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In the news today: Wildfires in B.C. and NWT, Yellowknife still under threat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Rain, lightning expected in B.C. wildfire regionsFirefighters in British Columbia’s southern Interior continue to battle a number of significant wildfires even as cooler, wetter weather is anticipated in the region.The BC Wildfire Service says 120 wildland firefighters and 105 structural firefighters are deployed at the Bush Creek East blaze in the Shuswap region, while heavy smoke in the area continues to prevent the use of fixed-wing water bombers to combat the fire.The Columbia Shuswap Regional District confirmed Tuesday that the fire has forced the evacuation of 11,000 people and destroyed buildings such as the firehall at Scotch Creek.Yellowknife mayor says it’s too unsafe to returnThe mayor of Yellowknife says it’s not safe for residents to go home to the territorial capital, but she notes city officials are working on a return plan.A fi...

Iran sentences 8 to prison over paramilitary’s death during last year’s nationwide protests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran sentenced seven men and a woman to prison after their convictions over allegedly aiding two men who were earlier executed for killing a paramilitary volunteer during the nationwide protests last year that followed Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody, state media reported Wednesday. The sentences come just ahead of the one-year anniversary of Amini’s Sept. 16 death, as authorities have been rounding up activists and others in an apparent attempt to tamp down on any dissent ahead of it. The report by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency offered the first official confirmation of the sentences apparently handed down earlier by a Revolutionary Court in the city of Karaj, where the November slaying happened. The report said the country’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences handed down following an appeal by the lawyers for those convicted. The defendants were found guilty of committing “warfare” and of “corruption ...

Russia launches 3-hour drone attack on Odesa as Ukrainian drones target Moscow again

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine traded drone attacks early Wednesday, officials said, with Kyiv apparently targeting Moscow again and the Kremlin’s forces launching another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage depots in what have recently become signature tactics in the almost 18-month war.A three-hour nighttime Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight Tuesday caused a blaze at grain facilities, Odesa Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.Ukrainian air defense systems downed nine Shahed drones, Kiper said.“Unfortunately, there are hits on production and transshipment complexes,” he said, adding that no casualties had been reported.Russia zeroed in on Odesa last month, crippling significant parts of the port city’s grain facilities, days after President Vladimir Putin broke off Russia’s participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. That wartime deal enabled Ukraine’s exports to reac...

Canadians split on whether to blame provinces or feds for housing crisis: poll

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Despite what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said recently, a new poll suggests 40 per cent of Canadians think his government is to blame for the country’s housing crisis. Leger surveyed 1,537 people between Aug. 18 and 20, asking a series of questions about the rising cost of housing and what should be done about it. When asked which level of government deserves the most blame for the crisis, 40 per cent of respondents pointed the finger at the federal government and 32 per cent at their provincial government. Just six per cent of those polled felt their municipal government was to blame and another 22 per cent said they were not sure. Renters were more likely to blame the province, while those who own their homes were inclined to blame the feds.Trudeau was criticized by opposition parties and experts after he told reporters earlier this month that “housing isn’t a primary federal responsibility,” suggesting that the provinces and municipalities s...

Without Trump, debate gives Republican hopefuls rare chance to build some momentum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

WASHINGTON — It doesn’t happen often, but it’s happening tonight: Donald Trump is spurning the chance to appear on prime-time television. That makes the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee a rare and perhaps critical opportunity for the bulk of Trump’s rivals to make their case to a national audience — many of them for the first time. Make no mistake, however, the former president’s presence will be felt.“As I like to say, he’s in the room whether or not he’s in the room,” said Steven D. Cohen, a communications professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore, Md. “Each candidate is trying to have a breakout moment. And whether they get that through an image, an attack or a memorable statement, they have to break out. Because right now Trump is far and away the front-runner.”The rest of them, of course, are decidedly not. Not even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the man many observers and supporters had ...

