Science (general)

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

This photo provided by the Manitoba government shows wildfires in Flin Flon, Man., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Manitoba government via AP)

Winds push smoke from Canadian wildfires south into US and worsen air quality

Corey Williams And Sarah Raza, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Winds push smoke from Canadian wildfires south into US and worsen air quality

Corey Williams And Sarah Raza, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

Air quality in some parts of the United States is worsening as smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada travels south, pushed by winds high in the atmosphere.

Through parts of Minnesota and into Wisconsin, the air quality is deemed unhealthy for people and animals sensitive to pollution and other airborne particles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow page.

As of Friday afternoon, the interactive air quality map showed a strip of orange moving northwest to southeast across Wisconsin. Most of the state showed moderate air quality as did all of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois also showed moderate air quality on the AirNow map.

Over the next day or so, particulates from the burning trees, leaves and other vegetation could reach further south into Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, said Patrick Ayd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, Minnesota.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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FAA demands an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest out-of-control Starship flight

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview
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FAA demands an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest out-of-control Starship flight

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 2 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding an accident investigation into this week’s out-of-control Starship flight by SpaceX.

Tuesday's test flight from Texas lasted longer than the previous two failed demos of the world's biggest and most powerful rocket, which ended in flames over the Atlantic. The latest spacecraft made it halfway around the world to the Indian Ocean, but not before going into a spin and breaking apart.

The FAA said Friday that no injuries or public damage were reported.

The first-stage booster — recycled from an earlier flight — also burst apart while descending over the Gulf of Mexico. But that was the result of deliberately extreme testing approved by the FAA in advance.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025
FILE - In this photo shot from a television screen provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy in June 2020, shows damage to anchor support EP-17-1 on the east leg of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline within the Straits of Mackinac in Mich. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP, File)

Army Corps analysis finds Great Lakes pipeline tunnel would have sweeping environmental impacts

Todd Richmond, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Army Corps analysis finds Great Lakes pipeline tunnel would have sweeping environmental impacts

Todd Richmond, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Building an underground tunnel for an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that stretches across a Great Lakes channel could destroy wetlands and harm bat habitats but would eliminate the chances of a boat anchor rupturing the line and causing a catastrophic spill, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday in a long-awaited draft analysis of the proposed project's environmental impacts.

The analysis moves the corps a step closer to approving the tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. The tunnel was proposed in 2018 at a cost of $500 million but has been bogged down by legal challenges. The corps fast-tracked the project in April after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies in January to identify energy projects for expedited emergency permitting.

A final environmental assessment is expected by autumn, with a permitting decision to follow later this year. The agency initially planned to issue a permitting decision in early 2026.

With that permit in hand, Enbridge would only need permission from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy before it could begin constructing the tunnel. That's far from a given, though.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
FILE - Author Taylor Jenkins Reid poses for a portrait at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

With ‘Atmosphere,’ Taylor Jenkins Reid leaves the Evelyn Hugo-verse behind and travels to space

Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

With ‘Atmosphere,’ Taylor Jenkins Reid leaves the Evelyn Hugo-verse behind and travels to space

Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

Taylor Jenkins Reid recalls a moment writing her new novel, “Atmosphere: A Love Story,” set against NASA's robust 1980s shuttle program, where she felt stuck. She went, where she often goes, to her husband to talk it through.

“I said, ‘I can’t write this book. I don’t know enough about the space shuttle. I don’t know what happens when the payload bay doors won’t shut and you have to get back within a certain amount of revs, but they can’t land at White Sands. They have to land at Cape Kennedy.’ And he's like, ‘Just listen to yourself. You know so much more than you knew a couple months ago. Keep doing what you’re doing.'”

“Atmosphere," out Tuesday, follows the journey of astronomer Joan Goodwin, an astronomer selected to join NASA's astronaut program. She and fellow trainees become like family and achieve their dream of going to space — until tragedy strikes.

