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class="content__text" What is going on up there? The appearance of a series of unidentified objects in the sky over a week that were subsequently shot down has prompted questions about why there seems to be a sudden rash of such incidents. Since Feb. 4, when U.S. military personnel shot down what is believed to be a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, there have been three other objects shot from the sky over an eight-day period. So far, only the first object shot down has been identified as a Chinese spy balloon. The U.S. military said on Monday it had recovered key sensors from the wreckage. The other objects according to John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council co-ordinator for strategic communications, didn't have propulsion and they weren't being manoeuvred. The U.S. therefore isn't sure if "they had a surveillance aspect to them," he said. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there's reason to believe it's not a coincidence that the four objects have been spotted over such a short time. "Obviously, there is some sort of pattern in there," he said. Of course, the whole affair raises many questions, many of which you’ve sent our way. We’ve put your questions to experts. You can check out this primer and head to our link in bio for more. A previous post of this story incorrectly stated that one of the flying objects was shot down Feb. 6, 2023. In fact, it was shot down Feb. 4. That post has been removed. (Reporting: Mark Gollon/CBC News; Photos: Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette/The Associated Press, U.S. Fleet Forces/U.S. Navy/Reuters, Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy/Getty Images, North American Aerospace Defense; Graphics: Allison Cake/CBC News) #China #SpyBalloon #UFO #CBC #CBCNews

February 16, 2023

class="content__text" Natasha Russell's two-year-old daughter, Scarlett, wouldn't wake up on Boxing Day morning. She had been sick for a few days. Now Russell couldn't get the toddler to stop sleeping. Scarlett needed urgent medical attention, but their local emergency room in Bonavista, Nfld., was closed due to staff shortages. "I was scared. I was crying. My husband had to calm me down," Russell said. The family took Scarlett to the hospital in Clarenville, an hour and a half away. A chest X-ray showed Scarlett had pneumonia in her right lung. She also tested positive for influenza A. "They told me if I didn't bring her in … she basically could have died in her sleep. That's how bad she was. That's how severe she was," Russell said. The emergency room at the Bonavista Peninsula Health Centre, which serves more than 3,000 people in the town and thousands of others in the surrounding communities, closed multiple times over the holidays. Those closures have stretched into 2023. The emergency room has shut down multiple times this month and is scheduled to close again Friday until at least Tuesday. On Monday, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey announced the province would accept a new health-care proposal from the federal government. The deal includes an immediate $27-million cash injection to help alleviate pressure on emergency rooms, pediatric hospitals, and surgical and diagnostic backlogs. But Furey, who maintains his licence as an orthopedic surgeon, said the extra funds won't solve the complex challenges of delivering rural health care. "If it was just money, money would have fixed this a long time ago," he said. (Reporting: Darrell Roberts/CBC News; Photo: Submitted by Natasha Russell) #Bonavista #Newfoundland #Health #HealthCare #Medicine #Canada #CBC #CBCNews

February 16, 2023

class="content__text" The Canadian women’s soccer team returned to training this week after Canada Soccer threatened legal action if they continued their job action. "To be clear. We are being forced back to work for the short term. This is not over. We will continue to fight for everything we deserve and we will win. The She Believes [Cup] is being played in protest,” captain Christine Sinclair tweeted. The women are demanding the same backing in preparing for this summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that the men received last year before Qatar. And they want Canada Soccer to open its books. Canada Soccer said in a statement it “was not prepared to jeopardize the SheBelieves Cup tournament, the preparation it would afford the women's national team for the upcoming World Cup, nor the experience it would afford countless fans who had undoubtedly travelled to Orlando to see their Olympic heroes." In a Zoom call with Canadian players on Tuesday, Sinclair said the ongoing labour dispute with Canada Soccer has left her and other team representatives "exhausted and deflated" as they prepare to face the top-ranked Americans in the opening game of the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday. Both the men’s and women’s teams are currently negotiating labour agreements with Canada Soccer. In 2021, Canada Soccer spent $11 million on the men's team and $5.1 million on the women’s team. Sinclair notes some $2.5 million of that women's funding came from Own the Podium, not Canada Soccer. The men played 19 games that year, including 14 World Cup qualifiers. The women played 17 and won Olympic gold. To read more about this story, tap the link in our bio. (Photos: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press, Kelly VanderBeek/CBC; Video: CBC News; Reporting: The Canadian Press, CBC Sports) #Soccer #WomensSoccer #TeamCanada #ChristineSinclair #JanineBeckie #Canada #EqualPay #PayDisparity #CBC #CBCNews #CBCSports

