Toronto - Richard Wills has been found guilty of the first-degree murder of his mistress, Linda Mariani.
The former police officer was accused of hitting Mariani in the head with a baseball bat and strangling her with a skipping rope, then stuffing her body in a garbage bin and hiding it behind a wall in the basement of his home in Richmond Hill in February 2002.
The defence maintained Mariani, 40, died after falling down stairs at Wills’ home, while the Crown alleged he killed her because she wouldn’t leave her husband.
The 50-year old said he hid Mariani’s body because he wanted to bury her later near his family cottage in Wasaga Beach, as they had agreed in a secret lovers’ pact.
It took a jury a little more than a day to convict Wills following the five-month trial.
“It was a very emotional scene, once the jury left Linda Mariani’s family; her husband her mom, were all crying and the crown was actually crying. It’s been a very emotional and draining roller-coaster ride for all these people,” CFRB commentator and Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford said.
Blatchford has been following the trial and was in the courtroom when the verdict was read out.
“They were a very responsible jury and came to the right verdict for the right reasons,” Blatchford added.
Wills is facing a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 25 years.
Boston - According to cancer researchers, blood levels of vitamin D have absolutely no impact on preventing adults from dying of cancer.
The researchers were looking into vitamin D to see if it had any positive impact on preventing the death rate of those suffering with cancer. They stated that adults dying of cancer over a dozen years received no benefit no matter how much vitamin D was in their body.
D. Michal Freedman of the National Cancer Institute studies data of more than 16,800 people aged 17 and up. They also took part in health studies between 1988 and 1994.
He followed the patients through the year 2000 and during those 12 years 536 patients died of cancer.
He stated that the vitamin D levels at the start of the study had no affect on the mortality rate of those with cancer. One interesting thing to note though is that people with high levels of vitamin D at the start of the study were 72% less likely than those with low levels of vitamin D to die of colorectal cancer.
Death rates for other cancers though such as lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc. were all studied and were not linked to vitamin D blood levels in any way in reagrds to their mortality rate.
The study is in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Toronto - Toronto Mayor David Miller will be wearing his “One Cent Now” button for a while longer.
The mayor issued a decidedly frustrated statement in response to the federal government’s Economic Statement.
“I’m disappointed with Minister Flaherty’s decision not to re-invest the federal government’s ballooning surplus in cities; after all, the federal government collects nearly all of its money in cities.
“The government has the opportunity now to show a real commitment to Canada’s urban centres by leaving behind a fraction of the wealth generated in the places 80 per cent of the country lives. Otherwise, cities are left funding their growth through property taxes, the most regressive form of taxation. Further, the future prosperity of cities will be put at risk and the federal government will see those surpluses dry up very quickly.
“Cutting the GST shows the government has the fiscal room to dedicate one cent of the sales tax to municipal infrastructure. If there’s room to cut, there’s most certainly room to share.”
Meantime, Toronto’s Budget Chair, Shelley Carroll says the statement is insulting to Canadian cities.
“It’s really a slap in the face for all the major cities in Canada… This government was present at the Canadian Federation of Municipalities this summer and they (the federal government) heard that all (cities involved) endorse the One Cent Now campaign.”
Carroll adds that while the GST reduction may sound good to Canadians, it’s unlikely they’ll really see any benefit from it.
“Any citizen in the city of Toronto will tell you that the last time they had the GST reduced by a penny, it didn’t really make a difference in their lives. Four hundred and fifty million dollars given to the city, to invest in transit, to invest in infrastructure, to in its roads and other hard surfaces, would make a big difference in the lives of every person who lives in the city of Toronto.”
New York - Britney Spears released her comeback album Blackout on Tuesday to generally positive reviews from critics, but church leaders protested album art that pictured the troubled star sitting half naked on the lap of a priest.
The first album from Spears in four years came as allegations of drug and alcohol abuse complicate her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline over their two children.
“Britney Spears hasn’t been able to lose the paparazzi in recent months, but she does joyously lose herself in music on her new Blackout,” USA Today’s reviewer enthused.
A New York Times reviewer noted that Spears was aided by the world’s top talent in producing the “bracingly unapologetic” album. “That doesn’t make it any harder to delight in how good the best songs sound,” the paper noted.
However, the Catholic League was not carried away by the risque poses of the provocative 25-year-old, calling them “a cheap publicity stunt.”
“This is all the puzzle pieces coming together. This girl is crashing,” said Bill Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League. “She’s not even allowed to bring up her own kids because she’s not responsible enough. Now we see she can’t even entertain.”
Brampton –It was a long, careful, and complicated day for hospital workers in Brampton Sunday. With the opening of the new Brampton Civic Hospital and temporary closing of Peel Memorial Hospital, they had to transfer and immediately accomodate all of the 234 inpatients from the old building to the new one, and did it ahead of schedule, starting at 7:00 am and finishing by 1:45 pm.
A convoy of ambulances could be seen driving along Bovaird Drive both ways all morning as one by one, they rolled from Peel Memorial to Brampton Civic and back again transporting patients starting with two key groups; William Osler Health Centre President and CEO Bob Richards says infants was one and that ”the hospital for Sick Kids were kind enough to help us with some of those transports.”
Pete Dundas, Director of Peel Regional Paramedic Services says they took every precaution with the other group, critical care patients. “All equipment that is required for the patients is being transported with them” he says of the more frail. They were also escorted by any necessary nurses to make sure their health didn’t change during the ride and setup in their new rooms.