The story unfolds in two timelines: One when Joan first joins the NASA program and the other in December 1984 when a mission goes terribly wrong. The duo behind “Captain Marvel,” Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, are adapting the book into a film with a theatrical release in mind.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025
NICHOLAS ZAHARI / CANADIAN ARMED FORCES FILES In Norway House, military members help to evacuate residents from Mathias Colomb First Nation, who had escaped a wildfire near their community at the end of May.
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‘Pray for rain’: wildfire races toward Flin Flon

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 8 minute read Preview
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‘Pray for rain’: wildfire races toward Flin Flon

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 8 minute read Friday, May. 30, 2025

Premier Wab Kinew urged Manitobans to remain calm Friday, a pivotal day in the war on wildfires in which shifting winds sent flames bearing down on Flin Flon, more people had to be evacuated from more communities and desperately needed resources were promised by the United States.

“Keep calm and carry on,” Kinew told an afternoon news conference at the legislature.

He said the threat to Flin Flon, about 830 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, had become so severe that the mayor, council and the few others who remained after a citywide evacuation order issued Wednesday afternoon had no choice but to leave Friday.

“We had our health-care workers leave this morning… the only folks remaining on the ground are the firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP who are there to battle the blaze,” Kinew said.

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Friday, May. 30, 2025
FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
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CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview
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CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots.

The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

But the updated guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website sends a more nuanced message, saying shots “may” be given to those groups.

“The announcement from earlier this week sounded like CDC was going to fully withdraw any statement that could be construed as a recommendation for these vaccines in these populations,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher. “It's not as bad as it could have been."

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025
This photo provided by Washington County Sheriff's office shows damage from severe weather in Washington County, Ky., on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Sheriff Jerry Pinkston/Washington County Sheriff's office via AP)

1 dead and several injured when storm rips through Kentucky community, authorities say

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

1 dead and several injured when storm rips through Kentucky community, authorities say

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

SPRINGFIELD, Ky. (AP) — The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia on Friday, hours after a harsh storm hit a remote area of central Kentucky, killing one person and injuring seven others.

In Kentucky, Washington County Judge-executive Timothy Graves said two or three houses were destroyed and downed trees temporarily blocked roads.

“We were fortunate this was located in a remote part of the county,” Graves said.

Gov. Andy Beshear canceled a visit planned for Friday to Pulaski and Laurel counties, which were hit by a tornado earlier this month. That storm left 19 dead in the state. Officials were responding to reports of a possible tornado in Washington County, he said in a social media post.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
Police set up checkpoints looking for escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, May 29, 2025, near downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)

Bloodhounds hunting ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt

Jeff Martin, Andrew Demillo And Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Bloodhounds hunting ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt

Jeff Martin, Andrew Demillo And Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

A bloodhound picked up the scent shortly after the “ Devil in the Ozarks ” escaped from a lockup in northern Arkansas. The hound didn't have to go far to begin the hunt — it lives at the prison as part of a specialized unit that uses man's best friend to help track fugitives.

Although the scent of convicted killer Grant Hardin was lost because of heavy rain, experts say that even days after Sunday's escape, the animal's highly developed sense of smell can still pick up a fresh trail.

That’s partly due to about 300 million cells in their nose that supercharges their sense of smell, said Terri Heck, a Bloodhound handler and trainer who works with the Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s Office.

They’ve got wide nostrils to scoop up smells, and their long ears often work to stir up scents as they drag along the ground. Even their drool plays a role, as that wetness wakes up scents, Heck said.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
A wildfire in the Flin Flon, Man. area is shown in a government handout photo on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO — Manitoba Government *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Hudbay Minerals staff evacuate Flin Flon, Man., due to wildfires

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Hudbay Minerals staff evacuate Flin Flon, Man., due to wildfires

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

TORONTO - Hudbay Minerals Inc. says its non-essential staff in the Flin Flon, Man., area are evacuating because of wildfires in the region.

