Bias in media

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

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves after testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Social media companies face legal reckoning over mental health harms to children

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Social media companies face legal reckoning over mental health harms to children

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

For years, social media companies have disputed allegations that they harm children’s mental health through deliberate design choices that addict kids to their platforms and fail to protect them from sexual predators and dangerous content. Now, these tech giants are getting a chance to make their case in courtrooms around the country, including before a jury for the first time.

Some of the biggest players from Meta to TikTok are facing federal and state trials that seek to hold them responsible for harming children's mental health. The lawsuits have come from school districts, local, state and the federal government as well as thousands of families.

Two trials are now underway in Los Angeles and in New Mexico, with more to come. The courtroom showdowns are the culmination of years of scrutiny of the platforms over child safety, and whether deliberate design choices make them addictive and serve up content that leads to depression, eating disorders or suicide.

Experts see the reckoning as reminiscent of cases against tobacco and opioid markets, and the plaintiffs hope that social media platforms will see similar outcomes as cigarette makers and drug companies, pharmacies and distributors.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a tour of the Ford River Rogue complex on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. International Trade Commission launches CUSMA rules-of-origin auto investigation

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

U.S. International Trade Commission launches CUSMA rules-of-origin auto investigation

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

WASHINGTON - The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into rules-of-origin regulations for automobiles under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade.

A news release on the commission's website says the investigation will analyze the regulations' "impact on the U.S. economy, effect on U.S. competitiveness, and relevancy considering recent technology changes."

It's the third investigation of the rules since the trilateral trade pact, widely known as CUSMA, was adopted during the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The commission is required to conduct an investigation every two years until 2031.

The report on automobiles must be delivered to Trump and the U.S. Senate by July of next year.

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Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
Workers protest after tire maker Fate announced it would shut down operations at its factory in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Milei’s overhaul of Argentina labor law advances in Congress as unions strike in protest

Isabel Debre, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Milei’s overhaul of Argentina labor law advances in Congress as unions strike in protest

Isabel Debre, The Associated Press 5 minute read Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A general strike protesting Argentine President Javier Milei’s flagship overhaul of the country's labor law disrupted public transport, hospitals, ports and schools across Argentina on Thursday and intensified a standoff between the libertarian leader and long-powerful workers’ unions.

The lower house of Congress approved the bill, which grants employers greater flexibility in matters of hiring, firing, severance and collective bargaining, in a 135-115 vote early Friday.

The legislation won initial support from the Senate last week but must be sent back to senators for a final vote before becoming law. That's because the government was forced to scrap a clause that halves salaries for workers on leave due to injury or illness unrelated to work after an outcry from opposition lawmakers.

As lawmakers debated the reform, bus lines and subways ground to a halt. Factories paused production, banks closed, airlines canceled hundreds of flights and public hospitals postponed all but emergency surgeries. Uncollected garbage lined streets and shopping areas. A march to Congress by radical left-wing unions briefly turned violent as police fired water canons at protesters throwing stones and bottles.

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Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a news conference about provincial government investment in air tankers as part of its future wildfire response at a De Havilland Canada site in Calgary on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dayne Patterson

Alberta’s Smith to put immigration, Constitution questions on fall referendum

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Alberta’s Smith to put immigration, Constitution questions on fall referendum

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is putting nine questions to a provincewide referendum on Oct. 19, including proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants.

One question asks Albertans if non-permanent residents should be charged a "reasonable" fee to access health and education systems.

Another asks for approval to cut off newcomers from social services if they don't fall under "Alberta approved immigration status." The question doesn't define what that status means.

Other questions delve into the Constitution, asking whether Alberta should open negotiations with the rest of Canada to abolish the Senate and to give provinces the power to appoint superior court judges.

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Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)
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Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview
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Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has lashed out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese's brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products.

Hershey acknowledges some recipe changes but said Wednesday that it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation. High cocoa prices also have led Hershey and other manufacturers to experiment with using less chocolate in recent years.

Brad Reese, 70, said in a Feb. 14 letter to Hershey’s corporate brand manager that for multiple Reese's products, the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème.

“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile.

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026
A person uses a computer keyboard in Toronto on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 in this photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
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New report says youth should help guide Ottawa’s campaign against online exploitation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview
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New report says youth should help guide Ottawa’s campaign against online exploitation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026

OTTAWA - The federal government should listen to young people as it takes on the problem of online harms, a group of youth advocates told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights held a joint press conference with the youth advocates in Ottawa to present a new report. It says current systems aren’t protecting young people in digital spaces.

"Youth are calling for clear federal action," including a national youth advisory council on digital safety, said Blue Vetsch.

The report outlines harms young people are experiencing online, including sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

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Thursday, Mar. 12, 2026
Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Public receational opportunities for kids build better adults.
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Making the most of Winnipeg’s biggest opportunity

Ian Gillies 6 minute read Preview
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Making the most of Winnipeg’s biggest opportunity

Ian Gillies 6 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

The critical moral test for any community is the world it leaves for its children.

Without a doubt, Winnipeggers want all their city’s young people to have successful lives. Here are things we know make success possible: graduating from high school and avoiding disasters like addiction to drugs, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and becoming involved with the criminal justice system.

Most citizens understand this. And if they were told there are proven ways to make it much more likely for our wishes for Winnipeg’s young people to come true, they would probably say “Hey, let’s do more of that!”

But mostly, we don’t.

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Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

City’s proposed ‘nuisance’ protest ban doesn’t pass Charter test

Tom Brodbeck 4 minute read Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

If the City of Winnipeg wants to protect public safety when it comes to protests, it should enforce laws that are already on the books.

What it should not do is pass a sweeping, constitutionally dubious bylaw that tramples on fundamental freedoms in the name of sparing people from being offended.

Yet that’s precisely what council is poised to do when it votes Feb. 26 on a proposed ban on so-called “nuisance” protests within 100 metres of a long list of “vulnerable social” locations — schools, hospitals, places of worship, post-secondary institutions, libraries, community centres, cemeteries and more.

On paper, the objective sounds noble: protect access, reduce intimidation, promote safety. In practice, the bylaw is far too broad, far too vague and far too discretionary to meet the Charter standard of a “reasonable limit.”

Protest bylaw goes too far

Neil McArthur, Arthur Schafer and R.J. Leland 4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026

From Minneapolis, to Tehran, to Bangladesh, people are taking to the streets to protest against perceived injustices.

Peaceful protest is a critically important line of defence against the unjust actions of governments.

Incredibly, here in Winnipeg, some members of our city council want to put strict limits on that essential right.

The proposed safe access to vulnerable infrastructure bylaw, if passed, would be the most draconian law of its kind in Canada.

Larry MacDougal / The Canadian Press files Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seems to be keeping a low profile on her province’s separation debate, for political gain.

Who is championing Canada in Alberta?

David McLaughlin 5 minute read Preview

Who is championing Canada in Alberta?

David McLaughlin 5 minute read Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

The most perplexing aspect of the incipient secession movement in Alberta isn’t that there are grassroots voices promoting it, but that there are few establishment voices challenging it. When the division of your country is on the table, why is the knife and fork only in the hands of the separatists?

Most days of the week, we are Team Canada. That’s because most days U.S. President Donald Trump seems to attack us. Unity against the latest orange narcissist threat comes automatically, if fatiguingly. But unity in the face of provincial grievance and a separatist movement is harder to manifest. It generates its own kind of fatigue.

Why?

First of all, we’ve seen this movie before. A half-century of official Quebec separatism, two referendums and numerous Parti Quebecois sovereigntist governments, have left most Canadians jaded as to the prospect of the same dynamic in Alberta.

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Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026