OpenAI faces 30 new lawsuits from witnesses to mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

VANCOUVER - Artificial intelligence company OpenAI and founder Sam Altman are facing 30 new lawsuits from witnesses to the deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., with plaintiffs including a teacher who described trying to protect pupils from the shooter, and a teenage student who recalled his classmates arming themselves "with kitchen knives and heavy tools."

"My colleagues and I are haunted by the memory of shielding children with our own bodies as our ears rang from the sound of continual gunshots and high-pitched screams. An entire generation of young lives, gone in a second," teacher Deidre Rushlow said in a statement provided by Vancouver-based law firm Rice Parson Leoni and Elliott.

"And for what? So OpenAI could get to an IPO? Were the lives of my students and educational assistant just the cost of doing business?"

The lawsuits were to be filed Wednesday in California on behalf of "injured and traumatized students and educators" at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in the northern British Columbia community, the law firm said. Six of the eight victims who died in the shootings were killed at the school.

Recognizing the value of phys-ed for kids

The message from Premier Wab Kinew and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt last week about the importance of exercise for young people was timely and important — but it is not new.

New Brunswick banning student phone use in public schools

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick is banning elementary students from using their phone or other mobile devices during the school day starting in September.

The province's Liberal government says the same restriction will apply to high school students starting in February.

A news release says social media sites will also be blocked on school devices and internet networks.

But officials say students will be allowed to use their personal laptops and tablets at school for educational purposes.

Journalling club looking for folks up for a scrap

On any given Monday evening this summer, Katie Borgfjord could be found scrapping and yapping with friends and strangers alike, building community one collage at a time.

Borgfjord is the creative force behind Scrap and Yap, a local journalling club that hosts workshops and drop-in events that launched in January. This summer, she set up shop at the weekly Riverview Community Centre’s Monday Markets, inviting visitors of all ages to pull up a chair and get crafty for a while.

“We have magazines, stickers, scrap paper, glue, scissors, stamps, anything you might want to just let your creativity out,” Borgfjord, 26, says.

“It’s different every time. Usually a few people will drop in, some will stay the whole time. My favourite is when people just drop in who have never heard of us before. I hope that it helps spark some creativity.”

Meta settlement should be first of many

Who knew? A massive company knew its products were harmful to children and teens, and not only kept its products on the market, but worked to make them more addictive, to build their own profits.

Doctor pays $500K to revamp courtyard at care home where he works

Fifty years after Dr. Pravinsagar Mehta began caring for residents at Actionmarguerite, a courtyard he had long watched deteriorate is getting a new life after he and his wife committed $500,000 to its redevelopment and long-term maintenance.

Ottawa funds sentencing program for northern Manitoba offenders

The federal government has put up $5 million for a Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak project to provide culturally connected sentencing options for First Nations offenders in northern Manitoba.

A look at major lawsuits against Meta and other social media companies over harms to kids

A settlement announced Wednesday between Meta and dozens of states resolves one of its biggest legal fights, but the social media giant is still facing litigation elsewhere over its products' effects on young people's mental health.

The deal cut short a landmark trial in federal court in Oakland, California, where the Instagram and Facebook parent company was fighting claims that it deliberately designed features that get children addicted. The agreement calls for Meta to pay out up to $18 billion and make a changes to how their platforms are operated, with new guardrails for kid safety.

It is one of many courtrooms around the country where Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube have been defending themselves against allegations their platforms have negatively impacted children’s mental health or otherwise hurt them.

Here is a look at some of the biggest cases against social media companies.

Smart Suite lets families of children with disabilities learn how adaptive design, tech can improve their lives

The first thing Zoe Versteeg did after rolling into the living room was to change the hue-lighting colour to match the shade of her lavender glasses. The smile that spread across her face was nearly as bright as the lights in the room.

“It’s just joy, immediate joy when she sees something happening. She’s like, ‘I control that, I got to do that,’” Elsien Versteeg, Zoe’s mother, said. “Her being able to make those decisions on her own, she can just do it herself now.”

Zoe, who is 13 and non-verbal, uses eye-gaze technology to communicate and control both her wheelchair and an array of smart devices. Versteeg and Zoe were at the official opening of the Rehabilitation Centre for Children’s new Smart Suite on Aug. 26, where the team behind the project was demonstrating the breadth of adaptive design and technologies available locally for families of children with disabilities to provide them with greater independence.

The Versteegs use many of the devices in their own home near New Bothwell.

Meta reaches landmark $18 billion settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta agreed Wednesday to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state.

The settlement resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention.

