Webcam shows overnight eruption of Hawaii volcano

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted and shot a steam cloud into the atmosphere that lasted about an hour, an official with the National Weather Service said early Monday. (Dec. 21)

Latest Stories

  • As Joe Biden becomes president, here's an easy proposal for Electoral College reform

    The debate about the U.S. Electoral College pits those who think the president should be chosen via popular vote versus those who believe the interests of small and large states must be balanced.

  • Phil Spector, famed music producer and murderer, dies at 81

    LOS ANGELES — Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. He was 81. California state prison officials said he died Saturday of natural causes at a hospital. Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life. Clarkson, star of “Barbarian Queen” and other B-movies, was found shot to death in the foyer of Spector’s mansion in the hills overlooking Alhambra, a modest suburban town on the edge of Los Angeles. Until the actress’ death, which Spector maintained was an “accidental suicide,” few residents even knew the mansion belonged to the reclusive producer, who spent his remaining years in a prison hospital east of Stockton. Decades before, Spector had been hailed as a visionary for channeling Wagnerian ambition into the three-minute song, creating the “Wall of Sound” that merged spirited vocal harmonies with lavish orchestral arrangements to produce such pop monuments as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “He’s a Rebel.” He was the rare self-conscious artist in rock’s early years and cultivated an image of mystery and power with his dark shades and impassive expression. Tom Wolfe declared him the “first tycoon of teen.” Bruce Springsteen and Brian Wilson openly replicated his grandiose recording techniques and wide-eyed romanticism, and John Lennon called him “the greatest record producer ever.” The secret to his sound: an overdubbed onslaught of instruments, vocals and sound effects that changed the way pop records were recorded. He called the result, “Little symphonies for the kids.” The Associated Press

  • Pourquoi la résistance aux vaccins est-elle rare, contrairement à la résistance aux antibiotiques ?

    Comment se met en place la résistance aux médicaments ? Pourquoi la résistance aux vaccins est-elle si rare ?

  • 19 nouveaux cas et quatre décès supplémentaires

    Ce sont 19 nouveaux cas de COVID-19 qui s’ajoutent au bilan régional ce dimanche. Au total, depuis le début de la pandémie, ce sont 8 559 cas qui ont été déclarés dans la région.  On répertorie quatre nouveaux décès liés au virus ce dimanche au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Le total depuis le début de la pandémie est de 244 décès. On retrouve actuellement 20 hospitalisations, dont six aux soins intensifs.    Janick Emond, Initiative de journalisme local, Le Lac St-Jean

  • The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

    The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern): 10:30 a.m. Ontario has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. The province is reporting 3,422 new cases of the virus today and 69 associated deaths. More than a thousand of the most recent diagnoses were based in Toronto, 585 were in neighbouring Peel Region, and 254 in Winsor-Esssex County. Hospitalizations across the province declined by 62 to 1,570, with 395 patients in intensive care. Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province has administered more than 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of last night. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • The Latest: Springsteen, Miranda set for inaugural gala

    WASHINGTON — The Latest on President Donald Trump's impeachment, President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack of the Capitol by pro-Trump loyalists (all times local): 9:05 a.m. Actor-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda and rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are among the stars who will highlight a prime-time virtual celebration televised Wednesday night after Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president. Biden’s inaugural committee announced the lineup Sunday for “Celebrating America,” a multinetwork broadcast that the committee bills as a mix of stars and everyday citizens. Miranda, who wrote and starred in Broadway’s “Hamilton,” will appear for a classical recitation. Musicians John Legend, Demi Lovato and Justin Timberlake, among others, will join Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Actresses Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria will act as hostesses, with former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also scheduled to appear. The segments will include tributes to a UPS driver, a kindergarten teacher and Sandra Lindsey, the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinical trial. The broadcast is in lieu of traditional inaugural balls. Biden plans still to be sworn in on the Capitol's West Front, but with a scaled-down ceremony because of the coronavirus and tight security after the Jan. 6 violent insurrection on the Capitol as Congress convened to certify his victory. ___ HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IMPEACHMENT, THE INAUGURATION AND THE FALLOUT FROM THE JAN. 6 RIOTING AT THE CAPITOL: Across the country, some statehouses are closed, fences are up and extra police are in place as authorities brace for potentially violent demonstrations over the coming days. The safeguards will remain in place leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. Biden plans to roll back some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial policies and take steps to address the coronavirus pandemic hours after taking office. Read more: — Deceptions in the time of the ‘alternative facts’ president — Biden outlines ‘Day One’ agenda of executive actions — Gen. Milley key to military continuity as Biden takes office — Guard troops pour into Washington as states answer the call — Harris to be sworn in by Justice Sotomayor at inauguration — Biden to prioritize legal status for millions of immigrants — Will Trump’s mishandling of records leave a hole in history? — Biden says his advisers will lead with ‘science and truth’ — More backlash for GOP’s Hawley as Loews Hotel cancels event ___ HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON: 8 a.m. Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris will resign her Senate seat on Monday, two days before she and President-elect Joe Biden are inaugurated. Aides to the California Democrat confirm the timing and say Gov. Gavin Newsom is aware of her decision. That clears the way for Newsom to appoint fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, now California’s secretary of state, to serve the final two years of Harris’ term. Padilla will be the first Latino senator from California, where about 40% of residents are Hispanic. Harris will give no farewell Senate floor speech. The Senate isn’t scheduled to reconvene until Tuesday, the eve of Inauguration Day. ___ 3 a.m. The threat of extremist groups descending on state capitals in a series of demonstrations Sunday prompted governors to roll out a massive show of force and implement tight security measures at statehouses across the country. Fencing, boarded-up windows and lines of police and National Guard troops have transformed statehouse grounds ahead of expected demonstrations leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The stepped-up security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob supporting President Donald Trump overran the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote. The FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests in the nation’s capital and all 50 state capitals. Some social media messages had targeted Sunday for demonstrations, though it remained unclear how many people might show up. The Associated Press

