■ CANADA
Smoking crackdown starts
Ottawa aims to bring the number of smokers down from 19 percent of the population to 12 percent by 2011 through tougher smoking bans and by clamping down on cigarette smuggling. "Reaching a 12 percent smoking rate is a very ambitious goal, but it is by no means unrealistic," Health Minister Tony Clement said on Monday. The government plans to reduce the 15 percent smoking rate among 15 to 19-year-olds to 9 percent, which could prove difficult because it is the only age group that has not cut back on smoking in the past few years. It also wants to increase the number who quit smoking to 1.5 million and slash those exposed to secondary smoke from 28 percent of the population to 20 percent.
■ UNITED STATES
Lightning kills matron
A woman who was to serve as the matron of honor at her best friend's wedding in Newark, New Jersey, was struck by lightning and killed during the rehearsal dinner on the eve of the ceremony. Cindy Osler, 45, had gone outside with the best man on Friday night to check their car windows when she was hit by lightning. "Everybody was so happy, and then it became a nightmare," said Dave Tarnowski, the best man. The bolt tore through the pavement and knocked Tarnowski down. The wedding was postponed indefinitely after Osler's death.
■ UNITED STATES
Topless car wash fools men
Male drivers who paid US$5 for a topless car wash in Brookhaven, New York, ended up getting doused with disappointment. Scantily clad women held up signs along a parkway advertising the car wash on Sunday and telling the drivers where to go. But hidden behind a big blue tarp were shirtless male firefighters who were washing the cars. "A little bit of a bait-and-switch," Assistant Chief Donald Prince admitted. "All the guys back there are all topless." The money raised will go to school booster clubs and charities, the Brookhaven fire department said.
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