Lethbridge news

• Christmas Bird Count turns December into prime time for Canadian bird watching

  19-12-2019 23:58
  
  If you think December isn't what might be thought of prime time for bird watching, think again. That's because in fact, last Saturday marked the start of the 120th Christmas Bird Count, a nation-wide event run by thousands of volunteers who contribute information to the National Audubon Society to help compile one of the world's largest sets of wildlife survey data. In the 118th bird count (2017), over 10,000 field observers and 3700 feeder counters donated time and talent to counting birds acro
  
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• Spam calls up by nearly 50% in Canada, according to report

  19-12-2019 23:30
  
  New measures expected to cut down on spam and fraudulent phone calls for Canadians are coming later this month and one group says they couldn't come at a better time. Hiya, a company that provides nuisance and scam call protection, released an annual report where it found Canadians received 2.1 billion spam calls between January and November 2019, 49 per cent more than last year. The firm said Canadians got, on average, six unwanted calls per month. Most of those calls are from scammers, trying
  
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• Supreme Court dismisses appeal in Alberta company’s oilpatch technology fight

  19-12-2019 23:21 via globalnews.ca
  
  A long-running court battle over who owns a well-completion technology that helped usher in the shale oil and gas boom in North America has ended.
  
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• Volunteers stuff stockings at Chinook Regional Hospital: ‘Nobody wants to be in the hospital at Christmas’

  19-12-2019 23:08 via globalnews.ca
  
  Volunteers gathered at the Chinook Regional Hospital on Thursday to stuff some stockings for patients this Christmas.
  
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• Alberta Sheriffs shut down Lethbridge drug house

  19-12-2019 23:08
  
  Alberta Sheriffs have shuttered a drug house in Lethbridge. Crews boarded up the house, changed the locks and put up a fence around property  at 136 15th Street N. just after noon Wednesday, when a court order obtained by the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit came into effect. The order prevents anyone from entering the property until Feb. 27, 2020. The property will also be under supervision until Dec. 10, 2020. An investigation was started in May after complaints from area
  
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• ‘Nobody wants to be in the hospital at Christmas’: Volunteers stuff stockings at Chinook Regional Hospital

  19-12-2019 22:48 via globalnews.ca
  
  Volunteers gathered at the Chinook Regional Hospital on Thursday to stuff some stockings for patients this Christmas. Demi Knight reports.
  
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• Red Arrow driver helps deliver baby aboard bus in Lethbridge

  19-12-2019 22:29 via globalnews.ca
  
  Red Arrow Motorcoach has announced the birth of a child aboard one of its buses at a stop in Lethbridge, with assistance from one of the company's drivers. 
  
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• Calgary mall offers many ways to help charities this holiday season

  19-12-2019 21:51
  
  Christmas advertising begins in early November and that commercialized focus can be hard to take for many. Make no mistake, it is the holiday season at Southcentre Mall. But during this time the mall is giving back to the community by hosting three charities: the Women’s Centre, Meals on Wheels and Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Located in Centre Court near Santa, guests can visit the colourful Meals on Wheels Cookie Kitchen to decorate a cookie in exchange for a one dollar donation. Last year, $
  
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• Charges laid after man falsely reports suspicious package near hotel on Macleod Trail

  19-12-2019 21:49
  
  Police say a man who called 911 to report a suspicious package in a vehicle along Macleod Trail told an officer he was the one who placed an explosive device there. Charges have now been laid against him. A man called 911 about 10 a.m. on Wednesday to report a suspicious black BMW parked behind the Best Western Hotel in the 3600 block of Macleod Trail. He was in a nearby restaurant while talking to a dispatcher when an officer walked in on an unrelated matter. Police say the man went up to the o
  
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• Alberta's oil and gas 'war room' changing logo following complaints it copied U.S. data company

  19-12-2019 21:27
  
  Alberta's oil and gas "war room" says it is changing its logo after learning it used the same image as a U.S.-based data company. The Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) is a $30-million project to promote the province's energy industry, and to investigate claims that foreign-funded campaigns are attacking Alberta oil and gas. "We're here to help raise understanding of the Canadian energy sector's value to this country and the world, through the sharing of knowledge, facts and ideas," the CEC says on i
  
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• Arson charges laid following fires that destroyed 2 homes in Legacy

  19-12-2019 21:20
  
  A 30-year-old Calgary man has been arrested and charged in a series of fires that destroyed two homes last month in the southeast community of Legacy. On the afternoon of Nov. 2, fire crews were called to the 200 block of Legacy Mount S.E. and found a home under construction that was completely engulfed in flames. That fire quickly spread to a neighbouring home that was occupied. Despite efforts from the Calgary Fire Department, neither home could be saved. While at the scene, firefighters were
  
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• Police investigate second video involving children live-streamed on Twitch

  19-12-2019 21:09
  
  Calgary police says they are investigating the treatment of children caught on another video by a Twitch user livestreaming a gaming session. The second video, which involves a man, came to the attention of authorities on Wednesday, the same day police charged a 31-year-old woman with assault on her 14-month-old son after being seen on video roughly handling two young children while playing the video game Fortnite. Police confirmed to CTV News the woman is linked to the man now being investigate
  
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• Alberta drilling rights auctions fall to record low

  19-12-2019 21:09 via globalnews.ca
  
  A key indicator of future oil and gas drilling activity in Alberta has fallen to a record low as pipeline capacity constraints continue to restrain oilpatch spending.
  
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• 'Welcome aboard': Baby born on bus coach service in southern Alberta

  19-12-2019 20:59
  
  A southern Alberta bus service is praising the efforts of one of its drivers after he stepped in to help deliver a couple's baby after the mom when into labour during the trip. Officials say the coach was getting ready to leave the University Transit stop at the University of Lethbridge when one of the passengers ran up to driver, Shawn Coulter, and told him his wife was in labour. Coulter, who was only a month into his career with Red Arrow, immediately pulled over, called 911 and rushed over t
  
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• 'Welcome aboard': Baby born on bus coach service in Lethbridge

  19-12-2019 20:59
  
  A southern Alberta bus service is praising the efforts of one of its drivers after he stepped in to help deliver a couple's baby after the mom when into labour during the trip. Officials say the coach was getting ready to leave the University Transit stop at the University of Lethbridge when one of the passengers ran up to driver, Shawn Coulter, and told him his wife was in labour. Coulter, who was only a month into his career with Red Arrow, immediately pulled over, called 911 and rushed over t
  
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• Calgary Catholic School District names new superintendent

  19-12-2019 20:56
  
  Dr. Bryan Szumlas has been appointed as the new chief superintendent and CEO of the Calgary Catholic School District, effective March 1, 2020. He will replace the outgoing Gary Strother, who announced his retirement in June after eight years at the helm of CCSD. A graduate of the University of Calgary and currently an area director for north central Calgary and Airdrie, Szumlas has been with CCSD since 1990 as a teacher, science supervisor, vice-principal, principal, supervisor of teaching and l
  
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• U.S. software giant checking on logo used by Alberta’s energy war room

  19-12-2019 20:31 via globalnews.ca
  
  Progress Software Corp. says it is looking into whether Alberta's new energy war room has violated the company's trademarked logo.
  
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• Alberta’s energy war room replacing logo after learning it’s used by U.S. software giant

  19-12-2019 20:31 via globalnews.ca
  
  Progress Software's emblem is a stylized emerald-green, sharp-angled depiction of what appear to be radiating waves. The war room logo appears to be the same except for the colour.
  
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• 5 people charged in connection with Edmonton-based company handling illegal online cannabis sales

  19-12-2019 20:31 via globalnews.ca
  
  Five people have been charged after police allege an Edmonton-based business was laundering more than $15 million obtained through illegal online cannabis sales.
  
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• Number of flu-related deaths in Alberta this season jumps to 6: AHS

  19-12-2019 20:27 via globalnews.ca
  
  The number of people in the province who died with lab-confirmed influenza rose to six, according to Alberta Health Services' weekly report released Thursday.
  
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• 3 more flu-related deaths reported in Alberta as influenza season ramps up

  19-12-2019 20:02
  
  Six people in Alberta have now died due to complications from the influenza virus, according to new numbers released Thursday by Alberta Health Services. That number has doubled from last week, when Alberta reported its first three deaths this flu season. Three of the people who died with lab-confirmed cases of the flu were reported in the Edmonton zone, while the Calgary, South and North zones each reported one. The Influenza B strain of this year's virus continues to hit hard in the Calgary ar
  
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• Roughly 50 vehicles involved in collisions on Hwy 400 south of Barrie

  19-12-2019 20:01
  
  The weather created chaos for commuters, with dozens of crashes keeping emergency services busy on Thursday. There are no reports of any serious injuries, but police say roughly 50 vehicles and six transport trucks were involved in collisions, forcing the closure of the northbound lanes along Highway 400 from Highway 88 to Innisfil Beach Road shortly after the lunch hour.One tow truck driver telling me he’s never seen anything like this, dozens of vehicles being towed away. Another says he
  
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• Snowfall warnings in place for Banff, Jasper national parks

  19-12-2019 19:55 via globalnews.ca
  
  Anyone heading to the mountains this weekend should prepare for possibly poor highway conditions after snowfall warnings were issued for both Banff and Jasper national parks.
  