  • Wild ride in stolen truck earns nearly seven more months in jail

    A Prince George man with a history of trying to evade police while behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle was sentenced to just shy of seven more months in jail for committing the crime for a third time. Paul Daniel Shaw, 36, was also prohibited from driving for three years and must pay $7,920 restitution for the Dec. 7, 2018 incident that began when he found a set of keys in the parking lot of a local grocery store. Instead of turning them in, Shaw "decided badly," the court heard, and took advantage of the situation to steal a pickup truck. The theft was reported to the RCMP andthe truck was seen in College Heights a short time later. But Shaw chose to speed away when spotted by police and headed north on Ospika Boulevard then east on 15th before he was apprehended at Ewert Street. Along the way, he drove over a meridian and into oncoming traffic and blew through an intersection at 120 km/h. When RCMP tried to box the vehicle in, Shaw collided head on with an unmarked police truck and struck a civilian vehicle, pushing it up onto the shoulder of the road and leaving the two occupants with injuries to a shoulder and a neck. Defence counsel Mitch Hogue made a case for a two-year conditional sentence order, essentially a jail sentence served at home, saying his client has made significant progress to mend his ways since the arrest and that the crime was not planned and premeditated. But particularly because Shaw has been convicted of similar offences twice before, provincial court judge Peter McDermick found Shaw's latest action merited a sentence of more than two years, thus negating a conditional sentence order. However, the work Shaw has put into dealing with his substance abuse issues and efforts to distance himself from the criminal element helped shave significant time off the sentence he was facing. While Crown counsel had argued for three years in jail, McDermick settled on two years and four months. Less credit of 644 days for time in custody prior to sentencing, Shaw had 206 days left to serve. Shaw's track record while awaiting sentencing was not perfect, as he walked away from a treatment centre while out of custody, knowing he was about to be expelled because he had consumed some marijuana. Shaw remained "on the lam" for the next five months before he was finally spotted by police in Prince George and arrested. His wife, meanwhile, refused to let him into their house until he dealt with his legal issues, the court was told, and since his return to custody, Shaw has participated in counselling and earned several certificates. Given a chance to speak to the court prior to sentencing, Shaw said he "allowed my addiction" to govern his decision making. He further said he takes full responsibility for his actions and apologized for the damage he caused. Shaw was also sentenced to a series of concurrent terms for breaching a release order by leaving the treatment centre, possessing a small weapon when he was arrested, and for driving while his licence was suspended from a separate incident that had no influence on his primary sentence. Mark Nielsen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen

  • Long-awaited homeless shelter opens in Wetaskiwin, still in search of a permanent home

