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Well we’ve told you a couple of times this week, about how that oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico could turn into an environmental disaster.  It appears its doing just that.  Oil is starting to wash ashore in the Mississippi Gulf, one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the U.S. coast.  The area is alive with shrimp and other marine life, and is also where pelicans and other animals nest.  Experts are still trying to figure out how they’re gonna cap the well which is leaking all the oil.

So, if you haven’t done your 2009 income taxes, this is crunch day.  The deadline for filing is midnight tonight.  If you miss the deadline, you’ll be hit with a 5 per cent penalty on what you owe, plus one per cent for each month your return is late…up to 12 per cent.  Now to accommodate all those late filers, a lot postal outlets and Canadian Revenue Agency offices across the country will be open til midnight.

Here’s an interesting poll.  A survey has found that 61 per cent of Canadians say they would tackle home repairs.  The poll also found that 24 per cent would hire someone to do the job.  Results also showed that the higher a homeowner’s income, the less likely they’re a do it yourselfer.

Want to know where the best place in the country is to live?  Well according to MoneySense Magazine, the most livable Canadian city is Ottawa and neighbouring Gatineau, Quebec.  The magazine looked at several factors, including a city’s prosperity, lifestyles, weather and affordability.  By the way Vancouver finished 29^th on the list and Toronto came in at 85^th.

Soldiers in Kandahar who crave a Whopper soon won’t be able to have it their way.  Burger King, Subway and Pizza Hut at the Kandahar Airfield are all shutting down effective tomorrow.  The fast food joints are closing under an order from a U.S. General who says they distract from NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.

Toyota is trying to repair its image, which of course has been hammered by a string of global recalls.  In an effort to improve quality, the world’s biggest automaker says it’s setting up a new division that will feed customer concerns into the design process. 

We gave ya a heads up about this earlier in the week, but a final reminder that the Jubilee Overpass is going to close this Sunday for 4 months.  The entire overpass and approach roadways connecting to Pembina and Jubilee Avenue will also be shut.  Transit will obviously also be re-routed.  The new and improved Overpass should be open again about mid September.

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger says he’d love to run for U.S. President.  He made that remark last night on “The Tonight Show.”  Legally though, he’s got no shot at that, because the U.S. Constitution bars anyone born outside the states from holding that office.  Schwarzenegger was born in Austria.

Some would say this is long overdue.  Premier Greg Selinger is getting tough with young offenders.  Selinger says under no circumstances will probation officers be allowed any leeway on young offenders who’ve been ordered to wear one of those electronic monitoring ankle bracelets.  Tory leader, Hugh McFadyen says the province has to bring in a zero tolerance policy so that any breach of probation, no matter how small, lands them back in jail.

Well we may have a lot of rain in our forecast for the next couple of days, but, at least it’s not snow.  Out west, southern Alberta is being hammered by a winter storm.  Warnings are up from Calgary to the U.S. border.  Some 20 to 40 centimeters of snow could be on the way, along with winds up to 70 kilometers an hour.

Canadians can claim bragging rights over the Americans when it comes to longevity and quality of life.  A new health survey has found that rates of premature death are lower, and quality of life measures are higher in this country than the States.  The survey also found that Canadians enjoy, on average, an extra 2.7 years of perfect health, compared to our neighbors to the south.

It’s turning into a very big environment problem.  The U.S. Coast Guard says there’s a new leak in that sunken oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.  As well, 5 times more oil a day than previously believed is spewing into the Gulf.

It’s official.  The new stadium is now a done deal.  Yesterday, city council passed the proposal, meaning work could begin on the new building at the U of M, by next month. 

From just a warning, to now, a, don’t travel at all.  That’s the word from the feds when it comes to Thailand.  The government says it’s just not safe to do so thanks to political unrest which has left hundreds of people dead.

If you liked his schtick last year, you’ll be happy to know he’s comin back.  Ricky Gervais has just signed on as the host of the Golden Globes again this year.  Gervais says he can’t believe they invited him back.  But, nothing like lining up the talent early.  The show doesn’t even run until mid January of next year.

Well, Winnipeg has been called a lot of things over the years.  Slurpee capital, murder capital, mosquito capital, and now you can add another.  According to Statscan. our city is the knife capital of the country.  The agency found that we recorded the highest percentage of violent crimes involving a knife.  Despite this news….Mayor Sam Katz says we are a safe city.

Gotta love this news.  There’s a tentative deal to avoid a garbage strike in the city.  Yesterday, a conciliator worked out a 3 year deal between 115 members of the Teamsters Union and B.F.I. 

This story will make ya sick.  Police are investigating several cases involving mutilated and injured dogs near Winnipeg.  They say in one case, the dog was so badly hurt it had to be put down.  The dogs were all found in the RM of Rhineland.  Police are now asking for your help with this.  If you know anything about what’s happening, you’re asked to call crimestoppers.

