Back in the imperial period of David Bowie’s career in the 1970s, he ingested a lot of drugs and alcohol at all times of the day and night. By the time he got to the late 90s, he’d long since cleaned up and wasn’t much into the excesses of the old days. For example, when he was preparing for an appearance at the BRIT Awards, all he wanted was a few slices of ham on a baguette.

Billy Idol loves a specific brand of chocolate chip cookies. Marilyn Manson’s big request was gummy bears—although he often asked for a bald toothless hooker just to see if the promoter could do it.

And Nine Inch Nails was known for asking for two boxes of cornstarch for the dressing rooms. Your guess is as good as mine, although it may have something to do with keeping leather pants from sticking and chafing.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you’re an artist, you need to get into the zone, the right headspace, before you step onstage. This often leads to a number of interesting pre-show rituals. It could be something as simple as getting a B-12 injection, something that Prince did.

That’s completely opposite to the Foo Fighters who blast Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall album while drinking many shots of Jaegermeister. Jack White has been known to knock back whiskey and Redbull while smashing things with a baseball bat. Weezer is a little more sedate. They like to toss around a Frisbee before a show because Rivers Cuomo says that not only helps with concentration but also warms up their hands.

Then there’s Thom Yorke. He needs silence for hours before a show so he can meditate and stand on his head for a while.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Back in the early 2000s, Omaha’s 311 was on a real roll, selling lots of records, playing plenty of gigs, and making their share of big-budget music videos.

In 2001, they managed to get Shaquille O’Neal for a cameo in the video for their song You Wouldn’t Believe. At the time, O’Neal was playing for the LA Lakers and the team was in the middle of a playoff run. The team stipulated that O’Neal was not to play any basketball outside of official games and practices for fear that he might get hurt.

But 311 convinced him to play a little hoops in this video, completely in contravention of orders from the Lakers. There was an added complication.

For some reason, O’Neal showed up with two left shoes. Where was anyone going to get a pair of size 22 basketball shoes at short notice? Nowhere. Shaq still agreed to appear in the video—but if anyone filmed his feet, he promised that he’d sue.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

As a prolonged spring heat dome continues to hover over Manitoba, many cattle ranchers are taking extra precautions to keep their livestock herds safe.

Warren Graydon runs a cattle ranch in southeastern Manitoba. He says each day is a race against the heat.

“I check my cattle early in the morning. If I’m going to move them paddock to paddock, I do it early in the morning,” Graydon said.

“Do everything in the cool of the day. If I need to process them, do it the cool of the day. If I need to haul, do it in the cool of the day.”

“If I’m hot, they’re hotter.”

Graydon says he has to take extra precautions by double-checking water sources, ensuring the animals have access to shade, and watching for signs of heat stress or dehydration.

“When you’re feeling ill, you’re off, you don’t want to talk to people, you don’t want to see people, you don’t want to be bothered,” he said. “They’re the same way. They just can’t tell you when they’re sick.”

Graydon also says feeding time has to be earlier, as eating increases the cattle’s body temperature even more.

“They’re my livelihood, that’s where my income comes from,” Graydon said.

“They are not pets but sometimes they’re treated as pets, because that’s what makes my money.”

Graydon says overall, he and his cattle can manage the heat, as long as rainfall stays in the forecast and prevents his pastures from drying up.

“As long as we’re getting timely rains and we don’t go into a drought stage, I’m fine with this,” he said.

Melissa Atchison, the research and extension specialist with Manitoba Beef Producers, says the prolonged heat means most ranchers need to put more work in.

“Fortunately, heat stress fatality is quite low in our livestock but we still do take precautions. Obviously, it’s very hot out there,” Atchison said.

“This is not a 9 to 5 job, ranching, so we take the heat into consideration. If we have to move our animals or anything like that, we’re going to do it very early in the morning or later in the evening.”

Claus Leppelman, a livestock veterinarian with the Beausejour Animal Hospital, says this heat brings a heightened risk for livestock.

“Just that prolonged heat and the possibility of heat stroke, and especially when we’re dealing with younger calves, the potential (for) dehydration as well,” Leppelman said.

He says, fortunately, he hasn’t had to deal with any calls related to heat exhaustion this spring. He says while many producers are well-equipped to deal with extreme heat like this – noting some dairy farmers have fans and sprinkler systems in their barns – heat stress can have broader impacts on cattle.

“When it gets really hot like this, cows don’t really want to eat. Just like us, I guess,” he said. “Typically you’ll see there is a reduction in feed intake if cows get hot, and then that results in less milk being produced.”

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The province says thunderstorms making their way through Manitoba could result in an increase in wildfires, because of lightning strikes.

As of Tuesday, there were 14 active fires in the province, with four out of control.

