Matt Di Nicolantonio takes us through the snowfall warnings across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and P.E.I..
Any members of the U.S. Congress who helped a crowd of President Donald Trump's supporters storm the Capitol should face criminal prosecution, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday. The unprecedented Jan. 6 attack on the seat of Congress left five dead and led the House to impeach Trump a second time, for a fiery speech that day in which he urged thousands of his followers to fight Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, has accused some Republican lawmakers of helping Trump supporters, saying she saw colleagues leading groups on "reconnaissance" tours on Jan. 5.
How the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division educates students with intensive needs was a focus during the board’s meeting on Monday night. Superintendent Tom Michaud gave an accountability report on the division's recent performance. According to the report, Saskatchewan Rivers has significantly higher than average students per capita with intensive needs. According to Michaud's report, those students are succeeding with support from staff in the classrooms, at the division level and in specialized learning centers that do not exist elsewhere in the region. “It was really well received--really good information and good questions.... The inclusions around the health and wellness and our support for inclusive education and student services was a piece that was new to the report this year that hadn’t been in previous reports,” Sask. Rivers Director of Education Robert Bratvold said. Highlights of the report include the increase in educational support teachers, the support for English Language Learners and the capacity-building work done in the division to support students. In the division there are currently 48 emotional support teachers, six speech language pathologists, 10 school social workers, six English as additional language teachers, two educational psychologists and three Intensive Support consultants. Contracted service providers or partnerships include YWCA workers, audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists through referral with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and SHA outreach workers. Staff changes in 2020-2021 show two full time occupational therapists under contract until the end of 2022-2023 school year, an additional full time social worker to respond to multiple schools, and a suspension of the school based physical therapists partnership with the SHA. Numbers that were not available in the report included enrolment numbers for alternative education in the Grade 9 to 12 category at Carlton. “There was a challenge and it was sort of an obvious thing.... There was data that we just couldn’t collect because of COVID,” Bratvold said. “It wasn’t unexpected. We knew that and the trustees knew that and so it actually in some ways was able to focus on some of the more qualitative aspects of our programming that isn’t always captured in the numerical data,” he explained The report also outlined mental health supports that exist in the division. Superintendent Tom Michaud gave an accountability report on the division's recent performance. According to the report, Saskatchewan Rivers has significantly higher than average students per capita with intensive needs. According to Michaud's report, those students are succeeding with support from staff in the classrooms, at the division level and in specialized learning centers that do not exist elsewhere in the region. “It was really well received--really good information and good questions.... The inclusions around the health and wellness and our support for inclusive education and student services was a piece that was new to the report this year that hadn’t been in previous reports,” Sask. Rivers Director of Education Robert Bratvold said. Highlights of the report include the increase in educational support teachers, the support for English Language Learners and the capacity-building work done in the division to support students. In the division there are currently 48 emotional support teachers, six speech language pathologists, 10 school social workers, six English as additional language teachers, two educational psychologists and three Intensive Support consultants. Contracted service providers or partnerships include YWCA workers, audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists through referral with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and SHA outreach workers. Staff changes in 2020-2021 show two full time occupational therapists under contract until the end of 2022-2023 school year, an additional full time social worker to respond to multiple schools, and a suspension of the school based physical therapists partnership with the SHA. Numbers that were not available in the report included enrolment numbers for alternative education in the Grade 9 to 12 category at Carlton. “There was a challenge and it was sort of an obvious thing.... There was data that we just couldn’t collect because of COVID,” Bratvold said. “It wasn’t unexpected. We knew that and the trustees knew that and so it actually in some ways was able to focus on some of the more qualitative aspects of our programming that isn’t always captured in the numerical data,” he explained The report also outlined mental health supports that exist in the division. Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald
NEW YORK — The New York Jets reached an agreement in principle with San Francisco 49ers defensive co-ordinator Robert Saleh on Thursday night to hire him as their head coach. Saleh replaces Adam Gase, who was fired by on Jan. 3 after going 9-23 in two seasons. The 41-year-old Saleh emerged as the favourite for the Jets job when he was brought in for a second -- and this time, in-person -- interview Tuesday night, and those discussions extended into Wednesday. He was the first of the nine known candidates New York interviewed remotely to meet with chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson, team president Hymie Elhai and general manager Joe Douglas at its facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. Saleh, a popular candidate among teams looking for a new coach, left to meet with Philadelphia. And the Jets also had an in-person meeting with Tennessee offensive co-ordinator Arthur Smith on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. After Smith left without a deal, New York had internal discussions and opted to hire Saleh. Saleh, recognized as an energetic leader who is well liked by his players, had been the 49ers’ defensive co-ordinator under Kyle Shanahan since 2017, overseeing San Francisco’s defence that ranked No. 2 overall on the way to the Super Bowl last season. The 49ers ranked fifth in overall defence this season despite season-ending injuries to pass rushers Nick Bosa — the 2019 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year — and Dee Ford, as well as defensive linemen Solomon Thomas and Ezekiel Ansah. While San Francisco missed the playoffs, Saleh’s work with a banged-up and short-handed defence made him a popular candidate among the teams looking for a coach. Saleh, who first interviewed with the Jets last Friday, also spoke with Detroit, Atlanta, Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Chargers. New York pounced, though, and got its guy after Douglas promised the team would “cast a very wide net” in its search. Both Johnson and Douglas spoke about finding a leader, a CEO-type of coach who would oversee the entire operation of the team and help re-establish a culture and identity for the franchise. The 20th coach in franchise history, Saleh beat out Smith, Kansas City offensive co-ordinator Eric Bieniemy, Carolina offensive co-ordinator Joe Brady, Buffalo offensive co-ordinator Brian Daboll, Indianapolis defensive co-ordinator Matt Eberflus, New Orleans defensive backs coach Aaron Glenn, former Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis, and Los Angeles Rams defensive co-ordinator Brandon Staley. ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Dennis Waszak Jr.., The Associated Press
Tyro on Wednesday said 30% of its 32,000 customers - the majority of which use a single terminal - were facing outages caused by a software issue, and that it was collecting 2,000 terminals a day to be repaired and returned. Short seller Viceroy Research on Friday said it estimated around 50% of Tyro's terminals are offline based on its "extensive" checks with an undisclosed number of Tyro customers. Tyro, in response to the Viceroy report, said it stood by its earlier statement on the outages, calling the claims made by the short seller "false".
