All kinds of music require volume. It has to be listened to loud. But how loud and for how long? Here’s a quick guide.

• If you listen to music for long periods of time, 85 dB is about the maximum. You can listen for up to eight hours with no damage to your hearing.
• But turn things up to 88 dB, and the tolerance drops to around four hours.
• At 91 dB, two hours, max. If you’re at 94 dB, you’d better stop after an hour. Beyond that, things can get dangerous.
• If sound pressure levels are at 100 dB, you may suffer hearing damage in as little as 15 minutes.
• And if things are at 110 dB or beyond, damage starts within a few minutes. If you’re near the speakers, problems start within seconds.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you have a stereo set-up at home, you’ll know that there’s a special input for your turntable labelled “phono.”  You can’t just plug it into, say, an auxiliary input. If you can use an aux input for everything else, why not your turntable?

Because in order to play back vinyl correctly, it has to go through something called a “phono stage.” Vinyl has limitations when it comes to storing very low frequencies and very high ones. To counteract that, records are pressed with the bass turned down and the treble turned up per something called the RIAA equalization curve. Upon playback, the phono stage reverses that curve, boosting the bass by a specific amount and reducing the treble, thereby achieving the tonal balance of the original recording.

The RIAA curve may help explain why it feels better to listen to vinyl than a digital recording.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

What should have been a routine start to the work day quickly turned into heartbreak for Chloe Kook and her co-workers, who found much of their strawberry crop decimated when they arrived at their Saskatoon-area farm Monday morning.

“When we showed up, we saw a lot more hail damage than we were expecting,” Kook, manager of Prairie Pathways farm, told Global News in an interview.

Kook says she was greeted by ice pellets still lingering around the ruined crop from the previous night’s ice storm, and that the crop is so badly damaged it is unlikely to recover this season.

“Everything got hit on the farm,” she said.

“Our maze got hit, the pumpkins got hit. But luckily, those are still growing. So we’re just hopeful that they’ll pull through.”

The ruin was a tough sight for the farm’s former owners, who had grown strawberries in those fields for over 20 years and had gone over to assess the damage.

“He was in shock,” said Kook. “He shared with us that this is the worst he’s ever seen it.”

Before Sunday’s hailstorm, the farm had already been contending with a tough growing season filled with windy and cloudy conditions. But the storm was the farm’s final straw, leaving them with no option but to pivot just days before its opening weekend.

“We’re actually calling it our ‘berry sorry’ weekend,” said Kook, adding that workers are keeping their spirits high and are excited to open for the public despite the heartbreaking turn of events.

“We’ll be doing local food, fresh veggies, we’ll have some snacks, concessions, ice cream, stuff like that.”

Kook says the farm is also feeling the community’s support, which is pushing it to stay open.

“When we posted the official update, we got a lot of support from the community, saying, ‘This is awful, so sorry this happened to you, we’ll still come out.'”

Meanwhile, just over a kilometre down the road, a local farm and distillery say they were spared from the hail.

“We actually have our own weather station. But no, we haven’t gotten any extreme weather. We haven’t the hail, we didn’t get the tornadoes or anything like that,” said Morgan Cote, brand ambassador of Black Fox Farm and Distillery.

Despite this, Cote says the farm has been contending with unseasonable weather in other ways, such as a delay in the peony growing season, pushing buds into early July.

“With this rain … these peonies were so close to buds. For so long, we were expecting when that heat would hit, just a weekend ago, that they would just explode. And then we get the time frame crunch,” she said.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

WARNING: Details in this story are disturbing. Discretion is advised.

Global News applied for a video to be released in the double murder trial of an Abbotsford, B.C., couple in 2022.

In May, three men were found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of 77-year-old Arnold De Jong and 76-year-old Joanne De Jong.

The judge refused to release the video that was withheld when other evidence was released last month.

“I think the whole world should see this video,” Sandra Barthel, the de Jongs’ daughter, told Global News.

Abhijeet Singh, Gurkaran Singh and Khushveer Toor were found guilty of first-degree murder in the case.

The court earlier heard that Arnold died by asphyxiation, with his entire head and face wrapped in duct tape, while Joanne was bludgeoned and had her throat slashed.

The video that Global News requested was shown twice in court, capturing Gurkaran Singh handling a bat while Toor drove.

“Kind of taking a selfie video, I believe, of him holding it and smiling as they were driving down the street,” Barthel said.

Supreme Court Justice Brenda brown denied the request to have full access to the video so we can’t publish it, but she did grant Global News access to view the video supervised.

The video shows what appears to be the same green wooden baseball bat found in the trunk.

“It sickens me that they were driving around using this as a trophy, showing that it was something that was brought into my parents’ home,” the de Jongs’ daughter, Heather Hoogland, said.

During the Crown’s closing arguments of the trial, the prosecutor describes the video as showing the smile of a murderer and that is the reason the judge won’t release that video.

“The judge’s decision is basically to protect the integrity of the court, of that commentary associated from the video,” Donna Turko KC, Toor’s lawyer, said.

