Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mother, brother paid to speak at WE Charity events
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches for WE Charity, the organization at the centre of Trudeau’s third conflict of interest investigation.
Between 2016 and 2020, his mother Margaret was paid about $250,000 to speak at approximately 28 events, WE Charity said in a statement.
“Alexandre Trudeau also spoke at eight events during the 2017-2018 academic year and received a total of approximately $32,000 in speaking honorariums,” it said.
According to the charity’s statement, “an error in billing/payment” led to a number of Margaret’s speeches being paid for by the WE Charity, rather than ME to WE, organization’s for-profit affiliate.
The $900-million contract awarded to WE Charity to manage the student volunteer grant program was cancelled last week, after the Prime Minister was accused of cronyism.
This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.
The latest on coronavirus: Scientists raise concerns on airborne transmission and more
The World Health Organization today released new guidelines that acknowledge some reports of airborne transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19, but stopped short of confirming that coronavirus spreads through the air.
The organization made the move after a group of 239 scientists from around the world, including 10 Canadians, signed a letter asking the WHO and other health bodies to recognize the potential for airborne spread.
The term “airborne” doesn’t simply mean that a virus can travel through the air through coughs, sneezes or conversation. That type of spread is called droplet transmission and it’s how the vast majority of people become infected with COVID-19.
Airborne transmission refers to a process under which viral particles become aerosolized, meaning they are small and light enough to be suspended in the air for hours.
Opinion: “Good governance requires Canadian governments to prepare for the next such event: to hope for the best but plan for the worst to protect our people and our economy.” – Colleen M. Flood and Jane Philpott
Read more: Canada unprepared for second wave of COVID-19, Senate committee says
Pandemic disrupts crucial supply of life-saving HIV medicine for millions
A decade of progress for millions of people with HIV could be reversed by escalating disruptions in the supply of life-saving medicine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, new studies have found.
A survey by the World Health Organization found that 36 countries were reporting disruptions to their provision of antiretroviral drugs. More than 11 million people with HIV normally receive the medicine in those countries.
The disruptions were a result of the shutdown of land and air transport, delivery problems by suppliers and restrictions on access to health services because of the pandemic, the WHO said.
In other developments: The new syndrome in children thought to be linked to COVID-19 yields surprising test results in Quebec. Of 21 suspected cases at Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal, only four had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It’s only a small sample, but the results suggest the new illness, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, is perhaps rarer in Canada than it first appeared.
Meanwhile in Ontario, facing increased pressure from parents who want their children in school this fall, the provincial government has directed school boards to create a hybrid model in which cohorts of students alternate their time in classrooms over a two-week period. That means each group would receive in-class instruction two days one week, and three days the next, and spend the rest learning remotely.
Opinion: “Physical distancing will be a reality for months to come, and since we know that distance learning does not facilitate equitable learning, it is time to consider other available spaces in our communities where education can take place safely and in person.” – Shelley L. Morse, president, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation
U.S. Supreme Court lets prosecutor but not Congress obtain Trump’s financial records
The U.S. Supreme Court firmly rejected President Donald Trump’s argument for sweeping presidential immunity and ruled that a New York prosecutor can obtain his financial records but prevented – at least for now – Democratic-led House of Representatives committees from getting similar documents.
The twin 7-2 rulings mark another milestone in Trump’s tumultuous presidency and in the short-term prevent details of his finances from becoming public because lower courts will be called upon to resolve lingering issues.
In both rulings, Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by the four liberal justices as well as Trump’s two conservative appointees, Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Torstar in talks over competing bid: Torstar said today that a private investor group has offered to buy the company, rivalling private equity firm Nordstar Capital’s 63 cents-a-share bid for the Toronto Star newspaper publisher. As The Globe and Mail first reported, Matthew Proud, CEO of software firm Dye & Durham, and his brother Tyler Proud are proposing to offer about $58-million, which would raise the ante for Torstar by about 14 per cent.
Body of missing Seoul mayor found: Park Won-soon, the missing mayor of South Korea’s capital who was reportedly embroiled in sexual harassment allegations, was found dead early Friday, police said, following a massive search after his daughter reported him missing.
Glee actress Naya Rivera feared drowned: The search for Naya Rivera, who starred in Glee as the sharp-witted cheerleader Santana Lopez, resumed today after she went missing last night at Lake Piru in California. She is feared drowned after renting a boat with her four-year-old son, who was found alone in the craft by another boater.
MARKET WATCH
Wall Street stocks were mixed today, with Nasdaq hitting another record while the S&P 500 and Dow dropping as investor worried about another round of business shutdowns to contain a surge in coronavirus cases and they began to shift their focus to earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 361.19 points, or 1.39 per cent, to 25,716.09, the S&P 500 lost 17.89 points, or 0.56 per cent, to close at 3,152.05 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 55.25 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 10,547.75.
Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index lost 60.55 points, or 0.39 per cent, to close at 15,568.64, led lower by the energy sector.
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.
TALKING POINTS
When even a letter calling for open debate can be ‘cancelled,’ we’re in trouble
“When even a benign letter advocating the free exchange of ideas becomes engulfed in the sort of online controversy it’s trying to offset, it’s no wonder that many individuals decide it’s probably better just to keep their mouths shut.” – Robyn Urback
Should airlines sell the middle seats on planes? Let’s look at the facts
“If it is safe but customers are not convinced, eliminating physical distancing may actually undermine airlines’ recovery as travellers delay all but the most essential trips.” – Robert Greenhill, executive chairman, Global Canada and former aerospace executive
TODAY’S LONG READ
A bride, a groom and a Zoom call
All around the world, from North America to Israel to China, nearly 300 people watched on Zoom or WeChat. We all had front row seats. A cousin from New Orleans played her cello in real time as preceremony music as we flipped through to see many familiar faces. Another cousin, a paramedic, was at work in his ambulance, ready in case of a call. The groom’s parents and sister were at home on their couch, champagne in hand.
Our own children and their families were onscreen at home, four time zones from us. The remote guests had taken the attire request to heart, literally from tuxedo to PJs. My husband and I were dressed up, at least from the waist up. At the last minute, I added perfume, as this was the first event that I had attended in a decade that was not scent-free. We sat at our dining table with hors d’oeuvres and wine, ready to celebrate.
The next day I had a follow-up chat with several family members. The postwedding excitement was in the air, as if we had been there in person. We missed the personal interactions and traditional family photos but, looking on the bright side, we all noted no one was hungover or worn out from dancing. Read Mary Anne White’s full essay here.
Evening Update is presented by S.R. Slobodian. 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.