Health – Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba politicians are working to pass many bills into law by Thursday — the last scheduled sitting before the provincial election slated for Oct. 3. The throne speech is delivered at the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg, on Nov. 23, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Clock ticks on Manitoba legislature sitting

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 11:01 AM CDT

WINNIPEG - Manitoba politicians are working to pass many bills into law by Thursday — the last scheduled sitting before the summer break and the provincial election slated for Oct. 3.

Aside from its recently passed budget legislation, the Progressive Conservative government is also set to give First Nations communities more power to enforce laws and collect unpaid fines.

Other bills that have passed in recent days or are about to pass include one that would make it easier for victims to sue people who share intimate images without consent.

Several bills from opposition parties are also set to be approved in final votes this week, including one from the New Democrats that would require most businesses to let delivery persons use their washrooms, except where there are safety concerns.

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Humanitarian group MSF calls for support for refugees in Kenya affected by cholera crisis

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Humanitarian group MSF calls for support for refugees in Kenya affected by cholera crisis

The Associated Press 2 minute read 6:06 AM CDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hundreds of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camps have been affected by a cholera outbreak as the population in the facilities grows rapidly, a humanitarian charity said Tuesday.

Doctors Without Borders, known by French acronym MSF, said that 2,786 refugees have been affected so far “and there is an imminent risk of outbreaks of other gastro-intestinal diseases.”

The Dadaab camps host more than 300,000 people and with the biting drought in neighboring Somalia, the numbers are on the rise, consequently straining water and sanitation services.

There are plans to open another camp in the complex to accommodate new arrivals and ease overcrowding.

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6:06 AM CDT

FILE - A Somali refugee girl walks past the fence surrounding a hut at Dadaab refugee camp, then hosting over 230,000 inhabitants, in northern Kenya on Dec. 19, 2017. Hundreds of refugees in Kenya's Dadaab camps have been affected by a cholera outbreak as the population in the facilities grows rapidly, a humanitarian charity said Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Pregnancy and sports a challenging combination for female professional athletes

Anna Furman, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Pregnancy and sports a challenging combination for female professional athletes

Anna Furman, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:57 PM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pro soccer player Jess McDonald was traded across six teams in her first five years as a single parent, making it difficult to find, let alone afford, child care in new cities. She and her then-8-month-old son were often forced to share a hotel room with a teammate — and sometimes she had no choice but to bring him with her to practice.

“If I’d have a bad game, you know, my kid would be blamed for it at times, and it was just like, ‘Oh, was your kid up late at night?’” the U.S. Women's National Team player said in a recent interview.

Arizona State basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne had three children without taking maternity leave. And New York Liberty head coach and former WNBA player Sandy Brondello — acknowledging the difficulties that she would face if she got pregnant — waited to have kids until she retired as a player at age 38.

Juggling the demands of parenthood with those of a professional sports career is just one of myriad challenges female athletes face in an industry that also has been rife with pay disparities, harassment and bullying in the 27 years since the WNBA, the first women’s professional sports league, was formed.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:57 PM CDT

CAPTION IS WRONG - WASN'T 20 WEEKS PREGNANT - FILE - United States' Serena Williams holds her trophy after defeating her sister Venus during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 28, 2017. Williams famously won the tournament when she was eight weeks pregnant. An expert said mothers often are better athletes because they learn how to manage their time better, they understand their bodies better and they may be peaking even later in life. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

How wildfire smoke can affect pregnant people

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

How wildfire smoke can affect pregnant people

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press 4 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

Smoke from wildfires in parts of Alberta, British Columbia and now Nova Scotia has doctors warning pregnant people to take extra precautions against breathing in toxic particles.

Dr. Wee-Shian Chan, head of medicine at BC Women's Hospital, said breathing in pollutants and toxic gases generated by forest fires takes particulate matter into the bloodstream and lungs, making it harder to breathe.

"When women are exposed to wildfires, it could impact the growth of the baby," she said, adding there are gaps in the research about whether the smoke interferes with normal fetal development because pregnant people can't be exposed to it for study purposes.

"Women just have to be vigilant," she said.

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3:00 AM CDT

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, the Carter Center says

Bill Barrow, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, the Carter Center says

Bill Barrow, The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: 12:31 PM CDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia and remains at home, her family has announced.

Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year.

