Weekly News Recap: August 28, 2026

Weekly News Recap: August 28, 2026

Dolly Parton in 1976. Credit...David Gahr/Icon and Image and Getty Images.

I've used my femininity and my sexuality as a weapon and a tool... but that's just natural. — Dolly Parton

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • A Masked Man Was Scaring Philadelphians. Then He Picked the Wrong Woman. (New York Times) #SelfDefenceHero "Years of stage combat training at the University of Arts in Philadelphia paid off last week for Jameka Wilson, a 25-year-old actor. On her way to an early morning exercise class, she was confronted and chased by a man wearing a Halloween mask that many observers have compared to the horror character Chucky. Recalling her training, she stopped, turned and delivered a kick to his chest, she said. That sent him running."

  • VIDEO: 'I didn't think I could do it': A 13-year-old N.S. girl fought a 711-pound tuna and won (CBC) NOVA SCOTIA STORY #Wow "Five hours off the west coast of Nova Scotia, a 13-year-old girl broke a world tuna-fishing record during the 22nd annual Wedgeport Tuna Tournament and Festival. Délynn Jacquard was aboard the Pelagic Predator when she reeled in the 711-pound (323-kilogram) [catch.]"

  • VIDEO: Visitors outfoxed by footwear thieves at provincial park in Sask. (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY #TooManyShoes "Cunning and furry thieves are outfoxing campers and cottagers at Great Blue Heron Provincial Park. Sonnet McGuire, manager of the park located about 50 kilometres north of Prince Albert, says she started getting reports about shoes going missing in early July. Visitors found single shoes left in bushes, on the side of the road, or even at the boat launch. The culprits: a group — sometimes known as a skulk — of sly foxes with a taste for footwear."

  • The long and beautiful story of Native American graphic design (Fast Company) Beautiful. "Brian Johnson, a member of the Monacan Indian Nation, is painting the field of graphic design red, with his new book, Designed to Be Red: Native & Indigenous Graphic Works, published [...] by DelMonico Books. The book contributes to the larger project of decolonizing design. Showing more than 200 years of Native American graphic works from makers across 144 distinct nations, tribes, bands, and Indigenous cultural and language groups, the book dismantles the myth of design as something that happened in Europe in the 1800s."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Dolly Parton, Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80 (New York Times) I have been and always will be a Dolly Parton fan. I am heartbroken. I really did hope she was immortal. RIP Ms. Parton. #Irreplaceable. "Dolly Parton, a rags-to-rhinestones daughter of Appalachia who for six decades ruled country music and beyond with an outsize personality and down-home wit that enshrined her as one of America’s most cherished originals, died in Nashville. She was 80."

  2. Westside Recreation Centre unveils $180-million expansion plan, but requires funding (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY "The price tag means the project will require significant outside support, and CEO Jan Bloemraad said he is hoping that the City of Calgary’s 2027 budget includes their facility [...] 'The ideal scenario is that we can break ground in very early 2028.' "

  3. Canada drops new glow-in-the-dark coin that's totally dino-mite (Daily Hive) CANADIAN STORY Our coins are cool. "Dinosaur lovers, your next collector’s item is about to glow up. The Royal Canadian Mint has recently released a new coin featuring a Tyrannosaurus rex and a giant flying reptile, with a hidden design that only appears under black light. On one side, the coin illustrates a giant T. rex moving through a swampy woodland, while a Quetzalcoatlus northropi (the scientific name for the 'flying reptile') swoops overhead."

  4. First Peoples' House Opens at the University of Alberta: $24 Million Space for Indigenous Students (Culture Alberta) EDMONTON STORY "The new First Peoples' House has opened at the University of Alberta, 40,000 square feet built inside a former education library on North Campus. Alberta's project registry puts the cost at $24 million. It opens during the 150th anniversary of Treaty 6, the agreement covering the land the university sits on, and it replaces a service that has supported Indigenous students at the U of A for decades under three different names."

  5. Who Will Raise the Money When the Money Raisers Are Gone? (Stanford Social Innovation Review) We need more young fundraisers. "There is a quiet crisis unfolding inside the development offices of nonprofits across this country. It doesn’t make the front page and won’t generate the kind of urgency that a budget shortfall or a federal funding cut triggers. But it might be the most consequential threat to the long-term health of the philanthropic sector that I’ve witnessed in four decades of this work."

