Classic107

The sexual assault case of five hockey players faced another major upheaval Friday, abruptly converting from a jury to a judge alone in order to avoid a mistrial that would have rebooted the proceedings for a second time in less than a month.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled to discharge the jury Friday over concerns about possible jury bias. The move came after a juror sent a note to the Carroccia indicating some members of the panel felt two of the defence lawyers were laughing at them as they came into court each day.

Heavy rain continues in western Manitoba with some regions already topping 65 mm.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for the following regions:

• Virden - Souris, Man. 
• Melita - Boissevain - Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, Man. 

Between 10 to 15 mm is possible today. Residents should see a bit of relief as the Colorado low is expected to gradually taper of Friday evening. 

At 8 a.m. on Friday, the following rainfall accumulations have been reported for the previous 48 hours:

Two organs, two churches, one unforgettable night of music. 

Manitoba Hydro is working around the clock to restore power to eastern Manitoba, where wildfires continue to wreak havoc on the area.   

Two fires remain out of control in Lac du Bonnet and Nopiming Provincial Park.

Since Wednesday, crews have been able to restore power to about 900 customers along the Lee River, while about 500 other customers in various other areas in the wildfire zone are still without power.

With some areas now safe enough for crews to get to, work has started on fixing burnt and fallen poles, power lines, transformers and other equipment. 

Friends and family are rallying behind the children of a couple who died as a result of an out-of-control wildfire in Lac du Bonnet after they were left without a home or parents. 

On Tuesday, Lac du Bonnet RCMP were told that two people were trapped in the fire. However, due to the extreme conditions, emergency crews could not reach the pair. 

Early the next day, Lac du Bonnet RCMP found two bodies, a woman and a man, who friends have identified as Sue and Richard Nowell, just off Wendigo Road, in the RM of Lac du Bonnet.

U.S. attorneys have filed sentencing submissions for two men convicted after a family froze to death while trying to walk across the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba.

A Minnesota jury found Steve Shand of Florida and Harshkumar Patel, an Indian national arrested in Chicago, guilty last year of human-smuggling charges.

The parents and two children from India were found in the snow metres from the U.S. border in January 2022.

In court documents filed Wednesday, the U.S. attorneys requested Patel be sentenced to a little more than 19 years in prison.

With the return of caterpillars, the annual tree pest caterpillar control program is coming back next week. 

Weather permitting, the City of Winnipeg will start spraying for tree pest caterpillars on Tuesday, May 20, targeting insect management areas:

• IMA 25 (Crescent Park, Point Road, Wildwood)
• IMA 32 (Rockwood)

Spraying is expected to happen each weekday for the next four weeks, weather permitting.

When a church in Toronto's west end was converted into affordable housing nearly 15 years ago, the group behind the project was already thinking ahead. 

Andrea Adams, the executive director of the non-profit developer St. Clare's, said she was "daydreaming" about what could be built on the yard next to the 20-unit building on Ossington Avenue. 

She was eventually introduced to Assembly Corp., a company that builds mass timber modular housing, around the same time that the city was looking for proposals for "shovel ready" affordable housing projects. 

Some outdoorsy Canadians are planning to build their tents with elbows up this summer as the season unofficially kicks off this long weekend.

Sally Turner says she and her husband plan to do their camping, canoeing and biking this year in Canadian national parks, including at Jasper National Park this weekend, because of the U.S. trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to make Canada a 51st state.

"I have, in the past, camped in the United States, but that's not going to happen in the near future," Turner said while shopping for camping gear in Edmonton.

There’s never been a better time to celebrate Canada’s beauty and support the businesses that make it the greatest country in the world. 

Golden West introduces the Best Western See MORE Canada Auction presented by Travel Manitoba, uplifting local tourism while helping Canadians rediscover the wonders in their own backyard. 

From lakeside retreats to city weekend getaways, individual adventures, this online auction is the ticket to unforgettable experiences at unbeatable prices.