Considering options and community after prostate cancer diagnosis

When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the fall of 2024, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

At 75, with a family history of the disease, I had always known it was more a matter of when than if. I’ve long been vigilant — regular checkups, bloodwork and conversations with my doctor were part of my routine.

Still, hearing the diagnosis out loud was a moment that shifted everything, marking the beginning of a journey that would challenge me physically, emotionally and mentally.

Diagnosis and initial treatment

‘We’re anything but risky’: Simu Liu laments decline of Asian roles in Hollywood

Even after achieving Marvel-level stardom, Simu Liu says he's grown frustrated with Hollywood and his career.

The Canadian actor argues the industry is once again treating Asian-led projects as a gamble, despite years of box-office success proving otherwise.

"I feel like because of who I am and because of the faces that we have, we're inherently seen as more risky, even though that's not the case," Liu says while promoting his new show "The Copenhagen Test."

He rattles off a list of recent Asian-centred projects: "Crazy Rich Asians," "Minari," "The Farewell," "Past Lives," "Everything Everywhere All at Once" — all critical or commercial successes, many wildly profitable.

No easing the tempo for versatile rocker plugged into North American music scene

The late James Brown was commonly referred to as the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” but a Winnipeg-born musician has been giving the legendary soul artist a run for that title.

On New Year’s Eve, Canadian rock band Toque, featuring Brent Fitz on bass guitar and vocals, will perform live at the Club Regent Event Centre. Early the next morning, Fitz, who is originally from St. James, will board a flight to Las Vegas, where he and his wife Chrissy, a native of Edmonton, have lived since the early 2000s. There he will make final preparations for Ikons of Rock, a tribute show he’s co-producing that will begin a residency at Las Vegas’s Hard Rock Café on Jan. 8.

The multi-instrumentalist returns to Winnipeg in February to play drums with Streetheart, for that group’s Feb. 13 concert, again at the Club Regent Event Centre. Following that, Fitz will enter into rehearsals with Triumph. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees recently enlisted his services on keyboards for their much-anticipated 50th anniversary North American tour, which kicks off April 22, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. All of that and he just helped wrap up a new album by Slash of Guns N’ Roses fame — with whom he’s worked on-and-off since 2010 — which is due in stores sometime in the new year.

Sure, it sounds like a hectic schedule, except he’s always enjoyed staying busy, says Fitz, seated in a Portage Avenue coffee shop during a recent visit to the city to check up on his 86-year-old father Mervyn, and to perform with Streetheart at a private event held at the RBC Convention Centre.

Kennedy Center renaming prompts new round of cancellations from artists

More artists have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center following the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the facility, with jazz supergroup The Cookers pulling out of a planned New Year's Eve concert, and the institution's president saying the cancellations belie the artists' unwillingness to see their music as crossing lines of political disparity.

The fresh round of cancellations after Trump put his name of the building follows an earlier artist backlash in spring. After Trump ousted the Kennedy Center board and named himself the institution's chairman in February, performer Issa Rae and the producers of “Hamilton” cancelled scheduled engagements while musicians Ben Folds and Renee Flaming stepped down from advisory roles.

The Cookers, a jazz supergroup performing together for nearly two decades, announced their withdrawal from “A Jazz New Year’s Eve" on their website, saying the “decision has come together very quickly" and acknowledging frustration from those who may have planned to attend.

The group didn't mention the building's renaming or the Trump administration but did say that, when they return to performing, they wanted to ensure that “the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it,” reiterating a commitment “to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them.”

Laughing — and screening — all the way to 2026

There is abundant comedy available to ease into the formal new year and abundant new and returning television in the month to follow to keep your various screens crackling. Press Play now.

France grants citizenship to George and Amal Clooney and their twins Ella and Alexander

PARIS (AP) — Call them Monsieur and Madame Clooney.

France’s government says that George Clooney, his wife Amal and their twins Ella and Alexander have been awarded French citizenship.

The naturalizations of the Kentucky-born star of the “Ocean's” series of heist movies and his family were announced last weekend in the Journal Officiel, where French government decrees are published.

The government notice indicated that human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was naturalized under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. It also noted that George Clooney's middle name is Timothy.

‘Trump’s EPA’ in 2025: A fossil fuel-friendly approach to deregulation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has transformed the Environmental Protection Agency in its first year, cutting federal limits on air and water pollution and promoting fossil fuels, a metamorphosis that clashes with the agency’s historic mission to protect human health and the environment.

The administration says its actions will “unleash” the American economy, but environmentalists say the agency’s abrupt change in focus threatens to unravel years of progress on climate-friendly initiatives that could be hard or impossible to reverse.

“It just constantly wants to pat the fossil fuel business on the back and turn back the clock to a pre-Richard Nixon era” when the agency didn’t exist, said historian Douglas Brinkley.

A lot has happened this year at “Trump’s EPA,” as Zeldin frequently calls the agency. Zeldin proposed overturning the landmark finding that climate change is a threat to human health. He pledged to roll back dozens of environmental regulations in “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen.” He froze billions of dollars for clean energy and upended agency research.

Save money, get organized, live better: Common New Year’s resolutions can also cut climate impact

Here’s some good news as the holidays wrap up: Many New Year’s resolutions people already make — eating healthier, saving money, getting organized — double as climate-friendly habits.

Whether you want to spend less, declutter or eat right, here are a few choices that could make a difference for you and the climate. Bonus: They’re all low-effort and low-cost.

Saving money on bills

If you want to save money, start at home. Electronics and appliances can continue drawing power even when they’re turned off. You can cut phantom energy use by unplugging items you’re not using, such as chargers and entertainment systems or using a power strip with an on-off switch.

Unleash the hounds! And terriers and lapdogs. The American Kennel Club adds 3 breeds

NEW YORK (AP) — They're ready to embark on 2026.

Three more dog breeds joined the American Kennel Club's roster of recognized breeds on Tuesday, making them eligible for many U.S. dog shows and likely increasing their visibility to the pet-loving public.

One of the newcomers is a terrier named for a U.S. president. Another is a toy dog from Cold War-era Russia. The third is a centuries-old French hunting hound. Here's a closer look:

The basset fauve de Bretagne