It's not easy being Green — it’s downright dramatic

Plus, a new strain of mpox and a top grad from a virtual school [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on the drama of working for the Green Party, mpox being declared a global health emergency and a top graduate from a high school you may have forgotten about. DON’T MISS Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick federal politics [Life in the Green Party: “Backstabbing, secret alliances and plenty of drama”]( Before she resigned, a member of the board overseeing the Green Party’s finances left a final message for its top brass: Get your house in order before it’s too late. Miranda Woodland likened working for the Greens to navigating a soap opera, complete with a culture of bullying, gossiping and scapegoating, Mark Ramzy reports. [Here’s what it’s like working for the Green Party](. - Wait, what? In her resignation letter, Woodland said she faced “constant hostility,” including public and private insults, and “rampant misogyny” within the party. - Word from the Green Party: “We acknowledge the existence of conflicts and issues between certain members of our governance,” a party official said. “We are actively addressing these matters to ensure that the party remains a professional organization and a safe working environment.” - Background: Woodland is the latest senior party member to resign in recent weeks, following deputy leader Jonathan Pedneault and executive director Kevin Dunbar. [The Star learned Leader Elizabeth May even considered stepping down and handing the reins to Pedneault before he abruptly left](. Canadian Press/AP/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases public health [Here’s how worried you should be about the mpox global health emergency]( The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in three years, amid soaring cases in Africa. This time, the wave’s driven by a deadlier and more contagious variant of the virus. But while experts acknowledged the pandemic potential of the disease, they say it’s “very unlikely” for it to be imported into Canada anytime soon. [Should Canadians be concerned?]( - By the numbers: More than 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths have been recorded across Africa this year, mainly among children under 15. More than 96 per cent of the cases were in the Democratic Republic of Congo. - On the homefront: There have been no confirmed cases of the new mpox variant in Canada yet. The milder strain behind the 2022 global mpox outbreak is still circulating, though, [recently spiking in Toronto in the wake of summer festivities](. - Now what? The Africa CDC is calling for aid to fill its need for 10 million mpox vaccines. Canadian officials said there are no current plans to share our stockpile, believed to contain millions of shots. Some experts are urging the government to reconsider. Cole Burston for The Star education [Meet the top graduate of a school many don’t realize still exists ]( One of Toronto’s top students this year graduated from a place few realize still exists: the fully online Virtual Secondary School. Emma Brijlall Nakahara graduated with a 99.7 per cent average from the school born out of the pandemic, which she enrolled in to accommodate her medical issues, Janet Hurley reports. “It makes learning a lot more accessible to different kind of people,” she said. [This is her story](. - Life in virtual school: Every morning, Nakahara would prepare her backpack for the commute to her desk in the family den, steps from her bedroom. She also partakes in online extracurriculars — “I was amazed by the number of clubs,” she said. - Context: [The virtual school was launched in 2020]( to accommodate students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Today, upwards of 1,300 high school students are still enrolled, for reasons ranging from health issues to an interest in developing digital skills. WHAT ELSE [Scotiabank says protesters didn’t influence its decision to pull away from an Israeli arms maker]( — but some are skeptical. [Canada will grant a select group of international students permanent residence]( graduation in a new pilot program. The opposition slammed Doug Ford for joking about [sending overflow patients to an animal hospital](. Canada’s immigration minister says the [Toronto terror suspect could have his citizenship revoked](. She was found guilty of murder as a youth. [A judge says she can still become a lawyer](. “A whirlwind of both snow and rain.” [Here’s your Farmers’ Almanac winter forecast](. A decision, a phone call and a special request — [here’s an inside look at the Maple Leafs’ move to make Auston Matthews captain](. Reclaiming the city: [How a Black-led arts space is fostering a new generation of independent artists and curators](. Olympic boxer Imane Khelif [names Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling in her cyber-harassment case](. Wendel Clark knows what it takes to be a Leafs captain — [and move on from it](. Groceries are expensive, but they don’t have to break the bank. [Here are some tips to save](. A beloved Hamilton radio station has [shut down after nearly a century of operation](. POV Apu Gomes/Getty Images [The brain-wormed fantasies of Elon Musk’s Twitter graveyard keep seeping into real life. It’s clear who’s to blame.]( CLOSE-UP Steve Russell/The Star CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION: Today’s the day! The CNE is back and so are its many bizarre yet mouth-watering delicacies — like the Twisted Pickle stall serving up spiral-cut fried pickles covered in spicy Cheetos. [Karon Liu highlights seven culinary standouts you don’t want to miss](. 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_416). 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. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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