Applied commerce

YouTube using creators to enhance broadcast of the NFL game between the Chiefs and the Chargers

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

YouTube using creators to enhance broadcast of the NFL game between the Chiefs and the Chargers

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs face Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers in the most accessible game to viewers on Friday night in Brazil.

It’s the first NFL game streamed on YouTube and there will be plenty of unique elements surrounding the broadcast.

The league and YouTube have assembled a lineup of content creators to enhance the viewing experience.

Cam Newton, Brandon Marshall, Derek Carr and Tyrann Mathieu will be part of a pre-game and post-game shows hosted by Kay Adams.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks during a press conference ahead of a NFL football game against Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks during a press conference ahead of a NFL football game against Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion to settle lawsuit over pirated books used to train AI chatbots

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion to settle lawsuit over pirated books used to train AI chatbots

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 6 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot.

The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a turning point in legal battles between AI companies and the writers, visual artists and other creative professionals who accuse them of copyright infringement.

The company has agreed to pay authors or publishers about $3,000 for each of an estimated 500,000 books covered by the settlement.

“As best as we can tell, it’s the largest copyright recovery ever,” said Justin Nelson, a lawyer for the authors. “It is the first of its kind in the AI era.”

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Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

Thriller novelist Andrea Bartz is photographed in her home, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025 (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Thriller novelist Andrea Bartz is photographed in her home, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025 (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Carney announces supports for sectors affected by U.S. tariffs

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Carney announces supports for sectors affected by U.S. tariffs

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday a suite of new measures to support sectors of the economy hit hardest by U.S. tariffs.

The announcement includes $5 billion for a fund to help companies pivot to new products and markets and keep skills and production in Canada, and to make them more competitive globally.

At a press conference at an aerospace plant in Mississauga, Ont. Friday morning, Carney said that the fund would be open to "all sectors, given the fact that the tariff impacts are wide-ranging across Canadian industries." He said that heavily affected sectors like steel, automobile, lumber and aluminum would have priority.

Carney also announced a “Buy Canadian” policy for the federal government.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Carney delays electric vehicle sales mandate by one year, launches review

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Carney delays electric vehicle sales mandate by one year, launches review

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

OTTAWA - The federal electric vehicle sales mandate will not be implemented in 2026 as planned, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday, pushing back by at least a year a policy that would have set minimum sales targets for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Introduced by the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the mandate would have required 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada next year to be electric.

The standard as written is to rise steadily each year until 2035, by which point all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada were to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids.

But at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., Carney said he is suspending the mandate for 2026 and launching a 60-day review of the program to help find "future flexibilities and ways to reduce costs."

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

An electric vehicle is charged in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

An electric vehicle is charged in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Unemployment rate climbed to 7.1 per cent in August as economy lost 66,000 jobs

Craig Wong, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Unemployment rate climbed to 7.1 per cent in August as economy lost 66,000 jobs

Craig Wong, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

OTTAWA - The Canadian economy lost jobs for the second month in a row and the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level since May 2016, excluding the pandemic period, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

The weaker-than-expected reading of the labour market prompted financial markets to increase the odds the Bank of Canada will cut its key interest rate target later this month.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.1 per cent in August as the economy lost 66,000 jobs for the month. The monthly jobs report comes after the July labour force survey that showed a loss of 41,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent.

A poll of economists heading into the release had expected August to show a gain of 10,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to seven per cent for the month, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Signage marks the Statistics Canada offices in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Signage marks the Statistics Canada offices in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters spiked 34% Thursday after the teen clothing retailer said the frenzy surrounding its Sydney Sweeney ad campaign drew new customers during its most recent quarter.

American Eagle rolled out its new new ad campaign starring 27-year-old actor over the summer. The fall denim campaign sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to “woke” American politics and culture.

Negative reactions centered on ads that used the word “genes” instead of “jeans” featuring the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor known for the HBO series “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.”

