National News

OTTAWA — Health Canada has authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine for people six months and older. The mRNA vaccine targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant that is circulating in Canada. This is the second vaccine targeting XBB.1.

OTTAWA — A judge has denied a second request by former Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, who is facing charges related to his participation in the "Freedom Convoy" protest, to move his jury trial away from Ottawa.

EDMONTON — The University of Alberta is returning endowment funds from the family of a Ukrainian man whose military service was linked to the Nazis.

MONTREAL — It has been three years since Joyce Echaquan died in hospital after filming staff insulting her, but for her family and her First Nation, the fight continues to ensure a legacy of better treatment for Indigenous people.

HALIFAX — Chris Fogarty remembers the moment 20 years ago when he transmitted a weather bulletin warning that hurricane Juan would make landfall near Halifax, churning out gusts at 140 kilometres per hour.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today...

A homecoming celebration for a memorial totem pole after an absence of almost 100 years will resonate far beyond the tiny Indigenous village in northwest British Columbia where it is being returned Friday.

EDMONTON — Some Indigenous nations say they are prepared to continue enforcing their jurisdiction over child welfare if Canada's top court sides with Quebec in a landmark constitutional case.

EDMONTON — A poll released Thursday suggests nearly two-thirds of Albertans oppose the provincial government's moratorium on approvals for new renewable energy projects.

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Wednesday's Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 09, 17, 25, 30, 38 & 48.