Free Press Head Start for Aug. 5

Good morning.

Canada’s Damian Warner is poised to win a medal in the decathlon and is on pace to set the Olympic record after this morning’s javelin throw. The final event of the two-day competition, the 1,500-metre race, is set to begin at 7:40 a.m. CT. Another Canadian, Pierce LePage, is in fifth place heading into the 10th and final event. Lauriane Genest won bronze in women’s keirin this morning, Canada’s first track cycling medal of the Tokyo Olympics. Laurence Vincent-Lapointe won silver for Canada in the women’s C-1 200-metre canoe event last night.

Olympic organizers announced early today that the gold-medal soccer game between Canada and Sweden, which had been set for tonight, has been postponed to Friday morning. Both teams had raised concerns about playing at the peak of heat and humidity. Kickoff is set for 7 a.m. CT Friday. Canada has previously won bronze in women’s soccer but never gold or silver.

The City of Winnipeg will begin fogging for mosquitoes tonight, weather permitting, to reduce the number of the insects carrying the West Nile virus.

Environment Canada has issued yet another special air-quality statement for Winnipeg and most of Manitoba because of smoke from wildfires.

— Adam Treusch, assignment editor

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What’s happening today

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSThe Bombers huddle during practice at IG Field in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. For — story.Winnipeg Free Press 2021.

CFL season begins: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 7:30 p.m. to kick off the Canadian Football League season. The game is a rematch of the 2019 Grey Cup game, which the Bombers won. The 2020 CFL season was cancelled because of the pandemic. Jeff Hamilton has five storylines you need to know. READ MORE

Province’s school plan: The province will announce its back-to-school pandemic plan today, a source told the Free Press earlier this week. READ MORE

Agencies set to split: Mélanie Joly, the federal minister responsible for regional economic development agencies, will provide details on how Western Economic Diversification will officially split into two agencies at a news conference in Winnipeg. Martin Cash reports. READ MORE

Weather

Your forecast: Mainly cloudy with a chance of showers this morning, a high of 24 C, humidex of 27 and wind from the northwest at 15 km/h increasing to 30 km/h and gusting to 50 beginning later this morning.

In case you missed it

“I’m really disheartened that they removed the vaccination requirement for places where children go,” Chandra Mayor said Wednesday.

Mad about mask change: Many Manitobans, particularly those with young children, are preparing to hunker down again to reduce their risk of catching COVID-19 when the province eases pandemic restrictions Saturday. Julia-Simone Rutgers reports. READ MORE

Driver fined for death: A driver was fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to one count of careless driving causing death for backing over a woman with a dump truck at Garden City Shopping Centre in 2019. Dean Pritchard reports. READ MORE

‘Need to take military action’: Israel’s defence minister said his country is prepared to strike Iran after a drone attack his country blames on Tehran killed two people in the Arabian Sea last week. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE

On this date

On Aug. 5, 1982: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled that Indigenous people were not required to obtain permits to hunt in provincial parks because of a 1929 agreement that guaranteed their hunting rights. Israel consolidated its tank positions around the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s enclave in West Beirut. Winnipeg police planned to crack down on retail stores that sold Lysol to people who were likely to drink it. Police said an increasing number of homeless people were drinking the cleaning fluid as a means of getting drunk.

Today’s front page

Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE

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