A car crashed into the Vjosa River in southeastern Albania, killing all eight people aboard.
The victims included seven suspected migrants and a local driver, according to Albanian police.
The crash occurred around 4 a.m. when the driver lost control of the vehicle, veering into the river.
A car crashed into a river on Tuesday in southeastern Albania, killing all eight people on board, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver, Albanian police said.
The driver of the vehicle lost control and veered into the Vjosa River about 150 miles southeast of the capital, Tirana, around 4 a.m., according to a police statement. Seven of the victims were suspected to be “from third countries,” it said, using a description police often use to refer to migrants.
Regional police chief Ardian Cipa said the car failed to stop at a police checkpoint and sped away. A police vehicle then followed the car and saw it had crashed into the river.
ALBANIAN LAWMAKERS APPROVE DEAL FOR COUNTRY TO HOLD THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS FOR ITALY
“It is suspected the driver is from Shkodra and the others are suspected to be migrants who frequently pass this road,” Cipa said, declining to give more details until the investigation is finished. Shkodra is a northwestern city around 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the accident site.
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This aerial view taken near the city of Permet shows the Vjosa River. A car crashed into a river on Tuesday in southeastern Albania, killing all eight people on board, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver, Albanian police said.(GENT SHKULLAKU/AFP via Getty Images)
Albania is not a primary route for migrants but small groups from Arab countries or Asia use it to reach Italy by sea or other neighboring countries by land.
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In 2019, Albania became the first non-EU member country to have officers of the bloc’s border agency Frontex to manage its borders in the south and east, which migrants usually cross, and fight cross-border crime.
Albania’s Parliament in February approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy.
AUSTIN — For the first time in modern Texas politics, Democrats will field candidates in every one of the state’s 150 House districts.
It’s a milestone party leaders hope will boost turnout, money and organization up and down the ballot, even as Gov. Greg Abbott enters the cycle with a well-tested ground game of his own.
Democratic leaders say the move is less about flipping deeply red districts and more about expanding the electorate and forcing Republicans to defend territory they have long taken for granted.
Houston Rep. Christina Morales, the new chief of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, said a full slate of candidates creates infrastructure that can benefit statewide races, regardless of the odds in individual districts.
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Campaigns that once existed only on paper now bring door-knocking, phone banking and voter registration efforts, she said.
Morales also is coordinating with national Democrats, trying to harness energy from Texas’ high-profile Senate race, marked by a bitter GOP feud.
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In that primary, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
The Democratic Senate contest, featuring state Rep. James Talarico of Austin and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, has drawn wide voter interest and donor support.
But attention and money only go so far.
Abbott enters the cycle with a major advantage: a mature, statewide voter-mobilization network built over decades of Republican control.
“Abbott has made it his own,” said longtime GOP strategist Thomas Graham, citing sustained relationship-building at the precinct level and focus on local concerns. “Democrats are still rebuilding a statewide party. The ground game heavily favors the governor.”
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 13 Alabama men’s basketball might have a bit of a problem.
The Crimson Tide was upset by Texas at home on Saturday night, and the 92-88 loss was riddled with negatives. Alabama came into this one with a road loss to undefeated Vanderbilt, and this should’ve been a game to shake it off.
But Alabama was down by double digits to Texas on numerous occasions throughout the contest. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said during the postgame press conference that defensive assistant Brian Adams “does a really good job putting good game plans together,” but “guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow” those game plans.
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“It starts with effort,” Oats said. “The want-to, competitive edge, guys just don’t want to lose, give you everything they got. The guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now, because they’re not giving us everything they got on that side of the floor.
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“So, I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose. From there, it goes to guys, like in the moment, having some personal pride in stopping their man. Too many blow-bys, too many isolation plays, just beat one-on-one, guy’s not locked down on the help side, a guy gets beat…I do think we’ve got some guys that care enough about winning on the defensive end, but you’ve also got to score the ball on offense, too.
“So we’re going to have to figure out the right lineups to play that care enough, compete enough, are tired of losing, got enough personal pride in their defense and they care enough to prepare. … Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take until it bothers them, but it bothers me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”
Another way to ensure winning is by converting at the free throw line. Alabama looked the part in the first half, as it hit 11 of its 12 attempts from the charity stripe. But in the second half, in part due to the defense, the Crimson Tide continued to fall behind, and it led to UA converting just eight of its 15 attempts in the latter 20 minutes.
