggy trousers paired with crossbody bags and baseball caps. Kway's rain slickers, trenches and parkas got their fashion cred from streaks bright colour and varied silhouettes. Now, more than ever, as people have more time at home to consider how they want to present themselves to the world, fashion is less about trends, and more about individuality. “Everybody should follow themselves," Prada said. “That for me is crucial, and fundamental. Clothes are an expression of your idea, of your personality ... The clothes are at the service of your life, of the person.” Colleen Barry, The Associated Press
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
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
LIVERPOOL, England — Manchester United stayed top of the Premier League after drawing 0-0 on Sunday with Liverpool and extending the champion's winless run to four matches. Liverpool hasn't gone as long without a win since 2017, but Jürgen Klopp's team still maintained its unbeaten record at Anfield since the same year thanks to Alisson Becker's late saves from Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba. “We had two great chances and two great saves," United captain Harry Maguire said. “It was cagey but it was two good teams matching up. We found it difficult in the first half to get a rhythm to the game, the press was high." Thiago Alcantara’s long-range effort was well saved by United goalkeeper David De Gea in the 78th minute as Liverpool failed to score for a third successive match. Liverpool, which had a makeshift defence due to injuries, stayed three points behind United, which is chasing its first title since 2013. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
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
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.
Retired general told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live he wants to see everyone who wants a vaccine get one by late July or early August.
Ottawa is reporting 123 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death on Sunday. The city's seven-day average continues to drop, however, despite another single-day case total in the triple digits. Today's Ottawa update Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recorded 123 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death Sunday. The health authority also declared 134 more cases resolved. The city's death toll now sits at 403. The infection rate in Ottawa has risen to record levels since around Christmas, prompting OPH to declare the city is once again in a COVID-19 crisis. The current lockdown in eastern Ontario went into effect Dec. 26, and is now scheduled to last until Feb. 11. A provincial stay-at-home order is also in effect. Numbers to watch 85.6: The number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Ottawa residents, down from Saturday. 1.03: The average number of people infected by a single COVID-19 case, or R(t), has been in gradual decline this month but increased slightly since Saturday. OPH aims to keep the number below one. 4.1%: Ottawa's average test positivity percentage, down from 4.5 per cent. Across the region Another 22 cases were confirmed in western Quebec Sunday, as well as three new deaths. Quebec's lockdown lasts until Feb. 8. It includes an 8 p.m. curfew that went into effect last weekend. Seven new cases were recorded by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.
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
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
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. has navigated a half-century in American politics by relentlessly positioning himself at the core of the Democratic Party. Wherever that power centre shifted, there Biden has been, whether as the young senator who opposed court-order busing in school integration cases or the soon-to-be 46th president pitching an agenda on par with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. The common thread through that evolution is Biden always pitching himself as an institutionalist -- a mainstream liberal but also a pragmatist who still insists that governing well depends on compromise and consensus. Now Biden’s central political identity faces the ultimate trial. On Wednesday, the 78-year-old president-elect will inherit stewardship of a nation wrenched by pandemic, seismic cultural fissures and an opposition party’s base that considers him illegitimate, even to the point of President Donald Trump’s supporters violently attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress convened to certify Biden’s victory. Biden's answer follows two tracks: defending the fabric of society and institutions of government that Trump’s tenure has stressed and calling for sweeping legislative action. His agenda includes an initial $1.9 trillion pandemic response, along with proposed overhauls for health care, taxation, infrastructure, education, criminal justice, the energy grid and climate policy. “A message of unity. A message of getting things done,” Ron Klain, his incoming White House chief of staff, explained Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union.” The first approach, rooted in Biden’s campaign pledge to “restore the soul of the nation,” netted a record 81 million votes in the election. In his Nov. 7 victory speech, Biden called that coalition “the broadest and most diverse in history” and framed it as evidence