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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Trump, tanks and protests: What’s happening this U.S. Independence Day
When U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage at the Lincoln Memorial to mark U.S. Independence Day, he will be surrounded by the might of the world’s most powerful military. Tanks and armoured vehicles will flank him, and a Navy squadron of demonstration fighter jets will perform aerial acrobatics overhead.
Protesters unimpressed by his “Salute to America” program inflated a 20-foot tall “Trump baby” balloon to oppose what they called the president’s co-opting of Independence Day. The move has also been criticized for its potential cost, which has not been disclosed.
With his decision to add his own production to the usual festivities, Trump set himself up to be the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.
But thunderstorms are threatening, with periods of “torrential rain” forecast by the National Weather Service and a flash-flood watch in effect.
People are seen in front of the Baby Trump balloon during the Fourth of July events in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney emerges as a front-runner to take top job at IMF
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has emerged as a front-runner to take over as head of the International Monetary Fund, one of the most important positions in the global economy.
The former Bank of Canada governor is in line to replace the current IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde, who has been nominated to become president of the European Central Bank. If confirmed by the European Parliament, as expected, Lagarde would take up the post on Oct. 31, when Mario Draghi, steps down. Carney is slated to leave the Bank of England’s top job in January.
Oddsmakers and most IMF observers have pegged Mr. Carney as having among the best chances of winning the position given his background and experience.
Trudeau says Trump raised case of two detained Canadians with China
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that U.S. President Donald Trump made good on his pledge to raise the plight of the two Canadians imprisoned in China with President Xi Jinping.
Trudeau said Trump did raise the cases of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with Xi during their meeting at the G20 leaders’ summit in Japan this past weekend, echoing what senior Canadian officials had told The Globe.
He also shot back at a Chinese government spokesman who accused Canada of being “naive” in assuming that Trump did it any favours by raising the matter with Xi.
“On the contrary what we’re seeing really is that our allies [are] helping us and showing they’re concerned about the behaviour of China towards Canada,” Trudeau said.
PM defends appointment system after judges reportedly linked to LeBlanc
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the federal system for appointing judges after revelations that several in New Brunswick have personal connections to Liberal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc.
As The Globe reported, four of the six judges appointed to the federal bench in New Brunswick in the past eight months have links to LeBlanc, while a fifth has indirect ties.
A complaint has been filed to the ethics commissioner by watchdog Democracy Watch, which is asking for the government to suspend further appointments until an investigation is concluded.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
American arrested at border allegedly carrying explosives: Border agents have arrested a Tennessee man who was allegedly carrying an explosive device while seeking entrance at the Lansdowne crossing into Ontario in the Thousand Islands on Sunday afternoon.
Earthquakes hit B.C., California: A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii archipelago region off the West Coast last night. Today, an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck Southern California near the city of Ridgecrest, northeast of Los Angeles.
U.S.-China trade talks to resume next week: Top representatives of the United States and China are organizing a resumption of talks for next week to try to resolve a year-long trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Trump administration officials say.
Man’s reversal on wearing condom ruled sexual assault: An Ontario court has ruled that a man who had unprotected sex after agreeing to wear a condom committed sexual assault because his behaviour invalidated his sexual partner’s consent.
Ottawa pledges $1.3-billion for Montreal Metro expansion: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will invest $1.3-billion to help finance an extension of Montreal’s Metro system.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index rose slightly, failing to get a boost from a rally in global stock markets and weighed down by a 0.5-per-cent loss in the healthcare sector. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 12.65 points at 16,588.85.
U.S. markets were closed for the July 4 holiday.
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TALKING POINTS
11 million reasons for Kawhi Leonard to stay in Toronto
“Over the next four years, you could take home as much as US$80.6-million playing for the Raptors and structuring your signing bonus and tax residency properly, while you’d take home US$69.6-million playing in Los Angeles facing taxes as a California resident. That’s an US$11-million potential benefit for playing in Toronto.” - Tim Cestnick, tax expert
I’m a Canadian living in the U.S. What’s happening there could happen here, too
“I believe the vast majority of Canadians are good and kind, that we deserve the reputation of goofy politeness and thoughtfulness that gets made fun of in movies and television shows. But I also believe that this politeness sometimes allows the exact kind of hatred fomented by Mr. Trump to fester underneath the surface.” - Alexi Zentner, novelist
Gender neutrality doesn’t hurt children – it’s part of our history
“What we should take away from the popularity of gender-neutral children’s clothing and pronouns at earlier periods of our history is that there is no one right way to raise children when it comes to gender, and no historical evidence that forcing children to adhere to strict gender norms is beneficial.” - Ainsley Hawthorn, author and cultural historian
LIVING BETTER
It’s the end of an era: MAD, the long-running satirical magazine that influenced everyone from “Weird Al” Yankovic to the writers of The Simpsons, will be leaving newsstands after its August issue. The illustrated humour magazine – instantly recognizable by the gap-toothed smiling face of mascot Alfred E. Neuman – will still be available in comic shops and through mail to subscribers. But after its fall issue it will just reprint previously published material. The only new material will come in special editions at the end of the year.
LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE
‘That little girl became everybody’s baby’: Police, family reflect on disappearance of Tamra Keepness
Retired police corporal Jim Pratt remembers standing on a road on the outskirts of Regina as a team of searchers walked through a yellow canola field.
They were looking for a missing Indigenous girl, five-year-old Tamra Keepness. Elders had told police they had visions of the child near rocks, water and trees.
Pratt says a car with two older white women pulled up beside him, and one peeped out a window. “Did you find our baby yet?” she asked. No. And 15 years later, Tamra still hasn’t been found.
Pratt gets emotional thinking about that day, that unsolved case and the girl so many worried about. “Race was thrown to the side,” Pratt says. “That little girl became everybody’s baby.”
Tamra and her toothy smile were well-known across Canada in 2004, and the search for the missing girl grew to one of the largest in Regina’s history. Read the full story here.
Photos from a reward poster released at a news conference about missing five-year-old Tamra Keepness. (Photo by Troy Fleece/The Canadian Press)Troy Fleece/The Canadian Press
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