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In Austin, Texas, appreciating the luxury tucked into the weirdness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

Alan Behr | Tribune News Service (TNS)AUSTIN, Texas — Business travel being to travel what business writing is to literature, drawing a bit of elegance out of a business trip can sometimes take effort. Now that several of us had moved on to Austin after all useful nuggets had been mined from the conference we had been attending in Houston, key differences quickly made themselves known between this, the state capital, and the purposefully commercial city we had just vacated. “Keep Austin Weird” is the official slogan of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, and the city seems to be on a collective mission to reach that sensible objective.That helps explain why our first activity was to go bat watching. A 1980 renovation of the Congress Avenue Bridge in the center of town turned it into an ideal home for migrating Mexican free-tailed bats — a rodent ponte vecchio. We arrived punctually, just before sunset, at the purpose-built observation platform off the northern bank of the Colo...

How Taylor Swift took over the travel industry in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

Lacey Pfalz | (TNS) TravelPulse“Once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned…” — Taylor SwiftGlobal superstar Taylor Swift isn’t only one stealing fans’ hearts around the world with her Eras Tour: She’s taking center stage in a global tourism boom, and everyone from tour operators to world leaders to travel advisers are taking notice.Those who travel know that entertainment, such as sporting events and concerts, are intrinsically tied to the travel industry, but there’s been nothing like this before. Swift’s U.S. tour, which spanned 20 cities across five months, brought in $5 billion in direct spending.The U.S. Travel Association estimates the entire impact of her U.S. tour could be as high as $10 billion. QuestionPro compares the initial $5 billion as greater than the gross domestic product of over 50 countries.The city of Pittsburgh, for example, reported 145,579 people in attendance for Swift’s two weekend concerts, which were in June. O...

Drunk wrong-way driver from New York City allegedly kills grandfather, grandson in crash on Somerset bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

A drunk driver from New York City killed a grandfather and grandson when he allegedly drove the wrong way and struck their vehicle on a Somerset bridge late Christmas night, according to Massachusetts State Police.A third individual who had been in the vehicle, a 2014 Infiniti QX50 SUV, at the time of the crash, is in critical condition, while a driver and passenger of another car that was struck suffered injuries authorities considered not life-threatening.Troopers from the State Police-Dartmouth Barracks responded to the crash on the westbound side of Veterans Memorial Bridge, part of Route 6, at 11:10 p.m. Monday.Initial investigation findings indicate the wrong-way driver, identified as Adam M. Gauthier, 41, of New York City, was driving a 2023 Land Rover SUV easterly on the westbound side when he allegedly struck the Infiniti and a 2019 Honda Accord.All six individuals involved in the crash, including Gauthier, were rushed to area hospitals, Massachusetts State Police said in a...

Nearly 66 years after a notorious killing spree, ‘Starkweather’ aims to find the truth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

In January 1958, in the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, a bowlegged 19-year-old garbageman, Charles Starkweather, brutally murdered the mother, stepfather and two-year-old half-sister of his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. According to the legend that grew up around the story, the young couple stayed in the murder house for six days drinking soda pop and watching TV before embarking on a violent killing spree that took seven more lives over the next 48 hours. At a time when mass murders weren’t everyday occurrences, the young couple became infamous for their wanton disregard for life. The couple’s story would be retold and fictionalized in Terrence Malick’s brilliant 1973 movie Badlands, and Bruce Springsteen’s brilliantly bleak 1982 album (and even bleaker title track) Nebraska. True crime author Harry N. MacLean, 80, has lived with the fallout from the trauma for most of his life, but he no longer believes in the legend. The Lincoln native was 15 when the duo laid waste to his...

When will the last full moon of the year light up the night sky?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

KSWB -- The last full moon of the year will illuminate the sky this week in time for the holidays. The full cold moon will appear full on Christmas, Dec. 26 and Dec. 27, with the peak Dec. 26 at 4:33 p.m. PT. This full moon marks the first full moon after the winter solstice, and the last full moon of the year. When the sun will set in San Diego now the shortest day of the year has passed The winter solstice full moon is at its highest path in the sky and is above the horizon longer than any other moon of the year. King tides to hit San Diego coast this Christmas The full cold moon gets its name from the time of year it rises, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The full moon is also called the Long Night Moon, as it rises during the longest nights of the year, near the winter solstice. The first full moon of 2024, the full wolf moon, will rise on Jan. 25. And with the full moon comes high tides. A warning is in place for those who may be planning to go out i...

