National Lifestyle

TORONTO — Two of the Canadian literary industry's biggest brands are calling on the Ontario government to designate bookstores as essential services — even as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. Retailer Indigo Books & Music Inc.

NEW YORK — Jan Morris, the celebrated journalist, historian, world traveller and fiction writer who in middle age became a pioneer of the transgender movement, has died at 94.

Actor Joaquin Phoenix stopped by a regular vigil outside a slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ont., on Friday.

SALT LAKE CITY — As college students prepare to go home for the holidays, some schools are quickly ramping up COVID-19 testing to try to keep infections from spreading further as the coronavirus surges across the U.S.

Another major movie theatre chain has struck a deal with Universal Pictures to allow for shorter exclusive theatrical windows.

What does emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine mean? It's when regulators allow shots to be given to certain people while studies of safety and effectiveness are ongoing. Before any vaccine is permitted in the U.S.

NEW YORK — When nearly a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts gathered in South Dakota this summer, health experts worried the gathering would ignite new outbreaks of coronavirus cases.

HALIFAX — The menu at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub in downtown Halifax will always have a classic burger and gourmet mac n' cheese. But the slightly more eccentric dishes, peppered with unique ingredients, might be harder to come by these days.

WASHINGTON — In response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers, the Smithsonian Institution is indefinitely shutting down operations at all its facilities, effective Monday and affecting seven museums, plus the National Zoo.

LOS ANGELES — Rachel Maddow made an emotional return Thursday to her MSNBC show, saying her partner’s bout with COVID-19 was so serious they thought it might kill her.