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.


CHICAGO — NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin was shot and killed in Chicago while pushing her baby in a stroller near a school where she intended to register her children. Wade lamented on Twitter what he called another “act of senseless gun violence.”
Nykea Aldridge, 32, had recently relocated to an area on the city’s South Side, her family said.
On Friday, Aldridge was near the school, which is about a mile and a half southwest of the University of Chicago, when two males walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. She wasn’t the intended target, police said.
Family provided this pic of Nykea Aldridge, shot at 63/Calumet this afternoon, while pushing a stroller. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/jXfnwzTtrR — Katie Kim (@KatieKimNBC) August 27, 2016
Police are questioning witnesses in the shooting but had no suspects in custody.
Wade, a native of Chicago who signed with the Chicago Bulls in July after 13 years with the Miami Heat, posted on Twitter: “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughISEnough.”
My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
Chicago has been plagued by gun violence for years, especially in a few South and West Side neighbourhoods. This July alone, there were 65 homicides — the most that month since 2006.
A day earlier, Wade had participated via satellite in a town hall meeting in Chicago on gun violence hosted by ESPN, along with his mother, pastor Jolinda Wade. Dwyane Wade’s charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation, does community outreach in the Chicago area.
Outside the emergency room where Aldridge was pronounced dead, Jolinda Wade clutched her sister and spoke for the family as mourners stood in a circle holding hands and praying. She said she’d participated in the ESPN town hall meeting “never knowing that the next day we would be the ones that would actually be living and experiencing it.”
“We’re still going to try to help and empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head,” Jolinda Wade said. “We’re going to try to help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction.”
It is not the first time Dwyane Wade’s family in Chicago has been affected by gun violence. His nephew, Darin Johnson, was shot twice in the leg on the South Side in 2012 but recovered.
Chicago had recorded 381 homicides by the end of July, up 30 per cent from the same period of 2015. Its murder rate is higher than the more populous cities of New York and Los Angeles.
Family members are caring for Alridge’s baby, who wasn’t hurt.

Dwyane Wade’s cousin shot dead while pushing baby in stroller


NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin was shot and killed in Chicago while pushing her baby in a stroller near a school where she intended to register her children.


PARIS -- France's top administrative court overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean town, in a decision Friday that should set legal precedent regarding a swimsuit crackdown that has divided the country and provoked shock around the world.
The ruling by the Council of State Friday specifically concerns a ban on the Muslim garment in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to impact all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.
The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
Lawyers for a human rights group and a Muslim collective challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
Mayors had cited multiple reasons for the bans, including security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks, risk to public order, and France's strict rules on secularism in public life.
The Council of State ruled that, "The emotion and concerns arising from the terrorist attacks, notably the one perpetrated in Nice on July 14, cannot suffice to justify in law the contested prohibition measure."
It ruled that the mayor of Villeuneuve-Loubet overstepped his powers by enacting measures that are not justified by "proven risks of disruptions to public order nor, moreover, on reasons of hygiene or decency."
"The contested decree has thus brought a serious and manifestly illegal infringement on basic freedoms such as freedom to come and go, freedom of conscience and personal freedom," the ruling reads.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters in Paris that women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday's decision.
"It is a decision that is meant to set legal precedent," he said. "Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. Logically the mayors should withdraw these ordinances. If not legal actions could be taken" against those towns.
But the mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco said he wouldn't lift the ban he imposed after an Aug. 13 clash on a beach.
"Here the tension is very, very, very high and I won't withdraw it," Ange-Pierre Vivoni said on BFM-TV.
He said he doesn't know whether a woman was actually wearing a burkini the day a clash occurred that set a group of Corsican sunbathers of North African origin against villagers from Sisco. It took days to untangle the events leading to the violence that many immediately assumed was over a burkini sighting.
The bans have become a symbol of tensions around the place of Islam in secular France.
Many officials --including Prime Minister Manuel Valls -- have argued that burkinis oppress women. But critics say the bans were feeding a racist political agenda as campaigning for next year's French presidential elections were kicking off.


France's top administrative court has
overturned a town burkini ban amid
shock and anger worldwide after some
Muslim women were ordered to remove
body-concealing garments on French
Riviera beaches.


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.


FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett says quarterback Tony Romo has a broken bone in his back, and there is no timetable for his return.
Garrett made the comments on Saturday during a conference call. He said an MRI revealed the break, but the coach did not provide further details.
CBS had reported the MRI showed Romo had fractured his vertebrae and would likely be sidelined for six to 10 weeks. But during the call Garrett said there’s no timetable but that the quarterback would play this season.
During Thursday night's 27-17 preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Romo was tackled from behind by Cliff Avril on the third play from scrimmage as Romo scrambled from the pocket.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, left, is tackled by Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
He immediately grabbed at his back, crumpled on the field while trainers sprinted from the Dallas sideline and images of Romo’s injury problems from last year immediately flashed to mind. But he had managed to walk off the field without assistance.
Romo, 36, has had back surgery twice before. His latest injury occurred on the third play of Thursday night’s exhibition game at Seattle. He was hit by Cliff Avrill and was rolling in pain before taken off the field and replaced by rookie Dak Prescott. Later, Romo said he was OK.
The Cowboys open the season Sept. 11 at home against the New York Giants.
- With Files from Postmedia Network

Cowboys' Tony Romo broke bone in back during preseason game: Coach


Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett says quarterback Tony Romo has a broken bone in his back, and there is no timetable for his return.


