PAPER CHASE: Grant helps Bergen write new novel

Occupied Ukraine holds Kremlin-staged vote on joining Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Kremlin-orchestrated referendum got underway Friday in occupied regions of Ukraine that sought to make them part of Russia, with some officials carrying ballots to apartment blocks accompanied by gun-toting police. Kyiv and the West condemned it as a rigged election whose result was preordained by Moscow.

Meanwhile, in a grim reminder of the brutality of the 7-month-old invasion, U.N. experts and Ukrainian officials pointed to new evidence of Russian war crimes. Kharkiv region officials said a mass burial site in the eastern city of Izium held hundreds of bodies, including at least 30 displaying signs of torture.

The referendums in the Luhansk, Kherson and partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions were widely seen as a prelude to Moscow annexing the regions. The voting, which was overseen by authorities installed by Russia, is scheduled to run through Tuesday and is almost certain to go the Kremlin's way.

Authorities in the Kherson region said residents of a small Moscow-controlled area of the neighboring Mykolaiv province also will be able to vote, and that small area was “incorporated” into Kherson until all of Mykolaiv is taken over by Russian forces.

Parents share special bond with hockey-loving son

As parents, we want the best for our children. We wish for them to find something they're passionate about, that brings them joy, and to share in their successes and cheer them on when things go well, and offer a listening ear and shoulder to lean on when they don't.

For our 19-year-old son, Parker, one of those passions has always been hockey. From the first time he hit the ice at the age of two at our local outdoor community rink to his first half-ice Timbits game at the age of five to what I thought was his very last game at the age of 17 in his senior year of high school, it's been an incredible journey.

And now, much to our pleasant surprise, it continues to this day. A funny thing happened on his way to late-night beer league skates with buddies, where Mom and Dad would typically stay far away for fear of completely embarrassing the boy.

Welcome, folks, to the world of junior B hockey.

PAPER CHASE: Grant helps Bergen write new novel

Need, poverty, greed, love and grace come together in a new novel-in-progress by Winnipeg's David Bergen.

Bergen has received a major arts grant worth $20,000 from the Manitoba Arts Council this spring to work on City of S., a new novel about an itinerant, a prostitute and a detective in a mid-sized Canadian city, known as the city of S.

After taking inspiration from Saul Bellow for his 2010 novel, The Matter with Morris, Bergen appears to be reading another heavy hitter of American letters these days. One of the characters is compared to Cornelius Suttree, from Cormac McCarthy's early novel Suttree.

Besides Bergen, MAC has announced that its 2013 major arts grants have gone to performance artist Grant Guy, artist-curator J.J. Kegan McFadden and folk singers Keri Latimer and Nicky Mehta.

Paralympics open in empty stadium - just like Olympics

On Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET, Toronto Star baseball columnist and Deep Left Field podcast host Mike Wilner will answer your questions about the Blue Jays and anything else baseball-related.