PARIS (AP) — French Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that some 300,000 spectators will be able to attend the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics, about half the size of what was originally planned.

The giant show on the River Seine on July 26 will mark the first time that an opening ceremony is held outside of a usual stadium setting.

It will also involve a massive security operation, with tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed.

The athletes will be paraded through

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Rain, snowmelt spur flooding in southwestern B.C.

Days of heavy rain and snowmelt from record-high temperatures have pushed rivers over their banks, prompting flooding and warnings in southwestern B.C.

The village of Pemberton is under a state of local emergency, with six rural properties under evacuation order and several dozen more under alert, including a mobile home park. Residents there have been

Five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team are expected to plead not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault, according to statements from their lawyers.

Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenceman Cal Foote said through their legal representatives Tuesday that they have arrangements to surrender and face sexual assault charges.

Alex Formenton, a former Ottawa Senators forward who has been playing in Switzerland, surrendered to police in London, Ontario, on

EDMONTON — An interprovincial wine war is fermenting after Alberta’s liquor wholesaler told vintners in British Columbia that it won’t stock their products in retail stores unless they stop shipping it directly to consumers.

“They are really making a threat,” said Al Hudec, a lawyer hired by winemakers to push back against the Alberta move.

“The B.C. wineries are not breaking any laws in Alberta. This is just muscling the wineries.”

Last week, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, which regulates

A case of old hockey cards uncovered in a Regina home is being hailed as a “once-in-a-generation” treasure trove of the game’s Great One.

And the bidding has already topped $1 million.

Jason Simonds, the sports consignment director at Heritage Auctions, says the lot contains 16 sealed boxes of O-Pee-Chee’s 1979-80 hockey card collection, amounting to more than 10,000 cards.

Odds suggest that means there

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — An inquiry that investigated why a former soldier in Nova Scotia killed three family members and himself in 2017 is calling on Ottawa and the province to change the way health records are shared and close gaps in the firearms licensing system.

The much-delayed final report from the provincial fatality inquiry, released Wednesday, includes 25 recommendations aimed at improving support for veterans like Lionel Desmond.

“This has been an arduous and emotional process for everyone involved, but hopefully also a

Both Toronto school boards have rescheduled their Professional Activity Day (P.A. Day) due to a solar eclipse in April.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted 21-1 in favour Wednesday night to revise its school calendar by moving its April 19 P.A. Day “out of an abundance of caution” so that students can stay home on April 8, the day of the eclipse.

“Looking directly at the sun during the eclipse, without appropriate protection, can lead to serious

Canada’s economy appears to have ended 2023 on a stronger note than expected, which economists say could push back the timeline for interest rate cuts this year.

Statistics Canada reported Wednesday the economy grew 0.2 per cent in November, marking the first expansion in six months.

A preliminary estimate suggests real gross domestic product increased 1.2 per cent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter, following a decline of a similar magnitude in the third quarter.

That would bring economic growth in 20

TOKYO (AP) — Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympics organizing committee member, appeared in a court on Wednesday and said he was not guilty of taking bribes connected to the Tokyo Games.

A former executive with the u, Takahashi is charged with accepting around 198 million yen ($1.4 million) in exchange for awarding Olympic contracts for the Tokyo Games held in 2021.

Wearing a gray suit and blue tie, Takahashi sat silently while one of his defense lawyers read from a document