As Brooke Henderson and two playing partners crested a hill and strolled down the 10th fairway Saturday at Priddis Greens, spectators scrambled for a sight-line.
Two balls were buried in the rough, another sitting pretty on the furthest finger of short grass.
Which one, a middle-aged man asked as he arrived on scene, belonged to Canada’s beloved blonde?
“Well, that’s the best drive,” replied another fan, pointing. “That’s gotta be hers.”
Indeed, it was.
From there, Henderson knocked a downhill wedge-shot onto the dance-floor.
She proceeded to the green.
The stampede of fans followed.
“You know, it's amazing,” Henderson said after Saturday’s third round at the 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open not far from Calgary. “A couple times, I kind of had to pinch myself. And they're all here just for me, just to see me play. It's really surreal.”
With a three-day tally of 8-under 208, Henderson is currently nine shots off the pace of leader Ariya Jutanugarn.
The superstar-in-the-making from Smiths Falls, Ont., is likely too far back to contend for the trophy.
The 18-year-old Henderson is, however, running away with the popularity contest this week at Priddis Greens, and that won’t change Sunday.
Jutanugarn, joined by South Korea’s In Gee Chun and Sei Young Kim, will tee off her final round at 10:45 a.m.
The largest gallery will be long gone by then.
That train leaves the station — title sponsor Canadian Pacific will love that lingo — as soon as Brooke blasts her first tee-ball at 9:28 a.m., and you can bet there will be thunderous roars if Henderson starts to roll toward her readjusted goal of a Top-10 finish.
“I felt way better today, and I think feeling the energy from my massive crowds has definitely really helped that,” Henderson said after Saturday’s spin of 4-under 68, with five birdies and one bogey on her scorecard on the third day of the LPGA Tour shootout. “Through bad shots and good shots, they are supporting me and giving me a little bit of extra energy and positive vibes. That's really helped me the last two days.
“Starting out the day, I started with two birdies right away, was 2-under through the first couple holes and felt like I had some momentum. I just didn't really capitalize but I was able to, on No. 16 and No. 17, make two really big putts. That kind of energized me, energized the crowd, and made it a lot more fun.”
The spotlight, of course, can suck away some energy, too.
Henderson, who has repeatedly insisted she’s not too jet-lagged after returning from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, irked on-site reporters Friday when she skipped out on interviews.
She didn’t leave anybody hanging Saturday.
Immediately after sinking a par putt on the finishing hole, she beelined for a handshake with the military man tending the Canadian flag on No. 18.
She didn’t miss anybody on autograph alley, either, scribbling her name and smiling for selfies for at least 25 minutes before finally reaching the clubhouse entrance.
Near the front of the line for a signature was 10-year-old Toryn Bosenko, who followed along Saturday with a sign that read ‘Go Brooke’ on one side and ‘Yeah, I play like a girl. Jealous??’ on the other.
If you’re searching for Brooke on Sunday, don’t be surprised to overhear something like this … ‘That’s the biggest crowd. It’s gotta be hers.’
It will be.
Has been all week.
“Ever since I was 14 and playing in the Canadian Open, I've had really big crowds and I've felt that support from home,” Henderson said. “But last year (in Vancouver), coming off a win in Portland, my first LPGA Tour victory, things were kind of to a new level. People were lining the fairways at 8:00 a.m. to see me, and that's kind of the way it is this year.
“Probably the biggest crowds I've ever played in front of and definitely the most in favour for me. It's definitely a lot of fun to play in front of, and I've been really enjoying it.”
wgilbertson@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/WesGilbertson

Talented teen Brooke Henderson winning popularity contest at Priddis Greens


As Brooke Henderson and two playing partners crested a hill and strolled down the 10th fairway Saturday at Priddis Greens, spectators scrambled for a sight-line.


Model Ashley Graham is sick of men sending her explicit pictures on Instagram.
The buxom beauty, who this year became the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine's famous Swimsuit Issue, is an active Instagram user but has problems with unwanted messages from men.
In particular, she feels creeped out that some men send her unsolicited pictures of their nether regions.
"I really think it's weird when they (men) send me penis pictures (on Instagram)," Ashley tells the New York Post's Page Six gossip column. "It irks me deep inside. Don't do it, I'll block you."
The model was speaking to the publication while attending the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in New York City on Sunday.
While there she visited Manhattan's iconic Tick Tock diner, where she was treated to a performance from Nick Jonas, who performed his track Bacon in front of an audience of diners including Ashley and his brother Joe Jonas, who was with his DNCE bandmates.

Model Ashley Graham says getting penis pics is 'really weird’


Model Ashley Graham is sick of men sending her explicit pictures on Instagram.


The limp and cane, when he returned to duty just two weeks later, was the only way you’d know police Const. James B. Isaacs wasn’t just another ordinary cop on the job.
These days, to even imagine a police officer from Calgary or any other city returning to work less than a fortnight after taking two bullets in the leg seems unfathomable — yet there the 19-year-old rookie was, back in uniform and serving his city.
Nothing much changed after Isaacs put his life on the line by tackling a gunman armed only with his fists on June 10, 1962, other than his fellow officers poking a little fun at all the attention he was getting, as the hero of Calgary.
Even as Calgary’s mayor and city council officially commended the young cop for “conspicuous valour,” those back on the force issued a tongue-in-cheek statement, saying the Isaacs was back on light duty, but “still on the limp.”
He was on the mend, but they knew all too well they could have easily been attending a funeral instead.
“You’re faced with these situations and you make the best call you can on the day,” said Isaacs, who still lives in Calgary, working in his post-police retirement years as a professional mediator.
“We didn’t really have a lot of training back in those days, compared to how sophisticated it’s become — they would really frown on what I did, now.”
It was a very different era, before stun guns and advanced hostage-negotiation training, and before there was an Alberta Serious Incident Response Team to act as a watchdog over officers involved in violence.
The call came in on a rainy Sunday evening from the Red Cross blood transfusion centre at 710 14 Ave. S.W., where an armed man clutching a semi-automatic rifle had burst into the laboratory area, waving the weapon around.
Fortunately, it was a day off for most of the workers at the lab, and only two female technicians were present in the building when Joseph Bernard Millard appeared — unfortunately, one of those women was Jane Tkatch, Millard’s ex-girlfriend.
Millard was a jilted suitor in a violent mood, and within moments he’d blasted two shots into the floor to further terrorize his hostages and prove the gun was loaded.
The shots convinced the other lab tech, Isabel Orr, to make a dash for it out a nearby door — and when Millard gave chase, his ex-girlfriend quickly locked the door and called police.
That was the situation when Const. Isaacs arrived, along with about a dozen more Calgary cops who’d rushed to the scene not knowing the fate of those trapped inside with the shooter.
It was Isaacs and fellow officers A. L. Johansson and Ed Southgate who ended up talking to the suspect through a closed door, where the gunman told them he’d shoot anyone who tried to come inside.
Isaacs convinced him to talk, and a deal was made that the officer would enter unarmed: “And so I gave up my pistol and went in.”
He found Millard alone, agitated and fingering the rifle, and so Isaacs convinced him to just chat and smoke, offering a cigarette.
All seemed calm, but then, as Millard leaned in to accept a light from Isaacs, he suddenly panicked about the officer’s proximity, and in a profanity laden outburst, told the cop to get back or he was going to shoot him.
“He decided he was going to shoot me and raised the rifle to my head, so I responded,” said Isaacs.
The young cop pounced, and wrestled Millard while pushing the barrel to the floor— but as he subdued the gunman, the trigger was pulled at least twice, both shots hitting the officer in the leg.
Other police then burst in to help — Southgate smacked the culprit unconscious with his service revolver — and an ambulance was immediately called to rush Isaacs to hospital.
An officer was hurt, but his bravado had saved the day.
More than a half-century later, the retired cop still remembers the entire day as way too eventful for someone just starting his career in the force.
“That was a funny sort of day — I was out with my sergeant earlier, and we’d taken a tranquilizer gun to try and bring down a moose wandering in a schoolyard,” said Issacs.
“The moose just hopped over a fence, and got away.”
mplatt@postmedia.com

Heroic Calgary cop's bravado saved the day as he took down armed man


The limp and cane, when he returned to duty just two weeks later, was the only way you’d know police Const. James B. Isaacs wasn’t just another ordinary cop on the job.


