A very grumpy and selfish cat hates it when her owner tries to get it to bed! It's HER bed!
WASHINGTON — Troops in riot gear lined the sidewalks, but there were no crowds. Armored vehicles and concrete barriers blocked empty streets. Miles of fencing cordoned off many of the nation's most familiar landmarks. Joe Biden was safely sworn in as president in a Washington on edge, two weeks after rioters loyal to former President Donald Trump besieged the Capitol. Law enforcement officials contended not only with the potential for outside threats but also with rising concerns about an insider attack. Officials monitored members of far-right extremist and militia groups, increasingly concerned about the risk they could stream into Washington and spark violent confrontations, a law enforcement official said. There were a few scattered arrests but no major protests or serious disruptions in the city during Biden's inauguration ceremony. As Biden put it in his address: “Here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground. It did not happen. It will never happen, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Not ever.” After the deadly attack that killed five on Jan. 6, the Secret Service stepped up security for the inauguration early, essentially locking down the nation's capital. More than 25,000 troops and police were called to duty. The National Mall was closed. Checkpoints were set up at intersections. In the hours before the event, federal agents monitored “concerning online chatter,” which included an array of threats against elected officials and discussions about ways to infiltrate the inauguration, the official said. In right-wing online chat groups, believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory expressed disappointment that top Democrats were not arrested for sex trafficking and that Trump did not seize a second term. Twelve National Guard members were removed from the security operation a day earlier after vetting by the FBI, including two who had made extremist statements in posts or texts about Wednesday's event. Pentagon officials would not give details on the statements. The FBI vetted all 25,000 members in an extraordinary security effort in part over the presence of some ex-military in the riot. Two other U.S. officials told The Associated Press that all 12 were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or to have posted extremist views online. The officials, a senior intelligence official and an Army official briefed on the matter, did not say which fringe groups the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in. The officials told the AP they had all been removed because of “security liabilities.” The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, confirmed that Guard members had been removed and sent home, but said only two cases were related to inappropriate comments or texts related to the inauguration. He said the other 10 cases were for issues that may involve previous criminal behaviour or activities but were not directly related to the inaugural event. The FBI also warned law enforcement officials about the possibility that members of right-wing fringe groups could pose as National Guard troops, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter. Investigators in Washington were particularly worried that members of right-wing extremist groups and militias, like the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, would descend on Washington to spark violence, the law enforcement officials said. Some of the groups are known to recruit former military personnel, to train extensively and to have frequented anti-government and political protests. In addition to the thousands of National Guard troops, hundreds of law enforcement officers from agencies around the country were also brought into Washington. The increased security is likely to remain in the nation's capital for at least a few more days. ___ Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and James LaPorta in Delray Beach, Florida, contributed to this report. Ben Fox, Colleen Long And Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press
The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. There are 719,751 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 719,751 confirmed cases (71,055 active, 630,430 resolved, 18,266 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers. There were 4,679 new cases Tuesday from 67,775 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 6.9 per cent. The rate of active cases is 189.03 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 45,281 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 6,469. There were 146 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 989 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 141. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.38 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 48.59 per 100,000 people. There have been 16,710,272 tests completed. _ Newfoundland and Labrador: 396 confirmed cases (eight active, 384 resolved, four deaths). There were zero new cases Tuesday from 271 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 1.53 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of three new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 0.77 per 100,000 people. There have been 76,762 tests completed. _ Prince Edward Island: 110 confirmed cases (seven active, 103 resolved, zero deaths). There were two new cases Tuesday from 606 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.33 per cent. The rate of active cases is 4.46 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of seven new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 87,077 tests completed. _ Nova Scotia: 1,561 confirmed cases (22 active, 1,474 resolved, 65 deaths). There were four new cases Tuesday from 1,199 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.33 per cent. The rate of active cases is 2.26 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 27 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is four. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 6.69 per 100,000 people. There have been 197,918 tests completed. _ New Brunswick: 1,004 confirmed cases (317 active, 674 resolved, 13 deaths). There were 31 new cases Tuesday from 712 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 4.4 per cent. The rate of active cases is 40.81 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 187 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 27. There was one new reported death Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of two new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.04 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 1.67 per 100,000 people. There have been 129,708 tests completed. _ Quebec: 245,734 confirmed cases (19,017 active, 217,575 resolved, 9,142 deaths). There were 1,386 new cases Tuesday from 6,480 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 21 per cent. The rate of active cases is 224.13 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 13,110 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,873. There were 55 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 362 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 52. