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

The rise of streaming music services has resulted in some interesting consumer behaviours. According to people who track such things, Spotify users will skip a song within the first five seconds. Almost 30% of streamers will skip a song by 10 seconds, and 35% are gone by the 30-second mark. Why?

This is the subject of much study. Is it because of ultra-short attention spans? Is it because people aren’t willing to give a challenging song a chance? Whatever the case, this is having a massive effect on how songs are being written and produced. For a stream to count as a sale and for royalties to be paid out, it has to play for at least 30 seconds. Labels, songwriters and producers are therefore incentivized to create songs that grab a listener right out of the gate.

This effect is being seen most prominently with pop music, which goes a long way to explaining why so many songs on the Top 40 sound so much the same.

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

One of the most difficult jobs a musician has to make is when to quit the day job in order to devote their lives to music full-time.

• Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips worked as a fry cook at a fast food seafood restaurant for ten years until the band took off with the song “She Don’t Use Jelly” in 1993.
• Nels Cline of Wilco kept his job in a bookstore for most of his life, even while playing with a ton of other bands. He gave up the bookstore gig at age 48.
• Ian Curtis of Joy Division hung on to his job as an unemployment officer as long as he could because, frankly, he needed the money.
• And Kele Okereke of Britain’s Bloc Party still worked at a movie theatre even after the band got their first record deal.

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

It is impossible to be a musician in Afghanistan. When the Taliban came into power the first time back in the 90s, all music except that of an extremely religious nature was banned. No performances, no musical instruments, nothing on the radio, no CDs or tapes. When they were kicked out, one of the first things that reappeared in the streets was music.

But then the Taliban moved in again in the 2021 and wiped out all music a second time. Many Afghan musicians fled across the border to Pakistan, a place that’s been a haven for Afghani musicians since the 1980s.

The city of Peshawar is home to the biggest population of ex-pat musicians, resulting in an industry featuring everything from record stores to recording studios to talent agencies. But the Taliban keep pressuring for Pakistan to send them back, meaning that this refuge for Afghan music is in big trouble.

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

Police in Guelph, Ont., are reminding residents not to let children play with old cellphones after an unregistered device dialed 911 more than 120 times in a single evening.

The Guelph Police Service says the same phone called the emergency number at least 129 times between 4:40 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Communicators could hear a child during many of the calls but were unable to get anyone’s attention.

Officers were dispatched in an attempt to locate the device using GPS data transmitted with the calls. Police say several addresses were checked, but the phone was not located and no emergency was found.

Police say any functioning mobile device can call 911, even if it is not connected to a service plan or has its SIM card removed.

However, the approximate location provided by such devices is typically far less accurate than from a phone connected to a cellular network.

Each incoming call from the device was assigned a number beginning with 911, allowing communicators to confirm they were coming from the same phone. But because the device was not connected to a network, it could not be called back.

Police are urging residents to reconsider giving old cellphones to children unless they are fully disabled.

To prevent accidental calls, police suggest removing the battery or allowing the phone to drain completely before handing it over.

Anyone who accidentally dials 911 is urged to stay on the line and speak to a communicator to confirm there is no emergency, preventing the unnecessary use of police resources.

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

Winnipeg police say a man has been charged in connection to a family dispute that led to a deliberately set fire, killing two women and injuring several others.

William Nattaway is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of arson with disregard for human life in connection with a Feb. 7 fire on Agnes Street.

Emergency crews were called to the two-storey house in the 300 block of Agnes Street just before 10 a.m., after the residence was set ablaze.

In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Winnipeg Police confirmed 19 individuals were in the 2-storey residence at the time of the fire.

Five people were taken to hospital, three in critical condition and two in stable condition.

One of those initially listed in critical condition was later upgraded to stable, but two women, ages 18 and 48, died from their injuries.

Police identified the victims as 18-year-old Tyanaa Nattaway and 48-year-old Crystal Mary Ellen Beardy, members of Garden Hill First Nation who had been living in Winnipeg.

Police confirmed that the suspect and victims are related.

At a Wednesday news conference, Const. Claude Chancy said the fire followed a dispute inside the home.

“Some were residents and related to one another and some were not,” Chancy said, referring to the 19 people inside the residence.