  6. VIDEO: Glenbow Museum renovation project enters final phase (CTV) CALGARY STORY "CTV News takes you on a look inside the newly renovated Glenbow Museum as it gets ready to reopen to the public."

  7. Lowering the Flag: Dr. Brian Paisley (UAlberta) EDMONTON STORY I served on the Fringe board in the late 1990s and while I never met Brian, his legend was alive and well at the Fringe. RIP Mr. Paisley. We will not see your like again. "Brian James Paisley was born on November 10, 1946 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He died on July 2, 2026 in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, from complications due to severe pneumonia after a lengthy stay in hospital. A writer, producer, and true cultural innovator, Brian Paisley fundamentally revolutionized Canadian theatre. He is most widely recognized for founding the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which debuted in 1982."

  8. U.S. army unit offers re-enlistment bonus: 4 days off to play Grand Theft Auto (CBC) #Smart "A U.S. army unit is offering its troops a special bonus if they re-enlist soon: four extra days off timed around the November release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI. Commanders of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Fort Stewart, Ga., say free time to indulge in the latest entry in the Grand Theft Auto series — in which players commit carjackings, battle police in shootouts and attempt audacious heists — will sway some soldiers to extend their military commitments."

  9. Dramatic rescue after Saskatoon teen gets trapped in storm drain by rushing rainwater (CBC) SASKATOON STORY #Scary "A Saskatoon police officer is being hailed for 'incredible bravery' after the dramatic rescue of a teen boy who was trapped in a storm drain by rushing rainwater. The potentially life-threatening incident was serious and scary for both the teen and first responders, said Sean Thody, the deputy fire chief who was at the scene."

  10. Tim Curry, star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dead at 80 (CBC) The Rocky Horror Picture Show was in indelible part of my formative life. I still try to watch a screening every Halloween. RIP Mr. Curry. "Tim Curry, the quirky British actor known for playing eccentric roles like the flamboyant, fishnet-wearing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, has died at age 80."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. VIDEO: How to Dock a Boat in 20 Seconds Without Taking Out a Tiki Bar (Wall Street Journal) Try this next time you are at the lake (just kidding, don't do this).

  2. Producing Spider Silk Is a Biological Feat—Scientists Are Using It to Develop Materials for Drug Delivery and Wound Care (Quantastic Journal) As creepy as they are, the range and skill of these natural spinners is incredible.

  3. The Book I Recommend to Every Burned-Out Person (The Useful Life) I am pretty sure we all need this book at some point in our life.

  4. NASA Is Launching a $4 Billion Space Telescope on Sunday. Here’s Why You Should Care (Gizmodo) Named for American astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman, this new telescope will look for new planets and maybe...figure out what's going on with all this dark matter in the universe.

  5. Why do Canadians call the last letter of the alphabet zed? (CBC) And, in fact, this is also the case for all Commonwealth countries.

  6. VIDEO: RIP, Tim Curry: Ars remembers his top 10 iconic performances (Ars Technica) #ThisManHadRange

  7. Scientists Find Unexpected Ingredients in Ancient Egyptian Paint (Gizmodo) This is just cool.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Vernon's Bill's Place planning 36-bed expansion supported by $2.5 million donation (Castanet) VERNON STORY "Helped by a $2.5 million donation from the Foord Family Foundation, Bill's Place is set to expand its addiction recovery facility in Vernon by 133 per cent. The new 13,500 square foot, three-story facility will add 36 treatment beds, significantly boosting capacity for individuals seeking recovery."

  2. VIDEO: Family's $4.5 million gift gives animals a new home at SPCA shelter in Swift Current (CBC) SWIFT CURRENT STORY "Wagging tails and purring kittens were sure signs that Lori Stauber’s dying wish came true this month. As the dogs and cats that fill Swift Current’s SPCA moved from their deteriorating old shelter into a brand new facility that bears her family’s name, Stauber’s deathbed vision became a reality."

  3. After his daughter’s brain hemorrhage, Bill Ackman commits $400 million to brain research (CTECH) "Bill Ackman and his wife, Neri Oxman, are committing approximately $400 million to establish a new nonprofit institute focused on brain research, rehabilitation, recovery and human longevity, following the recovery of Ackman’s daughter from a severe brain hemorrhage earlier this year."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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