But American Eagle did get noticed, executives said late Wednesday in a call after the Pittsburgh retailer posted second quarter earnings.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

FILE - People walk past a campaign poster starring Sydney Sweeney which is displayed at the American Eagle Outfitters store, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - People walk past a campaign poster starring Sydney Sweeney which is displayed at the American Eagle Outfitters store, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Ballers manager Aaron Miles will leave it to artificial intelligence to decide when to pinch hit or replace his pitcher.

The playoff-bound Ballers of the independent Pioneer League are turning to AI to manage most aspects of Saturday's home game against the Great Falls Voyagers at Raimondi Park. So it might feel almost like a day off for the skipper, whose lineup and in-game decisions will even be made for him — from a tablet he will have in the dugout providing instructions.

The starting pitcher is already set.

“Luckily it’s only game. Maybe we've done so well that the AI will just keep doing what we're doing,” Miles joked Wednesday. “Being a 70-win team we've got a very good bench. It's hard to write a lineup without leaving somebody out that's really good. This game I'll be like, ‘Hey, it’s not on me for not writing you in there, it's on the computer.' It won’t be my fault if somebody’s not in the lineup, I guess I’ll enjoy that.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - Oakland Ballers players stand during the national anthem before a Pioneer League baseball game against the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Oakland, Calif., July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - Oakland Ballers players stand during the national anthem before a Pioneer League baseball game against the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Oakland, Calif., July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Getting word out in face of AI-made messaging

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Getting word out in face of AI-made messaging

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025

Manitoba marketing aficionados have named their new agency Plain Language — a nod to what they say they’ll speak.

There’s a lack of plain language around algorithms and outcomes found in online advertising, agency co-founders said. They’ve spent decades working in digital media, placing ads in an ever-changing online landscape.

“There’s a lot of different platforms, and the way that people talk about it can be quite obtuse,” said Anthony Kowalczyk, Plain Language’s chief executive. “I think that’s what we’re trying to move away from.”

He and Jason Hachkowski, Plain Language’s vice-president of digital ad operations and strategy, have worked together for more than a decade. A mutual colleague suggested the pair meet — both men were experts in digital marketing and advertising.

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Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025

GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS

Anthony Kowalczyk (left) and Jason Hachkowski are two of six partners launching Plain Language, a Manitoba-based media buying and management agency.

GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS
                                Anthony Kowalczyk (left) and Jason Hachkowski are two of six partners launching Plain Language, a Manitoba-based media buying and management agency.

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — C-SPAN said Wednesday that it had reached a deal to have its three channels air on YouTube TV and Hulu's live television feed, ending a dispute that had led to a revenue squeeze for the public affairs network in the cord-cutting era.

The network said the streaming services would pay the same fee as cable and satellite companies, roughly 87 cents a year per subscriber, and that C-SPAN would continue its no-advertising policy on television.

Congress involved itself in the issue, passing a resolution this spring calling on the services' parent companies — Alphabet for YouTube and Disney for Hulu — to add C-SPAN to their programming mix. Because congressional sessions and hearings represent a big portion of C-SPAN's programming, the politicians faced diminished airtime without a deal.

At its peak a decade ago, C-SPAN was seen in some 100 million homes with television. The number of homes paying for TV has since dropped to some 70 million, with roughly 20 million of those consumers now getting television through services like YouTube and Hulu, and they weren't showing C-SPAN.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by C-SPAN, the final vote count on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, in the Senate in Washington, D.C. (C-SPAN via AP)

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by C-SPAN, the final vote count on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, in the Senate in Washington, D.C. (C-SPAN via AP)

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Preview

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

OTTAWA - Wrongful death lawsuits citing the activities of artificial intelligence chatbots are underway in the United States, as reports emerge of mental health issues and delusions induced by AI systems.

These incidents are drawing attention to the changing nature of the online threat landscape — just weeks after the Liberal government said it would review its online harms bill before reintroducing it in Parliament.

