Details with meteorologist Tyler Hamilton.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia said Saturday it intercepted a missile attack over its capital and bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province, the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on Yemen’s rebel Houthis. The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen’s yearslong war announced the Iran-allied Houthis had launched a ballistic missile toward Riyadh and three booby-trapped drones toward the province of Jizan, with a fourth toward another southwestern city and other drones being monitored. No casualties or damage were initially reported. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis. The attack comes amid sharply rising tensions in the Middle East, a day after a mysterious explosion struck an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. That blast renewed concerns about ship security in the strategic waterways that saw a spate of suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers in 2019. The state-owned Al-Ekhbariya TV broadcast footage of what appeared to be explosions in the air over Riyadh. Social media users also posted videos, with some showing residents shrieking as they watched the fiery blast pierce the night sky, which appeared to be the kingdom’s Patriot missile batteries intercepting the ballistic missile. Col. Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis were trying in “a systematic and deliberate way to target civilians.” The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans, calling on them to “stay alert in case of additional future attacks.” Flight-tracking websites showed a number of flights scheduled to land at Riyadh’s international airport diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack. A civil defence spokesman, Mohammed al-Hammadi, later said scattered debris resulted in material damage to one house, though no one was hurt, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. As Yemen's war grinds on, Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom have grown commonplace, only rarely causing damage. Earlier this month the Houthis struck an empty passenger plane at Saudi Arabia's southwestern Abha airport with a bomb-laden drone, causing it to catch fire. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has faced widespread international criticism for airstrikes in Yemen that have killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties. President Joe Biden announced this month he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including “relevant” arms sales. But he stressed that the U.S. would continue to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against outside attacks. The Houthis overran Yemen’s capital and much of the country's north in 2014, forcing the government into exile and months later prompting Saudi Arabia and its allies to launch a bombing campaign. __ Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report. Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
Security forces battling a decades-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir are alarmed by the recent arrival in the disputed region of small, magnetic bombs that have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan. "Sticky bombs", which can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely, have been seized during raids in recent months in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, three senior security officials told Reuters. "These are small IEDs and quite powerful," said Kashmir Valley police chief Vijay Kumar, referring to improvised explosive devices.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to ask President Joe Biden to consider sharing part of the U.S. coronavirus vaccine supply with its poorer southern neighbor when the two leaders hold a virtual summit on Monday, U.S. and Mexican officials said. Biden is open to discussing the matter as part of a broader regional effort to cooperate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but will maintain as his “number one priority” the need to first vaccinate as many Americans as possible, a White House official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Lopez Obrador has been one of the most vocal leaders in the developing world pressing the richest countries to improve poorer nations’ access to the vaccines.
(Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse/The Associated Press - image credit) Health Canada's approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India's version to prevent COVID-19 in adults follows similar green lights from regulators in the United Kingdom, Europe Union, Mexico and India. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, called ChAdOx1, was approved for use in Canada on Friday following clinical trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil that showed a 62.1 per cent efficacy in reducing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 cases among those given the vaccine. Experts have said any vaccine with an efficacy rate of over 50 per cent could help stop outbreaks. Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada's chief medical adviser, said the key number across all of the clinical trials for those who received AstraZeneca's product was zero — no deaths, no hospitalizations for serious COVID-19 and no deaths because of an adverse effect of the vaccine. "I think Canada is hungry for vaccines," Sharma said in a briefing. "We're putting more on the buffet table to be used." Specifically, 64 of 5,258 in the vaccination group got COVID-19 with symptoms compared with people in the control group given injections (154 of 5,210 got COVID-19 with symptoms). Dr. Susy Hota, medical director of infection prevention and control at Toronto's University Health Network, called it a positive move to have AstraZeneca's vaccines added to Canada's options. "Even though the final efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine appears lower than what we have with the mRNA vaccines, it's still reasonably good," Hota said. "What we need to be focusing on is trying to get as many people as possible vaccinated so we can prevent the harms from this." Canada has an agreement with AstraZeneca to buy 20 million doses as well as between 1.9 million and 3.2 million doses through the global vaccine-sharing initiative known as COVAX. WATCH | AstraZeneca vaccine overview: Canada will also receive 2 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, the government announced Friday. Here's a look at some common questions about the vaccine, how it works, in whom and how it could be rolled out. What's different about this shot? The Oxford-AstraZeneca is cheaper and easier to handle than the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which need to be stored at ultracold temperatures to protect the fragile genetic material. AstraZeneca says its vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (2 to 8 C) for at least six months. (Moderna's product can be stored at refrigeration temperatures for 30 days after thawing.) The ease of handling could make it easier to administer AstraZeneca's vaccine in rural and remote areas of Canada and the world. "There are definitely some advantages to having multiple vaccine candidates available to get to as many Canadians as possible," Hota said. Sharma said while the product monograph notes that evidence for people over age 65 is limited, real-world data from countries already using AstraZeneca's vaccine suggest it is safe and effective among older age groups. "We have real-world evidence from Scotland and the U.K. for people that have been dosed that would have been over 80 and that has shown significant drop in hospitalizations," Sharma said, based on a preprint. Data from clinical trials is more limited compared with in real-world settings that reflect people from different age groups, medical conditions and other factors. How does it work? Vaccines work by training our immune system to recognize an invader. The first two vaccines to protect against COVID-19 that were approved for use in Canada deliver RNA that encodes the spike protein on the surface of the pandemic coronavirus. Health-care workers Diego Feitosa Ferreira, right, and Clemilton Lopes de Oliveira travel on a boat in the state of Amazonas in Brazil, on Feb. 12, to vaccinate residents with the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The product can be stored at refrigeration temperatures, which facilitates its use in remote areas. In contrast, the AstraZeneca vaccine packs the genetic information for the spike protein in the shell of a virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees. Vaccine makers altered the adenovirus so it can't grow in humans. Viral vector vaccines mimic viral infection more closely than some other kinds of vaccines. One disadvantage of viral vectors is that if a person has immunity toward a particular vector, the vaccine won't work as well. But people are unlikely to have been exposed to a chimpanzee adenovirus. AstraZeneca is working on reformulating its vaccine to address more transmissible variants of coronavirus. How and where could it be used? Virologist Eric Arts at Western University in London, Ont., said vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, which is also under review by Health Canada, and Russian Sputnik-V vaccines all have some similarities. "I do like the fact that AstraZeneca has decided to continue trials, to work with the Russians on the Sputnik-V vaccine combination," said Arts, who holds the Canada Research Chair in HIV pathogenesis and viral control. Boxes with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine are pictured at St. Mary's Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Health Canada says the vaccine is given by two separate injections of 0.5 millilitres each into the muscle of the arm. "The reason why I'm encouraged by it is I think there might be greater opportunity to administer those vaccines in low- to middle-income countries. We need that. I think our high-income countries have somewhat ignored the situation that is more significant globally." Researchers reported on Feb. 2 in the journal Lancet that in a Phase 3 clinical trial involving about 20,000 people in Russia, the two-dose Sputnik-V vaccine was about 91 per cent effective and appears to prevent inoculated individuals from becoming severely ill with COVID-19. WATCH | Performance of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine so far: There were 16 COVID-19 cases in the vaccine group (0.1 per cent or 16/14,964) and 62 cases (1.3 per cent or [62/4,902) in the control group. No serious adverse events were associated with vaccination. Most adverse events were mild, such as flu-like symptoms, pain at injection site and weakness or low energy. Arts and other scientists acknowledged the speed and lack of transparency of the Russian vaccination program. But British scientists Ian Jones and Polly Roy wrote in an accompanying commentary that the results are clear and add another vaccine option to reduce the incidence of COVID-19.