If you’re a diabetic, you probably know what it’s like to prick your finger to get a blood sugar reading. If you’re not, Canada may be calling you to let a little blood as a civic duty. The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force recently rolled out its latest wave of antibody home test kits in its effort to map the prevalence of COVID-19 in the country. This past week, 22,000 of the test kits were mailed to randomly selected Canadians. That’s in addition to 4,000 that were sent before Christmas. In total, 48,000 test kits will be distributed, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s share of that will be almost 3,600. Dr. Catherine Hankins, chair of the task force, says she hopes people realize the service they’re providing by participating. “There are two big reasons to participate,” she said this week. “One is you’re being called to serve, in a sense — to serve your province and your country by helping gather information that’s going to be useful to decision-makers … but also, you get to learn your own result, and I can tell you a lot of people are curious.” However, you can't volunteer to do the test unless you've received a kit. The daily count of COVID-19 cases that appears in the news only tallies those who have tested positive for the disease through PCR testing. That’s a genetic test that can detect even the smallest amount of virus in a person's airways. An antibody test is different. It detects the cells a person's body creates to combat the virus. They can linger for months, or even a year or more, long after a person has recovered. They will also be there even if a person didn’t know they had the disease. One advantage of the Canadian-made test the task force is using is that it can detect the difference between the antibodies that occur naturally to fight viral infection, and those that are induced by a vaccine. Commercially produced tests have not been able to do that until now. Michael Grant, an immunologist at Memorial University in St. John’s, says tests they conducted last year did not have that capability. In his study, Grant said, they recruited people who had COVID-19 or thought they might have it or been exposed to it. Out of 160 volunteers, they found only two cases of people who tested negative for the coronavirus but actually had the antibodies. One of them was someone who had quarantined during a cruise, and tested negative when they got back. However, Grant says he was encouraged by the fact some people still had antibodies in their system several months after being exposed. “It would suggest to me that the (infection) immunity is going to last at least as long as the vaccine-based immunity," he said. “That’s all we can say so far, because it hasn’t been that long a time.” Grant said the task force study will offer some important insights, and may even help inform who is best to vaccinate after the high-priority groups are covered. “Right now, the public health approach is that everyone should get the vaccine,” he said. But he adds that 48,000 tests will only tell so much. “They would have to get out a lot in order to cover the entire country and be able to get an accurate idea of prevalence in different regions,” he said. Hankins agrees the sample size won’t give a clear picture of specific regions of a given province, and tests aren’t being distributed to Indigenous reservations, military facilities or prisons. But the algorithm used by Statistics Canada ensures a representative cross-section of age and gender. That’s why she is hoping for a high participation rate. “You’re representing not just yourself,” she tells test recipients, “but everybody else your age, your sex and your province, so you’re really important.”Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram
The A-list is back. How A-list? Try Lady Gaga and J. Lo. Inauguration officials announced on Thursday that the glittery duo would appear in person on Jan. 20, with Gaga singing the national anthem as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, and Jennifer Lopez giving a musical performance. Foo Fighters, John Legend and Bruce Springsteen will offer remote performances, and Eva Longoria and and Kerry Washington will introduce segments of the event. Later that day, Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute primetime TV special celebrating Biden’s inauguration. Other performers include Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Ant Clemons. Despite a raging pandemic that is forcing most inaugural events online, it was a sign that Hollywood was back and eager to embrace the new president-elect four years after many big names stayed away from the inauguration of President Donald Trump, hugely unpopular in Hollywood. The question: How would the star wattage play across the country as Biden seeks to unite a bruised nation? Eric Dezenhall, a Washington crisis management consultant and former Reagan administration official, predicted reaction would fall “along tribal lines.” “I think it all comes down to the reinforcement of pre-existing beliefs,” Dezenhall said. “If you’re a Biden supporter, it’s nice to see Lady Gaga perform.” But, he added, “what rallied Trump supporters was the notion of an uber-elite that had nothing to do at all with them and that they couldn’t relate to.” Presidential historian Tevi Troy quipped that the starry Gaga-J. Lo lineup was not A-list, but D-list — "for Democratic.” "When Democrats win you get the more standard celebrities,” said Troy, author of “What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House.” “With Republicans you tend to get country music stars and race-car drivers." Referring to Lady Gaga’s outspoken support for the Biden-Harris ticket, he said he was nostalgic for the days when celebrities were not so political. “Call me a hopeless romantic, but I liked the old days when Bob Hope or Frank Sinatra would come to these events and they were not overtly political,” he said. Still, he said, Biden’s unity message won’t be derailed. “In the end, I don’t think having Lady Gaga or J. Lo is all that divisive,” he said. Attendance at the inauguration will be severely limited, due to both the pandemic and fears of continued violence, following last week’s storming of the Capitol. Outside the official events, one of the more prominent galas each inauguration is The Creative Coalition's quadrennial ball, a benefit for arts education. This year, the ball is entirely virtual. But it is star-studded nonetheless: The event, which will involve food being delivered simultaneously to attendees in multiple cities, will boast celebrity hosts including Jason Alexander, David Arquette, Matt Bomer, Christopher Jackson, Ted Danson, Lea DeLaria, Keegan Michael-Key, Chrissy Metz, Mandy Patinkin and many others. Robin Bronk, CEO of the non-partisan arts advocacy group, said she's been deluged with celebrities eager to participate in some way. The event typically brings in anywhere from $500,000 to $2.5 million, and this year the arts community is struggling like never before. Bronk noted that planning has been a challenge, given not only the recent political upheaval in the country but also the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic. Given all that, did a celebration make sense? “I was thinking about this when we were trying to phrase the invitation,” Bronk said. “Do we celebrate? This is the most serious time of our lives.” But, she said, especially at a time when the arts community is suffering, it’s crucial to shine a spotlight and recognize that “the right to bear arts is not a red or blue issue. One of the reasons we have this ball is that we have to ensure the arts are not forgotten." The Presidential Inaugural Committee also announced Thursday that the invocation will be given by the Rev. Leo O’Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, and the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Andrea Hall, a firefighter from Georgia. There will be a poetry reading from Amanda Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, and the benediction will be given by Rev. Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware. On the same platform, Biden sat in 2013 behind pop star Beyoncé as she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at President Barack Obama's second inauguration. James Taylor sang “America the Beautiful,” and Kelly Clarkson sang “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.” At Trump’s inauguration in 2017, the anthem was performed by 16-year-old singer Jackie Evancho. A number of top artists declined the opportunity to perform at the festivities, and one Broadway star, Jennifer Holliday, even said she’d received death threats before she pulled out of her planned appearance. There was indeed star power in 2017, but most of it was centred at the Women’s March on Washington, where attendees included Madonna, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Cher, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Emma Watson and many others. This year, signs are that Obama-era celebrities are returning. Dezenhall said that in the end, it's logical for organizers to go with the biggest talent. “Lady Gaga is as big as you can get, and she is very talented,” he said. “If I were being inaugurated and I could have Lady Gaga, I would take it.” Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
