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Ukraine spurs hope of breakthrough on southern front

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

(The Hill) – Ukrainian forces penetrated an initial line of Russian defenses on the war’s southeastern front this week, raising hopes of a major breakthrough in its counteroffensive campaign as troops push toward the Sea of Azov to cut off Russian supply lines.Ukraine still has a long way to go — but the first line of defense is widely seen as the toughest, and the going could get easier from here on out.Military analysts say the more rapid progress made in the last two weeks is also a good sign, slightly raising their hopes of a decisive victory two months into the counteroffensive.“The chances of it happening are growing,” John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, said of a major breakthrough. “If [we] are right about the second defensive line the farther east you go, then what we're seeing today means a bigger chance of a big breakthrough.”Though he is more optimistic now, Herbst does not expect an immediate breakthrough, only modest gains unless the ...

APD: SWAT response in northwest Austin

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department said there was an active SWAT call in northwest Austin early Saturday. Austin Police said the call came in at 5:39 a.m. in the 11000 block of Research Boulevard service road northbound. People were asked to avoid the area. Austin-Travis County EMS is also responding. This is a developing story. Check back with KXAN for updates.

1 dead, 1 injured after head-on collision in eastern Travis County

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County officials said one person died and another was injured after two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision early Saturday.Austin-Travis County EMS said medics responded to the 4600 block of East State Highway 71 at 2:46 a.m. and took one person to the hospital with potentially serious injuries.Traffic closures and delays were expected in the area for the investigation and clean-up, according to ATCEMS.“The entire roadway is shut down, select alternate routes to avoid the area,” ATCEMS said.

Impeachment trial: What are the allegations against Attorney General Ken Paxton?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video explains the Ken Paxton impeachment trial rules.AUSTIN (Nexstar) — All eyes will be on the Texas Senate Tuesday, when senators embark on the first impeachment trial of a statewide elected official in more than 100 years: suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.At the end of May, the House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton on a host of allegations — making false statements, obstructing justice, accepting bribes from a campaign donor and more. KXAN will have live coverage for the entirety of the Ken Paxton impeachment trial. Click here for in-depth coverage and the latest live stream of the trial.Although an impeachment trial is purely political, in the sense that lawmakers are not bringing any criminal charges against Paxton, legal experts note that the process will likely mirror what happens in a criminal or civil courtroom. The House acts like a grand jury, with their vote signifying that the majority found there was enough probable cause to impe...

David Brooks: People are more generous than we may think

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

Are human beings fundamentally good or fundamentally bad? Are people mostly generous, or are they mostly selfish?Over the centuries, many of our leading lights have taken the view that people are basically selfish. Machiavelli argued that people are deceitful, ungrateful and covetous. Classical economics is based on the idea that people relentlessly pursue their self-interest. “The average human being is about 95% selfish in the narrow meaning of the term,” economist Gordon Tullock once wrote. In his book “The Selfish Gene,” evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins argued, “We are born selfish.” In the public at large, only 30% of Americans say they can trust the people around them, suggesting quite a grim view of human nature.But what if this dark view of our nature is not true?In a recent experiment led by psychologists Ryan Dwyer, William Brady and Elizabeth Dunn and TED curator Chris Anderson, 200 people in seven nations around the world were each given $10,000, free, and then rep...

'Margaritaville' singer, Jimmy Buffett, dies at 76

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Jimmy Buffett passed away last night, September 1, according to a statement posted on his website. He was 76.The statement does not specify the place of death or the cause. In May, the singer had to reschedule his concerts due to health issues, which he had shared on social media, indicating his hospitalization.Jimmy Buffett is renowned for his music career, notably as a singer-songwriter celebrated for his laid-back, tropical-themed style. He is often linked to the 'Gulf and Western' or 'Trop Rock' subgenre, which blends elements of country, folk, rock, and Caribbean music. ‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76 His music frequently embraces a carefree, beachy lifestyle, with his most famous songs including "Margaritaville," "Cheeseburger in Paradise," and "Come Monday." Beyond his musical achievements, Buffett is recognized for his entrepreneurial ventures, such as the popular restaurant chain 'Margaritaville,' w...

After years of infighting, one Douglas County commissioner sues the other two over legal fees

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

The players are different, the county is different, but the question is the same: Should a local elected official be forced to pay her own legal costs to defend against actions taken by other elected officeholders in the same jurisdiction — even the same building?Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas sued her commissioner colleagues Aug. 29, the latest turn in more than two years of public bickering with George Teal and Abe Laydon over her conduct. It follows a recent vote by Teal and Laydon to censure her. Thomas wants to recover $5,715.50 in legal fees she racked up defending herself against county-launched investigations that ultimately found no wrongdoing on her part. Douglas County has refused to cut her a check.“I was elected by 129,000 people,” Thomas told The Denver Post in an interview Friday. “And the tyranny of the majority continues to marginalize my ability to govern. They need to pay my legal bills and we can all move on.”The situation ...

A move to cut drug prices in Colorado has patients with rare diseases worried

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

For people with cystic fibrosis, like Sabrina Walker, Trikafta has been a life-changer.Before the 37-year-old Erie mother started taking the drug, she would wind up in the hospital for weeks at a time until antibiotics could eliminate the infections in her lungs. Every day, she would wear a vest that shook her body to loosen the mucus buildup.One particularly bad flare-up, known as a pulmonary exacerbation, had her coughing up blood in 2019, so she was put on the newly approved breakthrough medication.Within a month, her lung function increased by 20%, she said, and her health improved. Before she started taking Trakafta, she could count on three to four hospitalizations a year. Over the four years on the medication, she has been hospitalized only once.“I was spending hours a day doing airway clearance and breathing treatments, and that has been significantly reduced,” Walker said. “I’ve gained hours back in my day.”Now she runs and hikes in the thin Colorado air and works a full-ti...

Emotional return: Mountain View plays in honor of mother who died

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW – With heavy hearts, the Mountain View High School football team played a game on Friday night, its first since an unthinkable tragedy left the program mourning the death of a player’s mother.On each helmet was the initials “LD” in honor of Lucinda Daniels, who collapsed with a brain injury at a game last week while tending to her seriously injured son, senior running back Dillon Daniels, and died Wednesday.The Spartans lost to Live Oak 20-14 in their emotional return to the field. But to Mountain View coach Tim Lugo, the scoreboard hardly mattered.“Like I told the kids, win or lose, you’re all winners for playing tonight,” Lugo said.Before kickoff, Mountain View held a moment of silence in tribute to Lucinda, a wife and mother of four whose death sparked an outpouring of support from the Mountain View community and beyond.The Mountain View High School football team bows their heads before their game, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, during a moment of silence in honor of Lucind...

Kurtenbach: Cal and Stanford are in the ACC and college football is officially dead

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:43:13 GMT

The “caretakers” of college football made the most serious mistake, and it killed their sport.They assumed the game was serious.No, what made college football great was the sheer chaos of it all. It was balkanized and provincial — a game filled with shady characters, open secrets, and preposterous contradictions.College football is dead. Its murder came long before Friday, when the Atlantic Coast Conference added Stanford and Cal — two schools that couldn’t be any further away from the Atlantic Coast. But the move perfectly encapsulates how this once great sport had everything that once made it great stripped away.The new college football is national and corporate — a billion-dollar industry dominated by the same cadre of schools that have made their business creating NFL players.The top schools all compete for the same top players. The conferences fight for the same (now dwindling) TV dollars.Everything serves those two purposes. There’s not much room for an...