The Mix

Usually when I see a book described as an “ambitious debut” I read it as a cop-out. Isn’t a debut inherently ambitious? What does that even mean? “The Skunks” is what that means. And Fiona Warnick makes it look effortless.

MONTREAL — The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales surged 25.5 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, with levels returning to historical averages.

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 12-18: May 12: Actor Millie Perkins (“Knots Landing”) is 88. Singer Jayotis Washington of The Persuasions is 83. Country singer Billy Swan is 82. Actor Linda Dano (“Another World”) is 81.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ticking higher as last week’s rush of market-moving events gives way to what could be a quieter week. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% early Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Pulitzer Prizes are set to be announced on Monday, traditionally the most anticipated day of the year for those hoping to earn print journalism's most prestigious honor.

CALGARY — Ensign Energy Services Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue fell 11 per cent. The oilfield services company says its net loss attributed to common shareholders amounted to $1.

Italian porchetta is a special dish of spit-roasted pork flavored with herbs, fennel and garlic. It’s delicious, but much too involved for a weeknight dinner.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

MADRID (AP) — Spain's Prado Museum on Monday confirmed that a painting that was due to be auctioned in Madrid in 2021 is in fact a work by Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio that was considered lost.

NEW YORK (AP) — Rita Moreno says it was always in her nature to be generous – to hold doors for people and help lighten a mother’s load if she was struggling with shopping bags and children.