Your forecast
Mainly cloudy, with light snow beginning early this morning and ending near noon. Wind from the southeast at 30 km/h. High -7 C, wind chill -29 this morning and -14 this afternoon. Risk of frostbite..
What’s happening today
Today is leap day, when February is assigned an extra day once every four years. The Associated Press has a story on how the practice began and why; on the lighter side, you can read about satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur, which only comes out on Feb. 29.
A calendar shows the month of February, including leap day, Feb. 29. (Gregory Bull / The Associated Press)
And for Canadian politics, it’s the 40th anniversary of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s “walk in the snow” during which he said he decided to step down; according to those closest to current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, he has no plans to follow in his father’s footsteps and resign. The Canadian Press has the story.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press files)
The Winnipeg Jets face the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center, starting at 7 p.m.
Today’s must-read
The Manitoba Teachers’ Society is grappling with infighting and an excessive number of leaves, including the recent departures of two high-profile employees, as staff members allege the public sector union’s headquarters has become “toxic.”
There are about 70 support and administrative workers tasked with running day-to-day operations for the society out of its Portage Avenue campus, including — but not limited to — advocating for teachers with work-related concerns and planning professional development sessions. Maggie Macintosh has the story.
The Manitoba Teachers’ Society building in Winnipeg. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
On the bright side
Ruth Gottesman, a former professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the widow of a Wall Street investor, announced Monday that she is donating $1 billion to the school in the Bronx. The gift means that four-year students immediately go tuition free, while everyone else will benefit in the fall. The Associated Press has the story.
The campus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx borough of New York. (Mary Altaffer / The Associated Press)
On this date
On Feb. 29, 1972: The Winnipeg Free Press reported two sisters, aged eight and nine years old, pulled a seven-year-old boy from the Red River in West Kildonan after he fell through the ice near a sewer outlet. A man who had changed his identity almost as often as he changed his cars while passing himself off as the Luxembourg consul in Manitoba was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to 13 charges in his confidence schemes; he faced deportation to Norway and was also wanted in eight states and two provinces. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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