“She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the family said via The Carter Center, the global humanitarian organization the couple founded in 1982 after leaving the White House.

Married nearly 77 years, the Carter are the longest-married first couple in U.S. history.

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Updated: 12:31 PM CDT

FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife former first lady Rosalynn Carter sit together during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary on July 10, 2021, in Plains, Ga. The Carter family shared news that Rosalynn Carter has dementia, The Carter Center announced Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, Pool, File)

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits

Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits

Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 11:13 AM CDT

A federal court ruling cleared the way Tuesday for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s settlement of thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids.

Under the plan approved by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being used to fight the opioid crisis. They would also contribute $5.5 billion to $6 billion in cash over time. A chunk of that money — at least $750 million — is to go to individual victims of the opioid crisis and their survivors. Only one other major opioid lawsuit settlement includes payments for victims.

Tuesday's decision also protects members of the Sackler family from lawsuits over the toll of opioids, even though they did not file for bankruptcy.

The court's ruling reversed a 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy court judges did not have the authority to approve a settlement that would offer bankruptcy protections for those who have not filed for bankruptcy.

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Updated: 11:13 AM CDT

FILE - Jayde Newton helps to set up cardboard gravestones with the names of victims of opioid abuse outside the courthouse where the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy is taking place in White Plains, N.Y., on Aug. 9, 2021. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday, May 30 overturned a lower court’s 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy courts did not have the authority to protect members of the Sackler family who own the company and who have not filed for bankruptcy protection from lawsuits. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

UK government fights demand to hand over Boris Johnson’s messages to COVID-19 inquiry

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

UK government fights demand to hand over Boris Johnson’s messages to COVID-19 inquiry

Jill Lawless, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 8:17 AM CDT

LONDON (AP) — As Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson established an independent inquiry into his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now the inquiry wants to see, in full, what Johnson wrote to other U.K. officials as the outbreak raged — but the government is fighting a demand to hand over the material.

Inquiry chairwoman Heather Hallett, a retired judge, has asked the Conservative government, now led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to produce full copies of Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks, after initially being given redacted versions.

Government officials said they only cut out material that was “unambiguously irrelevant” to the investigation, but Hallett wants to be the judge of that. She said “the entire contents of the specified documents are of potential relevance to the lines of investigation being pursued by the inquiry.”

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Updated: 8:17 AM CDT

Boris Johnson leaves his house in London, Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was fined for breaking his own government's pandemic lockdown rules, has been reported to police again over more potential breaches. The Times of London said Tuesday May 23, 2023, that Johnson was reported by civil servants over alleged visits to Chequers, the prime minister's official country retreat, as well as potential breaches in the leader's Downing Street residence. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

Parliament votes down Tory motion on addiction

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Parliament votes down Tory motion on addiction

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:51 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has failed to persuade the House of Commons to condemn the Liberal government's approach to fighting drug addiction.

In a vote of 209-113 Monday, MPs defeated a motion presented by Poilievre.

The motion took aim at the federal government's harm-reduction policies for drug users, but focused mainly on its decision to fund the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives as a replacement for certain illicit drugs to combat the opioid crisis.

Such programs are commonly referred to as "safe supply," or "safer supply," although the federal Conservatives and other critics dispute that term, given the risks associated with drug use.

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Updated: Yesterday at 8:51 PM CDT

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, May 29, 2023. An attempt from Poilievre for the House of Commons to condemn the Liberal government's approach to drug addiction has failed.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 2 minute read 12:20 PM CDT

Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.

Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments.

Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for better enforcement of “comprehensive food safety policies,” which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keep sick workers off the job.

Although 85% of restaurants said they had policies restricting staff from working while sick, only about 16% of the policies were detailed enough to require workers to notify managers and to stay home if they had any of the five key symptoms — including vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat with fever.

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12:20 PM CDT

FILE - A worker arranges food onto plates in the kitchen of a restaurant in New York on Dec. 14, 2021. Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

Building beneficial community connections one street party at a time

Sabrina Carnevale 7 minute read Preview

Building beneficial community connections one street party at a time

Sabrina Carnevale 7 minute read Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

If you throw it, they will come.

That was Brian Pincott’s thinking when he threw his first block party in 2021. As a new Winnipegger — he moved from Calgary in 2019 — he thought it would be a good way to get to know his neighbours.

“I don’t recommend moving to a city right before a pandemic. It’s not the best way to meet people and build community,” he says.

