Family: Fathers in Quebec are spending more time with their newborn children thanks to the province’s generous parental-leave program, a Statistics Canada survey has found. One valiant Quebec father who was crushed to death under the wheels of a rolling, driver-less car used his final moment to deliver a heroic push that thrust his family members to safety.
HEALTH: The Canadian Cancer Society is calling for a government ban on flavoured cigarillos after a national youth smoking survey found a significant proportion of teens have at least experimented with the product. Meanwhile, Alberta’s six Catholic bishops are urging all mothers and fathers to learn more about a vaccine that protects against cervical cancer before deciding whether their daughters should be immunized.
US POLITICS: Though the election is more than four months away, the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are shaping their strategies for dealing with race-based advertising. McCain’s first wound of the election may have come courtesy of a Canadian visit. The current president, George W. Bush, has named the first female nominee for the role of four-star general.
WORLD: Nelson Mandela is in London for a week of events to celebrate his upcoming 90th birthday. Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has fled to the Dutch Embassy saying he feared for his safety, while police on Monday raided his party’s headquarters and took dozens of people away. Two teams of rescuers prepared Monday to dive into typhoon-roiled waters off the Philippines to find a way inside a capsized ferry in a desperate effort to locate some 800 people believed to be aboard.
ENTERTAINMENT: Movie star Will Smith is squaring off with his aspiring movie star daughter in a family box-office battle. While former rapper Smith continues his Hollywood dominance, current high-profile rappers like Outkast are mulling their futures as their record contracts come to an end. If you’re wondering about celebs with a little less longevity, Metro’s Rick McGinnis dishes on 80s has-beens Coreys Haim and Feldman‘s adventures with modern litigation.
SPORTS: A formerly beloved athlete of a Canadian team is ready to roll out of town as Ray Emery cleared waivers yesterday, while the currently loved Chris Bosh is ready to roll with the U.S. Olympic team to Beijing.
