The Thursday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, July 20

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TRUDEAU DEFENDS CHOICE OF PAYETTE FOR VICEREGAL: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there was nothing that came up during the vetting of Julie Payette that he saw as a reason she shouldn’t be chosen as Governor General. Trudeau says his officials conducted a thorough background check on Payette. It’s emerged that she has a dismissed charge of second-degree assault when she lived in Maryland in 2011. She was also found not at fault in the death of a woman in a fatal car crash. Payette has called the assault charge unfounded, noting that she was quickly cleared.

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O.J. SIMPSON GRANTED PAROLE: O.J. Simpson has been granted parole, and release from prison — but not until October. The four commissioners who questioned Simpson by videoconference heard testimony from Simpson, his daughter and the victim in the armed robbery that put the fallen football star in prison for nearly nine years. Parole Commissioner Connie Bisbee cast the deciding vote. The victim, Bruce Fromong, said he and Simpson have been friends for 27 years and that Simpson is not a threat. Fromong was a sports memorabilia dealer that Simpson was convicted of robbing of some Simpson paraphernalia.

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NDP WANT TRUDEAU BEFORE COMMONS ON NAFTA: The federal New Democrats want the prime minister to appear before an emergency meeting of the international trade committee to talk about the upcoming NAFTA negotiations. The request comes after Justin Trudeau already said he’d be happy to brief the opposition parties on the government’s take on the talks. NDP trade critic Tracey Ramsey says she’s pleased Trudeau is willing to talk to the Opposition, but she wants him appear at the committee as well. The Trump administration laid out its own goals for the talks this week, but Ottawa doesn’t have to do that.

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KNIGHT CRAFT SAYS SHE’LL WORK TO IMPROVE CANADA-U.S. RELATIONSHIP: U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next ambassador to Canada promises to work hard to maintain and improve a strong economic relationship between both countries. Kelly Knight Craft promised at her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington to foster further growth to create more jobs for both countries, while promoting free and fair trade. Knight Craft did not divulge many other details about the role she expects to play in the NAFTA talks.

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NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE FOUND DEAD: Another endangered North Atlantic right whale has been found floating lifeless in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. An animal rescue group said Thursday plans were being made to tow the animal ashore. The Marine Animal Response Society said an aerial survey conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. spotted the whale carcass late Wednesday afternoon east of Shippagan, N.B. The group said the survey also revealed another entangled right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

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SEARS LIQUIDATION SALES BEGIN FRIDAY: Dozens of Sears stores slated for closure begin liquidation sales Friday, but industry experts say bargain hunters would be wise to temper their expectations. Eager to avoid bankruptcy, the one-time retail giant is counting on hordes of shoppers to scoop up discounted merchandise, fixtures and equipment as soon as possible. But despite the everything-must-go sales at dozens of outlets, marketing Prof. David Soberman from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management notes Sears still has to survive as a company once restructuring is complete.

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MORE EVACUATIONS DUE TO B.C. WILDFIRES: Residents of a rural area on the outskirts of Penticton, B.C., on Thursday joined the more than 45,000 people in British Columbia who have fled their homes due to fast-moving fires. The blaze broke out in the West Bench suburb and Peter Weeber, chief administrative officer for the city, said first responders swiftly conducted evacuations of homes threatened by the flames. Officials did not have an exact number of residents who had been forced to flee, but a spokesman said at least two or three streets were evacuated.

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NEW TRIAL ORDERED IN SEX ASSAULT CASE: A new trial has been ordered for a Toronto man who was found guilty last year of sexually assaulting a fellow York University PhD student with whom he had a casual relationship. Ontario Superior Justice Michael Dambrot said the trial judge’s assessment of Mustafa Ururyar’s evidence appeared coloured by “rape literature.” Dambrot said Justice Marvin Zuker gave no explanation for dismissing Ururyar’s evidence, which included testimony that he had consensual sex with Mandi Gray, who waived the standard publication ban on the identity of sexual assault complainants.

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ENCANA IN CALIFORNIA CLIMATE LAWSUIT: A Canadian energy company is named in three large lawsuits that attempt to link damages from climate change to industry’s alleged attempts to hinder action to address it. In the latest of a growing number of such lawsuits around the world, Calgary-based Encana is one of 20 energy majors and their subsidiaries facing claims from three California communities. They allege the companies have deliberately sown misinformation and doubt on climate change and are at least partially responsible for related damages such as shoreline erosion.

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WOMAN SOUGHT IN QUADRUPLE HOMICIDE: Calgary police are seeking the public’s help in finding a woman they believe may have played a significant role in a quadruple homicide earlier this month. Investigators want to question Yu Chieh Liao, who goes by Diana Liao, in the deaths of two sisters and two men. Liao has ties to Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Regina and Moose Jaw, Sask., and may be travelling with a short black man. Hanock Afowerk, the burned car’s owner and the man police believe was the intended target, was found dead in a rural area west of Calgary two days later.

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