Thursday, December 19, 2024

News roundup, 19 Dec 2024

- Following the retirement of Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth, the city's police board had announced earlier this month that they had a candidate for the new chief and would make an announcement by the end of the year. However, this decision has now been deferred; Coun. Markus Chambers, the chair of the board, says that this is needed in order to "ensure the selection is the best decision" for the force. The Free Press has revealed that the board was planning to appoint the current deputy chief, Gene Bowers, and that the deferral was because of unspecified allegations against Bowers that were emailed to the board.

- Assiniboine College in Brandon is shutting down five programs following the federal government's decision to cap the number of international student visas it issues. This is happening to a number of post-secondary institutions in this country. Some are faring even worse; Oakville-based Sheridan College announced last month that it is suspending 40 programs.

- California has declared a state of emergency as avian influenza spreads through the state's cattle, while in Louisiana officials are reporting the first case of serious illness in the US due to the disease.

- A BC man who suffered from chronic back pain as well as bipolar disorder received approval for medical assistance in dying, however his family claims that he subsequently told them he did not want to go through with the procedure. He appears to have changed his mind; after leaving hospital on a day pass, he went to a MAID clinic and got himself put to sleep. His family is now suing the federal and provincial governments on the grounds that his psychiatric condition rendered him incompetent to make such a decision.

- The Wisconsin teenager who killed two people and wounded six before turning the gun on herself at the ironically named Abundant Life Christian School appears to have had an interest in school shootings and neo-Nazi ideology, based on examination of her internet activity. Apparently her profile picture on Tumblr was a screenshot from a security camera from a previous shooting.

- Three men have been arrested in the UK and are now facing extradition to Canada in the death of Sharif Rahman, a well-loved restaurant owner in Owen Sound, Ontario. Rahman was beaten to death outside his restaurant after confronting dine-and-dash customers over an unpaid $150 tab.

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