Putin stressed that Moscow "made it clear that any further NATO movement to the east is unacceptable".
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A statewide court declared Friday that Pennsylvania's expansive two-year-old mail-in voting law is unconstitutional, agreeing with challenges by Republicans who soured on mail-in voting after then-President Donald Trump began baselessly attacking it as rife with fraud in 2020's campaign. The decision, by a five-judge Commonwealth Court panel of three Republicans and two Democrats, was deemed to be on hold immediately since Gov. Tom Wolf's administration swiftly appealed to
VANCOUVER — Canadian National Railway says it will not pursue criminal charges against protesters accused of defying an injunction and blocking a CN rail line in northwestern British Columbia nearly two years ago. The BC Prosecution Service announced in April it was not in the public interest to pursue criminal contempt charges against protesters, but a B.C. Supreme Court ruling last month found CN could continue its own legal action. In an email statement Friday, Canadian National says it is sa
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole said Thursday that he would meet with truckers on Friday as a trucker convoy rumbles toward Ottawa. O’Toole said the convoy was a symbol of the division in Canada and appealed to Canadians to show compassion toward truckers and those who haven’t been vaccinated.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says the unvaccinated truckers rolling into Ottawa is a “symbol” of the frustration they feel toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his pandemic policies like vaccine mandates. He also denounced individuals involved in the convoy who are pushing extremist ideas.
OTTAWA — Dozens of big rigs rolled into downtown Ottawa Friday, as a planned protest began to swell in size and energy, and some in attendance promised to stay put until vaccine mandates are abolished or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is forced from office. But what some believe to be a demonstration in support of truckers opposed to a cross-border vaccine mandate is, in fact, a much broader push to end all COVID-19 restrictions. It is rooted in a movement that goes at least as far back as the la
A convoy of truckers has left Kingston en route for a Saturday rally in Ottawa.
OTTAWA — It's difficult to forget the tragic scenes that played out in long-term care homes across the country in the early days of the pandemic as residents died in the thousands, isolated from their loved ones. While vaccines have played a major role in protecting homes from the same deadly toll the first wave of COVID-19 took on residents, the impact has still been profound during the Omicron wave. "It's staggering when you just look at the number of homes in outbreak," said Dr. Samir Sinha,
SURREY, B.C. — The Mounties called in explosive experts after a person walked into one of their offices in Surrey, B.C., with a grenade on Thursday. The RCMP say someone went to their Guildford office to hand over the device, saying it was found at a nearby park. The office and surrounding area had to be evacuated because it was unclear if the grenade was still functioning. Streets around the detachment were also closed as a precaution. Const. Sarbjit Sangha says in a news release that anyone wh
Two more people with COVID-19 have died in Saskatchewan, and hospital numbers continue to rise as the Omicron variant spreads across the province, the province's dashboard advised on Friday. One person with the disease who died was in the 60 to 79 age range while the other one was 80 years of age or older, according to the province. Since the start of the pandemic, 987 people with COVID-19 have died in Saskatchewan. Hospital numbers have jumped by 14 since yesterday's update, bringing the total
It's been 77 years since prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp, were liberated near the end of the Second World War, but a Saskatchewan rabbi said people still don't understand the severity of the extermination camps. Thursday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and as Rabbi Claudio Jodorkovsky, a part of Congregation Agudas Israel in Saskatoon, reflects on the commemorative day, he's also thinking about how racial and religious prejudice remains. "I think i
Ginella Massa talks to Mike Millian from the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and Evan Balgord from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network about concerns extremist groups promoting violence are trying to take over the protest convoy and what can be done about it.
VICTORIA — British Columbia's top doctor says some COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings are expected to be gradually lifted by Feb. 21. Dr. Bonnie Henry said that's possible in part because 90 per cent of residents aged 12 and over have received two doses of a vaccine, though more people need to get a booster shot for longer-lasting protection. The most recent public health orders related to gatherings at sports events and concerts, for example, were set to expire on Feb. 16, and Henry sai
Ottawa police say they have been in touch with leaders of a trucker convoy over weekend protest plans in the capital and are getting ready for several scenarios — including violence.
Public Health in Nova Scotia has stopped calling people to follow up on their COVID-19 cases and is asking them to instead fill in an online survey to help the province track symptoms and impairments that linger after three months. Ashley Harnish, a health services manager for Nova Scotia's health authority, said the website survey is a continuation of a phone-based survey they started doing last year. They want to hear from people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more months ago, and a
Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's medical officer of health, said Friday that public health officials increasingly believe that COVID-19 will become endemic and that there will be a level of infection that Torontonians will have to learn to live with. "Increasingly, public health officials the world over are recognizing that, given the current circumstances and given the presence of variants like Omicron and the significant transmissibility that they bring with them, that we are likely to find ours
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers are discussing whether to sanction a member of the state House who is also a member of the Oath Keepers far-right paramilitary organization, a newspaper reported. Possible actions being discussed include expelling state Rep. David Eastman, a Republican from Wasilla, censure or a vote of disapproval, lawmakers told the Anchorage Daily News. “I think what we’ve been learning about Rep. Eastman is extremely concerning. And I think it needs to be addressed.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams started together for the first time in almost three years, and Jesús Ferreira was picked over Ricardo Pepi at forward for the United States' World Cup qualifier against El Salvador on Thursday night. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter changed five starters from the previous qualifier, a 1-1 draw at Jamaica in November. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, defender Walker Zimmerman and Ferreira were the only starters from Major League Soccer, pl
Colville Lake is now looking to 2024 for self-government after its target deadline last year was missed. "Our plan for 2021 was to conclude the first part of our self-government," said David Codzi, president of the Ayoni Keh Land Corporation. "We had to push it back to 2024 now." As for why the talks have taken longer than expected, Codzi said one reason is that the territorial government has not implemented the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Governm
Italy's parliament voted for a sixth day running on Saturday to elect a new president, but the parties remained deeply divided over a possible candidate, with the leaders struggling to control their own lawmakers. The week-long search to find a replacement for Sergio Mattarella, whose seven-year mandate expires on Feb. 3, has laid bare the fragility of Italian politics and highlighted a failure of leadership in the main centre-right and centre-left blocs. Political sources said both groups were backing Elisabetta Belloni, who heads the secret services, but the news provoked a sharp backlash from other parties, splintering the centre-right bloc and sowing dissent in 5-Star ranks.
