Pre-recorded cassettes first appeared in the mid-60s and reached their commercial peak in the mid-80s before slowly fading away over the next couple of decades. This brings me to the problem of the disastrous EMI cobalt cassettes of the 90s.

They seemed to use high-tech ferric-cobalt technology, but in fact, highly compressed audio to mask the fact that EMI was using poor-quality tape. Marketed as xDR cassettes, they were duplicated so that they sounded good on boomboxes and portable cassette players but terrible everywhere else. The music sounded harsh and rough on something like a good car stereo. Listener fatigue was a problem. Not only that, but because the base tape was substandard, xDR tapes degraded fast, especially when it came to treble frequencies.

So, if you’re a collector of vintage cassettes, stay away from these things. They are not worth your time.

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

We’ve all been faced with end-user license agreements or “EULAs.” They come in the form of dialogue boxes that pop up when we’re installing new software or hoping to use a certain product online. To get it working, we have to click “agree.” By doing that, you’re now a party to a legally binding agreement between a software vendor and you that protects the developer from—well, everything that could go wrong.

And let’s face it, no one ever reads those things because they’re long and incomprehensible. We don’t know what we’re agreeing to. Here’s my favourite.

The EULA to download a single song on iTunes has a word count greater than what Shakespeare needed to write Macbeth. But it gets even better. This is a real clause from the document. “You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.”

For downloading a song on iTunes? Talking about covering your butt, huh?

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

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Tuesday that its artificial intelligence system hacked into another AI company on its own in what the company called an “unprecedented cyber incident.”

“We had a significant security incident during evaluation of our models,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement posted on social media.

AI startup Hugging Face said last week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent autonomously acting on its own.

“We suspected last week’s cyberattack might have come from a frontier lab, given the sophistication of the agent,” Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clément Delangue said in a statement. “Turns out it did!”

The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models that led President Donald Trump in June to sign an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.

“AI is accelerating the discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities,” OpenAI said in its statement Tuesday. “The primary lesson from this incident is that model security and safety must keep pace with rapidly advancing capabilities.”

Delangue said he spent the past 24 hours working with OpenAI, “and we strongly believe there was no malicious intent on their part. It’s quite mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously!”

Delangue added that it “might be the first incident of its kind.”

OpenAI said the intrusion was caused by a combination of its AI models, including its newly released GPT‑5.6 Sol and an “even more capable” model that is still being tested internally.

OpenAI said its AI used stolen credentials and discovered a previously unknown vulnerability to access Hugging Face servers.

It went to “extreme lengths to achieve a rather narrow testing goal” and “found ways to gain access to secret information that it could use to cheat the evaluation,” the company said.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Prince Edward Island on Wednesday, where Canada’s premiers have gathered for an annual summit of the Council of the Federation as the threat of new 50 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump looms over the Canadian economy.

The visit comes a day after Carney met virtually with the premiers, where they discussed the “unilateral United States trade actions.”

On Wednesday evening, Carney is set to attend a gala hosted by the premiers.

Trump signed three executive orders Monday to impose a 50 per cent tariff on many Canadian goods under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, which allows a president to tariff any country that “discriminates” against U.S. commerce.

While those steep tariffs are not set to go into effect until next month, Trump’s 10 per cent tariffs following a probe into imports of goods allegedly made with forced labour could go into effect as early as Friday.

Whether Canada should use energy exports as leverage in trade talks with the Trump administration has become a point of disagreement between Canada’s premiers.

Some, like Ontario Premier Doug Ford and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, have said the option of curtailing energy exports should be on the table.

“They need to feel the pain,” Ford said.

Others, like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, have categorically rejected the idea.

“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Smith told reporters Tuesday.

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette indicated that she’s not currently prepared to cut off hydroelectricity exports to the U.S., but may be open to it in the future.

“Personally, I’m not there,” she said.

Ottawa “remains ready to engage with the U.S. for the mutual benefit of both countries,” Carney said in a statement Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Carney told reporters that he and Trump had agreed to “intensify” trade talks.

On Tuesday, the Canadian government said it will no longer be celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge with American representatives at this week’s ribbon-cutting event.

