New video shows the actress moments before she disappeared at a lake in California. ABC News’ Shirleen Allicott reports.
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took their oaths of office on Wednesday using Bibles that are laden with personal meaning, writing new chapters in a long-running American tradition — and one that appears nowhere in the law. The Constitution does not require the use of a specific text for swearing-in ceremonies and specifies only the wording of the president’s oath. That wording does not include the phrase “so help me God,” but every modern president has appended it to their oaths and most have chosen symbolically significant Bibles for their inaugurations. That includes Biden, who used the same family Bible he has used twice when swearing in as vice-president and seven times as senator from Delaware. The book, several inches thick, and which his late son Beau also used when swearing in as Delaware attorney general, has been a “family heirloom” since 1893 and “every important date is in there,” Biden told late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert last month. “Why is your Bible bigger than mine? Do you have more Jesus than I do?” quipped Colbert, who like Biden is a practicing Catholic. Biden’s use of his family Bible underscores the prominent role his faith has played in his personal and professional lives — and will continue to do so as he becomes the second Catholic president in U.S. history. He follows in a tradition of many other presidents who used family-owned scriptures to take their oaths, including Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Some have had their Bibles opened to personally relevant passages during their ceremonies. Bill Clinton, for example, chose Isaiah 58:12 — which urges the devout to be a “repairer of the breach” — for his second inauguration after a first term marked by political schisms with conservatives. Others took their oaths on closed Bibles, like John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, who in 1961 used his family’s century-old tome with a large cross on the front, similar to Biden’s. The tradition of using a Bible dates as far back as the presidency itself, with the holy book used by George Washington later appearing on exhibit at the Smithsonian on loan from the Masonic lodge that provided it in 1789. Washington’s Bible was later used for the oaths by Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. But not every president has used a Bible. Theodore Roosevelt took his 1901 oath without one after the death of William McKinley, while John Quincy Adams used a law book in 1825, according to his own account. Some have employed multiple Bibles during their ceremonies: Both Barack Obama and Donald Trump chose to use, along with others, the copy that Abraham Lincoln was sworn in on in 1861. Harris did the same for her vice-presidential oath, using a Bible owned by a close family friend and one that belonged to the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Harris has spoken of her admiration of Marshall, a fellow Howard University graduate and trailblazer in government as the high court’s first African American justice. “When I raise my right hand and take the oath of office tomorrow, I carry with me two heroes who’d speak up for the voiceless and help those in need,” Harris tweeted Tuesday, referring to Marshall and friend Regina Shelton, whose Bible she swore on when becoming attorney general of California and later senator. Harris, who attended both Baptist and Hindu services as a child, worships in the Baptist faith as an adult. While U.S. lawmakers have typically used Bibles for their oaths, some have chosen alternatives that reflect their religious diversity. Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress, in 2007 used a Qur’an that belonged to Thomas Jefferson, prompting objections from some Christian conservatives. Jefferson’s Qur’an made a return in 2019 at the oath for Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chose a Hebrew Bible in 2005 to reflect her Jewish faith. Newly elected Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is also Jewish and who swears in Wednesday, used Hebrew scripture belonging to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, an ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, opted for the Bhagavad Gita in 2013 after becoming the first Hindu elected to Congress. And Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., the only member of the current Congress who identifies as “religiously unaffiliated,” took her oath on the Constitution in 2018. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Elana Schor, The Associated Press
La tempête automnale du 1er novembre 2019 restera gravée dans la mémoire de bien des Cowansvillois. Et l’inondation qui l’a suivie laissera des marques permanentes sur le paysage du boulevard des Vétérans et de la rue Bonnette, à Cowansville. Quelques maisons ont disparu tandis que d’autres seront démolies dans les prochains mois en vertu d’un décret provincial qui permet à une municipalité de refuser l’émission d’un permis de rénovations et d’obliger la démolition. « Lorsque les gens de ces zones-là viennent nous voir pour des demandes de permis, on doit vérifier ce qu’ils veulent faire comme travaux et suivre le décret, explique Manon Moreau, inspectrice en bâtiment et règlementation à Cowansville. On a une certaine démarche à suivre et ça peut arriver que les travaux soient trop importants. À ce moment-là, on demande la démolition du bâtiment. » Ensuite, les propriétaires se tournent vers la Sécurité publique du Québec pour obtenir une subvention qui permettra de rembourser la perte de la propriété. Une entente est prise entre la Ville et les propriétaires privés pour que le terrain soit remis à l’administration. Avenir incertain pour les terrains vacants Deux adresses ont déjà été démolies sur le boulevard des Vétérans et la rue Bonnette. Les terrains ont été légués à la Ville. Des demandes sont en cours d’étude pour quelques autres immeubles. « À cause de la COVID-19, le délai a été prolongé. Le ministère a accepté que ça attende jusqu’à l’été, ajoute Mme Moreau, le temps que les gens se retrouvent une maison et se relogent. » Ce secteur est majoritairement composé de résidences unifamiliales, de jumelés et de duplex. Pour l’instant, la Ville n’a pas prévu de nouvelle vocation pour les nouveaux terrains vacants. S’ils étaient tous adjacents, un parc ou un accès à la rivière pourrait être envisagé, mais ces terrains sont éparpillés jusqu’à présent.Cynthia Laflamme, Initiative de journalisme local, La Voix de l'Est
En matière d’éducation, rien n’est acquis et beaucoup de choses restent à faire. Regard sur les défis à relever, à l’occasion de la prochaine Journée internationale de l’éducation, ce 24 janvier.
