How does climate change affect the likelihood of extreme rain? Federal department aims to publish rapid results

Federal scientists will start to publish rapid results looking at how much more likely major rainstorms have become due to climate change.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says it's expanding its rapid attribution system, so far used to analyze extreme temperatures, to also include extreme precipitation.

"This area of research supports important decision-making that helps Canadian communities prepare for and adapt for the changing frequency and severity of extreme weather events," said Madalina Surcel, a climate extreme specialist with the department.

Officials say they have already run the tool on 42 extreme precipitation events across Canada since June. They say the vast majority of those events were up to two times more likely to happen because of climate change, and three were up to 10 times more likely.

Canadians seeking ways to save on groceries as food costs remain top concern: survey

A survey of Canadians' perceptions around food affordability and purchasing behaviours suggests that consumers have changed how they shop, cook and eat in response to rising prices.

The latest edition of the Canadian Food Sentiment Index, released by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab in partnership with online data platform Caddle, said food remains the dominant household financial concern for Canadians.

More than four-in-five survey respondents indicated it's their top expense pressure. While that was down from 84.1 per cent of respondents a year ago, it still far outpaces other day-to-day expense concerns, such as utilities, household items and supplies, housing, transportation and entertainment.

Half of the nearly 3,000 respondents to the survey conducted last month said food costs increased "significantly" over the past year, while just over one-third indicated their food expenses were up "slightly" and close to 12 per cent said they stayed the same.

Humane society launches holiday hamper drive amid spike in pet food bank demand

Rachelle St. Cyr has had to scrape together change or go without basic necessities if it means her three cats are happy and healthy.

The 49-year-old self-described animal lover has had her two senior cats, named Boots and Mittens, for more than 16 years. The newest addition, seven-month-old Max, was an outdoor stray she couldn’t bring herself to leave behind.

But as the cost of living has skyrocketed so, too, has the cost of pet food and litter, and St. Cyr has visited the Winnipeg Humane Society’s pet food bank to fill the gaps.

“My cats eat better than I do,” she said Wednesday. “My cats sometimes eat more than I can afford to feed myself.”

The road not taken: lowest number of Manitobans in three decades cross border at Pembina in July, August

Many Manitobans appeared to skip U.S. road trips over the summer as the number of southbound travellers hit at least a 30-year low — excluding COVID-19 pandemic years — at a major border crossing south of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg firefighters can’t keep doing more with less

Fifty years ago, Winnipeg had fewer people, fewer challenges, and more firefighters. Today, our city has grown by roughly 53 per cent, but the Winnipeg Fire Department (WFD) has fewer frontline firefighters on duty than it did in 1975. This is not just a historical footnote. It is a red flag.

Increase in number of doctors is only a start

Manitoba posted a record increase of new physicians this past year, a development that deserves recognition.

Most US adults think individual choices keep people in poverty, a new AP-NORC/Harris poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most U.S. adults think personal choices are a major driver of poverty and homelessness, according to a new poll, while fewer blame a lack of government support.

However, just over half also think the government spends too little on those in need, the new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows.

The poll comes as homelessness is on the rise and as officials across the country, including Republican President Donald Trump in the nation's capital, push to clear encampments where unhoused people live. At the same time, the GOP tax and spending cut bill signed into law by Trump in July is expected to reduce benefits for low-income people.

“It seems like people are a little conflicted,” said Bruce Meyer, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School who helped craft and analyze the poll. “I think people probably realize, in part at least, the complexity of what leads people to get in trouble in terms of their economic circumstances. And I think a lot of people are generous at heart and will help people out and think the government should as well, even when individuals aren’t blameless.”

As AI becomes part of everyday life, it brings a hidden climate cost

Marissa Loewen first started using artificial intelligence in 2014 as a project management tool. She has autism and ADHD and said it helped immensely with organizing her thoughts.

“We try to use it conscientiously though because we do realize that there is an impact on the environment,” she said.

