Here are the latest Top News stories from The Canadian Press. All times are Eastern unless otherwise stated. Coverage plans are included when available. Entries are subject to change as news develops.
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TOP HEADLINES:
Signs positive Omicron is peaking: Tam
Behind the 'error' on trucker vaccine rules
Doctor mental health visits up during COVID: study
Prime minister calls border deaths tragic
Cattle producers in crisis as feed stocks run dry
Canada gives $120M loan to help Ukraine
Waves of nostalgia as Red Cross swim program ends
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OMICRON AND COVID-19:
Signs positive Omicron is peaking: Tam
COVID-Cda
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- Canada's chief public health officer says there are positive signs the Omicron wave is peaking in Canada but we shouldn't start choreographing a COVID-19 victory dance just yet. By Mia Rabson. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Behind the 'error' on trucker vaccine rules
COVID-Truckers
Ottawa, , -- Turmoil and confusion over whether truckers would remain exempt from the vaccine mandate last week stemmed from bureaucrats misinterpreting policy in more than one federal agency — including the one that co-ordinates Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By Marie Woolf. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Quebec restaurant owners mull defying restrictions
COVID-Que
Montreal, , -- Hundreds of Quebec restaurant and bar owners are considering opening their doors at the end of January in defiance of government health orders, the head of a group representing bar owners said Friday. By Morgan Lowrie. Wire: Ontario/Quebec. Photos: 1
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First Paxlovid shipment arrives in Ontario
COVID-Ont
Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- Health Minister Christine Elliott says the first shipment of an antiviral COVID-19 treatment has arrived in Ontario. Wire: Ontario/Quebec.
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Government workers could be redeployed in health
COVID-Sask
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada -- The Saskatchewan Health Authority says it is looking at redeploying government employees from other departments to help the health-care system. Wire: Prairies/BC. Photos: 1
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N.S. recommends throat swab as part of rapid test
COVID-NS
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada -- Health officials in Nova Scotia are recommending people swab both their nose and throat for rapid COVID-19 testing. Wire: Atlantic. Photos: 1
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N.L. woman wants more data on COVID in care homes
NL-Long-Term-Care
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada -- Angela Day says had she known there were cases of COVID-19 at her grandmother's long-term care home in St. John's, she could have better prepared herself and her grandmother for a lockdown. Wire: Atlantic. Photos: 1
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Higgs optimistic lockdown will end as scheduled
COVID-NB
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada -- New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he is optimistic he'll be able to lift the lockdown he imposed across the province by the end of the month as planned. Wire: Atlantic. Photos: 1
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Doctor mental health visits up during COVID: study
Doctors-Mental-Health
The annual rate of outpatient mental health and substance use visits by Ontario doctors increased 27 per cent in the first year of the COVID-19 crisis, a new study suggests, raising concerns about the pandemic's psychological toll across the medical profession. By Adina Bresge. Wire: Lifestyle. Photos: 1
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OTHER TOP NEWS:
Prime minister calls border deaths tragic
Mba-Border-Deaths
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the deaths of a family of four, including a baby, while trying to walk across the United States border is tragic and mind-boggling. Wire: National. Photos: 1
And coming later:
EMERSON, MAN. -- Dressed in matching winter jackets, black gloves and balaclavas and insulated rubber boots, a group of foreign nationals walked hours through fields of knee-deep snow under the prairie darkness with the hopes of entering the United States. The group attempted to follow the same foot path taken by three individuals a week prior but blowing snow had filled the holes once marked by boot prints. By Brittany Hobson.
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Canada gives $120M loan to help Ukraine
Cda-Ukraine
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- Canada is giving Ukraine a $120-million loan to help bolster its economy and aid as it faces a hostile buildup of Russian forces on its borders. By Mike Blanchfield. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Canada commits $50M at start of Haiti summit
Cda-Haiti
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- Canada is committing an additional $50 million in humanitarian aid to help embattled, poverty-racked Haiti, International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan said Friday. By Mike Blanchfield. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Rapid-housing program, again, goes past target
Rapid-Housing
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- The federal government finished the week by touting the popularity of a program aimed to quickly build or buy affordable housing for the nation's most vulnerable that is seen as one piece of a larger home-price puzzle. By Jordan Press. Wire: National.
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New school to be built in Toronto condo building
Ont-Condo-School
Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- The Ontario government says a new elementary school slated to be built in a downtown Toronto condo building will be the first of its kind in the province. Wire: Ontario/Quebec.