Barthel said this move protects the criminals, but not the victims or the public.

“It’s a decision that protects them and their dignity, but where’s our parents’ dignity?” she said.

The family will wait another two months to find out the sentence for the three men who took their parents’ lives.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback situation is being kept as a closely-guarded secret just 48 hours ahead of Friday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts.

Minus injured quarterback Zach Collaros, the Bombers returned to the practice field after two days off with their only full session ahead of their week six matchup against the 2-2 Argos. But it was a closed practice and head coach Mike O’Shea didn’t reveal who led the first-string offence in practice or who’ll be playing at quarterback.

We do know Collaros did not participate in practice according to the official injury report. He left Sunday’s win in the second quarter after taking a blindside hit and did not return. The Bombers are calling it a neck injury and not a head injury and he’s listed as questionable to play.

Recent acquisition Dru Brown didn’t dress against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats due to his unfamiliarity with the playbook and despite having just one practice this week, there’s a possibility Brown starts at QB on Friday.

“I think he has a good understanding,” said O’Shea. “That happens in the game. You have a better understanding that there’s going to be an opportunity possibly.

“But there’s other things besides the playbook that have to happen, right? The familiarity of going through a camp with a group of guys is different than just the familiarity with the offence.”

It’s only been three years since Brown played for Winnipeg and he spent the last two seasons under now-Bombers offensive coordinator Tommy Condell with the Ottawa RedBlacks.

The Bombers will reveal their starting quarterback when the depth chart comes out on Thursday.

The Bombers had seven players on their injury report, with offensive lineman Tui Eli also questionable after missing practice with an ankle injury.

Five other players have already been ruled out. Wide receiver Kevens Clercius (knee), linebacker Lane Novak (knee), defensive back Ethan Ball (thigh), defensive tackle Tanner Schmekel (calf), and defensive lineman Da’Shaan Dixon (hip) will all sit out on Friday.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Myra Bellevue Provincial Park is known for its historic railway trestles, sweeping views and thousands of visitors who explore the area each year by foot and bike.

But what many may not know is that not all of the nearly 8,000-hectare park is publicly owned.

“Most people just assume that these parks have a big line around them and that’s that, but some of them are a little bit like Swiss cheese,” said Andy Day, CEO of the BC Parks Foundation.

The BC Parks Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to acquire one of the last remaining privately-owned parcels in the park in an effort to place it in public hands and protect it from any potential development.

“There’s always that threat that somebody else comes along, buys it and sees a real commercial opportunity,” Day said. “In many ways, the remoteness is becoming an attractive feature.”

The piece of land is 32 hectares and part of an area considered an important and biodiverse ecosystem.

“This whole area is a very rare ecosystem found only in this region of British Columbia and Canada,” said Scott Boswell, executive director of the  Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program.

Boswell said any potential development could put pressure on the ecosystem and important corridor for a variety of wildlife between Okanagan Mountain and Kalamalka provincial parks.

“This area remains connected as an ecological corridor between two provincial parks and we want to maintain that connectivity over the long term, so acquiring any lands within the corridor is super important,” Boswell said.

“The species need to be able to move between the two big protected areas.”

Earlier in the  year, a 64-hectare piece of land was acquired.

If the current campaign is successful, only one parcel of land in the park would remain privately owned.

The purchase comes with a $1.6-million price tag.

However, a matching commitment from the Wilson 5 Foundation means the public fundraising target is half that amount.

The foundation faces an April 14 deadline to raise the money needed to complete the purchase.

“If we aren’t able to protect this and raise the money, then this could be, you know, lost, permanently,” Day said.

You can go to the BC Parks Foundation website for more information or to donate.

 

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Alberta’s new auditor general, Phil Peters, says he expects his investigation into a health-care contracting scandal to be complete by the end of this year.

The province’s previous auditor general, Doug Wylie, finished his term in the spring, after Premier Danielle Smith’s government opted not to extend his contract.

Wylie had offered to stay on for two more years and pushed to finish the probe that he had been working on for more than a year before his time was up.

Peters took over the job in late April before the investigation was complete.

It’s among multiple investigations, including by the RCMP, launched after the former head of Alberta Health Services made allegations of corruption in multimillion-dollar health deals.

The allegations haven’t been proven in court, and a government-commissioned third-party report by retired judge Raymond Wyant found no evidence of wrongful interference by Smith, her ministers or staff.

Peters said the procurement review remains a top priority for the auditor general’s office, and it’s trying to get it out as quickly as it can.

“The complexity of this work is unprecedented for our office, and it’s of extreme importance to Albertans. So we’re taking the care to complete the work fully,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“We’re just seeking the full truth of what really happened.”

Announced in February 2025, the auditor’s work was to zero in on deals for private surgical facilities, pain medication from Turkey and COVID-19 personal protective equipment.

Wylie said at the time it could extend beyond health-care organizations.