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.61 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 107.74 per 100,000 people. There have been 2,670,614 tests completed. _ Ontario: 242,277 confirmed cases (27,615 active, 209,183 resolved, 5,479 deaths). There were 1,913 new cases Tuesday from 33,402 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 5.7 per cent. The rate of active cases is 189.58 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 20,254 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 2,893. There were 46 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 380 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 54. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.37 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 37.61 per 100,000 people. There have been 8,705,969 tests completed. _ Manitoba: 27,740 confirmed cases (3,088 active, 23,869 resolved, 783 deaths). There were 111 new cases Tuesday from 1,362 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 8.1 per cent. The rate of active cases is 225.49 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,203 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 172. There were 10 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 35 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is five. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.37 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 57.18 per 100,000 people. There have been 442,786 tests completed. _ Saskatchewan: 20,871 confirmed cases (4,156 active, 16,490 resolved, 225 deaths). There were 309 new cases Tuesday from 1,246 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 25 per cent. The rate of active cases is 353.86 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 2,097 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 300. There were six new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 21 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is three. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.26 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 19.16 per 100,000 people. There have been 323,677 tests completed. _ Alberta: 117,767 confirmed cases (11,096 active, 105,208 resolved, 1,463 deaths). There were 456 new cases Tuesday from 10,114 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 4.5 per cent. The rate of active cases is 253.84 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 5,024 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 718. There were 16 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 118 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 17. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.39 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 33.47 per 100,000 people. There have been 3,020,119 tests completed. _ British Columbia: 61,912 confirmed cases (5,723 active, 55,099 resolved, 1,090 deaths). There were 465 new cases Tuesday from 11,781 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 3.9 per cent. The rate of active cases is 112.85 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 3,359 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 480. There were 12 new reported deaths Tuesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 71 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 10. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.2 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 21.49 per 100,000 people. There have been 1,033,692 tests completed. _ Yukon: 70 confirmed cases (zero active, 69 resolved, one deaths). There were zero new cases Tuesday from 10 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of zero new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.45 per 100,000 people. There have been 6,185 tests completed. _ Northwest Territories: 30 confirmed cases (six active, 24 resolved, zero deaths). There were two new cases Tuesday from 348 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.57 per cent. The rate of active cases is 13.39 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of six new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people. There have been 8,671 tests completed. _ Nunavut: 266 confirmed cases (zero active, 265 resolved, one deaths). There were zero new cases Tuesday from 244 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of zero new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero. There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.58 per 100,000 people. There have been 7,018 tests completed. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published Jan. 20, 2021. The Canadian Press
As the number of active COVID-19 cases in First Nations across the country continues to rise, Indigenous Services Canada is investing $1.2 billion in additional support to address ongoing public health responses in Indigenous communities. As of Jan. 18, there are 5,442 active cases reported in First Nations, according to the latest data from the federal government. "First Nations, Inuit, and Métis have worked diligently to prevent, respond and control the spread of the virus in their communities. We acknowledge their strength and resilience, and the hard work they continue to put into leading their communities to safety," said Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller in a Jan. 13 update. "Through these investments, we will continue to support community-led solutions, and to ensure a strong and multi-faceted pandemic response." An additional $380 million for the Indigenous Community Support Fund was also announced, and $186.8 million over two years is being allocated to support needs and gaps in long-term care facilities. Indigenous Services Canada said 10 out of 60 long-term care and personal care home on-reserve in Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have been affected by COVID-19. Since the pandemic began, there have been a total of 13,636 cases on-reserve. Fourteen people have died from the virus since last week, bringing the toll to 117. The total number of hospitalizations rose to 565. The number of First Nations people who have recovered from the disease is now at 8,077. Total cases on First Nations reserves per region reported as of Jan. 18: British Columbia: 1,322 Alberta: 4,396 Saskatchewan: 3,466 Manitoba: 3,569 Ontario: 412 Quebec: 463 Atlantic: 8 Pandemic stories What are the symptoms of COVID-19? new or worsening cough shortness of breath or difficulty breathing temperature equal to or over 38°C feeling feverish chills fatigue or weakness muscle or body aches new loss of smell or taste headache gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting) feeling very unwell If you think you may have COVID-19, please consult your local health department to book an appointment at a screening clinic. CBC Indigenous is looking to hear from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit who have contracted COVID-19. If you would like to share your experience, please email us at indigenous@cbc.ca.
The United States swore in its 46th President on Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended their inauguration in Washington, D.C. with a slew of distinguished guests, but few onlookers as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a need for social distancing.Several past presidents were in attendance, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr., however the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, did not attend. Trump flew to his golf club in Florida earlier in the day. Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence did attend the ceremony with his wife.For all the latest on the U.S. inauguration, click this link for live updates.
