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Stories we’re watching: Guilty plea in the Moncton RCMP murders

And other top stories making headlines this afternoon

Pallbearers carry the casket of one of three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers killed in a shooting in Moncton, N.B. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Pallbearers carry the casket of one of three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers killed in a shooting in Moncton, N.B. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

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

Justin Bourque pleads guilty to first-degree murder. Bourque, 24, pleaded guilty to the murders of three RCMP officers in Moncton, N.B. and to two additional counts of attempted murder Friday. Constables Dave Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan and Douglas Larche were shot and killed on June 4 after they responded to calls of an armed man roaming a residential neighbourhood in Moncton. Constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen were also wounded when they responded to the call. Bourque will return to court on Oct. 27 for victim impact statements and pre-sentencing documents.

Alberta Opposition calls for public inquiry into Alison Redford’s travel expenses. Having the RCMP look over the results of a damning auditor general’s report into the former premier’s travel expenses isn’t enough for Wildrose leader Danielle Smith. The Opposition leader wants a full public inquiry. The provincial NDP and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation are calling for an inquiry as well. In case you need a review of the report, Nick Taylor Vasiey pulls out five of the key points over here.

U.S. carries out first airstrikes in Iraq as humanitarian crisis worsens. The U.S. dropped the first bombs near the city of Irbil Friday, where ISIS fighters are making a push towards the capital of the Kurdish autonomous zone. As ISIS makes its push, thousands of already displaced Iraqis were forced to flee again to avoid the conflict. The U.S. also dropped humanitarian supplies to thousands of Yazidis citizens, a minority group that has been trapped on a northern mountain since the weekend when they were pushed out of their homes by ISIS militants. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says he supports the U.S. action and notes that Canada’s military involvement has not yet been requested.

Nigeria declares state of emergency over Ebola outbreak. Nigeria is officially in a state of emergency and will approve extra funds to prevent further spread of the Ebola virus, President Goodluck Jonathan announced Friday. The move comes after two people have died from the virus in Nigeria and another seven people have confirmed cases of Ebola. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation. According to the most recent numbers from the World Health Organization, there have been 1,711 cases of Ebola in West Africa since December 2013, including 932 deaths so far.

Milos Ranoic set to play in Rogers Cup quarter-final. Ranoic faces off against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the Rogers Cup quarter-final Friday evening in front of a home-town crowd in Toronto. Should he win, it’s very possible that Ranoic will, again, face Roger Federer in the semi-final. The two faced off in the Wimbledon semi-final less than a month ago, with the veteran Federer coming out on top.

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