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Albanian prosecutors demand arrest of lawmaker and former deputy premier on corruption charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian special prosecutors demanded on Monday that a lawmaker and former deputy prime minister be arrested on corruption charges, accusing him of failing to declare his assets and other criminal offenses.The Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime, in charge of prosecuting senior officials, made public its request that Arben Ahmetaj be taken into custody. Ahmetaj, 54, was a deputy prime minister and also served as minister of finance and economy in two previous Cabinets of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.As lawmaker, Ahmetaj has parliamentary immunity — meaning that Parliament would first need to agree on his arrest before any action to detain him is taken. Meanwhile, two villas belonging to Ahmetaj have been temporarily seized during the investigation.He is also being investigated for concession contracts on public waste management, a serious concern for Albania’s governments and a top priority in its efforts to join the Europea...

Democrat Roland Gutierrez joins US Senate race in Texas after pressing for action over Uvalde

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has pushed for police accountability and tougher gun laws after the Uvalde school shooting, announced Monday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2024.He becomes the second Texas Democrat to embark on what will be a longshot bid to deny Republican Sen. Ted Cruz a third term representing the nation’s biggest red state. In May, Rep. Colin Allred became the first to enter the race. He says his campaign has since raised more than $6 million. It sets up a rare competitive Democratic primary for a major race in Texas, where decades of Republican dominance has often discouraged bigger-name Democrats from running statewide. Gutierrez was little known beyond his South Texas district, which includes Uvalde, before a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. He spent the next year making impassioned pleas for tougher gun laws and firings over police waiting more than an hour to confront the gunma...

After meeting Sunak, Biden heads for Windsor Castle to discuss clean energy with King Charles III

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s itinerary this week in Europe is dominated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and his continued efforts to rally an international coalition against Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.But first, some tea.The U.S. president’s initial stop on his three-nation trip is Britain, where he’ll meet with King Charles III for the first time since the latter was crowned in May. Biden did not attend Charles’s coronation, sending first lady Jill Biden instead, and Monday’s visit will be marked by a bit of royal pomp — including a royal salute, a viewing of U.S.-related artifacts at Windsor Castle and teatime for the two men.Biden and Charles will also use their visit to bring attention to climate issues, hosting a forum focused on how to encourage private companies to engage in more clean energy efforts, specifically in developing economies.The royal visit is paired with Biden’s sixth meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak since Sunak for talks o...

9-year-old boy shot and killed at birthday party in Franklin Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — A 9-year-old boy from Chicago was shot and killed while attending a birthday party for his grandmother in Franklin Park Saturday night, according to the Franklin Park Police Department.Police said Ulysses Campos was playing near an alley in the 2800 block of Elder Lane when a disturbance took place. Shots were fired from a moving vehicle, and Ulysses was hit in the chest.Once first responders arrived on scene, Ulysses was taken to Loyola Hospital in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead. Man charged with 1st degree murder after 10-year-old Rockford girl found dead Investigators were able to find the suspects' vehicle in unincorporated Leyden Township, and a person of interest is in police custody.Police said 4-6 shots were fired into the group at the birthday party, and no one else was hit, besides Ulysses.Police also consider this an isolated incident and said there is no threat to the public.If you or someone you know witnessed or has information on this in...

Monday Forecast: Temps in upper 80s with sunny conditions, low dewpoints

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Sunny, hot and more humid Monday. Cooler lakeside. SW 10-15 mph. Air quality is in the Good category for Chicagoland. High near 90, cooler lakeside. Increasing clouds late. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Chance of an overnight isolated shower/t'storm. Winds: E 5-10 mph. Low near 70Tuesday Forecast: Partly sunny with chance of PM showers/t'storms. Some could be strong to severe. WNW 5-10 mph. Highs mid 80s, mid to upper 70s by the lake. Extended outlook calls for potential severe weather to continue into Wednesday with thunderstorms that could bring heavy rain at times and localized flooding. Highs in the mid 70s. Back to some sunshine by Thursday afternoon as temps returns to the low 80s.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

