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How to give wisely and not get suckered this holiday season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

Giving Tuesday is nearly upon us! Plaintive pitches and open palms abound. Do good! Spread cheer! But please, proceed with caution.This is make-or-break season for charities. Nonprofits in America get the majority of their donations between October and December. Giving Tuesday — the one right after Thanksgiving, when heart and brain are still soft from all that turkey and pie — began more than a decade ago, in response to the (grotesque) consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. A Chicago theater company urged shoppers to consider donating instead of/in addition to buying stuff. “Giving Tuesday” was coined by the 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation in 2012. And, well, here we are.They’ll hit you up by phone, by mail, by email, and in the flesh, at malls and outside grocery stores. Greet each entreaty with “How much of my donation goes to programs?” and you’re well on your way to making sure your dollars go where you intend them to go. Here’s how not t...

Do I have to renew my passport by mail?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

By Sally French | NerdWalletWhen it’s time to renew your U.S. passport, you’ll probably have to do so by mail. That means sending away your current passport and hoping that not only will you receive a fresh, renewed passport — but also that you’ll get your original passport back.Some people may prefer renewal by mail; there’s no need to go to a government office and no need to stand in line. But for others, the idea of sending one of their most important documents through the mail — at the risk of losing it — is hardly preferable at all.Although there are circumstances in which in-person renewal is required, it’s not an option in most situations. Mailing your passport to the National Passport Processing Center is usually the only way to renew it.With that in mind, here’s what you need to know about renewing a passport, and how to reduce the risk of it getting lost in the mail.When you have to renew your passport by mailThere was a time when you could renew yo...

Cyberattack to keep some Toronto library systems offline into 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

TORONTO — An October cyberattack on Canada’s largest public library system that brought down its website and likely exposed sensitive employee information will keep some services offline into 2024. The Toronto Public Library says service will start to be restored gradually starting in January, calling it an “aggressive timeframe.” It says priority will be given to the library’s website and network of public computers across its 100 branches. The library has previously said the Oct. 28 cyberattack likely exposed the names, social insurance numbers, government identification and addresses of employees dating back to 1998. The library says it did not pay a ransom to the hackers and the stolen data could end up on the dark web. It says staff and third-party experts have been working “around the clock” to restore systems and boost its network security.“We recognize that this is a long period of time without full library services, but this is cons...

B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley stays in custody after skipping court date

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

VANCOUVER — A high-risk sex offender arrested by Vancouver police after a 10-day manhunt earlier this month remains in custody awaiting his next court date. Randall Hopley was to appear in court on Friday, but his case was put off until Dec. 8 in British Columbia provincial court. Police say Hopley cut off his electronic monitoring device after he walked away from a halfway house in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Nov. 4. Hopley had been on a 10-year supervision order after serving a six-year prison term for abducting a three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C., but he was charged last January for allegedly violating those conditions and was to appear in court Nov. 6. Police say they arrested the 58-year-old man the following week when he showed up outside a police station to turn himself in because he was feeling cold.Vancouver Sgt. Steve Addison told media after his arrest that police would recommend to Crown counsel that he be denied bail and remain in custody.Police donR...

Twenty-two per cent of construction cones in downtown Montreal are ‘useless’: report

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

MONTREAL — A new report by Montreal’s chamber of commerce says about one in five of the ubiquitous orange construction cones in the city’s downtown appears to serve no purpose.The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal found that 22 per cent of downtown cones have been abandoned or are “useless” — down from 27 per cent in fall 2022.Montreal’s seemingly endless lines of traffic cones have long been a running joke, to the point where miniature versions are sold in souvenir shops as an emblem of the city.The administration and the province have committed to making the cones less visible downtown, including reducing their size and forcing companies to remove them more quickly after work concludes. And while there are slightly fewer cones, the chamber of commerce says there’s been little success in reducing the number of construction sites blocking access to downtown.The report says that 93 per cent of downtown streets were fully or partly blocke...

Cleanup, air monitoring underway at Kentucky train derailment site

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

LIVINGSTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky officials and crews with rail operator CSX were working Friday to remove train cars and spilled material at the site of a derailment that sparked a chemical fire earlier in the week and prompted home evacuations in a nearby small town.State officials said Friday they were monitoring the air for traces of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide, but there had been no detection of those substances at the derailment site or the nearby town of Livingston since Thursday morning. The fire was extinguished at the site Thursday morning.“We’re now able to get in and begin safely removing cars,” Joe McCann, director of emergency management and hazardous materials for CSX, said at a briefing Friday. McCann said an access road has been built to reach the derailment area and a handful of crashed train cars have been removed.The CSX train derailed around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near Livingston, a remote town with about 200 people in Rockcastle County. Residents were ...

Some Home Decorators Collection artificial Christmas trees recalled over fire risk

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

Home Depot is recalling some of its pre-lit artificial Christmas trees because they could pose a fire hazard.Health Canada says consumers should stop using the Home Decorators Collection 7.5 foot Grand Duchess Balsam Fir tree with 5000 Colour Changing Lights.It says the tree’s control panel or electrical cord plug may overheat.Home Depot says 883 of the trees have been sold in Canada, but no incidents or injuries had been reported as of Tuesday.The affected trees were sold in October and November of this year.Consumers should return them to a local Home Depot store for a full refund.The model number for the affected trees is 23LE61001 and the article number is 1001803629.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.The Canadian Press

At least 10 Thai hostages released by Hamas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Hamas freed at least 10 Thai nationals seized in the group’s surprise attack on southern Israel last month and held until hostages went free on Friday.Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara wrote online that he was “overjoyed.”He had traveled more than three weeks ago to Egypt and Qatar to seek their help in obtaining the hostages’ freedom. Thais were the biggest single group of foreigners taken hostage.Thailand did not release the kidnapped people’s names or conditions, but thanked Qatar, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia and the International Committee of the Red Cross.“It is our deep hope that all remaining hostages will be taken care of, and will be safely released at the earliest opportunity,” the Thai Foreign Ministry said.Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was the first Thai official to post news of the release, writing on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that 12 had been freed. The spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry, Majed ...

Feds providing $7M to Peel Region for asylum seekers reception centre

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

The federal government has announced it will be providing $7 million to Peel Region to open a reception centre and shelter for asylum seekers.It comes after an asylum seeker was found dead in a tent outside a former shelter in Mississauga last week. It’s unknown how the man died.The centre will be operated in partnership with community organizations and will provide streamlined services to support asylum claimants.Kamal Khera, the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, made the announcement on behalf of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller.“It will prevent another tragedy like the one we saw last week from occurring again. Reality is this will save lives,” said Khera.Khera added she hopes relieve the pressures on other shelters in the area. Currently, in Peel Region, the shelter capacity is at 300 per cent, and 68 per cent of those requiring space are asylum seekers from various African countries. P...

The vital question may linger forever: Did Oscar Pistorius know he was shooting at his girlfriend?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — In the decade since Oscar Pistorius pulled the trigger four times on his 9mm pistol, firing into the head and body of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as she stood inside a locked toilet cubicle in his home, the vital question has still never been answered: Did the world-famous Olympic runner know he was shooting at and killing his girlfriend that Valentine’s Day in 2013?Pistorius has always claimed that he didn’t, that he mistook her for an intruder in his home. Steenkamp’s family believes he intended to shoot the 29-year-old model and law graduate after becoming enraged in a nighttime argument.Only Pistorius really knows for sure what he did, and he may be the only person who ever will.The lasting twist of Pistorius’ case, which shocked and riveted millions and was back in the spotlight Friday when he was granted parole, is that even his conviction for murder didn’t provide an answer to the lingering question.Pistorius’ ...