Politics

As the Northern Hemisphere prepares to celebrate the Summer Solstice, the longest day of 2013, on June 21, HuffPost Canada decided to take a look at what makes the annual event so special: druids partying at Stonehenge, yogis in Times Square and all manner of mind-blowing, pagan awesomeness.The summer solstice marks the moment of the year when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most toward the sun, but it's also an opportunity for fans of ancient religions, nature photographers and freaks from around the globe to get outside and celebrate the first day of summer.More...

My first reaction on hearing James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos" had died was stunned disbelief. Denial, stonewalling, shock, avoidance -- I tried all the techniques Tony Soprano used in his sessions with Dr. Melfi. With enough displays of stubbornness and willful blindness, I could make the news of Gandolfini's death go away, right?We can't make it go away. And soon denial cratered into a wave of sadness for his family, his friends and those who knew him in his professional and personal lives. I can only imagine the shock and heartbreak they are going through Wednesday evening.More...

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Thus ends a haunting poem by Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Oliver, and so begins an illuminating conversation. Harvard Business School asks its students this probing and quietly insistent question every year in its Portrait Project. Likely, the purpose is multifold. A potential goal is to preserve students' candid responses for the Internet's version of antiquity, both as a consecration of its participants and as an inspiration for those that follow.More...

Journalist Michael Hastings, who died Tuesday in a Los Angeles car crash, was a frequent guest on HuffPost Live, appearing at least a dozen times in the network's first ten months on the air. Host Jacob Soboroff remembered Hastings Wednesday night, delivering a tribute featuring clips of Hastings' appearances -- "always being his cantankerous self," as Soboroff put it -- and Soboroff's own personal memories.Soboroff described Hastings as "a friend of this broadcast" and said he was "a legend in the control room."More...

MONTRÉAL - L'Impact avait des choses à se faire pardonner. C'est maintenant chose faite. Après avoir offert une performance désolante samedi dernier, à Columbus, la formation montréalaise a comblé ses 17 694 partisans avec une prestation sans faille dans une éclatante victoire de 2-0 contre le Dynamo de Houston.Felipe, son deuxième, et Marco Di Vaio, son 10e, qui lui permet de rejoindre l'attaquant de l'Union de Philadelphie Jack McInerney en tête des buteurs du circuit Garber, ont marqué les filets des locaux, qui sont toujours invaincus en sept rencontres au stade Saputo.L'Impact (9-3-2) accroît ainsi son avance en tête de l'Association Est devant les Red Bulls de New York, qu'ils dominent de quatre points avec deux matchs en mains.Privé de son entraîneur-chef Marco Schällibaum et de son général en défensive Alessandro Nesta, suspendus, le onze montréalais a été amorphe dans sa défaite de 2-0 contre le Crew le week-end dernier. Mercredi, il n'a pas tardé à faire sentir sa présence. L'Impact a disputé à toute fin pratique le premier quart d'heure seul sur le terrain, bénéficiant d'au moins cinq bonnes chances de marquer. Daniele Paponi, titulaire à la place d'un Andrew Wenger en manque de finition à Columbus, en a obtenu au moins trois à lui seul.C'est finalement Felipe qui ouvrira la marque à la 14e minute. Habilement alimenté par une passe de classe mondiale de Patrice Bernier, Felipe a fendu la défensive du Dynamo (6-5-4) avant de déjouer Tally Hall entre ses jambes.Les visiteurs ont eu la chance de créer l'égalité six minutes plus tard, quand Matteo Ferrari a écopé d'un carton jaune fort douteux de l'arbitre Chris Penso dans la surface. Sur le penalty qui a suivi, Giles Barnes a envoyé son tir chez les spectatuers logés derrière le filet.L'Impact a poursuivi sa pression incessante dès la reprise, mais Hall se dressera deux fois devant Di Vaio pour garder son équipe dans le match. L'Italien réussira finalement à doubler l'avance des siens à la 32e. Après un corner du Dynamo repoussé par la défensive de l'Impact, le défenseur Corey Ashe a commis toute une bourde en ratant sa passe arrière, laissant tout le loisir à Di Vaio de s'amener seul devant Hall, qu'il déjouera d'un petit lobe.Si le Dynamo a été un peu plus incisif en deuxième demie, l'Impact s'est fabriqué les meilleures occasions. Di Vaio a notamment animé le spectacle à la 62e, profitant de deux bonnes chances de marquer coup sur coup.Il a d'abord redirigé de la tête un centre de Sanna Nyassi sur la transversale. Insatisfait, l'Italien a sauté sur son propre retour, décochant un violent tir bas, qui a tout juste raté la gauche du filet.Nyassi, souvent critiqué pour ses nombreuses occasions ratées, a connu un fort match, alimentant de brillante façon les attaquants montréalais tout au long de la soirée.Le retour de Nesta dans la formation aura aussi consolidé la défense montréalaise. Avec Nesta et Ferrari dans l'axe, Schällibaum a pu retourner Hassoun Camara sur l'aile droite, où il semble plus à l'aise. Complété par Jeb Brovsky sur la gauche, cette formation défensive de l'Impact est bien difficile à percer.More...