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Letting his hair go au natural and sprinting between drills as usual, Colin Kaepernick took the field Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers as his stance against standing for the national anthem drew chatter across NFL camps.
Two days after he refused to stand for the “The Star Spangled Banner” before the 49ers’ preseason loss to the Packers, Kaepernick stopped briefly on a side field to talk with Dr. Harry Edwards and they shared a quick embrace before the quarterback grabbed his helmet and took the field. Edwards is a sociologist and African-American activist who helped plan the “Olympic Project for Human Rights” before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where U.S. sprinters and medallists Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads through the anthem on the medal podium in their black power protest.
Kaepernick, whose hair had been in cornrows during training camp, sat on the bench during Friday’s national anthem at Levi’s Stadium, a decision he told NFL Media is based on the United States oppressing African Americans and other minorities. Kaepernick’s adoptive parents are Caucasian.
After swirling trade talks all off-season following Kaepernick’s three surgeries, he has done everything so far but play good football.
Coach Chip Kelly said Saturday he still hasn’t decided on his starting quarterback in a competition between Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. Kelly wasn’t scheduled to address the media Sunday, but said a day earlier he planned to talk about Kaepernick’s choice with the team.
Kaepernick also didn’t stand for the anthem before the preseason game on Aug.20 with Denver, Kelly has said.
“We recognize his right to do that. So, it’s not my right to tell him not to do something. That’s his right as a citizen,” Kelly said. “We recognize his right as an individual to choose to participate or not participate in the national anthem.”
Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said after his team’s exhibition victory against the Jets on Saturday night that the American flag deserves respect — no matter the circumstances in the U.S. or beyond.
“The flag is the flag,” Cruz said. “Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you’ve got to respect the flag, and you’ve got to stand up with your teammates. It’s bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you’re with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team, and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are.
“Colin is his own man, he decided to sit down and that is his prerogative, but on a personal standpoint, I think you have to stand up there with your team and understand and it’s this game and what’s going on around this country is bigger than just you.”
Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan said Sunday he believes players and coaches should stand for the anthem to show respect and give thanks to members of the armed forces.
“You’ve got to look at the gifts that we have, the opportunity that we have to play a great game is through the men and women that serve our country,” Ryan said before practice on Sunday. “And I think that’s an opportunity right there just to show respect.”
The easy thing to do is to make fun of Kap and his play. How about trying to understand where he's coming from....but that would be too hard — Adrian Clayborn (@AJaClay) August 27, 2016

Kaepernick creates stir, gets NFL talking after anthem protest


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Letting his hair go au natural and sprinting between drills as usual, Colin Kaepernick took the field Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers as his stance against standing for the national anthem drew chatter across NFL camps.


OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left for his first official visit to China, with both countries expressing hope they can improve their economic connection.
Trudeau, who is accompanied by his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, said last week that he hopes the visit will be a reset in the relationship between the two countries.
Trudeau will be kept busy, with a host of business-related meetings during stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
He'll also attend the G20 leaders' summit in Hangzhou.
The Chinese government moved last week to take the sting out of a potential irritant during the visit, the issue of human rights.
China's ambassador to Canada said in an interview with The Canadian Press that his country has made progress in addressing international concerns in recent years.
Luo Zhaohui acknowledged China has a long way to go to further improve the situation.
Trudeau has said he will continue voicing Canada's human rights concerns to China's leadership.

Justin Trudeau leaves for first official visit to China


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left
for his first official visit to China,
with both countries expressing hope they
can improve their economic connection.


Model Sara Sampaio attends the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards at the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 6, 2016 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/AFP
Model and New Victoria's Secret Angel Sara Sampaio from Portugal walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory on November 10, 2015 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret/AFP
2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at The New York Armory - Runway Featuring: Sara Sampaio Where: New York, New York, United States When: 10 Nov 2015 Credit: Jeff Grossman/WENN.com
Model Sara Sampaio attends the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for H&M/AFP
Model Sara Sampaio attends the premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York on November 18, 2015. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at The New York Armory - Backstage Featuring: Sara Sampaio Where: New York, New York, United States When: 10 Nov 2015 Credit: Jeff Grossman/WENN.com
In this Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 photo, Victoria's Secret model Sara Sampaio poses for a portrait in New York. Sampaio walked in the Victoria�s Secret fashion show on Tuesday for the third year in a row. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)
Model Sara Sampaio poses backstage prior to the Alberta Ferretti Limited Edition Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
Model Sara Sampaio is one of the newer Victoria's Secret Angels, and is also well-known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues. Originally from Portugal, the 25-year-old model continues to build up her portfolio.
Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has accused the paparazzi of invading her privacy after snapping her topless while vacationing on a yacht.
The Victoria's Secret Angel has been relaxing in the South of France with her boyfriend Oliver Ripley, and she recently ditched her bikini top to avoid tan lines while sunbathing onboard a private boat.
However, an eagle-eyed photographer recognized the topless beauty and snapped away from a distance, and now the images have surfaced online, much to Sara's disgust.
A thought on privacy and an open letter to the paparazzi and press https://t.co/J5ZAQJqH6G — Sara Sampaio (@SaraSampaio) August 27, 2016
The 25-year-old Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star took to Facebook over the weekend to address the controversy, claiming she was "privately minding her own business" when the pictures were taken.
"I had no idea that there was someone far away with a big telescopic lens taking pictures of me," she explained to fans. "Some of you may say that I'm a public figure and it comes with my job. Others that I'm used to being photographed in swimsuits. There is a difference though."
She then addressed the paparazzi directly, fuming, "How would you feel if you woke up one morning to find pictures of your 25yr (year) old daughter topless all over the Internet?"

