We all know that music can be good for the mind, body, and soul, which is why researchers continue to look at how music can be used for treating all manner of maladies.
A recent study at UC Irvine took saliva samples from a choir before and after they performed a piece by Beethoven. They found that a specific antibody—something called secretory immunoglobulin A—increased by 240% by the simple act of singing. This antibody’s job is to coat your throat, airways, and gut with a coating designed to protect us against any kind of respiratory virus we may breathe in.
How? Singing stimulates the vagus nerve, which controls our “rest and digest” responses. Singing helps the nervous system calm down, reduces stress hormones, and boosts your immune system.
So maybe the next time you feel a cold coming on, you might want to spend some time singing.
Today, sampling is a common practice governed by a myriad of legalities and limited by only your imagination and the technology at our disposal. But back in the 1950s, there were no laws regarding sampling, and the technology was primitive. This did not stop two comedic songwriters, Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman, who created a mashup of spoken word and clips from songs of the day.
The skit—which is really what it was—was called “The Flying Saucers” and featured 18 song clips spliced in between cheesy and cringey setups. No one had ever done anything like this before, which meant that copyright laws weren’t equipped to deal with this new practice.
Music publishers tried to sue them, but all the cases were thrown out of court because it was ruled that “Flying Saucer” constituted a brand new recording. Buckman and Goodman went on to record a string of these records, all of which are, frankly, terrible, but they are important historically.
Loud music is generally considered to be bad for your health, especially your ears, if you partake for too long, too often. But there are a couple of academic studies that suggest that when it comes to pain, loud music might be just the thing you need.
These studies, conducted in the US and China back in 2022, exposed mice to loudish noises (sounds just above background noise), including music. They did this for 20 minutes for three consecutive days. The boffins found that the pain response in these mice was greatly reduced afterwards and lasted for up to two days.
There is a threshold, though. Above a certain volume, there was no further effect on sensations of pain. No one is quite sure why this works, so research is ongoing. Meanwhile, the next time you get some kind of ache, try playing some of your favourite music for at least 20 minutes. Not too loud, though.
Concerts and festivals are supposed to be safe spaces. You’re there to enjoy the music and the company of fellow fans, and there’s the very reasonable expectation that the promoters and venue will see that nothing goes wrong.
Most of the time, that’s exactly what you experience, but, being humans, things can go very wrong.
Maybe it has to do with crowd control. Maybe someone in the crowd starts something that spirals into something dangerous, like a riot. If it’s a festival, the weather could turn bad—never a good thing when tens of thousands of people are exposed to the elements. People get hurt, and occasionally, people die.
The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Limp Bizkit, and many other bands have found themselves inadvertently involved in riots, tragedies, and disasters. Some were beyond anyone’s control. Others could have been avoided.
This is episode 63 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry” and this is a grim recitation of rock’s worst concert riots and tragedies.
In addition to the podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):
Billy Idol’s real name is William Broad. So where did “Billy Idol” come from? There are two parts to the story. First of all, he was a terrible student in school and was considered very lazy by his teachers. After he failed a test, his teacher wrote on the paper, “William is idle.” He remembered that, and when it came time to find a stage name, he changed the spelling of “idle” and went with that. T
he second half of the story has to do with a lesbian club called Louisa’s, which was just off Oxford Street in London. Billy and his mates wanted to hang out there, but admission required a special membership card. His card read “Billy Idle.” When he started getting a little famous, he realized he needed to change I-D-L-E to I-D-O-L to avoid any confusion with Eric Idle, one of the guys in Monty Python. And it stuck.
Christine Fréchette speaks at a press briefing in Trois-Rivières on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Graham Hughes
GMH
Quebec’s premier met on Monday in Washington D.C. with Jamieson Greer, the top trade negotiator for President Donald Trump, as the U.S. becomes more aggressive in its demands toward Canada ahead of negotiations on the continental free-trade deal.
Greer, a former U.S. air force lawyer who was chief of staff to Trump’s first-term trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, has promised to pursue the president’s hardline trade policies.
