With the freestyling, footwork head spins and countless other moves, the sport is artistry and athleticism.

Houston — a city known for its diverse culture — might have produced its first Olympic break dancer.

His name is Jeffery Louis, who is known in the breaking world as B-boy Jeffro.

How does breaking work?

It's an emerging sport based on a judge's subjective point of view of how they think an athlete performed. Sounds fun, right? Jeffro said it's thrilling.

"The DJ plays whatever song they want to throw out," Jeffro said. "It is your job to perform to it ... They're judging you on five categories: musicality, originality, technique, execution and vocabulary."

Jeffro said it comes naturally to him.

“My style is a vibe of explosions," he said. "It captures people and you're able to just go with it, even if you don't understand it.”

Haiti roots in HTX

Jeffro's parents immigrated from Haiti when he was young, planting roots in Houston. He never imagined taking break dancing as an elective in middle school would lead him to live a less traditional life in the limelight.

"They sacrificed a lot," Jeffro said. "I want to make my parents proud, and I want to do things and provide, but I'm going to do it in a different way ... I changed my degree plan to sports administration — more of a business sport route — and I created my fitness program."

Competing in breaking has carried Jeffro all around the world over the past 17 years, even providing him with a brand deal with Monster Energy. And he's evolving in the sport with every regional experience.

“It's a universal language that everybody speaks," Jeffro said. "It doesn't cost anything. I don't need a racquet, I don't need certain type of shoes, I can literally just go out here and just dance right now.”

A more inclusive sport

The sport also sets itself apart from other more traditional one as it doesn't have many barriers to anyone who wants to try it. 

Jeffro trains at a gym called Break Free Worldwide in Houston. It was founded and is owned by a well-respected, longtime breaker, Moy Rivas.

“Growing up in the early 90s and trying to find somewhere to dance, we couldn't do it," Rivas said. "We'd get kicked out because people thought that it was street-related or was gang-related ... As a kid I grew up bottling up a lot coming from the neighborhoods that I come from ... and just seeing that opportunity to find something to fully express myself [with break dancing] ... a positive alternative, it just really changed my life."

His own story is why Rivas opened Break Free Worldwide. And he's been mentoring kids ever since. Rivas sought out Jeffro about seven years ago when he saw his evolving talent at events. This helped Jeffro get the Monster Energy brand deal, ultimately helping elevate Jeffro's name.

“He's one of the very few dancers that can dance 100 miles per hour, and still connect with the music," Rivas said. "He makes it look so easy."

Breaking through to Paris

Jeffro said he feels his journey to where he is now, has been fueled by always feeling the need to prove himself.

Now that he's one of the top breakers in the country, he's trusting who he is will shine through, and that he’ll get to represent Team USA.

"It took a while but I realized actually belong here," Jeffro said.

Breaking’s Olympic qualifying event is coming up in June. Thirty-two athletes,16 b-boys and 16 b-girls, will compete in Paris for the first time on the Olympic stage.

You can connect with Nexstar Olympic Correspondent Jala Washington on X, Instagram or Facebook if you have Texas athlete you think she should feature.

The 13-week-old pups, a mix between a Bernese mountain dog and a poodle, had just been purchased from a breeder.

A security guard saw the puppies in distress inside a hot car in a parking garage. First responders arrived to find one puppy unresponsive. Despite life-saving measures, the puppy died.

According to the Orange County Animal Services (OCAS), the puppies were left in the car for about 90 minutes.

OCAS said the owner had just recently purchased the puppies from a breeder and stopped to have dinner with family at Disney Springs, and assumed that since they were in a covered parking garage and had the windows cracked, things would "be okay for the dogs."

"Every summer we deal with cases like this, where someone runs into a store, the mall, or similar venue and opts to leave their pet in the car, assuming it’ll be a short trip. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating for our staff and animal-loving community when pet owners make this mistake as preventable tragedy can and does occur," Orange County Animal Services Director Diane Summers said.

The three remaining puppies have recovered and were adopted by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Fire Department staff.

Summers said even in the shade or with the windows cracked, animals should never be left in cars, especially during the summer.

"People have this misconception that shade or cracking the window will alleviate any concerns of overheating. It’s simply not the case. An animal should never be left in a car, especially during the summer months of Florida," she added.

Just two weeks ago, Animal Services dealt with a similar incident at a Goodwill in Orlando when a 7-month-old Shih Tzu was left inside a car.

When Orange County Fire Rescue rescued the puppy, the car's temperature was 140 degrees. Fortunately, the puppy was able to recover at one of OCAS’ local partner veterinary emergency clinics and was released to a rescue group.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating both incidents. Agricultural Crimes Unit investigators believe they will have probable cause for felony animal cruelty charges against the Bernedoodle's owner.

Police said the crash happened in the 13700 block of Immanuel Road. Tarl Sears, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene.

APD said this crash is considered Austin's 26th fatal crash of 2024, resulting in 26 fatalities this year. On the date of this crash in 2023, 34 people had died in 34 fatal crashes.

Police said the investigation is still pending. Anyone with information should call APD's Vehicular Homicide unit at 512-974-8111. You can submit a tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.

The festival's commitment to Austin parks is nearly $1 million more than last year's contribution to the foundation.

Festival organizers and city leaders said the 2023 festival had a $500 million impact on the city — a more than 10% increase from 2022.

The 2022 ACL Music Festival brought in nearly $448 million for the Austin economy. More than $3 billion has been generated since ACL began tracking the festival’s economic impact in 2006, organizers previously said.

Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Odesza, The Lumineers, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette and Hozier headlined in 2023.

The 2024 festival lineup was released on May 9 with Dua Lipa, Tyler, The Creator, Chris Stapleton, Blink-182, Sturgill Simpson, Pretty Lights, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges among the artists scheduled to perform.

Sanborn died Sunday in Terrytown, New York, after a years-long battle with prostate cancer. Health issues forced him to cancel several scheduled shows earlier this month.

"Mr. Sanborn had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018, but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently," a message posted to his X account read. "Indeed he already had concerts scheduled into 2025."

Sanborn became known as a renowned session saxophonist and released some albums of his own. His credits include the 1972 Stevie Wonder track "Tuesday Heartbreak," David Bowie's 1975 album "Young Americans" and the James Taylor rendition of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)."

Throughout his career, Sanborn received six Grammy awards, eight gold albums, and one platinum album.

Officers received a call about a suspicious person with a gun at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday, according to police. Parishioners confronted the subject to prevent him from entering the church service.

Responding officers arrested the teen and took him into custody.

Abbeville police and the Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office also swept the church for any additional threats and confirmed that no one was injured.

The suspect, identified only as a 16-year-old male, was interviewed by officers with a guardian present after being taken to the Abbeville Police Department. After the interview, the juvenile was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.

The teen was charged with terrorizing and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile.

Footage from the church's livestream shows priests ducking behind the table about a minute into the video. You can also hear the congregation being told, "Just get ahold of your child and go slowly. We did apprehend a young man. He is in custody. He is in police custody."

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel released a statement about the incident.

“We are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided at the First Communion Mass for the children of St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville," Deshotel said. "The quick response of the Abbeville Police Department and alert parishioners is a great example of caring for the most vulnerable in our community. Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life.”

In addition to the statement, the Bishop also sent a message to the parishioners of St. Mary Magdalen Church.

This morning, our First Communion ceremony was interrupted when a suspicious person opened the back door. The individual was immediately confronted by parishioners, escorted outside and the police were called. The individual was quickly apprehended by Abbeville Police Department and is in their custody. Once apprehended, law enforcement entered the church to make sure there was no additional danger. This understandably caused panic. While we realize this was a frightening experience for those in attendance, we are incredibly grateful to both parishioners and police officers for acting quickly to ensure the safety of all. Chief Mike Hardy is handling the investigation with cooperation of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s office and assistance from the FBI. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have uniformed law enforcement at all upcoming Masses. We invite First Communicants to receive First Holy Communion at whichever Mass they choose to attend this weekend. We are grateful for all the prayers for our St. Mary Magdalen community.

Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, St. Mary Magdalen

After reappearing in the Baseball America rankings last week at No. 25, the Longhorns moved up a slot to No. 24 after claiming the Central Florida series 2-1 in Orlando.

D1Baseball.com voters were convinced to put Texas back in this week after a long absence. Texas is now No. 25 and was the only team in this week's rankings that wasn't included in the previous week's. Troy dropped out of the rankings to make room for the Longhorns.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, both teams Texas has won a series over, are ranked above the Longhorns. The Sooners have already claimed the Big 12 regular season championship and are No. 12 in the D1Baseball poll while the Cowboys are No. 19.

Four of the top five teams in the D1Baseball poll are from the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee remains at the top, followed by Kentucky, Arkansas, Clemson and Texas A&M. Oregon State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Georgia and Florida State round out the top 10.

Texas is still on the outside looking in at the USA Today Coaches Poll, but not by much. They earned the most votes out of the "others receiving votes" category with 66.

Texas (32-20, 17-10 Big 12) is tied for third in the Big 12 with West Virginia and finishes conference play with a 3-game series at home against Kansas starting Thursday.

According to that report, 70% of people in city limits now live within walking distance of a park, nearly 20,000 more people than the year before.

It also said the City of Austin alone added nearly 130 acres of parkland last year.

"That included Jamestown Neighborhood Park, Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt, Country Club Neighborhood Park…the list goes on," said Scott Grantham, a principal planner with Austin's Park Planning Division.

Much of the 130 additional acres came from parkland dedication -- the process in which the City of Austin gets outdoor space from some developers -- and 2018 Parkland Acquisition Bond funding.

"The Parks and Recreation Department appropriated $17.4 million in Parkland Dedication fees in Fiscal Year 2023," the report said.

A state law could change that

But staff also pointed to a new state law, HB 1526, as a challenge moving forward. Passed in 2023, the new law caps how much parkland can be taken from certain types of development in the five largest cities in the state, according to the report.

"There's another cap that exists which is that if the value of the land is greater than the fee that would be a parkland dedication fee, then PARD would need to pay the developer for that land," Grantham said.

The City of Austin passed an ordinance last year that brought the city into compliance with that law. You can read more about that state law here.

The majority of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's transportation policy board opposed the recommendation made during Monday's board meeting. Board members and council delegates Alison Alter, Paige Ellis, Vanessa Fuentes and Natasha Harper-Madison supported the measure, with an additional vote in favor of the proposal from Travis County board representative Amy Pattillo.

The Texas Department of Transportation's I-35 Capital Express Central project is a $4.5 billion, eight-mile long project corridor set to begin construction later this year. Council delegates' resolution requested the delay with the hopes of completing additional air quality studies prior to construction's start.

Along with those studies, the resolution proposed TxDOT's acceleration of other regional projects across the region that had funding deferred to prioritize the I-35 expansion project. With that request, council delegates had asked TxDOT to aid in those funding efforts as well as "funding to cover the remaining costs of the associated planning, design, and construction costs of I-35 caps," an ongoing city-funded initiative running concurrent with TxDOT's project.

Monday's meeting included dozens of public comments from community members, with the majority of those speaking opposed to the project on the grounds of pollution concerns. Austin City Council Member Paige Ellis, a delegate to the CAMPO board, urged fellow board members to take those same concerns seriously.

"I'm just trying to do my part to make sure that, at the end of the day, I can say I did everything I could to make sure that we're taking proper data and taking the time to make sure that if there's anything else that can be added to this project to make it better for the people who interact and live and work near this particular expansion, that we ask for everything that we possibly can," she said.

TxDOT's Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson, also a member of the CAMPO board, said his agency will continue advancing these studies and add any findings or recommendations to the expansion project where possible.

Board Member Jeff Travillion noted the significance of those air quality studies and analyses, but also said the highway is in desperate need of an upgrade to alleviate the safety concerns affiliated with it.

"Significant improvements are necessary, just for safety's sake," he said. "You can't drive through the City of Austin on 35 and think that's safe. It's not. It was built for a time that's no longer here."

Following the failure of the Austin delegation's proposal, the majority of CAMPO's transportation policy board approved the draft 2025-28 Transportation Improvement Program and a related amendment to the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan. Those plans, non-amended, outline regional funding allocations to the I-35 central expansion plan.

The SEC schedule makers were overall fairly kind to the Longhorns, not sending them into Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky, Knoxville to play Rick Barnes' Tennessee squad, or to Tuscaloosa to play the Alabama Crimson Tide — a Final Four team last season.

They'll take on the aforementioned three teams at Moody Center during the regular season, along with Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

To preserve historic and natural rivalries, Texas will have a home-and-home series with Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. The Longhorns will also travel to Florida, Louisiana State, Ole Miss, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Dates and times will be announced later as broadcasting partners figure out their schedules.

Each SEC team will play each other at least once during the regular season, creating 15 games, then teams will play three other teams a second time to get to 18 conference games. Two of those opponents will be permanent and one will rotate each season.

The SEC tournament is scheduled for March 12-16 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Solar flares and eruptions will likely increase as we reach “solar maximum,” explained Nicola Fox, the director of NASA’s heliophysics division.

The current solar cycle, No. 25, began in December 2019.

"During the Sun’s natural 11-year cycle, the Sun shifts from relatively calm to stormy, then back again," said Fox. "At its most active, called solar maximum, the Sun is freckled with sunspots and its magnetic poles reverse."

All this activity sparks coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which are essentially explosions of plasma and magnetic material shooting out of the sun. When they hit Earth’s magnetic field, currents send particles flowing to the North and South Poles, and that's what causes the aurora, or northern lights, to appear in our skies. The stronger the geomagnetic storm, the further south the phenomenon is visible.

The peak of this solar cycle is predicted to happen somewhere between November 2024 and March 2026. The best guess we have from NOAA's space weather modeling is July 2025, but it could happen months sooner or later.

As we approach that solar maximum, we can expect more geomagnetic storms to pop up.

The scientists at the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) keep a close eye on active regions of the sun to try and predict broadly what might happen over the next several days or weeks, but it's hard to tell exactly when and how CMEs will hit Earth when they're coming from 90 million miles away. Once they reach about 1 million miles from Earth, scientists can take much more accurate measurements and make good predictions – but the lead time is small, about 15 to 45 minutes.

The severe, G5-level storm that hit Earth Friday night and Saturday morning was the strongest to reach us since 2003. Strong geomagnetic storms can cause more than just pretty lights in the sky – they also can create issues for power infrastructure, communications and navigation.

According to the SWPC's scale, a minor G1 storm can bring the aurora to Maine and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula while a moderate G2 storm can bring them into New York and Idaho. When a storm reaches G3 status, aurora can be viewed as far south as Illinois and Oregon. Should it reach G4 strength, those living in Alabama and northern California may have a chance at seeing the northern lights. Solar activity that causes a G5 storm, like the storm we saw Friday, has been known to make aurora appear in Florida and even southern Texas.

The explosives flashed orange and let off plumes of black smoke upon detonation, and the span crumpled into the water in seconds. The longest trusses toppled away from the grounded Dali container ship and slid off its bow, sending a wall of water splashing back toward the ship.

It marked a major step in freeing the ship, which has been stuck amid the wreckage since it lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. The demolished span came crashing down on the ship’s bow and remained resting on its deck for the past six weeks.

The collapse killed six construction workers and halted most maritime traffic through Baltimore’s busy port. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port as the cleanup enters its final stages.

Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.

Officials previously said the Dali’s 21-member crew would shelter in place aboard the ship while the explosives were detonated.

In a videographic released this week, authorities said engineers were using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for “surgical precision” and is one of the safest and most efficient ways to remove steel under a high level of tension.

The next step is for hydraulic grabbers to lift the resulting sections of steel onto barges.

The Dali crew members haven’t been allowed to leave the grounded vessel since the disaster. Officials said they’ve been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse.

Danish shipping giant Maersk had chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn’t get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge.

Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system.

Severe drought that has troubled the entire region has led to a shrinking water supply in Kyle. The city remains under Stage 3 drought restrictions and earlier this month the city council approved a contract to buy water from neighboring San Marcos.

Staff said Monday that the city will likely not come out of Stage 3 before fall 2024.

Kyle City Council Member Daniela Parsley said some are frustrated the city has had to remain under such severe restrictions and worry about the future of the city's water supply as developers build.

"We have been growing so fast. A lot of the concerns I hear are, 'Why do we keep approving developments if we don't have enough water?' And that is a valid question," Parlsey told KXAN.

Parsley hosted a meeting Monday night with the water utilities department to help residents understand the city's plans to ensure there is enough water for everyone in the future.

"Our current city manager does have a plan he wants to set for the future to make sure that there is the availability of water [with] new developments," she said. "I would love for the residents to have access to that explanation. And to be able to ask all the questions, they have regarding infrastructure."

At the meeting, city staff said it started taking water planning more seriously in 2023. Since then, the city has developed a short-term plan to preserve water until 2028, which takes into account a city growth rate of 10% annually.

Further, a firm is developing a 50-year Water Master Plan so that the city can be prepared for future generations. Staff said that the plan should be released by the end of the year.

"Sadly, there was just not a plan before, [but] we have one now," Parsley said. "We know that there is a pathway forward. We are not going to run out of water.”

The selection committee made the announcement Sunday during a live broadcast on ESPN2, giving the Longhorns the top spot over No. 2 Oklahoma despite the Sooners winning the Big 12 Conference tournament championship game over Texas the day prior. In the end, Texas was still at the top of the RPI table and beat Oklahoma two out of three games during the regular season, so the committee felt Texas deserved the top spot.

