In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Mar. 29 …
What we are watching in Canada …
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OTTAWA – Canada is scheduled to receive a flood of new COVID-19 vaccine doses this week.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says pharmaceutical companies are expected to deliver around 3.3 million shots over the coming days.
That would mark the single-largest week of vaccine doses into Canada since the start of the pandemic.
Pfizer and BioNTech are scheduled to ship nearly 1.2 million doses this week, as the two companies continue pumping out shots at a rapid pace.
Another 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are set to arrive by truck from the United States on Tuesday.
And the government is expects Moderna to make good on its promised delivery of 600,000 shots this coming Thursday, which is about a week later than expected.
Moderna was supposed to have shipped around 846,000 shots to Canada last week, but only a fraction actually arrived due to what the company and government have described as a backlog in its quality-assurance testing.
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REGINA – There is some new research on what Canadians think life will be like when the pandemic is over.
A study suggests most people believe COVID-19 will have negative consequences on mental health, travel and the economy.
Others feel the pandemic will bolster online shopping and make public mask-wearing more common.
The findings are from a phone survey by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan.
Director Jason Disano says people are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel because of vaccines.
He says some of the data he found most interesting were about children’s education.
Despite 63 per cent of people feeling like the pandemic will have a positive effect on the delivery of online education, 54 per cent thought it would be bad for children’s learning.
Overall, the survey suggests there is a lot of uncertainty about what communities will look like once they are no longer threatened by the novel coronavirus.
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VANCOUVER – Police are expected to release more details today in their investigation of a stabbing rampage that left a young woman dead and injured six others in and around a library on Saturday in North Vancouver, B.C.
A 28-year-old man was charged Sunday with second-degree murder.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Yannick Bandaogo is in police custody after undergoing surgery for self-inflicted wounds.
Police have not named the woman who died, but said she was in her 20s. Six others were injured in the attack at the Lynn Valley Public Library.
Police said their injuries vary in severity and all six are expected to survive.
In a written statement, Sgt. Frank Jang said police planned to hold a news conference today. IHIT investigators spent Sunday combing the area for evidence and interviewing witnesses, he said.
Supt. Ghalib Bhayani of the North Vancouver RCMP said the department shares “the community’s grief and outrage.”
The pile of flowers and wreaths left just outside the caution tape cordoning off the crime scene grew throughout the weekend as residents stopped by.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
MINNEAPOLIS — A former Minneapolis police officer goes on trial Monday in George Floyd’s death, and jurors may not wait long to see parts of the bystander video that caught Derek Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck.
Prosecutors have not said when they will play the video, but legal experts say they expect it to be early as part of an effort to remind jurors of what is at the heart of their case.
The widely seen video sparked waves of outrage and activism across the U.S. and beyond.
And while it will have an impact, the key questions at trial are likely to be whether Chauvin caused Floyd’s death and whether his actions were reasonable.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden will lay out the first part of his multitrillion-dollar economic recovery package this week focusing on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
A separate plan in April will address child and health care.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Sunday the administration’s plans to split the package into two legislative proposals, though she says the White House will “work with the Senate and House to see how it should move forward.”
Biden will release details in a speech Wednesday in Pittsburgh about his proposal for federal investments in physical infrastructure.
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What we are watching in the rest of the world …
SUEZ, Egypt — Engineers have partially refloated the container ship that is wedged across the Suez Canal.
But the massive ship is still blocking traffic and there are no details about when it might be fully freed.
The canal services firm says the ship was partially refloated after tugboats pushed and pulled while the full moon’s tides raised the water level.
Dredgers are also removing mud and sand around the ship. Satellite images show the vessel’s bulbous bow still wedged in the canal’s eastern bank.
The skyscraper-sized Ever Given became stuck in the canal last Tuesday and has held up $9 billion in global trade each day.
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BEIJING — A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak of the coronavirus is “extremely unlikely.”
A draft copy was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
The findings were largely as expected, and left many questions unanswered.
The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.
The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions.
The AP received what appeared to be a near-final version from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country.
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ICYMI …
HALIFAX – Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan paid tribute Sunday to Canada’s only all-Black unit to serve during the First World War, saying the 600 members of No. 2 Construction Battalion and their descendants are owed an apology for the racism they faced despite their willingness to serve.
Sajjan told a virtual event plans are in the works for a formal apology from Ottawa, which will highlight the fact that hundreds of Black men in Canada were turned away when they volunteered to fight overseas in 1914.
“They stepped forward and volunteered for our country, only to be denied because of the colour of their skin — denied to fight in a so-called ‘white-man’s war,'” Sajjan said in a brief speech from British Columbia.
After two years of protests, the Canadian military was granted approval in 1916 to establish a segregated, non-combat battalion that would be tasked with building roads, railways and forestry operations as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Established July 5, 1916, in Pictou, N.S., the battalion was the last segregated unit in the Canadian military.
Only a few of its members would see combat, mainly because the battalion was repeatedly told its help wasn’t wanted on the front lines.
Members of the unit were shipped home in 1918 and the battalion was disbanded in 1920.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 29, 2021
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Nick Saban has a message for Tua Tagovailoa: Listen to experts, then decide what happens next.
Antonio Pierce had another message: It’s time to retire.
