2 Renoir paintings stolen from a French museum have been found, 6 arrested

Rich get richer as NDP policy shifts leave opponents in dust

Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala made two announcements that showed why the NDP will remain the party to beat in the next provincial election.

Ottawa must parlay sports gambling boom into addiction supports

I watch a lot of sports on television, mostly hockey, baseball and football. And it’s getting harder to watch a game without being bombarded with gambling advertisements.

The betting industry hasn’t just bought commercial time. It has woven itself into the broadcasts, becoming part of the game itself.

Gambling logos plaster the boards around hockey rinks, appear on players’ jerseys and helmets, and pop up during commercial breaks. Broadcasters talk about betting odds, promote wagers and remind viewers how they can put money on the action unfolding in front of them.

It doesn’t affect me personally. I don’t gamble. But I think it’s ruining sports broadcasts. What was once about enjoying a game has increasingly become an opportunity to sell viewers another way to lose their money.

AI usage is prominent in Winnipeg’s municipal race, and it’s likely here to stay

Winnipeg voters may have noticed an uncanny sheen to aspects of certain mayoral campaigns this year.

Social media images and text a little too synthetically smooth — or, in some cases, downright surreal.

“This is the new normal. Everyone needs to accept that there is going to be rampant AI use by political parties … it’s the speed of adoption that’s been so disorienting,” says Aengus Bridgman, a former Winnipegger and assistant professor at McGill University whose research addresses the intersection of artificial intelligence and democracy.

“(Generative-AI use in elections) ranges from innocent fun to augmenting an under-resourced campaign to pretty clear examples of misleading.”

WAG-Qaumajuq names first Indigenous director, CEO

John Mahli Lawa’ Hampton has been selected to take the helm of Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, WAG-Qaumajuq announced Thursday.

El Clásico has become spectacle of hatred between Barcelona and Real Madrid

El Clásico is more than a match. That is, the encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid, while ostensibly about football, tend to collect all manner of drama, controversy and animus before — and after — the 90 minutes played twice per season in La Liga.

And yet, even by its typical standards, the build-up to Sunday’s showdown at Camp Nou (3 p.m., TSN) has been especially rancorous. From organized labour to name-dropping Joseph Goebbels, there’s not much this Clásico hasn’t touched on, and it’s still some time away.

Rather importantly, it should be noted that, yes, the two sides will actually face one another as scheduled. This was only confirmed Thursday, when it was determined that a workers’ strike would not prevent the game going ahead.

Approximately 60 of Barcelona’s seasonal employees are participating in the action, which began midnight Friday and will extend into Monday. They’re concerned about worsening conditions and task overload caused by understaffing. It’s just the latest organizational issue at a club that seems to lurch from one to the next.

Is Osborne a street or a road? ‘Stroad’ status fails everyone

Last month, the City of Winnipeg said it would soon begin to study ways to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety along Osborne Street, which runs between two of the city’s densest neighbourhoods, where residents walk and bike for many of their daily activities.