Quick Quotes: Public figures react to death of longtime ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek

New TV shows help home hibernators

We’ve made it. It’s the middle of January, the month I affectionately refer to as the armpit of the year (November is the other one).

Many of you are in full-on hibernation mode, which means you need things to watch.

The latest instalment of Don’t Sleep on This — a semi-regular series in which the Free Press Arts & Life department provides (spoiler-free) recommendations of the TV shows you should watch — is brought to you by the letter S. We look at a soapy figure skating drama, a life-affirming comedy and a banter-filled crime drama.

Middle Eastern wars: wait for September

Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told journalists that the United States and Iran are “in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal.”

On Wednesday, after an American helicopter gunship crashed in the Strait of Hormuz, presumably downed by Iranians, he declared angrily that “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”

Later on the same day, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqai took on the role of ‘only grown-up in the room’, saying that the United States is “damaging the diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire.”

The pattern is pretty clear by now. Trump oscillates between wild optimism and frustrated fury, while the Iranian negotiators keep their voices down, never shift their positions, and display performative patience. That enrages Trump even more, and I suspect the Iranians secretly enjoy it.

Fanning takes aim at Canadian title on home course

Todd Fanning would love to make this a September to remember.

The decorated Manitoba golfer — who added a second straight provincial senior men’s championship to his impressive resumé earlier this summer — is now laser-focused on trying for a national title.

Fanning, 58, is one of the favourites as the Canadian senior men’s championship begins today at Niakwa Country Club, which just so happens to be his home course.

“Anyone who thinks they’re going to come out and see a bunch of old guys just whacking it around (is mistaken),” Fanning recently told the Free Press. “It’s going to be a heck of a week.”

The first day of school is a promise

This week, thousands of Manitoba students will walk through school doors carrying backpacks filled with new supplies, new hopes and, for some, new worries.

For parents and caregivers, this may be a familiar September routine — shopping for school supplies, adjusting schedules, preparing lunches and getting children ready for another year of learning.

For educators and school staff, it is the beginning of another demanding year.

But for Manitoba, this week should mean something more. It should be a renewal of our promise to every child.

All that glitters … could work here

Sometimes, it’s hard to even suggest a change, because it seems there is always a plethora of people ready to tell you that your idea just won’t work.

But a unique program is working in Portland, Ore. and some version of that program could work in Winnipeg as well. Something that glitters may just be a small nugget of gold.

G.L.I.T.T.E.R. stands for Ground Score Leading Inclusivity Together Through Environmental Recovery.

It’s a long handle for a simple concept. Launched in 2021, the program hires people who are either unhoused or have recently been unhoused to do litter collection and tentside garbage collection for homeless encampments in the Portland region.

Russia hits faraway targets; diplomat warns of risk of WWIII

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a string of attacks Monday against rail and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of Moscow’s new eastern offensive, as Russia’s top diplomat warned against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated.”

The U.S., meanwhile, moved to rush more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from the Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war.

“Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared, a day after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition — non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine's Soviet-era weapons — and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies.