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Ontario doctors preparing for students to return to school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

Ontario doctors are preparing for another start to the school year and are hoping the province will be returning to an even greater sense of normalcy than last year.Experts from the Ontario Medical Association say this school year will be similar to pre-pandemic times but add there will still be a prevalence of Influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.They are touting the importance of vaccinations as a way to keep trending in the right direction.“We know that the Influenza strain that circulated were a good match with the vaccine [last year]. Parents can add to their list get their vaccine in the fall and get their children vaccine. COVID is still here, and it will be with us and we can expect new variants. Getting that fall booster will help boost out immunity,” said Associate Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Vinita Dubey.The OMA also highlighted Thursday that there has been a rise in mental health issues, among other issues, because of the unpredictability of the last few years with...

Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan chides Joly for ‘unacceptable’ comments to Armenians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

OTTAWA — Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry argues Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is undermining peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by referring to the area with the name used by Armenian secessionists.Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is mostly populated by Armenians and neighbouring Armenia has fought for control of the region for decades.Tensions rose in the area last fall when the region’s main access road was blocked, leading to shortages of food and medicine that groups such as Human Rights Watch blame on Azerbaijan.Canada is planning to send two officials to support a European monitoring mission that is aiming to prevent another war in the region.Last Saturday, during a speech to at the Armenian Community Centre of Montreal, Joly referred to the region as Artsakh, a term used by ethnic Armenians who want the area to secede from Azerbaijan.In part of the speech posted on social media, Joly is seen saying...

What you need to know about rent control in Ontario

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

In Ontario, landlords are allowed to raise rent once a year and a question that comes up for many renters is whether their unit is subject to rent control — which is a mechanism to make renting stable for tenants.Rent control usually limits increases to the rate of inflation in an attempt to keep rates affordable for a majority of renters.“But there’s a cap — it was introduced by the Liberals a number of years ago. It says that even if inflation is five or six per cent, a landlord can’t increase rent above two and a half per cent,” explains Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations (FMTA).The rent increase guideline in Ontario for 2023 is at that maximum of 2.5 per cent for rent-controlled units.Rent control only applies to units first occupied by anyone, not just the current renter, before Nov. 15, 2018. For any units that came to market after, there is no limit to how much rent can be raised annually.Other scenar...

Keith Spicer, Canada’s first official languages commissioner, dead at 89

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

OTTAWA — Keith Spicer, Canada’s first commissioner of official languages, died Thursday in Ottawa at 89.Canadians who closely followed the constitutional debates of the early 1990s might remember him as the man who starkly described the “fury in the land” against the prime minister who had named him to lead a commission on national unity.Those nearest to Spicer remember him as a hard-working family man who brought a sense of humour to his often high-ranking roles — and someone who preferred to drink his beer from a wine glass.“Because that’s how they drink it in Paris,” his son, Nick Spicer, said in an interview Monday after arriving in Ottawa to be with his father in hospital.“He had his way of having fun.”The son told The Canadian Press that his father died Thursday morning.“His tireless work over decades helped shape Canada’s linguistic landscape as we know it — a torch we continue to hold high as we work to achieve substantiv...

Woman abandoned her dog at Pennsylvania airport before flying to resort, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

A woman accused of intentionally abandoning her dog at a Pennsylvania airport before she boarded a flight to a resort in Mexico earlier this month has been charged with animal cruelty and related charges, authorities announced Thursday.Allegheny County Police say Allison Lyn Gaiser, 44, tried to bring her brown-and-white male French bulldog with her on a flight departing from Pittsburgh International Airport on Aug. 4. But the dog was denied boarding by the airline because it did not meet the criteria for an emotional support animal and did not have a proper kennel as required.After leaving the ticket counter, Gaiser was seen on surveillance cameras pushing the dog in the stroller back toward a moving walkway enclosure next to glass exit doors in the airport’s short-term parking lot.She was later seen heading to an area where a county police officer found the dog unattended in the stroller about 40 minutes later, authorities said.This photo provided by the Allegheny County, Pa...

