The thoughts of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the entire softball community are with the families, teammates and friends of the four North Central Texas College softball team members lost in a Oklahoma highway crash late Friday night.

Lions players Brooke Deckard, 20, Jaiden Pelton, 20, Meagan Richardson, 19, and Katelynn Woodlee, 18, died from injuries sustained when a tractor trailer that had crossed the median into their side of the highway collided with their bus, which was returning from a scrimmage against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla.

A dozen others were injured, although all but two were treated and released. Oklahoma University Medical Center said Bailey Buchanan, 18, was upgraded Sunday from critical to stable condition. Rachel Hitt, 19, remained in fair condition at Norman Regional Hospital, a spokeswoman there said.

“On behalf of the NCTC Board of Regents, administration, faculty, and staff I would like to offer sincere condolences to these families,” North Central Texas College President Dr. Brent Wallace at a press conference Saturday. “This is indeed a sad day for these families and for North Central Texas College. Please continue to pray for all these young ladies and the families of those who have lost loved ones.”

Community members attended a prayer vigil Sunday night at the college’s Gainesville campus, just south of the Oklahoma-Texas border.

Deckard, Pelton and Richardson were all sophomores on the Lions softball team, while Woodlee was a freshman. The three sophomores were part of the 2014 team that won the National Junioir College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region V Championship and advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in St. George, Utah, for just the second time in school history. Deckard played first base, Woodlee was a shortstop, Richardson was a pitcher and Pelton was a catcher.

Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday that the driver of the tractor trailer drove straight through the interstate median without any signs of braking or trying to avoid the collision. The truck was traveling northbound on Interstate 35 near Davis, Okla., and when the roadway gently curved to the right, the truck continued straight. It traveled about 820 feet through the median and struck the southbound bus carrying 15 members of the junior college team driven by their coach.

Even after smashing into the driver’s side of the bus, the truck continued straight for another 300 feet, crossing the southbound lanes and barreling through and uprooting trees. It took first responders nearly an hour to locate the tractor trailer after arriving on the scene of the impact with the bus to tend to the team’s injuries.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which is conducting the criminal investigation, said Sunday that the truck driver, Russell Staley, 53, of Saginaw, Texas, told investigators he was distracted.

“He (Staley) said he was distracted by something in the cabin,” said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton, who declined to say what the distraction was. He said investigators don’t necessarily agree with Staley’s explanation.

No charges are pending against Staley.

Hampton said investigators have obtained search warrants to collect evidence from the truck and the bus. Investigators have been conducting interviews with the players.

Send messages of support to: Van Hedrick, Softball Coach, North Central Texas College, 1525 W California St, Gainesville, TX 76240

Two former North Central Texas College players have started a fundraising drive in support of the team, with the blessing of the school. Click HERE to go to that website. Additionally, Texas Prep Softball started its own drive, which raised $1,000 in the first hour it was active. Click HERE to visit that site.

— Information courtesy of NCTC, The Oklahomian and The Washington Post

An Ottawa-based think tank is predicting rising growth for all four Atlantic provinces — especially tiny P.E.I., which is expected to lead the country with 3.2 per cent growth this year.

The Conference Board of Canada attributes the rosy outlook to service-sector stability and rising exports in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, while Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to record an uptick in oil production.

P.E.I.’s red-hot growth is credited to a boom in residential construction following an “influx of international migrants” and higher demand for Island products.

“Over the next two years, the Island should outpace nearly every other province in the country when it comes to its rate of population growth. Consequently, the construction industry is set to surge this year, thanks to new housing developments on the Island,” the Conference Board said in its latest provincial outlook released Wednesday.

“Add to that the impressive tourism prospects and the elevated demand for P.E.I. products boosting exports and manufacturing, and economic growth in the province should continue to outpace the Canadian average — a feat that P.E.I. has achieved every year since 2015.”

Watch: Should Canada be worried about a recession in 2019? Story continues below.

The report noted the growth meant a recent surplus in the P.E.I. provincial budget, after a decade of deficits.

Newfoundland is predicted to grow by 2.7 per cent this year, but the Conference Board says oil industry volatility will mean growth of only one per cent in the province in 2020.

“The labour market will continue to struggle as baby boomers retire, projects come to the end of their life cycles, and workers in the service sector migrate to other provinces where their skills are in high demand,” the report says of Canada’s easternmost province.

It said Nova Scotia is on the road to a stronger economy, with hot seafood exports and improved demographics after an influx of people from across Canada and internationally.

Weaker growth in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba

The Conference Board predicts 1.6 per cent growth this year and another 2.1 per cent in 2020, up from 0.9 per cent last year.

“Over the next two years, the province is expected to enjoy its highest economic growth in almost a decade,” the report predicted of Nova Scotia.

New Brunswick, which reported anemic growth of 0.2 per cent last year, is predicted to see growth of 1.4 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent next year.

“The biggest challenge to economic growth is the province’s weak demographic profile,” the report says of New Brunswick.

“Although immigration levels to the province have reached record levels, the large flow of residents to other provinces and a negative natural increase (i.e., births outnumber deaths) erase any potential gains in population.”

