Here’s a fact about playing vinyl records. Do they sound consistently good all the way through? In other words, does the music sound as good nearer to the outside of the record as it does as the tonearm moves closer to the centre label? No.

The outer grooves move faster under the stylus, meaning it has to wiggle less per rotational inch. That translates into less distortion. But as the tonearm approaches the centre of the record, the available space for grooves is less, creating what’s known as “inner groove distortion”—and there’s not much anyone can do about it, because this is an inherent limitation of vinyl.

It also explains why some acts put what they consider their best songs as tracks one, two or three on the side of an LP. They want them to have the best sonic quality.

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

The vinyl revival shows absolutely no sign of going away as LPs continue to outsell CDs and show double-digit growth year after year. Here are a couple of facts you may not know about vinyl.

First, it is a myth that coloured vinyl sounds inferior to plain black vinyl. In fact, black vinyl is actually coloured. Polyvinyl chloride, the material used to make records, is naturally transparent. To make it black, you need to add carbon. Today’s multi-coloured vinyl is made using dyes that don’t hurt anything and, in fact, are up to today’s best standards.

Yes, back in the day, coloured records could sound bad, but that’s when they were considered novelty items and didn’t receive the proper love when it came to mastering and pressing.

More next time.

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

“Mr. Brightside” was the very first single by The Killers. It first showed up in the UK on an indie label called Lizard King—and only 500 CD singles were available. Since then, the song has been played almost three billion times on Spotify and hundreds of millions more views on YouTube. It also has been on the British charts for 489 weeks. It’s the song that won’t go away and one that just keeps on giving for The Killers.

The wild thing is that it’s based on a real story.

A quarter-century ago, frontman Brandon Flowers walked into The Crown and Anchor, a bar in his hometown of Las Vegas, only to find his girlfriend cheating on him. Completely heartbroken, he went home and wrote out all the lyrics by hand. Now it’s one of the biggest hits of the century. I wonder what that woman thinks of all this?

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

No matter what you may hope, artificial intelligence is not going away. And while there are a lot of scary things about it, AI can be used as a tool when it comes to making music. But if you’re an AI user, here’s a request: Stop being polite to the chatbot because it wastes tremendous amounts of energy.

AI doesn’t work on word count. It counts tokens. In general, one token equals four characters of text. The more tokens you use—in other words, the more text you use in your prompt—the more data needs to be processed. If you use unnecessary words like “please” and “thank you,” you are burning energy.

According to UN research, an end to just 25% of politeness would save up to 100 gigawatts of electricity, which could otherwise be used to supply power to nearly 750,000 for a year.

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

Residents of a handful of communities in northwestern Ontario have been ordered to flee their homes due to nearby forest fires.

The Ontario Provincial Police force says on social media that evacuation orders are in place for Armstrong and Cushing Lake, as well as Collins First Nation, Whitesand First Nation and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation.

An alert from Emergency Management Ontario says residents should leave the area and head south to Thunder Bay.

Meanwhile, the OPP says those in Ignace, Crystal Lake and the Highway 633 area should prepare for possible evacuations.

Photos and videos on social media appear to show large grey and black plumes of smoke and towering flames from wildfires.

Environment Canada has much of northern Ontario under a severe heat warning, with forecasters predicting highs of 36 C and the humidex making it feel as hot as 40 C.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The Athabasca Hotel is synonymous with Jasper, Alta.

“The Athabasca Hotel is an incredibly storied property in Jasper. It’s one that anyone who’s been to Jasper probably have a story of,” explained Tourism Jasper’s CEO, Tyler Riopel.

“Locals see the Athabasca Hotel as one of their favourite places to hang out and it is very much a gathering place for the community.”

Originally built in 1921 as a wooden structure, it was torn down and the existing structure was built in 1928.

“The bones of this hotel are really good,” said Karen Decore, CEO of Decor Hotels.

“It’s actually a very well-built building — which is surprising because it was built by the Calgary Brewing and Malt Company… in order to open a bar.”

Decore Hotels already owns the Tonquin Inn, and is currently rebuilding the Maligne Lodge, which burned down in the 2024 wildfires. Now they’ve added the Atha B, as it’s affectionately known, to their portfolio.

“To hear its been sold to another family who has, for generations, owned hotel properties in Jasper and knows the community so well — it’s very exciting,” said Riopel.

Decore was looking to purchase land in Jasper to build more staff housing.

“To buy the lots, we had to buy the hotel. It came as a package deal,” she laughed.

