Luxury market seen as growing in 2022 despite inflation, war

Norway's Ruud wins Olympic gold year after father's death

The decorated alpine athlete was disqualified from her first two races in Beijing, but still has plenty of events to come.

MPI lowers speed limit on tech upgrade with ‘IT roadmap’ following Project Nova debacle

Manitoba Public Insurance is now using an “IT road map” and phasing in new technology and systems after pulling the plug last year on its failed $164-million overhaul known as Project Nova, its annual report says.

The Crown corporation’s 2025-26 just-released annual report says lessons learned from Project Nova helped shape its “new path forward for modernization,” calling it an “IT road map” allowing systems to be changed in “smaller, lower-risk increments.”

Chief executive officer Satvir Jatana said in the report that the public auto insurer is in “a favourable position” — reporting $55.6 million in net income after losses of $19.7 million in 2024-25 and $130 million the previous fiscal year. Jatana said income would have surpassed $100 million if not for writeoffs related to the closure of Project Nova, which was intended to modernize outdated business and information technology systems, with a projected cost that climbed from $85 million in 2019 to an estimated $435 million in March of 2025, before it was cancelled.

Jatana has stated previously that Project Nova was doomed from the start with ineffective governance, major changes in MPI leadership, a global pandemic and a labour dispute that led to delays and cost overruns with many starts and stops to the project.

Alex Jones concedes Sandy Hook attack was ‘100% real’

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For years, bombastic far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ranted to his millions of followers that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, that children weren’t killed and that parents were crisis actors in an elaborate ruse to force gun control.

Under oath and facing a jury that could hit him with $150 million or more in damages for his false claims, Jones said Wednesday he now realizes that was irresponsible and believes that what happened in the deadliest school shooting in American history was “100% real.”

Jones’ public contrition came on the final day of testimony in a two-week defamation lawsuit against him and his Austin-based media company, Free Speech Systems, brought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis. Their son was a first grader who was among the 20 students and six teachers killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.

“I unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these people’s feelings,” said Jones, who also acknowledged raising conspiracy claims about other mass tragedies, from the Oklahoma City and Boston Marathon bombings to the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida, “and I’m sorry for that.”

Ottawa commits $8.1 million for downtown Y redevelopment

The federal government is backing a major redevelopment of Winnipeg’s Downtown Y that will expand community programs and update the century-old Vaughan Street building.

On Monday, Ottawa committed $8.1 million toward the Y’s plans to expand newcomer and mental-health programs.

The project will also upgrade elevators, change rooms, aquatics and fitness areas and energy systems. Construction is expected to begin in October, according to the Y’s website.

The YMCA-YWCA is contributing $3.5 million to the project.

Osborne Village violence sends two people to hospital, one in critical condition; two people arrested

Two people are in hospital and another two are in police custody after a serious assault in Osborne Village early Monday morning.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Pat Saydak said officers were called to the assault scene on Osborne Street near River Avenue just after midnight.

Two people were rushed to hospital, one in critical condition and the other in stable condition.

Two individuals, both adults, were arrested by police. There’s no word yet on charges.

Klein vows city ombudsman would bring transparency

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is promising to build public trust in city hall, if elected, with a new municipal ombudsman.

Klein expects the change would ramp up transparency and ensure complaints are thoroughly reviewed.

An independent municipal ombudsman would receive reports from whistleblowers and the public, then publish findings. That person would not answer to city staff or the mayor, Klein said.

“It will make hiding a bad file much harder. And it will make having meetings behind closed doors very difficult,” he said.