Premier Christine Fréchette’s office didn’t release details of her meeting with Greer, but the premier told Radio-Canada their discussions were cordial but did not lead to any major breakthroughs.
Fréchette travelled to Washington for her first official foreign trip since she was sworn in as premier earlier this month. She held a roundtable discussion Monday morning with representatives of business associations including the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association and General Motors. And she was also scheduled to meet with congressional representatives.
The United States is Quebec’s main trading partner, but since March 2025 U.S. tariffs have hit several of the province’s industrial sectors hard. Quebec’s aluminum and steel have been slapped with 50 per cent tariffs.
Her meeting with Greer comes ahead of negotiations between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on the continental free-trade pact, scheduled to begin July 1. And it comes as the U.S. is trying to coax Canada’s aluminum and steel sectors to expand in the U.S. in order to enjoy tariff relief, according to an April 23 federal register notice by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
As well, a news report said the Americans are demanding concessions from Canada as a precondition for starting negotiations on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.
At a congressional committee hearing last week, Greer said it was a problem that Canada was looking to diversify its trading partners, notably with Europe.
“They’re doubling down on globalization when we’re trying to correct for the problems of globalization. So, those are two models that don’t fit together very well,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.
A Surrey woman says she can finally breathe after the man who allegedly stalked her was arrested. As Kristen Robinson reports, the suspect is a former colleague, a man she once knew, but never dated.
A Surrey, B.C. woman said she can finally breathe following the arrest of an accused stalker who has allegedly sent and posted thousands of videos referencing her since 2024.
“I’m so terrified,” the alleged victim told Global News in an interview.
S.K., who asked that her identity be protected, said she’s been living in fear for two years.
“I don’t know what he is capable of doing and I think that’s what scares me most of all,” S.K. said.
The suspect, Andy Kyungho Yun, is a past colleague of S.K.’s – a man she once knew – but never dated.
S.K. said she worked with Yun at a Burnaby-based health insurance provider more than two decades ago.
In April 2024, S.K. said Yun contacted her on LinkedIn.
At first, S.K. said she was very excited to hear from Yun, who she described as a great co-worker with a good sense of humour in 2003.
She thought they would have a great conversation catching up, but when they spoke on the phone briefly, she sensed something was wrong.
Yun, S.K., said, was talking in code and spewing conspiracy theories.
S.K. said she politely thanked Yun for reaching out, and then blocked him.
“That’s when the whole entire stalking behaviour began,” she recounted.
S.K. claims Yun called and texted her repeatedly, and harassed her across every social media platform.
When she blocked his number and accounts, she said he impersonated other individuals to bypass the blocks, and then began messaging her daughter on LinkedIn.
“That was when I drew the line and contacted police,” S.K. said in an interview.
In August 2025, a peace bond was put in place ordering Yun to stay 200 metres away from the alleged victim and have no contact with her.
Months later, S.K. said Yun found out where she worked and showed up at the building.
“According to my co-worker, he said I’m here to see (S.K.). I’m a federal agent, I need to speak to her,” recalled S.K. “One of the places I felt safe was no longer safe.”
After the alleged workplace incident on Nov. 13, Yun was arrested and charged with criminal harassment and breaching an undertaking by being within 100 metres of S.K.
“I couldn’t focus,” S.K. said. “I kept thinking he was going to show up and I ultimately lost my job, a job that I worked very hard to secure.”
Yun was released on $500 bail on November 17, on what S.K. said were stricter conditions.
He was ordered not to go to the city of Surrey, and to remove all social media posts, including videos mentioning S.K. and not to post any new videos referencing her.
S.K. claims Yun turned to YouTube, posting more than 3,000 new videos professing his love for her and describing a relationship which did not exist.
Yun is accused of breaching his release order three times between January 31 and March 3 by allegedly referencing S.K. in a social media post, failing to attend an appointment at Forensic Psychiatric Services, and by posting a new social media post referencing S.K.
At one point, the 48-year-old was wanted on four arrest warrants.
“RCMP officers in several jurisdictions have been following up and have been checking addresses,” Surrey Police Service Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton told Global News on Thurs. April 23.