Model Sara Sampaio blasts paparazzi for topless photos


Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has accused the paparazzi of invading her privacy after snapping her topless while vacationing on a yacht.


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.


The clock is ticking for Canada Post and the postal worker's union to hammer out a new deal.
Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers began on Friday, one day after CUPW provided Canada Post with 72-hour strike notice. Talks were extended 24 on Monday morning.
Gord Fischer, national director of the union's Prairie region, said residential mail delivery in Calgary could be delayed 24 hours, while businesses will have a "really low impact."
"Our position is, we want to negotiate a collective agreement, we don’t want to disrupt the postal service," Fischer said. "We are doing everything we can to avoid that, so we will find ways to put pressure on the employer and on the government ... without going as far as shutting down the post office.
"If we took this action, we’re really looking at a day per location in each province, day by day."
Failing negotiations today, the proposed job action is scheduled to start at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
Fischer said the union's concerns with Canada Post include unpaid overtime, changes to their pension plan and a wage disparity between male letter carriers and female Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC)
"(RSMCs), they're predominately women, about 70 per cent, whereas the letter carrier workforce – which does exactly the same job – is predominately male," Fischer said. "And (RSMCs) make about 30 per cent less as far as wages and also less in benefits as the other people do in the same job.”
In a statement, Canada Post said it is "committed to reaching agreements that are fair to our employees, and allow us to continue to provide affordable pricing and service to Canadians."
"Despite our best efforts and the assistance of the two mediators, we have not yet managed to achieve agreements in principle for either bargaining unit," the agency said.
Fischer said he is optimistic that the two sides will come to an agreement before any job action is taken.
"It takes two sides to agree, so it’s impossible to predict how long things could last," Fischer said. "We’re hoping to get to a conclusion to this soon because it’s not easy on anyone.
"How long it could go on for or could be escalated? Who knows."
rrumbolt@postmedia.com

Mail could be delayed 24 hours, says postal union


The clock is ticking for Canada Post and the postal worker's union to hammer out a new deal.


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.


Embattled star Chris Brown was arrested late Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Police Lt. Chris Ramirez confirms to The Hollywood Reporter that the Forever singer is currently in custody at a police station in downtown Los Angeles, following a lengthy search at Brown’s Tarzana, California home.
The drama began early Tuesday, when beauty queen Baylee Curran called the police and accused the singer of pulling a gun on her during a heated argument at his Tarzana house.
She told TMZ.com Brown flew into a rage after noticing her admiring a piece of jewellery. She and a friend managed to escape unharmed, and when cops arrived on the scene to investigate, they were denied entry into Brown’s mansion to look for the alleged weapon.
Detectives filed papers for a search warrant, which was granted hours later, allowing them to enter the R&B star’s home around 1pm local time, following a stand-off Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Bob Green described as “long and protracted”.
At least six members of the star’s entourage exited the property as cops gained entry, and Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived just before the warrant was served, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 27-year-old eventually surrendered peacefully and was spotted talking to authorities outside his home, and hours later, Brown was officially taken into LAPD custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, which is a felony.
Brown, who took to Instagram prior to his arrest to insist he had done nothing wrong, has had a myriad of legal troubles over the years.
Among the long list of charges is his infamous conviction of felony assault in 2009 after violently attacking then-girlfriend Rihanna.
He received five years probation, which finally ended in 2015 after a number of violations for drugs and altercations prompted officials to extend the sentence.

Chris Brown arrested on on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon


Embattled star Chris Brown was arrested late Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.


Interim Tory Leader Ric McIver says controversial delegate selection rules for the Progressive Conservative leadership race may not be the final word.
McIver is critical of the PC board's decision on the weekend that five of the 15 delegates from each riding elected to go to next March's leadership convention must be members of the local constituency association board, which the Calgary-Hays MLA says gives too big a role to Tory "insiders."
He thinks sufficient outcry from PC members could lead to that being changed.
"We have a policy convention coming up and several board meetings, so anything that can be done can be undone or changed," said McIver, who is not ruling out a run for the permanent leadership.
But Troy Wason, executive director of the PC party, said he doesn't think the board will reverse course.
"We had a very vigorous debate on Saturday. Some of the votes were very, very close," said Wason, who is not a voting member.
"So as far as, you didn't get your way so you want to go back and revisit it, we would be here till next year, this time."
Party president Katherine O'Neill also said it is "highly unlikely" the board would further amend the delegate ratio, which is aimed at recognizing loyal PC members and ensuring continuity within the party.
The delegate selection rules have attracted criticism from supporters of Calgary Midnapore MP Jason Kenney, who is the only declared leadership candidate and is running on a platform of merging the PCs with the Wildrose.
Kenney backers suggest longtime PC members who serve on boards are less likely to support Kenney's unite-the right plan.
Related: Former PM Harper throws weight behind Kenney's PC leadership bid
Beyond the 15 delegates from each riding, there will be an estimated 400 to 500 automatic delegates as board members, riding presidents and current and former MLAs receive spots.
jwood@postmedia.com

McIver pans delegate selection rules for PC leadership race


Interim Tory Leader Ric McIver says controversial
delegate selection rules for the Progressive
Conservative leadership race may not be the final
word.


