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5 at 5: Germany dominates Brazil at the World Cup

Also: Omar Khadr wins appeal, pot is legal in Washington state and other top stories this afternoon

Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar can not stop a shot by Germany's Thomas Mueller, background, to score his side's first goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Germany at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazil’s goalkeeper Julio Cesar can not stop a shot by Germany’s Thomas Mueller, background, to score his side’s first goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Germany at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil onTuesday, July 8, 2014. (Andre Penner/AP)

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

Things are not looking good for Brazil at the World Cup. Is there a mercy rule in international soccer? Brazil might hope so after giving up five goals to Germany in the first half of semifinal play Tuesday afternoon. The score stood at 5-0 for Germany by halftime, meaning Germany will almost certainly advance to the World Cup final, leaving host nation Brazil to play for a disappointing third place. Tomorrow, the Netherlands take on Argentina in the other semifinal matchup.

Justice committee prostitution hearings, Day 2. A House of Commons committee is in its second of four days of hearings on the Conservative’s proposed prostitution bill, which will replace the one struck down by the Supreme Court last year. Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson told the committee that the government’s pledge of $20 million over five years to help women get out of prostitution would be “woefully inadequate” when spread across the entire country. And, in case you missed it yesterday, people are still talking about Conservative MP Robert Goguen’s cringe-worthy question to Timea Nagy, a former sex worker who was trafficked and gang raped.

Appeal court finds in favour of Omar Khadr, says he should be transfered to a provincial jail. The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled that Khadr should be transfered out of a federal prison and into a provincial one for the remainder of his sentence. In a unanimous decision, Alberta’s highest court ruled that an earlier judge had mistakenly interpreted the International Transfer of Offenders Act when placing Khadr in federal prison. The Alberta government says it’s reviewing the decision.

Israel bombs Gaza sites, Palestine responds with missile attacks. The situation in Gaza deteriorated Tuesday after Israel launched air strikes at 160 targets in Gaza and militants in Gaza lobbed missiles into populated areas in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the attacks on Israel. At least 14 were killed in Gaza, according to witness reports. Violence between Israel and Palestine has been renewed in the last week after three missing Israeli teens were found dead in the West Bank in June.

Washington State begins selling legal pot today. New laws come into effect today that allow individuals to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana in Washington State. Five stores hawking the legal pot were slated to open across the state today, two of them in Seattle. While Washington state laws permit marijuana purchase, they remain at odds with U.S. federal laws prohibiting pot sales. In related news, Canadian marijuana activist Mark Emery will return to Canada later this week after being imprisoned in the U.S. for five years.

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