Raptors stretch win streak and Buttigieg clings to narrow lead; In The News for Feb. 6

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 Feb. 6 …

What we are watching in Canada …

The father of a 15-month-old baby who is in the city at the centre of a deadly viral outbreak says he experienced a roller-coaster of emotions from fear to frustration and relief in the span of about two hours.

Richard Fabic, a Canadian citizen from Mississauga, Ont., was monitoring his daughter Chloe’s journey with her grandparents as they drove to the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in the afternoon on Thursday local time.

“This is so tense,” he said late Wednesday night.

Chloe is a Canadian citizen but her grandparents are permanent residents.

Their flight out of Wuhan, in the Hubei province of China, had been delayed about 21 hours.

The flight, a government-chartered plane, was scheduled to lift-off early Thursday morning local time, but Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday crosswinds kept the plane from leaving Hanoi, Vietnam, where it and its crew have been waiting.

He said there are 211 passengers expected on the flight and all had been contacted.

Ottawa is still weighing its options for taking more Canadians out of Wuhan once the first flight has left, Champagne said.

This includes whether it should send a second plane or can secure enough space on flights organized by the U.S. and other allies.

Fabic said he was “constantly refreshing” his email and checking text messages on his phone as he waited for updates from Chloe’s grandparents.

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Also this …

A delegation of premiers will be in Washington this weekend to reinforce cross-border business ties with their American counterparts, hedging their bets at the dawn of a new and uncertain era of managed North American trade.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will lead a group of provincial leaders that includes Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Quebec’s Francois Legault and Blaine Higgs, the premier of New Brunswick.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will also be there, on the margins of the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, a three-day gathering of state leaders.  

Part of the group’s mission is to extend Canada’s gratitude for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the new North American trade pact that President Donald Trump signed into law last week that is awaiting ratification in the House of Commons.

But as the spotlight fades from USMCA, there’s a new threat looming: Buy American, the protectionist measures that require the exclusive use of U.S. raw materials on government projects.

There are also reports the White House is exploring whether to pull out of a $1.7-trillion procurement agreement with members of the World Trade Organization, including Canada — an agreement that, like the old NAFTA, provides would-be Canadian bidders preferential access to government contracts.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Pete Buttigieg clung to a slight lead over Bernie Sanders in a new batch of vote totals released by the Iowa Democratic Party on Wednesday, two days after the state hosted its first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.

But the race remained too early to call.

Much of the political world has already shifted its attention to next-up New Hampshire, which holds the first primary election in the Democrats’ 2020 nomination fight on Tuesday.

Iowa officials attributed their delay to technical problems. The chaos surrounding the reporting breakdown has undermined the impact of the Iowa’s election, which typically rewards winners with a surge of momentum heading into subsequent primary contests.

The two early leaders — Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Sen. Sanders — are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.

Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

A Turkish airliner skidded off a runway, crashed into a ditch and broke apart while landing in bad weather in Istanbul Wednesday, killing three people and injuring dozens more. Passengers had to scramble through the split fuselage to escape.

The aircraft, operated by low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, was arriving at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport from the western Turkish city of Izmir with 183 passengers and crew on board when it had what the Transportation Ministry described as a “rough landing.”

Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said the plane failed to “hold onto the runway” and skidded some 50-60 metres (yards) before it dropped into the ditch from a height of about 30 metres (98 feet.)

“We are deeply saddened … (But) we are very happy that we escaped a greater accident,” Yerlikaya said, adding that the plane could have burst into flames.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported early Thursday that three people had died and 179 required care at multiple hospitals.

Emergency workers, assisted by an excavator, recovered one body from beneath the wreckage before the rescue mission ended.

The airport was shut down after the incident, which occurred at around 6:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT), and flights were diverted to Istanbul’s main airport.

Survivor Dogus Bilgic, 24, told Turkish television channel NTV that he fled the smashed plane by way of a gap near his seat and was one of the first passengers to get out.

“We travelled (on the runway) for some 20 or 30 seconds, then all of a sudden we flew off the runway,” he said while seated in a wheelchair because of a leg injury. “It happened in seconds.”

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

Australian wildlife groups are asking Canadian crafters to put a pin in their efforts to help animals affected by the wildfires, citing a surplus of handmade donations.

WIRES Wildlife Rescue says the generosity of the crafting community has been so “overwhelming,” but it’s struggling to find space to store the creature comforts it’s received.

Halifax-raised Brianna MacDonald turned her Sydney suburb home into a warehouse for crafts and medical supplies for the Animal Rescue Collective.

MacDonald says the operation has since expanded to fill two storage spaces with an estimated 2,500 kilograms of Canadian donations.

The Canadian Animal Rescue Craft Guild has instructed the 11,000 members of its Facebook group to finish their joey pouches, bat wraps and crocheted nests, but not make new ones.

Organizer Bonnie Beach says crafters are now knitting, sewing and crocheting for local causes or auctioning their wares to raise money for Australian wildlife organizations.  

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Weird and wild …

MONTREAL — Police on Montreal’s South Shore are investigating a complaint about an alligator biting a young girl in a suburban home.

Sgt. Jean-Luc Tremblay of the Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police says the alleged incident occurred Feb. 1, but wasn’t reported until two days later.

Tremblay says police went to the home in Ste-Julie, where they saw a preschooler who had minor injuries from a bite on her foot.

He says police are investigating with the help of wildlife officials.

A spokeswoman for the city says the alligator’s owners, who run a company that uses animals for education and entertainment, have been the subject of previous complaints.

Julie Martin says the owners hold a provincial permit that allows them to own the animal, but they aren’t supposed to keep it in the house.

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Know your news …

Just over two months after “Anne with an E” was cancelled, star Amybeth McNulty has already found a new project. The film “Maternal” is directed by another famous face from the “Anne of Green Gables” franchise. Name the actress who played Anne in the 1985 CBC miniseries?

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On this day in 1977 …

Quebec premier Rene Levesque drove over a man lying on a Montreal street. A coroner ruled there was no criminal responsibility, and Levesque was fined $25 for not wearing his glasses at the time.

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Sports news …

Serge Ibaka’s three-point shots hadn’t been falling all night, so when the Congolese big man set up to launch a long bomb with 30 seconds to play, and history on the line, the Scotiabank Arena crowd held its collective breath.

Ibaka connected for the go-ahead basket, as the Toronto Raptors overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, setting a franchise record with their 12th consecutive victory.

And moments after the nailbiter, Ibaka echoed what Toronto players and coaches have been saying all season: the Raptors know how to win.

“We keep our composure during the game,” Ibaka said. “We’ve been there before, even in playoffs. So we have that mindset of never give up, we keep trusting each other and we don’t point fingers. When things go bad, we stay together, and I think that’s what makes us very special.”

Kyle Lowry poured in 32 points and Ibaka added a season-high 30, going 2-for-7 from three-point range. Pascal Siakam had 25 points, while Terence Davis had 11 and Fred VanVleet chipped in with 10 for Toronto (37-14).

Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points to lead the Pacers (31-20), while Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

With history on the line for the reigning NBA champions, the game had a post-season vibe. And with eight of Toronto’s previous 11 wins coming against teams with losing records, the Raptors knew they were in tough Wednesday.

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Know your news answer …

Megan Follows. She makes her feature directorial debut in the psychedelic thriller and also stars in it.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.

The Canadian Press