Five stories in the news today, Dec. 16

By The Canadian Press

Five stories in the news today, Dec. 16, from The Canadian Press:

N. KOREA SENTENCES CANADIAN PASTOR TO LIFE

A North Korean court has sentenced a Canadian pastor to life in prison for what it called crimes against the state.Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, who pastors the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was given the sentence after a brief trial before the country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday.

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LOW LOONIE REDUCING TRAVEL TO U.S. SUNBELT

The American sunbelt is expected to feel a chill this winter from Canada’s weakened economy and a loonie that’s lost more than a quarter of its value in the past couple of years. Overnight cross-border travel was down about nine per cent in the first nine months of the year over the same period last year. But more Canadians are likely thinking twice about forays to top destinations in Florida, Arizona, California and Texas this winter given the Canadian dollar is expected to drop even further.

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NEW N.W.T. PREMIER TO BE CHOSEN TODAY

Politicians in the Northwest Territories are to choose a new premier this morning. Under the rules of the territory’s consensus government, the premier is picked by members of the legislature who won seats in the Nov. 23 election. Two men are running — incumbent premier Bob McLeod and challenger Glen Abernethy.

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TRUMP: NO THIRD-PARTY RUN FOR ME

Donald Trump has explicitly ruled out running as an independent, downplaying the scare scenario for Republicans that he might split the party’s support in next year’s presidential election.He made the promise in a candidates’ debate, which drew claps from a conservative radio host who helped moderate the CNN-hosted event Tuesday.

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ISOLATED RESERVE WILL GET ROAD, MINISTER SAYS

Canada’s new indigenous affairs minister says an isolated reserve under one of the country’s longest boil-water advisories will get a much-needed lifeline to the rest of the country. Carolyn Bennett says the federal government is committed to seeing an all-weather road built to connect the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to the mainland. The reserve on the Manitoba-Ontario boundary was cut off a century ago during construction of an aqueduct which carries fresh water to Winnipeg.

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