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The city’s police union says it’s concerned over housing conditions for members of the force’s canine unit. Some of the grown dogs are kept in the back of a lot behind the east district station. The dogs are in kennels consisting of chain linked fences and some tarp. The makeshift kennels have been in operation since 2009. This past summer, police dogs housed together got sick and couldn’t use their sense of smell. Mike Sutherland, president of the police union says the situation is infuriating. He says there needs to be investment in a proper facility.

A Beausejour area father wants to know why a school bus driver dropped off his 6 year old daughter at a stranger’s house this week. Steve Jeffrey says his daughter Sydnee told the driver she wasn’t feeling well, and so the driver dropped her off at a home in a village 10 minutes north of Beausejour rather than taking her to school. The division says the driver has now been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

The principal of that private Catholic school in Winnipeg was off the job yesterday, one day after the school’s board of directors shut down his plan to offer credits to student who took part in anti abortion vigils. David Hood, principal of Christ the King, was asked to stay home as the board reviews the incident and his employment.

It’s very difficult getting around Athens these days….that’s where transport workers have walked off the job. The strike has idled buses, taxis and trains in the Greek capital. The job action is to protest deep spending cuts by the debt plagued Greek government. The debt crisis in Greece is so severe that, its destabilizing the 17 nation Eurozone.

Former NHL player, Sheldon Kennedy says banning fighting from hockey won’t stop some players from suffering depression. Kennedy says depression is a huge issue affecting all areas of society. The 42 year old former player, battled depression himself as well as drug addiction, after he was abused by his former coach Graham James.

This news is just a little scary. It appears there’s been a big jump in errors by air traffic controllers in the U.S. in the past 3 years. A government watchdog says errors by controllers working at radar facilities have more than doubled. And at airports with control towers, the number of incidents of unauthorized planes, vehicles or people appearing on runways has nearly doubled.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is calling on European leaders to make some tough choices to try and solve the debt crisis in Europe. Specifically, Flaherty says some countries must start slashing their debts before the situation spins out of control. Flaherty is in Paris this morning, where he and his G-20 counterparts will talk about Europe’s financial problems…the 3rd time they’re doing it in just over a month.

Steps are being taken to ensure next month’s Grey Cup game in Vancouver won’t become a repeat of the Stanley Cup fiasco 4 months ago. Among other things, there’ll be no outdoor liquor sales, and no giant outdoor t.v. screens carrying the CFL championship game.

It’s a big day for iPhone fans. The new iPhone 4-S comes out today. Even though the device had mixed reviews…..this new phone is expected to be a huge hit with customers and may even become the company’s fastest selling device ever.

The new zero tolerance dog license law has only been in effect for about a month now….but there’ve already been over 50 tickets given out. Animal Service Agency workers have been out canvassing the city….letting people know about the new policy, but some have simply refused to abide. That being said however, the agency has sold more than 10 thousand new licenses since the campaign began.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is investigating whether a player from the Neepawa Natives was the victim of hazing. Commissioner Kim Davis says a player made a complaint last week, and the league is still working to determine what exactly happened. Hazing is against league rules and players can be suspended if they’re found to be involved.

Taxpayers may be footing the bill, but they’re not allowed to see the full details of a new 4 year master agreement between the province and its doctors. A news release says the deal, ratified October 4th, increases the province’s funding for medical services by 125 million dollars between now and April 1st 2015. But, copies of the 1000 page document are not being made available to the media.

A conciliator has now been appointed in labor fight happening at Brandon University. Profs, librarians, professional and instructional associates walked off the job yesterday morning. And the 2 sides remain far apart on the number one issue….wages. This is the 2nd strike by the way, for the university in just 3 years.

As we told you yesterday….a strike by Air Canada’s 6800 flight attendants was grounded before it even took flight. The airline says it’s business as usual after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board was asked to review the dispute. That essentially killed the attendants strike plan because the board ordered that there be no strike or lockout while it reviews the matter. Union reps say they will obey the order….but accuse the feds of trying to union bust.