    A long-awaited homeless shelter finally opened in Wetaskiwin last November, but the facility is still looking for a permanent location to call home. The Integrated Response Hub opened eight weeks ago to respond to a long-standing need in the city for an overnight shelter. The hub offers around-the-clock intake and a variety of support programs. Since opening, 195 different people have used the shelter. But its downtown location inside the Wetaskiwin Civic Building is still a problem for business owners in the area, city government and even for the agency operating the shelter. "Everyone's hands are tied, and we're all saying the same thing," said Jessica Hutton, executive director of the Open Door Association, which operates the shelter. "This is not a good location, we don't want to be here, we want to find somewhere to go as quickly as possible. "But for right now, it's the best we can do." After securing funding for the shelter last fall, Open Door found property on the city's south side it wanted to purchase for the hub. But just weeks before they were set to open, residents, businesses and a nearby church successfully challenged whether the spot was zoned to hold a homeless shelter. Open Door and the city government soon discovered there is no property in Wetaskiwin zoned to allow a homeless shelter. The city had to declare a state of local emergency to allow the shelter to open on schedule in the Civic Building. The Civic Building is suitable for now, Sutton said. But even moving just outside downtown would help, she added, to allow them more space for the number of clients they're taking in. '50 years to get to this point' Eight weeks in, mayor Tyler Gandam said he's happy with the hub's work. Wetaskiwin, about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton, has never before had a 24-hour shelter with integrated mental health and addictions supports, Gandam said. But the current city government wanted to make it a priority. "Having the ability to have something in place now where the supports are available is a huge first step," Gandam said. "While it's taken us 50 years to get to this point, we're a long way away from seeing the fruits of the labour that's being done." The Civic Building was used for emergency shelters the last two years. But after complaints of harassment and fighting closed the shelter early last year, Gandam said at the time he didn't want to use the building again as a shelter, preferring a location away from the city's downtown. Gandam said some residents and businesses in the area are now upset the Civic Building is being used as a shelter for the third winter in a row. Public response Dalbert Okeymow has been using the shelter for roughly three weeks now. He said he thinks the building is also a little old and small. He said he hopes a new location will have more showers and bathrooms, and more personal space for clients. But Okeymow also said the shelter has been awesome so far with staff that look after the clients and make sure they're safe, as the homeless population has often been overlooked in Wetaskiwin in the past. "This is exactly what the city needs, a place like this for people to come and figure out their situation," Okeymow said. The hub's clients have been happy to have this site for security and community, Hutton said, but there has been strong opposition from some Wetaskiwin residents and not always about the location. Some don't believe the hub should exist at all. Hutton said her staff receives calls to their help line using racist language about the hub's clients, and she hears from clients every day about run ins with the community. But Hutton said the hub has also received positive community support. One recent example came on Saturday, when positive signs of love and support for the hub's clients were made by community members and placed in front of the hub. "There was just this level of humanity," Hutton said. "That is such a change and such a shift from what they have had to experience." As long as the state of local emergency is in place, Hutton said they won't have to leave their temporary home. Open Door and the city are working together to plan to repurpose or build a new facility. Gandam said he's sure some would have opposed the hub no matter where it opened. He's already heard complaints about public intoxication and people feeling harassed or threatened near the site. While he understands some of the complaints, Gandam said he hopes the community will support the shelter's work. "It's going to take a long time before we start seeing the benefits of the services and the hub's supports," he said. "I just ask, while we go through some of the growing pains that we're going to experience, that the community works with both us and the Open Door, and helps to be a part of the solution." With files from Travis McEwan

  • Universités : vers un déclin de l’empire américain ?

    La pandémie a donné un coup de frein à la mobilité étudiante dans le monde. Les universités américaines en sont bien sûr affectées. Mais elles font face aussi à une baisse des inscriptions nationales.

  • Kremlin critic Navalny detained after landing in Moscow

    MOSCOW — Russia’s prison service said opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport after returning from Germany on Sunday. The prison service said he was detained for multiple violations of parole and terms of a suspended prison sentence and would be held in custody until a court makes a decision in his case. Navalny had spent the previous five months in Germany recovering from a nerve agent attack that he blamed on the Kremlin, and the prison service earlier said that his being outside the country violated terms of a 2014 suspended sentence for embezzlement. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. The plane carrying Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny landed Sunday in Moscow, where he faces the threat of arrest. But the flight landed at a different airport than had been scheduled, a possible attempt to outwit journalists and supporters who wanted to witness the return. Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent and determined foe, was returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from poisoning by a nerve agent, which he blames on the Kremlin. Russia’s prison service last week issued a warrant for his arrest, saying he had violated the terms of suspended sentence he received on a 2014 conviction for embezzlement. The prison service has asked a Moscow court to turn Navalny’s 3 1/2-year suspended sentence into a real one. After boarding the Moscow flight in Berlin on Sunday, Navalny said of the prospect of arrest: “It’s impossible; I’m an innocent man.” The Kremlin has repeatedly denied a role in the opposition leader’s poisoning. Navalny supporters and journalists had come to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, where the plane was scheduled to land, but it ended up touching down at Sheremetyevo airport, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. There was no immediate explanation for the flight diversion. The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests, said at least 37 people were arrested at Vnukovo Airport, although their affiliations weren't immediately clear. Vnukovo banned journalists from working inside the terminal, saying in a statement last week that the move was due to epidemiological concerns. The airport also blocked off access to the international arrivals area. Police prisoner-detention vehicles stood outside the terminal on Sunday. The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and opposition social media reported Sunday that several Navalny supporters in St. Petersburg had been removed from Moscow-bound trains or been prevented from boarding flights late Saturday and early Sunday, including the co-ordinator of his staff for the region of Russia’s second-largest city. Navalny fell into a coma while aboard a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. He was transferred from a hospital in Siberia to a Berlin hospital two days later. Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent. Russian authorities insisted that the doctors who treated Navalny in Siberia before he was airlifted to Germany found no traces of poison and have challenged German officials to provide proof of his poisoning. They refused to open a full-fledged criminal inquiry, citing a lack of evidence that Navalny was poisoned. Last month, Navalny released the recording of a phone call he said he made to a man he described as an alleged member of a group of officers of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who purportedly poisoned him in August and then tried to cover it up. The FSB dismissed the recording as fake. ___ Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Jim Heintz in Moscow, contributed to this report. Mstyslav Chernov, The Associated Press

