Latest news with #MarkJohnson
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Flyer does not prove assisted death legal for minors in Canada
"Looks like the Canadian gov't reccomends (sic) offering MAiD to our children," says the caption of a May 20, 2025 video shared on Facebook. "Unbelievable! They have to be stopped!" The clip, viewed more than 35,000 times, includes images of what appears to be a brochure discussing a recommendation from Canadian lawmakers to expand assisted dying to mature minors. Similar claims citing the pamphlet as alleged proof of changes to MAID spread in online articles and on X, TikTok and Instagram. The posts gained traction as bills allowing assisted death are currently under debate in France and the United Kingdom. Canada first legalized MAID, intended for people with a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition, in 2016 (archived here). Different forms of euthanasia are also legal in other jurisdictions outside Canada. Initially, a person's natural death had to be "reasonably foreseeable" to be granted the procedure, but updates in 2021 opened eligibility to people whose deaths were not immediately imminent (archived here). False and misleading claims about MAID in Canada frequently surface online, often in posts alleging the program is being opened up to children. In 2023, a parliamentary committee did recommend that mature minors should be given the right to choose MAID. But as of June 3, 2025, people under 18 years old have never been eligible for the procedure in Canada. "The eligibility criteria set out in the Criminal Code require that a person must be a minimum of 18 years of age and capable of making decisions with respect to their health," said Mark Johnson, spokesman for Health Canada. "The Government of Canada is not considering any legislative changes to this requirement that minors cannot be assessed for nor receive MAID." Additionally, a reverse image search reveals that the pamphlet highlighted online was printed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 2024, as part of a push to discourage the expansion of access to the procedure (archived here). It did not come from the Canadian government, as the posts imply. A Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying studied issues related to MAID between 2021 and 2023 (archived here). During this time, individuals, experts and advocacy groups presented their points of view on what could be changed in Canada's approach to assisted death. Following the testimonies, the committee recommended that mature minors should be eligible to access MAID with safeguards in place, including restrictions limiting requests for people under 18 years old to only those whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable (archived here). The government responded to the recommendation with concerns about balancing minors' personal autonomy with safety, and it did not include any provision allowing medically assisted death for people under 18 (archived here). "This could only happen if legislation was introduced and passed to change the Criminal Code," said Alisha Hall, spokeswoman for Dying With Dignity Canada, a group that advocates for mature minors to be allowed the right to choose MAID. Hall told AFP that since Dying With Dignity's report to the committee in 2022, it had not made any further presentations to government bodies on MAID and mature minors (archived here). While some of the posts referencing the pamphlet also implied that MAID could be used by those dissatisfied with life, Canada requires an applicant to have a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition. According to the Justice Canada website, MAID applications need to be approved by at least two medical professionals, and information must be provided about how to withdraw a request (archived here). The ministry also says people applying for the procedure who do not have reasonably foreseeable deaths must be informed about alternative options of treatment. The latest annual report on MAID recorded that 95.9 percent of people who received the procedure in 2023 did so while their deaths were reasonably foreseeable, with cancer being the most frequently cited underlying condition (archived here). Those whose deaths were not foreseeable reported living with issues such as diabetes, frailty, autoimmune problems and chronic pain, according to the report. Some argue the availability of the procedure can leave other issues unaddressed, including those surrounding quality of life for people living with disability or in poverty. Media have previously reported on applicants seeking medically assisted death for social reasons including isolation, and practitioners struggling with requests for MAID from people living with disabilities or difficult economic situations. Offering MAID as an option for people suffering solely from a mental illness was slated to go into effect in 2024, but this change was postponed until at least March 2027 (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
AFP
3 hours ago
- General
- AFP
Flyer does not prove assisted death legal for minors in Canada
"Looks like the Canadian gov't reccomends (sic) offering MAiD to our children," says the caption of a May 20, 2025 video shared on Facebook. "Unbelievable! They have to be stopped!" The clip, viewed more than 35,000 times, includes images of what appears to be a brochure discussing a recommendation from Canadian lawmakers to expand assisted dying to mature minors. Similar claims citing the pamphlet as alleged proof of changes to MAID spread in online articles and on X, TikTok and Instagram. Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 3, 2025 Image Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 3, 2025 The posts gained traction as bills allowing assisted death are currently under debate in France and the United Kingdom. Canada first legalized MAID, intended for people with a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition, in 2016 (archived here). Different forms of euthanasia are also legal in other jurisdictions outside Canada. Initially, a person's natural death had to be "reasonably foreseeable" to be granted the procedure, but updates in 2021 opened eligibility to people whose deaths were not immediately imminent (archived here). False and misleading claims about MAID in Canada frequently surface online, often the program is being opened up to children. In 2023, a parliamentary committee did recommend that mature minors should be given the right to choose MAID. But as of June 3, 2025, people under 18 years old have never been eligible for the procedure in Canada. "The eligibility criteria set out in the Criminal Code require that a person must be a minimum of 18 years of age and capable of making decisions with respect to their health," said Mark Johnson, spokesman for Health Canada. "The Government of Canada is not considering any legislative changes to this requirement that minors cannot be assessed for nor receive MAID." Additionally, a reverse image search reveals that the pamphlet highlighted online was printed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 2024, as part of a push to discourage the expansion of access to the procedure (archived here). It did not come from the Canadian government, as the posts imply. Studies and recommendations A Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying studied issues related to MAID between 2021 and 2023 (archived here). During this time, individuals, experts and advocacy groups presented their points of view on what could be changed in Canada's approach to assisted death. Following the testimonies, the committee recommended that mature minors should be eligible to access MAID with safeguards in place, including restrictions limiting requests for people under 18 years old to only those whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable (archived here). The government responded to the recommendation with concerns about balancing minors' personal autonomy with safety, and it did not include any provision allowing medically assisted death for people under 18 (archived here). "This could only happen if legislation was introduced and passed to change the Criminal Code," said Alisha Hall, spokeswoman for Dying With Dignity Canada, a group that advocates for mature minors to be allowed the right to choose MAID. Hall told AFP that since Dying With Dignity's report to the committee in 2022, it had not made any further presentations to government bodies on MAID and mature minors (archived here). Eligibility While some of the posts referencing the pamphlet also implied that MAID could be used by those dissatisfied with life, Canada requires an applicant to have a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition. According to the Justice Canada website, MAID applications need to be approved by at least two medical professionals, and information must be provided about how to withdraw a request (archived here). The ministry also says people applying for the procedure who do not have reasonably foreseeable deaths must be informed about alternative options of treatment. The latest annual report on MAID recorded that 95.9 percent of people who received the procedure in 2023 did so while their deaths were reasonably foreseeable, with cancer being the most frequently cited underlying condition (archived here). Those whose deaths were not foreseeable reported living with issues such as diabetes, frailty, autoimmune problems and chronic pain, according to the report. Some argue the availability of the procedure can leave other issues unaddressed, including those surrounding quality of life for people living with disability or in poverty. Media have previously reported on applicants seeking medically assisted death for social reasons including isolation, and practitioners struggling with requests for MAID from people living with disabilities or difficult economic situations. Offering MAID as an option for people suffering solely from a mental illness was slated to go into effect in 2024, but this change was postponed until at least March 2027 (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
A Brief History of the ‘Galaxy Quest' TV Show
It's just a passing nugget in a new interview with producer Mark Johnson. But since it's been 10 years since we first heard about a potential TV show based on the much-loved 1999 cult classic Galaxy Quest, any update at all is worth seizing upon. Speaking to Deadline, Johnson was asked about the most recent iteration of the project. In 2023, we learned it was still in the works at at Paramount+, the home of Star Trek's recent TV renaissance. He couched his response in a way that also covered a TV show based on the recent Oscar-winning drama The Holdovers: 'Both are being written, so we'll see.' At least he didn't say 'the Galaxy Quest TV show is dead in the water,' which might be what some fans had started to think. The show was first announced a decade ago; a brief Variety article published April 21, 2015, wrote that 'Robert Gordon, who co-wrote the DreamWorks feature with David Howard, is in negotiations to work on the TV adaptation, as are original director Dean Parisot and executive producers Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein.' No further details were given, but the trade speculated it would be a re-telling of the movie's story spread out across a season of episodes. (For the three people who haven't seen Galaxy Quest, it's about the washed-up stars of a cult-beloved sci-fi series; aliens, believing the show to be real, recruit the actors to help win a real-life intergalactic conflict.) A few months later, in August 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported the Galaxy Quest TV show was in development at Amazon. By 2017, comedian Paul Scheer had come aboard the project. He spoke about it to Slashfilm then and explained a bit more about his vision. 'Right now, I just handed in my first script to Amazon, so I'm in that zone. I'm excited about it … The thing I keep on saying about it, without giving too much away—because it's going to be so long before people get to see it, I don't want people to get too burnt out on me telling you what it's about before it gets to that point— but for me, it was really important to do service to a Galaxy Quest story that gives you everything that you want and indoctrinates people who have never seen Galaxy Quest into what the fun of that world is … and also to continue the story of our original characters and have consequences from the first film.' He also noted that the show would be 'mixing two casts. It's separate kind of adventures that kind of merge, and I'm looking at this first season not as episodic, but as a serialized story. So, the only way I've been looking at it is, using everything from the first movie and making the reasons for everything not just—I want to avoid anything that could be viewed as a reboot for reboot's sake. There are real reasons behind these choices—maybe too much so.' Talking to the Wrap in 2018, Scheer said it would be a good-natured spoof not just of Star Trek, but also Star Wars and nerdy fandom at large. 