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Toy retailer Mastermind to stop accepting gift cards after Christmas Eve

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

TORONTO — Mastermind says it will stop honouring gift cards after Christmas Eve.The distressed toy retailer says in court filings that gift cards won’t be accepted at its stores after Dec. 24.The filings made with Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice show the chain’s customers hold about $5.6 million in outstanding gift cards.However, Toronto-based Mastermind recently stopped selling and activating new cards.The company filed for creditor protection last month, citing increasing competition and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have become too significant to overcome. It plans to close at least 18 of its 66 stores as part of the filing.In early December, a trio of retailer names including Joe Mimran banded together to buy the bulk of the company’s assets.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Drive a Honda or Acura? Over 2.5 million cars are under recall due to fuel pump defect

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Honda Motor’s American arm is recalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving.According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used for in 2017-2020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which “can deform and interfere with the fuel pump body” over time, regulators said, leading to an inoperative fuel pump.If the fuel pump module doesn’t work, the car’s engine may not start or can stall while driving, the NHTSA said, increasing crash and injury risks. Honda says it has not received any crash or injury reports related to this recall to date.The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases, with the first batch of owner notification letters going out in February.“Co...

Myanmar’s military should be investigated for war crimes, Amnesty International says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday accused the Myanmar military of indiscriminate killings, detaining civilians, and using air-dropped cluster munitions in response to an insurgency in the northeast and west, and demanded an investigation into war crimes. Fighting has been raging in the northern part of Shan state since the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance, launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27. A little more than two weeks later, the Arakan Army also attacked outposts in its home state of Rakhine in the west.The offensive of the well-trained and well-armed ethnic militias has been seen as a significant challenge for the army, which has struggled to contain a nationwide uprising by members of the People’s Defense Forces, a pro-democracy armed group established after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung Sa...

Cyprus minister says his nation leads EU in repatriations and migrant arrivals are down sharply

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is the first European Union member country to repatriate more migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected than have arrived in a single year, the east Mediterranean island nation’s interior minister said Thursday.Constantinos Ioannou told the state broadcaster that over 11,000 migrants have been repatriated so far this year, more than double the number from 2022. That ranks Cyprus 4th in repatriations among all EU states in absolute numbers. About two-thirds of those repatriations were voluntary.But Ioannou said a deal EU leaders reached on Wednesday on new rules to control migration falls short of Cyprus’ demand for compulsory relocation of migrants from front-line states under strain from increased arrivals, to other bloc members.He said on the upside, the deal foresees that EU members refusing to take in migrants from a front-line state must pay that country 20,000 euros ($22,000) for each migrant.Ioannou said the Cypriot government’s...

Time to replace your car? How to tell when repair bills are no longer worth it

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

TORONTO — Deciding whether to fix your aging car again or trade it in for a new one can be a tough calculation at the best of times, let alone when financing costs have significantly jumped and car prices have soared.Whether to repair or replace your car comes down to balancing the cost and utility of the vehicle, according to Ben Mayhew, a financial planner and founder of Aergo Financial Planning in Halifax.“But when you’re in an environment where used car prices and new car prices are significantly higher, we need to go deeper on looking at that balance,” he said. He suggested finding a trustworthy mechanic who can help determine if an expensive repair could help defer acar purchase. Whether to head to the garage also depends on the health of the other parts of the car. If it’s a big one-time cost and you’re extending the car’s use to the very end of its life, it could give the owner more time to save toward a vehicle purchase in the future, May...

Security guard fatally shot in Chatham ID'd; suspects sought

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

CHICAGO — The security guard who was fatally shot at a Chatham shopping center has been identified.The medical examiner has identifed him as 53-year-old Edward F. Creamer of Calumet City.Officers responded around 1 p.m. Wednesday to the 700 block of East 87th Street on the report of a shooting in the city's Chatham neighborhood. Police said Creamer was involved in a verbal altercation with three males and a female. A source told WGN News he was working as a security guard at DTLR, a shoe store.One of the male suspects shot the security guard three times during the incident. Creamer was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died. Security guard shot, killed in Chatham Police continue their search for four suspects wanted in the shooting. The group reportedly fled the scene in a gray sedan, according to police.It is unknown at this time what led to the altercation between Creamer and the suspects.

Powerball jackpot climbs to $620M. How much would you actually get in Illinois?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The Powerball prize continues to climb ahead of the holidays after no one won the big prize in Wednesday night's drawing. Three tickets sold in Colorado, Kentucky and Virginia were worth $2 million apiece, while two tickets sold in Kentucky and Rhode Island won $1 million each.The winning numbers drawn Wednesday were 27, 35, 41, 56, 60, and red Powerball 16. The Power Play was 2X.Powerball officials now estimate the jackpot to be $620 million with a cash value of $310.8 million ahead of Saturday night's drawing. How did two tickets sold at the same gas station win the Mega Millions jackpot? There are two payout options a Powerball jackpot winner chooses from: the cash lump sum payment (the most common, but the one you may want to think twice about) and the annuitized option. The cash payout is worth about $310.8 million in this drawing — it's the amount of money Powerball officials believe they’ll have in the prize pool at the time of the drawing, which would be enoug...

Americans released from Venezuelan prison

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - Several Americans who had been jailed in Venezuela touched down on American soil last night following a deal between the Biden administration and the Venezuelan government.The White House says the deal was months in the making. Ten Americans were freed in the prisoner swap."We have secured the release of every American being held in Venezuela," said President Joe Biden.Fugitive Leonard Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," was also returned to America.The defense contractor escaped house arrest in California last year and fled to Venezuela. The U.S. released a close ally of the Venezuelan president, Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who had been arrested on federal money laundering charges.President Biden defended the controversial deal last night." It's okay because we heard Americans, people who were held illegally and we made a deal with Venezuela that they hold free elections so far, they've maintained the requirement," said Biden.As part of the deal,...

In-N-Out adds first new items to menu since 2018

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

(KTLA) – For the first time in five years, In-N-Out has added new items to its menu.Earlier this week, the California-based chain announced that Lite Pink Lemonade and Cherry Coke are now available at restaurants, effectively making them the first new menu items since 2018."We are so excited to share two new options on our beverage menu that we think you are going to love!" reads a post shared to In-N-Out's social media pages.The new lemonade — a lower-calorie version of its classic pink lemonade — is made with lemon juice and is sweetened with stevia leaves and monk fruit. Cherry Coke, meanwhile, takes its place among other Coca-Cola-owned offerings including classic Coke, Minute Maid zero-sugar lemonade and Barq's root beers. In-N-Out last augmented its menu with a new item in 2018, when hot cocoa was introduced. Restaurants have also been known to provide free hot cocoa to children 12 and under on rainy or snowy days, depending on the location. The not-so-secret meaning behind ...

Vehicle thefts on the rise at Austin's airport

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:45:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Data from the Austin Police Department shows the number of vehicles stolen from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, including thefts in the parking garages, has risen this year when compared to the past five years. KXAN reached out to APD after multiple viewers said their vehicle was stolen from one of the parking garages at the airport while they were traveling. Those viewers said their cars were eventually found in other Texas cities like Houston and Dallas. Over the past five years, the data shows there have been 230 reports of stolen cars from the airport. Of those, 177 cars were stolen from one of the designated garages where the airport offers overnight parking for travelers. This chart shows the car theft data at ABIA from Jan. 2018 to Aug. 2023. Car thefts happen in parking lots around the airport, not just the parking garages (Courtesy Austin Police Department).The data in the 2023 column only shows crime statistics between January and August. In th...