5 things you need to know this morning: Feb. 19, 2020

| February 19, 2020 in 5 Things

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Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. Trudeau excludes Scheer from private meeting regarding rail blockades

A number of cabinet meetings met privately on Tuesday morning to discuss the rail blockades across Canada. Party leaders Jagmeet Singh, Yves-Francois Blanchet and Elizabeth May were all invited to take part, but Andrew Scheer was not. Trudeau said it was because of the Conservative leader’s “unacceptable speech” earlier on Tuesday.


2. Locusts wreak havoc in Africa

Parts of Africa are dealing with the worst locust invasion in decades and it’s putting millions of people at risk due to food shortages. Specialized teams are trying to deal with the short-horned grasshoppers, but there are fears that the problem could become even bigger. 


3. Ryan Newman is awake and speaking with family and doctors

It’s incredible that Ryan Newman is even alive. The Nascar driver, who was just metres away from winning the Daytona 500 before a horrific crash on the race’s final turn, is now awake at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. According to an update from his team, he’s speaking with his family and doctors.


4. Trump expects 7-million people to greet him in India

American president Donald Trump has high expectations for his upcoming trip to India. He spoke on Tuesday and revealed that he’s been told that between the airport and his event with Prime Minister Modi, he’ll be greeted by seven million people. The two leaders will meet at the new Motera Stadium, which is the world’s biggest cricket stadium with a capacity of more than 100,000.


5. Private citizens are heading to space within 2 years

A newly-announced partnership between private space exploration company Space Adventures and the Elon Musk-led SpaceX is expected to send private citizens to space in the next two years. It’s expected that up to four people will be sent into Earth’s orbit aboard the fully autonomous Crew Dragon by late-2021 to mid-2022.


Notable Birthdays (via Famous Birthdays)

Millie Bobby Brown (16), Victoria Justice (27), Seal (57), Smokey Robinson (80), Nikola Jokic (25)

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