The City of Gatineau and two of its police officers have been ordered to pay $18,000 to a Black man who was deemed a victim of racial profiling by Quebec's Human Rights Tribunal. The ruling is about an incident in December 2013, when two Gatineau police officers, Éric Bélanger and Jason Bruneau, stopped, searched and arrested a man they suspected was involved in a domestic violence complaint. The officers were looking for a suspect identified by name and described as a Black man carrying a knife. He was also described as six-feet-one-inch in height, wearing a black coat and grey sweat pants, with long hair tied up. But the man they ended up stopping did not fully match the description, according to the tribunal's decision. The victim said he was leaving a convenience store when he was stopped and searched twice, even after identifying himself to police. With the exception of being Black, the victim was wearing different clothes: a grey hooded sweatshirt and faded blue jeans. His hair was also shaved. The man told officers during his arrest that he believed it was an act of racial profiling, states the tribunal's decision. Police ignored evidence: commissioner In her ruling, the commissioner said the officers changed the description of the suspect and ignored clear signs, like the man's short hair, that would confirm they were searching and arresting the wrong person. She also said that because officer Bruneau admits at one point that the man is not the suspect they were looking for, arresting him was unreasonable, as was a second search. The commissioner also questioned why a complaint the victim filed with the police ethics commissioner days later was dismissed. Recommendations The commissioner ruled that the city and the two police officers pay a total of $18,000 to the victim. In addition to the fine, the commissioner also had recommendations. She requested the city both train its police officers about the risks of racial profiling. She also said the city should create guidelines to identify and control racial profiling by police officers. In response, the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) said it wouldn't comment on the ruling because it may appeal the decision, but that there is zero tolerance for racial profiling from its members. It said in recent years, SPVG has taken several steps to counter racial profiling, including training for its members, making services more accessible for ethnocultural groups and that it is talking with those groups to identify the challenges they face during interactions with police.
TORONTO — Pediatric and mental health experts say pandemic stress is driving a spike in eating disorders among adolescents and teens, pointing to school disruptions, social isolation and infection fears as destabilizing factors that could have long-term physical and mental health effects. Doctors at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Ottawa's pediatric hospital and research centre CHEO and the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary are among those noting a significant jump in admissions and demand for outpatient treatment. Dr. Ellie Vyver of the Alberta Children's Hospital says admissions more than doubled at her hospital between July and September last year and continue to rise. Colleagues across the country are reporting similar signs of despair. "What we have been seeing in Alberta and at SickKids is not unique. It's happening in B.C., it's happening in other centres in Ontario outside of SickKids, it's happening in Montreal. It's something that's happening across across the country," says Vyver, who said the illness tends to have the highest prevalence around age 14. At the same time, children who struggle are displaying more severe mental and physical problems, adds the director of CHEO's mental health program, who says his eastern Ontario hospital can only treat the "tip of the iceberg." "The supply and demand is so off-kilter right now that it is overwhelming the system," says David Murphy. The cutoff for admission to CHEO is a heart rate below 45 beats per minute. CHEO says there were 67 admissions between April 1 and Oct. 31 last year – a 63 per cent jump from the same period in 2019. Christina Bartha of the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health points to increased isolation, school disruption, social media exposure and stress as fuelling unhealthy eating and exercise habits. Compared to last year, Bartha says yearly admissions at her Toronto hospital are expected to jump as much as 30 per cent to 170 (from 128), while the number of referred outpatients is heading towards a 50 to 60 per cent increase with 245 cases (versus last year's 154). The cases primarily involve restrictive eating, including anorexia nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, which is similar to anorexia but does not involve stress over body shape or size. Dr. Debra Katzman, senior associate scientist at SickKids and co-founder of its eating disorders program, also says children are in more acute physical and mental distress than past cases. That could be because of delayed assessments if some families feared contracting COVID-19 by visiting a hospital early in the pandemic, she says. Meanwhile, virtual care has made it more difficult for some recovering patients to maintain health goals. "We're seeing kids who are at significantly low weights, are extremely malnourished and have all kinds of medical and psychiatric comorbid complications," says Katzman. Although SickKids is still collecting and analyzing its data, she and Bartha expressed little doubt that pandemic-fuelled turmoil has played a key role in driving up youth anxiety. "These young people are so used to having a routine that they engage in every day – waking up, going to school, coming home, et cetera – and now they have no routine. And they're quite disconnected from their peers. That's a huge thing, especially during adolescence," says Katzman. "(And) they're not with their teachers or their coaches who are able to identify these very life-threatening disorders quite early." Sterling Renzoni of Orangeville, Ont., believes social media, isolation and disrupted care were key factors in a "mini-relapse" he says he experienced during the lockdown last spring. The 18-year-old says he was discharged early from a southern Ontario residential treatment program for anorexia in the early days of the pandemic. No longer forced to follow a