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VANCOUVER – Voters in British Columbia have been braving torrential rain and high winds across much of the province to take part in an election where they face a choice that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

The B.C. Conservatives, whose party won less than two per cent of the vote last election, stand on the brink of forming government or, at least, becoming the official Opposition, with Leader John Rustad challenging New Democrat incumbent David Eby to be premier.

Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.

Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday morning showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”

Mike McDonald, co-host of the Hotel Pacifico podcast on B.C. politics and a former chief of staff for former premier Christy Clark, said he was expecting a “very close, nail-biter” election.

“We saw that in 2017, where the fate of British Columbia’s government was decided on one seat in the Comox Valley that was won by (the NDP by) 189 votes,” he said.

“The real message here for British Columbians is, if you want to see a particular outcome in this election, you’ve got to get out … and vote.”

More than a million already had, even before polls opened. The advance voting record was smashed, with more than 28 per cent of all registered electors voting early, potentially putting the province on track for a big final turnout.

But an atmospheric river weather system drenched the south and central coasts on Saturday, and Elections BC said the rain had hampered voting at several locations hit by power outages.

Sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily closed due to power outages, with election officials redirecting the public to other locations.

All had reopened by mid-afternoon, Elections BC said.

The BC Hydro outage map showed several thousand customers were without power in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast Saturday afternoon, along with about 500 on Vancouver Island, down from higher numbers earlier in the day.

Karin Kirkpatrick, who is running for re-election as an independent in West Vancouver-Capilano, said in a statement that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was informed that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.

The atmospheric river drenching B.C.’s coastal regions is forecast to bring up to 150 millimetres of rain to Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sea to Sky corridor and the west coast of Vancouver Island this weekend.

B.C.’s River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning for the Coquitlam River as well as waterways on western Vancouver Island, while lower-level flood watches span the south and central coasts, including the Lower Fraser River and its tributaries.

McDonald said the inclement weather in some of the province’s largest population centres may play a role if the race between the NDP and Conservatives is as close as polls indicate.

“So that would favour the voter base that’s more resolved, that’s more committed, more motivated to turn out to the polls,” McDonald said.

He said there had never been a B.C. election where more than two million people voted, a milestone that could be breached this year.

“That can be a good sign for the opposition (Conservatives), but we also have to look at the fact that people are turning out because they don’t want the Conservatives,” he said. “It’s a much more polarizing election this time, and that may be inducing NDP voters to get out as well.”

It has been a strikingly negative campaign.

Eby, who has depicted Rustad and some of his candidates as extremists and conspiracy theorists, said Friday that he had “left nothing on the table,” and had “no regrets about the campaign.”

Rustad, who did not make himself available to reporters in the final days of the campaign, has called Eby a serial liar.

“The 2024 B.C. election mirrors the same nasty polarization seen in the U.S. presidential campaign, with the B.C. NDP spending most of its time attacking Conservative candidates over indefensible racist and sexist remarks,” said Jeanette Ashe, a political science faculty member at Douglas College. “This left little room for the B.C. NDP to address the real issues BCers care about, like affordable housing and health care.”

But on several fronts, the NDP and the Conservative platforms have overlapped.

Both are pledging tax breaks, with Eby promising a cut worth $1,000 for most households and the Conservatives promising the “Rustad Rebate,” which would eventually make up to $3,000 a month in rent or mortgage payments tax deductible.

Eby says he’ll scrap the provincial carbon tax if the federal government drops its requirement for the tax, and will instead shift the burden to “big polluters,” while Rustad says he’ll scrap the carbon tax completely.

And both parties say they support a greater emphasis on involuntary care to deal with the province’s overlapping crises of homelessness, mental health and addictions.

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau has said there is little to separate the two main election contenders, citing involuntary care and their stances on the fossil fuel industry.

Her party, which is hoping to retain a presence in the legislature where it currently has two members, is promising a “windfall profits tax” on oil and gas companies, as well as investment in infrastructure and climate action.

On one matter, all three parties converge: their platforms would result in big first-year increases to the deficit, pushing it to about $9.6 billion under the NDP and Green plans, and near $11 billion under the Conservatives.

Regardless of the election outcome, it has been a stunning rise for B.C. Conservatives and Rustad, brought about in large part by the Shakespearean fall of Official Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon of BC United, who pushed the self-destruct button on his own party less than two months ago.

Falcon had thrown Rustad out of the party in 2022 over his online backing for a climate-change skeptic. But it was Falcon who paid the price.

BC United support cratered following a disastrous name change from the BC Liberals that Falcon had championed, and in late August Falcon stood beside Rustad and ended United’s campaign in order to avoid vote splitting.

That triggered fury from some United legislators who went on to run as Independents, either snubbed or unwilling to join the B.C. Conservatives. If they win, those Independents could hold the balance of power if the election is close.

Ultimately, McDonald said the 2024 B.C. election would be remembered for the “shakeup” of the province’s right-leaning political landscape.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A judge has blocked the head of Florida‘s state health department from taking any more action to threaten TV stations over an abortion-rights commercial they’ve been airing.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s ruling Thursday sided with Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group that produced the commercial promoting a ballot measure that would add abortion rights to the state constitution if it passes in the Nov. 5 election. The group filed a lawsuit earlier this week over the state’s communications with stations.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false,’” the judge said in a written opinion.