A top Brazilian criminal leader is isolated in prison after he negotiated his own arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — One of Brazil’s top criminal leaders was locked up in a 6-square-meter (65-square-foot) isolation cell at a maximum security prison to avoid being killed by rivals, authorities said Tuesday.Luiz Antônio da Silva Braga, the boss of the largest militia group in the state of Rio de Janeiro, surrendered to federal police on Sunday. The criminal leader better known as Zinho was sent to the Bangu 1 prison, where drug traffickers and militia men are also held, Rio state’s public security secretary Victor Santos said. “Today, Zinho’s custody is a responsibility of the state,” he told TV channel GloboNews. “He is now in an isolated cell for us to secure his physical integrity.”Militias emerged in the 1990s when they originally were made up mainly of former police officers, firefighters and soldiers who wanted to combat lawlessness in their neighborhoods. They charged residents for protection and other services, but more recently moved into drug trafficking t...

Floods in a central province in Congo kill at least 17 people, a local official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Flooding triggered by heavy rains in central Congo killed at least 17 people, including 10 from the same family, a local official said Tuesday.The hourslong rainfall in the district of Kananga in Kasai Central province destroyed many houses and structures, the province’s governor, John Kabeya, said as rescue efforts intensified in search of survivors.“The collapse of a wall caused 10 deaths, all members of the same family in Bikuku,” said Kabeya.The Hand in Hand for Integral Development nongovernmental organization gave a higher death toll, saying 19 died from the floods. There was also significant material damage, according to Nathalie Kambala, the group’s country director.Flooding caused by heavy rainfall is frequent in parts of Congo, especially in remote areas. In May, more than 400 people died in floods and landslides brought on by torrential overnight rains in eastern Congo’s South Kivu province.Among the structures damaged in the latest floo...

Colombia’s ELN rebels say they will only stop kidnappings for ransom if government funds cease-fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The head of Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group said on Monday it would only abide by a recent agreement to suspend the kidnappings of civilians for ransom if the government keeps its promise to finance projects that could provide the rebels with alternate sources of income. In a column published on Christmas Day, National Liberation Army commander Antonio García argued that Colombian officials and journalists had misinformed the public on Dec. 17, when they announced that the rebels had agreed to stop kidnappings, if a cease-fire with the government is extended next year.Colombians have grown angry at kidnappings by the guerrillas, known by their Spanish initials as the ELN. García said that while such an agreement was reached during a recent round of peace talks in Mexico City, the government had also agreed in the talks to create a committee that would find ways to finance the peace talks and the current ceasefire and determine what kind of activities...

UN appoints a former Dutch deputy premier and Mideast expert as its Gaza humanitarian coordinator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert, was appointed the U.N. coordinator for humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza, the United Nations chief announced om Tuesday.The announcement by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres follows the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution on Friday requesting him to expeditiously appoint a senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, where more than 2 million civilians are in desperate need of food, water and medicine, Guterres said Kaag, who speaks fluent Arabic and five other languages, “brings a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian and development affairs as well as in diplomacy” to her new post. She is expected to start on Jan. 8.“She will facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza,” he said, adding that Kaag will also establish a U.N. mechanism to accelerate aid deliveries “through states which are not par...

Officer fatally shoots man who shot another person following crash in suburban Detroit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:08:00 GMT

GARDEN CITY, Mich. (AP) — A man who reportedly fired a gun at people and vehicles following a traffic crash Tuesday morning has been fatally shot by a police officer in suburban Detroit.State police said the man exited his vehicle about 9 a.m. at an intersection in Garden City after colliding with another vehicle.He shot a person who approached to offer help and then fired shots at several other vehicles, police said.He was confronted and shot by a Garden City officer. The man’s name was not immediately released. Police said he was 37 and lived in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit. Garden City is west of Detroit.The person shot by the man and the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash were listed in stable condition at a hospital.The Associated Press