The company says it hasn't been actively mining at its Flin Flon site since 2022, but it still runs care and maintenance work and also has services there to support its Snow Lake operation.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba have declared provincewide states of emergency to deal with the wildfires that, in Manitoba, has forced 17,000 residents to evacuate including 6,000 in and around the northwest city of Flin Flon.

Hudbay says the evacuation order because of wildfires will likely affect production at Snow Lake because a large portion of its staff live in Flin Flon, which sits about 200 kilometres west, but it still expects to reach its guidance for the year.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
Jennifer Chretien and her husband Rob Burroughs sit with their dogs Taco and Gunner on their truck outside of a reception centre for evacuees of the wildfires in northern Manitoba at the Century Arena in Winnipeg, Thursday, May 29, 2025. The couple drove from Flin Flon as evacuations were ordered, and will be spending the night at the community centre. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

Flin Flon, Man., virtually deserted, thousands more evacuees expected as fires rage

The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Flin Flon, Man., virtually deserted, thousands more evacuees expected as fires rage

The Canadian Press 6 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says thousands more evacuees are expected and the city of Flin Flon is virtually deserted as wildfires continue to rage in his province.

Kinew told a Friday news conference that the mayor, councillors, health-care staff and other officials have had to depart Flin Flon.

"The only folks remaining on the ground are firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP, who are there to battle the blaze," Kinew said.

"We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community."

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025
Celina Slaght, a medical volunteer, feeds a fledgling crow at the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C., in Burnaby, B.C., on Thursday, May 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Dive-bombed or not, Vancouverites are still pro-crow, researchers say

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview
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Dive-bombed or not, Vancouverites are still pro-crow, researchers say

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

VANCOUVER - Along her journey towards understanding Vancouver's crows, psychology professor Suzanne MacDonald says she made a friend.

It's a crow that brings her gifts after she set up a bird feeder at her home in the neighbourhood of Kitsilano.

Once, it was a barnacle-covered shell, which MacDonald treasures. Other times, it was "bits of garbage" that MacDonald doesn't fancy much, though she "appreciates the sentiment."

"I think he definitely recognizes me. When other people go out on my patio, he doesn't come to them. He knows me," said MacDonald.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025
FILE - Bathers cool off in the water while others sunbathe on a Barcelona beach, Spain, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti,File)

Half of world’s population endured extra month of extreme heat due to climate change, experts say

Isabella O'malley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Half of world’s population endured extra month of extreme heat due to climate change, experts say

Isabella O'malley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Scientists say 4 billion people, about half the world’s population, experienced at least one extra month of extreme heat because of human-caused climate change from May 2024 to May 2025.

The extreme heat caused illness, death, crop losses, and strained energy and health care systems, according to the analysis from World Weather Attribution, Climate Central and the Red Cross.

“Although floods and cyclones often dominate headlines, heat is arguably the deadliest extreme event,” the report said. Many heat-related deaths are unreported or are mislabeled by other conditions like heart disease or kidney failure.

The scientists used peer-reviewed methods to study how much climate change boosted temperatures in an extreme heat event and calculated how much more likely its occurrence was because of climate change. In almost all countries in the world, the number of extreme heat days has at least doubled compared with a world without climate change.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025
FILE - Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, wearing a nasal strip, reacts after scoring a point against Italy's Jannik Sinner in the final of the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

French Open tennis players say nasal strips aren’t just for snoring

Tom Nouvian, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

French Open tennis players say nasal strips aren’t just for snoring

Tom Nouvian, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

PARIS (AP) — If more tennis players find themselves breathing easier, it might just be thanks to Carlos Alcaraz.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, whose bid for a second consecutive French Open title was scheduled to continue with a third-round match Friday night, has often worn a nasal strip in matches since last season — although not during his first two contests at Roland-Garros this week — and the sport's other athletes took note.

After all, if Alcaraz finds something useful on the court, their thinking goes, maybe it makes sense to give the adhesive bands a shot.

“I saw Carlos playing in it,” said 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, a semifinalist in Paris last year and the No. 6 women's seed this time. “I’d be pretty interested to try and see if there is really a difference. If he plays matches in it, then probably there is.”