TORONTO -
Jerome Cruz was gardening in the backyard when suddenly he heard a man “screaming and banging” at a neighbouring house.
At the time, the 69-year-old had no idea three people were being brutally slain with a crossbow bolt. Nor could he know that in a bizarre twist, the triple murder in Scarborough would end up being linked to a suspicious package found downtown.
“It was angry screaming,” Cruz recalled Thursday from his yard, which backs onto the yard of the Lawndale Rd. home where the murders unfolded.
“It went on for about five minutes and then I heard another man trying to calm him down. He was saying, ‘Calm down, be quiet.’”
With his view blocked by a shed, Cruz was unable to see the two men.
But soon after he caught a glimpse of a woman running along the driveway at the side of the house.
Within a few minutes, it got deathly “quiet,” but Cruz just figured the commotion had ended peacefully.
“I thought maybe the young man was drunk or something and now everything was OK,” he said.
But when his neighbourhood was soon filled with the flashing lights of emergency crews, Cruz knew something bad had happened.
Toronto Police say they initially received a 911 call around 1 p.m. for a man bleeding heavily from a suspected stab wound on the residential street near Markham and Kingston Rds.
“When our officers from 43 Division arrived, they found the lifeless bodies of three individuals,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone said at the scene. “They also took one person into custody.”
A fourth victim was taken to hospital, he added.
Carbone refused to reveal if there was any sort of relationship between those involved.
Toronto EMS confirmed two men and one woman were killed and the fourth victim suffered only minor injuries.
Carbone also refused to comment on reports a crossbow or bolts, the arrows fired from a crossbow, were involved in the killings.
However, in the immediate aftermath of the murders, police said the victims suffered what appeared to be fatal injuries from a crossbow bolt. Police couldn’t say Thursday night whether the bolts were fired from a crossbow or used like a knife to stab the victims.
About 90 minutes after the triple murder, cops received a call for a suspicious package inside a condo at Queens Quay and Lower Simcoe St. that is thought to be tied to the attack.
Traffic was shut down in the area and 218 Queens Quay was evacuated while bomb disposal officers were called in.
“We have cleared the package and there is no threat to public safety,” Supt. Bill Neadles said. “Homicide detectives have now taken over the scene.”
While it’s unclear what was contained within the package, Carbone confirmed the downtown incident was tied to the Scarborough murders.
“I’m not going to discuss what was found at the scene other than to say there is a link between our scene here and the one down on the Queens Quay,” he said.
Residents of the Scarborough neighbourhood were stunned by the mayhem that occurred in their community.
“This is a quiet area ... I’m very surprised by this,” Ragu Sangaramoorthy, 41, said.
The family man, who rents a basement apartment two doors down from where the victims were found, recalled having seen three children, maybe 7 to 13, and a woman possibly in her 50s coming and going from the home at times.
“I’m very upset because I have two kids,” Sangaramoorthy said.
Another resident, Sadiya Haque, said her sense of shock and fear is based partly on the many unanswered questions.
— With files from Kevin Connor
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.
OTHER CROSSBOW INCIDENTS IN CANADA:
-- In December 2010, 24-year-old Zhou Fang shot his father in the back with a crossbow then crushed his skill with a hammer, at a public library in Toronto's east end.
-- In July, a Mission, B.C., father was charged with attacking his son who was shot in the forearm with a crossbow.
-- In November 2007, a 26-year-old man was charged with murder and attempted murder after his mother was killed and father was injured by a crossbow in St-Cesaire, Que.
-- In October 2002, a dairy farmer was shot in the back and injured with a crossbow in St.-Bonaventure.
-- In August 1998, a man asleep in his Hamilton home was shot in the head and injured by a man who fired a crossbow.
-- In 1998, Edward Stuart Walker shot a pregnant Stephanie Celestine Thomas with a crossbow, then stabbed her 46 times in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island.
-- In September 1994, Yvon Gosselin was driven to a gravel pit near Terrace, B.C., where he was killed with two bolts from a crossbow.
-- In May 1995, a man armed with a crossbow entered the Winnipeg Convention Centre shortly before then-prime minister Jean Chretien arrived to deliver a speech. The suspect was arrested.
-- In January 1993, B.C. Institute of Technology student Silvia Leung, 22, bled to death in the campus parking lot in Burnaby after being hit in the shoulder by a crossbow.
-- In November 1991, Ottawa lawyer Patricia Allen was killed with a crossbow by her estranged husband Colin McGregor.
- The Canadian Press

Three dead in crossbow attack in Toronto's east end


A brutal triple murder in broad daylight in a Scarborough neighbourhood, possibly involving a crossbow, is believed to be connected to a suspicious package found downtown Thursday afternoon.


Wildrose leader Brian Jean is apologizing after he joked about beating Premier Rachel Notley during a town hall forum in Fort McMurray.
Jean made the comment Tuesday evening, when local seniors advocate Joan Furber complained about the quality of seniors’ care and housing in the city during a question and answer period.
“I’ve been beating this drum for 10, 11 years,” said Jean. “I will continue to beat it, I promise. But it’s against the law to beat Rachel Notley.”
Much of the audience laughed, while other corners of the room gasped in shock. Most members of the Wildrose caucus, who are meeting in Fort McMurray this week for caucus meetings, were scattered throughout the room.
Tany Yao, Wildrose MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, stepped in and described how the Wildrose is advocating for high quality seniors’ living in Fort McMurray. Jean then apologized for his joke, insisting that Notley cares about the topic and has cooperated with Jean.
“We had some more conversations and she switched the decision the bureaucrats made in the previous government,” he said.
“I have to compliment that woman and I shouldn’t have said what I said because I truly admire her for that,” said Jean. “That was a very practical thing and not easily in her best interest and she could have easily just let that go like the previous government did, and she did not.”
Jean was praising Notley for moving a planned long-term care facility from Parsons Creek to the downtown Willow Square site last year.
For years, seniors had complained the Parsons Creek location was underdeveloped, and too far from the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre and downtown. Willow Square is also the site of a planned Aging in Place facility.
Jean then led the room in an applause for Notley’s actions on the topic.
An email a Wildrose spokesperson sent after the town hall meeting said Jean had reached out to Notley and apologized.
“Tonight during my town hall I made an inappropriate attempt at humour that I promptly apologized for,” he said in the email. “Jokes of this nature are never acceptable, and I hold myself to a higher standard.”
A spokesperson from Notley’s office could not be reached.
For the rest of the meeting, much of the public questions focused on the future of the party, pipelines and the provincial deficit, rather than the pace of reconstruction, which Jean has criticized as being too slow.
“We’re tired of subsidizing the mayor of Montreal,” said Fort McMurray man Derek Quesnel, who asked if it ending equalization payments was a possibility in the near future.
“We’re tired of it as well,” replied Jean. “There is a way to deal with it, and that is negotiation and that’s what I would like to try. I think we have the opportunity to try, especially in the current financial situation were in.”
Another man asked for Jean’s thoughts on PC leadership candidate and Conservative MP Jason Kenney and his plans to unite Alberta’s conservative parties.
“I think the best way for Jason Kenney to unite the right would be to come join the Wildrose,” said Jean.
“We think the PCs should decide who they are and who they stand up for, because they don’t really know who they’re for or against,” he said. “We’ll let the PCs decide who they want to pick as a leader and we’ll talk about it from there. But as far as Jason Kenney goes, I knew him in Ottawa for 10 years, I worked with him, he’s fine. He’s a hardworking guy.”
vmcdermott@postmedia.com

