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Hungry ticks can use this static trick to land on you and your pets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hungry ticks have some slick tricks. They can zoom through the air using static electricity to latch onto people, pets and other animals, new research shows.Humans and animals naturally pick up static charges as they go about their days. And those charges are enough to give ticks a boost to their next blood meal, according to a study published Friday in the journal Current Biology.While the distance is tiny, “it’s the equivalent of us jumping three or four flights of stairs in one go,” said study author Sam England, an ecologist now at Berlin’s Natural History Museum.Ticks are “ambush predators,” explained Stephen Rich, a public health entomologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.They can’t jump or fly onto their hosts, he said. Instead, they hang out on a branch or a blade of grass with their legs outstretched — a behavior known as “questing” — and wait for people or animals to pass by so they can grab on and bite. It seemed that ticks were limited ...

4 shot, 1 fatally after shooting in Chicago Lawn: CPD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

CHICAGO -- Four men were injured, one fatally after a shooting in the city's Chicago Lawn neighborhood Friday evening. Police said a group of men were standing on a sidewalk near the 6300 block of South Artesian Avenue around 8:15 p.m. when a black charger approached, and an unknown individual fired shots from inside the car.According to police, a 23-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead. Worker dies while setting up Chicago NASCAR race Another man, 24, sustained a gunshot wound to the left knee and was transported to Christ Hospital in good condition. Another 27-year-old man sustained three gunshot wounds to the inner thigh and was transported to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition. A fourth victim, 58, was shot in the hip and lower back and is in good condition at the hospital. There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

California bacon law takes effect: What impact will it have on farmers, grocers?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of narrow cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price spikes and pork shortages.But it will be six months before California grocery shoppers can be sure that pork chops they buy under the new law will be from a pig whose mother wasn’t confined in a so-called gestation crate.That’s because while the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law, the state recently agreed to allow pork slaughtered before July 1 to be sold in California markets and restaurants for the rest of the year. That decision gives farmers and grocery stores time to adjust. But it's exasperating to supporters of the new rules that the effective implementation of the law would again be delayed — four years after voters approved it.“This development compounds the instability and confusion in the marketplace, while punish...

Think being a NASCAR driver isn’t as physically demanding as other sports? Think again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

(The Conversation) - Imagine an NBA game played outdoors. In August. In Phoenix. Tip-off is at noon. There are no timeouts. There is no halftime. There are no substitutions. And players must wear snowsuits, gloves, and ski masks.Sounds ridiculous, right?Yet race car drivers routinely compete under similar conditions.On July 1, 2023, for the first time in over 60 years, NASCAR, the nation’s premier stock car series, will hold a race on the streets of a U.S. city at the Grant Park 220 in Chicago.The fans who attend are sure to appreciate the sound, speed and spectacle. But how many truly grasp the physical and mental strain placed on the drivers?Our research team from the University of Florida and Michigan State University is collaborating with NASCAR to better understand the stressors drivers experience on the track.We’ve learned that professional drivers need extraordinary physical and mental stamina to compete in major racing series such as NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula One. Our data...

VOTE: Help us choose the best KXAN viewer photo of June 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here at KXAN, we get hundreds of photos sent to us each month by viewers just like you.We want to showcase some of the best pictures we receive, so we narrowed them down to our 10 favorites for the month.Help us choose the best viewer photo of June 2023. Look through the 10 pictures below, then vote for your favorite. The winning photo will move on to represent June in the best viewer photos of the year competition once 2023 is said and done.If you’d like to submit a photo for July's competition, email it to [email protected]. Be on the lookout as KXAN may contact you to send a permission form so we can use your photo on air and online. All submissions must be taken in July 2023.Here are the options for June, in no particular order.Purple RainAustin, June 3.Lightning over downtown Austin on June 3, 2023. (KXAN Viewer Photo)Sunny SceneSnook, June 12. Courtesy Lori Rosenbaum Hardage.A field of sunflowers at Wilder Family Sunflowers in Snook on June 12, 2023. ...

