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Orion Sun unveils her path to self-discovery in a new album

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amid a creative spiral, Orion Sun found comfort among the words of the late Audre Lorde’s essay “Poetry is not a luxury.” The poet’s writing provided a mental redirection for the musician while working on her new album, “Orion.”

Lorde wrote that poetry is a pathway for women to process long-forgotten feelings and ideas, and use the art form as a tool for revolutionary change. “She wrote that for me,” says the recording artist and producer. “But she never knew me. She doesn’t know all of the people that she’s helped. And I swear she left like guidebooks.”

For Orion, poets like Lorde, Pablo Neruda and Maya Angelou “understand life in the way that she wants to understand.” She admires the duality they tapped into as they acknowledge the weight of the world while pushing themselves to find joy and create works not only for themselves but also for others — a lesson that Orion has embraced within her own creative process.

“That alone made me be like, ‘Okay, no matter what, I’m releasing my music,’” she said. “I don’t care what anyone says. If this helps someone understand something about themselves, like poetry does for me, that’s my job. That’s success to me.”

She quickly established her name among indie music lovers in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic with popular indie soul and alternative R&B singles like “Dirty Dancer,” “Concrete,” “Anecdote” and more. She opened for Daniel Caesar on his Superpowers World Tour in 2023, has written for artists like Bryson Tiller and was featured on tracks with Fred Again.. and Serpentwithfeet.

“Orion” was released on Sept. 20, created as the Los Angeles-based artist poured over journals and began to reflect on the last two years of her life during studio sessions.

“I am just writing to stay sane,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a journal entry; sometimes it’s me walking down the street, and I’m eavesdropping.”

Orion says she purposefully self-titled the album as it’s an intimate look into who she is.

“The album is called ‘Orion,’ even though my name is Orion Sun but I become Orion Sun when you make it to the end of the album,” she said.

The album also pays homage to the resilient women who raised her, including her grandmother, who has her own dedicated song, “Gannie.”

“When I can’t do it for myself. I do it for my family. ‘Gannie’ represents my family and my friends. And that’s the sun in my life.” she said. “I think a lot of people in my life are the sun, and I feel more like the moon because I’m just reflecting all the love that I get.”

While exploring the duality of love and pain, Orion continuously found her focus in poetry and nature.

“I think it’s really important to just not forget that Earth is a resource for us,” she said. “It always brings me back to just being grateful for the day whenever I’m outside, or I get to see the sunset. Being able to even notice those differences are really important for me and help me stay grounded. … Earth is the greatest muse. Earth is the most inspirational; Earth is my home.”

To celebrate the release of her album, Orion is embarking on a North American headlining tour Oct. 20 through the end of November, providing what she hopes will be a sacred space for her audience.

“When you come through the doors of the venue, anything that you’re going through, you left it out there, whether you knew it or not,” she said. “Because when you’re in here, we deserve at least an hour or two of just joy, laughter, tears.”

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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TD Bank to pay more than US$28M in settlement for market manipulation

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TORONTO – TD Bank Group has agreed to pay more than US$28 million after an investigation into manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market by one of its traders.

The deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice has TD agreeing that a former employee created a false appearance of supply or demand in the market by placing bids or offers, only to cancel them before completion.

The agreement says hundreds of so-called spoof orders were placed, amounting to tens of billions of dollars of false supply and demand, in an effort to artificially increase the market prices of those products.

The resolution comes as TD is also soon expected to settle a sweeping investigation into shortcomings of its anti-money laundering program that the bank expects will cost it more than US$3 billion.

The agreement on the spoofing case has TD paying about US$12.6 million in civil penalties. It also faces US$9.4 million in criminal penalties, which court documents say is the statutory maximum, plus US$4.7 million in victim compensation and US$1.4 million in forfeiture.

TD says it takes regulatory and employee conduct violations very seriously, and that it reported the employee and fired him and has since enhanced its monitoring and compliance capabilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

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Gavin Creel, Tony Award winner and musical Broadway veteran, dies at 48

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NEW YORK (AP) — Gavin Creel, a Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony Award for “Hello, Dolly!” opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for “Hair” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” died Monday of a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 48.

Publicist Matt Polk said Creel died at his home in Manhattan of metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma. He was diagnosed in July 2024.

“I looked forward to working with him every single night. He was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss,” Midler wrote on X. Idina Menzel shared a photo of Creelm on Instagram, writing, “Sweet sweet Gavin Creel. An angel among the angels.”

Creel had a knack for Golden Age Broadway revivals, but he also performed in modern fare, like in the role of Dr. Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’ musical “Waitress” on Broadway in 2019 and on the West End in 2020. He won an Olivier Award for “The Book of Mormon.”

Composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda recalled on social media that Creel was his first King George III when the soon-to-be-smash “Hamilton” was being workshopped: “He wrapped the audience around his finger with nothing but a Burger King crown and his mind-blowing charisma and talent. He is so loved and it is unimaginable that he’s no longer with us.”

Creel was raised in Findlay, Ohio, and graduated in 1998 from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He toured and did regional work before landing the breakout role of Jimmy Smith, opposite then-fellow newcomer Sutton Foster, in the Broadway production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” He also worked on Stephen Sondheim’s penultimate musical, “Bounce,” directed by Hal Prince.

A key role was as the fastidious missionary Elder Price in “The Book of Mormon.” He starred in the show’s first national tour in 2012 and took the role to London’s West End, where he won a Olivier Award in 2014.

He played Jean-Michel in the revival of “La Cage Aux Folles” in 2004 and returned to Broadway in 2009 as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the Public Theater’s revival of Hair.

The Associated Press’ critic Michael Kuchwara was full of praise: “Gavin Creel, besides possessing a powerhouse voice, brings a sweet-tempered poignancy to Claude, the most anguished member of the tribe. It’s Claude who has the most back story in the show: a conventional, middle-class upbringing in Queens; a total fascination with all things British, expressed in the song ‘Manchester, England;’ and an uneasy sense of duty that eventually gets him drafted and into the Vietnam War. Creel handles it all with assurance.”

Creel played Steven Kodaly in the 2016 production of “She Loves Me” at Studio 54. The following season, Creel was tapped for the role of Cornelius Hackl, opposite legends Midler and David Hyde Pierce, in the smash 2017 revival of “Hello, Dolly!” directed by Jerry Zaks, winning the Tony for best featured actor in a musical.

At the podium to accept his trophy, Creel thanked his college and added: “If you’re out there and you have money — and I know some people in this room have a lot of it — start a scholarship fund. Change someone’s life.”

Creel became a primary voice within the theater industry by working to pass the federal Marriage Equality Act. He teamed up with friends Rory O’Malley and Jenny Kanelos to co-found the nonprofit organization Broadway Impact.

Offstage, he played the singing waiter Bill in the films “Eloise at the Plaza” and “Eloise at Christmastime” alongside Julie Andrews. In 2021, he was cast in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries “American Horror Stories” opposite Matt Bomer. His 2022 solo concert was filmed for the premiere episode of PBS’s “Stars Onstage at Westport Country Playhouse.”

In 2022, Creel was cast in an off-Broadway concert production of Sondheim and James Lapine’s fractured fairy tale musical “Into the Woods” — Creel played the roles of Cinderella’s Prince as well as the Wolf. The show later transferred to Broadway and was extended multiple times, earning a Tony nomination for best revival of a musical.

He is survived by his mother, Nancy Clemens Creel, and father, James William Creel; his sisters, Heather Elise Creel and Allyson Jo Creel; and his partner, Alex Temple Ward.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Live music, breakfast and a raffle: Mexico’s president makes the most of his final day in office

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned his final morning briefing Monday into a variety show featuring live music, breakfast and a raffle to gift his watch to a journalist.

“I dedicated myself to serve the people,” the 70-year-old leader said. “I leave very satisfied to have the affection of many Mexicans.”

Outside the National Palace, hundreds of boisterous supporters of the folksy populist showered him with love while mariachis gave a brassy serenade.

Despite having historically high approval ratings and majorities in Congress, López Obrador never proposed changing the constitution to open the possibility of a second six-year term as other Latin American leaders have. He did, however, push through sweeping constitutional changes for the judiciary and the country’s National Guard in his final days.

Monday was his 1,438th morning briefing, a radical change he brought to the presidency after years of less accessible leaders. His briefings, known as “las mañaneras,” set the day’s agenda and gave journalists the opportunity to ask questions, though López Obrador addressed what he wanted — and ignored what he didn’t.

On Monday, he talked about his achievements — as he has for the past six years — noting that today someone earning the minimum wage can buy twice as many kilograms of tortillas and eggs as they could before because he raised that wage and beat back inflation.

After the briefing, some reporters — who became regular fixtures at the “mañaneras” and didn’t hide their support for López Obrador, gave interviews to other journalists. Some shouted that they wanted to give the president parting gifts or take a final selfie with him. The reporter who won the president’s watch leaped euphorically from his seat when his name was called.

After Tuesday’s inauguration, as he has promised many times, López Obrador will retire to his ranch in the southern state of Chiapas and leave public life.

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