In a video posted to Yun’s YouTube channel in March, warrants for his arrest were mentioned.
As of April 23, Surrey police said they were actively investigating the file and pursuing all avenues to locate Yun.
“We’ve also reached out to the behavioural sciences group with the RCMP to conduct risk and threat assessments as well,” said Houghton.
Global News tried unsuccessfully to reach Yun at the home he owns in a gated community in Chilliwack on Thursday April 23.
“They (police) have tried many times to serve Andy the warrants; however, he just doesn’t open the door and they can’t force their way in,” S.K. said in an interview.
“They would need a Feeney warrant to actually enter your house in order to arrest you,” criminal lawyer and former Crown prosecutor Rob Dhanu, K.C., told Global News.
Due to constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure, Dhanu said police cannot enter an accused’s home to make an arrest unless they have a very special warrant.
“They can’t break in your door without that Feeney warrant and you could literally just sit on your couch and continue to watch TV,” Dhanu said in an interview.
After approximately two months at large, Surrey Police Service confirmed Yun was arrested by the RCMP in Chilliwack Sunday night.
He remains in custody ahead of a potential bail hearing on Thursday, April 30.
While S.K. found police to be very informative and supportive, and VictimLinkBC helpful, she believes the laws around stalking need a huge overhaul.
S.K. said the justice system moves very slowly, and while she understands police’s hands are tied by the law, she would like to see a faster police response “especially if there (are) warrants.”
“There’s probably a gap between the real fear that the complainant feels and the level of seriousness that the police allocate to this file,” Dhanu told Global News.
The Dhanu Dhaliwal Law Group partner said police have to evaluate this type of case on the wide spectrum of files they are tasked with.
“What they (police) see is this is a criminal harassment case, there’s no actual violence,” Dhanu explained. “Certainly, the complainant may be fearful, but there may be many other more serious files that are taking their attention away from this file.”
“He’s still posting these disturbing videos and he even talks directly to me,” S.K. said Thursday. “It’s terrifying.”
When asked what her greatest fear is, S.K. replied, “that I won’t be here.”
Prior to Yun’s arrest, she said she only left her home for therapy and once a month for self-defence sessions.
S.K. hopes that by sharing her story, other criminal harassment victims will know they’re not alone.
“Don’t think it’s trivial, don’t think it’s something small, report it,” she told Global News. “People need to understand that stalking is a very serious crime.”
Investigators are asking anyone with information, including video or dashcam footage, to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Enzo Arimini/Global News
Ontario Provincial Police say their hearts are broken after one of their officers died in a collision on Highway 401 near Cobourg on Monday.
Police say members of the Northumberland detachment responded shortly after 5:30 p.m. to reports of a single-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle near Burnham Street North.
The officer, Sgt. Brandon Malcolm, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation.
Enzo Arimini/Global News
“Sgt. Malcolm was a young and respected member of the Ontario Provincial Police whose life was taken far too soon while on duty in a highway crash east of Toronto,” said Commissioner Thomas Carrique.
“Hearts are broken,” he told a news conference.
Malcolm joined the OPP in 2020. Carrique said he was an accomplished member of the police service’s motorcycle team and served with dedication.
“His career goal was to become a police officer,” he said. “I will be forever grateful to him for his service. He has been taken far too soon under such tragic circumstances.”
In a statement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, “I am very sad to hear that an Ontario Provincial Police officer was killed in the line of duty in Cobourg earlier today.”
“My thoughts are with the officer’s family and loved ones, as well as all of our brave women and men in uniform across the province who risk their lives every day to protect Ontario,” he continued.
The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation.
Investigators are asking anyone with information, including video or dashcam footage, to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Highway 401 was closed in both directions between Cobourg and Port Hope.
Global exclusive: Charges of uttering threats have been laid against a 15-year-old in connection with a Vancouver police investigation into disturbing comments made about a Vancouver school. Rumina Daya reports.
