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‘Can I claim my dog as a dependent?’ NYC 311 system turns 20

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Can you tell me the steps for boiling a live chicken?” “Can I claim my dog as a dependent on my taxes?”New York City officials on Thursday marked two decades of the city’s 311 nonemergency answering system by releasing a top-20 list of those and other memorable calls.Mayor Eric Adams said the 311 system has received 525 million contacts by phone, text and other means since its inception in March 2003. He said the service “has become an indispensable resource for New Yorkers looking to make a noise complaint, report a cleanliness issue, learn whether alternate side parking is in effect and so much more.”Adams said in a news release that the city’s first-ever 311 call was for a noise complaint in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Baltimore was the first U.S. city to use 311 for nonemergency calls in 1996. New York City’s 311 system was inaugurated by then-mayor Mike Bloomberg on March 9, 2003 and grew to become the nation’s largest such service.N...

Iowa athletics department to cover full race bias settlement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A race discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa by former football players will be settled using funds entirely from the school instead of having taxpayer money cover half of the $4.2 million deal, the university’s president said Thursday.President Barbara Wilson put an end to the original plan that called for $2 million being pulled from the state’s general fund after listening to the public’s concerns and consulting with the Board of Regents, she said in a statement.The university’s athletics department will reimburse the state for the $2 million, The Des Moines Register reported.The state’s Appeal Board approved the plan to use taxpayer funds for the settlement in a 2-1 vote on Monday. Board member and State Auditor Rob Sand voted down the proposal, saying the university’s athletics department has the funds to cover the full settlement.Iowa lawmakers then introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require athl...

It’s almost Oscars time. Here’s everything you need to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood is gearing up for the 95th Academy Awards, where “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in the lead nominee and the film industry will hope to move past “the slap” of last year’s ceremony. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Oscars, including when they are, where to watch the live show and this year’s controversies. ___WHEN ARE THE OSCARS?The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST and be broadcast live on ABC. CAN YOU STREAM THE OSCARS?The broadcast can be streamed with a subscription to Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and Fubo TV. Some of these services offer brief free trials. You can also stream the show on ABC.com and on the ABC app by authenticating your provider. WHO’S HOSTING?Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time and his first time since 2018. That was also the last Oscars to feature a solo host. The show went hostless for several years after Kimm...

NASCAR driver says he nearly won record-setting Powerball jackpot last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Just a few short months ago, Powerball players were vying for a world record-setting $2.04 billion jackpot. Though only one ticket – claimed by Edwin Castro last month – matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, a NASCAR driver says he was one number away from claiming the prize before it surpassed $2 billion. During an episode of his podcast, "Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin," the driver for Joe Gibbs Racing explained that while in Arizona last year, he scored a big payout off the track. The weekend before the November 7 drawing for the massive Powerball jackpot, NASCAR was racing at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona. By then, Hamlin had already been booted from championship contention after Ross Chastain pulled ahead of him in points thanks to a now-banned video-game move. He and his team had also received tragic news – Coy Gibbs, the son of Joe Gibbs and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, died the night before Sunday's race.Hamlin went on to finish eighth in the race. But...

Millennium Park one of the best US tourist destinations, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

CHICAGO - One of the favorite stops for those who are visiting the Windy City is a park downtown, and one survey found that those people tended to enjoy themselves.Family Destinations Guide recently conducted a study on the best tourist destinations in the United States, and Millennium Park in Chicago cracked the Top Ten.The popular Loop destination finished in a tie for eighth on their list with the Epcot Center at Walt Disney World. To find the best US tourist destinations, Family Destinations Guide took the top 50 most visited places in the country and compared how many people had given the top score on Tripadvisor. When it comes to Millennium Park, 71 percent of the visitors gave it an "excellent" rating when they made their way around the park, which allowed it to rank high on the list. Per the study, the park gets an average of 25 million visitors per year.Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee along with the Grand Canyon in Arizona were at the top...

