Inside the odd Muslim-Christian conservative tag team

Plus, GTA Metro workers strike, a guide to Toronto's new boozy park rules, and the best TV shows of 2023 [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning. It’s National Cheesecake Day and World Snorkeling Day. Please don’t try to mark both occasions simultaneously. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Omar Mosleh/Toronto Star Canada [Inside the unlikely alliance between Canada’s conservative Muslims and Christians]( A string of demonstrations in Calgary this year has spotlighted the budding partnership between two historically strange bedfellows — conservative Muslim and Christian communities. Chief among their unified targets has been LGBTQ representation within the public education curriculum, Omar Mosleh reports. Some Calgary Muslims say the movement doesn’t represent their entire community — just as there are socially progressive Christian factions. Others worry that when it comes to courting the Muslim community, [the political right has far more calculated aims](. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star Labour [Toronto-area Metro workers go on strike]( More than 3,700 front-line workers at 27 Metro grocery store locations across the GTA hit the picket lines on Saturday after members of Unifor local 414 voted to reject a new tentative deal, Santiago Arias Orozco reports. Union president Lana Payne says the largest strike in Unifor’s history follows an “erosion” of working conditions, and that the snubbed agreement would’ve seen significant increases in compensation. [Here’s why that proposed framework still wasn’t good enough](. Toronto Star photo illustration Entertainment [These are the 10 best television shows of 2023 so far]( The dog days of summer are the perfect opportunity to catch up on the hits you missed — shows like Netflix’s misanthropic comedy “Beef,” Prime Video’s genre-busting hidden camera experiment “Jury Duty,” and, of course, the widely acclaimed series-ending run from HBO smash “Succession.” Debra Yeo has [the 10 biggest small-screen standouts of 2023 to date](. James Paddle-Grant/For the Toronto Star higher learning [Badge of honour or academic hazing? Making the case for and against comp exams]( Academics are increasingly ready to throw the book at comprehensive exams, in which would-be PhDs attempt to demonstrate deep and broad understanding of a subject by cramming in a back-breaking reading list during the summer months. Detractors say the benefits of the gruelling rite of passage are unclear, with some going as far as likening the process to hazing, Janet Hurley reports. Still, [some say there’s good reason for “comps” to stay](. Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo U.S. POLITICS [Trump faces deepening legal woes after allegedly trying to delete key security footage]( Former president Donald Trump is now alleged to have tried to have surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago property deleted in an attempt to obstruct the ongoing investigation into his purported mishandling of classified documents, according to the Associated Press. Experts say the latest criminal charges will make it tough for Trump’s team to argue that this was all one big misunderstanding. [Is this finally a legal headlock that Trump can’t wriggle out from]( UP CLOSE Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press When the dust settled on Justin Trudeau’s big cabinet shuffle, it was evident that the new team was more “aspirational,” Susan Delacourt writes. Take a look at [some of the newly elevated backbenchers and what they represent](. DO THIS Richard Lautens/Toronto Star File Photo Starting Wednesday, Toronto will trust its denizens to (gasp!) drink alcohol in public at one of 27 designated public parks. Karon Liu and Raju Mudhar walk us through the [eight best parks for drinking, including where to buy food and drink nearby and how to get there](. Thanks for reading. You can send the First Up team questions, comments and TV show recommendations at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_193279). Manuela will see you back here Monday. 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]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](