Lethbridge news

• Canada set to open world juniors with tough test against the U.S.

  25-12-2019 23:39
  
  Canada eased into last year's world junior hockey championship. The host country led its opener against Denmark 3-0 after the first period, 8-0 through two and pumped home six more over the final 20 minutes of a 14-0 romp. The 2020 curtain-raiser versus a familiar foe should provide a little more drama. Canada kicks off the under-20 event's latest instalment Thursday against the United States in a game loaded with skill, speed, familiarity, and perhaps biggest of all, intensity. "Heated," Canadi
  
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• Montreal police say man killed partner in alleged murder-suicide

  25-12-2019 23:33
  
  Police say a 60-year-old man shot his partner before killing himself in a downtown Montreal apartment on Christmas morning. Const. Caroline Chevrefils says the 48-year-old woman died in hospital hours later. Police say they responded to a call around 10:45 a.m. about a man who had allegedly shot a woman in an apartment. First responders discovered a woman suffering from gunshot wounds and brought her to hospital in critical condition. Police say the man died at the scene. Chevrefils says he kill
  
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• Israeli PM evacuated from rally after rocket fired from Gaza

  25-12-2019 23:26
  
  Israel said a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into its southern territory Wednesday, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be hustled from a stage during an election rally in the city of Ashkelon. The Israeli military said its air defence system, known as Iron Dome, intercepted the rocket. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz posted a video on its website showing Netanyahu being taken to a shelter as he was campaigning hours before the primaries of his L
  
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• Toronto rapper Bvlly killed on Christmas Eve

  25-12-2019 22:46
  
  Bvlly, a Toronto-based rapper, was shot and killed early Christmas Eve in what police are calling a homicide. Jahquar Stewart, the 24-year-old better known by his rap alias Bvlly, was killed Tuesday morning in a north Oshawa home, according to the Durham Regional Police Service. Bvlly was found just before 3 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds, DRPS said. He was pronounced dead on the scene. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing, DRPS said. Bvlly released his debut single, "N
  
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• Seriously-ill children get a special visit from Santa Claus

  25-12-2019 21:14
  
  Children receiving medical treatment for serious illnesses received a special visit from Santa Claus at the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto on Christmas morning. Santa Claus and Toronto firefighters acting as elves visited the facility, which houses families of children with life-threatening or serious illnesses who have had to travel for treatment at local hospitals. There are 81 families currently staying at the Ronald McDonald House, which accommodates about 4,700 families a year from across
  
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• Horgan wants province to capitalize on reputation for high-quality 'B.C. Bud'

  25-12-2019 21:14
  
  Premier John Horgan says it's the best of times for cannabis users in British Columbia, but they could be even better. Since recreational cannabis became legal in Canada in October 2018, access to marijuana has become a matter of waiting for the mail to arrive or visiting a licensed dispensary, but something's still missing, says the premier. Horgan said he wants British Columbia to take better advantage of the province's worldwide reputation as a producer of top notch, award-winning weed, known
  
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• Surfing Santas ride waves along Florida's Space Coast

  25-12-2019 20:57
  
  Who needs a sleigh when you've got a surf board? Some 600 surfers dressed as Santa chose surfboards instead of sleighs on Tuesday during an annual Christmas Eve surfing fundraiser in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Almost 10,000 spectators also turned out for the 10th Annual Surfing Santas event along Florida's Space Coast. The surfing fundraiser raised $40,000 for the Florida Surf Museum and a non-profit that helps people with cancer.
  
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• Iran-backed bloc names Basra governor for post of Iraqi PM

  25-12-2019 20:26
  
  An Iranian-backed bloc in Iraq's parliament proposed Wednesday the governor of oil-rich southern Basra province as the country's next prime minister, two officials said. The nomination was promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters who want an independent candidate to take over the government. The Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units, supported by Iran, proposed Gov. Asaad al-Eidani for premier. Hours after his nomination, protesters poured in
  
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• Basra governor for post of Iraqi PM

  25-12-2019 20:26
  
  An Iranian-backed bloc in Iraq's parliament proposed Wednesday the governor of oil-rich southern Basra province as the country's next prime minister, two officials said. The nomination was promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters who want an independent candidate to take over the government. The Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units, supported by Iran, proposed Gov. Asaad al-Eidani for premier. According to the two officials, President Barham
  
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• Seven people forced from homes in Quebec City fire

  25-12-2019 20:23
  
  A fire in a Quebec City residential building forced seven people from their homes on Christmas Eve, including a 63-year-old woman with a physical disability.   Quebec City firefighters said no civilian or firefighters were injured. Authorities received a call at 2:30 a.m. about flames coming from a building containing two residential units in the Charlesbourg area. The seven evacuees were sheltered in a bus and the Canadian Red Cross offered assistance at the scene. The fire was under contr
  
