Councillor under fire after chiding ‘global warming alarmists’ City councillor Sean Chu landed in hot water after he publicly took aim at â€œglobal warming alarmists.â€� Chu, who is skeptical that man-made climate change is a real phenomenon, took to Twitter on Saturday to question why proponents have been â€œquietâ€� about frigid temperatures sweeping over the Antarctic and Calgary. â€œSo quiet frm global warming alarmists about the ice stuck ship & yyc weather, itâ€™s deafening. Is it b/c the … Read more »

Updated: Police arrest man wanted for attempted murder in Warner shooting A man wanted on Canada-wide warrants for attempted murder was arrested after being recognized near the Calgary Drop-In Centre Saturday afternoon. Kenneth Barry Wallage was considered armed and dangerous after police allege he fired a shotgun into a trailer in the southern Alberta village of Warner on Dec. 28, almost hitting two people sleeping in bed. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder. Less than a day after … Read more »

Bench boss cracks the whip at Calgary Flames practice After a goal-less 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday night, Bob Hartley paid extra attention to the effort of his troops during Saturday morning’s practice. Early on, he halted the action and gathered the group in a huddle on the ice. Very audibly, Hartley asked whether the team would prefer to skate or practice. He also had highlighted the effort of Martin St. Louis, the 38-year-old grey beard … Read more »

Teenager charged with arson after paint shop, vehicles torched High winds, waves and tides cause flooding in Britain, France High winds, … more Â» Source Article from http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/crime-and-justice/Teenager+charged+with+arson+after+paint+shop/9350893/story.html

Paris Hilton braves Calgary cold for first Canadian DJ performance at Cowboys It ain’t always easy being a fabulously rich socialite. Respect isn’t always readily shown. Particularly if you’re in a somewhat raucous bar. But luckily, if you’re Paris Hilton, you generally come with lots of backup. The 32-year-old tabloid-magnet and professional celebrity was fresh from being white-hatted at the VIP lounge of Calgary’s Cowboys Friday night during its 18th annual Iced festivities and about to perform her first Canadian DJ set … Read more »

U.S. to support fight on al Qaeda in Iraq without troops: Kerry JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced confidence on Sunday the Iraqi government and tribes would be successful in their fight against al Qaeda, and said Washington was not considering sending troops back to Iraq. “This is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis … We are not contemplating returning.” Kerry said during a trip to Israel. “We will help them in their fight, but this fight, … Read more »

South Sudan rivals set stage for peace talks with a hug ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – South Sudanese rebels and government negotiators will hold their first face-to-face talks on Sunday, after several days of delay, to thrash out a ceasefire deal and end weeks of ethnic fighting in the world’s youngest state. At a ceremonial opening to the talks at a luxury hotel in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday, the leaders of the rival delegations hugged, but the faltering start … Read more »

Thai protesters march again in bid to bring down government BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the Thai capital on Sunday, a prelude to a broader action next week when they say they will shut down Bangkok in their bid to scuttle a February election and topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The protesters, who accuse Yingluck of being the puppet of her self-exiled brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, have vowed to stop the February 2 election. … Read more »

Bangladesh votes in polls hit by opposition boycott, violence DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh voted amid heavy security on Sunday in parliamentary elections boycotted by the main opposition, marred by violence that has killed more than 100 people and shunned by international observers as flawed. With fewer than half of the 300 parliamentary seats being contested, the ruling Awami League is bound to sweep to victory. The impasse between the country’s two dominant parties, which shows no sign of easing, … Read more »

Senators blast Obama over Al Qaeda capture of Iraq city of Fallujah FILE: December 31, 2013: Protesters burn a police vehicle during fighting in Ramadi, in Iraq.REUTERS ADVERTISEMENT Top Republican senators on Saturday blamed the Obama administration for Al Qaeda-affiliates purportedly over-running parts of Iraq, including the city of Fallujah that the United States secured before President Obama removed all U.S. forces from that country in 2011. Sen. John McCain, Arizona, and Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, called the recent turn of events … Read more »

EMERGENCY LANDING Small plane lands on highway in Bronx, NY Authorities say a small plane carrying two passengers and one pilot landed on an interstate highway in New York on Saturday. Officials with the city’s Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management say the plane touched down Saturday on the Major Deegan Expressway in the area of East 233rd Street. The situation was quickly brought under control, authorities said. The plane had left Danbury, Connecticut, for The Statue of Liberty … Read more »

RECORD COLD’Polar vortex’ covers much of US with frigid temps As much of the country digs out from a powerful winter storm that buried parts of the Northeast, tundra-like temperatures are poised to deliver a rare and potentially dangerous blow to the Midwest, with forecasters predicting a near-record or historic cold outbreak. The “polar vortex,” as one meteorologist calls it, is expected to send cold air piled up at the North Pole down to the U.S., funneling it as far south … Read more »

