Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, yesterday morning.  The helicopter flew through thick fog, despite Los Angeles police grounding their own fleet, before crashing into a hillside in Calabasas, California, killing all nine on board.  Kobe’s private Sikorsky S-76 immediately caught fire at around 10am.  Bryant died alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.  … Read more

The Toronto hospital currently treating Canada’s first confirmed case of coronavirus says the facility is safe for patients. Yesterday Canada’s chief public health officer said the man began showing symptoms on a flight from China to Toronto early last week, but the risk of further spread remains low. Results are expected within the next day from the National Microbiology Lab … Read more

The Public Health Agency of Canada has given the go-ahead to a lab in Saskatoon to begin working on a vaccine for the new coronavirus at the centre of an outbreak in China. The International Vaccine Centre at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization has made successful vaccines for strands of other coronavirus strains in cows and … Read more

Researchers have studied the amount of bacteria on 14 common sites in your home and found that the kitchen was the most contaminated spot. And appliance handles—like that of your oven door—were some of the worst offenders (yes, there was even fecal bacteria).  Anything that’s on your hands will get transferred to your handle.  Think about it: You just prepped … Read more

Tinder announced a series of new safety features yesterday, ranging from letting users call emergency services while on a date to a photo verification system that ensures “every match is who they say they are.”   Tinder is teaming up with safety app Noonlight to allow users to share details about upcoming dates so there is a record of … Read more

A special weather statement is in effect from Huron-Perth right through to Halton-Peel. Environment Canada says freezing rain is possible tonight.  Rain will move over the highway 7 corridor late this afternoon and spread … Read more

China has placed the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak under virtual lockdown to contain the spread of illness. Wuhan has more than 11 million people. Train stations, the airport, subways, ferries and long-distance shuttle buses have been stopped. Local authorities demand all residents wear masks in public places and urged government staff to wear them at work. … Read more

Yesterday, Planters announced that their 104-year-old “spokesnut” Mr. Peanut will no longer represent the brand following the mascot’s sudden passing.  “It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that Mr. Peanut has died at 104,” @MrPeanut tweeted, with the account newly renamed the Estate of Mr. Peanut. “In the ultimate selfless act, he sacrificed himself … Read more

There’s no indication as to what caused today’s crash of the C130 Hercules aerial water tanker in New South Wales, Australia. The plane’s three American crew members were killed while battling blazes. The tragedy brings the death toll from the wildfires to at least 31 since September. Meanwhile, at least five fires are being described at an emergency warning level … Read more

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is urging the provincial government to include a 20 to 30 per cent tax on vaping products in the spring budget. They say it will help fight the rise in vaping by teens. It says the tax would make… Read more

Buffalo Wild Wings is making a bet with football fans that Super Bowl LIV won’t go into overtime — and unlike your local bookie, they won’t even break your legs if you’re wrong.  Yesterday, Buffalo Wild Wings announced plans to offer free wings to everyone in the U.S. and Canada if the Feb. 2 game goes into overtime, a deal … Read more

We might be absorbing more sunscreen chemicals into our bloodstream than is safely recommended, according to U.S. federal health officials.  Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested six of the main active ingredients in sunscreen lotions and sprays.  They found that all of the chemicals had higher concentrations in the blood than the FDA’s threshold.  One of … Read more

A new global study of more than 10,000 office workers in nearly a dozen countries, reveals workers average more than three hours a day on manual, repetitive computer tasks which aren’t part of their primary job. The data revealed that nearly half of workers surveyed found “digital administration” boring (47%) and a poor use of their skills (48%).  … Read more

Canada’s Larry Walker is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Walker signed with the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent as a 17-year-old in 1984, 5-years before Canadians were first eligible for the MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 1989 and played 6 seasons with Montreal before signing a free-agent deal with … Read more

Several school boards across Ontario announced yesterday that there won’t be any first-term report cards for elementary school students. An ongoing work-to-rule campaign by elementary teachers includes not inputting marks electronically, so some boards said they weren’t able to produce the reports. Affected boards include the Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board and Hastings and Prince Edward District … Read more

Vacationers looking to escape winter weather by taking a trip to Florida are in for some bad news: cold weather is on the way. In fact, things are about to get so cold that some of the state’s water parks are shutting down.  Universal Studios tweeted out that its Volcano Bay water park will be closed through tomorrow due to … Read more

Scrutiny at Canadian airports is about to get tighter as the situation gets get even more serious with the mysterious new Coronavirus. Health officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan say 15 of their medical staff have been diagnosed with it. This, as China confirms a fourth death from the illness, and confirms that the virus can be … Read more