He added, “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and John Wilson, who was then the top lawyer at the health department before resigning unexpectedly, sent a letter to TV stations on Oct. 3 telling them to stop running an FPF ad, asserting that it was false and dangerous. The letter also says it could be subject to criminal proceedings.

FPF said about 50 stations were running the ad and that most or all of them received the letter — and at least one stopped running the commercial.

The group said the state was wrong when it claimed that assertions in the commercial were false. The state’s objection was to a woman’s assertion that the abortion she received in 2022 after she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor would not be allowed under current state law.

The state hasn’t changed its position. In a statement Thursday, a spokesperson for the health department again said that the ads are “unequivocally false.”

The judge’s order bars further action from the state until Oct. 29, when he’s planning a hearing on the question.

The ballot measure is one of nine similar ones across the country, but the campaign over it is the most expensive so far, with ads costing about $160 million, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. It would require the approval of 60% of voters to be adopted and would override the state law that bans abortion in most cases after the first six weeks of pregnancy, which is before women often realize they’re pregnant.

The administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken multiple steps against the ballot measure campaign.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The blast shook the ground and its red flash of fire covered the doorway as U.S. special operations forces blew open a door during a recent training exercise.

Moments later, in their next attempt, the boom was noticeably suppressed and the blaze a bit smaller, testament to just one of the new technologies that U.S. Special Operations Command is using to limit the brain injuries that have become a growing problem for the military.

From new required testing and blast monitors to reshaping an explosive charge that reduces its blowback on troops, the command is developing new ways to better protect warfighters from such blast overpressure and to evaluate their health risks, particularly during training.

“We have guys lining up to volunteer for these studies,” said retired Sgt. Maj. F. Bowling, a former special operations medic who now works as a contractor at the command. “This is extremely important to the community. They’re very concerned about it.”

The Defense Department does not have good data on the number of troops with blast overpressure problems, which are much harder to detect than a traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injuries are better known and have been a persistent problem among combat forces, including those subjected to missile strikes and explosions that hit nearby.

According to the department’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, more than 20,000 service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries last year. More than 500,000 have been diagnosed since 2000.

Josh Wick, a Pentagon spokesperson, said emerging information from evaluations of both acute blasts and repetitive low-level exposures shows links to adverse effects, such as the inability to sleep, degraded cognitive performance, headaches and dizziness.

“Our top priority remains our forces’ long-term cognitive well-being and operational effectiveness as warfighters,” said Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of U.S. Special Operations Command. “We are committed to understanding and identifying the impacts of blast overpressure on our personnel’s brain health.”

Fenton said research with academics and medical and industry experts is helping find ways to mitigate and treat overpressure. He said cutting-edge technologies are key to reducing the effects of repeated exposures, such as those many of his troops experience.

Out in a remote training area for Army special forces at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, commandos used what they call a Muchete breaching charge, specifically formed into a shape that more precisely directs the blasts and limits the harmful waves coming from an explosion. A small number of journalists were allowed to watch the training.

“The reduction on the blast overpressure coming back on the operator on average is generally between 40 and 60%,” said Chris Wilson, who leads the team at the command that oversees clinical research and other performance-related initiatives. “It really also depends on where somebody is standing. But it’s certainly a pretty dramatic reduction in the exposure. So I think that’s a win.”

Wilson said development and testing of the refined charge is ongoing but that units are using this one now in training until one gets final approval and can be more widely distributed.

Because of the extensive amount of training for special operations forces — both to hone their skills and to prepare for specific operations — troops may practice breaching a door dozens or hundreds of times. As a result, training is where they are most likely to have such repeated exposures. The command wants a better sense of how each person is affected.

During the demonstration, a number of the Army special forces soldiers were wearing small monitors or sensors to help leaders better understand the level of blast pressure that troops are absorbing. The sensors allow officials to compare readings based on where troops were standing and how close they were to the blast.

The command is evaluating a number of blast sensors on the market, and some higher risk troops are already using them. Testing and other studies are continuing with the goal of getting them out across the force in the next couple of years.

According to Wilson and Col. Amanda Robbins, the command’s psychologist, there are distinct differences between acute traumatic brain injuries and what is called long-term blast exposure or blast overpressure.

Traumatic brain injuries, they said, are acute injuries that are relatively well documented and diagnosed. They said repetitive blast exposure needs more attention because there are lots of questions about the impact on the human brain. The damage is far more complex to diagnose and requires more study to establish links between the repetitive blasts and any damage or symptoms.

To aid the research, Special Operations Command is looking at doing more routine testing throughout service members’ careers. One test is a neurocognitive assessment that the command does every three years. Officials also want warfighters to be assessed if they have had a concussion or similar event.

The Defense Department more broadly will require cognitive assessments for all new recruits as part of an effort to protect troops from brain injuries resulting from blast exposures. New guidance released in August requires greater use of protective equipment, minimum “stand-off distances” during certain types of training, and a reduction in the number of people in proximity to blasts.

The other test being done by Special Operations Command is a more subjective comprehensive assessment that catalogs each person’s history of injuries or falls, even as a child. It’s done early to get a baseline.

Robbins said what they have seen is that new, younger operators and those with 20 or more years of experience are more amenable to doing the testing.

“The challenge is going to be in the midcareer operators who may be more concerned about self-reporting potentially having a perceived negative impact,” she said.

She added that the assessment is a way to take into account incidents that may not be in their medical records, so that problems can be identified early on and people can get treatment.