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German leader confident that surging far-right party will shrink again before next election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed optimism Friday that support for a far-right party which has been surging in the polls lately will shrink to previous levels again by the time of the next national election in 2025.The far-right Alternative for Germany party received 10.3% of the vote in the last national election in 2021 — a slight decline from 2017, when it got 12.6% in the wake of the European migration crisis. Recent polls have shown support for the party, known by its German acronym AfD, at around 20% and ahead of Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats. “I’m quite confident that AfD won’t perform much differently at the next federal election than it did at the last,” Scholz told reporters at his annual summer news conference in Berlin.The 65-year-old said his strategy to achieve this is to pursue policies “that give citizens enough reasons to believe in a good future” — including by showing that the country is in control of its borders...

Crowds cheer as India launches a lander and rover to explore the moon’s south pole

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

SRIHARIKOTA, India (AP) — An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country’s space agency said.Chandrayaan-3, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, took off from a launch pad in Sriharikota in southern India with an orbiter, a lander and a rover, in a demonstration of India’s emerging space technology. The spacecraft is set to embark on a journey lasting slightly over a month before landing on the moon’s surface later in August.Applause and cheers swept through mission control at Satish Dhawan Space Center, where the Indian Space Research Organization’s engineers and scientists celebrated as they monitored the launch of the spacecraft. Thousands of Indians cheered outside the mission control center and waved the national flag as they watched the spacecraft rise into the sky.“Congratulations India. Chandrayaan-3 has started its journey towa...

Actors to begin picketing alongside writers in fight over Hollywood's future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Striking screen actors will begin picketing alongside writers in New York and Los Angeles on Friday in what has become the biggest Hollywood labor fight in decades.The double-barreled strike will shut down the small number of productions that continued shooting in the two months since screenwriters stopped working.Many actors made a show of solidarity on the writers' picket lines, including Fran Drescher, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists president and former star of “The Nanny.” The union's 65,000-member actors' branch will now formally join them as fellow strikers.The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services. They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation, residual payments in the streaming era and putting up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television shows. Arizona Republican’s ‘colored people’ remar...

Grim milestone: US sets new record for the deadliest six months of mass killings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Slain at the hands of strangers or gunned down by loved ones. Massacred in small towns, in big cities, inside their own homes or outside in broad daylight. This year's unrelenting bloodshed across the U.S. has led to the grimmest of milestones: The deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006.From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, a constant cycle of violence and grief.Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140 victims. One country. Arizona Congressman's ‘colored people’ remark draws floor rebuke “What a ghastly milestone," said Brent Leatherwood, whose three children were in class at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27 when a former student killed three children and three adults. “You never think your family would be a part of a statistic like that.”Leatherwood, a prominent Republican in a state that&n...

MoPac Service road to be closed for hours after ruptured gas line, APD says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police told KXAN Friday morning that a portion of the northbound Mopac Service Road in Southwest Austin would be closed "for hours" as crews work to repair a ruptured gas line.According to APD, a construction crew hit the gas line off the Service Road between Ben Garza Road and U.S. 290. The call was reported as a hazmat call to Austin Fire just after 2 a.m. APD said crews are focused on the northbound Service Road in front of the Marquis at Barton Trails. Police have the service road of Northbound Mopac closed from Ben Garza Road almost to Highway 290. Police are also blocking the northbound Mopac exit for Southwest Parkway and the Highway 290 service road. As of 5 a.m. drivers will have to enter the main lanes of northbound Mopac near William Cannon Dr.Earlier, police told KXAN people had reported the smell of gas in the area. KXAN has reached out to Austin Fire and Texas Gas Service for more information and will update when we get more.