Her personal AI use isn't unique anymore. Now it’s a feature in smartphones, search engines, word processors and email services. Every time someone uses AI, it uses energy that is often generated by fossil fuels. That releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

And it's getting harder to live without it.

More than 7,000 elms felled in Winnipeg last year due to disease

A city report reveals elm trees were chopped down more than expected last year due to Dutch elm disease.

Rent-free months and gift cards: How Toronto-area landlords are vying for tenants

TORONTO - Toronto landlords are trying to lure in tenants with rent-free months, complimentary Wi-Fi and $500 gift cards amid an unprecedented supply of condos and lower rents.

Real-estate market experts say the fierce competition – which extends beyond the Greater Toronto Area – is giving renters more negotiating power, echoing trends last seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two months of free rent, free parking and gift cards for food delivery or public transit are among thousands of dollars' worth of perks and discounts advertised on Toronto rental listing websites and apps.

While such incentives are ubiquitous in Toronto, landlords in other GTA cities and the Greater Hamilton Area are also locked in a tight contest that benefits renters.

The penny costs nearly 4 cents to make. Here’s how much the US spends on minting its other coins

NEW YORK (AP) — The impending “death” of the U.S. penny has spotlighted the coin's own price tag — nearly 4 cents to make and distribute each, or quadruple its value.

Months after President Donald Trump called on his administration to cease penny production, the U.S. Mint announced this week that it had made its final order of penny blanks — and plans to stop making new 1 cent coins after those run out.

Coin production costs vary thanks to different raw metals used, complexity of their designs, labor needed and more. Many of those expenses have been on the rise — and the penny isn't the only coin entering our wallets today that costs more to make than it's worth (enter the nickel debate).

Here's a rundown of U.S. Mint production costs from the government's latest fiscal year.

Manitoba bans cellphones for K-8 students

Manitoba has announced a ban on cellphones in elementary schools and strict rules to silence devices and keep them out of sight during Grade 9-12 lessons next month.

Kindergarten to Grade 8 students will be barred from using phones at any point in the school day, including during lunch and recess.

High schoolers will be asked to leave their phones in their locker, with a teacher or at the principal’s office when classes are in session.

Teenagers can access their devices on breaks and when a classroom teacher approves usage for educational purposes.

Study shows ‘striking’ number who believe news misinforms

NEW YORK (AP) — Half of Americans in a recent survey indicated they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting.

The survey, released Wednesday by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, goes beyond others that have shown a low level of trust in the media to the startling point where many believe there is an intent to deceive.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead, 50% said they disagreed. Only 25% agreed, the study found.

Similarly, 52% disagreed with a statement that disseminators of national news “care about the best interests of their readers, viewers and listeners,” the study found. It said 23% of respondents believed the journalists were acting in the public's best interests.

The ‘fix’ is a fantasy as dysfunctional health-care system fails Manitobans on multiple fronts

If you’ve been stuck in a Winnipeg emergency room wondering why you’re waiting longer than ever to see a doctor, you’re not imagining it.

New numbers are in, and they paint a grim picture of a health-care system still in crisis.

According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s 2024-25 annual report released this week, emergency room and urgent care wait times have jumped 36 per cent over the past three years.

The 90th percentile wait time — meaning nine out of 10 patients are seen faster and one in 10 waits longer — has ballooned from 7.6 hours in 2022-23 to 10.3 hours in 2024-25.

Prolonged drought stunts the renowned wild blueberry crop in the Maritimes

HALIFAX - This summer’s prolonged drought across Atlantic Canada has had a costly impact on wild blueberry growers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Donald Arseneault, general manager of the NB Blueberries industry group, says that as this year’s harvest was wrapping up, the total yield was believed to be 70 per cent less than the previous three-year average.

“This year has been tremendously dry and we haven't really seen this in a long time,” Arseneault said, adding that this year’s crop amounted to about 20 million pounds, down from the annual average of 68 million pounds.

The industry, which ships its product around the world, was also hurt by delays caused by the provincial government’s decision to temporarily shut down the harvest as it tried to deal with a growing number of wildfires that flared up amid tinder-dry conditions.

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

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.

Not just Big Bird: Things to know about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its funding cuts

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and television stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” said Friday that it would close after the U.S. government withdrew funding.

The organization told employees that most staff positions will end with the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work.

The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorized its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fueling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters.

Here's what to know:

Google loses appeal in antitrust battle with Fortnite maker

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a jury verdict condemning Google's Android app store as an illegal monopoly, clearing the way for a federal judge to enforce a potentially disruptive shakeup that's designed to give consumers more choices.

The unanimous ruling issued Thursday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivers a double-barreled legal blow for Google, which has been waylaid in three separate antitrust trials that resulted in different pillars of its internet empire being declared as domineering scofflaws monopolies since late 2023.

The unsuccessful appeal represents a major victory for video game maker Epic Games, which launched a legal crusade targeting Google’s Play Store for Android apps and Apple’s iPhone app store nearly five years ago in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged 15% to 30% commissions on in-app transactions.

The jury's December 2023 rebuke of Google's app store for Android-powered smartphones began a cascade of setbacks that includes monopoly judgements against the company's ubiquitous search engine last year and the technology underlying its digital ad network earlier this year.

Key things to know about how Elon Musk has boosted hard-right figures in Europe

ROME (AP) — Elon Musk may have tumbled from political grace in Washington, D.C., but as he seeks to build a new political party, his power on X — where he commands the most popular account — remains unchecked.

Musk is a kingmaker on the platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. He has used his influence to cultivate hard-right politicians and insurgent activists across Europe. A retweet or reply from Musk can lead to millions of views and tens of thousands of new followers, according to an Associated Press analysis of public data.

That fact has not been lost on influencers who have tagged Musk persistently, seeking a reply or a retweet. It has also fueled concerns in Europe about foreign meddling -- not from Russia or China, but from the United States.

“Every alarm bell needs to ring,” Christel Schaldemose, a vice president of the European Parliament who works on electoral interference and digital regulation, told AP.

There is no innovation without social accountability

“Can a country call itself innovative if its founding wounds remain open?” That’s a question I’ve been sitting with for a while.

Tech industry group sues Arkansas over new social media laws

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tech industry trade group sued Arkansas Friday over two new laws that would place limits on content on social media platforms and would allow parents of children who killed themselves to sue over content on the platforms.

The lawsuit by NetChoice filed in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, comes months after a federal judge struck down a state law requiring parental consent before minors can create new social media accounts. The new laws were signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.

“Despite the overwhelming consensus that laws like the Social Media Safety Act are unconstitutional, Arkansas elected to respond to this Court’s decision not by repealing the provisions that it held unconstitutional but by instead doubling down on its overreach,” NetChoice said in its lawsuit.

Arkansas is among several states that have been enacting restrictions on social media, prompted by concerns about the impact on children's mental health. NetChoice — whose members include Facebook parent Meta and the social platform X — challenged Arkansas' 2023 age-verification law for social media. A federal judge who initially blocked the law struck it down in March.

Kashmir tourism bears the brunt after tourist massacre and India-Pakistan military strikes

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — There are hardly any tourists in the scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir. Most of the hotels and ornate pinewood houseboats are empty. Resorts in the snowclad mountains have fallen silent. Hundreds of cabs are parked and idle.

It’s the fallout of last month’s gun massacre that left 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir followed by tit-for-tat military strikes by India and Pakistan, bringing the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of their third war over the region.

“There might be some tourist arrivals, but it counts almost negligible. It is almost a zero footfall right now,” said Yaseen Tuman, who operates multiple houseboats in the region’s main city of Srinagar. “There is a haunting silence now.”

Tens of thousands of panicked tourists left Kashmir within days after the rare killings of tourists on April 22 at a picture-perfect meadow in southern resort town of Pahalgam. Following the attack, authorities temporarily closed dozens of tourist resorts in the region, adding to fear and causing occupancy rates to plummet.