He met a couple of neighbours here and there but didn’t really get to know anybody. So when the summer of 2021 rolled around, he decided it was time to get out of the house and start meeting people.

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Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Groups urge strict measures in tobacco settlement

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Groups urge strict measures in tobacco settlement

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 3:01 AM CDT

Three national health organizations want Canada's premiers to push for initiatives to reduce smoking during settlement negotiations with major tobacco companies, years after provinces sued to recoup health-care costs.

In an open letter, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association and Heart and Stroke Foundation say governments should make cutting tobacco use a top priority in talks that began four years ago as part of the provinces' lawsuits seeking a collective $500 billion in damages.

"Tobacco causes a devastating toll in disease and death, a toll that is contributing to the ongoing crisis in the health-care system," the groups say in the letter released Monday, ahead of World No Tobacco Day, an annual campaign by the World Health Organization to raise awareness about the harms of tobacco use.

Lawsuits by all 10 provinces, with British Columbia filing the first one in 1998, are against Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., and JTI-Macdonald Corp., as well as their foreign parent corporations.

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Yesterday at 3:01 AM CDT

A smoker puts out a cigarette in a public ashtray in Ottawa on May 31, 2016. Three national health organizations want Canada's premiers to push for initiatives to reduce smoking during settlement negotiations with major tobacco companies, which provinces sued to recoup health-care costs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ontario hospitals prepare for summer ER staffing

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Ontario hospitals prepare for summer ER staffing

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

TORONTO - Hospitals in smaller and rural Ontario communities have been recruiting, training, and poring over schedules in the hopes of avoiding another summer wave of temporaryER closures – though the problem never really went away.

Staffing shortages led hospitals to close their emergency departments for hours or even days at a time during the summer of 2022.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones noted at the time that similar staffing challenges and closures were seen across the country, and that there was a high rate of health-care workers taking well-deserved vacation time.

But the closures did not stop at the end of the summer vacation period. South Bruce Grey Health Centre had overnight ER closures at all of its four sites through the fall, and had to fully close its Chesley ER for two months. The hospital has noted a shortage of nurses there since before the pandemic and the site still only operates Monday to Friday, during the day.

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Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones makes an announcement on health care with Premier Doug Ford in the province in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Raccoon euthanized after woman brings it to pet store and other customers kiss it

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Raccoon euthanized after woman brings it to pet store and other customers kiss it

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:13 AM CDT

AUBURN, Maine (AP) — A raccoon in Maine was euthanized and tested for rabies after a woman brought it into a pet store for a nail trim and some customers kissed it, state wildlife authorities said.

The raccoon tested negative for the disease, and there is no rabies risk to the public, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti said Sunday. However, raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in the state, and bringing the wild animal into a pet store constituted an unnecessary risk to public health, Latti said.

The woman, who has not been identified by authorities, brought the raccoon into an Auburn pet store on Tuesday, the wildlife department said. She was seeking to get the animal's nails trimmed, which is a service the store does not provide to raccoons, the department said.

Several different people handled the animal and some kissed it, the wildlife department said. The store's manager then asked the woman to leave and contacted the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the department said.

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Updated: Yesterday at 9:13 AM CDT

AUBURN, Maine (AP) — A raccoon in Maine was euthanized and tested for rabies after a woman brought it into a pet store for a nail trim and some customers kissed it, state wildlife authorities said.

The raccoon tested negative for the disease, and there is no rabies risk to the public, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti said Sunday. However, raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in the state, and bringing the wild animal into a pet store constituted an unnecessary risk to public health, Latti said.

The woman, who has not been identified by authorities, brought the raccoon into an Auburn pet store on Tuesday, the wildlife department said. She was seeking to get the animal's nails trimmed, which is a service the store does not provide to raccoons, the department said.

Several different people handled the animal and some kissed it, the wildlife department said. The store's manager then asked the woman to leave and contacted the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the department said.

New York City outlaws discrimination on the basis of weight, height

Karen Matthews, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

New York City outlaws discrimination on the basis of weight, height

Karen Matthews, The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation Friday that will ban discrimination based on body size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories such as race, sex and religion.

“We all deserve the same access to employment, housing and public accommodation, regardless of our appearance, and it shouldn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh,” said the mayor, who joined other elected officials as well as fat-acceptance advocates at a City Hall bill-signing ceremony.

