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PHOTOS: Otter spotted in San Marcos

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – A dive coordinator for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment spotted a curious North American River Otter breaching the surface at Spring Lake in San Marcos.   MORE: Otter family spotted along San Marcos River Not just a cute face – the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment posted that when these sleek swimmers are seen thriving in Central Texas waters, it means the rivers are clean. Conversely, when there are pollutants in the water, it is reflected in otters. A dive coordinator for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment spotted a curious North American River Otter breaching the surface of the San Marcos River. (Photo Courtesy Mike Flores)A dive coordinator for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment spotted a curious North American River Otter breaching the surface of the San Marcos River. (Photo Courtesy Mike Flores)A dive coordinator for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment spotted a curious North...

Research ranks states on greenhouse gas emissions put into the U.S. economy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute released its first Greenhouse 100 Suppliers State List. The research included state-level rankings for the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels introduced into the United States economy. Rankings were based on the most recent data available from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Meteorologist Rich Segal speaks with Michael Ash, a professor of economics and public policy at UMass Amherst. He says the rankings are able to determine corporate responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and the potential liability for the damage to Earth's climate.The list shows which companies are introducing fossil fuels into the economy. Fuels burned leaving pollution from the emissions that contribute to greenhouse gas concentrations and climate change. The list did not include oil drilling. Where did Texas rank? According to Ash, Texas ranks first among the 50 states with more ...

Eric Gertler: Universities must stand against extremism

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

Leadership matters. Especially in academia. Our education leaders do not simply educate the next generation of Americans but they also inculcate the values for our future leaders in this country. Now is a moment when their voice is essential – and their silence is destructive.In recent days, the world has witnessed horrific and unimaginable acts of brutality and violence committed by Hamas, a terrorist organization. The killing of countless innocent civilians, including children and the elderly, the beheadings of soldiers and the abduction of many others as hostages can only be condemned.What we have seen extends beyond an issue in Israel to one that the region also faces. We need to recognize that millions of innocent Palestinians have also suffered under brutal Hamas leaders who have had a vested interest in maintaining the squalid conditions of those in Gaza. Instead of investing in the quality of life for those in Gaza, Hamas leaders have instead focused on building rockets and ...

‘The Burial’ review: Courtroom theatrics courtesy of Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

“Objection, your honor, on the simple fact that she’s just angry!” That’s one of the funnier lines teed up by Jamie Foxx in the courtroom drama “The Burial,” which is based on a real case from the 1990s.Jerry O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) owns a chain of funeral homes in Mississippi and the 75-year-old patriarch — decent and soft-spoken, but with a spine of steel — has one goal: To leave the family business to his 13 children. No mention of whether any of them want to run the business after he’s gone, but no matter.O’Keefe also sells funeral insurance — that’s the real moneymaker — which means he’s supposed to have a certain amount of cash on hand. He doesn’t. And state regulators are looking to shut him down without it. To raise the money, he’s agreed to sell three of his eight funeral homes to the Loewen Group, a large corporation looking to monopolize the industry. Loewen’s yacht-owning CEO (a wonderfully self-satisfied Bill Camp) talks openly about how much he’ll make from the impen...

The real star of the 2006 sci-fi thriller 'The Black Hole' is St. Louis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The Black Hole is a movie set in St. Louis that tells the story of a scientific project gone awry, and the havoc wreaked by a mysterious creature. You may have missed this feature starring Kristy Swanson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club, but you can now watch it on YouTube.The real stars of this campy film may be St. Louis landmarks, including the McDonnell Planetarium, which stands in for the fictional Midwestern Quantum Research Laboratory. It opens with a discussion among a panel of nuclear physicists about the possibility of creating a black hole.In the movie:The movie's opening scenes prominently feature St. Louis landmarks such as the Martin Luther King Bridge, Eads Bridge, and the Congressman William L. Clay Sr. Bridge. As the opening sequence continues, viewers catch glimpses of the Gateway Arch and the old state capital building. The camera then soars over Busch Stadium, newly constructed in 2006.The story unfolds at the Quant...