Americans are ready to “lower the temperature” and “heal.” Biden’s second, policy-based approach, however, still must confront a hyperpartisan age and a closely divided Congress. The outcome will determine the reach of Biden’s presidency and further test the lifetime politician’s ability to evolve and meet events. “We can’t have a claim to want to heal the nation if what people mean is just having the right tone and being able to pat one another on the back,” said the Rev. William Barber, a leading social justice advocate who has personally pushed Biden to prioritize the marginalized and poor of all races. “Real healing of the nation,” Barber said, “must be dealing with the sickness in the body of the nation caused by policy, by racism, by polity.” Activists such as Barber represent just one of many flanks surrounding Biden. Republicans are clear they won’t passively ratify Biden’s responses to the pandemic or deep-seated problems that came before it: institutional racism, widening wealth gaps, the climate crisis. The Democratic Party isn’t marching in lockstep, either, as progressives, liberals and moderates dicker over details. “I wouldn’t expect big, sweeping change,” said Michael Steel, once a top aide to former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Democrats will control a 50-50 Senate with Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote as presiding officer. But the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold for major legislation remains. Biden’s longtime friend, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is the House speaker, but presides over a diminished Democratic majority and slim margin for error. Harris framed the stakes Sunday, telling “CBS Sunday Morning” that the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 “was an exposure of the vulnerability of our democracy.” John Anzalone, Biden’s campaign pollster, noted in a recent interview that Biden won with a message spanning ideology. Some voters “may not believe in his politics. But they believe in him,” Anzalone said. “They believe in his compassion and they believe in, quite frankly, his leadership skills.” Anzalone loosely compared Biden's appeal to Ronald Reagan's. Reagan was a hero of movement conservatives yet drew support from a wide swath of “Reagan Democrats” to win the presidency in 1980 amid economic and international instability. By extension, Reagan could count on support or at least good faith from many Democrats on Capitol Hill, most notably then-Speaker Tip O’Neill, D-Mass. “The analogy sort of fails when you ask who are the Tip O’Neills for Republicans at this point?” Anzalone acknowledged. But, he said, Biden “is not averse to big fights.” Biden projects confidence regardless, in part, those close to him say, because of his long tenure in Washington buttressed now with the presidential megaphone. “Part of the president’s job is making the case to the American people and persuading them what the right way forward is,” said Stef Feldman, policy director for Biden’s campaign. Through that lens, it becomes less surprising to see the politician who joined Republicans in the mid-1990s to clamour for a balanced budget now declares emergency spending measured by the trillions “more urgent than ever,” even “including deficit spending.” It was a similar course for Biden as he aged from a young senator in a chamber still stocked with old-guard segregationists into the trusted lieutenant for the nation’s first Black president. The Senate Judiciary Chairman who in 1991 led an all-male panel in Supreme Court confirmation hearings involving sexual harassment claims turned the widely panned experience into invitations for the committee to seat its first Democratic female members. The Catholic politician who for decades acknowledged his struggle over abortion policy flouted church teachings as vice-president by announcing his support for same-sex marriage before most other elected Democrats, including the ostensibly more socially progressive Obama. And during the 2020 campaign, even as Biden started to the left of Obama and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, he inched further leftward on health care, college tuition aid and climate policy. While Biden aides argue his shifts don’t involve changes in principle or fundamental values, some other observers say the point is moot. The question, said Maurice Mitchell, who leads the progressive Working Families Party, is simply whether Biden will continue to evolve and leverage his political capital into both post-Trump stability and big policy wins. “We can’t control people’s convictions but we can shift the politics of the possible,” Mitchell said, noting that Johnson signed seminal civil rights laws less than a decade after quashing such measures as Senate majority leader. Barber, the minister, pointed to other historical figures whom Biden sometimes mentioned while campaigning: Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Both, Barber noted, were savvy, even ruthless politicians who reached for their biggest achievements only after winning the nation’s highest office -- and they did so against vicious opposition and during times of existential national threats. “There’s good record in our history that there are moments in this country can and has taken great steps forward,” Barber said. “And many times, it was right on the heels of great pain. The movement and the moment can cause leaders -- presidents, senators, congresspeople -- to be much greater than they even intended or imagined.” Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
