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After years of delay, Western Balkans hope for progress on joining the EU – and financial support

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The leaders of several Western Balkan countries that want to join the European Union met informally Monday in Albania’s capital, Tirana, to prepare for a summit on their progress in preparing for future membership. At an informal lunch, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama welcomed his counterparts from Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.Albania plans to host an Oct. 16 summit on the Berlin Process, an initiative from Germany and France to encourage the six Western Balkans countries that aren’t already in the EU to keep working to align their policies and practices with the bloc’s.The six countries — Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania — are at different stages of integration into the bloc. In 2013, Croatia, also a Western Balkans country, became the EU’s newest member. Since then, progress has stalled. Rama said he expected “the summit to have a meaningful out...

Plane evacuation slide falls into backyard of Chicago home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN) — Federal authorities are investigating after a plane's emergency evacuation slide fell into the backyard of a Chicago home on Monday. Chicago Police say they were called to the city's northwest side near O'Hare International Airport Monday afternoon where they found the slide had slightly damaged a home."They were just having lunch upstairs in our unit and they just heard a loud boom and I guess it hit the side of the building," said Patrick Devitt, a neighbor of the home where the plane debris fell. "The only thing that we were worried about at the beginning was like, oh yeah, it's real loud, stuff like that and you get used to it, but you never think that something like that is going to happen." Woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park suffers ‘significant injuries’ After officers arrived, the slide was moved out in front of the home into the street, where it was taken from the scene.No injuries have been reported from the incident.According to the Federa...

Mountain biker dies while trying to save dehydrated hikers in California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) – A mountain biker died Saturday while trying to save four hikers who were found suffering from dehydration in Southern California, Cal Fire confirmed.A call came in around 2:45 p.m. reporting at least seven people in heat distress at Carrizo Gorge in San Diego County's Jacumba Mountains, officials said. Cal Fire ground crews and a sheriff's helicopter were called to assist.Upon arrival, Cal Fire says there were four hikers at least five miles away from the trailhead. The hikers had been rescued with the assistance of four mountain bikers who happened to be in the area. Two of those mountain bikers were at the bottom of the hill when emergency crews arrived, while the other two remained with the hikers. The temperature around the time crews arrived was reportedly about 106 degrees. Woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park suffers ‘significant injuries’ The sheriff's helicopter was used to transport the hikers from the trail. They were evaluated by paramed...

'This weekend was tragic:' Deadly Austin weekend highlights low APD staff numbers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin's deadliest weekend so far in 2023 has some searching for more public safety solutions.Police are currently investigating one homicide from Saturday, and three from Sunday. As Austin Police Department Cpl. Jose Mendez provided an update at one of Sunday's homicide scenes, he — in an uncustomary move — addressed how APD staffing shortages have and will impact these current investigations. APD: 1 dead after ‘verbal altercation’ near abandoned building in east Austin “I know that the detectives are somewhat overwhelmed due to having a shortage of them,” Mendez said. Homicide detectives have had to pull double duty helping out with patrol shifts as APD works to fill roughly 300 officer vacancies. "It doesn't matter if it's homicide or some other crime. All of these detectives are being forced to go work patrol and supplement patrol shifts, so these caseloads are not getting picked up by other detectives," Jennifer Szimanski, public affairs director for the Com...

Gov. Abbott's border buoys on Rio Grande face pushback

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

EAGLE PASS, Texas (Nexstar) — The state's latest attempt at deterring migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into the U.S. is being met by legal concerns from Congressional members to a local business owner who is already suing Texas over its deployment of buoys to the Texas-Mexico border.Last week, Texas began installing the buoys and razor wire near Eagle Pass. In early June, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the initiative by using a natural disaster declaration, touting it as another strategy in his Operation Lone Star to prevent migrants from crossing. State leaders said in turn, the physical deterrent would hopefully lead to fewer migrant deaths related to drowning while swimming across the Rio Grande.On Friday, the incoming secretary of foreign affairs for Mexico, Alicia Bárcena, said that the buoys violate various water treaties between Mexico and the United States. She told reporters that Mexico sent a letter to the U.S. in June, reminding federal leaders that Texas' flot...

