LOCAL
The American website Gawker, which raised about $200,000 to buy the video that allegedly shows Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack, has announced which four Ontario charities the money will be used for instead. $46,195.65 will be split between four institutions that deal with substance abuse: the Somali Association of Etobicoke, The South Riverdale Health Centre, Unison Health and Community Services and The Ontario Regional Addictions Partnership Committee. [National Post]
A day after approving a subway plan contingent on receiving $1.8-billion from the provincial government, the province announced they are only giving $1.4 billion. LRT work has been halted since the subway deal, and now this deal, only a day old, seems dead, but Mayor Ford announced that talks with the province are ongoing, though the province denied that, saying it’s their final offer. [Toronto Star]
The runner up to controversial NDP candidate Adam Giambrone has opted not to pursue legal action over apparent voting irregularities. She remains “disappointed” in the NDP over the debacle, but is letting the matter drop because the August 1 byelection is so close. [Toronto Star]
NATIONAL
One of the few people in Stephen Harper’s office who knew about the $90,000 gift to Senator Mike Duffy has now left the Prime Minister’s Office. Chris Woodcock has left his post as director of Issues Management in the PMO, and is now working as chief of staff for Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver. [Globe and Mail]
Citizens in a rural town in Alberta are getting internet speeds for $57 a month that most city dwellers can only dream of thanks to a project by a non-profit economic development foundation. Many small rural communities have to deal with internet that can be painfully expensive, or slow, or both. [CBC]
The Assembly of First Nations has unanimously passed an emergency resolution condemning the nutritional experiments conducted on aboriginal people, including children, in residential schools in the 1940’s and 1950’s. It condemns the action, but also calls for a system of compensation for those affected by the experiments. [CBC]
INTERNATIONAL
J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, wrote a book that received strong reviews but sold poorly under a pseudonym, until her law firm, without her permission, leaked her identity, whereupon book sales skyrocketed. This episode suggests to me that I should write a book using “J.K. Rowling” as a pseudonym. [Globe and Mail]
Detroit, once the symbol of American industrial might, has become the largest city in the U.S. to ever file for bankruptcy. The filing, feared for months, puts the city on an uncertain course that could mean laying off municipal employees, selling off assets, raising fees, and scaling back basic services like trash collection. [National post]
A prominent gay rights activist in Cameroon has been found dead in his home, tortured and beaten, amid claims the authorities systematically ignored similar attacks in the country. When police arrived in the house they found his face, hands and feet burned, but it is unclear whether they are going to take action and bring the perpetrators to justice. [The Guardian]
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