"Since the legislation was introduced, I think it's become all the more clear that tremendous harm can be facilitated by AI, and we're seeing that in particular in the space of chatbots and some of the tragedies," said Emily Laidlaw, Canada research chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary.

The Online Harms Act, which died on the order paper when the election was called, would have required social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and would have imposed on them a duty to protect children.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV’s biggest prizes

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV’s biggest prizes

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press 2 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be honored with one of the television's top prizes even as it winds down its nearly 60-year work after the U.S. government withdrew funding.

The organization, which has helped pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and TV stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” will be awarded the Television Academy's Governors Award, which honors those who have "made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.”

It will be handed to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 7.

“For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served,” Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said in a statement Tuesday.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - An entrance to the Arizona PBS offices in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix is seen Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Katie Oyan, File)

FILE - An entrance to the Arizona PBS offices in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix is seen Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Katie Oyan, File)

Coming price cuts at McDonald’s may signal a broader fast food price war

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Coming price cuts at McDonald’s may signal a broader fast food price war

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

McDonald’s is cutting prices on some combo meals to woo back customers who’ve been turned off by the rising costs of grabbing a fast food meal.

The price drop may induce its rivals, who have run into some of the same pricing issues, to follow.

Starting Sept. 8, McDonald’s will offer Extra Value Meals, which combine select entrées like a Big Mac, an Egg McMuffin or a McCrispy sandwich with medium fries or hash browns and a drink. Prices will vary by location, but McDonald’s said Extra Value Meals will cost 15% less than ordering each of those items separately.

To kick off the promotion, McDonald’s will offer an $8 Big Mac meal or a $5 Sausage McMuffin meal for a limited time in most of the country. Customers in California, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam will have to pay $1 more for those meals.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - This photo shows a McDonald's restaurant in Ridgeland, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)

FILE - This photo shows a McDonald's restaurant in Ridgeland, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)

The Canadian government, mining and human rights

Peter McKenna 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025

Environmentally speaking, foreign mining companies are often more concerned about extracting profits than they are about protecting the local ecological space. There have been innumerable cases of these extractive businesses releasing dangerous chemical pollutants into the air, causing physical damage to nearby homes through soil and bedrock disturbances and dumping mining effluent that poisons local drinking water systems.

Not-for-profit Student Catalyst Gateway launches with career focus on equity-deserving backgrounds

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Preview

Not-for-profit Student Catalyst Gateway launches with career focus on equity-deserving backgrounds

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Tinotenda Mashavave chuckles when he thinks about his first winter in Winnipeg.

“The shock on my face with how cold this place is was unbelievable,” he said. “(Someone) should have told me what it was going to be like.”

Mashavave moved to Manitoba from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, in 2016 to study business administration at the University of Winnipeg. Today, he has a job as a sales representative at Western Financial Group, but the path that led him there had obstacles.

Navigating finances, learning how to network with professionals and finding a job after graduation can be challenging for anyone, but for newcomers like Mashavave, it’s especially difficult.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Avelia Stewart, founder and executive director of new not-for-profit social enterprise Student Catalyst Gateway, in her Winnipeg home this week.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
                                Avelia Stewart, founder and executive director of new not-for-profit social enterprise Student Catalyst Gateway, in her Winnipeg home this week.

Manitoba LGBT* chamber starts entrepreneur development program

Aaron Epp 3 minute read Preview

Manitoba LGBT* chamber starts entrepreneur development program

Aaron Epp 3 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

A new program aims to support LGBTTQ+ entrepreneurs in Manitoba.

The Manitoba LGBT* Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for Emerge, the queer entrepreneur development program it’s launching next month. The six-month program is designed for members of the LGBTTQ+ community to gain essential business skills and strategies, and to build a supportive network of mentors and colleagues in the process.

The program is the first of its kind for the chamber, said Jenny Steinke-Magnus, executive director. “There’s really some unique challenges that queer entrepreneurs face, so we wanted to address those challenges and offer this tailor-made program for queer entrepreneurs in Manitoba.”

