David Rider

Toronto asking rents fall again, as condo sellers opt to rent out instead Average prices dropped to $2,521 a month, according to a national rent report, noting supply — and incentives — are up while demand is down.

Toronto asking rents fall to lowest point since 2022, as condo owners who can’t sell rent instead

Always shocked by people on this site & elsewhere who will @ a working journo or writer, someone whose (in my case) pay hasn't increased in 13 years & who likely live/work precarious lives, with an indignant "paywall" or suggest a non-library workaround cheat. Such raw rudeness, nerve & contempt.

Israel’s decimation of Gaza has made it ‘impossible’ for hospitals to function In a Q&A with Prism, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa detailed the catastrophic conditions he witnessed during a medical mission at the European Gaza Hospital

“When you use military hardware on children, it’s going to flay them open. And if they’re lucky enough to survive, they’re in for an awful life.”

In part one of a Q&A, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa detailed the catastrophic conditions he witnessed during a medical mission at the European Gaza Hospital.

Shopify suffers Cyber Monday outage, with checkout services down for some businesses Some merchants that use Shopify's platform for online sales may experience an issue with checkouts, the company said.

Shopify reports that its platform was suffering from multiple service outages, as Cyber Monday sales kicked off.

After fatal fire, Brampton landlord pushes back against allegations he did not comply with safety inspections Nitin Betrabet, owner of the home on Banas Way, said in a statement he is "devastated by the tragic incident that happened at (his) rental property," which he maintains adhered

After fatal fire, Brampton landlord pushes back against allegations he did not comply with safety inspections

Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷

City-contracted A & F Di Carlo Construction says the woman - whose social media posts included "All lives splatter" and “nobody cares about your protest" - never intended to disrupt the protest but was suspended for a day after driving through the crowd and giving the finger

Contractor who drove plow through Palestinian protesters posted Islamophobic, anti-protest content on social media The company the driver works for said it issued a one-day suspension over the incident.

From Mahdis Habibinia: Athena Niggenaber, who last week drove a City of Toronto-contracted snowplow through a group of pro-Palestinian protesters, had posted Islamophobic and anti-protest content on social media before the incident www.thestar.com/news/gta/con...

Chicago MMA fighter dies after competition in Cicero

A mixed martial arts fighter died after his bout in west suburban Cicero on Friday night. Isaac Johnson, 31, collapsed toward the end of his fight at Cicero Stadium, according to town officials, the Cook County medical examiner’s office and a fight promoter.

FBI concludes Trump’s would-be assassin acted alone during rally shooting (The Hill) — The FBI this week concluded its probe into the first assassination attempt against President Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally last year, finding that the deceased suspe…

FBI concludes Trump's would-be assassin acted alone during rally shooting

Texas A&M committee rules professor's firing over gender identity lesson was unjustified Texas A&M committee rules professor's firing over gender identity lesson was unjustified

Texas A&M committee rules professor's firing over gender identity lesson was unjustified

Cook County, which includes Chicago, has made its basic income program permanent For two years, Cook County residents who participated in its basic income piot received $500 no-strings-attached monthly payments.

For two years, Cook County residents who participated in its basic income piot received $500 no-strings-attached monthly payments.

Doug Ford government offers reason for its unusual move to control Exhibition Place land A spokesperson for the provincial government confirmed the reason Bill 68 included clauses about the ownership of Exhibition Place land.

From me and Mahdis Habibinia: The Ford goverment says its unusual legislative move to take control of Exhibition Place is only about accessing underground wires and pipes during Ontario Place redevelopment. Opposition and City of Toronto politicians aren't so sure www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Souvankham Thammavongsa wins the 2025 Giller Prize for ‘Pick a Colour,’ joining small club of two-time winners The Canadian author received the $100,000 award for “Pick a Colour” at a ceremony in downtown Toronto that was hosted by Rick Mercer.

#Breaking: Souvankham Thammavongsa wins the 2025 Giller Prize for 'Pick a Colour,' joining small club of two-time winners

This Toronto 10-year-old was nervous to tell her class she received charity holiday gifts. Their reaction surprised her The fifth grader gave a school presentation about how the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund brings magic to children across the city. It showed "kindness comes back like a boomerang."

...and Aryanna Fernandes-Kunkel was a delight. When she gave a school talk on the fund she was nervous to reveal she receives a box - but she got huge applause. Aryanna wrote a letter to the Star. We invited her & her mum to visit. Pls consider donating www.thestar.com/initiatives/...