Wildrose leader Brian Jean apologizes for joking about beating Premier Notley du


Wildrose leader Brian Jean is apologizing after he joked about beating Premier Rachel Notley during a town hall forum in Fort McMurray.Jean made the comment Tuesday evening, when local seniors advocate Joan Furber complained about the quality of seniors’ care and housing in the city during a question and answer period.“I’ve been beating this drum f


Video grab composite of the Airlander 10 making a bumpy landing at Cardington airfield in England during its second test flight Wednesday Aug. 24, 2016. Hybrid Air Vehicles says it is trying to figure out what caused the rough landing of the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 during its flight Wednesday in Bedfordshire, north of London. (Lee Cordell/PA via AP) AP
The Airlander 10, is examined as it sits on the ground after a rough landing at Cardington airfield England following its second test flight on Wednesday Aug. 24, 2016. The developer of the world's largest aircraft says the blimp-shaped airship "sustained damage" after it made a bumpy landing on its second test flight . Hybrid Air Vehicles says it is trying to figure out what caused the rough landing of the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 during its flight Wednesday in Bedfordshire, north of London. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) AP
The Airlander 10, is examined as it sits on the ground after a rough landing at Cardington airfield England following its second test flight on Wednesday Aug. 24, 2016. The developer of the world's largest aircraft says the blimp-shaped airship "sustained damage" after it made a bumpy landing on its second test flight . Hybrid Air Vehicles says it is trying to figure out what caused the rough landing of the 302-foot (92-meter) Airlander 10 during its flight Wednesday in Bedfordshire, north of London. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) AP
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen in the air over a road on its maiden flight from Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen landing after its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen with hangars in the background on its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen in the air on its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
FILE - This is a Aug. 17, 2016 file photo of the Airlander 10, during its maiden flight at Cardington airfield England , The Airlander 10 crashed during its second test flight in Wednesday Aug. 24, 2016, but manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles said no-one was injured. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP) AP
TOPSHOT - The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen in the air over a road on its maiden flight from Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen preparing to land at the end of its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen with hangars in the background on its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen in the air on its maiden flight at Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
(FILES) This file photo taken on August 17, 2016 shows the Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship in the air over a road on its maiden flight from Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London. The world's largest aircraft suffered cockpit damage on Wednesday after nosediving while landing on its second test-flight, but there were no injuries, according to the craft's manufacturer. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images

World's largest aircraft makes crash landing during test flight


The developer of the world's largest aircraft says the blimp-shaped airship


Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Russell RCMP are searching for two suspects, one of whom dressed in full hockey goalie gear, in connection with a beer store robbery in the Manitoba town on Aug. 15, 2016. (SCREENGRAB OF RCMP VIDEO)
Mounties have released surveillance video of the most Canadian of thefts.
As reported in Thursday’s Winnipeg Sun, the theft occurred Aug. 15 in Russell, Man., when two men broke into and robbed a beer store. The surveillance video shows a man wearing mitts or gloves, a large coat, and ball cap running across a parking lot and shattering the store’s door, then crawling inside and stealing a couple cases of beer before bolting.
Here’s the uber-Canadian part of the story: the second suspect, trailing behind his cohort, was dressed in goaltender gear, complete with a goalie stick.
“However, he may have been a defenceman or forward in disguise as he was wearing jersey #17 — a non-traditional number for goalies,” RCMP said in a release, clearly enjoying the comedic outfit used by the suspect. “He is described as having a medium build, wearing a blocker, trapper, and carrying a goalie stick.”
RCMP ask that with anyone with information about the theft or who has played a goalie matching this description to call them.


Mounties have released surveillance
video of the most Canadian of thefts.


Charlize Theron has split fans on social media by letting her adopted son dress up as Frozen queen Elsa.
The Mad Max: Fury Road star and her kid Jackson hit the streets of Los Angeles on an errand run earlier this week when snappers caught the boy in his Disney costume.
His look, which featured a blue dress and braided blonde hair, won Charlize applause from some forward-thinking parents, who congratulated her for allowing her son to wear the outfit of his choice, but other Twitter users weren't quite so kind.
One user raged: "How is this legal", while another wrote: "Is @CharlizeAfrica crazy?? What kind of parent does this to a child?? Why would you adopt this young black boy and then degrade him??", and one more added: "Why did Charlize Theron have her little 5 year old boy in a dress and wig? He's too young to know what a transgender is. She's confusing him."
Who think this is ok?? Why?? What kind of mother are you??@CharlizeAfrica pic.twitter.com/8o9P1dQtKi — Lesboja78 (@lesboja1978) August 24, 2016
Why did Charlize Theron have her little 5 year old boy in a dress and wig? He's too young to know what a transgender is. She's confusing him — Mama Nibiru (@MadamSophie88) August 24, 2016
One of the more positive reactions came from @sixmyths, who tweeted: "Here's a thought: maybe Charlize Theron's son WANTED to wear the dress? Crazy, I know. Letting him have his own identity and all", while another fan wrote: "Everyone's upset wit Charlize Theron for letting her adopted son wear wigs/dresses..let them live.'".

Charlize Theron criticized for letting her son wear a dress


Charlize Theron has split fans on social media by letting her adopted son dress up as Frozen queen Elsa.


Looking to take a cruise anytime soon? Avoid Wednesdays, but set your alarm on Thursday morning.
According to a study by CruiseWatch.com, prices for cruises drop the most on Thursdays. The cruise search engine analyzed more than 600,000 cruise price reductions during the last year. The data suggested there were more than twice as many price drops on Thursdays than on the slowest day, Sunday.
The study found that Wednesday had 34% more price hikes than any day of the week, while weekends were quiet.
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"Cruise prices fluctuate with demand and supply," said Britta Bernhard, co-founder of CruiseWatch.com, in a statement. “When a sailing is not sold out, most cruise lines will discount the cabins rather than sailing empty. These price drops can make for some incredible deals. But you need to find them and book quickly."
CruiseCritic.com editor-in-chief Carolyn Spencer Brown suggests booking a cruise as early as possible or just before sailing to save money.
“Beyond any particular day of the week, the tried and true tip for scoring the best deal is to either book as early as possible, or just before the cruise,” she said via email. “If you want added-value extras – like airfare, gratuities or cabin upgrades – bundled into your fare, book early. If you’re after the cheapest possible price and don’t care what kind of cabin you have – or whether you have access to sold-out restaurants and tours – then book late to take advantage of last-minute deals.”
As with travel in general, booking during so-called “shoulder seasons” is often a great way to save on a cruise. With the kids out of school in summer, cruises in July and August can be quite expensive. But September and October are often quieter, with better deals. January, February and March are also high season for folks wanting to escape Canada for the Caribbean, so choosing a warm-weather cruise for April could save you a ton of money.
jim@jimbyerstravel.com

Why you should only book a cruise on a Thursday


Looking to take a cruise anytime soon? Avoid Wednesdays, but set your alarm on Thursday morning.


