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Spike in ocean heat stuns scientists: Have we breached a climate tipping point?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Global oceans are so hot right now, scientists all around the world are struggling to explain the phenomenon. Sea surface temperatures in June are so far above record territory it is being deemed almost statistically impossible in a climate without global heating.This is happening across the huge expanse of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.(WFLA)In the North Atlantic Ocean — which was already way above record levels — temperatures have strikingly shot directly upward over the past two weeks.A shocking visual shared on Twitter earlier this month is prompting many to ask whether this recent surge is evidence that human-caused heating has propelled the climate past a tipping point.Luckily, climate scientists say the answer is likely no. Instead, it is much more probable to be a compounding coalescence of various factors – some natural and some human-caused. In other words, a coincidence of natural factors piled on top of the steady trend of human-caused global heati...

Traffic Alert: Northbound I-35 near Round Rock shut down following fatal crash

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Northbound lanes of Interstate 35 near Round Rock were shut down Sunday morning following a traffic fatality, according to Round Rock Police.RRPD also said the northbound I-35 frontage road by IKEA would be closed, and drivers should seek alternate routes.Earlier Sunday morning, the Texas Department of Transportation initially said all lanes of northbound I-35 at Ranch-to-Market 1431 were closed due to the crash.TxDOT said traffic was diverting to the frontage road at Westinghouse Road.This is a developing story. Check back with KXAN for updates.

Kid-friendly things to do in Central Texas this summer

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) -- It doesn't *technically* need to be the summer season yet for Central Texas to feel positively tropical, with high temperatures and humidity to match.With schools out for the summer, you might be looking for ways to keep your kids occupied the next couple of months. We've got you covered: Here's a list of kid-friendly activities to beat the heat and make some summer memories this year.Take a dip in a local pool, splash padThe City of Austin is home to 45 public aquatic facilities, comprising regional, community and neighborhood pools, one wading pool, Barton Springs Pool and 11 splash pads. ICYMI: With enough lifeguards, all public pools now open in City of Austin And there's welcomed news for residents this summer: With enough lifeguards hired, all operational pools -- 32 of them, to be exact -- are now open in Austin for the first time since 2019.On June 16, Parque Zaragoza Pool was temporarily closed due to mechanical issues. City staff are working to f...

Hot and getting hotter

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Happy Father's Day from the First Warning Weather team. We expect some clearing of this morning's cloud cover with only a minimal chance for rain in the southern Hill Country this afternoon. Saturday's highs were in the mid to upper 90s at most reporting stations. Camp Mabry did not hit triple digits yesterday, peaking at 97°. That is still three degrees above normal. Today will be warmer with many at 100° and higher. Fewer clouds this afternoon will allow for the hotter numbers.A hot Father's DayThe National Weather Service has extended its heat alerts to 8 p.m. Monday. The Excessive Heat Warning is for heat index readings up to 120°. The Heat Advisory for the Hill Country is for heat index readings up to 112°.Heat Alerts extended to Monday eveningSaturday's maximum heat index ranged from 105° to 118° (La Grange). Expect these heat alerts to be extended past Monday evening with temperatures hotter on Tuesday and Wednesday.Precipitation this afternoon/early evening ...

Why do Metz Park and its attached recreation center have different names?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Off Canterbury Street in east Austin lies Metz Neighborhood Park, home to a splash pad, pool, playground, sports courts and the future home of the city's upcoming bike polo court.But despite residing on the same property, an attached recreation center doesn't go by the name "Metz" anymore -- at least, not since Austin City Council action nearly three years ago.Here's the history behind the name change and why some city properties have undergone similar alterations in recent years.The history behind Mendez Recreation Center's nameUp until a few years ago, both Metz Neighborhood Park and its attached recreation center went by the same name. However, a July 2018 report from the City of Austin's Equity Office compiled a list of monuments, streets and other city-owned facilities whose names traced back to the Confederacy. At the time, then-Metz Recreation Center was named a priority site for the city to revisit and re-evaluate. The center had been named after Hamilton M....

