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Ticker: IRS to waive $1B in 2020, 2021 penalties; Consumer confidence heading up 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

The IRS said Tuesday it is going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 per year for tax years 2020 and 2021.Nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations — most making under $400,000 per year — will be eligible for the relief starting this week, which totals about $1 billion, the agency said.The IRS temporarily suspended mailing automated reminders to pay overdue tax bills during the pandemic, beginning in February 2022, and agency leadership says the pause in automated reminders is a reason behind the decision to forgive the failure-to-pay penalties.“Due to the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, these reminders would have normally been issued as a follow up after the initial notice,” the IRS said in a statement.“Although these reminder notices were suspended, the failure-to-pay penalty continues to accrue for taxpayers who did not fully pay their bills in response to the initial ...

A passenger hid bullets in a baby diaper at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. TSA officers caught him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a loaded diaper, but not like you would think.Security officers found 17 bullets concealed inside a disposable baby diaper Wednesday at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said.Officers pulled the otherwise clean diaper from a passenger’s carry-on bag after it triggered an alarm in an X-ray machine at an airport security checkpoint, the TSA said.According to the agency, the passenger initially claimed he didn’t know how the bullet-filled diaper ended up in his bag. Later he suggested his girlfriend put it there, the agency said.The TSA identified the passenger as a man from Arkansas who was ticketed for a flight to Chicago’s Midway Airport, but did not disclose his name. Port Authority police cited him for unlawful possession of the 9mm ammunition.Messages seeking details were left with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, and the Queens district attorney’s office.The diap...

Quebec, Inuit to reopen self-government negotiations in new year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec government and the organization that officially represents Inuit in the province are reopening negotiations around self-government for the province’s Far North.Pita Aatami, president of the Makivik Corporation, which represents Quebec’s Inuit in their dealings with the federal and provincial governments, says self-government is something his people have been dreaming of for 55 years.Several rounds of negotiations between Quebec and the Inuit have taken place since the 1990s, and most recently a proposed self-government agreement was rejected by Inuit voters in a 2011 referendum.Quebec Premier François Legault says he understands the desire for more autonomy, adding that the negotiations will take place on a nation-to-nation basis.The vast majority of Nunavik, the largely Inuit region of Quebec north of the 55th parallel, is in the territory of the Kativik Regional Government, which provides municipal-level services but is under the jurisdiction of t...

Woman, 72, uses shovel to chase naked intruder from her Vancouver home, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

VANCOUVER — Police say a 72-year-old woman used a shovel to chase a combative and naked man from her Vancouver home on Tuesday night. Vancouver police say in a statement the man entered the home by smashing a window with a pointed metal rod.They say the woman, who lives alone in the home, got out of bed, grabbed a shovel and chased the man from her house as he swung the rod at her.Police say the woman then cornered the suspect in his vehicle until police arrived.They say neighbours called 911 and officers responded to the scene.Police say the man has been charged and remains in custody. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.The Canadian Press

TTC says no fare increase in $2.6B budget for 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

The TTC has approved a $2.6 billion budget for 2024 that includes increased service levels but no fare increases.After raising the cost of Presto and cash fares by 10 cents a year ago, the transit agency says it is freezing fares in 2024 “in recognition of the impact current economic conditions have on its customers.”The 2024 budget represents a 7.5 per cent increase over 2023.The TTC says it expects to increase Wheel-Trans service hours to meet increasing demand while at the same time, it expects to see service levels increase to 97 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels by next September due to “increasing demand growth and increasing congestion on mixed-trafficcorridors.”“TTC customers are coming back quicker than we expected, and this budget allows us to meet their needs for the next year,” said TTC CEO Rick Leary. “This budget balances our need to deliver safe and reliable service while addressing the increased operating costs associated w...