strict daily routine, under less supervision and unable to see his friends, Renzoni says he began fixating on exercise. "It was challenging to figure out how I was going to keep myself busy," admits Renzoni, who says he stopped obsessing with the help of virtual care and by redirecting focus to his long-term goal of attending university in the fall. "I had more time to just be on social media (and) it was still filled with a lot of unhelpful accounts, unhelpful information and unhelpful people that I was following... but I realized that after already having a mini-relapse." Now a Trent University freshman, Renzoni says if it hadn't been for the pandemic, he likely would have stayed in residential care for three months instead of one, and would have been more physically and mentally able to withstand pandemic restrictions when discharged. Aryel Maharaj, outreach and education co-ordinator with the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, says social media has played a large role in driving fat-phobic messages around the so-called "Quarantine 19" in recent months, while repeated lockdowns ignited grocery sprees and encouraged food hoarding. These all make it difficult for anyone struggling with food issues, he said. "It just makes it a lot harder if food is your primary means of coping and now you're surrounded by it and you're stressed out," says Maharaj. Maharaj says NEDIC's anonymous helpline has seen a 43 per cent overall increase in calls, and more than double the number of calls from those aged 11 to 19. The head of the Adolescent Medicine Program at the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, N.L., says admissions are up there, too. Dr. Anna Dominic says the wait-list for assessments of medically stable patients is now seven months, when it's typically two to three months. Over at CHEO, Murphy says the hospital would not turn away anyone approaching its 45 bpm threshold, but he says the very fact they require such a stark cutoff – introduced before the pandemic – speaks to how dire the situation is. Demand is so high, CHEO also denies 73 per cent of referrals — up from 49 per cent from the year before. Murphy admits that means many very sick and starving youngsters are forced to look elsewhere for help, and risk deteriorating further while seeking care. He knows of at least two community-based services with 18-month wait-lists. Maharaj says eating disorders thrive in isolation and so it's important for struggling youngsters to know they are not alone and can turn to a growing number of remote resources. He says hospitals, community groups, therapists, dietitians and others have embraced online options to reach more people. "It's so easy to fall into this pit of despair, of hopelessness, if you think that it's never going to change and there's nothing out there for you," says Maharaj. "There are virtual ways that we can try to connect and provide some kind of support so you're not just sitting there spiralling on your own." Murphy says the issue has always been under-resourced, and the pandemic has highlighted that problem. "When we talk about mental health, we think of depression, suicide, schizophrenia. It's all of those acute mental illnesses, but then there's this thing called eating disorders," he says. "And the eating disorder population requires a specific level of training and expertise to be able to deal with, and we just simply do not have the capacity, the resources and the training to be able to deal with it as a community at large." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021. Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, offering a message of unity and restoration to a deeply divided country reeling from a battered economy and a raging coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 Americans. Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol two weeks after a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building, Biden called for a return to civic decency in an inaugural address marking the end of Trump's tempestuous four-year term. The themes of Biden's 21-minute speech mirrored those he had put at the center of his presidential campaign, when he portrayed himself as an empathetic alternative to the divisive Trump, a Republican.
Thirty-five homeowners in the small B.C. community of Old Fort — just south of Fort St. John — are suing the province and BC Hydro after two landslides they claim were caused by Site C dam construction rendered their properties worthless. On Monday, the group filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court saying the excavation activities carried out by BC Hydro on the $10-billion dam project have destabilized the soil that supports their properties. The first landslide, which happened in September 2018, damaged the only road that provides access in and out of Old Fort and put the entire community under evacuation for a month. Another landslide damaged the same road in June 2020. The homeowners also accuse Deasan Holdings of causing soil instability with mining activities near Old Fort. Malcom MacPherson, lawyer for the plaintiffs, says the families involved cannot sell, mortgage or insure their homes because there is no property value. He says they support industrial development but don't feel they should pay for it with their homes' worth. "They shouldn't be de facto subsidizing the broader wealth creation, which is good for the whole province," he said. "It's not fair that they have to unreasonably bear that burden." In October, the B.C. government posted a report saying despite geotechnical assessments, the root cause of the slide in 2018 remains "inconclusive." The report doesn't address the slide in 2020. In 2018, BC Hydro said there was no evidence the slide was related to the Site C project. Last week, Premier John Horgan said Site C dam construction would continue while his office awaits geotechnical reports written by experts from outside B.C. The lawsuit names the province and the Peace River Regional District for approving the construction work of BC Hydro and Deasan Holdings. They are also suing the City of Fort St. John for operating a sewage lagoon they claim has led to soil instability in the Peace River community. None of the five defendants has responded in court. CBC News has contacted the City of Fort St. John, the Peace River Regional District and BC Hydro. The municipality didn't respond, and the other two parties declined to comment.