A charge of uttering threats has been laid against a 15-year-old in connection with a Vancouver police investigation into disturbing comments allegedly made about a Vancouver school.
Global News has learned someone who knows the teen called the police after seeing extremely concerning text messages.
The teen was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and their device was seized.
Sources say the content was alarming and it included messages related to the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting in February, in which six children and two adults were shot to death by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who took her own life.
Sources say the teen in the Vancouver case made disturbing comments suggesting they were upset that the Tumbler Ridge shooter stole their thunder because they were going to act against a Vancouver school.
Sources say it was a credible threat and Vancouver police responded with all hands on deck.
Global News cannot go into specific details about the case as the teen is a minor and cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Sources say a weapon was not seized, but it’s unclear if the teen had access to a weapon.
The teen has been released under stringent conditions and the case is currently before the court.
Vancouver police said they are not commenting on the case because it is a youth file, which is still under investigation.
The Vancouver School Board says the charge is not directly connected to the school, but it did not elaborate.
The board is not commenting on whether the teen is still in school due to privacy reasons.
At 21 years old, Dennis Tyler Okeymow is standing trial on 17 charges relating to his involvement in the deaths of two Edmonton police officers, as well as two other civilians. As Sarah Ryan explains, Okeymow didn’t pull the trigger, but he has admitted to selling the teenage shooter the semi-automatic rifle.
It’s been more than three years since two police officers were killed during a domestic violence call in west Edmonton, just days after a pizza delivery driver was shot in the head with the same gun the shooter then turned on himself.
As the trial got underway, new details from a 71-page-long agreed statement of facts also emerged about the crimes committed by teenage shooter Roman Shewchuk in March 2023.
Dennis Tyler Okeymow, now 21, standing trial for his part in the deaths of Edmonton Police Service officers Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, along with 16-year-old Roman.
For those three deaths, he was charged with manslaughter with a firearm and pleaded not guilty.
Regimental funeral for Edmonton police Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Supplied: Edmonton Police Service
Okeymow also pleaded not guilty after being charged with causing bodily harm to pizza delivery driver Rich (Richard) Albert and the shooter’s mother, Kateryna Shewchuk.
Okeymow did admit to selling Roman the gun and ammunition used in the deadly attack, as well as selling drugs to the minor.
Both shootings happened within a week of each other in March 2023, in the city’s Westmount Mall area, when Okeymow was 18.
The March 12, 2023, shooting at a Pizza Hut near Westmount Mall left Albert, who was working his second job as a pizza delivery driver, with permanent brain injuries.
The second shooting happened four days later at the gunman’s family apartment just across the road.
Rare manslaughter criminal case
The question central to the trial is, because Okeymow sold Shewchuk the gun — is he also responsible for the shootings that followed?
EPS Staff Sgt. Erik Bjarnason, the lead detective on the firearms investigation, told reporters at the Edmonton Law Courts that manslaughter charges of this nature are “very rare” but have been used before in cases like the 2005 Mayerthorpe massacre.
That’s when four RCMP officers were ambushed and killed before the shooter, James Roszko, also took his own life on the rural property northwest of Edmonton.
Shawn Hennessey and his brother-in-law, Dennis Cheeseman, admitted to giving Roszko a gun and a ride to his property, where the RCMP had been guarding a Quonset hut.
The two men ended up serving time behind bars for their actions leading up to the attack.
In the Edmonton crimes, the Crown alleges Okeymow should have reasonably known the risks of selling a semi-automatic assault style gun to a 16-year-old with no firearm license and is therefore responsible for the crimes committed with it.
Defense lawyer Jamil Sawani argued holding the seller of the gun responsible for everything that happened after sets a dangerous precedent.
Relationship between Roman and Okeymow
According to the agreed statements of facts, Okeymow and Roman met in the summer of 2021, when they were both teenagers (17 and 15), and their relationship was based on selling and buying drugs.
Okeymow was 17 and trafficking illegal substances via dial-a-dope methods at a commercial level, police said.
The court documents state Roman bought drugs several times from Okeymow between 2021 and 2022: primarily marijuana but also occasionally psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and cocaine.
