Ottawa’s police chief is ousted amid truck protest
OTTAWA, Ontario — Ottawa’s police chief was ousted Tuesday amid criticism of his inaction against the trucker protests that have paralyzed Canada’s capital for over two weeks, while the number of blockades maintained by demonstrators at the U.S. border dropped to just one.
Canada’s Trudeau invokes emergency powers to quell protests
OTTAWA, Ontario — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers Monday to quell the paralyzing protests by truckers and others angry over Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoods.
Unvaccinated medical workers turn to religious exemptions
When nurse Julia Buffo was told by her Montana hospital that she had to be vaccinated against COVID-19, she responded by filling out paperwork declaring that the shots run afoul of her religious beliefs.
Green: Safe Travels program could end in March
The state will be able to drop its Safe Travels program in March, with mask mandates to follow, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said Monday.
Key US-Canada bridge reopens after police clear protesters
WINDSOR, Ontario — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday after protests against COVID-19 restrictions closed it for almost a week, while Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
Many faith leaders wary of religious exemptions for vaccine
By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders.
Blockades on Canada-US border continue as protests swell
WINDSOR, Ontario — Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions withdrew their vehicles from a key U.S.-Canadian border bridge Saturday though access remained blocked while other demonstrations ramped up in cities across Canada, including the capital, where police said they were awaiting more officers before ending what they described as an illegal occupation.
An eye on the midterms, Dems alter approach on virus
WASHINGTON — “People are tired,” Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock says in the opening ad for his reelection campaign.
Landlords finding ways to evict after getting rental aid
A day before she was due to be evicted in November from her Atlanta home, Shanelle King heard that she had been awarded about $15,000 in rental assistance. She could breathe again.
US urges Canada to use federal powers to end bridge blockade
TORONTO — The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production.
Most vulnerable still in jeopardy as COVID precautions ease
Two years into the pandemic Jackie Hansen still left home only for doctor visits, her immune system so wrecked by cancer and lupus that COVID-19 vaccinations couldn’t take hold.
HCCC reports 17 positive inmate test results
The state Department of Public Safety said Thursday two Hawaii Island correctional facilities reported positive COVID-19 test results.
Ukrainians not panicking as West’s invasion rhetoric rises
KABUL, Afghanistan — Only five hospitals in Afghanistan still offer COVID-19 treatment, with 33 others having been forced to close in recent months for lack of doctors, medicines and even heating. This comes as the economically devastated nation is hit by a steep rise in the number of reported coronavirus cases.
Musk helping restore Tongan internet; outbreak grows
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Entrepreneur Elon Musk is helping reconnect Tonga to the internet after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut off the South Pacific nation more than three weeks ago, according to officials, while repairs on an undersea cable are proving more difficult than first thought.
As state mask rules end, schools caught in middle
As some of the last statewide mask mandates in the U.S. near an end, decisions about whether students and teachers should continue to wear masks in school are shifting to local leaders, who are caught in the middle of one of the most combustible issues of the pandemic.
Pressured to ease up, Biden weighs virus response
WASHINGTON — Facing growing pressure to ease up on pandemic restrictions, the White House insisted Wednesday it is making plans for a less-disruptive phase of the national virus response. But impatient states, including Democratic New York, made clear they aren’t waiting for Washington as public frustration grows.
Hospitals begin to limp out of latest surge
As omicron numbers drop at Denver Health, Dr. Anuj Mehta is reminded of the scene in the 1980 comedy “The Blues Brothers” when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd pile out of a battered car after a police chase.
The COVID cavalry: FEMA-funded travel nurses give Hilo Medical Center staff ‘a great mental and physical break’
The 36 federally funded travel nurses working at Hilo Medical Center have been “a tremendous relief” for the hospital’s staff.
Governors in 4 states plan for end to school mask mandates
TRENTON, N.J. — The governors of four states announced plans Monday to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March, citing the rapid easing of COVID-19’s omicron surge.
Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests
TORONTO — The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency Sunday and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada said groups in the U.S. must stop interfering in the domestic affairs of America’s neighbor as protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions continued to paralyze Ottawa’s downtown.
