Politics

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Anthony Olienick, sitting alone in an empty police interrogation room, breaks down in tears when he learns the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., has disbanded in part because of his arrest.

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the province plans to opt out of the federal government's dental care plan by 2026. In a Tuesday letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Smith says the program infringes on provincial jurisdiction.

Nebraska lawmakers are set to address property tax relief next month in a special session being sought by Gov. Jim Pillen.

MONTREAL — The Quebec government has published new rules requiring French to occupy most of the space on storefronts and outdoor commercial signs, part of a larger effort to protect the French language in the province.

OTTAWA — An organizer who encouraged Jewish residents to vote against the Liberals in this week's Toronto byelection suggests a rise in antisemitism motivated many to show up at the polls.

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) — Arrests for illegal border crossings have dropped more than 40% during the three weeks that asylum processing has been suspended , the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The federal government has ended the Newfoundland and Labrador northern cod moratorium, which gutted the province's economy and transformed scores of coastal communities after it was imposed more than 30 years ago.

CALGARY — Shell Canada is going ahead with its Polaris carbon capture project in Alberta.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger endorsed President Joe Biden on Wednesday, giving the Democrat a prominent new ally in his high-stakes campaign to win over moderate Republicans and independents this fall.

KIMBERLEY, B.C. — RCMP say an 11-year-old boy has drowned in Wasa Lake, north of Cranbrook in southeastern B.C. Police say the boy was out with two other children on Sunday on an inflated tube when it flipped in high winds and rough water.