Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Two women and a child die in Kyiv after running to locked air-raid shelter
A nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed in a Russian missile strike on Kyiv today after the air-raid shelter they rushed to was locked, witnesses say.
Local residents told The Globe and Mail that when the door was finally opened, they found the guard with the key sleeping inside, apparently drunk. Ukrainian media reported that the guard was later arrested.
Meanwhile, at a meeting of European leaders in Moldova, President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance, seeking to bolster Western solidarity and keep up pressure for concrete support ahead of his country’s expected counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion.
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Ottawa pledges help for Nova Scotia to fight unprecedented wildfires
The Canadian Armed Forces will provide co-ordination, fire equipment and firefighters to help subdue the wildfires still ravaging Nova Scotia. In announcing the support, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said they will also help relieve those who have been battling the blazes non-stop for the past week.
At least 21,000 people have been forced from their homes in Nova Scotia by four out of control wildfires, which have burned 200 homes and cottages, and threatens communities and infrastructure in the southwestern corner of the province.
This afternoon, residents near the historic Waegwoltic Club overlooking Halifax’s Northwest Arm stood in shock as the club crumbled to ashes and sent thick black smoke into the heavily treed neighbourhood.
Stellantis says reports of deal to keep EV battery plant in Canada are premature
Negotiations continue between auto manufacturing giant Stellantis and the federal and Ontario governments over a deal to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont. The auto manufacturer denied a Toronto Star report that a “tentative deal” had been reached.
At issue is the governments’ willingness to match billions of dollars in subsidies being offered in the United States – where Stellantis and its battery-making partner, LG Energy Solution Ltd, are threatening to move the project.
U.S. House of Representatives passes debt ceiling deal, but political fallout still unclear
The U.S. seems to have avoided what could have been a massive debt default. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted in favour of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a deal hammered out between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy that will suspend the country’s debt ceiling until January, 2025, in exchange for cuts to government spending.
The deal is expected to find even greater support in the Democrat-run Senate, which will likely rush to approve the legislative package and get it to the President for his signature before Monday, which is when the Treasury has said it will start running out of money.
Though it passed the House vote 314 to 117, the right wing of McCarthy’s caucus revolted because it felt the cuts did not go far enough.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Air Canada delays: The airline says its communications system has started to stabilize after technical problems this morning caused flight delays for the second time in a week. It’s unclear how many flights are affected, and the carrier is advising travellers to check their flight status online.
Dubas joins Penguins: The Pittsburgh Penguins have named former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas its new president of hockey operations, a day after the Buds announced his replacement, Brad Treliving. Treliving told media today that his top priority was meet with star centre Auston Matthews, who is set to enter the final year of his contract.
Archeological find: Researchers in southern Greece have discovered the antiquities-rich country’s oldest archeological site, which dates to 700,000 years ago and is associated with modern humans’ hominin ancestors. The find would drag the dawn of Greek archaeology back by as much as a quarter of a million years.
MARKET WATCH
U.S. stock indexes closed up today as signs of slowing wage pressure on inflation raised hopes the Federal Reserve will pause raising interest rates in two weeks, and investors welcomed a vote in Congress to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling. The Canadian stock market index also rose, bolstered by strong gains in both the energy and materials sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.09 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 33,062.36, the S&P 500 gained 41.26 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 4,221.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 165.70 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 13,100.98.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 100.01 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 19,672.25, with the energy index up more than 1 per cent as the price of oil went back above US$70 a barrel.
The loonie was trading at 74.38 US cents, up 0.69 US cents.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada’s much-touted labour shortage is mostly a mirage
Editorial: “That glut of job vacancies may in fact be illusory listings that anticipate gaps that will emerge from the next wave of quitters, rather than a sign of a genuine labour shortage.”
Fellow Canadians: Visit British Columbia at your own risk
Gary Mason: “This may be the last province in the country in which you want to get cancer, because after you’ve been diagnosed you can often wait an awfully long time for the next steps.”
Canada, with our flagrant public spending, could benefit from a debt ceiling
William Robson: “Unconstrained borrowing undermines legislative control of spending and taxing. Governments that can borrow at will can spend far more than they tax, with no accountability to legislators, and with no accountability of legislators to voters.”
LIVING BETTER
Today kicks off Pride Month. As The Globe’s Rebecca Tucker writes, it’s a pivotal time for queer visibility. From protests against drag events to a reported increase in hate crimes and anti-trans legislation in the U.S., this June’s Pride Month may feel tenuous for many members of the LGBTQ community. Still, there’s much to celebrate, including a new photo book that reframes Toronto’s queer history and a music festival that focuses on resistance and empowerment.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Collector keeps love of vintage bikes rolling
Rick Wolfe, bicycle collector and restorer, looks over a portion of his collection on display at the Elgin County Museum in St. Thomas, Ont., on May 11.Nicole Osborne/The Globe and Mail
Don’t ask Rick Wolfe which of the 200 vintage bicycles in his collection he likes the most. They’re too varied, and he’s spent too much time hunting them down and fixing them up to single out a favourite.
After decades of acquiring rare and wondrous machines – this one with an actual steering wheel, that one with a sinuous frame of steam-bent wood, this other one with a gear so huge the rider needed to be pushed into motion – he keeps looking, and keeps making oddball discoveries.
The basement of his home in Komoka, Ont., has a raised ceiling to accommodate the collection of them, which resides in climate-controlled security. The physical limitations restrict him somewhat. But he keeps acquiring, sometimes buying a whole collection of bikes and parts to secure one or two items. To preserve them in the country. To prevent them ending up in a dump. Read the full story by Oliver Moore
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