Crews say they are focused on three fires near Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi, and St. Theresa Point. In its latest fire bulletin, the province says while the fire is several kilometres away from those areas, smoke may be an issue for the communities.

There have been 70 wildfires so far this year, but that’s below the average of 122 at around this time

Cailin Hodder of the Manitoba Wildfire Service says there’s been a huge decrease in the number of human-caused fires, but more are being caused by lightning.

She says Manitoba crews are not leaving the province to help elsewhere, due to the current weather conditions and the risks.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Hundreds from the Muslim community and the greater London, Ont. community gathered Tuesday evening to hold a vigil marking the second anniversary of the worst mass killing in the city’s history.

Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were run down by a pickup truck on June 6, 2021. The couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt.

Maryam Al-Sabawi, a 16-year-old that was friends with Yumna, was an organizer of the vigil with the Youth Coalition Combatting Islamophobia (YCCI). She says the theme for this year is “resilience.”

And whether it was Islamic faith leaders, local politicians, or the family of the Afzaals, the theme of resilience rang through loudly throughout the night.

Ashar and Arjumand Salman, brother and sister, respectively, of Madiha Salman, said during the vigil they missed their oldest sister dearly. Both spoke of how their own families looked up to Madiha and how both she and her husband, Salman, were instrumental in helping them adapt to life in Canada after being the first to move.

“They were a guide and support we relied on navigating life in a new world,” said Ashar, joking they assisted in using “this strange creature called Kijiji.”

Arjumand, born a year after her sister, was emotional at times as she described how every major life milestone was done with Madiha.

“We were always like twins,” said Arjumand. “Birthdays, the first time we fasted, the first time we learned how to pray and everything was together.”

Speaking during the vigil, Esa Islam, a relative of the Afzaals, said while he still grieves the loss of four family members, he works to support the lone survivor of the attack.

“These past years, I have spent much of my time trying to fill the massive gap left behind by his big sister, Yumna,” said Islam.

“While this may be an impossible task, all I can do is ensure he has someone he can talk to and rely on.”

The event, organized by the YCCI in conjunction with the City of London, heard multiple poems and showed a video message focusing on the theme of resilience London and the Muslim community has built up since the attack.

Mayor Josh Morgan, area ward Coun. Corrine Rahman and Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, both extolled the work done by the YCCI as what brings hope to the city and country for the future.

“In what other city in the world do you see the young people doing what they have done over the past two years,” said Morgan.

“Inspiring so many of us in the ways they have, that’s resilience, that’s impressive and that’s the kind of city that we all want to be a part of.”

In the closing of the vigil before a call to pray, Imam Abd Alfatah Twakkal of the London Council of Imams called on the city of London to be known as the city that ended Islamophobia.

“It’s a weighty responsibility, but based on what we’ve heard today, and who we see here among us, this is something that is achievable,” said Twakkal.

Prosecutors allege the attack on June 6, 2021, was an act of terrorism targeting London’s Muslim community. Nathaniel Veltman, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

He is set to stand trial in September in Windsor, with the change of venue done to ensure he is given a fair trial.

-with files from The Canadian Press

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Campfire bans are slated to take effect for much of British Columbia this week, with more hot, dry weather in the forecast after an unseasonably dry May.

As of noon Thursday, campfires — officially known as “Category 1 open fires” — will be prohibited in the Prince George Fire Centre, the Kamloops Fire Centre, the Cariboo Fire Centre and the Tsilhqot’in (Xeni Gwet’in) Declared Title Area, the Coastal Fire Centre (with the exception of the Haida Gwaii Forest District) and the Northwest Fire Centre’s Nadina Zone.

Category 1 campfires will be prohibited in many areas of the province effective noon (PDT), Thursday June 8. pic.twitter.com/YfnMNvst8Q

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) June 7, 2023

The new prohibitions come on top of an existing B.C.-wide ban on Category 2 and Category 3 open burning, covering larger fires.

The BC Wildfire Service is also reminding people of a variety of other banned activity including fireworks, sky lanterns, burn barrels, Tiki torches, chimeneas and air curtain burners.

CSA- and ULC-rated outdoor stoves and heat or ambiance devices that use charcoal briquettes, liquid or gaseous fuel and a flame height under 15 centimetres are still permitted.

As of Tuesday, B.C.’s fire danger rating had climbed to high or extreme for most of the province.

The province is also in the grips of what Global BC senior meteorologist Kristi Gordon called a “mini heat wave” with unreasonably high temperatures forecast across southern B.C. this week.

Parts of the Interior such as Lytton could see temperatures surge to 37 C on Wednesday, while areas like the Kootenays and Okanagan Valley could see highs of up to 35 C.