ISLAMABAD — A trio of gunmen shot and killed a religious cleric, his teenage son and a student on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, police said, amid a rise in militant attacks. Police officer Shahzad Khan said the killing took place in the Bhara Kahu neighbourhood when Mufti Ikramur Rehman was heading toward his car with his 13-year-old son and a seminary student late Saturday night. He said three assailants fired several shots before fleeing the scene. The cleric, his son and the student received multiple gunshot wounds and died at a hospital. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and Khan said an investigation was underway to ascertain the identity of the assailants and the motive behind the killings. Ikramur Rehman was affiliated with the party of firebrand cleric Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads an 11-party opposition alliance to topple the government. Militant violence in Pakistan is on the rise. Last week, four vocational school instructors who advocated for women’s rights were travelling together when they were gunned down in a Pakistan border region. A Twitter death threat against Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai attracted an avalanche of trolls who heaped abuse on the young champion of girls education. A couple of men on a motorcycle opened fire on a police check-post not far from the Afghan border killing a young police constable. In recent weeks, at least a dozen military and paramilitary men have been killed in ambushes, attacks and operations against militant hideouts, mostly in the western border regions. The Associated Press
HYDERABAD, India — A man was killed by a rooster with a blade tied to its leg during an illegal cockfight in southern India, police said, bringing focus on a practice that continues in some Indian states despite a decades-old ban. The rooster, with a 3-inch knife tied to its leg, fluttered in panic and slashed its owner, 45-year-old Thangulla Satish, in his groin last week, police inspector B. Jeevan said Sunday. The incident occurred in Lothunur village of Telangana state. According to Jeevan, Satish was injured while he prepared the rooster for a fight. “Satish was hit by the rooster’s knife in his groin and started bleeding heavily," the officer said, adding that the man died on the way to a hospital. Jeevan said police filed a case and were looking for over a dozen people involved in organizing the cockfight. If proven guilty, the organizers can be jailed for up to two years. Cockfights are common in the southern Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka despite a countrywide ban imposed in 1960. Animals rights activists have for long been calling to control the illegal practice, which is mainly organized as part of local Hindu festivals usually attended by hundreds of people, though the crowds sometimes swell to thousands. The cockfights are often held under the watch of powerful, local politicians and involve large sums of betting money. Last year, a man was killed when a blade attached to his bird’s leg hit him in the neck during a cockfight in Andhra Pradesh. In 2010, a rooster killed its owner by slashing his jugular vein in West Bengal state. According to police, the rooster involved in last week's incident was among many other roosters prepared for the cockfight betting festival in Lothunur village. As the practice goes, a knife, blade or other sharp-edged weapon is tied to the leg of a bird to harm its rival. Such fights continue until one contestant is either dead or flees, declaring the other rooster the winner. Officer Jeevan said the rooster was brought to the police station before being taken to a local poultry farm. “We may need to produce it before the court,” he said. Images of the rooster tied with a rope and pecking on grains at the police station were widely viewed on social media. Omer Farooq, The Associated Press
(Matt Jonsson Recovery/Facebook - image credit) Family and friends are mourning the loss of a 24-year-old Winnipeg man who passed away after suffering brain damage in a freak accident earlier this month. On Feb. 6, Matt Jonsson hit his head on a low basement ceiling and suffered a severe spinal injury that left him paralyzed below the chest. He was hospitalized and put on a ventilator as doctors worked to stabilize the fracture and wait for the swelling to go down. In that time, family members worked to raise money to renovate his home so it was wheelchair accessible. "It's very hard. It's just very unexpected because in the beginning we were faced with him being paralyzed, which I was very upset about. But now in hindsight, I wish that that's all that was happening," said his mother Tish Jonsson. Matt suffered severe brain damage as a result of the injury and doctors told his family he'd never wake up. He was taken off life support last week. Matt Jonsson (right) was taken off life support on Feb. 20. For a man who loved to ride BMX and dirt bikes and play sports, the accident that took his life seems unfathomable. "[Matt and his brother Cole] got hurt so many times and so many times that they should have broken their necks, I think. And then for a senseless thing like this to happen, I don't understand. I just don't understand it at all," Jonsson said. She says her son was loved by many and will be remembered as a generous, sweet man who loved adventure. Once Matt saw a $100 bill floating down the street and ran out of the house to grab it. "My mother and I tried to convince him to put it in the bank, but he wasn't having it. He went to the skate park and he ordered pizza and drinks for everybody," Jonsson said. "It didn't matter who it was. And I think that sums him up pretty good." She says her son, who she worked with and lived with, always wrapped her in a big hug and told her how much he loved her. Dedicated basketball player, coach Evan Cox knew Matt as his teacher, coworker and friend. Cox, who is a physical education teacher at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate, coached boys basketball when Matt was a student there. Last year, Matt joined Cox as an assistant coach on the girls basketball team at the school. Ever since he was a player, Cox said Matt was driven. "He kind of left a legacy of playing the game the right way, an insanely hard worker [who] dedicated so much of his time to just pursuing excellence, just trying to get better every single day," he said. "I think he was doing the same thing to get the girls to have that kind of intensity, that kind of drive and focus and of building hope in them that they can try to get to where they want to get to." Another coach, Stephen Tackie worked with Matt throughout high school and said he was a truly unique student. "He recognized he was part of something bigger than himself, and I think he took that role on that he had to give back." Matt was also instrumental in getting Skate Park West off the ground in Charleswood. He went to planning meetings, worked to raise money to have it built and when it did open, he took first aid training and volunteered to keep watch in case anyone got hurt. Jonsson says the money her family raised for Matt when he was in the hospital — nearly $87,000 — will go to building memorial benches at Skate Park West and starting a fund at to help people play basketball who may not have the means. "He touched so many people," Jonsson says. "We're going to use that money to honour him, to keep his legacy going."
