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5 places to travel without a passport this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

(NerdWallet) - International travel is currently booming. The number of U.S. travelers who left for international destinations this April was 10.6% higher than in April 2019, according to data from the Commerce Department.For folks who don’t have a passport, it might be too late to join the international travel palooza. The State Department estimates standard passport processing times at 10 to 13 weeks. And expedited processing can take seven to nine weeks. Even if you have a passport, check the expiration date because some countries require passports to be valid at least six months beyond your trip dates.Whether it’s too late or too costly to consider international travel, there are still plenty of places to travel without a passport.Here are five places to go without a passport this summer.1. Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico. (Getty Images)During the COVID-19 pandemic, Puerto Rico took off in popularity for both leisure travel and remote work. 2022 was its strongest year in touris...

Central Texas bird featured on stamps honoring Endangered Species Act

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler calls Central Texas home, and you can now show your support with every piece of mail you send.In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teamed up with the U.S. Postal Service to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which was passed by Congress in 1973 and has led to the recovery of many species.A photo of a Golden-cheeked warbler. Courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The postage stamp series features 20 animals, including some known to live, or used to live in Texas.In addition to the Warbler, the Attwater's prairie chicken, Desert bighorn sheep and Mexican gray wolf each have stamps of their own.USPS said the goal of the stamps was to inspire more people to care about species conservation.“The Endangered Species Act plays a crucial role in saving our nation's most at-risk wildlife from extinction,” said John Kanter, senior biologist for the National Wildlife Federation. “For the last 50 ye...

Missing, endangered man last seen in downtown Austin found safe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Sunday, the Austin Police Department said it safely found a missing man it was attempting to locate.On Saturday, APD originally said it was searching for a man last seen Thursday in downtown Austin.The man's relatives were worried for his well-being due to his need for immediate medical assistance related to a serious chronic illness, according to police.

Business People: New York Philharmonic director joins MPR board of trustees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

OF NOTEIsaac ThompsonMinnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, announced the election of Isaac Thompson to its board of trustees. Thompson is a violinist and currently serves as managing director at the New York Philharmonic. MPR operates a 46-station radio network through three regional services, MPR News, YourClassical MPR and The Current and also operates a national programming division, American Public Media, which produces programs for broadcast nationwide.ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONSCoegi, a St. Louis Park-based media and marketing agency, announced it received the following industry awards: AdExchanger and Admonster’s Top Women in Media and Ad Tech honoring Senior Vice President of Operations and Analytics Katie Kluba; Inc.’s 2023 Best Workplaces list, and AdExchanger’s Top 50 Programmatic Power Players list.BREWINGThree Minnesota craft breweries were honored for their beers at the 2023 World Beer Cup Awards Ceremony: Gold: Ursa Minor Brewing, Duluth: “Equanimity” Irish-Style R...

Time capsule found at Albany City Hall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A time capsule was discovered on June 10 at City Hall in Albany. The removal of the Philip Schuyler statue earlier that day led to the capsule being unearthed. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Albany City Hall shared that when the statue was erected in the 1920s, it was mentioned by local media at the time that a time capsule had been placed at the base of the statue. After over six hours of work, the City of Albany’s Department of General Services removed the concrete foundation that the statue resided on, and discovered a copper-colored box made of an unconfirmed material, encased in a larger box also made of an unconfirmed material. DGS was able to remove the top of the larger box, open the smaller box, and safely remove the time capsule’s contents. The box contained letters, maps, and memorabilia from as early as the 19th century.

