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Andalusia considers more irrigation near Spanish wetlands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A plan to increase irrigation in an area adjoining one of Europe’s most prized wetlands is set to advance Wednesday when lawmakers in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia vote in favor. The proposal to rezone the lands goes against the advice of ecologists and repeated warnings from European Union officials.The vote is expected to start the bill down the path towards becoming law. It is sponsored by the ruling conservative Popular Party, which holds an absolute majority in the regional parliament based in Seville. It also has the support of the far-right Vox party.If the measure becomes law, some 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of land near the Doñana nature reserve will be declared as irrigable. This would grant an amnesty to the many farms that already use illegal wells to tap into the aquifer underlying the wetlands to grow strawberries for export across Europe. The Popular Party says that its intention is to help farmers who are in a legal limbo regulari...

Tim Scott unveils 2024 White House exploratory committee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is taking the next official step toward a bid for president in 2024.In a video released Wednesday morning, Scott announced he was forming an exploratory committee, which moves him closer to a formal campaign for the White House. He leaned into his biography as a Black man who overcame poverty to argue that Democrats are too liberal and have needlessly divided the country by fostering a “culture of grievance.”“All too often when they get called out for their failures, they weaponize race to divide us, to hold onto their power,” he said. “When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control.”For months, Scott has been developing the infrastructure to accompany a bid for the White House, building out his political action committee and visiting early voting states. On Wednesday, he’s traveling to Iowa, the state that will k...

Credit Suisse rescue rebuked by half of Swiss parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s lower house of parliament issued a searing — though symbolic — rebuke Wednesday of an emergency plan spearheaded by the executive branch to prop up embattled Credit Suisse and shepherd it into a takeover by Swiss banking rival UBS. The National Council, through an unusual left-right alliance, voted 102 to 71 to reject government guarantees authorized last month of 100 billion Swiss francs (about $110 billion) to help keep Credit Suisse afloat and 9 billion francs to help UBS mop up any losses it may incur in the takeover. The vote took place as part of a three-day special parliamentary session that opened Tuesday to scrutinize long-running troubles at Credit Suisse, a 167-year-old bank that was a pillar of Swiss finance, and the plan to save it from a collapse that could have had major implications for the global financial system.The vote, above all, amounted to a rebuke of the executive branch at a time when Switzerland is gearing up for crucial le...

Why new grads shouldn’t fear a recession

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

In 2023 alone, there have been over 118,000 U.S. tech layoffs, according to Crunchbase News, a business publication. That’s in addition to two major bank collapses and two federal rate hikes. The class of 2023 will graduate into this economic upheaval while facing another variable: student loan payments.This can be an overwhelming and confusing time for those set to begin repayment of student debt, says Barry Coleman, vice president of program management and education at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling . Coleman cites the expected end of a three-year pause on federal student loan payments, legal challenges to federal student debt relief programs and the potential impact of inflation on the job market as reasons new graduates could feel uneasy.But new grads don’t need to panic. Here’s how they can weather a potential recession and the financial uncertainty that might come with it.HAVE A PLAN FOR YOUR STUDENT LOANS, NO MATTER THE ECONOMYUnderstanding your student debt is...

Musk says owning Twitter ‘painful’ but needed to be done

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk has told the BBC that running Twitter has been “quite painful” but that the social media company is now roughly breaking even after he acquired it late last year. In an interview also streamed live late Tuesday on Twitter Spaces, Musk discussed his ownership of the online platform, including layoffs, misinformation and his work style. “It’s not been boring. It’s quite a rollercoaster,” he told the U.K. broadcaster at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.It was a rare chance for a mainstream news outlet to interview Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX. After buying Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk’s changes included eliminating the company’s communiciations department. Reporters who email the company to seek comment now receive an auto-reply with a poop emoji.The interview was sometimes tense, with Musk challenging the reporter to back up assertions about rising levels of hate speech on the platform. At other times, Musk l...