Nationally, the Conference Board predicts 1.9 per cent growth this year, and 2.1 per cent in 2020.

It predicts weaker growth in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, but robust growth in Saskatchewan and B.C.

HAARLEM, Netherlands –- Following a near 30-hour delay due to rain, the USA Softball Women’s National Team began the playoff portion of the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championship on Saturday. Team USA, playing as the top seed from Pool B, defeated Canada 6-1 in their first game to earn a matchup later in the day with the only other undefeated team in the tournament, Japan. With a spot in Sunday’s Gold medal game on the line, Japan jumped out early on the USA and never let up as they went on to win 6-1.

USA 6, Canada 1

Despite being held scoreless for the first three innings versus Canada on Saturday, Team USA posted six runs in the final four frames to take a 6-1 win and advance to the next round in the winners bracket at the ISF World Championship. Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md.) each homered resulting in five of USA’s six runs. Jessica Moore (Sutter, Calif.) started the game in the circle and lasted 3.1 innings before Sara Nevins (Pinellas Park, Fla.) entered in relief to earn the win.

“I loved the little things that we did to get the win over Canada,” said USA Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “Sacrifice bunts, aggressive base running, those are things that don’t look all that impressive on a score sheet but they add up to wins.”

Samantha Fischer (Simi Valley, Calif.) lead off the top off the fourth with a ground ball single to short stop and advanced to second via a Moultie sacrifice bunt in the next at-bat. A walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Team USA with Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) up next. The outfielder singled to left field scoring the first USA run of the game.

The lead didn’t last long as Canada started the bottom off the fourth with a single and followed it with a shot to center field that barely snuck past McCleney’s glove. The first runner scored but Moultrie gunned down the second runner at third to preserve the tie through four.

Gibson walked to start the fifth inning and a Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) sacrifice bunt advanced her to second. Two batters later, Moultrie put Team USA ahead for good when she sent the first pitch she saw sailing over the center field wall.

Nevins retired the side in the bottom off the fifth and Team USA added insurance runs in the sixth. With two outs, Raven Chavanne (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) singled to third base and Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) followed her up with a single to left field. With the runners on base, Gibson sent an 0-2 pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer to give Team USA their 6-1 lead.

With the favorable lead, Nevins kept the Canadian batters in check through the sixth and most of the seventh innings. In the bottom of the seventh, the lefty gave up her first hit of the game, a two-out single to Joey Lye. In the next at-bat, with an 0-2 count, Jaclyn Traina (Naples, Fla.) entered the circle to pitch. Needing just one strike to end it, Traina followed a foul ball with a swinging strikeout and Team USA secured the win.

Japan 6, USA 1

Japan jumped out to an early lead on Team USA in their game late Saturday evening at the ISF World Championship. Facing Jolene Henderson (Elk Grove, Calif.) Japan scored one run in the first and added three in the second to put the Americans in a four-run hole early in the game. Offensively Team USA couldn’t get much going early facing Japanese veteran Yukiko Ueno.

“We put the ball in play and put runners on base,” said Eriksen. “We did some nice things, just had a few small errors and when you’re playing Japan they will take advantage of those errors. The great thing is, we still have tomorrow. We just have to play great softball for one day and then we can call ourselves World Champions.”

A Japan two-out single in the top of the first was followed by an Eri Yamada double scored the first run of the game as Japan went up 1-0. Gibson walked and Arioto singled in the bottom half of the inning but Ueno left them stranded, getting a strikeout to end the inning.

Japan added three more runs in the second off of two singles and a walk before Traina entered to pitch for Team USA. With two outs, Traina pitched a fly ball to end the Japan rally.

Both teams remained scoreless through the third inning. In the top of the fourth, Japan added a fifth run, this time off of Traina. Nagayoski singled to start the inning and was later brought around to score on a Kawano single to short stop.

Team USA gave up the sixth and final run to Japan in the top of the fifth. Mine doubled to right field to start the at-bat and after Sakamoto laid down a sac-bunt to advance her to second, a Sato single to short stop scored the runner from second putting Japan up 6-0.

The Americans finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when Hoagland drew a walk and later came around to score on a Kellie Fox (San Diego, Calif.) single to right field. Nevins retired the side in the top of the seventh but the USA bats couldn’t muster a comeback as Japan secured the 6-1 win.

Sunday morning at 5 a.m. ET, the USA will play Australia, a 7-3 winner over Canada later Saturday. The winner of Sunday morning’s matchup advances to place Japan in the Gold medal game at 7 a.m. ET. Live streaming and live stats are available via www.USASoftball.com throughout the ISF World Championship. Log on and follow Team USA as they seek a 10th World Championship Gold.

— courtesy ASA/USA Softball

OTTAWA — After initially refusing, Netflix has agreed to remove images of the 2013 Lac-Megantic disaster from its blockbuster film, “Bird Box.”

“Netflix and the filmmakers of ‘Bird Box’ have decided to replace the clip,” a spokesman for the streaming company said in an email to The Canadian Press. “We’re sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community.”

People in the Quebec town and across the province were shocked after learning in January that footage from the derailment and explosion that killed 47 people was used in the drama starring Sandra Bullock.