By Nikole Hannah-Jones, ProPublica It took numerous courtroom battles, a contempt of court threat and the withholding of millions in federal dollars, but Westchester County finally has a law banning discrimination against those who pay their rent with federal assistance. The Board of Legislators for the suburban New York county voted 15-2 Monday night to pass the legislation required by a 2009 settlement with the federal government over Westchester's failures to comply with fair housing laws. The Board's vote ends one critical scuffle in an escalating conflict chronicled last fall by ProPublica that began three years ago this month when Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino vetoed legislation that would have banned housing discrimination based on income. The federal government, which negotiated the 2009 settlement with the county, contended that Astorino's veto violated the terms of the deal. When the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began withholding millions in federal grants over the veto and other issues, Astorino turned to the courts. He lost. Still, Astorino persisted in his efforts to scuttle the ban – one that made it unlawful for landlords to deny housing to potential renters simply because they received financial assistance from the federal government. In April, the U.S. Attorney's Office turned up the heat when it threatened to seek a contempt of court ruling against the county if Astorino did not agree to reintroduce and sign the law. Facing large fines against both him and the county, Astorino submitted the legislation a few days later. Still, Astorino's fire wasn't doused. As the board contemplated the law, Astorino asked last week for funding to work on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The board tabled his request and then passed the legislation days later. The federal government won't have long to relish its victory. The battle with Astorino will now center on requirements that the county dismantle zoning that makes it difficult for African Americans and Latinos to find housing in white areas. And the zoning issue, which is largely seen as having the greatest potential to integrate housing in the highly segregated county, could well prove to be the greater conflict. Follow @nhannahjones

L'ex-président du comité exécutif de Montréal Jean Fortier se joint à l'équipe de la candidate à la mairie Mélanie Joly. M. Fortier a occupé son poste au comité exécutif de 1998 à 2001 sous l'administration du maire Pierre Bourque.Il doit annoncer formellement jeudi matin à 11 heures qu'il se range derrière l'avocate de 34 ans.More...

NANAIMO, B.C. - Fisheries and Oceans Canada says biologists have spotted a rare, endangered whale in British Columbia waters for the first time in more than 60 years.North Pacific right whales were once abundant between B.C. and the Bering Sea before they were hunted to near extinction before the 20th century.They are now listed as endangered in Canada and scientists believe only a few hundred may remain alive, mainly in the western north Pacific.Fisheries and Oceans Canada says biologist James Pilkington spotted one of the whales west of Haida Gwaii on June 9 while aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Arrow Post.Pilkington and his fellow biologists John Ford and Graeme Eliis then observed the animal for a total of 17 hours over the next few days as it foraged for zooplankton on the ocean's surface.The federal agency says sightings of the whale are rare, and the animal has been recorded in Canadian waters only six times during the past century."This is a very exciting discovery. Our research group has conducted over 50,000 kilometres of whale surveys off the B.C. coast over the past 10 years and have sighted thousands of whales, but this is the first North Pacific right whale," Ford said in a statement."It was wonderful to see it and to confirm that the species still exists in Canadian waters."More...

On Sunday I joined a gym for the first time. When the receptionist asked me why I was joining, I shrugged and said, "It's Father's Day." It seemed as good a reason as any, and I don't always like to satisfy people's curiosity.There are few things in my life that have filled me with as much terror as the gym. As a gay kid, I was most afraid of being "found out" in the locker room. I learned to fix my gaze rigidly to the cinderblock wall and vowed never to return once I earned my mandatory P.E. credit. My last competitive sport was tee ball. My parents signed me up for baseball and swimming lessons and even golf, but all efforts were as productive as me closing my eyes whenever a football came hurtling toward me. If I looked asleep, I figured they would stop throwing things at my face. I'd rather be alone with a book, or a computer screen, or a pen and a piece of paper.More...

A year ago I wrote a HuffPost blog post decrying the apparent stall in LGBT research integration at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Now I'm happy to say NIH is moving forward with good speed on this topic.Why is NIH integration of LGBT health research important? Because health research is the only way we'll find answers to the persistent health disparities we see across the LGBT population. Why do we smoke cigarettes at rates that are 68-percent higher than the general population? Can we do anything to protect against the spike in mental health problems after negative legislation is passed in our states? How can transgender people be assured of welcoming health care? What can be done about the high level of social isolation that LGBT elders report? And what can be done about the horrific LGBT youth suicide rates? If data tells the story of our lives, then research is the first step in writing happier endings.More...