Warning: The following story contains some graphic language!
Comedian Mark Critch has removed a photo mocking former prime minister Stephen Harper from his Instagram account following a barrage of tweets from a Conservative MP that included obscenities.
Calgary MP Michelle Rempel posted on Twitter that she has since apologized to Critch “that he got flamed,” and she says that he, too, told her he was sorry.
The photo showed Critch inside what appeared to be a closet on Parliament Hill in an apparent parody of Harper’s decision to shelter in a closet when Michael Zehaf Bibeau stormed the Parliament Buildings in Oct., 2014.
The star of CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes appeared to be clutching himself in fear, and the caption read, “Stephen Harper has stepped down. Here I am in his closet.”
Rempel was in the caucus room with Harper when the shots rang out, and she told Critch on Twitter that she hoped he never suffers from panic attacks in movies with gunshots in them, or has to wonder if colleagues are alive or dead.
Critch told the CBC that he has spoken to Rempel and that things are “all good now.”
“Michelle and I had a good conversation. She wrote me an apology for flaming out and I deleted the picture. No hard feelings on either side,” Critch said in a statement to CBC.
Neither Rempel nor Critch could be immediately reached for comment.
In her tweets responding to the photo, Rempel accused Critch of “triggering” her.
“I don’t really have words to describe my disgust at this post of yours,” she began.
.@markcritch,I don't really have words to describe my disgust at this post of yours 1/ pic.twitter.com/6QCDkE7FCX — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
“May you never have to choose between running for your life or trying to protect your friends from the unknown,” she continued.
.@markcritch may you never have to experience hearing gunshots coming towards you while you're in a confined space 2/ — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
.@markcritch may you never have to choose between running for your life or trying to protect your friends from the unknown 3/ — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
.@markcritch may you never have a panic attack in a movie hat has gunshots in it two years after running for your life 3/ — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
.@markcritch may you never have to wonder if your colleagues are alive or dead 5/ — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
“What you posted isn't satire, or comedy. It's a f---ing embarrassment,” she added.
Forgive typos and expletives. — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
.@markcritch and thanks for triggering me, you asshole. — Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) August 27, 2016
The photo and Rempel’s reaction late Friday triggered a flood of debate on social media that continued through Sunday afternoon. Some people accused Critch of showing poor taste while others criticized Rempel for over reacting.

'22 Minutes' star Mark Critch removes Instagram pic mocking Stephen Harper after


Comedian Mark Critch has removed a photo mocking former prime minister Stephen Harper from his Instagram account following a barrage of tweets from a Conservative MP that included obscenities.


NEW YORK — What will be the spectacle at the MTV Video Music Awards this year? A long rant from Kanye West? A surprise appearance from Beyonce? It’s all possible, and likely.
The show is returning to New York City on Sunday, where Beyonce is the leading nominee with 11, though it’s not confirmed if she will or won’t attend the show. She outshone her peers at the 2014 VMAs, closing the show with a 16-minute medley of songs from her self-titled surprise album that dominated that night.
West has had even more history with the awards show: He famously jumped onstage and stole Taylor Swift’s microphone at the 2009 show and last year gave an 11-minute speech onstage — after being introduced by Swift — and announced he was going to run for president in 2020.
He’ll have another chance to own the night since his controversial Famous music video — featuring what appears to be naked images of West, Swift, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump — is nominated for best male video and video of the year.
Beyonce’s Formation, Justin Bieber’s Sorry, Drake’s Hotline Bling and Adele’s Hello are also up for the top prize. Adele, though, won’t attend the show at Madison Square Garden, her representative said. Reps for Drake and Bieber didn’t return emails asking if they would or would not attend the show.
Rihanna will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award and kick off the show with a performance. The VMAs will air live on MTV at 9 p.m.
Other performers include Britney Spears, Ariana Grande with Nicki Minaj, Future, Nick Jonas and The Chainsmokers.
Presenters include Jimmy Fallon, Alicia Keys, Puff Daddy and the recent Olympian gold medallists Michael Phelps and the Final Five gymnasts — Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman.
Nominees for best female video include Beyonce, Adele, Rihanna, Sia and Grande. The best male video nominees are West, Drake, the Weeknd, Bryson Tiller and Calvin Harris, whose nomination is for This is What You Came For, which he co-wrote with former girlfriend Swift.
Coldplay, Desiigner, Fergie and Alessia Cara earned multiple nominations, while David Bowie — who died from cancer earlier this year — is nominated for best direction, cinematography, art direction and editing for Lazarus. The music video, which shows him looking frail in bed with bandaged eyes, was released just days before the icon’s Jan. 10 death.

MTV Video Music Awards to feature Kanye West, Rihanna, Britney Spears


What will be the spectacle at the MTV Video Music Awards this year? A long rant from Kanye West? A surprise appearance from Beyonce? It’s all possible, and likely.


NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents Beyonce with "Video of the Year" for "Formation" onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers and Halsey perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Fifth Harmony and Ty Dolla $ign (C) accept the award for Best Collaboration during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards August 28, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Music Video Awards at Madison Square Gareden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents the Video of the Year award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
G-Eazy, and Britney Spears perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce and mothers of gun violence attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Michael Phelps presents onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce accepts the Best Female Video award presented by Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, and Simone Biles onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears and G Eazy perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez present Best Female Video onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Michael Phelps, left, and Nicole Johnson arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Ariana Grande, left, and Nicki Minaj perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Rihanna, center, performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Ariana Grande performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce (C) attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Alicia Keys attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Jeremy Scott, left, and Stella Maxwell arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Nev Schulman, right, and Laura Perlongo arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Hailey Baldwin arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Lance Bass wears a jacket with the slogan "Love Trumps Hate" as he arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Contestants from "RuPaul's Drag Race" TV show arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Farrah Abraham arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Beyonce, left, and her daughter Blue Ivy arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Desiigner arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
DJ Khaled, left, and Nicole Tuck arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Amber Rose arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Nicki Minaj, left, and Meek Mill arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Lance Bass, left, and Robert Sepulveda Jr. arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
From Kanye West's rant, to Britney's return and Beyonce's epic entrance and performance, here are photos from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
NEW YORK -- Beyonce owned the MTV Video Music Awards by winning video of the year and giving a 16-minute performance featuring her recent hits from "Lemonade," working various stages with strong, layered vocals, skilled dance moves and even an outfit change -- all as the audience watched in awe and cheered her on.
Beyonce won the top prize for "Formation," besting Adele, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Drake.
"First of all I'd like to thank my beautiful daughter and my incredible husband for all of their support," said Beyonce, who walked the carpet with Blue Ivy by her side. "I dedicate this award to the people of New Orleans."
Beyonce is now the most awarded artist in #VMAs history with 23 awards.
Long live Queen Bey. https://t.co/aW4tTHPFfF — Def Pen™ (@defpen) August 29, 2016
Queen B kicked of her strong set with "Pray You Catch Me" as blue lights beamed onstage. She was wearing white, but later stripped down to a black leotard with full sleeves as she sang "Hold Up" and "Sorry." She grew angry and twerked while performing "Don't Hurt Yourself" and ended with the anthemic "Formation."
"If y'all came to slay, sing along with me," she said.
The audience at Madison Square Garden watched intensely Sunday, at times recording the performance with their phones.
It was reminiscent of the 2014 VMAs, when Beyonce also performed for 16 minutes and accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. This year it is being awarded to Rihanna, who split up her performances throughout the night, singing hits such as "Work," "We Found Love" and "Love on the Brain."
But the biggest moment for Rihanna came when Drake -- in a tuxedo -- presented the award to his former girlfriend. He said he met Rihanna in 2005 on the set of her first music video for "Pon De Replay."
"She's someone I've been in love with her since I was 22 years old," Drake said as Rihanna blushed and the audience cheered loudly. "She's one of my best friends in the world. All of my adult life I've looked up to her even though she's younger than me."
Rihanna, 28, thanked her family, friends and hometown of Saint Michael, Barbados for helping her succeed in her 11-year-career.
"All I can think of is my country, they're gonna be so proud, this is the first Vanguard to land anywhere near my country," she said. "My success started as my dream, but now my success is not my own. It's my family, my fans, my country ... it's women, it's black women."
Beyonce's top-notch performance starkly contrasted with that of Britney Spears, who returned to the VMA stage after 10 years. Not only did she lip sync, in typical fashion, but she did so badly. Spears performed her hit "Make Me..." and danced slickly, but she didn't actually sing a word of the song live. She was joined by rapper G-Eazy -- and she lip synched the hook to his hit song, "Me, Myself and I."
Beyonce won best female video for "Hold Up," presented to her by four of the Final Five gymnasts, excluding Gabby Douglas, who is hospitalized for a mouth infection.
"Thank you to my fans. I love you," Beyonce said. "Have a beautiful night."
In typical and true Kanye West fashion, the rapper ranted onstage, touching on subjects from music to his beef with Taylor Swift to violence in his hometown Chicago before he debuted his music video for "Fade." He talked about his "Famous" video which features what appear to be naked images of West, Swift, Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump and more. He even pointed to former girlfriend Amber Rose, who was in the audience and is also in the video.
"It was an expression of our now, our fame right now, us on the inside of the TV, you know, the audacity to put Anna Wintour right next to Donald Trump," he said.
"I put Ray J in it bro," he said, referring to Kardashian's ex with whom she did a sex tape.
"But if you think about last week it was 22 people murdered in Chicago," he continued. "You know, people come up to me like, 'Man, that's right! Take, tell Taylor this. Bro, like I love all y'all."
"That's why I called her," he said with a laugh, referring to his recent drama with the pop star, who didn't attend the VMAs and was not nominated.
Other performers including Ariana Grande, who brought spin class to the VMA stage when she sang the reggae-tinged "Side to Side" with Nicki Minaj. Grande cycled while singing and was backed by female dancers imitating her, while her male dancers lifted dumbbells and did other exercises. At the end of their performance, Grande and Minaj put their male dancers' faces in front their crotches.
In another ode to the Olympic Games just past, Michael Phelps said he's been inspired by hip-hop music before introducing Future, who Phelps said he listened to before swimming and making the grimace that went viral. The rapper-singer-producer performed his hit "(Expletive) Up Some Commas."
Drake won the first award for the night -- best hip hop video for "Hotline Bling." Puff Daddy, who presented the award, said Drake was stuck in traffic. Calvin Harris won best male video -- beating West's "Famous" -- for "This is What You Came For," which featured Rihanna and was co-written with former girlfriend Swift. Harris accepted the award in a video message.
David Bowie -- who died from cancer earlier this year -- received four nominations for "Lazarus" and won best art direction. The music video, which shows him looking frail in bed with bandaged eyes, was released just days before the icon's Jan. 10 death.
Fifth Harmony and Ty Dollar $ign won best collaboration video for "Work from Home." The girl group also won song of the summer for "All In My Head (Flex)." The pop band DNCE, led by Joe Jonas, won best new artist.
Beyonce, was the top nominee with 11, arrived angel-winged and green-feathered with daughter Blue Ivy in tow along with Sybrina Fulton, Lezley McSpadden and Gwen Carr, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, among others. They appeared in videos for Beyonce's "Lemonade" visual album and also make up the Mothers of the Movement, women of colour who lost children to violence.
Jimmy Fallon introduced the top nominees and dressed as Ryan Lochte, with platinum blonde hair. As Lochte, who is dealing with trouble after filing a false robbery report over an incident during the Rio Olympics, Fallon lied onstage about writing Justin Bieber's "Sorry" and directing the videos nominated for video of the year.
Adele was behind Beyonce with eight nominations, but the British singer did not attend the show.
Winners of Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, presented at Madison Square Garden in New York:

