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Hong Kong man sentenced to almost 6 years in prison in alleged plot to bomb court buildings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong man was sentenced Thursday to almost six years in prison for alleged involvement in a foiled plot by high school students to bomb court buildings following 2019 anti-government protests. Three other defendants younger than 21 were sentenced to rehabilitation, while the sentencing of two others was postponed. Prosecutors said Alexander Au, 21, and the five others planned to manufacture explosives and target court buildings. They said the plot was foiled due to a police investigation, and no bombs were made and no casualties occurred. Though the six are not among the most prominent activists in Hong Kong’s suppressed democracy movement, their case has drawn attention because they were all students when the prosecution began in 2021 and they were charged with conspiracy to carry out terrorist activities under the National Security Law.Earlier this month, Au and four defendants aged between 17 and 20 pleaded guilty to conspiring to cause explosions tha...

4 people accused of hanging Vinícius Júnior effigy released from custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Four people accused of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge were released from custody Thursday while still under investigation for perpetrating a hate crime.A Spanish judge prohibited the four people from attempting to communicate with Vinícius. They also have a temporary restraining order banning them from a 1-kilometer (0.62-mile) area around Madrid’s stadium and training facilities and from coming within the same distance of any soccer stadium between four hours before and four hours after a Spanish league game.The court statement said the four people are also being investigated for trying to damage the moral integrity of Vinícius. It added that the four opted not to answer the judge’s questions in their first court appearance, in line with their constitutional rights.The incident of the effigy occurred on Jan. 26 in the buildup to a derby match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.But it wasn’t until Tuesday when police m...

Pressure building on Team Penske to get Indianapolis 500 results

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Will Power and Scott McLaughlin joined Josef Newgarden behind a table draped in a checked flag Wednesday, the trio of IndyCar drivers the very definition of focus. Their eyes were trained on the project before them, fingers nearly twitching.Anticipating the start, all three dove into the work, moments before the emcee yelled, “Go!”That sums up the competitive atmosphere at Team Penske, though, that at a community event days before the Indianapolis 500, all three drivers angled for a head start — Let’s be honest, they cheated — against a bunch of elementary school kids. They were in a race to build an IndyCar out of some masking tape and cardboard, and those couple of extra seconds counted.Just like they do at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.It’s there, at the historic oval owned by Roger Penske, that his team has struggled with time lately. Power only qualified 12th for Sunday’s race to match the best starting position of any Team Penske driver sinc...

Man stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats drowns as tide comes in: 'Mother Nature has no mercy'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man who was walking on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him, authorities said.Zachary Porter, 20, of Lake Bluff, Illinois, was submerged Sunday evening as the tide came in, and his body was recovered Monday morning, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told The Associated Press. A member of Porter's group called 911 when they couldn't get him out, but it was too late, authorities said.The accident was the latest tragedy at Turnagain Arm, a 48-mile-long (77-kilometer-long) estuary carved out long ago by glaciers that travels southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels a major highway. At low tide, the estuary is known for its dangerous mud flats made of silt created by glacier-pulverized rocks. At least three other people have gotten stuck and drowned there over the years. Many more have been rescued, ...

New warning signs on Lake Travis not a priority; LCRA focuses on social media to alert boaters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

LAKE TRAVIS, TEXAS (KXAN) — Lake Travis is considered by many to be a dangerous lake. Since 2010, the Travis Country Sheriff's Office has tracked 61 deaths on the lake. To prepare boaters and swimmers about the potential danger, the agency that manages the lake Lower Colorado River Authority is pivoting to social media."A traditional approach to trying to get information into people's hands, in today's world, is limiting," said John Hofmann, Executive Vice President of Water at the LCRA. KXAN Documentary ; "The Wake: Secrets of Lake Travis" "We wanted to make sure that we had very clear cut, very social media-friendly messages, that could go out with things that are simple for families to be able to do when they go and spend an afternoon with the lake."The campaign, called "Be LakeWise", focuses on tips for going to the lake. The campaign includes social media posts and distributing flyers and items like koozies to re-enforce safety messages about swimming safely and boating respo...

