In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of July 7 …
What we are watching in Canada …
OTTAWA — A new poll suggests turbulence ahead for airlines seeking public support for their current COVID-19 plans.
Seventy-two per cent of Canadians surveyed say they’re not comfortable flying since decisions by several airlines to relax their own in-flight physical-distancing requirements.
Eighty-five per cent of those surveyed also suggested that they’re not getting on planes any time soon, telling pollsters they have no plans to travel outside the country by the end of the year.
The Leger/Association of Canadian Studies survey polled 1,517 Canadians from July 3 to 5 and can’t be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random.
The results also suggest Canadians are largely unhappy with another element of the industry’s COVID-19 approach: a refusal to give refunds for flights cancelled due to the pandemic.
Seventy-two per cent of those polled say they strongly oppose the decision by the federal government not to force airlines to cut cheques.
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Also this …
The towns of Kingsville and Leamington are joining the rest of Ontario in Stage 2 of the government’s reopening plan.
Premier Doug Ford announced Monday that the communities, which were the final two towns in Stage 1 of the process, would move up as of 12:01 a.m.
Ford says COVID-19 outbreaks on local farms are under control and community spread of the virus is low.
Most of the Windsor-Essex region, except for those two towns, moved to the second stage of reopening on June 25.
The government dispatched a team from Emergency Management Ontario to the region last week to help co-ordinate health care and housing for hundreds of agri-food workers who have tested positive for the virus.
Ford said Monday he will be visiting the region soon, and thanked people in Kingsville and Leamington for their patience in recent weeks.
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In case you missed it …
CALGARY — An Alberta surgeon helped save the life of a Saskatchewan man — twice.
Darrell Parker, his wife, son and daughter-in-law had just finished a hike near Canmore, Alta., when he suffered a heart attack.
Parker was unconscious and blue on the ground and a bystander started CPR.
Doctor Corey Adams, a Calgary cardiac surgeon, was two cars behind the commotion.
He and his wife, who is also a doctor, helped perform CPR on Parker until paramedics arrived.
Parker was in the intensive care unit for a few days and when he awoke, Adams visited and explained what happened.
Parker says it felt like a case of divine intervention.
Nine days after the heart attack, it was Adams who performed a quintuple bypass surgery on Parker at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
Parker is now recuperating at home in Paradise Hill, Sask.
Adams says his patient is expected to make a full recovery.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
NEW YORK — A white woman walking her dog who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false report.
In May, Amy Cooper drew widespread condemnation for calling 911 to report she was being threatened by “an African-American man” when bird watcher Christian Cooper appeared to keep his distance as he recorded her rant on his phone.
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement on Monday that his office had charged Amy Cooper with falsely reporting the confrontation, a
She was ordered to appear in court on Oct. 14.
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What we are watching elsewhere in the world …
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s leader has provided scant reassurance over the city’s future under a new national security law that critics say undermines liberties and legal protections promised when China took control of the city.
Millions of Hong Kong residents felt secure enough in their freedoms under the territory’s “one-country, two-systems” regime to bring their children to mass protests.
Now some are worrying they might be punished for what they post on their Facebook or Twitter accounts.
Experts say many businesses may carry on as usual, but short-form video app TikTok said Tuesday it will pull out of Hong Kong.
Social media platforms and messaging apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and Twitter say they will deny law enforcement requests for user data.
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Today in 1534 …
The first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, French explorer Jacques Cartier traded furs with the Mi’kmaq.
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Entertainment news …
Even as a gangly student in Hamilton and Toronto, Nick Cordero was seen as a big-hearted rock star destined to make a great mark on both the theatre world and his circle of friends.
Those who knew the late Tony-nominated theatre performer are remembering him as a passionate, ambitious and deeply caring actor, singer and dancer whose immense talent and towering presence made him stand out even in his early days in Canada.
“He was six-foot-five and all lungs, all powerhouse singing,” says Canadian actor-producer David J. Phillips, a friend of Cordero’s who studied theatre with him at Ryerson University in Toronto.
“I know a lot of this stuff sounds cliche at times, but he really was like a rock star. He just was cool and stylish and popular, but with this incredible voice. But on the other hand of that he’s this humble, funny, genuine, supportive person who cares and listens and roots for you.”
Cordero died Sunday at age 41 in Los Angeles after spending three months in hospital battling a range of issues stemming from COVID-19, says an Instagram post from his wife, dancer and personal trainer Amanda Kloots.
His case captured the world’s attention as Kloots posted daily social media updates on his condition, which was a roller coaster ride of complications, including the amputation of his right leg.
Born and raised in Hamilton, Cordero hit the big time in New York in productions including “The Toxic Avenger,” “Rock of Ages,” “Waitress,” “A Bronx Tale” and “Bullets Over Broadway.” The latter is what earned him a Tony nomination and where he met Kloots, who was also performing in the show.
More recently he was starting to carve out a career in Hollywood, with roles on shows including the series “Blue Bloods,” and was building a new life in L.A. with Kloots and their one-year-old son, Elvis.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2020.
The Canadian Press