A Cubs' comeback so good you could hear it on Tuesday night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

CHICAGO — It was one of the team's best regular season comebacks in a generation, and it was one you didn't have to be in the ballpark to feel. Down 7-0 in the second inning, the Cubs stage a major rally before the third inning even came to an end, with one of their young players providing the key moment. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)Nelson Velazquez's grand slam was the highlight of an eight-run inning that propelled the Cubs to a 14-9 victory at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. The second year outfielder's blast is the highlight of his young career in Major League Baseball and arguably the best of what's still a very young 2023 season on the north side.It created an April moment that had just a little bit of an October feel for the 30,081 in the ballpark on an unseasonably warm night on the north side. If those at Wrigley Field thought it was loud inside the venue, here's how it felt in the area around the Wrigleyville/Lakeview area.This is how the crowd at Wrigley Field so...

How to watch the brilliant Lyrid meteor shower this month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

ALABAMA (WHNT) — One of the longest-running known meteor showers is set to dance across the night sky in April. The Lyrid meteor shower arrives in late April every year according to NASA, specifically between April 16 and April 29, and is expected to peak on April 22 (which also happens to be Earth Day). Experts say the viewing this year will be especially brilliant since the waxing crescent moon will only be illuminated at 6% that night. What is a pink moon and when can you see it? Experts say the shower will be visible pretty much anywhere in the country, but the phenomenon is best viewed well away from the city lights and street lights, as they tend to dilute your night vision.While most cameras were looking up at the 2012 peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station trained his video camera on Earth below. (Credit: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit) NASA encourages spectators to grab a blanket, sleeping bag or lawn chair and find a spot outside...

Father detains 'peeping Tom' suspect in Tennessee bathroom until authorities arrive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. (WKRN) — A father of a 7-year-old boy detained an alleged "peeping Tom" in a bathroom until law enforcement officers arrived.Body camera video from the Cheatham County Sheriff's Department shows the moment when deputies raced into the restroom of a Pleasant View, Tennessee, convenience store Friday.The call initially came into police dispatch as an armed man preventing another man from leaving a convenience store restroom. When deputies arrived, they found a man blocking the exit, accusing another man of watching his son use the bathroom. Police searching for missing 13-year-old girl last seen over 2 weeks ago Standing beside the far wall was the suspect, Brian Nicklas.The 7-year-old's father told deputies, "I made sure he stood in that corner where he was at. I told him he wasn't leaving. He tried to leave, and I said, 'No, you ain't going nowhere but to jail.'"According to the child's father, he and his son were using the restroom when Nicklas came to a urin...

Austin Parks and Rec plans to offer bonuses to summer employees, open all pools June 12

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Parks and Recreation Department, or PARD, said Tuesday it would offer bonus pay to summer seasonal employees and open all PARD pools by June 12.In a memo to the City Manager released on Tuesday, PARD director Kimberly McNeeley said summer seasonal employees, which include lifeguards and camp counselors, would be eligible to earn up to an additional $750 throughout the summer. City staff: Lifeguard hiring going well, all pools expected to open this summer According to the memo, employees must work a certain number of hours between May 21 and August 12. The payouts are as follows:200 hours worked = $250 bonus300 hours worked = $250 bonus400 hours worked = $250 bonusPARD also plans to pay for the following:advertising summer positions with an emphasis on lifeguard positionsmoney to pay for uniform costsmoney to pay for training feesThe memo says PARD launched a marketing and recruitment campaign in March using social media, radio advertisements, city banne...

Texas Parks and Wildfire to stock lakes across Texas with catfish

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, or TPWD, said Monday it will stock thousands of catfish at lakes across Texas through the fall. TPWD said its Neighborhood Fishin' program "provides an opportunity for friends and families to participate in the Texas traditions of outdoor recreation by reeling in catfish close to home."TPWD will stock catfish from April to October at 18 lakes, including five in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, four in the Houston area, two each in Austin and San Antonio, and one each in Amarillo, College Station, San Angelo, Waco and Wichita Falls.“Neighborhood Fishin’ lakes are conveniently located in urban and suburban areas so that Texans don’t have to travel far to have a great experience,” said Craig Bonds, director of Inland Fisheries in Monday's release. “Catfish are fun and easy to catch for anglers of all ages and experience levels. If you’ve never fished before, these are the perfect places to get started. If you are an experienced angler, th...