ATHENS, Greece — Lawmakers in Greece Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to extend the country's territorial waters along its western coastline from six to 12 nautical miles. In the 284-0 vote, representatives of four opposition parties backed the centre-right government, while members of the Greek Communist Party abstained. Although the move does not directly affect an ongoing maritime boundary dispute with Turkey to the east, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament that Greece was adopting a more assertive foreign policy. “It's a clear message to those who are trying to deprive our country of this right,” Mitsotakis said. Greece’s western coastline faces Italy and borders Albania at its northern tip. But the expansion is aimed at underscoring the country’s right to implement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which set the 12-mile limit in 1982. Greece and Turkey, neighbours and NATO allies, are at odds over sea boundaries and mineral rights in the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean in a dispute that caused a tense military standoff last year. Under pressure from western allies, Turkey and Greece will resume talks aimed at reducing tensions on Jan. 25, restarting a process that was suspended five years ago. Turkey says an extension of Greece’s territorial waters eastward would be considered an act of war, arguing that Greek islands would effectively block its access to the Aegean. The longstanding dispute between the two countries has been fueled by the discovery of large offshore gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years. Greece has signed recent agreements with Italy and Egypt for the delineation of maritime exploration rights and is in talks with Albania to take a maritime boundary dispute to an international court. The Associated Press
By Spencer Seymour, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter After some technical difficulties with the meeting's YouTube stream, Mayor Al Strathdee answered two public input questions to begin last Tuesday's first regular meeting of the St. Marys Town Council. The first question asked if any members of the Council had traveled outside of Canada over the holidays. Mayor Strathdee said that he is unaware of any Councillors traveling abroad over the holidays and that the Council is doing its best to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols. The second question asked if the municipality had the authority to define what an essential business is and impose restrictions if needed. Strathdee said the Town doesn't have such authority as that is determined by the province of Ontario. The Mayor also noted that the Town is receiving updated guidance on what is deemed to be essential. Once into the main business of this week's meeting, the focus was on heritage property designations. First, Amy Cubberley joined the meeting to present a report on a proposal to give a heritage site designation to 345 Wellington Street South. This property was being considered for a heritage designation last year but the onset of the provincial shutdown pushed it onto the back-burner. The heritage designation of 345 Wellington Street South was approved by the Council. Cubberley also spoke to a report on the proposed additions to the Municipal Register of Non-Designated Heritage Properties. The list of 13 properties proposed to be added was whittled down from 98 by the St. Marys Heritage Advisory Committee, according to Cubberley. The Register is mainly a public education resource as the only restriction for properties on the register is a notification 60 days in advance if the property was to be demolished. There haven't been any additions by St. Marys since 2018. The initial list included these 13 properties: • 524 Elgin Street West • 99 Water Street North • 129 Water Street North • 100 Wellington Street North • 145 Church Street North • 158 King Street North • 202 Widder Street East • 24 Robinson Street • 140 Emily Street • 81 Wellington Street North • 338 Elizabeth Street (St. Marys D.C.V.I) • 403 Queen Street East • 164 Wellington Street South The process is somewhat flawed as it adds properties to the register without first consulting with the homeowner to gauge their interest in being on the list. If someone wants their property removed from the Register, they must apply to have it taken off. It isn't a designation process with the only restriction to property owners, as previously stated, is a mandatory 60-day notice for demolition. The register is otherwise mainly a public resource for properties of historical or cultural significance. It should also be noted that the Heritage Committee was seeking Council's approval only to contact the 13 property owners in regards to adding their property to the Register. This report and proposed motion did not itself add these properties to the Register. The only property that raised some questions about its inclusion was St. Marys D.C.V.I, as it isn't a residential unit like the majority of the other properties on the list. More than one Councillor questioned the inclusion of the school on the Register and after a discussion about the high school being added to the list, an amendment was proposed to remove D.C.V.I. from the list. However, the motion was defeated by a 3-2 vote, and the subsequent motion to approve the Heritage Committee to contact the 13 property owners was approved by the Council. Spencer Seymour, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, St. Marys Independent