Saudi Arabia's sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defense of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the U.S.-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
VATICAN CITY — Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see him. No one wants to tell Francis to call it off, and the Iraqi government has every interest in showing off its relative stability by welcoming the first pope to the birthplace of Abraham. The March 5-8 trip is expected to provide a sorely-needed spiritual boost to Iraq’s beleaguered Christians while furthering the Vatican’s bridge-building efforts with the Muslim world. But from a purely epidemiological standpoint, as well as the public health message it sends, a papal trip to Iraq amid a global pandemic is not advisable, health experts say. Their concerns were reinforced with the news Sunday that the Vatican ambassador to Iraq, the main point person for the trip who would have escorted Francis to all his appointments, tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating. In an email to The Associated Press, the embassy said Archbishop Mitja Leskovar's symptoms were mild and that he was continuing to prepare for Francis' visit. Beyond his case, experts note that wars, economic crises and an exodus of Iraqi professionals have devastated the country’s hospital system, while studies show most of Iraq’s new COVID-19 infections are the highly-contagious variant first identified in Britain. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Dr. Navid Madani, virologist and founding director of the Center for Science Health Education in the Middle East and North Africa at Harvard Medical School’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Iranian-born Madani co-authored an article in The Lancet last year on the region's uneven response to COVID-19, noting that Iraq, Syria and Yemen were poorly placed to cope, given they are still struggling with extremist insurgencies and have 40 million people who need humanitarian aid. In a telephone interview, Madani said Middle Easterners are known for their hospitality, and cautioned that the enthusiasm among Iraqis of welcoming a peace-maker like Francis to a neglected, war-torn part of the world might lead to inadvertent violations of virus control measures. “This could potentially lead to unsafe or superspreading risks,” she said. Dr. Bharat Pankhania, an infectious disease control expert at the University of Exeter College of Medicine, concurred. “It’s a perfect storm for generating lots of cases which you won’t be able to deal with,” he said. Organizers promise to enforce mask mandates, social distancing and crowd limits, as well as the possibility of increased testing sites, two Iraqi government officials said. The health care protocols are “critical but can be managed," one government official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. And the Vatican has taken its own precautions, with the 84-year-old pope, his 20-member Vatican entourage and the 70-plus journalists on the papal plane all vaccinated. But the Iraqis gathering in the north, centre and south of the country to attend Francis’ indoor and outdoor Masses, hear his speeches and participate in his prayer meetings are not vaccinated. And that, scientists say, is the problem. “We are in the middle of a global pandemic. And it is important to get the correct messages out,” Pankhania said. “The correct messages are: the less interactions with fellow human beings, the better.” He questioned the optics of the Vatican delegation being inoculated while the Iraqis are not, and noted that Iraqis would only take such risks to go to those events because the pope was there. In words addressed to Vatican officials and the media, he said: “You are all protected from severe disease. So if you get infected, you’re not going to die. But the people coming to see you may get infected and may die.” “Is it wise under that circumstance for you to just turn up? And because you turn up, people turn up to see you and they get infected?” he asked. The World Health Organization was diplomatic when asked about the wisdom of a papal trip to Iraq, saying countries should evaluate the risk of an event against the infection situation, and then decide if it should be postponed. “It’s all about managing that risk,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19. “It’s about looking at the epidemiologic situation in the country and then making sure that if that event is to take place, that it can take place as safely as possible.” Francis has said he intends to go even if most Iraqis have to watch him on television to avoid infection. The important thing, he told Catholic News Service, is “they will see that the pope is there in their country.” Francis has frequently called for an equitable distribution of vaccines and respect for government health measures, though he tends to not wear face masks. Francis for months has eschewed even socially distanced public audiences at the Vatican to limit the chance of contagion. Dr. Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Medicine, said the number of new daily cases in Iraq is “increasing significantly at the moment” with the Health Ministry reporting around 4,000 a day, close to the height of its first wave in September. Head said for any trip to Iraq, there must be infection control practices in force, including mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing and good ventilation in indoor spaces. “Hopefully we will see proactive approaches to infection control in place during the pope’s visit to Baghdad,” he said. The Iraqi government imposed a modified lockdown and curfew in mid-February amid a new surge in cases, closing schools and mosques and leaving restaurants and cafes only open for takeout. But the government decided against a full shutdown because of the difficulty of enforcing it and the financial impact on Iraq’s battered economy, the Iraqi officials told AP. Many Iraqis remain lax in using masks and some doubt the severity of the virus. Madani, the Harvard virologist, urged trip organizers to let science and data guide their decision-making. A decision to reschedule or postpone the papal trip, or move it to a virtual format, would “be quite impactful from a global leadership standpoint” because “it would signal prioritizing the safety of Iraq’s public,” she said. ___ Kullab reported from Baghdad. Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed. ___ Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak Nicole Winfield And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. The justices are taking up a case about Arizona restrictions on ballot collection and another policy that penalizes voters who cast ballots in the wrong precinct. The high court's consideration comes as Republican officials in the state and around the country have proposed more than 150 measures, following last year’s elections, to restrict voting access that civil rights groups say would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic voters. A broad Supreme Court ruling would make it harder to fight those efforts in court. Arguments are set for Tuesday via telephone, because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It would be taking away one of the big tools, in fact, the main tool we have left now, to protect voters against racial discrimination,” said Myrna Perez, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s voting rights and elections program. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, said the high court case is about ballot integrity, not discrimination. “This is about protecting the franchise, not disenfranchising anyone,” said Brnovich, who will argue the case on Tuesday. President Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona last year, and since 2018, the state has elected two Democratic senators. The justices will be reviewing an appeals court ruling against a 2016 Arizona law that limits who can return early ballots for another person and against a separate state policy of discarding ballots if a voter goes to the wrong precinct. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ballot-collection law and the state policy discriminate against minority voters in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and that the law also violates the Constitution. The Voting Rights Act, first enacted in 1965, was extremely effective against discrimination at the ballot box because it forced state and local governments, with a history of discrimination, including Arizona, to get advance approval from the Justice Department or a federal court before making any changes to elections. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the portion of the law known as Section 5 could no longer be enforced because the population formula for determining which states were covered hadn’t been updated to take account of racial progress. Congress “must identify those jurisdictions to be singled out on a basis that makes sense in light of current conditions," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority. “It cannot rely simply on the past.” Democrats in Congress will try again to revive the advance approval provision of the voting rights law. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act failed in the last Congress, when Republicans controlled the Senate and President Donald Trump was in the White House. But another part of the law, Section 2, applies nationwide and still prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of race. Civil rights groups and voters alleging racial bias have to go to court and prove their case either by showing intentional discrimination in passing a law or that the results of the law fall most heavily on minorities. The new Supreme Court case mainly concerns how plaintiffs can prove discrimination based on the law’s results. The arguments are taking place against the backdrop of the 2020 election, in which there was a massive increase in early voting and mailed-in ballots because of the pandemic. Trump and his Republican supporters challenged the election results by advancing claims of fraud that were broadly rejected by state and federal courts. But many Republicans continue to question the election’s outcome, despite the absence of evidence. GOP elected officials have responded by proposing to restrict early voting and mailed-in ballots, as well as toughen voter identification laws. The challenged Arizona provisions remained in effect in 2020 because the case was still making its way through the courts. But Brnovich said last year’s voting is another reason the justices should side with the state. “I think part of the lesson of 2020 was that when people don’t believe that elections have integrity or that their vote is being protected, it will lead to undermining the public’s confidence in the system,” Brnovich said. Civil rights groups said the court should not use this case to make it harder to root out racial discrimination, which “still poses a unique threat to our democracy,” as the NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund put it in a brief. Nearly 75 businesses, including PayPal, Levi Strauss and Impossible Foods, joined in a brief urging the court to “fully preserve the Voting Rights Act." The Justice Department will not be part of Tuesday’s arguments, a rarity in a voting rights case. The Trump administration backed Arizona. The Biden administration, in a somewhat cryptic letter to the court, said this month that it believes “neither Arizona measure violates Section 2’s results test,” but doesn’t like the way its predecessor analyzed the issues. The suggestion from the new administration could give the court a narrow way to uphold the Arizona provisions without making any significant changes to voting discrimination law. A decision is expected by early summer. Mark Sherman, The Associated Press
An Israeli-owned ship hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman strategic waterway has arrived at a port in Dubai, where is it is due to be assessed in dry dock. Israel's defence minister on Saturday said that an initial assessment had found that Iran was responsible for the explosion. The blue and white ship is now berthed in Dubai's Port Rashid, having sailed from its position off the coast of Omani capital Muscat, where the explosion occurred.
(Bob WIlson - image credit) With the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including job losses, the widespread need for government assistance, the switch to working from home, and recommendations against travel, many northerners have questions about the implications all of this could have on their income taxes. Yellowknife-based tax consultant Andy Wong appeared on CBC's Trail's End earlier this week to answer listeners' questions about their 2020 income tax returns. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: There are some new boxes on people's T4s this year. What are those for? Those boxes, 57, 58, 59 and 60, they are on the bottom of the T4 slip. They are for the employer to tell CRA (the Canada Revenue Agency) what your income was during the CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) period (between March 16 and Sept. 26, 2020), which is not for you to think about. It's for the CRA to process and to follow up on. Q: For people who were eligible for CERB, what do they need to know for this tax season? Really not much ... because if you had applied for CERB in any period, you will get what's called a T4A slip. It will say how much you received from CERB. You put that on the tax return. That's all. It's just one extra tax slip. Q: What about those folks who claimed CERB, but were not eligible for it? This is where it can get complicated. In order to qualify for CERB, you must have lost your employment (or were unable to work), or your business must have been affected, because of COVID. (Those that didn't qualify but received CERB) will get a letter from the CRA that says you don't qualify, give it back. It's interest free. So I guess you can take all of 2021 to pay it back, or pay it back as soon as you can. So let's say you're a pensioner and you're kind of getting enough, but not really enough, and you heard that all you have to do is phone into a toll-free number, answer a couple of questions, and voilà, three days later, actually, less than that, the cheque's in the bank account. Could anyone have done it? Certainly they could have. But in a situation like this, it's very easy for the CRA to pick you out, because the CRA will look at your tax returns from 2019. The information is all there in the system. Q: What's the best way to get in touch with the CRA? Forget calling the CRA on the 1-800 toll-free line. That one is the national helpline. There is a dedicated phone helpline for the territories. It's 1-866-426-1527. Q: Is money received for medical travel or escorting someone for medical travel taxable income this year? No. It never has been, and I am not aware that it is taxable for 2020. Q: Does it really matter if you don't have all of your travel receipts, particularly for box 32, the employer travel benefit? I would say, if you took a trip, and you know what those expenses are, claim them. If you don't claim them, you get nothing. Now, if you claim the trips and in fact you end up being picked by the CRA for a review, you're going to have to explain to the CRA why you have missing receipts and basically, tell the story. Q: We rented an apartment for the mandatory two-week self-isolation period when we came back to N.W.T. from the United States. We are wondering if any of those quarantine expenses will be deductible. What you can claim are trip expenses, and obviously, the trip includes the stop at the quarantine location. So I would say yes, the expense of quarantine should count because you're not back at home yet. Q: Employees who are required to work from home, can we claim a certain amount, say, for power that the employer would be paying for, or for equipment such as our personal laptop? If you are required to work from home, you are allowed, essentially, to claim $2 per working day, and you don't need receipts for that. Now, it's up to only 200 days in 2020, so that's $400 maximum. No receipts, no questions asked. The form you use is called T777.