On average, each hospital had an ambulance arriving to pick up or drop off a patient every two minutes, and Peel paramedics had help from surrounding services like Toronto, York Region and London.
The old Peel Memorial Hospital will be temporarily shut down for the next two to three years as a redevelopment plan is mapped out and inititated, reopening again sometime around 2009 or 2010.
Brampton Civic Hospital spans 1.3 million square feet and currently has 479 beds but will get an additional 129 over the next few years. It also has 12 operating rooms at the moment, expanding to 18 within the next three years. It officially opens to the public and reinstates normal visiting hours Monday.
Jerusalem — In a dramatic announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that he has prostate cancer, but doctors said he was still fit enough to attend a crucial parley on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, slated for next month.
The doctors had found only “first signs” of the cancer, and he would not be stepping down from office, Olmert told a surprise news conference, broadcast live on Israeli television and radio stations.
“According to what my doctors told me, it’s a microscopic growth without metastasis, which can be removed in a brief surgical procedure,” he said.
“I will be fit to fulfil my job to the fullest, before the treatment, and already in the hours afterward,” he added.
Olmert, 62, a keen runner whose health is considered good, said the cancer was discovered as part of a routine annual test he has undergone for the past years. He had one on his return from Russia ten days ago and the results were handed to him toward the weekend, he said.
Olmert’s doctors, who spoke after the premier had left the room without answering any questions, said Olmert’s condition was “curable.”
“The growth was discovered early. This is a growth that spreads very slowly and therefore does not endanger life. It was discovered at a stage in which it can be cured,” the doctors added.
They said Olmert was appraised of the difference types of treatment and “as of now, on the recommendations of his doctors, is leaning toward undergoing surgery.”
An operation could be performed either with a full anaesthetic, in which case the prime minister would have to take a temporary leave of absence from his post, or it could be done under local anaesthetic, they said, adding that the decision would be made closer to the operation.
Dr Shlomo Segev, one of the two doctors present, said the date of the surgery would be determined in such a way as to not affect Olmert’s travelling to the international conference on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
Olmert’s office said the surgery would take place after the summit, which is slated to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, at the end of November.
Preparations for the conference are in full swing, and Olmert has been holding regular meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to frame an outline for peace making, to be presented in Annapolis.
Riad Malki, a Palestinian government spokesman, said Olmert and Abbas would continue to hold their meetings.
“I believe that Olmert’s health will not impact on preparations for the fall meeting. On the contrary, it should give it a boost, in order to get on with the conference as soon as possible,” he said.
The prostate is a small gland surrounding the urinary passage at the exit of the male bladder, and prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with the risk of getting it increasing with age and according to family history of the disease.
According to the Israel Cancer Association, 2,250 Israelis are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 380 die from it.
In most men, however, the cancer develops so slowly that it is non-fatal.
Olmert’s doctors said the chances of the premier living a disease- free life after treatment were 95 per cent.
Only one Israeli prime minister - Levi Eshkol, felled by a heart attack in 1969 - has died in office. But others have suffered from health problems while premier, notably Menahem Begin, who had a heart attack shortly after winning power in 1977, and another one in 1980.
Olmert himself came to the premiership after his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, was struck down by a massive stroke in January 2006. Sharon is still in a coma.
Sharon’s illness, and cosmetic surgery Olmert had in January, which was disclosed only afterwards, have prompted a debate in Israel about initiating a law requiring politicians to be completely open and transparent about their health.
Olmert, at the end of his brief remarks Monday, said he was admitting his condition because “the citizens of Israel have the right to know, and I feel that I have the public duty to inform them.”
Washington - Mrs. Bush was in the Middle East from October 20th to 26th to help promote health by visiting key areas such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and others.
Laura Bush is set to visit many cancer treatment and screening centers. She has also launched a new cancer awareness center in Saudi Arabia.
The location in Saudi Arabia she launched is called the U.S. - Saudi Arabia Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research at the King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh.
In Kuwait Laura Bush met with women democratic reformers to promote health care programs as well as looking into programs for education and scholarships.
She also visited Jordan to go to the King Hussein Cancer Center to unveil what will end up being Jordan’s first community breast cancer screening center.
Laura Bush was hopeful that she will be able to further build relations between the U.S. and the Middle East in order to garner better health care for people in that area of the world.
Los Angeles - Paris Hilton’s charity trip to Rwanda, which she hoped would transform her party girl image, has been cancelled.
The organization sponsoring the heiress’ Africa trip yesterday said it was postponing the journey.
The cancellation is due to a “restructuring” in the Playing for Good organization, the group said.
“Paris has been a loyal and gracious supporter of Playing for Good, but the foundation has to regrettably reschedule this trip,” the group said in a statement.
The group said it hoped to reschedule “at a later date.”
Boston (EON) - The FDA has put out a new warning in regards to an anti-clotting drug by the name of Trasylol.
The FDA stated that the drug is used to prevent excessive bleeding during heart bypass surgery, but may also increase the risk of death as well.
The new warning by the FDA comes after a Canadian trial looked into the drug further as they found that there was an increase in the number of patients using it. The Bayer AG drug showed results that stated that it increased the risk of death when compared directly to other drugs.
Trasylol was first approved by the FDA in 1993 to limit the blood loss in patients during cardiac surgery.
Bayer stated,f ollowing the new FDA warning, that “physicians use Trasylol only in accordance with approved product labeling.”
The manufacturer stated that the drug “remains a safe and effective treatment option for physicians.”