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    • Student who survived Texas school shooting by playing dead speaks to U.S. Congress

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    WASHINGTON -

    An 11-year-old girl who survived the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, recounted in video testimony to Congress on Wednesday how she covered herself with a dead classmate's blood to avoid being shot and “just stayed quiet.â€

    Miah Cerrillo, a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary School, told lawmakers in a pre-recorded video that she watched a teacher get shot in the head before looking for a place to hide.

    “I thought he would come back so I covered myself with blood,†Miah told the House panel. “I put it all over me and I just stayed quiet.†She called 911 using the deceased teacher's phone and pleaded for help.

    Nineteen children and two teachers died when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle inside Robb Elementary School on May 24.

    It is the second day lawmakers have heard wrenching testimony on the nation's epidemic of gun violence. On Tuesday, a Senate panel heard from t he son of an 86-year-old woman killed when a gunman opened fire in a racist attack on Black shoppers in Buffalo, New York on May 14. Ten Black people died.

    In the video Wednesday, Miah's father, Miguel Cerillo, asks his daughter if she feels safe at school anymore. She shook her head no.

    “Why?†he asks. “I don't want it to happen again,†she responds.

    The testimony at the House Oversight Committee comes as lawmakers are working to strike a bipartisan agreement on gun safety measures in the aftermath of back-to-back mass shootings.

    Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the panel's chairwoman, called the hearing to focus on the human impact of gun violence and the urgency for gun control legislation.

    “I am asking every Member of this Committee to listen with an open heart to the brave witnesses who have come forward to tell their stories about how gun violence has impacted their lives,†Maloney said in opening remarks. “Our witnesses today have endured pain and loss. Yet they are displaying incredible courage by coming here to ask us to do our jobs.â€

    But even as some lawmakers shed tears alongside the panelists, the hearing displayed the contentious debate over gun control Congress has faced over and over again surrounding mass shootings. Several Republicans on the panel turned the conversation to the individuals who abuse guns and how “hardening schools†could help protect them.

    Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who owns a gun store, said that one of the things he learned in his military service was that “the harder the target you are, the less likely you will be engaged by the enemy.†He called on schools to keep doors locked, provide a single point of entry and “a volunteer force of well-trained and armed staff, in addition to a school resource officer.â€

    The parents of the victims and survivors implored lawmakers not to let their children's death and pain be in vain. After Miah spoke, her father told lawmakers that he testified because “I could have lost my baby girl.â€

    “But she is not the same little girl that I use to play with,†Cerrillo said. “Schools are not safe anymore. Something needs to really change.â€

    Also testifying was Zeneta Everhart, whose 20-year-old son Zaire was wounded in the Buffalo mass shooting.

    Everhart told lawmakers it was their duty to draft legislation that protects Zaire and other Americans. She said that if they did not find the testimony moving enough to act on gun laws, they had an invitation to go to her home to help her clean her son's wounds.

    “My son Zaire has a hole in the right side of his neck, two on his back, and another on his left leg,†she said, then paused to compose herself. “As I clean his wounds, I can feel pieces of that bullet in his back. Shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. Now I want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children.â€

    The parents of Lexi Rubio, who died in her classroom in Uvalde, also testified. Felix and Kimberly Rubio recounted finding out about their daughter's death hours after leaving Lexi's school awards ceremony on the morning of the shooting.

    To get to the elementary school, Kimberly Rubio said she ran barefoot for a mile with her sandals in her hand and with her husband by her side. A firefighter eventually gave them a ride back to the civic center.

    “Soon after we received the news that our daughter was among the 19 students and two teachers that died as a result of gun violence,†she said, fighting through tears.

    The hearing comes as the Democratic-led House is expected to pass legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle and prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds.

    The legislation has almost no chance of becoming law as the Senate pursues negotiations focused on improving mental health programs, bolstering school security and enhancing background checks. But it does allow Democratic lawmakers a chance to frame for voters in November where they stand on policies that polls show appeal to a majority of voters.

    Majorities of U.S. adults think mass shootings would occur less often if guns were harder to get, and that schools and other public places have become less safe than they were two decades ago.

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    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    Canada

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    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

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    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    • The head of a committee monitoring the government's response to the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass killing says she's pleased with progress made so far.

    • The University of Ottawa's special advisor on antisemitism says he has resigned following posts he made on social media celebrating the pager explosions in Lebanon this week.

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    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

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    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

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    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

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    Autos

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

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    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

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    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

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    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. 'When I say 'tenant, you say 'power,'' she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a 'huge victory.'

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    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

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    • BREAKING NEWS

      BREAKING NEWS

      A man has been taken to hospital in life-threatening condition following a stabbing incident that happened on Baseline Road in the early hours of Friday morning, according to the Ottawa Paramedic Service.

    • Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

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    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

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    • Premier François Legault's approval rating continued to rise this summer, according to the Angus Reid Institute. After reaching a low at the end of 2023, his support rose by three percentage points over the summer to 39 per cent.

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    • Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes "indescribable" pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

    • A section of Herring Cove Road in the Spryfield area of Halifax is closed to traffic in both directions following a single-vehicle collision Friday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.

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    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

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    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • Police say just before 7:00 p.m. four teens entered a business in the 1000 block of Adelaide Street North.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • An Elgin County community is expected to double in size as plans for multiple residential developments loom. The Township of Southwold expects shovels in the ground as early as 2025.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • Ontario Provincial Police executed a search warrant in Walkerton.

    • On Thursday, just after 9:30 a.m., a man was found and taken to police headquarters, where he was released with conditions and a future court date.

    • Standing up, speaking out, and showing solidarity — survivors and supporters gathered in the core to take back the night in Windsor. The city is just one of a growing list of communities that have declared intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic.

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

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