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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
B.C. man, Alberta woman among 58 dead in Las Vegas shooting
A mother of four from Alberta and a construction worker from British Columbia are among the victims after a gunman opened fire on Las Vegas concert goers killing at least 58 people. The gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, fired from the 32nd floor of a hotel room in the Mandalay Bay into a crowd of 22,000 people. Clark County Sheriff Joseph said the gunman killed himself before police entered the room. The Canadians killed have been identified as Jessica Klymchuck, a 28-year-old mother from Valleyview, Alta., who was visiting Las Vegas with her fiancé and Jordan McIldoon, a 23-year-old from Maple Ridge, B.C., who was in Las Vegas with his girlfriend.
With a death toll of 58, this is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Forty-nine people died at the Pulse nightclub shooting last year. We break down what we know so far about the victims, suspect and event and look at gun control in Nevada.
Here's Lawrence Martin's take on why this massacre won't change gun control laws: "It's understandable why Republican lawmakers wouldn't want the slaughter politicized. They have their history on the issue of gun non-control and they have their current legislative priorities. One of them, a big one, is to make it easier for gun owners to purchase silencers."
'Reconciliation must succeed,' Payette says as new Governor-General
Julie Payette has officially been sworn in as the new Governor-General of Canada, delivering a speech focused on the importance of science, teamwork and reconciliation. Ms. Payette, speaking without notes, drew on her experience as an astronaut to show the importance of working as a team."I'm a true believer in the strength of teamwork, in the power of dreams," Ms. Payette said. "This is exactly the backbone of this country ... Anyone can accomplish anything."
Here's Campbell Clark's take on why Payette embodies the governor-general as a Canadian symbol: "If you're looking to fill the role of a national symbol, it helps to find someone who already is one. For a generation of Canadian school kids, Julie Payette was that kind of national idol, the woman who ignored people who told her she could never be an astronaut and went into space."
Edmonton attack suspect charged with five counts of attempted murder
Five counts of attempted murder have been laid against the man accused of attempting to run down an Edmonton police office before stabbing him and then plowing into a crowd. Abdulahi Hasan Sharif now is facing a total of 11 counts. Mr. Sharif, 30, is a Somali refugee who was investigated in 2015 for espousing extremism but no charges were ever laid. Police have described the violent chaos of Saturday night as an act of terrorism and say they are continuing to gather evidence on that aspect of the investigation.
Catalan leader calls for mediation after independence vote
Catalonia's President Carles Puigdemont is calling for international mediation to resolve the region's growing crisis with the Spanish government, but he also vowed to move forward with independence in the wake of a violent referendum that overwhelmingly backed sovereignty.
Preliminary results showed that 90 per cent of Catalan backed independence in Sunday's vote, which was deemed illegal by the Spanish government. Roughly 42 per cent of eligible voters turned out for the referendum, which was overshadowed by a crackdown by Spain's national police. Police officers in riot gear closed 400 polling stations in violent confrontations with voters that left nearly 900 people injured.
Poll shows Canadians divided over Liberals' small-business tax plan
Canadians are sharply divided over the federal Liberals' controversial proposed changes to small-business tax rules, according to a new Nanos survey for The Globe and Mail.
The government's formal consultations officially close Monday on a package of proposals that has generated heated reaction from small-business owners. When asked if the proposed changes are a step in the right or wrong direction, 37 per cent of survey respondents supported them, 35 per cent were opposed and the rest said they were unsure. (For subscribers)
Metro, Jean Coutu to form Quebec powerhouse in $4.5-billion deal
In a bid to take on bigger rivals in the retail sector, grocer Metro Inc. has bought Quebec drugstore chain Jean Coutu in a friendly deal worth $4.5-billion. "Sometimes you have to forget your ego" and think bigger picture, Jean Coutu, the pharmacy store's founder, said. "[This] decision is something we have to do to improve the situation." A merger allows the two companies to better deal with increasing competition in retail, face growing threats from e-commerce giant Amazon, and battle changes to generic drug regulations in some provinces, including Quebec.
