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First images shared from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveal why it will change astronomy forever

For years, astronomers involved with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have said that their purpose is nothing less than creating the greatest cosmic movie ever made.

Now, more than a decade after construction of the observatory began on a Chilean mountaintop, the first test frames of that movie are in.

Those images, released to the public on Monday, show much more than an arresting new look at the universe. They are a turning point in how humanity’s exploration of the universe will be conducted.

© NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/H. Stockebrand

Star trails appear as colorful brushstrokes spread across the night sky above NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament ‘surreal’ experience for fans

Paper Rex team members Wang

For traditional sports fans, the Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament could be a culture shock.

At Sunday’s final, there was no field, rink or court. Instead, at game time, two groups of mostly 20-somethings sat behind computer monitors at a long desk atop a platform, trying to virtually eliminate their opponents as fans watched on a jumbotron above. Occasionally, strobe lights punctuated big moments.

© EDUARDO LIMA

Hundreds of fans with hand-written placards cheered on the players during Sunday's match. Some attendees dressed up as characters in the game.

Halifax residents allowed to return home after forest fire prompts evacuations

Halifax officials say some people who had to flee a forest fire on Sunday afternoon were being allowed back home, with provincial officials noting rain was falling and the blaze was being held.

RCMP began helping evacuate people earlier in the day after issuing a statement about a forest fire in Musquodoboit Harbour, about 45 kilometres east of downtown Halifax, and police also asked other residents to avoid the area.

Later, the Halifax Regional Municipality said some of the evacuees would be permitted to return home, while an evacuation centre would be opening for those not being allowed back.

© JASON FRANSON

An RCMP epaulette is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Receiver planning sale of Yukon gold mine involved in contaminant release disaster

Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold Mine site north of Mayo, Yukon. A containment failure at the heap-leach facility released about two-million tonnes of cyanide-laced ore and water into the environment last June.

The court-appointed receiver of a Yukon gold mine that suffered a catastrophic heap-leach facility failure last year said it plans to sell the mine and will be seeking approval within the week to start the process.

In its fifth receiver’s report issued earlier this month, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. said it will seek court approval for a sale process for the Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo, Yukon, in a motion scheduled to be heard Wednesday in an Ontario court.

On the 40th anniversary of the Air India bombing, those in grief stand together

Recently some of the 100 or so members of a group chat shared their plans to travel to Ireland for a 40th-anniversary memorial service on Monday for the 329 people killed on Air India Flight 182, most of them Canadian.

© Sammy Kogan

Deepak Khandelwal visits the Air India Flight 182 Memorial in Toronto on June 21, 2025. It has been four decades since the tragic bombing killed 329 people, the majority of them Canadians. Mr. Khandelwal lost his two older sisters on the flight. (Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail)

Yukon wildfires growing rapidly as multiple communities remain on evacuation alert

Residents are being asked to avoid building fires in windy conditions and to keep water nearby.

Firefighters in Yukon say the wildfire that has put about 100 homes on evacuation alert near Dawson has grown rapidly due to recent weather conditions, more than doubling its size reported a day ago.

An update from the territory’s Emergency Coordination Centre says the Quebec Creek fire is now measured at 34 square kilometres based on satellite data, up from the 15 square kilometres figure reported Saturday.

Plane crash near Vermilion, Alta. kills pilot, passenger

A pilot and passenger have died in a plane crash near an airport in central Alberta.

RCMP say they were dispatched to the crash shortly after noon on Saturday, and the plane was located approximately 1.2 kilometres short of the local airport runway in Vermilion, Alta.

Police say there were two occupants in the plane – the 46-year-old female pilot who was a resident of Slave Lake, Alta., and a 76-year-old male passenger, a resident of Mannville, Alta.

© Darryl Dyck

<p>The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on April 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</p>

Mississauga man charged with alleged sex assaults of girls under 16

Police west of Toronto say a man from Mississauga, Ont., has been charged with sexually assaulting “multiple” girls under the age of 16.

Peel Regional Police say the 28-year-old suspect is accused of communicating with the victims over social media using the screen name “-PoloPapi-.”

They allege he “engaged in sexual relations” with them, with the incidents taking place between last September and this month.

© Cole Burston

Peel police say a man is facing charges following an investigation into allegations of child abuse at a public school in Mississauga. A Peel Regional Police logo is shown in Brampton, Ont., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston)

Indigenous Peoples Day marked across Canada with hundreds of events

A youth from the Future Paths Network grassroots organization plants a heart-shaped message in Rideau Hall’s “heart garden,” which honours Indigenous people who died in residential schools, along with survivors.

Hundreds gathered Saturday at events across Canada to mark Indigenous Peoples Day, with messages of optimism about future reconciliation mixed with criticism that there remains much to be done.

Events held Saturday included the Na-Me-Res Traditional Powwow and Indigenous Arts Festival at the Fort York National Historic Site in Toronto, as well as large public gatherings in cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Deaf waiters serve up fine dining and accessibility at this Ottawa restaurant

Ottawa's Dark Fork restaurant accommodates employees and customers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

It may seem unusual for restaurants to hire deaf servers, but one Ottawa restaurateur is doing so and says accessibility can be seamlessly built into every aspect of the dining experience.

At Moe Alameddine’s downtown Ottawa restaurant Dark Fork, deaf and hearing guests dine side by side – with no communication barriers. Each table is equipped with illustrated menus showing American Sign Language signs for every dish and drink, along with notepads and pens for customers who prefer to write down their orders.

New Indigenous health centre offers care and a feeling of belonging

Anishnawbe Health Toronto provides several services to the city's Indigenous people.

Near the Don River in central Toronto, a new building rises with unusual grace. The new home of Anishnawbe Health Toronto does not assert itself with height or flash. It invites – with curves, with textures, with sound.

Its outer skin is clad in aluminum panels, each perforated with a flowing pattern inspired by ceremonial shawls. The panels curve gently around the structure, lined by a fringe of stainless-steel beads that tremble in the wind. The beads catch the light and make a quiet, persistent music.

B.C. First Nations offer haven for Texada grizzly, but officials say relocation not an option

A young grizzly bear in Davis Bay near Sechelt, September, 2024. B.C.’s estimated 15,000 grizzlies almost all live on the mainland.

Some time in late May, a young male grizzly made an improbable journey to Texada Island, one of the few rural communities in British Columbia that is considered bear-free. His most likely path involved a challenging but not impossible swim of about five kilometres across the Malaspina Strait from the mainland.

The bear who has been dubbed “Tex” is believed to be four years old – a teenager who would have been chased from his home by bigger grizzlies, including his mother.

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