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• Norovirus the likely cause of illness outbreak linked to Calgary shawarma restaurants: AHS

  19-12-2019 19:48
  
  Alberta Health Services says norovirus was the likely cause of an outbreak of illness linked to a chain of Calgary shawarma restaurants. An investigation was launched Dec. 6 after reports of diners becoming sick after eating at Jerusalem Shawarma. Reports were received from 17 different groups who said they ate at multiple locations between Dec. 4 and Dec. 12. "Between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, AHS completed 27 inspections at all Jerusalem Shawarma locations," reads a statemente from AHS. "Following t
  
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• AHS investigating Calgary shawarma restaurant after dozens report possible food poisoning

  19-12-2019 19:48
  
  Alberta Health Services is investigating a Calgary restaurant following more than a dozen reports of apparent food poisoning. Five AHS inspections were done at Jerusalem Shawarma in the 300 block of 16th Avenue N.W. between Dec. 7 and Dec. 16, according to reports posted online. Issues identified included cooked, high-risk foods being stored at the wrong temperature, skewer handles coming into contact with meat juices, resulting in cross-contamination, and improper or inadequate cleaning techniq
  
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• Calgary’s Salvation Army in desperate need of holiday donations to kettle campaign

  19-12-2019 19:47
  
  With less than one week to go until Christmas, Calgary’s Salvation Army is well short of its fundraising goal.  The 2019 Christmas Kettle Campaign has only reached 60 per cent of its $1.1 million target. So far, about $630,000 has been raised, which is a bit more than the same time last year.  In 2018, the organization did not reach its target but still managed to raise around $900,000.  Karen Levick, executive director of Calgary’s Salvation Army, says there's financi
  
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• Some paramedics no longer getting free coffee, so Albertans are buying it for them

  19-12-2019 19:39
  
  An online fundraiser has been launched to buy coffee for northern Alberta paramedics after they were told they'd no longer be given caffeinated beverages for free. The campaign comes after an internal memo was posted on Twitter. It appears to be from the associate executive director for Alberta Health Services EMS North Zone, notifying staff that Alberta Health Services will no longer be supplying coffee, tea or condiments at EMS facilities in that region.The memo suggests that the North Zone is
  
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• Perking up paramedics: Albertans buy coffee for EMS crews in GoFundMe campaign

  19-12-2019 19:39
  
  An online fundraiser has been launched to buy coffee for Alberta's paramedics after they were told they'd no longer be given caffeinated beverages for free. The campaign comes after an internal memo was posted on Twitter. It appears to be from the associate executive director for Alberta Health Services EMS North Zone, notifying staff that Alberta Health Services will no longer be supplying coffee, tea or condiments at EMS facilities in that region.The memo suggests that the North Zone is the la
  
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• Remembering the Canadian 'Dream Team' and Alberta's first World Juniors

  19-12-2019 19:23
  
  In December of 1994, the hockey world cast its eyes on Alberta, in part because it had nowhere else to look. The National Hockey League was in the throes of a lockout that started in October and had already cancelled the first three months of the season. The NHL’s loss became the World Juniors gain with teams having a sudden supply of pro-ready talent to choose from ahead of Alberta’s debut as tournament host. World Juniors: When to watch Team Canada and what to know about who t
  
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• ‘There wasn’t much TV back then’: Remembering the Canadian 'Dream Team' and Alberta's first World Juniors

  19-12-2019 19:23
  
  In December of 1994, the hockey world cast its eyes on Alberta, in part because it had nowhere else to look. The National Hockey League was in the throes of a lockout that started in October and had already cancelled the first three months of the season. The NHL’s loss became the World Juniors gain with teams having a sudden supply of pro-ready talent to choose from ahead of Alberta’s debut as tournament host. World Juniors: When to watch Team Canada and what to know about who t
  
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• Holiday drivers take note, snowfall warnings issued for Banff and Jasper

  19-12-2019 19:21
  
  Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Banff and Jasper. A special weather statement involving snow has also been issued for Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek, Waterton, Kananaskis and Canmore. Snow is forecasted to start falling Thursday evening, bringing 15-25 centimetres of snow by Friday afternoon. Areas in the special weather statement area could see 10-20 centimetres of snow by Saturday. Warm, dry, gusty conditions could also cause precipitation in valleys or lower elevations. Ho
  