LOS ANGELES — Tim Tebow has taken his first big swing at a baseball career, showing off a powerful bat and a few areas of needed improvement in a workout for dozens of major league scouts.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback worked out at the University of Southern California’s Dedeaux Field on Tuesday. Scouts and reporters tracked, timed and recorded his every move.
Tebow’s 255-pound muscled physique and 6.70-ish time in the 60-yard dash were impressive. So was a series of long homers into the trees and off the scoreboard.
The 29-year-old outfield hopeful also showed he still needs baseball seasoning. Former big-leaguers David Aardsma and Chad Smith repeatedly fooled him with off-speed pitches later in the hitting drills.
Tebow’s representative would like to see him in instructional league play starting in September.

Ex-NFLer Tim Tebow hits 430-foot HR in MLB workout


LOS ANGELES — Tim Tebow has taken his first big swing at a baseball career, showing off a powerful bat and a few areas of needed improvement in a workout for dozens of major league scouts.


Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.
Our early interactions were guarded, but gave way to a common cause and mutual respect.
His leadership in unifying the Conservative movement after more than a decade of bitter internecine political civil war was transformative for Canadian politics.
It was at times a difficult period for us both and there was much to overcome.
I was proud to work with him to restore a competitive democracy in our country delivering balance and true choice for voters.
Upon forming government as PM in 2006 his singular focus on reining in waste and corruption in the aftermath of the Liberal sponsorship scandal set us on a clear course.
Smaller, more efficient government was a laudable goal not fully realized and a mistrust of bureaucracy was ever present.
Notable was his stewardship through the recession that allowed Canada to emerge better placed than any other G7 country. This was no small accomplishment. He governed like an economist with steely determination aided by the late, great finance minister, Jim Flaherty, to reach a balanced budget prior to the last election.
I witnessed a style steeped in pragmatism and a deep sense of commitment to building a better, more united Canada.
Complex like Canada itself, Harper was never one to seek the limelight, yet was comfortable and confident in what he believed to be the right course. It takes talent and grit to be PM, tough decisions must be made against a tide of criticism.
He lowered taxes over 180 times to help working Canadians; ended the failed long-gun registry; toughened the laws against gun crimes and violent offenders; took away the wheat pool monopoly; and boosted our Armed Forces budget to record levels.
His pursuit of world attention on the need to improve maternal health often goes unnoticed, but he pushed other world leaders hard to achieve consensus and action on this important matter.
He loved the North and an annual trip he cherished brought out a passion and a deep appreciation of our country’s vast and diverse land.
Having travelled with him, sat in countless meetings and observed him from a privileged vantage point, I can say his work ethic was legendary. He read incessantly, pressed ministers and bureaucrats on the material presented after reading every word. He held the respect of world leaders and spoke with a principle and clarity, often rare at international gatherings.
Harper much preferred substance to style but had a flair for music and an encyclopedic memory for politics, history, sport and movie trivia.
Sometimes impatient due to a desire to simply get things done, fiercely partisan but equally patriotic.
Stubborn and sometimes unyielding to be sure, but surprisingly open behind the scenes to good ideas if presented well and argued with logic over emotion.
On occasion, I also saw another side. He was the first to visit my wife and I at the hospital after the birth of our son. While often accused of being “stiff” he had a side seldom revealed that belied that public image. He was more compassionate and light-hearted than he cared to show.
He has a soft spot for animals, something he shared with his wife and daughter. Charlie the Chinchilla, among the cats, was a favourite. His sense of humour and ability to imitate voices often had the caucus in stitches. This much more human side was perhaps only revealed to those “on the inside” who he trusted.
His love for family and a deep commitment to public service define the man I worked with.
During my six years at Defence I also recognized his deep affection and appreciation for our Canadian Forces, veterans and their families.
His commitment to them never wavered. Afghanistan and its toll affected him deeply. He knew that soldiers defined past and present greatness for Canada.
A driven man of many talents and pursuits, it’s with gratitude I say that I am certain Canada is better for Stephen Harper’s public service and time as prime minister.
Peter MacKay is a partner at Baker Mckenzie and a former MP and Conservative Cabinet Minister.

Peter MacKay on Stephen Harper: 'His work ethic was legendary'


Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.


MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump has unleashed the "radical fringe" within the Republican Party, including anti-Semites and white supremacists, dubbing the billionaire businessman's campaign as one that will "make America hate again."
Trump is rejecting Clinton's allegations, defending his hard-line approach to immigration while trying to make the case to minority voters that Democrats have abandoned them.
The back-and-forth accusations came Thursday as the two candidates vie for minorities and any undecided voters with less than three months until Election Day. Weeks before the first early voting, Trump faces the urgent task of revamping his image to win over those skeptical of his candidacy.
In a tweet shortly after Clinton wrapped up her speech in the swing state of Nevada, Trump said she "is pandering to the worst instincts in our society. She should be ashamed of herself!"
Clinton is eager to capitalize on Trump's slipping poll numbers, particularly among moderate Republican women turned off by his controversial campaign. "Don't be fooled" by Trumps efforts to rebrand, she told voters at a speech in Reno, saying the country faced a "moment of reckoning."
"He's taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America's two major political parties," she said.
Trump tried to get ahead of the Democratic nominee, addressing a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire just minutes before Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton is going to try to accuse this campaign, and the millions of decent Americans who support this campaign, of being racists," Trump predicted.
"To Hillary Clinton, and to her donors and advisers, pushing her to spread her smears and her lies about decent people, I have three words," he said. "I want you to hear these words, and remember these words: Shame on you."
Trump tried to turn the tables on Clinton, suggesting she was trying to distract from questions swirling around donations to The Clinton Foundation and her use of her private email servers.
"She lies, she smears, she paints decent Americans as racists," said Trump, who then defended some of the core -- and to some people, divisive -- ideas of his candidacy.
Clinton did not address any of the accusations about her family foundation in her remarks. Instead, she offered a strident denouncement of Trump's campaign and the so-called alt-right movement, which is often associated with efforts on the far right to preserve "white identity," oppose multiculturalism and defend "Western values."
Clinton's campaign also released an online video that compiles footage of prominent white supremacist leaders praising Trump.
Trump, who also met Thursday in New York with members of a new Republican Party initiative meant to train young -- and largely minority -- volunteers, has been working to win over blacks and Latinos in light of his past inflammatory comments and has been claiming that the Democrats have taken minority voters' support for granted. "They've been very disrespectful, as far as I'm concerned, to the African-American population in this country," Trump said.
Many black leaders and voters have dismissed Trump's message as condescending and intended more to reassure undecided white voters that he's not racist.
Cornell William Brooks, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" Thursday that Trump has not reached out to the organization for any reason. He added that Trump refused the group's invitation to speak at its convention.
"We're going to make it clear: You don't get to the White House unless you travel through the doors of the NAACP," Brooks said. "More importantly, you don't get to the White House without addressing the nation's civil rights agenda."
------
Lerer reported from Reno, Nevada. Jill Colvin contributed reporting from Washington.