The two would text or message via Snapchat when Roman was arranging to buy drugs, sometimes communicating in drug slang or colloquialisms. Police recovered over 600 messages.
Roman used the Account “romanshewchuk” and display name “roman” on Snapchat. Dennis Okeymow used the Account “menace2yeg122” and the display name “menace.”
In early 2023, Okeymow sold Roman a STG 44 firearm along with 80 rounds of ammunition for $2,500 — well over the combined retail value of $650.
That specific firearm had been purchased legally at Cabela’s in 2016 but changed hands a few times in the ensuing years, police determined.
The semi-automatic gun wasn’t illegal at the time of the 2023 shooting, but has since been banned in Canada.
Evidence photograph taken by police in the Shewchuk apartment of the rifle used in the shootings, once it was placed on a couch on March 16, 2023.
Edmonton Police Service via agreed statement of facts
The agreed statement of facts said there was no evidence that Okeymow provided Roman with any safety equipment for the safe storage or transport (trigger-lock,cable-lock, case, safe etc.), or use (ear or eye protection) of a firearm.
The last few times the two talked in early February of 2023, Roman sent Snapchat messages asking for cocaine at a discount because Okeymow had only provided 80 rounds of bullets instead of 100 as initially promised.
After the fatal police shootings, Okeymow messaged Roman “Yo you hear what happened” and “Right by your crib” — not knowing Roman was already dead.
He then deleted their Snapchat history, but police still saw the exchanges through Roman’s phone.
Even though Snapchat messages disappear after a set time period, police were able to recover the data.
Shooter’s mental health struggles
Roman Shewchuk’s parents repeatedly expressed concerns about his well-being.
Court heard the teenager had a documented history of mental health issues and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Throughout 2022, Roman experienced repeated mental health crises requiring several police interventions, emergency department visits, and psychiatric hospitalizations.
During these episodes, court heard he displayed clear psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations — including the belief that parasites had been implanted in his neck by aliens — delusional beliefs involving demons and possession, and paranoid or bizarre behaviour, as reported by both family members and clinical staff.
Roman Shewchuk in the Shewchuk apartment in spring 2022.
Agreed statement of facts
During a six-week psychiatric admission in the spring of 2022, he was prescribed anti-psychotic medication and records showed his condition improved when he stopped using weed while hospitalized — but he quickly reverted to his old ways after being discharged.
Not taking his meds and resuming cannabis use contributed to worsening psychotic symptoms and declining functioning.
Roman was apprehended by police under the Mental Health Act and admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s Child Psychiatry Unit in the fall of 2022.
He again improved while hospitalized, but once released, became non-compliant again and didn’t go back to school at Ross Sheppard High School.
From the beginning of 2022 to his death on March 16, 2023, Roman had several interactions with EPS due to his deteriorating psychiatric condition.
Family members frequently contacted police due to his psychosis, aggression, unpredictable behaviour, and escalating safety concerns within the home.
Pizza Hut shooting
The Pizza Hut shooting happened near 133 Street and 114 Avenue, just before 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Rich Albert, then 55, was working a second job helping with late-night weekend pizza deliveries at the Pizza Hut To Go.
The shooting happened about half an hour before closing.
He was standing by the counter when a masked gunman opened the front door, pointed a semi-automatic 22-calibre gun, shot him in the head from less than three feet away, and walked out.
The suspect in a shooting at a Pizza Hut near 133 Street and 114 Avenue in central Edmonton on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Edmonton Police Service
The entire interaction took just six seconds — leaving the Edmonton man bleeding on the floor with a traumatic brain injury and wound that destroyed one of his eyes.
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and remained there for several months, nearly dying from a brain abscess.
He had poor cognitive function and it took Albert months to be able to be consistently oriented to time, place and situation, let alone be able to do anything more complex.
The shooting left Albert with significant lifelong injuries, unable to work and requiring medical care for the rest of his life.
Albert lost sight in his left eye, still has bullet fragments lodged inside his brain, experiences short-term memory loss, anxiety spells and periodic bouts of depression.