Temperatures were forecast to be cooler on the coast, though Port Alberni could see a high of 33 C, with the rest of the coast holding in the 27 C to 31 C range, Gordon said.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A Calgary mother hasn’t seen or spoken to her daughter since May 30th, and as the days go by her family and police are growing increasingly concerned for her safety.

Fourteen-year-old Aeris Lukinuk left her grandmother’s home in Brentwood at around 4 p.m. It was the last contact anyone in her family had with her.

Police say it’s possible the teen may be in or headed toward Edmonton and are asking Albertans to keep a watchful eye.

“All I can say is this is heartbreaking. I want her back,” Lukinuk’s mom, Melissa Bronson-Zuffa, said in an email.

Her statement also includes a plea directly to her daughter to come home.

“We understand what you are going through. Just come home. It’s not a joke. It is serious. You don’t know what this is doing to all of us!” the statement read.

Police say they are concerned for Lukinuk’s safety. They believe the teen may be in the company of adults, who aren’t family, and investigators believe they may have ulterior motives.

Like the police, the Missing Children’s Society of Canada says each day that passes puts the teen at greater risk.

“We have to find them as quickly as possible because the longer they are missing, the more at risk they are. In this particular case this is a high-risk missing child and whether she was lured, or whether she made the choice to leave doesn’t matter, because as a youth, she really can’t understand all of the risks that’s waiting for her,” said Missing Children’s Society’s chief executive officer Amanda Pick.

Anyone with information is asked to call 9-1-1 or the Calgary Police Service non-emergency line at 403 266-1234.

The Missing Children’s Society of Canada has a free app, called RESCU and is encouraging as many people as possible to download the app, in hopes of finding Aeris Lukinuk as soon as possible.

 

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Police are warning residents in Mississauga, Ont., to remain vigilant after three similar break-and-enters were reported in the first six days of June.

In two of the incidents, Peel Regional Police said a suspect went into people’s homes in the early hours of the morning while they were sleeping.

During the third incident, someone was reportedly assaulted and sustained minor injuries.

Police said that in all three break-and-enters, the suspect fled with cash.

Residents were reminded to keep doors locked, even while people are home, and to consider locking devices on sliding doors. Officers also recommended a home security system.

“Investigators are doing everything possible to identify the suspect and lay the appropriate charges in these incidents,” police said.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Could the City of Surrey’s long and twisting policing saga reach its conclusion by the end of this month?

Given the game of political football Surrey’s police transition has become, that outcome seems unlikely.

But at a council meeting Monday, Brenda Locke appeared have a response to Solicitor General Mike Farnworth’s June 1 letter demanding the city “move forward with a vote” on whether to keep the RCMP or Surrey Police Service (SPS) as the force of jurisdiction.

Breaking: Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth is not amused! Sends letter demanding a decision on policing from Surrey council. #bcpoli @CKNW @GlobalBC pic.twitter.com/QzvRTLVAeJ

— Jas Johal (@JasJohalBC) June 1, 2023

“Staff are working hard to address a number of the questions posed by the solicitor general to provide a comprehensive corporate report for this council, all of this council, so we can make a final and informed decision,” Locke said in a prepared statement at Monday’s Surrey council meeting.

“My goal is to have this accomplished this month.”

Locke was elected on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey, and has shown no sign of backing down from that position since coming to power in October with a majority of seats on council.

In April, after his ministry reviewed the city’s plans to wind down the SPS, Farnworth “strongly recommended” the city keep the municipal force, warning a reversion to the RCMP would damage policing elsewhere in the province, and offered Surrey up to $150 million to defray the transition costs.

A confidential version of a report to that effect, penned by B.C.’s director of police services, was forwarded to council at the time. But in the June 1 letter, Farnworth said nearly half of council had yet to sign a non-disclosure agreement required to read it, and he pressed them to do so in order to understand “the full factual context of this decision, as well as its implications.”

Farnworth’s letter also reminded Surrey council of mandatory conditions it must meet around staffing and recruiting if it intends to keep the RCMP.

In an interview with Global News last week, Locke refused to confirm whether she’d signed the agreement or not, and said her issue was with the fact that the full report was not available to the Surrey public.

“It is unfortunate that due diligence was not permitted to be done by the last mayor and his council at the beginning of the process some four and a half years ago,” Locke said Monday.

“It is also important to note that the city has only had the unredacted report for less than two weeks while the province has taken over five months to provide us with the information.”

The transition to the SPS is already well underway with more than 400 officers and support staff on the payroll.

Its plan to eventually hire 734 officers is estimated to cost about $30 million more annually than the contact with the RCMP, but severance costs for SPS officers if the force was disbanded would cost about $72 million.

The RCMP currently has about 1,500 job vacancies throughout B.C.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.