LIVE BLOG: How you can help keep neighbors cool with Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — For more than 30 years, Family Eldercare has been running a Summer Fan Drive to keep people cool amid Texas' summer heat.This year's drive comes on a week with multiple days in a row topping out over 100°. KXAN meteorologists forecast the excessive heat will continue for the next one to two weeks. On Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., people can drop off their fans at KXAN, Roger Beasley Mazda locations and Whittlesey Landscape Supplies. They can also donate online. KXAN will be tracking the number of fans collected and money raised and will share updates in this story.Live blog7 a.m. The Summer Dan Drive officially kicks off at 7 a.m. Last year's drive raised more than $200,000 and collected 831 fans. Family Eldercare takes these fans and gives them away for free to anyone who can't afford or doesn't have air conditioning. How to cool your Texas home without an A/C People can check its website for pickup locations.Seniors, people with disabilities and children are at t...

Extreme heat, ongoing dry conditions through the weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Hot. That's it. That's all we got.Afternoon highs will reach 100°-106° today with humidity bringing up "feels like" temps to 113° in spots. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect areawide through Friday evening, but will likely be extended into the weekend.Heat alerts continue for all of Central Texas through Friday eveningTemperatures, sky conditions and humidity remain unchanged through the weekend. Weekend forecastHistoric heatwave grips U.S.As our temperatures soar to record highs as hot as 108° in the Austin area in the next week, all-time temperature records are in jeopardy in the Desert Southwest.Las Vegas may break their all-time temperature record of 117° on Sunday -- projected to be as hot as 118° -- while Death Valley may challenge their all-time record of 130°, potentially setting a new global record for the hottest official temperature ever measured. NEW BLOG: How this summer’s heat compares to last year in Austin All of this is hap...

Families and doctors sue Texas over its new ban on transgender care for minors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of Texas families and doctors have filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to block the state's new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors, arguing it violates parental rights and discriminates against transgender teens.At least 20 states have adopted laws to ban some gender-affirming care for minors. Half of those laws are not in effect, either because they were passed so recently that they haven’t yet kicked in or, in the case of Arkansas, Indiana and Kentucky, because enforcement has been put on hold by courts.A judge in June also blocked enforcement of Tennessee’s ban, but an appeals court this month said it can take effect for now, at least.The Texas lawsuit was filed Wednesday over a law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June and set to take effect Sept. 1.The lawsuit argues that the ban will have devastating consequences for transgender teens in Texas, who they say will be unable to obtain critical medical treatment recommended by their physici...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: I Want My Wife To Stop Wearing a Bikini Around My Guy Friends

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma has to do with a possible double standard. Here's the email I got from Jimmy. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I have a dilemma, but I don't know if I'm right or wrong on this one. My wife is a totally free spirit, and I adore her. She's been that way since I've known her which is over 20 years now. Summertime is definitely her time, and she shows it in her lack of clothing…and I don’t mind one bit. That is unless we’ve got company over. When it’s her girlfriends that are over and she’s walking around in her pretty skimpy bikini, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy that…I’m a guy, after all. But, when there are guys over, she still does it, and it hits me wrong. Am I a hypocrite here? I’ve talked to her about it, but she just laughs it off and keeps doing it. How do I get her to respect my feelings on this, or are my feelings off-base? Thanks for the help.J...

Proposed St. Louis bills spark debate over police powers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:57:54 GMT

St. Louis, MO - The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will address two bills Friday that have sparked controversy and intense debate. The first bill focuses on carrying guns within the city, while the second bill addresses interactions between the police and citizens.The regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen will take place at City Hall at 10:00 a.m. Both bills will be discussed and potentially finalized for a future vote.Board Bill 29, sponsored by Aldermanic Member Cara Spencer, aims to ban the open carrying of guns in the city without a concealed-carry permit. This bill was prompted by recent incidents where young individuals were openly carrying firearms during downtown events. Spencer argues that the bill would help remove guns from the streets and disarm minors, as the concealed carry permit requires individuals to be at least 19 years old. However, concerns have been raised that if the bill passes, it could lead to increased police stops and searches. Lawmaker to review law ‘i...