  • Democrats build impeachment case, alleging 'dangerous crime'

    WASHINGTON — The lead prosecutor for President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment began building his case for conviction at trial, asserting on Sunday that Trump's incitement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol was “the most dangerous crime" ever committed by a president against the United States. A Senate trial could begin as soon as this week, just as Democrat Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., did not say when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will send the single article of impeachment against Trump — for “incitement of insurrection” — to the Senate, which will trigger the beginning of the trial. But Raskin said “it should be coming up soon” as Pelosi organizes the formal transfer. The House voted to impeach Trump last Wednesday, one week after the violent insurrection that interrupted the official count of electoral votes, ransacked the Capitol and left Congress deeply shaken. Before the mob overpowered police and entered the building, Trump told them to “fight like hell” against the certification of Biden's election win. “We're going to be able to tell the story of this attack on America and all of the events that led up to it,” Raskin said. “This president set out to dismantle and overturn the election results from the 2020 presidential election. He was perfectly clear about that.” Democrats and the incoming administration are facing the challenge of reckoning with the Capitol attack at the same time that Biden takes office and tries to move the country forward. They say the Congress can do both, balancing a trial with confirmations of the new president's Cabinet and consideration of his legislative priorities. Raskin said Congress cannot establish a precedent where “we just want to let bygones be bygones” just because Trump has left office. Yet it's clear that Democrats do not want the Senate trial to dominate Biden's opening days. Pelosi on Friday said that Democrats intend to move quickly on Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID aid and economic recovery package to speed up vaccinations and send Americans relief, calling it “matter of complete urgency.” Ron Klain, Biden's incoming White House chief of staff, said he hopes Senate leaders, on a bipartisan basis, “find a way to move forward on all of their responsibilities. This impeachment trial is one of them, but getting people into the government and getting action on coronavirus is another one of those responsibilities.” It is unclear how many Senate Republicans — if any — would vote to convict Trump. Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is telling his caucus that their decision on whether to convict the outgoing president will be a “vote of conscience.” His stance, first reported by Business Insider, means the GOP leadership team will not work to hold senators in line one way or the other. McConnell is open to considering impeachment, but said he is undecided on how he would vote. He continues to hold great sway in his party, even though convening the trial this week could be among his last acts as majority leader as Democrats prepare to take control of the Senate with the seating of two new Democratic senators from Georgia. For Republican senators, the trial will be perhaps a final test of their loyalty to the defeated president and his legions of supporters in their states back home. It will force a further reevaluation of their relationship with Trump, who lost not only the White House but majority control of the Senate, and a broader discussion about the future of the Republican Party as he leaves office. Some GOP senators are already standing by Trump, despite their criticism of his behaviour. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the president's most loyal allies, said impeachment was a "bad, rushed, emotional move” that puts the presidency at risk and will cause further division. He said he hopes every Senate Republican rejects impeachment. “Please do not justify and legitimize what the House did,” Graham said. A handful of Republican senators have suggested they will consider conviction. Two of them, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, have said he should resign. Murkowski said the House responded “appropriately” with impeachment and she will consider the trial arguments. No president has ever been convicted in the Senate, and it would take a two-thirds vote against Trump, a high hurdle. But conviction is not out of the realm of possibility, especially as corporations and wealthy political donors distance themselves from Trump's brand of politics and the Republicans who stood by his attempts to overturn the election. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, was spotted at the White House Saturday and told ABC he was likely going to join Trump’s impeachment defence team. He suggested he would continue to spread baseless claims of election fraud on the Senate floor. Trump campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley moved to distance Trump from Giuliani’s comments, tweeting: “President Trump has not yet made a determination as to which lawyer or law firm will represent him for the disgraceful attack on our Constitution and democracy, known as the 'impeachment hoax.' We will keep you informed.” There was not widespread fraud in the election, as has been confirmed by a range of election officials and by William Barr, who stepped down as attorney general last month. Nearly all of the legal challenges put forth by Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges. Trump is the only president to be twice impeached, and the first to be prosecuted as he leaves the White House, an ever-more-extraordinary end to his tenure. A precedent set by the Senate in the 1800s established that a trial can proceed even after a federal official leaves office. Trump was first impeached by the House in 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine, but the Senate voted last year to acquit. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats in the 232-197 impeachment vote on Wednesday, the most bipartisan modern presidential impeachment. When his second trial does begin, House impeachment managers say they will be making the case that Trump’s incendiary rhetoric hours before the attack on the Capitol was not isolated, but directly intended to interrupt the electoral count as part of his escalating campaign to overturn the November election. A Capitol Police officer died from injuries suffered in the attack, and police shot and killed a woman. Three other people died in what authorities said were medical emergencies. Raskin and Klain were on CNN's “State of the Union,” and Graham appeared on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.” ___ Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report. Lisa Mascaro And Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press

  • Music producer Phil Spector, convicted of murder, dead at 81

    Rock producer Phil Spector, who changed the sound of pop music in the 1960s with his "Wall of Sound" recordings and was convicted of murder for the 2003 murder of a Hollywood actress, has died at age 81 of COVID-19, according to authorities and media reports. Spector produced 20 top 40 hits between 1961 and 1965 and went on to work with the Beatles on "Let It Be," as well as Leonard Cohen, the Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 four weeks ago and transferred to a hospital from his prison cell, where he had been serving a 19 years-to-life sentence for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, the Daily Mail newspaper said.

