Life & Style – Winnipeg Free Press

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Martin Zelig, with partner Jennifer, is more mindful of celebrating milestones.

Considering options and community after prostate cancer diagnosis

Martin Zeilig 7 minute read Updated: 9:02 AM CST

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

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Buddhist monks persist in peace walk despite injuries as thousands follow them on social media

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Buddhist monks persist in peace walk despite injuries as thousands follow them on social media

The Associated Press 4 minute read 12:29 PM CST

ATLANTA (AP) — A group of Buddhist monks is persevering in their walking trek across much of the U.S. to promote peace, even after two of its members were injured when a truck hit their escort vehicle.

After starting their walk in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 26, the group of about two dozen monks has made it to Georgia as they continue on a path to Washington, D.C., highlighting Buddhism's long tradition of activism for peace.

The group planned to walk its latest segment through Georgia on Tuesday from the town of Morrow to Decatur, on the eastern edge of Atlanta. Marking day 66 of the walk, the group invited the public to a Peace Gathering in Decatur Tuesday afternoon.

The monks and their loyal dog Aloka are traveling through 10 states en route to Washington, D.C. In coming days, they plan to pass through or very close to Athens, Georgia; the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh; and Richmond, Virginia, on their way to the nation’s capital city.

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12:29 PM CST

SNAP bans on soda, candy and other foods take effect in five states Jan. 1

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

SNAP bans on soda, candy and other foods take effect in five states Jan. 1

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 5 minute read 11:09 AM CST

Starting Thursday, Americans in five states who get government help paying for groceries will see new restrictions on soda, candy and other foods they can buy with those benefits.

Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia are the first of at least 18 states to enact waivers prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

It’s part of a push by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge states to strip foods regarded as unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program -- long known as food stamps -- that serves 42 million Americans.

“We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create,” Kennedy said in a statement in December.

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11:09 AM CST

FILE - An EBT SNAP sign is shown on a self check out screen at a grocery store in Mount Prospect, Ill., Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Getting fit on your New Year’s resolutions list? How to start a home gym on the cheap

Nina Dragicevic, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Getting fit on your New Year’s resolutions list? How to start a home gym on the cheap

Nina Dragicevic, The Canadian Press 5 minute read 9:00 AM CST

Not everyone wants to exercise in public, whether that’s using a gym, going to classes, or even jogging around the block.

As an alternative, home gyms don’t have to entail major financial investments. Experts say just a few pieces can have a big impact on your workout, even with limited space.

For Cole MacCara, a personal trainer and founder of Vancouver’s ColeMacFitness, a simple and cost-effective “home gym” could be as little as three pieces: resistance bands, hip circle bands, and a kettlebell. A hip circle band is a short, thick resistance band that goes around your thighs, and assists with lower-body exercises.

“Are you going to be able to become a body builder with that? Probably not,” MacCara said. “But is it going to allow you to get some exercise in, keep you moving, burn some calories, and maybe add a little bit of fun or competition with yourself? Yeah, totally.”

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9:00 AM CST

Cole MacCara, a personal trainer and founder of Vancouver's ColeMacFitness, demonstrates a Half Kneeling Kettlebell Windmill exercise, in this handout photo, in Vancouver, Dec. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Cole MacCara (Mandatory Credit)

Roses in the rain? New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena gets wet forecast. Bundle up for NYC ball drop

Ed White, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Roses in the rain? New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena gets wet forecast. Bundle up for NYC ball drop

Ed White, The Associated Press 3 minute read 11:51 AM CST

For the first time in 20 years, rain is expected to intrude on the Rose Parade in Southern California, a venerable New Year's Day event that attracts thousands of spectators and is watched by millions more on TV.

Storms caused Christmas week flooding, mudslides and other miseries across the region. Now comes a 100% chance of rain Thursday in Pasadena, the National Weather Service said.

“We try not to say that word around here,” joked Candy Carlson, a spokesperson for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the organization behind the 137th Rose Parade, which precedes the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff game.

Arctic air is meanwhile expected to blanket much of the eastern two-thirds of the country, the weather service said.

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11:51 AM CST

FILE - Marching bands perform along Colorado Blvd. in the 136th Rose Parade, in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

7 things you may not know about dividends

Amy C. Arnott Of Morningstar, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

7 things you may not know about dividends

Amy C. Arnott Of Morningstar, The Associated Press 4 minute read 6:37 AM CST

I recently dug into the pros and cons of dividend reinvestment. Readers of the article sent me questions about other dividend-related topics. Here are some of the most common questions I got:

What should I know about reinvested dividends and wash sales?

Reinvesting dividends means purchasing additional shares, which can complicate sales or tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts. The IRS’ wash-sale rules prohibit claiming a tax loss after a sale if you’ve purchased the same or “substantially identical” security 30 days before or after selling. You could wait at least 30 days after a dividend before selling, and make sure to sell at least 30 days before the next dividend, but to reduce hassle, it’s probably best not to reinvest dividends for holdings that you plan to sell soon.