And the nightmare for blackberry users continues. Research in Motion says it’s working around the clock to clear backlogged e-mail messages stuck in its system from the largest blackberry outage ever. Yesterday, the outage which started Monday in Europe, spread to this country, the U.S., South America and the far east. A company spokesperson says the problem has since been fixed….and eventually everyone will get their backed up e-mail and messages.

Being a material girl….or guy for that matter….can be hard on a marriage. A new study found the relationship can be at risk if one spouse….and especially if both….place a high value on accumulating possessions. The study found materialism can cause lack of attention, poor communication and conflict, and slowly erode the marriage.

Anyone with flights booked on Air Canada today can breathe easy. That planned strike by the airline’s flight attendants was scrubbed yesterday when the Canadian Industrial Relations Board was asked to review the labor dispute. The board says there will be no work stoppage while it reviews the case, but hasn’t said how long that might take.

It was the outage felt round the world ! Research in Motion shares fell nearly 3.5 per cent and the company’s reputation took a big hit, after the biggest BlackBerry outage in the company’s history. The outage affecting instant messaging service, e-mail and browsing, started Monday in Europe, then spread to Africa and the Middle-East. Canada, the U.S. and South America were hit yesterday. As a result, millions of BlackBerry users, including those in the Prime Minister’s office, were affected. The company says its now working around the clock to send all those undelivered messages.

Check this out ! Amnesty International wants Ottawa to arrest George W. Bush when he arrives in B.C. next week. The human rights group wants the former U.S. President investigated for alleged war crimes and torture during the U.S.’s war on terrorism. Bush will be in Surrey, B.C. next week to speak at an economic conference.

The city will see its first ever slut walk this weekend. Hundreds of protestors will march on Saturday, demanding that victims, not get blamed for sexual assaults. The movement began back in the spring in Toronto, and has now spread around the globe. The demonstration walk will begin at the Burton Cummings theatre, and will move to the Leg around 2 p.m.

Crews are still looking for hotspots and battling fires in southeastern Manitoba. But they say their efforts have been hampered by bad cell phone service. La Broquerie Fire Chief, Al Nadeau says it’s such a terrible problem that he can’t believe it’s happening in the year 2011. He says on the weekend while trying to save the town of Marchand, he literally had to break into a convenience store to use a land line to start calling people.

Former Winnipeg City Councilor Al Golden is back in the news again. This time he’s accused of failing to pay nearly 2 million dollars in taxes. The feds filed a statement of claim earlier this month, seeking collection of unpaid monies dating back to 1996. None of the allegations have been proven, and Golden has yet to file a statement of defence.

Manitoba Lotteries raked in more money and made a higher profit in 2011. The Corporation released its annual report and says lottery, V.L.T. and casino profits all rose during the past year. It says it made a profit of 332 million dollars for the year that ended March 31st, 2011. By the way, of those profits, nearly 260 million was allocated to health, education and other government programs.

It looks tomorrow’s planned strike by Air Canada’s flight attendants won’t be cleared for takeoff. Ottawa is moving to prevent the walkout by sending their labor dispute on to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board for review. Labor Minister Lisa Raitt wants the board to look at why ratification votes failed on 2 tentative agreements. She adds that while the matter is before the board, there cannot be a work stoppage.

The prosecution’s case against Michael Jackson’s doctor is winding down. Prosecutors plan to wrap up their involuntary manslaughter case against Dr. Conrad Murray by calling experts intended to help jurors make sense of all the complex medical evidence.

Sony is recalling some 1.6 mllion LCD t.v.’s globally because of a defect that can trigger overheating, smoke and melting parts. The company says it’s received 11 such reports so far….although none involved injuries or damage beyond the television itself. The models subject to the recall are some Bravia KDL models.

Sony says it’s detected a large number of unauthorized attempts to access user accounts on its PlayStation Network and other online entertainment services. The Japanese electronics giant has temporarily locked about 93 thousand accounts whose I.D.’s and passwords were successfully verified by the attempts. Sony says credit card numbers linked to the compromised accounts are not at risk.