MTV Video Music Awards: Beyonce slays, Kanye rants and Rihanna recognized


Beyonce owned the MTV Video Music Awards by winning video of the year and giving a 16-minute performance featuring her recent hits from


It's summertime and the living is easy, especially for the celebrities who are taking to Instagram to share photos from their beach vacations. Check out where the stars are getting some R&R this summer. (Instagram)
Kim Kardashian flaunts her famous curves while on vacation in Punta Mita, Mexico. (Instagram/Kim Kardashian)
Britney Spears shared this photo of her summer Hawaiian vacation on Instagram with the caption "Still dreaming a mile a minute..." (Britney Spears/Instagram)
Toronto's own Drake relaxes in a beach-side infinity pool. (ChampagnePapi/Instagram)
Kylie Jenner shared this photo of her spending summer days by the beach in Malibu. (KylieJenner/Instagram)
Rihanna cheers on LeBron James in the NBA finals during her summer holiday. (BadGalRiRi/Instagram)
Justin Bieber tries paddleboarding in this photo shared on Instagram. (JustinBieber/Instagram)
Sofia Vergara prefers the pool to the beach. She shared this photo on Instagram with the caption #ilovesummer. (SofiaVergara/Instagram)
Zayn Malik toasts the arrival of summer in this holiday photo shared on Instagram. (Zayn/Instagram)
Jenna Dewan Tatum gets adventurous on her summer holiday. (JennaLDewan/Instagram)
Beyonce, Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy enjoy summer on the beach in this photo the singer shared on Instagram. (Beyonce/Instagram)
Shania Twain shared this beach photo on Instagram. "Taking a break from the studio, need to recharge!" she wrote. (ShaniaTwain/Instagram)
Britney Spears shared this sunny beach photo on her Instagram. (BritneySpears/Instagram)
Model Bella Hadid relaxes in a pool by the beach. (BellaHadid/Instagram)

Celebrities share hot summer pics from cool beach trips


It's summertime and the living is easy, especially for the celebrities who are taking to Instagram to share photos from their beach vacations.


Mariah Carey's estranged sister has been arrested and charged with solicitation in New York.
Alison Carey, a former prostitute who is HIV positive, reportedly returned to her old ways on Friday, when she was busted in Saugerties as part of an undercover operation.
According to The Daily Freeman paper, Alison had been using a local hotel for the past week while working as a prostitute, allegedly posting her information online.
Authorities received a tip off about the sex ads, which referenced her superstar sister's hit song Fantasy, and launched an investigation, which resulted in the sting.
A Friday night ad reportedly posted by Alison read: "Im (sic) a pretty lady looking for guys who are looking to have some fun and get into a world of pleasure that other woman just cant provide two (sic) you, woman with the ability to make the earth move for you and to get you to see stars."
"Oh yea with me its (sic), 'ITS SUCH A SWEET, SWEET FANTASY BABY, WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES I COME AND TAKE YOU ON AND ON,'" she added.
lison Carey. (Handout: Saugerties Police Department)
The 55-year-old was busted after approaching an undercover police officer, who had posed as a customer, and offering up sexual favours in exchange for cash.
She was arraigned in Saugerties Town Court and is currently being held on $1,000 bail at Ulster County Jail, ahead of a court hearing on Tuesday.
Alison reportedly told arresting officers she was Mariah's sibling as she was being taken into custody, and her identity was confirmed with an Internet search by Saugerties police chief Joseph Sinagra.
Cops have appealed to anyone who may have had sexual contact with Alison to seek medical testing.
Mariah has yet to comment on her sibling's arrest. She has been estranged from Alison and their brother Morgan for some time, and didn't respond earlier this year when they launched a desperate appeal for the singer to reach out, amid claims Alison was dying. She was reportedly in need of brain and spinal surgery, while she was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2012.

Mariah Carey's sister arrested for prostitution


Mariah Carey's estranged sister has been arrested and charged with solicitation in New York.


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand for the U.S. national anthem before games because he believes the United States oppresses African Americans and other minorities.
Kaepernick sat on the team’s bench Friday night during the anthem before the Niners played host to the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game. He later explained his reasoning in an interview with NFL Media.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
The 49ers issued a statement after Pro Football Talk initially reported on Kaepernick’s stand, saying that Americans have the right to protest or support the anthem.
“The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pregame ceremony,” the team said. “It is an opportunity to honour our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
Kaepernick, who is biracial, was adopted and raised by white parents. He has been outspoken on his Twitter account on civil rights issues and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kaepernick is not the first U.S.-based athlete to use the anthem for protest. In 1996, NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the anthem, saying the United States had a history of tyranny and doing so would conflict with his Islamist beliefs. The NBA initially suspended Abdul-Rauf for his stance before it was lifted when he said he would stand and pray silently during the song.
Kaepernick said he is not worried about any potential fallout from his protest.
“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” he told NFL Media. “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. ... If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
The NFL and Kaepernick’s agent did not immediately return a request for comment.
Kaepernick is in competition to win back the starting quarterback job in San Francisco that he lost to Blaine Gabbert last season. He made his first appearance of the preseason on Friday night after missing two games with a tired shoulder. He finished 2 for 6 for 14 yards and added 18 yards on four runs.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for U.S. national anthem


San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin
Kaepernick is refusing to stand for
the U.S. national anthem before games
because he believes the United States
oppresses African Americans and other
minorities.


OTTAWA -- The federal government ran a deficit of $1.0 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from a surplus of $5.0 billion in the same period last year.
The Finance Department released its fiscal monitor today showing the state of Ottawa's finances.
For June, the federal government ran a deficit of $1.1 billion as revenue fell and spending increased.
The shortfall compared with a surplus of $1.1 billion in the same month last year.
Revenue fell $500 million or 2.2 per cent in June due to lower corporate income tax revenue, non-resident income tax and excise taxes and duties.
Program spending grew by $1.6 billion that month, an increase of 7.5 per cent, due to growth in major transfers to other levels of government and direct program expenses, though that was partially offset by a drop in major transfers to people.
Public debt charges increased by $100 million or 3.1 per cent, mainly due to higher consumer price index adjustments on real return bonds.

Federal government runs $1-billion deficit in first quarter


The federal government ran a deficit of $1.0 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from a surplus of $5.0 billion in the same period last year.


