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Strike action avoided as Alberta’s Safeway union votes for new contract  CTV News

Strike action avoided as Alberta’s Safeway union votes for new contract  ctvnews.ca

Jude Bellingham's international future was being called into question a year ago, but now he is regarded as potentially one of England's "greatest of all time".

It's hard to imagine that just a year ago Jude Bellingham's place in the England squad was up in the air when he is now being talked about as having the potential to be one of England's "greatest of all time".

About 500,000 cancer survivors were first diagnosed under the age of 20 in the U.S, according to the National Cancer Institute. Michael George has one boy's story.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch tells the BBC that she wants to see "people who work harder" not getting punished for doing so.

Bruno Fernandes says he has spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo and denies a rift within Portugal’s squad.

This was an occasion on which Scotland dare not stumble. By the time Kieron Bowie smashed home a seventh minute opener against a North Macedonia side not without its troubles to seek, it was already clear they would not. Bowie afforded Sébastien Pocognoli his first goal as the Scotland manager. Later, the Belgian had his maiden victory confirmed. Anything else, against such a dismal level of opposition, would have been worthy of significant Scottish embarrassment.

John McGinn’s 22nd goal for his country, coming from the penalty spot, meant the scoreline at least almost reflected Scotland’s dominance. Only Scott McKenna’s late sending off and a failure to notch three, four or five could have irked Pocognoli. Scotland remain alive and kicking in section B1 of the Nations League while aware they will face far, far stiffer challenges. Scotland needed to be professional in North Macedonia and met that task appropriately.

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Conservatives are praising The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers and his new album, "Thrasher," which leans into country western elements and religion.

Flowers is best known as the lead singer of The Killers, who achieved global fame in the mid-2000s following the release of their multi-platinum debut album, "Hot Fuss," which featured hits like "Mr. Brightside." Flowers, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has drawn cultural attention with an album centered on Americana, family, and a spiritual yearning for God amid a troubled world.

"Two things can be true at the same time. The fact that I love new wave and rock and roll has been well documented. But a life is long enough to allow for more. Walt Whitman said it best, ‘I am large. I contain multitudes,’" Flowers said in a trailer for the album. The promotional footage features him driving a classic convertible on a desert highway interspersed with shots of truck stops, diners, ranches, and American flags.

"Well, I'm larger now than I was 20 years ago," he continued. "And I've unlocked a room that feels like it's been waiting for me all along. Country-western music, my father's music. It has offered itself to me and the stories I have to tell at the moment with a breezy enthusiasm."

SKILLET’S JOHN COOPER SAYS CHRISTIANS WHO CALL ROCK MUSIC ‘DEMONIC’ ARE ‘GETTING THE GOSPEL WRONG’

He noted that this album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, clarifying that he is not running away from rock music or his old songs, but rather, "found room for more."

The album's focal track, "An American Dream," gained traction following a viral broadcast performance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." The song explores Americana and the illusion of fame as a form of fool's gold, juxtaposed with the value of family and salvation.

In the lyrics, Flowers sings about being on the open road while yearning for home, feeling a deep nostalgia for a bygone era, and encountering a roadside billboard that asks, "Where would I spend my eternity?"

He later described being picked up by Elvis Presley — as he looked in his 1968 comeback tour — driving a Tesla model X and sober. Elvis laughs when asked if fame was worth it, but cries when mentioning his daughter, eventually handing over the keys and saying, "Put it on Jesus." 

The recurring chorus then finishes off the song, "Gold and silver, God and glitter. Lights that flicker on hubcap chrome. On the road to Heaven. In Strauss and Stetson. Swimming pools of horsepower. Take me back home."

SINGER ZACH TOP SLAMS MODERN COUNTRY MUSIC, SAYS IT LACKS 'SOUL'

The release arrives amid a broader, well-documented resurgence of country-western culture, spearheaded by stars like Ella Langley topping the charts.

National Review contributing editor Daniel Foster talked about the song as one built on a rough American nostalgia.

"The tune itself is great. A hook precision-engineered for bar sing-alongs and a lyric full of James Ellroy, Cormac McCarthy-level American arcana and myth (‘Strauss and Stetson,’ ‘an ad for the Red Man,’ and Elvis Presley in ‘jet-black ’68 comeback leather’)," he wrote. "It’s also fully, unapologetically a song about God — a distinctively American, distinctively American West God, which makes sense since Flowers’s God is Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints."

