NEWS IMAGE COLLAGE / for 08-2011

The United States has lost billions of dollars to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan and stands to repeat that in future wars without big changes in how the government awards and manages contracts for battlefield support and reconstruction projects,

A West Vancouver man who stabbed his friend to death is returning to law school at the University of B.C. after serving just a little more than two years in prison.

Ed O'Neill's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is appropriately placed: in front of a DSW shoe store on Hollywood Boulevard.

The sinister tone of a song request on a Windsor-based Internet radio show raised alarm signals for the show's hosts, and police in Wisconsin are crediting the duo's quick thinking for stopping someone threatening a potential shooting spree.

A Florida lawmaker is welcoming students back to school by handing out 200 leather belts to help them comply with a new state law that bans saggy pants on campuses.

A new poll suggests Jack Layton's untimely death has triggered another orange wave across the country.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says B.C. is overpaying its top bureaucrats, calling the number of public servants earning more than $500,000 "staggering."

The Don Cherry's Sports Grill in Maple Ridge was destroyed in a massive fire Tuesday night after having been closed for months.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says it should be up to individual radio stations to decide whether they want to play unedited versions of Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing."

Toronto police are defending their decision to handcuff a child with special needs after he reportedly threw a tantrum at his day care last July.

A new tropical storm called Katia is slowly gaining strength as it moves across the Atlantic Ocean.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is leaving open the possibility of continuing Canadian military involvement in Libya after the scheduled Sept. 27 end date.

The Libyan interim government has set a Saturday deadline for forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in the city of Sirte to surrender or face a military assault.

With just one week to go before the start of the school year, B.C.'s education minister says hope is fading fast for a resolution to the ongoing labour dispute with teachers.

Joe Villella is seeing red after a treat of homegrown tomatoes for his grandchildren turned into a border bust that cost him a $300 fine.

A hearing to stop construction of a road through two first nations burial sites in Delta was postponed Tuesday, but it will be heard in B.C. Supreme Court in the coming weeks.

The Stanley Cup was showing its age a little more than usual Tuesday after the hallowed trophy fell off a table in Newfoundland and was left with a sizeable dent.

Yet another shoe with part of a foot and leg discovered floating in False Creek

A 19-year-old woman shackled to a bed and under guard in a Tripoli military hospital is accused of executing as many as 11 anti-Gadhafi fighters after being ordered to shoot them at point-blank range.

One person is dead following a crash involving a Toronto Transit Commission bus and a flatbed truck on one of the city's busiest streets.

An 18-month-old child was attacked by a cougar at Pacific Rim National Park, near Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, Monday evening.

The ATF head has been reassigned amid an investigation into a controversial U.S. gun-trafficking operation, part of a broader shakeup at the Justice Department in which the U.S. attorney in Phoenix is stepping down, people familiar with the moves said Tue

A fire in a warehouse sent acrid dark smoke billowing into the air, causing at least several hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and fouling rush hour traffic in Burnaby, B.C. Monday afternoon.

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.

Eating more chocolate could reduce the risk of developing heart disease by 37 per cent, a report in the British Medical Journal suggests.

Astronauts will abandon the International Space Station, probably in mid-November, if rocket engine problems that doomed a Russian cargo ship last week are not diagnosed and fixed.

Decades after first seeking to ban English from storefront windows, Quebec's language inspectors will once again embark on a campaign to boost the visibility of French on commercial signs

Health Canada is once again reminding Canadians of the health risks of buying and using "fresh" semen donations, this time pointing out the risks of obtaining the semen through the Internet.

A WikiLeaks file containing the original leaked US State Department cables has inadvertently been released onto the Internet. The documents have not been edited to protect sources, meaning that the lives of informants could be at risk.

The report, written by Hodgson and Mario Lefebvre, adds there is no direct documentation suggesting publicly funded stadiums and arenas will spin off into any financial success for those communities.

A few conservative Roman Catholics are pointing to a dozen Bible verses and the church's original teachings as proof that Earth is the center of the universe, the view that was at the heart of the church's clash with Galileo Galilei four centuries ago.

TORONTO - When the city denied them a permit, protesters brought out the big guns.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he will attend a meeting of leaders in Paris next week to discuss the future of a Libya post-Gadhafi.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside Baghdad's largest Sunni mosque Sunday night, killing 29 people during prayers, a shocking strike on a place of worship similar to the one that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war five years ago.