Saskatchewan Rivers School Division trustees are continuing professional development despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually there are provincial gatherings to help trustees, but they've stopped since the start of the pandemic. Some discussion about that issue took place at the board’s regular meeting on Monday. Education director Robert Bratvold said they're really focusing on learning and development, even though the circumstances can make it challenging. The board will engage in a planning seminar on Jan. 15 and 16 to review and discuss a number of items related to effective governance and leadership. One topic of conversation will be a letter the board received from the School Community Council of Wild Rose School about their trustee representative in the school clusters. “It came as a correspondence item that the board was informed about and then further discussion about that will happen at the seminar,” Bratvold explained. The letter states that another meeting should be held between the parties on Jan. 19. “Obviously, there is some communication and some understanding of what the role of the school clusters are and what a role of a trustee is and those sorts of things, so (there are) lots of opportunities for communication,” Bratvold explained. Bratvold added that trustees will be participating in over 20 online modules scheduled in 90-minute blocks over the next month through the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA). He said these sessions will support new and returning trustees in their role as educational leaders and as effective voices in local government. “I know there are going to be over 20 sessions on everything from legal aspects of being a trustee to student support services to anything you can imagine to make them a better trustee. Our trustees are taking part in those sessions in a big way,” Bratvold said.Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 Thursday for their first win of the NHL season.Leon Draisaitl, the NHL’s top scorer last season, added four assists in the win.The game was held in front of no fans and empty stands at Rogers Place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice and added an assist for Edmonton. Mikko Koskinen, making his second start in two nights, turned back 38 shots for the win.Nate Schmidt and Tyler Motte replied for Vancouver and Thatcher Demko stopped 41 shots in the loss.Vancouver defenceman Quinn Hughes had an assist and now has three on the season.Both teams now have one win and one loss in what will be an abbreviated 56-game season, with all seven Canadian teams playing each other exclusively in the North Division.McDavid, second to Draisaitl in the NHL scoring race last year, was held off the scoresheet in Edmonton’s 5-3 loss to Vancouver Wednesday but buzzed the Canuck net all night Thursday.Draisaitl now has five points on the year – all assists.The Oilers also got their power play back on track. They scored twice with the man advantage after going 0 for 4 in Wednesday’s opener. Edmonton had the top power play in the NHL last season at 29.5 per cent effectiveness.The game saw Edmonton hold the edge in play, but the Canucks refused to go away.Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring on the power play at 7:59 of the first period. He jumped on the rebound when a Draisaitl wrist shot clanged off the post, backhanding the puck over the goal line.McDavid made it 2-0 on an extraordinary goal with less than one second to go in the period. Draisaitl won the faceoff to Demko’s left, drew the puck back to Kailer Yamamoto, who fired the puck off Demko’s pad. McDavid drove to the net and, with Canuck defender Schmidt draped all over him, flipped the puck up and under the crossbar.There were four goals in the second period. Schmidt made it 2-1 when he blasted a low slapshot from the point through traffic that bounded in and out of the net so fast it wasn’t immediately clear it had gone in.McDavid then restored the two-goal lead, on the power play, racing at full speed into the Canuck zone, catching Vancouver defender Alex Edler flat footed, cutting inside and delivering a no-look blazing wrist shot stick side and in.Motte brought Vancouver back to within one, deflecting a low blue-line slapshot from Travis Hamonic past Koskinen.Then McDavid again, jumping in front of Demko, taking a pass from Draisaitl and jamming the puck in on the rebound for his seventh NHL regular season hat trick.The last time he got a hat trick was also in front of no fans, in early August against the Chicago Blackhawks in the so-called bubbled play-in round to determine the 2019-20 season playoff seeding.After he scored in August, arena staff hustled down the stairs and honoured hockey tradition by tossing ball caps over the glass and onto the ice to mark the hat trick. McDavid later said he found the lid toss an unnecessary distraction.This time, no hat toss.Edmonton made it 5-2 with just over eight minutes left in the game. Nugent-Hopkins drove to the net through traffic and redirected a Yamamoto pass past Demko.Notes: It was the second of 10 meetings between the two teams. Vancouver now heads to Calgary for games on Saturday and Monday. Edmonton hosts Montreal on those same two nights. Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was called up from the taxi squad to back up Koskinen after Mike Smith was declared inactive.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021. Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press
Slowly, some the staff who were forced to be away due to COVID are beginning to return to their shifts at Lakeview Pioneer Lodge. Today the Lodge is reporting that in general the residents are in stable condition. Two residents are being watched very carefully. One of these two residents has been sent to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon to have a series of lab tests and x-rays completed. The other of the two residents is being carefully monitored on site to watch for any signs that a secondary infection may be setting in. Two other residents have been started on intravenous fluids to assist with hydration. A number of days ago, six residents were transferred out of the community to the hospitals in Melfort and Nipawin, to ease the workload on the remaining staff at the Lodge. Thankfully these six residents continue to be in stable condition and arrangements are slowly being made to repatriate some of these residents back to Lakeview in the next three days or so. This of course will depend on the stability of the staffing numbers. Of the thirty-one residents that are currently remaining on site, there is a group of six residents who are rallying very well and indeed are nearing recovery. The total number of residents who have passed away due to the effects of COVID remains at six. No new deaths have occurred, and as such the Board, the administration and all of the staff are very grateful that their prayers are being heard. It is still too early to say that the situation is ‘rounding the bend’ as it were, but it might be safe to say that there is a glimpse of the bend in the distance. It is safe to say that everyone will be very relieved when the announcement can be made that the outbreak is over, but until that time all will continue to wait and pray that no other lives are lost.Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Wakaw Recorder
