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Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh for U.S. Supreme Court, aiming to create a conservative majority

The U.S. President announced his nomination to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy late Monday night. If confirmed by the Senate, Donald Trump’s selection will swing the court to the right with a five-to-four conservative majority. The 53-year-old Kavanaugh has worked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2006, where his judicial record has been solidly conservative. In a speech after his nomination, Kavanaugh evinced an “originalist” view of the law – holding that the Constitution must be interpreted conservatively. “A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written and a judge must interpret the constitution as written,” he said. The nomination now faces confirmation from a Senate where Republicans hold only a slim majority.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May grapples with three cabinet resignations and growing opposition to her Brexit plan

Just days after reaching consensus on her proposed Brexit plan, British Prime Minister Theresa May saw this agreement unravel Monday with the resignation of three Conservative cabinet members. David Davis, who had been leading the British government’s Brexit talks with the European Union, stepped down Sunday night, saying he couldn’t support May’s Brexit strategy. Steve Baker, a junior cabinet minister in the Brexit department, and foreign secretary Boris Johnson followed suit on Monday. Their departures signal growing revolt within May’s Conservative Party caucus among those who favour a complete break with the European Union. Many from this faction oppose May’s plan to continue permitting the free flow of goods between Britain and the EU. Experts predict that May could see more cabinet resignations if opposition to her plan grows. Britain is set to leave the EU in March, 2019, and must reach a Brexit deal by October to allow EU member states enough time to ratify it.

Tenth person rescued from Thai cave on third day of operation

A tenth person was rescued on Tuesday from a flooded Thai cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped for more than two weeks, raising hopes all 13 would be out by the end of the day. A Reuters witness saw two people being carried out of the Tham Luang cave on stretchers. They were the first two to be taken out on Tuesday, the third day of the rescue operation.


Supreme Court rules Ottawa can halt private development to protect endangered species

Federal Justice René LeBlanc has determined that Ottawa has the power to criminalize threats posed to the western chorus frog and other at-risk species, even when provinces disagree. The decision comes at a time when development company Candiac House Group plans to build on property it owns that serves as habitat to the chorus frog in Southwestern Quebec. The decision could restrict this and similar development projects across Canada in the future. This is the first time Canada’s Species At Risk Act (SARA) has been used to halt development on private property since its adoption in 2002. In explaining the court decision, Leblanc said human responsibility for environmental protection is a “fundamental societal value” that criminal law must be used to uphold.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Greyhound announced it will end bus routes from Western Canada

The transportation company announced Monday that it would stop running buses in all of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northwestern Ontario, effective Oct. 31. Greyhound will also cease operation in British Columbia, save one route that runs between Seattle and Vancouver, which its U.S. equivalent will manage. According to Greyhound’s senior vice president for Canada, the route closings are the consequence of plunging ridership in rural Canada. The cuts translate into a loss of 415 jobs, and raise questions about how the change will affect small communities and First Nations in the affected areas. Christian Sinclair, chief of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, said “those routes are relied on heavily, because we have a large number of members who transport themselves to Winnipeg daily for medical services.”

MORNING MARKETS

Stocks rise

Global shares hovered near three-week highs on Tuesday, supported by optimism about U.S. company earnings and expectations that global economic growth can withstand trade tensions, although political bickering kept British markets on the back foot. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite 0.4 per cent, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped marginally. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.1 and 0.4 per cent by about 5:55 a.m. ET. New York futures were also up. The Canadian dollar was just above 76 US cents.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

The not-so-awful truth about gun violence

“Youth mentorship programs and night basketball are definitely good things. But if we want to reduce gun crime, we should target the bad guys, rather than spreading our resources far and wide. The number of violent criminals is quite small, and violent crime – as awkward as it is to say so – is generally restricted to a few neighbourhoods and population groups. Seventy-five per cent of Toronto’s shootings are gang-related, according to the mayor. Go after the guns and gangs, and you’re going after the biggest root causes of all. You won’t hear these things if you talk to social justice activists.” - Margaret Wente

Theresa May has driven Britain into a dead end

“There were suggestions on Monday that Ms. May’s government could be on the verge of collapse – an event that would trigger the third election in three years. But Ms. May is unlikely to depart soon, either by an internal Conservative Party leadership challenge or by a parliamentary confidence vote, in part because no popular figures within her own party seem willing or able to step up to the plate, and because the rest of her MPs fear the prospect of a loss to the Labour Party, itself almost terminally divided over Brexit. As a result, Theresa May finds herself stuck in the exit door without a deal, without a stable cabinet, without a united message and without any viable way forward.” - Doug Saunders

‘No Jab, No Pay.’ In Australia, no excuse accepted for unvaccinated kids

“Why do 7 per cent of parents still not vaccinate their children? The hard core anti-vaxxers are, at most, 1.8 per cent (based on a registry of conscientious objectors that existed before the law was changed). Another small group are people who are deemed “vaccine hesitant” – meaning they have some concerns or doubts, and their kids are at least partly vaccinated. But the majority of parents of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated kids are not dogmatic; they are overwhelmed, usually by monetary and logistical issues. What they need are not financial penalties, but practical help – carrots, not sticks.” - André Picard

LIVING BETTER

How to keep active kids hydrated in the heat

With summer (and summer camp) in full gear, it’s important to recognize the signs that your child might be dehydrated. Prepare them for long days in the hot sun accordingly: Boys between the ages of 9 to 13 should drink 1.8 litres (about 8 cups) of water each day (1.6 litres for girls), while teenage males and females require 2.6 and 1.8 litres of water a day, respectively. More tips on how to hydrate here.

MOMENT IN TIME

When Mel Blanc died, at the age of 81, a thousand voices fell silent. For 50 years, Blanc had brought to life countless cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Barney Rubble and others. His vocal dexterity gave each of them sharply defined, individual characters, so much so that many viewers never realized the same man was performing every voice. Indeed, his (or, more accurately, Porky Pig’s) famous tagline – “That’s all, folks!” – entered popular culture among even half-hearted animation watchers. As if that wasn’t enough, in 1983 Blanc found time to lend his talents to Canadian cinema, providing the voice of Bob and Doug McKenzie’s father in the hit film Strange Brew. Today, 28 years after his death, Blanc’s legacy endures. His characters have bounced back and forth between several voice actors, all of them trying to mimic his iconic work. – Ken Carriere

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