TORONTO — Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who forged closer ties with the United States through a sweeping free trade agreement and whose Progressive Conservative party suffered a devastating defeat just after he left office, died Thursday. He was 84.

The country’s 18th prime minister died peacefully and surrounded by family, his daughter Caroline Mulroney said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mulroney’s family said this past summer that he was improving daily after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer in early 2023.

Leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1983 to 1993, Mulroney served almost a decade as prime minister after he was first elected in 1984 after snagging the largest majority in Canadian history with 211 of 282 seats.

The win would mark Canada’s first Conservative majority government in 26 years. His government was re-elected in 1988.

Mulroney entered the job with massive support, but he left with the lowest approval rating in Canadian history. In the years since, more recent prime ministers sought his advice.

“Brian Mulroney loved Canada. I’m devastated to learn of his passing. He never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

“As we mourn his passing and keep his family and friends in our thoughts, let us also acknowledge – and celebrate – Mr. Mulroney’s role in building the modern, dynamic, and prosperous country we all know today,” Trudeau said.

The man known for his charm and Irish blarney — a gift for the gab — was an ardent advocate of stronger U.S.-Canadian relations. He eulogized two American presidents.

He pushed a free trade deal forward in no small part due to his chumminess with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Few Canadians around during his reign have forgotten the widely broadcast Mulroney-Reagan duet of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” at the Shamrock summit in Quebec City in 1985, named after the pair’s Irish heritage and the fact that the summit fell on St. Patrick’s Day. The 24-hour meeting opened the door to future free trade talks between the countries.

Along with a fan base of fellow conservative Margaret Thatcher, Mulroney can also boast of an enduring friendship with former President George H.W. Bush.

Mulroney delivered a eulogy for Bush’s state funeral.

Mulroney also eulogized Reagan in 2004. Mulroney, Reagan and Bush became friends when they shared the world stage as leaders of their countries during the last decade of the Cold War.

Mulroney’s nine years in power overlapped with Bush’s four.

It was Mulroney’s amiable relationship with his southern counterparts that helped develop the free-trade treaty, a hotly contested pact at the time. The trade deal led to a permanent realignment of the Canadian economy and huge increases in north-south trade.

However, Mulroney’s administration was saddled with scandals and his near decade reign as prime minister came crashing down in 1993 when voters delivered a devastating election defeat to his Progressive Conservative Party, leaving it with just two seats in the 295-member House of Commons. He left shortly before the election result.

The defeat came amid widespread unhappiness over Canada’s then-depressed economy. Canadians blamed Mulroney of failing to address a 3-year-old recession that left a record number of people out of work or bankrupt.

Under his leadership, a much-criticized 7% sales tax was pushed through, as well as the 1988 U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, after more than 100 years of tariff protection. The agreement later included Mexico in 1994, evolving into the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Quebec-born, half-Irish, “boy from Baie-Comeau” (a small-town in the French-speaking province) leader campaigned hard on the trade agreements following his first term.

But many constituents were opposed to the treaty, concerned that the agreement would jeopardize Canadian sovereignty. Critics blamed the rising unemployment during the late ’80s and early ’90s in Canada on factors such as businesses moving south to escape higher Canadian taxes and labor costs.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that Mulroney was vilified for the free trade deal during his leadership but said that history will remember him as the leader who set Canada on a path to unprecedented economic growth and prosperity.

Mulroney was born March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, an isolated smelting town on Quebec’s North Shore.

Hired as a labor lawyer by Montreal’s largest law firm, Ogilvy Renault, he later became the president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Hanna Mining.

Mulroney leaves behind wife Mila Mulroney and four children: Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas.

Her family said in a statement released through the Red Sox that she died Wednesday at her Massachusetts home, less than five months after her husband died at the age of 57. Stacy was 53, according to online records.

“She was surrounded by her family and dear friends, as well as her wonderful caretakers and nurses,” the statement said. “The loss is unimaginable, especially in the wake of losing Tim just under five months ago. Our hearts are beyond broken.”

“We will remember Stacy as a strong, loving, thoughtful and kind person, who was as down-to-earth as they come,” the family’s statement continued. “We feel so lucky to have had her in our lives, and we take comfort in the fact that she will be reunited with Tim, the love of her life.”

Stacy and Tim are survived by their children, Trevor and Brianna.

As much as Tim was celebrated for his achievements on the field, both he and Stacy were also regarded in Boston for their work in the community.

