St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver is reporting a new outbreak of COVID-19, this time in the renal unit on the sixth floor. Providence Health Care, which operates St. Paul's, says the outbreak was announced yesterday and is in addition to outbreaks earlier this month in two units of the hospital's Heart Centre and in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit. Services of the renal unit are being maintained in other areas while new admissions and transfers are halted. The rest of the busy hospital, including its emergency room, remains open. Providence Health Care is also dealing with a C

A BC man convicted of two counts of criminal negligence causing death has lost an appeal of the indeterminate sentence he received after being declared a dangerous offender. Martin Tremblay was convicted for the March 2010 deaths of two teenagers who were plied with alcohol and drugs before being sexually assaulted in Tremblay's Richmond home. His trial heard he invited 16 year old Kayla Lalonde and 17 year old Martha Jackson to his home, gave them drugs and alcohol until they passed out, sexually assaulted them and then failed to get help when their conditions deteriorated.The BC Court of Ap

Someone hit it very big in a hard-luck Appalachian coal-mining community, where a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth $731 million was sold this week. The Maryland Lottery says the fifth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history was won by someone who bought a ticket at Coney Market in Lonaconing. That's in a remote corner of Maryland where jobs are few and poverty runs deep. Maryland is a state that allows lottery winners to remain anonymous. Shop owner Richard Ravenscroft told The Associated Press he hopes whoever won it will use it wisely and enable others to benefit as well.

Health officials have called off the regular COVID-19 briefing in British Columbia as they prepare to update the province's strategy for immunization against the virus. An advisory from the premier's office says the briefing by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix is cancelled. Instead they will join a news conference Friday with Premier John Horgan and Dr. Penny Ballem, who is leading B.C.'s COVID-19 immunization rollout. The four are expected to comment on the next steps in the immunization program that has been complicated by a hiccup in vaccine supply f

Gov. Gen. Julie Payette is resigning. The news comes as the results of an investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace environment at Rideau Hall are expected to be released. The Privy Council Office revealed last year that Quintet Consulting Corp. had been hired to conduct a third-party investigation into allegations of workplace harassment in the office of the Governor General. That came after CBC reports alleged that Payette belittled and publicly humiliated employees, reducing some to tears or prompting them to quit. That prompted the Privy Council Office to launch a workplace revie

A former British Columbia finance minister and a current member of the legislature are part of a seven-member committee overseeing the upcoming Liberal leadership campaign to replace former leader Andrew Wilkinson. Colin Hansen, a former Liberal cabinet minister, has been appointed co-chair of the party's Leadership Election Organizing Committee, sharing the job with Victoria lawyer Roxanne Helme. Wilkinson resigned after the Liberals not only lost the election last fall, but seats that were once considered safe for the party. Prince George Liberal Shirley Bond is currently serving as interim

BC's public safety minister says those who continue to break COVID-19 public health orders may face more than a fine. It comes as recent numbers show more than half of the total fines handed out were over the last month. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says recent incidents, such as a Vancouver couple pretending to cough on people at a gym, are reprehensible and repugnant. But Farnworth adds that many people appear to be following the rules. 119 tickets have been issued in past 2 weeks. Since Aug. 21st last year, a total of 693 tickets have been issued. Among the tickets issued during p

Federal officials say COVID-19 case counts in Canada seem to be on the decline, but warn that infection rates are still highest among the people most vulnerable to severe illness. In a daily update, Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada has averaged 6,309 new diagnoses a day over the past week, and 148 deaths from the illness each day. But Tam says she expects that cases of severe illness will continue to rise, because it takes several days for symptoms to get bad enough to require hospitalization. The downward trend in infections seems to be holding steady in two of Canada's hardest-hit provinces. Ont

Mounties in 100 Mile House are watching a church that's alleged to have held Sunday morning services in violation of rules on public gatherings. RCMP say they were called to the 100 Mile House Baptist Church after receiving a complaint and watched people leaving the building with no visible face coverings. In a recording of the service posted online, the pastor thanks people for coming and asks them to open their Bibles to a specific passage. Police say they took down licence plate numbers and owner registration information and while no fines were handed out, they say potential action could b