The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. In Canada, the provinces are reporting 36,473 new vaccinations administered for a total of 651,139 doses given. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 1,718.078 per 100,000. There were 39,975 new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 888,540 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 73.28 per cent of their available vaccine supply. Please note that Newfoundland, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the territories typically do not report on a daily basis. Newfoundland is reporting 1,531 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 5,291 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 10.104 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Newfoundland for a total of 11,175 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.1 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 47.35 per cent of its available vaccine supply. P.E.I. is reporting 1,684 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 5,910 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 37.257 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to P.E.I. for a total of 8,250 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 5.2 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 71.64 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nova Scotia is reporting 4,689 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 8,520 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 8.73 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nova Scotia for a total of 23,000 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.4 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 37.04 per cent of its available vaccine supply. New Brunswick is reporting 2,704 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 10,436 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 13.379 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to New Brunswick for a total of 17,775 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.3 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 58.71 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Quebec is reporting 10,514 new vaccinations administered for a total of 164,053 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 19.173 per 1,000. There were 24,375 new vaccines delivered to Quebec for a total of 220,550 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.6 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 74.38 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Ontario is reporting 14,346 new vaccinations administered for a total of 224,134 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 15.259 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Ontario for a total of 277,050 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 1.9 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 80.9 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Manitoba is reporting zero new vaccinations administered for a total of 17,751 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 12.891 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Manitoba for a total of 46,290 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 3.4 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 38.35 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Saskatchewan is reporting 1,957 new vaccinations administered for a total of 24,575 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 20.841 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Saskatchewan for a total of 29,300 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.5 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 83.87 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Alberta is reporting 2,501 new vaccinations administered for a total of 92,315 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 20.971 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Alberta for a total of 101,275 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.3 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 91.15 per cent of its available vaccine supply. British Columbia is reporting 5,023 new vaccinations administered for a total of 92,369 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 18.00 per 1,000. There were 15,600 new vaccines delivered to British Columbia for a total of 133,475 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.6 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 69.2 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Yukon is reporting zero new vaccinations administered for a total of 1,347 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 32.278 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Yukon for a total of 7,200 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 17 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 18.71 per cent of its available vaccine supply. The Northwest Territories are reporting zero new vaccinations administered for a total of 1,893 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 41.956 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to the Northwest Territories for a total of 7,200 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 16 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 26.29 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nunavut is reporting 404 new vaccinations administered for a total of 2,545 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 65.718 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nunavut for a total of 6,000 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 15 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 42.42 per cent of its available vaccine supply. *Notes on data: The figures are compiled by the COVID-19 Open Data Working Group based on the latest publicly available data and are subject to change. Note that some provinces report weekly, while others report same-day or figures from the previous day. Vaccine doses administered is not equivalent to the number of people inoculated as the approved vaccines require two doses per person. The vaccines are currently not being administered to children under 18 and those with certain health conditions. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published Jan. 20, 2021. The Canadian Press
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resisted calls for an inquiry into his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday as the country's death toll neared 100,000 and his chief scientist said hospitals were looking like war zones. There have been calls for a public inquiry from some doctors and bereaved families into the management of the crisis. As hospital admissions soared, the government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said there was enormous pressure on the National Health Service with doctors and nurses battling to give people sufficient care.
Alphabet Inc's Google is investigating a member of its ethical AI team and has locked the corporate account linked to that person after finding that thousands of files were retrieved from its server and shared with external accounts, the company said on Wednesday. Axios, which first reported the latest investigation around a member of Google's AI team, said Margaret Mitchell had been using automated scripts to look through her messages to find examples showing discriminatory treatment of Timnit Gebru, a former employee in the AI team who was fired. Gebru, who is Black, was a top AI ethics researcher at Google and was fired in December.
