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25 must-read books published in 2023 by independent presses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

This year saw more than its share of bestselling, headline-making books, from memoirs by Prince Harry, Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith to blockbuster novels by Zadie Smith, R.F. Kuang and Rebecca Yarros.But there’s more to contemporary literature than the bestseller lists. Independent presses – which, as you know, we love – had a great 2023, putting out exciting books across all genres, some of which flew under the radar, but deserve audiences of their own. If you’re looking for your next great read — or a book for someone on your holiday shopping list — consider picking up one of these titles from 25 of the most vital indie presses in the country. And if you buy from your local independent bookstore, so much the better.“Personal Best: Makers on Their Poems that Matter Most,” edited by Erin Belieu and Carl Phillips (Copper Canyon Press):Publisher Copper Canyon has been a boldface name in the poetry world for more than 50 years. Think of this like a mixtape (or a playlist, for ...

Ticker: Mao-signed menu brings big bucks; Starbucks proposes restarting union talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

An official menu for a state banquet that bears the signature of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong has been auctioned for $275,000.Boston-based RR Auction said the menu auctioned Wednesday was for a banquet held in Beijing on October 19, 1956, and commemorated the first state visit to China by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.The menu was signed in fountain pen by six influential Chinese statesmen, including Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai. The banquet featured foods from both nations and included delicacies such as “Consommé of Swallow Nest and White Agaric,” “Shark’s Fin in Brown Sauce,” and “Roast Peking Duck.”“To hold a menu signed by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai is to hold a piece of the past – a piece that tells a story of diplomatic engagement, cultural exchange, and the forging of friendships that have endured through the decades,” Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, said in a stateme...

Mexican immigration agents detain 2 Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s immigration agency said Friday its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI.The National Immigration Institute did not say what the supposed FBI investigation was about.The agency said a total of five Iranians were detained along with their Haitian driver, who was apparently acting as their guide on a highway between the Baja California border cities of Tijuana and Tecate on Wednesday.It said their car was stopped at a toll booth because agents suspected they were going to try to cross into the United States.The agency said two of the Iranians were “under observation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.” The FBI did not immediately confirm the information.____Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaThe Associated Press

Quebec man arrested in killing of child at home daycare northeast of Montreal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

MONTREAL — A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a toddler who was found seriously injured at a home daycare this week northeast of Montreal.Quebec provincial police say the suspect, from Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Que., was arrested today for what police are now calling a homicide.A spokesperson for the Crown prosecutors office did not have information about charges.On Tuesday, police responded to a call about a child under the age of three with serious injuries at a home daycare in L’Assomption, Que.The toddler died hours later in hospital.Detectives met with numerous witnesses and an autopsy was ordered.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023. The Canadian Press

Ukraine’s human rights envoy calls for a faster way to bring back children deported by Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman voiced hope Friday that a coalition of countries formed to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia will be able to come up with a faster mechanism to repatriate them. Over 19,000 children are still believed to be in Russia or in occupied regions of Ukraine.Dmytro Lubinets spoke to reporters following the first meeting of the National Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which was formed based on a recommendation by Canada, in Kyiv.He said Russia continues to deport Ukrainian children to the territories it controls, citing information his office has received. This effort earlier this year prompted the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his envoy for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.Judges at the ICC said they found “reasonable grounds to believe” the two were responsible for war crimes, including the ille...

Saskatchewan’s methane emissions underestimated, rate of releases high: research

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

New research suggests Saskatchewan’s oilpatch emits a potent greenhouse gas at a higher rate than almost anywhere else in North America. Matt Johnson of Carleton University’s Energy and Emissions Research Lab says Saskatchewan’s methane emissions have fallen in recent years. But he says most of that drop seems to have come from production cuts, not industry improvements.Worse, his research concludes that about 2.6 per cent of natural gas produced in the province leaks into the atmosphere, where it warms the climate about 80 times that of carbon dioxide. That rate is well above what is allowed in proposed American and European regulations. Johnson says it doesn’t make sense to talk about percentage declines in methane emissions because old measurements are unreliable.Like his previous research in Alberta and British Columbia, it finds methane emissions are underestimated by about 50 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023.Th...

‘We are fixing the problem:’ Chow urges residents to take King streetcar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has vowed to make the King Street streetcar a faster way to get around once again.In an interview with CityNews, Chow said the city is doing everything possible to ease the congestion, causing streetcars to move slower than before the King Street Pilot.“My goal is to get the number of people taking the streetcar back to the pre-COVID pandemic, and it’s just as fast as when the pilot [first started],” said Chow.CityNews recently learned that eastbound travel times from Bathurst to Jarvis Streets during the evening rush hours averaged 19 to 26 minutes before the pilot program in 2017. The latest times show it is now worse, with an average of 22 to 29 minutes.The King Street pilot was made permanent in April 2019 after a one-and-a-half-year project that showed it increased daily weekly ridership by 16 per cent, and at the time, it took 16 minutes to travel from Bathurst Street to Jarvis Street.The pilot made it illegal for Toronto drivers to ...

Alberta finance minister says he has not ‘flip-flopped’ on proposed pension change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

EDMONTON — Finance Minister Nate Horner — after promising any stand-alone Alberta pension plan would not follow the contentious Quebec model, then saying it might, then saying it won’t — told reporters Friday that possibility is back on the table.Horner rejected suggestions he was sending mixed messages, but the Opposition NDP called it another example of how the United Conservative government is crafting key policies on the back of a napkin as it examines having Alberta leave the Canada Pension Plan.“I have never flip-flopped on this issue,” Horner told reporters at the legislature as he and Jim Dinning, the chair of the province’s pension engagement panel, delivered an update on the public consultation process.“If Albertans were to come back … and say this (the Quebec model) is exactly what they want, they would have to have that conversation with the government of the day.”Quebec runs its own pension system, with a dual mandate to maximize fund returns but also invest in th...

A ‘soft landing’ or a recession? How each one might affect America’s households and businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The solid hiring revealed in Friday’s jobs report for November, along with a raft of other recent economic data, is boosting hopes that the U.S. economy will achieve a “soft landing” next year rather than a widely feared recession. A so-called soft landing would occur if the economy slowed enough to bring inflation down to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, without tumbling into a deep recession.It’s a tricky task. The Fed has sharply raised its key interest rate to try to moderate borrowing and spending and tame inflation. The risk is that the Fed would miscalculate and keep its benchmark rate — which affects many consumer and business loans — too high for too long and end up causing a recession. In the past, the Fed’s policymakers have often sought to engineer soft landings after a spurt of economic growth ignited inflation or threatened to do so. Most frequently, the Fed has failed.What would a soft landing look like, compared with a potent...

Oshawa man charged in suspected hate-motivated incident against woman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

A 54-year-old Oshawa man is facing charges after threatening a woman in what police say is a suspected hate-motivated incident.Investigators say a man approached a woman wearing a hijab in the area of Danforth Avenue and Victoria Park Avenue at around 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 1 and made derogatory remarks about her religion.The man then allegedly uttered a death threat before fleeing the scene.The woman was not physically injured in the incident.Several days later members of the hate crime unit have arrested George Murray and charged him with uttering death threats. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15, 2024.“This investigation is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence,” police said in a statement on Friday.Police say if a person is charged and convicted of an offence which has been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the judge in the case will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.