IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
U.S. prosecutors charged a Texas man on Wednesday with providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes competing in last summer's Olympics in Tokyo, including the star Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare.
Eric Lira, 41, of El Paso, is the first person to be charged under a new U.S. anti-doping law governing international sports competitions.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said Lira distributed the drugs, including human growth hormone and erythropoietin, a blood-building hormone, "for the purpose of corrupting" the 2020 Games, which were held in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lira also is accused of conspiring to violate drug misbranding and adulteration laws. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
"It's not winning if you take illegal substances -- it's cheating," FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said in a statement.
The criminal complaint identifies Okagbare only as "athlete 1," but it includes details, including her performances in specific races, that make it clear she was one of Lira's clients. A text message was sent to Okagbare seeking comment.
Okagbare had been provisionally suspended for testing positive for human growth hormone in July 2021 -- in an out-of-competition test -- just hours before the former world championships silver medalist was due to run in the semifinals of the women's 100-metres at the Olympics.
A criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court described that suspension.
The Athletics Integrity Unit last year said Okagbare also had tested positive for a blood booster in Nigeria in June.
She was charged with failing to cooperate with the investigation after she disobeyed an order to produce "documents, records and electronic storage devices" in relation to the other charges, the AIU said at the time.
"When it's time to say anything, I will and it will be worth the wait," Okagbare tweeted last year.
The criminal complaint alleges that Lira, a kinesiologist and naturopathic doctor, brought "misbranded" versions of the drugs to the United States from Central and South America before distributing them to athletes.
Federal authorities searched Okagbare's cellphone as she was returning to the United States from Tokyo and found she had frequently communicated with Lira over an encrypted app, according to the complaint.
"Is it safe to take a test this morning?" Okagbare wrote in one message to Lira, according to the complaint. "Remember I took it Wednesday and then yesterday again. I wasn't sure so I didn't take a test."
In another exchange, Okagbare wrote Lira that she had just run the 100m in 10.63 seconds. News reports detailed Okagbare running a race in that time a few days before the message was sent. "Eric my body feel so good," she wrote. "Whatever you did is working so well."
"You are doing your part and you will be ready to dominate," Lira wrote to the athlete.
The charges against Lira were brought under the Rodchenkov Act, a law signed in 2020 that prohibits "any person, other than an athlete," to knowingly influence any "major international sports competition" with the use of prohibited substance.
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AP national writer Eddie Pells contributed reporting from Denver.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.