Incumbency is a powerful thing in politics and unseating an incumbent government is no easy feat. But it's a little easier when that incumbent government has a rookie leader at the helm. Especially in Newfoundland and Labrador. While Andrew Furey's Liberal Party has been in power in St. John's since 2015, he was only sworn in as premier last August. That makes this provincial election campaign his first run at a governing mandate of his own. Most of the time, being the incumbent government is better than the alternative. Since Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation in 1949, federal and provincial governments across Canada have been re-elected 68 per cent of the time. The winning record of premiers or prime ministers with at least one election campaign as leader already under their belts is even better — they have been re-elected 72 per cent of the time. But rookie leaders have a rougher go of it. That shouldn't come as a surprise, since governing parties rarely switch leaders when they're at the peak of their popularity. Instead, new leaders are often swapped-in after the outgoing leader realizes he or she isn't likely to win the next campaign. That doesn't set their successors up for success. Since 1949, the replacements have succeeded in securing their own mandates only 56 per cent of the time. The power of incumbency, however, has been even starker in Newfoundland and Labrador. Governing parties have been re-elected 80 per cent of the time in the province's history. The government was defeated in only four of of the 20 elections held in Newfoundland and Labrador when there was an incumbent government on the ballot. And in only one of those cases — in 1971, when the Liberals didn't secure the most seats and Joey Smallwood hung on for a few months before resigning in 1972 — was the defeated governing party led by a leader who wasn't taking his or her first kick at the can. In fact, rookie premiers have only won half the time. If the only thing you knew about a campaign in Newfoundland and Labrador was that the outgoing premier was heading into their first campaign as leader, you'd give them 50/50 odds. First time successes and failures There have been a few success stories. Brian Peckford won his first campaign in 1979 after replacing Frank Moores as premier and Progressive Conservative leader. He'd go on to win two more elections in 1982 and 1985. Brian Tobin won the first of his two elections as premier and Liberal leader in 1996 after taking over from Clyde Wells, while Kathy Dunderdale won the only election she waged as PC leader in 2011, after stepping into the premier's shoes vacated by Danny Williams. But there have also been a few failures — examples that Furey will be looking not to replicate when voters head to the polls on Feb. 13. The last one put the Liberals into office in 2015, when Paul Davis was unable to secure re-election for the PCs in his first (and only) election as leader. The same fate awaited Roger Grimes in his only election as Liberal leader in 2003, as well as the PCs' Tom Rideout in 1989. Of course, those were leaders fighting against the odds to keep their parties in power after long stints in office. The PCs had governed for 12 years when Davis was defeated, while the Liberals had been in power for 14 when Grimes went down to defeat. When Rideout's PCs lost in 1989, the party had been in office for 17 years. Furey's Liberals have only governed for little more than five years. Polls alone no reason to take re-election for granted That might give Furey some comfort. Historically, that's a little fast to boot out a government. The most recent public polls also suggest that Furey might have little to worry about. In December, Narrative Research put the Liberals ahead of Ches Crosbie's PCs by 32 percentage points. A poll by MQO Research indicated the gap was an enormous 43 points. Even the smaller margin recorded by Narrative Research would be a landslide victory for the Liberals. If repeated on election day, that popular vote spread would mark the Liberals' biggest win since 1959. Furey is in a much better position than some of the unsuccessful rookies that came before him. The PCs were trailing in the polls long before Davis became party leader in 2014 and his party entered the 2015 provincial election campaign behind Dwight Ball's Liberals by more than 40 points in a series of polls. In 2003, the Liberals under Grimes were behind Williams and the PCs by 18 points, according to a Corporate Research Associates survey taken at the outset of the campaign. The 1989 election ended with a close result — the PCs narrowly won the popular vote though they captured fewer seats — but rookie leader Rideout had good reason to believe he could continue the Tories' time in office. Before he called the election for April that year, a poll by Decima suggested his party was ahead of the Liberals by 21 points. That advantage didn't hold over the course of the campaign, however, and by the time the vote was held, the polls were hinting at the photo-finish it turned out to be. We'll find out soon enough whether Furey's Liberals will be able to hold on to the massive lead they had in public support heading into 2021. That transitions of power have mostly come when there was a rookie leader on the ballot might bode well for Crosbie, except for one thing: he lost the 2019 provincial election. No party leader who has ever lost an election in Newfoundland and Labrador has managed to win the next one.
More than 100 British musicians, from Ed Sheeran, Sting and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters to classical stars like conductor Simon Rattle, have said tours of Europe by British artists are in danger because of Brexit. In a letter to The Times newspaper published on Wednesday, the musicians said the government had "shamefully" broken a promise to negotiate a deal allowing musicians to perform in the European Union without the need for visas or work permits. "The deal done with the EU has a gaping hole where the promised free movement for musicians should be: everyone on a European music tour will now need costly work permits and a mountain of paperwork for their equipment," they wrote.