The Longhorns will open the regional round at home against Siena, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament champions and first-time tournament qualifier. They'll begin the four-team double-elimination tournament at 3 p.m. Friday while St. Francis (Penn.) and Northwestern will play the other game Friday. If the Longhorns make it through the regional, it's possible they could play either Texas A&M or Texas State in the super regionals. The Aggies are seeded No. 16 overall in the tournament while the Bobcats qualified by winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship. They'll play in College Station this weekend.

The athletic department as a whole made some serious hay in their last year as a member of the Big 12 Conference, winning a school-record 14 championships across all sports. Both men's and women's track and field teams were the latest to capture the top trophies, and the baseball and rowing teams still have a chance to make it 16 if things go their way later in May.

The Southeastern Conference also announced opponents and sites for Texas men's basketball's first season, and the schedule is favorable all things considered. Texas won't have to play Kentucky or Tennessee on the road in their inaugural season, only taking them on at Moody Center.

Watch the entire Horns Report live stream with Roger Wallace and Billy Gates at 3:15 p.m. or wait for the replay to be posted in this story shortly after the live stream ends.

The department posted on X at 12:21 p.m. that the incident followed a domestic dispute. In an update, police said the person was taken into custody and charged with assault by strangulation, a third-degree felony.

The incident happened in the 2400 block of Meadow Brook Drive, a neighborhood between Old Settlers Boulevard and East Bowman Road.

The layoffs affect many groups and regions, but they are not across the board, the letter noted. They are mostly concentrated in the U.S. and are more focused on "R&D and some Go-to-Market teams," Hyams said in the letter.

Around this time last year, Indeed laid off about 15% of its staff, citing a decrease of job openings following a recent post-COVID boom.

Hyams said unlike last year, when cost savings drove the cuts, the reasoning behind the current sweep of layoffs is "because we need to simplify our organization to make it easier and faster for us to make decisions, and help us to more effectively grow revenue and hires," according to the letter.

Hyams noted in the letter that Indeed "worked closely with the HR, Legal, and DEIB+ teams to ensure objectivity and equity in the decision-making process. The final selections have had no measurably disproportionate impact on women and under-represented genders or the under-represented minority population in the US."

I am responsible for how we got here, and the entire SLT is responsible for making the difficult decisions necessary to help set us up for the future. We know these decisions will have a significant impact on people’s lives. I’d like to share some context for why I believe it’s necessary.

Last year we were facing a global slowdown in hiring, which led to multiple consecutive quarters of revenue loss. We reduced our headcount, instituted multiple cost-saving measures, and instilled investment discipline across the company. These measures worked, and we are now operating with stable profitability.

However, while the global economy has improved in several areas over the past year, we are not yet set up for sustainable growth. Despite our efforts so far, our organization is still too complex, we still have significant duplication of effort and too many organizational layers that slow down decision-making. We have been working to simplify every aspect of our business, but without meaningful change, we can’t get where we need to go.

Indeed CEO Chris Hyams

The letter also said that those impacted should receive notice on Monday, including information about separation packages, which the letter noted have been increased for "most employees" over the past year.

The full letter can be read online on Indeed's press room page on its website.

Some of Texas' largest school districts face massive budget deficits, forcing some to cut teachers and staff for next school year. Democrats blame the cash crunch on the legislature's failure to increase per-student funding for the public school system in the last legislative session.

"We have the resources available to better fund our schools, so we should act," State. Rep. John Rosenthal, D-Cypress, wrote in the letter.

Texas lawmakers had a record $33 billion budget surplus to allocate last year, but no money went towards increasing schools' basic allotment - the uniform per-student funding that makes up the foundation of Texas' school funding. Abbott tied school funding increases to his plan for state-subsidized private school tuition vouchers, which did not pass.

Abbott blamed schools' budget deficits on local budgeting problems and an expiration of federal pandemic funding.

"You'll be shocked to hear this, but it's not me that's responsible for this," Abbott said.

In a reply to Rep. Rosenthal Monday afternoon, Abbott blamed the deficits on Democrats' refusal to vote for a package of school funding paired with private school vouchers. He signaled he will not call another special session for this issue.

"My commitment to improving public schools is just as resolute as yours," he wrote to Rosenthal. "To achieve our shared goal, however, it is incumbent upon you to work with your fellow Texas House members to muster the votes to get it passed—something you were unwilling to do last year.”

In the Democrats' letter, they cite $5 billion in the budget already appropriated for public schools but left unspent, and another $18 billion left over from the surplus.

"It's constitutionally our responsibility to provide for the schools," Rosenthal told Nexstar. "Schools across the state having massive budget consequences. While we sit on top of one of the largest budget surpluses in Texas history. I think you can just do the math yourself."

38 House Democrats joined Rep. Rosenthal in signing the letter.

"Dairy Queen workers make more than child care workers," Cherlita Robertson, a childcare center director said.

On the day of a national movement called, "A Day Without Childcare," the group is asking for better funding in order to make child care more affordable, and to improve employee wages.

"It's $1,500 alone a month just for [my son,] Patricia Tobar, a mother said. "I can't pay that that's half of more than half of my check."

This movement comes as Travis County is set to discuss the proposed tax rate election for the 2025 Tax Year. Commissioners will look at how the county can give more people access to early childhood care and afterschool/summer services, according to the May 14 agenda. It's a 2-and-a-half cent tax raise to help fund a new $75 million program.

"We're going to help aid that over 8,000 families get assistance in some way of either child care after school assistance," Brown said.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Precinct One Commissioner Jeff Travillion are leading this conversation.

"Kids who are in programs are not my kids who are in trouble," Travillion said. "They have guidance, they have structure."

If approved by voters, it would cost the average household about $10 more a month.
Brown and Travillion hope it would benefit child care providers pay staff more too.

The announcement came May 8.

“At this time we continue to investigate the situation,” Ascension said. “We responded immediately, initiated our investigation and activated our remediation efforts. Access to some systems have been interrupted as this process continues.”

The company said its teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions. Ascension said its hospital and facilities are open.

However, several hospitals are currently on diversion for emergency medical services. Ascension said it doesn't have a timeline for when things will be resolved.

Who is investigating?

The company said it's investigating what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation.

Over the weekend, Ascension updated that it's working with cybersecurity experts to investigate the ransomware incident.

The company said it notified law enforcement, as well as government partners like:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• The Department of Health and Human Services
• The American Hospital Association

"While our restoration work continues in earnest, our focus is on restoring systems as safely as possible. While we expect this process will take time to complete, we are making progress and systems are being restored in a coordinated manner at each of our care sites. We will continue to share updates on our recovery process."

Ascension

What services are impacted?

Ascension said the systems currently unavailable are:

• Electronic health records systems
• Various systems used to order certain tests, procedures and medications

The company said some non-emergent elective procedures, tests and appointments have been temporarily paused while it tries to bring systems back online.

'Hours to do a ten-minute job'

Helen Becker found herself caught in the middle of the chaos.

"It takes hours and hours and hours to do a 10-minute job," Becker said.

Becker was admitted to Ascension Seton in Williamson County on Wednesday. It was the same day the company announced an investigation into cybersecurity concerns.

"I had an order sent in for an echocardiogram," Becker said. "It sat inside my folder for three days and never was processed."

The problems made electronic health records and systems to order certain tests, procedures and medications, unavailable.

Becker said even though she was discharged, she is still unsettled about the situation.

"I'm afraid something really bad is gonna happen," Becker said.

'Opportunities for human error'

A nurse, who asked us to conceal her identity, said it caused major delays.

"Days behind on results," she said. "Essentially like that game telephone when you're a kid, and you talk to the person to your right or left, and then it goes to the next person. That's how patient care is getting done."

The nurse told KXAN that the reception phones at the nurse's station are working, however, that's not the case for the work phones staff members have with them.

"That system is shut down. So all calls are going through the reception desk at the nurse's station but the receptionist has nowhere to actually forward the call to the individual," she said.

So instead, people are having to use notepads or their private cell phones.

Ultimately, the nurse is worried about potential mistakes.

EMS adjustments

Austin-Travis County EMS also made adjustments during this time.

ATCEMS Chief of Operations Kevin Parker said they're taking patients who need a CT scan or MRI to specific facilities to streamline.

"Dell Seton, Dell Children's, and Seton main," Parker said. "Seton can have those radiologists in-house and available to read those imaging studies."

Less serious patients who wouldn't need the advanced imaging studies are taken a little bit further out.

"So that way, even though we are moving patients between different facilities, the overall load within that network is about the same," Parker said.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A tractor-trailer truck reportedly rolled over in south Austin Monday morning, trapping the people inside of it, the Austin Fire Department said on social media.

Just after 11 a.m., AFD said it responded to a vehicle rescue call at East Ben White Boulevard and South Congress Avenue turnaround.