Peters noted his office’s mandate allows it to dig deeper than Wyant, whose final report was released in October.

Wyant had said his review was limited and that some unnamed individuals refused interviews or avoided answering questions.

Unlike Wyant, Peters has the authority to compel records or subpoena witnesses to testify under oath.

Peters said the work involves a “voluminous” amount of documentation, and his office has made additional requests throughout the process.

“Each time we go through a set of documents, each time we talk to an individual, we’ll receive more documentation,” he said.

He declined to provide details.

The allegations that started it all are still winding their way through the courts as part of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit.

Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former health executive, alleged she was fired for looking into questionable contracts and their suppliers.

She said she was dismissed days before she was set to bring her findings to the auditor general in January 2025.

The United Conservative Party government and Alberta Health Services, once the provincial health authority, have since said Mentzelopoulos was fired for incompetence.

The Opposition NDP has long been calling for a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has labelled it the biggest government scandal in the province’s history.

 

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Vancouver was a lot quieter on Wednesday following the city’s final World Cup match at BC Place on Tuesday.

And that’s not all that will change.

FIFA’s host committee says crews will be removing temporary event signage from the Last Mile spectator route over the next few weeks.

Most local traffic restrictions and game day road closures have ended and city staff are working to reopen Pacific Boulevard later this month, according to Vancouver’s FIFA website.

While BC Place match days saw 1,200 police officers on shift, the Vancouver Police Department said there will be between 400 and 600 officers dedicated to game days for the rest of the tournament.

After July 19, the city will determine how many officers are needed for the Granville Pedestrian Zone extension, where policing is estimated to cost $200,000 a week.

“We will be tapering off a lot of our resources in terms of policing, but we still have a deployment until the 19,” Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the Vancouver police said.

“There is still the Granville Pedestrian Zone; there’s still Fan Fest; there are still a lot of events that need policing attention.”

City of Vancouver staff said no decisions have yet been made about allowing food trucks back into the pedestrian zone as they are continuing to review safety, design and operational requirements.

According to a Vancouver host committee spokesperson, event-related dressing, including most banners and some wayfinding signage, will remain in place across the city until late July.

One of the most photographed and recognizable symbols of the World Cup, Science World’s football dome, will remain in place for now, a spokesperson confirmed.

FIFA’s official logos for sales and advertising conclude on July 20, at which point the organization’s branding and intellectual property rules will no longer be in effect.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The federal government will not be investigating the decisions that led to the B.C. vacant condo buyout plan.

Some Conservative MPs recalled the Commons Ethics Committee and demanded the probe during a meeting on Tuesday, but were shut down.

The hope was to call on ministers, developers and others to find out more about the plan and how it came about, but the Liberals used their majority on the committee to shut it down.

“Canadians are intelligent and they will make their own minds up through the facts and that is exactly how it should be,” Fares Al Soud, Liberal MP for Mississauga-Centre, said at the meeting.

“With that chair, I move to adjourn debate.”

Under the $1.4-billion plan, Build Canada Homes and BC Housing would purchase some 2,200 unsold condos outside the City of Vancouver and offer them under a rent-to-buy scheme.

Critics call it a bailout for developers.

Andy Yan, with Simon Fraser University’s City Program, said he wished they knew what the idea and overall plan is because they have yet to see the overall policy framework.

The opposition in Ottawa says it will continue to push Mark Carney’s government for more clarity.

“If the Liberals have nothing to hide, then they should have nothing to fear by welcoming an investigation into where this idea came from and who stands to benefit from it the most,” Aaron Gunn, the Conservative MP for North Island-Powell River, said.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

In December 2025, police in Lethbridge, Alta., say they responded to a report of a 14-year-old girl being held in an apartment in the city’s south.

Upon arrival, officers found the girl in medical distress and she was transported to hospital.

Police later searched the home, finding two more girls, aged 15 and 16, being held in the residence.

Officers say all three alleged victims were forcibly confined, while the youngest was drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted by multiple men over a three-day period.

Police say the older two victims were confined for several hours, during which time the accused exposed himself.

Skye Atoa, who was 50 years old at the time of the incident, was charged with trafficking a person under 18, sexual assault of a child under 16, three counts of unlawful confinement and other related offences.

However, that wasn’t everything.

Police also charged Atoa in connection with the sexual assault of a 24-year-old woman in October of 2025.

Following his arrest in January, Atoa was granted bail, but it didn’t last long.

Officers say they observed him failing to enter a residence, which was part of his release conditions.

Instead, police say they watched him enter a store, where he was seen in a perfume aisle near a young female.

Police arrested him about 30 minutes after his bail release and he has been in custody ever since.

On Tuesday, Atoa’s lawyer appeared in a Lethbridge courtroom and, along with the Crown, set a date for a pre-trial conference.

The selected date is in mid-August, and will see several details surrounding the case ironed out ahead of any trail.

The next court appearance for Atoa was also scheduled, coming a few days after his pre-trial conference.

All charges are expected to be dealt with at the same trial.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.