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Austin-aimed bills in the legislative session: What's headed to the governor, what's not

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Another legislative session in Texas, another round of bills aimed at the city where it all happens. Texas’ 88th Legislative Session: Which bills made it to the governor’s desk? "Every two years, it seems that the state legislature has the city of Austin in its sights. And we kind of always hoped that absence might make the heart grow a little fonder, that that won't be the case. But usually what happens is familiarity breeds contempt," said Brian Smith, a professor of political science at St. Edward's University. Here are some of the Austin-inspired bills and where the stand at the end of the session: HB 2127: Texas Regulatory Consistency ActA bill that strips a local government's ability to create laws more strict than Texas' in some cases will head to the governor's desk. It takes away the City of Austin's ability to create things like labor laws and water restrictions in a drought. "This is what the opponents called the 'Death Star' bill. And this limits munic...

Texas softball swept by No. 4 Tennessee in super regionals, ends season with 45 wins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns softball team ran into a Tennessee orange-colored buzzsaw in the super regionals.The Longhorns won't be returning to the Women's College World Series after Saturday's 9-0 loss to the fourth-seeded Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville. Tennessee won 5-2 on Friday, and the Lady Vols swept the best-of-three series to end Texas' season.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersTennessee outscored Texas 14-2 over two games to advance to the WCWS in Oklahoma City beginning June 1. The Lady Vols will play either fifth-seeded Alabama or 12th-seeded Northwestern in the WCWS, and the Longhorns ended their season with a 45-15-1 record.In Saturday's game, shaky defense led to five errors and the biggest of them all allowed four runs to score in the seventh inning. Giulia Koutsoyanopulos hit a single to right field with the b...

Jose Berríos helps Blue Jays blank Twins, 3-0

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

José Berríos made another solid start. Alejandro Kirk delivered a timely hit. Daulton Varsho did a little bit of everything.The Toronto Blue Jays took another step toward a turnaround at the end of a rough month, posting their first series win in four tries in well-rounded fashion.Berríos pitched around a season-high five walks and into the sixth inning for Toronto to beat his old team, and the Blue Jays blanked the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Sunday.“Hopefully, this kind of springboards us forward,” manager John Schneider said after the Blue Jays played their 17th game in 17 days.Kirk hit a two-run single in the second inning that held up for Berríos (5-4), who has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his last nine turns after a rough start.Varsho scored all the way from first base on Kirk’s hit. Handling center field for Kevin Kiermaier — the day after he twice had a leaping catch attempt turn into a Twins home run when those balls bounced off his glove and into the grass berm —...

Upper Sioux Agency State Park will go to community — but not yet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

Legislation that will lead to the transfer of Upper Sioux Agency State Park land to the Upper Sioux Community has been adopted.However, that doesn’t mean the land will be transferred anytime soon.“The park will be open this summer,” said Ann Pierce, parks and trails director for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. More than 30,000 people visit the park each year.In three separate bills, the Minnesota Legislature approved about $6.5 million to pay for the transfer of about 1,400 acres. The last of them was adopted last Monday, the final day of the 2023 session.Review processThis year, the DNR will begin reviewing any barriers to the transfer of the land and looking for areas to develop comparable recreational opportunities in the area, Pierce said.A meeting has been held with people who own land near the park and more meetings will be planned as the process unfolds, she said.There could be barriers to transferring the land, because federal and state funds were used to make...

Red-hot Ryan McMahon leads Rockies to 11-10 slugfest victory over Mets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

Someone plugged in the power in LoDo and the charged-up Rockies zapped the Mets, 11-10, Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.The Rockies nearly blew the game when the Mets scored three runs in the ninth off reliever Justin Lawrence, who gave up a two-run triple to Tommy Pham.Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, who entered the weekend series in a serious home run drought, finished a triple short of the cycle and drove in five runs. He hit a three-run double in Colorado’s four-run fourth inning and followed up with a two-run homer in a five-run fifth.McMahon hit a home run in all three games of the series, the second time in his career he’s launched homers in three consecutive games. Colorado won two of the three games to clinch its sixth series over its last eight.The clubs combined for 29 hits, much to the delight of an announced sellout crowd of 47,471.The Mets’ fans — and there were a lot of them — got to see a three-run homer from Francisco Alvarez in the fourt...