(Public Domain - image credit) His paintings adorn the walls of some of the most important buildings in the United States. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has dozens of his landscapes, and his works are considered by experts to be some of the best examples of 19th century American art. They have sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars. He was also an outspoken advocate for the end of slavery and worked to better the lives of African-Americans through much of his life. But Edward Mitchell Bannister is still little known in the country where he was born. Some people would like to change that. Born in Saint Andrews in 1828, it has been said he was the son of a white Canadian woman and a Black man from Barbados, but scholars are now beginning to doubt whether his mother was white. The Saint Andrews home that was once owned by merchant Harris Hatch, who took Bannister in after his parents died when he was young. It is believed he was born in the Black community on the outskirts of the town, and either his mother or grandmother worked as a cook and housekeeper in the home of Judge Harris Hatch. He was orphaned as a young man, and Hatch apparently took on the role of raising him. Peter Larocque, the curator of art at the New Brunswick Museum, said that relationship seems to have been an important part of Bannister's early artistic development. And recently, the New Brunswick Museum received three examples of his early work that suggest the judge encouraged Bannister's artistic leanings. They're large watercolours, which Larocque believes he painted in his early teens. "They are actually copies of what I believe to be British engravings," Larocque said. An early watercolour of Elgin Cathedral, Moray, Scotland, believed to have been painted by Bannister when he was in his teens. It is likely a copy of an etching from a book. It is one of three early paintings recently acquired by the New Brunswick Museum. The watercolours had been in Britain and still belonged to the family of the man who first purchased them. Larocque said he was a British naval officer who was a friend of Judge Hatch. Larocque describes the watercolours as "very competent," despite the unforgiving nature of watercolour paint, signed "E.M.B," and show the signs of a young artist trying to learn by copying other works. Whether commissioned by the officer, or just a purchase of something Bannister had been working on, it's not a stretch to think Hatch played a role in the deal. Larocque said the support Bannister received from his community in the early days in Saint Andrews was vital to his success in later years. Those watercolours join an oil painting titled Evening that is already part of the museum's collection and is regularly on display there. A Bannister painting acquired by the New Brunswick Museum in 1959. It is on regular exhibit at the museum. He left New Brunswick in his late teens, and went to sea as a ship's cook. That eventually took him to Boston, where he began his career as an artist. Diane Heller is a New Hampshire-based filmmaker who has been working to make a documentary about Bannister's life for nearly a decade. She became fascinated by his story while attending Brown University in Providence, R.I., the city that would become Bannister's home. Her goal is to tell the story of his life and legacy, beyond his skill as an artist. "All the articles you read were just imagery," Heller said, lamenting the lack of detail around the other aspects of his life. New Hampshire-based filmmaker Diane Heller has devoted the last decade to researching Bannister's life. She is currently working on a short film that will feature Bannister's coastal paintings and his love for the sea. Bannister was also an activist, an abolitionist, a philanthropist and, on top of all that, a capable yachtsman, Heller said. "He literally was always successful," she said. That included his choice of a partner, who is the reason he ended up in Rhode Island. Christiana Babcock was born in the state and was of African-American and First Nations descent, 10 years older than Bannister. She was known to Boston society as Madame Carteaux, the owner of a chain of successful hairdressing shops. The story goes that the couple met when a 24-year-old Bannister applied for a job as a barber in one of her shops. They were married five years later. A portrait of Christiana Babcock Bannister painted by her husband. During part of their time in Boston, they lived in the home of Lewis Hayden, an escaped slave and abolitionist who often sheltered Blacks in his home as part of the Underground Railroad. Christiana's shops became meeting places for abolitionists, and the pair would also become involved in the fight to get equal pay and treatment for Black soldiers in the Union Army. "His world included all the abolitionists in Boston," Heller said. He was even very close to Frederick Douglass, abolitionist writer, orator and former slave, who would become the first Black person nominated to run as a vice-presidential candidate. But breaking into the established art community in Boston was difficult for anyone, let alone a Black man. So not long after the end of the Civil War, they moved to Providence. There Bannister co-founded the Providence Art Club, which Heller said had the goal "to promote real New England artists." He also sat on the founding board of the Rhode Island School of Design. Bannister's headstone in Providence. Christiana continued her work by creating the Home for Aged Colored Women, a nursing home to support Black domestic servants who found themselves jobless in old age. All those organizations still exist, with the latter now called Bannister House. And Edward Bannister painted prolifically. It's estimated there are at least 500 of his works in existence. His talent was appreciated in his day, and he was the first Black artist to receive a national art prize. He died in 1901, and Peter Larocque said Bannister's style of landscape painting fell into disfavour after the First World War and disappeared from art galleries and museums for decades. In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in his works. Until recently, this Bannister painting was hanging in the official residence of the vice-president of the United States, one of two on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Smithsonian has a large collection of his paintings, and in 2017 lent two of them to hang in the official vice-president's residence at One Observatory Circle — Woman Walking Down Path, 1882, and Landscape near Newport, R.I., ca.1877-1878. They were part of six selected by Karen Pence, a former art teacher and the wife of former vice-president Mike Pence. A spokesperson for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Laura Baptiste, said in an email that those paintings are typically returned to the museum once the term is over and the new administration makes new requests. Larocque thinks Bannister's works would have special meaning to the new vice-president, Kamala Harris, who lived in Quebec and attended school there. "You would think Kamala Harris would, given her background, and the Canadian connection, be interested in keeping them there." The official residence is currently undergoing renovations, and there's no word yet on whether the new administration has made requests to the Smithsonian. This Bannister painting has been hanging in the White House since 2006. Five kilometres away from the vice-president's residence, on the walls of the White House, hangs Bannister's The Farm Landing, which was purchased for display in the building in 2006, during the term of George W. Bush. But does all this mean the artist is beginning to get his due? "Oh gosh, not yet," said Heller. "People still want to call him a Black artist. Until people call him an activist artist, he won't [get his due]." Some people are trying to change that. Heller is working on a short film, using Bannister's many paintings of coastal scenes, along with postcards of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to recreate a trip around New England's waters Bannister would have sailed in his day. And, she has plans for a series of films looking at other aspects of his life. Nova Scotia arts curator David Woods told CBC News last fall he is planning a retrospective on Bannister's career, which he hopes will happen in Sackville sometime in 2023. The Saint John Theatre Company's We Were Here production, recognizing New Brunswick's Black history, includes a piece on Bannister. And British art historian Anne Louise Avery has a book in the works on Bannister. Heller believes New Brunswickers should take pride in what Bannister accomplished, and the role the province and the community of Saint Andrews played in his formative years. "It's no accident that he flourished from there, it couldn't have happened anywhere else and you can quote me on that." For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. 