It's Friday and CTV News has 5 things you need to know before kicking off your weekend: the Senate expense scandal comes to a close; a Canadian couple arrested in China speak out about their ordeal; lawmakers impeach South Korea's first female president; Canada's premiers and territorial leaders meet today; and a Canadian student hopes to help with a controversial surgery.
Plus, for #FlashbackFriday, a look at a historic space mission involving Venus.
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1. Expense scandal ends: The Senate expense scandal, a political controversy that engulfed the upper chamber and reached the office of the prime minister, ended on Thursday, when a Senate committee chose not to pursue lawsuits against seven retired senators.
2. Canadians detained: A Canadian couple detained in China for two years are now speaking out about their ordeal. Kevin and Julia Garratt, who spent three decades living in China, say they’re upset they can’t continue their work there.
3. President impeached: Lawmakers have overwhelmingly voted to impeach South Korea’s first female president. Park Geun-Hye, the daughter of a former Korean dictator, was brought down by a corruption scandal.
4. First Ministers meeting: Canada’s first ministers are meeting in Ottawa today, with a plan to talk about climate change. However, indigenous leaders are speaking out about not being invited and premiers are hoping to convince the federal government to sign a longer-term health accord.
5. Canadian pitching in: A Canadian graduate student hopes to work with a surgeon as part of a team planning to transplant a terminally ill man’s head onto another body. William Sekkema, from B.C., is a Rice University chemistry student.
One more thing for "Flashback Friday": On Dec. 9, 1978, NASA's Pioneer Multiprobe completed its mission by sending four probes that cut through the sulfuric acid clouds of Venus. One of the probes even beat the odds and survived for an hour on the surface.
