IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Brittney Griner's loved ones and extended basketball family were ecstatic when news broke Thursday about her release from a Russian prison and that she was on her way back to the United States.
It has been nearly 300 days since the WNBA star was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February, when customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison in August. Now four months later, she's home after the U.S. and Russia had a high-level prisoner exchange Thursday. The exchange did not include the return of another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years.
"Today, my family is whole but as you all are aware, there are so many other families who are not whole," said Brittney's wife, Cherelle Griner, at a White House briefing. "BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate BG being home."
Griner, who turned 32 in October, was going back to Russia in February to play for her overseas team, UMKC Ekaterinburg. She went to Russia to supplement her WNBA salary, earning over US$1 million to play in Russia.
"There has not been a day over the past 10 months where we all haven't had Brittney Griner on our minds and in our hearts, and that has now turned into a collective wave of joy and relief knowing that she will soon be reunited with her family, the WNBA player community, and her friends," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who admitted to being very emotional when she heard the news this morning. "BG has shown extraordinary courage and dignity in the face of enormous adversity."
While it's unclear right now if Griner wants to ever play basketball again, she would be welcomed back with open arms by both the WNBA and USA Basketball. The WNBA season begins May 19. Engelbert said she'd give Griner and her family some space and time before any discussion about her return to the league.
"It's been a long, horrible ordeal and we really look forward to her return and hearing her voice," Engelbert said.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been a prominent advocate for Griner's return. Staley, who coached Griner on the 2020 Olympic team, feels that playing again could be helpful to the dominant center.
"It's been a place in which we can block out everything else, join arms with our teammates. Listen to the incredible crowds that support our game. There's so much love that the basketball community has for Brittney that they want to show her," Staley said. "We want her back in her happy place. So I hope that Brittney laces them up. But if she does not, I truly would understand why. We're still going to support it. We're still going to lift her up."
Staley said she broke down with tears of joy when she heard the news Thursday morning. Like Staley, WNBA players have done their best to keep Griner's name in the national spotlight over the last eight months by talking about her in interviews and posting about her on social media.
On Thursday, they flooded social media with their joy.
"My heart is really singing with joy right now. Our sister is finally free," WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike said. "This is a monumental moment for everyone who has shown compassion for our WNBA sister over the last 294 days since BG was wrongfully detained."
Griner is under contract with the Phoenix Mercury, who were allowed by the league to pay her full salary of nearly $228,000 last season without it counting against their salary cap.
The team was thrilled that their eight-time All-Star was coming home.
"Miraculously, mercifully, the count of days detained has ended at 294, and our friend, our sister is headed back home where she belongs," the Mercury said in a statement. "The emotions for our organization, just like for our fans and so many across the world, are those of joyous celebration, deep gratitude, grief for the time lost, and sincere hope for all families still awaiting the return of a loved one. BG's strength in this process, her unwavering belief that resolution would come, and the hope she displayed every day is what kept all of us believing this day would come."
Griner's agent, Lindsay Colas, pledged that "BG and our coalition of activist athletes" will be lending their voices to help free other Americans detained abroad, including Whelan.
"Throughout this ordeal, BG has carried herself with courage, grace and grit; and President Biden made us a promise, and then kept his word and did what was necessary to bring her home," Colas said in a statement. "We are forever grateful for his follow-through on that commitment."
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
In the quiet and leafy Vancouver neighbourhood of South Cambie, best known for its botanical garden, playoff fever is about to set in.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.