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Accenture to lay off hundreds more Austin employees for third time this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Accenture intends to lay off 351 Austin employees from its Domain office before the end of the year, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, earlier this week. The Ireland-headquartered professional services giant has laid off hundreds of Austin employees already in 2023. A letter made public in May revealed the company would lay off 549 Austin employees also working at the office in The Domain. In June, another wave of layoffs was revealed to affect over 200 workers at a Williamson County Accenture office. The new layoffs are expected to be permanent and are due to a change in client contract requirements, according to Austin Business Journal reporting.

APD gets 11 theft reports during ACL Weekend 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Weekend Two of Austin City Limits Music Festivals is underway. During the first weekend of the festival, the Austin Police Department received 11 theft reports. This includes five reports of people stealing from individuals and six reports of theft or burglary from vehicles. RELATED: ACL lost and found fills up after Weekend 1 During both weekends in 2022, APD received 16 reports similar to these. In 2021, police received 27 theft reports, according to APD. If your phone or another item is stolen at ACL, festivalgoers should call 311 or report the theft online at ireportaustin.com. Before ACL began, APD gave advice to prevent thefts at the festival. Take down your phone’s serial number ahead of the weekend and keep that number in a safe place at home. This can help APD track it down more easily if it does get stolen.Keep valuables in different places on your person. This way, for example, if your phone is in a purse, but your ID is in a fanny pack, only one of tho...

Former KXAN studio set gets new home at UT Moody College

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The former studio set at KXAN is now in use at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication. The set launched Thursday and will be used by the Radio-Television-Film department. Students will use the set for the Reporting Texas newscast. The former KXAN studio set is now in use at the University of Texas at Austin. UT Assistant Professor Kate West cut the ribbon on the new set. (KXAN Photo/Haley Cihock)The former KXAN set is now in use at the University of Texas at Austin. (Courtesy Nathan West)The former KXAN set is now in use at the University of Texas at Austin. (KXAN Photo/Haley Cihock)The former KXAN set is now in use at the University of Texas at Austin. (KXAN Photo/Haley Cihock)KXAN donated the lights anchor desk after it began a studio renovation last year. KXAN's new studio launched in February with an expanded First Warning Weather Center and more video display options.

The summer COVID surge is finally waning. Is a winter wave coming soon?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – We're well into fall, but the surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths that started over the summer has started to decline. The respite may be short-lived. Winter, the typical peak season for respiratory viruses, is just around the corner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's expecting a "moderate COVID-19 wave" this winter, with a peak matching last winter's hospitalization levels. "COVID-19 could peak earlier than last season, however, because of limited summer activity compared to past years," the agency added. Former White House COVID response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said he expects cases to keep dropping for the next month or two before rising again during the winter holidays. Free COVID tests arrive – but they may look expired It's not clear yet how the new booster shot, formulated to specifically target common omicron strains, will impact the size of this year's surge. "Whether hospitalizations rise will depend in part on upta...

Why do some national parks charge an entrance fee?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — There is no question that the more than 400 national parks, monuments, seashores, historic sites, recreation areas, and other sites overseen by the National Park Service are stunning. But before you can visit some, you may have to pay. Across the entire National Park Service, which includes 425 units, only 109 charge an entrance fee.Nearly all have a park-specific annual pass, ranging from $35 to $70. Many also have fees per vehicle, person or motorcycle that vary from $5 to $35. If you’re a frequent visitor to many national parks or federal recreational lands, you may want the America The Beautiful annual pass worth $80. At this point, you may have had a common realization: we pay federal taxes, which can be used to fund the National Park Service, so why do I need to pay to get into a national park at all? It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction While it’s true that your federal income taxes do in a way fund the National Park Se...

