The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Aug. 19

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ROOKIE LIBERAL MP GETS WHOPPING PROMOTION: Prime Minister Trudeau has given Small Business Minister Bardish Chagger a new job, that of Government House Leader. Chagger, 36, will be responsible for steering the government’s agenda through the House of Commons, although she’ll continue with her current duties. She takes over for Dominic LeBlanc who will focus on the fisheries portfolio, a job he had been doing on an interim basis since Hunter Tootoo resigned earlier this year.

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OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS ACCEPT SWIMMER’S APOLOGY: A spokesperson for the Rio Games says Brazilians were humiliated by a robbery scandal involving American swimmers, but they accept medallist Ryan Lochte’s apology. Lochte initially said he and three other swimmers were robbed after a night out in Rio de Janeiro, prompting an apology from Olympic organizers. However, police say the men were confronted by security guards after vandalizing a gas station bathroom.

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TRUDEAU CABINET FRATERNITY ROLLS INTO SUDBURY THIS WEEKEND: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is doing its third retreat on the cheap after spending nearly half a million taxpayer dollars to hold meetings in swanky resorts. This weekend’s two-day retreat is being held at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont., and the ministers will be sharing student dorm rooms. The first retreat in New Brunswick cost $174,321 while the second in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country cost $248,934.

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SENATE WANTS MORE ACTION ON REDUCING OBESITY: A Senate committee is calling on the Trudeau government to start moving on fighting the growing problem of obesity. A Senate committee released a report in March calling on the government to help people lead healthier lifestyles by, among other things, banning food and beverage ads aimed at children. The government has said it agreed with the recommendations in principle, but Committee chair Sen. Kelvin Ogilvie isn’t satisfied saying the government hasn’t given a timeline on when it will take action.

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SENATE MIGHT ALLOW OUTSIDE SCRUTINY: The Senate is opening the door to the idea of outsiders taking a second look at their spending after being initially cool to the idea. Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s scathing report on the Senate expense scandal included a recommendation to set up an independent oversight committee so senators would no longer be policing themselves. But now two members of a Senate committee responsible for the upper chamber’s administration say they’re looking at an independent oversight committee to deal with senators’ expenses on a regular basis.

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POSTIES CONFRONT MANAGEMENT AT ANNUAL MEETING: Union leaders descended on the annual meeting of Canada Post on Friday but came away with few answers. The Crown corporation has said there is a $1 billion pricetag attached to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ pension and pay equity demands. But management refused to provide details on its calculations at Friday’s meeting. Both sides say little progress has been made on major contract negotiation issues as the country’s largest postal union nears the end of its 60-day strike mandate.

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REPORT SAYS MANY FACTORS LEAD TO RADICALIZATION: A new report says there is no one reason why Canadian youth become radicalized to the point of wanting to join jihadist groups overseas. The study by Montreal’s anti-radicalization centre lists a number of factors, including personal vulnerability, a search for belonging and manipulation by people on the outside. The study was launched after several students from one of the city’s junior colleges left for Syria in early 2015, allegedly to join a terrorist group.

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BODY OF MISSING NOVA SCOTIA SOLDIER FOUND IN ONTARIO: Police in Owen Sound, Ont. say there is no indication of foul play in the death of a 19-year-old soldier from Nova Scotia. The body of Private Andrew Fitzgerald was recovered Thursday along the shoreline of Georgian Bay — about two kilometres away from the gas station where he was last seen on Saturday. An autopsy will be conducted over the weekend.

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THOUSANDS VIE FOR ASTRONAUT TRYOUT: The Canadian Space Agency is facing the daunting task of wading through almost four-thousand astronaut applications. The agency announced in June it was looking to recruit people to the space program. Some 3,772 people from every province and territory — and 374 living abroad — applied before applications closed earlier this week.

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CHINA TIGHTENS CONTROL OVER MEDIA: The Chinese government is holding chief editors of news websites personally liable for content, months after several portals posted material that was seen as embarrassing to President Xi Jinping. State media reported that new rules place responsibility squarely on head editors, saying news sites must monitor their content 24 hours a day to ensure “correct orientation, factual accuracy and appropriate sourcing.” The rules reflect the Xi administration’s efforts to ratchet up control over Chinese media and cyberspace, which has touched both traditional state propaganda outlets and private sector media companies.