“In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries,” a spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson’s office said in an emailed statement.

The bridge is scheduled to open to traffic on July 27 under a new revenue-sharing agreement with the U.S. that was struck after Trump delayed the opening by over a month.

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

Calgary police are warning of a donation scam surrounding an 11-year-old boy who has been missing for a week.

Police said in a Facebook post Tuesday it’s become aware of an online fundraising campaign that claims to support the search for Parker, who went missing on July 16.

“This fundraiser is not authorized and has no connection to Parker’s family. At this time, the family has confirmed that there is no official GoFundMe associated with this case,” the post reads.

“Police are urging the public to use caution when contributing to online fundraisers and to verify the legitimacy of any donation campaign before making a contribution.”

Parker, who is neurodivergent and non-verbal, was last seen at his day home in the 0 to 100 block of Connaught Drive near Northmount Drive Northwest sometime between 11:08 a.m. and 11:41 a.m. on July 16.

On Saturday, two days after he went missing, police received special permission from the province to issue an Amber Alert, even though it said, so far, there’s no evidence he was abducted.

A map, provided by police on Tuesday, showed Parker heading northeast toward the community of Highwood.

It’s “believed” to have travelled along Northmount Drive to the area around Centre Street and McKnight Boulevard — possibly doubling back at times — and was last picked up on video in the 5000 to 6000 block of Travis Crescent N.E. at around 12:52 p.m. on July 16.

More than 400 officers have been involved in the search for the missing boy, following up on more than 300 public tips, police said.

Officers have covered more than 7,000 kilometres — the equivalent of the distance from Calgary to London, England — over a total of 5,500 search hours.

Hundreds of search and rescue experts, along with concerned community members, have also been involved in the search.

Despite the huge outpouring of help from the community, police on Tuesday also issued a warning about people showing up at private residences and confronting the people who live there or attempting to investigate criminal tips on their own.

Parker’s family is thanking Calgarians for their “compassion, determination and truly heroic efforts,” saying in a social media post Tuesday it is an “incredibly painful time” for them.

Police said Parker is four feet 11 inches tall, weighs approximately 90 pounds and has brown hair, a shaved head and brown eyes. He was last seen shirtless, wearing dark shorts and black noise-cancelling headphones.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

— with files from Global News’ Ken MacGillivray

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

The United States and Iran exchanged fire across the Middle East on Wednesday, as officials in both nations called into question diplomatic efforts to stop the war as it threatens to again spin out of control.

The U.S. launched an 11th night of airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, hitting targets across the nation as air defence systems opened fire over the capital, Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear what specific targets the Americans went after in these nighttime strikes.

Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, once again attacking just on the doorstep of Israel. The U.S. has been using Israel’s main Ben-Gurion International Airport to host its refueler aircraft and has put fighter jets at bases in the country, but Iran has been hesitant to strike for fear of bringing the Israeli military back into the conflict.

A missile alert sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Iran has repeatedly attacked Gulf countries in response to U.S. airstrikes. Saudi authorities later lifted the warning in Dammam, saying the danger had passed, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, shipping remains largely stalled through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passed in peacetime. Iran’s attacks on shipping in that waterway sparked the recent series of attacks, and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen are now threatening Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as well.

That pressure pushed benchmark Brent crude above US$94 a barrel in trading, again straining global energy supplies and raising the cost of gasoline in the United States ahead of midterm elections this fall.

Missile alert sirens sounded Wednesday in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba. Jordan’s military said it intercepted four missiles in the Iranian attack, while two others fell in “uninhabited areas.” Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in Aqaba in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan said it also intercepted four Iranian drones.

The U.S. military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that explosions rocked Bushehr, East Azerbaijan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Khuzestan and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces. The U.S. said its targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted the country’s retaliatory attacks would continue.

Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.” He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an area of Iran close to one of its main sites for enriching uranium.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Iran’s actions in the strait.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.

The U.S. in response to Iran’s attacks restarted a blockade of Iranian ports, turning around vessels engaged in trading Iranian oil.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

An incident commander for a complex of fires burning near Kimberley, B.C., says more resources are on the way to help firefighters battle the fires as heat peaks this week.