The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 6: Browns will be hurting without Watson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

UPDATE: 10:40 a.m. SaturdayWe were already expecting things to get a little ugly this week when unbeaten San Francisco came to Cleveland to abuse the Browns. But now Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson has been ruled out because of a shoulder injury. Forecasters predict a 50 percent chance of a shutout with P.J. Walker stepping in.Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been ruled out of the their blowout loss in Buffalo, so Tyrod Taylor will be absorbing punishment in his place.Carolina RB Miles Sanders won’t play against Miami on Sunday. Also ruled out are Detroit RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Jaguars WR Zay Jones.Notable players who are considered iffy for Week 6 at this point include Dallas running back Tony Pollard and Detroit tight end sensation Sam LaPorta. Cincinnati WR Tee Higgins is considered a game-time decision.ORIGINAL POST: 2:24 p.m. WednesdayIf you thought the Vikings’ season was turning into a train wreck, you received more clarity on that likelihood last Sunday when all-world r...

Soucheray: We are the masters of our fate, the captains of our alleys

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

It caught my attention that over this very weekend, there was to be a St. Paul Snow Summit held at the city’s Public Works garage out Como way on Dale Street, complete with food trucks and fire rigs and big plow truck tires to kick. It was coordinated by the Parks and Recreation Department, implying a connection between parks and plowing, a connection that escapes me, but still a cheerful excuse to rub shoulders with drivers and mechanics.What really grabbed me was the event’s focus on alley captains. St. Paul does not plow alleys, a good thing. Even city employees who live on alleys would agree that the less government intervention in the routine tasks of life, the better. We used to do just fine with our trash collection, for example, but then the city got its mitts on it and that horse left the barn.The alley captain is the guy — a woman can be a guy in this case — who collects money from the people on both sides of the alley and then hires the guy, usually a grateful...

Working Strategies: Time to step up to the C-suite?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

Amy LindgrenDo you know the term “C-suite executive”? You probably do, but as a quick definition, C-suite refers to the employees at the top of a corporation, very frequently sporting titles that start with C: Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and of course, Chief Executive Officer (CEO).The larger the company, the more layers of management beneath them, including managers, directors, vice presidents and senior vice presidents. It’s not a static list. Not only do the layers seem to multiply, but so does the variety of C’s. While additions are made with some frequency (Chief Diversity Officer and Chief Digital Officer come to mind), we never seem to drop any titles from use.If this sounds like a gripe, or sarcasm, it’s not. Running a corporation is immensely complicated and I’m going to assume that these all are important roles. As a bonus: If there are more C’s, there are also more opportunities for those who want to work at this level.Given the short ten...

Fright Fest 2023 at Great Escape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - It’s the time of year for pumpkin spice and things not so nice. NEWS10 visited a fan favorite of the Capital Region for this time of year, Fright Fest at the Six Flags Great Escape.   Saratoga Springs has a new Code Blue shelter location This Friday the thirteenth is extra spooky as it's also National Haunted House Day. The ghosts and the ghouls are all ready to come out for Fright Fest 2023 at Six Flags Great Escape. You never who or what you'll run into, every turn at Fright Fest brings an unexpected scare. This year, guests can look forward to even more surprises. This season, Six Flags is debuting their new 4th house, guaranteeing even more thrills. Each year, folks flock from all over the Capital Region, those going for the first time alongside Fright Fest veterans. “It was pretty good. In all honesty. Honestly, I only got scared this much. The man banging the meat hook against the wall. I wasn’t expecting that,” said a new...

Spire and Urban League team up for tech job hiring event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:47 GMT

ST. LOUIS, Mo — In preparation for a hiring event focusing on tech jobs, Spire is working with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis to make it happen.It is the main goal of this event to bring together possible employees who can help Spire provide excellent service. Persons in these roles are responsible for managing meter changes, responding to emergencies, carrying out installations, and taking part in new building projects every day.The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is involved because they want to make people aware of jobs offered by companies like Spire and make it easier for people to get those opportunities. The hiring event will take place on October 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People who want to attend should get in touch with the leaders ahead of time to pre-register and reserve a time slot for interviews. They can call 314-626-9977 to get in touch with the leaders.People who have a Class C license, a high school diploma, or an HVAC certificate are highly enco...