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• U.S. Customs and Border Patrol receives backlash over Santa Claus tweet

  25-12-2019 19:28
  
  The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol received hefty backlash to a tweet uploaded on Christmas Eve, declaring that Santa Claus was "cleared for entry" into the country – as Twitter users flooded the responses with photos of migrant children held in detention centres. “Santa, his reindeer and all of the presents have been cleared by CBP for entry into the United States!” the tweet reads, with a photo of Santa Claus holding apparent government-issued identification. The reaction was
  
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• A woman is in dead after being shot in downtown apartment

  25-12-2019 19:18
  
  A 48-year-old woman is dead after being shot in a downtown apartment on Wednesday morning. Police said they received a call at 10:45 a.m. reporting the gunshots. When they arrived on the scene of the apartment on Sherbrooke near emergency Chomedey they found the woman with a gunshot wound to her upper body. The woman was taken to hospital in critical condition but succumbed to her injuries. A 60-year-old man who police said had fired the gun was found dead at the scene of a self-inflicted gunsho
  
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• A woman is in critical condition after being shot in downtown apartment

  25-12-2019 19:18
  
  A 48-year-old woman is in critical condition after being shot in a downtown apartment on Wednesday morning. Police said they received a call at 10:45 a.m. reporting the gunshots. When they arrived on the scene of the apartment on Sherbrooke near emergency Chomedey they found the woman with a gunshot wound to her upper body. A 60-year-old man who police said had fired the gun was found dead at the scene. Police have set up a security perimeter while they gather evidence and Sherbrooke is closed b
  
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• A woman is dead after being shot in downtown apartment

  25-12-2019 19:18
  
  A 48-year-old woman is dead after being shot in a downtown apartment on Wednesday morning. Police said they received a call at 10:45 a.m. reporting the gunshots. When they arrived on the scene of the apartment on Sherbrooke near emergency Chomedey they found the woman with a gunshot wound to her upper body. The woman was taken to hospital in critical condition but succumbed to her injuries. A 60-year-old man who police said had fired the gun was found dead at the scene of a self-inflicted gunsho
  
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• Typhoon Phanfone ruining Christmas for thousands of Filipinos

  25-12-2019 19:17
  
  Typhoon Phanfone pummelled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet, miserable and terrifying holiday to millions in the mainly Catholic nation. Police said six people were missing as the typhoon leapt from one small island to another for the second day -- crumpling houses, toppling trees and blacking out cities and towns, including in popular resorts like Boracay. At the height of the festive season on Wednesday, tens of thousands were stranded at shuttered ports or evacuation c
  
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• 'Freedom for All': Celtics' Enes Kanter allowed to travel outside U.S. for Christmas Day game

  25-12-2019 18:53
  
  Enes Kanter wore his heart on his chest for the Boston Celtics' Christmas Day game in Toronto. The Turkish centre arrived at Scotiabank Arena wearing a black T-shirt that read "Freedom for All." Toronto hosted the Celtics on Wednesday for the Raptors' first Christmas Day game in franchise history, and the fact Kanter was able to cross the border at all was big news. "We landed and they were like, 'OK, here's the moment!"' Kanter told reporters prior to tipoff. "And people were asking me if I was
  
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• Rare black rhino born at Michigan zoo Christmas Eve

  25-12-2019 17:51
  
   It's a boy! A zoo in Michigan is celebrating its newest addition -- a baby black rhino. Doppsee, 12, gave birth to the yet-to-be-named rhino at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing early Tuesday. The calf and mother are doing well and currently bonding, according to the zoo. "As this is Doppsee's first pregnancy, the animal care and veterinary staff will continue to monitor Doppsee and her calf closely in the next few weeks," Ronan Eustace, park veterinarian, said in a press release "But so far, the
  
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• ESPN reporter Edward Aschoff dies at age 34

  25-12-2019 17:34
  
  ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff has died at the age of 34. The Connecticut-based sports network announced Aschoff died on Tuesday, his birthday, following a brief illness. Aschoff recently posted on Instagram that he had contracted pneumonia. Aschoff joined ESPN in 2011. During the past three seasons, he reported from college campuses across the U.S. for ESPN.com, SportsCenter, SEC Network and ESPN radio. A native of Oxford, Mississippi, and a 2008 graduate of the University of Flo
  
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• Justin Bieber announces new album, tour and documentary series

  25-12-2019 17:28
  
  Justin Bieber delivered an early Christmas gift to fans on Tuesday, revealing details for an upcoming single, album and North American tour. The Stratford, Ont.-raised pop superstar posted a video to his social media platforms titled ".Bieber2020," which promised there's plenty of new music to come in the new year. The "super-trailer," as he called it on Instagram, features Bieber emerging from a shack and setting forth along a dusty road towards a deserted gas station. "As humans we are imperfe
  