CCM Magazine, a Christian music news outlet, also wrote an extensive review of the album. While he is of a different Christian denomination, Logan Sekulow of CCM Magazine credited Flowers for his frequent references to biblical concepts and images.

"[M]arketed ‘Christian’ artists should take note, that Thrasher and the catalogue of Flowers/The Killers contain more direct references to Christ, heaven and biblical principles than you will find on many releases marketed specifically to Christian audiences outside of Worship music," he wrote. "This is the same songwriter who warned about a devil who doesn’t resemble Jesus in 'When You Were Young,' celebrated the sustaining power and rarity of a loving marriage in 'Dying Breed', and retold the emotional arc of the prodigal son in 'Fire in Bone.' Flowers has never treated faith like a decorative accessory. It is part of the architecture of his songwriting."

HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER SPENT 25 YEARS PRAYING FOR TINSELTOWN, SAYS 'YOU CAN'T HATE THEM'

He specifically praised the use of Elvis as a figure tied to worldly fame and yet yearning for God.

"The King becomes something closer to a spiritual predecessor: another larger-than-life performer raised in church, caught between the sacred and the spectacular, now passing something down to the artist who followed him," Sekulow wrote.

He then concluded, "The record reaches its destination in a great collision of ‘Gold and Silver, God and Glitter.’ That phrase could almost serve as a mission statement for Brandon Flowers’ Thrasher. Faith and fame, eternity and entertainment, heaven and hell, Las Vegas and Utah. It all finally makes sense when Elvis is there to throw him the keys as he offers one final word to his protégé: ‘put it on Jesus.’"

Fox News Digital spoke to conservative culture critic Christian Toto, who called Flowers' performance of the song on "The Tonight Show," "Remarkable. Real. Raw. Passionate. Spiritual. Mesmerizing. Here's a veteran singer who seems to have a new lease on life."

He also offered a suggestion as to why country music appears to be having a revival in recent years.

"It's more stripped down than other music genres. We have some mighty talents at work at the moment, singers who connect with large, energetic groups of Americans. Morgan Wallen rushes to mind, a singer so popular he survived one of the nastiest, and most unfair, Cancel Culture attacks and only grew bigger," he said. "It's a genre that allows for God, for love, for spirituality, and for a hunger to touch dirty, get dirty and get back up again. With A.I. looming, and smart phones keeping us digitized, there's a greater need for something soulful and true."

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Kemi Badenoch says those earning more than £100,000 should not be discouraged from working more

The Conservatives have unveiled a proposed £700m childcare giveaway for high earners ahead of their annual conference, saying they would end the “cliff edge” where free entitlement ends at salaries above £100,000.

The plan, set out the day before the event begins in Birmingham, follows the earlier proposal by Kemi Badenoch’s party to abolish most stamp duty, another change to taxation that would disproportionately benefit wealthier people.

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1. ‘RuneScape’-Inspired Animation Series in the Works From Lyrical Animation and Jagex  variety.com
2. Everything We Saw at RuneFest 2026, Including RuneScape 4 and RuneScape Reignited  IGN
3. RuneScape 4, The Next MMO From Jagex, Announced At RuneFest This Weekend  MMORPG.com
4. RuneFest 2026: RuneScape Reignited Kicks Off On December 2nd, Billed As A 'Relaunch' Of The Classic MMO  MMORPG.com
5. RuneScape 4 and Animated Adaptation Announced  IGN

1. ‘RuneScape’-Inspired Animation Series in the Works From Lyrical Animation and Jagex  Variety
2. Fourth RuneScape MMO Built With Unreal Engine in the Works, Jagex Announces RuneScape Animation With MoistCr1TiKaL  IGN Pakistan
3. Everything We Saw at RuneFest 2026, Including RuneScape 4 and RuneScape Reignited  IGN Pakistan

Chris Rock is getting candid about the importance of forgiveness in a world so quick to cancel others.

During a recent appearance on "The Daily" podcast, the 61-year-old comedian discussed his issues with "wokeness," saying that while advocating for marginalized people and giving them a voice is great, it needs to come with forgiveness.

"The problem with wokeness is we're in the Old Testament right now," he said. "And the Old Testament has no forgiveness. The Old Testament didn't work. So they had to write a remix called the New Testament."

Host David Marchese then asked if he thought there was "anything redeeming" that came out of the post-George Floyd era, which he referred to as "woke 1.0," since Democratic politicians now seem to be straying further from that ideology now.