More teacher strikes are happening today.  Catholic schools will be closed as the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association members hit the picket lines. Unions representing elementary and high school teachers are also holding one-day walkouts at selected boards. All three unions, as well as the one representing teachers in the French system, say they are frustrated with a lack of … Read more

A North Carolina dad was arrested for tackling his son’s opponent during a high school wrestling match.  Barry Lee Jones was arrested Saturday on charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct at the competition in Kannapolis.  Jones’ son had been facing off against an athlete from Hickory Ridge High School when the other student pulled a move that the referee … Read more

A Michigan man made a shocking discovery inside a couch he bought from a thrift store for just $35: an extra $43,000.  Howard Kirby purchased a couch from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Owosso only to discover it came with the wad of cash inside one of the cushions, the store manager said on Saturday.

Kirby decided to return … Read more

As many as 300 Canadian Armed Forces personnel are being deployed to Newfoundland and Labrador as the province digs out from more than 76 centimetres of snow that fell this weekend.  More snow fell overnight, adding to the totals that have been steadily accumulating since Christmas Eve. The military will help with snow removal and making sure people are able … Read more

If you use transit to get around Waterloo Region, you need to start making alternate arrangements because Grand River Transit workers are walking off the job tonight at midnight. Last week it was announced that the union had reached a tentative agreement with the region. But yesterday, union members rejected that deal at the ratification vote. Unifor Local 4304 represents … Read more

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for much of southern Ontario. They say a low-pressure system is expected to bring heavy snowfalls to Windsor tonight before moving east. The weather statement says the storm is likely to cover as far as the Toronto area and the golden horseshoe. The forecast is calling for up to 15 centimetres of … Read more

Adults who loved Legos as children can enjoy nostalgia as the Pop-Up the Brick Bar, consisting of over 1 million Legos, comes to Orlando on March 20-21.  The bar will feature sculptures built from Legos and adult playground for patrons to create Lego structures.  The Brick Bar posted on Instagram that the Pop-Up is the first of its kind.  The … Read more

(Video of the Premier’s remarks is posted below. Scan down)

Premier Doug Ford says his government will not give in to wage demands of Ontario teachers’ unions despite escalating job action. Yesterday Ford accused the leaders of the four unions of holding parents hostage and hurting the province’s economy with rotating strikes and work-to-rule campaigns. He added a one … Read more

Well that was quick. Yesterday the Ontario Cannabis Store started selling edibles. And as expected … they sold out almost instantly.  A spokesman says the store’s website processed 2,000 transactions in the first hour that the products went on sale. About 70 products, including edibles, beverages, vapes, tea, soft chews and concentrates are now available for purchase on the O.C.S. … Read more

Couples may want to reconsider shacking up, for the sake of their future sex life.  A study of about 100 couples, published in the Journal of Sex Research, found that couples who lived together before marriage were less sexually satisfied than those couples who didn’t live together before marriage.  And sex aside, living together before marriage also could spell doom … Read more

The Amazon Alexa can do just about anything. It can tell you what to make for dinner, turn on the lights to wake you up in the morning, and even how to cook a turkey. But one thing you may not know is that Alexa can also help you save a life. In an emergency situation, the device will walk … Read more

Spotify can now generate playlists … for your pets, with a new tool that claims to customize mixes to your pets’ species and personality traits.  The service was announced yesterday, noting that 71 percent of pet owners already play music for their pets.  The “Pet Playlists” tool allows users to choose between dog, cat, iguana, hamster and bird, … Read more

(Scan down for the link to register for compensation)

At least one teachers’ union leader says the Ford Government’s offer to compensate parents impacted by rotating one-day teachers’ strikes in Ontario is nothing more than a bribe. Education Minister Stephen Lecce says funding of up to $60 dollars a day of missed school is aimed at ensuring children are cared … Read more

The makers of Oreo cookies apparently won’t rest until we’re all just human-sized sacks of flesh filled with Stuf.  The brand announced on Monday the return of the Oreo “Most Stuf” cookies, a limited-edition offering which was described as having the “most crème” of any variety — including “Mega Stuf” — during its initial … Read more

A huge asteroid is set to zip past our planet this week, according to NASA.  The asteroid, dubbed 2009 BH2, will make a close approach with Earth on Saturday.  The space rock is estimated to be around 88 meters – 200 meters in diameter.  During Saturday’s passing, the asteroid will be around 2.8 million miles away from our planet. While … Read more