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Judge won't lift pub ban in Toronto cop's death
Ont-Toronto-Cop-Killed
Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- A judge has denied a request to partially lift a publication ban in the case of a man accused of killing a Toronto police officer, but says the anticipated evidence "paints a very different picture" than what some politicians and the chief of police have said about the matter. By Liam Casey. Wire: Ontario/Quebec. Photos: 1
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$28 million for victims of Quebec church abuse
St-Viateur-Class-Action
Montreal, Quebec, Canada -- Lawyers say a $28-million settlement has been reached for more than 375 sexual abuse victims of Quebec-based Catholic religious order the Clerics of St-Viateur. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Coroner to probe death of homeless Montreal woman
Mtl-Homeless-Death
Montreal, Quebec, Canada -- A second person experiencing homelessness in Montreal has died this month after spending the night outside in frigid temperatures. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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O'Toole flaws must be in election report: Batters
Conservatives-Election-Review
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- The Conservative senator ousted for spearheading an effort to review Erin O'Toole's leadership says a forthcoming report of the party's election loss must confront its most serious flaws — including its leader's. By Stephanie Taylor. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Talks between Ottawa, shipyard shrouded in fog
Coast-Guard-Icebreakers
Ottawa, , -- Questions are swirling over yet another delay in Ottawa’s nearly $100-billion plan to rebuild the fleets of Canada’s navy and coast guard, only this time the delay isn’t due to the stalled construction of a ship. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Low river flow linked to lower salmon productivity
Salmon-River-Flow
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada -- A study that links low summertime water flows in a British Columbia river with lower productivity across 22 generations of a struggling salmon population could help guide how rivers are managed to support fish, the authors say. By Brenna Owen. Wire: National. Photos: 1
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Cattle producers in crisis as feed stocks run dry
Cattle-Feed-Shortage
Calgary, Alberta, Canada -- Some Alberta cattle producers say they will run out of food for their animals this weekend, as train delays and the impacts of last summer's drought combine to create a crisis situation on the Prairies. Wire: Business. Photos: 1
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Retail sales up in November: Statistics Canada
StatCan-Retail-Sales
Retail sales rose for the second month in a row in November as Canadian consumers spent more on gasoline, building materials as well as food and beverages, Statistics Canada said Friday. By Brett Bundale. Wire: Business. Photos: 1
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Waves of nostalgia as Red Cross swim program ends
Red-Cross-Swimming-Program
Jaime Gonek doesn't remember what happened to the yellow jacket she had as a kid, the one adorned with sewed-on swimming badges she'd earned from years of lessons with the Canadian Red Cross. By Melissa Couto Zuber. Wire: Lifestyle. Photos: 1
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COMING LATER:
CALGARY -- Malinda Phillips and Jonathon Grunewald are scheduled to enter guilty pleas in connection to charges against both of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and fail to provide the necessaries of life. It relates to the couple's son who weighed just 43 pounds when he was found October, 2020. Bill Graveland is staffing.
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LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE STORIES:
The LJI is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is delivered on the CP wire in the "Y" or spare news category, or you can register to access it at https://lji-ijl.ca. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited by The Canadian Press. Please credit stories to the reporter, their media outlet and the Local Journalism Initiative. Questions should be directed to LJI supervising editor Amy Logan at amy.logan@thecanadianpress.com. Below is a sample of the dozens of stories moved daily:
Skyrocketing fertilizer prices worry farmers as they plan for spring
LJI-ONT-FERTILIZER
As Southwestern Ontario farmers gear up for this year’s growing season, many already are facing their first challenge: soaring fertilizer prices and low supply. 850 words. PHOTO. Calvi Leon/London Free Press
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Rural homelessness a hidden issue, Rural Development Network says
LJI-ALTA-RURAL-HOMELESSNESS-HIDDEN
While rural homelessness looks vastly different than in urban centres, the executive director for the Rural Development Network says the percentage of those experiencing homelessness is the same in both places. Many residents of rural Alberta experiencing housing insecurity won’t be found sleeping rough on the streets, but rather their circumstances are more hidden from the rest of the community. 1,000 words. Jennifer Henderson/St. Albert Gazette
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Iqaluit water emergency spurs conversation around plastic recycling
LJI-NU-IQALUIT-PLASTIC-RECYCLING
There’s “zero chance” of a plastic recycling program being economically viable in Iqaluit without government support, says Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. The company is one of several businesses and organizations that banded together in October to collect and recycle the influx of water bottles that piled up in Iqaluit due to the water emergency. 600 words. PHOTO. David Venn/Nunatsiaq News
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New report suggests Alaskan fisheries are overharvesting plummeting B.C. salmon stocks
LJI-BC-salmon-treaty
As Canada closes and restricts its fisheries to protect plummeting wild salmon stocks, a new report suggests that boats in southeast Alaska may be intercepting salmon populations as they return to Canadian rivers to spawn. 1,000 words. PHOTO. Melissa Renwick/Ha-Shilth-Sa
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FROM AP:
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TOP STORIES
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UNITED STATES-RUSSIA-UKRAINE — The United States and Russia sought to lower the temperature in a heated standoff over Ukraine, even as they reported no breakthroughs in high-stakes talks on Friday aimed at preventing a feared Russian invasion. Armed with seemingly intractable and diametrically opposed demands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva for roughly 90 minutes at what the American said was a “critical moment.” By Matthew Lee and Jamey Keaten. SENT: 1,175 words, photos. WITH: UNITED STATES-RUSSIA-MINOR INCURSION? — ‘Minor incursion’ by Russia could complicate West’s response. SENT: 995 words, photos.
