Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Committee investigating U.S. Capitol riot told Trump was becoming ‘detached from reality’ over election
Donald Trump’s closest campaign advisers were dismantling his false claims of 2020 voting fraud on election night, but the defeated president was clinging to outlandish theories to stay in power, several people testified today at a hearing of the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s former campaign manager Bill Stepien said that Trump was “growing increasingly unhappy” at the election results as the night wore on. (He abruptly backed out of appearing live because his wife went into labour, but the panel showed previously recorded testimony.)
“He was becoming detached from reality,” said former attorney-general William Barr, who resigned. “I didn’t want to be a part of it.”
Analysis: The Capitol riot hearings are designed to shape contemporary American politics, but will they make a difference? - David Shribman
Opinion: The Jan. 6 hearings are a double-edged sword for U.S. institutions - David Moscrop
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The latest COVID-19 developments: Trudeau tests positive, plus more
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed on Twitter today that he has tested positive for COVID-19, and says he’s following public-health guidelines and isolating. Trudeau, who also tested positive in January, recently returned from Los Angeles, where he attended the Summit of the Americas with other leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden.
Separately, Ottawa is expected to announce the shutdown of the national COVID-19 contact tracing app this week, months after changes to PCR testing regulations in many provinces had rendered it largely useless, two sources familiar with the situation tell The Globe and Mail.
Canadian Blood Services says it is struggling to replenish a critically low national supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in its smallest donor base in a decade.
Opinion:
- Trudeau’s political inertia keeping vaccine mandates past their time - Campbell Clark
- We can plan to beat the next wave of COVID-19, or we can try to wish it away. Take your pick, Canada - Globe editorial
TSX re-enters correction territory, S&P 500 falls into bear market
Canada’s main stock market tumbled back into correction territory today and the dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart as investors raised bets on how high central banks would lift interest rates to tackle inflation.
Wall Street stocks also fell, with the S&P 500 on pace for its fourth straight decline and poised to confirm a bear market, as fears grow that the expected aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve would push the economy into a recession.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 532.26 points or 2.63 per cent to 19,742.56. The loonie traded at 77.53 U.S. cents.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 876.05 points or 2.79 per cent to 30,516.74, the S&P 500 lost 151.23 points or 3.88 per cent to end at 3,749.63, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 530.79 points or 4.68 per cent to 10,809.23.
Attack at restaurant in China highlights misogyny and violence, even as state media plays down incident
The brutal beating of four women at a restaurant in northern China sparked widespread outrage over the weekend, leading to the swift arrest of nine people and calls for severe punishments.
For many Chinese women, however, the incident has served as a painful reminder of the ever-present danger of gender-related violence. And the official reaction to this and similar incidents has often felt dismissive and sexist, reflecting a rise in anti-feminist rhetoric both online and from state media.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Russian artillery pounds Ukrainian city: Russian forces tightened their grip on the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk today, a Ukrainian official said, cutting off the last routes for evacuating citizens in a scene that echoed last month’s siege of the port of Mariupol.
Van attacker sentenced: The man responsible for Toronto’s deadly 2018 van attack has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was found guilty last year of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
ALS drug gets go-ahead: Canada has approved Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease, the first such approval for the oral drug. Health Canada’s approval came with conditions as well as additional studies.
Major crypto lender halts withdrawals: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies saw prices collapse today after Celsius Network said it is freezing all withdrawals and transfers between its 1.7 million customers, citing “extreme market conditions.”
RIP Philip Baker Hall: The prolific character actor who starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s first movies and who memorably hunted down a long-overdue library book in Seinfeld has died at 90.
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TALKING POINTS
Reality check: Airport waits are an inconvenience. Health care waits are a travesty
“Getting cancer treatments, hip transplants and mental-health care in a timely fashion seems infinitely more important than getting to a business meeting or holiday destination. Yet, you wouldn’t know it from the political and media reaction.” - André Picard
This year’s hockey playoffs have been great for gambling ads. Hockey? Not so much
“We didn’t realize until now how fun it is to marry every fan’s two great passions – watching sports and setting your money on fire.” - Cathal Kelly
LIVING BETTER
It’s long been known that a steady intake of omega-3 fatty acids can help guard against heart disease. Now, an updated review of studies has determined the ideal daily dose: three grams of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA combined). While oily fish are a rich source, it’s unrealistic for most people to get enough from eating fish alone. Consider taking a high-potency omega-3 supplement.
TODAY’S LONG READ
In Canada’s biggest cities, vulnerability to rising temperatures may depend on your neighbourhood
The mercury went above 40 C during a deadly, record-smashing Pacific Northwest heat wave in June, 2021, that killed 619 people in British Columbia alone. Projections suggest Vancouver will experience many more scorching summer days as Earth’s climate continues warming.
That’s bad news for the whole city, but particularly for the Downtown Eastside. It’s already among the city’s hottest neighbourhoods, according to a review of satellite-derived land surface temperature data by The Globe and Mail. Yet just blocks away sits Strathcona, one of Vancouver’s oldest residential neighbourhoods. It features million-dollar houses and narrower streets, lined with mature trees and cooler temperatures.
Land surface temperature data reveal many such divisions within Canada’s largest cities. They also suggest that how we plan and build often fails to give due consideration to heat. Through our municipal codes, architecture, zoning laws and construction materials, we continue propagating heat-absorbing cityscapes that will be with us for decades, even centuries. Read Matthew McClearn and Kathryn Blaze Baum’s full story here.
Opinion: Heat killed 619 people in B.C. last summer. That was 619 too many - Globe editorial
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