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DeSantis says he'd weigh national TikTok ban if elected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said he would consider a national TikTok ban if elected, amid bipartisan security concerns about the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.“I am inclined to not want TikTok in the United States,” the Florida governor told The Wall Street Journal. “I think it’s creating a security vulnerability for us. I think they are mining a lot of data.”However, he emphasized he would stop short of instituting something like the RESTRICT Act. The bipartisan legislation, introduced in March, seeks to give the federal government more power to regulate and ban technology linked to foreign adversaries, such as TikTok.“At the end of the day, I don’t want Big Brother to be getting into everybody’s apps,” DeSantis told the Journal. “It’s about vulnerabilities to our country.”The Florida governor signed a bill barring the use of TikTok on government and school servers and devices in the Sunshine State earlier this year, as part of a slate of legislation aimed at “...

Christie knocks Trump for using donations to help pay legal bills 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie took aim at former President Trump for using donations to help cover his legal bills amid numerous court battles.“And the fact is, when you look at just his campaign filings yesterday, almost most of the money that middle-class Americans have given to him, he spent on his own legal fees,” Christie said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “I mean, this guy's a billionaire.” Christie said that instead of using his donations to pay for his legal fees, the former president should sell his Trump Tower, his plane or one of his golf courses to do so.“But instead, he's taking $25, $50, $100 from everyday Americans who believe they're giving it to him to help elect him president, and he's paying his legal fees,” Christie said.According to new campaign finance filings, Trump’s joint fundraising committee reported raising nearly $54 million during the first half of 2023. However, the filings also show that his political committees spent about $25 m...

LIVE: Powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop estimated at 30 acres, 10% contained

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — First responders said they're working Tuesday afternoon to evacuate homes as a "precautionary measure" because of a wildfire burning near Bastrop State Park. The fire, which is now called the Powder Keg Pine Fire, is estimated at 30 acres and is 10% contained, according to the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management.Additionally, the Austin Fire Department said it and other Travis County ESDs sent multiple units as mutual aid to to the fire.Smoke seen from Bastrop County fire Aug. 1, 2023. (KXAN ReportIt photo)Smoke from Bastrop wildfire Aug. 1, 2023 (KXAN ReportIt Photo)Smoke from a Bastrop fire Aug. 1, 2023 (Courtesy Morgan Hay)Smoke from a Bastrop fire Aug. 1, 2023 (Courtesy Morgan Hay)First responders said the houses affected by the evacuations are located between Harmon Road and Pine Hill Loop in Bastrop. It's unclear how many homes are impacted at this time. Neighbors are advised to contact the county hotline at (512) 303-4300 for more information...

Future of Peter Pan Mini-Golf, old McDonald's site in limbo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- In the heart of Austin, two adjacent prime properties sit in limbo, caught up in the real estate dealings of a large state agency.One is the fenced-off site of a demolished McDonald's restaurant at South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road. The other, just to the east, is Peter Pan Mini-Golf, a local business that embodies the fabric of quirky and laid-back old Austin as much as anything else south of Lady Bird Lake.The fate of these sites will be in the hands of an as-yet-unknown individual: a trustee who will be appointed to oversee family trusts that control the land in question and were set up to aid the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the state's orphans.Read the full story at Austin Business Journal.

Austin launches $475K in grants for art education nonprofits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin's Economic Development Department announced Tuesday the rollout of its Arts Education Relief Grant to help support the city's art education nonprofit organizations. The grant program will allocate $25,000 to art education providers, with a total of $475,000 available courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts - American Rescue Plan Acts grants. Grant funding can be used to cover costs like salary support, artists and contractual personnel stipends, facilities costs, personal protective equipment and marketing and promotional expenses. City of Austin employees’ telework policy extended, return to office set for new year The application window for the Arts Education Relief Grant open Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. and will run through Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.“Supporting Austin’s non-profit arts education providers is investing in our community’s cultural tapestry,” explains Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, Director of the Economic Development Department, s...

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards switches to No. 5 jersey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

Anthony Edwards was always No. 5 growing up. That was his jersey number in football and basketball, ranging from AAU to high school to college basketball at Georgia.As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, it was Edwards’ initial plan to wear No. 5 for the Timberwolves, but Minnesota guard Malik Beasley declined to give up the number. So Edwards went with No. 1 as a backup plan.By the time Beasley was traded to Utah last offseason, it was too late for Edwards to grab the number, which then went to free-agent signing Kyle Anderson. But this offseason, Edwards and Anderson are flipping numbers. Edwards will wear No. 5 moving forward, and Anderson will be No. 1.“Kyle likes No. 1 anyway,” Edwards said in an interview with Stadium.And No. 5 has a plethora of meaning for Edwards. His birthday falls on the fifth, as does his sister’s. His grandmother passed on the fifth, as well.“I’ve just always loved the number five,” Edwards said in a vi...

Wildlife bill could end cash prize competitions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- New York lawmakers are taking steps to protect wildlife with a bill that would make it illegal to kill wildlife for prizes in contests and competitions. That bill was passed in the legislature, but still awaits the Governor's signature. Bill restricting big cat ownership made famous by ‘Tiger King’ heads to Biden’s desk "There’s been a huge public outcry about this, these are animals that quite often get thrown in the dumpster afterwards," said Brian Shapiro, New York State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. He said killing wildlife for cash prize is a practice that’s been used since the fifties. "Contestants get involved and kill the most, the heaviest, even the smallest wild life, this could be a squirrel, it could be a bobcat, it could be a fox even." Shapiro told Capitol Correspondent, Amal Tlaige, the events are advertised in secrecy, using chat rooms and social media to get the word out. The prize money is pooled together from conte...

New law expands community-based paramedicine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)---During the pandemic, emergency medical services personnel were allowed to expand care for patients in ways the state law wouldn’t allow them to do before, such as giving vaccinations."Also caring for people who couldn’t or shouldn’t be transported to the emergency room, because hospitals became so busy and overrun with people with COVID, they were very seriously ill. It was preferable to care for people in their homes," explained Steven Kroll, who is on the Board of Directors for the New York State Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association.Kroll explained why this couldn't happen previously."New York State has never enabled legislation to permit us to use skills that we have acquired through our certification in non-emergency settings," said Kroll.During the pandemic, they helped to lessen the burden on hospitals"They would do check ups," said Assemblymember Amy Paulin, who sponsored the legislation. "They would go anywhere-- transport someone from one plac...

Rensselaer man indicted for murder and rape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Robert Fisher, 33, has been indicted for second-degree murder and first-degree rape. According to the indictment, the decedent was three years old. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Fisher will be arraigned on August 2 in Rensselaer County Court. The investigation was conducted by members of the Rensselaer City Police Department, Rensselaer City Fire Department, and New York State Police BCI and FIU. 

Suspect arrested for alleged concession stand theft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:27 GMT

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Fort Edward man was arrested for allegedly stealing from Fort Edward High School. Police say that Justin C. Lewis, 30, was found in possession of several items from the concession stand located on school grounds. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Lewis was charged with third-degree burglary and petit larceny and arraigned at Centralized arraignment and released on his own recognizance. Lewis is scheduled to appear in the Village of Fort Edward Court at a later date.