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Trump vs. DeSantis: Florida pastors mull conservative issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

DORAL, Florida (AP) — Several of Florida’s conservative faith leaders have the ear of two early frontrunners for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – former president Donald Trump, who lives in Palm Beach, and Gov. Ron DeSantis. The clergy’s top political priorities are thus likely to resonate in the national campaign for the religious vote, even as both men’s agendas are still being weighed from the pulpit. The faith leaders’ key issues include education, especially about gender and sexuality, and immigration, a particularly relevant matter in Florida, which is a destination for hundreds of thousands of newcomers and home to politically powerful Latino diasporas. Trump made reducing illegal immigration a strong focus of his previous campaigns, often with strident rhetoric, and has discussed building on his legacy in a second term. DeSantis, who isn’t yet a candidate but is widely expected to run, has taken a more careful approach with immigration de...

Federal agents in Kansas standoff after gunfire exchanged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Federal law enforcement agents were involved in a standoff at a Kansas apartment complex Friday evening after a suspect and an agent exchanged gunfire while authorities attempted to serve a warrant, police said.John Lacy of the Overland Park Police Department said the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI attempted to serve a felony warrant around 5 p.m. at the Villa Medici apartments, WDAF-TV reported.Officers barricaded the suspect into the complex and the man fired a gun at agents before running into an apartment, Lacy said.A U.S. Marshal returned fire but it was unclear if the suspect was hit, police said.The man remained inside the apartment as of 7 p.m. Friday, the station reported.Overland Park in Johnson County, Kansas, is about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri.The Associated Press

How to get to, from South by Southwest for 2023 festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2023 South by Southwest Conference & Festivals kicks off Friday, with a week-and-a-half's worth of keynote speakers, pop-ups, film screenings, concerts and other festivities planned. But with that comes the big question: How do I get to and from the festival?Road closures, impactsSeveral downtown-area roads will be fully or partially closed for the duration of SXSW, per the city's 2023 spring festival season guide. Here's a breakdown of those road closures and impacts, for drivers navigating downtown during the multi-day stint.SXSW shuttle systemSXSW operates a free shuttle route that runs from the Austin Convention Center and most SXSW venues throughout the event series. The shuttle can be picked up outside the Austin Convention Center along Trinity Street.Here are the shuttle run times:Friday, March 10: 10 a.m.-2 a.m.Saturday, March 11: 9 a.m.-2 a.m.Sunday, March 12: 9 a.m.- 2 a.m. (Daylight Savings Time)Monday, March 13: 9 a.m.-2 a.m.Tuesday, March 14: 9 a...

Back on the temperature roller coaster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The final day of Central Standard Time is dawning with low clouds and fog reducing the visibility to under a mile at several locations east of I-35. Much warmer air will be felt today as high temperatures this afternoon peak in the upper 80s to some low 90s. The morning clouds will clear to abundant sunshine especially during the middle- to late-afternoon hours. Today's normal high is 72°. The record high for today is 92° first set in 1955 and tied in 1967.The next cold front will slip south during the overnight hours. It comes through with no rain. Winds will come out of the northwest to north after it's departure. Overnight lows will be in the middle/upper 50s to low 60s.Sunday is the first day of Daylight Saving Time. Sunrise Sunday morning will be at 7:44. The sun goes down at 7:37.Scattered clouds and the sun will blend during the day. Many highs will be in the lower to middle 70s. The temperature roller coasts continues on a downward slide with highs in the up...

Lawmakers ask for state park to temporarily reopen before permanent closure, sale to private developer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lawmakers have asked the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to consider temporarily reopening a state park before its sale to a private developer later this summer.Fairfield Lake State Park, about 70 miles east of Waco, closed at the end of February after almost 50 years in operation. The site is not owned by the state, but rather leased by Vistra Energy, which operated a coal plant on the lake until 2018.The company is selling the land to a private developer, Todd Interests, which plans to turn the land into an exclusive community with multi-million dollar homes and a private golf course, according to the Dallas Morning News.The Parks and Wildlife Department was given a 120-day termination of lease notice on Feb. 13, meaning the state would have to vacate the property by June 13. TPWD decided to close the park to the public at the end of February to ensure the department had time to close all operations on the property. ‘Not constitutional’: Lawmakers hear how ef...