In an update, AFD said everyone is out of the truck and the alarm will be downgraded.

Austin-Travis County EMS also responded, AFD said. Officials said to expect traffic delays in the area Monday morning as crews respond to the incident.

Alexandria Krause is a teacher for sixth grade leadership and success at Jarrell Middle School. She's also currently in seventh place within the quarterfinals of the America's Favorite Teacher competition.

Krause said she saw an advertisement for the competition while scrolling on Facebook and applied on a whim. A few months later, she heard back that she had been admitted into the competition.

"I was like, 'alright, let's give this a shot,'" Krause told KXAN. "And so here we are now. I did not think that I would be as far as I am."

Competing teachers are vying for a $25,000 prize, a trip to Hawaii and an appearance in Reader's Digest. For Krause, she said she's motivated to help put Jarrell on the map nationally.

"I love the community. We're very small, we're very close-knit," she said. "We're growing. We have a lot of construction going on in the area, we are in the middle of building a ton of new schools, and we're just on the rise. And I hope that this kind of helps us rise above even more."

Krause said she's fueled by her work helping middle schoolers mold themselves into the kinds of people they want to be, pursuing their passions and planning for the future. Some of her class work centers around teaching students planning and organizational skills, entrepreneurship and options for their future career paths — be that college, trade school professions, the military or other routes.

For her, she said she's striving to be the kind of teacher she wanted most as a kid.

"I always grew up wanting somebody who was as close knit to me like I am with these students. I pride myself on the personal relationships — you would be surprised what these kids are going through," she said. "And they're not looking for advice. They're not looking for your opinion. Sometimes they're not even looking for help. They're just looking for somebody to actually listen to them."

Should Krause come in first place and receive the $25,000 prize, she wants to allocate a portion of those winnings to Jarrell Middle School's junior high Bible study for seventh and eight graders. Many of those participating students don't have their own Bibles; Krause has been paying out-of-pocket to buy snacks for students so they don't get hungry.

"It's become very daunting and financially, that would help a lot of I were to win the contest. And who doesn't like a trip to the beach as well?" she said.

Since advancing in the competition, she joked that she's become a bit of a "rock star" in students' eyes, with some who aren't even in her classes coming up and saying hello. But mainly, she sees this competition as a way to bring some levity to the district — particularly after Jarrell ISD student Brooklynn Miller passed away from bone cancer in the fall.

"My Bible study girls, they were all best friends with her. She was a great athlete, and it was just such a sudden loss," Krause said. "We've been dealing with a lot of emotional distress surrounding that. And so, honestly... I'm doing this for Brooklynn Miller and Brooklynn Miller's foundation."

Voting for America's Favorite Teacher semi-finals ends on Thursday at 9 p.m. CT. More details on Krause and how to vote for her is available online.

The crash happened Sunday, April 7 on Interstate 35 near Howard and Parmer Lane. Austin police said the call for the crash came in at 4:41 a.m.

Burrell, 19, faces a charge of collision involving injury (failure to stop and render aid), which is a third-degree felony, according to an affidavit obtained by KXAN. As of Monday morning, court records show Burrell has not been arrested.

The affidavit said Sweat, 22, was driving the victim's vehicle -- identified in a separate affidavit as a 2023 orange Ford Bronco -- when another car crashed into the back of the Bronco. The crash caused the Bronco to roll over and land on its side.

The suspect vehicle was identified as a blue 2020 Dodge Charger. According to the affidavit, police identified Burrell as the driver of the Dodge through witness statements and a previous oil change receipt for the car with his name listed as the customer.

According to the affidavit, a witness who was in the Dodge's front passenger seat at the time of the wreck told police Burrell was in the middle lane following Sweat's vehicle when Sweat began braking, and Burrell tried to change lanes but hit Sweat's vehicle. The witness said the airbags in the Dodge "exploded," blocking visibility, and that the witness believed Burrell fled the scene because he was drunk, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, Sweat suffered from minor injuries for several days.

Burrell announced on X April 11 that he had entered the transfer portal. Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said on April 10 Burrell was indefinitely suspended from the program.

According to his 247Sports profile, he has not yet officially transferred to another team.

Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” posted an image on Sunday of a man sitting forward in his chair, a meme used by gamers when things are getting serious.

He followed that tweet with a YouTube video from years before saying, “That’s all for now cuz I’m out of breath. FYI here’s a quick 4min video I put together to summarize the $GME bull case.”

GameStop was a video game retailer that in 2021 was struggling as consumers switched rapidly from discs to digital downloads. Gill and those who agreed with him changed the trajectory of a company that appeared to be headed for bankruptcy.

Two hours before the opening bell Monday it appeared that Gill had revived that interest as shares of Gamestop surged 40%.

Gill became a cause célèbre in 2021 after his posts on the Reddit subcategory Wallstreetbets ignited a Wall Street battle between thousands of smaller retail investors and large hedge funds that were betting heavily against the survival of GameStop, shorting its stock.

The small guys won, at least for a while, driving shares of GameStop up more than 1,000% in 2021, and other meme stocks as well. The struggling movie theater chain AMC jumped 2,300% in the same year.

But some meme stocks including GameStop and AMC have been climbing higher again, and rapidly.

Shares of GameStop Corp., which have faded steadily since 2021, are up 57% this month. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. is up 10% over the past 30 days.

Koss Co. a headphone manufacturer, is up 37% this month and BlackBerry, the one-time dominant smartphone maker, is up 4%. The retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond, another meme stock, sought bankruptcy protection last year.

Gill, or Roaring Kitty, largely vanished from messaging boards after posting a video in June 2021 of kittens going to sleep.

The story of Roaring Kitty and the meme stock craze was turned into a movie last year called “Dumb Money.”

Officials from both Austin and Travis County held a news conference to talk about making the overdose reversal drug more widely available in the community. They also showed how to administer it in the event someone needs it.

Speakers at Monday's event included Travis County Judge Andy Brown, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool and others.

Austin-Travis County EMS shared how it's launching a new education campaign called Breathe Now, which aims to train people on how to help someone experiencing an overdose before first responders can arrive.

Part of that training includes showing how simply someone can administer Narcan. It's done by placing the nozzle in someone's nostril and then deploying the red button, which releases the overdose-reversing medicine into their system.

Paramedics said once Narcan is administered, it's best to roll that person onto their side. All of this should be done while also calling 911. First responders reminded people Monday that 911 call takers can also walk someone through how to use Narcan.

A new study from researchers at York University in Toronto found young women who stayed off of social media for a week reported higher body satisfaction and self-esteem.

Researchers noted that while the negative effects of social media are well documented, there hasn't been much study into the positive effects of staying off of it.

Before taking a break, the researchers asked a group of 85 daily social media users, all women ages 17-24, to fill out a questionnaire scoring their body image and self-esteem.

From there the group was split up, with one continuing to use social media as normal, and the other logging off for the next seven days.

"We saw that the women who had been in the one-week break group had significantly better or more positive self-esteem and body image compared to the group that continued with their normal use," said York University Psychology Professor Jennifer Mills.

To ensure the integrity of the study, researchers had study participants download app-tracking software to monitor their social media use.

After screening out participants who didn't follow the instructions, or didn't report back in a timely manner, the group was whittled down to 66.

As for why body image and self-esteem improved, Mills believes the answer is twofold.

"It gave people the opportunity to get away from one of the things that we know is particularly harmful on social media, which is social comparison," she said. "The other thing is that they could have replaced, and in many cases participants talked about replacing social media with other kinds of healthy activities."

Mills said those healthier alternatives included sleeping, meeting with friends and family face-to-face, exercising, and going outdoors.

In terms of what the public should take from this study, Mills recommends people take a good hard took at how they feel when they're using social media, and plan a course of action based off of that.

"I think putting limits on the amount of social media time makes sense," she said. "When we look at the research, it would suggest that the less time you spend on it, the better in terms of your mental health."

Donald Glover -- whose stage name is Childish Gambino -- surprise released "ATAVISTA" early Monday, and tour dates for "The New World Tour" were announced on venue websites and ticketmaster shortly thereafter.

The rapper will play the Moody Center in Austin on Sept. 10 with special guest Willow Smith, who uses the stage name Willow. Presale for tickets starts Thursday at 10 a.m.

Both artists released new albums this month, with Glover's being a re-release of an album demo previously called 3.15.20.

Glover said on X late Sunday night the new release is a "finished version" of 3.15.20, which he originally released in March 2020. It has features from various artists, including Ariana Grande and 21 Savage. Glover also teased an "all new Childish Gambino" album to be released in the summer.

Willow, who is famously the child of actors Will and Jada Smith, and known for her 2011 hit "Whip My Hair," recently released her sixth studio album "empathogen" on May 3. She was also recently featured on NPR's Tiny Desk.

Austin is one of two Texas stops on the tour. The other is a Dallas show at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 11.

