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These are the top stories:

The U.S. is preparing to house 20,000 migrant children

The Trump administration is equipping military bases to house up to 20,000 child migrants unaccompanied by parents – an indication of the magnitude of the problem brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

Authorities are struggling to enforce Trump’s edict to continue criminally charging all people who cross the border from Mexico illegally, but somehow ensure they are not separated from their children. In at least two Texas courthouses Thursday, prosecutors simply dropped all criminal charges against migrants with children.

Trump’s order is likely to be legally untenable: a court order that sets out rules for holding migrants in detention mandates that children be released after 20 days. This means that if children are held with their parents as the parents go through the criminal justice system, the children will either be separated from their families after 20 days or the Trump administration could face a barrage of lawsuits. The Justice Department Thursday launched a legal case to try to get the 20-day rule overturned.

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Quebec and Ontario liquor stores are dropping Norman Hardie wines

More wine retailers across Canada are dropping Norman Hardie’s wines after widespread accusations of sexual misconduct. SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec), which distributes alcohol in Quebec, said it would remove remaining bottles of Norman Hardie wine from its shelves. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which just a day earlier had said it would leave the choice “in the hands of customers,” announced it would sell off its remaining wine, but not place a new order. In addition to restaurants and retailers, industry groups are also distancing themselves. The Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association, which represents about 40 wineries in the area, suspended his membership Thursday.

Earlier this week, Hardie responded with an apology. He admitted to “many” of the allegations, but maintained that others are not true. He has not specified which of the allegations are untrue

The eight lives that were taken from Toronto’s Gay Village

On Sunday, mourners wearing black will march in silence at the end of Toronto’s typically colourful Pride Parade, in honour of eight victims of an alleged serial killer who preyed for years on the city’s Gay Village. Their lives were complex, and marked by challenges that made them vulnerable, report Tu Thanh Ha and Justin Ling. The Globe and Mail has interviewed dozens of people, reviewed files at five courthouses, sifted through bankruptcy papers, death notices and other records to get a fuller picture of the men that alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur is charged with murdering.

Toronto Mayor John Tory announced Thursday that Toronto will spend up to $3-million on an independent review into the police service’s handling of missing persons cases. The highly anticipated review will address complaints raised by the LGBTQ community around how the service investigated reports of missing gay men who are now believed to have been the victims of McArthur.

Canada is facing a fraught peacekeeping mission as Malian atrocities emerge

Canada is sending hundreds of troops to Mali on a peacekeeping mission, but a fresh discovery of mass graves and alleged military atrocities has highlighted human-rights challenges the Canadians could face. Mali’s defence minister said Malian soldiers were implicated in “gross violations” after the bodies of 25 civilians were found in mass graves in central Mali. The evidence of mass graves was just the latest in a long series of documented cases of extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests by Mali’s military.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission co-operates with Mali’s military in a number of areas. Corinne Dufka, a West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the Canadian troops in Mali should prioritize the protection of civilians and should try to advise and mentor Malian soldiers to ensure better respect for human rights.

Ottawa’s decision to renew the equalization formula has caught the premiers off guard

Ottawa locked in Canada’s current equalization formula until 2024, and some provinces appear surprised by the move. Saskatchewan and Alberta, in particular, are both looking for changes. Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe said Wednesday he didn’t know that Ottawa had already renewed the program for the 2019-2024 period. Further, provincial officials said Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister previously indicated that the province is not satisfied with a status-quo renewal. However, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s office said a five-year renewal of the program was clearly communicated to the provinces.

Equalization is a $19-billion federal program that distributes federal cash to provinces and territories with below-average fiscal capacity, to make sure Canadians across the country have access to a similar level of public services.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Koko, the famed gorilla who learned sign language, dies in California

Koko the gorilla, famous for her remarkable sign-language ability, helped change the world’s views about the intelligence and empathy of animals and died Thursday at 46. Koko was taught sign language from an early age as a scientific test subject and eventually learned more than 1,000 words, a vocabulary similar to that of a human toddler.

During her life, she played with the likes of William Shatner, Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Williams and Mr. Rogers, living most of her life in Woodside, California.

MORNING MARKETS

World shares rise but still set for weekly losses

World shares rose on Friday but were set to end a second week lower amid intensifying worries over the fallout of a trade dispute resulting from U.S. tariffs, while oil prices were higher ahead of an OPEC meeting later in the day. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE was up 0.53 per cent just before 5:30 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were up 0.40 per cent and 0.76 per cent, respectively. In Asia, markets finished mixed with Japan’s Nikkei sliding 0.78 per cent. The Canadian dollar was trading higher at 75.37 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

The dazzling deceit of big marijuana

“Alex MacDonald is a grizzled old pothead. ... Legalization will change the world a lot less than you might think, he says. The illegal market will not shut down, or even shrink much. Nor will kids stop using, as Justin Trudeau likes to claim. Canadian kids are already among the biggest consumers of marijuana in the world. They’ll keep smoking what they please, as they please – as they always have.” – Margaret Wente

Showing pride in how far Canada has come

“It’s true that the journey to full equality for sexual minorities in Canada is far from over. But for those who were tormented and humiliated in the school yard, who thought they could trust their secret to no one in the world, who hid their private lives even from friends, who tried desperately to avoid having to lie about their sexuality at work, who still don’t feel they can hold hands or kiss on the street: Our Prime Minister apologized for this. A new law wipes old slates clean. People who lost their job are getting some money for it. This is a good day.” – John Ibbitson

There’s no migration crisis - the crisis is political opportunism

“To be clear: There is no immigration crisis in 2018. Not in the United States, not in Europe, not in Canada. ‘It is not a migration emergency – it’s a political emergency,’ William Lacy Swing, the American director-general of the International Organization for Migration, said this week. The IOM’s 8,400 staff monitor the movement of people around the world, and while they’ve identified plenty of challenges, there aren’t any overwhelming or unmanageable movements of people this year.” – Doug Saunders

FILM FRIDAY

Barry Hertz says Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jeff Goldblum, plays dumb, and happily, like almost every other major studio film this summer (two stars).

Kate Taylor writes Paper Year, starring Eve Hewson and Avan Jogia, is an intriguing anti-romance with a plot inventively orchestrated to tease out both sides of the story (three stars).

Simon Houpt says The Cleaners, starring Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, is a brisk, disquieting doc on Facebook’s censorship farms (three stars).

LIVING BETTER

What to know about owning a cottage with friends or family

Co-ownership can be an appealing option for those looking to split the costs (and responsibility) of a summer cottage. But if you plan to sign a contract with friends or family, use these tips to avoid a major fallout with loved ones. With a little preparation, your shared home-away-from-home can truly be your happy place.

MOMENT IN TIME

June 22, 1986: Two goals in one game. Hardly historic and hardly unheard of. And yet, what Diego Maradona did came to define the player, the magnetism of the World Cup and soccer itself. Argentina played England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City. Only four years after the Falklands War, the game between two fine teams was fiery in context. A few minutes into the second half, two things happened. First, Maradona played the ball forward to a teammate hoping for a return pass. An England defender lunged for the ball and it sprayed crazily back to Maradona, who leapt to head it into the goal but used his hand to direct it. The TV audience saw a deliberate use of his hand, but the referee didn’t and allowed it. Maradona later described the goal as “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” Minutes later, like a man possessed by God’s grace, Maradona captured the ball again and, swivelling and swerving as if the ball was glued to his foot, danced past the entire England defence and casually scored a goal of unique individual brilliance. People called it the goal of the century, and it was. - John Doyle

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