Couple proceeds with wedding amid chaos in P.E.I. from post-tropical storm Fiona

Trump touts USMCA win in state of the union

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump declared his scorched-earth political style an unmitigated success Tuesday in a fiercely partisan, made-for-TV state of the union speech that made it clear he expects to be back in the White House next year on the strength of the U.S. economy and his trade deals with Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump, addressing a joint session of Congress in the very chamber where House Democrats voted to impeach him less than two months ago, became only the second president in American history — Bill Clinton was the first — to deliver a state of the union while standing trial in the Senate.

Unrepentant, he pointedly refused to shake the offered hand of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the dais before singing the praises of what he billed as "the great American comeback," pointing to strong job growth, a soaring stock market and low unemployment as evidence of his leadership. And when he was done, Pelosi ripped up the speech in full view of the television cameras.

"America's enemies are on the run, America's fortunes are on the rise, and America's future is blazing bright. The years of economic decay are over," Trump declared, taking full credit for the country's "roaring economy," including what he billed as seven million new jobs and the lowest jobless rate in half a century — a "blue-collar boom" that he's counting on to help his re-election chances in November.

A fond farewell to the Hercules

Fans at the NHL’s outdoor Heritage Classic game last weekend were no doubt thrilled by the sight and sound of two CF-18 Hornet fighter jets conducting a flyover at Princess Auto Stadium shortly before the puck was dropped for the much-anticipated Winnipeg Jets/Montreal Canadiens matchup.

Flyovers such as these always create a spectacular scene, as the speed and power of the jets are on full display for the brief moments they’re in view above the stadium bowl. But fans who maintained their skyward gaze for a few seconds after the Hornets’ blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance were treated to a much more poignant aeronautical exhibition, as a CC-130H Hercules aircraft passed over the stadium in the fighter jets’ wake.

Compared to the supersonic CF-18s, the massive, propeller-driven transport plane probably seemed to be doing more of a “crawl-over”; what most folks at the outdoor game probably didn’t realize, however, was that this was almost certainly the last time they’ll see one of these ubiquitous Canadian Forces aircraft in the sky.

The CC-130H is being retired after more than half a century as the RCAF’s combat, rescue and transport workhorse. The “Herc” will be replaced by more modern aircraft, including the smaller and more nimble CC-295 Kingfisher, which will be used for search-and-rescue missions out of 17 Wing Winnipeg, beginning next month.

Neo-Nazi group members plotted to kill Free Press reporter

Disturbing details of a plan to kill a Free Press reporter who had infiltrated a white nationalist hate group were revealed for the first time Wednesday.

Shocking development

HOCKLEY VALLEY, Ont. — It’s not too often you get into a new vehicle, look at the interior, and say to yourself, “Wow, this is different… in a good way.”

Automakers tend to stick pretty close to defined norms, and when they differ, it’s not always successful. I’m looking at you, Toyota Yaris and Nissan X-Trail.

So, stepping into the 2027 BMW iX3 was refreshing. A bright parallelogram of a main touchscreen is closer to the driver than most, aided in no small part by pushing the instrument cluster to a narrow band just under the windscreen.

The effect is to clean up the look of the dash but without moving to a centre-mount instrument panel like the Yaris and X-Trail. The most valuable information (speed, battery charge, range) is right in front of the driver, visible above the top rim of the steering wheel.

Meteorologist behind Rob’s Obs is moving weather station to Ontario

In a Winnipeg winter, there are always at least two certainties: it will be cold, and it will snow. A third certainty: the people will talk endlessly about how frigid the temperature is, and argue about how much snow is cloaking their driveways. Is it colder than it ever has been? Is there more snow today than the same time last year?

Rob Paola likely knows the answers to those questions.

Paola possesses no super powers. He is but a man with a metre stick and 40 years of professional meteorological experience, in the midst of a lifelong love affair with Mother Nature, a most turbulent mistress who rarely, if ever, reciprocates.

Each year when snow begins to fall, Paola heads outside his Charleswood home to figure out how much. He sticks his ruler in the ground, grabs his clipboard, and clicks his pen. In neat script, he records the temperature, what time precipitation began, how deep the powder is stacked. Then, he shares his data and insights online with thousands of followers who want a clear answer to the eternal questions: Why is this happening? When will it stop? How much snow has fallen in the city of Winnipeg?