Adams, a Democrat who published a book about reversing his diabetes through a plant-based diet, said the ordinance "will help level the playing field for all New Yorkers, create more inclusive workplaces and living environments, and protect against discrimination."

Exemptions under the ordinance, which the city council passed this month, include cases in which an individual’s height or weight could prevent them from performing essential functions of a job.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

Oregon, awash in treatment funds after decriminalizing drugs, now must follow the money

Andrew Selsky, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Oregon, awash in treatment funds after decriminalizing drugs, now must follow the money

Andrew Selsky, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

Funding for drug treatment centers in Oregon, financed by the state's pioneering drug decriminalization policy, stood at over a quarter-billion dollars Friday as officials called for closer monitoring of where the money goes.

That need for oversight was demonstrated Wednesday when state officials terminated a $1.5 million grant agreement with a drug recovery nonprofit in Klamath Falls accused of failing to submit completed expenditure and data reports and buying a building for more than double the authorized amount.

That $1.5 million is just a drop in a huge bucket — $264.6 million has been allocated to date for recovery centers — and state officials have a massive responsibility to ensure the money does what it is supposed to: combatting drug use in a state with one of the nation's highest addiction rates.

Oregon's drug decriminalization had a rocky start after voters approved it in a 2020 ballot measure. Only a tiny number of people have accessed treatment services after being ticketed for possessing drugs, and funding to treatment providers was delayed.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

FILE - Signs at a drug treatment center show where receptacles used to dispense methadone should be disposed of after use on Feb. 24, 2022, in Salem, Ore. Oregon's pioneering drug decriminalization program, which allocates vast resources to rehabilitate drug abusers, has for the first time terminated funding for a service provider amid missed financial reporting deadlines and alleged misspending. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

Oregon man died waiting for an ambulance, highlighting lack of emergency responders

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Oregon man died waiting for an ambulance, highlighting lack of emergency responders

The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man died while waiting over a half-hour for an ambulance after being struck by a hit-and-run driver last month, according to emergency dispatch logs, an incident that Portland firefighters say highlights their frustration at a lack of available ambulances to respond to emergency calls.

The Bureau of Emergency Communications 911 dispatch log was obtained by KGW-TV through a public records request. It revealed that American Medical Response, the private provider contracted by Multnomah County, was operating at level zero — a code meaning there are no ambulances available to respond to an emergency call.

“More and more, day after day, we’re seeing this level zero pop up, and as firefighters we’re getting frustrated,” Isaac McLennan, president of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, told KGW-TV. “This is a highly dangerous situation and it should be unacceptable not only just for firefighters, it should be unacceptable for everybody who lives in this community.”

Shortly after midnight on April 28, both firefighters and an ambulance crew were dispatched to the accident scene in northeast Portland. Police said it appeared the man, who has not been publicly identified, was attempting to cross the street in a wheelchair when he was hit.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

An American Medical Response vehicle drives in San Francisco, Monday, May 22, 2023. Lawyers sued medical transport provider American Medical Response West, saying the ambulance company's lax oversight allowed a paramedic to sexually assault two women in their 80s on their way to a hospital. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Doctor’s supporters, hospital at odds with Indiana penalty for talking about 10-year-old’s abortion

Tom Davies, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Doctor’s supporters, hospital at odds with Indiana penalty for talking about 10-year-old’s abortion

Tom Davies, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Supporters of an Indianapolis doctor voiced frustration Friday with the Indiana medical board’s decision that she violated patient privacy laws when she talked with a newspaper reporter about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim.

The board’s vote late Thursday to issue a letter of reprimand against Dr. Caitlin Bernard won’t limit her ability to practice medicine in the state, and the hospital system where she works said it stood by its finding that she followed privacy rules. The medical board rejected allegations that Bernard failed to properly report suspected child abuse and was unfit to have a medical license.

Some of Bernard’s colleagues criticized the Medical Licensing Board’s vote and the state attorney general’s pursuit of disciplinary action against her as trying to intimidate doctors in Indiana, where the Republican-dominated Legislature enacted an abortion ban last year that courts have put on hold.

