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

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.

Winnipeg elementary school shoots for moon with stuffie design

A stuffed animal designed by elementary schoolers in Winnipeg could be launched into outer space on NASA’s Artemis II mission.

What Americans think about Trump’s handling of crime, according to a new poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — As armed National Guard troops patrol the nation's capital as part of an unprecedented federal takeover of Washington's police department, handling crime is now a relative strength for President Donald Trump, according to the latest AP-NORC poll.

Americans are generally not happy about the Republican president’s handling of issues like immigration and the economy but are more positive about his tough-on-crime approach, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Indeed, the vast majority of Americans, 81%, see crime as a “major problem” in large cities — a concern Trump has seized on as he has deployed the National Guard to the District of Columbia and threatened to expand that model to cities across the country. Despite that perception, data shows that violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. But Trump’s approach appears to be helping him, at least for the moment: His overall approval rating has increased slightly, from 40% in July to 45% now.

But the poll shows there is less public support for federal takeovers of local police departments, suggesting opinions could shift over the coming weeks or months, depending on how aggressively Trump pursues his threats.

Winnipeggers’ pride bruised by crime, broken infrastructure: poll

Life in the big city on the Prairies isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, suggests a new poll that shows Winnipeggers are much less positive about their community than other Manitobans are about theirs.

The poll shows 76 per cent of Winnipeggers agree the city is a great place to live, but a contradictory finding is that they believe conditions in Manitoba’s capital are as bad as they have ever been. Those sentiments are highlighted in a Probe Research poll that found Winnipeggers are “proud, yet profoundly frustrated” about crime and aging infrastructure and their faith in public officials has dwindled.

“We definitely see that there is a palpable sense of frustration with some things, especially for younger folks,” Probe partner Curtis Brown said Tuesday

“This says that there’s work to do. The public expects work to be done to fix some of these big, ongoing challenges that Winnipeg — and all communities, frankly — have been grappling with for years.”

NCAA partners with Venmo to assist athletes who face harassment on the payment app

Venmo announced a partnership Tuesday with the NCAA to support athletes who face harassment on the payment app, which has embraced its popularity on college campuses with school spirit-branded debit cards and an option for athletes to receive money from their school directly in the PayPal app.

The partnership includes a reporting hotline for athletes and the NCAA to call in potential cases of abuse, such as when former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said he received payment requests from angry sports bettors following a loss last season.

“The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better," NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a news release. “We applaud Venmo for taking action, and we need more social media companies and online platforms to do the same.”

Venmo said it would provide a best-practices guide for athletes to “stay safe” on its platform.

Gardening’s hidden benefits: How digging in the dirt could bolster mental wellbeing

If you spend any time gardening, you probably understand what I mean when I say it feels good — despite the lifting, sweating and straining involved. Yes, exercise is good for our bodies, but there’s something about digging in the dirt while listening to a bird soundtrack that lifts my spirits. Even the scent of the soil and mulch makes me happy.

As it turns out, there are scientific reasons for this.

In fact, there’s an entire field called horticultural therapy that’s dedicated to using “plant-based and garden-based activities to support people who have identified treatment needs,” according to Karen Haney, a horticultural therapy instructor at UCLA Extension in Long Beach, California.

“Research suggests 20-30 minutes (of gardening) a few times a week can reduce stress and lift mood, with benefits increasing the more regularly one gardens,” says Sarah Thompson, a professionally registered horticultural therapist in Boise, Idaho.

How young content creators plan to balance their social media success and campus life

Growing up, Sofia DelGiudice never imagined her father’s annual back-to-school tradition would be a pivotal moment in her social media career.

Before starting university two years ago, the 19-year-old content creator from Toronto had the idea to stitch together all the videos her dad filmed of her descending the stairs in the family's home on the first day of school.

"It's the first day of what grade?" DelGiudice’s dad can be heard asking her in each clip recorded from kindergarten onward.

DelGiudice posted what she thought was a cute homage only her small TikTok following would see — and it went viral.

The benefits of national service

“Build, baby, build” is the new mantra of governments across the country.

Generators proposed as wildfire-affected communities face weeks — or months — without power

Some wildfire-stricken communities in Manitoba won’t have power restored for months, leaving evacuated residents in the lurch as to when they’ll be able to return home.

Manitoba Hydro estimates Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, won’t have power back until the week of Sept. 28.

Being Muslim and American in the nation’s heartland

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The oldest surviving place of worship for Muslims in the United States is a white clapboard building on a grassy corner plot, as unassumingly Midwestern as its neighboring houses in Cedar Rapids – except for a dome.

The descendants of the Lebanese immigrants who constructed “the Mother Mosque” almost a century ago — along with newcomers from Afghanistan, East Africa and beyond — are defining what it can mean to be both Muslim and American in the nation's heartland just as heightened conflicts in the Middle East fuel tensions over immigration and Islam in the United States.

