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Dolly Parton sends signed, bejeweled guitar to Austin drag performer Brigitte Bandit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The year ended on a high note for one local performer after unwrapping a gift sent from one queen to another. During a gig at a downtown club Friday night, Brigitte Bandit received a surprise from one of her idols. In front of the crowd, the Austin-based drag queen opened a box wrapped in pink shiny paper that contained an acoustic guitar adorned with white and pink rhinestones and a personalized message. That message read, "To Brigitte. Love, Dolly Parton." Texas almost stopped library drag story time. Will it try again? Bandit shared a video on her Instagram page of the moment when she realized who signed the guitar. She froze and held her hands over her mouth in shock. That feeling has yet to wear off, as she kept looking at the sparkly instrument propped behind her during an interview with KXAN Tuesday afternoon. "I honestly can't believe it's even real," Bandit said, smiling. "I keep staring at it being like it's just going to disappear, and I'm going to wake...

For Timberwolves, it’s Jordan McLaughlin time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

Rudy Gobert couldn’t help but smile as soon as Jordan McLaughlin’s name was brought up in a question Tuesday at the team’s practice facility.This is Gobert’s second season playing with the reserve guard. But after injuries plagued McLaughlin for much of last season, only now is the center getting a true taste of the McLaughlin effect.Never more was that evident than Monday in New York, when McLaughlin was inserted in the third quarter of a game in which the Wolves trailed by 21, and immediately ignited a rally that pulled the Wolves to within four.In 12 minutes, McLaughlin finished with nine points, three assists, two steals and a rebound, and was a plus-13.“Anytime you get an opportunity to be out there on the floor is great. Glad I was able to make an impact for the team,” McLaughlin said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with the win, but it gave us a shot to win.”And Gobert was clearly loving it. He has a clear sense of what the backup...

You could turn $10 into nearly $300 if Vikings make the playoffs. Here’s what needs to happen.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

All hope is not lost for the Vikings.Though they looked very much like a group that had waved the white flag after a 33-10 home loss to the Green Bay Packers on New Year’s Eve, according to the New York Times simulator, the Vikings still have a 3 percent chance of making the playoffs.It starts with them finding a way to beat the Detroit Lions on the road on Sunday in the final game of the regular season. That is by no means a guarantee considering the Vikings lost to the Lions 30-24 at home two weeks ago.Nonetheless, if the Vikings are able to beat the Lions, they would then need the Chicago Bears to beat the Green Bay Packers, the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Seattle Seahawks, and either the Atlanta Falcons to beat the New Orleans Saints or the Carolina Panthers to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.That would be a heck of a parlay in Las Vegas. Especially considering each team that needs to win in that scenario is an underdog.What exactly would the payout be? Here’s a brea...

Thomas Friedman: What is happening to our world?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — I’ve been The New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist since 1995, and one of the most enduring lessons I’ve learned is that there are good seasons and bad seasons in this business, which are defined by the big choices made by the biggest players.My first decade or so saw its share of bad choices — mainly around America’s response to 9/11 — but they were accompanied by a lot more hopeful ones: the birth of democracy in Russia and Eastern Europe, thanks to the choices of Mikhail Gorbachev. The Oslo peace process, thanks to the choices of Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. China’s accelerating opening to the world, thanks to the choices of Deng Xiaoping. India’s embrace of globalization, thanks to choices initiated by Manmohan Singh. The expansion of the European Union, the election of America’s first Black president and the evolution of South Africa into a multiracial democracy focused on reconciliation rather than retribution — all the result of good cho...

F.D. Flam: Have scientific breakthroughs declined?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

2023 had barely begun when scientists got some jolting news. On Jan. 4, a paper appeared in Nature claiming that disruptive scientific findings have been waning since 1945. An accompanying graph showed all fields on a steep downhill slide.Scientists took this as an affront. The New York Times interpreted the study to mean that scientists aren’t producing as many “real breakthroughs” or “intellectual leaps” or “pioneering discoveries.” That seems paradoxical when each year brings a new crop of exciting findings. In the 12 months following that paper, scientists have listened to the close encounters between supermassive black holes, demonstrated the power of new weight loss drugs and brought to market life-changing gene therapies for sickle cell disease.What the authors of the January paper measured was a changing pattern in the way papers were cited. They created an index of disruptiveness that measured how much a finding marked a break with ...

