Munch Madness III: The Famished Four

The plane truth about a dangerous president

U.S. President Donald Trump has crossed firmly into cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face territory.

Earlier this week, the president who seems to set policy by spontaneous social-media eruption announced his plans to halt the sales of Bombardier aircraft in the United States, spouting his usual complaints about Canadians and Canadian producers not playing fair.

As usual, the complaint seems to be rooted in the now-usual process: someone close to the emperor whispered in his ear that Canada had treated a Bombardier competitor — Gulfstream — badly, so Trump responded with a pronouncement of broadly agreed doubtful legality. Presidents don’t actually have the power to single out individual companies and ban them from doing business.

Nevertheless, the threat alarmed Bombardier executives, customers, employees and government officials.

Berry opens at Olympic trials: 'I want to impact the world'

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Gwen Berry raised her fist, then thumped it against her chest two times and set off on her quest for an even bigger stage to spread her message.

The hammer thrower, who forced the U.S. Olympic world into an uncomfortable conversation about raised fists, kneeling and other demonstrations at the games, finished sixth in qualifying at track and field trials Thursday. She'll be in the final Saturday competing for one of three tickets to Tokyo.

“Today means a lot to me,” said the 31-year-old mom, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Activist Athlete.’ “My message is very powerful. I want to impact the world.”

She's hardly the only athlete using their platform to send a message.

Outbreak should never have happened

The headline offered a vague sense that something had been accomplished, but it most certainly did not describe anything worth celebrating:

“Manitoba declares measles outbreak over.”

The news item in the Oct. 17 Free Press noted provincial public health officials had confirmed Manitoba’s last laboratory-confirmed case of measles was identified in August, and that the absence of any new cases since had allowed for the aforementioned declaration.

The end of the outbreak — which began in February 2025 and included a significant stretch this year during which Manitoba experienced more measles cases than any other province — is certainly worth noting. But it bears reminding that the real story here is that this province, and others across Canada, experienced a resurgence of this highly communicable but successfully eradicated disease in the first place.

Wesmen setter Tristan Arnold ready to meet the challenge

In a group that features some intriguing unknowns, Tristan Arnold is a certainty for the Winnipeg Wesmen.

The fifth-year setter and team captain enters his final men’s volleyball season as the unquestioned starter for the first time after spending most of his university career buried behind some talented players, then promoted briefly before bouncing between the bench and the floor.

It’s easy to see why the Glenlawn product is stoked for the upcoming campaign. This opportunity didn’t come without challenging his patience and some questions about his belonging in the sport he’s played from a young age.

“I’ve worked really hard to continue to play volleyball,” Arnold told the Free Press Tuesday. “There’s been a couple of times throughout my career where I’ve thought about packing it in, but I was just too committed to the boys, too committed to whoever I was playing for at the time.”

Most incumbents regain their seats… but not all

When it comes to civic elections, voters like incumbents — but that doesn’t mean they are always invincible.

Jets pack up early amid whispers of fractured locker room

There was no smoking gun. That's just not the Winnipeg Jets way — to air any potential dirty laundry in public. They'll keep things bottled up as tightly as possible, trying to create the illusion of a united front.

But as players and coaches gathered for an autopsy on their 2018-19 NHL season Monday, there were enough clues dropped about how the body ended up in the morgue. And they all point to something suspected for quite some time about this club, one with such lofty expectations that came up painfully short: there were a multitude of issues, both on the ice and off.

Exhibit A: head coach Paul Maurice's take on one of the priorities heading into next season.

"We’ve got a few ruffled feathers in there that we’re going to have to flatten out before we get going," Maurice offered up, without providing any further details.