Police allege the dispute escalated, and Nattaway left the house before setting the fire outside on the front porch.

“Nattaway left the home and used a device to set the outside of the home on fire. It quickly escalated, the house became engulfed in flames,” Chancy said.

Police described the porch as having wood elements that allowed flames to spread quickly. The house contains separate units on the first and second floors.

“Some people self-evacuated and neighbors came rather quickly and did help evacuate other residents as well,” Chancy added.

Neighbours described a chaotic and traumatic scene as flames tore through the home.

“We heard some sound and as soon as we looked out the window, we could just see flames,” Samantha Nykoluk, who lives across the street, told Global News.

Nykoluk said neighbours rushed to help those escaping the fire.

“I could hear them yelling ‘help me’ out the house, out the windows,” she said.

She described seeing one man who had suffered severe burns. “There was a man walking down the stairs … and it looked like his skin was dripping off him like wax. The fire was traumatic.”

“The family was in shock, I had a lot of extra clothes so I started rounding up jackets, sweaters, pants, shoes, anything I could find for everybody,” Nykoluk added.

She said the loss has left the family devastated.

“Tyanaa is sleeping now… forever. It’s really unfortunate, how did it get this bad?” Nykoluk said.

Emergency services arranged temporary lodging for displaced residents, while members of the community provided clothing and shelter.

“Our hearts are with the people that have lost family members,” police said.

Police say the investigation is ongoing and are asking anyone with information to contact authorities.

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

The laboured launch of the Finch West LRT in Toronto left the new line out of service 12 per cent of the time one week, but officials say service is improving through a harsh winter.

The light rail route opened to some fanfare in early December as the first new transit project to be completed in Toronto since 2002.

It didn’t take long, however, for the line to hit trouble. Freezing temperatures wreaked havoc with its switching systems, suspending service and forcing passengers onto shuttle buses.

The line was closed for hours on Boxing Day in freezing conditions and, after a winter storm in January, stayed suspended for more than a day.

Data on the Finch West LRT’s performance, shared with Global News by Metrolinx, shows service availability dropped to 88 per cent one week.

Since it launched, the line has been open as planned 94 per cent of the time on average. Week-by-week, it has been:

• Dec. 7, 2025: 94 per cent
• Dec. 14, 2025:  97 per cent
• Dec. 21, 2025:  88 per cent
• Dec. 28, 2025: 94 per cent
• Jan. 4, 2026:  98 per cent
• Jan. 11, 2026: 90 per cent
• Jan. 18, 2026: 97 per cent
• Jan. 25, 2026: 90 per cent
• Feb. 1, 2026:  99 per cent

A spokesperson for Metrolinx pointed out the line was impacted by winter weather and, without freezing temperatures and snow, performed at close to full capacity.

“The 94% availability rate included three days with significant service impacts due to isolated events and severe weather,” they wrote in a statement.

“For days unimpacted by weather or isolated events, we saw that service availability was 97% — which is within our current expectations for this new transit service and will continue to implement improvements.”

Aside from major issues clearing snow from the line after a record-breaking snowstorm in January, the key issue on the Finch West LRT has been freezing rail switches.

The system uses electric heaters to keep the switches running in winter, the same kind of technology that caused issues on the Ottawa LRT.

Metrolinx said its operators getting used to working those systems was behind the better service.

“The recent improvements to the Finch West LRV schedule are the result of Operators gaining experience and becoming more familiar and comfortable with the system,” the spokesperson said.

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

A truck driver has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving charges in a crash that killed a former Canadian Olympic figure skater in Melancthon Township, north of Shelburne, Ont. nearly three years ago.

Court staff in Orangeville, Ont., confirm Sukhwinder Sidhu pleaded guilty Tuesday to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the incident that killed Alexandra Paul and injured her baby boy.

The crash took place in August 2023, when police say a transport truck entered a construction zone and crashed into a lineup of stopped cars.

Seven vehicles were involved in the collision.

Paul, who was 31 at the time of the crash, competed as an ice dancer with her partner and eventual husband, Mitchell Islam.

