National News

SAGUENAY, Que. — The lawyer for a Quebec man charged with the first-degree murder and sexual assault of a 19-year-old junior college student in 2000 told a jury her client admits to killing the student, but he denies the act was planned.

OTTAWA — New Democrats and labour leaders are calling on Ottawa to change the employment insurance program so Canadians who take parental leave can still access unemployment benefits if they are out of work.

OTTAWA — Government departments lacked adequate protections to fend off a "sophisticated and co-ordinated" cyberattack that compromised the sensitive information of tens of thousands of Canadians, the federal privacy watchdog has found.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Lights from fishing boats illuminating heavy snowfall helped guide four crew members off a teetering vessel Wednesday night that had run aground that morning in Newfoundland as a massive storm set in.

BRUSSELS — The federal government is spending more than $273 million to acquire new military equipment for NATO's Canada-led battle group in Latvia. That includes $227.5 million for a short-range air defence system from Saab Canada Inc.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today...

Vancouver Coastal Health says it is no longer considering a stand-alone supervised consumption site in Richmond, British Columbia.

OTTAWA — An Israeli military offensive into the densely populated area where some 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in the Gaza Strip would be "catastrophic," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said late Wednesday.

OTTAWA — Canada's justice minister is rejecting charges that the federal government is perpetuating mental-illness stereotypes by delaying a planned expansion of medical assistance in dying.

OTTAWA — The Assembly of First Nations is warning it could take the Liberal government to court over its proposed privacy and artificial intelligence bill.