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More Americans are expected to ‘buy now, pay later’ for the holidays. Analysts see a growing risk

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers are expected to use “buy now, pay later” payment plans heavily this holiday season, a forecast that bodes well for retailers but that has credit experts again sounding alarm bells.The short-term loans often come with consumer-friendly interest rates and allow shoppers to make an initial payment at checkout, then pay the rest in installments, typically over a few weeks, even months. That can be appealing to a shopper buying multiple gifts for family and friends during the holidays, particularly if they’re balancing other debt such as student loans or credit cards.Data shows younger consumers and those with difficulty accessing credit use the loans most frequently. Used responsibly, the installment plans increase financial inclusion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. But the Fed and some analysts say key features of the plans can make borrowing too easy and saddle consumers with excessive debt.Short-term installment loans drove $6.4 billion o...

3 dead, 3 missing after landslide slams into Alaska fishing town

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Three people were killed and three were missing after a landslide barreled down a heavily forested, rain-soaked mountainside and smashed into homes in a remote fishing community in southeast Alaska.The slide — estimated to be 450 feet wide — occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people some 155 miles south of the state capital of Juneau.This photo provided by the Alaska Department of Public Safety shows the landslide that occurred the previous evening near Wrangell, Alaska, on Nov. 21, 2023. Authorities said at least one person died and others were believed missing after the large landslide roared down a mountaintop into the path of three homes. (Alaska Department of Public Safety via AP)In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard is the aftermath of a landslide in Wrangell, Alaska on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (U.S. Coast Guard photo via AP)This image from video provided by Sunrise ...

While turkey is a Thanksgiving staple, poll finds dissent over other classics

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

Thanksgiving may be a time for Americans to come together, but opinion is divided over what's on the crowded dinner table. We mostly agree on the deliciousness of pumpkin pie, say, but are split over the eternal turkey question of dark meat versus white meat.And don't even ask if marshmallows belong on sweet potatoes — it could cause a ruckus.THE BIRDAbout 3 in 10 U.S. adults (32%) who will celebrate Thanksgiving this year say turkey is their favorite dish in the holiday feast, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Stuffing or dressing (19%) and mashed potatoes (6%) come in second and third.“Thanksgiving — it’s about turkey,” said Ralph Caya, 71, from Pensacola, Florida, who participated in the survey.On the other hand, Vaidehi Upadhyaya, a 27-year-old pharmacist in Glen Rock, New Jersey, is a lifelong vegetarian. It's all about the side dishes for her.Although turkey is tops across U.S. regions and ages, there's a slight gene...

Accuser sues Bill Cosby for alleged abuse dating to 1980s under expiring survivors law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who worked as a stand-in at “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s said in a lawsuit Tuesday that Bill Cosby drugged and sexually abused her after offering to mentor her in her acting career.It is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed against Cosby under New York’s expiring Adult Survivors Act, which has given victims of sexual abuse a one-year window for claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits. That window closes on Thanksgiving.Bill Cosby reacts outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., June 30, 2021, after being released from prison. A woman who worked as a stand-in at “The Cosby Show” in the 1980s said in a lawsuit Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, that Cosby drugged and sexually abused her after offering to mentor her in her acting career. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)The anonymous accuser said that soon after meeting Cosby while working on his show, he started offering style tips and performing acting exercises with her in his dressing room. When he invited her...

As holiday season gets underway, here’s how to boost immunity from sicknesses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The holiday season is here, meaning so too are sicknesses.According to a recently-released survey from the University of Pennsylvania, more than a third of Americans are worried that they or one of their family members will catch a respiratory virus in the coming months. Austin doctor, pharmacy see more sinus infections, strep, RSV before Thanksgiving holiday Austin-Travis County EMS Captain Christa Stedman believes these sicknesses have less to do with holiday gatherings and more to do with the weather dropping down into cooler temperatures."It happens anytime you have weather like we have in Austin,” she said. “Where it's cold one week, then it's hot another week and then it's cold again."Stedman expects countless calls to come in for flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Doctors stress vaccines to protect against triple threat of flu, COVID and RSV It's a trend ATCEMS sees year over year around the winter weather months. This is why they've added a new tool to treat patients...

