Cracking open a mysterious lobster tale

Plus remembering Dame Maggie Smith, one of Toronto’s best sandwich deals and a farewell to advice columnist Ellie Tesher [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning. The Raptors will honour the franchise-defining Vince Carter. Doug Smith thinks it should mark [a turning point in the long-complicated relationship](. Here’s the latest on everything else. MUST READS Susan Kao/Toronto Star illustration Crime [The investigation into a maritime mystery is a tale for the ages]( The constable smelled the pile long before he laid eyes on the hundreds of rotting lobsters in a Northern Ontario ditch. None of it made sense; no one in the seafood business would truck live lobsters that far north, experts told Jake Edmiston. As police attempt to crack the case, [they keep snapping back to one key piece of evidence](. TouTube JUSTICE [Why a rapper’s brutal lyrics were deemed inadmissible in a murder trial]( While Hassan Ali portrayed himself as a violent gang leader in his music and social media posts, a jury could not be trusted to distinguish between the rapper’s art and his alleged offences. Ultimately, the case around a 2021 gang-related murder fell apart, Betsy Powell reports. [Experts hope we won’t see rap lyrics on trial anytime soon](. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP file photo OBITUARY [British screen icon Dame Maggie Smith has died at 89]( The venerable performer passed early Friday in a London hospital. Smith captured a pair of Oscars, including for her lead turn in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1970. Contemporary audiences would meet her anew as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films and as the withering-one-liner-dispensing Dowager Countess Violet Crawley in “Downton Abbey.” [Read more about her sensational career on screen](. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star HAPPY TRAILS [Advice columnist Ellie Tesher bids a fond farewell from the Star]( After 40 years, including 23 as the paper’s widely syndicated advice columnist, the time has come to call it a career, Tesher writes. Her various roles yielded no shortage of personal highlights; investigating the exploitation of the Dionne quintuplets and helping bring the story of World War Two resistance hero Raoul Wallenberg to light still stand out. [Here’s her complete final message to her beloved longtime readers](. Matthew Murphy/Mirvish Review [‘Come From Away’ is more moving than ever before]( Culture reporter Joshua Chong had previously seen the musical four times; its latest Toronto iteration, staged at the Royal Alexandra Theatre through March, has somehow achieved even greater emotional heights. In an age of division, this moving tale of togetherness presents an attainable path forward. [Here is Chong’s four-star review of the production](. [Toronto Star Archives] Look through the past with the Star Archives. Search your family name to trace your roots, find your birthdate to see what was making headlines or dive into true-crime stories to unravel gripping mysteries. Subscribers get access to 100+ years of the Star. Interested? [Start exploring here](. EAT THIS R.J. Johnston/Toronto Star At the intersection of Vietnamese and French cuisine sits the bánh mì, a fresh roll topped with meats, pickled vegetables, mayonnaise and spicy chili sauce. Richie Assaly takes us to an unassuming takeout counter in Chinatown to find [one of the city’s most dependably delicious and affordable lunch deals](. Thanks for reading. When you see my byline, feel free to read “Potter” in your best Maggie Smith brogue. You can reach the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_2921), and I will see you back here tomorrow. Get [thestar.com]( + ePaper edition. Only $1 for 6 months! Save over $100. [Get This Offer]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [View in Browser]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](