Six stories in the news today, Sept. 22

Six stories in the news today, Sept. 22 from The Canadian Press:

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HARPER AND MULCAIR BLAST TRUDEAU ON F-35 PLAN

The politics of military procurement preoccupied the federal leaders Monday as they fired rhetorical missiles at each other over the future of Canada’s ill-fated attempt to buy new fighter jets. Stephen Harper and Tom Mulcair both blasted Justin Trudeau for announcing a day earlier he would scrap the multibillion-dollar purchase of 65 F-35 stealth fighters to replace the current aging fleet of CF-18s, and reinvest the savings into the navy. The Conservative and NDP leaders both said it showed a lack of judgment by the Liberal leader.

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TWO CANADIANS AMONG FOUR PEOPLE KIDNAPPED IN PHILIPPINES

Unidentified gunmen have abducted two Canadians, a Norwegian resort manager and a Filipino woman from a southern Philippine island. Police have identified the Canadians as John Ridsel and Robert Hall. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the federal government is aware of reports that Canadians were kidnapped in the Philippines and is “pursuing all appropriate channels to seek further information.”

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FISHING CREW RESCUED FROM ARCTIC WATERS

Nine crew members from a Newfoundland fishing boat have been rescued from Arctic waters off Baffin Island. Navy Lt. Christine Hurov said the fishers abandoned their boat in Frobisher Bay, about 400 kilometres from Iqaluit, when it began taking on water. Hurov said all crew members were able to don survival suits and make it into the vessel’s life-boat.

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NATIONAL BODY DEFENDS NEW NURSING TEST

A national group that oversees a new U.S.-based licensing test for Canadian nurses says it’s too soon to know what lower pass rates might say about the new exam, but says it doesn’t mean it’s too Americanized. The president of the Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators says figures released earlier this month for the National Council Licensure Examination are for the first half of 2015.

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FINAL ARGUMENTS SCHEDULED IN TEEN TERRORISM TRIAL

Closing arguments are scheduled today in the case of a Montreal teen who faces terrorism-related charges linked to a robbery. The 16-year-old’s trial took place earlier this month before a youth court judge. The teen is charged with committing a robbery for the benefit of a terrorist organization and planning to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group abroad.

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B.C. PROFESSOR WARNS WEST COAST TO BRACE FOR EL NINO

A professor at the University of Victoria says the “monster” El Nino weather system expected to hit Canada’s West Coast later this fall and winter could lead to higher tides, flooding and erosion in low-lying coastal areas. Ian Walker’s warning comes out of part of a larger study in the journal Nature Geoscience by a group of researchers from five countries bordering the Pacific who looked into El Nino and La Nina weather systems.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS …

— Sentencing in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., for Dwayne Samson on a manslaughter charge in the death of Philip Boudreau.

— Sentencing hearing in Vancouver for Reza Moazami, who was convicted of human trafficking linked to a teen prostitution ring.

— Quebec Convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. holds its annual meeting.

— Statistics Canada releases a study on childhood cancer incidence and mortality in Canada from 1992 to 2010.