Trump says 'shame on you' to Clinton for racist accusations


Donald Trump confronted head-on allegations that he is racist on Thursday, defending his hard-line approach to immigration while trying to make the case to minority voters that Democrats have abandoned them.


WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- How do you steal 500 cows?
Probably not all at once. That's according to New Zealand police, who said Tuesday that they were investigating reports of the unlikely crime at a South Island farm.
Locals said they'd never before heard of cattle rustling on such a massive scale. And that's in a nation that's home to some 10 million cows, more than double the number of people.
The farmer involved is feeling too sheepish to talk about what happened, according to friend Willy Leferink.
"He's absolutely gobsmacked, and deeply embarrassed," Leferink said. "If you had three-quarters of a million dollars go missing, you wouldn't want to talk about it either."
Leferink said each milking cow was worth about 1,500 New Zealand dollars ($1,090) and weighed more than half a ton. He said the cows could have been taken from the herd of 1,300 near the town of Ashburton anytime between early July, when they were last counted, and late August.
He said the cows weren't being milked because it was winter, but the farmer did notice they weren't chewing through as much feed as normal.
Police said the incident came as a reminder to farmers that they should be checking their fences and counting their stock regularly.
"It's unlikely the theft of hundreds of animals could be completed at once, and is more likely that multiple thefts could be carried out over a period of time," Senior Sgt. Scott Banfield said in a statement.
Leferink said a trailer-truck would need to be loaded 13 times over to move all the cattle.
"There have to be a number of people involved," Leferink said. "That's the biggest chance we have, of somebody cracking at some stage."
He said the thieves would face a tough time trying to fence the cows, because each one comes with an electronic identification tag in its ear. He said the tags could be removed, but that an honest dealer wouldn't buy a cow without a tag.
Leferink said farmers can sometimes be relaxed about security.
"They're good-natured and haven't got evil thoughts in them," he said. "This is very hard to deal with."

500 cows stolen from New Zealand farm in unusual case


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.


Dear Amy: My best friend and I are high school seniors and I strongly dislike her boyfriend.
He treats her horribly, tells her "no promises" about cheating on her when they're arguing, entertains other girls and doesn't shut it down and then makes jokes about it. Recently she asked who the girl he was texting was, and he said, "Oh, I don't know. I have three."
When I told him he's made her cry, he bragged to his friend about how cool that is. She doesn't open up to him because she says he doesn't care. They fight over the same things over and over. She knows she should leave, but she can't imagine her life without him and she wants more time with him.
She used to tell me that since he doesn't cheat on her it's fine, but now she says things like she doesn't know if he's cheating or not. At this point, I don't think she'd leave him even if he did cheat. She puts up with this and I don't know if it's because she does love him or if it's because he's her first boyfriend. No matter what I do I can't make her see that he's not good for her and she deserves so much more. She doesn't believe that there's someone out there who's going to show her what she's been missing.
I hate watching her hurt herself. I get so angry over this, I've even cried because she was crying over him.
Do I stay out of it or do I help her? Nothing I say or do changes her mind. How can I be a better friend and help her out? -- Sad Best Friend
Dear Sad: According to the very helpful website loveisrespect.org, 1 in 5 teens report being in a toxic or abusive dating relationship. Based on what you say, I would put your friend in this category.
Continue to support her, but understand that she may continue to stay with him, even though he is an emotionally abusive jerk. Understand that on many levels she knows this, but she is making a calculation: She would rather have stale crumbs from this guy than be on her own. You can help make sure she knows she deserves better.
She sounds vulnerable and insecure. You should continue to be her supportive friend but you can stop urging her to leave (this choice needs to come from her). Only continue saying to her, "You deserve so much better..."
Some abusive relationship patterns start with that first relationship, and, unfortunately, if she thinks this is acceptable or "normal," she may continue to have relationships with guys who bully and treat her badly.
You cannot change this, but you should continue to be her loyal friend, even if this is incredibly frustrating and hard for you. Urge her to do some research about relationships; loveandrespect.org offers a very helpful online chat, as well as a free texting hotline: text loveis to 22522 or call 866-331-9474.
Dear Amy: I'm almost divorced. I've known my daughter's boyfriend's mother since we both were teenagers.
She has been divorced for five years. We've had this unspoken thing for each other for more than 30 years. We met for drinks and hit it off, just talking about our kids. Is it wrong to take this relationship to the next level? -- Wondering
Dear Wondering: You say: "I'm almost divorced." I say: On some level, all married people are almost divorced.
When you are all-the-way divorced, you should feel free to take this relationship to the next level.
Dear Amy: In your column, you commented about the "subtle and shifting hurts" that you have experienced on Facebook.
I'm a 61-year-old attorney. I'm married with three children. You would think I would be immune to the "hurt" you mentioned. I'm not. Facebook can really be a hurtful venue. And your usage of the words "subtle" and "shifting" was, in my opinion, an exact description of how it feels.
I think I have learned a ton about myself and other people over the course of the last two years, as a result of that hurtfulness. Well said!
Thank you. -- Big Fan
Dear Fan: Social media expands our circles, increasing the number of people who have access to us. These people can easily make (or break) our day.
Because this is a new way of interacting, we all need to arrive at new ways of coping. I'll happily pass along suggestions from readers.

High school friends face boyfriend tension


Dear Amy: My best friend and I are high school seniors and I strongly dislike her boyfriend.


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.