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Guyana birdsong competitions flourish amid oil boom

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

METEN-MEER-ZORG, Guyana (AP) — The judges leaned in, hands clasped behind their backs.Everyone grew quiet as they stared at the two tiny black birds flitting before them, wondering which one would break the silence.“One. Two,” a judge called out softly as the bird on the right erupted into tinkly chirps. It then abruptly stopped as the bird in the cage next to it darted about before bursting into song, only to be surpassed seconds later by his foe, which spread its wings and tail in anticipated triumph.These are Guyana’s speed-singing contests — a centuries-old tradition where male finches are placed in cages next to each other as judges count the number of chirps they emit in the span of five minutes. It’s a hobby and business that rakes in thousands of dollars and is expected to grow into an even bigger gambling operation given the recent massive oil discovery off the coast of this small South American country, whose economy is expected to grow by an average annual rate of 25% in ...

Tachlowini Gabriyesos runs for refugees at Belgrade Marathon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tachlowini Gabriyesos fled his native Eritrea and walked through the desert to reach Israel when he was just 12 years old. He is now running marathons, sending a message of hope and endurance to all refugees like himself.Gabriyesos, who turns 25 in July, finished 16th in the marathon at the 2020 Olympics and was the flag-bearer for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremony. On Sunday, Gabriyesos ran a half-marathon race at the Belgrade Marathon as part of a U.N. refugee agency team at the event. Gabriyesos finished in the top 10 in just over an hour.He said that refugees have to try hard, hold on and be strong.“It is a long journey and a huge challenge,” Gabriyesos told The Associated Press after the race in Belgrade. “It is not easy to leave your family, to leave your mother … but one must never give up.”Running in Belgrade was also symbolic. The city is the capital of Serbia, a country in Europe’s southeastern Balkan Pe...

3,000 migrants begin walk north from southern Mexico

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Around 3,000 migrants set out Sunday on what they call a mass protest procession through southern Mexico to demand the end of detention centers like the one that caught fire last month, killing 40 migrants. The migrants set out early Sunday from the city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border. They say their aim is to reach Mexico City to demand changes in the way migrants are treated.“It could well have been any of us,” Salvadoran migrant Miriam Argueta said of those killed in the fire. “In fact, a lot of our countrymen died. The only thing we are asking for is justice, and to be treated like anyone else.”But in the past many participants in such processions have continued on to the U.S. border, which is almost always their goal. The migrants are mainly from Central America, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia. Mexican authorities have used paperwork restrictions and highway checkpoints to bottle up tens of thousands of frustrated migrants in Tapachula,...

WATCH: Utah home slides off cliff

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

DRAPER, Utah (KTVX) -- More families have been evacuated from a Utah neighborhood after two houses collapsed and slide off a hill Saturday morning.City officials evacuated two homes in Draper back in October of 2022, saying the houses "were unfit for human habitation and occupancy due to dangerous conditions." The families had just moved in to the newly built homes less than a year prior. The city said the dangerous conditions were because of "earth shifting," which could cause the homes to slide and their foundations to break. Newly built Draper homes ‘unfit for human habitation’ due to sliding soil The two homes evacuated in October collapsed Saturday, with one of the houses falling onto a hiking trail below. Engineers and public safety personnel then issued an evacuation notice to the residents of two more homes – the ones situated on each side of the collapsed houses. Two houses collapsed from sliding in Draper on Apr. 22. (Courtesy of Jason Middaugh)Two houses collapsed from...

Sneaky ways inflation affects your money in 2023

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

(NerdWallet) - By now, you’re probably familiar with the more obvious ways inflation affects your finances. Your money doesn’t go as far at the grocery store, for example. Credit card and other variable-rate debt is getting more expensive as the Federal Reserve raises short-term interest rates to combat inflation. Rates are also rising, albeit more slowly, on savings accounts.But other ways inflation helps or hurts have gotten less attention. Here are some of the major changes to watch for in 2023.Big tax changes benefit most taxpayersThe IRS raised the standard deduction, which is taken by more than 90% of taxpayers, by $1,800 for married couples filing jointly and by $900 for single filers. The standard deduction amounts in 2023 will be $27,700 for married couples and $13,850 for singles.In addition, the IRS adjusted federal tax brackets upward by about 7%. The larger deduction, higher brackets and other changes mean most taxpayers will pay less in 2023, especially if their income...

