AUGUST 14, 2026
Heating Up
Don’t look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays are suddenly back in the playoff picture. After their agonizing Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s World Series, the Jays have struggled to rediscover their winning form. They stumbled out of the gate, lost key pitchers to injury and watched their offence sputter, especially last-year’s playoff hero Vladimir Guerrero Jr. With the team mired at the bottom of the standings and the playoffs seeming like a distant dream, management waved the white flag, trading key veterans, including ace pitcher Kevin Gausman. But then something funny happened: the team refused to lie down and, despite a depleted lineup, began to roll. Dylan Cease and José Soriano have provided lights-out pitching, while Ernie Clement and Brett Bateman have kept the offence humming. A little luck hasn’t hurt either, prompting manager John Schneider to tip his cap to the sport’s deities: “From me to the baseball gods, thanks.” Next up this weekend is a huge series against the hated New York Yankees. Win it, and the Jays could find themselves back in the playoff hunt. And if Vlad gets hot? Well, fans might be looking forward to October baseball after all. | Getty Images
AUGUST 12, 2026
Cosmic Delight
For the rest of this week, we urge you to forget the troubles of this world and look skyward: the heavens are putting on a celestial spectacle. On Wednesday, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across Canada. Best seen in the far North, the moon will slip in front of the sun, covering roughly 70 per cent of its face. But if you miss the eclipse, try to catch the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks Wednesday night and continues through the rest of the week. The Perseids are the glittering aftermath of an icy comet that takes 133 years to circle the sun. As the Earth travels through the trail of dust and debris the comet leaves behind, these particles slam into our atmosphere at astonishing speeds, producing brilliant streaks of light. Under ideal conditions, between midnight and dawn, you might see as many as 100 meteors an hour. The meteor showers are properly viewed away from the city lights. – to find a Dark Sky site nearest you, visit the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s website. Best of all, you won’t need a telescope. Just lie back, gaze upwards and let the universe put on the show. | Getty Images
AUGUST 11, 2026
The Menopause Revolution
For years, menopause has been treated as a stage of life that women are simply expected to endure through a miasma of misinformation and treatments that come with health risks. Now, a new drug from AbCellera Biologics is raising hopes that relief from hot flashes and night sweats could be on the horizon. The Vancouver-based company announced its “transformational” Phase 2 results for ABCL635, its experimental once-monthly, self-injected treatment for menopausal symptoms. According to AbCellera, women taking ABCL635 experienced an 83 per cent reduction in the frequency and severity of menopause symptoms, along with improvements in sleep quality. More importantly, this non-hormonal therapy showed no severe adverse events or serious side effects. The announcement comes at a time when menopause is moving from the shadows into the spotlight. Celebrities like Naomi Watts and Halle Berry have helped turn “The Change” into a booming wellness market, selling everything from supplements to symptom-relief products. But there’s also a growing demand for treatments grounded in science rather than hype, which is why the results for this therapy are so intriguing. Although it’s still in the experimental stage, ABCL635 is a welcome signal that menopause treatment is finally entering a long-anticipated new era. | Getty Images
AUGUST 10, 2026
‘Explosive’ Conditions Fuel B.C. Wildfires
Close to 22,000 B.C. residents are under evacuation orders as fast-moving wildfires continue to threaten communities across the province. Most urgent of the calls was to the District of Summerland in the province’s Okanagan Valley, as the Bald Range wildfire advanced quickly toward the community. B.C. Premier David Eby, who called a state of emergency for the province Saturday, likened its spread to “a bomb going off” and warned residents under evacuation orders to move quickly. The blaze, which was detected Friday evening, grew to 50 square kilometres in just three hours and nearly doubled in size overnight, leaving residents little time to flee. Officials have confirmed an 80-year-old woman from Penticton – just south of Summerland – died suddenly while trying to evacuate with her family. Support from the federal government has been approved as a total of 105 wildfires are currently burning in the region – 70 of which started in the last week. Meanwhile, Cliff Chapman with the BC Wildfire Service warns that the province could face more fires that spread and grow at breakneck speed. “I want to stress that the conditions we face in B.C. right now, in particular in the southern third, are explosive.”