True story of woman sex trafficked at 14 told in play at Concordia University Tuesday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

After being sex trafficked at 14 and managing to escape that life, Jennifer Gaines has devoted her life to helping women in the same situation.Her true story will be performed as a play, “The Survivor Story Spotlight,” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at the E.M. Pearson Theater at Concordia University in St. Paul.The play will be performed by several actresses portraying Gaines at different points in her life.“It’s my story,” she said. “It’s how it happened, some of the things that happened to me, how it affected me, and how I got out,” she said in an interview Sunday.The play also highlights the continuing need for more human trafficking prevention and victim-survivor services, she said.“We want people to understand the vulnerabilities that put children at risk of trafficking, the barriers that prevent victims from getting out of the life, the hurdles that keep survivors trapped long-term, and the truth that we all have a hope an...

Ramsey and Washington County’s food scrap recycling program to expand this fall

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams got the news on Sunday that Ramsey and Washington counties will be soon expanding a pilot program and collecting food scraps from all residents in her city.On Monday, Abrams joined officials from the counties and the three other test cities — Cottage Grove, Newport and North St. Paul — to learn more about the expansion of the program and to tour a new addition at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center in Newport that was designed to support what will soon be the largest residential co-collection food scrap recycling programs in the state.The 24,000-square-foot addition, funded in part by $7 million from the 2020 bonding bill, is designed to sort more materials from the trash, including food scraps and organic-rich materials. Once the system is up and running to specifications, the food scraps will be composted. Eventually, officials say, the materials will be turned into renewable natural gas.“This is such a great opportunity f...

Capital Region Aquatics Center moving to Rotterdam

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — After ten years of planning and discussions for Mohawk Harbor, the Capital Region Aquatic Center will move to the Viaport Shopping Mall in Rotterdam. But Kara Haraden, President of Capital Region Aquatics Center, said signing the letter of intent to lease the 80,000-square-foot space is simple. “We still have work to do. We still have some fundraising to do; we need to get environmental done. We started that process. And there’s going to be permits and permitting that will take some time,” Haraden said. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The $40 million aquatic center will offer water-related activities, including aquatic therapy, swimming lessons, and specialized programming for veterans, adults, children with special needs, and underserved populations. Officials are most excited about providing swimming lessons for all ages. According to the CDC,  half of the U.S. population can’t swim, and childre...

Judge sends Steve Bachar’s rejected plea deal money to ex-wife, creditors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

A Denver judge has ordered that $174,000 belonging to accused fraudster Steve Bachar must be split among people he owes $5.5 million to rather than be returned to him.District Court Judge Kandace Gerdes’ order ends a four-month-long dispute involving a restitution check, a theft victim who didn’t want it and several unrelated victims who did.In March, Bachar turned over $174,370 to the Denver District Court as part of a plea agreement for felony and misdemeanor theft. The money was supposed to go to Jamie Lindsay, a 74-year-old North Carolina man who Bachar had admitted stealing $125,000 from.But Judge Eric Johnson unexpectedly rejected the plea agreement at Lindsay’s request March 10, scheduled a September trial, and ordered that the money be given back to Bachar. Then, before it could be returned, two companies and a person who are owed about $5 million by Bachar filed motions to garnish that $174,370 of erstwhile restitution.That put Nikolaus Zender, clerk of the Denver District ...

Five weeknight dishes that feel weekend fancy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:15:48 GMT

By Margaux Laskey, The New York TimesI’m writing this from the passenger seat of a minivan that’s barreling down the highway to pick up my kids from summer camp. While I cannot wait to squeeze them and hear all about their adventures (Dramatic thunderstorms! Wildfire smoke! Tween breakouts!) I won’t lie: I’ve enjoyed the break. My husband was gone for part of the time, too, so I’ve been cooking and eating according to my whimsy and absolutely no one else’s.It was dreamy. The recipes below are just the sort I enjoyed. Low effort — I had “Ted Lasso” episodes to binge-watch — easy enough to scale down for one, big on flavor and fun to eat.1. Puttanesca Chickpea-Tomato SaladThis recipe turns tomato salad into a meal by marrying creamy beans with some of the briny, salty ingredients found in pasta puttanesca, including tomatoes, capers, olives and garlic. While Parmesan isn’t traditional to puttanesca, coarsely chopped pebbles of it add bursts of umami to this salad. Feel free to o...