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Who will be the first Canadian in deep space? Officials to unveil Artemis II crew

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

HOUSTON — It’s like a high-tech, high-stakes Canadian Idol finale — only instead of a recording contract, the prize is a perilous 10-day journey into deep space and a permanent place in history. Later today, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will introduce the four astronauts who will steer the next stage of an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon. One of them will be Canadian — the first ever to venture beyond Earth’s orbit and around the dark side of the lunar surface. Artemis II, as it’s known, is currently slated to launch as early as November 2024 and will be the first crewed mission to the moon since the final Apollo mission took flight in 1972. The crew will orbit Earth before rocketing hundreds of thousands of kilometres into deep space for a figure-8 manoeuvre around the moon before their momentum brings them home. The other three astronauts will all be American, making Canada and the U.S. the only two countries to ever venture tha...

Still no sign of missing man whose boat was found near bodies of eight migrants

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

There is still no sign of a missing Akwesasne man whose boat was found where the bodies of eight migrants were pulled from the St. Lawrence River last week.Akwesasne Mohawk Police have been looking for 30-year-old Casey Oakes since Thursday, whom officers were searching for when the first bodies were discovered.Oakes was last seen Wednesday night operating a boat that was found next to the migrants’ bodies, but police have made no direct connections between Oakes and the deaths. Police have said the eight victims consisted of two families, one of Romanian and another of Indian descent. Authorities said they were allegedly attempting to illegally cross into the United States from Canada through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles provincial and international boundaries and includes regions of Quebec, Ontario and New York state.Police identified two of the migrants on Saturday as Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, 28, and 28-year-old Florin Iordache, who was carrying ...

Butterfly clips and mood rings: how to incorporate more-is-more Y2K trends

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

TORONTO — Take a look around and it’s hard to miss: the more-is-more esthetic of the turn of the millennium is having its comeback. What was until recently a bugaboo of the fashion world is popular once again, in line with the oft-cited 20-year trend cycle. Bootcut jeans, bucket hats and baby tees have seen a resurgence among the style cognoscenti over the last several years, and the fad has now made its way to the masses.“Y2K fashion is excess. It’s very embellished; it’s very bright and bold,” said Hina Low, a size-inclusive Toronto-area stylist who works under the name Heensie.For people in their 20s and 30s, Heensie said, so-called Y2K style serves as a reminder of childhood. Many of the celebrities seen sporting the trend, from model Bella Hadid to rapper Ice Spice, are in that age group.“It’s escapism through nostalgia,” she said.But those hoping to hop on the trend need not go all-out, she added. “There’s little nods...

‘Making things a little more accessible’: Paralyzed Bronco looks to improve buildings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

CALGARY — Spending the last five years using a wheelchair has given former Humboldt Broncos hockey player Ryan Straschnitzki a new path forward.The 23-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., says so many times friends and family have had to carry his chair up stairs, wheel him down sketchy ramps and find other ways to get him around narrow doorways.So he’s studying how to make buildings more accessible for the disabled. “Having lived this experience for five years now and going travelling all over the world and just realizing how inaccessible places are, especially Calgary, where I’m most of the time,” he said, “I realized that maybe working toward making things a little more accessible … these sorts of problems don’t have to be encountered by anyone else.”Straschnitzki was paralyzed from the chest down on April 6, 2018, when a semi-trailer ran a stop sign and barrelled into the path of the junior hockey team’s bus in rural Saskatchewan. S...

Over a year after government invoked Emergencies Act, court to hear legal challenge

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

OTTAWA — A national civil liberties group is set to argue that “nebulous or strained claims” about economic instability or general unrest weren’t enough to legally justify the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act early last year.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is among the groups and individuals appearing in Federal Court today to argue Ottawa lacked sound statutory grounds to use the emergencies law and associated measures to quell protests that paralyzed the national capital and key border points.The government contends the measures taken to deal with the pan-Canadian emergency situation were targeted, proportional, time-limited and compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The Public Order Emergency Commission, a mandatory review that takes place after invocation of the Emergencies Act, found the government met the very high threshold for using the law.Now the legal arguments for and against the decision will be heard i...