Doctors are releasing more details about the brain hemorrhage affecting 47 year old rocker and reality t.v. star, Bret Michaels.  Test results found that Michaels suffered a type of stroke that causes bleeding in the fluid filled spaces around the base of the brain.  Doctors say Michaels will remain in ICU for quite some time, and will have a long road of recovery ahead.

Bank of Canada Governor, Mark Carney says Canadians really need to take stock of their money…and that includes their debt.  Speaking to a Commons finance committee yesterday, Carney said Canadians need to think long term when they take on additional debt……especially because interest rates are not going to stay low forever.

We’re days away from May, but a big ole spring storm is slamming the U.S. northeast, making things look more like December.  More than 30 centimeters of snow has fallen in areas like Vermont, New England and New York state.

Online gambling will be up for discussion at this week’s gaming meeting of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.  Grand Chief Ron Evans says the province has confirmed it’s considering entering the online gaming business, and, even though they haven’t approached the Assembly to get involved, Evans says the Chiefs have decided to start discussing it.

Poison front-man and celebrity apprentice start, Bret Michaels, still in critical condition today.  Michaels suffered a massive brain hemmorage this past Friday.  A family spokesperson says the singer is still in ICU having problems with both his speech and his vision.  No word yet though on his long term prognosis.

Well it seems Canadian kids just aren’t getting the daily exercise experts recommend.  The annual report card from Active Healthy Kids Canada, found only 12 per cent of Canadian kids are getting the recommended 90 minutes per day. 

You might call it an iconic Hollywood ending for a Hollywood icon.  The famous Hollywood sign that overlooks L.A. has been saved from housing development, thanks to a fundraising drive that attracted donations from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Hugh Hefner.  The 138 acres of land behind the sign will now be protected.

What a difference a year can make !  Less than a week after General Motors reported full payback of 8.1 billion dollars in loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments, another good news announcement is expected to come from the automaker today.  Reports say G.M. will announce an 890 million dollar investment to upgrade 5 plants in the U.S. and this country. 

Betcha didn’t know this.  It’s rail safety week and CN has set a lofty goal for itself.  The railway says it’s gonna try to not have any accidents, injuries or fatalities this year.  There were 256 crossing and trespassing accidents nationwide last year, causing 71 fatalities.  And for those who don’t know, you could be slapped with fines for driving around railway crossing barricades or walking along railway tracks.

Former Canadian Olympic weightlifter Jean Lavertue is off to jail.  The 35 year old has been slapped with 8 years behind bars for running a drug trafficking operation.

And researchers say the combination of smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and bad diet can age you by 12 years.  The finds are based on a study of nearly 5 thousand adults who were tracked for 20 years. 

One person is in custody after the stabbing death of a 21 year old city man this weekend.  Ronnie Kakegamic was apparently attacked outside a city home.  Family member’s say Kakegamic’s mother had sent him to the house to look for his younger brother, who had threatened to kill himself.  So far, police have not formally charged the suspect.

Well it’s been almost 2 years, but the province is still trying to convince Air Canada to reopen its flight attendant base in Winnipeg.  Officials say negotiations are ongoing but so far, no word yet on what the province may be offering to get em back.  The base was closed in 2008 and the province actually sued the airline claiming the closure violated federal law.  The lawsuit is ongoing, but the province is hoping to reach an settlement before it hits the courts.

Okay, you know times are tough when….Calgary police say a group of kids were robbed this weekend of 5 bucks at knifepoint…by a carload of adults.  Fortunately, cops caught up with these thugs and 3 suspects are now facing a number of charges.

A Connecticut woman found out the hard way that calling 9-1-1 to get a ride home from the bar, is not the way to go.  Police say Quandria Bailey got a ride to the station instead.  She was charged with 6 counts of misuse of the 9-1-1 system, one for each call, and is now out of bail pending a court appearance.

Well you can’t say she didn’t try.  A 16 year old California girl is ending her quest to become the youngest person to sail around the world non stop and alone.  Abby Sunderland apparently lost the use of the boat’s main autopilot and is now heading to South Africa for repairs.  Abby said to keep on going with no autopilot, would be foolish and irresponsible.

Mississippi’s Governor says the tornado that smashed through his state over the weekend, was “enormous” and left behind utter obliteration.  Don’t know if you saw any of the t.v. coverage of the damage this weekend, but rescuers in several counties are continuing to comb through the debris in search of both survivors and possible victims. 

Efforts continue to plug the flow of oil leaking from a well head at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.  The well head was damaged by a rig explosion last Tuesday.  The 11 oil rig workers missing since the blast, are now presumed dead.

Well, what a difference a year makes !  The floodway that redirects water from the Red River away from the city, has now been shut down.  The province says the gates have been lowered because there’s no longer a threat of any major flooding. 