For parents in eastern Ontario struggling to work from home while overseeing their grade-school children's at-home learning — or battling for bandwidth with their teenagers — Wednesday may be D-day. That's when Ontario's chief medical officer of health is expected to submit his recommendations on which regions should be allowed to resume in-class learning as of Jan. 25. Education Minister Stephen Lecce will make the announcement publicly — after cabinet approves the decision — either Wednesday or Thursday. Under the provincewide shutdown that began Dec. 26, elementary students were to return to class on Jan. 11, while secondary-school teens had to wait until Jan. 25. But with COVID-19 numbers on the rise over the holiday period, the government extended online learning for elementary schools until at least Jan. 25 — longer for hotspot zones in and around Toronto, as well as Windsor, Ont. 'Trickier' to reopen Ottawa schools Neither provincial nor local health officials would comment on the likelihood of local schools reopening later this month. But experts say the province will be looking at COVID-19 transmission numbers as a key indicator for whether students should go back to school. So while in-person learning could be returning for regions with relatively low ratios of spread — think Kingston, Prince Edward County, or Lanark — Ottawa's numbers mean it will be a "little bit trickier" to open schools in the capital, says one expert. Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of the division of infectious diseases at Queen's University and medical director of infection prevention and control at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, said the province will likely be looking at how many new cases are being reported a week per 100,000 people in each region, to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in a community. We are still seeing a significant increase in the number of children and youth testing positive for COVID-19. - Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health "That's the classic metric that's being used," Evans told CBC. "Certainly where I am here in Kingston is going to look very good because that number is actually less than seven." In Ottawa, it's almost 82. Positivity up among children Another key statistic the province will study, according to Evans, is the proportion of children testing positive, which has risen in recent weeks. In a letter sent to parents of students in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board on Tuesday evening, Dr. Vera Etches warned that "we are still seeing a significant increase in the number of children and youth testing positive for COVID-19," even though there's been a significant decline the number of young people getting tested. Ottawa's medical officer of health wrote that the city is currently seeing a positivity rate of 21 per cent among children aged five to 12 who are tested for COVID-19. "We know there are likely many more undiagnosed infections in our community and unless we test more, we will not be able to identify them," she wrote. Etches pleaded for children with even minor symptoms to get swabbed because "refraining from testing is adding to the growing risk of community spread." She said that could lead to pressures on the health-care system, and "ultimately lead to an extension of the lockdown and other restrictions." Weighing numbers vs. social importance It's important to note that the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in children is likely not due to spread in schools, as they've been closed since Dec. 17. According to Dr. Doug Manuel, a scientist with The Ottawa Hospital and a member of the province's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, the province needs to consider whether school closures are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 faster. There have been 72 COVID-19 outbreaks in Ottawa schools since September — 45 of them in elementary schools. An outbreak is declared when it's reasonable for public health officials to conclude that two positive cases in a school are related. The vast majority of the outbreaks consisted of just a few people; 11 outbreaks involved five or more students or staff. While school outbreaks are certainly an area of focus for officials, Manuel points out that the transmission there isn't "as high as we expected going into the fall." "I think we can all agree that the teachers and the students and the custodial staff exceeded our expectations." Manuel, who says he'd feel comfortable sending his own grade-school aged children back to class in Ottawa, points to a number of promising signs that Ottawa is beginning to flatten the curve, including the receding daily count of new cases. Each person who tests positive is reporting an average of 1.3 close contacts, instead of seven just before the holidays. Also on Tuesday, Ottawa Public Health reported an effective reproduction rate — the average number of people infected by a single COVID-19 case — of 0.96. A rate below one suggests the spread is coming under control. "People often describe schools as the last place you want to shut down," said Manuel. "And I think that's a reflection of the importance for schools for kids." He suggested it can be possible for society to reduce COVID-19 levels while keeping schools open — like Ottawa did in October.
Jessica Henwick may be known to fantasy and sci-fi nerds, but she's about to breakout onto the mainstream.
South Korea's LG Electronics said on Wednesday it was considering all options for its loss-making mobile division, which analysts said could include shutting its smartphone business or selling off parts of the unit. LG said in a statement that 23 consecutive quarters of losses in its mobile business had totalled around 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) amid stiff competition. "In the global market, competition in the mobile business including smartphones has gotten fiercer," LG said in the clearest sign yet that it could be considering a winding down of the troubled business.