Bernard’s revelation of the girl traveling to Indiana to receive abortion drugs turned her case into a flashpoint in the national abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. Some news outlets and Republican politicians falsely suggested Bernard fabricated the story until a 27-year-old man was charged with the rape in Columbus, Ohio. During an event at the White House, President Joe Biden nearly shouted his outrage over the case.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

Dr. Caitlin Bernard raises her right hand as she is sworn in Thursday, May 25, 2023, during a hearing in front of the state medical board at the Indiana Government South building in downtown Indianapolis. Bernard is appearing before the board for the final hearing in a complaint filed by Attorney General Todd Rokita saying she violated patient privacy laws and reporting laws. (Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP)

Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it has US approval to begin trials in people

Laura Ungar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it has US approval to begin trials in people

Laura Ungar, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it's gotten permission from U.S. regulators to begin testing its device in people.

The company made the announcement on Twitter Thursday evening but has provided no details about a potential study, which was not listed on the U.S. government database of clinical trials.

Officials with the Food and Drug Administration wouldn’t confirm or deny whether the agency granted the approval, but press officer Carly Kempler said in an email that the FDA “acknowledges and understands” that Musk’s company made the announcement.

Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking the nervous system to computers, efforts aimed at helping treat brain disorders, overcoming brain injuries and other applications.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

FILE - Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it’s gotten permission to begin testing its device in people. The company made the announcement on Twitter Thursday, May 25, but has provided no details about a potential trial, which was not listed on the U.S. government database of trials. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File)

Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, removes books depicting sex acts from school libraries

Scott Mcfetridge And Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, removes books depicting sex acts from school libraries

Scott Mcfetridge And Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, and all books depicting sex acts will be removed from school libraries, under a bill Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Friday.

The new law is among similar measures that have been approved in other Republican-dominated statehouses around the country. As with many of those proposals, Iowa Republicans framed their action as a commonsense effort to ensure that parents can oversee what their children are learning in school and that teachers not delve into topics such as gender and sexuality.

Despite the opposition of all Democratic legislators, Republicans who hold large majorities in Iowa's state House and Senate approved the measure in April and there was little doubt that Reynolds would sign it; she had made issues related to gender identity and sexuality a focal point of her legislative agenda this year.

“This legislative session, we secured transformational education reform that puts parents in the driver’s seat, eliminates burdensome regulations on public schools, provides flexibility to raise teacher salaries, and empowers teachers to prepare our kids for their future," Reynolds said in a statement.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

FILE - Iowa's Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers her inaugural address, Jan. 13, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity or sexual orientation issues with children through the sixth grade under a bill signed into law by Reynolds, according to an announcement by her office Friday, May 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Nanaimo to get cancer care facility: B.C. premier

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Nanaimo to get cancer care facility: B.C. premier

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

NANAIMO, B.C. - The city of Nanaimo on central Vancouver Island is the latest British Columbia community to receive government approval for a cancer care centre, Premier David Eby said Friday.

The centre will be located at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

B.C.'s growing and aging population has stretched demand and need for cancer treatment across the province, Eby told a news conference in Nanaimo.

"We know now that one in two people in B.C., that's every other one of us, will face a cancer diagnosis at some point in our lifetime."

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

Premier David Eby answers questions from the media in Langford, B.C., on Thursday, May 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

A look at Céline Dion's incurable syndrome

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

A look at Céline Dion's incurable syndrome

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

Canadian superstar Céline Dion cancelled the rest of her "Courage" world tour Friday, citing ongoing health problems due to a rare neurological disorder called "stiff person syndrome."

Dion's team did not reveal specific symptoms the 55-year-old singer was experiencing, but said the songstress was "unable to successfully prepare for and perform the remainder of the tour."

According to the Stiff Person Syndrome Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine, the incurable condition causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that worsen over time, which can be triggered by sudden movement and unexpected loud noises.

The name doesn't do justice to the pain and life-changing symptoms the syndrome causes, said Tara Zier, founder of the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundationin Bethesda, Md.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

Canadian superstar Céline Dion cancelled her

N.B. government to review gender-neutral washrooms

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

N.B. government to review gender-neutral washrooms

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government has expanded a review of the province's policy on sexual orientation in schools to include access to washroom facilities on the basis of gender identity.

"We remain committed to working every day to ensuring a safe and respectful learning environment for all students in New Brunswick,” said a statement released this week from Premier Blaine Higgs and Education Minister Bill Hogan.

Policy 713, which was introduced in 2020, establishes minimum standards for schools to ensure a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ students.

