A private US spacecraft headed to the moon captures a glorious view of Earth

Quilt tradition from Underground Railroad period big part of new exhibition

Long before she became a professional quilter, Melinda Clayton Patterson used to watch her mother make quilts from clothing scraps and cardboard templates.

“I came from a family of 14 kids, so going to whatever the store was back then, K-Mart or Woolworth, to buy quilts or blankets for 14 kids was just not feasible because the people were not wealthy,” she says.

“Quilts were not viewed as art. But when I came to Winnipeg, I started taking quilting seriously in my 30s … the heritage came later.”

Today, the 61-year-old native of East Preston, N.S., lives in Winnipeg, stitching together stories of her Black Loyalist heritage and Preston’s foundational role in the birth of Canadian Black culture.

A private US spacecraft headed to the moon captures a glorious view of Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. spacecraft bound for the moon has captured stunning images of Earth one week into its flight.

Still circling Earth, Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander fired its thrusters Thursday to put it on a path to reach the moon in over a month. Dubbed Blue Ghost, the spacecraft beamed back photos and video of the Blue Marble, our planet. The Texas company released the images Friday.

It carries experiments for NASA, part of the space agency’s effort to return astronauts to the moon this decade.

Blue Ghost is one of two lunar landers launched from Florida by SpaceX on Jan. 15. It's targeting a moon touchdown on March 2. The other lander is sponsored by the Japanese company ispace and taking an even longer route, with a landing in late May or early June.

Teenage e-scooter driver in critical condition after crash

A teenager riding an e-scooter suffered life-threatening injuries when he was struck by an SUV in southwest Winnipeg on Monday night.

Witnesses provided first aid to the injured rider, who police said is under 18, after the collision happened at Waverley Street and Arbour Meadow Gate/Lake Crest Road at about 9:30 p.m.

“It feels like it happened in slow motion,” said driver Audrey Vanderspek, who was waiting at a red light when she witnessed the incident. “Maybe it’s because you’re helpless, that it just feels like everything slows down in the moment.”

Police said the electric scooter rider was crossing Waverley and was hit by a southbound 2010 Honda CR-V. The posted speed limit on that stretch of Waverley is 70 kilometres per hour.

United Way, other charities fight for dollars as donor base shrinks

Winnipeg’s charitable sector is being squeezed from both sides: demand for help is growing while the pool of donors to meet that need is shrinking.

The imbalance is increasingly being carried by a relatively small group of deep-pocketed donors. Last year, 600 people — about three per cent of United Way Winnipeg’s individual donors — accounted for roughly $8 million, or 55 per cent of individual donations.

The fundraising pitch isn’t getting any easier.

Homelessness and public drug use have become increasingly visible, household budgets remain strained and the problems charities are trying to address can seem so entrenched that donors may reasonably wonder what difference another contribution can make.

Lauded Manitoba author chronicled life in the Interlake

Longtime Manitoba author, editor and professor David Arnason died on Monday at age 86.