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Tuesday is International Youth Day.

To celebrate the occasion, the YMCA-YWCA in Winnipeg is opening its doors to youth aged 13-17 for free drop-in access at all of its community hubs across the city on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

"Youth are at the heart of our mission," said Wendy Shewchuk, manager, Downtown Y Community Hub. "Whether it’s through recreation, leadership development, or employment opportunities, we’re committed to empowering young people to reach their full potential and become changemakers in their communities."

For weeks, much of Manitoba has been shrouded in wildfire smoke, and Monday is no exception.

Environment Canada and Manitoba Health have issued and extended special air quality statements for a large swath of the province, warning that smoke from northern Prairie wildfires will continue to impact southern Manitoba through the day.

It's been approximately 45 years since the members of the Crossborders Community Project near the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border and the community of Kola, Man., have been raising funds for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.   

Hundreds of thousands of bushels have been harvested through the Crossborders Grow Projects over the decades, dating back to the early 1980s when the Foodgrains Bank officially began, thanks to Don Neufeld and his father, Art, and the call on their lives to support the Foodgrains in the Kola area. 

A fire Sunday evening in River Park South has left two families without a home.

The fire broke out just before 7:40 p.m. in a home on Southwalk Bay. It quickly spread to a neighbouring home, resulting in the loss of two houses. 

When crews arrived, both homes were well involved, with flames and smoke pouring out of both. 

According to the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, no apparatus was available at the nearest station.

An Irish missionary and eight others were kidnapped from an orphanage compound on Sunday, August 3, including a three-year-old child. Armed gang members stormed the children’s home in Kenscoff, just outside Port-au-Prince, in the early morning hours.

The missionary, Gena Heraty, is known for her decades-long care for children with disabilities. EU officials are working to secure the group’s release.

Air Canada flight attendants are expected to picket at airports in four major Canadian cities on Monday in what their union is calling a national day of action.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says demonstrations are expected to take place at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Calgary International Airport, all at 1 p.m. ET. 

Nurses in Manitoba have made the rare move of declaring the province's largest hospital too dangerous to work in and plan to discourage work there until safety concerns are addressed. 

The Manitoba Nurses Union voted in favour of what they call "grey listing" the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

It's something the union has done five times in the last 45 years.

The last grey listing was of the Dauphin Regional Health Centre in 2007.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's popularity may be cooling off in the summer but remains broadly positive, a new poll from Abacus Data suggests.

The Carney-led Liberal government's approval rating dipped to 50 per cent in the firm's latest polling, down two percentage points compared to mid-July and the lowest level since March.

With 48 per cent viewing Carney favourably and 19 per cent disapproving, the prime minister maintains a positive net approval. That figure is a couple percentage points lower than in Abacus's previous poll.

Psalm 119:14

I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Isaiah 29:14 

Seren-dip-ity–the dip of the serene into the common responsibilities of life.

Serendipity occurs when something beautiful breaks into the monotonous and the mundane. A serendipitous life is marked by "surprisability" and spontaneity. When we lose our capacity for either, we settle into life's ruts. We expect little, and we're seldom disappointed.