TORONTO -
There is no licence needed to own one.
No training required to shoot one. There’s no registry. No need to show identification or even write down your name.
Just put down your cash (between $300 and $1,300) and legally walk out of a sporting goods store in the GTA with a lethal killing machine called a crossbow.
Of course, they are designed to kill legally regulated wild game in appropriate hunting seasons. But like all weapons designed for something else, they can be commandeered for murderous purposes on humans, as Toronto experienced Thursday.
It’s not Toronto’s first crossbow-related slaying scene and one wonders how many more will be tolerated by the public, and those who govern, before there is a move to make them more difficult to buy and kept better track of.
Right now, cigarettes are a more onerous task to purchase. A trip on Hwy. 407 asks for more personal information.
Toronto Police were not confirming very much of what happened in this blood-curdling triple homicide in Scarborough where a crossbow was found and that later had them dealing with a suspicious package at a downtown condo building.
The whole thing is bizarre. Scary.
But this business of a crossbow being used went viral around the world because it sounded different. Still, it was not clear to me at deadline if a crossbow was fired in one or more of the three slayings, or if a bolt (arrow) with a sharp star head was plunged into people.
Forensics was trying to put all that together at the scene near Kingston and Markham Rds. Either way, there are three dead.
Talking to crossbow enthusiasts in the hours after this frightening incident, a few things became clearer. The weapon is not designed for quantity hunting but more quality.
“It’s all about the one shot,” a crossbow owner told me and Sun photographer Dave Thomas at the incredible Bass Pro Shops store in Vaughan. “You can reload if you are strong and fast, but the emphasis on this kind of hunting is the accuracy of your main shot.”
So for someone to have the opportunity to get off potentially three shots that all proved fatal is no easy task.
“They are very quiet,” adds Dave, who has used them for target shooting in the past. “There is no pop like with a gun, so it is conceivable a person could reload without detection.”
In time we will get a clearer picture of what happened. Police sources tell both myself and colleagues Chris Doucette and Terry Davidson that the investigative theory is the players in this disturbing scene are part of a family unit. But that has not been confirmed, and I have an open mind on where this ultimately goes. It all seems pretty strange.
No matter how it’s sorted, there are three dead and one in custody.
If homicide charges are laid, it will have been Toronto’s second triple homicide in 2016 — the first was by gunfire in Chinatown in the spring. It will also push Toronto’s 2016 homicide number to 47 — a shocking 12 more than the 35 at this time last year.
But none of that seems to be the focus. People want to know about the crossbow and bolts.
From all the people I talked with at Bass Pro Shops, crossbows are not a menace to society or a concern in the proper hands.
But in the wrong hands, there can be a whole lot of a carnage. Perhaps that is what happened in Scarborough.
Either way, authorities need to ask the question about how these weapons should be accessed before we see many more examples of how deadly they can be.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
RULES FOR CROSSBOWS
When it comes to buying a crossbow in Toronto or across Canada, it turns out that bigger is better, legally speaking.
According to the Canadian Firearms Program as published by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, crossbows with an overall length of 500 mm or less are prohibited across the country.
However, the program states that no licence or registration is required for crossbows longer than 500 mm and that Criminal Code provisions making it an offence to acquire a crossbow without a valid licence were never brought into force.
Here are more guidelines for crossbows, according to Paul Hunkin, from Al Flaherty’s Outdoor Store on Dufferin St. in Toronto:
Age and use restrictions:
You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase one.
Crossbows may not be fired anywhere inside the boundaries of the City of Toronto.
Different types of crossbows that are available in stores:
There are only two types: Prohibited and non-prohibited.
Prohibited are crossbows that are 500 mm in length or smaller, which can be held and fired with one hand, similar to a handgun.
Both are classified as “firearms” for legal purposes.
Locations where crossbows are sold and how much they cost:
Retailers such as Al Flaherty’s, Canadian Tire, Sail, and Bass Pro Shops all sell a wide range of crossbows.
Prices range from around $400 to well over $1,000.
Purpose of crossbows sold in stores:
Commonly used for a wide variety of hunting.
The crossbow hunting seasons do not overlap rifle and shotgun seasons and typically run for a longer period, making them popular among hunters.
Moose, deer, bears, and sometimes turkeys are hunted with crossbows.
- Daniel McKenzie


SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Nico Rosberg won an incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix featuring a chaotic start, wild overtaking, a heavy crash, safety cars and a red flag.
The Mercedes driver’s win on Sunday saw him close the gap to nine points on teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished third behind Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo as the resurgent Australian driver secured a third straight podium finish.
“It’s been a great weekend, very, very happy with that result,” Rosberg said after his 20th career win. “Congrats to Lewis, last place to third must be pretty impressive.”
Rosberg started from pole position with teen driver Max Verstappen also on the front row. Hamilton started from the back row with Fernando Alonso, after both incurred multiple grid penalties for extra engine part changes this weekend.
“Lewis wasn’t out there to battle it out, so that made it an easier weekend,” Rosberg said. “It all worked out fine.”
For him at least.
Verstappen was involved in a first-turn collision with the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel that shaped the race.
It had a beneficial effect on Hamilton and Alonso, who avoided the early carnage in front of them, then gained places when the safety car came out after Danish driver Kevin Magnussen’s crash.
Magnussen emerged from the wreck, hobbled away and was taken to hospital for checks for a cut to his left ankle. He escaped serious injury.
German driver Nico Hulkenberg was a season’s best fourth ahead of Mexican Sergio Perez and Vettel, while Alonso was seventh, Raikkonen ninth and Verstappen 11th.
The race start was clean enough for Rosberg, but it was mayhem behind him.
The 18-year-old Verstappen, the youngest driver to ever start on the front row, was overtaken by Raikkonen and Vettel, and then aggressively tried to go for the inside heading into the first turn — even though there was very little room.
The impeded Ferraris were now squeezed wide and, as a consequence, Raikkonen came across and nudged into the side of Vettel.
Verstappen blamed them, saying “they just turned into me” but the incident was the latest of several involving the Red Bull driver. Verstappen became the youngest driver to win a race when he clinched a brilliant victory at the Spanish GP in May.
His talent is undoubted, but his aggression is not to everyone’s liking. Later in the race, he again infuriated Raikkonen, a rare feat considering the Finn’s nickname is “The Ice Man” for his usually unflappable demeanour.
Raikkonen came in for a front nose change but the pit crew also had to put out a small fire under his car.
Others struggled as the manic tempo continued.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz lost control when his rear right tire blew out, sending him pirouetting to an improvised halt on the grass. He then acrobatically drove back across the track, with his rear right wheel up in the air, before parking at the side of the track.
The incidents prompted the safety car to come out on lap three, and when the race re-started a lap later Sainz, Marcus Ericsson, Jenson Button and Pascal Wehrlein — who hit Button from behind — had all retired.
The safety car emerged again after Magnussen lost control of his Renault coming out of the top of the hill at Eau Rouge, spinning at speed and slamming backward into the barriers.
On lap 10 of 44, the race was halted as the red flag came out, because the barrier Magnussen crashed into needed repairing.
When the race resumed 20 minutes later, the top five was Rosberg-Ricciardo-Hulkenberg-Alonso-Hamilton.
In a fascinating sub-plot, Verstappen and Raikkonen were involved in another incident as Verstappen appeared to nudge him wide.
Raikkonen — who is twice Verstappen’s age — let his frustration out, saying “his only interest is to push me off the track.”
Then, as they battled for 13th place, Verstappen zig-zagged in front of him as he tried to hold position, prompting Raikkonen to use an expletive when describing Verstappen’s driving as “ridiculous.”
Hamilton overtook Hulkenberg on lap 18, leaving just Ricciardo and Rosberg ahead of him.
With no traffic, however, Rosberg was pulling away.
Hamilton came in for new tires on lap 22, switching to softs, and was down in ninth when he came back out after a slow pit stop.
But with others changing tires, he was soon back up to third.
“This is the best result I could have hoped for,” said Hamilton, who said on Saturday that he was aiming for a top-10 finish. “Our performance today was stronger than I expected. Third (place) is something definitely helped by the safety car.”
Meanwhile, the Ferrari-Verstappen duel continued with Vettel overtaking the Dutchman.

Lewis Hamilton manages to finish 3rd as teammate Nico Rosberg wins chaotic Belgi


Nico Rosberg won an incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix featuring a chaotic start, wild overtaking, a heavy crash, safety cars and a red flag.


Air New Zealand: Safety first in Hollywood! The latest in-flight safety video from Air New Zealand features Anna Faris and New Zealand actor Rhys Darby and was filmed at Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood. The two actors act out scenes from different film genres as Darby tries to convince Faris to play a role in Air New Zealand’s new safety video with him. (Courtesy Air New Zealand)
Delta: Delta Airlines' latest in-flight safety video features some of the most famous Internet memes, including cats and the Double Rainbow guy among others. (YouTube)
Delta Airlines: The American airline posted this 80s-themed safety video to YouTube in January 2014. Alf, scrunchies and some old school tech all make appearances in the video. Is it all enough to make you pay attention, though? (YouTube)
Air New Zealand: Air New Zealand used sex appeal to sell their latest in-flight safety video. The airline teamed up with Sports Illustrated swimsuit models to film this "Safety in Paradise" video, filmed in the Cook Islands. The video wasn't without controversy, though, with thousands signing a petition saying it sexualized the female body and should be removed from airplanes. (YouTube)
Virgin America: Back in October 2013, Virgin America employed movie director Jon M. Chu ("Step Up 2: The Streets," "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never") and American Idol alum Todrick Hall for a 'Glee'-style in-flight safety video. (YouTube)
Air New Zealand: Actress Betty White starred in this cheeky in-flight safety video, again filmed for Air New Zealand. Called "Safety Old School Style," White used some of the same humour she employs for her 'Off Their Rockers' TV show in this safety video. (YouTube)
Air New Zealand: In yet another Air New Zealand safety video, characters from "The Hobbit" get a lesson on in-flight safety. Called "An Unexpected Briefing," even Peter Jackson makes a cameo appearance. (YouTube)
Virgin Atlantic: Virgin Atlantic's latest in-flight safety video is an animated homage to classic films. A dream-sequence takes passengers to the world of James Bond and A Space Odyssey while reminding them about in-flight safety. (YouTube)
Air New Zealand: The airline's Bare Essentials of Safety video features nude flight attendants (sensitive body parts are hidden by nothing but body paint and cleverly placed life jackets) going through safety procedures ranging from evacuations to electronics use. (YouTube)
Thomson Airways: Kids say the darndest things! The United Kingdom’s Thomson Airways ran with that idea in this cute 2009 airline safety video featuring children as flight attendants. (YouTube)
Virgin Australia Airlines: Virgin Australia Airlines mixes humour with silly cartoon characters to create an airline safety video that is super entertaining. Look out for a very animated Richard Branson in the clip! (YouTube)
Air France: The French airline launched this quirky in-flight safety video in spring 2015, featuring five 'passengers' doing the safety demonstrations in clothing the colour of Air France's uniforms. (Courtesy Air France)
Air New Zealand: Air New Zealand's newest in-flight safety video features world famous surfing stars Gabriel Medina, Mick Fanning and Masatoshi Ohno, and was filmed in Malibu, Australia's Gold Coast and New Zealand. (YouTube)

Air New Zealand challenges James Corden to 'Cockpit Karaoke'


British comedian James Corden is being urged to take his Carpool Karaoke concept to the skies.