WASHINGTON — Three new senators were sworn into office Wednesday after President Joe Biden's inauguration, securing the majority for Democrats in the Senate and across a unified government to tackle the new president's agenda at a time of unprecedented national challenges. In a first vote, the Senate confirmed Biden's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines. Senators worked into the evening and overcame some Republican opposition to approve his first Cabinet member, in what's traditionally a show of good faith on Inauguration Day to confirm at least some nominees for a new president's administration. Haines, a former CIA deputy director, will become a core member of Biden’s security team, overseeing the agencies that make up the nation’s intelligence community. She was confirmed 84-10. The new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged colleagues to turn the spirit of the new president’s call for unity into action. “President Biden, we heard you loud and clear,” Schumer said in his first speech as majority leader. “We have a lengthy agenda. And we need to get it done together.” Vice-President Kamala Harris drew applause as she entered the chamber to deliver the oath of office to the new Democratic senators — Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and Alex Padilla — just hours after taking her own oath at the Capitol alongside Biden. The three Democrats join a Senate narrowly split 50-50 between the parties, but giving Democrats the majority with Harris able to cast the tie-breaking vote. Ossoff, a former congressional aide and investigative journalist, and Warnock, a pastor from the late Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Atlanta, won run-off elections in Georgia this month, defeating two Republicans. Padilla was tapped by California’s governor to finish the remainder of Harris’ term. “Today, America is turning over a new leaf. We are turning the page on the last four years, we’re going to reunite the country, defeat COVID-19, rush economic relief to the people,” Ossoff told reporters earlier at the Capitol. “That’s what they sent us here to do.” Taken together, their arrival gives Democrats for the first time in a decade control of the Senate, the House and the White House, as Biden faces the unparalleled challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and its economic fallout, and the nation's painful political divisions from the deadly Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol by a mob loyal to Donald Trump. Congress is being called on to consider Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID recovery package, to distribute vaccines and shore up an economy as more than 400,000 Americans have died from the virus. At the same time, the Senate is about to launch an impeachment trial of Trump, charged by the House of inciting the insurrection at the Capitol as rioters tried to interrupt the Electoral College tally and overturn Biden’s election. The Senate will need to confirm other Biden Cabinet nominees. To “restore the soul” of the country, Biden said in his inaugural speech, requires “unity.” Yet as Washington looks to turn the page from Trump to the Biden administration, Republican leader Mitch McConnell is not relinquishing power without a fight. Haines' nomination was temporarily blocked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Okla., as he sought information about the CIA's enhanced interrogation program. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is holding back the Homeland Security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas over Biden's proposed immigration changes. And McConnell is refusing to enter a power-sharing agreement with Senate Democrats unless they meet his demands, chiefly to preserve the Senate filibuster — the procedural tool often used by the minority party to block bills under rules that require 60 votes to advance legislation. McConnell, in his first speech as the minority party leader, said the election results with narrow Democratic control of the House and Senate showed that Americans “intentionally entrusted both political parties with significant power.” The Republican leader said he looked forward working with the new president “wherever possible.” At her first White House briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden’s desire to have his Cabinet confirmed and in place is “front and centre for the president,” and she said he was hoping to have his national security nominees in place Thursday or Friday. Psaki said the president will be “quite involved” in negotiations over the COVID relief package, but left the details of the upcoming impeachment trial to Congress. The Senate can “multitask,” she said. That’s a tall order for a Senate under normal circumstances, but even more so now in the post-Trump era, with Republicans badly split between their loyalties to the defeated president and wealthy donors who are distancing themselves from Republicans who back Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to soon transmit to the Senate the House-passed article of impeachment against Trump, charged with incitement of insurrection, a step that will launch the Senate impeachment trial. Meantime, the power-sharing talks between Schumer and McConnell have hit a stalemate. It’s an arcane fight McConnell has inserted into what has traditionally been a more routine organizing resolution over committee assignments and staffing resources, but a power play by the outgoing Republican leader grabbing at tools that can be used to block Biden’s agenda. Progressive and liberal Democrats are eager to do away with the filibuster to more quickly advance Biden’s priorities, but not all rank-and-file Senate Democrats are on board. Schumer has not agreed to any changes but McConnell is taking no chances. For now, it will take unanimous consent among senators to toggle between conducting votes on legislative business and serving as jurors in the impeachment trial. The House last week impeached Trump for having sent the mob to the Capitol to “fight like hell” during the tally of Electoral College votes to overturn Biden’s election. __ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press
