Eilish, who gives voice to troubled youth, tops the Grammys

Singer Billie Eilish, who gave voice to young people struggling with depression on a do-it-yourself album she made at home with her older brother, is atop the music world.

The 18-year-old made history at the Grammy Awards Sunday. Not only did she become the youngest person to win one of Grammy's top awards — record, song and album of the year, and best new artist — Eilish is the first artist to sweep all four since Christopher Cross in 1981.

Her triumph came on a night made somber by the death of former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. It also ended a tumultuous week for the Recording Academy that included its ousted CEO accusing the Grammys nominations process of being rigged, and Diddy calling out the organization for not giving enough respect to R&B and hip-hop.

Lizzo, center, performs at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Eilish's “When We all Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" also won best pop vocal album. Her brother Finneas O'Connell also won awards for engineering and producing the album.

“The music I listened to when I was growing up, maybe 7, 8, 9 or 10, 13, that was the most important music to me forever,” Finneas said backstage after the ceremony. “Anytime a person that age comes up to either one of us and says (it is their favorite), I know how much that means to them. That's why it means so much to me. I hope they're celebrating. This is all because of them.”

He said that they never thought that an album that addresses depression, suicidal thoughts and climate change would be up for a Grammy.

Lil Nas X poses in the press room with the awards for best music video and best pop duogroup performance for "Old Town Road," at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

Eilish noted that they made the album in a bedroom of the Los Angeles-area home where they grew up in.

“It's like anything is possible,” she said.

In accepting her awards, Eilish noted that she had grown up listening to many of the artists at the ceremony in Los Angeles' Staples Center. She also said she thought Ariana Grande deserved album of the year, an onstage moment that recalled Adele saying the same thing about Beyoncé the same year Adele triumphed.

Billie Eilish, left, and Finneas O'Connell pose in the press room with the awards for best album, best engineered album and best pop vocal album for "We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?," best song and record for "Bad Guy," best new artist and best producer, non-classical at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

The success of a young, white girl came on a night the Recording Academy seemingly went out of its way to highlight diversity. Lizzo offered a powerhouse opening performance, and there were tributes to Prince and the late rapper Nipsey Hussle. Tyler, the Creator offered an incendiary version of “Earfquake” with Boyz II Men. Lil' Nas X sang his omnipresent “Old Town Road.” Grande sang, as did H.E.R., host Alicia Keys and Gary Clark Jr. with the Roots.

Tyler, the Creator said later that the rap album Grammy was a backhanded compliment.

While he's grateful to be acknowledged, “it also sucks whenever we, I mean guys that look like me, do anything that's genre bending, they always put it in an urban rapper category,” he said. “I don't like that urban word. It's just a politically correct way to say the N-word to me.”

Finneas O'Connell poses in the press room with the awards for best song and best record for "Bad Guy," album of the year and best engineered album, non-classical for "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?," and Producer of the Year, Non Classical at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

Earlier in the show, Keys sat at a piano to sing a rewrite of Lewis Capaldi's song, “Someone You Loved” that name-checked many of the nominated artists but also included a few pointed lines about respect.

“I'm gonna be honest with y'all,” she said. “It's been a helluva week.”

Keys also had the delicate task of addressing the shock of Bryant's death in a helicopter crash, while onstage at the same arena where the former Laker won championships.

John Legend, center, DJ Khaled and members of Nipsey Hussle's family accept the award for best rapsung performance at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

She sang “It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” with Boyz II Men. References to Bryant abounded — a Lakers jersey held up by Run-DMC during their performance of “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith, and adorning a couch on a set where Lil Nas X began “Old Town Road.”

“We're all feeling crazy sadness right now,” said Keys, who received praise online for how she handled it.

“Alicia, you've been lighting this awards show up,” rapper Common said onstage. “Thank you.”

Gary Clark Jr. performs "This Land" at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Besides her big opening, Lizzo took home three Grammys, including best pop solo performance for “Truth Hurts” and two R&B awards. She also seemed noticeably affected by Bryant's death.

“We need to continue to reach out,” she told her fellow artists. “This is the beginning of making music that moves people again.”

Clark's pointed “This Land” also won for best rock song and rock performance, and he won a third for contemporary blues album.

Gary Clark Jr. poses in the press room with the awards for best rock song, best rock performance and best contemporary blues album for "This Land", at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

Among the show's more touching moments was Tyler, the Creator bringing his tearful mother onstage with him to accept his Grammy. Singer Demi Lovato made a comeback appearance after her reported overdose, singing a song she said was written in the troubled days before that event. Camila Cabello sang “First Man,” a song dedicated to her father, and received a bear hug from a sobbing dad when it was done.

DJ Khaled helped lead the emotional tribute to Hussle, the Los Angeles rapper who was gunned down in March, not long after attending his first Grammy ceremony as a nominee. On Sunday, Hussle won two posthumous Grammys.

Tyler, the Creator, Lizzo and, of course, Eilish were among the acts who won their first-ever Grammys. Other first-time winners included Tanya Tucker, J. Cole, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Michelle Obama, Sara Bareilles, Rosalía and 21 Savage.