For full coverage of Ukraine.
CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS — Staring at midterm elections that could cost them control of Congress, Democrats are trying to sculpt a 2022 legislative agenda that would generate achievements reassuring voters they’re addressing their problems and can govern competently. That’s led Democrats to debate what meaningful initiatives they can actually push through a Congress they steer with virtually no votes to spare. By Alan Fram. UPCOMING: 970 words, photos by 5 p.m.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK — The omicron surge this winter has swamped U.S. hospitals with record numbers of patients with COVID-19. But it has also caused frightening moments and major headaches for people trying to get treatment for other ailments. Less-urgent procedures have been put on hold around the country, from cochlear implant surgeries to steroid injections for rheumatoid arthritis. And people with all sorts of medical complaints have had to wait in emergency rooms for hours longer than usual. By Ben Finley and Kate Brumback. SENT: 930 words, photos.
ABORTION-MARCH FOR LIFE — Anti-abortion protesters began to gather in the nation’s capital with spirits high and a sense that the country has reached a pivotal moment that could lead to a sweeping rollback of abortion rights in many states. The March for Life, for decades an annual protest against abortion, arrives this year as the Supreme Court has indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion with a ruling in the coming months — and possibly overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion. By Ashraf Khalil, Paul J. Weber and Emily Wagster Pettus. SENT: 755 words, photos.
BRITAIN-JOHNSON THE RULEBREAKER — For Boris Johnson, facts have always been flexible. The British prime minister’s career is littered with doctored quotes, tall tales, exaggerations and mistruths. When called out, he has generally offered an apologetic shrug or a guilty grin, and moved on. At least until now. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 880 words, photos.
YEMEN — The health minister in the rebel government set up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels says the airstrike on a rebel-run detention facility in the country’s north early on Friday killed at least 70 detainees. The minister, Taha al-Motawakel, told The Associated Press in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, also held by the rebels, that he expects the number of those killed to rise since many of the wounded are seriously hurt. He says there would be updates on the death toll in the coming hours. By Jon Gambrell. SENT: 1,105 words, photos.
OBIT-MEAT LOAF — Meat Loaf, the rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” has died. He was 74. By National Writer Hillel Italie. SENT: 1,060 words, photos, video.
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TRENDING NEWS
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JUDGE-APOLOGY — A Detroit-area judge has apologized for wishing that she could send a 72-year-old immigrant with cancer to jail for a weedy property. SENT: 215 words.
INTEL-PLANT-OHIO — Intel will invest $20 billion in a new computer chip facility in Ohio amid a global shortage of microprocessors used in everything from phones and cars to video games. SENT: 720 words, photos.
M&M’S-INCLUSIVITY — Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M’s characters as a way to promote inclusivity. SENT: 350 words, photos.
NURSING-HOME-OWNER-TAXES — Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the operator of a failed multi-state nursing home chain failed to pay $29.5 million in payroll and unemployment taxes for his employees at 95 facilities he operated in 11 states. SENT: 320 words.
JOSH-DUGGAR-CHILD-PORNOGRAPHY —Former reality TV star Josh Duggar has asked a federal judge for a new trial or an acquittal, a little over a month after he was convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography. SENT: 295 words.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS-OUTBREAK-OMICRON-HOTSPOTS — In Costa Rica, officials are encouraging those infected with the coronavirus to skip voting in upcoming national elections. On the other side of the world, Beijing is locking down residential communities as the country anxiously awaits the start of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 4. SENT: 1,255 words, photos.
