Air Canada flight returns to YLW terminal after mechanical issue

An Air Canada flight from Kelowna to Vancouver on Friday morning returned to the terminal at YLW because of a mechanical issue.

The City of Kelowna said Air Canada flight 8399 advised air traffic control of the mechanical issue at approximately 9:10 a.m.

On social media, one person said the flight was aborted prior to takeoff.

The city said the aircraft was returned to the terminal and passengers were offloaded. As a safety precaution, emergency response teams were dispatched to standby.

Freezing rain warnings issued for Coquihalla, Highway 3

Freezing rain warnings have been issued for the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3 in southern B.C.

The warnings were issued Saturday morning by Environment Canada, which noted freezing could persist into Sunday.

It added that motorists should consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve, as surfaces will become slippery and hazardous.

Lebanon interior minister: unacceptable for protests to assault police

BEIRUT, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s Interior Minister Raya el-Hassan said it was unacceptable for protesters to attack security forces as the two sides clashed in central Beirut on Saturday night.

“I always asserted the right to protest, but for the protests to turn into a blatant assault on the security forces, on public and private property, is condemned and not acceptable at all,” she said in a tweet. (Reporting by Hesham Elsaba in Cairo; Editing by Catherine Evans)

32 killed in Houthi attack on camp in Yemen's Marib: Saudi state TV

CAIRO (Reuters) – Iran-aligned Houthis attacked a military training camp in the Yemeni city of Marib on Saturday, killing dozens of people, Saudi state television said.

Al Ekhbariya quoted medical sources as saying that the attack had killed 32 military personnel.

Trump: 'I Should Never Have Done That F-cking Vaping Thing'

President Trump laid into Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar over decisions made by his administration regarding the ban on most flavored e-cigarettes.

According to Axios, citing two sources, the president called Azar during an Oval Office meeting with campaign advisers when the issue of health care came up and said, “I should never have done that fucking vaping thing.” The New York Times also reported about the president lashing out at Azar and using the expletive.

Axios goes on to report that Trump has not changed his mind on his administration’s current vaping policy. The regret lies in the president weighing in on the matter at all and not leaving it to the Food and Drug Administration to deal with.

In September, Trump announced he would take “very, very strong” action to combat the rise in teenage vaping by banning all flavored e-cigarettes. But, under pressure from industry groups and his own supporters, some of whom threatened not to vote for him if he went through with a complete ban, federal officials announced a compromise: they would ban sales of flavored e-cigarette pods except for tobacco and menthol flavors. They also said there would be exceptions made for liquid nicotine for tank systems.

It appears the issue became more politically fraught than Trump had imagined, and with this reporting, he seems to regret his decision to take it on forcefully.

Strong 6.0 quake hits Indonesia's Papua

JAKARTA (AFP) – A strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua on Sunday (Jan 19), the United States Geological Survey said.

There was no tsunami warning accompanying the quake which struck inland 158km from the provincial capital Jayapura at a shallow depth of almost 34km, USGS said.

The South-east Asian archipelago is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

Conor McGregor v Donald Cerrone, UFC 246: The Notorious makes comeback in Las Vegas

Conor McGregor expected in the Octagon at 5am (Irish time) for his fight against Donald Cerrone and you can follow all the action here.

Biggest Bitcoin Investment Trust Says Hedge-Fund Demand Booming

Traditional hedge funds, pensions and endowments are boosting cryptocurrency holdings, according to the biggest Bitcoin trust provider.

Grayscale Investments, which lets accredited investors own Bitcoin and other coins via its funds, said it took in $608 million last year, surpassing the total amount raised the previous six years. The majority of the inflows — about 71% — came from institutions like hedge funds, up from 66% in 2018, according to Grayscale.

Grayscale’s assets under management have increased to about $2 billion just as a slew of rivals — most notably Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital and Nickel — launched similar investment vehicles. The companies provide exposure to coins like Bitcoin without forcing investors to hold the cryptocurrencies directly. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the largest such Bitcoin fund.

“It’s clear that we’re experiencing institutional adoption,” said Michael Sonnenshein, managing director at Grayscale. “The asset class is experiencing increased validation from legacy companies like Fidelity and CME, signaling to institutions and the investment community as a whole that crypto as an asset class is here to stay.”

Last year, Bitcoin’s price almost doubled, outpacing traditional investments such as U.S. stocks and gold.

Grayscale expanded its investor base by approximately 24% in 2019, the company said.

Paradigm Laid Off Around 30 From Ranks On Friday

EXCLUSIVE: Rumors have been going around that Paradigm made a significant cut in its ranks Friday, but here is the truth according to high level insiders. Sources said that the agency on Friday let go around 30, about half of those lower level agents and the rest support staff. Most of the staff cuts came in the music area where Paradigm has continued to rapidly expand in recent years.

This isn’t about attrition from the long standoff with the WGA over packaging, or readying for some kind of sale or merger. According to sources, the agency added about 120 staffers over the last year. The layoffs are in the name of efficiency, which is better for growth, said the insider. The agency has been ensconced in the Wilshire Blvd space once occupied by ICM and it has been building out that space. It also rolled up its UK partners and launched Paradigm UK and most of its recent personnel growth came through acquisitions in the music arena. The agency has about 700 employees in all its outposts.

Though Paradigm chief Sam Gores did seriously consider joining forces with UTA, the Friday layoff has nothing to do with that, and also, further staff cuts are not anticipated. There also is no imminent movement toward a franchise agreement deal with the WGA like Gersh struck last week, sources said. Gersh became the first full service agency to make such a deal.