Lizzo poses in the press room with the awards for best pop solo performance for "Truth Hurts", best urban contemporary album for "Cuz I Love You" and best traditional R&B performance for "Jerome" at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

Gospel legend Kirk Franklin received his 14th and 15th career Grammys.

Associated Press writers Mesfin Fekadu and Jonathan Landrum Jr. contributed to this report.

Lizzo poses in the press room with the awards for best pop solo performance for "Truth Hurts", best urban contemporary album for "Cuz I Love You" and best traditional R&B performance for "Jerome" at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP PhotoChris Pizzello)

Steven Tyler, of the musical group Aerosmith, performs at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Alicia Keys, second left, and members of Boys II Men, from left, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman, sing "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" during a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, seen on screen, at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Alicia Keys, from left, and Dua Lipa present Billie Eilish with the award for best new artist at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Brittany Howard, left, and Alicia Keys perform at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

Brittany Howard, left, and Alicia Keys perform at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt SaylesInvisionAP)

TORONTO (AP) — Police said nine people are facing charges in what authorities are calling the biggest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International airport a year ago.

Peel Regional Police said Wednesday that 6,600 gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.5 million), and CA$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in foreign currencies were stolen. The gold was melted down and used to purchase illegal firearms, police said.

Those charged include an Air Canada warehouse employee and a former Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of cargo of the facility after the theft. A jewelry store owner is also charged.

“This story is a sensational one and which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” Peel Regional Chief Nishan Duraiappah said.

Peel Regional Detective Sgt. Mike Mavity said the gold bars, weighing 419 kilograms (923 pounds), and foreign currency, ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, were transported in the haul of an Air Canada flight on April 17 last year.

He said that late afternoon a truck driver arrived at the airline’s cargo warehouse with a fraudulent bill that was provided to an airline warehouse attendant.

Mavity said a bill for seafood that was picked up the day before was used to pick up the gold. The duplicate bill was printed off at the Air Canada warehouse, he said.

“They needed people within Air Canada to facilitate this theft,” Mavity said in front of the truck police say was used in the theft.

Mavity said police are searching for the Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of the facility in the days after the theft. He said that manager left his job last summer and said they have an idea of where he is.

Mavity said some of the suspects were known to police and some were not. He said they seized six crudely made bracelets made of gold.

“I don’t think I ever imagined they would have to deal with the largest gold heist in Canadian history,” said Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario. “It’s almost out of an 'Ocean’s Eleven' movie or CSI.”

Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu, 54, from Brampton, Ontario, jewelry store owner Ali Raza, 37, from Toronto, Amit Jalota, 40, a Oakville, Ontario resident, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, from Georgetown, Ontario and Prasath Paramalingam, 35, from Brampton are among those that have been arrested. Mavity said they have been released on bail conditions and will be in court at a later date.

Mavity said the truck driver that allegedly picked up the gold, Durante King-Mclean, a 25-year-old from Brampton, is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms and trafficking related charges.

Police are searching for former Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar, 31, from Brampton as well as Archit Grover, 36, from Brampton and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, from Mississauga Ontario.

Peel Regional Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said only CA$90,000 ($65,000) of the more than CA$20 million has been recovered.

U.S. ATF Special Agent, Eric DeGree, said King-Mclean, was arrested in Pennsylvania after a traffic stop and that led to the seizure of 65 illegal firearms that were allegedly destined to be smuggled into Canada. DeGree said he tried to flee after police discovered the firearms in his rental car.

Brinks, an American cash handling company, arrived at the airport cargo facility the night of April 17 to pick up the gold and were told the gold and currency was missing after a search.

Brinks sued Air Canada over the theft last year. According to the company’s filing last year, a thief walked away with the costly cargo after presenting a fake document at an Air Canada warehouse on April 17.

In a Nov. 8 statement of defense, Air Canada rejected “each and every allegation” in the Brink’s lawsuit, saying it fulfilled its carriage contracts and denying any improper or “careless” conduct.

The country’s largest airline also said Brink’s failed to note the value of the haul on the waybill — a document typically issued by a carrier with details of the shipment — and that if Brink’s did suffer losses, a multilateral treaty known as the Montreal Convention would cap Air Canada’s liability.

In Federal Court filings that claim breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, Brinks said an “unidentified individual” gained access to the airline’s cargo warehouse and presented a “fraudulent” waybill shortly after an Air Canada flight from Zurich landed at Pearson.

The statement of the claim says the staff then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars plus nearly $2 million in cash to the thief, who promptly “absconded with the cargo.”

DeGree said dozens of firearms were seized, including two fully automatic weapons and five guns that were untraceable.

“I'm proud to say that we successfully put an international gun trafficking operation out of business. We kept 65 firearms off the streets of Canada and prevented them from being used in any number of crimes,” DeGree said.

Mavity said that “we believe they melted down the gold and with the profits they got from the gold they used to purchase illegal firearms."

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

ATF Special Agent in Charge, Eric DeGree, speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Investigators stand during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Board Chair Nando Iannicca speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chief Nishan Duraiappah, left to right, Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity, Peel Regional Police Det. Gord Oakes and ATF Special Agent in Charge, Eric DeGree pose in front of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)