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• Student who died tackling U.S. gunman to be honoured as a 'Star Wars' Jedi

  25-12-2019 17:18
  
  A hero of this galaxy is now also a hero of one far, far away. The makers of Star Wars have created a character in honor of Riley Howell, according to CNN affiliate WLOS. Howell was a 21-year-old ROTC cadet and student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He died in April while tackling a gunman on campus. Authorities have said that Howell saved the lives of others when he charged the shooter who had opened fire with a pistol in a classroom. A spokesperson from Lucasfilm said a fami
  
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• Vehicle owner dragged for 'short distance' in attempted warm-up theft

  25-12-2019 17:02
  
  A man allegedly dragged another man for a short distance before crashing into a brick barrier while attempting to steal a vehicle in Mississauga on Wednesday morning. Officers with Peel Regional Police said they were called to the area of Guildwood Way and Eglinton Avenue West at around 10 a.m. for a report of a single-vehicle rollover. According to police, an adult male victim was warming up and packing up his vehicle when a man approached and allegedly attempted to flee in the SUV. The victim
  
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• ‘If we don’t, who is?’: Canadian adventurers focus on climate change awareness

  25-12-2019 16:58 via globalnews.ca
  
  Hill said he was seeing the effects of climate change first hand, such as the retreating Illecillewaet Glacier in the Selkirk Mountains near Rogers Pass in B.C.
  
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• Single Chinese woman sues over egg freezing

  25-12-2019 16:48
  
  A single woman in China has gone to court challenging rules that forbid unmarried women from freezing their eggs in the first case of its kind in the country. Teresa Xu said she was prompted to take legal action after a top hospital in Beijing declined to freeze her eggs last year, and instead told her to "get married, and have a child soon". "There is a huge demand among young women in China -- whether married or single -- to freeze their eggs as they delay the decision to have a child," Xu tol
  
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• Anti-Putin activist 'forcibly drafted' and sent to Arctic base

  25-12-2019 16:35
  
  Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Wednesday that one of his allies had been forcibly conscripted and sent to serve at a remote Arctic base in a move his supporters said amounted to kidnapping. Ruslan Shaveddinov, a project manager at Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, went missing on Monday after authorities broke into his Moscow flat and his phone's SIM card was disabled. On Tuesday, he resurfaced at a secret air defence base on the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic
  
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• The Queen releases her annual Christmas message

  25-12-2019 16:00
  
  Queen Elizabeth II and her close family celebrated Christmas with a morning service at St. Mary Magdalene Church near her rural retreat at Sandringham in eastern England. It was a festive event Wednesday as the queen was joined for the first time by Prince George, 6, and Princess Charlotte, 4, the two eldest children of Prince William and his wife, Kate. They left 1-year-old Prince Louis at home. George and Charlotte walked to church hand in hand with their parents. Prince Charles, their grandfa
  
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• Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be saved

  25-12-2019 15:26
  
  The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there's a "50 per cent chance" the structure might not be entirely saved, because scaffolding installed before this year's fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument. Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said restoration work isn't likely to begin until 2021 -- and described his "heartache" at not being able to celebrate Christmas services inside Notre Dame this year, for the first time since the French Revolutio
  
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• White-bearded 'Merry Christmas' bank robber throws cash at passers-by

  25-12-2019 14:32
  
  A white-bearded man robbed a bank two days before Christmas, but threw the stolen cash in the air and wished passers-by a merry Christmas, U.S. media reported. Colorado police confirmed in a statement an "older white male" robbed the Academy Bank in Colorado Springs after threatening workers with an unidentified weapon and leaving with an unknown amount of money around midday Monday. "He started throwing money out of the bag and then said, 'Merry Christmas!" witness Dion Pascale told local stati
  
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• Drake edits out 'Chair Girl' from latest music video

  25-12-2019 14:11
  
  Drake has put out a new version of his latest music video, removing a split-second cameo from the 19-year-old woman who threw a chair off a downtown Toronto high-rise balcony earlier this year. October’s Very Own released a video for his single “War” on Monday evening, and it didn’t take long for listeners and much of Toronto’s media to notice an appearance by Marcella Zoia, an Instagram model who pleaded guilty to throwing a chair over a high rise-balcony last mont
  
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• The history of Jewish families eating Chinese food on Christmas

  25-12-2019 13:00
  
  Spring rolls, hot and sour soup, fried rice, and ginger chicken – for many Jewish families in Canada and the U.S., these are the some of the classic Chinese restaurant dishes they’ll share with friends and family on Christmas Day. There’s a longstanding tradition of Jewish families in Canada and the U.S. going out to eat Chinese food on Dec. 25. The custom dates back to at least 1935, when the New York Times mentioned a Chinese restaurant owner bringing chow mein to a New Jerse
  
