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Airbnb wins Vancouver privacy ruling, as court quashes order to release host data

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

VANCOUVER — Airbnb has won a court ruling that quashes an order from British Columbia’s privacy commissioner that would have identified hosts and their home addresses in Vancouver. The B.C. Supreme Court ruling released Wednesday says the Information and Privacy Commissioner got it wrong when it ordered the City of Vancouver to release the information about hosts who hold short-term rental licences without notifying them.Justice Jasvinder Basran’s ruling says the privacy commissioner must reconsider its findings after notifying Airbnb hosts about the potential release of the information.The ruling says both the City of Vancouver and the company had opposed releasing the records to an unnamed “John Doe” party, claiming the information could be used to harm the property owners.The judge’s decision says the privacy commissioner incorrectly classified home addresses as business information rather than personal information since Airbnb hosts run home-based b...

Movie Review: ‘Joy Ride’ is a cheerfully gross-out comedy that soars, thanks to a terrific cast

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

If you’re like me, there comes a moment of truth in raunchy film comedies when you decide whether to fully join in the fun — or ride it out on the fence.It often comes in a key early comic scene. Can they pull it off? If so you’ll be putty in their hands for two hours, ready to chuckle along no matter how gross it gets (think of that bridal dress fitting in “Bridesmaids.”) If not, you’ll shuffle uncomfortably on the sidelines, feeling rather like a prude.In first-time director Adele Lim’s ebullient, chaotic, nothing’s-too-gross-if-it’s funny road comedy “Joy Ride,” that moment came for me when watching Ashley Park swallow a disgusting concoction in a drinking contest, pretending all’s fine as her insides erupt. Expert comic chops cannot be faked. Park had me from that guzzle (and cemented it later with her Gollum impression.)Yet the impressive thing about “Joy Ride,” a comedy that more than earns its R rating — folks, it features a vaginal tattoo in full-frontal glory — is tha...

Sentencing for former Indiana congressman postponed as prosecutors seek $1.4 million in restitution

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former Indiana congressman should pay nearly $1.4 million to cover the legal bills of companies forced to incur expenses when he was prosecuted on insider trading charges. But his lawyer said Thursday it’s an exorbitant amount to demand from a man already suffering financially.U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman postponed Steve Buyer’s sentencing until July 31. He asked the Probation Department to analyze the $349,846 that prosecutors say Buyer should forfeit as crime proceeds and another $1.39 million he would owe for the legal costs of two companies. Sentencing had been set for next week.Buyer, 64, a Republican from Noblesville, Indiana, was convicted in March of making illegal stock trades while working as a consultant and lobbyist after a congressional career that stretched from 1993 to 2011.The lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran once chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs committee and was a House prosecutor at ex-President Bill C...

QEW Niagara-bound lanes of Burlington Skyway to close every Friday night in July

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

Niagara-bound drivers on the QEW will be forced to find another route into the region for the next four Fridays due to repairs on the Burlington Skyway Bridge.The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) says starting July 7 the Niagara-bound lanes will be closed for more than 12 hours each Friday night at 8 p.m. so that “critical repairs” can be made to the bridge.“The work involves the removal and replacement of an expansion joint system,” the MTO said in a statement. “Expansion joints for road bridges are critical to ensure the continuity of the road surface as well as load bearing capacity and the movement of the bridge.”The roadway is expected to reopen at 9:30 a.m. the next morning, according to the ministry.In the case of bad weather, the Friday night closure will be rescheduled for Saturday and lanes will reopen by 9:30 a.m. Sunday.The work on the westbound lanes is expected to continue for the next three Fridays as well.

In Lula’s first six months, Brazil Amazon deforestation dropped 34%, reversing trend under Bolsonaro

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — After four years of rising destruction in Brazil’s Amazon, deforestation dropped by 33.6% during the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term, according to government satellite data released Thursday.From January to June the rainforest had alerts for possible deforestation covering 2,650 square kilometers (1,023 square miles), down from 4,000 square kilometers — an area the size of Rhode Island — during the same period last year under former President Jair Bolsonaro. This year’s data includes a 41% plunge in alerts for June, which marks the start of the dry season when deforestation tends to jump. “The effort of reversing the curve of growth has been reached. That is a fact: we reversed the curve; deforestation isn’t increasing,” João Paulo Capobianco, the Environment Ministry’s executive secretary, said during a presentation in Brasilia. Capobianco noted that full-year results will depend on a few challenging...