MANOR, Texas (KXAN) -- The Manor Police Department said it and Travis County Emergency Services District 12 are working on an arson investigation after a fire at the Manor Walmart gas station.

Manor PD said on its Facebook page shortly before 9 p.m. the gas station was closed Sunday night after a person went into the bathroom and allegedly started a fire then left.

Police asked that anyone with information regarding the incident contact the Manor Police Department at police@manortx.gov.

The tournament selection committee announced the bracket Sunday with the Longhorns at the top, and they'll open play against Siena at 3 p.m. Friday at McCombs Field. It's the Longhorns' 19th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and 24th overall.

"I definitely thought we'd be in the top four," Longhorns head coach Mike White said. "Just the way the RPI laid out, we were a strong No. 1. I felt that we had a good weekend at the Big 12 championships and I think it was decided before the last game, anyway."

St. Francis (Penn.) and Northwestern are the other teams coming to Austin for the regional round. They'll play after the Longhorns take on the Saints in the double-elimination tournament. The winner will advance to the super regional round, a best-of-three series to determine who makes the Women's College World Series field.

Siena (33-20) won its first-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship, entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed and rattling off four wins in as many days to get it done. The Saints, from Loudonville, N.Y., beat Canisius 7-6 in the MAAC title game Saturday after beating them the day before 8-4. The Saints topped third-seeded Rider and second-seeded Niagara in the conference tournament. This is the Siena's first-ever NCAA tournament berth.

• View the full NCAA softball tournament field

The Longhorns lead Division I teams with a .383 batting average and are second to Oklahoma with a .461 on-base percentage. They score 8.26 runs per game, second to Miami (OH). Siena hits .270 as a team and scores 4.48 runs per game.

Sophomore catcher Reese Atwood leads Division I with 86 RBIs and is No. 5 with 22 home runs to earn Big 12 player of the year honors. Both are program records. Ashton Maloney is No. 12 with a .437 batting average.

"Now the season really starts," White said. "We have to be prepared for these three teams coming in here, and everyone has a good pitcher up their sleeve."

If the Longhorns win the regional, they'll stay at home for the super regional round and play the winner of the College Station regional. That's right, the committee gave Texas A&M (40-13) the No. 16 seed and they'll take on Albany in their first game. Texas State, winners of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, was the last team announced on ESPN's selection show, and they'll head to College Station to take on Penn State. The Bobcats beat Louisiana, the No. 13 overall seed in the national tournament, 9-5 to claim the conference tournament title.

NCAA softball tournament seeds

• 1. Texas, 47-7
• 2. Oklahoma, 49-6
• 3. Tennessee, 40-10
• 4. Florida, 46-12
• 5. Oklahoma State, 44-10
• 6. UCLA, 37-10
• 7. Missouri, 43-15
• 8. Stanford, 43-13
  • Top 8 seeds will host super regional round if they win regional tournament
• 9. LSU, 40-15
• 10. Duke, 47-6
• 11. Georgia, 39-16
• 12. Arkansas, 36-16
• 13. Louisiana, 42-17
• 14. Alabama, 33-17
• 15. Florida State, 43-14
• 16. Texas A&M, 40-13
  • Top 16 seeds host regional tournaments

It's the fifth consecutive series win for the Longhorns who won the opening game Friday 6-3 then dropped Saturday's game 5-4. Sunday's win keeps Texas tied with West Virginia for third in the conference with a 17-10 record. The Longhorns are 32-20 overall heading into the final Big 12 series of the season against Kansas.

"Our kids showed that resiliency again," Longhorns head coach David Pierce said. "We didn't play well enough to win Saturday, but we found a way to win a series on the road."

Jared Thomas smacked four hits and drove in two runs to lead the way offensively for Texas, who outhit the Knights 12-9. Rylan Galvan went 2 for 5 with a home run and a double while Thomas, Jalin Flores and Will Gasparino hit doubles for Texas.

Texas led 5-0 going into the bottom of the fifth until the Knights tied the game with five runs in the frame. The Longhorns answered in the sixth, however, scoring three runs to regain the lead. Flores hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field and Peyton Powell hit a 2-run single.

Pierce said his team's ability to respond like that after squandering a big lead was the key to the game.

"You know it's not going to be a cakewalk, easy on a Sunday on the road," he said. "(UCF) is a really good team and they've played well against good teams. This was a good weekend for us."

Galvan's homer came in the 3-run second inning for Texas. He drilled the first pitch he saw over the left-center field wall after Porter Brown reached on a single.

The Longhorns could have done more damage but left nine runners on base and hit .263 (5 for 19) with runners in scoring position.

Charlie Hurley picked up the pitching win with two innings of relief while Gage Boehm picked up his seventh save of the season. Boehm allowed one hit in 2 2/3 innings to close the game. He's tied for second in the Big 12 with three others with seven saves.

Starting pitcher Lebarron Johnson Jr. allowed four earned runs on three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in four innings. Texas relievers combined to issue one walk for the rest of the game.

The Longhorns and Jayhawks begin their series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday from UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

That’s exactly the case with one West Hollywood condo, which recently sold for an eye-watering $24 million, making it the most expensive condo ever sold in the in Los Angeles area. 

The penthouse unit at 8899 Beverly Boulevard boasts 14-foot ceilings and a 2,000-square-foot wraparound terrace with sweeping city views, the 8899 Beverly website said.

In addition, the penthouse itself has a separate back entrance for staff and a private elevator from two private garages, which can accommodate up to four cars. 

According to California Listings, an online resource for listings in the state, the unit measures 6,451 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, while the full-service building includes 24-hour concierge and valet services, a fitness center, and a "resort-like" area with a pool, spa, fireplaces and an outdoor kitchen. 

The buyer’s $24 million purchase will be accompanied by a reported $11,295 per month in HOA dues, California Listings said.  

Taxpayers who did not file their tax year 2020 returns may be eligible to collect a refund if they file by May 17, and there's no penalty for failure to file if a refund is due.

To get a refund, however, the return must reach the IRS within three years of the due date. The cutoff is later this year because in 2020 COVID-19 delayed the filing deadline beyond mid-April.

This year's deadline marks the last chance for taxpayers to not only claim old refunds but also any owed tax credits. Taxpayers who may have overpaid the government or withheld too much will also miss out on a refund check or the chance to apply the balance to other tax years.

Don't forget about tax credits

Taxpayers who didn't file in tax year 2020 won't just miss out on a potential refund, according to the IRS, but any credit they might qualify for.

Not included in the $1 billion estimate are the Earned Income Tax Credit, which could be worth as much as $6,660 for lower-income workers with qualifying families, and the Recovery Rebate Credit – a refundable credit for those who did not receive one or more of the stimulus checks sent out during 2020 and 2021.

If you want to beat the May 17 deadline, the IRS encourages taxpayers to start as quickly as they can, as it will take some time to track down the necessary documents from employers, banks or other payers.

A free wage and income transcript can be ordered at IRS.gov. Not sure whether or not you need to file a return? See additional guidance from the IRS.

Which states are owed the most?

The IRS broke down the estimated amount owed to taxpayers by state and found that Texas tops all others at $107,130,200, followed by California ($94,226,300) and Florida ($58,210,500)

See the IRS website for more.

Sunday night, deputies responded to reports of a man asking people to help him find his 7-year-old granddaughter who had allegedly been kidnapped.

When deputies met with the man, Jason Warren, they determined him to be "highly intoxicated." He reportedly told them he had given $20 to a homeless woman to take his granddaughter to a nearby thrift store.

"She was about 28 to 30 years old," Warren said, describing the woman he spoke to via a prison phone. He agreed to meet with KTXL to talk about the incident. "I knew, I could tell by her character that she seemed like a decent person. I trusted her like I would trust my sister or my cousin."

After giving the woman the money, Warren allegedly entered a bar where he stayed for about four hours.

Meanwhile, the woman, whom the sheriff's office is calling a "guardian angel," was with his granddaughter. That woman has since been identified as 34-year-old Lauren Jope. She spoke with KTXL on Tuesday.

"I was like, 'Okay that's a big thing... you don't know who I am.' But I knew that she would be safe with me," Jope said, explaining her interaction with Warren.

After being called out for the possible kidnapping, the sheriff's office deployed a helicopter, unmanned aerial systems, and K9 units to help search for Jope and the girl.

Jope said she heard the PA announcements from the helicopter and returned with the girl to the parking lot where she said Warren had given her money to take his grandchild to a nearby thrift store.

"She wasn't scared at all and it seemed like maybe something that had maybe happened before," Jope said.

The girl corroborated the woman's story and was given a medical check by the Sacramento Fire Department as a precaution.

"This lady comes in, just out of nowhere, and really, for lack of better terms, she's a guardian angel," Sgt. Amar Gandhi of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday while describing Jope's actions.