Hugh Murdoch says there are seven fires in the so-called Bootleg Complex, including two wildfires of note that have prompted evacuation alerts in the city.

He says there has been minimal growth on the fires in the past few days, crediting the work from the crews with “assistance from Mother Nature.”

But Murdoch says crews are expecting what he calls a “significant weather day” on Thursday, so they are looking to develop what he calls a “large water delivery system” using helicopters, noting that low streamflows are also posing a challenge.

His comments came as heat warnings were expanded over large swaths of B.C., which Environment Canada says were brought in by a ridge of high pressure that is moving across the province.

The weather office also issued air quality advisories covering much of the province due to smoke from more than 80 wildfires burning across the province.

The BC Wildfire Service says in its situational report that smoky skies are expected to continue, and may worsen in the northeastern and central regions.

It also warns that “warming and drying conditions” are expected to persist throughout this week.

“Increasing temperatures and limited precipitation will continue to reduce fuel moisture levels, elevating the potential for new wildfire starts,” it says.

One such fire ignited south of Boston Bar, B.C., on Tuesday and prompted the Fraser Valley Regional District to order any residents remaining in the community to leave immediately.

Residents of the small community 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver had already been ordered to leave due to fires burning to the west and northeast, but some had initially opted to stay behind.

But the order on Tuesday said the fire was out of control and spreading quickly, so anyone who had remained was in immediate danger.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Evacuation orders in B.C.’s Fraser Canyon are spreading as the Brunswick Creek wildfire continues to burn out of control.

The latest call for locals to get out comes in the Hells Gate area, just downstream of the community of Boston Bar, where the Fraser River’s flow tightens.

Another covers an unspecified number of properties along Scuzzy Creek Forest Service Road, on the west side of the river.

Earlier Tuesday evening, the Fraser Valley Regional District ordered any residents remaining in Boston Bar to evacuate the area immediately, saying a new wildfire had ignited south of the community and was spreading quickly due to strong winds.

A new evacuation alert was issued for the area south of Hells Gate, stretching to the Alexandra Bridge, a historic suspension bridge built in 1926.

Officials say they have set up an Evacuee Reception Centre for those displaced by the Brunswick Complex Wildfire at McArthur Island Sports Centre in Kamloops.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A man accused of first-degree murder in the 2022 killing of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang in a Burnaby, B.C., park has been found unfit for trial by the British Columbia Review Board and has been ordered held in custody.

The ruling, which went into effect on July 16, will keep Jongwon Ham at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, B.C., for at least one year, when the disposition is reviewable.

Ham is charged in the killing of Yang, a mental health and outreach worker for the RCMP, who was stabbed to death on Oct. 18, 2022, when she tried to speak to a man in a tent in Broadview Park.

Last Tuesday’s hearing was Ham’s first public assessment since a B.C. Supreme Court judge found him unfit to stand trial in April.

The judge then referred the matter to the B.C. Review Board, which is an independent tribunal that assesses the mental health of those criminally accused.

The hearing was subject to a publication ban on anything about Ham’s conduct in the criminal proceedings, including how he intended to plead, his statements about the alleged offence, and discussions between Ham and his lawyer.

B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, said in a statement in December 2022 that the man in the tent was shot and wounded by Yang but there were no reasonable grounds to believe the shooting constituted an offence.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources is listing more than 180 wildfires as active this morning in Ontario’s north, including 12 that had been sparked in the last 24 hours.

Early estimates suggest the flames have ravaged more of the province’s forests this season than any previous year on record, burning through more than 7,250 square kilometers so far.

Most of the fires in the province have burned in the last 10 days, and forced more than 1,800 people from their homes. Twelve of the 13 evacuated communities are First Nations.

On Tuesday, First Nations leaders called for a public inquiry into Ontario’s wildfire response, accusing the province of leaving communities to fend for themselves without timely support for evacuations.

Earlier in the day, Premier Doug Ford said his government had done everything it could to respond to the wildfires.

The province said some of the fires spread so quickly they were only seen once they were dangerously close to First Nations.

© 2026 The Canadian Press