Some new Canadian research suggests there may be a way for people who carry a genetic predisposition to cardiovascular disease to dodge the fateful odds. And the answer is pretty simply…..eating a health diet. Researchers found people could actually turn off bad genes simply by eating right….which means a diet rich in fruits and vegetables…especially those eaten raw or lightly cooked.

Day 2 of a public inquiry into the Robert Pickton case will again look at the Vancouver police and RCMP investigations. The inquiry, which opened up yesterday, is examining why police failed to catch the serial killer in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. The lawyer for some of Pickton’s victims families, say cops botched the investigation either because of ignorance, incompetence or prejudice. The hearings by the way are expected to last for months.

A friend of a former Texas used car dealer accused of plotting to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. says the suspect is “no mastermind.” Manssor Arbabsiar is one of 2 men accused in New York of working for the Iranian government to hire a member of the Mexican drug cartel to carry out the attack.

Taking part in anti abortion vigils count for community service credit for kids at a Catholic school here in town. Kids from a private Catholic school are getting credit for participating in daily anti abortion vigils outside the city’s largest hospital. The principal of Christ the King School says the vigils are organized by the Campaign for Life Coalition, and that the participation of the students is strictly voluntary. But a local health center says any school getting provincial funding should not be allowed to involve children in political lobbies.

There’s been a bit of rain in the southeastern part of the province…and that’s very good news for crews battling a huge wildfire that’s burned in the area since last week. All evacuees were allowed to return to their homes yesterday. The reeve of the RM of Piney says the remaining hot spots are hard to get at because of bush and bog….so residents need to stay vigilant for any flare ups.

Efforts to try and reach a deal at Brandon University will continue this afternoon. About 240 employees at the university will be going on strike tomorrow morning unless a new deal is reached. The 2 sides however remain very far apart on wage and contract language issues.

City police say a man who stopped to question a teenager who was trying to slash a taxi’s tire, ended up getting stabbed himself. Investigators say a 17 year old who had been drinking, got out of the cab and proceeded to stab the tire. The 23 year old who tried to stop him, was stabbed in the lower body, but managed to get himself to hospital. Cops chased the suspect on foot, and he’s now being detained at the Manitoba Youth Center.

The feds say any strike at Air Canada won’t last long. The airline’s 6800 flight attendants are threatening to walk off the job this Thursday, after rejecting the latest tentative contract. But Labor Minister Lisa Raitt says a work stoppage would be unacceptable. And she says the government is prepared to act to protect the country’s fragile economy….meaning back to work legislation would be brought in.

Jurors at the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor begin week 3 of their work in Los Angeles today. They’ll hear more from a recording of Dr. Conrad Murray talking to police in the days after the superstar’s death. Jurors have already heard Murray admit, he gave Jackson a small amount of propofol…the drug which of course killed him.

Apple co founder Steve Jobs, died of respiratory arrest resulting from pancreatic cancer that had spread to other organs. That’s according to his death certificate released yesterday. Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto last Wednesday at the age of 56. By the way….Jobs’ death certificate lists his occupation has high tech entrepreneur.

Well it’s a big day for fans of William Shatner…..but not necessarily music fans. Shatner’s new album…. called…”Seeking Major Tom,” is being released today. The 80 year old Canadian actor apparently performs a number of classic rock songs, many with a space theme. And they include Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” and Steve Miller’s “Space Cowboy.” And don’t forget, if you pick up one of these gems, you can actually get Shatner to sign it. He’ll be in town at the end of this month performing, as well as appearing at the Comic-Con convention.

There’s been a bit of rain in southeastern Manitoba, and that’s good news for fire crews. They’ve been battling a huge wildfire since last Thursday. All evacuation orders in the area have been lifted, but officials say residents need to stay vigilant for any flare ups. So far, the blaze has blackened more than 200 square kilometers of land…and the remaining hot spots are hard to get at because of bush and bog.

U.S. forecasters have released their winter predictions…including what’s in the cards for us. The American meteorologists say it’s gonna be a very cold winter on the Prairies, but, Manitoba shouldn’t be hit as bad as Alberta and B.C. They say Manitoba will see temps., about a degree below normal…while places further west will be much colder.

It was quite the party Sunday…the first official home game of our Winnipeg Jets. But city police say despite thousands being in the downtown area to party…people were for the most part law abiding. Police say there were no arrests, major or minor, related to fans good times in or around the MTS center.

Liberal Senator Sharon Carstairs has announced she’ll be retiring from the upper chamber after 17 years. She says after nearly 3 decades in public office, she’s ready to enjoy retirement with her husband, John. The long time Manitoba politician also says she’s become unhappy with the growing partisan nature of the Senate.

Fires are raging in tinder dry conditions across a wide area of the province. Officials say a brush fire has consumed more than 8 square kilometers just west of Fisher Branch. And strong winds are expected to push a fire from Minnesota into the southeastern part of the province. As a result, Manitoba Conservation officials have now cancelled all burning permits for the eastern half of the province.

Thousands of Winnipeg Jets…and other hockey fans flooded into the Forks last night for the NHL’s Face-Off bash. It’s an annual celebration held to kick off the hockey season, this year Winnipeg was chosen because of the return of the city’s beloved Jets. Brian Jennings, the NHL’s Vice President of Marketing says, he’s been captivated by the energy of Winnipeggers celebrating the Jets.

Hard to believe but…not everyone is mourning the death of Apple co founder Steve Jobs. A web developer and his girlfriend who went to an Apple store in central Arkansas to leave flowers to honor Jobs, ended up witnessing a robbery. At first they thought the thieves were….like many others…there to pay tribute to Jobs. But they called the cops when the suspects suddenly bolted and sped away in a car. Police say the thieves made off with iPads, iPods and laptops.

A Kansas lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit against social networking giant Facebook. The litigation claims Facebook violated wiretap laws with a tracking cookie that records web browsing history even after users log off. John Graham’s suit is now seeking big cash for the 150 million Facebook users in the U.S. alone.

One of the country’s most powerful satellites is back up and running. Telesat’s Anik F-2 satellite shut down for several hours yesterday, disrupting a ton of things including communications for many Canadians. Remote areas up north were hardest hit, and as a result many flights up north had to be cancelled. Telesat says the cause of the shutdown is now under investigation.

And yet another show has been cancelled due to bad ratings. NBC has dropped “Free Agents,” a sitcom starring Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn. The show is now the 2nd casualty of the fall season….NBC also dropped “The Playboy Club” earlier this week.

A Grade 11 student from St. John’s Ravenscourt has died….this after collapsing on the school’s soccer field. Evan Dupuis was competing in a varsity soccer tryout on Wednesday when it happened. Sadly, despite immediate attention from a doctor who was at the practice, the even the use of the school’s defibrillator, Dupuis passed away. The cause of the boy’s collapse is still not known.

It was a pretty frightening afternoon for students at a Winnipeg elementary school…this after a fire broke out near the building yesterday. 2 children had to be taken to hospital for precautionary treatment, and one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation. The school, Ecole Laura Secord on Wolsley Avenue, will be closed today while the fire department investigates.

A tentative agreement has been reached to prevent a strike by MTS workers who install and repair internet, cable, telephone and cellphone services across the province. The deal was apparently reached just hours before a strike deadline of midnight.

Premier Greg Selinger says he’ll use Sunday’s season opener for the Jets to press Prime Minister Stephen Harper on federal money for the spring and summer flood fight. Harper will be sitting with Selinger when the Jets play their first home opener in more than 15 years.

The West End Biz has unveiled its newest mural, in honor of the Winnipeg Jets return to the city. The mural is called Power Play and is on the corner of Portage and Furby. It depicts hockey through Winnipeg’s history, from the Falcons gold medal Olympic team of 1920, to Bobby Hull and on.

