A couple sits in the rain as a lightning delay stopped play between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the first half of CFL action in Winnipeg Thursday, June 14, 2018. Parts of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba were pounded by lots of hail and heavy rain in a storm that included tornado warnings in some areas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Five stories in the news for Friday, June 15

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HIGH COURT TO RULE ON RELIGIOUS LAW SCHOOL

Lawyers, religious groups and private universities are awaiting today's landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision involving a proposed Christian law school in British Columbia. The case hinges on whether law societies in B.C. and Ontario can refuse to license graduates of the law school at Trinity Western University, which requires all students to agree to a community covenant prohibiting sex outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. The societies say the covenant discriminates against LGBTQ people, while the university maintains it has a right to freedom of religion as a private institution.

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UP ALL NIGHT ON PARLIAMENT HILL

As Thursday night turned into Friday morning, MPs continued to vote on a seemingly endless series of motions aimed at compelling the Liberals to divulge details of their planned carbon pricing scheme. Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said his goal was to make the government "as uncomfortable as possible until they tell the truth" about how much more Canadians will pay for everything from groceries to gasoline because of the carbon price. The Conservatives had lined up more than 200 votes on the government's main spending plan.

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YOUNG SISTERS SHOT AT TORONTO PLAYGROUND

Two sisters, ages five and nine, were seriously injured during a "brazen" daylight shooting at a playground in Toronto's east end, authorities said Thursday. Toronto police Det. Sgt. Jim Gotell told reporters at the scene that the girls were rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children and both are expected to survive. He said at least seven shots were fired and investigators believe the intended target was a man who was among the 11 children in the playground. Earlier in the evening, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters that both girls required surgery, and called those behind the shooting "cowards."

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SENTENCING SCHEDULED IN VICIOUS SEXUAL ASSAULT

A southern Alberta man is to be sentenced today for a vicious sexual assault on a woman who spent weeks in a coma and was forced to learn how to walk and talk again. Denzel Dre Colton Bird pleaded guilty last fall to striking the then-25-year-old woman from behind with a metal pipe in 2016, dragging her into an alley and sexually assaulting her. Bird will be sentenced for aggravated sexual assault and an additional charge of break and enter. The Crown is requesting 20 years in prison, while the defence has argued that Bird should receive an additional six years on top of the time he's already spent in custody.

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HAILSTORM HITS SOUTHERN PRAIRIES

Parts of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba were pounded by hail and heavy rain in a storm that included tornado warnings in some areas. There were reports of baseball-size hail as Environment Canada says a supercell moved through the region Thursday, creating favourable conditions for the heavy weather. The storm knocked power out in some communities and concerns about lightning prompted officials to temporarily halt a CFL game in Winnipeg between the Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Statistics Canada releases the Canada's international transactions in securities for April and the monthly survey of manufacturing for April

— Saskatchewan Corrections Minister Christine Tell and RCMP Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki announce two RCMP crime reduction teams in Regina.

— Trial date to be set in Ottawa for former hostage Joshua Boyle, who faces assault charges.

— Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Minister Carla Qualtrough participate in the steel cutting ceremony for the Royal Canadian Navy's first of two joint support ships in North Vancouver.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2018