More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
In the pain, there also was consolation. Losing to Argentina in the World Cup final wasn't the ending that heart-broken France fans hoped for. Still, even they could see the merits of having experienced a roller-coaster so intense as to be unforgettable and the outcome both bitter and sweet.
Because if France had to lose, then Lionel Messi winning was a decent second-best.
The knowledge that they'd been treated to one of the greatest finals of all time helped fans of Les Bleus overcome the tears and the agony of Sunday's epic win by Argentina in a penalty shootout.
"It was the best match of my life -- ever," said 29-year-old Abdoul Toure, who watched in a Paris bar.
As French President Emmanuel Macron consoled France forward Kylian Mbappe after his hat trick at Lusail Stadium in Qatar put France within touching distance of victory but still wasn't enough, fans back home looked on the bright side, saying their team had done them proud.
"They make us dream until the very end," said Loic Aubret, a 32-year-old engineer. "They were strong mentally. They can be proud of themselves since we didn't bet a dime on them at first."
Losing to Messi made the defeat somewhat more bearable. As much as it stung to see Les Bleus come so close to defending their title from 2018, some fans said they were happy that Messi finally got his hands on the only major trophy to elude him. At 35, he is nearing the end of his storied career.
"That Messi won, that lessens the pain a bit," said Ulysse Zaoui, 24. "I'm sad but it was a beautiful match."
Mark Davis, a 35-year-old soccer coach from Salt Lake City who watched the match with friends in Paris, agreed.
"Wow, unbelievable," he said after France came back from 2-0 down and then evened the match again after Messi made it 3-2 in extra time.
Davis eventually got what he wanted: A victory for Messi -- thanks to Argentina triumphing 4-2 in the penalty shootout. But being in Paris to experience all that drama blurred the lines.
"My heart was completely torn in half," he said.
With concrete blocks painted blue, white and red, police sealed off the French capital's most famous boulevard -- the Champs-Elysees -- to traffic in anticipation of it flooding with celebrating crowds. People did gather and fireworks were fired into the sky when France twice equalized.
But after the sorrow of the penalty shootout, the Champs-Elysees and bars that had been packed quickly emptied and cold rain added to the sense of mourning.
"I'm completely heart-broken," 18-year-old Oscar Schuman said. "I'm more proud than anything else.
"It was a battle of the gods. This game, I went through every emotion."
Fans had painted blue, white and red stripes on their faces and squeezed into national jerseys, hoping that Les Bleus would become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win consecutive World Cups.
Biting cold drove fans indoors, to bars and homes. Those who couldn't get spots inside wrapped up warm as they watched outside bars on sidewalks. For fans in France and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, cold weather was an unusual feature of this year's World Cup, moved to November-December from its usual June-July spot.
"People are less excited, they have less chance to meet and celebrate together," said Ombeline De Pomerole, a 27-year-old economist who managed to shoehorn herself into a crowded Paris bar.
Like some other fans, she had initially boycotted the World Cup in Qatar, purposefully ignoring the competition because of her concerns for migrant workers in the Gulf state. But France's success eventually changed her mind and she said she started tuning in after Les Bleus beat England in the quarterfinals.
Pharmacist Benoit Labouret, 28, also said the World Cup appeared to have generated less fervor than in 2018 "because it's winter and in Qatar."
"Some don't agree with the conditions, the workers' (deaths)," he said. "I'm not committed enough to boycott."
In Paris, the Metro operator marked the momentous occasion by temporarily renaming one of its stations, changing the stop "Argentina" to "Argentina-France, let's go les Bleus!"
Players past and present also sent messages of support.
"Playing a World Cup final is a childhood dream. Let's go and get this third star! Allez les Bleus!" Zinedine Zidane posted on Instagram.
It wasn't to be. Still, it was an unforgettable ride.
"It was a beautiful party, a beautiful match," said Dimitri Martel, 37. "We chanted, we screamed. It was such a moment of joy despite the result."
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”