The agreement “institutes real change, real transparency, real protections for children and teens across the country,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

If approved by the court, the deal will stop an avalanche of litigation by states against Meta, although the company still faces lawsuits from individuals and school districts throughout the U.S. For the states, the settlement delivers money for mental-health programs for kids, including after-school or summer activities and digital literacy counselors.

How to reset your child’s sleep schedule for back-to-school season

NEW YORK (AP) — After a summer of vacations and late nights, it's time to set those back-to-school alarms.

A good night’s sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class. Experts say it's worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of a new school year.

“We don't say ‘ get good sleep ’ just because,” said pediatrician Dr. Gabrina Dixon with Children's National Hospital. “It really helps kids learn and it helps them function throughout the day.”

The amount of sleep kids need changes as they age. Preschoolers should get up to 13 hours of sleep. Tweens need between nine and 12 hours. Teenagers do best with eight to 10 hours of shut-eye.

‘Absolutely stoked’: Quiet hobby gets dose of adrenalin as speed puzzling grows

WINNIPEG - The most gruelling day of competition left Kirsty Williams sweating and collapsed on the floor, clutching a can of Coke as she tried not to pass out.

She still finished the puzzle.

Williams is one of the many who have gone deep into the world of speed puzzling, adding a boost of adrenalin to an otherwise tranquil hobby by racing others.

It was at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship last September, when Williams ran into trouble. The air conditioning in a pavilion in Valladolid, Spain, had conked out as the temperature outside soared above 30 C. She was in the front row, a livestream camera keeping a close eye, and she sensed it would be a tough day.

In Meta’s trial, families of social media victims see a pivotal moment for online safety

As opening statements kicked off Tuesday in a trial for Meta Platforms, advocates and parents of social media victims gathered outside the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, with a banner that stretched several feet across.

Written on it in black ink were the names of children and young adults who have died from social media related harms, including deaths by suicide after bouts of cyberbullying or sextortion. Giovanni, an 11-year-old, Bubba, a 13-year-old, and Englyn, a 14-year-old, were among the nearly 600 names. Parents said the names were “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Behind us, justice is going to be served,″ said Lennon Torres, an advocate with the organization Heat Initiative. “The courtroom doors are open, and it is time that the public see what the executives at Meta have known all along: that their products are designed to addict and to harm children.″

Many of the gathered parents have attended previous trials, congressional hearings and other events related to online child safety. But they say this trial, in which the attorneys general from four states are seeking billions of dollars in damages for social media harms to children, marks a significant moment.

Canada’s social media ban for under-16s likely to face Charter challenge, experts say

OTTAWA - The federal government is likely to face a constitutional challenge to its proposed ban on social media for kids under 16, some experts say.

On Friday, France’s top court struck down that country’s social media ban for kids under 15, saying the ban was too broad and infringed on freedom of expression.

Dalhousie University associate law professor Michael Karanicolas said a Charter challenge to Canada’s law is almost inevitable.

"If we're talking about such a significant intervention in the social media space and in the expressive space, there will be organizations that have the resources and the expertise to take a challenge forward and I think it's very likely that we see litigation around this," he said.

Ottawa wants to block kids from social media. How would age verification work?

OTTAWA - In June, the federal government introduced Bill C-34, which would force social media platforms to block access for kids under 16.

The exact ways in which social media platforms would verify age haven’t yet been worked out. Culture Minister Marc Miller said there will be "a back and forth with platforms as to what protects people’s privacy and what is adequate and sufficient in the circumstances."

But we can look to experiences in other countries to get an idea of the options. They range from facial age estimation technology to verification through existing accounts to government-issued digital ID.

Canada is one of a number of countries around the world moving toward social media age restrictions.

Federal government invests $24 million for cannabis and brain health research

TORONTO - Federal Minister of Health Marjorie Michel has announced $24 million to create the Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium.

Funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the group of 10 research teams from across Canada will work together to study how cannabis affects the brain in people of various ages.

The consortium, announced Wednesday, aims to establish scientific evidence about both potential benefits and harms of cannabis, including its effects on epilepsy, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep, mental health and brain development in youth and during pregnancy.

Dr. Patricia Conrod, scientific director at CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, says the researchers will also recruit more than 3,000 people of all ages and collect data about brain function, mental health and substance use across the lifespan.

Alberta seeks proposals for gambling addiction services as part of iGaming launch

EDMONTON - Alberta's government is seeking proposals for new services and supports for gambling addiction as part of the recent launch of its regulated online gaming market.

