UFOs, roommates and a deer in a clothing shop; In-The-News for Oct. 2

Conservative Andrew Scheer, New Democrat Jagmeet Singh, and Yves-Francois Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois will face off with Trudeau at 8 p.m. Eastern time, in a debate hosted by the private TVA television network and the Montreal newspaper Le Journal.

That means they’re spending most of the day preparing, though the Liberals have a campaign announcement featuring cabinet minister Navdeep Bains in Toronto and the Tories have one planned with Scheer’s Quebec lieutenant Alain Rayes in Montreal.

Trudeau is planning a visit to a boxing gym for a photo op, and Singh is going on a walkabout at a market, ostensibly to buy snacks for his preparation team.

The organizers didn’t invite Green Leader Elizabeth May or the People’s Party’s Maxime Bernier, both of whom are campaigning in and around their home ridings for the day.

—

Also this …

A jury will begin hearing evidence in the trial of a man accused of stabbing an Edmonton police officer and striking four pedestrians with a van.

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, who is in his early 30s, faces 11 charges including five counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault against the police officer and dangerous driving.

Two years ago on Sept. 30, Const. Mike Chernyk was on duty outside a Canadian Football League game when a driver crashed through a barrier, got out of a vehicle, pulled out a large knife and began stabbing the officer.

A few hours later, the driver of a speeding cube van hit and injured four pedestrians as it raced through the city’s downtown with police in pursuit.

The trial in Court of Queen’s Bench is expected to last six weeks.

—

ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

HALIFAX — This change is out of this world.

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a glow-in-the-dark coin that captures the eerie scene more than 50 years ago when what has been officially documented as a UFO crashed into Shag Harbour in southwestern Nova Scotia.

The pure silver, rectangular-shaped coins are worth $129.95 each.

The colourful image on the coin shows three fishermen aboard a boat, staring and gesturing as four orange lights gleam over a choppy sea.

Shine the included black-light flashlight on the coin and the spaceship disappears, but four orange lights remain in the sky, as described by the many witnesses who reported seeing a UFO that night in 1967.

—

What we are watching in the U.S. …

Setting a defiant tone, the Trump administration resisted Congress’ access to impeachment witnesses.

House Democrats warned such efforts themselves could amount to an impeachable offence.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to delay five current and former officials from providing documents and testimony in the impeachment inquiry that could lead to charges against President Donald Trump.

But Democrats were able to set closed-door depositions for Thursday for former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and next week for ousted U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

In a Tuesday evening tweet, Trump cast the impeachment inquiry as a coup “intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!”

In fact, a coup is usually defined as a sudden, violent and illegal seizure of government power. The impeachment process is laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

—

What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Hong Kong students are decrying police shooting of a teen protester.

It was the first time a protester had been struck by gunfire since the protests began in June and is sure to inflame anger at police, who already were accused of using excessive force against the demonstrators.

In a fearsome escalation of violence, Hong Kong police shot a protester in the chest at close range Tuesday, leaving the teenager bleeding and howling on the ground.

Hundreds of college students are striking to condemn the police shooting of their classmate during surging violence at Hong Kong pro-democracy protests that marred China’s National Day.

Police have said the officer feared for his life and his shooting of the 18-year-old student in the chest at close range Tuesday was “reasonable and lawful.” News reports say he is in critical but stable condition.

Students at the Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu memorial college — which the teen attended — called police “murderer” on Wednesday. They chanted anti-police slogans and demanded accountability.

—

On this day in 1895 …

Much of Canada’s Far North was formed into the provisional districts of Mackenzie, Yukon, Ungava and Franklin.

Yukon became a territory in 1897.

The remaining area was divided in 1918 into the districts of Mackenzie, Keewatin and Franklin, now the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

—

Weird and wild …

ROME, Italy — You’ve heard of a bull in a china shop, how about a deer in a high-end fashion boutique?

It took authorities hours to free a dazed an confused deer that stormed into a clothing store in the fashionable mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy.

Local authorities estimate the deer was four or five years old and entered the shop while the attendant was away.

The shopping district around the store was cordoned off while veterinarians anesthetized the animal and took it back to the wild.

—

Your money …

Thousands of Canadians move in with new roommates every fall and realize they’ve got a conundrum: How to handle splitting the costs.

Done right, dividing expenses with a roommate can alleviate plenty of headaches. Done wrong, it can rip apart friends.

Desirae Odjick, a personal finance blogger in Ottawa, says rent is the easiest to split when rooms are the same size. Trouble comes when rooms are different sizes or one has an ensuite bathroom.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances where one person uses significantly more water or electricity, she recommends splitting utility fees equally. Odjick considers internet and television a shared resource.

Food is one of the trickiest expenses to split with roommate. Odjick recommends roommates only share food if they are really close with their roommate.

—

Celebrity news …

MONTREAL — A judge has ordered Quebec media star Eric Salvail to stand trial on three charges, including sexual assault.

The 50-year-old also faces charges of harassment and unlawful confinement involving a single victim, Donald Duguay, now 46.

At Duguay’s request, the Crown asked that his name not be covered by the standard publication ban in sexual assault cases.

The allegations date back to 1993.

Salvail had his own TV production company, hosted a popular talk show on Groupe V Media and was a fixture on afternoon radio in the province.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2019.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

UFOs, roommates and a deer in a clothing shop; In-The-News for Oct. 2

Our Community