Russian jets harass U.S. drone aircraft over Syria for the 2nd time in 24 hours

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to several U.S. drone aircraft over Syria again Thursday, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force said.It was the second time in 24 hours that Russia has harassed U.S. drones there. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement. U.S. Air Forces Central released videos of the two separate incidents that took place Wednesday and Thursday. In the first incident, which took place about 10:40 a.m. local time Wednesday in Northwest Syria, Russian SU-35 fighters closed in on a Reaper, and one of the Russian pilots moved their aircraft in front of a drone and engaged the SU-35’s afterburner, which greatly increases its speed and air pressure.T...

Suburban warehouse behind latest shipment of medical supplies earmarked for Ukraine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

WOODRIDGE, Ill. — Tucked away in a Woodridge warehouse, it may surprise locals that the world's largest distributor of donated medical equipment and supplies resides, aiding under-resourced people from 135 countries, including Ukraine.On Thursday, an army of volunteers with Project C.U.R.E. Chicago carefully packed shipping container No. 114 to assist the courageous doctors and nurses working in Ukraine. "It can take up to five months to get where it's going," said Project C.U.R.E. Chicago's operation chief Jessamyn Moore. Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of planning to attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant The 50,000-square-foot Project C.U.R.E Chicago warehouse in west suburban Woodridge is one of seven warehouses across the United States."Nationwide, we have over 35,000 volunteers," Moore said. "We couldn't do it without them."Among the many volunteers was Stevenson High School junior Vinod Kanna, who works at the warehouse on Tuesday and Thursday for about six hours a day. K...

Skilling: Cooler Thursday night before possible showers Friday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

The sun finally emerged Thursday in the wake of the latest round of drenching rains in Wednesday storms. As is typical rainfall varied----AND WIDELY based on COCORAHS volunteer observer 24 hour rainfall observations through Thursday morning at 7am CDT. Totals on the "high end" ranged from 3.12" at Manhattan in Will County, 3.04" at Oak Lawn and 2.86" at Marionette Park—to as little s 0.03" at Dwight, IL and both DeMotte and Rensselaer, IN.The spread across Chicago proper was wide---from 0.45" at O'Hare to 1.92" at Midway Airport—where when Sunday's record 4.05" is added, 5.97" of rain—NEARLY HALF A FOOT OF RAIN---has fallen in just the past 3 days.At O'Hare, July 2023's rainfall ALL OF 6 DAYS into the month, stands at an eye-catching 4.28" which is 6.6 times normal and 115% the normal full July rainfall of 3.71".With all the recent rain----albeit more in city locations than in some surrounding area (MUCH MORE in some cases!!!)----LITTLE SURPRISE the new DROUGHT MONITOR issued today ...

Glen Ellyn woman faces 132 counts of animal cruelty charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. -- A Glen Ellyn woman faces over 100 charges of animal cruelty and neglect after authorities discovered more than a dozen dead animals on her property.According to the court documents, the DuPage County Animal Services searched the home of 60-year-old April Elliott in Glen Ellyn and found nine dead dogs, four chinchillas, and a dead rabbit in boxes and trash bags.DuPage County Animal Services reported there were also 24 dogs alive, most of which were emaciated, some barely able to walk. Documents also showed that Elliott did not provide enough food and water for her animals, and failed to provide veterinary care. Court docs: Little Village father accused of killing wife, daughter agreed to rehab prior to shooting; no bail Animal services said when they arrived at the home, they found dogs stacked in cages inside. From a neighbor’s yard, we could also see cages in her back yard.Elliott told officers she was testing and curing diseases on the animals, and that she d...

Threads account can't be deleted without wiping Instagram too

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:50:41 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The excitement around a fresh social media platform can be so great that users don't even think about the day they might want to erase their account – something new adopters of Meta's Threads are already griping about Thursday. In the wake of Elon Musk's shakeup of Twitter, alternative platforms such as Hive and Mastodon have tried to siphon away dissatisfied users, but when it comes to mass early adoption, Threads stands out. The Twitter rival surpassed 30 million sign ups Thursday morning, according to Mark Zuckerberg.As the buzz around Threads spread, so did news of a particular line in the service's privacy policy."You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account." 5 things to know about Threads, Twitter’s newest rival Some who downloaded the app to give it a try – which Instagram users can do in a matter of seconds – found out deleting it was more complicated than they knew."I deac...