Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Sen. Lindsey Graham has become the first senator to disclose a breakthrough infection after being vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying Monday he is "very glad" he received the vaccine, without which his current symptoms would be "far worse."
The news prompted several other lawmakers to get quick COVID-19 tests and report their status. A handful of Senate colleagues spent part of the weekend working and socializing with the South Carolina Republican, who attended a gathering on Sen. Joe Manchin's houseboat the evening that he first developed symptoms.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Graham said he "started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night" and went to the doctor Monday morning.
After being notified of his positive test, Graham said he would quarantine for 10 days.
"I feel like I have a sinus infection, and at present time, I have mild symptoms," the 66-year-old Graham said. "I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination, I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse."
According to spokesman Kevin Bishop, Graham was among senators who attended Manchin's event on Saturday. Sam Runyon, a spokeswoman for Manchin, said the West Virginia Democrat "is fully vaccinated and following the CDC guidelines for those exposed to a COVID positive individual."
In the Capitol Monday evening, senators who attended the gathering were present and voting. Manchin said he had since tested negative and said the outdoor event, which lasted several hours and featured hamburgers, was "just trying to get people together."
"We do everything in a bipartisan way, and that's what we do," Manchin said. "I talked to Lindsey today, he's fine."
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters that he was also on the boat, named "Almost Heaven," and was awaiting test results. Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., were also there and were getting tested.
More senators have donned masks in recent weeks as coronavirus case counts have risen, but they aren't required in the chamber, and some still choose not to wear them. The House has returned to a mask requirement.
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican who is vaccinated, was not wearing a mask Monday and said he had not decided whether to put one back on. He said he's concerned that reports of Graham's illness will discourage some to get vaccinated.
On wearing a mask, Blunt said, "I think it actually is one of the reasons that people are encouraged to get the vaccine is they don't have to."
There's no way to know just how risky it was for the people who were near Graham -- vaccinated or not. Vaccinated people are at a much lower risk of being infected at all and for contracting a serious case. But the level of risk depends on whether Graham was masked, whether they were masked, how much virus his body was producing when they met, how close they were and for how long.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fully vaccinated people determined to have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they are asymptomatic but should be tested within five days and wear a mask indoors for 14 days or until testing negative.
Graham, who was vaccinated in December, has long been a proponent of vaccination, saying during a visit this spring to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston that "the sooner we get everybody vaccinated, the quicker we can get back to normal."
Graham's infection comes on the heels of updated CDC guidance urging even fully vaccinated people to return to wearing masks indoors in areas of high coronavirus transmission, citing the surge of the highly contagious delta variant. Recent analysis has shown that breakthrough cases of COVID-19, with mild or no symptoms, still remain rare.
Both congressional chambers have been adopting stricter face covering regulations amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases across the country.
Graham, who was wearing a mask, did not answer questions from reporters on Capitol Hill earlier Monday, prior to the statement being issued. Because of Senate votes, Graham was not in attendance at Friday night's Silver Elephant dinner, the South Carolina Republican Party's signature annual fundraiser and an event attended by hundreds, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a headlining speaker.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.