What’s happening today
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSRyan McRae and other provincial staff who have volunteered their Christmas and Boxing Day holidays to come in and make COVID-19 rapid testing kits for distribution, assemble test packages in a warehouse Tuesday, December 28, 2021. The team assembled 2000 kits yesterday and expect to make 5000 per day ongoing.
COVID-19 update: Provincial health officials are scheduled to hold their regular Wednesday news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic after the province recorded a record-setting 825 infections Tuesday. University of Manitoba immunology Prof. Deanna Santer said it is shocking that the provincial government has not made rapid tests widely available to the public. Danielle Da Silva reports. READ MORE
Coronavirus cases surge globally: The World Health Organization says the number of COVID-19 cases reported worldwide increased by 11 per cent last week compared with the previous week, with the biggest increase in the Americas. The United States recorded more than 1.18 million cases — a 34 per cent increase. The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
Ten to join Order of Canada: Rideau Hall announced that 10 Manitobans will join the Order of Canada at a later date. The list includes Murray Sinclair, the former senator and judge who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, anti-poverty researcher Evelyn Forget, and philanthropist and Free Press co-owner Bob Silver. Dylan Robertson reports. READ MORE
Match vs. Germany: Team Canada will face Germany in the world junior men’s hockey championship in Edmonton this evening after thrashing Austria on Tuesday night. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: Mainly sunny with a high of -26 C, wind chill as low as -41 and wind at 10 km/h from the west increasing to 20 km/h from the southwest this afternoon.
In case you missed it
The statue of Queen Victoria was toppled on the lawn of the Manitoba Legislative Building during a demonstration on Canada Day in the wake of the discovery of unmarked children’s graves at a residential school site. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)
‘Fifth draft of that text’: Former premier Brian Pallister said a controversial comment he made that might have hastened his departure had undergone several changes as part of a prepared statement. A year-end story by The Canadian Press on the toppling of two statues on the legislature grounds says the Canada Day protest had far-reaching effects on provincial politics. READ MORE
Climate chaos: Witnessing the direct and immediate impacts of climate change was a hallmark of 2021 in Canada, Sarah Lawrynuik reports in a year-end story for the Free Press. READ MORE
3,000 3-pointers: Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry became the first NBA player to make 3,000 career 3-pointers on Tuesday night. READ MORE
Ex-Senate dealmaker dies: Harry Reid, a former U.S. Senator for Nevada who was majority leader from 2007 to 2015, has died at age 82. Former president Barack Obama released a letter he sent to Reid recently that stated, “I wouldn’t have been president if it hadn’t been for your encouragement and support.” The Associated Press reports. READ MORE
On this date
On Dec. 29, 1942: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Red Army troops advanced on the city of Rostov, which had been captured by the Germans earlier in the year; Soviet troops also reportedly pushed against the Finnish line after months of inactivity. British submarines blasted four German ships carrying reinforcements to North Africa. A revised list of casualties in a train wreck in Almonte, Ont., reached 35 deaths; one of the people aboard was from Winnipeg and was critically injured.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Winnipeg Free Press READ MORE
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