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• Ninth earthquake in three days recorded off B.C. coast

  25-12-2019 05:22
  
  For the ninth time in three days, an earthquake has rattled off the B.C. coast. The 4.9-magnitude earthquake is the latest in a recent cluster, and occurred 198 kilometres west of Port Hardy, B.C. just after 12:30 p.m. PST on Christmas Day. A smaller earthquake measuring 3.6-magnitude was recorded in waters 153 kilometres west of Post Alice, B.C., at 8: 25 a.m. PST earlier in the day.  A previous 6.2-magnitude earthquake was also in the waters west of Port Hardy and occurred just after 7:30
  
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• Why this year’s flu season could be particularly dangerous for kids

  25-12-2019 03:14 via globalnews.ca
  
  So far, more than 3,200 cases of flu have been reported across Canada since the end of August.
  
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• Calgary woman calls organ donation her ‘Christmas miracle’

  25-12-2019 01:48 via globalnews.ca
  
  A Calgary woman who was told she might have to wait up to nine years for a kidney transplant is calling her organ donation a "Christmas miracle."
  
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• The empty nester’s guide to surviving the holidays

  25-12-2019 01:35 via globalnews.ca
  
  Author and mother-of-two Susan Gross has tips for parents celebrating their first Christmas with an empty nest.
  
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• ‘Come in, celebrate with us’: Subway owner spreading Christmas cheer

  25-12-2019 00:46
  
  The owner of a Subway in Fort Saskatchewan is doing his part to make everyone has a warm meal this Christmas Day, especially those who might not otherwise have one. “It’s the Christmas season. It could be very lonely if people don’t have family,” said Parminder Sandhu, Subway franchise owner. “We need to be kind to one another and we need to spread the love.” Sandhu’s Subway will be open on Christmas Day, giving out sandwiches, cookies and hugs. “T
  
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• VicPD warning of rise in 'virtual kidnappings'

  25-12-2019 00:43
  
  Victoria police are warning the community of an increase in "virtual kidnappings" happening in the area. Police describe virtual kidnappings as extortion attempts that are usually aimed at people from mainland China who are in Canada. "The perpetrators of these crimes often target people from mainland China who are in their early 20s and are in Canada studying on a student visa," said VicPD in a news release Tuesday. Victims of virtual kidnappings usually receive a phone call with a recorded mes
  
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• White Christmas dreams granted in Newfoundland with massive storm

  25-12-2019 00:23
  
  Those dreaming of a white Christmasin Newfoundland may be receiving a little more than they bargained for. According to Environment Canada, much of Newfoundland’s east coast is under a winter storm warning, where 30 centimetres of snow is expected on Christmas Eve, with an additional five to 10 centimetres expected overnight. Wind gusts could reach 100 kilometres per hour on Christmas Day as well. The agency added that visibilitywill likely be near zero due to the snowfall,  and sugge
  
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• Calgary charity experiences a little bit of magic before Christmas

  25-12-2019 00:21 via globalnews.ca
  
  "They showed up for us," Global Calgary's Leslie Horton said on Calgarians coming through for families in need this Christmas.
  
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• 'She was my best friend': Sister mourns B.C. teen killed in crash near Jasper

  25-12-2019 00:10
  
  As many families settle in for the holidays, Aliyah Ramirez-Bernard is grieving for her 16-year-old sister. The Vancouver siblings, whose mother died earlier this year, were heading home from a family visit in Edmonton when Ramirez-Bernard lost control on Highway 16. They struck a van, which sent their car rolling towards a ditch. Her sister Rainbow Skye Bernard – a bright, funny teenager who was just beginning to plan her future – was pronounced dead at the scene. Ramirez-Bernard, t
  
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• 'Rest in sweet peace': Victim of Jasper crash ID'd as B.C. teenager

  25-12-2019 00:10
  
  The B.C. teenager who was killed in a crash near Jasper, Alta. days before Christmas has been identified online as a beloved sister and caring friend. Rainbow Skye Bernard died Sunday afternoon in a tragic accident on Highway 16, according to a fundraiser set up to help her family. She was 16 years old. News of her death prompted an outpouring of grief on social media, with many remembering Bernard as a kind and compassionate young woman who had a bright future ahead of her. "It's hard to think
  
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• Family, friends, Fidos reunite for Christmas at Calgary airport

  25-12-2019 00:06
  
  The holiday season is full of surprises and cheer, but it’s also a time for many reunions. "We’re excited to be able to have our family together, especially at this time of the year," said Daryl Urness, whose three kids live in the United States. Urness’s daughter flew in from Los Angeles on Tuesday with her family. "I love my grandkids, love playing around with them, they’re a lot of fun," he said. Urness stood with his wife, anxiously awaiting their arrival at the inter
  
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