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Former Twitter employee on working for Musk: 'It absolutely was the hardest experience'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

(The Hill) — Ella Irwin, a former employee for Twitter, now known as X, said working for billionaire Elon Musk after his acquisition of the company was the "hardest experience."Irwin became head of trust and safety for the company, lasting only seven more months before resigning after Musk publicly criticized actions taken at the company surrounding the issue of misgendering."It absolutely was the hardest experience that I’ve gone through in my career," Irwin, 48, said In an interview with NBC News. Supreme Court won’t reinstate Missouri gun law as Thomas dissents She said she resigned rather suddenly from the company because it became clear that “there was no longer alignment” between her “nonnegotiable principles” and the company.“One was this notion of freedom of speech versus freedom of reach,” Irwin said. “It was important to me that there was an understanding that hate speech, for example, violent graphic content, things like that, were not promoted, advertised, amplified.”H...

Texans to vote for 'a new golden era' for state parks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texans will soon vote on a proposition to revamp state parks in Texas.Texas Proposition 14, originating from S.J.R 74, would establish the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund to help the acquisition, development, and maintenance of state parks. The fund would be administered by the Parks and Wildlife Department.Luke Metzger, executive director for environmental advocacy group Environment Texas, emphasized how state parks are "bursting at the seams" currently."Too many people have the experience in Texas where you have to plan many months ahead of time to book a campsite," Metzker said. "We need to make it as easy as possible for people to get outside and experience the great outdoors."Lawmakers passed the proposal with overwhelming support. State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D- Austin) emphasized how this proposition would benefit taxpayers."It does not raise your taxes," Eckhardt said. "It may even save you tax dollars in the long run."Support for the proposition not only...

F1 traffic causing trouble for roads around COTA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

Austin (KXAN) — As Formula 1 drivers start their engines, fans headed to the U.S. Grand Prix waited in long lines to get to the Circuit of the Americas track Friday.The event has grown in attendance year after year. Last year, Visit Austin said 440,000 people attended the three-day event, making a big contribution to the city’s economy. F1 weekend generates millions of dollars for Austin With traffic reduced to one lane in or out of COTA, heavy traffic is expected throughout the weekend.Toga Pendrick lives less than a mile from the track and said it can be frustrating to plan around the traffic. He’s attending a charity event Saturday and says he’ll have to leave much earlier than originally thought.“I was already expecting to leave an hour and a half before the event started. And we're going to probably add another hour just to make sure we get there with time to spare,” Pendrick said.A spokesperson for the city of Austin’s Transportation and Public Works Department said access t...

Austin rental prices continue to fall from record highs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – After years of sky-high rent prices, costs in Austin are trending downward according to a new report. Data analysts from Rent.com, an apartment search engine, found that Austin had the largest decline of any U.S. city, with prices dropping more than 14% in the last year, per the report.“Prices [in Austin] have really been steadily on the decline since May of 2022,” said John Luckie, a researcher at Rent. “I think [prices] in Austin rose a lot faster and a lot more than other places. And so, it's falling a bit faster than what we're seeing elsewhere,” he continued. Though they have fallen 14%, Luckie said they are still considerably higher than in Feb. 2021, when rent prices started spiking. He said Austinites should continue to see these numbers balance out over the next few months. Compared to Austin, National rent prices have fallen only .4% in the last 12 months, per the report. Luckie said Austin rental prices cooling is in part due to vacancy rates inc...

Texans to vote on plan to help pay for projects to meet water demand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texans will be voting to invest in projects to improve the water supply in the upcoming election.Proposition 6, stemming from S.J.R 75, would create a "Texas water fund" dedicated to assisting in financing water projects in Texas.Texas Rep. Ernest Bailes (R-Shepherd) emphasized the need for proper water infrastructure after pipes broke in cities in his district, leading to a boil water notice."Two cities that were actually combined—they shared one collective water system—they only had one well total, and that well went out," Bailes said.According to the Texas Water Development Board, the current existing water supply is not enough to meet future demand in drought situations. To meet water demand in 2070, it projected that Texas would need at least 6.9 million acre-feet of additional water supplies, which includes the form of water savings through conservation.For perspective, the total storage capacity of Lake Travis is 1.92 million acre-feet.If Proposition 6 is p...