CALGARY — A judge is to decide next week if a teen charged with first-degree murder in the hit-and-run death of a Calgary police officer will be released. A bail hearing began on Tuesday for the 18-year-old and wrapped up this morning. The accused was 17 at the time Sgt. Andrew Harnett was killed on Dec. 31 and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Youth court Judge Steve Lipton has reserved his decision until Jan. 28. Police have said Harnett was hit and dragged while attempting to stop an SUV after noticing its plates didn't match its registration. They allege the accused youth was driving the SUV and a 19-year-old man, also charged with first-degree murder, was a passenger. Prosecutor Doug Taylor told court Tuesday that the Crown will seek an adult sentence for the youth if he's convicted. That would mean life in prison with no eligibility of parole for 10 years. He explained outside court why the Crown is opposed to the suspect's release. "The young person ought to be detained for both the safety and the protection of the public, and to maintain confidence in the administration of justice," Taylor said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021 The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The economy will go in reverse for the first quarter of 2021, the Bank of Canada said Wednesday as it kept its key interest rate on hold, warning the hardest-hit workers will be hammered again on a path to a recovery that rests on the rollout of vaccines.Workers in high-contact service industries will carry the burden of a new round of lockdowns, which the central bank warned will exacerbate the pandemic’s uneven effects on the labour market.The longer restrictions remain in place, the more difficult it may be for these workers to find new jobs since the majority move to a new job but in the same industry. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in his opening remarks at a late-morning news conference that the first-quarter decline could be worse than expected if restrictions are tightened or extended.The central bank kept its key rate on hold at 0.25 per cent on Wednesday, citing near-term weakness and the "protracted nature of the recovery" in its reasoning.The short-term pain is expected to give way to a brighter outlook for the medium-term with vaccines rolling out sooner than the central bank expected.Still, the bank said in its updated economic outlook, a full recovery from COVID-19 will take some time. Nor does the Bank of Canada see inflation returning to its two per cent target until 2023, one year longer than previously forecast, and the bank's key rate is likely to stay low until then.Overall, there is reason to be more optimistic about the economy in the medium-term, but it will still need extraordinary help from governments and the central bank to get there, Macklem said.The bank’s latest monetary policy report, which lays out its expectations for economic growth and inflation, forecast that COVID-19 caused the economy to contract by 5.5 per cent last year.Despite an upswing over the summer and fall that may have spared the country from a worst-case economic scenario, the drive to a recovery will hit a pothole over the first three months of 2021.The bank forecasts real gross domestic product to contract at an annual pace of 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, before improving thereafter if severe restrictions start easing in February.The bank expects growth of four per cent overall for 2021, then 4.8 per cent next year, and 2.5 per cent in 2023.Trevin Stratton, chief economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, was more dour on lockdowns, saying the group doesn't expect them to ease until well into March."During this period, we need to provide the right kind of support to individual Canadians and to businesses to get them through the lockdowns, recognizing that neither group is in the same financial position as it was in March 2020," he said in a statement.For the central bank, that help could come through ramping up its bond-buying to force down interest rates, or a small cut to its key policy rate among options Macklem mentioned Wednesday.Keeping the door open to such a "micro" rate change is a shift in tone, as Macklem has previously said the current 0.25 rate is as low as it would go.The bank said the path for the economy will be like riding a roller-coaster as resurgence in COVID-19, or new, more virulent strains, weigh down a recovery in one quarter before leading to strong upswing in the next.Inflation may be equally rocky.Gasoline prices, which have weighed down the consumer price index during the pandemic, will by March be “well above their lows of a year earlier,” the bank’s report said. That should significantly bump inflation, the report said, possibly to two per cent in the second quarter.The bump will even out over the rest of the year. The bank forecasts inflation for 2021 at 1.6 per cent, then 1.7 per cent in 2022 and 2.1 per cent in 2023.Statistics Canada reported Wednesday the annual pace of inflation cooled in December to 0.7 per cent compared with 1.0 per cent in November. The agency also reported that the average last month of Canada's three measures for core inflation, which are considered better gauges of underlying price pressures and closely tracked by the Bank of Canada, was 1.57 per cent.The central bank’s lookahead rests on efforts to vaccinate Canadians by the end of the year without any hiccups in that timeline, which would mean broad immunity six months sooner than the bank previously assumed."It's going to be very important that Canada get the vaccines, we get them distributed to Canadians and that Canadians take the vaccine," Macklem said.A shorter timeline for vaccinations should mean less scarring overall for the economy in the form of fewer bankruptcies and fewer workers out of jobs for long stretches, which makes it more difficult for them to get back into the labour force.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021. Jordan Press, The Canadian Press Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the first quarter decline in real gross domestic product was 2.9 per cent.