During a week where we celebrate the Earth…this news isn’t good.  A potential environmental nightmare could be brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.  That’s where an oil rig sank in 1500 meters of water after it was hit by a devastating explosion on Tuesday.  Officials are warning that 1.3 million litres of crude oil a day could rise from the sea floor. 

Can you imagine?  Chris Shaw hasn’t decided if he’ll keep his job as a convenience store clerk in Marshall, Missouri.  Why is he debating?  Well he just won the Powerball lottery jackpot of 258 million dollars.  So far, Shaw says he plans to pay off all his bills and take his 3 kids to Disney World.  By the way….for those who like to play the lottery in this country….Lotto Max is over 40 million tonight.

Good news for those traveling to Europe.  Air traffic controllers say Europe is almost totally free of volcanic ash that caused all of those massive flight disruptions over the past week.  As a result, flights across Europe are expected to be normal today.

Well the buff babies are gonna have to find a new place to hang.  Manitoba’s nudist campground and resort has decided to cover up.  In fact, after more than 40 years of a clothing optional attitude, what used to be called Crocus Grove Campground, will now be known as Sandhill Pines RV Park.  The owners say they had to make the place more open to the public in order to pay their bills.

Well today marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day; and Mayor Sam Katz is urging all Winnipeggers to take part.  There are a ton of Earth Day activities going on in and around the city today.  If you want more info on some of them, all you have to do is head to our web site and a list is their.

Very nice warm weather, lack of rain, and below average snowfall have turned the Prairies into a potential wildfire powder keg.  60 fires were burning in Alberta yesterday, and crews in Saskatchewan have put out 32 so far.  Here Manitoba, there are 35 active fires burning right now, and as a result the province has cancelled all fire permits until further notice.

Well once again, someone’s furious at “South Park.”  That’s not so unusual.  But, this time it’s a radical Muslim group called Revolution Muslim.  On the group’s web site, they’re warning creators that they could face violence for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during last week’s episode.  The group went on to give out Matt Stone’s and Trey Parker’s personal information, including where they live.

Just when they thought they were in the clear….literally !

A new cloud of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland has closed some Scandinavian airports this morning.  Aviation authorities say they’ve closed the airspace over parts of Norway and Sweden…..and could close off more if the cloud spreads once again.

Health Canada is issuing a warning about a new danger your dishwasher could pose to small kids.  The agency has had 2 reports of youngsters being injured while playing next to the appliance, in each case their feet and ankles were cut by the sharp metal edge at the bottom of the dishwasher’s door.    Officials have now notified the manufacturer’s in question, and are urging parents to keep an eye on their kids when around the dishwasher.

Well here’s something you don’t hear everyday.  The U.S. Coast guard says 2 men in a 4 meter canoe were capsized by a whale yesterday that leaped out of the water.  One of the men actually drowned after it happened.  Biologists are now saying what the whale did was a form of communication or play.  Huh?

By an overwhelming margin, the House of Commons rejected a private member’s bill that called for the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in this country.  The vote was 228 to 59.  Many MP’s feared the bill might be the first step towards severely disabled or dying Canadians being euthanized without their consent.

A 17 year old kid is in custody after he took off from police in a stolen vehicle.  Officers tried to stop the vehicle with a spike belt, but the driver kept on goin.  The teen has now been hit with 4 charges, and was also wanted on an outstanding warrant.

That former U of M football player we told you about on Monday, has been granted bail after being charged with manslaughter.  Jeremy Botelho had been in custody since Friday when he turned himself in to police.  Kelly Clay, an 18 year old high school student, and lacrosse player, died last Thursday following an altercation at the Norvilla Hotel.

There’ve been cheers, tears and big ole sighs of relief at European airports overnight.  Airspace across Europe, including the U.K. is now reopening to air traffic……since that big ash cloud caused all kinds of grief.  That has meant London’s Heathrow, the busiest airport in all of Europe, is back in business too.  With more than 95 thousand flights cancelled in the last week alone, airlines admit it’ll take days….maybe even weeks to clear up the backlog of stranded passengers.

Loonie update for ya now….as people start thinking about summer travel plans.  Out buck is still pickin up strength….in fact it had its biggest one day gain yesterday since last July.  The loonie soared over a cent and a half to close the day just over a dollar American, and its up another half cent in overseas trading this morning.

Well some 3 thousand people showed up at the leg yesterday afternoon, bongs and all, to celebrate 420 day.  Those who gathered at the informal event, smoked pot and celebrated pot culture.  The same celebration’s happen around the world on April 20^th every year.  City police by the way, decided to take a hands off approach and made no arrests.

The Duchess of York is calling on Canadians to ask some tough questions about what their governments are doing to fight climate change.  Sarah Ferguson is in Montreal for an environmental conference.  She says more must be done by all governments.

