Daily News Roundup

August 1, 2019

Canadian police are scaling back the manhunt for two teenagers suspected of killing three people, including Sydney man Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese.
Image: CityNews Edmonton

THURSDAY AUGUST 1

The creator of the YouTube channel ‘King of Random’, with 11 million subscribers, has died in a paragliding crash in Utah. 

Grant Thomspon, 28, was found dead on Monday, Washington county police said. 

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Thompson’s videos ranged from filling a balloon with liquid nitrogen to making a laser-assisted blowgun. 

His most popular video was about making gummy lollies into the shape of Lego blocks. 

Thompson made headlines last year about complaints about explosions in his suburban Salt Lake City backyard that brought criminal charges. 

He then agreed to make safety-themed videos as part of a plea deal. 

Many of his subscribers expressed their condolences, saying his unconventional approach sparked their interest in science. 

Thompson had been making videos since 2010. 

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Canadian police are scaling back the manhunt for two teenagers suspected of killing three people, including Sydney man Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they would not abandon the hunt for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, however specialised teams and military assets were being pulled out of the search in remote northern Manitoba. 

“To be clear, we are not ending this search,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said. 

She said the scaled-back search would now focus on the town of Gillam, where the pair’s burning car was found last week. 

She believed there was a possibility the suspects had some sort of assistance in fleeing the area. 

“Everything is possible at this state,” she said. 

“The North part of the province is a very unforgiving place. We are keeping all possibilities in mind as we go forward.”

“It is not over, not by any means…the RCMP is continuing to work on this investigation and will not stop until there is a resolution.”

The news came a day after an Alberta man said he helped the two men remove their Toyota RAV4 from a field in the city of Cold Lake. That was two days before police announced they were wanted. 

Tommy Ste-Croix’s encounter with the fugitives happened 150 kilometres to the west of Meadow Lake, where they were spotted in the same car later in the day. 

“They were polite with me. You know if they really, really wanted me, I could be dead,” he told CBC News.

“They had the opportunity to grab the truck. I was alone with them. I was behind the SUV tying it up and they pretty much had a brand new truck to take off with. My wallet was in there. But they didn’t.” 

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Crown Casino has hit back at media reports linking it to Asian crime gangs, money laundering and fast-tracked visa applications, taking out full-page advertisements in major newspapers condemning it “a deceitful campaign.”

The message from the board of directors of Crown Resorts is a response to an investigation aired on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes program on Sunday and published in Nine newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. 

Headed “setting the record straight in the face of a deceitful campaign again Crown”, the Crown advertisement accuses Nine of attempting to damage its reputation.

“As a board, we are extremely concerned for our staff, shareholders and other stakeholders, as much of this unbalanced and sensationalised reporting is based on unsubstantiated allegations, exaggerations, unsupported connections and outright falsehoods,” the advertisement says.

“As an ASX listed company and a Board we are always striving to ensure we have the highest levels of governance and a commitment to the highest standards.

“It is deeply disappointing that the media involved in these inflammatory stories have not upheld the same principles.”

News Corp newspapers including The Australian and Herald Sun are running the advertisements, however Nine’s newspapers declined to print them, instead publishing an article responding to each of Crown’s claims. 

The advertisements appeared as the chief executive of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Michael Phelan, told Nine newspapers it was probing the operation of agents who bring high-roller clients into casinos to gamble on “junkets” as part of an investigation into financially motivated crime.

“The infrastructure supporting junket operations both internationally and within Australia provides opportunities for exploitation by serious and organised crime to conceal and legitimise criminal wealth,” Mr Phelan told Nine.

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