  • La communication des banques centrales peine encore à influencer les acteurs économiques

    Une recherche montre que la BCE et la Fed, qui multiplient les explications publiques ces dernières années, ne parviennent pas à retenir l’attention de manière optimale.

  • Missing scallop dragger found off Delaps Cove, N.S., but 5 crew members still missing

    The fishing vessel that went missing off the coast of Delaps Cove in southwest Nova Scotia in December has been found. Five of the six crew members who were aboard the boat are still missing. The Chief William Saulis, a scallop dragger that was based out of Yarmouth, was last heard from early on the morning of Dec. 15, when it was heading toward Digby after a week-long fishing expedition. Nova Scotia and British Columbia RCMP underwater recovery teams, assisted by the Canadian Coast Guard and Transportation Safety Board, found the vessel upright 60 metres below the surface, more than two kilometres off the shore of Delaps Cove, on Saturday morning. The team had targeted an area using side scan sonar and identified an anomaly, according to a news release from the Nova Scotia RCMP on Sunday morning. A remote-operated underwater vehicle was then used to confirm it was the Chief William Saulis. The RCMP said because of the depth of the vessel, it cannot be reached by recovery teams. They are determining the next steps to searching the inside of the vessel. While five crew members are still missing, the body of one, Michael Drake, was recovered the same evening the ship went down. The RCMP said the families of the five fishermen — Aaron Cogswell, Leonard Gabriel, Dan Forbes, Eugene Francis and the captain, Charles Roberts — have been notified that the vessel was found. "We haven't located any of the bodies outside of the water and the shoreline. So now, of course, everyone is hoping that the five missing men are still in the boat," Nova Scotia RCMP Sgt. Andrew Joyce said Sunday. A body was located along the shoreline in the area on Friday afternoon, but the person has not been identified. Joyce said Sunday the RCMP do not believe the body found is a missing crew member. Stella McAuley, the girlfriend of Leonard Gabriel, said she was contacted by police when the boat was found. "I just wondered if he was in the bunk, you know, because he was going to go to bed. He called me at 12:22 a.m. I was on the phone with him only a few hours before it happened," she said. McAuley said she's hopeful that Gabriel and the other fishermen are still on the boat. "It doesn't seem real. I keep expecting him to come home," she said. Lori Cogswell, the mother of Aaron Cogswell, said her "heart stopped" when she got the call. "It's almost like hearing about the accident all over again. It's almost as bad as the first day I heard about it," she said. Cogswell said she's hoping the boat will be searched and the bodies of the missing fishermen will be recovered. "It's still not quite closure. I mean, we now know where the boat is. We don't know where the crew is," she said. "You can only hope that they're with the boat." 'Closure is so important' Pam Mood, the mayor of Yarmouth, said she hopes the discovery of the fishing vessel can allow the families to start healing. "They are still going through a great deal and they will for quite some time," Mood said. "You know, I've often said this, you don't get over something like this. It just becomes a part of who you are as a person, as a family, as a community." This isn't the first time the area has lost fishermen at sea. In February 2013, five young Nova Scotian fishermen were killed when a wall of water crashed into the Miss Ally during a storm, capsizing the boat and rocking the small communities of Cape Sable Island and Woods Harbour. The bodies of the five crew members were never recovered. "The Atlantic is unforgiving. It's heartless. It's cruel. It's all those things. And yet it provides us our economics and a living for so many people. The ability to find the vessel and the souls that were lost — I don't think that's an easy thing. It doesn't happen often," Mood said. She added that when vessels and fishermen are recovered, it's a blessing. "Closure is so important to family members and the entire community, so we're thankful that the search continued and that [the RCMP] will keep doing what they do."

  • Amazon faces backlash from Indian ruling party lawmakers over web series 'Tandav'

    A local official from India's ruling Hindu nationalist party on Sunday registered a police complaint against an Amazon Prime web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses, and threatened to launch a protest at the company's office in Mumbai. Protests against Amazon.com have been organised for Monday to warn it not to show scenes insulting Hindu gods and goddesses, Ram Kadam, a BJP member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, said in a tweet after filing a complaint with police in Mumbai on Sunday. The political drama "Tandav" also drew the ire of other lawmakers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), causing fresh controversy for the e-commerce giant which last year had to withdraw dozens of rugs and doormats depicting Hindu gods from its international Amazon.com platform after a backlash in India.

  • Rick Hillier provides update on Ontario’s vaccination timeline

    Retired general told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live he wants to see everyone who wants a vaccine get one by late July or early August.

