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Follow the Texas State Capitol Christmas tree's journey to its new home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As part of the annual tradition, the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree, named Mamie, traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, Texas Parks and Wildlife said on social media.The TPWD team transported the Christmas tree Monday morning from Eisenhower State Park. That's on the Oklahoma border.As part of her annual tradition, Mamie the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, | Courtesy Texas Parks and WildlifeAs part of her annual tradition, Mamie the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, | Courtesy Texas Parks and WildlifeAs part of her annual tradition, Mamie the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, | Courtesy Texas Parks and WildlifeAs part of her annual tradition, Mamie the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, | Courtesy Texas Parks and WildlifeAs part of her annual tradition, Mamie the Texas Capitol Christmas Tree traveled down Interstate 35 on Monday, | ...

Chilly weather continues as we track a storm arriving Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --Temperatures are cooler than normal for late-November under mostly cloudy skies in the wake of our weekend cold front. Overnight lows dip into the 30s again Tuesday morning -- another brisk start to the day.More sunshine and winds swinging around to a southeasterly direction bring a milder day Tuesday with afternoon sunshine.The next storm, however, starts to impact our weather Wednesday with increasing clouds and a few light rain showers late in the day.Good rain chance Wednesday night to Thursday afternoonThe storm appears to bring a likelihood of rain and thunderstorms early Thursday, with some areas seeing 0.25"-0.50" of rain. Preliminary forecasts are showing a low severe weather threat early Thursday, although the NOAA Storm Prediction Center does not yet officially have our area included in a severe weather threat.Stay tuned to KXAN and your First Warning Weather app for updates this week. NEW BLOG: NOAA updates December, winter forecasts Winter Weather O...

Texas high school football regional final pairings, locations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Every high school football team in Texas wants to play in December, but only the elite get the privilege.Lake Travis, Westlake, Dripping Springs, Liberty Hill, Wimberley and Blanco are among those elite teams in their divisions set to play in regional finals Friday and Saturday. In Class 6A playoffs, Austin-area teams have dominated San Antonio-area teams over the past 3 seasons The Cavaliers and Chaparrals face off in a playoff version of the Battle of the Lakes at 2 p.m., Saturday from The Pfield in Pflugerville in 6A Division I. The two District 26 rivals went at it Sept. 22 and the Chaps prevailed in a tight one 20-14.Dripping Springs takes on Cibolo Steele at 7 p.m., Saturday in the Alamodome in 6A Division II and Liberty Hill heads to Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos to play San Antonio Pieper at 7 p.m., Friday in 5A Division II action. In Week 2, the Panthers pummeled Pieper 44-6 and the Warriors haven't lost since then. Texas high school football playoff scor...

St. Paul student, 16, charged with having gun at high school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

A 16-year-old was charged Monday with having a pistol with an extended magazine at a St. Paul high school last week.A school security officer told police that the student just transferred to Central Senior High School and school personnel decided to meet with him on Nov. 21 “to discuss school rules and expectations,” according to a juvenile petition. His first day enrolled at the school was Nov. 16.The security officer saw the teen hand his backpack to another student. “They thought this was unusual behavior, so they retrieved the backpack,” the petition said. The security officer looked inside and saw a handgun. There was a round in the chamber and ammunition in the extended magazine.Police took the 16-year-old into custody. He said he placed his backpack next to people inside the lunchroom, and that he had not brought a gun to school or had one in his backpack.The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged him with possession of a dangerous weapon on sch...

Wild fire head coach Dean Evason amid disastrous start to this season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

With the Wild having lost seven games in a row, general manager Bill Guerin has made the decision to fire head coach Dean Evason. The team announced the move on Monday with the Wild near the bottom of the NHL standings amid a disastrous start to this season.“Dean did an excellent job during his tenure with the Minnesota Wild, especially as Head Coach of our team,” Guerin said in a release. “I am very thankful for his hard work and dedication to our organization.”In addition to Evason, the Wild (5-10-4) also parted ways with assistant coach Bob Woods, who was in charge of the penalty kill, which has struggled mightily this season.Related ArticlesMinnesota Wild | Detroit hands Wild seventh straight loss Minnesota Wild | Wild: No time to wallow in the mire Minnesota Wild | More positives, still no points for Wild in 3-2 loss to Colorado Minnesota Wild | Wild’s Freddy Gaudreau blames himself for Ryan Reaves hit that cost h...

