CBC | Edmonton News

As COVID-19 approaches its fourth year, Omicron continues to mutate and become more immune evasive. But what does mutation mean, what doesn't it mean and why does immune evasiveness matter? Here are some answers based on what we know at this stage in the pandemic.

Residents in Fort Erie, Ont., and surrounding areas in the southern Niagara region face the massive Christmas Day task of digging out after a two-day blizzard that has wreaked havoc with power and travel.

Here is what is open and closed during the holiday season in Hamilton, including bus schedule changes and contact information for essential services.

The packages, which contain snacks, toiletries and warm items such as tuques, can be a bright spot for those who don’t typically get other gifts.

International students often can't return home for the holidays, but Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., and other Canadian post-secondary schools have programs that help keep their spirits alive during their time off.

The Niagara Region declared a state of emergency Saturday evening, as blizzard conditions caused travellers and truck drivers to be stranded, some residents to evacuate their homes on Lake Erie and power outages for around 10,000 homes.

Provincial police are pleading with drivers to stay home as crashes mount in the London, Ont., region along major highways because of a powerful storm bringing snow, ice and high winds.

High winds and blizzard-like conditions hit Hamilton, Niagara and the Lake Erie shoreline Friday, as residents across part of Ontario are impacted by a major storm.

Some Ontario landlords are sitting on thousands of dollars of interest accrued by rental deposits and in some cases, also asking renters to fork over cash as often as every year in a process some advocates are calling "double-dipping."

With a major winter storm expected, Hamilton residents can expect a bit more help with snow clearing this year, as the city's expanded sidewalk removal system comes into effect.

The city has issued a cold weather alert ahead of Friday's anticipated flash freeze, as this weekend's 'significant' winter storm roles into the Hamilton region. Elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools have also said they will be closed Friday.

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has issued a flood warning for the Lake Erie shoreline, with impacts expected in Port Colborne and Haldimand County. Schools in Niagara and several municipal buildings are closing Friday ahead of the storm.

Hamilton-based Alex Whorms, whose tune Christmas Morning is included in CBC Music's Best New Holiday Music list, shares her research into what makes a good winter song and fun facts about what's played this time of year.

Crown prosecutors say that they have 'stayed' charges related to animal use against Marineland, an aquatic theme park that allegedly held illegal dolphin shows. That means they won't pursue the charges filed by Niagara police in December 2021.

As many Canadians cope with extreme cold and heavy snow or are bracing for nasty weather, Environment Canada is urging them to reconsider holiday travel plans and to prepare for worst-case scenarios.

Someone broke into a home in Brantford, police say, and stole family heirlooms, jewellery, cash and presents just days before Christmas.

The Ontario government has officially removed environmental protection for approximately 2,995 hectares of Greenbelt land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) despite widespread opposition across several sectors of society.

New research shows "unprecedented" evidence that about 13,000 years ago, a settlement of Paleo Indigenous people in the Hamilton area hunted and butchered either a mammoth or a mastodon. The discovery is consistent with the oral histories of the Haudenosaunee people.

Matthew Wilson was killed in 2021 after being hit while walking on a road in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The driver received a $500 fine and nine months probation earlier this month for a charge related to the incident.

A major winter storm is coming to Hamilton, Environment Canada says, starting Thursday and lasting until Christmas Day.

Angry passengers were made to wait at Hamilton International Airport for 36 hours to board a plane to Varadero, Cuba.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has found four officers with Hamilton and Halton police "legally justified" in shooting and killing a man who killed three individuals across the GTA in September.

Hamilton’s Police Services Board is asking the city for a $12-million increase to the police budget for 2023, up 6.71 per cent from what the city paid for policing in 2022.

A multiple-alarm fire left over $500,000 in damages in downtown Hamilton and brought in fire crews “from across the city,” said Hamilton fire chief Dave Cunliffe.

Hamilton's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121 on Monday to ruin Damian Lillard's record-setting night.

Environment Canada is anticipating a flash freeze on Friday and heavy snowfall throughout the weekend. It suggests residents prepare for possible power outages.

Empowerment Squared, a Hamilton non-profit, held a screening of Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever at the Landmark Cinema in Jackson Square that brought together almost 120 parents and children.

The new, one-time grant is part of the province's $10-a-day deal with the government to create more spaces. Education Minister Stephen Lecce says it will help new and existing child-care operators offset initial costs of expanding or creating spaces

New court documents that include interview transcripts and search warrant requests are revealing why police investigators say they have reasonable grounds to accuse five world junior hockey players of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018.

With influenza sending Canadian children to hospital at rates far above normal for this time of year, there are calls for provincial health systems to be more transparent about pediatric flu deaths and the severity of communicable diseases because it can help people protect themselves and in this case, their kids.

Milan Borjan's reflex stop against the U.S. in January has earned the Canadian goalkeeper the Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands Award for save of the year.

Six Nations Public Works is currently conducting a survey “to confirm the need for transit and identify what’s important” when designing a service, it says.

As a country with a settler, colonial past and a complicated relationship with migrants, the issues that have unfolded in Qatar must give Canadians pause as we prepare to co-host our own World Cup in 2026, writes Sarah Adjekum.

A Hamilton jury has found Peter Khill not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter after shooting and killing Jon Styres in 2016.

Two people have been found dead, police say, inside a home on Hamilton's East 32nd Street.

Shirley Love, an 80-year-old woman who went missing on Tuesday, has been found dead, Hamilton police say.

A St. Catharines, Ont., family thought their dreams of buying a home and moving to Newfoundland were crushed after UPS lost their $14,000 bank draft.

CBC Hamilton can revel some of what jurors didn't hear since they're sequestered while they reach a verdict.

"The world is running out of water," Makasa Looking Horse says, and if we don't take action soon, it will be too late.

Families making plans to gather for the holidays should consider getting vaccinated against influenza now, health experts say, as well stay up to date on other immunizations as part of their preparations.

Rocky the dog, a 170-pound American Alsatian who attacked a St. Catharines city councillor and had thousands of supporters, will be returned to his owners with a promise he will wear a muzzle and remain on leash when off property.

Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing of Barrie, Ont., took a commanding 6-1 win over father-daughter duo Jaelyn and Jim Cotter of Vernon, B.C., to highlight the opening round of Mixed Doubles Super Series season stop in Brantford, Ont, on Thursday.

Teaching and research assistants at McMaster University have ended their strike, after voting in support of a new collective agreement. Not all workers agreed with the deal, however.

An Ontario judge has granted a permanent injunction to Foxgate Developments, barring demonstrators from the site of a controversial subdivision project in Caledonia, Ont.

A woman who went missing on Tuesday has still not been found and Hamilton police are asking residents to check their properties. She was last seen near her residence on Mount Albion Road walking south toward Glendale Golf Course.

Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for the City of Hamilton with slippery conditions expected beginning early Thursday morning.

In closing arguments Wednesday, the defence said Peter Khill is a military-trained man who pulled the trigger because he was afraid to die. The Crown said Khill decided in a moment’s notice he would murder whoever startled him at his rural Hamilton home in 2016.

Hamilton police shut down a shop selling illegal magic mushrooms, one day after it opened on Main Street East, the service said. Police say they also arrested two people as a result.

Bailey, a mother of two girls, ages 2 and 4, was last seen at the Weir Street North home where she was staying with her boyfriend on New Year's Day.

The average monthly cost of renting a home in Canada surpassed $2,000 for the first time ever in November, according to a report released Wednesday. The data shows that Canadian renters are dishing out an average of $2,024 every month to keep a roof over their heads.