Efforts to provide Lake Babine Nation's elderly residents with COVID-19 immunizations were suspended Thursday, after a member of the vaccination team tested positive for the virus. Violet Findlay, who was assisting with the vaccine rollout at the First Nation in the Burns Lake area in northern B.C. announced her positive test in a social media post on Wednesday. "Well my test came back positive, I am so heartbroken," Findlay wrote. "Please people stay home. Need someone to encourage mom [and] dad to take the vaccine today." According to Bernard Patrick, emergency operations centre director with Lake Babine Nation, Findlay — who is a home support worker in the community — was helping the team coordinate the vaccinations and manage scheduling. Patrick said vaccinations had begun this week, with 50 residents who are 65 and older identified as candidates. He said many of them were reluctant to get immunizations, but 26 received shots on Wednesday before the clinic was put on pause. 'People are kind of nervous' Lake Babine Nation health director Emma Palmantier said the team was notified about Findlay's test result just before Wednesday's clinic opened. She said other health care workers would be tested as a result, and the community's administrative office was closed and sanitized on Thursday. "People are kind of nervous and wondering, you know," said Palmantier. "There was an outbreak because people didn't stay within their bubbles. That's what happened." According to Patrick, the community counted 56 COVID-19 cases in December — 40 confirmed with tests, with the rest linked to other cases. He said since the new year, there have been four confirmed cases, but "it's starting to pick up again." He said two elders had tested positive for the virus, but the community hasn't had any fatalities. Patrick said the First Nation, which is mostly spread across three communities — Fort Babine, Tachet and Woyenne — is closed to outsiders. He said during the holidays, even off-reserve members were prohibited from visiting, in line with a public health order banning gatherings. But he said despite checkpoints and security, movement couldn't be carefully controlled, as restaurants and businesses remained open. Vaccinations to resume Friday The vaccination program is set to resume on Friday. There had been 15 people scheduled to receive shots on Thursday before the clinic was suspended. Patrick said he expects all the elderly members of the Tachet community who want to be vaccinated will receive their shots on Friday. He said the entire community of Fort Babine will receive vaccinations at one time on Jan. 30, because it's so remote. Patrick estimates 70 to 80 people live there. Findlay's husband, William Findlay, told CBC News that his wife started noticing symptoms on Sunday and that the virus "hit her like a ton of bricks" on Monday. "She's still in bed today. I haven't seen her yet," he said on Thursday. "I tried NeoCitran and stuff like that, but I don't think it's helping." Do you have more to add to this story? Email rafferty.baker@cbc.ca Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker
WASHINGTON — Now that the House has impeached President Donald Trump for the second time, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must figure out the best strategy for arguing the case before the Senate. Senate rules say the trial must start soon after the chamber receives the article of impeachment, which charges “incitement of insurrection” after an angry mob of Trump's supporters invaded the Capitol last week. But Pelosi has not said when the House will deliver it. If the House sends it to the Senate early next week, or before then, a trial could begin at 1 p.m. on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in at noon. What is certain for now is that the impeachment trial will be held after Trump has already left office. Biden has said the Senate should be able to split its time confirming his nominees and passing legislative priorities while also holding hearing the impeachment case. But it's still unclear exactly how the trial will proceed and if any Senate Republicans will vote to convict Trump. A look at next steps: SENDING TO THE SENATE Once the House votes to impeach, the speaker of the House can send the article or articles over to the Senate immediately — or she can wait a while. Many Democrats in Pelosi's caucus have urged her to do so immediately. The speaker met this week with the nine impeachment managers she appointed to argue the case and is also consulting the Senate, according to Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, who is one of the managers. She says it “hasn’t been settled yet” when the House will send them over. Another of Pelosi's managers, Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean, said Thursday that "what we did in the House, in bringing forth a single article of impeachment with the urgency that we did, I think should indicate to you that we feel an urgency in our caucus to move forward.” Once the articles are sent over — that is usually done with an official walk from the House to the Senate — then the majority leader of the Senate must start the process of having a trial. THE SENATE SCHEDULE The Senate is not scheduled to be in session until Jan. 19, which could be Senate Re,publican leader Mitch McConnell's last day as Senate leader. Once Vice-President Kamala Harris is sworn in, making her the president of the Senate, and Georgia's two Democratic senators are also sworn in, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer will take charge and determine how the trial will proceed. McConnell said Wednesday he would not bring the Senate back on an emergency basis to start the trial, meaning it won’t conclude until after Trump has left office. In the past two impeachment trials — that of Bill Clinton in 1999 and Trump last year — the trial started the day after the articles were received. If the Senate follows that precedent and Pelosi sends the articles to the Senate by Jan. 19, then the trial would begin on Jan. 20. McConnell noted that the three previous Senate trials lasted “83 days, 37 days, and 21 days respectively.” ALL EYES ON MCCONNELL McConnell is considering voting to convict after the president's impeachment, having told associates he is done with Trump. His wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, resigned from Trump's Cabinet soon after the riots. But despite sending signals, McConnell has been characteristically quiet in public. In a note to colleagues Wednesday released by his office, McConnell said he had “not made a final decision on how I will vote.” SENATE POLITICS If McConnell voted to convict, other Republicans would surely follow. But no GOP senators have said how they will vote, and two-thirds of the Senate is needed. Still, some Republicans have told Trump to resign, including Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and few are defending him. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska has said he would take a look at what the House approves, but stopped short of committing to support it. Other Republicans have said that impeachment would be divisive. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, long a key ally of the president, has been critical of his behaviour in inciting the riots but said impeachment “will do far more harm than good.” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in last year's impeachment trial, after the House impeached Trump over his dealings with the president of Ukraine. In the House, 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican. Every single House Republican voted against Trump's first impeachment in 2019. TRUMP'S FUTURE If the Senate were to convict, lawmakers could then take a separate vote on whether to disqualify Trump from holding future office. Schumer said Wednesday: "Make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate; there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanours; and if the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again.” In the case of federal judges who were impeached and removed from office, the Senate has taken a second vote after conviction to determine whether to bar the person from ever holding federal office again. Only a majority of senators would be needed to ban him from future office, unlike the two-thirds needed to convict. DIFFERENT CHARGES, DIFFERENT IMPEACHMENT This impeachment trial is likely to differ from the last one in many ways. The House charges in 2019 on Trump's dealings with the president of Ukraine, whom he urged to investigate Biden, came after a lengthy investigation and testimony from multiple government officials. While Democrats unanimously criticized the conduct and charged Trump with abuse of power, the charges wove together a complicated web of evidence. This time, Democrats felt there was little need for an investigation — the invasion of the Capitol played out on live television, and most members of Congress were in the building as it happened. “The senators who are going to be sitting there are not are not just observers, they actually were victims of this same crime like the rest of us were,” said DeGette. Trump's speech beforehand, in which he told his supporters to “fight like hell” against the election results, was also televised as Congress prepared to officially count the votes. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who led the last House impeachment team, said the insurrection at the Capitol was an “impeachable offence committed in broad daylight, in which the whole country was a witness.” He said the lightning-fast impeachment “was required by the exigency of the circumstances, and also made possible by the very nature of the crime.” THE ARTICLE The four-page article of impeachment says that Trump “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government.” It was introduced by Democratic Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, all of whom have been tapped to serve as impeachment managers in the Senate trial. The article says Trump's behaviour is consistent with his prior efforts to “subvert and obstruct” the results of the election and references his recent call with the Georgia secretary of state, in which he said he wanted him to find him more votes after losing the state to Biden. Trump has falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in the election, and the baseless claims have been repeatedly echoed by congressional Republicans and the insurgents who descended on the Capitol. As the protesters broke in, both chambers were debating GOP challenges to the electoral vote count in Arizona as part of the process for certifying Biden’s election win. ___ Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Alan Fram and Jessica Gresko contributed to this report from Washington. Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
Toronto police say the new provincial stay-at-home order does not give them the power to enter homes, pull over vehicles or ask pedestrians why they are outside for the sole purpose of finding out whether they are complying with the order. Police say they will enforce the order with the help of the city, but they will focus their efforts on complaints about gatherings as well as restaurants and businesses that fail to comply with closure orders and customer limits. They said officers will break up and ticket gatherings of more than five people outdoors. "No element of any order provides the police with either the power to enter dwellings nor the authority to stop a vehicle for the singular purpose of checking compliance with the stay-at-home order," police said in a news release on Thursday. "In addition, individuals are not compelled to explain why they are out of their residence, nor is being outside prima facie evidence of a failure to comply with the stay at home order. Workers are also not required to have proof from their employer that they are travelling to or from their workplace." In the release, Toronto police Deputy Chief Myron Demkiw said: "Officers can exercise discretion in every situation. But, where there is evidence of non-compliance, officers will be ticketing and issuing summonses for individuals and businesses." However, the police said they would like to remind the public that, when officers have what they consider to be "reasonable and probable grounds" to suspect someone has violated an order under provincial legislation, they could ask that person to identify themselves so that police can issue a ticket or summons. The police said if a person refuses to identify himself or herself for this purpose, that person could be arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer, which is a criminal charge. On the issue of skating rinks and toboggan hills, the police said it is continuing to work with the city to determine how the regulations for large gatherings will apply to these winter activities, which provide much needed stress relief for Toronto residents under lockdown.
WINNIPEG — Patrik Laine scored his second goal of the game in overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets started their season with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames Thursday. The Finnish winger put away the winner 1:18 into extra time, using his speed to create space before beating Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom in tight. The Jets (1-0-0) battled back from an early two-goal deficit, starting with a goal by Mark Schiefele just 34 seconds into the second period. Laine and Kyle Connor each registered a goal and an assist for the Jets in regulation. Elias Lindholm had a goal and assist for the Flames (0-0-1), while Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau also scored. Markstrom made his debut for Calgary after signing a six-year, US$36-million deal in free agency and stopped 30-of-34 shots Thursday. Connor Hellebuyck, the NHL’s reigning Vezina winner, had 23 saves for Winnipeg. The game was a rematch of last year's playoff series where the Flames dispatched with the Jets in four games in the qualifying round. Tkachuk was quick to put the Flames on the board Thursday, scoring on just the second shot of the game 4:28 in with a deflection in front of the Winnipeg net. The lead didn't last long. Less than three minutes later, Jets defenceman Derek Forbort made a pair of big plays, first jumping into the Winnipeg crease to make a save as Hellebuyck lay sprawled at the edge of it. Forbort then cleared the puck to Kyle Connor, who sprang Laine for a breakaway with a long pass. The Finnish winger sent a wrist shot sailing past Markstrom to even the score. The Flames went up again on a power play 11:24 into the first period after Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault was called for goalie interference. Nearing the end of the man advantage, Lindholm sent a pass through traffic to a wide-open Gaudreau at the side of the net and Gaudreau put a snap shot past Hellebuyck. Lindholm netted a goal of his own about five minutes later, taking a pass from Dillon Dube and rocketing it into the top corner of the net to put Calgary up 3-1 heading into the first intermission. Chris Tanev registered a secondary assist on the play, marking his first point for the Flames. The 31-year-old defenceman signed a four-year, US$18-million deal with Calgary in free agency after 10 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Winnipeg wasted no time responding in the second frame. Thirty-four seconds into the period, Nikolaj Ehlers took a shot from the slot and, while Markstrom made the stop, he couldn't control the rebound. The puck squirted out to Schiefele who popped it in from the side of the net to make it 3-2. Whether Ehlers would play Thursday was in doubt until shortly before game time. The 24-year-old left winger missed practice Wednesday due to COVID-19 protocols. Winnipeg evened the score before the end of the second period, striking on a two-man advantage. Calgary was already killing off a too-many-men penalty when Lindholm was called for hooking on Paul Statsny. Winnipeg's power play got to work and Laine found Connor, who sent a one timer past Markstrom to knot the score 3-3. The period ended with some dramatics after Noah Hanifin cross-checked Connor into the boards. Laine responded by going after Hanifin and a scuffle ensued, with several members of each team jumping in. Hanifin was called for cross-checking, and Laine and Tkachuk were each sent to the box for roughing. Markstom made the save of the night with less than three minutes to go after rushing back to his net, stick-less after playing the puck behind the net. Stastny took a shot at the wide-open net, but the Swedish netminder appeared out of thin air and snatched the puck with his glove. Thursday was the first of nine meetings between the two clubs in the pandemic-condensed 56-game season. The Flames will host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, and the Jets are set to visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2020. The Canadian Press