It would seem that some of Canada’s rich, haven’t been getting richer lately. Canadian Business Magazine says many of the country’s wealthiest people have seen their fortunes shrink this past year. Toronto’s Thompson family, who’ve topped the top 100 list for years, saw their massive wealth shrink an estimated 8.7 per cent to 21 billion dollars and change. Also a little worse off this year is supermarket magnate Galen Weston….though, let’s be honest he’s not really struggling with keeping food on the table. He’s 2nd on the list with 8 billion dollars…down almost 6 per cent from last year.

CNN has named the Calgary Stampede one of the top 5 places in the world to party “sort of like a rock star.” The annual 10 day event routinely attracts a million people plus, and the cable news network recognized it for its beer, brawl and brawn. Stampede officials say they hope the recognition will bring many more visitors looking for a good time.

A new international Monetary Fund report says Canadians are a little too deep in debt. The IMF warns the economy will suffer if Canadians curb their spending because of household debt and falling home prices. It says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may have to tighten mortgage eligibility rules for a 3rd time in 3 years.

She’s finally made a decision. Former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin says she’ll not seek the U.S. Presidency next year. In a video posted on YouTube, Palin says…quote….” You don’t need an office or a title to make a difference.”

A big day in the Dr. Conrad Murray trial yesterday. Prosecutors played a tape of a drugged Michael Jackson recorded by Murray, 6 weeks before his death. In a slow, and very slurred voice, Jackson spoke of using money from his comeback concerts to build a children’s hospital. He also spoke about not having a real childhood of his own. Prosecutors are hoping to show that Dr. Murray knew for weeks how Jackson was reacting to heavy sedatives.

We told you it could happen and it did ! Yesterday was a record breaking day in southern Manitoba. Almost a dozen areas smashed temperature records including the city. Yesterday the mercury hit an amazing 31 C. in the Peg….smashing the old record of 28.3 set way back in 1943. And in fact, it was the warmest October 5th since records have been kept….and that’s over 140 years ! The warm weather will continue today and tomorrow, but it will start to cool off on the weekend….details coming up when we check weather !

They called him the Thomas Edison of our time…and now he’s gone. At the age of 56, Apple co founder Steve Jobs died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Jobs, the man behind the iPod, iPad, and iPhone…co founded the company when he was just 21…and took it from the brink of bankruptcy to a multi billion dollar company. Steve Jobs dead at the age of 56.

A Winnipeg teen who stabbed his friend to death a couple of years ago, says he’s spent enough time in jail. The boy was 16 when he stabbed 15 year old Sean Ottenbreit inside a West St. Paul home in September of 2009. Yesterday he appeared in court asking for a sentence of time already served followed by probation. The Crown however argued the kid should still get an additional 4 years behind bars.

The head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says the group does not accept Air Canada’s apology over a memo about a decision to stop using downtown Winnipeg hotels for crew layovers. Grand Chief Derek Nepinak says the airline was half hearted in its attempt to make things right. The memo, which surfaced on the weekend, says employees will be staying at a hotel closer to the airport due to security concerns downtown. And the reason for the concern was that a thousand displaced people from rural Manitoba are staying in hotels in the city’s core.

Well the results weren’t a huge surprise….that is depending on who you talk to. But some of the races and what happened after certainly was. The NDP won their 4th straight majority government yesterday, even though the Conservatives took a big bite out of their popular vote. Premier Greg Selinger’s party took 37 of the leg’s 57 seats, compared with 19 for the Tories and 1 for the Liberals.

Meantime, the Conservatives will be searching for a new leader after Hugh McFayden announced his resignation following a disappointing loss last night. McFayden says he had little choice but to step down when his party failed to win a significant number of seats. McFayden says he’ll stay on as leader until a successor is chosen, but won’t commit to staying as a member of the legislature for the next 4 years.