If I reinvest dividends, will I end up with fractional shares that are difficult to sell?

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6:37 AM CST

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Newfoundland fishers donate cod to those who lost everything in summer wildfires

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Newfoundland fishers donate cod to those who lost everything in summer wildfires

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 11:56 AM CST

PETTY HARBOUR - More than 300 pounds of cod donated by a Newfoundland fishers co-operative are en route to an area devastated by wildfires for distribution on Old Christmas Day.

Billy Lee, president of the co-operative in Petty Harbour, N.L., loaded the container of frozen cod into Gerry Rogers's SUV this morning with a small forklift.

Lee says he hopes the gesture will inspire others to pitch in to help people who lost everything to raging wildfires this summer in Conception Bay North, about 50 kilometres northwest of Petty Harbour.

Rogers lives part-time in Conception Bay North and says many who lost their homes to the fires still don't know if they'll get any financial help from the province to rebuild.

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11:56 AM CST

Billy Lee, Bernard Martin and Doug Howlett are shown speaking with Gerry Rogers before loading a container of donated cod into Rogers's vehicle, in Petty Harbour, N.L., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Elling Lien

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What’s inside Mexico’s Popocatépetl? Scientists obtain first 3D images of the whole volcano

María Verza, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

What’s inside Mexico’s Popocatépetl? Scientists obtain first 3D images of the whole volcano

María Verza, The Associated Press 7 minute read 10:51 AM CST

POPOCATÉPETL VOLCANO, Mexico (AP) — In the predawn darkness, a team of scientists climbs the slope of Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano, one of the world’s most active and whose eruption could affect millions of people. Its mission: figure out what is happening under the crater.

For five years, the group from Mexico’s National Autonomous University has climbed the volcano with kilos of equipment, risked data loss due to bad weather or a volcanic explosion and used artificial intelligence to analyze the seismic data. Now, the team has created the first three-dimensional image of the whole 17,883-foot (5,452-meter) volcano’s interior, which tells them where the magma accumulates and will help them better understand its activity, and, eventually, help authorities better react to eruptions.

Marco Calò, professor in the UNAM's Geophysics Institute’s vulcanology department and the project leader, invited The Associated Press to accompany the team on its most recent expedition, the last before its research on the volcano will be published.

Movement underground

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10:51 AM CST

Marco Calo, left, a geophysicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), take a break on the slopes of the Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

2025 was one of three hottest years on record, scientists say

Alexa St. John, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

2025 was one of three hottest years on record, scientists say

Alexa St. John, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:14 PM CST

Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record, scientists said.

It was also the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times. Experts say that keeping the Earth below that limit could save lives and prevent catastrophic environmental destruction around the globe.

The analysis from World Weather Attribution researchers, released Tuesday in Europe, came after a year when people around the world were slammed by the dangerous extremes brought on by a warming planet.

Temperatures remained high despite the presence of a La Nina, the occasional natural cooling of Pacific Ocean waters that influences weather worldwide. Researchers cited the continued burning of fossil fuels — oil, gas and coal — that send planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

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Updated: Yesterday at 5:14 PM CST

FILE - Grace Chyuwei pours water on Joe Chyuwei to help with the heat Aug. 3, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Toronto saw spike in overdose calls compared to last 2 holiday periods: public health

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Toronto saw spike in overdose calls compared to last 2 holiday periods: public health

The Canadian Press 2 minute read 10:44 AM CST

TORONTO - Public health officials say calls for suspected opioid overdoses in Toronto jumped over the holidays compared with the same periods in the last two years.

Toronto Public Health says paramedics received 122 calls related to suspected opioid overdoses from Dec. 20 to 28, up 35 per cent from the average number of calls received over the same time in the last two years.

It says there were fewer than five calls for fatal overdoses, which is comparable to last year.

The agency says Toronto's drug-checking service confirms worsening contamination in the unregulated opioid supply, including higher-than-usual concentrations of para-fluorofentanyl — a related drug roughly as strong as fentanyl — in samples expected to be fentanyl.

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10:44 AM CST

A nasal spray containing Naxolone, taken from an naxolone emergency kit, is shown at a pharmacy in Toronto on Tuesday April 11 , 2017. Naxolone is a medication that reverses the effects of an overdose from opioids such as heroin, methadone, fentanyl and morphine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Meta buys startup Manus in latest move to advance its artificial intelligence efforts

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Meta buys startup Manus in latest move to advance its artificial intelligence efforts

The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 10:26 AM CST

DETROIT (AP) — Meta is buying artificial intelligence startup Manus, as the owner of Facebook and Instagram continues an aggressive push to amp up AI offerings across its platforms.

The California tech giant declined to disclose financial details of the acquisition. But The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta closed the deal at more than $2 billion.

