The Monday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Monday, Sept. 26

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CANADIAN-IRANIAN PROFESSOR FREED FROM PRISON IN IRAN: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a retired Canadian-Iranian professor has been released from a Tehran prison and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues. Homa Hoodfar had been held at Tehran’s Evin prison since June 6th. Margie Mendell, a Concordia professor and close friend, says she was told Hoodfar is very frail and looks extremely thin. Since Canada does not have direct diplomatic ties with Iran, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion says Canada had help from other countries to free Hoodfar — including Oman, Italy, and Switzerland.

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CLINTON, TRUMP DEBATE A CRUCIAL MOMENT: The 90-minute televised debate between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump comes six weeks before Election Day and with early voting already getting underway in some states. Despite Clinton’s advantages, including a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation and a favourable electoral map, the race between the Democrat and Republican candidates is exceedingly close. For Clinton and Trump, the first of three debates is a crucial moment to boost their standing with voters who view both candidates negatively. Clinton struggles with questions about her trustworthiness, while Trump has yet to prove to some voters that he has the basic qualifications to serve as commander in chief.

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LAWYER SAYS MINISTER’S CITIZENSHIP COULD BE REVOKED: A law denounced by the Liberals while they were in opposition could see Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef have her citizenship revoked without a hearing. Last week, Monsef revealed she learned recently that she was born in Iran, not Afghanistan. An immigration lawyer says it would be grounds for revocation if Monsef’s birthplace is misrepresented on her citizenship application. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association are launching a legal challenge to the law, arguing it is procedurally unfair and a charter violation.

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MEMO SHOWS RCMP PITCHED REVIEW PROCESS FOR INQUIRY: A newly released document shows the Mounties developed a review process to run alongside the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. A heavily redacted memo prepared for the deputy minister of justice shows the RCMP pitched the idea of a “parallel review process” to support the national inquiry into the death or disappearance of nearly 1,200 indigenous women and girls. A senior official with direct knowledge of the proposal says it was intended to allow the inquiry to focus on the underlying socio-economic issues without getting bogged down in individual cases.

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B.C. CHIEFS WON’T TAKE PART IN RECONCILIATION EVENT WITH ROYALS: A ceremony involving the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meant to symbolize the reconciliation of British Columbia’s Aboriginal Peoples has been rebuffed by a First Nations group. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the leader of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said he won’t be taking part or supporting the Black Rod Ceremony involving Prince William and Kate. Phillip said the federal government has made little progress improving the lives of First Nations, while the provincial government pushes ahead with projects opposed by aboriginal groups, such as liquefied natural gas developments and the Site C hydroelectric dam.

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DECISION AT HAND FOR NORTHERN B.B. LNG PLANT: Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has a final environmental assessment of the Pacific Northwest LNG project in hand, with the federal Liberal cabinet set to meet Tuesday in the national capital. A decision from the Liberal government on the proposed $36-billion project in northern British Columbia must be made no later than next Monday.

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MURDER CHANGE LAID AGAINST MAN IN CFL PLAYER SHOOTING CASE: Police have charged a 19-year-old Calgary man with second-degree murder following the shooting death of a Calgary Stampeders player. Police say Mylan Hicks, who was 23, was shot outside a nightclub following an altercation early Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Hicks is being remembered as a model citizen who was always smiling on and off the football field. Antonio Watts, who coached Hicks for four years at Detroit’s Renaissance High School, said he couldn’t believe the news of Hicks’s death.

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PARKS CANADA CONFIRMS FRANKLIN SHIP FOUND: A submerged wreck found in the Arctic earlier this month has been confirmed by Parks Canada as HMS Terror — part of the doomed Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Environment Canada says it is working with the government of Nunavut and Inuit organizations on an agreement for joint ownership of the ship’s artifacts. Parks Canada, the Coast Guard, the Arctic Research Foundation and other government and Inuit partners were involved in the September 3rd discovery of the “Terror.”

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SUSPECT IN MALL SHOOTING FACES 5 FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGES: The suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Arcan Cetin made a brief appearance in Skagit County District Court on Monday. The 20-year-old was advised of the charges he faces by Judge David Svaren, who set the next hearing in the case for Oct. 26. Bail was set at $2 million. His stepfather, David Marshall, told reporters after the hearing that Cetin “has had mental health issues that we have been working on him with.” He didn’t provide specifics. Cetin is suspected of opening fire in a department store’s cosmetics department Friday and was arrested after a nearly 24-hour manhunt.

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SHOMI TO SHUT DOWN AS OF NOV. 30: Shomi says it is shutting down as of Nov. 30 after two years in operation. The web streaming service attributed the decision to a business climate and online video marketplace that has changed markedly in recent years. Shomi general manager David Asch says the company is proud of the service it launched and the role it played in the evolution of Canada’s video landscape. Shomi was launched by Rogers and Shaw in November 2014.

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