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Breast implants, liquid paper and Dr Pepper: You won't believe how many things were invented in Texas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas — Deep in the heart of Texas, innovation thrives. You might be surprised how many everyday essentials and iconic creations were Texas-born. From Beyoncé to condensed milk, the Lone Star State has made an indelible mark on the world.Culinary innovationsFirst, we take a trip to 1866, when Charles Goodnight introduced food trucks before they were cool, with the invention of the Chuck Wagon. According to the National Cowboy Museum, it was a mobile kitchen used to feed Texas cowboys looking forward to a hot meal after a long day of driving cattle. Another Texas invention is one of the nation's most beloved sodas. Dr. Pepper came about after a young pharmacist in Waco wanted to recreate the smell of the drugstore he worked in and fashion it into a drink, the Dr. Pepper Museum said.An article by Texas Monthly said that pumpable cheese for concession stand nachos was made possible by Frank Liberto of San Antonio, and frozen margaritas were created by Mariano Martinez of Dalla...

Skywatch: Love and war are heading for a rendezvous

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

The planets Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love, and Mars, named after the Roman god of war, are both making a close approach to each other in the early evening as spring ends and summer 2023 begins.A popular book published in the early ’90s, “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus,” by John Gray, describes how far apart men and women can be when it comes to developing and maintaining relationships. Sometimes worlds apart! The planets Venus and Mars are physically about as far apart as possible in their orbits around the sun. However, because they’re nearly in the same line of sight, they are drawing closer and closer to each other in our sky.You can’t miss Venus in the evening twilight of the low western sky, shining brightly because it’s getting so close to Earth this month, about 60 million miles away. It’s also brilliant because it’s entirely shrouded with a thick and reflective cloud cover that bounces quite a bit of sun...

Scattered showers and storms Sunday, dry start to work week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

St. Louis weather from FOX 2 Meteorologist Linh TruongST. LOUIS - A wet start Sunday morning as scattered showers and storms are around. Cooler temps are expected with gusty north winds at times. Temperature highs will be in the low 70s. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here There's a slight risk for severe storms possible south of St. Louis as well.  Accumulations are set around .50 to 1 inch. We'll have a dry start to the next work week.

Opinion: To prevent extinction for the next 50 years, we need to invest in collaboration

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

Once on the brink of extinction, the bald eagle — the quintessential American symbol — now has a population in the hundreds of thousands. This is a reality made possible by the protections and authority of the Endangered Species Act and collaborative conservation efforts spanning decades.Now in its 50th year, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has saved iconic American species like the American alligator, the whooping crane, and the peregrine falcon. The law has provided a critical safety net for fish, wildlife, and plants, preventing the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, promoting the recovery of many others, and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. These species belong to a web of life, filling ecological niches that lead to balanced ecosystems with healthier air, land, and water for all to enjoy.President Joe Biden’s agenda — Investing in America — is central to the work to conserve species and preserve habitats for generations into the...

How rising violence, kids with guns have pushed Denver’s school board toward bringing police back to campus

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

One morning in June 2020, as nights were filled with people marching through downtown Denver to protest the death of George Floyd, school board members stood outside of West High School and called for the removal of armed police from the city’s public schools.Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education voted unanimously less than a week later, on June 11 to phase out school resource officers, or SROs — one of dozens of school districts in the United States to do so amid the national reckoning that followed the murder of Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.The board’s vote was one of the most high-profile outcomes in Denver of that summer’s push for racial justice, and it followed more than a decade of work by community organizers — namely the advocacy group Movimiento Poder — to end the over-policing of students of color in DPS buildings.But now, three years later, the school board is on the verge of reversing that policy &#...

Aerospace startup to provide highest-resolution images with low-flying satellites

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

The startup satellite company Albedo is going low to go high.The company has developed technology that takes high-resolution visible and thermal imagery on one platform by flying low-orbit satellites.Albedo co-founder and CEO Topher Haddad said the Broomfield-based company’s technology offers higher-resolution images than what’s currently available. And Albedo is the only satellite company that combines visible and thermal infrared imagery, which provides more detailed data, he said.Flying the satellites in what’s called “very low Earth orbit” brings down the cost for commercial customers exponentially because Albedo can use smaller telescopes.The company has opened a 10,000-square-foot plant in Broomfield to build and test the satellites.“We started in November 2020. We were one of the pandemic-born startups,” Haddad said.Albedo has about 40 employees. “We’ve been hiring really fast. We started the year in the low 20s and weR...