Social media is still being flooded, mainly with righteous outrage, after San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he'll refuse to stand for the pre-game playing of the American national anthem.
Americans are a patriotic bunch. They love their country, and they love their flag, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, and the Star Spangled Banner is their triumphant battle song, steeped in the language of valour and victory.
Anyone who has travelled to Smalltown, U.S.A., cannot help but notice red-white-and-blue bunting everywhere, even in the Rust Belt, with flags flying in front of virtually every house, even if the foundations are crumbling.
This is not a Canadian thing.
What Colin Kaepernick is doing in refusing to stand during the national anthem is not only disrespectful, but a snub to the country that provided him with the opportunity to grow from an adopted young boy into a NFL quarterback earning $128 million.
Try doing that anywhere else.
Yes, it takes talent, but talent is a dead end without opportunity, proper upbringing, and a society that rallies around the pride in achievement.
That said, Kaepernick is also a citizen of a nation with a Voltaire-like First Amendment that defends free speech.
So he can say whatever he wants to say.
His reasons for not standing for the anthem, he claims, are the result of racial tensions in America.
The police shootings of unarmed black men have gotten to him, including incidents in his home city of San Francisco where police relations with minorities has been circling the bowl since police pumped 20 bullets into a slashing suspect last year while the man was standing against a wall.
Two bullets maybe. But 20?
Back in 2012, in a sport more identifiable to Canadians, Michigan-born Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas refused to attend a dinner with President Barack Obama to celebrate his team's winning of the Stanley Cup.
"I believe the federal government has grown out of control, and threatening the rights, liberties and prosperity of the people," he wrote in a statement.
Again, disrespectful, and unappreciative of the country that helped make him a well-paid superstar, but all within his rights under the First Amendment.
But, unlike with Kaepernick, there was not a stadium filled with fans to bear witness to Thomas's snub.
All this comes at a time when the NFL executive has banned the Dallas Cowboys from continuing to have an arm-in-arm decal on their helmets to support the families of the five Dallas police officers murdered in an ambush last month by a black army reservist with a multitude of mental issues.
Some see this as a double-standard, with Kaepernick receiving no disciplinary action from the NFL, but the Cowboys being told to cease and desist.
The difference, of course, is that the Cowboys are an organization ruled by the NFL, while Kaepernick is a private citizen protected by the First Amendment.
As with Tim Thomas, it doesn't make him less of a jerk.
It just allows him to illustrate it.
markbonokoski@gmail.com

Kaepernick's got a point, and a right to make it, but he's still a jerk


Social media is still being flooded, mainly with righteous outrage, after San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he'll refuse to stand for the pre-game playing of the American national anthem.


TORONTO -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has officially entered the Marvel universe -- and the boxing ring -- as a newly minted comic cover star.
Trudeau appears on the variant cover of issue No. 5 of Marvel's "Civil War II: Choosing Sides" released Wednesday.
Marvel offered a sneak peek at the cover earlier this summer, which features Trudeau sitting, smiling and relaxed, in the ring wearing a Maple Leaf-emblazoned tank, black shorts and red boxing gloves.
Standing behind him are Puck, Sasquatch and Aurora, who are members of Canadian superhero squad Alpha Flight, while Iron Man is seen in the left corner with his arms crossed.
The variant cover featuring the prime minister is the alternative to the main cover in circulation showcasing Aurora, Puck, Sasquatch and Nick Fury.
In the special issue, Trudeau offers advice to members of Alpha Flight -- formally the Canadian peacekeeping force -- during a visit to his Ottawa office. He later steps into the ring with Iron Man himself, also known as Tony Stark.
Edmonton-born artist and writer Chip Zdarsky collaborated with award-winning Toronto-based cartoonist Ramon Perez on the Alpha Flight story.
Zdarsky reached out to the Prime Minister's Office to inform them of his plans to write a Marvel story involving Trudeau, and while he was told that the PMO couldn't endorse the comic, they were fine with him proceeding.
The story involves a mysterious new character, Ulysses, who has the power to calculate the outcome of future events with a high degree of accuracy.
The Marvel heroes are divided on how best to capitalize on the predictive power. Carol Danvers -- also known as Captain Marvel -- is in favour of profiling future crimes and attacks before they occur, while Tony Stark believes the punishment can't come before the crime.
Alpha Flight is supportive of using Ulysses to stop disasters and capture people, but there are also ethical conflicts within the group. They seek out Trudeau for counsel.
"I didn't want this to just be like a walk-on ... rescued by superheroes and he thanks them and that's the end of the story," Zdarsky said in a June interview. "I think a lot of these real-life appearances in comics tend to go that way. I liked the idea of him actually engaging them in an ethical debate.
"It's a little tricky just because once you start to put words in the prime minister's mouth, we acknowledge that this is basically Trudeau fan fiction."
Issue No. 5 of "Civil War II: Choosing Sides" is available at local comic retailers and through the Marvel Digital Comics Shop.

Justin Trudeau debuts on Marvel cover alongside 'Iron Man'


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has
officially entered the Marvel universe -
- and the boxing ring -- as a newly
minted comic cover star.


NEW YORK — Milos Raonic has a very good memory.
“I think the last time I played him was in San Jose,” Raonic said about American Ryan Harrison, who will be his second-round opponent Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
It was indeed four years ago in San Jose that Raonic defeated Harrison in straight sets in the semifinals of the SAP Open before the Canadian beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the final. The only other time Harrison and Raonic faced each other on the ATP Tour was in 2011 when the American won in three sets at Indian Wells.
“I know the things he liked to do back then,” Raonic said. “Obviously, times have changed on both sides of the court, mine and his. So I’ll definitely do some research and maybe try to watch a little bit of that match he played (Monday), maybe have a few words with other players that have played him over a recent period of time.”
Raonic also remembers playing Harrison when they were both juniors, saying: “He was younger than me.”
Raonic is 25 now and Harrison is 24, but rankings are much more important than age in tennis. Raonic is ranked No. 6 and Harrison is No. 120, so the Canadian will be a heavy favourite to advance to the third round.
But if Raonic, seeded fifth here, is ever going to win a Grand Slam title, he’s going to have to beat the Big Four: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It was Murray who beat Raonic in the final at Wimbledon and if the draw holds up Nadal would be Raonic’s quarter-final opponent here with Djokovic possibly lurking in the semifinal. Murray is in the other half of the draw.
Raonic was asked to describe the status of the Big Four right now after his first-round victory over Germany’s Dustin Brown on Monday night.
“Well, I think it’s a little bit spread out,” the 6-foot-5 serving giant from Thornhill, Ont., said. “You have Roger, who was always there, that is unfortunately unable to be playing at this moment, who is sitting out for a little while (with a knee injury). You have Andy and Novak, who have pretty much led the charge of those big four. Have been leading it at least throughout this year. Rafa is still one of the most dangerous players on tour. You’ve got to navigate your way through. You’ve got to be trying to play your best. Hopefully you face these guys later in tournaments and you can bring your best tennis.”
Raonic could catch three breaks here.
Federer hasn’t played since losing to Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals and hopes to return from knee surgery in time for the Australian Open in January.
Djokovic has been having problems with his right arm and needed four sets Monday night to beat Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz, ranked No. 247. It marked the first time the world’s No. 1 player had lost a set in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2010. Djokovic’s first serves were only around 100 m.p.h. — about 25 m.p.h. less than normal — and his second serves were in the low 80s. Not a good sign for him going forward.
Nadal won his first-round match in straight sets Monday over Denis Istomin, but was playing with a heavily taped left wrist. That injury forced him to miss Wimbledon.
Murray is the only one of the Big Four who is healthy and could be waiting for Raonic in the final if the Big Canadian can get that far.
Raonic certainly remembers what happened the last time they met.
TOUGH TEST FOR POSPISIL
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil caught a break by drawing Jozef Kovalik, ranked No. 126, as his first-round opponent and took advantage of it with a straight-sets victory Monday.
But Pospisil, who has a 7-21 singles record this year, will face a much tougher opponent in the second round Wednesday when he faces hard-serving South African Kevin Anderson, who is ranked No. 35. Coming into the U.S. Open, Pospisil had lost in the first round of four of his past five tournaments, starting at Wimbledon.
“I’m a competitor. I hate losing,” Pospisil said after Monday’s win. “I love trying to find ways to win and being on the court and that just hadn’t been the case these last few months. More than anything, it’s just that I was kind of back to my old self on the court in terms of just being there and competing, being a professional, doing what I’m supposed to do right and doing what I love to do. Today that was the main difference.
“I played much better than I’ve been playing, regardless of who my opponent was,” the 26-year-old added. “I’ve played some weaker opponents and didn’t play anything close to the level I played today.
“It was nice to actually play well again for a change.”
Pospisil split with coach Fred Fontang earlier this month and said he has been given a boost by having his brothers, Petr and Tom, with him for the last couple of weeks. They were among the Canadians cheering Pospisil on during his first-round victory.
Pospisil will be fresh after Monday’s win that took just over an hour and a half to complete, but so will the 6-foot-8 Anderson, who took 2:18 Monday to win in straight sets over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
A Canadian double-header: Pospisil’s match will be the first one on the Grandstand Court, starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Raonic’s match will immediately follow on the same court.
NO UPSET HERE
Sam Querrey, who made headlines at Wimbledon when he knocked off Djokovic in the third round, won’t be pulling off any upsets here. The American, who is seeded 29th, was upset by Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (4), 6-7 (0), 6-3, 6-3 his first-round match Tuesday.

