Evening Update newsletter: Patrick Brown, Russia investigation, Olympics

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Good evening and happy Friday,

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Patrick Brown enters race for leadership of party

Patrick Brown is now registered as a candidate for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party after resigning three weeks ago amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Mr. Brown arrived at PC Party headquarters in downtown Toronto on Friday afternoon, just hours before the 5 o'clock deadline for leadership nominations to be received. Shortly after his name appeared on Elections Ontario's website, along with four other contenders in the race. However, according to party insiders, it is unclear whether he will meet the eligibility rules to run for the leadership. Mr. Brown did not answer questions from reporters.

On Friday morning, the interim leader removed Mr. Brown from the party's caucus, leaving the former leader sitting as an independent. On Thursday evening, Mr. Brown created uncertainty over whether he has, in fact, stepped down as leader of the party, saying a statement announcing his departure was sent out without his permission.

A debate was held Thursday to replace Mr. Brown as leader of the party before the election. Adam Radwanski writes that it left viewers guessing what an Ontario PC government would look like. "Given that Mr. Brown evidently failed to bring the rank-and-file along as he claimed, this campaign might conceivably serve as a correction. Maybe the next leader could figure out how to craft an agenda that's saleable to the broader electorate without alienating the base. But that would require a level of seriousness that none of the contenders has yet mustered."

Thirteen Russians charged in alleged plot to interfere in U.S. presidential election

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in an indictment Friday that it was a multi-pronged effort with the aim of supporting then-businessman Donald Trump and disparaging Hillary Clinton. described a conspiracy to disrupt the U.S. election by people who adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; traveled to the United States to collect intelligence; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans.

In related news, Steve Bannon, the combative former chief strategist for President Donald Trump, was interrogated for 20 hours over two days this week as part of the investigation, according to a person familiar with the process.

OLYMPICS 2018

Figure skater Patrick Chan missed the landing on his triple axel and is sixth after the short program. The free skate, which will determine the medals, is this evening. Cross-country skier Alex Harvey finished seventh in the men's 15-kilometre free. Speed skater Ivanie Blondin finished fifth in the women's 5,000 metre. Grant Robertson reports on how Ms. Blondin visualized Ted-Jan Bloeman, who won the 10,000 metre race, as a "carrot" during her race. American skiing favourite Mikaela Shiffrin finished just off the podium in fourth in the women's slalom after winning the giant slalom Thursday.

The men's curling team moved to 4-0, while the women dropped to 0-3 in round robin play with a 9-8 loss to Denmark in extra ends. The women's team is also at the centre of a "burned rock" controversy, a rare moment in an ultra-polite sport. In their last game, a Dutch player touched a stone that was in motion. That is a foul called a "burned rock." Canada's skip, Rachel Homan, decided to remove the stone, which is within her rights, but it is an aggressive option that some call unsportsmanlike.

Nathan VanderKlippe reports on how the North Korean delegation's every move is being watched.

Medal Count (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Total)

• Norway: 6, 8, 5, 19
• Germany: 9, 2, 4, 15
• Netherlands: 6, 5, 2, 13
• Canada: 4, 5, 4, 13
• United States: 5, 1, 2, 8
•  

Coming up on Day Eight

(All times Eastern)

• 8:00 p.m. Feb. 16: Figure skating (Men’s free skate featuring Patrick Chan)
• 9:00 p.m. Feb. 16: Alpine skiing (Women’s super-G)
• 10:10 p.m. Feb. 16: Men’s ice hockey (Canada vs. Czech Republic)
• 11:00 p.m. Feb. 16: Freestyle skiing (Women’s freeski slopestyle final featuring defending champion Dara Howell if she makes the final)
• 5:00 a.m. Feb. 17: Short track speed skating (Women’s 1500m finals, Men’s 1000m finals)
• 6:20 a.m. Feb. 17: Skeleton (Women’s skeleton runs 3-4 featuring three Canadians who currently sit in eighth, 11th and 13th after two runs)
•  

Here is our full guide to catch you up.

Hedley management team drops band, tour opener quits amid sexual-misconduct allegations

The Canadian pop-rockers faced more bad news Friday as they were dropped by their management team, abandoned by one of the opening bands on their cross-Canada tour, and saw their music blacklisted by the CBC. This comes a day after dozens of radio stations also stripped Hedley's hit songs from the air in response to sexual misconduct allegations, which had been circulated by anonymous social media users who detailed encounters with young fans. In a statement, the band said the allegations "unsubstantiated," but acknowledged they "engaged in a lifestyle that incorporated certain rock 'n' roll cliches."