Police dogs attempted to track the shooter down, but lost the scent near the nearby Woodcroft Edmonton Public Library.
Police investigators have never been able to find a motive for the Pizza Hut shooting. Roman never attempted to steal anything after shooting Albert in the head at close range. The two men were strangers and police determined the attack was random.
A bullet cartridge casing recovered from the scene of the March 12 Pizza Hut shooting matched the gun found at the March 16 apartment scene.
DNA found on a knife outside the Pizza Hut also matched Roman’s DNA.
EPS officers killed during domestic violence call
The police shooting happened four days later at the Baywood Park apartment complex near 114 Avenue and 132 Street, just across Groat Road from the strip mall containing the Pizza Hut.
Roman lived there with his parents, Katerina and Ronald Shewchuk.
On the night police officers Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan were shot, the court heard Roman had been making strange noises and talking in different voices inside his bedroom.
His mom tried to record the sounds from the hallway when Roman caught and attacked her, choking her until she was unconscious.
When she woke, she fled to a neighbour and got help calling 911, as her choked, sore throat made taking difficult.
Officers Jordan and Ryan responded to the domestic violence call.
When they arrived and met with Katerina, she expressed fear her son would kill himself.
She followed the officers as they walked inside and up to the second-floor apartment. The officers knocked and asked to come in and talk to Roman.
The three were instead met with a barrage of 10 bullets, most of which hit them in their heads.
Jordan was hit by two bullets, and Ryan was shot four times. One bullet was recovered from Kateryna (a second went through her) and one bullet was found lodged inside Roman. Three bullets were found in the hallway.
The Baywood Park apartment shooting scene where two Edmonton police officers were killed on March 16, 2023.
Edmonton Police Service via agreed statement of facts
The officers died instantly — they were ambushed so quickly, neither had time to raise their own guns and fire back.
Kateryna was shot through the neck and mouth/jaw, but was able to flee.
Before backup arrived, Roman shot himself in the head. His father Ronald was inside the apartment and watched his son commit suicide.
After that, police dispatch lit up with so many 911 calls, the dispatcher routed the calls directly to police radios while frantically trying to reach Ryan and Jordan.
When the two didn’t respond, 911 dispatch ordered all available officers in the city to get to the apartment complex.
Air 1 helicopters, canine units and tactical teams descended as roads between the complex and the nearby Royal Alexandra Hospital were shut down to facilitate a police ambulance escort.
The injured officers were rushed to the major trauma centre, but were officially declared dead upon arrival.
Jordan, 35, had been with EPS for eight-and-a-half years, and Ryan, 30, had been with the service for five-and-a-half years. Both were married and Ryan’s wife was pregnant with their first child.
Image showing Edmonton police constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan.
Supplied by EPS
Kateryna was found not responsive and staring off into space with critical injuries. She was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery. One of her teeth was found in the apartment hallway.
Roman was found in the front hallway with the gun beside him. Police later searched his room and found 50 unspent rounds of ammunition in a heart-shaped tin, along with other evidence connecting Roman to both shootings.
Undercover Operation Miguel
Months after the shootings, police began to suspect Dennis Okeymow had provided the gun and an investigation was launched to gather more information from him.
He was arrested in July 2023 on an unrelated matter by Sherwood Park RCMP, in order for police to get him connected to an undercover officer with the code name Miguel.
That officer was involved in a staged traffic stop and Okeymow was driven past, where the cop appeared to be detained for a firearms offence. The two were then housed in the same cell at the RCMP detachment while their conversations were monitored.
After being celled together for several hours, the two were released within minutes of one another. Then, another undercover officer posing as Miguel’s girlfriend offered a ride and dropped their suspect back off near his home.
That November, Okeymow was arrested for firearms trafficking and other offences while at his home near 160 Street and 98 Avenue in west Edmonton. His phone was seized and analyzed by forensic investigators. Okeymow was then charged with manslaughter and several other crimes.
The families of the slain officers were in court Monday, watching the proceedings.
The trial will continue Tuesday with Crown witnesses.
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