MED-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-VACCINES-OMICRON — Three studies released offered more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots. They are the first large U.S. studies to look at vaccine protection against omicron, health officials said. SENT: 320 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FEDERAL WORKERS — A Trump-appointed U.S. judge in Texas issues a nationwide injunction barring the federal government from enforcing President Biden’s requirement that federal workers without qualifying medical or religious exemptions be vaccinated for COVID-19. SENT: 240 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RUSSIA — Daily new coronavirus infections in Russia reached an all-time high Friday and authorities blamed the highly contagious omicron variant, which they expect to soon dominate the country’s outbreak. SENT: 490 words, photos.
MED-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BOOSTERS — The World Health Organization says that coronavirus vaccine boosters should now now be offered to people, starting with the most vulnerable, in a move away from its previous insistence that boosters were unnecessary for healthy adults and an acknowledgment that the vaccine supply is improving globally. SENT: 260 words, photos.
VIRGINIA-GOVERNOR-MASKS — Gov. Glenn Youngkin has asked the Supreme Court of Virginia to dismiss a lawsuit challenging his executive order allowing parents to opt out of mandates requiring children to wear masks in school. SENT: 445 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CALIFORNIA-VACCINES — California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents' consent, the youngest age of any state, under a proposal by a state senator. SENT: 660 words, photos.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-JAPAN — Restaurants and bars will close early in Tokyo and a dozen other areas across Japan as the country widens COVID-19 restrictions due to the omicron variant, which has caused cases to surge to new highs in metropolitan areas. SENT: 880 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEPAL — Nepal’s capital shut schools, ordered citizens to carry vaccination cards in public, banned religious festivals and instructed hotel guests to be tested every three days as it battles its biggest COVID-19 outbreak. SENT: 330 words, photos.
AFRICAN CUP-VACCINES — Cameroon health authorities see their hosting of the monthlong African Cup of Nations’ international soccer tournament as an opportunity in the fight against coronavirus infections. SENT: 780 words, photos.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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CONGRESS-BIG-TECH — Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals. It could, for example, prevent Amazon from steering consumers to its own brands and away from competitors’ products on its giant e-commerce platform. SENT: 845 words, photos.
UNITED STATES-JAPAN — President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have used their first formal meeting to discuss concerns about China’s growing military assertiveness. Kishida says they spent a “significant amount” of their 80-minute call Friday on issues surrounding China. The U.S. and Japan are concerned about China’s increasing aggression toward Taiwan. SENT: 945 words, photos.
ELECTION 2022-HOUSE-CUELLAR — Activist groups want to push the Democratic Party in Congress to the left by notching midterm primary election wins around the country this year that replace establishment, moderate incumbents with progressive alternatives. Many saw Rep. Henry Cuellar, a long-serving conservative Democrat from South Texas who has defended gun rights and the energy industry and is facing a rematch with a progressive challenger he narrowly defeated two years ago, as a good place to start. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
BIDEN-FOREIGN-STUDENTS — The Biden administration has announced policy changes to attract international students specializing in science, technology, engineering and math. It’s part of the broader effort to make the U.S. economy more competitive. SENT: 230 words, photo.
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NATIONAL
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PRICEY-FARMLAND — For all the talk about rising U.S. home values, they have nothing on the skyrocketing price of farmland. While median existing-home prices rose by 15.8% in the U.S. last year, farmland values went up about double that rate in places like Iowa. SENT: 820 words, photos.
CUSTODY DEATH-STAND YOUR GROUND LAW — Even some Republicans who have supported the “stand your ground law” in Kansas want to revisit it following the death of a Black teenager who was restrained at a juvenile intake center in Wichita last September. UPCOMING: 970 words, photos by 4 p.m.
MOTHER-AND-SON-KILLED— A once prominent South Carolina lawyer now faces 75 charges he stole nearly $8.5 million in wrongful death and wreck settlements from more than a dozen people after another round of indictments against Alex Murdaugh were handed up. The 23 new charges issued by the state grand jury covered new victims, but similar schemes, prosecutors said. SENT: 715 words, photos.
WINTER WEATHER — Salt spreader trucks crisscrossed coastal roads as courthouses and schools closed Friday to prepare for a snow and ice storm expected to snarl parts of the Carolinas and Virginia unaccustomed to winter precipitation. SENT: 700 words, photos.
GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS —A jury of 18 people who appeared mostly white has been picked for the federal trial of three Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s killing, a case that the judge told potential jurors has “absolutely nothing” to do with race. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos by 6 p.m.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DOCTOR-ASSAULT — Now that the University of Michigan has announced a $490 million settlement for more than 1,000 people — mostly men — who said they were sexually abused by a former sports doctor, some Black victims hope not to become victims all over again. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos, video by 4 p.m.