  • Heavily fortified statehouses around US see small protests

    Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. As darkness fell, there were no reports of any clashes. Security was stepped up in recent days after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests in Washington and at all 50 state capitol buildings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Crowds of only a dozen or two demonstrated at some boarded-up, cordoned-off statehouses, while the streets in many other capital cities remained empty. Some protesters said they were there to back President Donald Trump. Others said they had instead come to voice their support for gun rights or decry government overreach. “I don’t trust the results of the election,” said Michigan protester Martin Szelag, a 67-year-old semi-retired window salesman from Dearborn Heights. He wore a sign around his neck that read, in part, “We will support Joe Biden as our President if you can convince us he won legally. Show us the proof! Then the healing can begin.” As the day wore on with no bloodshed around the U.S., a sense of relief spread among officials, though they were not ready to let their guard down. The heavy law enforcement presence may have kept turnout down. In the past few days, some extremists had warned others against falling into what they called a law enforcement trap. Washington State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis said he hoped the apparently peaceful day reflected some soul-searching among Americans. “I would love to say that it’s because we’ve all taken a sober look in the mirror and have decided that we are a more unified people than certain moments in time would indicate,” he said. The security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence that broke out at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when far-right Trump supporters galvanized by his false claims that the election had been stolen from him overran the police and bashed their way into the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote. The attack left a Capitol police officer and four others dead. More than 125 people have been arrested over the insurrection. Dozens of courts, election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have all said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the presidential race. On Sunday, some statehouses were surrounded by new security fences, their windows were boarded up, and extra officers were on patrol. Legislatures generally were not in session over the weekend. Tall fences also surrounded the U.S. Capitol. The National Mall was closed to the public, and the mayor of Washington asked people not to visit. Some 25,000 National Guard troops from around the country are expected to arrive in the city in the coming days. U.S. defence officials told The Associated Press those troops would be vetted by the FBI to ward off any threat of an insider attack on the inauguration. The roughly 20 protesters who showed up at Michigan’s Capitol, including some who were armed, were significantly outnumbered by law enforcement officers and members of the media. Tensions have been running high in the state since authorities foiled a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year. At the Ohio Statehouse, about two dozen people, including several carrying long guns, protested outside under the watchful eyes of state troopers before dispersing as it began to snow. Kathy Sherman, who was wearing a visor with “Trump” printed on it, said she supports the president but distanced herself from the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. "I’m here to support the right to voice a political view or opinion without fear of censorship, harassment or the threat of losing my job or being physically assaulted,” she said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said he was pleased with the outcome but stressed that authorities "continue to have concerns for potential violence in the coming days, which is why I intend to maintain security levels at the Statehouse as we approach the presidential inauguration.” Utah's new governor, Republican Spencer Cox, shared photos on his Twitter account showing him with what appeared to be hundreds of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers standing behind him, all wearing masks. Cox called the quiet protests a best-case scenario and said many ”agitating groups" had cancelled their plans for the day. At Oregon's Capitol, fewer than a dozen men wearing military-style outfits, black ski masks and helmets stood nearby with semiautomatic weapons slung across their bodies. Some had upside-down American flags and signs reading such things as “Disarm the government.” At the Texas Capitol, Ben Hawk walked with about a dozen demonstrators up to the locked gates carrying a bullhorn and an AR-15 rifle hanging at the side of his camouflage pants. He condemned the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and said he did not support Trump. “All we came down here to do today was to discuss, gather, network and hang out. And it got blown and twisted completely out of proportion,” Hawk said. At Nevada's Capitol, where demonstrators supporting Trump have flocked most weekends in recent months, all was quiet except for a lone protester with a sign. “Trump Lost. Be Adults. Go Home,” it read. More than a third of governors had called out the National Guard to help protect their capitols and assist local law enforcement. Several governors declared states of emergency, and others closed their capitols to the public until after Biden's inauguration. Some legislatures also cancelled sessions or pared back their work for the coming week. Even before the violence at the Capitol, some statehouses had been the target of vandals and angry protesters during the past year. Last spring, armed protesters entered the Michigan Capitol to object to coronavirus lockdowns. People angry over the death of George Floyd under a Minneapolis police officer's knee vandalized capitols in several states, including Colorado, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. Last last month, crowds in Oregon forced their way into the Capitol in Salem to protest its closure to the public during a special legislative session on coronavirus measures. Amid the potential for violence in the coming days, the building's first-floor windows were boarded up and the National Guard was brought in. "The state capitol has become a fortress,” said Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat. “I never thought I’d see that. It breaks my heart.” ___ Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in Columbus, Ohio; Gillian Flaccus in Salem, Oregon; Mike Householder and David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; Sam Metz in Carson City, Nevada; Marc Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report. David A. Lieb And Adam Geller, The Associated Press

