Six stories in the news today, Aug. 12

Six stories in the news today, Aug. 12 from The Canadian Press:

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NIGEL WRIGHT TO TESTIFY AT DUFFY TRIAL

Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, will begin testifying this morning at the Ottawa trial of embattled Sen. Mike Duffy. Wright’s testimony will centre on the famous $90,000 payment given to Duffy to assist with repaying his disallowed Senate expenses. Duffy faces 31 charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust and has pleaded not guilty to them all.

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GROUP PRESSES FOR MORE INFO IN SPY COMPLAINT

A civil liberties group says it’s being kept in the dark as a federal watchdog begins looking at whether the Canadian Security Intelligence Service went too far in eyeing environmental activists. CSIS has disclosed very little information heading into three days of Security Intelligence Review Committee hearings about the complaint from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, said Paul Champ, lawyer for the association.

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HEARING TO RESUME FOR SAILORS CHARGED WITH SEX ASSAULT

A hearing resumes in Halifax today for three of four British sailors who are seeking a change in their bail conditions after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman in the city. They want to return to the United Kingdom pending a preliminary inquiry scheduled for next April in Halifax. The Crown alleges the members of the Royal Navy participated in a “group sexual assault” on April 10 inside a barracks at CFB Shearwater, a Halifax military base.

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LAWSUIT ALLEGES ABUSE AT SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF

A Toronto man alleges he was abused for years at Ontario schools for the deaf and has launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of other former students against the provincial government. The statement of claim, filed Monday in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, alleges Sexual, physical and mental abuse at four provincially run schools for the deaf over the course of decades. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

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F-35 PERFORMANCE QUESTIONED BY U.S. THINK-TANK

A U.S. defence and foreign affairs think-tank has released a report suggesting the oft-maligned F-35 jet might not meet the performance standards of existing fighter planes, including Canada’s CF-18s. The National Security Network, based in Washington, D.C., is the latest organization to raise questions about the stealth fighter program, which is over budget and behind schedule in the U.S. The Harper government had put its purchase of 65 F-35s on hold after being accused of fudging the price tag and not doing sufficient research.

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SNAKE IN A PARK

The hunt is on for a python spotted in a Metro Vancouver conservation area. City of Burnaby staff saw the snake curled up on a road on Burnaby Mountain near Simon Fraser University around noon on Monday, said Dave Ellenwood, the city’s director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural. Workers snapped a picture of the snake and took it to a local group that rescues wild animals, which determined the snake is a non-native ball python, a nonvenomous constrictor.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS …

— The Insurance Bureau of Canada, the RCMP and the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association will announce details about a program to combat the growing problem of cargo theft.

— Companies reporting quarterly results today include Air Canada, Metro Inc., flight simulator company CAE Inc., Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., and Taseko Mines Ltd.

– The National Energy Board will issue draft conditions for Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.