Wildfires continue to rage in Alberta – Winnipeg Free Press

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to get you started on your day. Here’s what’s on our editors’ radar for the morning of May 10…

What we are seeing in Canada…

The Alberta government says fire danger remains extreme in most of the province, except in the Rocky Mountains, where lower danger levels were expected.

Some areas have experienced cooler temperatures and some rain, but the government says a return to hot and windy conditions is expected in the coming days.

The Indigenous Services of Canada said on Tuesday that nine First Nations were threatened by active bushfires.

One of them was the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, about 360 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, where 1,600 people were forced to leave after fire destroyed 45 structures and electrical infrastructure.

As of early Wednesday morning, the Alberta Wildfire Status Dashboard was reporting 81 active wildfires in the province, including 27 listed as out of control.

Firefighters from Yukon, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec arrived in Alberta to help, and the government said late Tuesday that crews from New Brunswick, Oregon and Alaska were also expected.

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That too …

A Nova Scotia man filed a federal human rights complaint alleging discrimination after his husband’s last wish to donate body tissues was denied because of his sexual orientation.

Jacob MacDonald’s complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission mentions several agencies, including the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Health Canada, Canadian Blood Services and a tissue specialist.

Twenty-six-year-old Liam Dee died of a rare and aggressive cancer last November, when a donation evaluation form listed “homosexual status” as the reason for rejecting his tissues.

MacDonald says Dee was considered a high-risk tissue donor because he had had sex with another man in the previous five years, cited as a factor in the increased risk of transmitting HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, despite that the couple was in a monogamous relationship for four years.

He points out that an advanced HIV test can detect the virus seven days after someone has been exposed, so the five-year abstinence period is meaningless.

The abstinence period is 12 months in Canada, except in Nova Scotia and five other provinces where tissue banks are voluntarily accredited by a US organization, which requires five years of abstinence for men who have sex with men if they want to donate their tissues. tissues.

All of the agencies named in the complaint have declined to comment before the commission reviews the case to determine if it will be referred to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

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What we are seeing in the United States…

Former US President Donald Trump will return to the CNN airwaves on Wednesday, joining the network for a two-hour event at New Hampshire’s town hall on early voting day, a day after a civilian jury indicted him. pleaded responsible for sexually assaulting an advice columnist nearly three decades ago.

The forum, which was publicly announced last week, was expected to be notable in that it would bring together a network and a candidate that have long clashed. But the stakes were raised sharply Tuesday after juries in New York found that Trump had sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, though he rejected her claim that he raped her. The jury awarded him $5 million in damages.

While the civil trial verdict carries no criminal penalties, it nonetheless brings attention to the myriad investigations facing Trump, who was indicted in New York in March over hush money payments made to women who had accused him of sexual encounters. Trump also faces investigations in Georgia and Washington over his alleged interference in the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents and possible obstruction of justice.

It also refocuses on questions about Trump’s treatment of women over the years, raising the stakes for an event in which he will be forced to answer tough questions from host Kaitlan Collins and the audience. Carroll is one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment over the years, charges Trump has denied.

Historically, Trump has not reacted well to being pressed onstage about his behavior toward women, most notably during the first Republican presidential debate in 2015, when he sparred with then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly. He later said that he had “blood coming out of her everywhere” when she was questioning him.

Trump has a far more contentious relationship with CNN than he did with Fox at the time. Trump has called the network “fake news” and has personally sparred with Collins. He was once barred from attending an event in the Rose Garden after Trump’s team annoyed his vociferous questions at an earlier Oval Office availability.

The appearance will also serve as another foil to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as Trump’s main rival for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and is expected to launch his campaign in the coming weeks. DeSantis has taken a sheltered media approach, largely avoiding questions from the mainstream press and embracing Fox News, once a loyal cheerleader for Trump but now frequently denigrated by Trump.

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What we are seeing in the rest of the world…

ISLAMABAD _ Pakistan was bracing for more unrest a day after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was dragged from court in Islamabad and his supporters clashed with police across the country. The 70-year-old opposition leader is expected to appear in court later Wednesday for a hearing on Khan’s detention for up to 14 days.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party called on protesters to remain peaceful hours after mobs angered by the dramatic mid-trial arrest torched the residence of a top army general in the eastern city of Lahore.