Raonic sizes up tennis' Big Four: 'It’s a little bit spread out'


NEW YORK — Milos Raonic has a very good memory.


TORONTO -
Even now, Pierre-Luc Dubois still gets goosebumps.
It’s been two months since the 18-year-old leapfrogged into the No. 3 spot at the NHL Entry Draft — a surprise no one, not even Dubois, saw coming — and yet just thinking about that fateful day gives the Columbus Blue Jackets forward prospect the shivers.
A similar effect occurred when Dubois was asked to handicap the upcoming Calder Trophy debate. At first, he sort of blushed. Then he spent a second or two searching for the right answer.
For others, it’s a bit more obvious. Most assume the award will come down to Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, who were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. But as someone who already came out of nowhere, Dubois believes the rookie race could get crowded — that is, if he isn’t back playing in junior next season.
“Well, we’ll see,” said Dubois, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound centre. “I think if I’m in Columbus I might have a shot for that. We’ll see. It’s a different level, so it’s new. But if I’m in there, I’ll have a shot.”
The key word was “if.”
With Matthews and Laine, there are no ifs. While nearly 30 prospects had their photos taken for Upper Deck trading cards at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase on Monday, most will probably have to wait another year or two before they’re actually NHL rookies.
Not so with Matthews and Laine. Both players skipped Monday’s event because they are preparing for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, with Matthews representing Team North America and Laine playing for Finland. As such, both are not only expected to make their respective NHL teams, but could be counted on for significant contributions right out of the gate.
“They’re special players,” said Ottawa Senators defence prospect Thomas Chabot, the 18th overall pick in 2015. “When I played against them it’s like when I played in the prospects game two years ago against (Connor) McDavid. I don’t think they should have any trouble playing in the NHL next year.”
Unlike most rookies, who sometimes struggle with the jump from junior to the pros, Matthews and Laine have already played professionally against grown men. And not just played against, but dominated.
Matthews, who was raised in Arizona, spent last season in the Swiss league, where he scored 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games. Laine, meanwhile, won a Finnish league championship where he was named playoff MVP with 10 goals in 18 games.
Both played in the world championship, with Matthews leading the U.S. in scoring and Laine claiming tournament MVP honours again. Expecting them to continue that success in the NHL shouldn’t be a stretch.
“Obviously they’re both really good players,” said New York Islanders forward prospect Mathew Barzal, who was the 16th overall pick in 2015. “I’m actually pretty good friends with Auston Matthews. I know him pretty well. He’s pretty unreal. Hopefully, I’m a rookie this year and I can be in that conversation. But both guys are exceptional. It should be fun to watch this season.”
That Barzal and Dubois would put themselves in the rookie discussion with Matthews and Laine is not exactly a case of misplaced confidence. As we saw last season, where an undrafted 24-year-old from Russia won the award, anything can happen.
Tyler Myers, who was the 12th overall pick in 2008, beat out John Tavares and Victor Hedman — the top-two picks in 2009 — to win the Calder Trophy in 2010. A year later, seventh-overall pick Jeff Skinner won the award ahead of top picks Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin.
At this time a year ago, most assumed that the Calder Trophy would come down to McDavid and Jack Eichel, who were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. But with McDavid missing half the year with injury, Chicago’s Artemi Panarin ended up winning after he finished in the top-10 in overall scoring with 77 points.
A similar result could happen this year, especially if Dubois and fellow top picks such as Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi (fourth overall), Vancouver’s Olli Juolevi (fifth overall) and Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk (sixth overall) can crack their NHL rosters.
“That’s going to be a tight race,” said Blue Jackets defence prospect Zach Werenski, the eighth-overall pick in 2015. “Both are fantastic players. Even outside guys like Puljujarvi and Dubois can make cases for it. It will be interesting to see.”
It is not just this year’s draft class that Matthews and Laine have to worry about. Whether it is Toronto’s William Nylander (eighth overall, 2014) and Mitch Marner (fourth overall, 2015), Arizona’s Dylan Strome (third overall, 2015) or Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen (10th overall, 2015), the Calder Trophy could be up for grabs.
“Every year there’s someone who surprises, so maybe next year there’s going to be a surprise,” said Dubois. “Maybe it’s going to be Auston, maybe it’s going to be Patrik or Jesse.
“Or me also.”
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos

Calder Trophy favourites Matthews, Laine will have lots of competition


Even now, Pierre-Luc Dubois still gets goosebumps. It’s been two months since the 18-year-old leapfrogged into the No. 3 spot at the NHL Entry Draft.


EDMONTON -
Glenn Kraemer Bauman lived in the northwestern Alberta town of Valleyview where he drove an oilfield truck until last week when police quietly arrested him in connection with the deaths of a mother and daughter who disappeared five years ago and 3,800 kilometres away.
In the Waterloo Region of Ontario, Bauman, 43, faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of offering an indignity to a body in connection with the disappearance of his common-law spouse, Linda Daniel, and her teenage daughter Cheyenne. They were 47 and 13, respectively, when they vanished in July 2011 where they lived in Ontario's Wellesley Township.
The mother and daughter were only reported missing to police in December 2015 by relatives who feared foul play, reported the Waterloo Region Record newspaper. Police said the women were not in close contact with family members.
After what Waterloo Regional Police described as a complex investigation into the circumstances that led to the suspected deaths of Daniel and her daughter, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for Bauman.
Waterloo Regional Police detectives and RCMP arrested Bauman in Valleyview, about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, on Aug. 19.
In a brief court appearance Friday via video link in Kitchener, ON, Bauman said he was trying to hire a lawyer.
Meanwhile, police have forced a family now living at a Wellesley home out of the residence for 30 days as part of the investigation. It's the home where Bauman formerly lived with Daniel and her daughter. Waterloo Regional Police said they have not located the remains of Linda and Cheyenne Daniel.
Police are enlisting specialists from the Ontario Centre for Forensic Science and have covered a large section of the backyard with a tarp, according to area media reports.
The case is receiving heavy media coverage in the Waterloo region, but the arrest of a suspected double-murderer living in Valleyview's midst failed to generate much attention in the community. Neither Valleyview RCMP nor K-Division issued a news release about the arrest.
An RCMP spokeswoman said Saturday the arrest was Waterloo Regional Police's operation and Mounties assisted. No further information about Bauman or his arrest was immediately disclosed.
"It's been kept very quiet," said Jim Joelson, a Valleyview town councillor. "Nobody knows about it. I haven't talked to anybody who knew about it."
Joelson said he did not know Bauman. "I did not know he was working here. I just assumed he was passing through." He said residents might be a little shocked if they knew about the case.
Investigators say they will be reaching out to relatives of the victims and the suspect and have also asked for the public's help to identify timelines and to speak to anyone who might have seen Daniel and her daughter shortly before they went missing in July 2011.
bmah@postmedia.com
twitter.com/mahspace

Mounties arrest man in northern Alberta for killings of a mom and her teen daugh


Glenn Kraemer Bauman lived in the northwestern Alberta town of Valleyview where he drove an oilfield truck until last week when police quietly arrested him in connection with the deaths of a mother and daughter who disappeared five years ago and 3,800 kilometres away.


