Tesla leader believes Shanghai factory operations will play a role in robot mass production

SHANGHAI (AP) — A Tesla Inc. leader said Tuesday he believes its Shanghai factory operations will help resolve the challenges in achieving mass production of the company's humanoid robots as the U.S. electric vehicle giant pivots to robotics.

Wang Hao, Tesla's vice president, said the Shanghai facilities, like other Tesla factories, will contribute after the company enters an era of robots.

Wang, who also serves as president of Tesla China, told reporters on a government-organized tour of one of its Shanghai factories that CEO Elon Musk once noted having production at scale is a critical challenge in manufacturing humanoid robots.

Wang said he believes the Shanghai manufacturing arm “is a golden key to solving this challenge," but did not specify how the operation will support the company's robotic business.

Crop-enhancement firm eyes potato prosperity

Of all the research labs in all the cities in all the world, Kinneret Shefer walks into St. Boniface Hospital’s.

The researcher and entrepreneur is the co-founder of GeneNeer Ltd., an agricultural biotechnology company from Israel. Earlier this year, the company established its North American operations at the Albrechtsen Research Centre in the central Winnipeg hospital.

“We moved to Canada because our technology developed, we are moving to implementation and we have some business agreements in negotiation,” said Shefer, who holds a PhD in genetic counselling from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

GeneNeer launched its Canadian operations in January. The company converted laboratory facilities at the research centre and had them operating within two weeks, allowing research activities to begin almost immediately.

Finding a fitting way to build in the Exchange District

Over the last few months, renowned Newfoundland musician Alan Doyle, best known as the lead singer of Great Big Sea, has been touring Canada. At each stop, he shared a “coffee walk” on social media, stepping off his tour bus to wander in search of a coffee while reflecting on places he has visited throughout his 40-year career criss-crossing the country.

Manitoba students’ science projects aimed at eye health, wildfire prevention take top marks

More than 350 students in grades 4 to 12 took part in MSSS, the province’s largest annual science event, at the University of Manitoba.

‘It’s been a lot of fun for me’: Jets’ Vilardi honoured by team nomination for humanitarian award

Gabe Vilardi learned plenty of valuable lessons as a child, ones that continue to guide him to this day.

Liberals adopt policy to restrict kids from social media

MONTREAL - Federal Liberals voted in favour of setting 16 as the age of majority for Canadians to be able to use social media accounts.

Party grassroots passed a non-binding resolution Saturday morning for the restriction and to place the onus on social media companies to enforce it.

Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan, who presented the idea to her caucus and championed it at the convention, said prolonged social media use can be harmful to the mental health of young Canadians.

She said social media companies need to be more accountable and stop allowing young children to use technologies designed to be addictive.

‘Furry face to greet them:’ How facility dogs help victims navigate Manitoba’s court system

WINNIPEG - Tucked in a quiet corner on the fourth floor of Winnipeg's law courts building is a spacious room filled with vibrant toys, children's books and leather couches.

It’s a stark contrast to the cold marble and ornate, wooden fixtures that make up the rest of the building.

It's where four-legged Glossy spends a lot of her working days comforting children going through the judicial system.

The five-year-old Labrador retriever with milk chocolate-coloured eyes and a shiny black coat to match her name, is one of two accredited facility dogs that support victims of crime or their families by lending a sympathetic paw.

Moon mission Earth photo could change your worldview

Having a photo of Earth — the whole Earth — taken by a human is an incredible thing, and now we have a new one. It’s a beautiful image. But it’s also a deeply moving one.

Pragmatic plots

Our climate is changing rapidly, and our garden plans need to adapt accordingly.

“We need a planting design that functions as a resilient, self-sustaining ecosystem suited to our climate,” says Nik Friesen-Hughes, landscape designer and owner of Dogwood Landscape Design Build. “We’re already seeing warmer temperatures overall in winter and summer and a longer growing season. In a climate such as Winnipeg’s, plants must handle extreme cold, heavy spring moisture and drought. So, we want to design a garden that’s resilient to all these things.”

Managing landscape water efficiently is a good starting point.

“Resilient landscapes don’t just use less water, they manage the water where it is,” says Friesen-Hughes. What if you could charge up your soil profile in spring with the extra moisture in the snow to help plants withstand hot, dry conditions that occur later on?

Le destin renversé du 261 rue Youville

À défaut d’obtenir des excuses officielles de la part du gouvernement pour la loi Thornton de 1916, ou même l’ensemble des lois et politiques assimilatrices qui ont été en vigueur dans la province pendant des décennies, les jeunes franco-manitobains qui ont posé sur papier leur interrogation dans notre édition du 11 au 17 mars 2026 souriront peut-être à la lecture de ce papier.

L’on apprenait au début du mois de mars 2026 que la Division scolaire franco-manitobaine ouvrirait sa 26e école à Saint-Boniface.

Au 261 rue Youville, ce sont les murs de l’école confessionnelle Springs Christian Academy qui appartiennent désormais à la DSFM.

En réalité, l’établissement est l’un des plus anciens bâtiments scolaires publics de Saint-Boniface. Fermé en 1989 en raison d’une baisse du nombre d’inscriptions, elle n’a rouvert ses portes sous le nom de Springs Christian Academy qu’en 1991.

Hand-drawn 1884 map captures Winnipeg at moment when frontier hadn’t fully given way to a metropolis

At first glance, the map is still. Ink on paper, streets drawn neatly in place, buildings rendered by a careful hand. Look more closely and it begins to loosen. Step into the image, between the lines, and immerse yourself in a city of movement.

Liberals set to debate age restrictions for social media

MONTREAL - Liberal party members will soon grapple with the question of whether children and young teens should be barred from accessing social media accounts for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube.