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Border tensions are boiled down to two families in “ No Man’s Land,” an uneven independent thriller with some redeeming qualities. Its heart, and homages to classic Westerns, are in the right place even if the work as a whole is neither as impactful nor epic as the filmmakers were striving for. The film sets up two families on either side of the border. The Greers are American ranchers whose property exists in no man’s land, north of the Rio Grande but south of the fences. The Mexican family — they don’t get a last name — are just hoping to start a new life in America. But they have misfortune to cross through the Greers’ on a night that they’ve decided to patrol their lands. They’ve been frustrated that their cattle keep getting out when their fences are cut. And about 30 minutes in, things come to a head in a tense showdown in the middle of the night. Bill Greer (Frank Grillo) and his son Lucas (Alex MacNicoll) have their guns drawn on the family, who are unarmed and panicked. The Greers speak no Spanish and don’t seem all that interested in the fact that Gustavo (Jorge A. Jimenez) speaks perfect English. The shouting continues and things go south quickly when the other son, Jackson (Jake Allyn), dashes into the situation to help and ends up shooting and killing Gustavo’s young son Fernando (Alessio Valentini) in the chaos. Lucas also gets shot. It’s a fine set-up as Jackson is the son who is supposed to get out. He’s been recruited to play minor league baseball in New York. His father is prepared to take the blame, but Ramirez (George Lopez), the Texas Ranger who stumbles on the scene who also somehow does not speak Spanish, suspects the cover up. When he comes to arrest him, Jackson and his horse Sundance flee across the Rio Grande. For a kid who has grown up on a small ranch, Jackson is shockingly inept at survival skills, drinking stagnant water, being a little too trusting of everyone he encounters and sleeping in random barns along the way. It’s also somewhat hard to believe that he has not in his 20 some years picked up even one word of Spanish, but perhaps the filmmakers are just trying to belabour the point of intolerance. On his journey to nowhere, Jackson gets a lot of charity from strangers including a wealthy rancher with a stunning daughter (Esmeralda Pimentel) who let him stay and work for a while. And he starts to realize that his neighbours across the border are people too and not nuisances to shoo away with guns and hate. Oh and he’s also being hunted by Gustavo and a local tough Luis (Andres Delgado). “No Man’s Land” was written by Allyn and directed by his brother Conor. The Texas-born siblings wanted to make a film about hope, even as “the world is growing apart” and “xenophobia and prejudice are abundant,” the director wrote in a statement. And indeed, “No Man’s Land” is less about revenge than it is about empathy and atonement, but I’m not sure Jackson was the best point of focus. He is a nice-looking kid with a lot to learn, but also a little dim-witted and dull. He is neither hero nor anti-hero, he’s just a victim of the increasingly improbable and sometimes downright silly plot. As far as the performances go, the most compelling ones are from Lopez and Jimenez, who don’t get nearly enough to do. The story would have benefitted from a little more Gustavo and a little less Jackson. Conor Allyn is clearly a talented director and has a lot of reverence for the Western genre, but for as good and lofty as it's intentions are, “No Man’s Land” comes up short. “No Man’s Land,” an IFC Films release in select theatres Jan. 22, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some strong violence and language.” Running time: 114 minutes. Two stars out of four. ___ MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In one of his first official acts, President Joe Biden planned Wednesday to return the United States to the worldwide fight to slow global warming and to launch a series of climate-friendly efforts that could transform how Americans drive and get their power. “A cry for survival comes from the planet itself,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear now.” Biden was to sign an executive order rejoining the Paris climate accord within hours of taking the oath of office, fulfilling a campaign pledge. The move undoes the U.S. withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump, who belittled the science behind climate efforts, loosened regulations on heat-trapping oil, gas and coal emissions, and spurred oil and gas leasing in pristine Arctic tundra and other wilderness. The Paris accord commits 195 countries and other signatories to come up with a goal to reduce carbon pollution and monitor and report their fossil fuel emissions. The United States is the world’s No. 2 carbon emitter after China. Biden's move will solidify political will globally, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday. “Not a single country in this world, however powerful, however