Stacy worked alongside her husband in raising money for multiple charitable groups, including the Red Sox Foundation. They also worked with the Jimmy Fund, visiting with patients and raising funds for the childhood cancer charity.

NEW YORK — Richard Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” has died. He was 76.

Lewis, who revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham.

A regular performer in clubs and on late-night TV for decades, Lewis also played Marty Gold, the romantic co-lead opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, in the ABC series “Anything But Love” and the reliably neurotic Prince John in “Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” kvetching regularly.

“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me,” David said in a statement. “He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”

Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazine’s list of the “20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists.” He lent his humor for charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.

“Watching his stand-up is like sitting in on a very funny and often dark therapy session,” the Los Angeles Times said in 2014. The Philadelphia’s City Paper called him “the Jimi Hendrix of monologists.” Mel Brooks once said he “may just be the Franz Kafka of modern-day comedy.”

Comedians took to social media Wednesday to share their thoughts, including Albert Books who called Lewis “a brilliantly funny man who will missed by all. The world needed him now more than ever” on X, formerly Twitter. Other tributes came from Bette Midler, Michael McKean and Paul Feig, who called Lewis “one of the funniest people on the planet.”

Following his graduation from The Ohio State University in 1969, the New York-born Lewis began a stand-up career, honing his craft on the circuit with other contemporaries also just starting out like Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze and Billy Crystal.

He recalled Rodney Dangerfield hiring him for $75 to fill in at his New York club, Dangerfield’s. “I had a lot of great friends early on who believed in me, and I met pretty iconic people who really helped me, told me to keep working on my material. And I never looked back,” he told The Gazette of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2010.

“I’m paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I’m not thrilled about,” he once joked onstage. To Jimmy Kimmel he said: “This morning, I tried to go to bed. I couldn’t sleep. I counted sheep but I only had six of them and they all had hip replacements.”

Unlike contemporary Robin Williams, Lewis allowed audiences into his world and melancholy, pouring his torment and pain onto the stage. Fans favorably compared him to the ground-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce.

“I take great pains not to be mean-spirited,” Lewis told The Palm Beach Post in 2007. “I don’t like to take real handicaps that people have to overcome with no hope in sight. I steer clear of that. That’s not funny to me. Tragedy is funny to other humorists, but it’s not to me, unless you can make a point that’s helpful.”

Singer Billy Joel has said he was referring to Lewis when he sang in “My Life” of an old friend who “bought a ticket to the West Coast/Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.”

In 1989 at Carnegie Hall, he appeared with six feet of yellow legal sheets filled with material and taped together for a 2½-hour set that led to two standing ovations. The night was “the highlight of my career,” he told The Washington Post in 2020.

Lewis told GQ his signature look came incidentally, saying his obsession with dressing in black came from watching the television Western “Have Gun – Will Travel,” with a cowboy in all-black, when he was a kid. He also popularized the term “from hell” — as in “the date from hell” or “the job from hell.”

“That just came out of my brain one day and I kept repeating it a lot for some reason. Same thing with the black clothes. I just felt really comfortable from the early ’80s on and I never wore anything else. I never looked back.”

After getting sober from drugs and alcohol in 1994, Lewis put out his 2008 memoir, “The Other Great Depression” — a collection of fearless, essay style riffs on his life — and “Reflections from Hell.”

Lewis was the youngest of three siblings — his brother was older than him by six years, and his sister by nine. His father died young and his mother had emotional problems. “She didn’t get me at all. I owe my career to my mother. I should have given her my agent’s commission,” he told The Washington Post in 2020.

Lewis quickly found a new family performing at New York’s Improv. “I was 23, and all sorts of people were coming in and out and watching me, like Steve Allen and Bette Midler. David Brenner certainly took me under his wing. To drive home to my little dump in New Jersey often knowing that Steve Allen said, ‘You got it,’ that validation kept me going in a big, big way.”

He had a cameo in “Leaving Las Vegas,” which led to his first major dramatic role as Jimmy Epstein, an addict fighting for his life in the indie film, “Drunks.” He played Don Rickles’ son on one season of “Daddy Dearest” and a rabbi on “7th Heaven.”

Lewis’ recurring role on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” can be credited directly to his friendship with fellow comedian, producer and series star Larry David. Both native Brooklynites — born in the same Brooklyn hospital — they first met and became friends as rivals while attending the same summer camp at age 13. He was cast from the beginning, bickering with David on unpaid bills and common courtesies.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.