February 16, 2023

class="content__text" John Loeppky says travelling with parasport athletes tells you a lot about how disabled people are viewed.⁠ ⁠ “There's something about being stuck in an airport with a bunch of fellow travellers you'll likely never see again that seems to invite uncomfortable questions about your disability,” says Loeppky in a CBC opinion piece.⁠ ⁠ Loeppky says that while on these trips, many people he encountered would call him a hero simply for travelling somewhere.⁠ ⁠ Media coverage, he says, often portrays disabled people as a champion or a victim. Wider society doesn't offer much middle ground either.⁠ ⁠ This narrow representation can also stifle addressing harm within the disabled community, Loeppky says.⁠ ⁠ “If we’re only considered heroes or victims, then we go unchallenged on that behaviour.”⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to watch more.⁠ ⁠ This opinion piece is by John Loeppky, a disabled artist and freelance writer/editor in Saskatoon. It's part of a series called Taking a Sitting Stand about disability issues.⁠ (Photo: Matt Duguid for CBC; Reporting: John Loeppky for CBC; Graphics: Jamie Hopkins/CBC) | #CBC #CBCNews #CBCOpinion #Opinion #Disabled #DisabledCommunity

February 16, 2023

class="content__text" Thousands gathered Tuesday on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to march in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.⁠ ⁠ It marked the 32nd annual Women's Memorial March, the first of which was held in 1992 in response to the murder of a woman on Powell Street in Vancouver.⁠ ⁠ The event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women — especially Indigenous women, girls, two spirit and trans people — face physical, mental, emotional and spiritual violence every day, organizers say.⁠ ⁠ Indigenous women and girls in B.C. are nearly three times more likely to experience domestic violence, murder, or other violent crimes than non-Indigenous women, according to the province.⁠ ⁠ Amnesty International Canada has said the recent cases of Chelsea Poorman, Tatyanna Harrison and Noelle O'Soup in B.C.'s Lower Mainland highlights the crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls, along with inadequate support from police.⁠ ⁠ Among those marching in the crowd was Maggy Gisle, a Nisga'a woman who lives in Powell River on the Sunshine Coast.⁠ ⁠ She marched in honour of 64 friends and loved ones who have gone missing or were murdered, she says.⁠ ⁠ "I come down here and I pray and I spend time in prayer remembering each of these women and saying thank you for the time that I have."⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read more.⁠ ⁠ (Photos by Ben Nelms/CBC; Reporting: Joel Ballard/CBC News) @cbcvancouver #womensmarch #MMIWG2S+ #indigenous #vancouver #downtowneastside #britishcolumbia #cbcnews #cbc

February 15, 2023

class="content__text" The two children killed after a transit bus smashed into a daycare in Laval, Que., have been identified. Five-year-old Maëva David was killed along with four-year-old Jacob Gauthier on Feb. 8. Another six people were injured. Maëva was a child who “devoured life,” according to a statement released by her parents Jessica Therrien and Nicolas David. They said their daughter would have grown up to be an active and involved member of society with many talents. Jacob was described as a “teaser” by his great-uncle André Rhéaume. He said he was in “double mourning” as he’d lost his son a few years ago, also in “tragic fashion.” “So it brings up emotions,” he said. Pierre Ny St-Amand, a 51-year-old Laval transit bus driver, was arrested at the scene. He’s been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm. Note: A previous post included a photo of Jacob Gauthier. We have removed the post with the photo to respect the wishes of Jacob's family. (Reporting: Nancy Wood and Sabrina Jonas/CBC News; Photos: Submitted by Jessica Therrien and Nicolas David, Graham Hughes/The Canadian) @CBCMontreal #Laval #Daycare #Quebec #CBC #CBCNews

February 15, 2023

class="content__text" Decades before Tinder, Bumble or Hinge, Joan Ball created the first computer dating service in the U.K. Marriage agencies were big business in the 1960s and computer technology was advancing. While matching singles in London, Ball decided to computerize the process. Her story is featured in a new CBC News Explore documentary about how online dating is changing our human connections. You can watch Big Dating by tapping the link in our bio. (Illustration: Jodi Sandler/CBC; Video and reporting: CBC News Explore) #OnlineDating #Dating #Love #Relationships #DatingApps #BigDating #JoanBall #History #1960s #CBC #CBCNews

February 15, 2023

class="content__text" Keaton Constant has been going to powwows since he was a year old. Now, the eight-year-old boy from Wahpeton Dakota Nation, about 160 kilometres north of Saskatoon, says he has been all over Saskatchewan going to powwows and round dances, including One Arrow, Beardy’s and Peepeekisis. His dad, Kirby Constant, said Keaton has proximal femoral focal deficiency, a condition that affects his legs. Before he was able to dance on his own, Keaton’s parents would assist him. “He was always drumming and singing, his aunt and uncle gifted him some beadwork, some regalia, some cuffs for him to dance,” Kirby said. “So we suited him up that day and after that day we just took off.” Last year, the family did 12 powwows on their own circuit and since then, First Nations have expressed interest in Keaton returning. To read more about Keaton’s journey, tap our link in bio. (Videos: Kirby Constant/Facebook, CBC News; Reporting: Jennifer Francis/@cbcsask ) #Powwow #Indigenous #Dancing #Saskatchewan #Canada #CBC #CBCNews