Now, Decore has big plans to help the Athabasca last another century.

“We have an opportunity to sort of recreate this hotel. Keeping the character and charm — it’s beautiful. Updating it and modernizing it for future generations coming to Jasper.”

Urgent renovations will get underway soon.

“In the fall, we’re adding an elevator because you can only access the rooms on the second and third floor by using the stairs,” Decore said.

Air conditioning will also be added, as well as 20 bathrooms, because back in the day, guests would share a communal washroom.

The hotel features 60 guest rooms — and all of them will eventually have their own private bathroom.

While surveying the site, Decore also found a treasure trove in the basement.

“ kept all of these old photographs of the town of Jasper, from the early 1900s. The railways, the few homes that were here.”

She says those images, as well as the existing animal busts, will be incorporated into a mountain/art deco design upgrade in about three years’ time.

In addition to being Jasper’s oldest hotel, the Athabasca is also one of the town’s oldest buildings.

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

A report from the Manitoba Federation of Labour shows workplace injuries caused by violence tripled between 2015 and 2025.

Many of the affected sectors include people working in health care, education and emergency response.

“Despite being bit, kicked, or spat upon, and hit, they go into work repeatedly to do the job they love to help students, to help patients, to help people,” said Kevin Rebeck, Manitoba Federation of Labour president.

Watch the video above for the full story.

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

The Curator independently decides what topics and products we feature. When you purchase an item through our links, we may earn a commission. Promotions and products are subject to availability and retailer terms.

Make the most of your outdoor spaces with thoughtfully chosen patio furniture. Think foldable café-style tables for slow weekend mornings, low-profile seating that doesn’t crowd the space, and modular pieces that can shift with your needs—from solo lounging to hosting a friend or two. Shop a range of space-smart styles from Wayfair, Pottery Barn, Cozey, and more—perfect for creating a setup that just feels like home.

 

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You may also like:

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If you’re looking for value, this 4-piece patio furniture set has everything you need for a relaxing night outdoors. Built with sturdy rattan, a reinforced metal frame, and high weight capacities across the table, chairs, and loveseat, this set is designed for durability. It also includes plush, zippered cushions for comfortable lounging.[/product_listing]

 

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Outdoor Side Tables – $54.99

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

For the past three years, a senior cabinet minister in the Ford government has been billing provincial taxpayers thousands of dollars for hotel rooms in downtown Toronto, despite living just a few kilometres away from Queen’s Park — public money that he’s now promising to partly pay back.

Between 2023 and 2026, Tourism Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho charged the Ontario Legislative Assembly $16,203 for “Toronto accommodation,” according to publicly available disclosure records.

While that accommodation is only available to Toronto-based MPPs for “special or unusual circumstances,” such as a snow storm, Cho repeatedly requested repayment for multiple hotel rooms during that time period.

In one year, Cho’s Toronto hotel room expenses left taxpayers with an $11,000 tab.

Those expenses have raised questions and drawn criticism from opposition parties who point out that Minister Cho lives just six kilometers away from the Ontario legislature and is entitled to a taxpayer-funded vehicle and driver.

“Ministers are being held to a different standard under Doug Ford’s government,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles told Global News. “I think it’s like a party with the taxpayer dime.”

The details about Cho’s hotel expenses, including which hotels were booked, dates or length of stay and reasons for the accommodation requirement were not included in the public filings.

Global News asked the minister’s office for detailed information on the hotel accommodation, but didn’t receive specifics.

Hours later, however, Cho’s office responded with a pledge that the minister would personally pay back an undetermined amount.

“While these expenses meet the criteria for special circumstances as set out by the Legislative Guide for Member’s expenses, I will be personally reimbursing the legislature for any expense that does not meet the spirit of the policy,” Minister Cho said in a statement.

Global News has asked the minister’s office to clarify the “the spirit of the policy” and how much money would be paid back.

Between 2018, when Cho first won the Toronto-area riding of Willowdale , and 2022, the minister didn’t require the benefit and didn’t submit any expenses for overnight hotel stays in the city.

That trend began to change in 2023 before dramatically increasing over the past year:

• 2023-24: $1,431 in Toronto accommodation
• 2024-25: $3,081 in Toronto accommodation
• 2025-26: $11,691 in Toronto accommodation

Under expense rules in Ontario, MPPs who live more than 50 kilometers away from Queen’s Park are allowed to bill taxpayers for a residence in or around Toronto, allowing them to be closer to the legislature, where the bulk of a politician’s work is conducted.