Steinke-Magnus cites findings from Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) that shows one in four LGBTTQ+ entrepreneurs have lost business opportunities because of their identity. Two in five have difficulty obtaining financing for their business because of their identity, and one in three have been unable to access mentoring and coaching.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

Jenny Steinke-Magnus, executive director of the Manitoba LGBT* Chamber of Commerce

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Jenny Steinke-Magnus, executive director of the Manitoba LGBT* Chamber of Commerce

Second summer of motorized boat ban, uncertainty going forward raise longer-term concerns for tourism-driven economy inside Riding Mountain National Park

Gabrielle Piché 9 minute read Preview

Second summer of motorized boat ban, uncertainty going forward raise longer-term concerns for tourism-driven economy inside Riding Mountain National Park

Gabrielle Piché 9 minute read Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025

WASAGAMING — As the sun shimmers over Clear Lake’s still waters, everything appears smooth. But there is an undercurrent of uncertainty running through Manitoba’s most popular national park.

Riding Mountain, and other national parks across Canada, are increasingly facing difficult environmental challenges.

For Riding Mountain, it’s the invasive zebra mussel species. In Alberta’s Jasper National Park, it was 2024’s devastating wildfire that caused more than $1 billion in damages. In Nova Scotia, tinder-dry conditions this summer led to the controversial decision to close back-country access in two national parks — Cape Breton Highlands and Kejimkujik.

This is the new reality for places such as Wasagaming, Riding Mountain’s picturesque townsite that borders on Clear Lake — where bureaucratic decisions to address environmental threats run counter to the desires of residents and tourists who want to enjoy popular summer destinations to the fullest.

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Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025

TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN

28082025 Adam Vanstone readies kayaks for customers while working at The Clear Lake Marina in Riding Mountain National Park on Thursday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN
                                28082025 Adam Vanstone readies kayaks for customers while working at The Clear Lake Marina in Riding Mountain National Park on Thursday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Preview

Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

It’s getting harder to see where reviews and other forms of cultural criticism fit in the current media ecosystem. Arts writing positions are being axed at outlets all over North America — but a landscape of all influencers and no critics means all promotion and no journalism.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS

Deftones frontman Chino Moreno at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in 2006, before photo approvals were a thing.

BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS
                                Deftones frontman Chino Moreno at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in 2006, before photo approvals were a thing.

Landlords can hike rent by 1.8 per cent in 2026, province announces

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Preview

Landlords can hike rent by 1.8 per cent in 2026, province announces

Tyler Searle 3 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

The Manitoba government will allow landlords a marginal rent increase when new rent guidelines take effect in January.

The province announced its updated rent-increase guideline for 2026, setting the maximum rate landlords can increase rent at 1.8 per cent — up from a rate of 1.7 per cent in 2025.

Landlords must send written notices of rent increases at least three months before they takes effect. For a rent increase on Jan. 1, therefore, renters must be notified of the change by Sept. 30, the province said in a news release Friday.

The guideline is updated annually and calculated using a formula based on Manitoba’s consumer price index, the province said. It applies to most residential rental properties, including apartments, single rooms, houses and duplexes.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

A for rent sign is displayed on a house in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. A new report says Canada’s average asking rent reached a new record in July. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

A for rent sign is displayed on a house in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. A new report says Canada’s average asking rent reached a new record in July. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Latest in recent string of suspected arsons downtown guts part of Exchange Event Centre

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Preview

Latest in recent string of suspected arsons downtown guts part of Exchange Event Centre

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Concerns are being raised about businesses being targeted in the Exchange District after a concert venue was fire-bombed early Friday morning.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

NICOLE BUFFIE / FREE PRESS

The Exchange Event Centre, 291 Bannatyne Ave., is the latest downtown building to be hit by fire.

NICOLE BUFFIE / FREE PRESS
                                The Exchange Event Centre, 291 Bannatyne Ave., is the latest downtown building to be hit by fire.

Amid geopolitical uncertainty, Manitoba poised to become a hub for increased efforts to assert Canada’s Arctic sovereignty

Conrad Sweatman 21 minute read Preview

Amid geopolitical uncertainty, Manitoba poised to become a hub for increased efforts to assert Canada’s Arctic sovereignty

Conrad Sweatman 21 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Political ground is shifting, ice is melting and Winnipeg and Manitoba appear poised to play a role worth considering in this uncertain new era of Arctic politics.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Aviatrice Riette Bacon photo

Aviatrice Riette Bacon photo

Atlanta Journal-Constitution to stop printing as it transitions to all-digital news

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Atlanta Journal-Constitution to stop printing as it transitions to all-digital news

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will stop providing a print edition at year's end and go completely digital, a dramatic change for a storied newspaper founded shortly after the Civil War.

The decision will make Atlanta the largest U.S. metro area without a printed daily newspaper, although some smaller metro Atlanta newspapers continue printing.

Publisher Andrew Morse said in his Thursday announcement that the news organization will aim to expand its audience as it continues to report the news using online, audio and video products.

“The fact is, many more people engage with our digital platforms and products today than with our print edition, and that shift is only accelerating," Morse wrote in a letter to subscribers posted on the Journal-Constitution's website. The AJC has about 115,000 total subscribers, of whom 75,000 are online only; Morse has set a goal of gaining 500,000 online subscribers.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Printed copies of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are shown on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Printed copies of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are shown on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Online age checks are on the rise in the U.S. and elsewhere, asking people for IDs or face scans to prove they are over 18 or 21 or even 13. To proponents, they're a tool to keep children away from adult websites and other material that might be harmful to them.

But opponents see a worrisome trend toward a less secure, less private and less free internet, where people can be denied access not just to pornography but news, health information and the ability to speak openly and anonymously.

“I think that many of these laws come from a place of good intentions,” said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior technology policy fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “Certainly we all want to protect young people from harmful content before they’re ready to see it.”

More than 20 states have passed some kind of age verification law, though many face legal challenges. While no such law exists on the federal level in the United States, the Supreme Court recently allowed a Mississippi age check law for social media to stand. In June, the court upheld a Texas law aimed at preventing minors from watching pornography online, ruling that adults don't have a First Amendment right to access obscene speech without first proving their age.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a computer monitor in this posed photo, Dec. 7, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a computer monitor in this posed photo, Dec. 7, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Champions League final kicking off earlier to help fans, families and host cities

The Associated Press 2 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

MONACO (AP) — The final of the men’s Champions League is moving forward three hours to a 6 p.m. kickoff in central Europe, UEFA said on Thursday.

Better for families and children to attend and watch on television, use public transport after the game, and for fans to party post-match in host cities, the European soccer body said.

The earlier start will be used at the next final on Saturday, May 30 at Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The final has been played on Saturdays since 2010.

The 9 p.m. kickoff in recent years meant a game that went to extra time and a penalty shootout would finish barely before midnight local time.

One Tech Tip: Ditch the chatbots and take your AI nature apps on a birdwatching hike

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

One Tech Tip: Ditch the chatbots and take your AI nature apps on a birdwatching hike

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

I didn't notice the scarlet tanager until the alert appeared on my phone: “Merlin heard a new bird!”

Despite its brilliant plumage — jet-black wings on a crimson body — the songbird can be a hard one to spot in a forest because it prefers to stay high in the canopy. It sounds a little like a robin to an untrained ear.

But the free Merlin Bird ID app detected a scarlet tanager was likely nearby by using artificial intelligence to analyze my phone’s live sound recording. I paused my hike, quietly scanned the treetops, saw the bird as it kept singing and clicked a button to add the species to my growing "life list" of bird sightings. Digital confetti burst on my screen.

Like a real-world version of Pokémon Go, a gotta-catch-'em-all drive to add to my Merlin list has helped me find a great kiskadee in Mexico and a rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler in the Himalayas. But sometimes the greatest revelations are close to home, as more AI nature app users are starting to discover.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

FILE - A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

FILE - A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)