PHOTOS: Brookfield Zoo animals keeping cool in muggy heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicagoans aren't the only ones attempting to brave - and beat - the heat.Brookfield Zoo on Thursday released photos of some of the animals keeping cool amid dangerously hot temperatures. Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blogHudson, one of Brookfield Zoo’s polar bears, took advantage of his chilled pool water to stay cool. (Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo)Hudson, one of Brookfield Zoo’s polar bears, took advantage of his chilled pool water to stay cool. (Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo)Hudson, one of Brookfield Zoo’s polar bears, took advantage of his chilled pool water to stay cool. (Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo) Animal care staff at Brookfield Zoo provided a water feature and sprinklers to help the Bennett’s wallabies beat the heat. (Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo) Animal care staff at Brookfield Zoo provided a water feature and sprinklers to help the Bennett’s wallabies beat the heat. ((Jim Schulz/CZS-Brookfield Zoo)A Galapagos tortoise at Brookfield...

How to hydrate during the heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

Is plain water enough? As temperatures rise, a local dietitian weighs in on what fluids will fill you up.Sweating is our body’s way of shedding heat, registered dietitian Vicky Retelny said.“We lose 17 to 24 ounces of water just from perspiration, which is normal,” she said. “But in the heat, we lose more than that.”On a typical day, drinking two to three liters of water does the trick – that’s about nine, 8-ounce glasses for women and 13 for men. Kids ages 4 to 13 require about six to seven cups a day.“So, when it’s this hot, typically, we can lose more than we take in,” Retelny said.   More Med Watch: Ok Boomer, let’s move! Class focuses on better balance, strength to help prevent and recover from falls Retelny says 80 percent of our water intake should come from fluids, primarily water, the other 20 percent can come from food.“High-water foods are fruits, vegetables, you can get water in fruit smoothies and soups,” Retelny said.  Keep water close by so it’s easy to sip thr...

Young adults use their own health challenges to help others like them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

Naomi Sharon and Jen Rubino don't know one another but both share a common bond — having to battle a disease from a young age and using that as platform to fight for other kids.While other kids are soaking up the final days of summer, 11-year-old Naomi Sharon is hard at work figuring out how to raise a lot of money."Naomi raised over $30,000 last year as part of this event and the event truly was a party," her dad Nim Sharon said.Just years after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Naomi threw a massive Halloween fundraising party called “Ghost, Goblins and Glucose.”"They thought it was amazing and all the people who showed up,” she said.This year she's back plotting another fall party at Brother's Field in Long Grove on September 9 in hopes that someday, it will make it easier for another young person like herself. Complete with hayrides, a gaming truck, tiki bar for the adults and a band in which the lead singer is also living with diabetes. More from Erin: ‘A week of blessing...

Carlos Santana gives anti-trans speech during New Jersey concert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Guitarist Carlos Santana, of the rock and roll band Santana, is under fire Thursday after comments he made during a recent concert in Atlanta City, New Jersey, surfaced online. The comments, which Santana has confirmed he made, are considered by many to be offensive to the transgender community.In the clip, which can be seen across several outlets, including Consequence, the "Smooth" musician can be heard saying: "When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that." Don’t miss the deadline to claim a Facebook privacy settlement payment During the same concert, Santana also stopped to express support for comedian Dave Chappelle, who has made seve...

Texas grid conditions expected to be 'extremely tight' Thursday, ERCOT CEO says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — During a Public Utility Commission of Texas open meeting Thursday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) CEO Pablo Vegas said they expect to be in emergency operations Thursday evening due to the extreme heat."We are expecting as we move through the peak this evening... to have extremely tight conditions," Vegas said. Understanding ERCOT’s emergency alert levels Earlier Thursday, ERCOT issued a Conservation Appeal from 3 – 10 p.m. due to extreme temperatures, continued near-record demand, and forecasted low wind-power generation."What we're seeing is conditions that are more tight than what we have seen any other day this summer," Vegas said. "At this time, it's a high likelihood that we expect to be in emergency operations this evening."Going into emergency operations means the demand is expected to be at near-record levels, he said."We have very, very high heat again across the state of Texas," he said.Vegas said this high demand is from a combination...