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025
FILE - Members of a Los Angeles County Fire crew make a stand to protect a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

California utility to pay $82 million settlement in lawsuit stemming from huge 2020 wildfire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

California utility to pay $82 million settlement in lawsuit stemming from huge 2020 wildfire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, May. 25, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California utility has agreed to pay the federal government $82.5 million stemming from an enormous 2020 wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert, officials said Friday.

The U.S. Justice Department announced the payment by Southern California Edison on Thursday. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that the settlement provides "meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the ... fire and for the widespread damage to public lands."

Edison agreed to pay the settlement within 60 days of its effective date, May 14, without admitting wrongdoing or fault, prosecutors said.

Utility spokesperson Diane Castro said, “Our hearts are with the people who were affected by the Bobcat Fire. We are pleased to have resolved this matter and will continue to advance wildfire mitigation measures."

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Sunday, May. 25, 2025
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US measles cases rise slightly as Colorado reports a new outbreak

Devna Bose, The Associated Press 8 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Measles cases inched up slightly in the U.S. this past week, with a new county impacted in Texas and Colorado reporting a new outbreak.

There are 1,088 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., up 42 from last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, reported 10 additional cases this week for a total of 738.

There are three other major outbreaks in North America.

One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,888 cases from mid-October through May 27. Another in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 628 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,693 measles cases and three deaths as of Wednesday, according to data from the state health ministry.

Boats make their way through the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, March 25, 2006. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

MONT-JOLI - Last year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence recorded its highest maximum surface temperature and lowest seasonal volume of ice cover in decades, say researchers with the federal Fisheries Department.

Surface temperatures and ice cover are directly related to air temperature, said Peter Galbraith, a research scientist in physical oceanography at the agency's Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., northeast of Quebec City.

Last July, the surface temperature hit 16.7 C, a record since data started being recorded in 1981, and 2.4 C warmer than average. Between May and November, the warmest surface temperature was 11.6 C, also a record, and 1.6 C higher than average.

“So it was the warmest air temperature, which gave us the warmest sea surface temperature,” Galbraith said.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
Cleveland Guardians' Ben Lively pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Cleveland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Guardians’ right-hander Ben Lively will have Tommy John surgery and miss rest of the season

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Guardians’ right-hander Ben Lively will have Tommy John surgery and miss rest of the season

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

DETROIT (AP) — Guardians pitcher Ben Lively will undergo Tommy John reconstruction surgery on his right elbow and will be sidelined for the rest of the season.

The Guardians said before Friday night's game at Detroit that Lively's surgical date has not been set, but it will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas. The right-hander is expected to miss 12-16 months.

Lively — on the injured list since May 13 due to a strained right flexor tendon — sought a second opinion on his right elbow with Meister earlier this week. Meister confirmed the presence of a flexor tendon injury while also noting medial elbow joint laxity due to an insufficient ulnar collateral ligament.

The Guardians physicians and Meister recommended UCL reconstruction along with flexor tendon repair.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach.

To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.

The order comes as demand for electricity surges amid a boom in energy-hungry data centers and artificial intelligence. Tech companies, venture capitalists, states and others are competing for electricity and straining the nation's electric grid.

“We’ve got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50" years in the industry.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025
A Blanding's turtle is shown in this undated handout photo provided by the Toronto Zoo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Zoo *MANDATORY CREDIT*
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Toronto Zoo warns of extinctions if Ontario mining bill becomes law

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview
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Toronto Zoo warns of extinctions if Ontario mining bill becomes law

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

TORONTO - Species could go extinct if Ontario passes a controversial mining bill that is set to transform its approach to endangered species and the environment, the Toronto Zoo warned the province.

Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, would strike a blow to the recovery of several species the institution has been trying to save, said Dolf DeJong, the zoo's CEO, at a committee hearing at Queen's Park on Thursday.