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(Jeorge Sadi/CBC - image credit) A historic brick building familiar to anyone who's driven through Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley has developed an unplanned skylight. A passerby on Highway 101 could be forgiven for not noticing the damage to the old textile mill in Windsor, N.S., but a closer look shows a significant chunk of the snow-covered roof is now resting on an angle on the second floor of the vacant three-storey building. It isn't clear when the collapse happened, but it was brought to the attention of the building's owners and local officials on Saturday. Word seemed to be spreading through the community the same day, with a steady stream of cars passing slowly for passengers to gawk; some stopping to take photos. Abraham Zebian, mayor of the Region of Windsor-West Hants Municipality, said he understands the interest and the attraction to the site, given its 140-year history in the community. Regardless, he said, "It's very important to stay away." Locals noticed the collapsed roof on Saturday. The owners of the building sent a structural engineer to assess the damage and prevent anyone from going inside — a not uncommon occurrence, despite 'no trespassing' signs. Owners assessing the damage Mike Gallant — a project manager for United Gulf Developments Ltd., which bought the property in 2018 — was on his way to inspect the site Saturday afternoon. He told CBC News the company was sorting out how to keep the public from going inside. Commissioning private security and putting up fences were both on the table. "It's an unfortunate situation, obviously. We're doing what we can to mitigate the issue. It's all about protecting the health and safety of the public and that's our first priority," he said. Gallant, who is a structural engineer, said prior to the collapse, he had been leading an assessment of the building. He said he hadn't yet learned enough about it to have predicted something like a roof collapse. "We'd just started wrapping our heads around it," Gallant said. The question he was trying to answer was whether a tear-down, renovation or sale would make the best business sense. Gallant said that question still remains. Representatives from the company and the municipality met earlier this month. From that meeting, Zebian said he believed the property owners were "very motivated to do something with the actual structure." He said he figured the roof collapse was "just a slight setback." Abraham Zebian, mayor of the Region of Windsor-West Hants Municipality, says he still thinks a revitalization of the building is possible. Zebian said many in the community keep close watch on the building. "It's an icon. Every day over 16,000 cars pass along the highway here and they see the building [from] its former glory, with the old smoke stack that stood at an angle, to what it is today." A 140-year history Built as a cotton spinning mill around 1881 (or 1884, by some accounts), the 74,631 square-foot building was an operational textile plant until 2005. According to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, that's the year Nova Scotia Textiles, Inc. consolidated with its Truro-based competitor, Stanfield's. The building has been vacant since then, but there were once plans to convert it into a retail and condo complex. In 2009, units were listed for sale ranging in price from about $200,000 to $585,000. It was marketed as "Mill Island — not just a home, but a destination, only a short hop from Nova Scotia's premier destinations!" This artist rendering was included in a 2009 real estate listing for 'Mill Island,' a complex that was supposed to have upscale condos, fine dining and specialty shops. The developers behind the project put the building up for sale in 2013. New windows were installed around the same era, but the project stalled and many of those same windows — designed to fit the 19th century esthetic, but some still bearing modern manufacturer stickers — have since been smashed. Photos and videos from inside the building are easy to find online, making it clear that it isn't difficult, or uncommon, for trespassers to visit. Interior walls are covered with graffiti, from elaborate, multi-coloured pieces to a simple, white "I love my mom," punctuated with a heart. 'It was a dangerous spot to be left wide open like that' Alex Hanes said he suspects he might have seen it all for the last time when he visited the site last weekend. The hobby photographer and life-long Windsor resident went to take some photos of the dilapidated building, suspecting that its end was near. "I know I shouldn't have been in there," Hanes said. But, he said, he didn't want to miss his chance to photograph it. "I figured if I was going to take some pictures of the interior I better just go ahead and do it." United Gulf Developments Ltd. bought the dilapidated structure in 2018. Hanes said he was glad to hear the owners were going to seal it off to the public. "It's a wonder someone wasn't hurt. There was big gaping holes in the floor. It was a dangerous spot to be left wide open like that." Still, Hanes said he hopes the structure can be saved. "It's a beautiful building, it's an icon of the community. A lot of the families raised their families, they raised their kids working at that mill." His family, included. Hanes said his grandmother worked at the mill for decades. MORE TOP STORIES
Anyone want to go camping in the woods? After this video you will definitely want to!
(Supplied by Amanda Simms - image credit) When Amanda Simms was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago, her aspirations for her career in nursing ended abruptly. She found herself seeking a new purpose even as the disease ravaged her body. Simms became an ardent volunteer, doing anything in her power to help others with MS, including speaking in public to create more awareness in the larger community. This month, her efforts were honoured by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, which named her as recipient of its Young Leadership award for 2020. "MS has made me face a lot of things," Simms told CBC Radio's Edmonton AM this week. "It's shown me that my plans don't really matter, that life is going to happen anyway," she said. "I had big career plans of my nursing and where I was going to go. It wasn't just my job. It was my passion. "I have to take those values that I found interesting and reapply them into my life and into my volunteer work to keep pursuing and keep on living life to the fullest. Even though MS has really given us a turn for the worst." Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with about 77,000 people living with MS and 11 new cases diagnosed each day, according to the MS Society of Canada. The autoimmune disorder affects the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of symptoms including dizziness, depression and difficulty walking. Simms was 26 and working as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit at the Stollery Children's Hospital when she was diagnosed with MS. Hospitalized with severe pneumonia, she had lost her ability to walk. Her physiotherapist flagged that to her doctors. "I was rushed down for emergency MRIs and actually received a diagnosis that day of multiple sclerosis, which isn't usual," she said. Early on after her diagnosis, Simms became a top fundraiser in events like the MS Bike and MS Walk. Now, with her physical mobility affected, she is part of a national youth committee and volunteers doing one-to-one peer support with other MS patients. 'Disability can look like anyone' When her neurologist delivered the news, Simms realized how little she knew about MS, despite being a health-care professional. "I truly thought that I was going to have a rough time and then go back to my baseline and carry on as normal," she said. That realization is part of why she tells her story, putting a face to a disease that so affects so many people but is still poorly understood. "I started sharing my personal story with fundraisers and different companies just to help bring awareness to the cause, to say thank you for the money that the research goes to — and also to show that disability can look like anyone."