A baby born on a plane operated by Philippines' Cebu Pacific airline in August 2016 is destined to become a global explorer after winning one million air points. The infant girl, dubbed Haven, was delivered by cabin crew on Cebu Pacific and two nurses on board the plane as it was en route from Dubai to Manila. To celebrate, the airline awarded the baby a million of its in-house loyalty points, which can be used for free travel on its flights and can be shared with Haven's family. (Getty Images)
Passengers aboard an Air Transat flight coming from the Dominican Republic to Montreal were shocked to discover two tarantulas aboard the plane. According to CBC, flight attendants advised passengers to put on shoes and cover their legs after the loose tarantulas were spotted on the April 2016 flight. One of the spiders was captured by a passenger in-flight, while the other was recovered after the plane landed in Montreal. (Getty Images)
Air Malta shared a little love in the skies in April 2015. Flightradar24.com, a live air traffic tracking website, caught an Air Malta plane drawing two hearts in the sky via its flight path over the Mediterranean, before it returned to the island. The website posted updates on the 'love flight' to its Twitter account, which drew the attention of users from around the world. Air Malta later confirmed to the U.K.'s Sky News that a pilot and flight attendant had been married at the airport earlier in the day and were enjoying a post-nuptial flight. Read the full story here. (Flightradar24.com screenshot)
Four koalas took to the skies in Qantas Airways' business class for a posh trip from Australia to Singapore. The koalas - named Paddle, Pellita, Chan and Idalia - were sent by Australia to Singapore to mark that country's 50th independence anniversary. The airline photographed the cute foursome being served eucalyptus and other refreshments by flight attendants before they were safely returned to their specially built climate-controlled containers for the actual flight. Read the full story here. (Twitter/Qantas Airways)
A Penn State-Abington professor was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in Miami after smoking a cigarette and going on a rant about U.S.-Venezuelan relations on a flight from Nicaragua to Miami. In videos posted to YouTube by a fellow plane passenger, Karen Halnon can be seen smoking a cigarette and also rants about President Obama and oil. Halnon told New York's Daily News that the cigarette was a symbol for a smoking gun and her show of support to cigarette-smoking revolutionaries like Fidel Castro. "I know that might sound somewhat esoteric to other people, but I’m an intellectual, so that’s what I intended," she told the Daily News. (Courtesy Miami-Dade County Corrections)
A flight attendant provided passengers with a little in-flight entertainment in March 2015 when she started dancing to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' hit song Uptown Funk. According to the YouTube user who posted the video, the flight attendant is his sister and former break dancer. (YouTube)
Delta Airlines was forced to apologize after their Facebook page was apparently hacked. An article linking to a joke about oral sex, featuring a photo of Urechis unicinctus - a Chinese marine spoon worm - was posted to the airlines' Facebook page for about an hour before it was pulled down. Delta posted an apology for the hack to their Twitter account shortly after. (Delta Airlines Facebook)
A 29-year-old man faces charges for allegedly stealing a megaphone on a Saskatoon-bound WestJet plane Monday night. Saskatoon police say they were called by staff at Saskatoon's John G. Diefenbaker International Airport about a passenger who stole the device from the galley of the plane. Police boarded the plane after it arrived from Toronto at about 9 p.m. and arrested the suspect. Read the full story here. (Al Charest/Postmedia Network)
Photos of Mexican singer Esmeralda Ugalde sitting behind the controls of a Magnicharters plane mid-flight have gone viral -- and have cost the pilot his job. The U.K.'s Daily Mail reports the singer and a friend were let into the cockpit during a flight from Cancun to Mexico City by the unnamed pilot. Ugalde posted photos of herself holding the plane's controller and wearing the pilot's hat to Twitter, but has since deleted the images. Read the full story here. (Twitter.com/EsmeOficial)
A flight attendant who showed off her curvy body in modelling shoots has been fired by Turkish Airlines. Airline brass decided that Zuhal Sengul, 31, went a little too far in wearing far too little in a photo shoot with an Italian magazine. The head of the airline's union says Turkish Airlines is trying to "shape the company to fit its own political and ideological stance," and the full-figured Sengul, a vegan who has a black belt in karate, isn't portraying a proper image. Read the full story here. (Facebook)
On the day before American Thanksgiving, U.S. airline JetBlue made a game of picking up bags at New York's JFK Airport and adding prize panels to the luggage belt. Suitcases that landed on winning panels from the chute won their owners everything from gloves to a free round-trip flight. Read the full story here. (YouTube)
Siberian air passengers had to get out and push their plane after its chassis froze on Nov. 25, 2014. Passengers pushed the plane until it was able to turn and then a tow truck took over. The flight then took off and went smoothly. Social media was buzzing about the feat, especially after video emerged of the passengers pushing the plane. See the video here. (YouTube)
Dutch airline KLM brought some flyers to tears recently by enlisting their loved ones to write personal messages that were then left on the headrests. After scouring the departures terminal for teary goodbyes, KLM staff took friends and relatives aside and invited them to write a final surprise message that would be attached to flyers' seatbacks. Read the full story here. (YouTube)
Hey Twitter, do you know Katie? Katie from Nova Scotia, Canada? That was pretty much how a global search for an Irishman's crush started. And in a true testament to the power of the Internet, Jamie Kelly has found his airplane seatmate in a love story that's gone viral. They met on a Ryanair flight from Barcelona to Dublin last month. They hit it off and chatted the entire flight. Sparks flew. But the two became separated at the customs line, with the Irishman queuing in the EU-only lane, and Katie Moreau, of Riverport, Nova Scotia, taking the non-EU line. Read the full story here. (Twitter)
US Airways was -- eventually -- embarrassed and apologetic after tweeting a pornographic photo of a woman lying on a bed with a plane inserted into her vagina. The image link was sent to a Twitter user with the message: "We welcome feedback, Elle. If your travel is complete, you can detail it here for review and follow-up." Read the story here. (Twitter)
A U.S. airplane almost collided with an unmanned drone in March 2014 when flying in Florida, according to reports. "The pilot said that the UAS was so close to his jet that he was sure he had collided with it," an FAA official said, according to CNN. "Thankfully, inspection to the airliner after landing found no damage. But this may not always be the case." See the full video here. (Screenshot)
Two violinists broke our their instruments on the tarmac after they were asked to leave a U.S. Airways flight over a dispute on where to store the violins. Zach De Pue and Nicolas Kendall say they haven't had any issues flying with their instruments before and when they refused to store them in the cargo area, they were asked to leave the plane. Waiting for a reslution on the tarmac, the pair took out their instruments and started playing. See the video here. (YouTube)
U.S. customs inspectors at Los Angeles International Airport seized a shipment of several dozen live giant African snails, considered a delicacy in Nigeria but also voracious pests that can eat paint and stucco off houses, officials said. Read the full story here. (U.S. Border Patrol/Handout)
A Chinese traveller was detained in South Korea this weekend after trying to board a plane with a passport that had been seriously defaced by his creative four-year-old son. The child had entertained himself over the family holiday by drawing in his dad's passport with a black pen. Read the full story here. (Courtesy Weibo)
Canada Boarder Services Agency detector dog Max helped find three Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoises in a traveller's suitcase in Edmonton in May 2010. The luggage came on a flight from London, England's Heathrow Airport to Edmonton. Read the story here. (Shutterstock)
In late summer 2014, legroom wars broke out on three flights over a two week period. First, United Airlines said flight 1462 from Newark to Denver diverted to Chicago and two were passengers ejected owing to a disturbance after one of the passengers used a $22 gadget dubbed the "Knee Defender" which blocks the seat in front from reclining. Then, a Frenchman was arraigned in Boston after becoming disruptive when the passenger in front of him reclined their seat on American Airlines flight 62 from Miami to Paris. Finally, a 32-year-old woman trying to snooze on a tray table on a flight from New York to West Palm Beach, Florida became the latest offender Monday when the woman in front slammed her seat back, bashing her alleged victim's head at the end of the Labour Day holiday weekend. Read the full story here. (Shutterstock)
Resourceful drug dealers tried to smuggle 11 kg of heroin through Montreal's Trudeau Airport by sewing the drugs into imported rugs. Canada Border Services agents discovered $4 million worth of heroin after they examined a shipment of rugs from Pakistan. The drugs had been hidden inside the hand-knotted woollen fibres of the rugs. Read the story here. (Shutterstock)
It was a shock for everyone when one traveller's bag ripped open on a luggage conveyor belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and 95 live boa constrictors spilled out into the airport. Read the story here. (Shutterstock)
A pillow fight broke out on this August 2010 flight. The flight attendant was just as involved as the passengers! Watch the video here. (Screenshot)
Rapper Kanye West took over a Delta Airlines PA system on a November 2010 flight and performed part of his hit song "Gold Digger" for a surprised, but very receptive, audience of his fellow passengers. Watch the video here. (YouTube)
The funny in-flight safety instruction speech of a Houston-based Southwest Airlines flight attendant named Martha "Marty" Cobb went viral. "If we could pretend to have your attention for just a few moments, my ex-husband, my new boyfriend and their divorce attorney are going to show you the safety features," Cobb says during the pre-departure safety demonstration. See the video here. (YouTube)
A budget Vietnamese airline says photos of flight attendants in lingerie were leaked from a test shooting and spread online, but are not official promotional photos. VietJet Air was slammed on social media for the photos of the scantily clad ladies. Read the full story here. (Facebook)
A Transport Canada intelligence alert from November 2010 said a passenger thought to be an elderly white man who “appeared to have young looking hands” boarded a flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, and later emerged from the washroom as an Asian man in his early 20s. After landing in Vancouver, the man claimed refugee status. Read the story here. (Canada Border Services/Handout)
A Sunwing flight bound for Cuba was turned back to Toronto Wednesday due to "two unruly female passengers," the airline says. The Varadero-bound plane, which departed Toronto at 4:30 p.m., was escorted back to Canada by CF-18s. Sunwing said in a statement that the two women drank "a significant quantity of their duty free alcohol purchase in the lavatory and lit a cigarette, triggering the smoke detector alarm. Read the full story here. (Postmedia Network)
An editor for the television show Modern Family live-tweeted her experience with "the worst person in the world" on an American Airlines flight from New York to L.A. Sunday night. The woman, identified as Nadia, was apparently quite drunk. At one point, when her seatmate asked her to turn down the volume on her movie because he could hear it through her earphones, she yelled at him, "Sorry, it's my first time not in first class." Read the full story here. (Twitter)
Authorities investigated how gun parts and bullets ended up stashed inside a four-year-old boy's Mickey Mouse doll and stuffed animals he was carrying aboard a plane in Rhode Island. The father, whose name was not released, told authorities he didn't know the weapons parts were in his son's bag. They were allowed to fly after the items were confiscated. "It appears to be the result of a domestic dispute," Airport Police Chief Leo Messier said in a statement. Read the story here. (TSA/Handout)
An Australian pilot had to make an unplanned landing only 20 minutes after takeoff after a snake slithered out of the dashboard into the cockpit. Pilot Braden Blennerhassett spotted the snake about 20 minutes after takeoff from the Darwin Airport on an Air Frontier cargo flight in April 2012. Read the full story here. (Shutterstock)
A 49-year-old Oregon man became so fed up with airport screening that he stripped naked at Portland International Airport security checkpoint, police said. Some passengers covered their own eyes, as well as their children’s, during the April 2012 incident, while others “stepped out of the screening lanes to look, laugh and take photos.” Read the full story here. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office/Handout)
A 10-hour United Airlines flight from San Francisco to London took off without restocking one important passenger item — toilet paper. ABC News reported staff improvised and provided cocktail napkins for passengers to use in stalls when the toilet paper ran out and labelled a dispenser so passengers knew why the napkins were in the bathroom. Read the full story here. (Postmedia Network files)
A porn company has offered Air Canada pilots free porn for however long they're employed by the airline. Recently, the CBC reported Air Canada pilots have been told to stop taking porn with them into the cockpits. A memo was sent to staff last year warning of possible criminal charges or being fired for bringing inappropriate material to work. In a letter from the website Brazzers, the company offers pilots free porn. Read the full story here. (Postmedia Network)
Passengers got quite a scare Wednesday when a man on their flight sneezed and declared "I have Ebola" - as a joke. Health officials in haz-mat suits escorted the man from US Airways flight 845 Wednesday when it arrived in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from Philadelphia. Read the full story here. (Handout)
A fight broke out at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport last week after a man began hurling homophobic slurs at another passenger in the airport's terminal. The incident was caught on video and posted to YouTube by Andrew Kennedy, who wrote in the video's description that it shows "an extremely troubled unnamed man gets upset, starts a fight and then gets taken down hard." Read the full story here. (YouTube)
If you're worried about the flight you're about to board with your charming but lung-tastic baby, take cues from the parents of Madeline and consider launching a preemptive charm offense with a goodie bag and an advance apology. The strategy did more than mollify Reddit user Ninjashares, who posted a photo of the bag on the online forum: "A baby just handed me this on my flight. I ain't mad." Read the full story here. (Imgur)
A Delta Airlines passenger caused a stir on social media when he decided to live-tweet a flight that had only one other passenger on it. The flight to New York took off with just two passengers after other flyers were re-booked on other flights due to weather related delays. See the full video here. (Twitter)
A video posted by a British TV host has gone viral for capturing the "disgusting" conditions of his pricey first class seat on British Airways. Owen Thomas said he just wanted to show others "...what first class in BA is really like." See the full video here. (YouTube)
'Hangin' With Mr. Cooper' actor Mark Curry was left fuming at an airport in Dallas, Texas in May 2015 after an airline employee randomly confronted him about carrying a loaded weapon. The actor tells TMZ.com, "(I) just walked to (the) first class Delta counter in Dallas. The first thing the lady said to me (was), 'Do you have a loaded weapon?' What? Delta, all black people don't have loaded weapons! That's the first thing she said to me at (the) first class (desk). She didn't say hello, she said, 'Do you have a weapon?' She was black...!" Read the full story here. (WENN.com)
This photo of a lizard on a tray of airplane food, reportedly taken on an Air India flight from Delhi to London, went viral and had the airline issuing a statement that it was nothing more than a hoax. Air India said it had received no complaints about a lizard surprising passengers in-flight, though one source told the Times of India that "a flight attendant got the said meal from the galley and soon after it was placed on to the tray, the passenger was heard screaming." Watch the full video here. (Twitter)
A United Airlines captain threw bullets in a trash bin accessible to passengers and later flushed them down a toilet on board a flight that he was piloting to Germany. A United spokeswoman said that the pilot should not have thrown the bullets in the toilet. She said the pilot hasn't been fired but that the incident is still under investigation. Airline spokeswoman Karen May said the pilot is allowed to carry a gun on domestic flights under a post-9-11 federal program. Read the full story here. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A WestJet flight attendant's funny in-flight safety demonstration has made him a viral sensation. In video posted to Facebook by a Saskatchewan veterinary clinic, flight attendant Michael McAdam can be seen acting out the safety demonstration. Click here to watch the video. (Facebook)
Malaysia Airlines barred passengers from checking in baggage on flights to Paris and Amsterdam in early January 2016 due to "unseasonably strong headwinds" on a longer flight path it is taking. Malaysia Airlines said the longer flight path consumes more fuel and this, combined with "temporary unseasonably strong headwinds, is limiting the airlines' ability to carry baggage in cargo." The airline later changed the policy after social media backlash. Read the full story here. (AP Photo)
Delta Air Lines had to apologize to passengers after a confrontation between two flight attendants in January 2016 led pilots to make an unscheduled landing halfway through the trip. The Aviation Herald, a website that tracks accidents and other incidents involving planes, said Delta flight 2598 was headed from Los Angeles to Minneapolis on Jan. 22 when two flight attendants got into a fist fight and the captain decided to land in Salt Lake City. The Herald said the plane stayed on the ground for more than an hour before resuming the flight to Minneapolis. Read the full story here. (Associated Press files)
A large bulge in a man's pants turned out to be nearly 1 lb. of cocaine, according to reports. Authorities at the Madrid airport in Spain noticed a passenger on a flight arriving from Costa Rica who had "a suspicious package between his legs," according to the official Twitter account of the national police. The man had tucked the drugs between boxers and another pair of underwear. He remains in custody for drug smuggling. (Twitter)
A Endeavor Air flight attendant allegedly stole 1,500 mini bottles of alcohol from flights she worked on and has since been charged with theft, unlawful sale of alcohol and unauthorized transportation of alcohol, according to the Associated Press. Endeavor Air is an affiliate of Delta. Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission investigators say Rachel Trevor sold the bottles for $1 each on Craigslist. (Getty Images)