If and when the bill becomes law, DeJong wants the province to step up with funding so it can dramatically increase its biobank with Ontario species that could die off as a result of the legislation.

"We're concerned this act will result in the erosion of biodiversity and the loss of species at risk," DeJong said.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act.

Inquiry must be called to get answers on sand mine scandal

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Inquiry must be called to get answers on sand mine scandal

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

It’s pretty clear by now that an inquiry should be called into the Sio Silica scandal.

Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor released his long-awaited report into the matter this week. He found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act by attempting to approve a licence for a controversial silica sand mining project after their government was defeated in the Oct. 3, 2023 provincial election.

All three ministers pushed to have a Class 2 licence under the Environment Act approved for Sio Silica, days before the new NDP government was sworn into office.

They did so even though they knew, or ought to have known, that it violated the “caretaker convention,” a longstanding constitutional principle in Canada that prohibits governments from making major policy decisions once a general election is called (unless it’s related to an urgent matter of public importance).

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Friday, May. 23, 2025
Firefighters work on the smouldering remains of houses in Slave Lake, Alta., on May 16, 2011. Slave Lake is one of six communities receiving funding to have an urban wildland firefighting team. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ian Jackson

Alberta, Ottawa spending $7 million to fund six new urban wildfire teams

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Alberta, Ottawa spending $7 million to fund six new urban wildfire teams

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

STRATHMORE - Nearly $7 million in provincial and federal spending will create six teams of urban wildfire crews, Alberta's public safety minister announced Friday.

Speaking in Strathmore, Alta., Mike Ellis told a news conference that having six more teams means Alberta will have up to eight specialized crews that can respond to fires threatening communities.

"We've witnessed the immense destruction wildfires can cause at home and in other parts of the world," Ellis said.

"That's why we're focused on building more skilled, specialized and ready to deploy teams that can work to ensure communities, businesses and critical infrastructure are protected in the event of a wildfire."

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Friday, May. 23, 2025
FILE - Musician Billy Joel performs during his 100th lifetime performance at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Billy Joel cancels touring after being diagnosed with a brain disorder

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Billy Joel cancels touring after being diagnosed with a brain disorder

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Joel has canceled all his upcoming concerts across North America and England after being diagnosed with fluid buildup in his brain that has affected his “hearing, vision and balance.”

Joel revealed on Instagram that he has Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, “a brain disorder that can affect brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,” the Cleveland Clinic says.

“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance,” according to a statement from Joel’s team. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

In an accompanying statement, Joel said, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding.”

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
FILE - A Publix grocery store is seen, Aug. 9, 2023, in Neptune Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Long, File)
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Publix recalls baby food pouches after testing finds elevated levels of lead

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Publix recalls baby food pouches after testing finds elevated levels of lead

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

The supermarket chain Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold in eight states because product testing found elevated levels of lead, according to federal health officials.

Publix recalled 4-ounce Greenwise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches sold at more than 1,400 stores.

The pouches were produced by Bowman Andros, a French company with a manufacturing plant in Mount Jackson, Virginia, according to the company's website. Publix issued the voluntary recall on May 9, but it wasn't added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall list until late Thursday.

The potential contamination was flagged by officials in North Carolina, the state that first identified a 2023 lead poisoning outbreak linked to tainted applesauce pouches that sickened more than 500 U.S. children.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025
A black bear is seen near Lake Louise, Alta., in June, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Picking buffaloberries and electric fences: how wildlife is being managed ahead of G7

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Picking buffaloberries and electric fences: how wildlife is being managed ahead of G7

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

OTTAWA - There surely won't be lions or tigers at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., next month, and officials are doing their best to keep bears away, too.

As many as 5,000 participants are set to descend on the area in a few weeks, and officials are already working to install security barriers and clear out the area of anything that might attract bears to keep both people, and the animals, safe.

Earlier this week more than 200 local kids began plucking buffaloberry bushes around Kananaskis in an effort to detract bears from venturing into the area.

The bright red berries are quite popular with bears.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025