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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nike pulls sneaker featuring ‘Betsy Ross flag’ after reported Kaepernick complaint
Nike pulled the release of a sneaker featuring the “Betsy Ross flag” after former NFL quarterback and company endorser Colin Kaepernick voiced his concerns over the symbol’s ties to racism in the colonial era.
In response, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said his state will withdraw financial incentives for a Nike manufacturing plant. The company was planning to construct a US$185-million plant in Goodyear, Ariz., that would employ more than 500 people.
A pair of Air Max 1 sneakers from Nike with the Betsy Ross flag on it. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)LUCAS JACKSON/Reuters
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Dollarama buying majority stake in Latin American retailer Dollarcity
Montreal-based Dollarama is looking abroad for the next stage of its growth, acquiring a 50.1-per-cent stake in rapidly growing Latin American value retailer Dollarcity.
Dollarama, which entered into a commercial partnership with Dollarcity in 2013, will pay an estimated US$85-million to US$95-million in a deal expected to close next month.
Dollarcity operates about 180 stores in Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador, and is aiming to operate 600 stores in those three countries by 2029.
The latest from the White House: Pence’s cancelled trip, Trump’s tax files and more
U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a planned trip to New Hampshire today after being called back to the White House for an unspecified reason, White House officials said. Early news reports said the plane was called back for an “emergency,” but Pence’s chief of staff said: "The Vice-President was called back to the White House but there’s no cause for alarm and we’ll reschedule the trip soon.”
Separately, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee has sued the Trump administration in federal court for access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns, setting up a legal showdown over the records. It said it needs the documents for an investigation into tax law compliance by the President, among other things, and asked the court to order the administration to turn them over.
Opinion: After much talk over the weekend about the appearance of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, at the G20 summit, Lawrence Martin offers his take on a White House looking more like a royal family: “Given his nature, his obsession with self-glorification, the notion that he wants to wear a crown makes sense. That he wants to groom his daughter for the presidency makes sense. That he acts like he is above the law fits right in.”
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
IMF’s Lagarde tapped for top ECB job: Christine Lagarde, currently head of the International Monetary Fund, has been nominated to succeed Mario Draghi as European Central Bank president. While her confirmation could be lengthy, it is likely to be largely a formality. Here’s a look at the central bank she’s been chosen to lead.
Canadians at Wimbledon: It was a tough day at Wimbledon for Canada as Denis Shapovalov, Eugenie Bourchard and Braydon Schnur all dropped their first-round matches in singles action today. Yesterday, Milos Raonic advanced to the second round, as did Felix Auger-Aliassime after beating fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil to take his first win in a Grand Slam event.
Arctic fox walks from Norway to Canada: Norwegian researchers say an arctic fox has walked from northern Norway to Canada’s far north, a distance of 4,415 kilometres, in 76 days.
A fox is fitted with a satellite tracking collar in Krossfjorden, Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago, as part of research conducted by the Norwegian Polar Institute. (Photo by Elise Stroemseng/AP)Elise Stroemseng/Norwegian Polar Institute via AP
Hydro One names new chairman: Hydro One says Tim Hodgson has been appointed by the utility’s board of directors to become chairman starting next month, replacing Tom Woods.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose today, as the heavy-weight financial sector gained, but energy stocks fell with oil price drop. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index closed up 89.09 points at 16,471.29.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly higher, led by gains in utilities and real estate, while enthusiasm over the U.S.-China trade truce faded as the United States threatened tariffs on additional European goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.25 points to 26,786.68, the S&P 500 gained 8.68 points to end at 2,973.01 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.93 points to close at 8,109.09.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada’s budget deficits continue to grow. But even worse, our climate deficit is going unaddressed
“What’s been lost in the fight over whether carbon pricing works (it does) and whether Mr. Trudeau’s plan to price carbon is enough (it’s not) is whether Canada is actually taking the whole problem of CO2 emissions seriously.” - Justin Ling
If we’re going to solve extremism in Alberta, we need evidence-based solutions
“The spread of extremism in Canada endangers not only our public safety but also our democratic and multicultural values through spreading divisiveness, fear and social polarization.” - John McCoy and David Jones, Organization for the Prevention of Violence
Investigation reveals Ontario’s top billing doctors - and shows why fee-for-service pay scheme makes no sense
“With the distracting canard that transparency is harmful out of the way, we can now focus on what really matters to physicians, fair payment for the valuable work they do, and what matters to the public, getting value for money for the payments physicians receive.” - André Picard
LIVING BETTER
As a driver, do you know what your obligations are if you encounter a funeral procession? You don’t legally have to pull over for cars, police say – but it’s the kind thing to do. The rules vary throughout Canada, but no province specifically requires you to pull over. In Alberta, for example, you can’t cut in between the cars. In PEI, you can’t pass a procession, and you’re required to slow down to half the posted speed limit when there’s a procession on the road.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
The colour of money: How the Royal Canadian Mint is using cutting-edge laser technology to give coins a surprising new look
The Bluenose is pictured on the starboard tack, elegantly riding a brilliant froth of waves as it manoeuvres out to sea. But what really catches the eye is not the famous schooner – it’s the sky behind it. Instead of a pale metallic sheen, that portion of the collector’s coin is coloured like a vivid sunset that transitions from golden pink near the horizon to a deep blue by the time it reaches the top of the ship’s main mast.
Amazingly, the effect was achieved without the use of dyes, inks or pigments. “It’s just pure silver,” said Iain Brooks, senior manager of applied research at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, as he cradled the hefty, five-kilogram coin with two hands.
The coin is both an art piece and a test of a surprising new technique dubbed “plasmonic colouring” that was developed by the Mint together with researchers at the University of Ottawa.
The made-in-Canada innovation could have a range of future applications from anti-counterfeiting strategies to medical sensors. But what has numismatists (collectors of coins, currency and medals) talking is the use of the technique as a tool for creating colourful coins without additives or coatings that would reduce the purity of the metal. Read Ivan Semeniuk’s full story here.
A research engineer at the Mint puts one of the Bluenose silver coins into a laser scanner. (Photo by Dave Chan for The Globe and Mail)Dave Chan
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