Scientists grow plants in lunar dirt
For the first time, scientists have used lunar soil collected by NASA's long-ago moonwalkers to grow plants (May 11)
A new report into the 2020 sinking of the Sarah Anne off Newfoundland's south coast says the fishing vessel likely capsized suddenly, sending all four crew members into the water and causing their deaths. Clifford Harvey, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's director of marine investigation, said the absence of life-saving equipment and distress signals support the conclusion that the vessel's capsizing took the crew by surprise. "Without critical pieces of life-saving equipment the crew
Prince Edward Islanders may be starting to think about leaving their vehicles in the driveway more often, but they won't be able to entirely avoid the impact of high prices for gas and diesel. Prices have been breaking records throughout the spring. Gas, at $2.108, is sitting at a record high. Diesel, at $2.424, is down from a record high at the end of April but still 90 per cent higher than it was a year ago. Mike Cassidy, owner of T3 Transit, said he is seeing signs that Islanders are making t
The U.S. Soccer Federation has agreed to pay its men’s and women’s national teams equally in a historic move that was years in the making. The collective bargaining agreements announced Wednesday include identical pay structures and equal distribution of World Cup prize money, something that had been a major sticking point. The men's CBA expired in December 2018 and the women's contract expired at the end of March, but talks continued after the federation and the women's team agreed to settle a
Moncton is undertaking a study of what it could take to switch its public transit fleet to electric power. City councillors voted unanimously Monday in favour of awarding a sole-source contract to the not-for-profit Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium. The study, expected to take 30 weeks, will begin this year. Angela Allain, Moncton's director of public transit, said it will examine everything from the existing transit garage and diesel fleet to whether supplementary charg
The short chapter of a Calgary site in the tragic history of Canada's residential school system will not be forgotten if the City of Calgary and Treaty 7 nations can agree on how to do that. St. Dunstan's industrial school was operated by the Anglican Church from 1892 to 1907 on land that is now in southeast Calgary. Located between Deerfoot Trail and the Bow River, a short distance south of the Calf Robe Bridge, the city has owned the land for several decades. The city is interested in working
U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley won their respective Senate primaries on Tuesday, setting up a fall election matchup that should again test former President Donald Trump’s influence in North Carolina. (May 18)
OTTAWA — A new report calls on federal corrections to ease caseloads, improve workplace policies and give added resources to parole officers in order to mitigate current strains on their mental health. The report, led by public safety expert Rosemary Ricciardelli and released by a union, says that federal parole officers are experiencing extremely high levels of workplace stress and compromised mental health. These 1,600 parole officers across Canada feel overwhelmed by their caseloads, are expo
OTTAWA — Sven Spengemann has resigned as the Liberal member of Parliament for Mississauga-Lakeshore. In a statement Wednesday, Spengemann says he is stepping down to once again serve with the United Nations. He says will start his new job on May 28 and will have more to say later about what he will be doing. Spengemann was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019 and last September. He has served as chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Interna
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Bridget Brink late Wednesday as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, filling the post as officials plan to return American diplomats to Kyiv during the nation's continuing battle against the Russian invasion. The veteran foreign service officer, who has spent most of her career in the shadow of the former Soviet Union, was nominated to the position last month by President Joe Biden. She was confirmed by the Senate unanimously without a formal roll call vote. America
As the massive rear door of the Canadian C-17 Globemaster lowered to the runway in rainy Prestwick, Scotland, members of Canadian Forces Base Trenton's 8 Wing tactical airlift detachment pounced. Within minutes, uniformed soldiers had unloaded pallets filled with what Canada's military euphemistically refers to as "lethal" and "non-lethal" aid — until one heavy load stopped them in their tracks. It took at least 10 soldiers, a forklift and a lot of grunting and groaning before the secretive, hea
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said China’s extreme approach to containing the coronavirus is unsustainable because of the highly infectious nature of the omicron variant, but that it’s up to every country to decide what policy to pursue. At a media briefing on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described China’s “zero-COVID” strategy as “not sustainable” after similar remarks last week drew sharp criticism from China. “We know the virus better and
Staff at Jack Hulland Elementary School in Whitehorse, Yukon routinely put students in holds or seclusion prior to 2020 for not following directions, including one case where a child was put in a hold for not pulling the hood of their sweater down. Holds, where staff restrain students with their own bodies, are only meant to be used when there's an imminent threat to physical safety. Seclusion, where a student is confined in a space alone, is not supposed to be used at all. Those were among the
Prince Charles and Camilla greeted eager crowds in St. John’s as they embarked on the first stop of their three-day royal tour across Canada. One of the key themes of their tour is Indigenous reconciliation, with Charles pledging to listen and learn from Indigenous peoples.
The City of Iqaluit is warning it will have to raise property taxes if the Qulliq Energy Corporation's general rate application is approved. In a move to help ease the cost of living to Nunavuvammiut in smaller communities, Qulliq Energy Corp. (QEC) has proposed to slash commercials electricity rates across the territory — except in Iqaluit — and hike government rates to make up the difference. QEC needs to recover a $6.6 million shortfall with how electricity prices are set now. The proposal wo
Toronto FC wingback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and midfielder Kosi Thompson highlight Canada's 60-man provisional roster ahead of next month’s CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship. The provisional list features some other familiar names with a Borjan, Bunbury, De Rosario, Herdman and Bontis. The Canadian roster will be whittled down to 18 outfield players and two goalkeepers ahead of the 20-team tournament slated for June 18 to July 3 in Honduras. Canada has been drawn in Group E with the U.S., Cub
WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs of Republican resistance are mounting over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, a reemergence of the Trump-led isolationist wing of the GOP that's coming at a crucial moment as the war against the Russian invasion deepens. The Senate voted late Monday to advance the Ukraine aid bill 81-11, pushing it toward President Joe Biden's desk by week's end to become law. But more vocal objections from Republicans in Congress are sending warning signs after what has been rare and
A report going to Saskatoon's Board of Police Commissioners says controversial patches worn by some police officers are not authorized to be worn on uniforms. In January, the city's police board asked the Saskatoon Police Service to write a report on Thin Blue Line patches. According to Saskatoon police, the patch originally symbolized the courage of police officers in the line of duty. However, the report notes that after the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, th