The province, in a request for expressions of interest published on Monday, says it's looking to fund services that will be in addition to what's available through Recovery Alberta, such as a 21-day bed-based treatment program, and existing hotlines.

The Mental Health and Addiction Ministry said in a statement the new programs will be paid for through revenue the government is set to bring in from Alberta's regulated iGaming system, which officially launched last month.

"Nobody should have to struggle with addiction alone, including gambling-related addiction," the ministry said.

Long-awaited supervised drug consumption site opens quietly after months of loud opposition

After three years of planning, delays and constant controversy, Manitoba’s first supervised drug consumption site quietly opened its doors Tuesday morning.

Child who prompted Porter Airline flight cancellation not at fault, passenger says

The child whose refusal to buckle up prompted the cancellation of a Porter Airlines flight last week was "obviously terrified" and should not be blamed, says a passenger who was on the plane bound for Toronto.

The aircraft could not take off from Victoria in what Porter called an unsafe situation, so the crew decided to return to the terminal and have the child and a parent get off the plane. By the time they deboarded, it was too late for the flight to proceed.

Passenger Aryeh Kozuch said he has taken the red-eye flight a dozen times without issue, but as he was closing his eyes in preparation for takeoff last Thursday, he noticed flight attendants walking toward the back of the plane. Then, he heard an overhead announcement reminding passengers that obeying flight attendants' instructions is required by law.

Five minutes later, there was another announcement: Passengers needed to comply with flight attendants' instructions within 60 seconds, or the plane was going back to the gate.

City emergency crews to administer drug that stops opioid withdrawal symptoms

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews will soon give out a medication that stops withdrawal symptoms after someone is treated for an opioid overdose.

Emergency workers will be administering a drug called buprenorphine, after Health Canada granted WFPS permission to use the controlled substance.

“Buprenorphine is a medication that offers people who are in active addiction — so those people who have received naloxone as a result of an overdose and those that are experiencing significant and, at times, dangerous withdrawal symptoms — just a bit of a reprieve … (It) reduces cravings and prevents those immediate withdrawal symptoms, which allows more time to connect those patients to further care,” said Michelle Long, WFPS assistant chief of paramedic operations.

The treatment option is in response to a persistently high number of WFPS opioid calls.

Memories of East Selkirk evoked on Zoon Monkman’s new album

At the dawn of the MP3 era, an adolescent Zoon Monkman didn’t have the money for an iPod or a Microsoft Zune, the short-lived competitor to Apple’s revolutionary personal-listening device.

What the recording artist from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation did have in his backpack was the catalogue for the Scholastic Book Club, where only one product demanded attention: an AM-FM radio pen that scoured the airwaves for connection with every click.

For Monkman — a Polaris Music Prize-nominated musician who records as Zoon and pioneered the “moccasingaze” genre, which blends the dreamy textures of shoegaze with the rhythms and energies of Indigenous song — his mother’s gift of the ballpoint pen was a means of both self-discovery and the development of his musical taste.

During lonely days as an elementary student at East Selkirk’s Happy Thought School, the device was also a recess-hour tether to distant worlds, where artists such as Feist, Avril Lavigne and Broken Social Scene were introduced by the enthusiastic voice of a man who called himself Ace Burpee.

Does Wealthsimple want to add sports, politics to its new prediction markets product?

TORONTO - Wealthsimple’s newest product has given armchair economists and Canadians convinced they can predict Mother Nature a chance to put their skills to the test, but some say the business is likely after an even bigger audience.

The Toronto-based financial services company started offering prediction markets last month. The product lets customers make wagers of $1 or less on the outcome of economic, financial or climate matters like what will happen at the Bank of Canada's next interest rate announcement or how many major Atlantic hurricanes there will be this year.

But the first few weeks have some thinking Wealthsimple might have even bigger ambitions.

When Charles Martineau, an associate professor of finance at the University of Toronto, and Marius Zoican, the Canada Research Chair in financial technology, each logged onto Wealthsimple's Predict app, they found it displaying stakes in who will become the next James Bond, what the score will be at future football games and who will win the 2028 U.S. presidential election.

Can federal legislation effectively rein in social media’s opaque algorithms and deceptive design features?

In June, when Ottawa introduced Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, one element — plans to block children under the age of 16 from certain social media platforms — dominated headlines and fuelled debates.

But this marks just one component of a complex, 92-page bill that would enact two separate pieces of legislation: the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act.

The Free Press took a close look at the tabled bill, breaking down the changes it would make, if passed.

Heritage Minister Marc Miller, whose department is responsible for the file, told reporters in June the bill meant to ramp up Canada’s oversight of Big Tech.