Colorado’s Independence Pass “John Doe,” found in 1970, identified as lost legendary skier Gardner Smith

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

A body found in the tundra atop Colorado’s Independence Pass in 1970 has been identified as legendary ski racer Gardner Paul Smith, a Beat-era adventurer who, before he went missing at age 39, was revered as a free-and-easy companion.“Whatever is right, friend,” he would say.Now the daughter he abandoned, who since childhood has wrestled with “a frustrating mystery,” is appealing for details from the end of his life “chasing winter” worldwide.“Obviously it is good to have closure,” said daughter Jeanne Gaida, a 60-year-old Texas real estate agent, in an interview this week. “I feel sad that he seemed to have had a lonely, tragic ending. …..“I’m still sorting it out. I am just sad – sad that he was alone,” said Gaida, who interpreted his “whatever is right, friend” expression as evidence of a kind and tolerant man who accepted others’ thinking.Smith’s exhumed remains sat for years in the Leadville office of a former co...

A Gen Z mystery: My Instagram posts keep showing up on Facebook!

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

More than a decade ago, Qu’ana Underwood, then a middle school student in Philadelphia, joined Facebook. But as other social media platforms appeared, Facebook “became an afterthought,” she said.Then last March, after Underwood posted photos of herself at a university formal on Instagram, she was suddenly flooded with Facebook notifications from relatives and friends she doesn’t normally keep in touch with. Her Instagram post had also appeared on her Facebook profile, prompting her Facebook friends to like and comment on it.Underwood said she was mystified by what was happening, especially when every post or story she shared on Instagram ended up on Facebook — even though she couldn’t remember the last time she had posted there.“What is going on?” Underwood, a 22-year-old behavioral health specialist in Nashville, Tennessee, said she had asked herself.Like Underwood, other teenagers and young adults have discovered in recent months that they’ve been unusually active on Faceboo...

Tech is allowing businesses to overcharge you in tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

You might be wondering why I, a tech columnist, would write about tipping. The reason is that tipping is no longer just a socioeconomic and ethical issue about the livelihoods of service workers.It has also become a tech problem that is rapidly spiraling out of control, thanks to the proliferation of digital payment products from companies like Square and Toast. Since payment apps and touch screens make it simple for merchants to preset gratuity amounts, many businesses that didn’t ordinarily ask for tips now do.And many consumers feel pressured to oblige or don’t notice the charges. This phenomenon — known as “guilt tipping” — was compounded in recent years when more privileged professionals shelled out extra to help essential workers weather the pandemic. But even as businesses have somewhat returned to normal, the gratuity requests have remained steadfast.Tipping practices may become part of a broad government crackdown on so-called junk fees, extra costs that businesses ta...

Pickleball is booming in Colorado. One city isn’t so sure it likes the sound.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

“Research shows that continuous impulsive sound such as pickleball paddle impact with a pickleball make it difficult to relax, concentrate or sleep soundly without disturbance as each impact heard draws attention and creates distraction.”And with that passage from an ordinance before Centennial City Council this month, this southern suburb will consider a six-month ban on the construction of any outdoor pickleball courts within 500 feet of homes.Centennial’s potential moratorium comes as pickleball — a mashup of tennis and ping-pong that is easy to learn and highly social — explodes in popularity. In February, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association reported that 8.9 million people played pickleball last year — nearly doubling 2021’s 4.8 million — making it the fastest-growing sport in the United States for the third year running.But with that growth has come an increasing number of coast-to-coast stories of sonic assault and desce...

Betting on social media as a news destination for the young

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:05:17 GMT

NEW YORK — If young people are spending so much time on social media, it stands to reason that’s a good place to reach them with news.Operators of the News Movement are betting their business on that hunch. The company, which has been operating for more than a year, hopes to succeed despite journalism being littered with years of unsuccessful attempts to entice people in their 20s to become news consumers.The brainchild of former Dow Jones executives, the News Movement is using a staff of reporters with an average age of 25 to make tailored news content for sites like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.“You really have to stay humble and stay open to different trends and ideas,” said Ramin Beheshti, president and a founder of the organization with former Dow Jones CEO Will Lewis. “We’ve built a newsroom that reflects the audience that we’re trying to go after.”Among the newsrooms the company is producing TikTok videos for is The Associated Press. The AP has provided office...