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

Highlights from the news file for Monday, Aug. 8

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TRUMP WANTS CANADIAN PIPELINE FIRM TO RE-SUBMIT PROPOSAL: Donald Trump’s campaign says that if elected president, he will ask Calgary-based pipeline company TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) to re-submit its proposal for the stalled Keystone XL pipeline. That detail was included in the highlights package distributed by his campaign for a major economic speech today, although the speech itself made no mention of the pipeline. Reviving the project, rejected by U.S. President Barack Obama, has been Republican party policy — although Trump has occasionally suggested he might seek a deal that’s more financially beneficial for the U.S.

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AN OILSANDS PROJECT STAYS SHUTTERED UNTIL OIL PRICE RISES: One of Canada’s oldest oilsands projects, which was shut down during the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., will remain closed until benchmark oil prices rise above US$50 per barrel, its operator said Monday. The Hangingstone thermal oilsands project, operated by Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd. since 1999, was shuttered in May as a precaution when staff were evacuated due to the wildfires.

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U.S. FIRM TO TAKE OVER WHISTLER BLACKCOMB: The friendly takeover of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings by an American mountain resort operator is all about long-term stability, says the head of the popular British Columbia ski destination. Whistler Blackcomb’s David Brownlie said Monday the deal with Colorado-based Vail Resorts, totalling nearly C$1.4 billion, will give the ski resort access to both the money and the markets it needs to grow its status as one of the world’s leading, year-round ski havens.”We think that working with Vail will accelerate our business plan and we’re excited to move forward with it,” Brownlie said in an interview.

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CANADIANS ASKED TO NOMINATE WORLD HERITAGE SITES: For the first time in more than a decade, Ottawa is asking Canadians to nominate favoured places as candidates for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna made the announcement Monday in Grand Pre, N.S., home to one of Canada’s 18 UNESCO sites out of more than 1,000 worldwide. McKenna invited Canadians to suggest places of cultural, historic and natural significance for Canada’s list of nominees for world heritage status by the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture.

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LION ATTACKS QUEBEC ZOO WORKER: A lion at Quebec’s Granby Zoo attacked an employee Monday, fracturing her backbone, the head of the facility said. The woman, in her early 20s, was in hospital in stable condition but zoo director Paul Gosselin called her injuries “severe.” He said the zoo is still investigating the circumstances of the attack. The employee had been performing the morning preparation routine at about 9 a.m. in the lion den, home to the zoo’s three lions, when one of them attacked her, Gosselin told reporters.

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ANGER FUELLED QUEBEC ELECTION NIGHT SHOOTING, COURT TOLD: The Crown’s expert psychiatrist reasserted Monday that anger, and not psychosis, fuelled the actions of the man charged in the fatal shooting on the night of the 2012 Quebec election. Joel Watts concluded his testimony at the first-degree murder trial of Richard Henry Bain, who has pleaded not guilty to six charges, including attempted murder and arson-related counts. Bain is claiming he’s not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder. The defence tried to raise doubts about the anger hypothesis in its final attempt at cross-examination.

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ALBERTA EXECUTIVE AXED AFTER ALLEGED FRAUD: The Alberta Motor Association has filed a lawsuit against a former executive, alleging he swindled $8 million from the organization and bought lavish homes and vehicles. The lawsuit claims James Gladden misappropriated the funds dating back to at least 2013 while he was vice-president of information technology at AMA. The suit also names Gladden’s wife, Dana, and several companies he was involved in. It alleges Gladden authorized fake invoices and wired payments to various banks in the United States and China.

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HAMILTON BOY’S DEATH ACCIDENTAL, SAY POLICE: Hamilton police say they believe the death of an 11-year-old boy with disabilities who was the subject of an Amber Alert over the weekend was an accident. The body of Finnigan Danne, who suffered from a neuromuscular disorder and had limited mobility, was found Sunday afternoon in a culvert not far from his home in the west Hamilton community of Dundas. An autopsy was conducted Monday and the cause of the boy’s death was determined to be drowning.

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TRUMP SAYS HE WANTS TO `JUMPSTART AMERICA’: Trying to turn the page after a tumultuous campaign stretch, Donald Trump unleashed a blistering attack Monday on Hillary Clinton’s approach to the economy while promising he would provide deep tax cuts and jolt middle class workers back to prosperity.Trump’s speech to the Detroit Economic Club reflected the Republican presidential nominee’s attempt to reboot and redirect the conversation to his strength: the economy. Trump offered a few new policy specifics but trained much of his attention on his Democratic opponent. “The one common feature of every Hillary Clinton idea is that it punishes you for working and doing business in the United States,” Trump said. He said he wants to “jumpstart America” and added, “It won’t even be that hard.”

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SUICIDE ATTACK TARGETS LAWYERS IN PAKISTAN: Pakistani militants struck at the heart of the country’s legal profession on Monday, killing a prominent attorney and then bombing the hospital where dozens of other lawyers had gathered to mourn. The twin attacks killed at least 70 people, most of them lawyers, authorities said. A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks in Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province, which also wounded dozens of others.

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LETTING PHARMACISTS GIVE FLU SHOT BOOSTS UPTAKE, SAYS STUDY: Residents of provinces that allow pharmacists to administer flu shots are more likely to get vaccinated against the seasonal bug, a study has found. In a paper published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers found that a slightly higher proportion of residents got their annual influenza shots in provinces where pharmacists are allowed to give them — 30 per cent compared to 28 per cent in provinces where they aren’t.