Biden to seek more than $2.8B from Congress for cancer fight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking Congress for more than $2.8 billion in the federal budget he’s sending to Capitol Hill on Thursday to help advance his cancer-fighting goals.More than half of the money, $1.7 billion, would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to support the Democratic president’s cancer initiatives across an array of departments and agencies, according to White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details with The Associated Press before Biden formally unveils his spending blueprint later Thursday in Philadelphia.The funding request would support a “cancer moonshot’ initiative Biden announced last year with the goal of cutting cancer death rates in half over the next 25 years. Biden aims to help close gaps in cancer screenings, better understand and address environmental and toxic exposures associated with certain cancers, and reduce the effects of preventable cancers, such as those linked to tobacco and poor ...

APD, ATCEMS provide safety tips for spring festival season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department and Austin-Travis County EMS held a live news conference Thursday to discuss safety tips for the upcoming spring festival season.Both APD and ATCEMS said they have taken proactive measures and will have staff in an around the festival to assist the public.APD said there will be a large amount of pedestrians and vehicle traffic, so attendees should plan their routes accordingly and expect longer travel and wait times.Attendees are advised to be aware of their surroundings and know where they are in case they need help, according to APD.ATCEMS recommends attendees download the “What3words” app which will help first responders locate them in an emergency and to look for landmarks and business names around them if they do not have the app.To avoid drinking and driving, APD said if attendees plan on consuming alcohol, they should have a plan to get home and make sure they are getting in the correct rideshare by checking the driver photo or li...

It's illegal for shelter vets to operate on pets with owners. A Texas lawmaker hopes to change that

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two Texas lawmakers have filed bills in hopes to expand access to life-saving veterinarian services to pet owners who can’t afford them. Texas is currently the only state in the U.S. that does not allow animal shelters to provide voluntary services to low-income pet owners during health emergencies. Because of current laws, many Texans are forced to surrender their animals when some veterinarians may otherwise choose to help out.  MORE: Animal shelter starts ‘preventing euthanasia’ list amid crowding “It's illegal for animal shelters to provide care after they have left the shelter or have been spayed or neutered. And we know about 40% of the people releasing and surrendering their animals are doing so because they can't afford veterinarian care,” House Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston), who filed HB 3439, told KXAN. “If the shelter wants to participate in keeping that family with that vet pet, rather than surrendering the pet, trying to find a new home or euthaniz...

Central Texas singer earns 4-chair turn on 'The Voice'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) — After a six-year hiatus from performing, a Hutto singer made his career return with a blind audition on "The Voice" — and earned a four-chair turn along the way.Native Texan Savion Wright — whose stage name is NOIVAS — performed Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" in the final audition of the Season 23 premiere. It's a song that Wright said deeply resonated with him, specifically with the loss of his brother, Alfred. ICYMI: City of Austin overtime pay soars over $112M in 2022 "For my family, that song is a rallying cry," he said. "In order to get justice for all the people, unfortunately, in this country who have lost their lives at young ages."He attributed music as his outlet and a means of channeling his pain and grief into his artistry. It was those same emotions he poured into his "The Voice" audition that he said helped him resonate with the judges, especially Blake Shelton. Wright said he and Shelton talked about how they've both lost brothers, along...

Senators unveil energy insurance program among plans to revamp power grid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:12 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick gathered a bipartisan group of state senators on Thursday to announce a sweeping package of bills he argued will bolster the reliability of the power grid and lower energy costs.Senator Charles Schwertner, chairman of the Business and Commerce committee, first introduced a new "Texas Energy Insurance Program" that Senate Bill 6 would create. He said this will add 10,000 megawatts of power to Texas' energy supply."Texas needs its own backup generation when weather is bad," he said. "This proposal puts new steel in the ground, ensures more electrons are flowing in our power lines."Senate Bill 6 also establishes a "state-backed, low-cost loan program" which Sen. Schwertner compared to SWIFT, or the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. That program provides financial assistance to local water projects. "This is not building a capacity market. It is an insurance product," Schwertner said. "The energy only market has been very succ...