Calgary police's hate crime and extremism team is investigating a recent act of vandalism that caused damage to a statue outside a church. Police say a man damaged a religious statue in front of Sacred Heart Church on September 1st before fleeing the area on foot. The suspect is described as about five feet 11 inches tall, with possible tattoos on his left arm and a slim build. Police say the man was an orange T-shirt, baseball cap, sunglasses, dark construction pants and construction boots. They say investigators have not determined a motive for the vandalism.

Alberta Emergency Alerts says a break near the water treatment plant main line in the town of Bow Island has been repaired. But it says the water is currently unsafe to drink or consume. A boil water advisory is in effect in the town, which is located about 50 kilometres southwest of Medicine Hat in southern Alberta. The alert says water line flushing is in progress and the advisory will remain until water tests are completed and acceptable results are obtained.

A 25-year-old man was taken into custody yesterday after Edmonton police said one person was killed and two were injured in what they called random attacks. Police have identified the suspect as Clarence Lawrence. Police asked people in the area of Hermitage Road and Henry Avenue NW to shelter in place while they investigated.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he won't sit idly by while what he calls a ``half-baked,'' ``banana republic'' plan is hatched for more provincial independence. Kenney was commenting on a promise made by Danielle Smith, who is running to replace him as premier in the United Conservative Party leadership race. Smith says if she wins the race in October, she will introduce a bill to have Alberta ignore federal laws and court rulings deemed not to be in its best interests. Kenney has joined with law professors to call that a profound attack on the fundamental rule of law. Smith says Kenney is b

The Jasper townsite in Jasper National Park has been experiencing power outages due to a large out-of-control wildfire. Parks Canada says the fire was estimated to be just over six-thousand hectares in size yesterday. It said over the weekend that specialized crews were working at at protecting a utility line that supplies electricity to the community. ATCO Electricity, the utility that supplies the townsite, said yesterday that it was switching critical sites to generator power including the waste water treatment and water treatment plants, traffic lights, the hospital, and the Jasper Activit

A 59-year-old woman was flown to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance Thursday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash north of Edmonton. According to RCMP, three vehicles were involved in the crash around 3 p.m. at Highway 18 and Range Road 40, near Barrhead. An RCMP spokesperson could not confirm how many people were assessed by EMS on scene and released, but could confirm two people were taken to hospital by ambulance and a third in more serious condition was airlifted by STARS. It's not known what caused the crash. Highway 18 was closed in both directions for several hours on Thursday.

Two men face a total of 26 charges after RCMP used a helicopter to arrest suspects after an Alberta Treasury Branch was smashed and robbed early Wednesday morning in Daysland, Alta. Officers at the nearby Killam-Forestburg detachment were called about the break-in at 4:13 a.m. When a police officer arrived, the robbers had already fled the scene with an ATM in the back of a pickup, leaving the front of the bank destroyed. Officers were able to identify two suspects and arrest them near Bashaw, Alta., with the help of a helicopter.

Alberta's advanced education minister has extended a deadline for a distance learning university to move more staff to the small town where it is headquartered. Demetrios Nicolaides says he's granted a brief extension for Athabasca University to comply with his decree to move 500 staff to the town the institution is named for. He has threatened to withhold the school's $3.4-million monthly grant if the school fails to comply. Nicolaides did not specify a new deadline. The university has resisted the demand, saying it will make it harder to recruit top talent and waste money, time and other res

Criminal defence lawyers have escalated job action in an ongoing dispute with the provincial government over the amount of compensation paid by Legal Aid Alberta. Organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and southern Alberta began job action three weeks ago by refusing to accept certain bail and duty counsel files. Today, they are to start refusing new cases for the most serious criminal charges, including sexual offences and homicides. Lawyers in Calgary and Edmonton are also planning a 90-minute walkout for Friday. Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the gove