Standing by the door in a gold-embroidered black robe, Fatima Igram Smejkal greeted the faithful with a cheerful “salaam” as they hurried into the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids for Friday prayers. In 1934, her family helped open what the National Register of Historic Places calls “the first building designed and constructed specifically as a house of worship for Muslims in the United States.”

“They all came from nothing … so they wanted to give back,” Smejkal said of families like hers, who arrived at the turn of the 20th century. “That’s why I’m so kind to the ones that come in from Somalia and the Congo and Sudan and Afghanistan. I have no idea what they left, what they’re thinking when they walk in that mosque.”

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.

bbno$, the Beaches warn approaching TikTok Canada closure will hurt homegrown artists

Several Canadian artists are worried about losing social media support that can make or break their careers as TikTok prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down its operations in Canada.

Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota on Tuesday joined a wave of states suing TikTok, alleging the social media giant preys on young people with addictive algorithms that trap them into becoming compulsive consumers of its short videos.

“This isn’t about free speech. I’m sure they’re gonna holler that," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. "It’s actually about deception, manipulation, misrepresentation. This is about a company knowing the dangers, and the dangerous effects of its product, but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that TikTok is violating Minnesota laws against deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. It follows a flurry of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states last year alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health. Minnesota's case brings the total to about 24 states, Ellison's office said.

Many of the earlier lawsuits stemmed from a nationwide investigation into TikTok launched in 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the effects of TikTok on young users’ mental health. Ellison, a Democrat, said Minnesota waited while it did its own investigation.

Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine.

Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was meant to intimidate and was an illustration that 21st-century war is waged not just on land, sea and air but also in cyberspace and the reaches of outer space.

Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without one bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite's security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth.

“If you can impede a satellite's ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption,” said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains.

Searing heat draws visitors to California’s Death Valley, where it’s tough to communicate the risks

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Ray Estrada's 11-year-old grandson is used to Las Vegas' scorching summers, but he'd always wanted to experience the heat in one of the Earth's hottest places. So Estrada recently drove him to Death Valley National Park, with an umbrella, extra water and electrolytes in tow. That day, the thermometer soared to 118 F (47.78 C).

“We have to be very careful when we go out there,” Estrada told him. “If you start feeling dizzy or whatever... we’re just gonna turn back and be safe so we can do this again another time.”

The extreme temperatures in this stretch of California desert attract visitors every year, some determined to finish a grueling, multiday race, others just curious about the sizzling heat and the landscape's vast beauty. Yet despite the warnings, the heat kills one to three people annually, and park rangers respond to overheated visitors multiple times per week, making communication about heat safety a priority for the National Park Service.

But that's easier said than done.

First Nation in B.C. says 41 more graves found by penetrating radar at school site

SECHELT - An 18-month investigation at a former residential school site in British Columbia's Sunshine Coast has found more evidence of children who disappeared there, the area’s First Nation says.

The shishalh First Nation in Sechelt, B.C., said in a release Friday that 41 "additional unmarked graves" had been found as a result of a search with ground-penetrating radar in the area around the St. Augustine’s Residential School site.

It said the discovery brought the number of suspected graves at the site to 81, after initial findings that were announced in 2023.

"Today is a day of loss for our community and for our families," said Chief Lenora Joe in a video statement.

Norwegian police say pro-Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam

Russian hackers are likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam in Norway in April that affected water flows, police officials told Norwegian media on Wednesday.

The director of the Norwegian Police Security Service, Beate Gangås, said cyberattacks are increasingly being carried out against Western nations to stoke fear and unrest.

The Associated Press has plotted more than 70 incidents on a map tracking a campaign of disruption across Europe blamed on Russia, which Western officials have described as “reckless.” Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents, ranging from vandalism to arson and attempted assassination.

Intelligence officials told the AP that the campaign is becoming more violent.

Musk says he plans to sue Apple for not featuring X or Grok among its top apps

Billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk says he plans to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app in its top recommended apps in its App Store.

Musk posted the comments on X late Monday, saying, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.”

Grok is owned by Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI.

Musk went on to say that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”

Livestock producers mull support amid dry spell

Though rain has fallen, pockets of livestock producers continue to struggle for feed and water — and future government support is being considered.

“With climate change, it’s more than likely that this will not go away,” said Richard Chartrand, reeve of the RM of St. Laurent. “We have to look at being proactive.”

St. Laurent declared a state of agricultural emergency in July. Interlake municipalities including Armstrong, Coldwell and Woodlands enacted similar statuses as drought hit local farmers.

A group of municipal leaders met Manitoba government officials to discuss short- and long-term solutions last month. Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn attended.