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MARKET WATCH

Canada's main stock index ended modestly higher on Friday as a boost from the heavyweight energy sector was tempered by a decline in gold and natural resource companies, as well as cannabis producers. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 44.98 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 15,452.64. Wall Street turned south on news of an indictment of Russians accused of meddling in the U.S. presidential election, but later rebounded as the fundamental story has not changed, said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer of EventShares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.69 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 25,220.06, the S&P 500 gained 1.05 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 2,732.25 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.97 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,239.47.

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WHAT'S TRENDING

Supporter of homophobic, anti-Semitic U.S. religious leader to speak at NDP convention

Tamika Mallory is a campaigner for social justice, health care and gun-control legislation and was one of the organizers of last year's Women's March on Washington. She also publicly supports a U.S. religious leader known for his homophobic and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Ms. Mallory is among the keynote speakers at the New Democrats' biennial convention this weekend in Ottawa and will address the crowd late Friday afternoon.

TALKING POINTS

Female athletes don't need to be naked to be powerful

"Throughout 2017, female athletes joined and supported the rhapsodies of #MeToo – hockey players demanding greater compensation; soccer teams fighting for equal playing conditions; gymnasts speaking up against men who have abused positions of power and taken advantage or exploited them for decades; basketball players sharing stories of their own. But these are not the women we want to see, or the stories we want to read. Instead, we are once again reminded of the myriad ways in which active female body is objectified and sexualized." — Geneva Abdul

The benefits of girlfriends

"I realized that when women say 'text me when you get home,"' it's not just about safety. It's about solidarity. I was telling my friends – on street corners, in parking lots, as they were getting into Lyfts – as we got ready to leave each other that I knew what it is like to be a woman alone. There's the unwanted scrutiny and attention ('Why is that guy staring at me?'), the unsettling thoughts ('Am I too drunk?') and the overwhelming loneliness that can take you by surprise when you get home ('My place is so empty'). What I was telling my friends is that they weren't by themselves." — Kayleen Schaefer, author of Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship

Guilty or not, Zuma and Netanyahu both hurt their countries

"As long as they remained in office, their countries were frozen in time, unable to develop or to confront their most serious problems. It has been a lost decade for South Africa and Israel, their erstwhile dreams of a more stable and secure future exchanged for the immediate reality of one man's perpetual present. Worse: In order to secure their hold on power, they have led their countries down destructive paths that may prove almost impossible to reverse." — Doug Saunders

LIVING BETTER

Seven years ago, the life of Jérôme Ferrer, a renowned Montreal chef, took a drastic turn. Several hours after learning of his wife's second miscarriage, the couple learned she, a 36-year-old non-smoker, had stage 4 lung cancer. He said the only weapon he had was his cooking. He devoured dozens of books about food and cancer, but most of the information was focused on prevention. Mr. Ferrer eventually found a few pieces of advice, which was a first step as he tried to help her with food through trial and error.

LONG READS FOR THE WEEKEND

In a tiny B.C. cabin, Kate Harris penned tales of travel along the Silk Road

Kate Harris grew up in small-town Ontario, enchanted with Marco Polo's travels along the fabled ancient network of trade routes known as the Silk Road. After university, the Rhodes Scholar set out on a bicycle across those same routes. The book, written after her travels, isn't so much a travelogue, but a contemplation of what pushes us out the door. This is not the type of book you want to rush through, instead it slows you down. Marsha Lederman travels to northern B.C. to see Ms. Harris at the one-room, off-the-grid cabin where she wrote the already acclaimed Land of Lost Borders.

Globe in China: China's hip-hop uprising faces a Communist Party crackdown

When Wang Renzhi first fell in love with hip hop more than a decade ago, he saw a kind of music that could do for his generation what rock 'n' roll did for the 1980s-era students whose grievances eventually brought them to Tiananmen Square. But recently, the Communist Party has grown more vigilant in asserting leadership over China's social, cultural, political and religious affairs. A crackdown in 2018 has corroded hopes of a defiant music genre taking root in China, as groups with lyrics deemed questionable are stripped from streaming services, even while groups trading in propagandist "socialist hip hop" receive government support. As Nathan Vanderklippe reports from Beijing, it offers a new glimpse of the party's vigilance in neutralizing potential sources of counterculture, even as a generation of plugged-in, cosmopolitan youth embrace Western trends.

Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley and David Read. If you'd like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.