“Edie is truly a beloved person of our community and an inspiration to all,” 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak said when the town celebrated her 115th birthday in February of 2023. “She was dancing and living on her own until not too many years ago. She is a living testimony to the quality of life and clean air and water in Willits and Mendocino County.”

Within the past two years, Ceccarelli became not only the oldest living person in California, but the oldest living person in the United States – the only other living person older than her was another woman born in Northern California: Maria Branyas Morera, who now lives in Spain, and will turn 117 on March 4.

However, last Thursday, Ceccarelli died at the Holy Spirit Residential Care Home just two weeks after her 116th birthday.

“I miss her already,” said family member Evelyn Persico on Monday, describing Ceccarelli as having “loved her birthday party” held on Sunday, Feb. 4.

When asked if she thought it was possible that Ceccarelli was hanging on so she could enjoy another birthday, which Willits has been celebrating with parades by her home the past several years, Persico said it was “very possible, and I did wonder that myself.”

The post also explains that “some say to live this long you either need to have good genes or a healthy lifestyle, but in this case, Gerontology experts say you really have to have both.”

As for local services for Ceccarelli, Persico said they are still being planned and that she will provide more details once they are confirmed.

Kenneth Mitchell, an actor who appeared in the series “Star Trek: Discovery” and Marvel’s “Captain Marvel,” has died, his family announced in a statement shared on his verified social media Sunday.

He was 49.

“With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Kenneth Alexander Mitchell, beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, son and dear friend,” the family’s statement read.

Mitchell was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. He and his family shared periodic updates about his health in recent years. In August, Mitchell marked the fifth anniversary of his diagnosis in a post on Instagram.

“My brother humorously mentioned that they don’t really have a happy ALS Anniversary card in the shop. However, I want to celebrate today; the gift of life. I’m so thankful to have this day in front of me. It’s been a long 5 years. So much lost, so much gained. Incredibly hard times, mixed with so many more blessings,” Mitchell wrote at the time. “At the heart of it all are friends and family, caregivers and doctors coming to the aid of my family over and over and over again. Giving a plethora of support and love and care and encouragement. There is so much beauty in that. This disease is absolutely horrific…yet despite all the suffering, there is so much to be grateful for.”

A native of Canada, Mitchell acquired more than 50 film and television credits over the course of his acting career. He played the father of Carol Danvers in Marvel’s 2019 “Captain Marvel,” and an Olympic hopeful in the 2004 hockey film “Miracle.” Mitchell appeared in dozens of TV series, including “Jericho,” “The Astronaut Wives Club” and “Switched at Birth.”

From 2017 to 2021, Mitchell played the Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha, and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio, in “Star Trek: Discovery.”

Beyond his acting roles, Mitchell was remembered by those close to him as a “hope seeker, daydreamer, dream believer.” In his family’s statement, they expressed their admiration for the strength Mitchell showed as he lived with illness.

“Regardless of his later disabilities, Ken discovered a higher calling to be more fully himself for his kids,” they wrote. “For five and a half years Ken faced a series of awful challenges from ALS. And in truest Ken fashion, he managed to rise above each one with grace and commitment to living a full and joyous life in each moment.

Mitchell is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two young children.

Chris Gauthier, an actor whose credits included roles in “Once Upon a Time,” “Eureka” and several popular Hallmark Channel projects, died Feb. 23, according to a statement posted by his agent.

He was 48.

His representatives also confirmed the news to CNN.

“We can confirm that our friend and client, Chris Gauthier, passed away on Friday morning, February 23, at the age of 48 after a brief illness. As a beloved character actor, Chris shared his talents with so many of us both on television and in film,” read a statement provided to CNN by TriStar Appearances/Event Horizon Talent. “His loss is felt not just by his fans but by those of us who were lucky enough to know him more personally. On behalf of his family, we ask for privacy during this time so that they are able to grieve properly.”

His agent, Chad Colvin, shared memories in a Facebook post, writing, “This still doesn’t feel real. How can it? A world without you in it is a much darker place.”

“So much so that when his wife reached out to me yesterday with the news, I wept tears of disbelief for hours. It’s taken me til now to fully mentally and emotionally steel myself to write this,” Colvin wrote on Sunday. “I wish we could have had a bit more time together and that you understood the difference you made, not just in my life, but all those you touched. This world is a bit smaller and colder now without you in it.”

