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Engagement tactics and effects

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

Senior Investigative Officer with Saskatchewan RCMP’s Major Crimes Branch Ashley St. Germaine speaks during a press conference regarding an ongoing investigation in Richmound, Sask., in Regina, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Health officials declare ‘Queen of Canada’s’ compound a threat to public safety

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Health officials declare ‘Queen of Canada’s’ compound a threat to public safety

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

RICHMOUND - Provincial officials in Saskatchewan say parts of a former school that was serving as a compound for the self-proclaimed "Queen of Canada" and her followers have been declared unfit for human habitation, and the residents have been ordered out.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says in an email that occupancy of the building in Richmound is prohibited under Section 22 of the Public Health Act, on the basis that the premises is a multi-person residence and is not connected to the municipal sewer system.

The email says an order was issued for anyone who was currently occupying the building to vacate, although it notes the order covers the building only, and not trailers on the site.

Police arrested the group's leader, Romana Didulo, property owner Ricky Manz and 14 others on Wednesday in the village west of Regina, after obtaining a search warrant to enter the site.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Avoid garbage in, garbage out trap of AI business tools

Tim Kist 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 6, 2025

There are many articles, perspectives, advice and cautions regarding the use of artificial intelligence appearing daily across all sources. The big question remains: does it work?

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaks during a press conference ahead of a NFL football game against Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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YouTube using creators to enhance broadcast of the NFL game between the Chiefs and the Chargers

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview
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YouTube using creators to enhance broadcast of the NFL game between the Chiefs and the Chargers

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs face Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers in the most accessible game to viewers on Friday night in Brazil.

It’s the first NFL game streamed on YouTube and there will be plenty of unique elements surrounding the broadcast.

The league and YouTube have assembled a lineup of content creators to enhance the viewing experience.

Cam Newton, Brandon Marshall, Derek Carr and Tyrann Mathieu will be part of a pre-game and post-game shows hosted by Kay Adams.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025
FILE - The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen with random binary data, March 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Attorneys general warn OpenAI and other tech companies to improve chatbot safety

Matt O'brien And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Attorneys general warn OpenAI and other tech companies to improve chatbot safety

Matt O'brien And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

The attorneys general of California and Delaware on Friday warned OpenAI they have “serious concerns” about the safety of its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, especially for children and teens.

The two state officials, who have unique powers to regulate nonprofits such as OpenAI, sent the letter to the company after a meeting with its legal team earlier this week in Wilmington, Delaware.

California AG Rob Bonta and Delaware AG Kathleen Jennings have spent months reviewing OpenAI's plans to restructure its business, with an eye on “ensuring rigorous and robust oversight of OpenAI’s safety mission.”

But they said they were concerned by “deeply troubling reports of dangerous interactions between" chatbots and their users, including the "heartbreaking death by suicide of one young Californian after he had prolonged interactions with an OpenAI chatbot, as well as a similarly disturbing murder-suicide in Connecticut. Whatever safeguards were in place did not work.”

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025
FILE - People walk past a campaign poster starring Sydney Sweeney which is displayed at the American Eagle Outfitters store, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

American Eagle counts new customers after Sydney Sweeney ad frenzy and shares soar

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters spiked 34% Thursday after the teen clothing retailer said the frenzy surrounding its Sydney Sweeney ad campaign drew new customers during its most recent quarter.

American Eagle rolled out its new new ad campaign starring 27-year-old actor over the summer. The fall denim campaign sparked a debate about race, Western beauty standards, and the backlash to “woke” American politics and culture.

Negative reactions centered on ads that used the word “genes” instead of “jeans” featuring the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor known for the HBO series “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.”

But American Eagle did get noticed, executives said late Wednesday in a call after the Pittsburgh retailer posted second quarter earnings.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025
Heribeto Blanco-Joya sits in his living room, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Artificial intelligence helps break barriers for Hispanic homeownership

Fernanda Figueroa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Artificial intelligence helps break barriers for Hispanic homeownership

Fernanda Figueroa, The Associated Press 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2025

For many Hispanics the road to homeownership is filled with obstacles, including loan officers who don’t speak Spanish or aren't familiar with buyers who may not fit the boxes of a traditional mortgage applicant.

Some mortgage experts are turning to artificial intelligence to bridge the gap. They want AI to help loan officers find the best lender for a potential homeowner's specific situation, while explaining the process clearly and navigating residency, visa or income requirements.