'My pitch for Galaxy Quest was, 'How can we kind of blow this out and pay off things for the fans that love Galaxy Quest, but more importantly—and the thing that I really wanted to do is—appeal to the 'me' of now. Who's the 18-year-old version of me that loved Galaxy Quest now? What would they want to see? Because I think that that is a movie that we haven't really made yet: the Tropic Thunder in the world of modern-day science fiction … When Galaxy Quest came out, it was a niche thing, Star Trek fandom is a niche thing. Now it is selling out Hall H in Comic-Con, so that's kind of the impetus for the continuation.' That all sounded very promising, but after 2018, Galaxy Quest more or less went radio silent. Then in 2023—after covid, but just before the summer of industry strikes—fans got a fresh update. Variety wrote that the show had shifted to Paramount+, with only Johnson still attached. That article also noted that the original push to adapt the movie had faded after the death of Alan Rickman, but he passed in early 2016—long before Scheer, who is seemingly no longer involved, was talking about his pitch for the show. Variety's 2023 story said Paramount+ and Paramount Television Studios were 'in the nascent stages of adapting the cult classic comedy film into a television show.' It also noted 'there have [since 2015] been various writers attached to the project, though none of their versions have ultimately gone forward.' Today's Deadline interview with Johnson notes that Paramount Television Studios is no more, but by Grabthar's Hammer, the Galaxy Quest TV show is seemingly still holding on. If there are any future developments besides the fact that it's 'being written,' we will certainly keep you posted. Do you think there's hope for this one—and will it be worth the wait if it ever happens?
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Covington flags put pedestrian safety in their own hands
COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — This spring, the City of Covington is trying a new program that allows pedestrians to take safety into their own hands. They're called 'See Me Flags,' and they're posted at intersections around the city's downtown area. 'Sometimes we forget our little Boston Street… is actually State Highway 21,' Covington Mayor Mark Johnson told WGNO News. 'It's a state highway.' 26 years later, advocates still hope for bus crash memorial in New Orleans' City Park 'See Me Flags' is a company based in Virginia that provides reflective safety flags and holders which can be stationed at virtually any intersection. On the company's website, it boasts of 'See Me Flags' being used in cities from coast to coast. Using the flags is easy. Pedestrians grab a flag and wave it as they cross intersections while still obeying all traffic laws. In these days of cellphones and video screens on car dashboards, the flags are intended to help pedestrians make sure drivers see them. 'Probably just as important is that seeing the flags, the pedestrians are starting to realize, 'Hey, I need to be careful here when I'm crossing the street.' Even if they don't use the flag, it raises their awareness, and I think that's been beneficial,' Johnson said. Mandeville Rotary Club spreads patriotism with flags There's also the cost. Any city leader will tell you that improving infrastructure to protect pedestrians can cost hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars. But a starter set for the 'See Me Flags' is about $ may be hiding potential 'city-killer' asteroid, researchers claim Stormy Thursday morning Covington flags put pedestrian safety in their own hands Monument to honor Australian and American surfers murdered in Baja unveiled Ford recalling over 1 million vehicles: Here's why Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mark Johnson's attorney calls firing of former Channel 5 meteorologist 'unfounded'
An attorney representing Mark Johnson, the recently fired News 5 Cleveland WEWS meteorologist, called Johnson's firing "unfounded and disappointing," according to a statement obtained by 'Mark Johnson has built a distinguished reputation over three decades as a trusted and respected meteorologist in the community,' Daniel Levin of Prominent Brand + Talent said in the statement. 'His work has earned him the public trust and internal recognition and his performance evaluations have always been exemplary – consistently reflecting his dedication, reliability and value to Scripps and the WEWS family." Levin noted how community organizations and viewers have all appreciated Johnson's commitment to public service throughout the years, while also dismissing online speculation surrounding Johnson's firing. 'I have represented Mark for over 25 years,' Levin said in the statement. 'Mark is a model professional. Of conduct that would be deemed inappropriate, there's none of that.' Johnson's firing was announced by News 5 Cleveland on its website May 9. "We want our audiences to know that News 5 and its parent company, Scripps, take protecting our audiences' trust very seriously by requiring our employees to adhere to the highest ethical standards," Steve Weinstein, WEWS vice president and general manager, said in the statement. "We cannot provide further details, as this is a personnel matter.' Johnson joined News 5 in 1993 where he received Emmy Awards for his work in weather forecasting. He graduated from Kent State University in 1988, according to his LinkedIn profile. Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@ or on Twitter @athompsonABJ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former News 5 meteorologist Mark Johnson's attorney responds to firing