Brittany Lincicome sank a par putt on the 18th hole in a driving rain to win the CN Canadian Women's Open by one stroke over defending champion Michelle Wie and Stacy Lewis on Sunday at Mirabel, just outside Montreal.

Up to 180,000 Quebec homes lost power Sunday afternoon and a spokesperson for Hydro Quebec could not specify how long it would take to restore power.

Four family members, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed late Saturday in a helicopter crash in a wooded area south of Quebec City.

Almost 10 years after those stranded people arrived in the international lounge, bone weary and shaken, many are planning to return. Some of them say it was the best detour of their lives, a safe harbour of welcome and warmth amid chaos and shock.

Al-Qaeda's suspected operations chief, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, a senior US official says.

A subterranean river said to be flowing beneath the Amazon region of Brazil is not a river in the conventional sense, even if its existence is confirmed.

Tropical Storm Irene is already bringing heavy rains and high winds to the Maritime provinces and Quebec, as it heads north from the northeastern United States.

Canada's military wants the Harper government to take part in rebuilding a Cold War ocean surveillance system, arguing that the country's waters, including the approaches to the Arctic, are vulnerable to Chinese and Russian submarines.

Results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have all but killed the simplest version of an enticing theory of sub-atomic physics.

Canadians along the eastern seaboard are being urged to prepare for Hurricane Irene, expected to blow in from the United States early Monday morning.

The Canadians have won the first three round-robin games of the tournament by a combined 41-1 score, but things will get much tougher Sunday against the world champions from the U.S.

The Calgary Stampeders strengthened their grip on the CFL's West Division lead with a 38-31 win over the visiting Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

Buck Pierce threw a pair of touchdowns and Justin Palardy booted three field goals as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their fifth straight game with a 30-27 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night.

Thousands of dignitaries, local politicians and members of the public have filed past the casket of Jack Layton, as the late NDP leader lies in repose at Toronto City Hall a day before his state funeral.

Hurricane Irene may lose some of its strength when it reaches Eastern Canada late Sunday, but people from Quebec to Newfoundland can expect to feel its effects, forecasters say.

Archeologists in the Arctic hoping to find Sir John Franklin's long-lost ships neared the end of their latest search Friday with no shipwreck in sight.

A car loaded with explosives crashed into the main United Nations' building in Nigeria's capital and exploded Friday, killing at least 18 people in one of the deadliest assaults on the international body in a decade.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark refuses to rule out the possibility of a fall election following the failure of her Liberal government to win the HST referendum.

Hockey Canada is seeking to create more options for young players looking to avoid the risks that come with playing in contact leagues. A growing number of hockey players are seeking non-bodychecking environments, said Paul Carson, the organization's vice

The focus of fighting in Libya appears to be shifting to the hometown of Moammar Gadhafi, where forces loyal to him are expected to make a stand.

The B.C. government is attempting to seize the $3.1 million home of a West Vancouver woman charged with human trafficking.

More than 200 decomposing bodies have been found abandoned at a hospital in a district of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, that has seen fierce fighting.

Sexual relations between ancient humans and their evolutionary cousins are critical for our modern immune systems, researchers report in Science journal.

A wave of "panda-monium" has swept through a northern Arizona city thanks to a mischievous street sign hacker who warned motorists of a "ROGUE PANDA ON RAMPAGE."

TRIPOLI - The people of Tripoli ventured out to mosques on Friday, praying for peace and offering thanks for the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, though the Libyan capital remained locked down and dangerous.

CALGARY - From the brink of death to minor Internet sensation and finally a new home in southeast Calgary -- Phoenix the highway pup has, indeed, risen.

A Manitoba judge has rejected the testimony of a rape suspect who claimed his victim forced him to have anal sex with her and then stole his sperm so she could have a mixed race baby.

WINNIPEG - A Winnipeg teen feared for his life and that of his mother when he murdered and dismembered his abusive father, a court was told Thursday.

Hurricane Irene has weakened slightly but still poses such a threat to a large stretch of the Eastern Seaboard that U.S. President Barack Obama is calling the storm "historic," and urging people in North Carolina and New York to prepare for the worst.

A huge underground river appears to be flowing thousands of metres beneath the Amazon River, Brazilian scientists said Thursday.

A B.C. man was reprimanded by police earlier this month for trying to load a full-sized refrigerator into the trunk of his car, officials said today.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says he is resigning after almost 15 months in office.

A tornado with peak winds between 120 and 170 kilometres per hour formed between Cambridge and Burlington during Wednesday evening's wild storm.