It’s another majority NDP government for Manitoba. The New Democrats won their 4th straight majority in last night’s election. And while the opposition Conservatives finished extremely close to the NDP with the popular vote, they barely made a dent in the seat count. So, leader Hugh McFayden says he now will step down and give someone else a shot at leading the party.

Well it’s a rare thing when Apple disappoints its shareholders. But it appears that’s what happened yesterday after Apple unveiled its new iPhone 4-S. Stock in the high tech darling dropped 5 per cent right after the reveal, but did recover a bit later in the day. The problem was that many tech bloggers and Apple fans had hoped the company would unveil a brand new phone…the iPhone 5.

After spending 4 years in an Italian jail, Amanda Knox is free and back at home in Seattle. She was greeted by supporters at an airport news conference last night, and said she was overwhelmed…and that none of it seemed real. On Monday, an Italian appeals court cleared her of the 2007 stabbing death of her British roommate.

It’s gonna be costly to secure the border with the U.S. while making it easier to do business between the 2 countries. Reports this morning say a new perimeter security deal with the U.S. will cost Ottawa a billion dollars for border facilities and programs. The money will apparently come from spending cuts that the Harper government is making. The deal is designed to keep terrorists out of both Canada and the U.S., while easing the flow of goods across the border.

The new fall t.v. season has got its first cancellation. NBC is dropping “The Playboy Club” after just 3 episodes. The 1960’s drama started weak, with only 5 million viewers for its first episode, and never improved. The show also got mixed reviews and even some protests from activists who said the material was inappropriate for network television.

There’s a warning today from Health Canada regarding cell-phones. The agency says people should limit their time on them. The warning comes in response to a World Health Organization report that suggested cell-phone use may be linked to higher rates of cancer….especially in younger people. The health department says the evidence is still a little thin, and more research is needed. But for now, it suggests people text message or use their hands free devices to be completely safe.

It’s election day in Manitoba, and after 4 weeks of campaigning, the decision on who will form the next government is in the hands of the voters. All signs do point to a tight race….the governing New Democrats are seeking a 4th consecutive mandate, while the Conservatives will have to win back several former strongholds in order to win. The Liberals meantime, appear to be fighting for their survival on the political map.

Air Canada says it never meant to offend anyone in a memo about the airline’s decision to stop using downtown Winnipeg hotels for crew layovers. The internal bulletin said employees will be staying at a hotel closer to the airport because of security concerns downtown. It noted that a thousand displaced people from rural Manitoba are currently staying in hotels in the city’s core, resulting in instances of public intoxication and crimes of opportunity.

A pair of tiny tigers have been unveiled at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Their mother is Kendra, the zoo’s 12 year old Siberian Tiger. She gave birth to the cubs, one male and one female, at the zoo at the end of July.

It was back in 2004 that the first privately financed manned rocket reached space. But since then, the development of space tourism has been slower than expected. Virgin Galactic, which licensed the SpaceShipOne technology, has been conducting glide tests and hopes to begin powered flights next year.

Amanda Knox’s family is at a Rome airport this morning as the former exchange student prepares to return home to Seattle following 4 years in an Italian jail. It’s expected Knox will fly to London, before getting a connector to the U.S. Yesterday, an Italian appeals court acquitted Knox and her Italian ex boyfriend in the 2007 murder of Knox’s British roommate Meredith Kercher.

It’s election day in the province. After 4 weeks of campaign stops, debates and those lovely attack ads, Manitoba’s political future is now in the hands of voters. The governing New Democrats are seeking a 4th consecutive mandate, but, all signs point to a very tight race with Hugh McFayden’s Conservatives.

Years after health advocates called for a study, scientists are now finally reviewing the safety of a key ingredient in anti bacterial soap, hand sanitizers, toothpaste and deodorant. The scientists are studying triclosan, and will produce a draft opinion on the chemical next spring. Some environmental and health advocates fear the chemical may interfere with thyroid production or promote resistant strains of bacteria. In fact, the Canadian Medical Association has called for an all out ban, saying the benefits of antibacterial products are minimal compared to regular washing with soap.

