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Ottawa to launch pre-approved home design catalogue, bring back post-war effort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to launch a catalogue of pre-approved home designs to speed up the home-building process for developers.Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced today the federal government will begin a consultation process to develop the catalogue in January.Fraser says this brings back a policy from the post-Second World War era when the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. developed blueprints to speed up the construction of homes.A report released this summer co-authored by housing expert Mike Moffatt came with a set of recommendations for the federal government that included developing such a catalogue.Fraser says the initiative will start with low-rise builds and will then explore a potential catalogue for higher-density construction.The minister says the catalogue should come together sometime next year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023. The Canadian Press

Why ditching fast fashion never goes out of style, and can save money in the long run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

Danielle Cosentino used to give bags of unwanted clothes to her cousin every year. While her cousin loved the free stuff, Cosentino grew tired of buying so much and wearing so little. She had become caught up in acquiring trends through fast fashion retailers only to realize she was locked in a loop of buying cheap clothes, having them degrade quickly, then having to buy more.“I’ve always been told if you haven’t worn it in two years, then it should go,” says Cosentino, a massage therapist and nutritionist. “And I felt like that would be half my closet.” A variety of studies and sources go even further than that, estimating that most of us don’t wear 70 to 80 per cent of our clothes.Averaging out census data over several years, Canadian households spend roughly $300 a month on clothing, according to Statistics Canada. If most of that will be barely worn, our closets are essentially graveyards of disposable income. Cosentino wanted to change. She hired Jaclyn Patterson, a personal ...

German prosecutors indict 27 people in connection with an alleged far-right coup plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors said Tuesday they have filed terrorism charges against 27 people, including a self-styled prince and a former far-right lawmaker, in connection with an alleged plot to topple the government that came to light with a slew of arrests a year ago.An indictment against 10 suspects, including the most prominent figures, was filed Dec. 11 at the state court in Frankfurt. Under the German legal system, the court must now decide whether and when the case will go to trial.Nine of those suspects, all German nationals, are accused of belonging to a terrorist organization that was founded in July 2021 with the aim of “doing away by force with the existing state order in Germany,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.Prosecutors said that the accused believed in a “conglomerate of conspiracy myths,” including Reich Citizens and QAnon ideology, and were convinced that Germany is ruled by a so-called “deep state.”Adherents of the Reich Citizens movement reject Ge...

Passengers lodge in military barracks after Amsterdam to Detroit flight is forced to land in Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit spent the night in a military barracks in eastern Canada after the plane was forced to land due to a mechanical issue.The crew diverted the flight Sunday afternoon to Newfoundland and Labrador, WJBK-TV first reported.Passenger Tony Santoro of Troy in suburban Detroit told the television station that passengers were lodged in barracks during the 24-hour delay. “It honestly felt like a hotel,” he said. “It wasn’t too bad. We had soap, water, everything.”Delta flight 135 was diverted to Goose Bay airport “out of an abundance of caution,” the airlines told The Associated Press in a statement Tuesday. “Crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at the Goose Bay airport causing the airport to suspend operations. Delta sent additional aircraft to Goose Bay to bring customers to their final destination Monday.”Delta worked with officials in Goose Bay to arrange for food, water and acc...

Man in 30s fatally stabbed in Toronto’s east end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

A man is dead following an apparent stabbing in Toronto’s east end on Tuesday morning.Emergency crews were called to Lockwood Road, near Kingston Road and Queen Street East, around 6:10 a.m.Toronto police officers found a man in his 30s lying on the ground with stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.No suspect information has been made available.The homicide unit has taken over the investigation.Anyone with additional information is being asked to contact police.

Ukraine faces heavy attack from air and cyberspace while Zelenskyy in US presses for more funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine came under heavy attack from the air and from cyberspace Tuesday, local officials said, as nearly 600 Russian shells, rockets and other projectiles rained down on a southern region and unidentified hackers knocked out phone and internet services of the country’s biggest telecom provider.Ukraine also claimed a successful hacker attack against Russia’s national tax system.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Capitol Hill to press Congress for additional military help, as further U.S. funding is uncertain due to a domestic political dispute.One person was killed and four injured during 24 hours of Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration. The number of projectiles fired at Kherson was the highest in at least two weeks.As winter sets in and hampers troop movements, air bombardment plays a growing role.Cyberattacks are also a busy battleground. Ukraini...

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' to kick off tour in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

CHICAGO — "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the six-time Tony Award-winning Best Play, will kick off its North American tour next year in Chicago.Producers Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions announced Monday that "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will launch downtown at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., with previews starting Tuesday, Sept. 10 , and an official opening on Thursday, Sept. 26. The final performance of the 21-week engagement is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.This will be the world premiere of the first-ever touring production of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child." It's based on the acclaimed Broadway production, currently playing at the Lyric Theatre New York. "Chicago is ready to welcome an extended engagement of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,'" Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release. "We are thrilled that Chicagoans will experience this magical production as the first ...

Uber offers holiday-themed party buses in some cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - As the holiday season approaches, Uber is giving customers a chance to ride in style to parties, festivities and gatherings. Beginning Monday through Sunday, Dec. 17, customers can book a Festive Fleet with Uber, a holiday-themed party charter bus filled with karaoke, festive lights, Christmas decor and photo props to help stir up the holiday spirit. Uber offering festive, holiday-themed party buses in LA (Uber)The holiday-themed charter trips will be available in Los Angeles; New York; Washington, D.C.; Miami, and Chicago. Riders who book a charter up until Sunday will receive 10% off with promo code “FESTIVE 10.” In addition to the holiday party buses, there are several other special holiday offerings from Uber, including the Gift Hub in the Uber Eats app to easily find and send gifts, Robot Reindeers that will be delivering food during the month of December, and free package returns using Uber Connect. 

Be wary before scanning QR codes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - Using a QR code is becoming more common as a way to access information quickly on your phone.You may have seen a Quick Response code, a group of black and white pixels usually in the shape of a square. Each one has an individualized pattern that encodes data that provides information about a product or service. They also allow users to view a menu at a restaurant, get directions, download an App, and confirm banking and other personal account information, along with dozens more uses. FTC offers complaint reporting, information in multiple languages As more people begin using them, thieves looking to steal your money and other information are creating harmful links embedded into the code. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), people are reporting that fraudsters are covering up legitimate QR codes with their own or sending texts and emails with fake QR codes.The fake QR code could take you to a spoofed site that looks real. After you log in, your...

Dictionary.com chooses 'hallucinate' as 2023's Word of the Year: Why?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Dictionary.com has chosen “hallucinate” as its 2023 Word of the Year, but not in its traditional, trippy sense.Instead, Dictionary.com is highlighting the word’s increased usage among users and critics of artificial intelligence (AI) programs, who have adopted the term to describe the inaccurate and often outlandish outputs that chatbots and other prompt-based AI programs attempt to present as fact.Specifically, Dictionary.com’s latest definition of “hallucinate” reads as follows:Computers, Digital Technology. (of a machine learning program) to produce false information contrary to the intent of the user and present it as if true and factual.Dictionary.com Oxford chooses ‘rizz’ as 2023 Word of the Year Popular AI chatbot programs can sometimes fall victim to these hallucinations, unintentionally sharing falsehoods with users. But hallucinations can also affect computer vision tools, which aim to assess and make recommendations based on visual data, ...