A Canadian man died on the frontlines of the Libyan conflict this week while fighting with the rebels trying to oust Moammar Gadhafi from power.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced $60 million Thursday to keep an Arctic health-care program going for another two years.

Two men who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting deaths of four RCMP officers on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005, will not have their case heard at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Two dozen gunmen burst into a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, doused it with gasoline and started a fire that trapped gamblers inside, killing 53 people and injuring a dozen more, authorities said.

The New York Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in a game, with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson connecting Thursday in a wet, wild 22-9 romp over the Oakland Athletics.

Jack Layton's body has arrived at Toronto City Hall, where the NDP leader will lie in repose before his state funeral on Saturday.

The planet, located in the Serpens constellation some 4,000 light years away from Earth, is about 55,000 kilometres across and is "possibly largely composed of ultra-dense diamond," according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.

MONCTON, N.B. - The northeast U.S. seaboard, including the capital, Washington, and financial centre New York, rushed to prepare Thursday for a possible mauling from Hurricane Irene that will hit the U.S. coast this weekend.

LONDON, Ont. - Four tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the London, Ont., region Wednesday night not far from where a fatal twister ripped apart the town of Goderich only days before.

A 4.5 magnitude aftershock has jolted the US east coast, two days after an earthquake left building inspectors assessing damage to national monuments.

A small, 160-million-year-old Chinese fossil has something big to say about the emergence of mammals on Earth.

Data recorded by the European Space Agency's (Esa) Envisat shows both Canada's Northwest Passage and Russia's Northern Sea Route open simultaneously. This summer's melt could break the 2007 record for the smallest area of sea ice since the satellite er

A man is still fighting for his life in hospital today after trying to halt an attack on a young woman in the North End.

A giant black hole has been caught with its hand in the proverbial cookie jar, in the earliest stages of ripping apart and consuming a star. On 28 March, NASA's Swift telescope detected several bright bursts of X-rays coming from a patch of the sky whe

Scientists have long puzzled over a seemingly straightforward question: How many species live on Earth? And now, after nearly three centuries, they have come up with a seemingly straightforward answer: 8.7 million.

Passengers on First Air Flight 65-60 didn't know anything was wrong until the plane hit the ground near Resolute, Nunavut, one of the three survivors has told the RCMP.

Environment Canada has issued tornado warnings for several areas next to Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario as possible twisters have been spotted. The province issued a "red alert" that will be in effect until 8 p.m. ET.

Calgary-based oil pipeline operator Enbridge said Wednesday it has lined up enough shippers to fill its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. The project would diversify the market for Alberta oilsands producers beyond the current sole customer, the United

They were a power couple in Canadian politics, two city councillors and MPs as devoted to each other as they were to their causes.

Municipalities around B.C. are throwing their support behind a call to end Medical Services Plan premiums for seniors.

A B.C. man paid a very big price for drinking and driving, after his vehicle was not only impounded but literally pounded as well.

The preserved cell walls of bacteria that lived in oceans without oxygen 3.4 billion years ago are believed to be the oldest fossils ever found, Australian and British scientists claim.

Demolition crews at the former Queen Elizabeth High School site in Halifax discovered what appears to be a 70-year-old time capsule.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi claimed in a radio address early Wednesday that he retreated from his Tripoli compound in a "tactical move," hours after rebel fighters celebrated and looted inside his former residence and military barracks.

400 international students who paid $3,000 to $6,000 to participate in a U.S.-certified cultural exchange program wound up at the Hershey's plant living in "economic captivity," forced to pay for mandatory company housing that left them with $40 to $140 a

Asteroid impacts on the Earth may have scattered more life-bearing debris to Mars, Jupiter or beyond our Solar System than previously thought.

TORONTO - The fur is flying over plans by the People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals to run a porn site in the group's fight against animal abuse.

Vancouver police say a man wanted in the shooting death of his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend 12 years ago has been found hiding under a fake identity in California.

A fugitive who the FBI believes fled to Canada after escaping from a California prison camp is in custody and could spend the rest of his life in prison, U.S. authorities announced Monday.

When the sun set on Monday, hours after the world learned of Jack Layton's death, thousands of people around the world -- from Toronto to Jerusalem -- kept their porch lights shining in honour of the late NDP leader.

After delaying his trip for 24 hours, Prime Minister Stephen Harper headed to the Arctic on Tuesday morning for his annual tour of the region.

WASHINGTON - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City.