SKILLET'S JOHN COOPER SAYS WOKE ACTIVISTS HAVE 'BIG HEARTS' BUT ARE 'HURTING THEMSELVES'

The "Grown Ups" star reiterated his position that "it's great to help those that need help," but noted the problem comes "when you institutionalize it."

"The Salem witch hunts. I'm sure the first three witches they caught were actually f- - -ing witches," he said. "But then you open up a witch office and now you've got to start lying. Now you've gotta f- - - ing make s- - - up because you've got overhead. You've got to justify the witch hunters f - - -ing pensions and s- - -."

He explained that just because he advocates for forgiveness, it "doesn't mean condoning abusive behavior. You can reprimand your friends," adding that holding them accountable is "also part of friendship."

"If you’re only friends with your friends when they’re good, they’re not your friends," he said.

While he admits there is room for improvement when it comes to cancel culture and wokeness, he noted he is "glad that all of this stuff happened," as it allowed for certain voices to be heard which otherwise may not have been.

Kaivan Shroff — a former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer – disagreed with Rock, telling Fox News Digital the comedian "is oversimplifying this in a way that is pretty self-serving."

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"Sometimes the problem is not that people ‘took a joke out of context.’ Often the context is perfectly clear and the comedian knows exactly who the joke is aimed at, knows a lot of people will find it offensive, and is counting on that discomfort to make the material feel edgy or viral," Shroff said. "You don’t get to use outrage as part of the act and then act shocked when the outrage follows."

Rock is currently promoting his new film, "Misty Green," which he wrote and directed in addition to starring in it.

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The film follows an award-winning actress, Misty Green, who is working hard to make a comeback after years of watching her career slowly fade away, with Rock portraying a casting director who once worked with the actress.

"I'm really into expiration dates. I have a lot of friends who are in their 50s or whatever and there's this thing everybody tells you, ‘You can do art forever.’ And that's just not true," he said. "And a lot of show business has, like you've got to reach certain plateaus by a certain time or else you're going to be in trouble. So yeah, Misty is turning 40 and there's a little bit of an expiration date happening here. I wanted to do a movie about Hollywood. I wanted to do a movie about the expiration dates we all have."

He said he also wanted to make a movie about Los Angeles, calling it a "tale of two cities," noting that while there is "sunshine and palm trees," people are also "constantly walking over homeless people."

The actor previously spoke about the message he wanted to get across when making the film, telling Variety in September that much of the movie is about Los Angeles, which he called a "complicated place" that "attracts an underbelly that people want to pretend doesn’t exist."

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"A lot of it’s about L.A. L.A. has got very wonky priorities," he said. "There’s a real estate office on the same street as The Ivy on Robertson, and in the window, there are houses for $30-$40 million. In the window. But there’s a homeless guy sleeping right outside. The movie is about that crazy dichotomy."

Prince Albert had the highest recorded levels of methamphetamine and cocaine in its wastewater between January 2024 and March 2026, according to data from Statistics Canada.

1. ‘That’s insane’: Ottawa drivers hit with high prices at the pump this weekend  CTV News
2. Gas prices jump 12 cents in two days in the GTA  CityNews Toronto
3. Ontario gas prices jump 14 cents as Groceries Benefit arrives  Inside Halton
4. Toronto gas prices are soaring again: Here is the best day to fill up  Yahoo News Canada
5. Gas prices expected to rise to 191.9 cents per litre on Saturday in Toronto  CBC

1. ‘That’s insane’: Ottawa drivers hit with high prices at the pump this weekend  CTV News
2. Gas prices jump 12 cents in two days in the GTA  CityNews Toronto
3. Ontario gas prices jump 14 cents as Groceries Benefit arrives  Inside Halton
4. Toronto gas prices are soaring again: Here is the best day to fill up  Yahoo News Canada
5. Gas prices expected to rise to 191.9 cents per litre on Saturday in Toronto  CBC

1. Former Canadiens defenceman Odelein dies at 58  TSN
2. Odelein dies at 58, was 1st Blue Jackets captain  NHL.com
3. Former Penguins defenseman Lyle Odelein dies at 58  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
4. Longtime NHL defenceman Lyle Odelein dead at 58  Sportsnet.ca
5. Former NHL defenseman Lyle Odelein passes away at 58  Daily Faceoff