Project adds local art to downtown Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Downtown Austin Alliance is making an effort to beautify downtown.This is part of the organization's Writing on the Walls project, which launched in 2020. The project pays local artists to help create murals and art downtown."There are so many opportunities to enhance downtown through art." Vaness Olson, the communications director for the Downtown Austin Alliance. "One of those includes our box program—transforming utility boxes to be full pieces of art and for people to enjoy downtown."The group's main goal is to "uplift the local art community' through events and public projects." They also hold things like the Art & Parks Tour, a curated walk through downtown to look at some of the art created by participants.The next park for the organization's Community Activated Parks Project is a mural for Old Bakery Park.

Family files wrongful death lawsuit after construction-related death in Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A wrongful death lawsuit has officially been filed by the wife and family of a man who was killed by falling debris near a construction site in March.Michael Delgado, 29, was riding his bike in the 2400 block of Rio Grande Street on Rio Grande Street when he was hit by falling debris on the evening of March 2.At the time, an attorney for the Delgado family said UT students offered aid before emergency responders arrived, and Delgado was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries. PAST COVERAGE: Man killed by falling construction debris near UT Austin campus, APD investigating The original petition for the suit from Delgado's family alleges that Greystar Development, who was in charge of construction at the building, was responsible for Delgado's death through negligence, as the piece of debris that fell on him was not secured despite there being a wind and weather advisory in effect at the time.This was not the first time Greystar has go...

One more afternoon in triple digits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- June ended Friday with record heat. Camp Mabry had a high of 102° to establish a new maximum daily record. The previous record was 101° first set in 1980 and tied in 2018. The month closed with 15 days of a triple-digit high temperature. The beginning of July will find highs just a few degrees lower with most readings in the upper 90s to around 100°. Based on the current forecast it looks like this may be the end of highs reaching three figures for awhile.One more day in some cities of a high at or above 100° Today and much of tonight will be dry. This morning's map modeling indicates the presence of a few overnight showers and thunderstorms moving into some of Gillespie and Mason Counties after 4 a.m., lasting until around 8 to 9 a.m. A few showers/isolated thunderstorms may develop in the Hill Country during the afternoon.It's been more than ten days since the area had measured rainThe celebration of our nation's birthday will be partly sunny with only a 10% chanc...

‘Walking play’ about the Dalai Lama celebrates Tibetan culture through music and dance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

Fourteen years after it was last performed, a “walking play” about the life and teachings of the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama is returning to Minneapolis.The play, called “The Buddha Prince,” was co-created by theater artist Markell Kiefer and musician Tenzin Ngawang and highlights what they view as the Dalai Lama’s universal messages: Compassion, kindness, truth.“For us as Tibetans, this is one of the most important stories of all time,” Ngawang said. “For Tibet, it means our heart and soul.”“The Buddha Prince” opened June 23 and will continue to be performed Thursdays through Sundays until July 9. Shows take place at Washburn Fair Oaks Park in Minneapolis, across from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.Tickets are $25 for adults and free for kids, though a pay-what-you-can option is available. Showtimes vary and can be found online at buddhaprince.org.“The Buddha Prince” dramatizes the early life of the current 14th Dalai Lama, who has led Tibetans worldwide in preserving and conn...

Psychedelic regulations, Miranda rights, car theft penalties among new Colorado laws taking effect July 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:22 GMT

Thirteen newly signed laws will take effect Saturday, bringing with them new regulations around the use of psychedelics, tighter criminal penalties for auto thefts, and a codification of Miranda rights in Colorado state law.The state legislature, which finished its work for the year in early May, passed 484 bills, forwarding them to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. He vetoed 10 — a personal record — and allowed an 11th (regarding state employee insurance premiums) to pass into law without his signature.Some new laws took effect immediately, but July 1 is a typical start date by which new statutes begin to kick in.Saturday is also the start of the state’s new fiscal year, meaning the legislature’s new $38.5 billion budget will become effective then, too. Other new laws govern criminal sentencing, a new felony for pointing a laser at an aircraft, and exempting small businesses out of retail delivery fees.Past provisions of old bills kick in now, too: The deadline ...