(Submitted by Beatriz Cordeiro - image credit) Beatriz Cordeiro says she didn't choose Canada, but Canada chose her. "I had no reason to be here," said the 20-year-old student from the coastal city of Recife, Brazil. Cordeiro was studying law in Brazil but felt miserable and realized she didn't want a desk job for the rest of her life. Theatre was her calling. Cordeiro had gone to a Brazilian high school that had a partnership with New Brunswick and provided the option to study a Canadian curriculum for more money. She didn't take that program, but after she lost interest in law, a family friend suggested Cordeiro reach out to her high school's director about the possibility of studying in Canada. I think this place is home way more than my other place was home. - Beatriz Cordeiro, international student Over the next two months, Cordeiro applied and was accepted at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. She didn't have a scholarship, which meant she would have to pay full international tuition, or about $18,000 a year. "When I asked my mom, 'Should I do it? It's going to be so much money,' she was, like, 'Do you really want to do it?' And I was, like, 'Yes' and she said, 'So we're going to find a way.'" Now, however, Cordeiro is among the international students who are struggling with finances. For some, support from home dried up after the pandemic hit and family members lost their jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on Cordeiro's efforts to pay for expenses. Her mother, a single parent, ran an event-planning company that had been in the family for over 30 years. The company was already struggling, but after coronavirus hit the country, her mother lost her job. On top of her schoolwork, Cordeiro works 40 hours a week between three jobs — as a barista, a stage manager at STU, and on an internship with a local theatre company. Under federal law, international students are allowed to work 20 hours off-campus per week and unlimited hours on campus. Cordeiro, who lives off campus, considers Fredericton her home. She said the city's arts community is what keeps her alive and she's found her passion here. "I truly think I will be here for the rest of my life. I think this place is home way more than my other place was home," she said. In this photo, Beatriz Cordeiro, with Georgia Priestley-Brown, stage manager for the Fredericton production of Sweet Dreams. Cordeiro was assistant stage manager in the production. Cordeiro's mother is now working for her family's bakery but hasn't been paid for the last six months, making her unable to send money to her daughter. Brazil's currency, the Brazilian real, is also weaker than the Canadian dollar, with one Canadian dollar the equivalent of slightly more than four reais as of Feb. 23. In November, Cordeiro raised $4,200 through a GoFundMe campaign but still has $6,000 left to pay of school costs. Cordeiro was one of 30 students at STU who applied for help from the International Student COVID-19 Financial Aid Fund. She received $850 from the fund, which was set up by the student union. Leigh Watson, a communications officer for the New Brunswick government, said in an email that the province implemented a $500,000 program last April, the Emergency Bridging Fund for Vulnerable Post-Secondary Students, to help vulnerable students experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic. Out of those who applied for the program, 68 per cent were international students. Almost a year later, some international students still struggle to pay for tuition and expenses in the province. 'A lot of guilt' Sara Lamk, a STU international student from Chillán, Chile, is in the same boat as Cordeiro. Her uncle, who paid for her tuition during her first two years of university, told her he won't be able to send any more money because COVID-19 affected his job. Lamk's mother doesn't have a stable job, and whenever Lamk receives money from her mother, she feels guilty. "There's a lot of guilt for us to ask people back home to help us financially when we already know they are struggling," she said. Lamk works 30 hours a week — as a barista, a campus tour ambassador, and on an internship with a non-profit working with LGBTQ youth — and the money she earns goes toward tuition and rent. She stopped paying her phone bill because it's money she could use for tuition, she said. She also takes advantage of her employee discount at work to eat there and avoid having to buy groceries. Sara Lamk, a St. Thomas University international student, said international students don't have the option to take a semester or a year off school to work to pay for tuition. Lamk said many international students come to Canada with financial security for their first year of university, such as scholarships or the assurance they will be able to afford expenses. But that changes. "Unexpected things happen throughout the degree, right? Nobody told me in my first year that my uncle was not going to be able to help me pay anymore at some point in university, so I wasn't worried about that," she said. Lamk, for example, had a scholarship that covered her room and $2,500 of her tuition, but couldn't meet the 3.5 GPA requirement to renew it last April because her mental health was affected when the pandemic hit. Now, she pays full international tuition, which is double of the government-subsidized tuition Canadian students pay. There's a lot of guilt for us to ask people back home to help us financially when we already know they are struggling. - Sara Lamk, international student at St. Thomas University. This year, Lamk said she's noticed her university has put out financial aid specifically for international students, such as the international relief fund that she also applied to through the STU students' union. She's grateful for it. Still, she wishes universities were more flexible and understanding with students who struggle with finding ways to pay. "Would you blame someone [for wanting] better education opportunities?" 'What do you do for your home?' Lamk said international students don't have the option to take a year or a semester off to work to pay for tuition, which is something Canadian students can do. Under federal law, international students need to be studying full time to be able to stay in Canada under a student visa. "We don't have that option of freezing and then continuing as if nothing had happened, because that means either we have to go back to our home countries, [where] the situation could be worse," she said. Asif Hasan, Fredericton business owner and immigrant, founded the International Students Association of New Brunswick in June last year as a support group for international students during the pandemic. Asif Hasan, Fredericton business-owner and immigrant, founded the International Students' Association New Brunswick chapter last June to offer support to international students. While international students have reached out to the organization regarding financial support, Hasan said students have mostly reached out seeking mental health support and someone to talk to who would relate to their experiences of isolation during the pandemic. Hasan said that international students and immigrants go through "double the stress" when keeping up with how the pandemic unfolds in New Brunswick, which he said is also their home, and in their home countries. "Here you can actually give back … but what do you do for your home?" he said. "That feeling of 'I don't know what to do' creates a huge kind of anxiety." Building a life in Canada, away from family Cordeiro, who has mostly Canadian friends, knows COVID-19 also affects local people. Still, she has noticed how her international friends have their own set of struggles, which include constantly worrying about how their families are doing back home with COVID-19 while being away from them. With the virus unfolding in Brazil, Cordeiro said, she fears for her family's life, with her mother and grandmother having weaker immune systems. "I literally am scared that I will receive the call that they died, for example, and I'm not going to be able to do anything about it because I'm here, and I don't have the means to go back home, for example, if anything happened." Cordeiro said while it's lonely to be in Fredericton by herself, she's happy to be in New Brunswick because it's safer. "Although we had a spike in cases [recently], it's nothing compared to other places and nothing compared to what my city looks like right now. There's the two sides of the coin for every story. "[It's not that] COVID hasn't hit Canada badly, but it did hit other countries way worse and that is just hard to watch, to be happy to be here, but also watch our countries go through such a tragic situation."