David McGrath: A father’s emotional roadblock

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

“I love you, Dad,” said Janet.She is the younger of my two daughters, and we were exchanging goodbyes at the end of a phone conversation.“Me too, Honey.”“Me, too” was pretty easy to say.  Occasionally, I have even been able to substitute, “Love you,” for good-bye, when any one of my three children is ending a visit.But why do I find it so hard to say to them, “I love you”?  Why does the English language’s tiniest pronoun weigh 2,000 pounds when I try to insert it in that sentence?My difficulty likely astounds readers in the year 2023 for whom intimacy and declarations thereof are commonplace, which I envy.Yes, I can voice the three words to my wife at the end of the day. But even with Marianne, it involves heavy lifting, such as first turning off the reading light.When speaking to the woman to whom I’ve been married for decades, “Love you,” absent the first-person subject, is way lighter and easier as I’m hanging up the phone or leaving for an overnight.Since Marianne can cut to the...

Widespread showers and storms expected Father's Day afternoon, possible spot showers Monday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A dying complex of storms continues heading this way, but has weakened dramatically over the last hour. Showers and some storms will spread into the region Sunday. It will not be a washout, but both will become a bit more widespread Sunday afternoon. However, this still won't be the beneficial rain that we need. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here It will be mostly cloudy and highs in the low 80s. Severe weather is not anticipated. Showers and a few storms will linger into Sunday night, gradually shifting east. Overnight lows are set in the 60s. Juneteenth will be warmer with decreasing clouds but a few spot showers or storms may develop in the afternoon. Past this, it's expected to be very warm with highs near 90 each day and rain will be hard to come by.

Improving Investor Behavior: Own or loan? Equities vs. bonds

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

With interest rates on the rise, we’ve had an uptick in people asking us about bonds and whether it makes sense to re-evaluate fixed income in a portfolio. For readers of my column, you might remember that I’m not a fan of bonds for one simple reason: The payment amount is fixed. While some see this as a reason to invest in bonds, I see it as a major problem. Here’s why: As everything around us continues to get more expensive, a fixed payment covers less and less of the goods and services we need as life goes on.Inflation is a headwind for us all, but for those heavily invested in bonds it becomes a prison sentence. A $100,000 investment in a hypothetical bond that may pay, say, 5%, means you’ll have $105,000 at the end of the year. But if inflation keeps humming along at 6%, that $105,000 will only buy you roughly $99,000 worth of stuff. That’s not exactly my definition of a winning investment. It may be secure, but it’s not “safe.”Steve BoorenBeyond the sheer economics of fixed pa...

Grandma’s House brewery pulls out of Trinidad lease with Sexy Pizza

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

Grandma’s moved out of Trinidad. The brewery, that is. In 2021, two Denver-based businesses – Sexy Pizza and Grandma’s House brewery – decided to expand down to the city just north of the Colorado-New Mexico border. “It was sort of an impulsive decision to open the bar down there,” Grandma’s House founder Matthew Fuerst said. “Sort of a combination of mid-COVID stir craziness and Denver kind of changing quickly.” Sexy Pizza co-owner Kayvan Khalatbari bought the historic train depot building at 516 E. Elm St. that year and invited Grandma’s House to rent a portion of the 4,000 square-foot space. “We certainly wanted to share the space with them and have them succeed,” said Kyle Peters, another of Sexy Pizza’s co-owners. “It’s a really cool building. We took it over and tried to do a nice good face-lift and keep that historic charm.” But, just shy of two years later, Grandma’s House has closed the taps. Matthew Fuerst“We knew it was going to be an uphill climb, and the first year was ...

Denver is closing a unique homeless shelter that its operators say worked. Residents are now scrambling.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:52 GMT

The Rodeway Inn homeless shelter was the first space Laura Lindquist felt like she had somewhere her own to lay her head at night. It was the first place she didn’t fear her things being stolen. The first place she felt secure enough to start acquiring belongings to care about.Now, Lindquist, 45, must reckon with the possibility of getting dumped back onto Denver’s streets after the city-owned shelter serving women, transgender and non-binary guests recently announced its Aug. 23 closure, which will displace the nearly 70 residents and more than 30 staff members who live and work in the defunct Federal Boulevard hotel.“We’ve all been through so much already, and this is trauma all over again,” Lindquist said. “What are our options?”The Denver Housing Authority bought the former hotel for $11.1 million in May 2020 and leased it to the city for $10 a year to become an emergency non-congregate homeless shelter — meaning the hotel rooms fu...