Mainly dry, warm weather to finish the week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Storms in West Texas will make a run at our area late this morning through midday, but I wouldn't hold your breath on meaningful rain.Mainly dry conditions under a mix of sun and clouds can be expected for most today. Afternoon highs will return to the mid-80s, slightly below normal for this time of year. BLOG: Summer forecast released: When do 100º days begin Hotter, mainly dry weather is in the forecast Friday through Sunday, but scattered late-day storms return on the Memorial Day holiday. Be sure to download the KXAN Weather App so you get lightning alerts as you are enjoying the outdoors.Flood Awareness WeekWhile this weekend's rain chance does not appear to bring a high flood threat at this time, Memorial Day floods in Central Texas in 2015 killed 14 people and destroyed thousands of homes. On Memorial Day 1981, an all-time record Shoal Creek flood in downtown Austin killed 13 people and destroyed countless businesses. That flood led the City to create the F...

Georgetown, TxDOT hearing opinions on RM 2243 improvements starting Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Texas Department of Transportation said Tuesday it and the City of Georgetown will host a two-week virtual public meeting starting Thursday on proposed improvements to Ranch to Market Road 2243 in Williamson County. Here are the proposed changes according to TxDOT: widening RM 2243 (Leander Road) from Southwest Bypass to Norwood Drive to two lanes in each directionadding raised medians with turn lanesproviding pedestrian and bicyclist paths from Southwest Bypass to the I-35 frontage road. install a signal at RM 2243 and River Ridge Drive reconstruct the intersection of RM 2243 and Southwest Bypass to be compatible with nearby project plansTxDOT said additional right of way would be required but said "no residential or non-residential displacements are anticipated at this time."Location of proposed improvements to RM 2243. (Map courtesy: City of Georgetown) According to TxDOT, the virtual public meeting will include a pre-recorded presentation and other...

Travis County STAR Flight to host open house Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Travis County STAR Flight will host an EMS Week open house Thursday, Travis County said in a press release Tuesday. According to the release, the open house will give the public a chance to meet STAR Flight crews, see a STAR Flight helicopter and learn the basics of stop of the bleed and hands only CPR. Travis County said refreshments will be provided. According to the release, the open house will be at the STAR Flight Hangar on 7800 Old Manor Rd. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. National EMS Week is May 21 to May 27. According to the press release, President Gerald Ford designated the third week in May as EMS Week in 1974 "to honor EMS clinicians and the important work they do in our nation's communities".

Ross Douthat: What has Trump cost American Christianity?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

When religious conservatism made its peace with Donald Trump in 2016, the fundamental calculation was that the benefits of political power — or, alternatively, of keeping cultural liberalism out of full political power — outweighed the costs to Christian credibility inherent in accepting a heathen figure as a political champion and leader.The contrary calculation, made by the Christian wing of Never Trump, was that accepting Trump required moral compromises that American Christianity would ultimately suffer for, whatever Supreme Court seats or policy victories religious conservatives might gain.These calculations weren’t made by disinterested forecasters, looking out across the full sweep of American society and weighing aggregate costs and benefits. They were made by people embedded in particular communities, in red states and blue states, in different regions and congregations and traditions, whose immediate horizons shaped their expectations and analysis.As we approach primariesT...

Parmy Olson: Don’t believe your lying eyes in the AI era

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:56 GMT

A fake photo of an explosion near the Pentagon went viral across Twitter on Monday, and stocks dipped. The incident confirmed what many have said for months: Misinformation is on course to be supercharged as new AI tools for concocting photos get easier to use.Fixing this problem with technology will be an endless game of whack-a-mole. It’s certainly worth trying to track image provenance, as Adobe Inc. is doing with its Content Authenticity Initiative. But as the saying goes, a lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is still lacing up its boots. In a world where more content than ever is being generated artificially, we’ll all need to become more skeptical about what we see online — especially in the run-up to a U.S. presidential election next year.The Pentagon “photo” became particularly messy because of Twitter’s poor excuse for a verification system. Elon Musk revamped the site’s blue ticks so that they would no l...