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Sask. fugitive remains at-large, interest rate announcement: In The News for Sept. 7

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. 

What we are watching in Canada ...

Police are asking the public to remain vigilant as the manhunt for the fugitive suspect in the Saskatchewan mass killing enters its fourth day. 

Myles Sanderson, 32, is wanted on first-degree murder charges after RCMP say a stabbing rampage on James Smith Cree First Nation and the nearby village of Weldon on Sunday killed 10 people and injured 18.

A reported Sanderson sighting Tuesday on the First Nation prompted a police search as drones, tactical vehicles and a helicopter descended on the community, where residents were already on edge and grieving. After the search, Saskatchewan RCMP said Sanderson was not in the community and his whereabouts remained unknown. 

Regina police chief Evan Bray said late Tuesday afternoon that his service no longer believes Sanderson is in the community. The announcement comes after police had reported a possible sighting in the city on the weekend of a vehicle Sanderson and his brother had driven. 

Damien Sanderson, who had also been a suspect in the killings, was found dead Monday in a grassy area not far from one of the crime scenes. 

Parole documents show Myles Sanderson has a nearly two-decade-long criminal record, which included convictions for assault, assaulting a peace officer and robbery. 

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Also this ...

A key interest rate announcement is expected from the Bank of Canada today, marking the fifth consecutive increase this year. 

The central brank, along with its counter parts around the world, has been raising interest rates in an effort to cool red-hot inflation. 

Some Canadian banks expect the bank to increase its key rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.25 per cent. 

Canada's year-over-year inflation rate was 7.6 per cent in July, well above the Bank of Canada's two per cent target. 

The rate decision comes as the Canadian economy remains in relatively good shape and the unemployment rate is at historic lows. However, economists widely forecast an economic slowdown is on the horizon.

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What we are watching in the U.S. ...

The names of hundreds of U.S. law enforcement officers, elected officials and military members appear on the leaked membership rolls of a far-right extremist group that's accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism pored over more than 38,000 names on leaked Oath Keepers membership lists and identified more than 370 people it believes currently work in law enforcement agencies — including as police chiefs and sheriffs — and more than 100 people who are currently members of the military.

It also identified more than 80 people who were running for or served in public office as of early August. The membership information was compiled into a database published by the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets.

The data raises fresh concerns about the presence of extremists in law enforcement and the military who are tasked with enforcing laws and protecting the U.S. It’s especially problematic for public servants to be associated with extremists at a time when lies about the 2020 election are fueling threats of violence against lawmakers and institutions.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

British Prime Minister Liz Truss is holding her first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, after appointing a government diverse in race and gender and united in its support for the new leader’s staunchly free-market views.

Truss will also face her political opponents for the first time as leader during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons.

Truss, 47, was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday after winning an internal election to lead the governing Conservative Party.

She immediately put her stamp on the government, clearing out many ministers from the administration of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson — notably those who had backed her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak.

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On this day in 1969, the Official Languages Act declared English and French as the official languages of Canada. The act, promoted by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, declared all federal institutions had to provide services in English or French at the customer's choice.

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In entertainment ...

 American authors Elizabeth Strout and Percival Everett are up against writers from Britain, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka as finalists for the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction.

Strout’s symphony of everyday lives “Oh William!” and Everett’s powerful novel about racism and police violence, “The Trees,” are on a shortlist announced Tuesday for the 50,000 pound ($58,000) prize.

The other contenders include Zimbabwe’s NoViolet Bulawayo, for animal fable “Glory”; Irish writer Claire Keegan’s “Small Things Like These”; and “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Sri Lanka’s Shehan Karunatilaka.

British fantasy author Alan Garner — the oldest-ever Booker nominee at 87 — is on the list for “Treacle Walker.”

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Did you see this?

Justin Bieber is putting a hold on his Justice World Tour for the second time this year, blaming exhaustion.

The Canadian pop superstar announced on his Instagram account he would be taking a break from the road to focus on his health.

Bieber says after playing a show in Brazil on Sunday he felt exhausted and realized he needed to "rest and get better."

He hasn't indicated whether the dates for his tour, which was slated to run into 2023, will be rescheduled.

In June, Bieber sidelined the North American leg of his tour, including two Toronto dates, to deal with the fallout of his Ramsay Hunt syndrome diagnosis, which left half of his face temporarily paralyzed.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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