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UN agency: 2M killed, $4.3 trillion in damages from extreme weather over past half-century

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Nearly 12,000 extreme weather, climate and water-related events over much of the past half-century around the globe have killed more than 2 million people and caused economic damage of $4.3 trillion, the U.N. weather agency said Monday.The stark recap from the World Meteorological Organization came as it opened its four-yearly congress among member countries, pressing the message that more needs to be done to improve alert systems for extreme weather events by a target date of 2027.The Geneva-based agency has repeatedly warned about the impact of man-made climate change, saying rising temperatures have increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather — including floods, hurricanes, cyclones and drought. WMO says early warning systems have helped reduce deaths linked to climate and other weather-related catastrophes. Most of the economic damage between 1970 and 2021 came in the United States — totaling $1.7 trillion — while nine in 10 deaths worldwide took place...

SpaceX sends Saudi astronauts to International Space Station on chartered flight

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts in decades rocketed toward the International Space Station on a chartered multimillion-dollar flight Sunday.SpaceX launched the ticket-holding crew, led by a retired NASA astronaut now working for the company that arranged the trip from Kennedy Space Center. Also on board: a U.S. businessman who now owns a sports car racing team.The four should reach the space station in their capsule Monday morning; they’ll spend just over a week there before returning home with a splashdown off the Florida coast.Sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government, Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher, became the first woman from the kingdom to go to space. She was joined by Ali al-Qarni, a fighter pilot with the Royal Saudi Air Force.They’re the first from their country to ride a rocket since a Saudi prince launched aboard shuttle Discovery in 1985. In a quirk of timing, they’ll be greeted at the station by an astronaut from the United Arab Emi...

School choice won big in states this year. Is the movement about to hit a wall?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

(The Hill) - The school choice movement is riding high this year with multiple GOP-led states handing it legislative victories, but opponents are shrugging off the advances and predicting a tougher road ahead.At least eight states have put new school choice policies on the books in the first five months of 2023, with some of them expanding to all K-12 students. Other measures are still up in the air. The victories have been heavily celebrated by Republicans, but they may be running out of friendly territory. So far this year, Arkansas, Iowa, Utah and Florida have enacted education savings accounts (ESAs) for all K-12 students, giving families a set amount of money they can use to put their children in other educational settings if they don’t want them to go to public school. "I am not interested in being a caretaker of the failed status quo. I vowed to be a change-maker for our people," Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said. "Today, I am delivering on that pro...

Hidden concrete plant, pecan orchards highlight Lake Travis dangers

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas (KXAN) -- A submerged concrete plant, pecan orchards and a houseboat are just some of the relics nearing the surface of Lake Travis this summer. After several years of record heat and little rain, water at the lake is at one of its lowest points in history."This body of water was not originally intended to be a recreational lake. It was built to be a reservoir. So after it had been channeled out, it was flooded and everything that was in it was just left there," Kristen Dark with the Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) said. The Wake: Secrets of Lake Travis TCSO is one of the law enforcement agencies that oversees safety at the lake."There are pecan groves with full-grown, 90-foot trees. There's a concrete plant down there. There's homes, docks, cars, all kinds of stuff that are hazards in that water," Dark said.Visiting the lake today, many of the pecan trees can be spotted peaking out of the water. Rock faces along the lake, which would normally be underwate...

Mainly dry and warm week ahead

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After a cool and damp finish to the weekend, temperatures waste no time warming up for the start of the new work week. BLOG: Summer forecast released: When do 100º days begin Afternoon highs will return to the mid-80s today, courtesy of a nearby high pressure system and plenty of sunshine areawide. We'll have to watch for some 'overachieving' storms developing well west of us that may hold together just long enough to make it into the Hill Country overnight. Even if storms have the juice to hold together, they're not likely to bring any severe risk or flooding concerns to our area tonight.Isolated showers could hold together just long enough to die in our Hill Country counties overnight INVESTIGATION: LCRA didn't plan for climate change until KXAN investigation A quick-hitting disturbance will bring a slightly better chance for rain Wednesday and Thursday. These scattered showers and storms will be the only opportunity for meaningful rain this week, and at this ...