Warren was arrested and is facing charges of felony child endangerment and other charges. He is facing a $75,000 bail and will appear in court on Wednesday.

When asked by KTXL if he would do this again, Warren said, "Yes I would. I didn't do anything wrong. Everything I did, I told God about and I said, 'It's your will God, not my will. Let your will be done.'"

The child eventually returned home with her aunt, who had full custody of her, after being cleared by Child Protective Services.

The whale, identified as an endangered sei whale, was caught on the ship's bow when it arrived at the Port of Brooklyn on Saturday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries spokesperson Andrea Gomez said.

A spokesperson for MSC Cruises said the whale was on the MSC Meraviglia, which docked at Brooklyn before sailing to ports in New England and Canada.

“We immediately notified the relevant authorities, who are now conducting an examination of the whale,” officials with the cruise line said in a statement.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of any marine life,” the officials said, adding that the Geneva-based MSC Cruises follows all regulations designed to protect whales, such as altering itineraries in certain regions to avoid hitting the animals.

The dead whale was relocated to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and towed to shore there to allow for better access to equipment and to conduct a necropsy, Gomez said.

The necropsy — an autopsy on an animal — was conducted on Tuesday, Gomez said. Samples collected from the whale will help biologists determine whether it was already dead when it was struck by the ship, she said.

Sei whales are typically observed in deeper waters far from the coastline, Gomez said. They are one of the largest whale species and are internationally protected.

The 66-year-old star of “Fargo” and “Boardwalk Empire” was assaulted late Wednesday morning in Manhattan and taken to a nearby hospital with bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye.

“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” according to a statement Sunday from his publicist. “He is ok and appreciates everyone’s well wishes."

The assault was first reported by the New York Post.

The New York Police Department put out a nameless statement on the assault Wednesday. Buscemi’s representative confirmed Sunday that the unidentified assault victim in the police statement was the actor.

The police department said there were no arrests and the investigation was continuing.

Buscemi's “Boardwalk Empire” co-star Michael Stuhlbarg was hit in the back of the neck with a rock while walking in Manhattan's Central Park on March 31. Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, who was taken into custody outside the park.

The Manor Police Department said the assaults and alleged firearm discharge happened Saturday at the Manor New Tech High School football stadium.

Police said a dispute happened during the last moments of a game between two adult teams from Killeen and Round Rock.

Manor police said there were minor injuries from the assaults, and no one was taken to a hospital.

The Manor ISD Police Department is investigating with help from the Manor Police Department. Police asked people with information to contact daniel.sanchez@manorisd.net or police@manortx.gov.

Dozens gathered at the Punxsutawney Groundhog Zoo Sunday morning to hear the long-awaited announcement of the names of Phil and Phyllis' two pups born in March.

"Today, Mother's Day, we decided it would be a fitting day to announce the names of our new baby groundhogs that belong to Phil and Phyllis," Dan McGinley, Vice President of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, said.

All photos by WTAJ

After carefully considering hundreds of names submitted by members of the Punxsutawney community and beyond, the proud parents and the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club have decided on the names Sunny, for the female pup, and Shadow, for the male pup.

The official scroll chosen by Phil reads:

Her ye, hear ye, hear ye. Now, on this 12th day of May in the town of Punxsutawney, the news is not about the weather, spring air or winters chill. No. Today the first family of groundhogs has grown. Punxsutawney Phil and wife, Phyllis, have two kids of their own. Born to royalty — a boy and a girl. Names have been chosen to share with the world. Welcome with us as we say hello to little girl Sunny and a boy Shadow with pride and joy as the kids play from Punxsutawney. Happy Mother's Day.

Dan McGinley, Vice President of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

"One of our goals as the Groundhog Club is to bring tourism to Punxsutawney and to involve the community in any way that we can. So we thought it would be fun to put suggestion boxes around Punxsutawney," President of the Groundhog Club Thomas Dunkel said. "We had hundreds and hundreds of suggestions. And from those suggestions, I used this cane and Phil and I talked about it and out of it, we narrowed it down to the top seven and Phil chose two from the top seven names."

While the two pups will not be participating in future Groundhog Days, as they did not inherit Phil's forecasting abilities, you can visit Phil, Phyllis, Sunny, and Shadow in downtown at Phil's Burrow at the Punxsutawney Library.

The Social Security Administration released its annual list of most popular names Friday using 2023 data. The agency tracks names dating back to 1880, gathering the names from applications for Social Security cards.

2023's top contenders don't look all that different from last year — Liam and Olivia still reign supreme for boys and girls, respectively — but there is one newcomer to the list: Mateo moved up five spots to become the sixth most popular boy name in 2023.

There was no change in the top 10 for girls' names.

2023's Top 10 Baby Names

Liam has been at the top of the list for boys seven years in a row, while Olivia has topped the girls' list for five, after unseating Emma, previously No. 1 for five years.

The Social Security Administration’s latest data shows that 3.58 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2023. That's a slight decrease from last year’s 3.66 million babies, representing an overall decline in the American birthrate.

Social media stars and popular television shows are having some impact on the rising popularity of certain names, Social Security said. The fastest-rising name for boys is Izael, while the second-fastest-rising, Chozen, shot up to number 813 in 2023.

The character Chozen was a protagonist in the last season of the Netflix show Cobra Kai.

For girls, one of the fastest-rising baby names is Kaeli, which rose 1,692 spots. Kaeli also happens to be the name of a current social-media personality.

"Parents must have really smashed the ‘like’ button for YouTube and TikTok star Kaeli McEwen, also known as Kaeli Mae, who routinely promotes a clean, tidy, and neutral-aesthetic lifestyle,” Social Security said in a news release.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking the new variants, scientifically known as KP.2 and KP.1.1 since at least the start of 2024. They’ve been steadily growing in prominence ever since, and have garnered the nickname “FLiRT” because of their mutations.

The latest data shows KP.2 is the dominant strain in the U.S., comprising almost 25% of the tests that have been sequenced. KP.1.1 makes up about 8% as of the end of April. Both are sublineages of the JN.1 lineage of the Omicron variant, the main COVID variant for roughly three years.

Both FLiRT variants are considered very similar to JN.1, health officials say, with early data suggesting only a couple of changes in their spike proteins.

With the virus expected to spread as the summer months approach, it may be sparking concerns about whether the last vaccine dose you received is still protecting you. Ultimately, it depends on when you got your last dose.

In fall, an updated COVID vaccine was released. The CDC has recommended everyone 6 months old and older get the updated vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax. In February, a federal immunization committee voted in favor of recommending an additional dose for those ages 65 and up. Those between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old require multiple doses, the CDC says.

Previously, health officials have said the COVID vaccines would provide protection from the virus for “several months.” In a February update on the newest vaccine booster made available in September, the CDC said that while it had (from September to January) been effective, they expected that protection would “decline over time” as had been seen with previous doses. 

However, because the FLiRT variants are relatively new, there isn’t enough data to show whether the vaccine or immunity from a recent case of COVID will provide effective protection against them. 

Speaking with TODAY, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said lab studies so far have shown vaccines and immunity may only provide partial protection. Late last month, the World Health Organization recommended that future COVID vaccines formulations be based on the JN.1 variant, a close relative of the FLiRT off-shoots that reigned as the most common in the U.S. over the last few months.

As of Thursday, the CDC is reporting minimal COVID activity in wastewater nationwide, and virus-related hospitalizations and deaths, as well as the rate of patients visiting emergency departments testing positive for COVID, are down.

A spokesperson for the CDC tells Nexstar that the agency is “working to better understand [KP.2 and KP.1.1]’s potential impact on public health,” but notes that based on lab tests, there are “low levels of SARS-CoV-2 transmission overall at this time.”

“That means that while KP.2 is proportionally the most predominant variant, it is not causing an increase in infections as transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is low,” the spokesperson added. “Based on current data there are no indicators that KP.2 would cause more severe illness than other strains. CDC will continue to monitor community transmission of the virus and how vaccines perform against this strain.”

It’s too soon to say whether a new COVID vaccine will be created for the summer months. While the CDC recently eased guidance surrounding COVID, the agency still recommends everyone 6 months old and older get the updated COVID vaccine released in fall, if they haven’t already. Health experts are also continuing to encourage testing if you experience symptoms or are exposed, staying home if you’re sick, practicing good hygiene, and wearing a mask and social distancing when in public.

Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores, said decisions about where to stock Pride-themed products, including adult apparel, home goods, foods and beverages would be based on “guest insights and consumer research.”

A Target spokesperson declined to disclose the number of stores where the merchandise will not be available, but the company said its online shop would offer a full assortment. The moves were first reported by Bloomberg.

“Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round," Target said in an emailed statement. “Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said Target's decision was disappointing and risks alienating LGBTQ+ individuals and allies at the risk of not only profits, but also their values.