Khan was appearing in court on multiple corruption charges brought by Islamabad police on Tuesday, when dozens of National Accountability Office officers backed by paramilitary troops stormed the courtroom and smashed the windows after Khan’s guards They refused to open the door.

The arrest deepened political turmoil and sparked violent demonstrations in which at least one person was killed in the southwestern city of Quetta, and dozens were injured in various parts of the country.

Khan’s supporters attacked the army headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, but missed the main building that houses the offices of army chief General Asim Munir. Other protesters tried to reach the prime minister’s residence in Lahore, but the police drove them away with batons. Others attacked troop-carrying vehicles and beat soldiers armed with sticks. So far, the police and soldiers have not fired on the protesters.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a senior vice president of Khan’s party, called for peaceful demonstrations on Wednesday, urging “not to damage public property, not to attack offices, as we are peace lovers.” Qureshi said the party is considering challenging the arrest in the Supreme Court. “I urge our party members to continue peaceful protests, but do not attack public property and do not do so.”

On Wednesday morning, police said at least 2,000 protesters were still surrounding the fire-damaged residence of Lt. Gen. Salman Fayyaz Ghani, chanting slogans such as “Khan is our red line and you have crossed it.” Ghani and his family members were rushed to a safer location when mobs attacked his sprawling home on Tuesday.

Police have fanned out across the country, placing shipping containers on a road leading to the sprawling police compound in Islamabad where Khan is being held. Khan will appear before a judge at the same complex later today, in a temporary court located there for security reasons, according to a government notice.

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On this day in 2006…

The federal cabinet approved a $2 billion settlement to compensate native residential school alumni for physical and sexual abuse.

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In entertainment…

NEW YORK _ This Buddy Holly no longer has to sigh, “That’ll be the day.”

A small Vendeen griffon basset named for the late rock ‘n’ roll legend won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Tuesday night, a first for the rabbit-hunting breed. Buddy Holly beat out six other finalists to win the most prestigious dog show award in the United States.

“I never thought a PBGV would do this,” said manager and co-owner Janice Hayes. “Buddy Holly is the epitome of a show dog. Nothing bothers him.

In fact, his white-tipped tail did not stop wagging while he was competing in the stadium where the best matches of the US Open tennis tournament are played. Not even as he posed for countless photos after a victory Hayes called “so surreal.”

His competitors included Rummie, a Pekingese who came in second after bidding to bring home the third trophy in 11 years for his small but majestic breed, and trainer-owner-breeder David Fitzpatrick. He guided Pekes Malachy and Wasabi to Westminster victories in 2012 and 2021 respectively.

Winston the French bulldog was seeking the title after coming very close last year. An Australian Shepherd named Ribbon, an English Setter named Cider, a Giant Schnauzer named Monty, and an American Staffordshire Terrier named Trouble were also in the contending pack.

If Buddy Holly was feeling the pressure, he wasn’t letting it show before the final. Instead, he seemed more concerned Tuesday afternoon with playing with his people and rejecting the idea of ​​a nap in his cage.

Buddy Holly _ so named because “he’s a friend,” explained breeder Gavin Robertson _ has also lived and raced in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Some 2,500 dogs of 210 breeds and varieties competed for the trophy. Among them: the recently eligible Bracco Italiano breed, won by a dog co-owned by country music star Tim McGraw.

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Did you see this?

The CBC and Radio-Canada are returning to Twitter after pausing activity last month due to their designation as “government-funded media” by the social media platform.

CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon says in a blog post that he is resuming activity on a handful of general accounts, but will “significantly reduce” his overall Twitter presence.

In April, Twitter CEO Elon Musk applied hashtags to accounts belonging to the CBC and other outlets, including the BBC and National Public Radio, labeling them “government-funded media.”

The labels changed their wording several times without notice or explanation, before finally disappearing.

The CBC has said that it does not meet Twitter’s definition of “government-funded media” and that its editorial independence is enshrined in the Broadcasting Law.

Fenlon says the CBC will continue to evaluate Twitter in relation to its social media strategy.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 10, 2023.