If you saw sportcaster Pete James somewhere in London, Ont., something was happening.

You may not have known what that was, as he was likely the only one who knew about it, and he was in the process of getting the story.

If you saw James, all you had to do was wait a little while and there he would be on the radio or TV telling whatever story he had found to everyone.

James was a presence.

That’s probably why he felt so noticeable when he was outside the walls of the studio or away from the TV desk.

For his entire career, sports information in southwestern Ontario — and often beyond —went through James.

In the mid 1960s, James became the first person outside of a hotel conference room to know that the London Nationals were becoming the London Knights.

James discovered this because he was literally outside that conference room with his ear pressed to the keyhole. He heard the words, ran to the nearest payphone and informed London.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Because that’s what he did so well. James informed everyone.

After beginning his career in St. Catharines, James worked at CFPL-TV and CFPL Radio in London right through to the late 1990s, when he left television for radio and a spot opposite Steve Garrison.

James also took on the role of radio analyst on London Knights games and travelled with the team up until the 2011/12 season, when he switched to a post-game analyst role with Rogers TV, working with host Ryan Robinson.

James’ work covering the Western Mustangs was legendary. He made you feel purple and proud whether you were a Western alumnus or not.

He was the master of ceremonies for the opening of London’s downtown arena, which is now known as Canada Life Place.

He would later be in the broadcast booth in March of 2004 when the Knights clinched their first-ever Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champions in the Ontario Hockey League.

The look on his face that night, having covered the Knights for 39 years, was unforgettable.

The pride he felt for the organization was indisguisable.

A year later, James was the first radio reporter on the ice as celebrations went on around him after the Knights captured their very first Memorial Cup Championship.

James was a member of the London Sports Hall of Fame and also received an RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award for his excellent work as a reporter.

James died on Feb. 4 at the age of 89.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Eight months after the Fredericton Police Force admitted that errors they made led to a stay of proceedings in two deaths, the police chief says all 19 recommendations by an independent investigator are now in progress. 

Chief Gary Forward told a public safety committee meeting at City Hall on Thursday that all recommendations should be completed by summer 2027.

“It’s critically important that the police force demonstrate through action that not only do we have accountability for this, but that we are prepared to do the hard work to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

The Crown stayed five murder charges in June 2025 related to the homicides of Corey Markey and Brandon Patrick Donelan due to an “unsurmountable evidentiary issue” that was reported by Forward.

1:59
Fredericton police ‘error’ forced homicide cases to be stayed, report can’t disclose why

The issue has not been made public, but the chief issued an apology at the time and promised the independent review.

In December 2025, Ian D. Scott, a lawyer and former director of Ontario’s police watchdog, released the findings of his review.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Scott said the report did not find any substantial criminal or disciplinary misconduct by any of the officers involved in the cases. However, it did find “limitations” in how the force deals with complex cases.

The report made 19 recommendations to improve oversight, training, file prioritization and staffing. It called for the creation of an oversight committee, more up-to-date training and reduced workload for investigative teams.

“Public trust with the community is certainly our priority moving forward,” Forward said Thursday.

“This is why we have the subject matter experts coming in to act as that oversight to make sure that we’re proceeding with these recommendations, so that in a very short period of time, we can feel more comfortable about the fact that the issue won’t repeat itself.”

Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers told Global News she’s pleased with the force’s response and progress.

“My hope is that the public appreciates that there has been accountability taken and that the issue has been taken seriously and that due diligence has been employed,” she said.

2:02
New Brunswick murder trials stayed due to ‘insurmountable evidentiary issue’

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Deal is good ‘because it’s complex’: auto industry leader

Ottawa bringing back electric vehicle rebates: Carney

Ottawa is bringing back the federal rebate for electric vehicles as part of the Liberals’ proposed national automotive strategy. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the program would see a $5,000 rebate for buying battery electric and fuel cell EVs, and up to $2,500 for plug-in hybrids. The rebates would run until 2031.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’​ Association, told us he’s very happy with the deal “because it’s complex.”

“It addresses the demand side and the supply side, keeps us on a strong path against carbon emissions, but allows for all the manufacturers to choose their technology path,” he said.

Volpe acknowledged that Canadians who want EVs are looking for competitively priced vehicles — but said those who haven’t transitioned to electrification might be hesitant to do so because of infrastructure concerns. 

“‘Where do I plug in? Can I rely that it’s there? Is it along my path? How do I get away from the ease of driving an internal combustion engine vehicle? There’s a gas station at the corner,'” he said, listing off drivers’ possible considerations.

He said many of today’s announcements “are going to make that charging density competitive so that people can contemplate the change without anxiety.”

Manitoba RCMP have issued a dangerous person alert for Joshua Paupanekis, 39, after the abduction of Raeanne Thomas, 20, in Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

Around 5:40 a.m. on Thursday Cross Lake RCMP responded to a report of an aggravated assault at a residence in the community about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Paupanekis went into a home and hit a 24-year-old resident with a hammer, police alleged in a news release on Thursday. 

Paupanekis, who police say also had a knife, then allegedly abducted Thomas from the residence.

