Happy Friday, here are five things to know before you head into the weekend. Don Martin puts on his fortune teller hat, Canadian Forces help Kurdish troops in Iraq after they come under attack from ISIS, Mike Duffy ends his testimony, an isolated First Nations community finally gets a mainland connection, and a joke goes viral for the wrong reasons. Plus, we’ve got something for Flashback Friday.
1. Sunny ways with a chance of clouds: Don Martin has looked into his crystal ball to see Canada’s political future, and has some predictions for 2016. He thinks Jason Kenney won’t run for the Conservative Party’s leadership, and the Canadian dollar will slip below 70-cents US in February. There’s a lot more here.
2. Canadian Forces in Iraq: Canadian Special Operations Forces in Iraq helped to 'respond with fire' against ISIS, after Kurdish forces came under attack. The 17-hour ISIS offensive east of Mosul involved suicide bombs, ground troops and artillery.
3. Testimony ends in Duffy trial: Crown and defence teams in Sen. Mike Duffy’s criminal trial are expected to set a date for closing arguments to begin after testimony abruptly ended Thursday in an Ottawa courtroom. The testimony, which has included dozens of witnesses over the 60-day trial, ended with Duffy himself on the stand. The embattled senator was cross-examined by Crown prosecutors over a period of two days.
4. Shoal Lake 40: The isolated Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is finally getting a bridge to the mainland, but after 18 years, it remains under a boil-water advisory. There are 164 water advisories affecting 117 First Nations communities across the country, according to the latest available information from Health Canada and B.C.’s First Nations Health Authority. We’ve mapped them out.
5. Bad joke? A Louisiana family whose Christmas card has generated widespread accusations of sexism on Facebook says it’s just a joke and people who don’t like it should just keep scrolling. The Johnson family’s card shows mother Lanie Johnson and her two daughters with their hands tied by Christmas lights and green tape over their mouths, while father James Johnson holds a chalkboard that reads “Peace on Earth” and their young son gives a ‘thumbs up.’
And one more thing for Flashback Friday...
What might turn out to be the biggest movie of the century hits theatres Friday. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” marks the space opera’s seventh episode and the first time the franchise has seen the silver screen in a decade. But six years ago on this very day, the world’s highest grossing film of ever opened up. Did you remember it was the anniversary of “Avatar”? And does the film stack up next to the cultural titans in stands beside in the all-box office lists?