Wildfire smoke can damage the brain long after flames are extinguished, research says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

A growing body of international research suggests pollution from wildfire smoke can produce cognitive deficits, post-traumatic stress and may even increase the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.Until recently, the effects of wildfires have been studied on patients’ lungs, hearts and blood. But several researchers have started looking into how fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke can enter the body and travel to the brain.Kent Pinkerton, pediatrics professor at the University of California, Davis, said the nose is typically a good filter and keeps a number of inhaled particles out of the lungs. But there is concern that during wildfires, tiny particles of soot and other chemicals in smoke have the ability to enter the cells and nerves of the nose, both of which scientists have shown have a direct connection to the brain.Cells and nerves connecting the nose-brain passage, Pinkerton said, can get inflamed and damaged by wildfire smoke.“...

B.C. wildfire regions see rain, lightning in forecast as province lifts travel ban

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

Firefighters in British Columbia’s southern Interior continue to battle a number of significant wildfires even as cooler, wetter weather is anticipated in the region.The BC Wildfire Service says 120 wildland firefighters and 105 structural firefighters are deployed at the Bush Creek East blaze in the Shuswap region, while heavy smoke in the area continues to prevent the use of fixed-wing water bombers to combat the fire.The Columbia Shuswap Regional District confirmed Tuesday that the fire has forced the evacuation of 11,000 people and destroyed buildings such as the firehall at Scotch Creek.Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the area late Tuesday, calling for possible heavy downpours as well as lightning overnight.The forecast calls for rain to possibly continue later today, with a daily high temperature of 18 degrees and a 70 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon lasting through early evening for communities like Salmon Arm.The wet weather, h...

Firefighter attends citizenship ceremony while on front lines of B.C. wildfire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

POPKUM, B.C. — When Walter Roos was planning for the ceremony over Zoom where he would become a Canadian citizen, he expected to attend in business attire while at home in Popkum, B.C., east of Chilliwack.Instead, after coming to Canada from the Netherlands 18 years ago, Roos was made a Canadian in the back of a firefighting vehicle Monday, dressed in the red uniform of firefighters doing battle with the province’s devastating wildfires.Chief of Popkum Fire Rescue, Roos has been fighting fires for more than 15 years and is one of the more than 500 called in to tackle the devastating 120-square-kilometre McDougall Creek fire in West Kelowna.He said when his task force leader found out that he was supposed to attend the ceremony over Zoom, he made sure to plan around it.“He had the rest of the task force going to different spots and we picked a spot close to the city so that we could have cell reception properly,” Roos said in an interview. He would become a citizen ...

Yellowknife mayor says it’s too unsafe for residents to return to the capital city

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — The mayor of Yellowknife says it’s not safe for residents to go home to the territorial capital, but notes city officials are working on a return plan as a fire continues to burn about 15 kilometres away.Most of the residents in the city of 20,000 evacuated by air or road late last week to cities and towns as far south as Calgary and as far east as Winnipeg.“Of course, the question that everyone wants to know is when can we come home?” Rebecca Alty told reporters at a briefing Tuesday evening.The return plan, she said, has two parts.“One is fire safety and two is ensuring essential services are back up and operational,” said Alty.“We started our planning on Friday and we’ll continue working on it until we can welcome residents back. Unfortunately, for now, it’s not safe to return so residents should remain where they are.”Alty noted she took a flight Tuesday over the fire breaks along Yellowknife’s municipal b...

Back-to-school shoppers expected to head back to stores but pull back on spending

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:30 GMT

TORONTO — The stationary aisles are expected to be busier this year as parents and students return to in-store shopping when stocking up on back-to-school essentials, though their baskets may be a little less full. The annual shopping ritual comes as rising costs for food and housing squeeze optional spending plans for many households.A survey by the Retail Council of Canada found that about 73.6 per cent of back-to-school shoppers plan to spend more than $50 this year, down from about 77 per cent last year. And while last year shoppers planned to spend the most on clothing, books and music and electronics, this year stationary is expected to be the top spending category, with 61 per cent saying that’s where they’ll direct the biggest chunk of their school shopping dollars. Last year stationary didn’t even make it into the top 10 of categories in the survey, which polled more than 9,000 Canadian adults on Caddle Inc.’s mobile platform and online panel, which ...