KXAN crew dives into the mysteries surrounding Lake Travis

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

KXAN Senior Science Reporter Eric Henrikson was responsible for much of the photography, while KXAN Anchor Tom Miller gathered audio. The team spent three months visiting Lake Travis, gathering data and stories on the problem lurking beneath the surface. (KXAN Photo/Madison Nosek)AUSTIN (KXAN) — KXAN Anchor Tom Miller and Senior Science Reporter Eric Henrikson partnered in February to create the documentary “The Wake” after hearing anecdotal stories about unrecovered bodied in Lake Travis, and how the human-made lake's creation left orchards, buildings and construction sites underwater.After talking with the Travis County Sheriff Department’s senior public information officer, we learned she had personally documented the year-by-year numbers. That was what we needed to help turn these stories into a factual documentary.Victims of Lake TravisRoger Mendoza III died while swimming in Lake Travis. His mother, Anel Cox, traveled from Kansas to share her son's story and her concerns with ...

Could mumble strips make Manning Avenue safer? Washington County officials think so.

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

A series of five fatal crashes along Manning Avenue over an eight-year period led Washington County transportation officials to research ways to make the corridor safer.Later this summer, construction crews will be installing “mumble strips,” or sinusoidal rumble strips, at the center line of Manning along a 17-mile stretch from 75th Street North to 240th Street North.The mumble strips’ wave pattern, which will be milled into the centerline of the roadway, will cause a vehicle’s tires to vibrate, notifying the driver that they are crossing the centerline, said Eden Rogers, an engineer with the county’s public works department.Mumble strips are quieter than the corrugated rumble strips found along many highways, which rattle vehicles when drivers drift out of their lanes. Mumble strips are placed into the pavement in a wave pattern, which lessens the external noise produced when a vehicle travels across them, Rogers said.An example of the rumble strips found along many Minnesota high...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: If Ex-Wife Asks For Help With A Project, Should You Bill?

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Jason and it's about dealing with his ex. Here's his email. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I need some advice on how to handle my ex-wife. We divorced a little over a year ago, and she got the house. Since then, though, she hasn’t been shy about calling me when something needs to be repaired. If it’s something urgent, like a safety issue, I have no problem doing things. Our kids spend a good deal of time there, after all. Lately, though, I’ve been getting calls about loose cabinet doors and stuff like that. I was helpful at first, but enough is enough. I was thinking about sending her billing estimates before agreeing to do any work or buy any supplies that would be cheaper than your average handyman service, but enough to make a point. Is that more trouble than it’s worth, or should I just tell her to be a big girl and handle it herself? I don't ...

Ask Amy: Spouse sees the worst, waits for better

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

Dear Amy: I am 54 years old and have been married to my (second) husband for 25 years.My husband drinks at least six or more beers every evening. He gets up by 6 a.m. and goes to work and will work all day without any issues (to my knowledge).He does, however, start drinking by 4:30 or 5 p.m. and will drink until he goes to bed (between 9 to 10 p.m.).I have asked him to stop, and he flat-out said no. I asked him to cut back. He did for a while but now is drinking every evening again.I have an extremely long work commute, so I go to bed early and get up by 4:30 a.m.We have not been intimate or even cuddled in years. I have told him this bothers me, but he says it’s all my fault. I love him so much and he still gives me butterflies (I’ve told him this).Nothing — and I mean nothing — has worked.I can’t imagine my life without him, but I also can’t live my life like this.Is this selfish? I mean, we did say “for better or for worse.”I just need someone to spell it out, even if it i...

Plane crash in Swiss mountains kills three

Published Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:24:55 GMT

Three people were killed when their light aircraft crash-landed on Saturday (20 May) in the Ponts-de-Martel region of Switzerland, near the French border.Police in Neuchatel said that the crash took place around 10:20am local time in a forest close to the village of La Combe Dernier.The police reported that the pilot and two of his passengers died on the spot. The police reported that rescue operations were difficult due to the steep terrain.They added that the cause of the accident wasn't immediately known but that an investigation had been launched.