What’s happening today
This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the spherical particles of the new coronavirus, colorized blue, from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. Public health officials in New Brunswick say another person has died as a result of COVID-19 — the second death in the province linked to the pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Hannah A. Bullock, Azaibi Tamin/CDC via AP, File
Set to release stats: Statistics Canada will reveal this morning how the nation’s economy fared in the second quarter of 2020, which began after the pandemic hit. A financial data firm says the average estimate is for a drop of nearly 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, which would be the steepest drop on record. The Canadian Press reports. READ MORE
Basketball might be back: The NBA playoffs might resume after two days of postponed games. Players refused to take the court Wednesday in protest over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin. There are three games scheduled today, including one featuring the Milwaukee Bucks, but it has yet to be announced whether play will resume today or Saturday. The NHL has postponed games till Saturday. In baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays are set to play today, and a Major League Soccer game between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC is scheduled. READ MORE
Japan’s PM to step down: Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, says he plans to resign because of a chronic health problem. Abe, the country’s longest-serving PM, is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and approved by parliament. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Scofflaws face fines: A public health order took effect today that allows the provincial government to fine anyone infected with COVID-19 — or their close contacts — who do not self-isolate up to $486 per day. Carol Sanders reports. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: There’s a high likelihood of more rain this morning and risk of a thunderstorm. A mix of sun and cloud beginning this afternoon, with a high of 22 C, and wind at 10 km/h from the south increasing to 40 km/h and gusting to 60 from the northwest early this afternoon. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Hurricane Laura was downgraded to a tropical storm late Thursday, but more tornadoes are expected across the Tennessee Valley region before the storm closes in on the Mid-Atlantic states by Saturday. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
In case you missed it
President Donald Trump walks to the stage after Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech on the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
U.S. President Donald Trump ended the Republican National Convention with a 70-minute speech on the lawn of the White House that ended after 11:30 p.m. ET. Trump — in the second-longest acceptance speech for a presidential nomination, behind his own 2016 address — fiercely criticized Democratic nominee Joe Biden as a hapless career politician. The Associated Press reports.
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Safer schools rally: More than 100 people gathered at the legislative building Thursday to call for a safer back-to-school plan amid the pandemic. Gabrielle Piché reports. READ MORE
In case you missed it
On this date
Aug. 28, 2008: Bones from the mosasaur — a marine reptile — were uncovered earlier near the community of Miami; Two prominent Winnipeggers — Arni Thorsteinson and Gail Asper — and six other notable Canadians were chosen Wednesday by Ottawa to take the Canadian Museum for Human Rights from concept to bricks and mortar; and inspection system not the cause for listerios tbreak, Maple Leaf CEO says.
Today’s front page
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