With the 2020 election getting closer and closer each day, we at Watch The Yard think it is important to highlight members of our community who are key players in making it happen. We recently interviewed Adjoa B. Asamoah, the National Advisor for Black Engagement for the Joe Biden campaign, who is a Spring 1997 […]
World
Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to US Supreme Court
The US Senate has confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in a victory for President Donald Trump a week before the presidential election. Mr Trump’s fellow Republicans voted 52-48 to approve the judge, overcoming the unified opposition of Democrats. Her appointment seals for the foreseeable future a 6-3 conservative majority on the […]
Pope endorses civil union laws for same-sex couples
Pope Francis has declared support for civil unions for same-sex couples for the first time, according to the Catholic News Agency.The Pope made the historic remarks in “Francesco,” a new documentary film directed by Russian filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, that premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday.“Homosexual people have a right to be in a […]
Trump Calls Debate Moderator Kristen Welker a ‘Radical Left Democrat’
President Trump kept up the attacks on NBC’s Kristen Welker on Monday, calling her a “dyed-in-the-wool, radical left Democrat.” Welker is set to moderate the final presidential debate on Thursday from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Over the weekend, the New York Post reported that Welker’s parents had donated to Democrats. The Post also reported that Welker herself was […]
COVID-19: Ontario’s chief medical officer of health is officially recommending against trick-or-treating
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health is officially recommending against trick-or-treating come Halloween in the four areas of the province – Ottawa, Toronto, Peel and York Region – subject to modified Stage 2 restrictions, intended to address higher than average rates of COVID-19 transmission. Dr. David Williams advised Ontarians in these areas to consider “alternative ways to […]
Trudeau and Trump are worlds apart on the Canada-U.S. border closure
Although Canada and the U.S. have agreed to close their shared land border to non-essential travel, they don’t appear to agree on several related issues — including what to do next. More than seven months after the border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump have offered up contradictory messages about […]
U.S. government to execute first woman since 1953
The U.S. federal government, continuing its string of executions this year, has set the dates for two more, including the first woman in more than six decades. Lisa Montgomery is expected to receive lethal injection on December 8, the Justice Department says. In 2004, she was convicted of strangling a Missouri woman who was eight-months […]
Canadians’ opinions of U.S. drop to lowest level in nearly 40 years: survey
TORONTO — Canadians’ opinions of their neighbour and biggest trading partner sank to record lows over the past year, with more than three in five Canadians holding an unfavourable view of the United States and a growing minority who see the country as an enemy, according to the Environics Institute survey, Focus Canada, published on Thursday. […]
Canadian tourist returns stolen artifacts from Pompeii, blames them for ‘years of bad luck’
TORONTO — A Canadian tourist who admitted to stealing fragments from the ancient city of Pompeii has returned the artifacts, blaming them for “years of bad luck.” According to Italian newspaper Il Messagero, the Canadian woman, identified only as Nicole, sent a package containing two white mosaic tiles, two pieces of an amphora vase and a […]
What Is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation […]