Dior moves Paris men’s show earlier as heat wave grips city

PARIS (AP) — Dior moved its men’s Paris Fashion Week show to 9 a.m. Wednesday to avoid the extreme heat sweeping much of Western Europe. It still was not early enough.

Guests arrived at the Musée Nissim de Camondo as a heat wave gripped Paris. Cold towels, strawberries and parasols were offered at the door.

Inside the mansion, where Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson showed his latest Dior men’s collection, the temperature rose quickly. Some guests appeared overcome and water was in limited supply.

The front row still delivered the expected star power. LaKeith Stanfield, Little Simz, James Marsden, Drew Starkey, Mike Faist, 070 Shake, Alexander Ludwig and Sam Nivola were among those at the show.

Charlie Brown’s longtime pen pal is finally revealed in new Apple TV ‘Peanuts’ movie

Charlie Brown began writing to a pen pal not long after the comic strip “Peanuts” debuted in newspapers back in 1950. No one has gotten a look at whoever was on the other end of his letters — until now.

AI is an energy and water hog, here’s what you can do to counter that

As the world tries to curb human-caused climate change and not run dry of water, every online query is increasing our environmental footprint and exacerbating the problem.

When a rip current sucks you out to sea, try not to panic

SAN DIEGO (AP) — To someone who is getting sucked out to sea by a rip current, “Don’t panic!” may be difficult to heed, even if that’s exactly what you should do. But lifeguards say to not only relax but flip over and float out of the danger.

Rip currents are one of the coast’s greatest dangers and account for the most beach rescues every year. About 100 people drown from rip currents along U.S. beaches each year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. And more than 80% of beach rescues annually involve rip currents.

Already this year, there have been at least 21 people killed from rip currents in U.S. waters, according to the National Weather Service.

Here are some things to know about rip currents:

Hockey Night in Canada: A cultural tradition forever changed

When the puck drops this fall on the National Hockey League’s 2026-27 season, for the first time in nearly three-quarters of a century there will be no games available on CBC. Hockey Night in Canada, as Canadian sports fans have known it for generations, has ceased to be.

Depave paradise, tear up a parking lot

Concrete is ubiquitous “wonder” material called concrete, celebrated by architects and city planners everywhere because it’s cheap, strong and so malleable it’s capable of taking almost any shape. But like all purported wonder materials, it can be hugely destructive when used in vast quantities.

U of W delivers lesson for downtown development

A few weeks back, I moderated a lively discussion on the future of Winnipeg’s downtown. It was a conversation that has been held many times before and certainly won’t be the last.

A Serbian town is known for raspberries that are exported around the world

ARILJE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia 's town of Arilje is known as the Balkan country's “raspberry capital,” with its fame reaching beyond borders.

Arilje and its surroundings yield berries that are exported as far as the United States and Japan. Serbia is among the top three exporters of raspberries globally.

“We are born, we live and we die with raspberries,” said Mileta Pilcevic, who heads a local association of raspberry producers. “Arilje is unique in the world. You can’t find a smaller place with such big concentration of raspberry production.”

The hilly landscape has ideal climate for raspberry cultivation. The berries from Arilje are grown without chemicals and picked by hand for high quality.

Archaeologists find huge Viking textile production site in Denmark

SØFTEN, Denmark (AP) — Archaeologists have discovered a huge Viking Age textile production site in Denmark that dates back more than 1,000 years and underlines the sophistication of Viking society.

Experts from the Moesgaard Museum said this week that the sprawling 100,000-square-meter (more than 1 million-square-foot) site features an area for processing flax as well as more than 80 pit houses — semi-buried huts that were used as workshops and dwellings in Viking times.

It's located in Søften, 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, on the Jutland peninsula. The site dates back to the late Iron Age and early Viking Age, sometime between A.D. 600 and 950.

Archaeologist Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, who led the 10-month dig, said that “we have a clear focus on textile production, which makes this settlement different from other kinds of settlements of this period.”

In a visit to Capitol, Jessie Diggins and other Olympians push for climate change solutions

Olympian Jessie Diggins visited Capitol Hill with her four medals in hand Wednesday to advocate for clean air, clean water and a healthy planet.

America’s most decorated cross-country skier is part of “Protect Our Winters,” an athlete-driven environmental group that sent a coalition to Washington to meet with lawmakers Tuesday and Wednesday. The group is most concerned with how the Environmental Protection Agency has weakened key climate, water and pollution regulations since President Donald Trump returned to office.

“I don’t want to stick my head in the sand and ignore the world burning,” Diggins said in an interview. “I feel like I have a responsibility to use my voice to advocate for change. And so that’s why it’s so important to me, because I want my great-grandkids to be able to build a snowman and try cross-country skiing someday, and be able go hiking and fishing and camping in the summer, and breathe clean air. I want that for them very badly.”

Diggins retired from professional ski racing this year after earning bronze in the women’s 10‑kilometer interval start at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Many skiers expressed concern during these Olympic Games about climate change and the accelerating melt of the world’s glaciers. A warming world jeopardizes the future of their sport.

What is the 2026 song of the summer? AP offers some predictions

NEW YORK (AP) — What is 2026's song of the summer?

There's no easy answer. Algorithmic division is certainly a factor in why there isn't an obvious pick this year. Where have the songs like “Despacito” in 2017 or “Old Town Road” in 2019 gone? Last year, some even wondered if Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” — a ballad, not a banger — qualified, a departure from the usual up-tempo, feel-good hits.

Whatever your summer mood or flavor, The Associated Press has found a song to soundtrack the season, collected in a Spotify playlist.

