LOCAL
Mayor Ford made a surprise appearance at a public works committee meeting to put the “final nail in the coffin” in the city’s plastic bag debate. The committee voted to receive a staff report on the matter, meaning the issue won’t go to council. [Globe and Mail]
Old, huge oak trees have been cut down at Bloor and High Park to make way for condos. Shortly after the trees came down, a songbird flew in to feed its young, looking for a nest in the air that was no longer there. [Toronto Star]
While Mayor Ford was at the public works committee meeting about waste management he casted a vote in favour of a near $1-million staff report that still needs to be approved by council. When asked if he is in favour of burning the city’s garbage, he said yes in wonderful Fordian fashion: “I’ve always said that garbage is money. When you see truckloads of garbage going down the 401, it’s like truckloads of $100 bills…” [National Post]
NATIONAL
Former interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae is resigning as an MP for Toronto Centre. In an emotional speech, he stated that he plans to focus his time as the chief negotiator for First Nations in Ontario, helping aboriginals benefit from the province’s booming mining region. [National Post]
A new study from the University of Waterloo shows that by the time Canadian high school students get to grade 12, they are at significantly higher risk for diseases like lung cancer and diabetes. The cause is simple: the number of smokers went up 170 per cent, binge drinking went up 170 per cent, and marijuana-use rose by 124 per cent. [Globe and Mail]
The Canadian Navy is cracking down on veterans who wear their uniforms to ceremonial or other public functions, like Remembrance Day anniversaries, without first acquiring express written permission. This has the potential to create a public relations nightmare. [National Post]
INTERNATIONAL
James Gandolfini, the actor best known for playing Tony Soprano, has died at age 51 of a heart attack while vacationing in Italy. “He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes,” said David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos. [Toronto Star]
Barack Obama said he’s sure the National Security Agency is not “rifling through the emails of ordinary people.” He said he was a critic of occasions where the previous administration “violated our values” but, having seen how US intelligence services operate, is “confident that at this point we have struck the appropriate balance.” [The Guardian]
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said that the central bank intends to reduce its stimulus later this year if unemployment continued to decline at the expected rate. The Federal Reserve sounded optimistic, saying the economy was moderately expanding, the job market was improving, and risks to economic recovery had diminished since last fall. [New York Times]
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