“Pride merchandise means something," Robinson said in an emailed statement. ”LGBTQ+ people are in every zip code in this country, and we aren’t going anywhere."

Last year, Target removed some items from its stores and made other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride Month after intense reaction from some customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays. Target also moved displays to the back of its stores in certain Southern locations last year.

But Target faced a second backlash from customers upset by the discount retailer’s reaction to aggressive, anti-LGBTQ+ activism, which has also been sweeping through Republican state legislatures. Civil rights groups scolded the company for caving to customers who expressed outrage over a selection of gender-fluid bathing suits it carried last year. The anti-LGBTQ+ customers also posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.

Target's latest moves are just another example of how companies are struggling to cater to different groups of customers at a time of extreme cultural divisions, particularly around transgender rights. Last year, beer brand Bud Light angered some customers with its attempt to broaden its customer base by partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Minneapolis-based Target and other retailers, such as Walmart and H&M, expanded their Pride Month offerings a decade ago or longer. But transgender rights, including to gender-affirming health care and sports participation, have become politicized social issues, prompting lawmakers in some states to try to reverse activists' previous gains.

Target's move to scale back its presence of Pride merchandise for this year isn't unexpected.

Last August, CEO Brian Cornell told reporters that Target learned from the backlash and said the company would be more thoughtful about merchandise decisions for heritage months that celebrate the achievements of marginalized groups.

Target said it would have a slightly more focused assortment and will reconsider the mix of its own and national brands with its external partners.

“As we navigate an ever-changing operating and social environment, we’re applying what we’ve learned to ensure we’re staying close to our guests and their expectations of Target,” Cornell said.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said Thursday that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the Oscar-winning team behind the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, will produce and Serkis will direct.

“Yesssss, Precious,” Serkis said in a statement. “The time has come once more to venture into the unknown with my dear friends, the extraordinary and incomparable guardians of Middle Earth Peter, Fran and Philippa…It’s just too delicious.”

The working title is “Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" and Walsh and Boyens are co-writing the screenplay. The collaboration between Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema is expected to be released in 2026.

The “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” films have made nearly $6 billion combined at the box office. “The Return of the King” won a record 11 Oscars, including best director and best picture, tying “Titanic” and “Ben-Hur” for most won.

De Luca and Abdy said in a statement that this team represents their commitment to excellence in further contributing to the cinematic history of the “Lord of the Rings.”

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens, who consider themselves lifetime scholars of J.R.R. Tolkien's worlds, added that they were looking forward to traveling back to Middle-earth with Serkis, “who has unfinished business with that Stinker - Gollum!”

The studio also has the animated fantasy “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” arriving in theaters in December.

"She was tired. She was oh my gosh. I've got all things to do. You could feel the weight, so it was important to me to at least get her smile," Crawford said.

She was successful, and minutes later, that woman returned with a note she gave to Courtney's manager signed "The groggy woman at 5 A.M."

The two-page note praised Crawford for the interaction. It said many things including "You deserve to know you made a difference in someone's day just by being kind."

"I was just expecting the note. When the $200 fell out, that's when I started crying. I was like there it is. There's mom," Crawford said.

The person who Courtney Crawford shared everything with couldn't hear the news. Her mother, Tammy Lea, died weeks after last Mother's Day in June after a fight with cancer. So instead, she told the world on social media.

"I would be lying to you if I told you that I was not dreading Mother's Day, and so I decided that I was going to buy the urn that I had been looking at and bring my mom home for Mother's Day, and I had no idea how I was going to afford it," Crawford said in a TikTok video.

Courtney works three jobs paying off inherited debt. The urn now in her home cost her just about $200, and what she wants more than all the money in the world now, is to let the "groggy woman at 5 A.M." know her act of coffee kindness, given just for a smile, will always be felt when Courtney looks at her mother's ashes.

"She's definitely going to be there in spirit. Like she's the reason that it's possible, and I want her to know that. I want her to know that the impact she made is lasting. It wasn't just a pair of shoes or a nice dress or a nice date. Like, you changed my life. I need you to know that," Crawford said.

It's been three weeks since Courtney shared the TikTok video in an attempt to find that woman. It's been viewed almost 4 million times, but so far, the woman has not been found.

According to the thank you note, she was visiting Little Rock on a business trip, and she had not been to the city in six months.

To help in the search for that woman, reach out to KARK 4 News at 501-340-4444.

Mailbox Improvement Week takes place every third week of May and is meant to gently urge homeowners to perform maintenance on their mailboxes and repair regular wear and tear.

Among the improvements the USPS suggests, homeowners should consider replacing loose hinges on the mailbox door, remounting a loose mailbox post, adding or replacing house numbers and repainting mailboxes that are rusted or peeling.

"Replacing rusted hinges or remounting loose posts will help ensure safe and timely delivery of your mail," USPS said in a news release on Monday.

You can also replace or upgrade your aging mailbox by purchasing a larger capacity "next generation" mailbox.

"Today’s newer mailboxes are wider and taller to accommodate delivery of items you’ve ordered online and reduce the need for notices left and trips to the Post Office to retrieve a package," the USPS said.

Those larger "package-friendly" mailboxes can be purchased at many local hardware stores. For more information, click here.

For those opting to replace their mailboxes or install new posts, the USPS is urging homeowners to keep their mail carriers in mind so they can safely and conveniently make their pickups and deliveries without having to get out of their vehicle.

Mailboxes should generally be installed with the bottom sitting at a vertical height of 3.5-4 feet. But due to varying road designs and curb positions, the Postal Service recommends contacting your local postmaster or carrier before installing or replacing a mailbox.

In addition to repairs and upgrades, USPS also urges homeowners to make sure obstacles are removed and out of the way to ensure an efficient delivery or pickup.

The Postal Service says participation in Mailbox Improvement Week will be greatly appreciated by those who brave the snow, rain, heat and gloom of night to make crucial deliveries to more than 167 million addresses.

Enforcement of these federally-approved IDs was set to begin in 2020, but was delayed multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current guidance from the Department of Homeland Security says REAL ID enforcement will begin on May 7, 2025.

Luckily, you may already have a REAL ID-compliant card. If you don't, you still have time to get one — but you may want to act fast.

What is a REAL ID?

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the federal government called for certain security standards for driver's licenses and identification cards. In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act to enact those standards.

While states had varying levels of standards pre-2005, proof of your legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, legal residency, and two forms verifying your address are required before issuing a driver's license or ID card.

Under the REAL ID Act, federal agencies such as TSA are not allowed to accept state-issued IDs unless they meet those standards. A REAL ID-compliant card is marked with a star, but more on that in a moment.

Do you already have a REAL ID?

In the years after Congress passed the REAL ID Act, many states began issuing compliant IDs, which means you likely already have one.

As mentioned above, REAL IDs are denoted with a star, which may vary in appearance depending on where you live. Generally, the star will be black or gold, and could appear instead as a cutout of a star — or, in California's case, as a cut-out star in a bear. You can see an example from Kansas below.

Those who opt out of getting a REAL ID will be issued licenses with a “Federal Limits Apply” note in place of the star.

I don't have a REAL ID — how do I get one?

Lacking a star-studded ID? Have no fear — you still have roughly a year before you need one. Still, officials are encouraging non-REAL ID holders to start the process now in anticipation of an influx of REAL ID-seeking applicants.

You'll need to provide proof of legal name, Social Security number, residency, and two forms of your address. All documents must be originals as photocopies and laminated documents will not be accepted. A document cannot be used to prove more than one requirement, either.

Acceptable documents for these cards include a valid passport, birth certificate, consular report of birth abroad, valid permanent resident card, U.S. certificate of naturalization, unexpired employment authorization document, or foreign passport with a valid U.S. visa. Your local transportation office or department of motor vehicle agency may have additional information, as well as guidance on how to apply for a REAL ID.

Officials nationwide have encouraged residents to apply sooner rather than later to avoid a rush of applicants who may wait until early 2025.

Acceptable ID for TSA Checkpoints

REAL ID will only be required on a flight if you are using a license to identify yourself, but there are several types of identifications TSA will accept instead. That includes a U.S. passport or passport card, a trusted traveler card from the Department of Homeland Security, a U.S. Department of Defense ID, a permanent resident card, a border crossing card, or any of the below IDs:

• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized, Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation worker identification credential
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

If you don't yet have a REAL ID, you'll still be able to fly, access certain federal facilities, or enter a nuclear power plant through 2024. But, once the May 7, 2025, deadline arrives, anyone 18 years old and older will require a REAL ID to pass through airports across the country. 

As Seinfeld received his honorary degree, before beginning his commencement speech, the graduating students rose from their seats and walked out, waving Palestinian flags and chanting, “Free, free Palestine.” Some in the audience joined in support, but many audience members booed at the protesters and chanted “Jerry” repeatedly.