The pair won multiple international medals, claimed three Canadian Championship medals and competed at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games before Paul retired from competitive skating in 2016.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

MILAN – From a long-awaited ice dance bronze to a nail-biting curling win, here are five things to know from Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

LONG-AWAITED MEDAL FOR GILLES, POIRIER

Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finally climbed the Olympic podium, capturing bronze in ice dance at the Milan Cortina Games after falling short in two previous Olympics. Skating to Govardo’s cover of “Vincent,” the Toronto-based duo delivered a free dance that held up for third, with Gilles leaping from her seat in the kiss-and-cry as the score became official. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry, a Montreal native, and Guillaume Cizeron won gold, while American three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates took silver. The bronze gave Canada its first Olympic figure skating medal since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

____

JACOBS CLUTCH IN CORTINA

Brad Jacobs opened men’s curling with a 7-6 extra-end win over Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz on Wednesday night, sealing it with a hit in the 11th end. The Calgary-based Canadian rink was pushed throughout before closing it out at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Canada is chasing its first Olympic men’s team gold since Jacobs won in 2014.

—

HASN’T MISSED A BEAT

Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský picked up right where he left off after an impressive 2022 Olympics. Slafkovský scored two goals, including the tournament opener, as Slovakia beat Finland 4-1 in the first men’s hockey game in Milan. Slafkovsky was a breakout star as a 17-year-old at the 2022 Beijing Games, when he scored a tournament-leading seven goals and helped Slovakia win the bronze medal. That performance paved the way for him to be selected by Montreal first overall at the 2022 NHL draft.

—

SO CLOSE, SCHWINGHAMMER

Medal hopeful Maia Schwinghammer, of Saskatoon, settled for fifth in the women’s freeski moguls, but a look at the scores shows the Saskatoon skier was painfully close to a spot on the podium. Schwinghammer’s score of 77.61 points on her final run was just .39 behind bronze medallist Perrine Laffont of France. Schwinghammer will get another shot at a medal when women’s dual moguls makes its Olympic debut Saturday.

—

RAREFIED AIR

Franjo von Allmen is competing in his first Olympics, but he has already taken his place among the legends of his sport. The Swiss skier picked up his third gold medal of the games with a victory in the men’s super-G. Only two other men’s alpine skiers have accomplished that feat: Jean-Claude Killy at the 1968 Grenoble Games, and Austrian Anton (Toni) Sailer at the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Here are some notable quotes from the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb. 11, 2026:

“I know I have more to give, so it’s a little bittersweet, being points-wise so close to the podium. I knew I made a couple of mistakes in my run. So there’s that. It’s always tough when you know you can do better. But fifth at the Olympic Games … I’m so proud of the way I was able to handle the nerves.”

— Canadian freestyle skier Maia Schwinghammer, who finished fifth in the women’s moguls event.

—

“We know how hard we all work, and we’re in a competitive sport. I want to beat the other girls, but only when they’ve landed their runs. I don’t ever want to see anyone crash like that.”

— Canadian snowboarder Elizabeth Hosking, after watching China’s Jiayu Liu crash into the half pipe and be stretchered off the course:

—

“Obviously, I haven’t been back in a long time. But you think about tragedies that happen … usually they happen somewhere else, so you never really feel the effect of it touching close to home. But this one’s close to home, and my heart goes out to all the families.”

— Canadian men’s hockey coach Jon Cooper, who grew up near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., reacted to the fatal shooting there.

—

“My heart is with all the victims and their families. You are all in our thoughts over here in Italy. This one hits close to home as a small-town B.C. girl. Hug your people tight today.”

— Canadian alpine skier Cassidy Gray, on Instagram, following the fatal shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in which at least nine people died, including the shooter.

—

“The pace of the game was really fast. I felt like it was even faster than in the NHL.”

— Slovakia defenceman Martin Fehervary after his team’s 4-1 win over Finland to open the Olympic men’s hockey tournament.

—

“I haven’t seen speedskating live before. Just so much fun. To see the intensity between the laps, how fast the athletes are going, one little mistake, how it can derail a competition not only for yourself, but for other (athletes) as well.”

— Hockey forward Brad Marchand on being in the stands as Canada’s mixed relay short-track team skated to a silver medal.

—

“It sounds stupid, but I’m not really interested in what’s on the paper. For me, I’m really trying to enjoy the Olympics here, and maybe in a few years it will be important for me. For now, it isn’t really.”

— Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen on becoming just the third men’s alpine skier to win three gold medals at one Games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press