Canada News Headlines

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended on Friday a top aide who is at the center of an expenses scandal that is becoming one of the biggest crises to hit the governing Conservatives since they took office in 2006. Opposition parties want an inquiry into why Nigel Wright, Harper's …

By Julie Gordon and Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, a target of criticism for his often unconventional conduct, on Friday denied media allegations that he had been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. "Absolutely not true," Ford told reporters gathered outside his west Toronto house, before …

By Rod Nickel WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada will put forward a list of U.S. products it wants to target in retaliation for U.S. country-of-origin meat labels if last-minute changes to U.S. label regulations don't prove satisfactory, Canadian officials said on Friday. The dispute stems from a 2009 U.S. requirement …

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada's soaring consumer debt is backed by solid assets, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday, saying he was more worried about economic problems outside the country. Canadian households now owe C$1.65 for every dollar earned, a record level that has raised alarm among policymakers. Much …

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian senator stepped down from the Conservative caucus on Thursday after a scandal surrounding his expenses and how he obtained money to repay them. The government has said that Senator Mike Duffy accepted a personal check for C$90,000 ($88,000) from the chief of staff of Prime Minister Stephen …

By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson is reviewing a move by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff to write a personal check for C$90,000 ($88,000) to a Conservative senator so he could repay housing allowances he should not have received. News of the gift by Chief of Staff …

By Jennifer Kwan VICTORIA, British Columbia (Reuters) - The incumbent Liberal Party won an election in the Canadian Pacific province of British Columbia on Tuesday, in a stunning comeback that defied the pollsters who had expected voters to boot the party out of power. The Liberals, in power for more than a decade, lost …

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian man who went missing after he took two men for a test drive in a truck he was trying to sell online has been found dead, Canadian police said on Tuesday. Police also said murder charges will be brought on Wednesday against the only suspect so far in custody in the case - the heir to a Canadian …

By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals regained a seat in the House of Commons on Monday in a race viewed as an early test of the popularity of the party's new leader, Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Liberal candidate Yvonne Jones had 50.8 percent of the vote and incumbent Conservative …

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The man who police say hurled homophobic slurs at a gay man on a Manhattan street before firing a single fatal shot to his head appeared in court Sunday to face a charge of murder as a hate crime.

Sunday's Games

BOSTON - Johnny Boychuk broke a tie midway through the second period, and the Boston Bruins scored two goals in the third to beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Sunday and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

MACKINAW CITY, Mich. - Two-hundred people wearing 18th century clothing will re-enact historical events at Fort Michilimackinac (mih-shih-lih-MAK'-ihn-aw) in Mackinaw City on Memorial Day weekend.

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic …

TSX rises as gold miners lone sore spot TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as robust economic data helped drive gains in energy stocks and financial shares, offsetting weakness in gold producers. The materials sector, a major component of the S&P/TSX composite which includes gold miners, was the …

Canadian prime minister's top aide quits over expenses scandal OTTAWA (Reuters) - The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper abruptly resigned on Sunday over his role in an mounting expenses scandal which is threatening to undermine the Conservative government. Nigel Wright, Harper's chief of staff, quit after …

CANNES, France (AP) — Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. - Some lucky person walked into a Publix supermarket in suburban Florida over the past few days and bought a ticket now worth an estimated $590.5 million — the highest Powerball jackpot in history.

MOSCOW - A Russian capsule carrying mice, lizards and other small animals returned to Earth on Sunday after spending a month in space for what scientists said was the longest experiment of its kind.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Commuters are bracing for a difficult trip around southwest Connecticut and to New York City beginning Monday as workers repair the Metro-North commuter rail line crippled by a derailment and crash.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea fired a projectile into waters off its eastern coast Sunday, a day after launching three short-range missiles in the same area, officials said.

AMMAN, Jordan - Syrian troops backed by tanks and warplanes launched an assault Sunday on a strategic rebel-held town near the Lebanese border, pounding the area with airstrikes and artillery salvos that killed at least 30 people and forced residents to scramble for cover in basements and makeshift bunkers, activists s …