Good evening,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The suspect in the Fredericton shooting had a firearms licence, police say
And the long gun allegedly used in the shooting is commonly available for legal purchase in Canada, police said. The province is reeling after Friday’s shooting, which left two police officers and two civilians dead. Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Among the evidence police are examining is a body-worn video camera that was worn by one of the officers who responded to the shooting at an apartment complex.
Meanwhile, GoFundMe says it’s reviewing fundraising campaigns for the victims of the shooting after police said the families of the two officers killed hadn’t sanctioned them.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this online, or if someone forwarded this e-mail to you, you can sign up for Evening Update and all Globe newsletters here. Have feedback? Let us know what you think.
Ontario will sell cannabis online this fall, with private retail stores coming next year
The Progressive Conservative government says private stores will be in operation by April 1, 2019 (for subscribers). The details come after Doug Ford’s government said it would ditch the previous Liberal government’s plan to distribute recreational cannabis through publicly-owned stores. The legal age for purchase in Ontario will remain 19, with consumption only allowed in private residences, including the outdoor space of the home. The online retail channel will be operated by a government agency, with a promise to have a “robust verification system” for safe home delivery.
China is denying accusations of internment camps for Uyghurs
Chinese officials are refuting claims that as many as two million Uyghurs — a largely Muslim ethnic minority — are being detained in re-education centres in the Xinjiang region. The idea that “Xinjiang is a ‘no-rights zone’ is completely against the facts,” Hu Lianhe, deputy director-general of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, told a United Nations committee. He did, however, say some criminals were given “vocational education and employment training.” Former detainees and a former instructor have said Muslims are being taken without charges and forced to study Mandarin and Chinese communist ideology.
Go here to read correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe’s report on how the Uyghur diaspora — in Canada and beyond — is now struggling to cope as family members are held in the Chinese camps.
How math instruction varies widely for teachers-to-be across Canada
The amount of time elementary student teachers spend on math in university training programs varies from as few as 36 hours to more than 100 hours, according to a Globe and Mail analysis. The teacher education programs also spend most of that time focusing on how to teach the subject, with little time spent on relearning math concepts. The discrepancies in training comes at a time of concern for how Canadian students are faring in math knowledge. At least one-third of applicants arriving at teachers’ colleges don’t have the necessary knowledge to teach elementary-level math, data show.
MARKET WATCH
Turkey’s worsening currency crisis sent world equities lower and cut into the value of emerging market stocks and currencies today. The lira has tumbled on worries over President Tayyip Erdogan’s increasing control over the economy and deteriorating relations with the United States. It fell as much as 12 per cent at one point Monday, then recovered to a loss of 8.5 per cent.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index dropped 75.76 points to 16,250.75. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.44 points to 25,187.7, the S&P 500 lost 11.35 points to 2,821.93 and the Nasdaq Composite ended at 7,819.71, down 19.40 points.
Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.
WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Orca whale ‘Tahlequah’ released her dead calf after the longest documented mourning period
An endangered female orca, formally known as J35, is no longer carrying around her dead calf around the Pacific Ocean after a nearly three-week-long “tour of grief.” J35’s calf was born near Victoria on July 24, but died moments later. While it’s common for a whale to mourn its young, that grieving period normally lasts a few days. J35’s mourning period of at least 17 days is the longest on record for southern resident killer whales. The killer whale population has dwindled over the decades, with the last successful birth taking place three years ago.
TALKING POINTS
Who has control over frozen embryos after divorce?
“An Ontario judge ruled recently that a woman could use a frozen embryo to conceive despite her ex-husband’s objections. The court reached the right conclusion: A spouse who wishes to use an embryo to reproduce should be afforded this opportunity. The judge’s reasoning, however, sets a troubling precedent and highlights problems with Canada’s assisted reproduction laws. Under federal law, spouses who create in vitro embryos from their own sperm and eggs have joint control over these embryos. Should one spouse change their mind – and no longer wish to use these embryos to reproduce – the other will be unable to use them. Canadian legislation does not state whether spouses may contract around this rule.” – Stefanie Carsley, doctoral candidate at McGill University’s faculty of law
Syria’s ‘disappeared’ deserve truth and justice
“After years of silence, the recent trickle of information from the Syrian government about people who disappeared during the war into government prisons has felt like a deluge. The tragic news brought with it more questions than answers for families who have waited for years to find out the fate of their loved ones. Many families from the Damascus suburb of Daraya, the heart of the peaceful protests in 2011 that led to this war, have learned that their sons – known as “the disappeared” – were killed in detention.” – Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch
The good-bad books that changed my life
“The books you read when you’re young can influence you for life. Usually these are not the ones you read in school. Usually they’re the good-bad books – cheesy tearjerkers with improbable plots and lots of action. They’re the kind of books that critics hate and ordinary people devour. The best good-bad books throw in a turbulent backdrop that allows you to absorb a bit of history without really trying. I’ve picked up a lot of history this way.” – Margaret Wente
LIVING BETTER
Why sweet corn is a good addition to your summer diet
Corn is often written off as fattening, with little to offer on the nutrition front. But as Leslie Beck writes, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy summer’s sweet corn. One cup gives five grams of protein and 31 g of carbohydrates. It has a low glycemic index value, meaning its carbohydrates don’t spike blood sugar or insulin levels. And it’s also a decent source of fibre, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
Green rush: The race to sell cannabis in Canada
As legalization nears in October, the spotlight is shifting from marijuana growers to sellers, igniting frenetic activity among prospective store owners, commercial real estate players, cannabis producers and all levels of government. (for subscribers)
The day I met a serial killer
“The day I met a serial killer, I was 21 years old, an art student living in Halifax,” writes Globe reporter Jana G. Pruden. “It was late on the afternoon of Saturday, June 1, 1996. I know that date for certain because he was arrested a few hours after I met him and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.… I’ve thought often about my brief meeting with Marcello Palma, even more so recently because of the unfolding case of Bruce McArthur, currently accused of killing eight men in Toronto’s LGBTQ community.”
If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.
Arik Ligeti