Safety board report says doomed Titan submersible operated with no federal oversight

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says a submersible that imploded on its way to the Titanic wreck was operating in Canada without any oversight, and it is asking federal authorities to look closer at uncertified vessels.

Weighing profits against transforming ‘beautiful country’ of wind-turbine proposal south of Brandon

A major wind-turbine project has been proposed for the Carroll area south of Brandon. Innergex Renewable Energy has made preliminary agreements with landowners on roughly 12,000 acres and is looking to install 30 to 35 turbines.

New UFO files describe spinning discs, glowing orbs and one object shaped like a potato

One was a rotating disc that sent out beams of light. Another was a shining red orb of a hue the observer had never seen before. Then there was the one compared to a potato, and also a bean, but with a coat of shimmering, fish-like scales.

Two tornadoes confirmed in Manitoba during Tuesday’s storm

The massive storm that brought torrential rain and hail to southern Manitoba Tuesday afternoon and evening produced at least two tornadoes, Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed Thursday.

The first, pinpointed by Environment Canada Wednesday, was in Ste. Anne, southeast of Winnipeg. The second was in Dufrost, just east of Morris.

Investigations into the impact of this week’s wild weather are still ongoing, and there’s a chance more tornadoes will be confirmed, said Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor.

“It’s a possibility,” he said. “It was a very, very severe weather day.”

Meteor as heavy as an elephant causes widespread speculation across New England

When the double boom rang out in New England over the weekend, shaking homes and sending pets fleeing, questions started flooding social media.

“Did anyone else hear that boom?”

“Anyone feel that?”

NASA let people know over the weekend that the cause of the commotion was a meteor, but on Monday they revealed even more stunning details.

‘Letting it rip’: Beyblade fanatics are giving childhood craze another spin

RICHMOND -

At Imperial Hobbies in Richmond, B.C., the air is filled with the sounds of battle.

"Three, two, one — shoot!"

The combatants unleash their weapons, setting off high-pitched whirring, and clashes of plastic and metal.

In praise of the deliberately slower lane

Before I begin this story, I should first confess that I once suffered from a serious affliction — that nasty urban disease known as road rage.

‘Extraordinary’: Back on Earth, Jeremy Hansen describes his long journey in space

HOUSTON - When Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen first floated to the window after the Orion capsule's bone-rattling launch into space early this month, what he saw and felt left him grasping for words.

He saw the sweep of the ocean first, and then, drifting into view, the rich, dusty red of Australia. And behind it all was the vastness of space, with the edge of Earth's atmosphere shining like a bubble of blue glass in the black.

"It was pretty extraordinary," Hansen told The Canadian Press at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Thursday.

The enormity of what Hansen and his Artemis II crewmates experienced is still settling in a week after they returned to Earth, splashing into the Pacific Ocean following a 10-day lunar fly-around.

Artemis II astronauts make long-distance call to the space station as they head home from the moon

HOUSTON (AP) — Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts made more history Tuesday: calling their friends aboard the International Space Station hundreds of thousands of miles away as they headed home from the moon.

It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space.

"We have been waiting for this like you can’t imagine,” Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called out.

For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab.

Canada’s Jeremy Hansen rockets toward the moon with Artemis II after engine burn

CAPE CANAVERAL - Canadian Jeremy Hansen is headed toward the moon as part of the Artemis II lunar mission after a nearly six-minute engine burn to bust out of orbit Thursday evening.

Hansen, serving as mission specialist for Artemis II, is the first non-American to travel beyond low Earth orbit.

Also on board the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity by the crew, are veteran NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.

After the spacecraft successfully completed a manoeuvre known as a translunar injection, Hansen had a message for the people of Earth.

The Latest: Artemis II astronauts reach orbit on historic mission to the moon and back

Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two years.

NASA's launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket early Wednesday, setting the stage for blast off in the evening at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are on board. They’ll hurtle several thousand miles beyond the moon, hang a U-turn and then come straight back. No circling around the moon, no stopping for a moonwalk — just a quick out-and-back lasting less than 10 days. NASA promises more boot prints in the gray lunar dust, but not before a couple practice missions.