New York-listed Best Inc, a Chinese logistics firm backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is considering a sale as part of a strategic review, six people with knowledge of the matter said. With the endorsement of Alibaba, its biggest shareholder, Best has tapped financial advisers to explore options as its shares have been underperforming and are worth a fifth of its IPO price in 2018, two of the people involved in the discussions said. Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba, which owns 33% of the firm, as well as Best founder and CEO Johnny Chou, who has a 11% stake on a fully diluted basis, could both end up selling their stakes, five of the people said.
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole wants Derek Sloan booted out of his party's caucus but it's not entirely up to him. Here's what needs to happen: Conservative MPs will have to vote on the matter, thanks to their decision to adopt a provision of the Reform Act, legislation introduced by one of their own, Michael Chong, and passed in 2015. Under the act, each party's caucus must vote at its first meeting after an election on whether to adopt the various provisions enshrined in the legislation, which is aimed at rebalancing power between MPs and their party leaders. Following the 2019 election, only Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs voted to give themselves the power to decide when to expel a caucus member. Consequently, in order to remove Sloan, 20 per cent of Conservative MPs — 24 of the party's current 121 MPs — had to sign a notice seeking a review of Sloan's membership in the caucus. The matter must then be put to a vote by secret ballot, which is set to take place Wednesday morning. A majority of MPs must support expulsion for Sloan to be ejected. O'Toole said Monday he wanted Sloan's fate decided as quickly as possible after learning that his former rival accepted a donation during the leadership race from a well-known white nationalist. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021. The Canadian Press
Leaders of a Somali organization in Ottawa say their relationship with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has been severely damaged after the department rejected its funding application by arguing it's not Black enough. "At this day and age, to come across something like that was very, very, very shock[ing] and somewhat uncalled for," said Mohamoud Hagi-Aden, one of the founders of the Somali Centre for Family Services. The centre is among hundreds of organizations the government rejected, claiming they failed to meet its Black leadership criteria. Hagi-Aden said he was in disbelief when he read the rejection letter, which claimed his organization was not sufficiently led by Black people. The centre's founders, management and board are all of Somali background, according to the centre. "The people who have been making these decisions [are] either from another planet, or they're not from the [Black] community," he said. The letter recently sent by my department to unsuccessful applicants for funding was completely unacceptable. - Families, Children and Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen Executive director Abdirizak Karod applied last summer for the federal funding, called the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, after learning it was for Black groups looking to improve their work and community spaces. He said he wanted to use the funding to buy laptops for clients so they can access services and training remotely, as well as refurbishing the organization's 28-year-old office building. The funding guidelines say the groups must be focused on serving Black communities, and that at least two-thirds of the leadership and governance structure must be made up of people who self-identify as Black. "I got an email saying our organization is not a Black-led organization," Karod said. "I didn't believe that what I [saw]. And believe me, I read it three times." A letter to the centre dated Jan. 12 states that "information provided did not meet this eligibility criteria or was insufficient to clearly demonstrate that the organization is led and governed by people who self-identify as Black." A second letter was sent the next day to correct the first letter. It said the group was rejected because "ESDC did not receive the information required to move forward with your application." "They never tell us why we got rejected. They never tell us anything," Karod said, explaining how he answered all the questions on the application. "How we can trust this department again?" he asked. "I can't trust them.... It was not an honest mistake." Letter 'completely unacceptable': Minister ESDC declined an interview with CBC News, pointing instead to the minister's Twitter thread. "The letter recently sent by my department to unsuccessful applicants for funding was completely unacceptable," Families, Children and Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen tweeted. "As soon as it was presented to me, I quickly demanded a retraction and met with my officials to discuss how such a mistake could have happened in the first place." Hussen, who was born in Somalia, said he will "make sure it never happens again," and vowed to work with Black-led organizations to improve. But the statement isn't good enough, according to Hagi-Aden. "How will [ESDC] repair the damage they've done to the Black community? We have so many barriers and so many difficulties," he said. "The trust that we had in the system has been so severely damaged."
Tuesday's Games NHL Winnipeg 4 Ottawa 3 (OT) New Jersey 4 N.Y. Rangers 3 Philadelphia 3 Buffalo 0 Florida 5 Chicago 4 (OT) Pittsburgh 5 Washington 4 (OT) Detroit 3 Columbus 2 (OT) Colorado 3 Los Angeles 2 Dallas at Tampa Bay — postponed Carolina at Nashville — postponed --- NBA Denver 119 Oklahoma City 101 Utah 118 New Orleans 102 --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 19, 2021. The Canadian Press