BlackBerry reports loss in Q3, revenue up as it begins work to split business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

BlackBerry Ltd. lost US$21 million in its third quarter, which it spent working to split up its business.The Waterloo, Ont.-based software company, which reports its earnings in U.S. dollars, says the loss for the period ended Nov. 30 compared with a net loss of US$4 million a year earlier.The loss amounted to five cents per diluted share compared with a loss of nine cents per basic share a year prior.Financial markets data firm Refinitiv says analysts had expected the company to post a loss of five cents per basic share.BlackBerry says its revenue for the third quarter was US$175 million, compared to US$169 million a year earlier. Earlier this month, BlackBerry called off plans for an initial public offering of its Internet of Things business, but said it still plans to split that segment of the company from its cybersecurity division.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:BB)The Canadian Press

Toyota recalling nearly 100,000 vehicles in Canada due to airbag safety issue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

Toyota is conducting a safety recall involving certain 2020 and 2022 model-year Toyota and Lexus vehicles, affecting nearly 100,000 cars in Canada. The vehicles being recalled have what Toyota referred to as Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensors in the passenger seat that could have been improperly manufactured, causing a short circuit and impacting the airbag function.Toyota says the airbag may not deploy as designed in certain crashes, increasing the risk of injury.The models slated to be recalled include the Toyota Avalon and Avalon Hybrid (2020 and 2021), Camry and Camry Hybrid (2020-2022), Corolla (2020 and 2021), Highland and Highlander Hybrid (2020 and 2021), RAV 4 and RAV 4 Hybrid (2020 and 2021), and the Sienna Hybrid (2021).The Lexus models include the ES250 (2021), ES300H (2020-2022), ES350 (2020 and 2021), RX350 (2020 and 2021), and the RX450H (2020 and 2021). Toyota and Lexus dealers will inspect the OCS sensors and, if necessary, replace them at no cost to owner...

Linamar to buy agriculture equipment manufacturer Bourgault Industries in $640M deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

GUELPH, Ont. — Linamar Corp. says it’s reached an agreement to acquire Bourgault Industries Ltd. in a deal worth $640 million. The Guelph-based company says Bourgault is a world-class agriculture equipment manufacturer. Linamar says Bourgault will become part of its new agriculture division within its wider industrial segment. Linamar CEO and executive chair Linda Hasenfratz says the acquisition offers “tremendous opportunity” for her company to diversify and grow its agriculture platform. COO and president Jim Jarrell says Bourgault is Linamar’s third strategic acquisition of 2023 and will help it better serve the core Western Canadian and U.S. Midwest farm base. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:LNR)The Canadian Press

Movie Review: Ghosts and longing and love in ‘All of Us Strangers’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

Andrew Scott plays a writer trying to write something about his dead parents in Andrew Haigh’s transcendent drama “All of Us Strangers.” His parents’ death is not recent – they died when he was 12. Not that one ever really gets over that kind of loss. But we meet Adam at a moment where he is not just thinking about them but visiting them in his childhood home, where they are preparing for Christmas. Just in case it wasn’t sad enough already.“All of Us Strangers” will probably make you cry. Maybe even weep. And while there are some twists along the way, it never feels emotionally manipulative or unearned. In fact, it’s a rather authentic and cathartic experience — a deeply felt journey of acceptance, love and forgiveness.The most calculated flex of the movie is actually just in casting Scott, also known as “the hot priest” from “Fleabag,” opposite Paul Mescal, “the hot guy from ‘Normal People’” (and the sad, but still hot, dad from “Aftersun”). It’s the kind of pairing that seems des...

Tennessee judge pushes off issuing ruling in Ja Morant lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:52 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday said she won’t immediately hand down a ruling on whether Ja Morant’s legal team successfully argued that the NBA star is immune from being sued by a teenager he punched during a pickup game in 2022.According to The Commercial Appeal, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney said she needs more time due to the lack of case precedent surrounding the lawsuit.“Everybody was hoping for a big decision, or finality, or something like that,” Chumney said. “These are important legal issues.”Wednesday’s court session was a continuation of a hearing that began Dec. 11. The hearing centered on Morant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under Tennessee’s so-called ground law. The NBA player’s lawyers argue Morant is immune from liability under the law, which allows people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations. The law is used in criminal cases, but Chumney’s ruling last mont...