The conspiracy theories swirling around today's solar eclipse

Plus, an airline's vanishing staff and a family trapped in public housing [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on how conspiracy theorists are spinning today’s total solar eclipse, a Pakistani airline’s vanishing staff and a family trapped in Toronto public housing. DON’T MISS Adam Gray/Getty Images solar eclipse [A far-right movement claims the eclipse is a sign of the end of days — it’s more ominous than you think]( For the millions of Canadians planning to view the total solar eclipse this afternoon, those two or three minutes of darkness will be purely astronomical. But for members of a ballooning movement within Christianity, amplified to millions on social media, the eclipse is so much more: a sign of the coming apocalypse, the Biblical end times. While it might be easy to dismiss such doomsaying as the fixations of a religious fringe, experts warn this movement has become enmeshed in right-wing politics, amplified by a conspiracy culture and herded by social media algorithms, Kate Allen reports. [Taken together, experts say these beliefs pose a real threat to democracy — and will linger after the eclipse passes](. - Watch for: The total solar eclipse will be visible for large swathes of Ontario today. [Follow along live with the Star’s rolling coverage here](. - Wait, what? Despite the moon blocking up to 99.9 per cent of the sun in parts of Toronto, the city will get a dramatically different (and lamer) view than locations like Niagara. [Here’s why](. - Miss something? If you haven’t picked up eclipse glasses yet, get a move on — supplies are running out across the city. [Here’s how you can get a free pair yourself](. Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images immigration [Here’s why Pakistani flight attendants keep “vanishing” in Toronto]( For years, crew members of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have “vanished” during layovers in Toronto, including 10 staff in the last year. “It is not a new phenomenon and, quite frankly, has been going on (for) ages,” a PIA spokesperson tells the Star’s Omar Mosleh. “However, the frequency with which it has started now is unprecedented.” It’s believed the wayward attendants have abandoned their jobs to seek asylum in Canada — but aside from one staff member who left a note reading “Thank you, PIA,” most disappeared without a trace. While each incident has been reported to Canadian authorities, none of the employees have been deported or repatriated back to Pakistan. [Why is this happening?]( - More: Experts are unsurprised the attendants turned to desperate measures. Pakistan has long been mired in economic turmoil and a social collapse, seeing inflation rising sharply in recent years. - Another angle: The surging wave of asylum seekers who have turned to Canada and the GTA are often left to sleep on the pavement, encampments or homeless shelters. [Take a look inside the push for a national asylum plan](. Andrew Francis Wallace/The Star housing [This new father wants to leave public housing — here’s why he can’t]( Shahzeb Ahia and his wife will often pace the floors of their living room late into the night, cradling their newborn daughter in hopes the movement or the city lights outside will quiet her wails. It isn’t only their sleep being affected, Victoria Gibson reports. Three-month-old Sahira’s cries travel throughout the 955-square-foot apartment in Regent Park, rousing its six inhabitants — including Ahia’s parents and adult brother. His apartment is what more than 85,000 Torontonians are desperately waiting for — a subsidized home with the rent adjusted to 30 per cent of the household’s income. Ahia’s family has lived here since he was eight; 20 years later, he is ready to move out. [But ever-climbing rents keep his plans in stasis](. - Why it matters: By 2030, more than half — one million out of 1.9 million — new households will not be able to afford a home, according to a new report. [Rental housing will be especially strained, experts say](. - Jennifer Hassum’s take: The housing crisis calls for bold thinking — and old thinking. [Is it time for governments to build homes themselves again, and usher in a new age of nonmarket housing?]( [Calendar icon] Are our messages a little late for you lately? Emails from the Star are taking longer than normal to arrive to Gmail and Hotmail inboxes after we send them. That's a problem we're solving now, but we're sorry for keeping you waiting. WHAT ELSE Israel is pulling some troops from southern Gaza. [Now the plan is to clear Hamas from Rafah](. The Bank of Canada has little choice but to cut interest rates by June — [here’s the math to prove it](. What is a fourplex? [Here’s what to know about the building in the middle of a Trudeau-Ford housing fight](. [Everything you always wanted to know about being audited by the CRA]( (but were afraid to ask). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has [announced billions to build Canada’s AI capacity](. What happens after a dangerous dog is seized in Toronto? [Here’s what we know](. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” [Why exposing your bank account to your partner makes your relationship stronger](. We’re all going to die someday. [Toronto’s “death cafés” offer a new way to get comfortable with that fact](. Sick of extra fees online? [It’s drip pricing and Canadian shoppers are fighting back](. [What kids can learn from a relative with dementia](. [Playoff mode starts now for the Maple Leafs]( with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins coming to town. What’s new at Rogers Centre? [Here’s a guide to what Jays fans can expect this season](. GO DEEP Andres Plana/Toronto Star Graphoc [Track the total eclipse live with this interactive map.]( CLOSE-UP Nick Lachance/The Star NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a gathering of almost 1,000 pro-Israel protesters on Sunday. [The rally marked six months since the deadly October 7 Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and 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_211833). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. 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