Nine witnesses have taken the stand so far at the trial of Thomas Whittle in Corner Brook. The 29-year-old is accused of dangerous driving causing death and impaired driving causing death after the snowmobile he was driving collided with a taxi near Marble Mountain in 2017. Whittle's passenger, Justyn Pollard, was killed. Whittle is representing himself at trial, and apologized to jurors as he cross-examined RCMP forensic identification specialist Constable Jonathan Moran for entering and examining Pollard's autopsy photographs. Whittle said the photos would be hard for the jury of nine women and four men to see, but he requested they be entered as evidence so jurors could see bruising on Pollard's left hip and shoulder. Family members of Pollard's were present in the courtroom as the photos scrolled across a projected screen as Moran described each one, and at least one of them was obviously distraught. No helmets So far, the court has heard from witnesses including taxi drivers, taxi passengers, first responders, police officers and residents of Humber Valley Resort. They described seeing a snowmobile, going at a high speed, driving across a bridge around 4 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2017, and colliding head-on with a taxi van that had pulled over to the side of the entrance to the bridge. Video surveillance of the crash was also presented at trial, and clearly showed a snowmobile moving quickly on the bridge. Many witnesses testified that neither Whittle or Pollard were wearing helmets, winter coats, hats or mittens at the time. The driver of the Dodge Caravan taxi van was John Hardy, who works for Birchy Cabs. He told the court that Jibfest, a popular music festival at Marble Mountain, was happening that weekend and he was very busy bringing passengers back and forth from Humber Valley Resort to Marble Mountain. Hardy told the court he was approaching the bridge to enter the resort when he saw a bright light coming toward him and quickly pulled over. He then told the front passenger, Alex Robbins, 'I think this is going to hit us, brace yourself'. When Robins testified, he told Crown Attorney Renee Coates he can remember seeing two individuals on the ground near the snowmobile after the collision, and he recalls Whittle getting up and asking repeatedly if everyone was alright. Robbins said Whittle was quite distraught. Feeling no pain Little Rapids and Steady Brook volunteer Fire Chief Shawn Leamon was one of the first people to arrive at the scene, moments after 4 a.m, and said Pollard was not responsive at that time. Later, Pollard was taken to Western Memorial Regional Hospital and died of his injuries. Leamon said he can remember hearing Whittle say to the paramedics, "I have a good buzz on. I'm not feeling any pain," as he was assisting him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. "There were no obvious signs that I could see any kind of alcohol or paraphernalia from drug use. Sometimes trauma can have an impact on an individual as well. The comment made me believe there were other factors involved," he said to the court. Since Whittle is representing himself during the three-week-long trial, he frequently asks Justice George Murphy for breaks so he can consult with Randy Piercey; a criminal defence lawyer who was appointed by Justice Murphy to aid in proceedings, but not make decisions for Whittle. The Crown will be calling witnesses for two or three more days, and then Whittle will have the opportunity to call his own evidence. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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.
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
MADRID — Third-division Spanish club Navalcarnero upset Eibar 3-1 to reach the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Sunday. Juan Esnáider, son of former Argentina forward Juan Eduardo Esnáider, scored twice for the small club from Madrid which will be playing in the last 16 of the Copa for the first time. Japanese forward Yoshinori Muto put Eibar ahead in the 16th minute and Manuel Jaimez equalized for the hosts from the penalty spot in the 30th before the 28-year-old Esnáider scored in the 61st and 79th minutes. Juan Eduardo Esnáider played in Spain in the 1990s, including for Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. He also played for Argentina’s national team. Eibar had barely escaped elimination in the previous round, when it needed extra time to get past Las Rozas, another third-division club from Madrid. All other first-division clubs avoided upsets against lower-division clubs on Sunday. Valencia defeated Alcorcón 2-0, Villarreal edged Tenerife 1-0, Real Betis beat Sporting Gijón 2-0, Granada eliminated Málaga 2-1 and Osasuna got past Espanyol 2-0. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Members of President Donald Trump’s failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump non-profit group called Women for America First hosted the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, an oval-shaped, federally owned patch of land near the White House. But an attachment to the National Park Service public gathering permit granted to the group lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions for the event who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be “on site” during the demonstration have close ties to the White House. Since the siege, several of them have scrambled to distance themselves from the rally. The riot at the Capitol, incited by Trump’s comments before and during his speech at the Ellipse, has led to a reckoning unprecedented in American history. The president told the crowd to march to the Capitol and that “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” A week after the rally, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, becoming the first U.S. president ever to be impeached twice. But the political and legal fallout may stretch well beyond Trump, who will exit the White House on Wednesday before Democrat Joe Biden takes the oath of office. Trump had refused for nearly two months to accept his loss in the 2020 election to the former vice-president. Women for America First, which applied for and received the Park Service permit, did not not respond to messages seeking comment about how the event was financed and about the Trump campaign’s involvement. The rally drew tens of thousands of people. In a statement, the president’s reelection campaign said it “did not organize, operate or finance the event.” No campaign staff members were involved in the organization or operation of the rally, according to the statement. It said that if any former employees or independent contractors for the campaign took part, “they did not do so at the direction of the Trump campaign.” At least one was working for the Trump campaign this month. Megan Powers was listed as one of two operations managers for the Jan. 6 event, and her LinkedIn profile says she was the Trump campaign's director of operations into January 2021. She did not respond to a message seeking comment. The AP’s review found at least three of the Trump campaign aides named on the permit rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration. They deactivated or locked down their social media profiles and removed tweets that referenced the rally. Two blocked a reporter who asked questions. Caroline Wren, a veteran GOP fundraiser, is named as a “VIP Advisor” on an attachment to the permit that Women for America First provided to the agency. Between mid-March and mid-November, Donald J. Trump for President Inc. paid Wren $20,000 a month, according to Federal Election Commission records. During the campaign, she was a national finance consultant for Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee between the president’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee. Wren was involved in at least one call before the pro-Trump rally with members of several groups listed as rally participants to organize credentials for VIP attendees, according to Kimberly Fletcher, the president of one of those groups, Moms for America. Wren retweeted messages about the event ahead of time, but a cache of her account on Google shows at least eight of those tweets disappeared from her timeline. She apparently removed some herself, and others were sent from accounts that Twitter suspended. One of the messages Wren retweeted was from “Stop the Steal,” another group identified as a rally participant on a website promoting the event. The Jan. 2 message thanked Republican senators who said they would vote to overturn Biden’s election victory, including Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas. She also retweeted a Jan. 1 message from the president promoting the event, as well as promotional messages from one of the president’s son, Eric Trump, and Katrina Pierson, a Tea Party activist and a spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Wren did not return messages seeking comment, and locked her Twitter account after the AP reached out to her last Monday to ask her about her involvement in the Trump rally and the tweets she had removed. Several days later, she blocked the AP reporter. Maggie Mulvaney, a niece of former top Trump aide Mick Mulvaney, is listed on the permit attachment as the “VIP Lead.” She worked as director of finance operations for the Trump campaign, according to her LinkedIn profile. FEC records show Maggie Mulvaney was earning $5,000 every two weeks from Trump’s reelection campaign, with the most recent payment reported on November 13. Maggie Mulvaney had taken down her Twitter account as of last Monday, although it reappeared after the AP asked her about the account’s removal. Maggie Mulvaney retweeted several messages on Jan. 6, including one from the president that urged support for the Capitol Police. Trump's Twitter account has been suspended, but the message could be seen in a cache of her Twitter account captured by Google. She also retweeted a message from her uncle, urging Trump to address the nation. Maggie Mulvaney did not respond to messages seeking comment. The insurrection at the Capitol prompted Mick Mulvaney to quit his position as Trump’s special envoy to Northern Ireland. He told CNBC a day after the assault that remaining in the post would prompt people to say “‘Oh yeah, you work for the guy who tried to overtake the government.’” The leaders of Women for America First aren’t new to politics. Amy Kremer, listed as the group’s president on records filed with Virginia’s state corporation commission, is “one of the founding mothers of the modern day tea party movement,” according to her website. Her daughter, Kylie Jane Kremer, is the organization’s treasurer, according to the records. The IRS granted Women for America First tax-exempt status as a social welfare organization a year ago, with the exemption retroactive to February 2019. The AP requested that the group provide any tax records it may have filed since then, but received no response. In a statement issued the same day rioters attacked the Capitol, Amy Kremer denounced the assault and said it was instigated after the rally by a “handful of bad actors,” while seeming to blame Democrats and news organizations for the riot. “Unfortunately, for months the left and the mainstream media told the American people that violence was an acceptable political tool,” she said. “They were wrong. It is not.” The AP Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless during the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The review found the crowd was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth that the government is secretly controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile cannibals. Videos posted on social media in the days following the Capitol attack shows that thousands of people stormed the Capitol. A Capitol Police officer died after he was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher as rioters descended on the building and many other officers were injured. A woman from California was shot to death by Capitol Police and three other people died after medical emergencies during the chaos. Trump’s incendiary remarks at the Jan. 6 rally culminated a two-day series of events in Washington, organized by a coalition of the president’s supporters who echoed his baseless accusations that the election had been stolen from him. A website, MarchtoSaveAmerica.com, sprung up to promote the pro-Trump events and alerted followers, “At 1 PM, we protest at US Capitol.” The website has been deactivated. Another website, TrumpMarch.com shows a fist-raised Trump pictured on the front of a red, white and blue tour bus emblazoned with the words, “Powered by Women for America First.” The logo for the bedding company “My Pillow” is also prominent. Mike Lindell, the CEO of My Pillow, is an ardent Trump supporter who’s falsely claimed Trump didn’t lose the election to Biden and will serve another four-year term as president. “To demand transparency & protect election integrity,” the web page reads. Details of the “DC PROTEST” will be coming soon, it adds, and also lists a series of bus stops between Dec. 27 and Jan. 6 where Trump backers can “Join the caravan or show your support.” Kimberly Fletcher, the Moms for America president, said she wasn’t aware the Trump campaign had a role in the rally at the Ellipse until around New Year's Day. While she didn’t work directly with the campaign, Fletcher did notice a shift in who was involved in the rally and who would be speaking. “When I got there and I saw the size of the stage and everything, I’m like, ‘Wow, we couldn’t possibly have afforded that,’” she said. “It was a big stage. It was a very professional stage. I don’t know who was in the background or who put it together or anything.” In addition to the large stage. the rally on the Ellipse featured a sophisticated sound system and at least three Jumbotron-style screens projecting the president's image to the crowd. Videos posted online show Trump and his family in a nearby private tent watching the rally on several monitors as music blared in the background. Moms for America held a more modest “Save the Republic” rally on Jan. 5 near the U.S. Capitol, an event that drew about 500 people and cost between $13,000 to $14,000, according to Fletcher. Justin Caporale is listed on the Women for America First paperwork as the event’s project manager. He’s identified as a partner with Event Strategies Inc., a management and production company. Caporale, formerly a top aide to first lady Melania Trump, was on the Trump campaign payroll for most of 2020, according to the FEC records, and he most recently was being paid $7,500 every two weeks. Caporale didn’t respond to requests for comment. Tim Unes, the founder and president of Event Strategies, was the “stage manager” for the Jan. 6 rally, according to the permit paperwork. Unes has longstanding ties to Trump, a connection he highlights on his company’s website. Trump’s presidential campaign paid Event Strategies $1.3 million in 2020 for “audio visual services,” according to the campaign finance records. The company declined to comment for this story. Another person with close ties to the Trump administration, Hannah Salem, was the rally’s “operations manager for logistics and communications,” according to the permit paperwork. In 2017, she took a hiatus from the consulting firm she founded and spent three years as senior White House press aide, “executing the media strategy for President Trump’s most high-profile events,” according to her company bio and LinkedIn profile. Last month, within minutes of an AP reporter sending her a LinkedIn message asking about her involvement in and understanding of what happened on Jan. 6, Salem blocked the reporter and did not respond to questions. ___ Smith reported from Providence, Rhode Island. ___ Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report. Richard Lardner And Michelle R. Smith, 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
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
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.
