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Metro Snapshot: April 30, 2008 – Metro US

Metro Snapshot: April 30, 2008

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador was on track to be removed from the country’s “have-not” list, while a weakened Ontario was flirting with taking its place. Hundreds of ducks were dead or dying in a tar-sands tailings pond, and Alberta was seeking an exemption from U.S. regulations that would classify oil from the tar sands as too dirty to purchase. Canada was expected to respond in a big way to the United Nations World Food Program’s call for help, and the governing Conservative party, in what is perhaps a Canadian first, voted non-confidence in Elections Canada, the independent watchdog charged with ensuring electoral fairness and honesty. The income tax deadline loomed.

Albert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery grew into a notorious “problem child,” died at the age of 102. China deported activists from Hong Kong right before the Olympic torch arrived, and Prince William made a secret visit to Afghanistan. Iran, OPEC’s second largest producer of oil, completely stopped conducting oil transactions in US dollars. A day after Rogers announced that it is bringing the iPhone to Canada, it was reported that they will also start charging internet users for the amount of data they download.

People were still talking about Grand Theft Auto IV after its midnight release Monday, and Britney Spears was to reprise her role on “How I Met Your Mother.” Sandy Caetano writes that the remaining American Idol contestants sparkled on diamond night, and Don McKellar’s most recent movie “Blindness”
will open at the Cannes Film Festival. The Penguins beat the Rangers.