Baby born on Cebu Pacific flight given one million air points


A baby born on a Philippines aircraft earlier this month is destined to become a global explorer after winning one million air points.


SALT LAKE CITY -- A mother was enjoying a family boat trip across Lake Powell when she heard a scream and splash. Her 2-year-old son had slipped off their houseboat and into the water.
Chelsey Russell, a 35-year-old mother of two from Lakewood, Colorado, jumped in to rescue her son. She managed to keep the toddler above water for five agonizing minutes until a relative pulled him safely back onto the boat.
But by that point, Russell was unconscious. She was pulled from the water and rushed to shore at the nearby marina, where bystanders and officials performed CPR Tuesday afternoon.
After about 30 minutes, they determined they couldn't save the woman who just rescued her son.
Officials with Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which encompasses the 186-mile-long lake along the Utah-Arizona border, said the boy was in stable condition and flown to a hospital about 200 miles away in Flagstaff, Arizona, as a precaution.
The houseboat had been travelling about 8 mph toward shore when the boy, playing with another child, somehow fell off, San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge said Friday.
After Russell jumped in, her brother stopped the boat and hopped in after his sister, leaving Russell's mother and at least one other child aboard.
The boat had kept moving after Russell went in and the man realized he was too far away from her and the child, Eldredge said. So he returned to the vessel to retrieve a motorboat they had been towing. The knots tethering it were so tight that he had to cut them with a knife.
Russell was in the water for at least five minutes before her brother could reach them and take the conscious toddler from her chest. Throughout that time, she kept her son above water, her family told authorities.
"She was holding the baby out of the water the best that she could," Eldredge said.
The sheriff said neither Russell nor her son wore life jackets. They are required for boaters under 12, according to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
The sheriff's office was waiting for the Utah medical examiner to determine Russell's cause of death, but Eldredge said it was suspected to be drowning. He did not know when the medical examiner would make a ruling.
"There are no words to convey the tragedy of losing a loved one like this," Teri Tucker, acting superintendent for the recreation area, said in a statement. "Our hearts are with the family and friends of the victims during this time of unexpected pain and loss."
It's the sixth death at the recreation area this year.
Russell's co-workers at a Denver law firm remembered her as a "superstar" attorney, mother and marathon runner who competed in a 100-mile race last year.
"She was a talented lawyer, loved by everyone in this firm," attorney Keith Tooley said Friday. "She was just a rock star here. Her passing has just crushed us all."

Mom who died saving son kept him above water until rescue


As a Colorado mother enjoyed a family boat trip across Lake Powell's summer waters, she heard a scream and splash as her 2-year-old son slipped off their houseboat and into the water.


Police say they've finally captured an elusive Chinese serial killer who killed 11 women and girls who were all targeted because they wore the colour red.
The killings all happened between 1988 and 2002 in northern China. The youngest victim was eight years old.
Police say the killer would find a woman dressed in red, follow her home, rape her and then kill her, often by slitting her throat.
He often mutilated the bodies -- disembowelling some of his victims, or cutting off various body parts -- earning him the reputation as China's Jack the Ripper.
"The suspect has a sexual perversion and hates women. He's reclusive and unsociable, but patient," police said in 2004, the first time police had linked all the killings to the same suspect.
Gao Chengyong, 52, was arrested Friday in a grocery store in Baiyin, home to nine of the killings.
A new round of DNA testing using modern techniques reportedly allowed police to re-examine their evidence and list of suspects.
The China Daily newspaper reports Chengyong confessed to all 11 murders.
Neighbours and friends were shocked to learn the quiet father of two is suspected of being the monster that had women fearing to walk the streets alone at night.
Gao's youngest son told the South China Morning Post that he was shocked, but that his father experienced "bitter suffering" when he couldn't train to be a pilot in his youth due to "political reasons."
The sister of one victims -- Cui Jinping, who was stabbed 22 times, her throat cut and her hands cut off -- told China Daily she'd feared her sister's killer would never be found.
Cui Xiangping said her mother couldn't stop trying upon hearing of Goa's arrest.
He now faces 11 murder charges, each punishable by death if found guilty.

China's 'Jack the Ripper' targeted women who wore red


Police say they've finally captured an elusive Chinese serial killer who killed 11 women and girls who were all targeted because they wore the colour red.