Unlike the Apollo missions that sent astronauts to the moon from 1968 through 1972, Artemis’ debut crew includes a woman, a person of color and a Canadian citizen.

‘Neighbours hating each other’: Proposed Saskatchewan wind farm divides community

Don Bourassa says a proposed wind farm near his home in southeast Saskatchewan has ruined relationships in his community — to the point where he feels he has been bullied.

A resident of the Rural Municipality of Weyburn, Bourassa said one of his neighbours approached him about buying his property to keep him quiet on Enbridge's Seven Stars Energy Project.

"He wants me out of there, to shut up," Bourassa said in an interview. "That's bullying and I'm not falling for that.

“It’s neighbours hating each other."

‘Fly WestJet, see a UFO’

The truth is out there — or at least it could be outside the cockpit of a WestJet flight.

In an incident reported by NAV Canada to Transport Canada on Friday, WestJet pilots had reported they had flown by “a basketball-sized object at 13,000 feet” during a flight from Winnipeg to Calgary on Jan. 19.

The pilots, of flight WJA485, were flying just northwest of Canmore at the time and descending to land in Calgary when the incident occurred.

NAV Canada has classified the incident, under occurrence event information, as a “weather balloon, meteor, rocket, CIRVIS/UFO.” CIRVIS stands for Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings.

Meteorite hunters scour Ohio for fragments of 7-ton space rock that crashed into Earth

MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — Meteorite hunters fanned out across a wide swath of Ohio on Thursday, hoping to collect fragments of an estimated 7-ton (6,350 kilograms) space rock that crashed into Earth this week after a dazzling fireball that was seen from hundreds of miles away.

The meteoroid broke apart around 9 a.m. Tuesday over Valley City, a half-hour south of Cleveland, after it sped through the atmosphere at about 45,000 miles (72,420 kilometers) per hour. It caused a sonic boom that rattled buildings and caused fears of an explosion. The fireball was seen from Wisconsin to Maryland, and NASA confirmed it was a meteoroid nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter.

Medina resident December Harris didn’t have to go looking — her cousin and roommate, Ambra Sinclair, found a small black rock they suspect is a meteorite when she was leaving for work. They had heard the sonic boom Tuesday morning but figured it might have been noise from a nearby airport.

Harris said her roommate found the rock in a 4-foot (1.2-meter) area between the garage and the house late Wednesday morning. She described it as somewhat triangular shaped, less than 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter — and “very, very black,” with pits on the surface, grooves and a melted texture on its exterior.

Oldest known whale recording could unlock mysteries of the ocean

A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it’s the oldest such recording known.

Speed limits and safety — follow the science

The premier of Manitoba recently appeared hesitant about collaborating with Winnipeg City Council on a public works proposal to lower the city’s default residential speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. Without a provincial amendment to the Highway Traffic Act, the city says implementing the change would require installing signs on hundreds of streets, at a cost of up to $10 million to taxpayers.

NASA clears its Artemis moon rocket for an April launch with four astronauts following repairs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs.

The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity's first trip to the moon in more than 50 years.

The Artemis II crew should have blasted off on a lunar flyaround earlier this year, but fuel leaks and other problems with the Space Launch System rocket interfered.

Although NASA managed to plug the hydrogen fuel leaks at the pad in February, a helium-flow issue forced the space agency to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, bumping the mission to April.

Spacecraft’s impact changed asteroid’s orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test, study finds

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid that NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun, findings that could help divert a future incoming killer space rock, scientists reported Friday.

It’s the first time that a celestial body’s orbit around the sun was deliberately changed. The asteroid that NASA's Dart spacecraft slammed into was never a threat to Earth.

“This study marks a notable step forward in our ability to prevent future asteroid impacts on Earth,” the international research team wrote in Science Advances.

The changes were slight — reductions of just one-tenth of a second and one-half of a mile (720 meters) to a solar lap spanning two years and hundreds of millions of miles (kilometers), according to the scientists.