A great thing about working for a bigger news org like
Toronto Star is variety. I usually cover politics but got to write one of our Santa Fund stories. I met a 10-year-old superfan of the fund who receives one of the gift boxes that go to 50K financially vulnerable kids...

White South Africans hit back at Trump claims they are being ‘killed and slaughtered’ White South Africans hit back at Trump claims they are being ‘killed and slaughtered’

White South Africans hit back at Trump claims they are being ‘killed and slaughtered’

An ode to B.C. public transit: from downtown Victoria to YVR Vancouver airport (bus to ferry to bus to SkyTrain) seamlessly in just over 4 hours for about $25. Buses never got gridlocked. Bonus you won’t get on GO transit: a view of two humpback whales out the starboard window

Mayor Olivia Chow defends calling Gaza war a genocide Chow's comments have sparked complaints to both the provincial human rights tribunal and the city's integrity commissioner.

Supporters of Netanyahu and his punishing war on Gaza are condeming Toronto's mayor for calling it a "genocide" - Olivia Chow isn't backing down, saying she's following the lead of the International Association of Genocide Scholars www.thestar.com/news/gta/cit...

Toronto’s snow-removal contractors were fined thousands of dollars. But for the city’s worst mess of the year? Not a penny Penalties for snow clearing problems are designed for the city’s typical snowfall of five to 15 centimetres.

From @mahdishabibinia: Firms contracted to clear Toronto snow were fined last winter for performance failures - but didn’t pay a penny for the biggest failure of all after February’s massive snowfall www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...

Doug Ford quietly kills Toronto’s green roof bylaw Since the bylaw came into force in 2009, more than 1,200 green roofs have been installed across the city.

From Marco Chown Oved and me: The Ford government has quietly killed Toronto’s green roof bylaw, a policy that propelled the city to become a world leader in environmental construction www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Why Zohran Mamdani May Want to Look to Toronto Canada’s most prominent mayor is a fan — and she has some advice for the potential next mayor of New York.

.@politico interviewed Toronto Mayor @MayorOliviaChow about @ZohranKMamdani - she advised NYC’s likely next mayor to focus on affordable housing - and her relationship with @MarkJCarney - better, certainly, than Mamani’s with Trump www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Man there are a lot of people in Toronto severely bummed that Halloween is almost over

Ohio approves new map giving Republicans a leg up in two more House seats The new map received rare bipartisan agreement because Republicans who control the state legislature did not want to risk an election challenge from Democrats.

Breaking news: Ohio officials approved a new congressional map that gives Republicans a leg up in two more House seats, which could help the party retain power in Washington in next year’s congressional elections.

Jeffrey Epstein Went to War Over Money Laundering Probe in 2007 Sex Case Federal prosecutors opened a financial-crimes investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in 2007 amid their larger sex-trafficking probe. The financier and his legal team waged a war against them, his emails show.

As investigators followed Jeffrey Epstein’s money in 2007, his elite team of attorneys waged an aggressive battle to stop them. A cache of private emails obtained by Bloomberg News reveals details of the fight

Doug Ford’s speed camera ban could leave spots in Toronto without anti-speeding measures for years, city says School and other safety zones in Toronto that are about to lose their speed cameras could be left without provincially funded traffic-calming infrastructure for months — or even years.

.@fordnation says speed camera ban is fine because speed bumps, roundabouts will make streets safe. @mahdishabibinia has the reality check - some measures will take years, others will never materialize, leaving pedestrians, cyclists & motorists at risk www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Enjoyed this. Only wish is that when Bernie started saying “the media” this and “the media” that, Swisher had said: “Let’s make a deal - you don’t paint all media with the same brush and I won’t say ‘the politicians…’ and lump together you and Trump.”

How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Star EJAE Topped the Charts Kids everywhere know her voice—if not her name. WIRED talks to the former SM trainee about her rise to global superstardom with her hit song “Golden.”

My appreciation for KPop Demon Hunters increased by 1,000 percent after reading this smart, thoughtful @manishakrishnan.bsky.social interview with EJAE:

I’ve been thinking a lot about a new kind of polling I’d like to see. We have polling that measures public opinion, which is obviously important, but I’d love to see a little more empirical work on public knowledge: what do voters know about politics and policy?

Canada Post rotating strikes could broaden as holiday season nears, labour analysts say CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant acknowledged the union is deliberately staying away from major centres with the strikes but warned that could change.

Canada Post rotating strikes could broaden as holiday season nears, labour analysts say