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• B.C. dad who murdered daughters on Christmas will spend at least 22 years in prison

  19-12-2019 19:08
  
  A father who killed his four- and six-year-old daughters on Christmas Day in 2017 will have to serve 22 years before he's eligible for parole. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper told Andrew Berry that he committed heinous crimes against his daughters as she sentenced him today in Victoria. “The girls were killed in their own beds, in their own home, where they had every expectation to be safe,” Gropper said. A jury convicted Berry of second-degree murder in September in the vi
  
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• Feds pledge $2.5M to Sask. First Nations to prevent youth 'harms and deaths'

  19-12-2019 18:36
  
  Indigenous Services Canada on Thursday announced it will spend $2.5 million over the next two years to help Saskatchewan First Nations offer mental health and wellness programming for children and youth. The funding announcement comes in the same week the Ochapowace First Nation declared a state of emergency following the suicides of four people in the last three months. It also comes in the wake of Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation's declared state of crisis after a rash of suicides and suicide at
  
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• Organized crime charges laid against employees of Edmonton-based online payment service

  19-12-2019 18:29
  
  Organized crime charges have been laid against several employees of an online payment service that facilitated payments for unlicensed illegal cannabis from online dispensaries. The Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Canada Revenue Agency and the Forensic Accounting Management Group began an investigation into Edmonton-based company Moxipay Corporation a year ago after receiving a tip from a bank about suspicious financial
  
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• Supreme Court declines to hear appeal on future of Lucy the elephant

  19-12-2019 18:00
  
  The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal from an animal rights group involving the Edmonton's Valley Zoo's Lucy the elephant.  The court issued its dismissal of ZooCheck Canada's appeal on Thursday morning. As per usual SCC custom, the court declined to give its reasons for not hearing the appeal. 'Time is running out': advocates say Lucy's health deterioratingZooCheck Canada is one of several groups, including American former game show host Bob Barker, that has long
  
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• Confusion as Aeroplan announces changes to status program

  19-12-2019 17:44
  
  Could you clock 100,000 Aeroplan miles in just two months? That’s the question some members are asking Thursday after the rewards program announced it is “winding down” its status program in an email. In order to maintain the “silver,” “black” and “diamond” membership levels to the end of 2021, members would have to accumulate 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 miles, respectively, in just 60 days, between Jan. 1 and Feb. 29, 2020. As of March 1, mem
  
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• RCMP charge Brooks, Alta. driver in connection with fatal June 2019 collision

  19-12-2019 17:34 via globalnews.ca
  
  Gavin Petrie, 52, has been charged with dangerous operation causing death and dangerous operation causing bodily harm in connection with the crash, Brooks RCMP said.
  
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• Brooks man charged in connection with deadly Trans-Canada Highway crash

  19-12-2019 16:49
  
  A 52-year-old Brooks man has been charged in connection with a June crash near that city that killed a Three Hills senior. On the afternoon of June 3, a pickup truck travelling southbound on Range Road 150 collided with an SUV that was eastbound on the Trans-Canada Highway. The driver of the SUV, a 72-year-old man from Three Hills, was pronounced dead on scene. The man's 71-year-old wife was injured in the crash and transported to hospital in stable condition. The driver of the pickup truck was
  
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• These were the most searched vehicles in 2019 in Alberta according to Auto Trader

  19-12-2019 16:24
  
  AutoTrader.ca has released its list of the most searched vehicles in Alberta and Canada for 2019. In Alberta, the Ford F-150 topped the list, followed by the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Honda CR-V. For the first year since 2014, the Jeep Wrangler fell off the list. Across Canada, the most searched-for vehicles are similar.Ford F-150 Honda Civic Honda CR-V BMW 3 Series Ford Mustang Chevrolet Corvette Ram 1500 Toyota Corolla Toyota Rav4 Porsche 911Pickup truck listings were up 21 per cent this year Aut
  
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• Supreme Court ruling means children of Russian spies are Canadian citizens

  19-12-2019 16:18
  
  The Supreme Court of Canada has decided the Toronto-born sons of Russian spies are actually Canadian citizens. The high court decision today upholds a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that effectively affirmed the citizenship of Alexander and Timothy Vavilov. The Vavilov brothers were born in the 1990s to parents using the aliases Donald Heathfield and Tracey Ann Foley. The parents were arrested nine years ago in the United States for conspiring to act as secret agents on behalf of Moscow. Heathfi
  
