In the news today: Middle East tensions, Toronto shooting tribute, ticks on the rise

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

U.S. and Iran vie for Strait of Hormuz, waterway key to global energy supplies, in latest attacks

The United States and Iran each assert they control the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks stretching across the wider Middle East.

The attacks that continued into Monday morning further threatened any diplomacy to end the war.

The attacks underline that the waterway, which once saw a fifth of the world’s traded crude oil and natural gas pass through it, remains the key issue in negotiations.

Iran and the U.S. are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period of an interim deal that was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war.

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Turbulent month of economic data leaves Bank of Canada right back where it started

The Bank of Canada is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive decision this week, even as renewed hostilities in the Middle East threaten to reignite inflation.

The annual rate of inflation in May topped three per cent for the first time since late 2023 as the global oil shock from the conflict pushed gas prices higher.

Tony Stillo of Oxford Economics says if you had asked him about the inflation forecast a week ago, he would’ve said a tentative peace deal in the Middle East should keep prices under wraps.

But he says news that the United States and Iran have been launching new strikes threatens to undo recent progress at the pumps.

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CN Tower dims lights in tribute after deadly shooting at Toronto street festival

Toronto’s iconic CN Tower paid tribute late Sunday to the victims of the shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair festival that left two people dead and sent thousands running for cover.

Officials on social media said the tower’s bright lights would dim at the top of every hour following Saturday’s shooting that drew roughly 13,000 people at the time the violence erupted.

The street festival celebrating Latin culture was cut short as Toronto police continued to investigate the sudden gunfire that sent four people to hospital with serious injuries.

As of early Monday, no suspects have been identified or arrested.

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Lyme disease isn’t the only tick-borne illness. Anaplasmosis is on the rise: doctors

A paper published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says another illness besides Lyme disease is on the rise as tick populations increase in Canada. 

Senior author Dr. Michael Quon says it’s important physicians consider anaplasmosis as a possible diagnosis for patients with unexplained fever who live in areas where ticks are endemic. 

Quon and his colleagues at the Ottawa Hospital describe the case of a 79-year-old man who didn’t remember being bitten by a tick, but was given the antibiotic doxycycline for anaplasmosis and he made a full recovery. 

The Public Health Agency of Canada says climate change is increasing the number of blacklegged ticks that transmit both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, especially in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. 

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New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78, his family says

Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who was best known for his roles in “Jurassic Park” and “The Piano,” has died at age 78.

The New Zealand actor was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s.

Neill said he had a rare type of lymphoma in 2023, though his family says he was cancer-free when he died Monday, but the statement didn’t list a cause.

In addition to “Jurassic Park” and two of its followups, his films included the thriller at sea “Dead Calm,” the period romance “The Piano” and the sci-fi horror “Event Horizon.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.