Biggest song of the year and therefore the default song of the summer: “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley

Overhauled Transit system rollout ‘a nightmare,’ public works chair says

The introduction of Winnipeg Transit’s long-awaited network overhaul last June — designed to provide faster, more reliable service and increase ridership — got off to a rocky start.

“Honestly, it was a nightmare…. A lot of people couldn’t connect, they couldn’t get the (bus) times (right), we couldn’t get data,” Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said Tuesday after the city released a “state of the system” report on the new network’s first year.

“That was a big hump to start and I think it was very unfortunate because I think it set a very bad tone.”

Instead of convincing more Winnipeggers to leave their vehicles at home and take the bus, the changes were one of several factors that led to a sharp decline in ridership and revenue, and has the people behind the redesign proposing improvements.

Mother of five, 44, loses home to pests, finds new life with high school graduation

Aside from her designated laundry day at an inner-city shelter, Jolene Sumner’s schedule was wide open for self-loathing in the winter.

“I felt like a loser — a big loser,” Sumner said as she described what life was like in the leadup to her fifth and final attempt to finish high school.

“I felt so embarrassed. I never wanted this for my life, for my kids.”

The 44-year-old, along with her three youngest children, found themselves homeless on New Year’s Eve.

City crosses out scramble crossing

Winnipeg’s experiment with a pedestrian scramble crossing is coming to an end.

COVID-19 vaccine study that was blocked from CDC journal is published elsewhere

NEW YORK (AP) — A study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness has finally been published after being blocked from a government health journal.

The vaccine was found to be about 55% effective against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations, and reduced COVID-19-related trips to emergency departments and urgent care clinics by 50%, according to the study published Tuesday by JAMA Network Open.

The findings are not particularly surprising: Researchers have repeatedly found that COVID-19 vaccines work. But the paper drew public attention after Trump administration political appointees decided not to run it in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication.

They argued that the study's design was too vulnerable to false assumptions that could produce flawed results. But many public health researchers maintain it's a reliable design that's been used for decades and offers the best way to understand how well a vaccine is working currently.

Winnipeg Transit needs funding boost, additional staff to follow new provincial accessibility regulations: city report

Winnipeg Transit says it will need millions of dollars in new funding and additional staff to comply with Manitoba’s new Accessible Transportation Standard Regulation, which takes effect on Jan. 1.

Report urges city council to make high-priority repairs to downtown library parkade, then explore sale

Winnipeg’s public service is urging the city to reconsider a plan to restore the Millennium Library parkade, with a new report suggesting it could instead complete high-priority repairs and then explore selling the 52-year-old structure.

The recommendation, set to be tabled during a public works committee meeting next week, follows previous public service reports suggesting the parkade requires repairs in the tens of millions of dollars.

While the public service once recommended footing the bill, an updated cost-to-benefit analysis “now shows selling the parkade has the best long-term value over 20 years when balancing costs and service delivery,” the new report says.

“The world has changed, prices have dramatically increased,” Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of the public works committee, said Tuesday. “Personally, I don’t know how many people are in the market for a parkade in downtown Winnipeg, (but) I don’t know, maybe there is a hot market.”

A submarine economic boom is just around corner. So are the challenges.

OTTAWA - As Ottawa inches closer to deciding who will supply the navy's next fleet of submarines, both the benefits and challenges involved in replacing Canada's four rusting antiques are coming to the surface.

While the industrial benefits from the submarine project will start to flow once contract details are hammered out, experts say major questions still need to be answered about long-term maintenance and staffing of the complex war machines.

Both qualified bidders offered multiple partnerships with Canadian companies in their heated, high-stakes race for the multi-billion dollar contract to manufacture up to 12 submarines.

Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr said Monday Ottawa has been squarely focused on the economic benefits that would flow from either bid, since both of the boats on offer meet all the navy's requirements.

Goalllll! Messi mania overtakes Argentina as legend breaks scoring record

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina’s passion for Lionel Messi has taken monumental form during the 2026 World Cup: A statue stands 26 meters tall in a remote town in Patagonia, and a mural signed by over 1,300 fans celebrates the captain who continues to inspire devotion across the country.

A giant tribute to Messi

A 26-meter-tall (85-foot) figure of Messi made of 70 tons of steel and iron towers over the outskirts of Cutral Co, a remote southern town in Patagonia. The player is kneeling, with the World Cup trophy he won in 2022 between his legs and one arm raised, as if greeting motorists traveling along Route 22.

Even the strong Patagonian wind cannot topple this tribute, inaugurated on June 16 during Argentina’s World Cup debut, when the team once again dazzled under Messi, who sealed the victory over Algeria after scoring three goals.

One Extraordinary Photo: What it takes for inclement weather to become the news of the match

PHILDELPHIA (AP) — Derik Hamilton is a freelance photographer for The Associated Press. He has worked with AP for 15 years covering sports events in the Philadelphia area.

Why this photo?

I shot this to photo to highlight the extent of extremely heavy downpours that dellayed Monday's France-Iraq match. Weather delays are rare in World Cup play and this photo shows the intensity of the rain and a different side to the world's “beautiful game.”

How I made this photo

‘Whatever it takes:’ Indigenous group seeks help repatriating items from Switzerland

Sacred pipes, intricately beaded regalia and firearms believed to be associated with the period of the Battle of the Little Bighorn are some of the thousands of Indigenous artifacts a group of First Nations leaders and advocates are trying to repatriate from Switzerland.

How a heat dome is formed and why experts blame one for Europe’s baking temperatures

Europe is sizzling under an early heat wave this week, with millions of people experiencing extremely high temperatures, and experts say a phenomenon known as a heat dome is to blame. Here's what to know.