BC is reporting three more deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 177. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two deaths occurred at Holy Family Hospital and one at Mission Memorial Hospital. Henry says there have been 24 new cases of COVID-19 over past two days, bringing the total to 2,940. 17 people are in hospital, including two in intensive care.

The FBI has arrested a British socialite on charges she helped lure three girls to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was accused of victimizing dozens of girls and women over many years. According to an indictment unsealed Thursday, Ghislaine Maxwell facilitated Epstein's crimes by ``helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse'' girls. She is also accused of participating in the abuse. Epstein killed himself in a federal detention centre in New York last summer while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing

A 38 year old Quebec man has been charged with criminal negligence after three young children were killed and seven people were injured when they were thrown from the front loader of a tractor. Six children and four adults were riding in the loader of the trailer Wednesday evening when the accident occurred on a country road in the small town of Notre Dame de Stanbridge, about 55 kilometres southeast of Montreal. The three victims were aged five and under, and three other children suffered serious injuries, but their lives were not believed to be in danger. A rural Quebec community is in mour

British Columbia's premier has a message for Americans coming across the border on their way to Alaska: Do not stop in the province while COVID-19 cases continue rising in the United States. John Horgan says he's heard concerns from across B.C. that Americans have stopped in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island instead of heading straight to their destination, putting residents at risk. Horgan says he has spoken with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland about the need for her to discuss the issue with American officials. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in mid-June that the federal governme

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan is welcoming this morning's Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.The court will not hear an appeal from four British Columbia First Nations.O'Regan says the government has worked hard to hear and accommodate concerns the communities have with the project.He acknowledges there are people who will be disappointed with the dismissal and says the government will continue to engage with them.

Governor General Julie Payette has sent out a tweet thanking the RCMP after police arrested an armed man on the grounds of Rideau Hall this morning. A large number of police officers responded to the area just after 6:30 am. Payette tweeted that all of her staff are safe. Neither she nor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were on the property this morning. Trudeau and his family have lived in a home on the property since he was elected prime minister

Federal and provincial governments have agreed to extend a commercial rent relief program to help cover July costs for eligible small businesses, with a few changes. The Finance Department says the program will no longer clawback the costs of insurance proceeds and provincial rent supports from the forgivable loans for current and new applicants. Previous clawback amounts will be given back to landlords that previously received loans through the program. As well, those who qualified for loans by showing revenue declines of 70 per cent in April, May or June will qualify anew without being reas

Italy Police have confiscated 14 metric tonnes (15.4 US tonnes) of amphetamines allegedly produced by the ISIS in Syria. It is the largest drug bust in the world in terms of both value and quantity, CNN reported.According to the Guardia di Finanza financial police is saying that the officers had tracked three suspicious containers to the port of Salerno in southwest Italy and found 84 million pills with a market value of EUR1 billion ($1.12 billion) inside paper cylinders for industrial use."We weren't able to see them but we knew it was arriving because of our ongoing investigations we have w

Police are investigating a potential hate crime after a Black man was attacked aboard a BC Transit bus. Victoria Police say patrol officers were flagged down on June 19 just after 4 p.m. and were told that the Black man was allegedly struck. They say video shows a Caucasian man entering the bus, moving towards a seat, standing up and striking the man without warning. They say a few other passengers intervened and the suspect was pushed off the bus. Police describe the alleged suspect as 40-50 years old with a medium to heavy build, blond hair, wearing sunglasses, a black hat and a blue shirt,