Smoke from a wildfire fills the sky in downtown Fort McMurray looking southeast on Sunday, May 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS-Greg Halinda

Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, May 3:

ALBERTA WILDFIRE EVACUATIONS: Residents were ordered to flee several neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray as flames from a growing wildfire whipped by winds threatened homes and businesses on Tuesday. Crews had seemed to be making progress controlling the blaze, burning since the weekend, but the situation worsened quickly. By mid-afternoon people from three neighbourhoods were told to leave immediately. Sandra Hickey lives in a neighbourhood that was still under voluntary evacuation, but she was anxious nonetheless."When I got in the shower earlier today the sky was blue. When I got out, the sky was black," Hickey said.

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MILITANTS IN PHILIPPINES RELEASE VIDEO: Muslim militants in the Philippines released a video showing the beheading of Canadian hostage John Ridsdel, an American group that monitors jihadi websites reported. Ridsdel, 68, of Calgary, was one of four tourists — including fellow Canadian Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor — who were kidnapped last Sept. 21 by Abu Sayyaf militants. In a series of tweets, Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group cited the video as saying Ridsdel was beheaded on April 25 "due to non-compliance" of the Canadian government. Another video released by the militants shows the three remaining hostages, with the militants threatening to behead them if their demands are not met, she said.

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KELLY ELLARD DENIED PAROLE: A British Columbia woman who killed a 14-year-old girl almost two decades ago has been denied day parole. But Kelly Ellard has admitted for the first time that she was responsible for the death of Reena Virk. Ellard told the board during her parole hearing today that Virk would still be alive if she hadn't participated swarming and drowning her. The now 33-year-old woman told the board she wanted day parole so she could be treated for substance-abuse issues after getting contraband crystal meth inside prison.

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SEX-HARRASSMENT SUIT AGAINST RCMP SETTLED: A British Columbia Mountie whose sexual harassment lawsuit against the RCMP prompted similar cases across the country has reached an out-of court settlement with the force. Cpl. Catherine Galliford says she was mentally prepared to face a court battle next year and was blindsided by the settlement, which she couldn't discuss. She says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after two decades of sexual harassment and bullying on the job and will now focus on her health. Galliford launched court action four years ago after going on sick leave in 2006.

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REIN IN POT-FOR-VETS PROGRAM: AUDITOR: The latest report from the federal auditor general urges Veterans Affairs to get a grip on its medical marijuana program for injured ex-soldiers, which is expected to cost taxpayers a startling $25 million this year. Michael Ferguson says it's just one of the programs where the federal government has critical data available to it that's either not usable, not used or not acted upon at all. The report tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons also looked at the dire condition of the army reserves, the federal government's inability to detect and prevent refugee fraud and the uncertain impact of the former Conservative government's $400-million venture capital action plan.

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LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS GENETIC DISCRIMINATION: Legislation designed to address fears about genetic discrimination has made its way to the House of Commons after receiving unanimous support in the Senate. If passed, Sen. James Cowan's bill would protect patients from third parties, such as insurance companies, seeking the results of genetic testing. Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who supports the legislation, says Canadian laws have not kept pace with science, escalating the risk of discrimination based on a person's genetic profile.Oliphant says this fear makes patients more hesitant to pursue genetic testing, despite recommendations from their doctors.

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SENATE RULES GURU SAYS HE DIDN'T ADVISE DUFFY: A senior Conservative senator who was labelled as the guru of Senate rules by Mike Duffy's judge says the widely held view of his role in the whole affair is more fiction than fact. Sen. David Tkachuk insists he never advised Duffy on questions about his housing and travel allowances, despite Duffy's criminal trial having been told otherwise. Tkachuk says the only advice he gave during a January 2009 meeting of new senators was about caucus responsibilities, since he hadn't yet been appointed to the executive of the Senate's internal economy committee, which oversees expense rules.

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GOV'T NEEDS TO DO MORE TO FIGHT CITIZENSHIP FRAUD: AUDITOR: Immigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn't doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system. Michael Ferguson's report uncovered instances of people with serious criminal records and others using potentially phoney addresses among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship thanks to holes throughout not just the Immigration Department but the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency as well.

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TRUMP AND CRUZ TRADE INSULTS: Assailing each other with no letup, Republican front-runner Donald Trump and challenger Ted Cruz traded insults, charges and more Tuesday while Indiana voters went to the polls in a presidential primary election. Texas Sen. Cruz unleashed an attack against Trump, calling the businessman "amoral" and warning the country could "plunge into the abyss" if he is elected president. Trump responded by saying Cruz "does not have the temperament to be president of the United States." Earlier Tuesday Trump had rehashed unsubstantiated claims that the Texan's father, Rafael Cruz, appeared in a 1963 photograph with John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald — citing a report first published by the National Enquirer.

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2016