APD shares advice on how to protect home and property during Thanksgiving

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police on Tuesday issued reminders for everyone on how keep their property and homes safe while they travel during the Thanksgiving holiday. Police suggest closing blinds and windows to keep people from peeking into your home.They also recommend putting indoor and outdoor lights on timers, if possible, to give the illusion that someone is home, even if they are not. 5 tips to stop thieves from robbing your holiday joy Police said leaving a television or radio turned on also helps with that illusion, especially for people in apartments. APD also recommends not posting about travel plans on social media accounts. It said those plans can give thieves intel on which houses to target.Finally, police recommending investing in security cameras so if anything happens you have extra evidence to provide police.

Chilly but mainly dry heading into Thanksgiving

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Grab the coats - it's COLD!Morning temperatures are running a good 10°-20° colder than yesterday leaving most of us in the 30s and 40s. Even with a sky full of sunshine, our temperature climb will be limited to the low 60s this afternoon. Light winds, dry skies and low humidity can be expected areawide.Thanksgiving DayMorning lows: mid-30s / low 40sAfternoon highs: upper 50s / low 60sWinds: South 5-15 mphSky conditions: Mainly cloudy to mostly sunnyRain chance: 10% for far eastern counties (HWY 77 & eastward)Humidity: 40%-60%Friday into the weekendBlack Friday will be cold to start (40s) and cool to finish (60s). We'll start the weekend with increasing clouds and a few spot showers late Saturday, but a better opportunity for rain will come Sunday into Monday along a cold front.Although we welcome the rain, we don't anticipate much to fall with most areas (1) not likely to see any but (2) for those who do, only favored for 0.01"-0.25".This cold front will only re...

All-abilities playground opens in Del Valle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) — A new playtime opportunity for all children opened Tuesday at a park in Del Valle, according to Travis County. County leaders cut the ribbon on an all-abilities playground at Southeast Metropolitan Park on Highway 71.According to the county, the playground was developed to meet "the physical, visual, sensory, auditory and mental needs of all children."The playground has a mosasaur-theme, the county said, which is a prehistoric aquatic animal. The bones of one of the creatures were discovered in Onion Creek in the 1930s, according to the county. That mosasaur fossil is now on display at newly renamed Texas Science & Natural History Museum at 2400 Trinity St. on the University of Texas at Austin campus. That museum reopened in September after undergoing extensive renovations. In February, the City of Austin Parks Department identified the Springwood Neighborhood Park as the site for a potential play-for-all-abilities park. Round Rock ISD installs new...

Texas A&M adds pharmacy tech program as response to medical personnel shortage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

KINGSVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Texas A&M University said Tuesday it is expanding as a response to a shortage of medical personnel across Texas.The university's Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy said it will add a pharmacy technician program, called Aggie PTP, in early 2024. According to the school, pharmacy technicians work with pharmacists in hospitals, clinics, as well as in independent and community pharmacies to prepare and dispense medications, manage inventory, administer vaccines and facilitate communication with patients and health care providers. ACC offering online option for bachelors in nursing "A shortage of pharmacy technicians can result in reduced pharmacy business hours, backlogs of unfilled prescriptions, delays in patients receiving their medications and suboptimal health outcomes. Texas is experiencing a shortage and is in dire need of pharmacy technicians," said Andrea Mora, Aggie PTP program director, clinical associate professor and associate department ...

Zeynep Tufekci: What Google’s multibillion payment to Apple says about privacy and power in tech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:47 GMT

A report in The Guardian in August that lawyers who had had business before the Supreme Court gave money to an aide to Justice Clarence Thomas for a Christmas party was surprising. Just as surprising was the way the publication learned about it: from the aide’s public Venmo records. Brian X. Chen, the consumer technology writer for The New York Times, wrote that even he was surprised that such records of money transfers could be public.A few years ago it became known that Alexa, Amazon’s voice device, recorded and sent private conversations to third parties, that Amazon staff members listened to recordings and kept an extensive archive of recordings by default.Both companies responded to these startling violations of privacy by suggesting that the burden to keep this information from going public was on users, who could, they said, opt out of devices’ default settings to ensure privacy. This is often the standard industry response.Even if you’re aware of these problems, how easy is ...