Albany police investigate first homicide of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- As the Albany police department continues to investigate the first shooting of the year NEWS10 speaking with community-based groups who say they can do more to help curb violence in the Capital Region. Albany Police Union responds to review board lawsuit The first homicide of 2024 happening within an hour of the new year. Pastors on Patrol, a group of religious leaders, mobilizing themselves throughout the Capital Region’s crime hot spots. The group is calling for more action from leaders to address the violence.“We got the first day of the year, almost at the stroke of midnight, a homicide?  And we're still evaluating? There is something wrong,” stated Pastors on Patrol founder, Bishop Avery Comithier.Bishop Comithier tells NEWS10 his group is making a difference simply by provided somebody to talk to in these neighborhoods. “The religious community whether it's the Muslim community, whether it's the Jewish, whether it's the church, the Christian, yo...

Gov. Hochul hopes to address affordability in new budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--- Ahead of her State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul shared she wants to expand consumer laws. Among the legislation she is proposing is a bill to ban co-pays for insulin on certain insurance plans."This will be the most expansive insulin cost-sharing prohibition in the nation. It will give financial relief for 1.6 million New Yorkers," said Hochul.Dr. Pasquale Passarella, Assistant Professor of Medicine and facility member of Albany Medical Center, explained just how expensive insulin can be."The cost of a vial of insulin can vary— and I’m taking this from GoodRX, anywhere from $30 up to $130 per vial. A single vial of insulin may last someone a couple days up to a few weeks."The governor also wants to amend the state’s disability law."...to increase the maximum paid benefit over the next 5 years. We’re gonna tie it to the statewide average weekly wage, just as we do for family leave," said Hochul.During the first 12 weeks of medical leave, employ...

Parallels between a 1994 St. Louis plane crash and recent Japan airline tragedy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It's been nearly three decades since a collision involving a Trans World Airways commercial plane and a smaller Cessna charter plane as both attempted to takeoff from St. Louis. The crash happened during the late-evening hours of Nov. 22, 1994. Two occupants of the Cessna aircraft died. Officials reported eight injuries but no deaths among the 140 occupants on the TWA plane. FOX 2 dug through the archives and researched more about this collision after learning of an aircraft collision Tuesday morning along a runway in Japan. Five people died in Tuesday's collision, though like the St. Louis incident, more than 100 people were evacuated to safety.According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the St. Louis crash involved a six-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-82 model plane bound for Denver as part of a regularly scheduled TWA Flight 427 route. It happened just before the 10 p.m. hour after some takeoff delays. St. Louis home riddled with bullets during short-term...

Former St. Louis mayor Francis Slay joins Missouri state highways commission

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Francis Slay, the former mayor of the City of St. Louis, has been appointed to Missouri's State Highways and Transportation Commission. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Slay's appointment Tuesday afternoon. St. Louis home riddled with bullets during short-term rental party Slay previously served as Mayor of the City of St. Louis for 16 years from 2001 to 2017. He was the first mayor to be elected to a fourth four-year term in office.The State Highways and Transportation Commission is a policy-making body that has authority over all Missouri transportation programs and facilities, including bridges, highways, public transportation, and more. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Slay currently serves as executive director for the...

Rapids waive veteran defender Danny Wilson after six seasons, winger Sam Nicholson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:40 GMT

The Colorado Rapids have waived defender Danny Wilson and winger Sam Nicholson, the club announced Tuesday.Wilson, 32, arrived in Colorado in 2018 and has appeared in 136 matches, starting 125 of them. Last season, he recorded one goal and one assist in what turned out to be the worst campaign in club history.He racked up the third-most minutes on the team with 2,315, behind center back partner Andreas Maxsø (2,924) and midfielder Connor Ronan (2,846).With the announcement coming less than a month after the Rapids traded 28-year old defender Andrew Gutman for 24-year old defender Miguel Navarro, it’s clear the club is committing to a younger core, which new head coach Chris Armas and Rapids president Pádraig Smith discussed at length upon Armas’ hiring.Related ArticlesColorado Rapids | The Top 10 Colorado soccer stories of 2023 Colorado Rapids | Rapids Notebook: Where things stand for Colorado heading into new year, new era Colorado Rapids | ...