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Six stories in the news today, Jan. 6

Last Updated Jan 6, 2017 at 10:00 am MDT

Six stories in the news for Friday, Jan. 6

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PM TO EMBARK ON CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR

Justin Trudeau is ringing in the new year with a determined effort to re-establish his connection with grassroots Canadians after closing out 2016 amid accusations of kowtowing to wealthy donors at elite Liberal fundraisers. The prime minister is planning to embark on a campaign-style tour, talking to average folks at coffee shops and church basements across Canada.

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NURSE ACCUSED IN DEATHS OF 8 SENIORS IN COURT

The case of a former nurse accused of killing eight seniors at two long-term care homes in southwestern Ontario is to return to court today in Woodstock. Elizabeth Wettlaufer is charged with eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of residents at nursing homes in Woodstock and London. Police allege Wettlaufer used drugs to kill the seniors while she worked at the facilities between 2007 and 2014.

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FEDS IN COURT TO TRY TO SHIELD SECRET INFORMATION

The federal government is trying to stop the disclosure of information a Chinese refugee claimant in British Columbia says could be crucial to his case. A Federal Court judge will hear the government’s plea today to shield portions of two documents from the Canada Border Services Agency in the case of Shiyuan Shen, who’s wanted for alleged fraud in China. The government argues revealing the information would hurt Canada’s international relations and shatter its credibility in the eyes of foreign allies.

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CROWN TO PRESENT CASE IN B.C. TERROR PLOT CASE

Crown attorneys in British Columbia are expected to start presenting their case today in a peace bond hearing for a man who was freed after a judge ruled police manipulated him into carrying out a terrorist act. John Nuttall and his common-law wife Amanda Korody were found guilty of terrorism-related charges in a B-C Supreme Court in 2015 for planting what they believed were explosives at the provincial legislature on Canada Day in 2013. But Justice Catherine Bruce overturned the verdicts last year in a scathing decision that criticized the RCMP for entrapping the pair.

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UBC TO HONOUR GOALIE WHO DIED BY SUICIDE

The University of British Columbia is paying tribute today to a star athlete who killed herself last year after struggling with bipolar disorder and crippling depression. Laura Taylor of Kelowna, B.C., was a goalie for the UBC Thunderbirds women’s hockey team after playing at the University of Saskatchewan. Tonight, about 60 of her family and friends will be in attendance as her No. 29 jersey is retired.

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CANADA LOSES NAIL-BITER TO U.S. IN WORLD JUNIORS FINAL

It was an edge of seat thriller that began with the first puck drop and didn’t stop until the U.S. finally scored in a shootout to defeat Canada 5-4 in the World Junior Hockey Championship final. Canada and the U.S. have now battled four times for world junior gold, with Canada winning the first matchup in 1997 and the Americans the next three, in 2004, 2010 and then again last night in Montreal.

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