No chance asteroid will slam into the moon in 2032, NASA says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA issued a welcomed all-clear Thursday, saying there's now zero chance that asteroid 2024 YR will crash into the moon in 2032.

The space agency had been predicting a 4.3% chance of a direct hit. But observations by the Webb Space Telescope in February helped scientists refine the asteroid’s orbit.

This new information indicates that the asteroid will miss the moon by 13,200 miles (21,200 kilometers) on Dec. 22, 2032.

Discovered at the end of 2024, the asteroid at first looked like it might threaten Earth. Scientists last year ruled out a collision with our planet anytime in the next century, but kept the moon as a possible target. The asteroid is about 200 feet (60 meters) across.

Proposal to reduce Winnipeg’s default 50 km/h speed limit advances

A proposal in which Winnipeg drivers would be forced to slow down on residential streets is rolling forward.

On Wednesday, council’s public works committee voted to ask the provincial government to change the Highway Traffic Act, pending a final council vote. The change would give the city the power to alter the 50 km/h default speed limit for Winnipeg that applies to all areas, except where signs post a different speed limit.

Following that, city staff recommend that council reduce the default speed limit to 40 km/h for residential streets and “minor collector” streets.

Coun. Janice Lukes said she’d support the reduced speed limit in residential areas, which she expects would only create a minor delay for drivers.

Councillors back permanent bike lane for Wellington Crescent next year

The city is poised to scrap a long-awaited temporary bike lane pilot project on Wellington Crescent, which was expected this year, and speed up the construction of permanent bike lanes instead.

On Wednesday, council’s public works committee voted to accelerate the plan to construct permanent bike lanes in 2027, pending a final council vote. The city had planned to spend $5.5 million to do so in 2029.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said the switch to pursue permanent protected bike lanes, with curbs to separate cyclists from vehicular traffic, is the best way to ensure lasting safety improvements.

“This is going to be a fundamental change in the way traffic moves, pedestrian cycling and vehicular traffic in this section, and I want to rip the Band-Aid off once… It’s going to be a big change for everyone,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

New football chinstrap designed to lessen force of blows to facemask

Erin Hanson wants to make taking it on the chin in football much safer in Canada.

Guardian Sports officially launched the Guardian Flex chinstrap on Thursday for individual and team sale, with the CFL being among the leagues to have reviewed the item. The product has been engineered to reduce the impact of blows to the facemask.

According to the company, the chinstrap reduces Head Acceleration Response Metric (HARM) scores by up to 35 per cent and targets facemask impacts, which research suggests account for about half of all hits and are an area where traditional helmets underperform.

The chinstrap will be far less noticeable to fans than the Atlanta-based company’s Guardian Cap. Introduced 14 years ago, the soft padded shell fits over a football helmet and is secured by elastic straps attached to the facemask.

City report recommends reducing residential speed limit to 40 km/h

Winnipeg drivers may have to ease up on the gas pedal when they head down residential streets and minor collector roads.

The City of Winnipeg is looking at making the default speed limit 40 km/h, from the current 50 km/h.

A report to be presented to the public works committee next week suggests the change could improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and others.

Committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes says she supports the recommendation, but stressed amendments to the provincial Highway Traffic Act are required before it could take effect.

Councillor calls for permanent bike lanes on Wellington stretch

The chair of Winnipeg’s public works committee wants the city to scrap plans for temporary bike lanes on part of Wellington Crescent and immediately proceed with a permanent protected route.

Coun. Janice Lukes wants permanent lanes to be installed in 2027 if her proposal is approved, although some proponents worry there will be more delays if plans change for a road they consider unsafe.

“I know this is frustrating and it’s challenging, but we’ve got the money — move it up and let’s just do it right the first time,” Lukes told reporters.

The city on Wednesday published a staff report and design for temporary lanes on a one-kilometre section between Academy Road and Stradbrook Avenue, after getting public input on a proposed $436,000 pilot project.