The policy resolution is expected to hit the floor at the Liberal party policy convention in Montreal for debate and a vote on Saturday.

Jonathan Nuss, the head of the Outremont Liberal riding association, is one of the main proponents of a resolution calling on the party to ensure social media platforms limit user accounts to Canadians aged 16 and older.

The Montreal lawyer and father of two young children said he wants this resolution to kick-start a national debate on addictive technologies and the harmful effects social media can have on young children — a debate that's already happening among parents across the country.

Fireworks crackdown might be in Winnipeg’s future

A plan to crack down on some fireworks displays could be considered next year, amid concerns that many are done illegally.

“There are more fireworks complaints than permits issued for fireworks, leading to an understanding that many fireworks that generate complaints are set off illegally,” writes Lisa Gilmour, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service’s assistant chief of community risk reduction, in a new report.

WFPS received 306 calls about fireworks last year, while 144 consumer and professional permits were approved to set them off.

In Winnipeg, people who set off fireworks without a permit can presently be fined up to $500. To legally use fireworks, individuals must obtain the permit, be at least 18 years old and set off the devices at least 100 feet (30 metres) away from all buildings and trees.

Motorboats to return to Clear Lake this summer

Motorboats will be allowed to return to Clear Lake this summer, a year after they were banned amid the discovery of invasive species.

Parks Canada officials said Wednesday watercraft inside the Riding Mountain National Park lake would be permitted under a mandatory tagging program and several other conditions.

“We’re pleased, but we also want to see how it will be implemented,” said Trevor Boquist, spokesperson for the Fairness for Clear Lake advocacy group.

“I would say we want to be part of the conversation of how this will be implemented.”

A project to save rural synagogues grows from Maine to Montana

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — Rabbi Rachel Isaacs spent the days leading up to Passover overseeing the preparation of ceremonial foods at Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue in central Maine where membership has quadrupled over the last 15 years.

These days, growing congregations is very much on Isaacs' mind, as she's leading a movement to strengthen rural synagogues and Jewish communities around the country. They've reached dozens, and they're hoping for many more.

“Rural Jewish life is important for the Jewish people and it’s important for rural America,” Isaacs said. “Those people deserve to be served and shepherded.”

Isaacs is executive director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College, a liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine. The center began a decade ago with a goal of supporting Jewish congregations that are far from big cities and it has grown to run programs for more than 60 communities in 22 states.

Home gardeners have new way to share bumper crops

Planning a prolific pumpkin patch? A new free online resource lets Winnipeggers list vegetables they’re planning to grow this summer that they will either sell, barter or give away in the fall.

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.

Feds, city, province join forces with First Nation to build 150 apartments in St. James

More than a century after its lake became the source of Winnipeg’s drinking water, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is leading a major housing development in the city, backed by more than $51 million in government funding.

The federal government announced the combined funding Tuesday to build 150 apartment units at 2675 Portage Ave. in the city’s St. James neighbourhood. The development will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Shoal Lake 40 Chief Herb Greene said the project carries historical significance.

“This development is about three things: history, teamwork, and the future,” Greene said during a sod-turning ceremony Tuesday. He noted for more than 100 years, Winnipeg was in dire need of a reliable source of clean drinking water.

In pictures: Artemis II crew captures eclipse, Earthrise, far side of moon during lunar flyby

NASA released new photos Tuesday captured by the Artemis II astronauts.

Artemis II’s lunar fly-around and intense observation period lasted seven hours.

A total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective.

Venturing as close as 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) to the gray dusty surface, the astronauts zipped through a list of more than two dozen photo targets, using powerful Nikon cameras as well as their iPhones to zoom in on impact craters and other intriguing lunar features.

Artemis II astronauts channel Apollo 8 with a striking Earthset photo

HOUSTON (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts are now forever intertwined with Apollo 8.

A day after the historic lunar flyaround, NASA on Tuesday released striking new photos taken by the U.S.-Canadian crew.

The four astronauts channeled Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968 with their own: Earthset, showing our planet setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. Another photo captures the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective.

The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday. In the meantime, scientists at Houston's Mission Control are poring over the stream of moon photos beaming down.

Parents charged after toddler slips into wolf area and gets hurt at Hersheypark zoo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The parents of a toddler who suffered a minor injury at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo after squeezing through a fence near a wolf enclosure and making contact with one of the animals have been charged with endangering the welfare of children, police said.

Evidence showed that the parents both walked about 25 to 30 feet (about 8 to 9 meters) away from the child to a seating area with benches and appeared to be paying attention to their cellphones when they noticed what was happening shortly before noon Saturday at ZooAmerica in the Hersheypark theme park, police said in a statement.

The child went through a small opening in a wooden barrier perimeter fence and entered a restricted area near the wolf exhibit, Derry Township Police said. The child reached a chain-link fence enclosure and was hurt after placing a hand through it.

“From the injuries sustained, it appears as though one of the wolves in the enclosure instinctively and naturally grabbed onto the child’s hand with its mouth. Several bystanders intervened and helped pull the child away,” police said in the statement.

Energy-hungry Nova Scotia companies nearly doubled their solar power capacity in 2025

HALIFAX - Energy-hungry companies in Nova Scotia are heading toward the light.

New statistics from the province's private power utility show that commercial-scale players — which includes municipalities and First Nations — grew their capacity to generate solar energy by 82 per cent last year.

Energy consultant David Brushett says that’s partly because legislative changes a few years ago have allowed companies to install solar systems 10 times larger than before. The “net-metering” system gives firms a credit on their power bills for the electricity they generate, offsetting their own usage. Even with the new rules, they are not allowed to generate more power than their operations consume.

The program allows solar projects of up to one megawatt for commercial customers. Brushett says that size makes more financial sense. “So that allowed much larger installations,” Brushett said in an interview.