Manus, a Singapore-based platform with some Chinese roots, launched its first “general-purpose” AI agent earlier this year. The platform offers paid subscriptions for customers to use this technology for research, coding and other tasks.

“Manus is already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses worldwide,” Meta said in a Monday announcement, adding that it plans to scale this service — as Manus will “deliver general-purpose agents across our consumer and business products, including in Meta AI.”

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Updated: 10:26 AM CST

FILE - Attendees visit the Meta booth at the Game Developers Conference 2023 in San Francisco on March 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

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

Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

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

Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 10:57 AM CST

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

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Updated: 10:57 AM CST

A Basset Fauve De Bretagne stands for photographs during a Meet the Breeds event February 22, 2022 in San Diego. (David Woo/American Kennel Club via AP)

Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026

Melanie Lidman And Sam Mednick, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026

Melanie Lidman And Sam Mednick, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 12:43 PM CST

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules.

Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organizations. But the organizations say the rules are arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid.

Israel has claimed throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, a charge the U.N. and aid groups have denied. The new rules, announced by Israel early this year, require aid organizations to register the names of their workers and provide details about funding and operations in order to continue working in Gaza.

The new regulations included ideological requirements — including disqualifying organizations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the Oct. 7 attack or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.

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Updated: 12:43 PM CST

Palestinians pass along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed during Israeli air and ground operations in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Indiana football’s rise to national title contender rewards fans who endured decades of losing

Maura Carey, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Indiana football’s rise to national title contender rewards fans who endured decades of losing

Maura Carey, The Associated Press 5 minute read 7:23 AM CST

Bill Murphy has been an Indiana football season ticket holder for 66 years. He says he has rarely missed a game even though 55 of them have been losing seasons in a historic stretch of bowl-less holidays.

One of those rare misses stands out: The 1968 Rose Bowl, when Indiana lost 14-3 to O.J. Simpson and a USC team that went on to be crowned national champion. Murphy was 15 at the time, and his parents weren't on board with sending him to California alone. But neither Murphy nor his parents could have anticipated the bowl drought that followed. The Hoosiers didn't make another bowl until 1979, and after that, 1986.

Now 77, Murphy wasn't sure this day would come again. So a backup plan was established in case of an emergency.

“I told my wife, son and daughter, I told them, ‘If I die before we go to the Rose Bowl again, I want you to take my urn and buy a program, buy a seat, set the program and urn on the seat, and I’ll be there with you guys,’” he said.

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7:23 AM CST

Bill Murphy points to a wall of framed sports photos in a room at his home in Greenfield, Ind., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

In a tumultuous year, US health policy has been dramatically reshaped under RFK Jr.

Ali Swenson, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

In a tumultuous year, US health policy has been dramatically reshaped under RFK Jr.

Ali Swenson, The Associated Press 7 minute read 7:10 AM CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the whirlwind first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, some of the most polarizing changes have taken place within the Department of Health and Human Services, where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has openly rebuffed the medical establishment as he converts the ideas of his Make America Healthy Again movement into public policy.

Since entering office in February, the health secretary has overseen a dramatic reshaping of the agencies he oversees, including eliminating thousands of jobs and freezing or canceling billions of dollars for scientific research. As part of his campaign against chronic disease, he has redrawn the government's position on topics such as seed oils, fluoride and Tylenol. He also has repeatedly used his authority to promote discredited ideas about vaccines.

The department’s rapid transformation has garnered praise from MAHA supporters who say they long viewed HHS as corrupt and untrustworthy and have been waiting for such a disruption. And both Democrats and Republicans have applauded some of the agency's actions, including efforts to encourage healthy eating and exercise, and deals to lower the prices of costly drugs.

But many of the drastic changes Kennedy has led at the department are raising grave concerns among doctors and public health experts.

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7:10 AM CST

FILE - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., arrives on stage at the inaugural Make America Healthy Again summit at the Waldorf Astoria, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

The year’s first meteor shower and supermoon clash in January skies

Adithi Ramakrishnan, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

The year’s first meteor shower and supermoon clash in January skies

Adithi Ramakrishnan, The Associated Press 3 minute read Updated: 10:31 AM CST

NEW YORK (AP) — The year's first supermoon and meteor shower will sync up in January skies, but the light from one may dim the other.

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the American Meteor Society. In dark skies during the peak, skygazers typically see around 25 meteors per hour, but this time they'll likely glimpse less than 10 per hour due to light from Saturday's supermoon.

“The biggest enemy of enjoying a meteor shower is the full moon,” said Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey.

Meteor showers happen when speedy space rocks collide with Earth’s atmosphere, burning up and leaving fiery tails in their wake — the end of a “shooting star.” A handful of meteors are visible on any given night, but predictable showers appear annually when Earth passes through dense streams of cosmic debris.

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Updated: 10:31 AM CST

December 30, 2025

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