MARKET WATCH
The TSX finished slightly higher Monday as broad gains supported by financial stocks was offset by a drag in the energy sector. At the close, Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 70.06 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 15,705. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks kicked off the fourth quarter on a strong note, with the S&P and the Dow finishing at record highs.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.02 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 22,559.11, the S&P 500 gained 9.84 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,529.2 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.76 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 6,516.72. Shares on Wall Street were bolstered by data underscoring the continued strength of the U.S. economy.
WHAT'S TRENDING
Michael Marrus, the history professor whose racially offensive remarks have led to a public controversy at the University of Toronto's Massey College, has submitted his resignation as a Senior Fellow from the college, but says he is "disheartened" by the lack of dialogue between him and those who asked for his resignation.
"Where was the due process, where was the effort to hear me out, where was the effort to relate to 30 years of scholarship that have a lot to do with human rights? There is something cruel and reckless about this campaign," he said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
TALKING POINTS
Undermining Catalonia's referendum is a threat to democracy
"In doing all it can to block a vote on Catalan independence, yet failing to develop a viable alternative to the status quo, the Spanish government runs the risk of making more likely the very outcome it is seeking at all costs to prevent. To the extent it succeeded in undermining Sunday's referendum, it may have won the battle but lost the war. Whatever the outcome, the cause of democracy has not been well served." – Kenneth McRoberts
Mark Zuckerberg has to come clean: The social network won it for Trump
"The sky is darkening over Silicon Valley. Facebook or Fakebook? Twitter or Twister? Last week, Donald Trump fired his first (and characteristically ungrateful) shot directly at Facebook: "Facebook was always anti-Trump." Mark Zuckerberg shot back: "That's what running a platform for all ideas looks like." – Niall Ferguson
LIVING BETTER
Parents' first instinct is often to protect their children, but it's important for trusted adults to help kids understand difficult subjects. This is the advice of Colleen Mousseau, a psychotherapist and grief counsellor at Dr. Jay Children's Grief Centre in Toronto. Today, kids are constantly hearing and seeing things that require help making sense of. She spoke to The Globe about the best way to have an open, honest and accurate conversation with kids about what's happening in the news.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
ANC chaos and clashes could prolong Zuma's term
Delegates brawled and hurled chairs, the police fired stun grenades, blood was spilled and ambulances carried away the wounded in a new outbreak of the factional fighting that could prolong the power of South African President Jacob Zuma.
The violent clashes at a regional meeting of South Africa's ruling party on Sunday were the latest evidence of growing chaos among the factions that are battling for control of the African National Congress as it seeks to choose a successor to Mr. Zuma.
Analysts are warning that the ANC's internal feuding could make it impossible for the party to elect Mr. Zuma's successor at a planned December conference. That would leave him in control of the ruling party as it approaches a national election in 2019.
Why the case of 354 beer bottles looms large in Supreme Court fall cases
When retired steelworker Gérard Comeau of New Brunswick drove over the Restigouche River into Quebec to buy beer and liquor in the fall of 2012, he fell into an RCMP snare.
Mounties in both provinces had teamed up on a special project and when police in New Brunswick caught Mr. Comeau with 354 bottles and cans of beer and three bottles of liquor, and fined him $292 under a provincial law that sets a limit of 12 bottles of beer or one bottle each of wine and liquor bought outside the provincial liquor authority. But Mr. Comeau challenged that law in provincial court, arguing that Canada's founding Constitution protects free trade between provinces. And he won.
This fall, the Supreme Court will hear New Brunswick's challenge of Mr. Comeau's legal victory, in a case that could cause the fall of interprovincial trade barriers affecting other products, such as milk and eggs.
Evening Update is written by Josh Hargreaves, Jordan Chittley, Omair Quadri and Terry Weber. 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.