  • Curling Alberta decision will have ripple effect on potential wild-card teams

    Never has so little curling action created so many headlines ahead of the national championships. With many teams, clubs and provincial playdowns on ice due to the pandemic, several curling associations have had to get creative in this most unusual season. Curling Canada is no exception. The national federation added two more wild-card teams to the field at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier to create 18-team competitions. "Unique circumstances call for unique solutions," read the top of last week's release announcing the news. The one-time switch will allow a few more highly ranked teams into the mix. Now the big question is who will get in and when can they pack their bags for the so-called bubble in Calgary. Many associations recently cancelled their championships and declared representatives. Other provinces and territories are planning to hold playdowns over the next few weeks. The big decision that will have a ripple-down effect on wild-card spots is expected soon. Curling Alberta cancelled its championships Jan. 8 but didn't declare representatives for nationals, pending a "decision by the organization’s board of directors." Board members were scheduled to meet over the weekend to decide. An announcement will be made no earlier than Monday, executive director Jill Richard said in an email. Many member associations used last year's championship results to determine their representatives. Others considered recent results, rankings and standings for their picks. Normally at the Scotties and Brier, the top two teams in the Canadian rankings not already entered in the draw square off in a play-in game to become Team Wild Card. Curling Canada scrapped that setup for this season only and will instead give wild-card spots to the teams that would have played in the game, based on the 2019-20 final standings. The third wild-card spot - based on criteria to be determined - will get the final entry and create two even pools of nine teams each. Here's where it gets interesting and Alberta has a unique hammer. Brendan Bottcher is the reigning men's provincial champion. Kevin Koe was not in the playdowns last year since he had an automatic Brier berth as Team Canada. Jeremy Harty, meanwhile, has a slight lead on the second-place Koe in the provincial points race. Bottcher is ranked fourth in Canada, Koe is sixth and Harty is 15th. If Curling Alberta goes with an under-the-radar Harty pick, it would give the province a worthy representative and allow all three teams to enter rather than just two. Manitoba's Mike McEwen can rest easy in the No. 5 spot knowing he's in. If Bottcher is Team Alberta, McEwen and Koe are in as wild-card entries and No. 9 Glenn Howard is a potential pick for the third spot. If Koe wears provincial colours, Bottcher and McEwen would be wild-card entries. Howard would be a good bet for the third but the selection is not necessarily a slam dunk. If Harty gets the Alberta nod, Bottcher and McEwen would secure wild-card spots and Koe would be a virtual lock for the final berth. Boosting Harty's case was Nova Scotia's recent decision to give Jill Brothers the Scotties spot based on this season's standings. On the women's side, Laura Walker is the favourite to be named Team Alberta. The reigning provincial champion is ranked seventh in Canada and is second in the provincial standings. Alberta leader Kelsey Rocque, the Canadian No. 6, only has two returning members from last season, one short of the required minimum. The 3-of-4 rule also affects No. 10 Robyn Silvernagle of Saskatchewan, since she has two new players as well. Fifth-ranked Chelsea Carey, also of Alberta, is a free agent. Manitoba's Tracy Fleury is the only Scotties wild-card lock at No. 2. World junior champion Mackenzie Zacharias is in the mix at No. 11 along with fellow Manitoban Beth Peterson at No. 12. Suzanne Birt is a heavy favourite to win the two-team Prince Edward Island championship at the end of the month, but a loss would move her into a wild-card spot at No. 9. Like the men's pick, the third spot is a real guessing game, thanks in part to the uncertain criteria. A Curling Canada spokesman said the 3-of-4 rule will apply to the first two wild-card teams in each gender, but noted qualifying criteria for the third wild-card team won't be finalized until after all member associations have declared teams. That would appear to give teams in a 2-of-4 situation at least a little bit of hope. The veteran Howard, a four-time Brier champion, could very well get the men's spot. But it's also possible a youngster like No. 14 Tyler Tardi, a world junior champ from B.C., could get the selection. The third women's spot is also a crapshoot. Several worthy teams could be in the mix from Zacharias and Peterson to No. 19 Casey Scheidegger of Alberta, a perennial contender who has played a limited schedule over the last couple seasons. The Scotties is set for Feb. 19-28 at Markin MacPhail Centre. The Brier is scheduled for March 5-14 at the same venue on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

  • A border city stripped of its neighbour: Here's what Windsorites are doing without Detroit