resourceful one may be, can do it alone,” said Ban, speaking at a briefing in the Netherlands for an upcoming Climate Adaptation Summit. “We have to put all our hands on the deck. That is the lesson, very difficult lesson, which we have learned during last year," as Trump made good on his pledge to pull out of the global accord. Biden also will use executive orders to start undoing other Trump climate rollbacks. He will order a temporary moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in what had been virgin Arctic wilderness, direct federal agencies to start looking at tougher mileage standards and other emission limits again, and revoke Trump's approval for the Keystone XL oil and gas pipeline. Another first-day order directs agencies to consider the impact on climate, disadvantaged communities, and on future generations from any regulatory action that affects fossil fuel emissions, a new requirement. Human-caused climate change has been linked to worsening natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts, flooding and hurricanes. However, there was no immediate word on when Biden would make good on another climate campaign pledge, one banning new oil and gas leasing on federal land. After Biden notifies the U.N. by letter of his intention to rejoin the Paris accord, it would become effective in 30 days, U.N. spokesman Alex Saier said. Rejoining the Paris accords could put the U.S. on track to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40% to 50% by 2030, experts said. “There’s a lot we can do because we’ve left so much on the table over the last four years," said Kate Larsen, former deputy director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality under the Obama administration. Biden has promised that the needed transformations of the U.S. transportation and power sectors, and other changes, will mean millions of jobs. Opponents of the climate accord, including Republican lawmakers who supported Trump's withdrawal from it, have said it would mean higher gas prices and higher electricity prices — even though wind and solar have become more affordable than coal, and competitive with natural gas, in generating electricity. “The Paris climate agreement is based on the backward idea that the United States is a culprit here, when in reality the United States is the leading driver of climate solutions,” said Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican. Republican senators are expected to introduce legislation that would require Biden to submit the Paris plan to the Senate for ratification. It’s not clear whether the narrowly divided Senate would have the two-thirds votes needed to ratify the agreement, which was never approved by Congress. Supporters say congressional approval is not needed. Most of the pollution-reduction goals set by the agreement are voluntary. The climate deal is based on each nation setting a goal for cutting carbon pollution by 2030. Other countries submitted theirs by last month. The U.S did not. Saier said America just needs to submit its goal some time before November climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. A longtime international goal, included in the Paris accord with an even more stringent target, is to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. The world has already warmed 1.2 degrees (2.2 degrees Celsius) since that time. As of 2020, U.S. emissions were 24% below 2005 levels, but that reflected the extraordinary economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, said climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, energy and climate director for the Breakthrough Institute. There are two big areas where climate policy deals with day-to-day American life. One is electricity generation, and the other is transportation. There’s been a quiet transformation, because of market forces that have made wind and solar cheaper than dirtier coal, toward cleaner fuels, and that’s expected to continue so that eventually nearly all of the nation’s power will be low or zero carbon, Larsen and other experts say. What happens to cars, trucks and buses will be far more noticeable. Several experts foresee the majority of new cars purchased in 2030 being electric. ___ Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Borenstein reported from Kensington, Maryland. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly in Washington, Michael Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, and Frank Jordans in Berlin also contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://www.apnews.com/Climate ___ Follow Ellen Knickmeyer on Twitter at @ellenknickmeyer . Seth Borenstein on Twitter: @borenbears Ellen Knickmeyer And Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press