This new use of a bilingual AI has the potential to better serve homebuyers in Hispanic and other underrepresented communities. And it's launching as federal housing agencies have begun to switch to English-only services, part of President Donald Trump's push to make it the official language of the United States. His executive order in August called the change a way to “reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.”

The number of limited-English households tripled over the past four decades, according to the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. The institute says these households struggle to navigate the mortgage process, making it difficult for them to own a home, which is a key factor in building generational wealth.

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Monday, Sep. 15, 2025
FILE - Oakland Ballers players stand during the national anthem before a Pioneer League baseball game against the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Oakland, Calif., July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Ballers manager Aaron Miles will leave it to artificial intelligence to decide when to pinch hit or replace his pitcher.

The playoff-bound Ballers of the independent Pioneer League are turning to AI to manage most aspects of Saturday's home game against the Great Falls Voyagers at Raimondi Park. So it might feel almost like a day off for the skipper, whose lineup and in-game decisions will even be made for him — from a tablet he will have in the dugout providing instructions.

The starting pitcher is already set.

“Luckily it’s only game. Maybe we've done so well that the AI will just keep doing what we're doing,” Miles joked Wednesday. “Being a 70-win team we've got a very good bench. It's hard to write a lineup without leaving somebody out that's really good. This game I'll be like, ‘Hey, it’s not on me for not writing you in there, it's on the computer.' It won’t be my fault if somebody’s not in the lineup, I guess I’ll enjoy that.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
FILE - In this image taken from video provided by C-SPAN, the final vote count on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, in the Senate in Washington, D.C. (C-SPAN via AP)

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

C-SPAN announces deal for its service to be carried on YouTube TV, Hulu

David Bauder, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Dec. 5, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — C-SPAN said Wednesday that it had reached a deal to have its three channels air on YouTube TV and Hulu's live television feed, ending a dispute that had led to a revenue squeeze for the public affairs network in the cord-cutting era.

The network said the streaming services would pay the same fee as cable and satellite companies, roughly 87 cents a year per subscriber, and that C-SPAN would continue its no-advertising policy on television.

Congress involved itself in the issue, passing a resolution this spring calling on the services' parent companies — Alphabet for YouTube and Disney for Hulu — to add C-SPAN to their programming mix. Because congressional sessions and hearings represent a big portion of C-SPAN's programming, the politicians faced diminished airtime without a deal.

At its peak a decade ago, C-SPAN was seen in some 100 million homes with television. The number of homes paying for TV has since dropped to some 70 million, with roughly 20 million of those consumers now getting television through services like YouTube and Hulu, and they weren't showing C-SPAN.

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Friday, Dec. 5, 2025
FILE - A Los Angeles Unified School District student attends an online class at the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles on Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Los Angeles school district settles with parents who sued over distance learning

Amy Taxin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Los Angeles school district settles with parents who sued over distance learning

Amy Taxin, The Associated Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

Parents have agreed to settle a lawsuit that alleged the distance learning program used by the Los Angeles Unified School District during the COVID-19 pandemic failed to meet state educational standards and disproportionately harmed Black and Latino students, a lawyer for the families said.

Attorneys for parents who filed the class-action lawsuit in 2020 said the agreement would require the nation's second-largest school district to offer at least 45 hours of significant tutoring services a year to more than 100,000 of its most vulnerable students over the next three years in addition to teacher training and mandatory assessments. The goal is to help the district's most disadvantaged students, the lawyers said.

The deal must be approved by the court to take effect.

"For nearly five years, we have fought tirelessly on behalf of LAUSD students and their families to enforce students’ constitutional right to basic educational equality,” Edward Hillenbrand, one of the plaintiffs' pro bono attorneys, said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025
The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Preview

AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

OTTAWA - Wrongful death lawsuits citing the activities of artificial intelligence chatbots are underway in the United States, as reports emerge of mental health issues and delusions induced by AI systems.

These incidents are drawing attention to the changing nature of the online threat landscape — just weeks after the Liberal government said it would review its online harms bill before reintroducing it in Parliament.

"Since the legislation was introduced, I think it's become all the more clear that tremendous harm can be facilitated by AI, and we're seeing that in particular in the space of chatbots and some of the tragedies," said Emily Laidlaw, Canada research chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary.

The Online Harms Act, which died on the order paper when the election was called, would have required social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, and would have imposed on them a duty to protect children.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025