Colvin noted Gauthier’s work on shows like “Smallville” and “Supernatural,” as well as his performance as William Smee on “Once Upon a Time.”

“A sweeter, happier soul would be hard to find,” Sbarge wrote in the caption of a group photo he posted on his verified Instagram account. “A man of consummate character, generosity and great talent, he was someone who cared deeply, loved his art, and was always kind to everyone he met.”

Some of Gauthier’s other credits include TV shows “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Joe Pickett” as well as several Hallmark TV movies including “Ms. Christmas Comes to Town.”

“We are sorry to hear about the passing of Chris Gauthier. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and fans.”

LAS VEGAS — Hydeia Broadbent, a prominent HIV/AIDS activist known for her inspirational talks in the 1990s as a young child to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus she was born with, has died. She was 39.

Broadbent’s father announced her death in a Facebook post, saying she had died unexpectedly “after living with Aids since birth,” but did not provide more details.

“Despite facing numerous challenges throughout her life,” Loren Broadbent wrote, ‘Hydeia remained determined to spread hope and positivity through education around Hiv/AIDS.” HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body’s immune system and is the virus that causes AIDS.

The Clark County coroner’s office said Broadbent died Tuesday in Las Vegas. Her cause and manner of death has not yet been determined.

Broadbent was adopted in Las Vegas by her parents Patricia and Loren Broadbent as a baby, but her health condition wasn’t known until she became seriously ill at 3. By age 5, Broadbent had developed full-blown AIDS.

Patricia Broadbent began giving talks to local groups about the hardship of raising a child with AIDS, and little Hydeia listened, soaking in all she heard.

Soon, Hydeia Broadbent was speaking before the crowds.

She made the talk show circuit as a child, met the president and first lady, spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention, starred in a television special on Nickelodeon with Magic Johnson, and was featured on a segment on ABC’s “20/20.”

A 7-year-old Broadbent became a national symbol of HIV when she joined Johnson on the 1992 Nickelodeon special, where the basketball legend talked about his own HIV diagnosis. The teary-eyed girl pleaded that all she wanted was for “people (to) know that we’re just normal people.”

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson said he was devastated by news of her death and remembered Broadbent as an activist and hero who “changed the world with her bravery.”

“By speaking out at such a young age, she helped so many people, young and old, because she wasn’t afraid to share her story and allowed everyone to see that those living with HIV and AIDS were everyday people and should be treated with respect,” Johnson wrote. “Cookie and I are praying for the Broadbent family and everyone that knew and loved Hydeia.”

NEW YORK — William “Bill” Post, who helped create Pop-Tarts, the pantry staple that reinvented breakfast for the masses, has died. He was 96.

“We are deeply saddened to share the news that William ‘Bill’ Post passed away over the weekend,” Pop-Tarts owner Kellanova said in a statement. “He played an important role in co-creating the iconic Pop-Tarts brand and we are grateful to Bill for his legacy and lasting contributions to our company.”

The Michigan man helped create the first toaster pastry for the former Hekman Biscuit Company, which later became Keebler, in the early 1960s. Pop-Tarts, originally called a “Fruit Scone,” came about when a group of Kellogg executives visited the plant that he managed, looking for ideas for a new snack.

“They had, like, a piece of pie, shape of a slice of bread, fork marks around the edge [and] two pieces of dough with some filling in it,” Post recalls in a promotional video about recent visit he made to the factory he worked in. “They said ‘We have this idea. We’d like to put that in a toaster.’”

He took the piece of pie with him and said he “had to break every rule in the book” to create Pop-Tarts. The original test run of 45,000 cases of each flavor (strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon and apple-currant), first sold in Cleveland, “blew off the shelves.”

To make it easier to ship, Post thought of freezing them despite concerns they would melt in the toaster when heated (they obviously didn’t). In the following few years, frosting and sprinkles were added and Kellogg created “Milton the Toaster” to be its mascot.

Kellanova, which recently split off from Kellogg, makes 7 million Pop-Tarts a day that generate nearly $1 billion in yearly sales for the company. The breakfast staple, which turns 60 years old this year, recently went viral for being the first “edible mascot” at a college football bowl game.

“Just try anything. There is no idea that’s too crazy,” Post said. “If somebody tells you you can’t do it. Show them you can.”

“He was asked to tell the Pop Tart story to young people in countless classrooms and always enjoyed accommodating those requests, giving his testimony of God’s goodness to ‘the son of an immigrant,’ and bringing some of his unending supply of Pop-Tarts with him,” the obit said.