Provincial officials say dry Christmas trees caused two recent fatal fires in Ontario. A spokeswoman with the Office of the Fire Marshal says most recently, four people were killed south of Ottawa after a dry tree caught fire on Jan. 10. Kristy Denette says the homeowners had two friends over for dinner when the fire started and quickly engulfed the home in flames, killing everyone inside. She says the home was too badly damaged to determine what lit the tree ablaze, but that faulty Christmas lights are often to blame in such situations. Earlier, on Dec. 28, she says a dry Christmas tree caught fire in Halton Hills, Ont., killing one woman. In that case, she says, the woman's partner was able to escape through an upstairs window, but she was caught inside and died. Denette says the couple had been planning on getting rid of the dry Christmas tree later that day. The Office of the Fire Marshal is encouraging everyone to get rid of their dry trees immediately. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021. The Canadian Press
Le bilan lavallois de la COVID-19 est désormais de 1583 cas actifs selon les données émises par le Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval. Cela représente une baisse de 69 cas actifs par rapport à la veille. Il s’agit toutefois d’une augmentation de 148 cas confirmés, ce qui porte le total à 20 814 citoyens lavallois touchés depuis le mois de mars 2020. Au total, 803 personnes (+2) sont décédées du virus sur l’île Jésus. Parmi les Lavallois actuellement touchés, 97 sont hospitalisés, dont 29 aux soins intensifs. 89 employés du CISSS de Laval sont quant à eux absents du travail en raison de la COVID-19. Chomedey constate encore la plus importante augmentation du jour avec 38 nouveaux cas confirmés. Il est aussi le secteur le plus affecté du territoire lavallois dans les 14 derniers jours, que ce soit en chiffres absolus (786) ou en taux d'infection (825 cas par 100 000 habitants). À l'inverse, Sainte-Dorothée/Laval-Ouest/Laval-Les Îles/Fabreville-Ouest/Laval-sur-le-Lac (+16) demeure le moins affecté sur cette même période avec 344 nouvelles personnes touchées et un taux d'infection de 440 cas par 100 000 habitants. Vimont/Auteuil et Fabreville-Est/Sainte-Rose affichent également des hausses moins importantes avec respectivement 20 et 18 nouveaux cas confirmés par rapport à la veille. De son côté, Pont-Viau/Renaud-Coursol/Laval-des-Rapides constate 31 nouvelles personnes touchées sur son territoire. Duvernay/Saint-François/Saint-Vincent-de-Paul a quant à lui ajouté 25 cas à son total. Il est le deuxième secteur le plus affecté de l'île Jésus en taux d'infection sur les deux dernières semaines avec 698 cas par 100 000 habitants. *** Prendre note que tel qu’indiqué sur le site Web du CISSS de Laval, ces données par secteur incluent l’ensemble des cas des citoyens testés positifs à la COVID-19, qu’ils résident dans des milieux fermés ou ailleurs dans la communauté. Les milieux fermés incluent des milieux de vie comme les centres d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée (CHSLD), les résidences privées pour aînés (RPA), les ressources intermédiaires (RI), ainsi que les centres correctionnels. Les données présentées sont calculées en fonction du lieu de résidence. Le CISSS tarde à déterminer le foyer de 28 cas jusqu’ici.Nicholas Pereira, Initiative de journalisme local, Courrier Laval
OTTAWA — The head of the Ontario Medical Association says dangerous misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is spreading on social media among all age groups. The association's analysis of more than 65,000 recent online posts in Ontario shows that conspiracy theories about the origin of the novel coronavirus and fears that vaccines are dangerous and untested run particularly rampant among people under the age of 35. Dr. Samantha Hill says any delay to vaccinating Canadians will cost lives, whether it stems from untruths that dissuade people from getting a shot in the arm or current issues slowing down delivery of doses to Canada. Canada's small supply of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech will shrink even more over the next four weeks as the company slows production while upgrading its facility in Belgium. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't doing enough to pressure Pfizer to limit the effect on Canada and is urging him to get company CEO Albert Bourla on the phone right away. A Trudeau spokesman says they will not confirm who Trudeau has spoken to about the matter, and will not negotiate in public. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021. Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press
Une analyse trop hâtive du phénomène des « néo » ménagères risque-t-elle de rater les raisons profondes de choix de vie aussi rationnels que politiques ?
Residents of Washington, D.C., braved chill winds and a daunting security gauntlet Tuesday, craning for a glimpse of Joe Biden as he prepared to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. The inauguration comes just two weeks after a riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Avec la pandémie, la confiance dans les routines qui régissent les rencontres publiques et dans les compétences d’autrui à réagir de manière rationnelle et prévisible se trouvent bouleversées.