“When you’re locked in, you’re locked in,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in on defense, all you care about is winning the game. When you’re locked into the defense and you go to the line, and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’ll step up and you’ll make your free throws.
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“When you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction, worried about stats and some other stuff, and you’re not locked in, that’s when you go to the line and miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter, guys that should be making free throws at a high level. And the pressure got them a little bit in the second half, we got down 13.
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“I mean, we do a free-throw game. It took us four tries to get it the way I wanted it yesterday. Guys have got to care enough to get in the gym and work on their free throws. So, free throws are the only thing in the game of basketball that has no variation to it ever, except for a variation you put in your own mind. Well, get enough reps up, you train your mind and basically become a machine at the free-throw line. Obviously, we’re not putting enough reps up right now.”
Alabama freshman forward London Jemison said after the game that the team needs to be “more connected” during games, practices, film and even when focusing on nutrition.
Oats provided an outline for the defense to gel more, the free throws to fall through the basket and a stronger connection to be enforced. And it’s quite a simple solution.
“It looks like we need some leadership to step up,” Oats said. “Some guys that want to get everybody together, tired of losing, stuff’s got to change. It’s not a talent problem. It’s a focus, effort and competitive juice problem. So, if they’re not as connected, that falls on the leadership of the team.
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“And we’ve told these guys, ‘We’re here to help you. This is your team, your season. I’ll be coaching for a long time after this. They get one opportunity with this group to put it together. That’s it.’ So, if they love their brothers and they want their teammates to perform well, they’re going to give a lot better effort on the floor than what they’re doing. Maybe they’re not as connected.
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“To me, it seems like we don’t have any bad guys. Like, there’s nobody that everybody just doesn’t like. They seem to like each other, but they obviously don’t respect their teammates enough to give a winning effort out there. Some of the guys are really bought into winning, but not everybody. So we’ve got to get everybody bought into winning.”
Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) aims for a resurgence against Mississippi State (10-6, 2-1 SEC) on the road on Tuesday night.
KNOXVILLE, TN – January 16, 2025 – “We Back Pat” on jersey during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols basketball is back in Knoxville for a matchup with Arkansas after a two-game road stand. Tennessee is not only looking to stay perfect in SEC play, but is hosting its annual ‘We Back Pat’ game.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.
More From RTI: Everything Lady Vols HC Kim Caldwell, PG Mia Pauldo Said After Road Win At Mississippi State
How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-7, 0-3 SEC)
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Andy Brock, Analyst: Kamera Harris
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Brian Rice, Studio Host: Jay Lifford
Betting Odds
None listed yet
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols – 98.3%
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Arkansas – 1.7%
What Kim Caldwell Said After Mississippi State
“Good to get a win on the road. We know it’s a tough environment and we know that we got to win on the road in the SEC. It was good to do that. I wasn’t really proud of the rebounding, but I thought we looked a lot better in a couple different categories so that was good.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
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at Mississippi State, 90-90 W
at Auburn, 73-56 W
vs. Florida, 76-65 W
vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
vs. Louisville (Brooklyn), 89-65 L
Arkansas:
vs. South Carolina, 93-58 L
at Alabama, 77-48 L
vs. Vanderbilt, 88-71 L
vs. Arkansas State, 81-72 L
vs. Stephen F. Austin, 82-73 W
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – No. 20
Coaches Poll – No. 22
Bart Torvik – No. 13
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Arkansas:
AP Poll – Unranked
Coaches Poll – Unranked
Bart Torvik – No. 107
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Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.3
Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.3
Arkansas:
Points: Taleyah Jones – 16.9
Rebounds: Bonnie Deas – 9.7
Assists: Bonnie Deas – 2.6
Prediction
It’s been a rough start for Arkansas’ new coach, Kelsi Musick. The team is 0-3 in SEC games, and though it’s been against three good teams, the Razorbacks haven’t been competitive in any.
While neither side has been strong, Arkansas’ defense has been the weakest point. Not only is it coming off a game in which it gave up 93 points to South Carolina, but Arkansas State hung 81 in its win over the Razorbacks on the road.
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If the Lady Vols don’t get in their own way, then they should be fine. It hasn’t been perfect, and against three teams not necessarily in the mix to win the league, but Tennessee has looked much improved in the SEC slate compared to the lumps it took in the out-of-conference schedule.
I’d think UT jumps on Arkansas in the first quarter and takes a comfortable lead into the second quarter. From there, the lead should continue to grow behind forced turnovers in the press and easy baskets on the other end.