Woman goes missing during cross-country trip with boyfriend to Orange County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

A Tennessee family is desperately trying to find their loved one after they say she disappeared while traveling across the country with her boyfriend, who is currently wanted on an unrelated arrest warrant. KTLA's sister station WKRN reports. Toni Alcaraz last spoke with her 33-year-old sister, Nikki Alcaraz, also known as Nikki Cunningham, three weeks ago. Nikki had set out in her black Jeep with her boyfriend, Tyler Stratton, and a dog to visit family in Orange County, California."I talk to her almost every day, so I am scared something happened to them," said Toni. "It's a trip she's done hundreds of times. Our uncle is still in Southern California, and she goes to see him often."During their cross-country trip, the couple had a run-in with law enforcement in Torrance County, New Mexico. According to a Torrance County Sheriff's Office report from May 4, a witness saw Stratton punch Nikki in the face. The report went on to say that Stratton claimed he was also hit, with blood comi...

Astros tee off on Oakland pitchers in record fashion, hand hapless A’s 11th straight loss

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

OAKLAND – A small positive for Oakland A’s right-hander Luis Medina as he continues to gain experience at the Major League level is that he’s only allowed 28 hits through his first 27 2/3 innings pitched.The bad news for the 24-year-old Medina is that 10 of those hits have been home runs, including the three he gave up Sunday in the A’s 10-1 loss to the Houston Astros before an announced crowd of 8,809 at the Coliseum.Medina allowed home runs to Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick, and Jose Altuve as the Astros swept the three-game series and handed the A’s their 11th straight loss, their longest losing streak in close to three decades. Meyers’ homer was a three-run shot in the fourth inning, and McCormick and Altuve hit back-to-back solo shots in the top of the seventh.The A’s allowed an Oakland record seven home runs in all, with Yordan Álvarez hitting two, and José Abreu and Jeremy Peña each connecting on one.Abreu took Sam Long deep in the eighth inning for his first homer of the season...

Varner birdies last hole to win LIV Golf at Trump National

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

STERLING, Va. (AP) — Harold Varner III won his first LIV Golf event Sunday when he two-putted from about 35 feet for birdie on the par-5 18th hole at Trump National in LIV Golf-DC.Varner won by one shot over Branden Grace of South Africa, who moments earlier holed about a 20-foot birdie putt on the tough par-4 second hole, his last of the shotgun start. Grace closed with a 66.Mito Pereira, the 36-hole leader, shot 71 and finished third.Varner won for the first time on American soil. He never won on the PGA Tour before signing on with the Saudi-funded league. His previous two professional wins were the Australian PGA Championship and the Saudi International.“I’m getting better at golf,” he said. “That’s always been my goal. I think big things are coming.”Varner, who opened the 54-hole event with a 64, started the final round one shot behind Pereira. But the Chilean bogeyed his first two holes.Varner holed a bunker shot for birdie at the 11th, and he made about a 12-foot b...

Coca-Cola 600 postponed until Monday due to wet weather

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Charlotte Motor Speedway has announced the Coca-Cola 600 has been postponed until Monday due to wet weather.The Cup Series race will begin at 3 p.m. ET. NASCAR has moved the Xfinity Series up to an 11 a.m. start on Monday. The Xfinity Series race had been scheduled to run Saturday but was previously postponed.Cup Series points leader William Byron will start on the pole for the Cup Series race after qualifying was rained out Saturday night.It marks the first time the race has been moved to Memorial Day due to weather since 2009.___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Biden espera ser reelecto con la asistencia de sus amigos y aliados

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:51 GMT

Tiene 80 años. Tiene un trabajo diurno exigente. Y, para empezar, nunca fue el activista más electrizante del mundo. Para ganar la reelección, el presidente Joe Biden planea aprovechar una gran cantidad de amigos y aliados para ir a donde él no puede, decir lo que no quiere y ser lo que nunca será. Los sustitutos de campaña no son nada nuevo. William McKinley desplegó 1,400 mientras hacía campaña por la Casa Blanca en 1896 mientras saludaba principalmente a sus seguidores desde el porche delantero de su casa en Ohio. Techo de la deuda: qué incluye y qué no el principio de acuerdo Biden nomina a la experta en cáncer Monica Bertagnolli para dirigir los Institutos Nacionales de Salud Pero la incipiente campaña de reelección de Biden ha invertido temprano, incluso antes de tener una sede y antes de lo que hizo el expresidente Barack Obama en 2012, en lo que los agentes veteranos dicen que es una operación inusualmente sólida para apr...