First Warning for possible storms Tuesday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Stormy weather returned to Central Texas' Hill Country Saturday afternoon and evening. So far, there have been 15 reports of hail.A severe thunderstorm affected San Saba country starting shortly after 5:15 p.m. with heavy rain, frequent lightning and hail. Hail one inch in diameter (the size of a quarter) was reported at a couple of locations in Cherokee. Active storms rolled through Llano and Mason Counties between 8 and 9 p.m. There were four reports of hail in Mason County. The largest hailstone measured 2.50" in diameter, or tennis ball-sized, two miles west of Streeter. A two-inch-sized stone (lime or medium hen-egg) was recorded 5 miles south of Loyal Valley (southeast of Mason). There was one report of hail in Llano County measuring 1.50" four miles west-southwest of Valley Spring (northwest of Llano).Large hail pounded some the western Hill CountryGillespie County had the most hail reports between 9 and 10:30 with eight. Four of them were two inches in diamet...

10 songs that remind people of Central Texas, Austin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas has its fair share of songs, yet so many make references back to Central Texas areas, as well as Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World.KXAN has compiled a list of some crowd favorites that remind people of Central Texas and Austin. While most viewers chimed in with real recommendations, others also joked by referencing songs like the Texas Song by Sandy Cheeks, the squirrel from SpongeBob SquarePants.1. Austin – Blake SheltonStarting at the top of this list is none other than Blake Shelton's Austin. The song was mentioned in a KXAN Facebook post by numerous viewers as a favorite. KXAN’s Kristen Currie also chimed in asking, “Does Blake Shelton’s ‘Austin’ count? If you’re calling ‘bout my heart, it’s still yours…”2. Amy's Back in Austin - Little TexasThe song released in 1994 is a story about a young couple that ran away together and left Texas behind, but the girl (Amy) became homesick and leaves the boy one night. The chorus mentions how the boy wonders ...

Round Rock ISD students launch nonprofit to alleviate homelessness

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) -- With hundreds of students experiencing homelessness within Round Rock ISD, a new student-led nonprofit is working to aid those students with access to food, clothing, self-care kits and other essential resources.Jishnu Saani and Andrew Vu are students at Round Rock High School and two of the founders behind Project Red. The organization initially began in the aftermath of the winter storms earlier this year, launched as a food drive and warm winter clothes collection.From there, the group connected with Round Rock ISD's Families in Transition (FiT), a district-led program that helps district students and their families navigate homelessness. Old Town, Teravista and Fern Bluff elementary schools supported the organization's food drive efforts.It was those collaborations, Vu and Saani each said, that helped them realize they wanted to expand their efforts beyond the immediate aftermath of the winter storm."We saw this as an opportunity to connect with FiT a...

Business People: Mpls. downtown booster Steve Cramer retiring in December

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

OF NOTEThe Mpls Downtown Council and Mpls Downtown Improvement District announced that president and CEO Steve Cramer will be retiring from the organization in December. Cramer joined the organization in 2013.ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONSLime Valley Advertising, Mankato, announced it received three Service Industry Advertising Awards: Gold Award: Midwest Dairy, Dairy Promotion Update Redesign; Gold Award: KSMQ Public TV, Capital Campaign Casebook Design, and Silver Award: CADA, 2021 Annual Report Design.COMMODITIESCHS Inc., an Inver Grove Heights-based national agribusiness cooperative, announced the appointment of Sarah Bovim as vice president, government affairs. Bovim previously served in similar roles at Whirlpool Corp. and Albertsons Cos.DEVELOPMENTKraus-Anderson Cos., a Minneapolis-based multi-disciplined real estate developer, announced it has named Peter Diessner chief operating officer. Diessner has served as president of KA Realty & Development since 2019 and will conti...

Large dragon prop catches fire during Disneyland show; Disneyland to temporarily suspend similar fire effects globally

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:25 GMT

An intense fire broke out at Disneyland in Anaheim on Saturday night as packed crowds were enjoying a show at the theme park.The fire ignited on Tom Sawyer Island during the Fantasmic! nighttime water and fireworks show held on the Rivers of America.Citizen video captured by parkgoers shows massive flames fully engulfing Maleficent's dragon prop on stage. The flames first ignited from the dragon's face before spreading to the rest of its body.A fire broke out during a nighttime Fantasmic! show at Disneyland Park on April 22, 2023. (TW/@brenda_coutino)A massive fire broke out during a nighttime Fantasmic! show at Disneyland Park on April 22, 2023. (Citizen)A fire broke out during a nighttime show at Disneyland Park on April 22, 2023. (Brenda Coutiño)A fire broke out during a nighttime show at Disneyland Park on April 22, 2023. (Citizen) A fire broke out during a nighttime show at Disneyland Park on April 22, 2023. (Citizen) A fire broke out during a nighttime show at Disneyland Park...