A new report out today that values global brands suggests we all want a bite out of Apple. The maker of the popular iphone, iPad and music players was one of the biggest gainers in an annual marketing industry report on the top 100 global brands. As far as who was number one? Well, it was Coca-Cola for the 12th year in a row.

Apple is unveiling its new iPhone later today in California. The latest version is more powerful than the iPhone 4, which the company launched more than a year ago. The first iPhone by the way, came out in 2007.

Today is Amanda Knox’s first complete day of freedom in 4 years. The American woman and her former boyfriend had been imprisoned since being convicted of the 2007 stabbing death of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher in Italy. Prosecutors had said it was a drug fuelled sexual assault. But yesterday, an appeals court cleared the pair of their convictions and sentences, citing a review that found faulty DNA evidence. Knox is leaving Italy this morning, and will fly home to Seattle later today.

Air Canada insists it meant no offence with its decision to stop using hotels in downtown Winnipeg for crew layovers. The airline got flak for an internal memo it issued that stated, the change was made for security reasons and noted that one thousand displaced people from rural Manitoba were staying in the area. Many of those displaced are First Nation flood evacuees, which prompted allegations of racism from a few aboriginal leaders.

Several political parties are notifying Elections Manitoba about an anonymous letter that makes a racial slur. The unsigned letter, with no political letterhead or party symbols, calls Joe Chan, the Liberal candidate in the Logan riding, “Chinese trash,” and a “criminal.” The letter actually had a photo of Chan alongside Vince Li. Li, if you remember was a Chinese-Canadian who was found not criminally responsible for beheading a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus back in 2008.

City police have laid a murder charge in connection with a woman’s death back in August. 36 year old Max Richard of Winnipeg has been charged with the 2nd degree murder of April Hornbrook. Police say they found the 24 year old dead behind a vacant building, and an autopsy said she died of blunt force trauma.

2 people are dead following a crash in the city that engulfed their vehicle in flames. Police say it happened early yesterday, and say by the time emergency crews were on site, the vehicle was burning, and no one was able to rescue the occupants. Police continue to investigate.

That massive brush fire in Transcona this weekend, is believed to have been started by a passing train. Some homes even had to be evacuated near a plastics business which was damaged in the fire.

The involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor enters week number two today. Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of causing Jackson’s death by administering the powerful anesthetic, propofol. Today, prosecutors will continue to question the emergency room physician who gave paramedics permission to pronounce the star dead.

Here’s some good news for those out of work. Best Buy and Future Shop are going on a hiring spree. Both companies say they’ll be hiring thousands of seasonal workers for the holidays, to meet demand for consumer electronics. Future Shop will increase its workforce by 40 per cent, and add another 4 thousand employees over the holidays, while Best Buy will add some 3 thousand staff.

It’s the biggest non secret. Apple is expected to announce a new, more powerful version of its wildly popular I-phone tomorrow…..15 months after it unveiled the I-Phone 4. The new smartphone is expcted to include Apple’s latest software, along with a new iMessage service which will allow users to send text messages to each other over Wi-Fi. And expectations are that it’ll also include Apple’s forthcoming iCloud service…which will store music, documents and photos on Apple’s servers and let you access them wirelessly on numerous devices.

If you’re flying to the East Coast today….get set for some delays. Hurricane Ophelia is expected to brush past southeastern Newfoundland. The Canadian Hurricane center says the storm is expected to pass near the Rock this morning with heavy rain and very strong winds.

A dolphin has nosed out a lion out of top spot at the North American box office. “Dolphin Tale” won the ticket talley this weekend, earning 14.2 million in its 2nd week out. “The Lion King,” dropped out of top spot to 3rd. While Brad Pitt’s baseball movie, “Moneyball” came in at number 2.

An American student who’s spent 4 years behind bars is expected to find out today whether an Italian court will set her free or uphold her prison sentence. Amanda Knox is appealing her 2009 conviction for murdering her British roommate in 2007.

