Need to know

5 at 5: B.C. teachers are officially on strike

Also: Northern Gateway decision, Rob Ford is almost back and a wild weather update

Hundreds of B.C. teachers, parents and other union supporters rallied on the lawn of the B.C. Legislature Monday, June 16, 2014 in Victoria to protest against Premier Christy Clark and the governments latest contract offer. A full-scale teachers strike across British Columbia appeared imminent Monday as the union and government continued to clash despite three days of negotiations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Hundreds of B.C. teachers, parents and other union supporters rallied on the lawn of the B.C. Legislature on Monday, June 16, 2014 in Victoria to protest against Premier Christy Clark and the governments latest contract offer. (Chad Hipolito/CP)

Here are five of the top stories making headlines this afternoon.

B.C. teachers are officially on strike. As predicted, B.C. teachers walked off the job today, meaning an early end to the school year for students in the province. A speedy deal at this point looks unlikely as the union says the province is not making any meaningful concessions and the province says the teachers are not accepting a perfectly good offer. Key sticking points are wages, class sizes and support services.

Still waiting for that decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline project. The federal government must make a decision on Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline project today. Though we know the decision will come sometime after 4 p.m. EST, when markets close in Toronto, there is no further indication of when the announcement will come, or how. Even if the government does approve the project—which would carry oil from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C.—it’s just one tick in the box. To actually get the pipeline built, the federal government will have to negotiate with the B.C. and Alberta governments, First Nations groups, as well federal opposition parties—not to mention all of the environmentalists who oppose the project. Update: The pipeline was approved, with 209 conditions.

Rob Ford announces his return and promises many interviews. The relative peace at Toronto City Hall could come to an end on June 30, the day Toronto Mayor Rob Ford promises to return from his stint in rehab. Ford, on Tuesday, asked for the keys to his office back by 1 p.m. on June 1. The locks were changed when Ford announced he was entering an addictions treatment facility a month ago. In an interesting move, Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, also promised Rob Ford would provide one-on-one interviews with each and every media outlet. This would be a marked change in practice for a mayor who is more likely to run from media than to speak with them.

U.S. says it has arrested suspected ringleader of Benghazi attacks. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the U.S. has captured the man they believe to be behind the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya in 2012, in which four Americans—including the U.S. ambassador to the country—were killed. Ahmed Abu Khatallah was captured outside Benghazi during an operation on Sunday, the president said. Khatallah is on his way back to America by ship. He will be charged and tried under the U.S. justice system.

Four men struck by lightning at golf course north of Toronto. Four golfers at the Whitchurch-Stouffville course north of Toronto were struck by lightning Tuesday morning. Of the four, one of the men had no vital signs, but fellow golfers were able to preform CRP and revived him. The lightning was part of a system that prompted thunder storm and tornado warnings in southern Ontario. Elsewhere in weather news, Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning in southern Alberta, which isn’t the forecast residents want to hear as they approach the anniversary of last year’s devastating floods.

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