Saban, Pierce and countless others within the game were speaking out Friday about Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who is now dealing with the third confirmed concussion of his NFL career — all coming within the last 24 months. He was hurt in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, leaving the game after a scary and all-too-familiar on-field scene.
“This has to be a medical decision,” Saban said on ESPN, where the now-retired coach works as an analyst. “I mean, you have to let medical people who understand the circumstances around these injuries, these concussions — and when you have multiple concussions, that’s not a good sign.
“I think Tua and his family and everyone else should listen to all the medical evidence to make sure you’re not compromising your future health-wise by continuing to play football.”
That process — gathering the medical facts — was getting underway in earnest on Friday, when Tagovailoa was set to be further evaluated at the team’s facility. He was diagnosed with a concussion within minutes of sustaining the injury on Thursday and there is no timetable for his return.
“I’ll be honest: I’d just tell him to retire,” Pierce, the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, said Friday. “It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it to play the game. I haven’t witnessed anything like I’ve seen that’s happened to him three times. Scary. You could see right away, the players’ faces on the field, you could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. He’s going to live longer than he’s going to play football. Take care of your family.”
Concern — and opinions — have poured in from all across the football world ever since Tagovailoa got hurt. It is not a surprising topic — the questions of “should he? or shouldn’t he?” continue to play — nor is this the first time they have been asked. Tagovailoa himself said in April 2023 that he and his family weighed their options after he was diagnosed twice with concussions in the 2022 season.
But Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said it’s not his place, nor is it the time, to have discussions about whether Tagovailoa should play again.
“Those types of conversations, when you’re talking about somebody’s career, it probably is only fair that their career should be decided by them,” McDaniel said.
The Dolphins said Friday that they will bring in another quarterback, and for now are entrusting the starting job to Skylar Thompson. McDaniel said the team will not rush to any other judgments, that the only opinions that truly matter right now come from two sides — Tagovailoa and his family, and the medical experts who will monitor his recovery.
“The thing about it is everybody wants to play, and they love this game so much, and they give so much to it that when things like this happen, reality kind of hits a little bit,” Jacksonville coach Doug Pedersen said Friday. “It just shows the human nature, or the human side of our sport.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
BRUSSELS – Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton rebounded from a disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics by capturing Diamond League gold on Friday.
Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., won the competition, the final Diamond League event of the season, with a heave of 20.25 metres on her third throw.
Chase Jackson of the U.S. placed second with a throw of 19.90, while German’s Yemisi Ogunleye, the Olympic gold medallist, claimed bronze with a toss of 19.72.
Mitton, the runner-up of last year’s world championship, failed to qualify for the top eight in Paris.
Edmonton runner Marco Arop, who won silver for Canada in the men’s 800 metres at the Paris Games, was scheduled to race in the 800 on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-medallist Alysha Newman, of London, Ont., also competes Saturday in the women’s pole vault.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Greg Harden, who counseled countless people at the University of Michigan from Tom Brady to Michael Phelps, and Desmond Howard to J.J. McCarthy, has died. He was 75.
Michigan athletics spokesman Dave Ablauf said the family informed the athletic department that Harden died Thursday due to complications from surgery.
The late Bo Schembechler, a College Football Hall of Fame coach, hired Harden in 1986 as a staff consultant and student-athlete personal development program counselor.
“He meant the world to me and I could never have had the success I had without the time, energy, love and support he had given me,” said Brady, a former Michigan quarterback who went on to win seven Super Bowls in a 22-year career.
Howard, who won the Hesiman Trophy in 1991, was part of the first wave of Wolverines to count Harden as a confidant, mentor and friend.
“Greg brought wisdom, joy and his calming nature to every encounter,” Howard said. “His presence will be missed by all of us.
“Although my family and I are heartbroken, we hold on to the lessons, guidance and memories that will forever be Greg’s legacy. We are blessed beyond measure to have had him in our lives.”
Harden, who was from Detroit, earned undergraduate and master’s degrees at Michigan.
Phelps lived and trained in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after emerging as swimming star at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and worked on his mental health with Harden.
Harden retired from his role as director of counseling for Michigan’s athletic department in 2020. He still continued to work, advising student-athletes at Michigan along with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL team’s peak performance coach.
He published his first book, “Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive,” last year.
Michigan athletics announced Harden’s death, and shared statements from some of the many people who knew him.
McCarthy, a Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback, sent the school his thoughts in the form of a letter to Harden.
“You gave me the courage and belief as we fought hand and hand against the demons that I’ve spent my entire life fighting,” McCarthy wrote. “You have inspired me by your ability to unconditionally love everyone and everything.”
While many famous football players worked with Harden, he also was a trusted adviser for women and men in all sports and walks of life, including broadcaster Michelle McMahon, who played volleyball at Michigan.
“He poured his heart into thousands of students, athletes, and celebrities alike without any expectation of gaining anything in return,” McMahon said. “He dedicated his entire life to making a difference and investing in the growth of the young impressionable minds that were lucky enough to meet him.
“His captivating presence and charisma captured the rooms he walked in. Greg’s gift to the world was his unwavering ability to help people see themselves fully, in full acceptance of their flaws and their gifts. His relentless approach made it impossible for his mentees to give up on themselves.”