In St. Paul, Jewish groups rally for Palestinians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

Carrying the Palestinian flag and handwritten signs for peace, more than 100 Jewish protesters gathered outside state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party headquarters in St. Paul on Friday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to what they described as the genocidal bombings of innocent Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government.“I am a descendant of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust,” said Iris Brilliant, 35, of Minneapolis, as the crowd around her broke into a peace song. “Genocide of Palestinians does not make me feel more safe.”The protesters — organized by the Jewish advocacy coalition If Not Now and the progressive anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace — called upon state DFL Chair Ken Martin to condemn the bombings that have killed some 4,000 Palestinians, more than 1,000 of them children, and work to curb U.S. military aid to the Israeli government.On Oct. 13, Israel alerted the more than 1 million residents of northern Gaza t...

Tommies will be missing some key starters Saturday at Stetson; Amari Powell steps in at quarterback

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

In the wake of a surprisingly one-sided loss at Drake last week that ended St. Thomas’ winning streak in the Pioneer Football League at 13 games, the Tommies’ chances of rebounding on Saturday at Stetson took a major hit due to a pair of key injuries.Starting quarterback Tak Tateoka, who was injured in the first half in the 52-21 loss to Drake and did not return, will not play this week due to a leg injury that could keep him on the sidelines for an extended period. He will be replaced by sophomore quarterback Amari Powell.On the other side of the ball, a secondary that already has been playing without starting cornerback Branden Smith will now also be without starting free safety Ryan Calcagno, whowas injured late in the first half against Drake. The Tommies also have been playing without starting nose tackle Jordan Titus.While Caruso said the Tommies are as banged up as any team he has had at St. Thomas, he is not using it as an excuse for his team’s poor play against a team that,...

Vikings preparing for mighty 49ers, who could be down a pair of skill players

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

It will be a tall task for the Vikings when they play host to the mighty San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.To say the 49ers boast a gluttony of talent on both sides of the ball would be putting it lightly. They are dynamic on offense and dominant on defense.That was apparent this week when head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about the challenges of the Vikings going up against a defense that is only allowing 278 yards per game this season. He spit out a laundry list of players that included Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead on the defensive line, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw at linebacker, and Talanoa Hufanga in the secondary. After getting all the way through his answer, O’Connell realized he forgot Javon Hargrave, who is as disruptive as any player in the league up front.“You see impactful players at all three levels,” O’Connell said. “They have maybe some of the bests at their positions.”The only thing the Vikings might have working...

Floodgates open: Here’s who’s running for Speaker as GOP seeks third nominee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

The field of those vying to be the House GOP’s third nominee for Speaker is quickly becoming crowded after the conference voted on Friday to drop House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).The conference pushed Jordan aside in a secret-ballot internal vote shortly after he lost a third House floor vote on Friday. Before Jordan, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) narrowly won the nomination — but withdrew his name a day later after supporters of Jordan refused to support him. Scalise said on Tuesday that he would not be seeking the nomination again.After two failed nominees, the floodgates have opened, with potential successors to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) jockeying for the role.House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors for their candidate forum on Monday at 6:30 p.m., then will move to an internal nomination election on Tuesday at 9 a.m. The deadline for candidates to file their candidacies is on Sunday at noon.Here’s who is running for ...

Mohawk Hudson Humane Society to restore pet cemetery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:07 GMT

MENANDS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- At first glance, it appears to be a regular field but take a closer look and you'll find headstones. It's the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society's 75-year-old pet cemetery. Established on October 21, 1948, the cemetery has become inactive in recent years, but now the humane society has begun a restoration project to bring the cemetery back to life. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Public Programs Coordinator Melanie Stevenson has been spearheading the restoration project. "Sadly, a lot of our records were lost over the years, so I've been going through old newspapers and searching through archives for anything we can find about the cemetery," said Stevenson. "One day, an article fell into my lap that mentioned the opening of the cemetery. It is amazing how much information we can find in the community."Work has already begun to locate stones and clear out overgrown vegetation. Stevenson believes there ar...