TEXAS SYNAGOGUE-STANDOFF — The gunman who held four people captive at a Texas synagogue in a 10-hour standoff that ended with the hostages escaping and an FBI tactical team rushing in was killed by multiple gunshot wounds, according to a medical examiner, who ruled the death a homicide. SENT: 390 words, photos.
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INTERNATIONAL
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VATICAN-SEX ABUSE — Pope Francis pledged to provide justice to victims of clergy sexual abuse, a day after an independent audit faulted his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, for having botched four cases of abusive clergy when he was archbishop of Munich, Germany. SENT: 710 words, photos.
NORWAY JUSTICE TOO SOFT? — Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik’s request for early release from prison highlights Norway’s soft approach to criminal justice, with relatively short sentences and an emphasis on rehabilitation over punishment. SENT: 600 words, photos.
ITALY-BERLUSCONI-FOR-PRESIDENT — Italy is poised to elect a new president, a figure who is supposed to serve as the nation’s moral compass and foster unity by being above the political fray. Silvio Berlusconi thinks he fits the bill. SENT: 860 words, photos.
TONGA-VOLCANO-ERUPTION — Dozens of former guests from New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere are raising money to help the owners of the Ha’atafu Beach Resort in Tonga after it was destroyed by a tsunami. SENT: 970 words, photos. WITH: TONGA-VOLCANO-ERUPTION-SURVIVAL — Diplomat says Tongan survival story fits with events. SENT: 365 words, photos.
MYANMAR-PUSH FOR SANCTIONS — TotalEnergies and Chevron, two of the world’s largest energy conglomerates, say they were stopping all operations in Myanmar, citing rampant human rights abuses and deteriorating rule of law since the country’s military overthrew the government. SENT: 580 words, photo.
IRAQ-ATTACK —More than 100 militants from the Islamic State group carried out a complex attack on Syria’s largest prison holding suspected extremists, officials said, as members of the group in Iraq stormed an army barracks, killing 11 soldiers as they slept. SENT: 835 words, photos.
ISRAEL-MAVERICK LAWMAKER — Retired Israeli Gen. Yair Golan spent a significant part of his military career serving in the occupied West Bank, protecting Jewish settlements. Today, he is one of their most vocal critics. SENT: 1,020 words, photos.
UNITED NATIONS-SECRETARY-GENERAL-INTERVIEW — As he starts his second term as U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres says the world is worse in many ways than it was five years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and geopolitical tensions that have sparked conflicts everywhere — but unlike Biden he thinks Russia will not invade Ukraine. By Edith M. Lederer. SENT: 950 words, photos.
JAPAN-FUKUSHIMA — Several former residents of Futaba, the only remaining uninhabited town in Japan still recovering from effects of radiation from nuclear plant meltdowns in 2011, have returned to live for the first time since the massive earthquake and tsunami forced them out. SENT: 470 words, photos.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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SCI-ENVIRONMENTAL-JUSTICE-LA-OIL-WELLS — Los Angeles, the second most populous U.S. city, is weighing whether to ban new oil and gas drilling and phase out hundreds of existing wells. The city council is expected to vote on a measure that would shut down oil and gas fields in the city after a decade of complaints from residents. Residents began lobbying local, state and federal politicians to more closely regulate drilling after years of negative health impacts they blamed on air pollution from the sites. SENT: 1,320 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ECONOMY
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FINANCIAL MARKETS — Stocks were sharply lower on Wall Street as major indexes head for another weekly loss. SENT: 550 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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OBIT-LOUIE-ANDERSON — Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” died. He was 68. “‘Baskets’ was such a phenomenal ‘second act’ for Louie Anderson. I wish he’d gotten a third,” Michael McKean said on Twitter. George Wallace wrote: “You’ll be missed, Louie. What an awesome friend. One in a million.” Gilbert Gottfried posted a photo of himself, Anderson and Bob Saget, who died Jan. 9, with the caption: “Both good friends that will be missed.” By Lynn Elber. SENT: 735 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBN-GIANTS-GM — Joe Schoen was at the top of the New York Giants’ list of candidates when they started their search for a new general manager, and the Buffalo Bills assistant GM never left that spot. The Giants hired the 42-year-old Schoen as their general manager. It ended a quick but extensive search in which they interviewed nine candidates in the first round and gave three a second interview in finding a replacement for Dave Gettleman. SENT: 740 words, photos.
BBA-HALL-OF-FAME-ORTIZ — Boston’s Big Papi appears headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame -- no last-minute walk-off needed. The Red Sox slugger looks to be on track for induction in Cooperstown this summer, riding the strength of his on- and off-field achievements to overcome stigmas that have stalled or derailed the candidacies of some of his predecessors. SENT: 635 words, photos.
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The Canadian Press