    When the border finally opens, Priscilla Brough says she's going to cross into Detroit and hug the first American she sees. "But the first American I'll see will be the border guard and I'm sure he won't appreciate it like, 'hey, remember me?'" she said with a laugh. Brough has been taking the bus across the border by herself since she was a child to visit her dad, who lived in Michigan. Over the years, her relationship with Detroit has deepened and she has gone over seeking new thrills from the city's rich music scene to its telling street art. "People all over the world come here for ... the jazz festival, they come here for the art, the experience of being in Detroit — it's its own thing," she said. But for the first time in her 40 years of living in Windsor, Detroit is temporarily unavailable and has been for the last 10 months. T On March 21, the border closed, as COVID-19 swept across Canada and the United States. And it's yet to reopen. The time away from some of Brough's favourite places and people have been "awful." And for many other Windsorites, the Detroit River has never felt so big. Most locals went from weekly visits to gazing at the looming buildings from afar. It wasn't just the food, shopping or the entertainment that was missed, but the people. Yet without their American counterpart, Windsorites said they rediscovered parts of their hometown and put more effort into supporting local Canadian businesses. The last time Brough hopped across the border was on a weekend in early March of 2020. Just like any other, she was headed over with a list of things to do: go to a concert, grocery shop, head to a bar with some friends and check out the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). She didn't end up going to the DIA, but figured she would just head there another day. "That other day hasn't actually come yet, which is really, really sad. I love Detroit, I really do," said Brough, who would often visit the city several times a week. Sanja Srdanov, is another Windsorite who went from crossing into Detroit once or twice a week to waving at it from across the river. "It's bizarre and sad, it's just looming there and you can't go," she said. As a visual arts and photography teacher in Windsor, Srdanov said Detroit's art and music scenes are also her favourite, along with the tacos in the city's Mexican town. "But it did get me to get out in this community here," she said. Srdanov said she spent quite a bit of time walking Windsor's Riverfront trail, Drouillard Road and the Walkerville and Riverside neighbourhoods. And she managed to satisfy her taco fix with ones out in the county at Birdie's Perch in Leamington. Similarly, Meaghan Marton, who would go over to see friends, eat at vegan restaurants and volunteer at a Detroit animal shelter, said the restricted access only deepened her love for her hometown. "I'm already a huge advocate and love everything local," she said. "I have just kind of developed and cultivated more of my love for it ... but I think I'm really just putting more of my energy into what we have here." As for Brough, she said despite how difficult its been, she too came to appreciate Windsor-Essex all the more from the Downtown Farmers' Market in the summer to discovering the street art in the city's core. A loss of perspective And while there was lots to gain by staying put in Windsor, there was one major loss: perspective. In a year that saw a tense election that overturned Donald Trump's presidency, protests over the Black Lives Matter Movement and a struggle with a global pandemic, Windsorites said they missed out on getting to understand those challenges from America's point of view. Brough said it's a lot easier to understand what others are going through when you can personally ask them. "The big con is that we don't have as much exposure to other points of view as we may have once, cause it's one thing to see it on social media or one thing to see it on television on how the average person ... sees their world and ... how they perceive their situation," she said. "The Black Lives Matter Protest, imagine how much different that would have been ... we're all seeing it on television, we're hearing stories, but we're not there to witness it." There was more disconnect than usual, Marton added and that created more feelings of division in a year full of turmoil. "It really does feel like we have this wall built up between Canada and the U.S.," she said. "There's already so much division this year in so many different things, I think having that border closed in a way it symbolizes kind of like a closure between these two cities when for so many years, Windsor-Detroit has had such a huge connection and relationship among it's people that live there [and] businesses ... [The border] breaks down the barriers and our perception of what we think Detroit is or what we think America is and I really miss that." Ready for Detroit reunion All three Windsorites said they're eager to head over once it's safe to and hope that 2021 might be the year for that. "I'm really excited to cross back over when the possibility is there and everybody believes that it's safe and there's no stigma behind crossing cause I think the unfortunate part about it too is once you start or decide to cross over there's still going to be people that might be like 'oh I can't believe you're going across," Marton said. She said if it's possible to go over in a "healthy and safe" way, she's more than ready to get back to how life used to be. As for Brough, the first person she'll actually hug is her friend Angela who lives in the U.S. When the day comes, she says it will be a moment of celebration. "There will be dancing in the streets, I'm sure — probably by me, frankly," she said. Brough's only concern is that the places she frequented may not be there when she returns due to the toll of the pandemic. Earlier this week the border closure was extended until Feb. 21, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the border likely won't reopen until the pandemic is globally under control.

  • Dog and goat serving as mayor raise money for a playground

    FAIR HAVEN, Vt. — A goat and a dog who were each elected mayor have helped raise money to renovate a Vermont community playground. The oddball idea of pet mayor elections to raise money to rehabilitate the playground and to help get local kids civically involved came from a local town manager. In 2018, Fair Haven residents elected Lincoln the goat as its honorary mayor. Lincoln helped raise about $10,000 while the current mayor, Murfee, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, has raised $20,000, Town Manager Joe Gunter told the Rutland Herald. The town chipped in another $20,000. Murfee’s owner, Linda Barker, said that when she was talked into having Murfee get involved in politics, she thought it would be easy to raise money through T-shirts. Then the pandemic struck. So she shifted to masks. She's made nearly 1,000 of them, and will be making another round of them for Valentine's Day. She raised more than $5,000 from the masks and a similar amount from basket raffles. The town was also recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, she said. Ironically, the honorary mayor is not welcome on the playground. Barker said there's a "no dogs allowed" sign. “Murfee is going to take that up with the town,” Barker said Sunday with a chuckle. “He's going to contest that.” The Associated Press