Most Colorado Option health insurance plans aren’t hitting state’s cost-reduction requirement

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

Most health insurance companies say they can’t lower monthly premiums to the level required by the state-designed Colorado Option next year, but advocates think insurers could strike deals to get closer to cost-saving targets as key public hearings near.If they don’t reach agreements, the state could force some hospitals to accept lower rates to bring premiums down for the Colorado Option health plans, which are required to show a 10% reduction in 2024.Last year, insurers didn’t face penalties for falling short of the premium targets, meaning that hearings coming up this month will be the first test of whether the Colorado Option can meet lawmakers’ goal of providing more affordable insurance plans. Significant money is on the line for health insurers, hospitals — and customers.The law allows health insurers to file complaints against hospitals that they say prevented them from meeting the Colorado Option targets, but most instead blamed either general ...

Frustrated Oakland A’s fans want to show world it’s not their fault team may move to Las Vegas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

Stu Clary couldn’t take it anymore. And he wasn’t alone.Clary’s social media newsfeeds were filled with fellow A’s fans also furious they were being blamed for the slow death of baseball in Oakland. He saw MLB commissioner Rob Manfred point to sparse crowds at the Coliseum as a key reason the team needs to abandon its home of 55 years and start over in the Las Vegas desert.Enough was enough.“I get why people aren’t going to games, but it feeds a false narrative,” Clary said. “I thought, doing the opposite, showing up, will set the record straight.”So Clary, a high school baseball coach from Vacaville, came up with an idea: A “reverse boycott.”The hope is to turn Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays into a loud, unified statement that A’s, namely owner John Fisher, are the ones who abandoned the fans. The fan base has endured years of seeing star players traded to slash payroll, which is now the lowest in baseball. Not coincidentally they are the worst te...

DC reaches 100th homicide of 2023, marking 19% increase since last year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

The district surpassed its 100th homicide last week, marking a grim milestone that city leaders say they are working to address.D.C. hasn’t seen 100 homicides by this time of year since 2003, and homicides have been up 19% since 2022. Compared to last year, other crimes have also increased — sex abuse cases are up 34% and robberies have increased by 25% since 2022.Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke out against the violence that plagued the district in recent years.“We’re focused, of course, on closing gaps in the law, looking at what we can do better administratively and making sure that we have programs and services that are engaging our young people,” Bowser said.Interim Police Chief Ashan Benedict says the district is focused on more community engagement and has made progress.“You’re going to see a proactive police department this summer. We are making gains. We’re taking strides,” Benedict said. “The homicides are taken so seriously, ...

El excampeón Conor McGregor noquea y manda al médico a la mascota del Heat en las finales de la NBA

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:55 GMT

MIAMI — El ex campeón de la UFC Conor McGregor noqueó a la mascota de los Miami Heat en una parte del juego que salió mal.El hombre que ocupa el disfraz de Burnie, buscó atención médica brevemente el viernes por la noche después de recibir dos golpes de McGregor durante una detención en el tercer cuarto del Juego 4 de las Finales de la NBA entre el Heat y los Denver Nuggets.El Heat dijo el sábado que el empleado, que no fue identificado, recibió analgésicos y estaba descansando en su casa. Mientras espera a Messi, Miami vibra con Neymar, Shakira, Magic y Wade a pie de cancha Nuggets vs Heat: todo lo que debes saber sobre la final de la NBA McGregor estaba allí como un truco promocional de un spray para aliviar el dolor, y muchos en la multitud de Miami lo abuchearon incluso antes de que comenzara. La mascota de las llamas vestía guantes de boxeo de gran tamaño y una túnica similar a la que usaría un luchador al ingresar al ring pa...