An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop 

An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop 

As It Happens6:21An Oscar changed everything for this public school instrument repair shop Steve Bagmanyan is putting retirement on hold — and he couldn’t be more thrilled about it. Bagmanyan is the supervisor at a warehouse in Los Angeles, where a small, but mighty, team of music lovers repair musical instruments for thousands of public … Read more

Niagara Falls, Ont., mayor, police and telecoms brace for eclipse day crowds as 1 million visitors expected

Niagara Falls, Ont., mayor, police and telecoms brace for eclipse day crowds as 1 million visitors expected

Niagara Falls, Ont., mayor Jim Diodati says that when he goes out on April 8 to watch the total solar eclipse, he’s packing everything he might need for the entire day. “My plan is I’m riding my bike down there with my backpack. And it’s going to be loaded with cereal bars and water bottles. … Read more

Montreal-based musician awarded $1.5M in Alberta defamation lawsuit

Montreal-based musician awarded .5M in Alberta defamation lawsuit

A Quebec-based electronic music artist hopes to get his career and life back on track after triumphing in an Alberta defamation lawsuit tied to social media posts accusing him of being a sexual predator. “It was terrible. The whole thing was like pure nightmare and hell,” Frederik Durand said in an interview from Montreal. “I … Read more

Oppenheimer’s top prize at SAG Awards adds to momentum as Oscars draw closer

Oppenheimer’s top prize at SAG Awards adds to momentum as Oscars draw closer

Oppenheimer continued to steamroll through Hollywood’s awards season on Saturday, winning the top prize, for outstanding cast, along with awards for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards. As the Academy Awards draw closer, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic — already a winner at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs — … Read more

World’s greatest mimic: this bird can perfectly replicate the sounds of 20 other birds

World’s greatest mimic: this bird can perfectly replicate the sounds of 20 other birds

In the forests of eastern Australia, a unique annual ritual is underway.  A male superb lyrebird fans out its large tail and bobs up and down amongst the foliage. It’s performing a song and dance routine in hopes of winning a potential mate.  Unfortunately, this bird isn’t drawing any attention. Female lyrebirds require more complex … Read more

Bleak, beautiful Oppenheimer tells us about our apocalyptic future

Bleak, beautiful Oppenheimer tells us about our apocalyptic future

There are few figures in American history as mythologized as J. Robert Oppenheimer — in no small part due to the man himself.  So building a cohesive story about him — the physicist who helped define an entire scientific field so new and arcane it was called “boys’ physics”; the precocious child-genius who delivered a … Read more

White House confirms reports of Russia’s ‘troubling’ anti-satellite weapon capability

White House confirms reports of Russia’s ‘troubling’ anti-satellite weapon capability

The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability, but that such a weapon is not currently operational. … Read more

Alaskapox death brings attention to small animal virus

Alaskapox death brings attention to small animal virus

For nine years, Alaska health officials have been aware of an unusual virus causing rare, relatively mild illnesses in the Fairbanks area. But a recent case in another part of the state — this one resulting in a man’s death — has brought new attention to the  Alaskapox virus. Here’s some background on the virus. What … Read more

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The internationally acclaimed maestro, with his trademark mop of salt-and-pepper hair, led the BSO from 1973 to 2002, longer … Read more

Boeing needs ‘heightened level of oversight,’ says top U.S. aviation regulator

Boeing needs ‘heightened level of oversight,’ says top U.S. aviation regulator

The new chief of the U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said his agency is midway through a six-week audit of manufacturing at Boeing, but he already knows that changes must be made in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer. FAA administrator Michael Whitaker suggested that Boeing — under pressure from airlines to produce large … Read more