After the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, Seinfeld publicly voiced his support for Israel and has spoken out against antisemitism. He also traveled to Tel Aviv in December to meet with family members of people being held hostage by Hamas.

In the commencement speech, Seinfeld avoided confronting the protesters, instead delivering a lighthearted speech with jokes and life advice for the graduating students.

The Duke walkout is just the latest example of protests on college campuses in response to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Students on campuses throughout the country have expressed frustration with institutional support for Israel, with many calling for their schools to divest from groups that back Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Small pro-Palestinian protests popped up sporadically Saturday as colleges and universities from North Carolina to California held commencement ceremonies, including dozens of graduating students at Virginia Commonwealth University who walked out on an address by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a small group of demonstrators staged what appeared to be a silent protest during commencement at Camp Randall Stadium. At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, pro-Palestinian demonstrators splattered red paint on the steps of a building hours ahead of the school’s commencement ceremony and chanted on campus while students wearing light blue graduation gowns posed for photos, the News & Observer reported. At the University of Texas, Austin, a student held up a Palestinian flag during a commencement ceremony and refused to leave the stage briefly before being escorted away by security.

And at the University of California, Berkeley, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators began waving flags and chanting during commencement and were escorted to the back of the stadium, where they were joined by others, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. There were no major counterprotests, but some attendees voiced frustration.

“I feel like they’re ruining it for those of us who paid for tickets and came to show our pride for our graduates,” said Annie Ramos, whose daughter is a student. “There’s a time and a place, and this is not it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

If you saw the northern lights — either with your own eyes or with the help of your phone — you may have noticed an array of colors. But what causes the different shades of greens, reds, blues, and purples? It's all about what's hitting our atmosphere, and what it's interacting with.

Northern lights are sparked by coronal mass ejections, or explosions of plasma and magnetic material shooting out of the sun, colliding with Earth's magnetic field. As those ejections, known as CMEs, smack into our magnetic field, currents send particles flowing to the North and South Poles.

Those particles will ultimately interact with the gases in our atmosphere: oxygen and nitrogen. The excess energy created by those interactions, according to NASA, will cause a burst of light which we see as the aurora.

What color we experience depends on which gases are involved and where it happens.

Green northern lights, the most common, occur when particles interact with oxygen between 75 and 110 miles in altitude. If oxygen and nitrogen are "excited by the incoming particles" at the same altitude, we can see blue aurora, NASA explains.

Slight lower, 60 miles and below, an interaction with nitrogen will cause pink northern lights. Above 120 miles, interactions with oxygen spark red aurora.

Like mixing paint, when these colors blend, you may see purples, whites, and other shades of pink.

Our eyes aren't always able to see the shimmering northern lights, even though we know they're out there. However, your phone's camera (as long as it's newer) may capture it because they are often more sensitive than our eyes, Michael Bettwy, operations chief of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, said last week.

“You may not be able to see it with your naked eye, but if you have a clear night with not that many clouds, and you put your phone to the sky, you may actually get an image or two,” Bettwy said.

Visit Iceland (where northern lights are visible more frequently) recommends adjusting your phone’s settings to get the best shots. Look for something like “night mode” or another way to lengthen the camera’s exposure to help capture more light. Using a tripod can also help keep your hands steady.

Alix Martichoux contributed to this report.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the $5 meal would include four items: a McChicken or McDouble sandwich, four-piece Chicken McNuggets, fries, and a drink. Sources confirmed those potential offerings to CNBC, but the chain declined to comment to the outlet.

The Chicago burger giant previously said inflation-weary customers are eating out less often in many big markets. 

McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said during an investor call last month that the company needs a nationwide value message and marketing to back it up. In some areas, it’s losing out to competitors on customers’ perception of value and affordability, he said. Wendy’s is currently offering free fries with the purchase of a medium burger, for example.

“Consumers continue to be even more discriminating with every dollar that they spend as they faced elevated prices in their day-to-day spending, which is putting pressure on the [quick-service restaurant] industry,” he said, adding that McDonald's needs a “nationwide value message.”

Late last month, Ian Broden, CFO of the global fast-food chain, said the restaurant has plans to launch a “larger satiating burger,” the food website delish reported. Few details were released about the product, but it will reportedly be tested in a few markets later this year. This comes after McDonald's brought back its Double Big Mac.

A recent study found that, when compared with other fast food restaurants, prices at McDonald's have increased the most over the last decade.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

“Despite recent social media posts warning tubers about a shark being caught in ‘the Guadalupe River,’ there have been no reports of sharks in the relatively shallow freshwater of the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels,” the city said.

According to a social media post from the city, the Guadalupe River is roughly 230 miles long, stretching from Kerr County to the Gulf of Mexico, with six hydroelectric dams along the river between New Braunfels and the coast.

“Although it is ‘technically’ possible for bull sharks to swim in freshwater, there are very likely no sharks in the rivers in New Braunfels…probably…” the city joked.

According to the Census Bureau, Texas had the largest growth in population last year by adding 473,453 people – an increase of 1.6% in population. In total, Texas has the second-largest population out of any state with just under 31 million people.

But of those new people making Texas their home, one age group, in particular, has really taken a liking to the Lone Star State: millennials.

In a recent study done by MoneyGeek, they were able to pinpoint where people across the country have been buying homes the most from 2012-2022. In their research, they discovered that adults ages 25-44 – the demographic that largely corresponds with the millennial generation – have purchased more homes in multiple Texas cities than anywhere else in the country.

Six cities in total landed in the top 10 with the highest growth of homeowners for people ages 25-44: Austin, McKinney, Midland, College Station, Odessa, and Temple. Lubbock finished just outside the top 10 at No. 11.

Of the cities listed, Temple and Odessa finished on top by a large margin, with Temple seeing the largest growth in the country: a 75% growth in millennial homeowners. Odessa wasn't far behind with 70% growth, 12% more than third-place Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Here's how the top 10 list for growth of homeowners aged 25-44 from MoneyGeek shook out:

1. Temple, Texas: 75%
2. Odessa, Texas: 70%
3. Murfreesboro, Tennessee: 58%
4. College Station, Texas: 56%
5. Midland, Texas: 53%
6. McKinney, Texas: 52%
7. Hillsboro, Oregon: 51%
8. Bellingham, Washington: 47%
9. Austin, Texas: 44%
10. North Charleston, South Carolina: 44%

Currently, the average home price for a home in Texas is $304,027 which is up 0.6% from last year, according to Zillow.

As explained by Wizzie Brown, integrated pest management specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services, fuzzy black caterpillars — also known as woollybear caterpillars — typically hunker down during winter before emerging in the spring and summer.

But it turns out that despite how instinctually you might be repelled by these furry-looking insects, they can’t really harm you.

“Many people see the hairs on this caterpillar and automatically think, ‘Don’t touch that — I’m going to be stung.’ Fortunately, these are not stinging caterpillars, so you can handle them, and they won’t hurt you,” said Brown.

There are many types of woollybear caterpillars, according to TAMU. Here in Texas, you're most likely to see saltmarsh caterpillars (seen below) and the garden tiger moth caterpillar. The university explains that saltmarsh caterpillars typically are black-brown to yellowish, while garden tiger moth caterpillars have black tops and brown bottoms.

And while these fuzzy caterpillars won't hurt you, it's also important to remember that you should never pick up any insects or creatures you aren't familiar with. It's recommended that you put on gloves for handling any insects you might want to gently observe or move.

Finally, here's a fun little anecdote about these caterpillars.

Did you know there's an old folk story that woolly bear caterpillars can predict whether or not winters will be harsh? According to the legend, if a season's woolly bears have larger red-orange bands on them, an incoming winter is said to be harsh. If the band is smaller, it will be mild.

But is it true?

No surprises here, Brown says the "wives' tale doesn't hold water." Brown explains the caterpillars' coloring isn't an accurate gauge for the weather for several reasons — including the fact that there are about eight different woollybear caterpillars and they're all various colors.

"The coloration can also depend upon what stage the caterpillar is in. If it’s in one of the smaller instars, the coloration or the size of the band will be slightly different than if you have the later stages," said Brown. "It can also depend on what they’ve been eating and how much food they’ve been getting. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it."

“The newest arrivals to the Wildflower Center family are growing up fast! These cute owlets hatched in early April and are now - quite literally - spreading their wings,” the center said in a social media post.

According to the Wildflower Center, owlets typically spend six to seven weeks in their nest before taking their first flight.

“Once they're out, it's time for some serious owl training - hunting lessons and flying practice under the watchful eyes of their wise parents (who are usually stationed nearby),” the center said. “By July or August, these fledglings will be ready to soar into the world on their own, thanks to the guidance of Athena and her teachings.”

The center also has a livestream available at the nesting site, but a disclaimer was included.

“We don’t want to ruffle any feathers! Please be aware that the live feed may occasionally display natural behaviors that some viewers may find unsettling,” the center said. "Viewer discretion is advised."