PHOTOS: Fans pack CITYPARK for CITY SC's first morning match

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Tens of thousands braved uncertain weather conditions to start their Sunday with some soccer at CITYPARK. St. Louis CITY SC hosts the LA Galaxy for their first-ever home matinee. CITY SC enters the matchup at the top of the Western Conference with 29 points (9-5-1 record) over 15 games. The team is nearly halfway through its inaugural season and nearly halfway to an MLS record for points among expansion teams. Before the game, FOX 2's Martin Kilcoyne and Daniel Esteve hosted a half-hour pregame special with stories, interviews and exclusive content. Sunday's game is the first to air on FOX 2 this season. RELATED - Inter Miami visits St. Louis next month. Will Messi play? Many fans received Juneteenth-inspired promotion soccer balls upon entry. St. Louis legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee also led a ceremonial coin toss. The game likely drew a sold-out crowd around 22,000 fans again. Check the slideshow above for snapshots around the game. After some rapid rainfall Sunday mor...

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former leader, is arrested in financial inquiry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

LONDON — Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former first minister, was arrested Sunday by police officers investigating the finances of the Scottish National Party, which dominates the country’s politics and which she led until her unexpected resignation in February.The news deepens the crisis engulfing the SNP, which campaigns for Scottish independence, following the earlier arrests of Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, the party’s former CEO, and then of Colin Beattie, its former treasurer.Both men were released without being charged after questioning, but the latest development is a dramatic fall from grace for Sturgeon, a popular politician who served as Scotland’s first minister for more than eight years until she announced her resignation.That decision took the political world by surprise and prompted a divisive race to succeed her that was ultimately won by Humza Yousaf, previously Scotland’s health secretary.However, Yousaf’s efforts to establish himself as Scotland’s new first min...

Asian American student blames affirmative action for college rejections, but California law doesn't allow that

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

(KRON) -- An Asian American student claims that affirmative action is to blame for his recent rejections from top tier colleges and universities across the United States. However, the law which impacts admissions of at least one of those colleges prevents racial preference when considering students. Local leaders speak out after Mission District mass shooting Jon Wang, 18, of Florida told Fox News that he applied to MIT, CalTech, Princeton, Harvard, Carnegie-Mellon and University of California, Berkeley, but was rejected by each of them. Wang's parents are both Chinese immigrants, and he argues that his Asian American heritage worked against him in his application process, thanks to affirmative action policies. However, one of the colleges that Wang was denied by has published reports which show it may not be the case.Wang is one of the plaintiffs that has filed suit against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina over affirmative action, and the cases are expecte...

Southern Miss beats Tennessee 5-3 in completion of suspended game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Tate Parker had a two-run triple in the first inning and Southern Miss never trailed, beating Tennessee 5-3 on Sunday to complete the suspended first game of the Hattiesburg Super Regional.Southern Miss (46-18) can clinch a spot in its second College World Series with a win over Tennessee (41-20) later Sunday. The Golden Eagles made their only CWS appearance in 2009. The Volunteers will need to beat Southern Miss twice to advance to their second CWS in the last three seasons and their sixth overall. Tennessee was the runner-up in 1951.Dustin Dickerson homered with one out in the third and Nick Monistere hit a two-out shot in the fourth to give the Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead. Play was halted on Saturday after Zane Denton singled with one out in the bottom of the fifth for the Volunteers.Will Armistead took the mound for Southern Miss when play resumed. Denton was forced out at second on a grounder by Christian Scott for the second out. Armistead hit Cal Stark ...

German broadcaster hits back after sexist abuse targets female Champions League commentator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:25 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German broadcaster ZDF hit back Sunday at sexist insults on social media targeting Claudia Neumann after she became the first woman in Germany to commentate on the men’s Champions League final.“Claudia Neumann is a professional and experienced commentator, which she again showed during the Champions League final,” ZDF sports editor Yorck Polus said. “Constructive and factual criticism of her work is completely fine. But the huge outpouring of hate and insults made against her is totally unacceptable.”The 59-year-old Neumann’s name was trending already on Twitter in Germany even before kickoff of the game between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night. City won 1-0.Neumann became the first woman in Germany to commentate at a major men’s soccer tournament during Euro 2016 and has been subjected to sexist abuse ever since. ZDF responded to the abuse against her during the 2018 World Cup by limiting its comment options on the likes of Facebook and Tw...