February 14, 2023

class="content__text" Özlem Ayna is one of the lucky ones. She spent five days trapped under the rubble in Adıyaman, Turkey, following two devastating earthquakes that hit the country on Feb. 6. Anya, a primary school teacher, was pulled out alive more than 100 hours later. “I held his hand so hard. He said … ‘calm down. We will save you,’” she said of the moment rescuers finally reached her. “It was like I was born again.” CBC News was there to capture the moment on live television and spoke with Anya later at a hospital in Diyarbakir where she was recovering. The 37-year-old remembers she was in her bedroom when the tremor started. Her five-storey building collapsed almost immediately and a wardrobe fell, trapping her. For hours, she called out for help but rescuers couldn't hear her at first. “I lost my hope,” she said in Turkish. She recalled her extreme thirst, which prompted her to think about how she’d install water fountains everywhere if she managed to survive. The doctors are keeping her in hospital to monitor her kidneys, which were damaged from dehydration. Anya said she was told that 80 per cent of the people in her building were killed in the quakes. She and her mother, who sat next to her through the interview, said they were grateful to the Turkish and Canadian rescuers. Ayna’s mother, Gülten, was so overjoyed she hugged the next best thing to the actual rescuers, the CBC reporter who was on the scene at the time. You can read more about Ayna's rescue by clicking on the link in bio. (Reporting: Briar Stewart/CBC News; Photos: Corinne Seminoff/CBC News; Video: Dmitry Kozlov/CBC News)) #Turkey #Earthquake #Survivor #CBC #CBCNews

February 14, 2023

class="content__text" Saturday morning mushers were getting ready with their dogs to embark on the Yukon Quest 2023. This year, 16 mushers with teams of up to 12 dogs are competing for prize money. Racers had the option of choosing a 100-mile (160-kilometre) race to Braeburn, Yukon, a 250-mile (402-kilometre) race to Pelly Crossing, Yukon, or a 450-mile (724-kilometre) race to Dawson City, Yukon. This is the first year in the event's 38-year history that one of the races will end in Dawson City, and the second year that it has not been an international race across the Alaskan border. Frank Turner, who was part of the group that planned the original race from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1984, was among the crowd on Saturday. Turner, a veteran musher and former Yukon Quest champ who has run the race dozens of time, was cheering with emotion for the latest edition of the race. "We may love the mushers, but what makes this race is the dogs," Turner said. "They have been part of the history and culture of the North. This is just a celebration of this." The Yukon Quest race starts regardless of weather and lasts from 10 to 16 days until the final dog team arrives at the finish line. (Photos: Evan Mitsui/CBC News; Reporting: Virginie Ann/CBC North) #CBC #CBCNews #Yukon #Alaska #SledRace #YukonQuest #Musher #SledDogs

February 13, 2023

class="content__text" A group of CBC News journalists each downloaded their personal data from Facebook — information known as "off-Facebook activity" — and found retail purchases listed from multiple chains. The data suggests a variety of well-known retailers in Canada have been sharing customer information with the social media platform's parent company, Meta, to gain marketing research in return. And it's not clear what steps have been taken to warn shoppers. Purchases from all the retailers mentioned in this post appeared in the Facebook data seen by CBC. It begs the question: When a shopper shares their email address at the cash register — to receive an electronic receipt, rather than a paper one — do they really know where their details are being sent? "These revelations are showing the extent to which the public does not know how much of our activities are trackable," said Wendy Wong, a UBC political science professor. Companies "must generally obtain an individual's consent when they collect, use or disclose that individual's personal information" under Canadian law, according to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Federal Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne recently published a scathing report about the data-sharing practices of another major retailer, Home Depot. The report last month found the big-box retailer didn't seek proper consent from in-store customers as it systematically transmitted e-receipt details with Meta. The privacy commissioner said Home Depot customers' encoded email addresses and purchase information were handed over. Meta then used the data to analyze how online ads lead to purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. Dufresne's investigation only focused on Home Depot, but the process appears widespread. CBC reached out to each retailer listed in this post and provided purchase data downloaded from Facebook. Gap declined to comment. Most of the companies did not respond, but to find out more about Hudson's Bay and PetSmart's response, check our link in bio. (Graphics: CBC News; Photos: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images; Reporting: Thomas Daigle/CBC News) #CBC #CBCNews #Meta #Tech #Data #Privacy #Retail #EmailReceipt #Settings

February 13, 2023

class="content__text" The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has shot down an unidentified object in Canadian airspace, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. NORAD shot down the object over the Yukon. “Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," Trudeau said in a statement on Twitter. Canadian forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object, the prime minister added. NORAD had confirmed earlier in the afternoon that it had identified an aerial object over northern Canada, but declined to provide additional details. Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a news conference the "small, cylindrical object" was about 40,000 feet above ground and downed — due to possible risks to civilian aviation — at around 3:40 p.m. ET about 100 miles from the U.S. border in central Yukon. A senior government source with direct knowledge of the situation told CBC News that the Canadian government was first alerted to the object Friday night when it was still travelling through Alaska. The source added the object crossed into Canada on Saturday morning and Trudeau ordered the shoot down by whichever country arrived at it first. One week ago, the U.S. military destroyed what it asserts was a Chinese surveillance balloon that had traversed the continent. China says it was a weather balloon that was blown off course. Tap the link in our bio to read more. (Reporting: Christian Paas-Lang/CBC, @cbcthenational ) #NORAD #HighAltitudeObject #ShotDown #NationalSecurity #Canada #CBCNews #CBC

February 12, 2023