Canadian truckers protest

Stalemate

Blaring truck horns were silenced Feb. 7 after an Ontario judge granted a 10-day injunction to block protesting truckers gathered in downtown Ottawa from blowing their horns. Mayor Jim Watson has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ramp up the government’s response to the Freedom Convoy of semitrucks and other vehicles that arrived Jan. 29 in Ottawa, Ontario. Canadian truckers have been protesting the country’s stringent COVID-19 restrictions, particularly the need for truckers to quarantine for two weeks after returning from the U.S. if they are not vaccinated. Protesters waving Canadian flags and carrying slogans on their vehicles blocked the Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, backing up traffic for miles. The bridge is one of Canada’s busiest border crossings and serves as a major route for trucking. Trudeau accused the protesters of trying to derail Canada’s democracy.

Peng sighting

Three-time Olympian and high-ranking Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai gave an hourlong interview to French sports newspaper L’Equipe. A Chinese Olympic Committee official monitored pre-submitted questions and sat through the interview, as well. Peng downplayed concerns about her three-week disappearance from the public eye in November just after she made a social media post accusing a former Chinese government official of sexual assault. Now she says she never made such an accusation. When asked if authorities retaliated against the post, Peng repeated a party line: Sports and politics should not mix.

The Oscars

Two films with big-screen vistas produced by small-screen streaming services headline the ballots for this year’s Oscars. Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, a gothic Western directed by Jane Campion, led nominations to the 94th Academy Awards with 12 nods, including best picture, best director, and recognition for all of its top actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. HBO Max’s Dune, a sci-fi epic directed by Denis Villeneuve, followed closely with 10 nominations spread out largely in the technical categories that rewarded Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, yet overlooked his directorial contribution. The nominees for best picture are: Belfast, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, Licorice Pizza, King Richard, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story.

Payroll slump

Companies in the U.S. had fewer workers on their payrolls last month for the first time since December 2020. The Automatic Data Processing National Employment Report showed that private payrolls dropped by 301,000 jobs in January following a December increase of nearly 800,000. The number includes employees who either lost their jobs or simply were unpaid during the survey due to sick leave or unpaid leave. Experts have suggested that surging Omicron infections have thrown a wrench in commerce by forcing more employees to call in sick.