Author: Jim

CBC News

RCMP say a police dog managed to pull the trigger of a handgun and discharge the weapon after the animal located the discarded firearm following an assault outside a grocery store in Chestermere, Alta.

The police dog wasn’t injured in the incident, which happened Thursday evening in the community of about 20,000 people located just east of Calgary city limits.

Chestermere RCMP responded to a report of an assault with a weapon in a grocery store parking lot around 6:30 p.m.   Continue reading “Police dog fires handgun found during search for assault suspects east of Calgary”

Oil Price – by Tsvetana Paraskova

Healthy demand growth for fuel not only in emerging economies led by China and India, but also in Europe, is helping global inventories to draw down faster now, keeping the oil market on the right track towards rebalancing, according to industry executives who spoke at a conference on Tuesday.

“We see the market over the next six months going well above $60 for a simple reason … surprisingly good demand,” Adi Imsirovic, Head of Oil Trading at Gazprom Marketing and Trading, said at the S&P Global Platts APPEC conference in Singapore, as quoted by Reuters.   Continue reading “Robust Demand Could Send Oil Prices Above $60”

CBC News

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has pressed the Trudeau government to restart a program supplying the Ukrainian military with satellite imagery to monitor Russian and separatist rebel troop movements, and says it is “extremely important” for Canada to be part of a potential UN peacekeeping mission in the war-torn country.

In an exclusive interview with CBC’s Rosemary Barton, Poroshenko said he urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide his country with sophisticated imagery of the Ukraine-Russia border from a Canadian satellite.   Continue reading “Ukraine asks Canada for access to satellite images to monitor Russian, rebel troop movements”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. John McCain says doctors have given him a “very poor prognosis” as he battles brain cancer.

McCain underwent surgery in July for a brain tumor that was later found to be a form of glioblastoma, the same type of cancer that took the life of his former Senate colleague Edward M. Kennedy in 2009. McCain tells CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired Sunday night that he thinks about Kennedy a lot. He says Kennedy continued to work despite the diagnosis and “never gave up because he loved the engagement.”   Continue reading “McCain calls brain cancer prognosis ‘very poor’”

Yahoo News

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – A Missouri judge on Friday found a white former St. Louis police officer not guilty of murder in the shooting death of a black man, stirring feelings of anger and frustration in the black community.

The National Guard was placed on standby by Missouri Governor Eric Greitens with officials fearing the verdict could set off violent protests, as in similar incidents involving police and minorities around the United States in recent years.   Continue reading “St. Louis braces for protests after murder acquittal for ex-cop”

BBC News

A furore over a paedophile’s links to Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson has triggered the collapse of Iceland’s ruling coalition.

The Bright Future party announced it was withdrawing from the three-party coalition after nine months in office.

It blamed a “serious breach of trust within the government”.   Continue reading “Iceland government collapses over paedophile furore”

RT

The US could impose economic sanctions on China if it does not implement the new sanctions regime against North Korea, the US Treasury Secretary has warned. Steven Mnuchin said the restrictions could involve cutting off Beijing’s access to the US financial system.

“North Korea economic warfare works,” Mnuchin said Tuesday at the Delivering Alpha Conference in New York City. “We sent a message that anybody who wanted to trade with North Korea – we would consider them not trading with us.”   Continue reading “US threatens to ‘cut China off’ from dollar if it does not uphold sanctions against N. Korea”

CBC News

Senior Canadian police officials told MPs studying the government’s marijuana legalization legislation that police won’t be ready to enforce new laws by next summer, and they are now asking the government for more time.

The government has vowed to legalize the drug by July 1, 2018, and introduced a bill in the House of Commons last spring to do just that.

CBCNews.ca will be carrying Tuesday’s health committee hearing live. The meeting will resume at 1:45 p.m. ET.   Continue reading “‘Impossible’: Senior police officials tell MPs they won’t be ready for legal cannabis”

CBC News

A tiny village on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula is facing off against an oil company in a legal battle that could end up costing the community $1.5 million.

The municipality of Ristigouche Sud-Est is being sued by Gastem, a Montreal-based oil-and-gas exploration and development company, for passing a bylaw in March 2013 establishing a two-kilometre no-drill zone near the source of the village’s water.

At the time, Gastem had provincial permits for exploration in the area, and Gastem president Raymond Savoie​ said the bylaw was passed without consulting the company.   Continue reading “Tiny Quebec village faces $1.5M lawsuit for trying to protect its water”

Reuters

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Diners at a KFC store in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou will have a new way to pay for their meal. Just smile.

Customers will be able to use a “Smile to Pay” facial recognition system at the tech-heavy, health-focused concept store, part of a drive by Yum China Holdings Inc to lure a younger generation of consumers.

Yum China, which spun off from its U.S. parent Yum Brands Inc last year, is trying to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy, where food safety scares and changing consumer tastes have dented sales since 2012.   Continue reading “Just smile: In KFC China store, diners have new way to pay”

BBC News

It is 250 years since America’s Mason-Dixon Line was completed. Hailed as a groundbreaking technical achievement, it came to symbolise the border between the Civil War North and South, separating free Pennsylvania from slave-owning Maryland. But who were the two British men who created it?

“It was the equivalent of the moon landings today,” according to Mason-Dixon Line expert David Thaler.   Continue reading “The men who drew the Mason-Dixon Line”

CBC News

About 40 self-proclaimed “Alberta patriots” protesting a “tyrannical” Canadian government were met by hundreds of counter-protesters on the steps of Calgary City Hall on Sunday.

The rally, called both “Deployment Day” and “Deplorable Day” by organizers on Facebook, was spearheaded by the North American Freedom Fighters (NAFF), formerly known as the Canadian Combat Coalition.

The event was billed as an anti-government rally and also a “tribute” to Canadian veterans and those fighting to “protect our freedoms as Canadians.”   Continue reading “Anti-government protesters at Calgary rally outnumbered by anti-racist activists”

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to restore the flow of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies under a program that had been sharply curtailed amid an outcry over police use of armored vehicles and other war-fighting gear to confront protesters.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order undoing an Obama administration directive that restricted police agencies’ access to the gear that includes grenade launchers, bullet-proof vests, riot shields, firearms and ammunition.   Continue reading “Trump prepares to lift limits on military gear for police”

Observer – by Michael Sainato

In June 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz for violating the DNC Charter by rigging the Democratic presidential primaries for Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders. Even former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid admitted in July 2016, ““I knew—everybody knew—that this was not a fair deal.” He added adding that Debbie Wasserman Schultz should have resigned much sooner than she did. The lawsuit was filed to push the DNC to admit their wrongdoing and provide Bernie Sanders supporters, who supported him financially with millions of dollars in campaign contributions, with restitution for being cheated.   Continue reading “Court Admits DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schulz Rigged Primaries Against Sanders”

BBC News – by James Gallagher

People with higher levels of lithium in their drinking water appear to have a lower risk of developing dementia, say researchers in Denmark.

Lithium is naturally found in tap water, although the amount varies.

The findings, based on a study of 800,000 people, are not clear-cut. The highest levels cut risk, but moderate levels were worse than low ones.   Continue reading “Lithium in tap water may cut dementia”