De Niro and a cold turtle riding ‘the blob;’ In-The-News for Oct. 4

Conservative Andrew Scheer is in Toronto.

He’s hoping to put aside criticism that he’s a hypocrite for holding dual citizenship in the U.S. while his party went after other politicians on the same grounds.

NDP’s Jagmeet Singh is starting in Saskatoon before going back east to Thunder Bay, Ont., where he’ll be making announcements on how he’ll promote “strong public services.”

And the Greens’ Elizabeth May is spending most of her time on local debates in her Vancouver Island riding, but is promising an announcement in Victoria on tree-planting.

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Also this …

An emotional Edmonton police officer who was run down by a car before he was stabbed in the street told a jury that he was thinking of his children as he struggled with his attacker.

Asked what was going through his mind, Const. Mike Chernyk steadied himself before answering.

“Trying to survive for my kids,” he said as he broke into tears. “I’m a single parent with two children.”

Chernyk was testifying at the trial of Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, who is facing 11 charges related to a September 2017 attack.

Sharif, 32, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, including five counts of attempted murder.

It’s alleged that after the attack on the officer, Sharif fled and drove a speeding U-Haul van through Edmonton’s downtown, striking four pedestrians.

Sharif also faces charges of aggravated assault on the police officer and dangerous driving.

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

NEW YORK — Twitter and YouTube have removed a video from U.S. President Donald Trump that featured an edited Nickelback music video clip that took aim at former Vice-President Joe Biden.

Both a Twitter post and a YouTube upload were blocked because of copyright complaints. The video featured a doctored version of the Canadian band’s 2005 music video “Photograph,” showing singer Chad Kroeger holding a photo of Biden, his son, a Ukrainian gas executive and another man.

Trump’s tweet came as the president has repeatedly criticized Democrats for launching an impeachment inquiry into his July telephone call with Ukraine’s president in which Trump pressed for an investigation of his Democratic rival Biden and his son.

A Twitter spokeswoman said Thursday the company responded “to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives.”

After Twitter acted, the White House uploaded the same video to YouTube on Thursday morning, suggesting it had produced the digital attack on Biden. By Thursday afternoon the YouTube post was blocked.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

U. S. President Donald Trump is calling on China to investigate former Vice-President Joe Biden.

The president is already ensnarled in an impeachment investigation over his request for Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter.

Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence say Americans have a right to know about the wrongdoing the president alleges. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Bidens.

Biden’s campaign chairman says Trump’s assertions merely show he’s afraid of facing Biden in next year’s election.

House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff, who has a leading role in Congress’ impeachment inquiry, says Trump’s comments show “he feels he can do anything with impunity.”

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Deteriorating security across Afghanistan the past four years led to over 14,000 “grave violations” against children, says a United Nations report.

This includes nearly 3,500 youngsters killed and over 9,000 injured.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “the alarming level” of grave violations committed by all parties and the fact that children “continue to bear the brunt of the armed conflict.”

Of serious concern, he said, is that the nearly 12,600 children verified to have been killed or injured in 2015-2018 represented almost a third of all civilian casualties. That was “an increase of 82 per cent in child casualties compared with the previous four years,” he wrote.

Guterres said in his fourth report on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan that the rise was traced to “an increase in child casualties resulting from ground engagements, explosive remnants of war and aerial attacks.”

The U.N. chief said he is “extremely concerned, especially by the number of children killed and injured as a result of aerial operations conducted by government and pro-government forces.”

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On this day in 1851 …

A freak gale off the coast of Prince Edward Island destroyed 100 U.S. fishing vessels and killed at least 130 fishermen.

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Weird and wild …

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. — An incredibly cold turtle has washed up in British Columbia.

Vancouver Aquarium veterinarian Martin Haulena says the adult male olive ridley sea turtle appeared “cold-stunned” when it was found Monday with a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, a drop from the normal 20 degrees.

Sea turtles are cold-blooded and depend on their environment to control body temperatures so when the water gets too cold, the turtles become hypothermic, also know as cold-stunning.

Haulena says the turtle may have come north with what’s known as “the blob,” a warm area of water in the Pacific Ocean, or it may have hitchhiked on a warm current into the B.C. waters.

The turtle will be recuperating at the Vancouver Aquarium where staff will gradually raise his body temperature and treat him for dehydration and possible pneumonia.

Once he’s stable they’ll work with Canadian and U.S. authorities for permits to get him back to his home waters.

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Your money …

MONTREAL — Car insurance rates are on the rise across the country, but if you’re willing to make a few adjustments you can find ways to insure your ride without breaking the bank.

“The best advice I can give on getting the best rate is, be a safe driver,” said Pete Karageorgos, head of consumer and industry relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

That means no collisions where you’re at fault and no traffic violations — aside from parking tickets — such as speeding.

Raising the deductible can save you cash.

Motorists with an older vehicle that has dropped significantly in value should consider dropping their collision or comprehensive coverage — which covers fire, theft or vandalism, he added.

Over the past six years, insurance companies have increasingly offered in-car monitoring devices that reward clients for good driving.

Make and model are also key to determining premiums, as cars more likely to be stolen come with higher insurance prices.

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Celebrity news …

NEW YORK — Robert De Niro has found himself in a real-life court drama, trading dueling lawsuits with his former assistant after their decade-long working relationship went dreadfully sour.

He’s accusing her of misappropriating money. She says he subjected her to sexist and harassing comments.

Chase Robinson, 37, said she endured years of gender discrimination and harassment as De Niro made sexually charged comments, was verbally abusive and treated her as his “office wife.”

According to the lawsuit, he sometimes directed Robinson to scratch his back, button his shirts, fix his collars, tie his ties and wake him up when he was in bed after hiring her in 2008 when she was 25 and.

The lawsuit, filed by De Niro’s company Canal Productions, alleges Robinson misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars, converted millions of the company’s frequent flyer miles for her personal use, paid herself from Canal’s petty cash account for personal and luxury items and “loafed during working hours, binge-watching astounding hours of TV shows on Netflix.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2019.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

De Niro and a cold turtle riding ‘the blob;’ In-The-News for Oct. 4

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