A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man wanted for a murder that took place five years ago in northeast Calgary, police announced Wednesday. Hussein Merhi, 26, died after he was shot in an alley in the 100 block of Del Ray Road N.E. in Monterey Park on Dec. 13, 2015. A dark SUV was seen fleeing the area after the shooting. In July 2019, Joseph Trieu, 26, was charged with one count of accessory after the fact to murder. Investigators are still searching for a second suspect, Kier Bryan Granado, 24, of Calgary. He is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for first-degree murder. It is believed Merhi's killing was a targeted attack as Granado and the victim knew each other, police said. Police have teamed up with an outside organization, the Bolo Program, which amplifies police requests for public assistance on most wanted cases. In co-operation with Calgary Crime Stoppers, the Bolo Program offers a reward up to $100,000 that can be claimed anonymously for any information leading to the arrest of this suspect. "Investigators are certain that there are additional people with information about this homicide as well as Granado's whereabouts and encourage anyone that can be of assistance to come forward," police said. The reward is available until July 20, 2021. The victim's family issued a statement thanking police for working tirelessly to find Merhi's killer and asking for anyone with information about the murder to speak up. "We want those responsible locked up for the sake of our community. What we have endured for the past five years is something no family should experience," the family said. "So please, if you know something, pick up the phone, call police, call Crime Stoppers. Say something. It won't mend our broken hearts. But our community will be safer for it. Thank you." Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
Canada Post is commemorating Amber Valley, a forgotten community of all-Black settlers in northern Alberta, with a stamp for Black History Month. The community, 170 kilometres north of Edmonton, was settled by hundreds of African-Americans escaping racial violence and segregation in the United States in the 1900s. Myrna Wisdom, a historian and descendant of Amber Valley settlers, said she wasn't too surprised when Canada Post reached out to her a couple years ago to consult on the stamp. "I just think it's about time," Wisdom said. "What took you so long, I guess, is one of the questions before they started profiling these people, you know, because we've been here for the past 100 years." The yellow-toned stamp features a scene of a caravan rolling through the Prairies with photographs of the earliest members who helped settle the community. The image is set against a backdrop of Amber Valley on the Alberta map. The settlers include Henry Sneed, Jordan W. Murphy, with great-granddaughter Bernice Bowen and granddaughter Vivian (Murphy) Harris and Amy Broady, a midwife. Wisdom said Broady provided an essential service. "She rode horseback, because there were no good roads, but she delivered babies. And it didn't matter what colour you were, she helped everybody out." She said it was appropriate to have Murphy on the stamp as before the land was called Amber Valley, it was referred to as Murphy's Land. She added that Bowen was also the first graduate of Toles School, the local school in Amber Valley. She went on to study teaching at the University of Alberta and is still alive today. "She's in her 80s, late 80s, but she will be able to see the stamp. That's what I think is nice about it," Wisdom said. Jim Phillips, director of stamp services at Canada Post, said the postal operator has been celebrating Black History Month for the past 13 years, especially by telling the stories of the early communities, heroes and cultures. "We are honoured and pleased to be able to tell this story and to create some lasting artwork and kind of open a discussion about this community across Canada and among Canadians who may not know about it," he said. The stamps will be available Friday in post offices across Canada. But Phillips encourages people to buy them online due to the pandemic. He said Canada Post prints a finite number of stamps and normally they would last a year unless they get sold out. "We've had a lot of interest in these stamps … people just seem to want to resonate with the story," he said. "I would suggest if anybody really wants them, that they don't wait that long because I think they'll be gone in a couple of months." Five families at first Amber Valley was settled by five families in 1910. Some 300 people started arriving from Alabama and Oklahoma, braving hostile conditions at the border and undergoing rigorous medical exams before boarding the train for Edmonton. After that, they followed a dusty wagon road to Amber Valley. By 1911, about 1,000 settlers had settled in the community. Wisdom said she still wonders why they came all the way north, instead of stopping at some place like Vancouver. Before the original families settled, a trio had scouted the area and decided it was a good place despite the bush. Today, only a few barns and homes remain of the once-thriving settlement. Wisdom said her grandfather's house burned down last week. "I grew up seeing that house, you know, walking by there," she said. "It was just a landmark that's been there."
U.S. President Joe Biden's move to scrap the Keystone XL oil pipeline, while a blow to Canada's energy sector, is a blessing in disguise for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is eager to embrace the new administration, two sources familiar with the matter said. Biden formally revoked the permit to build the pipeline on Wednesday, killing the $8 billion project to pump oil sands crude from Alberta to Nebraska. "Canada hasn't had to expend any serious political capital with the Biden administration on the pipeline and can now focus on the many other areas where Trudeau feels the two nations should cooperate," the source said.