MPPs who live within that 50 kilometer boundary, however, are only allowed to claim accommodation costs for “special or unusual circumstances,” according to the legislature expense guidelines, and only “on an overnight basis.”

Critics, though, are asking why Cho needed to stay in a hotel at all.

While his riding is roughly a 30 minute drive away from the Ontario legislature, publicly accessible property records show Cho’s primary residence is exactly 5.9 km — or seven subway stops — away from Queen’s Park.

As a cabinet minister, Cho also has access to a government-assigned vehicle, which is generally driven by a member of staff.

“It’s outrageous,” Stiles said. “You can get from Willowdale to Queens Park without even changing the subway train, so I don’t see any reason why a minister would have to have a hotel downtown as many times as Minister Cho has had.”

Cho’s hotel expenses come in the wake of Premier Doug Ford’s controversial decision to purchase a $28.9 million private jet for his government-related travel.

Although Ford later sold the plane to Bombardier after a wave of public backlash, critics said the Progressive Conservative Party had strayed away from its ‘respect for taxpayer’ roots.

Global News asked the Premier’s office whether Cho’s hotel expenses are “reasonable and justifiable to taxpayers” but did not receive a response.

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

The Ford government’s populist law that bans the sale of concert and sports tickets above face value is set to undergo a regulatory overhaul just months after it was first introduced, as the province discovered the policy has been nearly impossible to enforce.

Multiple industry sources told Global News that Premier Doug Ford’s office has instructed Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement Stephen Crawford to prepare regulations to fix the new anti-scalping law, with options still to be determined.

The cap on resale tickets was introduced as part of the 2026 budget, with the government promising massive fines for individuals and companies caught breaking the law.

That law, multiple industry sources suggested, was rushed through during the spring at the behest of the premier, who wanted a cap in place before Toronto hosted six matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“New legislative changes would make it illegal for tickets to concerts, cultural, sports and other live events in Ontario to be re-sold for more than their original cost,” the province promised in March.

The resale rules technically came into effect as soon as the budget received Royal Assent on April 24, but the government opted for an education-first approach, writing to secondary sellers like SeatGeek, StubHub, FIFA and VividSeat to tell them to get in line.

However, despite the letters from the government, tickets on those sites continued to be sold online well above face value. In early June, the provincial government named SeatGeek and StubHub on its Consumer Beware list as a punishment for selling tickets above face value.

“The rules are clear and so are the consequences: The days of scalpers ripping people off in Ontario are done,” Ford wrote in a social media post on June 11, 2026.

The government, however, has not fined either company and has not been able to offer an explanation of whether it will under the existing rules.

A month after they were named on the list, the companies appear to have faced no consequences and have repeatedly claimed the rules the government has written are simply unenforceable.

“We have been seeking guidance on key details that are fundamental to compliance, such as what constitutes acceptable proof of a ticket’s original price,” StubHub wrote in a statement in June.

“We received partial answers to these questions today and are continuing to work with the Ministry toward full compliance.”

The rules, one advocate for secondary sellers said, have been a nightmare to enforce.

“It’s been messy to say the least,” Brian Berry, of the advocacy group Ticket Policy Forum, told Global News.

“The law was finalized, and enforcement has been expected of companies before the rules of how to apply were really developed. It has been messy, there’s been some frustration.”

Now, it appears the government is accepting that the law it rushed through in the spring was at least partially flawed.

Industry sources told Global News the premier’s office had instructed Crawford’s office to draft regulations to work out how to define the face value of a ticket and how secondary markets will have to verify it.

The concern from resale sites is that they currently have no way to verify the original price of tickets because they can’t access the e-tickets or metadata from primary sellers.

People looking to resell tickets could use artificial intelligence or Photoshop to edit the price of their original ticket, for example, to resell it for more with no easy way to spot the change.

“(It) is a wrinkly policy that requires some ironing out,” Berry added.

“We warned that this is exactly what would happen: that there would be frustration, that enforcement would be difficult, that compliance would be difficult. And that’s exactly what’s playing out.”

He said he was reassured that it seemed the government was moving to make changes.

“Cooler minds will prevail,” he said. “Now the ministry, it appears, does want to sit down and reopen the rule, not necessarily to do away with it.”

The Ford government offered a general statement to Global News in response to questions.

“Our government continues to take action to enforce legislation that cracks down on exploitative ticket resellers who drive up prices,” the government wrote in a statement sent to Global News.

“We expect all resellers and platforms to comply with these rules and will not hesitate to hold bad actors accountable.”

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