Good evening and happy Friday,
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Fingerprint, DNA lead to Florida man’s arrest in bombs sent to Trump critics
U.S. authorities arrested and charged Cesar Sayoc, 56, in Florida Friday in connection with the mail-bomb scare that has seen at least 14 suspicious packages sent to high-profile Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump. Justice Department officials revealed that a latent fingerprint found on one package helped them identify the suspect. Court records show Mr. Sayoc has a history of arrests for theft, illegal steroids possession and a 2002 charge of making a bomb threat. Police were seen midday Friday examining a white van plastered with pro-Trump stickers, the slogan “CNN SUCKS” and images of Democratic figures with red crosshairs over their faces. Authorities then covered the van in a blue tarp and drove it away on the back of a flatbed truck.
Earlier Friday, authorities said suspicious packages addressed to Democratic Senator Cory Booker and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper were intercepted. The packages were similar to those containing pipe bombs sent to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Sherman family offers $10-million reward for information into Barry and Honey’s deaths
The family of billionaire couple Barry and Honey Sherman are offering a $10-million reward for information that leads to an arrest and prosecution of suspects in connection with their deaths. A lawyer for the family said Friday that a private investigation has uncovered major shortcomings in the Toronto police’s probe of the deaths, prompting the couple’s loved ones to offer the reward. The pair was found in the basement pool area of their home on Dec. 15, 2017.
Lack of cannabis prompts Quebec to close stores three days a week
Only nine days after marijuana became legal in Canada, Quebec’s cannabis agency is admitting it faces a supply problem. The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) announced Friday it would close its 12 outlets from Monday to Wednesday beginning next week, leaving the stores in operation from Thursday to Sunday only. The cannabis agency warned Wednesday that the “effervescence” of demand in the first days of operation – lines outside outlets stretched for hours – put pressure on the province’s sales network. The agency admitted it was facing “serious supply issues.”
The Ontario government is also coming under fire for delays in the delivery of legal cannabis, with critics suggesting consumers could revert back to the black market.
U.S. Defence Secretary approves deployment of U.S. troops to Mexico border
U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis bolstered Mr. Trump’s battle against migrants trekking toward the U.S.-Mexico border by authorizing the use of troops and other military resources, U.S. officials said Friday. The officials did not provide a specific number of troops, but said Thursday that the Trump administration was considering deploying between 800 and 1,000 troops. The troops would be used to stop a caravan of South American migrants, who are still more than 1,600 kilometres from the border, from crossing. Mr. Trump and fellow Republicans have sought to make the caravan and immigration a major midterm issue.
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MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index joined a global slump on Friday as anxiety over corporate profits added to fears about economic growth and global trade. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 35.82 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 14,888.26. The TSX ended a losing week by hitting its lowest level since Nov. 18, 2016. The TSX is off 8.1 per cent for the year.
U.S. stocks also fell broadly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 296.24 points, or 1.19 percent, to 24,688.31; the S&P 500 lost 47 points, or 1.74 percent, to 2,658.57 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 151.12 points, or 2.07 percent, to 7,167.21. For the week, the S&P fell 4.03 per cent, the Dow lost 2.97 per cent, and the Nasdaq shed 3.78 per cent.
Sometimes the awkward travel selfies just won’t cut it. Enter Flytographer − the company that matches travellers to local photographers in big destination cities. In the latest episode of The Globe’s podcast about Canadian entrepreneurs, CEO Nicole Smith talks about how she turned her idea into an international business, what she’s learned being the only woman in the room and how PayPal almost ended her business.
WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
NBC announced Friday Megyn Kelly’s morning show will not return to air. The decision comes a few days after Ms. Kelly sparked widespread criticism for defending the use of blackface as part of Halloween costumes.
Simon Houpt writes about Ms. Kelly, Mr. Trump and the dangers of living in safe spaces: “Like a growing number of public figures, including politicians on both sides of the border who avoid media they don’t consider friendly, Kelly has been living for a long time in a safe space, unchallenged by inconvenient questions and new ideas.”
TALKING POINTS
You aren’t what you eat: Why ethically ‘good’ food doesn’t make you a better person
“The inaccurate assumption that shopping and cooking habits are always typically framed as a matter of choosing to purchase fresh, organic foods over packaged ones, or to prepare one’s own food from scratch instead of eating out. It’s an especially egregious way of thinking when applied to low-income households, an extension of the age-old idea that if poor people would simply pull up their socks, work a bit harder and maybe read a book or two, they’d be happier, healthier and richer.” - Rebecca Tucker, author of the forthcoming book A Matter of Taste: A Farmers' Market Devotee’s Semi-Reluctant Argument for Inviting Scientific Innovation to the Dinner Table
Halloween is sweet, but candy is a scary business
“The organization Slave Free Chocolate estimates that more than two million children work to make sweet treats, and that more than 10,000 are victims of trafficking and now considered someone’s property. This isn’t new news. The big brands have been promising to eliminate underage and forced labour in their supply chains for two decades. In 2001, the United States government almost passed a mandatory labelling of “slave-free” chocolate, but bowed to industry lobbyists.” - Denise Balkissoon
How Scotch became a symbol of Scotland’s opposition to Brexit
“The biggest threat to the whisky industry, though, is the most immediate: how to get the finest single malts to the bars of Paris, Berlin and Madrid. Since the British government has yet to get Brussels to concede to anything close to the existing single market and customs union, excise checks on goods leaving Britain seem likely. Indeed, civil servants are already drawing up plans to turn highways near the English Channel into parking lots for trucks held up by extra bureaucracy.” - Julia Rampen, digital news editor of the New Statesman, a British political magazine
LIVING BETTER
We asked up-and-coming chefs from across Canada to provide a recipe that shows off the ingredients and food traditions of their province or territory. Whether inspiring others in the community to get comfortable in the kitchen or cooking multicourse meals for international dignitaries, these chefs are the next guard of Canada’s culinary stars. Just to name a few: from British Columbia, 24-year-old Tina Tang shares her recipe for Okanagan peach cheesecake; from Northwest Territories, 38-year-old Etienne Croteau shares his recipe for Great Slave lake whitefish smoked chowder; and from Prince Edward Island, 25-year-old Lucy B Morrow shares her recipe for scallops with blue bacon aioli and chips.
LONG READS FOR THE WEEKEND
Murder on the Prairies: Fire, lies and a missing deer head
Three people die in a house fire in small-town Alberta and it soon becomes clear it was no accident. Amid a tangle of strange theories and mounting evidence, a dark truth emerges. Jana G. Pruden reports on the disturbing clues that would ultimately lead to the killers.
Mutual funds mogul Michael Lee-Chin on why advisers need to step up their game
Michael Lee-Chin’s mother had him she was 18. His biological father emigrated before he was born leaving his mother on her own. After his mother remarried, both of his parents each had multiple jobs. His dad was a Singer sewing-machine salesman, his mom an Avon lady with Mr. Lee-Chin’s help. Today, he is a billionaire philanthropist and CEO of Portland Holdings. He says investors should be looking for public companies that act like private ones.
Evening Update is written by Jordan Chittley. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.