One dead as extreme flooding overwhelms New York roadways

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain spawned extreme flooding in New York’s Hudson Valley that killed at least one person, swamped roadways and forced road closures on Sunday night, as much of the rest of the Northeast U.S. braced Monday for potentially punishing rains.As the storm moved east, the National Weather Service extended flash flood warnings into Connecticut, including the cities of Stamford and Greenwich, before creeping into Massachusetts. Forecasters said some areas could get as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain. 1 dead from flooding in Orange County, house floated away: County Executive In New York's Hudson Valley, rescue teams found the body of a woman in her 30s who drowned after being swept away while trying to evacuate her home, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told WABC-TV. Officials were waiting for the medical examiner's office to arrive, he said.“There’s a major flash flood. Major washouts were all around where her house is,” Neuhaus said. "So I could def...

A record share of Americans are living alone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

(The Hill) - Nearly 30 percent of American households comprise a single person, a record high. Scholars say living alone is not a trend so much as a transformation: Across much of the world, large numbers of people are living alone for the first time in recorded history. “It’s just a stunning social change,” said Eric Klinenberg, a sociologist at New York University and author of the book "Going Solo." “I came to see it as the biggest demographic change in the last century that we failed to recognize and take seriously.” Homo sapiens is a social animal. Historians tapped ancient census rolls to show that our species has lived in groups for as long as such records have existed, stretching back at least to 1600.  The U.S. Census shows that "solitaries" made up 8 percent of all households in 1940. The share of solo households doubled to 18 percent in 1970 and more than tripled, to an estimated 29 percent, by 2022. The solo-living movement intersects with severa...

Report: Austin's population could hit 22 million by 2100, third-largest metro in the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, but a new report suggests explosive growth is only just beginning.The city recently climbed into the top 10 largest cities in the U.S., with a 2022 population estimate of about 975,000. New population estimates show which areas of Texas grew the most in 2022 In the 2020 census, the Austin metro as a whole had more than 2.2 million residents. The metro is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.A new report by moving company MoveBuddha predicts that by the end of the century, the Austin metro will jump to the third-largest in the country, behind only Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston. That means all three would surpass the current largest metro areas, like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.The report suggests the Austin metro's population would skyrocket, from 2.2 million in 2020 to more than 22 million by 2100. The Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston metros would ...

Watershed Protection continues treatment of Lady Bird Lake for blue-green algae

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Lady Bird Lake will have a cloudy, greyish look on Monday and Tuesday as the city of Austin and its partners continue a pilot program to get rid of the toxic blue-green algae that mats the surface of the water. This week will be the second treatment this summer, after the first application in early June.Dr. Brent Bellinger, the city's conservation program supervisor, said he has already seen a reduction of the toxic blue-green algae on the surface of the water at spots like Red Bud Isle and east of I-35, but the toxic algae is still present and there is still a risk. How the city is treating the waterA barge will be spraying lanthanum-modified bentonite into the water. The substance is designed to limit the amount of phosphorus in the water, a key nutrient in the growth of the toxic algae. The program has had mixed results, according to the city's website. In 2021, the treatment program led to a reduction in the amount of phosphorus near Red Bud isle, but phosphorus...

RESULTS: This is the best KXAN viewer photo of June 2023, as voted by you

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here at KXAN, we get hundreds of photos sent to us each month by viewers just like you.We want to showcase some of the best pictures we receive, so we narrowed them down to our 10 favorites for the month.The winning photo will move on to represent June in the best viewer photos of the year competition once 2023 is said and done.#10. Along the River (2.1% of votes)Llano, June 9. Courtesy Cari North.Wildflowers along the Llano River in Llano on June 9, 2023. (Courtesy Cari North)#9. Sunny Scene (3.5% of votes)Snook, June 12. Courtesy Lori Rosenbaum Hardage.A field of sunflowers at Wilder Family Sunflowers in Snook on June 12, 2023. (Courtesy Lori Rosenbaum Hardage)#8. Reflection (3.8% of votes)Lake Buchanan, June 4. Courtesy Jason Howell.Sunset over Lake Buchanan on June 4, 2023. (Courtesy Jason Howell)#7. Ray of Sunshine (5.1% of votes)Austin, June 22.Crepuscular rays over Austin on June 22, 2023. (KXAN Viewer Photo)#5 (tie). Stormy Street (8.5% of votes)Johnson City,...