Toutes les régions administratives du Québec ont connu des changements démographiques importants entre le 1er juillet 2019 et le 1er juillet 2020. Selon l’Institut de la statistique du Québec, la Covid-19 a évidemment un lien, avec entres-autres, tous les décès, la fermeture des frontières, le ralentissement de l’immigration, ainsi que la diminution des échanges migratoires entre les régions.Alors que plusieurs régions éloignées, tel que le Bas-Saint-Laurent et la Gaspésie ont connu une croissance de leur population, la Côte-Nord est la seule où le nombre d’habitants a diminué, mais la décroissance aurait tout de même ralenti relativement aux années antérieures, avec une baisse de 1,9 pour 1000 habitants.C’est donc dire que la population actuelle de la Côte-Nord serait de 90 529 habitants, versus 92 713 en 2016, la classant au 16ème rang des 17 régions administratives du Québec.Karine Lachance, Initiative de journalisme local, Ma Côte-Nord
The rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations to senior citizens across the U.S. has led to bottlenecks, system crashes and hard feelings in many states because of overwhelming demand for the shots. Mississippi's Health Department stopped taking new appointments the same day it began accepting them because of a “monumental surge” in requests. People had to wait hours to book vaccinations through a state website or a toll-free number Tuesday and Wednesday, and many were booted off the site because of technical problems and had to start over. In California, counties begged for more coronavirus vaccine to reach millions of their senior citizens. Hospitals in South Carolina ran out of appointment slots within hours. Phone lines were jammed in Georgia. “It’s chaos,” said New York City resident Joan Jeffri, 76, who had to deal with broken hospital web links and unanswered phone calls before her daughter helped her secure an appointment. “If they want to vaccinate 80% of the population, good luck, if this is the system. We’ll be here in five years.” Up until the past few days, health care workers and nursing home patients had been given priority in most places around the U.S. But amid frustration over the slow rollout, states have thrown open the line to many of the nation's 54 million senior citizens with the blessing of President Donald Trump's administration, though the minimum age varies from place to place, at 65, 70 or higher. On Thursday, New Jersey expanded vaccinations to people between 16 and 65 with certain medical conditions — including up to 2 million smokers, who are more prone to health complications. The U.S., meanwhile, recorded 3,848 deaths on Wednesday, down from an all-time high of 4,327 the day before, according to Johns Hopkins University. The nation’s overall death toll from COVID-19 has topped 385,000. President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan Thursday that includes speeding up vaccinations. Called the “American Rescue Plan,” the legislative proposal would meet Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccines by the 100th day of his administration. More than 11.1 million Americans, or over 3% of the U.S. population, have gotten their first shot of the vaccine, a gain of about 800,000 from the day before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The goal of inoculating anywhere between 70% and 85% of the population to achieve herd immunity and conquer the outbreak is still many months away. Hard-hit Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county with 10 million residents, said it couldn’t immediately provide shots to the elderly because it had inoculated only about a quarter of its 800,000 health care workers. “We’re not done with our health care workers, and we actually don’t have enough vaccine right now to be able to get done more quickly,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “We haven’t heard back from the state about vaccine availability and how it would be distributed.” Santa Clara County health officials said the county of 2 million people had only enough vaccine to inoculate people 75 and older, not the 65-and-older crowd. “It’s almost like a beauty contest. And this should not be a beauty contest,” County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said. “This is about life and death.” In Mississippi, officials said new appointments will probably have to wait until a hoped-for shipment of vaccine in mid-February. In South Carolina, Kershaw Health in Camden implored people not to call its hospitals or doctors to schedule vaccination appointments after receiving more than 1,000 requests in two days. State health authorities said their hot line got 5,000 calls on Wednesday. Francis Clark said she tried repeatedly to schedule an appointment for her 81-year-old mother, who lives alone outside Florence, South Carolina, and doesn’t have internet access. But the local hospital had no openings on Wednesday, Clark said, and the other vaccination sites are too far away. “My mom can’t drive to Charleston,” Clark said. “She’s too old.” Allison Salerno, an audio producer from Athens, Georgia, said she spent the better part of a day calling her state’s health department to get a vaccine appointment for her 89-year-old mother. “I started calling at 8:30 a.m. and on the 67th call I was finally put on hold,” Salerno said. “I had already pre-registered her two weeks before online, but I never received a confirmation." After Salerno had spent 65 minutes on hold, someone finally came on the line and gave her mother a Saturday appointment. “My mother has not been out since the beginning of the pandemic,” Salerno said. “She’s a very healthy woman and she wants to go to the grocery store, she wants to get her hair done.” Meanwhile, some states, like Minnesota, are waiting before throwing open the doors. “As we learn more, we will work to make sure everyone who is eligible for a vaccine knows how, where, and when they can get their shots,” the state Health Department said in an email. “Everyone’s opportunity to get vaccinated will come; it will just take some time.” Arizona, which had the nation’s highest COVID-19 diagnosis rate over the past week, will start signing up people 65 and older next week. It also plans to open a vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in addition to the one dispensing thousands of shots daily at the home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. To step up the pace of vaccinations, South Carolina made a rule change allowing medical students, retired nurses and other certain professionals to administer the shots. California lawmakers are increasing the pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to likewise expand authorization for who can give injections to include nursing students, retired medical workers, firefighters and National Guard members with medical training. Newsom said the state’s priority is to deliver vaccines “as quickly as possible to those who face the gravest consequences.” He urged patience for those not yet eligible, saying: “Your turn is coming.” Jeffri, the New Yorker, spent several days trying to book a vaccination and once actually received a slot, only to get a follow-up text saying they didn't have the doses. Finally, with some online sleuthing from her daughter, the retired arts-administration professor got an appointment for her first shot — two weeks from now. “It’s a relief," said Jeffri, who wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo about her ordeal. "But I’m not sure I trust it until it’s done.” Janie Har, Jennifer Peltz And Allen G. Breed, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. The Democrats, all of whom are lawyers and many of whom have deep experience investigating the president, face the arduous task of convincing skeptical Senate Republicans to convict Trump. A single article of impeachment — for “incitement of insurrection” — was approved by the House on Wednesday, one week after a violent mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. At the time, lawmakers were counting the votes that cemented Trump’s election defeat. As members of the House who were in the Capitol when it was attacked — several hiding under seats as rioters beat on the doors of the chamber — the Democrats are also witnesses to what they charge is a crime. So are the Senate jurors. “This is a case where the jurors were also victims, and so whether it was those who voted in the House last night or those