U of M researchers studying ‘digital legacy planning’ before death

A team of researchers at the University of Manitoba wants adults to take the cloud they leave behind into special consideration when they envision heaven and their afterlife.

Razed tree canopy leaves Selkirk Avenue stretch noisier, dirtier: resident

Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard sits on her front steps, looking at a row of tree stumps.

Until last fall, Allard would have opened her front door to a lush canopy of mature trees. Now, she has an unobstructed view of a freight terminal — the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard.

Although the residential street is quiet on this August afternoon, the steady beeping of machinery moving shipping containers carries throughout the neighbourhood.

It’s the first summer since Manitoba Hydro cut down 262 mature trees — most of them Siberian elms — along Selkirk Avenue between Keewatin and Railway streets.

Scientists are certain a wayward SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon as predicted

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported.

Although no one observed the actual 5,400-mph (8,700-kph) collision, a telescope in Chile spotted what astronomers have identified as the debris plume resulting from the crash. Space tracking experts said it was inevitable that the leftover rocket segment plowed into the moon.

It’s the latest instance of lunar litter, a problem that many fear could worsen as the U.S. and China race to put astronauts on the moon. In 2022, a Chinese rocket unintentionally hit the moon following a lunar mission, and many more stray rocket pieces likely struck the moon in decades past without scientists' knowledge.

SpaceX's Julianna Scheiman said this week that the company is working with NASA to avoid future wrecks, stressing that this projected crash was not deliberate. A combination of solar activity and gravity accidentally put it on a collision course with the moon, she said.

Manitoba Hydro’s $3 billion fossil fuel bet

Manitoba Hydro plans to spend $3 billion to build three new fossil fuel power generation turbines in 2030. This big bet on fossil fuel generation would be a big mistake for both the planet and Manitoban’s pocketbooks.

This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played

HALBERSTADT, Germany (AP) — A small organ in eastern Germany is the headliner of the world’s slowest concert. It has been playing the same piece of music by composer John Cage at a glacial pace for nearly 25 years.

A rare chord change on Wednesday — from seven notes to eight — represented the completion of about 4% of the 639-year endeavor of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.

It was a historic moment inside the medieval Burchardi Church, in Halberstadt, Germany, that reflected the past, present and future of the project, as well as those who are following its — albeit very slow — progression.

“As fast as our world is developing, I think it’s a wonderful place to be and to come to yourself and just to be touched by this ‘being there,’"said Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt’s board of trustees.

‘Catastrophic’ ending to eventful Manitoba Derby

It had everything you could have wanted for the signature racing event of the season, including plenty of drama and excitement in front of a packed crowd at Assiniboia Downs.

Unfortunately, Monday night’s Manitoba Derby also served up another painful reminder of the potential perils of “The Sport of Kings” and what can occasionally happen when these magnificent animals are pushed to their limits.

Forty Twenty, a three-year-old bay colt who was one of the morning line favourites, looked to be in great shape as he approached the final turn and was near the lead in the nine-horse race.

But disaster struck as he approached the final turn and suddenly pulled up as the rest of the packed passed him.

Government overrides school board in ‘mature minor’ controversy

The Manitoba government has vetoed the Steinbach school board’s plan to override common law by making parents the ultimate authority on all student health issues.

Since Hanover School Division trustees approved a motion to disregard the category of “mature minors” just over two months ago, there has been widespread debate.

Trustees unanimously voted to stop honouring the mature minor doctrine — in which teenagers 16 and older are automatically assumed to have the maturity to make medical decisions for themselves — at the end of the 2025-26 school year.

“We would just encourage the Hanover School Division to do what they do best, which is providing high-level, quality education for the kids in their community,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said in an interview on Tuesday about her July 22 directive to the board to repeal its motion.

Ottawa moves to list Alberta-backed West Coast pipeline as national interest project

OTTAWA - The federal government is advancing the process to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast as a "national interest" project.

Naming a project in the national interest under the Building Canada Act allows the government to fast-track approvals and skirt some environmental laws.

A notice published in the Canada Gazette on Aug. 1 sets a Sept. 18 deadline to submit comments on the national interest designation.

The proposed pipeline project has been referred already to the government's major projects office, with the Alberta government listed as the proponent. The pipeline would be owned by Trans Mountain, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Pembina Pipeline Corporation.

School backpack overload: Heavy bags can strain kids’ bodies

Backpacks can be fashionable and functional, but they can also be too heavy — weighed down by digital devices, musical instruments, sports equipment and more. Some kids carry home a laptop or tablet and textbooks, too.

It's good to be prepared, but kids who walk to school or participate in extracurricular activities may be lugging more than their bodies can handle. Lockers and classroom storage aren’t available everywhere — and a child carrying too much weight might not be ready to learn.

As families begin back-to-school shopping, here's how to know if your child's backpack is too heavy, and how to lighten their load.

How heavy is too heavy?