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers gave final approval Saturday to a bill that will legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, but not until 2024, when retail sales of the drug would also begin. With a compromise bill clearing the House and Senate, Virginia becomes the first Southern state to vote to legalize marijuana, joining 15 other states and the District of Columbia. The legislation now goes to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who supports legalization. The bill was a top priority for Democrats, who framed legalization as a necessary step to end the disparate treatment of people of colour under current marijuana laws. But talks between Democrats in the House and Senate grew tense in recent days, and a compromise version of the massive bill did not emerge publicly until late Saturday afternoon. “It’s been a lot of work to get here, but I would say that we’re on the path to an equitable law allowing responsible adults to use cannabis,” said Sen. Adam Ebbin, the chief sponsor of the Senate bill. Several Democrats said they hoped Northam would send the legislation back to them with amendments, including speeding up the date for legalization. “If we have already made the decision that simple possession should be repealed, we could have done that today and ended the disproportionate fines on communities of colour,” said Sen. Jennifer McClellan. “Let's be absolutely clear — this bill is not legalization, and there are a lot of steps between here and legalization,” she said. Northam's spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, said the governor “looks forward to continuing to improve this legislation.” “There's still a lot of work ahead, but this bill will help to reinvest in our communities and reduce inequities in our criminal justice system,” she said. Under the legislation, possession of up to an ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana will become legal beginning Jan. 1, 2024, at the same time sales will begin and regulations will go into effect to control the marijuana marketplace in Virginia. Under a provision Senate Democrats insisted on, the legislation will include a reenactment clause that will require a second vote from the General Assembly next year, but only on the regulatory framework and criminal penalties for several offences, including underage use and public consumption of marijuana. A second vote will not be required on legalization. The Senate had sought to legalize simple possession this year to immediately end punishments for people with small amounts of marijuana, but House Democrats argued that legalization without a legal market for marijuana could promote the growth of the black market. Lawmakers last year decriminalized marijuana, making simple possession a civil penalty that can be punished by a fine of no more than $25. House Majority Leader Charniele Herring said that while the legislation isn’t perfect, it was a “justice bill.” “This moves us in a ... direction to strike down and to address those institutional barriers, and over-policing, over-arrests, over-convictions of African Americans who do not use marijuana at a higher rate than our white counterparts, but we seem to get the brunt of criminal convictions,” Herring said. A recent study by the legislature’s research and watchdog agency found that from 2010-2019, the average arrest rate of Black individuals for marijuana possession was 3.5 times higher than the arrest rate for white individuals. The study also found that Black people were convicted at a rate 3.9 times higher than white people. The bill calls for dedicating 30% of marijuana tax revenue — after program costs — to a Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund. The money would be used to help communities that have been historically over-policed for marijuana crimes, with funds going toward scholarships, workforce development and job placement services, and low- or no-interest loans for qualified cannabis businesses. Virginians who have a marijuana-related conviction, have family members with a conviction, or live in an area that is economically distressed could qualify as social equity applicants who would get preference for licenses to get into the marijuana marketplace as cultivators, wholesalers, processors and retailers. The largest portion of the tax revenue from marijuana sales would go toward funding pre-K for at-risk kids. The bill drew sharp criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and and other racial justice advocacy groups. “Today, the Virginia General Assembly failed to legalize marijuana for racial justice. Lawmakers paid lip service to the communities that have suffered decades of harm caused by the racist War on Drugs with legislation that falls short of equitable reform and delays justice,” the ACLU said in a tweet. Groups that opposed legalization entirely have said they are concerned that it could result in an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes and the use of marijuana among youth. Republican lawmakers spoke against the measure Saturday night, saying such a critical issue deserved a less rushed approach. “I would say there are not more than two or three members of this body that have a clue about the comprehensiveness of what this bill does,” said Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment. Denise Lavoie And Sarah Rankin, The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine Sunday, among the last in Southeast Asia to secure the critical doses despite having the second-highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the hard-hit region. A Chinese military transport aircraft carrying 600,000 doses of vaccine donated by China arrived in an air base in the capital. President Rodrigo Duterte and top Cabinet officials expressed relief and thanked Beijing for the the vaccine from China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in a televised ceremony. “COVID-19 vaccines should be treated as a global public good and made available to all, rich and poor alike,” Duterte said, warning that “no one is safe until everyone is safe.” China's ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, said China has exported vaccines to 27 countries despite its own domestic needs, adding “no winter lasts forever” when China and other countries help each other in solidarity when crisis strikes. Vaccinations initially of health workers and top officials led by the health secretary were scheduled to start in six Metropolitan Manila hospitals Monday. Aside from the donated Sinovac vaccine, the government has separately ordered 25 million doses from the China-based company. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the delivery of an initial 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine that was initially scheduled for Monday would be delayed by a week due to supply problems. The initial deliveries are a small fraction of at least 148 million doses the government has been negotiating to secure from Western and Asian companies to vaccinate about 70 million Filipinos for free in a massive campaign. The bulk of the vaccine shipments are expected to arrive later this year. The Philippines has reported more than 576,000 infections, including 12,318 deaths, the second-highest totals in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Lockdowns and quarantine restrictions have set back Manila’s economy in one of the worst recessions in the region and sparked unemployment and hunger. Duterte’s administration has come under criticism for lagging behind most other Southeast Asian countries in securing the vaccines, including much smaller and poorer ones like Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. The tough-talking Duterte has said wealthy Western countries have cornered massive doses for their citizens, leaving poorer nations scrambling for the rest. In a sign of desperation, the president said last December that he would proceed to abrogate a key security pact with the United States that allows large numbers of American troops to conduct war exercises in the Philippines if Washington could not provide at least 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. “No vaccine, no stay here,” Duterte said then. The Chinese vaccine delivery was delayed due to the absence of an emergency-use authorization from Manila’s Food and Drug Administration. Sinovac got the authorization last Monday. Western pharmaceutical companies also wanted the Philippine government to guarantee that it would take responsibility for lawsuits and demands for indemnity arising from possible adverse side effects from the vaccine, officials said. Aside from supply problems, there have been concerns over the vaccine’s safety, largely due to a dengue vaccine scare that prompted the Duterte administration to stop a massive immunization drive in 2017. ___ Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report. Jim Gomez, The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year. NASA’s Kate Rubins and Victor Glover emerged from the orbiting lab lugging 8-foot (2.5-meter) duffle-style bags stuffed with hundreds of pounds of mounting brackets and struts. The equipment was so big and awkward that it had to be taken apart like furniture, just to get through the hatch. “We know it's super tight in there,” Mission Control radioed. The astronauts headed with their unusually large load to the far port side of the station, careful not to bump into anything. That’s where the station’s oldest and most degraded solar wings are located. With more people and experiments flying on the space station, more power will be needed to keep everything running, according to NASA. The six new solar panels — to be delivered in pairs by SpaceX over the coming year or so — should boost the station’s electrical capability by as much as 30%. Rubins and Glover had to assemble and bolt down the struts for the first two solar panels, due to launch in June. The eight solar panels up there now are 12 to 20 years old — most of them past their design lifetime and deteriorating. Each panel is 112 feet (34 metres) long by 39 feet (12 metres) wide. Tip to tip counting the centre framework, each pair stretches 240 feet (73 metres), longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan. Boeing is supplying the new roll-up panels, about half the size of the old ones but just as powerful thanks to the latest solar cell technology. They’ll be placed at an angle above the old ones, which will continue to operate. A prototype was tested at the space station in 2017. Sunday’s spacewalk was the third for infectious disease specialist Rubins and Navy pilot Glover — both of whom could end up flying to the moon. They’re among 18 astronauts newly assigned to NASA’s Artemis moon-landing program. The next moonwalkers will come from this group. Last week, Vice-President Kamala Harris put in a congratulatory call to Glover, the first African American astronaut to live full time at the space station. NASA released the video exchange Saturday. “The history making that you are doing, we are so proud of you,” Harris said. Like other firsts, Glover replied, it won't be the last. “We want to make sure that we can continue to do new things,” he said. Rubins will float back out Friday with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to wrap up the solar panel prep work, and to vent and relocate ammonia coolant hoses. Glover and Noguchi were among four astronauts arriving via SpaceX in November. Rubins launched from Kazakhstan in October alongside two Russians. They’re all scheduled to return to Earth this spring. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