Jonathan Bernstein: Democrats can’t blame Joe Manchin anymore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s announcement that he won’t seek reelection means the end of years of liberal Democrats blaming him for nearly everything that goes wrong. It will also end years of careful hand-holding and management by Senate Democratic leaders and Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.They’re going to miss him when he’s replaced by a Republican in 2025, worsening Democrats’ odds of maintaining their slim Senate majority.Manchin was once one of many less-liberal Democrats but their ranks have thinned, making him one of the least liberal — a necessity for a Democrat representing a conservative Republican state like West Virginia. Less informed progressives sometimes talked about finding a liberal primary challenger to defeat Manchin. But even if such a thing could be done Manchin, a former governor, was always personally popular. The state’s electorate could barely tolerate a moderate Democrat. A mainstream liberal would h...

Lara Williams: How to stop wind turbines killing bats and birds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

Wind power may be having a difficult year, but it’s still many times cheaper than oil or gas and remains a core piece of the energy-transition puzzle. A single rotation of a 260-meter-tall offshore turbine — General Electric Co.’s Haliade-X 13 MW, to be precise — can produce enough energy to power a household for more than two days, emitting no carbon or other pollutants.Not everyone is a fan. NIMBYism is one of the biggest barriers to green energy installations, as local residents protest “view-ruining” turbines and new grid infrastructure. But one concern regularly crops up that I have some sympathy for: how wind farms affect wildlife. After all, we’re facing a biodiversity crisis, too. But where wind turbines are truly impacting animals, effective and often cheap mitigation measures are available.Take bats. Around the world, our flying mammals are being taken out by wind turbines, either struck directly by a blade or suffering from barotr...

MSP Customs seize syringes of unapproved ‘vaginal tightening gel’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say a shipment of packages marked as “vaginal tightening gel” was seized last week at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.The shipment, which arrived Nov. 20 from Hong Kong and was bound for a Woodbury residence, contained 2,536 syringes filled with a gel. The pink packets appeared ready for resale, the agency said in a Monday statement.The items were seized for violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Had these items been sold, the total domestic value would have been more than $19,000, according to the agency.“This dangerous shipment is another example of someone using unregulated gels to prey on unknowing consumers with false promises,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of operations for CBP’s Chicago field office, said in the statement. “Not knowing what you are inserting in your body can be deadly, and consumers believe they are getting a discount, when in fact they are purchasing an inferior product with unapprov...

Saratoga homeless task force issues recommendations to city council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness held its final meeting on Monday. The task force was created to help the city determine a location for a permanent low barrier homeless shelter.The final report lists five potential locations for the new shelter and recommends a location over two miles away from the city center.  Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Mayor Ron Kim created the task force to determine where a permanent shelter should be located and to determine what agency should operate it. On Monday night members decided on the recommendations that the task force will send over to the city council in a final report. However some are still concerned about the proposed location because there are no sidewalks, crosswalks or bus stops nearby. The task force recommended the new shelter be located on Lake Avenue, near the Northway overpass. Task force member Hannah Hurley disagrees with...

Shenendehowa student charged with BB gun possession at school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:59:50 GMT

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A 15-year-old was arrested on Monday for allegedly bringing a BB pistol to Shenendehowa High School East, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office. The student was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Police say that at 8:44 a.m. on November 27, the school's resource officer was alerted to a student reportedly possessing a pistol. The teen was found to have a BB gun on him and was then arrested, later being released into the custody of a parent with further action in the matter pending. Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo stated “I am happy that we were able to get to the bottom of this without anyone getting hurt. Our partners at Shenendehowa and our SRO did a great job and were instrumental in a successful resolution.”