Someone important is marking another birthday today in England.  Queen Elizabeth the 2^nd is marking her 84^th birthday with a quiet day with her hubbie, Prince Phillip at Windsor Castle. 

Could the love affair with foreign autos be cooling?  A new poll this morning says the North American car is coming back into favour, with more people now saying that home grown cars are better than cars made by Asian countries. 

Computer giant Apple is far from red.  In fact, soaring sales of the company’s IPhone and Macintosh computers led to a 90 per cent jump in profit for Apple in its latest quarter.  Apple scored some 13.5 billion dollars in sales in the last 3 months.

That pair of high school teachers who decided to do a little dirty dancing at a pep rally, are now out of a job.  Chrystie Fitchner’s resignation has been accepted and the short term contract for Adeil Ahmed will not be renewed. 

A former university football player has been charged with manslaughter in the death of an 18 year old who was allegedly sucker punched at a Winnipeg bar.  Jeremy Botelho turned himself in to police on Friday and was charged yesterday.  Botelho by the way made headlines across the country last year when he returned a missed Simon Fraser University field goal for a record 129 yard touchdown.

The RM of St. Clements is mounting a campaign to have the province ban ice fishing shacks from the Red River in a bid to end the huge mess left behind each spring.  Pails of human waste, lumber, furniture, booze bottles and even entire shacks were among the items left behind this spring.

Some big applause from New York to Asia to Paris this morning, as planes gradually took to the skies.  Most have been grounded for the past 5 days due to drifting volcanic ash that has crippled European air travel.  Air Canada also resumed its flights to Europe last night.  But, we should also let you know that there’s news of a new ash cloud this morning, which is once again on its way to Europe.

The country’s number one banker will likely give a hint today as to what his plans are for interest rates.  Most economists think that Mark Carney will hold true to his pledge to wait until July before announcing any hike in the rate.

Toyota dealers who’ve had to handle several recalls have yet another fix to make.  The company is now recalling about 10 thousand Lexus GX 460’s…including 450 in this country.  The SUV’s stability control software needs an update to better prevent rollovers.

A national day of mourning will be held tomorrow in China for victims of last week’s devastating earthquake in a remote Tibetan region.  Officials put the death toll at more than 2 thousand now, with another 200 still missing. 

A couple of Canadians who police say took down an American flag and replaced it with the Maple Leaf following Team Canada’s golden win at the Olympics, could be facing charges.  Police in La Quinta, California are asking the DA’s office to lay charges of vandalism and flag desecration against Ryan Smith and Matt Siefert….both Canucks who live in California. 

A 34 year old Winnipeg man died in hospital this weekend after being stabbed at a Manitoba Housing complex.  Relatives say Ricky Lathlin was the father of 2 girls and worked for a roofing company.  Officers were called to the Gilbert Park housing complex early yesterday and found a man suffering from serious stab wounds.  Lathlin was rushed to hospital in critical condition and died hours later.  So far, no arrests have been made.

Quite the birthday for former figure skating champion, Rupert Whitehead.  He celebrated his 100^th in style yesterday by doing a couple of laps around the rink at the Winnipeg Winter Club.  Whitehead captured the Canadian men’s novice championship back in 1932.

Cops are looking for a pair of suspects after an electronics store was held up by thieves armed with bear spray.  Late yesterday afternoon, 2 men discharged the spray inside the store, hitting several people in the eyes.  The pair did make off with an undisclosed amount of cash.  Emergency workers treated several people at the scene.

Well last night’s Juno award attendees and anyone else trying to leave St. John’s this morning by air, are outta luck.  There’s an ash cloud from that volcano in Iceland which is approaching Newfoundland.  That’s prompted Air Canada, West Jet and Porter airlines to call off all flights til further notice.  Meantime, while a few European countries are seeing clearer skies and reopening some of their airspace today, Britain, Germany and France are not.

The repo man came to the prom Friday in Oklahoma.  High school students attending a prom say they watched as a repo man drove away a limo they had rented.  The limo owner blames a miscommunication between his lender and the repo company and says he’ll offer a partial refund or a free future rental.

Toyota must decide today whether to accept or contest a record fine from the U.S. government.  Officials say the company is expected to agree to pay the 16.4 million dollar find within 30 days and avoid going to court.  The huge fine is for Toyota’s 4 month delay in telling people about those defective gas pedals on its vehicles.

Thousands of Canadians and other travelers who are stranded abroad are likely still in for several more days of waiting.  The European Union has said if skies over half the continent are clear of volcanic ash, then air traffic could return to 50 per cent of its normal level today.  But even with some flight’s finally taking off, the airlines are still facing massive travel backlogs that could take days to clear. 

Michael Buble was the big winner at this year’s Juno awards in St. John’s.  The popular crooner from Vancouver, took home 4 trophies, including best album and single of the year, and the Juno fan choice award.