BREAKING NEWS Small plane lands on highway in Bronx, NY Authorities say a small plane carrying three people passengers and one pilot landed on an interstate highway in New York on Saturday. Officials with the city’s Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management say the plane touched down Saturday on the Major Deegan Expressway in the area of East 233rd Street. At least one person reportedly suffered a minor injury. Authorities say there was no fire reported after the plane … Read more »

RACE AGAINST TIME Mass. student on hunting trip vanishes on icy waters Authorities searching for a missing Brown University student whose kayak was found a few miles off the Massachusetts coast say a winter storm has hindered their efforts. Dana Dourdeville was reported missing by his mother after he failed to return from a duck hunting trip Tuesday. Police say the 21-year-old’s car was found parked at the West Island town beach in Fairhaven, Mass. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located his … Read more »

‘SURPRISE TO MANY’ Study says ObamaCare to cause ER visits to spike FILE: December 8, 2009: A man stands outside the emergency room of Health Central Hospital, in Occoee, Florida. ADVERTISEMENT Capitol Hill Republicans are not surprised by a new study that suggests more people will make emergency room visits under ObamaCare, not less as President Obama and other supporters of the law argue. The Harvard University study recently published in the journal Science shows that emergency room visits increased by 40 … Read more »

Small plane lands on NYC highway Authorities say a small plane carrying three people passengers and one pilot landed on an interstate highway in New York on Saturday. Officials with the city’s Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management say the plane touched down Saturday on the Major Deegan Expressway in the area of East 233rd Street. At least one person reportedly suffered a minor injury. Authorities say there was no fire reported after the plane … Read more »

Still unclear exactly how QE eases conditions: Fed’s Dudley PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Extensive research into massive asset-purchase programs has not yet clarified whether such policies ease financial conditions primarily as a signal to investors or more directly through private portfolios, an influential U.S. central banker said on Saturday. The Federal Reserve is currently buying $75 billion a month in Treasuries and mortgage bonds in its third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, which is meant to ease longer-term borrowing … Read more »

Bangladesh election marred by opposition boycott, violence DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh holds a parliamentary election on Sunday, a contest boycotted by the main opposition, marred by violence that has killed more than 100 people and shunned by international observers. Polls were due to open at 8 a.m. (0200 GMT) and close at 4 p.m., although with fewer than half of the 300 parliamentary seats being contested, the ruling Awami League was poised to sweep to victory. The … Read more »

Kerry sees progress on Israeli-Palestinian framework deal RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israel and the Palestinians are making progress towards a “framework agreement” to guide their talks on a formal peace deal but still have some way to go, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday. Speaking after extensive, separate talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Kerry sounded somewhat hopeful about the chances of ending the conflict, despite misgivings voiced recently by both sides and … Read more »

Early days of Obamacare bring trickle, not flood, of patients NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. medical providers are seeing only a trickle of patients newly insured under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, as insurers, hospitals and doctors try to work out any hitches in coverage. More than 2 million people have signed up for new private health plans that took effect on Wednesday under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. While some of those consumers were already lining … Read more »

NATO military convoy attacked in Kabul diplomatic quarter KABUL (Reuters) – A military convoy belonging to the NATO-led ISAF coalition force was bombed outside its base in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter on Saturday, but no troops were hurt, security sources and ISAF said. The base is close to both the German and Italian embassies. Security sources said the bomb had targeted a military convoy close the entrance of the base, but ISAF’s statement said only that there had been … Read more »

Syrian rebels launch fierce offensive against al Qaeda fighters BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebel factions battled fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across north-west Syria on Saturday in the heaviest clashes between President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents in nearly three years of conflict, activists said. The apparently coordinated strikes against the ISIL come after months of increasing resentment of the powerful al Qaeda-linked group, whose radical foreign jihadis and have alienated many ordinary Syrians in … Read more »

Citing security concern, schools seek to end polling GLEN RIDGE, N.J – Some schools want to end their traditional role as polling places because of security concerns since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, leaving their communities without easy alternatives for voting sites. A presidential commission has been hearing from election officials across the country worried about schools trying to move balloting out of their buildings. Among them is the Glen Ridge School District, … Read more »

Reports: N. Korean leader fed uncle to starving dogs The execution of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle was more brutal than initially reported, according to a Beijing-controlled newspaper, which said the country’s second-most-powerful figure was thrown into a cage filled with starving dogs and eaten alive. The Singaporean Straits Times cited a report from Wen Wei Po, a Beijing-control newspaper, that said Jang Song Thaek and five close associates were stripped and fed to 120 dogs that … Read more »