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• 173 million accounts exposed in hack of 'Words with Friends' developer

  19-12-2019 15:52
  
  The usernames and passwords of more than 172 million accounts were exposed in a hack of the company behind the popular game “Words with Friends,” according to a data monitoring website. In September, the game developer Zynga announced that player account information may have been illegally accessed by outside hackers. At the time, the company didn’t reveal how many customers were affected and said it was an “unfortunate” reality of doing business. Zynga said they do
  
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• Festive facelift: Calgary cocktail bar transforms into Miracle on First Street

  19-12-2019 15:04
  
  Yes, Virginia, that cocktail bar is serving eggnog. A Beltline establishment has fully embraced the holiday season and temporarily changed its name. Proof cocktail bar is now serving beverages under the 'Miracle on First Street' moniker. Jeff Jamieson, co-owner of Proof in the 1300 block of First St. S.W., says this is the second year the bar has adopted the Christmas concept and Calgarians can't seem to get enough.   "They're loving it," Jamieson told CTV Wednesday night. "I've got Santa C
  
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• The end of spam calls? CRTC call-blocking rules come into force

  19-12-2019 14:50
  
  Canadians should expect fewer spam phone calls as the deadline to implement call-blocking systems comes into force Thursday. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission set a target of Dec. 19, 2019, for communications service providers to have taken steps to apply call-blocking to their networks. Calls from numbers that exceed 15 digits, or numbers that can’t be dialed (“spoofed” numbers such as 000-000-0000), should no longer reach Canadian phones if the s
  
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• Indigenous opposition to Trans Mountain pipeline shouldn’t outweigh public interest: Provinces

  19-12-2019 14:30 via globalnews.ca
  
  Four Indigenous groups argue the government already had an outcome for Trans Mountain in mind when it engaged them, while lawyers countered that First Nations did not approach the consultations in good faith.
  
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• Students in St. Michael's College School sex assault sentenced to 2 years probation

  19-12-2019 13:04
  
  Three former students of an all-boys Catholic school in Toronto accused of assaulting and sexually assaulting two fellow students on campus have been sentenced to two years of probation. The teens pleaded guilty in October to sexual assault with a weapon and assault with a weapon. One of the teens, who recorded one of the sex assaults on his cellphone, also pleaded guilty to making child pornography. Family members hugged the three boys and some cried after the judge's sentencing decision came d
  
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• Canadians divided on whether the West has legitimate beef with feds: Ipsos

  19-12-2019 13:00 via globalnews.ca
  
  "Everybody's got their own problems," a pollster said when asked what new numbers suggest.
  
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• Judge dismisses 19 charges against former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle

  19-12-2019 10:16
  
  A judge has dismissed charges against former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle, who had been accused of assaulting his wife Caitlan Coleman. Ontario Court Judge Peter Doody says the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Boyle, 36, committed multiple offences against Coleman, including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement. Boyle was in the Ottawa courtroom this morning with his parents as Doody delivered the lengthy verdict. The trial dealt with the respective credibilit
  
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• No American Super Bowl ads for Canadian viewers, top court rules

  19-12-2019 10:13
  
  For some people, waiting to see the much-hyped Super Bowl commercials is like waiting for Christmas. But on TV stations in Canada, there will be no presents from American advertisers next year. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Canadian viewers will no longer be seeing American commercials during the Super Bowl broadcast. The ruling has overturned a previous decision that allowed viewers to see the U.S. ads. Generally, Canada follows simultaneous substitution rules, w
  
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• McConnell blasts House impeachment, pledges Senate stability

  19-12-2019 09:06
  
  The top Senate Republican on Thursday denounced the "unfair" House impeachment of President Donald Trump and reassured Trump and his supporters that "moments like this are why the United States Senate exists." Sen. Mitch McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor that the House impeachment "risks deeply damaging the institutions of American government," saying the Democratic-controlled House "has let its partisan rage at this particular president create a toxic new precedent that will echo we
  
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• McConnell blasts House impeachment, pledges Senate action

  19-12-2019 09:06
  
  The top Senate Republican on Thursday denounced the "most unfair" House impeachment of President Donald Trump and reassured Trump and his supporters that "moments like this are why the United States Senate exists." Signalling in the strongest terms yet that the GOP-controlled Senate will acquit Trump, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declared that the House impeachment "risks deeply damaging the institutions of American government." As for what the Senate should do, the Kentucky Repub
  
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