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Restaurant owners are fed up with reservation-hoarding bots

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

Kat Odell | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsTo score a table at Don Angie, the Italian-American hotspot in New York’s West Village, the official course of action is to log on to restaurant booking site Resy at 9 a.m. seven days before the desired dining date. At least, that’s the policy that chef-owners Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli have set up for potential diners.But those who have recently tried to book those elusive seats via the reservation platform know they rarely open up.If you head over to Appointment Trader, however, and are willing to pay up to $125 just for the opportunity to walk through the door, you can start bidding on seats for any day for the next few weeks.The issue of seats disappearing that should be available began last summer, says Rito. “But it has become more pronounced over the last few months.”She believes that bots—software programs engineered to perfect certain tasks, like swiping up Taylor Swift tickets or restaurant reservations the millisecond seats open up—are ...

Mass and Cass tents coming down in Boston today [+gallery]

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

The tents on Mass and Cass are coming down.At 8 a.m., the first tent poles were being pulled by a resident of the Mile even before police nearby entered the encampment. It was a chilly 38 degrees with an icy breeze and no one seemed to be in any rush.Boston, MA - The words “God Bless Mass & Cass” are seen on a telephone pole as tents come down on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Boston, MA - Tents come down on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Boston, MA - A man sits with his belongings as tents come down on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Boston, MA - A man sits with his belongings as tents come down on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Boston, MA - The words “God Bless Mass & Cass” are seen on a telephone pole as tents come down on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Boston, MA - Workers take down tents on Mass and Cass. November 01: . (Nancy Lane/...

These Día de Los Muertos items are not allowed into US ports of entry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) -- As many border communities plan to celebrate Día de Los Muertos, or All Souls Day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials warn that some items used for holiday decorations are not allowed to cross from Mexico into the United States. Texas granted emergency order to stop feds from cutting border razor wire Prohibited items include orange jasmine, an ornamental greenery used to decorate altares (altars), which is formally called Murraya paniculata. The plant can carry the invasive Asian citrus psyllid insect Diaphorina citri Kuwayam, which can harm U.S. citrus crops and is not allowed in the United States.The insect can cause citrus greening, called huanglongbing, which "is the most serious disease of citrus," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two workers injured installing giant ‘Catrina’ for Día de Los Muertos CBP agriculture specialists are currently on the lookout for these banned items as Thursday's Día de Los Muertos cel...

CP NewsAlert: Canada’s immigration targets to level out in 2026

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

OTTAWA — New targets tabled in Parliament show the government plans to level out the number of new permanent residents to Canada in 2026, forecasting an end to record-breaking year-over-year immigration.More coming. The Canadian Press

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says he wanted to return to duty after being cleared in trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Retired Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says he wanted to return to duty after being acquitted in a sexual assault trial last December, but the Canadian Armed Forces didn’t want him back. Fortin expressed concerns with the way the military handles sexual misconduct allegations, and his case in particular, in a statement today posted to his LinkedIn profile. Fortin was charged with sexual assault in August 2021 after a woman he attended military college with in 1988 brought a complaint to military police.He was removed from his job leading Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout program after an investigation was launched. Fortin says in the post that after a judge found him not guilty and the military cleared him of wrongdoing, the Armed Forces offered him a job — and then retracted that offer. Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters that he can’t talk about the case because the government came to a settlement with Fortin last month in a lawsuit he had filed.This repor...

Richmond Hill physiotherapist charged with sexual assault

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

York Regional Police have charged a physiotherapist in the alleged sexual assault of a client.Authorities received information about a possible sexual assault on October 23 in Richmond Hill.Police said a victim alleged they were sexually assaulted during an appointment at a clinic in the Yonge Street and Centre Street area. The accused was identified as 53-year-old Iraj Daneshvar of Richmond Hill. He’s been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm.No other information was provided.

Princeton student who stormed Capitol is sentenced to 2 months behind bars

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who was a Princeton University student when he stormed the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to two months of incarceration for interfering with police officers trying to hold off a mob of Donald Trump supporters.Larry Fife Giberson, who graduated from Princeton earlier this year, was a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in political science when he and other rioters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He joined the crowd in a coordinated push against officers guarding an entrance in a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace.Giberson, now 22, expressed remorse and shame for his “careless and thoughtless actions” at the Capitol before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced him.“I don’t believe my defining moment was there on the Lower West Terrace,” he told the judge. “Instead, I believe my defining moment is now, standing before you.”Prosecutors had recommended sentencing Giberson to 11 months behind bars.The judge, who also sente...

More red tape for new Canadians needing travel visas for India

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

Canadians of Indian descent are scrambling to surrender their Indian passports so they can travel to their home country.Indian-born travellers have to submit “surrender certificates” in order to apply for a visa and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card to return to India after the Indian government suspended its e-visa program last month.A surrender certificate is a document issued when an Indian passport is handed in once the holder receives a Canadian passport. The certificate is now crucial for obtaining an entry visa to India and to apply for an OCI card. On Oct 25, the Indian Embassy in Ottawa announced the partial resumption of visa services for Canadians travelling to India, but it has not restarted the e-visa program.Sanjay Verma, Indian High Commissioner in Canada, confirmed there has been an increase in the total number of OCI applications from across the country and that processing times will be longer than usual as a result.“India has unilaterally (not ...

Connecticut judge orders new mayoral primary after surveillance videos show possible ballot stuffing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

A state judge has taken the unusual step of ordering a new Democratic mayoral primary in Connecticut’s largest city to be held after the Nov. 7 general election is completed. The decision comes after surveillance videos showed a woman stuffing what appeared to be absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box days before the original primary.Superior Court Judge William Clark determined the allegations of possible malfeasance warrant throwing out the results of the Sept. 12 primary, which incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim won by 251 votes out of 8,173 cast. Absentee ballots secured his margin of victory.Ganim’s opponent, John Gomes, whose campaign obtained the surveillance video and released it publicly after the primary, sued city officials and demanded a new primary, or for him to be declared the winner. The Associated Press

Rep. George Santos is facing an effort by fellow New York Republicans to expel him from the House

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. George Santos faces a vote Wednesday evening to expel him from the House as part of an effort led by fellow New York Republicans who are anxious to distance themselves from a colleague infamous for fabricating his life story and accused of stealing from donors, lying to Congress and receiving unemployment benefits he did not deserve.To succeed, their resolution needs the support of at least two-thirds of lawmakers, meaning numerous Republican lawmakers would have to break ranks with newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson, who has said Santos should get his day in court. Johnson, R-La., also recently told Fox News that if Congress is going to expel members because they are charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing, “that’s a problem.”Congress has rarely resorted to the most extreme punishment at its disposal. The House has expelled only five members in its history — three during the Civil War and two after their convictions on public corruption charges. I...