Seven stories in the news today, May 23

Seven stories in the news for Tuesday, May 23

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APPARENT SUICIDE BOMBER AT U.K. CONCERT KILLS 22

An apparent suicide bomber attacked an Ariana Grande concert as it ended in Manchester, England on Monday night, killing 22 people among a panicked crowd of young concertgoers, some still wearing the star’s trademark kitten ears as they fled. Teenage screams filled the arena just after the explosion, which also killed the attacker and injured dozens. The American pop star, who was not injured, tweeted hours later: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”

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closing arguments

Crown refutes self-defence claims for Nanaimo woman on trial for murder/dismembering ex-boyfriend

4h ago

rental rules

Thousands of short-term rentals go back to long-term May 1: B.C. government

8h ago

sweet sounds

Nanaimo woman tries to coax trapped killer calf out of tidal lagoon with her violin

12h ago

TRUDEAU: CANADIANS ‘SHOCKED’ BY U.K. CONCERT ATTACK

Prime Minister Trudeau says Canadians “are shocked by the news of the horrific attack in Manchester” that killed 22 people and injured almost 60. He says federal officials are trying to determine whether any Canadians have been affected. Trudeau said he was “devastated” when he heard about the “innocent victims who were killed or injured … many of them far too young.”

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‘SEXTORTION’ CASES INVOLVING TEEN BOYS SPIKING

Child exploitation experts say they’ve detected a spike in reports of online “sextortion” cases involving teen boys. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection says 65 boys reported incidents to Cybertip.ca in 2015-16 — an 89 per cent increase from the previous two-year period of 2013-2014. Reports involving girls jumped 66 per cent.

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MORTGAGE WORRIES FLAGGED IN MANULIFE POLL 

Nearly three quarters of Canadian homeowners say they would have difficulty paying their mortgage if their payments were to increase by more than 10 per cent, says a new survey by Manulife Bank. Thirty-eight per cent of those polled say their mortgage bills could rise between one to five per cent before they would have financial difficulty; 20 per cent say they could sustain an increase in payments between six to 10 per cent before having trouble; and 14 per cent say any hike would be a problem.

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CHALLENGE TO ASSISTED DYING LAW EXPANDS

A constitutional challenge to the Trudeau government’s restrictive law on assisted dying has been bolstered with the addition of a second plaintiff: a B.C. woman who suffers unbearable pain from a debilitating, incurable disease but can’t get medical help to end her life because her death is not imminent. Robyn Moro, a 68-year-old retired retail business owner, joins Julia Lamb in challenging the year-old law, which allows medically assisted dying only for individuals whose natural death is “reasonably foreseeable.”

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FEDERAL AID ON WAY TO FLOOD-RAVAGED N.L. TOWN

Ottawa is sending military assistance to help the displaced residents of a flooded-ravaged town in central Labrador. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the federal government is stepping in to respond to the severe flooding in Mud Lake. Residents of the small community were evacuated to Happy Valley-Goose Bay last week after the overflowing Churchill River spilled into the town and damaged several homes.

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SUMMER WEATHER COULD BE A ‘TEETER-TOTTER.’

Temperatures this summer are expected to feel like “whiplash,” and may swing between hot and cool over the course of the season, a top meteorologist says. The Weather Network has released its summer forecast and chief meteorologist Chris Scott said it may feel like being on a teeter-totter. He says our weather patterns are “getting kind of jerked around” by the overall patterns in the Pacific Ocean with El Nino.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Statistics Canada will release the wholesale trade figures for March.

— Court hearing in Toronto for Marc and Jodie Emery, who are charged with drug-related offences following raids on marijuana dispensaries.

— Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard continues his economic mission to Israel.

— Transport Minister Marc Garneau will deliver a speech in Halifax on the Transportation Modernization Act and the Ocean Protection Plan.

— Finance Minister Bill Morneau will speak with Concordia University students in Montreal on Facebook Live.

The Canadian Press