Sesame Place, a “Sesame Street” themed amusement park in Philadelphia, is apologizing after a video shows a costumed character appearing to ignore two Black children during a parade on Saturday. In the nine-second video shared by the girls’ mother on Instagram, her daughters are seen reaching out for a hug from the character, Rosita. In the video, Rosita seemingly shakes her head no and keeps walking by. In the caption of the video, the mother called the incident “disgusting.” “I will never step foot in @sesameplace ever again !” The mother who goes by JodiiiRead more

TORONTO – Organizers at Canada’s summer music festivals say even as pandemic restrictions lift and live concerts return to some semblance of normalcy, it’s anything but normal behind the scenes. While concertgoers descend on outdoor events, the people leading the country’s largest music gatherings are facing a long list of anxieties — from travel delays to COVID-19 illnesses — that have made putting together a festival even more tumultuous, costly and unpredictable. Todd Jenereaux, executive vice president of Republic Live, said it’s impossible to narrow down his concerns ahead ofRead more

LONDON – Russia’s Gazprom has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of ‘extraordinary’ circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters, upping the ante in an economic tit-for-tat with the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The July 14 letter from the Russian state gas monopoly said it was retroactively declaring force majeure on supplies dating from June 14. The news comes as Nord Stream 1, the key pipeline delivering Russian gas to Germany and beyond, is undergoing annual maintenance meant to conclude on Thursday. TheRead more

Police east of Toronto say they are expecting to see as many as 1,000 Hells Angels members as the club holds its national motorcycle run this weekend. “We do not want to create panic,” Durham Regional Police Service Deputy Chief Dean Bertrim said at a news conference Monday ahead of the event. “But we have an obligation, and in all fairness, I have a responsibility, to make sure that our community is aware and provided the accurate information.” The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) chapter based in Brooklin, north of Whitby, willRead more

While temperatures may be easing in certain parts of the country, “the warmest part of the summer is yet to come,” a senior climatologist for Environment Canada says. “We think that July and into August will be warmer than normal,” Dave Phillips told CTV News Channel on Monday about recent modelling. “So hey, Canadians who like their summers warm — and it hasn’t been I think memorably warm except just recently — I think we’ll find a warmer than normal summer.”  Sign up for The Climate Barometer, delivered right toRead more

Hot and humid summer temperatures are here, and so are the dangers of heat-related illnesses like heat stroke. “Heat-related illnesses are those illnesses attributable to excess heat on the body causing dysregulation and dysfunction of normal organ systems, and in severe cases, leads to organ failure and death,” Dr. David Ng, an emergency physician in downtown Toronto, told CTVNews.ca. “Severe heat illness leading to organ failure and death is generally uncommon overall, but when it does, it occurs in an epidemic cluster of cases all at once.” High temperatures killedRead more

One of the United Kingdom’s largest airports suspended flights on Monday after high temperatures damaged a runway. Temperatures soared up to 37 degrees Celsius (about 99 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country. London Luton Airport announced the situation via Twitter and updated its status when the airport resumed operations on Monday evening. An “essential runway repair” was required “after high surface temperatures caused a small section to lift,” the airport said on Twitter. Full operations resumed just after 6 p.m. in London. Luton Airport’s announcement came hours afterRead more

Julianne Moore has been selected to serve as president of the main competition jury for the Venice International Film Festival this year, festival director Alberto Barbera announced Friday. The Oscar-winning actor will preside over a jury that includes French director Audrey Diwan, whose film “Happening” won the Golden Lion last year, author Kazuo Ishiguro (“Never Let Me Go”) and Iranian actor Leila Hatami (“A Separation”). Also on the jury are Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo (“The Inner Cage”) Argentinian filmmaker Mariano Cohn (“Official Competition”) and Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“The Candidate”). AllRead more

Actor Pat John, known for the classic Canadian comedy-drama series “The Beachcombers,” has died, according to one of his co-stars. John was a teenager when he was cast as Jesse Jim in the long-running CBC program, and went on to appear in hundreds of episodes, as well as the 2002 TV movie “The New Beachcombers.” He died Wednesday at the age of 69. John had faced health problems in recent years, but at the time of his death was sitting outdoors “looking more peaceful than he has in a longRead more

ROME – Soprano Angel Blue says she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage. The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out of “La Traviata” at Verona’s Arena this month because the theater recently mounted another Giuseppe Verdi opera, “Aida,” that had performers in blackface. She blasted such use of “archaic” theatrical practices as “offensive, humiliating, and outright racist.” Angel Blue, however,Read more