Rockies Journal: Who’ll return to the playoffs first, Broncos or Rox?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

It no doubt infuriates Broncos fans to be lumped in the same category as the Rockies, but here we are.The 1-5 Broncos are well on their way to missing the playoffs for their eighth consecutive season. During that span, their winning percentage is a paltry .375. This season will mark the second-longest playoff drought in franchise history, trailing only the Broncos teams from 1960-76.The Rockies have missed the playoffs for five straight years, during which time they’ve had a .421 winning percentage. The 103 losses this season set a low-water mark for the franchise.Both teams have marquee players who have been massive disappointments.Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, as my colleague, Mark Kiszla pointed out, is not the answer. And it can’t be forgotten that the Broncos sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick and three players to Seattle for Wilson and a fourth-round pick in March 2022. Six months later, they inked him to a massive five-yea...

Deion Sanders defends CU Buffs star Travis Hunter after uneven return in stunning loss to Stanford: “The plays he made kept us in the game”

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

BOULDER — Even the Buffs’ do-everything Superman proved mortal on a frightful Friday the 13th at Folsom Field.In wideout/cornerback Travis Hunter’s return following a three-game absence due to a lacerated liver, the sophomore was a catalyst on offense but stumbled on defense in the Buffs’ stunning 46-43 double-overtime loss to Stanford.On the one hand: Hunter racked up a team-leading and career-high 13 catches for 140 yards, with two TDs. Hunter’s first score put CU ahead early as the home team took a 29-0 halftime lead, and his second TD grab in the second half stopped a string of four unanswered Stanford TDs.On the other: Hunter, along with the rest of the CU secondary, played a central role in the Buffs’ second-half meltdown. He was burned by Stanford wideout Elic Ayomanor twice for TDs in the Cardinal comeback, and Hunter was also flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty early in the fourth quarter that turned a would-be field goal attempt into an eve...

Keeler: CU Buffs’ Deion Sanders looked out of ideas. Travis Hunter looked gassed. After collapse vs. Stanford, has clock struck midnight on Boulder’s Cinderella?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

BOULDER — When Deion Sanders demanded his theme music, the Buffs played “Yakety Sax.” If Travis Hunter ran for 140 yards, Charles Kelly rambled for at least 220, arms waving furiously, as if trying to hail the last taxi in Times Square.“If you’re gonna point the fingers, point it at me, because if I’m allowing it, it should be on me, not (Kelly),” Coach Prime said of his veteran defensive coordinator after CU squandered a 29-0 halftime lead against Stanford in a 46-43 double overtime loss.“Put it on me. We go over this stuff. And there are times where you know what group is in … what group you’re on, but you have a lapse of understanding in those crucial moments. Right now, we’re not built for the moment. We’re not built for the moment.”For 30 minutes, the Buffs almost looked built for the College Football Playoff, a fireball of speed and swagger. For the next 30, they looked as if Karl Dorrell had never l...

America's top diplomat calls for protecting civilians as Israel readies an expected assault on Gaza

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip and Israel as he intensified his diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond to rally an international response to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding.Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh before stopping in the United Arab Emirates as he sought ways to help civilians trapped in between the fighting and to address the growing humanitarian crisis. He also called his Chinese counterpart as Palestinians struggled to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military before an expected land offensive.His efforts reflect the international concern about the number of civilians at risk and the potential ramifications of a prolonged war as Israel told Gaza residents to move south and Hamas urged people to remain in their homes. The Biden administration — from President Joe Biden to his Pentagon chie...

'Ring of fire' solar eclipse cuts across the Americas, stretching from Oregon to Brazil

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:11:14 GMT

A rare “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun cuts across the Americas on Saturday, stretching from Oregon to Brazil, and huge crowds were on the move before dawn in cities, rural areas and national parks to try to catch a glimpse of it.For the small towns and cities along its narrow path, there was a mix of excitement, worries about the weather and concerns they'd be overwhelmed by visitors flocking to see the celestial event, also called an annular solar eclipse. Clouds and fog threatened to obscure the view of the eclipse in some western states, including California and Oregon.The partial eclipse will begin in Southern California at 8:08 a.m., reach a maximum at 9:25 a.m., and end at 10:51 a.m., according to the University of California, Irvine Department of Physics and Astronomy.Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun during a ring of fire eclipse. When the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, it leaves a bright, blazing border.Saturday’s path: Ore...