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Severe flooding in Greece leaves at least 6 dead and 6 missing, villages cut off

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Widespread flooding in central Greece left at least six people dead, six missing and dozens trapped, with severe rainstorms feeding raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges, hurled cars into the sea and left large areas without power or drinking water.Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, with rescue teams in Turkey on Thursday recovering the body of a 53-year-old man who had been missing since floods gushed through a campsite near the border with Bulgaria, sweeping away bungalows. The recovery brought the death toll in Turkey to eight, and to a total of 18 in all three countries since the rains began Tuesday.In Greece, authorities deployed divers and swift water rescue specialists as residents in some villages took refuge on the roofs of their homes to escape floodwaters that rose to more than 2 meters (6 feet).More than 60 people, including a baby, were airlifted to safety in an operation involving te...

Kosovo’s president says Serb investigators are dragging their feet over attacks on NATO peacekeepers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Kosovo’s president on Thursday accused Serbian investigators of dragging their feet over an inquiry into attacks on NATO peacekeepers earlier this year in which dozens of troops and police officers were injured, some of them seriously.President Vjosa Osmani also called on European Union officials to refrain from showing any favoritism in talks next week aimed at improving Kosovo’s tense relations with Serbia.“Those who attacked NATO on the 29th of May are clearly known to law enforcement agencies,” she told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels after talks with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Video footage, Osmani said, shows that some “are police officers who came all the way from Serbia.”“They have not been suspended from their jobs,” she said. “They’re not facing any consequences whatsoever.”The clashes happened after Serbs living in the north of Kosovo boycotted local elections there. When newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors began to move into their new...

Teen boy killed on Labor Day saved 10-year-old friend in 2020 shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 15-year-old boy who was critically injured after a drive-by shooting in 2021, and who helped save a friend with a gunshot wound a year earlier, was fatally shot Monday night. A 15-year-old boy who was saved by Chicago police after a drive-by in 2021 and saved a friend suffering gunshot wounds a year earlier, was killed Monday night. The medical examiner's office identified the boy as Swaysee Rankin. Chicago police said a boy was dropped off to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was later pronounced dead. On April 26, 2021, Rankin was injured after a drive-by shooting in South Chicago while he was walking home from school with a friend. He suffered gunshot wounds to the back and abdomen. 16-year-old seriously injured, 3 others hurt in Northwest Indiana crash Two Chicago police officers were credited with saving the, then 13-year-old boy. He remained in critical condition, but family said he would be okay.At the time, Rankin's mother recalled her ...

'The Picklr' pickleball facility coming to 3 suburbs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Three new indoor pickleball facilities are coming to the suburbs.The Picklr, headquartered in Utah, announced Thursday a major expansion into 11 states — including Illinois.The three new locations will be built in Naperville, Mundelein and Villa Park. The Mundelein location is expected to open in mid-November. The Picklr says locations offer professional-grade outdoor surfacing, onsite snacks and drinks, and access to free leagues, tournaments and clinics. Former Illini tennis stars turned pickleball pros travel to APP Chicago Open in style Pickleball has exploded in popularity across the country recently.It's unknown when the Naperville and Villa Park locations will open.

New sighting in search for escaped Pennsylvania inmate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

(WHTM) – An eighth sighting of escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante was reported on Thursday afternoon as Pennsylvania State Police work to find the man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend.Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmed an eighth sighting was reported on Thursday afternoon and law enforcement is now working with an 8-10 square mile radius."We will eventually capture him, and when we do he's going to prison," said Lt. Col. Bivens.The search for Cavalcante is now on its eighth day after video showed the 5 foot tall inmate crab walking up a prison wall before officials say he pushed through razor wire to access the roof."This is an outrage, it should have never happened, said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan on Thursday. Ryan says Cavalcante will not return to Chester County Prison and will go to a state corrections facility once he is found. Officials on Wednesday provided a timeline of Cavalcante’s escape last Thursday:8:33 a.m. – Cavalcante...

How 'The Super Bowl Shuffle' built the fandom of the latest Chicago-area Bears player

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It's a positive thing that has happened for a few players throughout the over 100-year history of the NFL franchise and will again in 2023. What's unique is the story for each Chicago-area native who plays for the Bears, and Dan Feeney has his own as he joins the team in 2023. For one, he's the second Orland Park native and former Sandburg High School standout in as many years to play for the Bears. In 2022, it was offensive lineman Michael Schofield who represented both on the team, and now Feeney will do the same this year after the Bears acquired him from the Dolphins in August."He texted me and he was like 'Hey, you following me around the NFL now? What's going on?," said Feeney of what Schofield said after he was traded to the Bears. The seventh-year offensive lineman, who also played for the Chargers and Jets, also had his story on how he became a fan of the team. It concerns a family member and a song she'd like to play while Feeney was growing up. ‘I’m...

One person dead after vehicle-pedestrian crash in southeast Austin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One person is dead after a vehicle-pedestrian crash in southeast Austin Thursday, Austin-Travis County EMS said on Twitter.Shortly after 1:45 p.m., medics responded to the crash at East Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive.One adult person was pronounced dead on the scene, medics said.No other information was available, and the incident remained under investigation Thursday.

Horns Pregame Southeastern Showdown: Getting you ready for Texas-Alabama

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

Watch the 30-minute Horns Pregame Southeastern Showdown in the video player above as KXAN Sports gets you ready for the biggest game this week in college football.AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Longhorns starting quarterback Quinn Ewers told reporters that he thinks the team is "ready to take the next step" and the KXAN Sports team has a full breakdown of what it will take for the 'Horns to accomplish that in our Southeastern Showdown Special. Eyes on Alabama: Texas set for future SEC clash No. 11 Texas will join the SEC and become an official conference rival of No. 4 Alabama in July 2024, but, first, the two programs conclude their home-and-home series as non-conference foes this Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. "Should be a great night of football, and I know that the key to the drill for us is to focus on what we need to do to prepare and get ourselves in the right frame of mind," UT head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on...

How to prepare an emergency kit for a power outage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Wednesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a Level 2 emergency energy alert due to "high demand, lower wind generation, and the declining solar generation during sunset" leading to reduced operating reserves on the grid. While no rolling outages occurred, ERCOT continues to request energy conservation efforts Thursday evening. But in the event that low grid operating reserves re-emerge, it's important to know what to have on hand in the event of possible outages. Understanding ERCOT’s emergency alert levels What to pack in your emergency power outage kitKeeping everything in one centralized location is critical to ensuring easy and quick access in the event of an outage. Among the most essential items is plenty of excess water on hand. The general rule of thumb is to pack one gallon of water per person per day that you anticipate an emergency might last.You'll also want to keep a first aid kit on hand to help treat minor injuries quickly...

DIRECTV customers may miss out on 2023 NFL regular season opener

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:21:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thursday night, the Detroit Lions will take on the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the first NFL game of the 2023 regular season.The game will be exclusively broadcast on KXAN in the Austin market, but since KXAN was forced off the DIRECTV lineup on July 2, DIRECTV customers may not be able to watch the game unless the dispute between Nexstar and DIRECTV is resolved. DIRECTV customers are being urged to call the company at (800) 531-5000 and demand that it restore KXAN to their systems.DIRECTV subscribers do have other options to view the game:DIRECTV customers can switch their cable or satellite provider to another service. KXAN has reached agreements with all other local distributors and is available on all of them.KXAN is also available on streaming services such as YouTube TV and Hulu.As a broadcast station, KXAN broadcasts its signal over the public airwaves to anyone with an antenna, which you can find at a variety of electronics or home-improvement s...