in the Senate who will have to weigh in on this, you don’t have to tell anyone who was in the building twice what it was like to be terrorized,” said California Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the managers. It is unclear when the trial will start. Pelosi hasn’t yet said when she will send the article of impeachment to the Senate. It could be as soon as next week, on President-elect Joe Biden’s first day in office. The managers plan to argue at trial that Trump incited the riot, delaying the congressional certification of the electoral vote count by inciting an angry mob to harm members of Congress. Some of the rioters were recorded saying they wanted to find Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence, who presided over the count. Others had zip ties that could be used as handcuffs hanging on their clothes. “The American people witnessed that,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., one of the managers. “That amounts to high crimes and misdemeanours.” None of the impeachment managers argued the case in Trump’s first impeachment trial last year, when the Senate acquitted the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The House impeached Trump in 2019 after he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden’s family while withholding military aid to the country. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, another manager, says the nine prosecutors plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started. A look at Pelosi’s prosecution team in Trump’s historic second impeachment: REP. JAMIE RASKIN, MARYLAND Pelosi appointed Raskin, a former constitutional law professor and prominent member of the House Judiciary Committee, as lead manager. In a week of dramatic events and stories, Raskin’s stands out: The day before the Capitol riots, Raskin buried his 25-year-old son, Tommy, after he killed himself on New Year’s Eve. “You would be hard pressed to find a more beloved figure in the Congress” than Raskin, says House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who was the lead manager during Trump’s first trial. He worked closely with Raskin on that impeachment investigation. “I know that part of what gives him strength to take on this burden that he now carries is knowing that this is something that would be enormously meaningful to his son.” REP. DIANA DEGETTE, COLORADO DeGette, who is serving her 13th term representing Denver, is a former civil rights attorney and one of Pelosi’s go-to allies. The speaker picked her to preside over the House during the first impeachment vote in 2019. DeGette said Pelosi trusted her to do it because she is “able to to control the passions on the floor.” She says she was surprised when Pelosi called to offer her the prosecutorial position but quickly accepted. “The monstrosity of this offence is not lost on anybody,” she says. REP. DAVID CICILLINE, RHODE ISLAND Cicilline, the former mayor of Providence and public defender, is in his sixth term in Congress and is a senior member of the Judiciary panel. He was heavily involved in Trump’s first impeachment and was one of three original authors of the article that the House approved on Wednesday. He and California Rep. Ted Lieu began writing the article together, in hiding, as the rioters were still ransacking the Capitol. He tweeted out a draft the next morning, writing that “I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.” REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS Castro is a member of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs panels, where he has been an outspoken critic of Trump's handling of Russia. He was a litigator in private practice before he was elected to the Texas legislature and came to Congress, where he is in his fifth term. Castro’s twin brother, Julian Castro, is the former mayor of San Antonio and served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development. Julian Castro ran in the Democratic primary for president last year. REP. ERIC SWALWELL, CALIFORNIA Swalwell also serves on the Intelligence and Judiciary panels and was deeply involved in congressional probes of Trump’s Russian ties. A former prosecutor, he briefly ran for president in 2019. “The case that I think resonates the most with the American people and hopefully the Senate is that our American president incited our fellow citizens to attack our Capitol on a day where we were counting electoral votes, and that this was not a spontaneous call to action by the president at the rally,” Swalwell said. REP. TED LIEU, CALIFORNIA Lieu, who authored the article of impeachment with Cicilline and Raskin, is on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs panels. The Los Angeles-area lawmaker is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and military prosecutor. “We cannot begin to heal the soul of this country without first delivering swift justice to all its enemies — foreign and domestic,” he said. DEL. STACEY PLASKETT, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Because she represents a U.S. territory, not a state, Plaskett does not have voting rights and was not able to cast a vote for impeachment. But she will bring her legal experience as a former district attorney in New York and senior counsel at the Justice Department — and as one of Raskin's former law students. “As an African American, as a woman, seeing individuals storming our most sacred place of democracy, wearing anti-Semitic, racist, neo-Nazi, white supremacy logos on their bodies and wreaking the most vile and hateful things left not just those people of colour who were in the room traumatized, but so many people of colour around this country," she said Friday. REP. JOE NEGUSE, COLORADO Neguse, in his second term, is a rising star in the Democratic caucus who was elected to Pelosi’s leadership team his freshman year in Congress. A former litigator, he sits on the House Judiciary Committee and consulted with Raskin, Cicilline and Lieu as they drafted the article the day of the attack. At 36, he will be the youngest impeachment manager in history, according to his office. “This armed mob did not storm the Capitol on any given day, they did so during the most solemn of proceedings that the United States Congress is engaged in,” Neguse said Thursday. “Clearly the attack was done to stop us from finishing our work.” REP. MADELEINE DEAN, PENNSYLVANIA Like Neguse, Dean was first elected when Democrats recaptured the House in 2018. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and is a former lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She says she hopes the prosecutors can convince the Senate and the American people “to mark this moment" with a conviction. “I think I bring to it just the simple fact that I’m a citizen, that I’m a mom and I’m a grandma," Dean said. "And I want my children, my grandchildren, to remember what we did here.” Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press
A Russian entrepreneur has caused a stir by branding his fast food outlet around the murderous tyrant Joseph Stalin. Stalin Doner was visited by authorities and faced a staff walkout, but its very existence reflects the ambiguous view some Russians have of the late dictator.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas man was accused Thursday of beating a police officer with a pole flying a U.S. flag during last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court documents. In an arrest affidavit filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, an FBI agent said Peter Francis Stager is shown in video and photographs striking a prone police officer repeatedly with the flagpole after rioters dragged the officer down the Capitol's west stairs. Confidential informants had recognized Stager in riot video and photographs and alerted authorities, who have charged Stager with interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, according to the affidavit. Stager was in custody Thursday, said Allison Bragg, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Little Rock, Arkansas. She referred all questions about the arrest to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, where a spokesman did not immediately return a message Thursday. No attorney was listed for Stager in court records. Stager is the second Arkansas resident to be arrested and charged with participating in the Jan. 6 attack of the Capitol by pro-Trump loyalists that left five people dead, including a police officer. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday in federal court in Little Rock for Richard Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Arkansas, who remains in federal custody after his arrest on charges that included unlawful entry to a restricted area with a lethal weapon — in this case, a stun gun. The FBI identified Barnett as a rioter photographed sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office chair during the Capitol insurrection. He surrendered to federal agents on Jan. 8. The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and the Toronto Raptors held on to beat the Charlotte Hornets 111-108. Fred VanVleet had 17 points, while Kyle Lowry added 16 for the Raptors (3-8), who nearly gave away another game over the dying minutes. Pascal Siakam chipped in with 15 points, while OG Anunoby had 13, and Norman Powell finished with 11. Terry Rozier had 22 points to top the Hornets (6-7), who were on a second night of a back-to-back, having lost 104-93 to Dallas on Wednesday. Toronto had an 18-point lead late in the third quarter, and was up 99-86 to start the fourth, but the Raptors, whose strength used to be strong finishes, have been fizzling down the stretch this season. The Raptors went scoreless for nearly five minutes to start the fourth, allowing the Hornets to pull within five points. The Raptors' hustle on the offensive glass made up for their poor shooting, and Boucher's rebound and tip-in with 4:03 gave Toronto an eight-point cushion. Rozier's basket had Charlotte within three, but Lowry found Boucher under the hoop for an easy dunk and a five-point lead heading into the final minute. After LaMelo Ball's big dunk sliced the difference to just three, the Hornets regained possession with 9.8 seconds to play, but Rozier's wide open three-pointer missed the mark, sealing the victory for Toronto. The Raptors were back at their temporary home base in Tampa after going 1-3 on a western road trip, losing their two previous games to Golden State and Portland by just one point in each. If there was a theme to the losses, coach Nick Nurse said his team needed to be better protecting leads. "I don't know if there's a point in the game where we could rev it up a gear when we've got a nice lead. When we've got a 10- or 12-point lead, can our shot selection improve? Can we get a little stingier and string up even more consecutive stops that got us that lead in the first place?" The Raptors offence was solid off the start. They shot 60 per cent from the field and 57 per cent from distance in the first quarter, and Boucher's sidestep three-pointer with 0.3 left in the frame gave Toronto a 35-34 edge to end the quarter. Toronto buckled down on the defensive end in the second, and when rookie Malachi Flynn pitched a long pass to Boucher for an easy basket midway through the quarter the Raptors went up by 15. VanVleet's three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left sent the Raptors into the halftime break with a 71-62 advantage. Stanley Johnson's three late in the third had the Raptors up 97-79, their biggest lead of the game. Centre Aron Baynes played for the first time since sitting three straight games, as Nurse continues to tinker with that position, but the big man had just two points in seven minutes, and Boucher started the second half in his place. The Raptors' other centre Alex Len missed the game due to personal reasons. The game was played in front of no fans at Amalie Arena. The Raptors had been one of the few teams in the league permitting a limited number of fans, but amid rising COVID-19 case numbers in western Florida, Vinik Sports Group which owns the Tampa Bay Lightning, announced that no fans would be allowed at NHL or NBA games at Amalie for at least the next few weeks. The Raptors play the Hornets again on Saturday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021. The Canadian Press
A Yukon farmer was in court Wednesday asking for more time to file an appeal to an order requiring him to get rid of his goats. Jim Dillabough appeared before Yukon Supreme Court Justice Edith Campbell in Whitehorse, arguing that he had always opposed the order but didn't have the financial resources to formally fight it. Dillabough's legal issues stem from the fact that he owns about a half-dozen goats, which he keeps on his property along the Klondike Highway outside of Whitehorse. He was convicted in October of failing to keep the animals in an approved enclosure, a requirement under a territorial animal control order that came into effect in 2020. The order is intended to prevent the spread of a pneumonia-causing pathogen, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae or M.ovi, from domestic goats and sheep to wild populations. Following his conviction, a judge ordered Dillabough to either slaughter his goats or move them outside the territory; to date, he's done neither and is also about three weeks past the 30-day deadline to appeal court decisions. He filed an application in December asking for an extension. Goats have 'every right' to be on property, he argues The hearing of the application Wednesday was scheduled to take 20 minutes but went on for nearly two and a half hours, with Campbell often pausing the proceedings to explain legal concepts or procedure to Dillabough, who was self-represented. She also took the unusual step of having Dillabough sworn in as his own witnesses, noting that he was both giving evidence and making legal arguments at the same time. Dillabough told the court that he had opposed his conviction and the subsequent order about his goats "from the get-go," but didn't have the money to order transcripts of the trial that he needed to file a formal appeal. He also said he couldn't afford to hire a lawyer, explaining that he had called two but both had asked him for $5,000 up-front. "What did you do after that?" Campbell asked him. "Well, I had to do it myself," he replied, referring to mounting a legal appeal. Dillabough levelled a number of accusations at Yukon government animal health officials throughout his submissions, alleging that "they're trying to force some of us right out of business" and that no one would come out to check his goat fence or test his animals for M. ovi. You people want to screw up agriculture? Don't forget you have to eat too. - Jim Dillabough, Yukon farmer He also argued that the animal control order made no sense, questioning why anyone would spend money to build a proper enclosure only for their goats or sheep to be killed if the animals ended up testing positive for M. ovi. He claimed he had never seen any wild sheep or goats near his farm (Dillabough lives in thinhorn sheep habitat range), and that the fence he'd built around his goat enclosure was the strongest in Canada. His goats, he argued, had "every right to be on [my] property." "There's no way I'm going to give up my livelihood," Dillabough said. "I was out there raising animals before any of you were born." Rules matter, Crown says Territorial Crown Megan Seiling argued against granting Dillabough's application. "There really needs to be special circumstances in place because the rules are there for a reason," she said, later adding that just because he doesn't like the rules doesn't mean he doesn't need to follow them. Dillabough had plenty of time to deal with both his animal and then legal issues, Seiling argued, noting that officials had tried to work with him for months to get him to comply with the animal control order before finally charging him. He also gave no indication that he intended to appeal his conviction until the government filed a legal petition to seize his goats. Seiling argued there was an added need to deal with the matter because it was an ongoing offence, not a one-off, and sends a poor message to the "many" other goat and sheep farmers who had suffered "significant" costs in order to comply with the control order. "[Dillabough] waited for the consequences to come to him," she said. "At the end of the day, the rules matter … It's not in the interest of justice to allow this appeal to be heard." Dillabough remained defiant to the end of the hearing, accusing Seiling of "bitching" about how he had filed his legal paperwork and at one point muttering, "You people want to screw up agriculture? Don't forget you have to eat too." Campbell is expected to give her decision on Dillabough's application next month.
