Booster shots and the NDP
The Ontario NDP has joined the call for the provincial government to expand the eligibility for fourth COVID-19 inoculations.
Interim party leader Peter Tabuns says it’s time for the Ford government to announce its plans to prepare for another wave of infections expected in the fall, as activities move back indoors.
Currently, those 60 and older, indigenous adults, and those living in long-term care facilities are the only people who can get a fourth shot.
With more-contagious strains of the Omicron variant now dominating infections, the National Advisory Council on Immunizations has called for a widening of booster shot eligibility.
The Ministry of Health says it’s studying that guidance.
July 4th mass shooting in Chicago
Police say they have a “person of interest” in custody, following yesterday’s mass shooting at a 4th of
July parade in suburban Chicago.
Six people were killed and 30 others wounded when a gunman opened fire on the crowd from a rooftop in the city of Highland Park.
The victims ranged in age from eight to 85.
Several other nearby cities cancelled their July 4th celebrations as police searched for the gunman.
Flooding in Australia
Nearly 50 thousand people are now under evacuation alerts or notices, as the rain continues to pound down in and around Sydney, Australia.
While the storms are starting to taper off, river levels continue to rise as the area experiences its third round of flooding this year.
Weather officials say some areas have received more than 800 millimetres of rain in the past four days.
The region’s average rainfall is about 500 millimetres a year.
Ukraine –Russian conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on his soldiers to rest and prepare for further action, after the capture of the last city in the eastern Ukrainian province of Luhansk.
The Russians finally took control of the city of Lysychansk after Ukrainian troops withdrew over the weekend.
But the battle for the region came at a high cost in manpower and equipment.
Analysts expect Russia to move against Ukrainian positions in the neighbouring province of Donetsk as it tries to gain control of the entire Donbas region.
But they add that Ukrainian forces are in much stronger defensive positions in the area.
Glacier collapse in Italy
Hope is fading that more survivors will be found, following Sunday’s partial collapse of a glacier in northeastern Italy.
Seven people were killed and eight others injured when massive chunks of ice and snow came roaring down a mountainside.
Another 14 people are still listed as missing.
Officials blame climate change for the collapse, with the area enduring a record-breaking heat wave.