Daily horoscope for April 3, 2023

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Virgo.Happy Birthday for Monday, April 3, 2023:You like to be at the center of things as someone indispensable to an important cause. You love a challenge, and you thrive dealing with groups. This is a year of change, which means you have to be flexible and courageous. Expect to increase your personal freedom and travel.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★Begin this week with care and caution because, for starters, you might be at odds with someone in a position of authority — a parent, boss, teacher or member of the police. In addition, surprises at work or surprises related to your earnings or your possessions might catch you off guard. Tread carefully! Tonight: Work.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★Today you feel impulsive and impatient. In particular, you might feel this way when dealing with kids or a romantic partner. However, it will also manifest in sports or if you’re involved in the en...

IMF approves $15.6 billion Ukraine loan, part of $115bn in global programme

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday (31 March) its executive board approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package to support the country's economy as it battles Russia's 13-month-old invasion.The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7 billion to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector, the Fund said in a statement.The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan is the first major conventional financing program approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.Ukraine's previous $5bn long-term IMF program was canceled in March 2022 when the fund provided $1.4bn in emergency financing with few conditions. It provided another $1.3bn under a "food shock window" program last October.An IMF official said the new $115bn package includes the IMF loan, $80bn in pledges for grants and concessional loans from multilateral institutions and other countrie...

Miss Manners: I’m embarrassed to be associated with these rule-breakers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A few times a year, my in-laws invite my wife and me to join them for a concert at a small local venue. They cover all the costs for the dinner and the show, which can be very pricey.Before the band/performer takes the stage, the host reminds the audience that filming or recording of any kind is strictly prohibited. And yet at every concert, my in-laws whip out their phones about halfway into the show and take several videos.Even if we lean over and whisper a reminder to them that filming isn’t allowed, they smile and ignore us.This is a small, dimly lit venue and I’m sure other people can see the glare of the phones lighting up, though we’ve never had the venue host stop by to give a reminder. Not only is the recording distracting to our own experience, we feel highly embarrassed being associated with people who don’t respect the rules.After we declined to join them at last week’s concert, they sent us several videos they took of the...

Jill On Money: Two big tax prep questions

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

The tax filing deadline (April 18) is rapidly approaching, so clear off a workspace and start by answering two big questions.Related ArticlesBusiness | Travel rewards programs shouldn’t be so annoying to use Business | Study: Saratoga has some of the highest credit scores in the country Business | 3 signs it’s time to break up with your car insurance company Business | Apple rolls out buy now, pay later service, with guardrails Business | 5 ways to deal with money envy Will you take the Standard Deduction or Itemize? The standard deduction is a set amount that increases based on inflation.The other option is to itemize, which is when you tally up certain deductions including state and local income or sales taxes (limited to $10,000), real estate and personal property taxes, home mortgage interest, personal casualty and theft losses from a federally declared disaster, gifts to a qualified charity, and unr...

Dear Abby: My husband makes much more than me, and he takes all my paycheck

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:14 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I’m back at work after being a stay-at-home mom for the last decade.My job is in public schooling, and I earn less than $25,000 a year. My husband works for a Fortune 500 company and earns more than $120,000 per year.I understand that we have debt, and I’m willing to contribute, but he keeps my paycheck — all of it.To be honest, even as hard as he works and as much as he takes care of and provides for our family, I am not happy. It’s not that I plan to leave, but without my own money, I don’t even have an option to plan for the future.How can I convince him to allow me the money I earn, while assuring him that I’ll help to pay down our debt? WORKING FOR NOTHING IN OHIORelated ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My neighbor lurks near my house and takes pictures. What should I do? Advice | Dear Abby: She dumped me and then she died, and her family is being so unkind to me Advice | Dear Abby: My crabby b...