Tesla faces wider probe of self-driving feature as it prepares to sell cars without steering wheels

Sex assault charges against basketball referee stayed

A Winnipeg basketball referee accused of sexual offences involving three men has had criminal charges against him stayed.

Michael Shane Maryk, 45, had been set to stand trial July 20 on five counts of sexual assault and two counts of committing an indecent act, but instead agreed to a one-year peace bond prohibiting him from having any contact with the three men.

Maryk was employed by the Manitoba Association of Basketball Officials at the time the offences were alleged to have occurred.

The peace bond requires that Maryk not come within 200 metres of the men’s homes, schools or places of worship and have no contact with their families.

A life's story: ‘Ivor the Driver’ found his calling in the ranching life

Ivor Asham’s family couldn’t have picked a better image to accompany his obituary. There he is, riding Flash, his beloved brown and white quarter horse, a black cowboy hat on his head and a drink in his hand.

Asham owned and operated Birds Hill Park Ranch for nearly 35 years, where he shared his lifelong passion for horses with thousands of visitors. He moved hay, harnessed horses and drove the wagons, introducing himself as “Ivor the Driver.”

Over the years, Asham built a reputation as the quintessential cowboy.

There’s a restaurant at the ranch filled with memorabilia that he collected over the years. Calgary Stampede posters, cowboy boot-shaped shot glasses, a child’s rocking horse, a wagon wheel and numerous photos of legendary actor John Wayne are just some of the items that line the walls.

Is Trump about to poke Quebec’s political beehive?

When was the last time that a U.S. president seriously stirred the hornet’s nest of Quebec politics?

My best recollection is former U.S. president Bill Clinton. During the 1994 Quebec referendum campaign, Clinton made clear that the U.S. wholly endorsed a united and strong federal Canada — as opposed to a dismembered one. He went on to add that an independent Quebec would have no guarantee of joining the North American Free Trade Agreement as a full-fledged member.

Today, we see U.S. President Donald Trump inserting himself — unwittingly or wittingly — into the electoral and sovereignty politics of Quebec. It’s pretty clear that the resurgent Coalition Avenir Québec government is trying to make the Oct. 5 provincial election about anything other than its own governmental record and more about Trump’s economic coercion against Canada. Of course, the Parti Québécois, the odds-on-favourite, wants to make the electoral contest a referendum on the CAQ and its party leader, Christine Fréchette.

But what if Trump really wanted to make his presence felt in Quebec’s political life? How much influence could he have on shaping political outcomes in Quebec? How much of an “X factor” could he be?

Chrétien says Canada bows to no one in fiery address at 9/11 commemoration

GANDER - Former prime minister Jean Chrétien drew a standing ovation inside a Gander, N.L., hockey arena on Friday as he delivered a pointed message to American leaders during a ceremony marking the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, 25 years ago.

The 92-year-old warned Americans never to mistake Canadian generosity for weakness, nor its kindness for softness.

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra looked on as Chrétien insisted his pointed words were a sign of friendship. Friends tell each other the truth, he said.

“We embraced our friends and we helped them in their moment of need, but we bow to no one,” Chretien said, as the crowd erupted again.

Is ‘tornado alley’ moving north?

There’s a famous fictional story in which a ruby-slippered, tornado-tossed traveller takes a wide-eyed look around and declares, “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”