Demands that the brief scene be removed came from politicians at all levels, including Lac-Megantic Mayor Julie Morin.

Morin said she is satisfied with Netflix’s decision. “Yes, there was a delay, but I think in the end, what’s more important for me, is that we have a solution to this situation we felt was important to settle,” she said in an interview.

Quebec Culture Minister Nathalie Roy wrote to the company Jan. 18 calling for it to take out footage of the burning town. The company initially apologized and promised to do better, but until now it had refused to edit the film.

Three months later, Netflix decided to change course.

Footage to be removed within next two weeks

Morin said the film industry needs to reconsider its use of stock footage. “I think it’s important for the industry to reflect on this,” she said in an interview. “It appears that has happened in this case.”

In a written statement, Roy said “the gesture was long-sought by Quebecers.”

The House of Commons adopted a motion Jan. 29 demanding Netflix remove the images and compensate the town.

The Canadian Press learned that the footage will be removed from the film within the next two weeks.

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New Australian research has revealed how fussy men and women are about education when online dating.

Carried out by researchers at Queensland University of Technology, the study looked at 41,936 men and women aged 18 to 80 who were members of online dating website RSVP.

The researchers analyzed 219,013 participant contacts during a four-month period in 2016, and found that across all age groups women are more likely than men to state their preference about what education level they prefer in a partner.

However, when the researchers excluded members who were indifferent to educational level, they found that men and women’s preferences did differ for different age groups.

In particular, women under 40 around the age of peak fertility are choosier about the education level of men they prefer and are seeking the same level or higher in a potential mate.

However, how specific women are about education level decreases with age, and over 40 it is men who are pickier than women about the education level of a potential partner.

“It’s an amazing way to look at human mating behaviour (internet dating websites like RSVP) because it gives us a really vivid snapshot of such a large and diverse age group (18-80 years) of people in a pretty uniform mate choice setting,” said co-author Dr. Stephen Whyte.

“Previous online dating research has demonstrated similar or higher women’s preference for education level in a mate but as our data encompasses a range of ages between 18 and 80, we are able to comprehensively show how those preferences change across the reproductive life cycle.”

“However, for all age groups in our sample, women had a clearly higher minimum standard for the education level they wanted in their mate,” he said.

“Evolution favours women who are highly selective about their mates and in many cultures, women have been shown to use education as an indicator of quality because it is often associated with social status and intelligence — both attributes that are highly sought after.”

The results can be found published online in the journal Psychological Science.

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There are two types of people at any Canada Day barbecue: the gracious guests who bring the finest beer or cider, and the boors that pawn off the cheap brews.

And yes, there’s now evidence proving there are annoying guests who steal the premium stouts and IPAs, leaving nothing but cheap lager in their wake.

A poll released on Friday from Research Co. found that one in four Canadians would help themselves to someone else’s beer in a cooler at a social gathering. Of those that have no qualms with taking another guest’s drinks, 83 per cent said they’d be kind enough to limit it to six beers or less.

“If you bring a six-pack of Old Milwaukee and decide to drink a dozen of someone else’s double IPAs, then you are a douchebag,” Robert Mangelsdorf, editor of the B.C.-based craft beer publication, The Growler, said in an email. “And you probably have an alcohol problem.”

This happens more than you’d think. One Ontario poll respondent revealed that he once brought an expensive raspberry-infused craft microbrew to a party and dropped it into a cooler. He returned only to find nothing but Pabst Blue Ribbon, an infamously inexpensive American lager.

Outside of trading in a PBR for a high-end craft beer or something rarer, Mangelsdorf says it’s OK to grab something different out of the cooler.

“If you spot something else you’d rather try, then obviously ask first,” he said. “After midnight, it’s pretty much a free-for-all, though.”

While 25 per cent of Canadians may want to pinch a drink from a party cooler, 62 per cent said they would only drink the beer they brought.

The poll also found that the younger generation is less likely to indulge in this systematic pilfering than older partiers. Only 16 per cent of people ages 18 to 34 would drink beer they didn’t bring compared to 32 per cent of those 55 and older, who said they’d have no issues indulging on another’s premium beer contribution.

Those aren’t the results Research Co. president Mario Canseco was expecting considering a stereotype of millennials being “moochers.” He pointed to two likely culprits for the discrepancy: either the pickier beer preferences of millennials or the more congenial nature of boomers. While differences in wealth and income appear to be reliable indicators, the poll showed that income had very little correlation with the likelihood of beer swiping.

Regionally, Quebecers had significantly fewer problems with taking beer that wasn’t theirs. They were also more than twice as likely as the rest of the country to take more than six cans of beer that didn’t belong to them.

Thirty-five per cent of Quebecers would help themselves to someone else’s beer, which is 10 percentage points higher than the national average.

Canseco suggested that the discrepancy is likely the result of cultural differences.

The poll confirmed Canesco’s expectations that women would be less likely to drink beer belonging to others than men. While 30 per cent of men help themselves to other people’s beer, only 20 per cent of women do.

So this Canada Day, use proper beer cooler etiquette — ask before you take what you didn’t bring, and if you’re not going to drink the cheap stuff, leave it at home.