The policy states that all students will have access to washroom facilities that align with their gender identity.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

The New Brunswick government has expanded the review of the province's policy on sexual orientation in schools. A person wears a pin at a Pride meeting at Norwich and District Museum in Norwich, Ont., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

Judge halts South Carolina’s new stricter abortion law until state Supreme Court review

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Judge halts South Carolina’s new stricter abortion law until state Supreme Court review

Jeffrey Collins, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge put South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy on hold Friday until the state Supreme Court can review the measure, giving providers a temporary reprieve in a region that has enacted strict limits on the procedure.

Judge Clifton Newman's ruling that put the state’s abortion law back at roughly 20 weeks came about 24 hours after Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill into law without any notice, which had left dozens of people seeking abortions in limbo and created the potential for a legal abortion becoming illegal as a doctor performed it.

"It’s extraordinarily difficult not only for the women themselves, but for their doctors — not just the doctors at Planned Parenthood — but hospitals all across the state who need to understand what to do in an emergency,” said Vicki Ringer, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in South Carolina.

The developments in South Carolina are a microcosm of what has played out across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a year ago, allowing states to decide their abortion laws and leaving patients scrambling to find care wherever they can in situations where weeks or even days can make a huge difference.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

South Carolina state Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, holds a transvaginal ultrasound wand on the second day of debate over a bill banning most abortions when cardiac activity is detected, generally around six weeks and often before women know they're pregnant, on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/James Pollard)

Competition Bureau recommends changing THC limits

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Competition Bureau recommends changing THC limits

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

Canada's competition watchdog is putting its weight behind some longtime cannabis industry asks including easing restrictions on cannabis packaging and adjusting limits on how much of pot’s psychoactive component can be in edible products.

In a submission to Health Canada and a panel reviewing cannabis legislation published Friday, the Competition Bureau positioned changing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limits and giving pot companies more freedoms around packaging and marketing as a way to boost competition.

"The bureau believes that stronger competition in the cannabis industry would help foster innovation and benefit consumers by providing them with increased choice and quality," it wrote in its submission.

"Importantly, these benefits would serve to further displace illicit market activity and bolster the legal cannabis industry."

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

Canada's competition watchdog says the federal government should consider easing restrictions on cannabis packaging and limits on how much of pot’s psychoactive component can be edible products. A variety of cannabis edibles are displayed at the Ontario Cannabis Store in Toronto on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Maine governor suggests making paid leave proposal easier on businesses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Maine governor suggests making paid leave proposal easier on businesses

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills is pumping the brakes on a paid family and medical leave proposal promoted by her fellow Democrats, seeking compromises to reduce the burden on businesses in an effort to win broader support.

Deputy Chief of Staff Elise Baldacci said the governor recommended changes to balance the “disparate needs of Maine families and businesses” as paid leave advocates rallied at the State House and a public hearing was held Thursday.

Maine would join a growing number of states in adopting a paid family leave plan if the legislature approves the proposal, which allows up to 12 weeks a year of paid leave for qualifying conditions, such as the birth or adoption of a child, a worker’s serious illness, or care for a sick relative. Minnesota became the 12th state to require such benefits on Thursday.

The bill being considered in Maine would fund the leaves through a payroll tax split between workers and employers and capped at 1% of wages. The exact contribution rate, including the split, and the wage replacement rate will be negotiated by a legislative committee. Companies with fewer than 15 employees would be exempt.

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills is pumping the brakes on a paid family and medical leave proposal promoted by her fellow Democrats, seeking compromises to reduce the burden on businesses in an effort to win broader support.

Deputy Chief of Staff Elise Baldacci said the governor recommended changes to balance the “disparate needs of Maine families and businesses” as paid leave advocates rallied at the State House and a public hearing was held Thursday.

Maine would join a growing number of states in adopting a paid family leave plan if the legislature approves the proposal, which allows up to 12 weeks a year of paid leave for qualifying conditions, such as the birth or adoption of a child, a worker’s serious illness, or care for a sick relative. Minnesota became the 12th state to require such benefits on Thursday.

The bill being considered in Maine would fund the leaves through a payroll tax split between workers and employers and capped at 1% of wages. The exact contribution rate, including the split, and the wage replacement rate will be negotiated by a legislative committee. Companies with fewer than 15 employees would be exempt.

May 30, 2023

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