Well get set for another bumpy ride on the markets today. Asian stocks plummeted overnight as Europe shows signs of a worsening debt. The market drops come after it was revealed that Greece will literally run out of cash in 2 weeks if it doesn’t get another bailout from the European Union.

Andy Rooney made his final appearance on C.B.S.’s “60 minutes” last night. He delivered his final weekly essay after 33 years with the newsmagazine. But the 92 year old insisted he’s not retiring. He said he’s a writer…and a writer never stops writing.

Canadian cities could be hit by demonstrations similar to the Occupy Wall street protest that’s underway in New York. An October 15th march on Bay street is planned by a number of groups and people.

The province’s top flood forecaster says he was ignored when he told provincial officials back in May, to not go ahead with that cut at the Hoop and Holler bend. Alf Warkentin says the river had stabilized the day before the cut was made near Portage la Prairie, and to him, the risk of a larger portion of land being flooded was overblown. But Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton defends the move. He says they weren’t simply relying on flood forecasting, they were also getting recommendations from engineers and other experts.

Well some Winnipeg Jets fans have learned the hard way that buying tickets through unofficial sources may not get them into the game. Dustin Gabor says he and his 3 buddies went to a website to by tickets. But when they got to the arena, they were denied access at the gate and were told the tickets were bogus. Scott Brown, of True North Sports and Entertainment says, they have been warning fans that the only way they can guarantee their seats, is by ordering them through Ticketmaster.

Steve Martin is more than just a funny guy. He and his band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, have won the entertainer of the year honors at the International Bluegrass Music Awards. Martin may best be known as a comedian, but he’s also a very accomplished banjo picker with 2 albums of mostly original music.

We first told you about this story yesterday. And the NDP’s Justice Critic is calling it stupid. Joe Comartin is denouncing a U.S. proposal to build fences along the border with us. American Customs officials suggested the move this week to help keep out terrorists and other criminals. Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S., Gary Doer, is downplaying the whole idea. Doer says there’s no indication the U.S. will actually go ahead with the idea.

Air Canada says it’s doing all it can to find George. That’s the chubby feline who escaped from his cat carrier at the Edmonton airport. His owner says she was shipping him to Ontario to stay with some relatives when he made a breakaway. The airline says it’s putting out cat food in an attempt to lure George out of hiding, and airport staff have been asked to keep an eye out for him.

At the big Michael Jackson trial down in Los Angeles….a bodyguard says he didn’t question the instructions from Jackson’s doctor after the singer was found lifeless in his bedroom in June of 2009. Alberto Alvarez is among the latest witnesses to testify at Dr. Conrad Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial. Alvarez says Murray told him to quickly collect a bunch of medicine vials and put them in a bag, which he assumed was for a trip to the hospital. Prosecutors are trying to show that Murray was intent on hiding evidence that he had given Jackson a powerful anesthetic.

There’s some mystery following China’s latest space launch….but it has nothing to do with the liftoff itself. The state broadcaster….China Central Television…played “America the Beautiful” during its coverage of the launch. No one’s quite sure how or why they did….

And in a case where religion goes horribly wrong…..an Oregon couple who prayed and rubbed olive oil on their sick infant, rather than getting some actually medical care for the dying boy…have been convicted of manslaughter. Dale and Shannon Hickman are members of a church which has a history of rejecting medical care for children in the congregation.

It ended in a tie….but it still means that a luxury hotel at the Alexander Docks will go ahead. Nearby condo owners were pretty upset with the idea and had appealed to a city committee who had approved the project. The condo owners are ticked saying the new boutique hotel would block their view of the river…..but, the project has now been given the green light.

We told you fire crews were on scene yesterday morning at a house fire on Alexander Avenue. Now, details about how one of the home’s occupants barely got out alive. 72 year old John Lagimodiere says he woke up in the home to heavy smoke, and had no choice but to jump out of a second storey window. Fortunately he says, a passerby stopped and helped to break his fall….and he only suffered some minor bruising. So far there’s no word on what started the blaze, and fire crews continue to investigate.