RCMP said Paupanekis was last seen fleeing on foot with Thomas.

Multiple police units are now searching the community for Thomas. Police believe she is in immediate danger.

Police ask the public not to approach Paupanekis. He is considered armed and dangerous, they said.

Mounties issued a dangerous person alert for Paupanekis through the Alert Ready system just after 11 a.m. Thursday. 

Anyone with information on his or Thomas’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Cross Lake RCMP detachment at 204-676-2600.

Eight in 10 English local authorities will be in effect bankrupted by rising special educational needs spending unless the government introduces significant reforms to the system, council leaders have said.

Councils have called on ministers to write off special educational needs and disability (Send) deficits accumulated by local authorities over the past few years. These are projected to reach £14bn in two years’ time.

The government is expected to publish a long-awaited education white paper in the coming weeks setting out its proposals to overhaul the Send system, which is regarded as broken by parents and schools and financially unsustainable by councils.

The Send reforms are regarded as politically fraught, with ministers anxious to slow the growth in spending while avoiding a backbench rebellion and a damaging clash with parents and charities over concerns that existing children’s rights will be diluted.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said 95% of top-tier councils were operating Send deficits, with four-fifths saying they were having to cut council services or take out loans to meet the day to day cost of financing Send overspends.

One council has asked ministers for special permission to raise council tax by above permitted limits to cover the £10m-a-year costs of financing loans needed to cover its Send deficit.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council has proposed raising council tax by 7.5% from April, breaking the 4.99% limit. Its accumulated Send deficit stands at £184m and it anticipates will rise to £380m by the end of March 2028.

BCP council said it had been technically insolvent since April 2025 when its Send deficit became larger than its available financial reserves. It will borrow £95m over the next 12 months to bridge a shortfall between what it receives from the government for Send services and the amount it is legally required to spend on them.

At the end of March 2028, an accounting “override” that allows councils to keep Send spending deficits off balance sheet will come to an end. The LGA survey suggests that if the deficit is not cleared at that point, 79% of councils will become in effect insolvent overnight.

Even if the accumulated debts were cleared in 2028, the LGA says failure to reform the system would result in ongoing spending exceeding budgets in 95% of council areas. The Office for Budgetary Responsibility has estimated this funding gap at £6bn in 2028-29.

Guardian analysis of recent council papers reveals the huge scale of some Send deficits. Hampshire county council, for example, projects an accumulated deficit of £706m by the end of March 2028. West Sussex county council expects a corresponding deficit of £414m, and Suffolk county council £250m.

The LGA said that despite record levels of investment and a high rate of assessment and identification of needs, “there was no clear evidence that outcomes for children with Send have been improving”.

It is unclear whether government would wipe historical Send debts without guarantees from councils that they will cut ongoing costs partly by shifting a greater proportion of Send provision into local mainstream schools and reducing reliance on more expensive private specialist schools.

There are concerns that a no-strings-attached debt write-off would raise fairness issues. A Guardian investigation last year found that of the 32 councils with accumulated Send deficits of more than £50m, 24 were in the wealthiest areas of England.

Much of the increase in spending relates to the rapid growth over the past decade in children and young people having education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which in theory guarantee support for pupils. Numbers have risen from 240,000 in 2014 to about 640,000.

Amanda Hopgood, the chair of the LGA’s children, young people and families committee, said: “Councils are committed to supporting every child and young person to achieve their potential and clearly what is important is that children and young people get the support they need. But under the current system, the rise in support need has left many councils buckling under the strain.”

The government was approached for comment.

The urgent search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has entered its fifth day, as her children continue to plead for her safe return.

Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been abducted in her sleep from her Arizona home early Sunday, authorities said. No suspect or person of interest has been identified in the case, and authorities do not know where she is or whether she was targeted, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is set to hold a briefing on the case at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area, north of Tucson, on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Her family reported her missing on Sunday around noon local time after she failed to show up to church, authorities said.

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings made an emotional plea for their mother’s return in a video message posted to social media on Wednesday.

“Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video message. “We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again.”

Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, according to the sheriff. She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said.

“Our mom is our heart and our home,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video. “She is 84 years old, her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer.”

The sheriff’s department said it is reviewing possible ransom notes as part of the investigation. ABC Tucson affiliate KGUN said it received one of the letters, which it forwarded to law enforcement. Officials say they are investigating if any of these letters are legitimate.

Addressing reports of a ransom letter, Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday, “As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

The FBI is helping in the investigation. The agency is sending additional agents and experts to Pima County to help reinforce efforts on the ground and to aid local investigators, sources told ABC News on Wednesday.

Nanos said earlier this week that investigators were waiting to get surveillance footage from the home’s security cameras from the companies that own them.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that the company, which is behind Nest home security cameras, is assisting law enforcement in the investigation. The spokesperson declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 5.

The president will also make an announcement Thursday evening, while press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters at the White House this afternoon.

Trump signed an appropriations bill Tuesday to re-open the government, but Democrats are threatening to shut it down again over demands restricting DHS from enforcing immigration law.