He was also humble about helping create Pop-Tarts. “I assembled an amazing team that developed Kellogg’s concept of a shelf-stable toaster pastry into a fine product that we could bring to market in the span of just four months,” Post said per the obit.

Post leaves behind two children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His wife, Florence, died in 2020.

NEW YORK — Bob Edwards, the longtime National Public Radio host and a goliath of the broadcasting world, died on Saturday, his wife, NPR reporter Windsor Johnston, confirmed in a Facebook post. He was 76.

“Bob Edwards understood the intimate and distinctly personal connection with audiences that distinguishes audio journalism from other mediums, and for decades he was a trusted voice in the lives of millions of public radio listeners,” NPR CEO John Lansing said in a statement Monday. “Staff at NPR and all across the Network, along with those millions of listeners, will remember Bob Edwards with gratitude.”

Edwards began his 30-year tenure at NPR in 1974, when the network was still in its infancy. He co-hosted “All Things Considered,” NPR’s evening show, before spearheading “Morning Edition” as its inaugural host in 1979, a position he held until 2004.

In 1989, as the program was celebrating its 10th anniversary, then-NPR Executive Producer Ellen McDonnell told the Los Angeles Times that Edwards’ personality really made the show what it was.

“Everyone feels they know Bob,” she said. “We did research for our anniversary to see where we’ve been and where we should be going, and the one thing that constantly came through is his warmth. People really believe they know Colonel Bob from Kentucky, that he’s their friend. It’s stunning.”

Raised in Kentucky, Edwards started his journalism career at a radio station in New Albany, Indiana, while he was a senior in college, according to the University of Louisville, his alma mater. After finishing school, he was drafted into the US Army, where he continued to host and produce programs for the American Forces Korea Network.

Edwards won a number of accolades throughout his career, including the 1984 Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, two Gabriel Awards from the National Catholic Association of Broadcasters, the Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University Award, and a Peabody Award.

Although he initially said he “(planned) to be here at NPR for the long haul” and served a short stint as senior correspondent, Edwards soon left NPR for satellite radio SiriusXM, where he hosted “The Bob Edwards Show” until 2014. That same year, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Edwards was also the author of three books: “Fridays with Red,” about his friendship with sportscaster Red Barber; “Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism,” a history of the broadcast pioneer; and “A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio,” a memoir about his career in radio journalism.

Kiptum, who was from Kenya, and his coach Gervais Hakizimana, from Rwanda, were killed in the crash at around 11 p.m. Another Kenyan athlete, Milcah Chemos, confirmed their deaths to the Associated Press.

The crash happened on a road between the towns of Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, Chemos said, in the heart of the high-altitude region that’s renowned as a training base for distance runners.

She said she went to the hospital with other athletes and members of Kiptum’s family after hearing the news. The family members were there to identify Kiptum’s body.

Kenyan media reported that only one car was involved in the crash and a third person, a woman, was also in the vehicle and was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries.

Kiptum was the first man to run the marathon in under 2 hours, 1 minute in an official race when he set the world record of 2:00.35 in Chicago in October, beating the mark of fellow Kenyan and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge.

He was due to compete at the Rotterdam Marathon in April, which would have been his first event since breaking the world record.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was one of the first to offer his condolences in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the devastating loss of Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana,” Coe wrote. “On behalf of all World Athletics we send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, teammates and the Kenyan nation.”

“It was only earlier this week in Chicago, the place where Kelvin set his extraordinary marathon World Record, that I was able to officially ratify his historic time. An incredible athlete leaving an incredible legacy, we will miss him dearly,” Coe wrote.

David Rudisha, Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters, wrote on X that he was shocked and deeply saddened by the news.

“This is a huge loss,” Rudisha wrote.

Kiptum had immediate success by running the fastest time ever by a marathon debutant — 2:01:53 — at the 2022 Valencia Marathon. The following year, he won the London and Chicago races, two of the most prestigious marathons in the world. While young and new to the circuit, he had already run three of the seven fastest marathon times ever recorded.

Kiptum was the latest of numerous top Kenyan runners to die in tragic road accidents.

David Lelei, an All-Africa Games silver medalist, died in a car crash in 2010. Marathon runner Francis Kiplagat was among five people who were killed in a crash in 2018. Nicholas Bett, who won gold in the 400 meters at the 2015 world championships, also died in a car crash in 2018.