Thugs prevented the first day of the National Energy Board’s Energy East pipeline hearings from going ahead in Montreal on Monday.
“Oh, no,” you say. “They weren’t thugs. They were deeply committed environmental activists expressing their passionate opposition to the $15.7-billion pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries and ports in New Brunswick.”
Look, if you prevent a lawful, democratic process from going ahead in an attempt to ensure your view is the only one heard, you’re a thug.
The henchmen of dictators who seek to silence opposing opinions are thugs, and so are “green” radicals who prevent testimony at legitimate hearings.
And if you doubt the logic of that, try replacing environmental protestors in the equation with a group you are less sympathetic to, perhaps abortion protestors.
If pro-lifers stormed into an abortion clinic and prevented doctors from performing a legal procedure that they vehemently disagree with, would you think the anti-abortionists were thugs, or well-meaning protestors who passionately oppose reproductive rights?
The irony is the thugs prevented Denis Coderre from giving testimony to the National Energy Board (NEB).
Coderre, the mayor of Montreal, has been Energy East’s most vocal political opponent.
He was at the hearings to tell commissioners he and other Montreal-area mayors are against Energy East on safety, environmental and economic grounds.
The way one of the “green” bullies got in Coderre’s face and verbally assaulted him, you have to think the disrupters don’t even know who their allies are.
The eco-protestors were upset by the revelation last week that two NEB commissioners had met in private with former Quebec premier Jean Charest.
They also met privately with several Quebec leaders, including Coderre, to figure out how best to engage Quebecers and Quebec leaders.
At the time they met with Charest, he was a registered lobbyist for TransCanada, the company seeking approval for Energy East.
Charest and the NEB insist the meeting was short and strictly about process.
Still, Coderre and the green protestors used the meeting to call into question the legitimacy of the NEB’s hearings.
But the biggest loser wasn’t even there and doesn’t have any role in the proceedings.
It was Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley.
Notley is imposing the most rigid environmental regulations in the country and implementing a new carbon tax commencing Jan. 1 that will squeeze $3 billion annually out of Albertans' pockets, at a time when the province’s economy is shrinking and tens of thousands of tradespeople and energy professionals are out of work.
Notley’s Climate Leadership Plan is supposed to earn Alberta “social licence” to ease the approval of projects such as Energy East.
In other words, if Albertans absorb a lot of regulatory and financial pain in the name of reducing greenhouse gases, then supposedly “greens,” First Nations and politicians from other jurisdictions (such as Coderre) will agree to let pipelines be built that will take Alberta oil to better markets.
Hah! As the disruption of the now-suspended NEB hearing in Montreal proves, there is no amount of social licence that will buy the approval of “green” protestors or politicians.
As the American eco-group the Natural Resources Defense Council has said in preventing other pipelines, “it’s not the pipeline, it’s what’s in the pipeline” that has to be stopped.
Simply put, no amount of regulation and taxation – no Climate Leadership Plan – will change attitudes like that.
Notley’s plan is all pain, no gain.

Radicals will never agree to Energy East


Thugs prevented the first day of the National Energy Board’s Energy East pipeline hearings from going ahead in Montreal on Monday.


A deranged al Qaida terrorist in Syria called the mother of an enemy soldier he just beheaded to boast of his evil deed.
"I severed your son's head, you traitorous bitch," the man told the woman after picking the victim's cellphone out of his pocket, according to the Daily Mail.
According to the transcript obtained by the newspaper, the al Qaida thug introduced himself as a fellow soldier who had found the phone and was trying to locate its owner.
The mother had told him the last she'd heard about the location of her son was that he was on the front lines of Allepo -- a city that continues to be under siege in Syria's bloody civil war.
That's when the terrorist re-introduced himself as Saqr Rahman Al-Ansari of Jabhat Al-Nusra -- an affiliate al Qaida group fighting in Syria. And he bragged he just cut her son's head off.
"I beheaded your son today and this is his mobile, and I wanted to call and let you know, and we're coming to get you, God willing, you dogs of Aleppo. You who betrayed the Syrian people," he said, according to the transcript.

'I severed your son's head': Terrorist calls mother of soldier he just beheaded


A deranged al Qaida terrorist in Syria called the mother of an enemy soldier he just beheaded to boast of his evil deed.


EVERETT, Wash. -- In a surprise move, Donald Trump will travel to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto, just hours before the Republican delivers a highly anticipated speech on immigration.
Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday night to say he looks "very much forward" to meeting with the Mexican leader. Pena Nieto's office confirmed the meeting with its own tweet, saying the two men would meet privately.
I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2016
The unexpected trip comes as Trump seeks to clarify his stand on illegal immigration, a contentious issue that has been a centerpiece of his Republican presidential campaign. Trump has long called for deporting people currently living in the U.S. illegally and building a wall along the country's border with Mexico.
But in meetings recently with Hispanic supporters, Trump has suggested he could be open to changing the hardline approach he outlined during the GOP primaries. After one such roundtable this month, his new campaign manager said Trump's stance on deportations was "to be determined."
In the days since, Trump and his staff have broadcast varied and conflicting messages, with Trump himself saying one day he might be open to "softening" his stance, and days later saying he might, in fact, be "hardening."
Pena Nieto has been sharply critical of Trump's original immigration policy, particularly the Republican's insistence that Mexico would pay for the border wall. In a March interview, Pena Nieto said that "there is no scenario" under which Mexico would do so.
In the same interview, Pena Nieto compared Trump's language to that of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, saying it had hurt U.S.-Mexico relations. Former Mexican Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon have also alluded to Hitler in describing Trump.
Pena Nieto cast a different tone late Tuesday, writing on Twitter of the visit, "I believe in dialogue to promote Mexico's interests in the world and, principally, to protect Mexicans wherever they are."
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a close Trump adviser, has been among those pushing Trump to make the trip to Mexico, according to a person familiar with their conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss them publicly. Christie made his own successful trip to Mexico City in September 2014 and has a warm relationship with the Mexican president.
Last week, Pena Nieto extended invitations to visit Mexico to both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who met with him in Mexico in 2014. The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that Trump was considering making the trip to Mexico.
The New Yorker didn't mention the trip and didn't spend much time discussing illegal immigration during an evening rally outside Seattle, although he teased his scheduled speech on immigration that's set for Wednesday evening in Phoenix.
"We are also going to secure our border and stop the drugs from pouring in and destroying our country," he said. "And I'll be talking about that tomorrow night in Arizona. Big speech on immigration. We'll be talking about that in Arizona tomorrow night."
Trump's short stop in Mexico would mark his second visit to a foreign country during his campaign. Earlier this summer, Trump travelled to Scotland to attend the re-opening of one of his golf resorts, but notably didn't meet with any U.K. political leaders while there.
The Republican has faced a torrent of criticism from Clinton, a former secretary of state, about his preparedness to lead on the world stage. Several Republican foreign policy experts have also warned that Trump is unprepared for the numerous international issues that land on a president's desk.
Clinton's campaign has urged voters to not "be fooled" by what it calls Trump's attempts to disguise his immigration policies.
"What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions," said Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri.

Trump to visit Mexico before immigration speech


In a surprise move, Donald Trump will travel to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with President Enrique Pena Nieto, just hours before the Republican delivers a highly anticipated speech on immigration.


Two senior North Korean officials were executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August on the orders of Kim Jong Un, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify.
Ri Yong Jin, a senior official in the education ministry -- possibly the minister -- was arrested for dozing off during a meeting with Kim and charged with corruption before being killed, the paper said. Former Agriculture Minister Hwang Min was purged over a proposed project seen as a direct challenge to Kim's leadership, it said.
If true, it would mark the first executions ordered by Kim from outside his party or the military, the paper said. A spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry said he couldn't immediately confirm the JoongAng report.
Kim has carried out a series of executions since taking power in 2011 after his father's death as he puts his mark on the leadership of the isolated nuclear-armed nation. The most high profile was the killing three years ago of his uncle and one-time deputy Jang Song Thaek. He had about 50 officials executed in 2014 on charges ranging from graft to watching South Korean soap operas.
"Kim is continuing to replace the old guard of his father's regime with loyalists," said Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea's Pusan National University. "The charges are obviously trumped up, and this is how promotion or demotion often works in totalitarian states without legitimate venues for opposition."
Kim had his military chief Ri Yong Gil executed in February on charges including corruption, Yonhap News reported at the time. In January last year he executed General Pyon In Son, head of operations in the army, for disagreeing with him; and in May of that year he purged his defense minister Hyon Yong Chol for dozing off at a rally.
Still, reports of purges of senior North Korean officials are not uncommon and at times have proven to be unreliable.
Earlier this month, Seoul announced that a senior North Korean diplomat based in the U.K. had defected to South Korea. The man was among seven diplomats who have defected this year, according to JoongAng Ilbo.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday the defections signal a "serious fracture" within the North Korean regime and raise the prospects of fresh provocations as Kim seeks to maintain control. Her comments came as South Korea and the U.S. hold annual military drills that North Korea calls a prelude to an invasion.
Even so, Kelly at Pusan University said that the isolated state is probably more stable than many people think or want it to be.
"I don't think there has been a fracture," he said. "So long as China keeps the goodies flowing into Pyongyang, which is like a city-state in an ocean of deprivation, the elites won't turn on each other."

North Korean official killed for dozing off during meeting with Kim Jong Un: Rep


Two senior North Korean officials were
executed with an anti-aircraft gun in
early August on the orders of Kim Jong
Un, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo
newspaper reported, citing people it
did not identify.