Greece's Epiphany events marking Christ's baptism highlight concerns about water scarcity

MARATHON, Greece (AP) — As Orthodox Christians around the world attended Epiphany ceremonies on Tuesday to commemorate the baptism of Christ, worried officials in Greece used the moment to highlight growing water scarcity.

A priest cast a wooden cross into the visibly depleted waters of Lake Marathon, an artificial reservoir north of Athens. Water stored there and in the other three reservoirs supplying Athens has dropped from more than 1 billion cubic meters in 2022 to about 390 million cubic meters.

The dramatic decline prompted authorities in November to declare a water emergency in the capital.

“This is the third consecutive year of a significant drop in reservoir levels. This means that the problem is right in front of us,” George Stergiou, chairman of the greater Athens water utility, EYDAP, told The Associated Press after attending the Marathon ceremony.

Stergiou warned that prolonged droughts are becoming more frequent and are often followed by intense rainfall that does little to replenish supplies.

The state-run utility has announced a 2.5 billion euro ($2.9 billion), decade-long investment program to reduce water losses and boost water security, including pipe replacements, smart meters and expanded wastewater reuse.

“What we want to do, as a first step, is replace all those uses that today could be met with non-potable water by recycled water,” Stergiou said.

Reservoir manager Sofia Nalpantidou said Marathon’s low level should be viewed in context, noting the lake is connected with the wider system and partly managed for seasonal flood control.

“We usually keep it lower in winter because we want to maintain a buffer,” Nalpantidou said.

Residents have noted the changes.

“In the past, it used to rain a lot more, sometimes daily. That doesn’t happen anymore,” said Antonis Stamou, a 78-year-old retiree who attended Tuesday’s service.

People attend the Epiphany ceremony as a Greek Orthodox priest, center, holding a cross blesses the waters at Lake Marathon, near Athens, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, where receding water levels reflect successive years of low rainfall across Greece. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

An islet that recently emerged is seen at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Giorgos Chrysinas Water Board (EYDAP) electricity supervisor adjusts a Greek flag on a small boat at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Giorgos Chrysinas, an electricity supervisor for the Water Board (EYDAP), attends the Epiphany ceremony from a small boat at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

People attend the Epiphany ceremony as a Greek Orthodox priest, center, throws a cross blessing the waters at Lake Marathon, near Athens, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, where receding water levels reflect successive years of low rainfall across Greece. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal agent shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist when she allegedly tried to run over law enforcement officers during an immigration crackdown in the city, authorities said Wednesday.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot the woman in her vehicle in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

The shooting marks a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major American cities under the Trump administration.

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been on edge since DHS announced Tuesday that it had launched the operation, with 2,000 agents and officers expected to participate in the crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

A large throng of protesters gathered at the scene after Wednesday's shooting, where they vented their anger at the local and federal officers who were there, including Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been the face of crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.

In a scene similar to the Los Angeles and Chicago crackdowns, bystanders heckled the officers and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during the crackdowns.

“Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “ICE out of Minnesota!” they loudly chanted from behind the police tape.

After the shooting, Mayor Jacob Frey said immigration agents were “causing chaos in our city.”

“We are demanding ICE leave the city and state immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities," Frey said on social media.

The area where the shooting occurred is a modest neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from some of the oldest immigrant markets in the area and a mile (1.6 kilometers) from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020.

The Immigration Defense Network, a coalition of groups serving immigrants in Minnesota, held a training session Tuesday night for about 100 people who are willing to hit the streets to monitor the federal enforcement.

“I feel like I'm an ordinary person, and I have the ability do something so I need to do it,” Mary Moran told KMSP-TV.

Dell'Orto reported from St. Paul, Minnesota. Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed.

Law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

People protest as law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

A bullet hole is seen in the windshield as law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

Law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

A bullet hole is seen in the windshield as law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)

FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Federal law enforcement officers stand near a roadblock at Portland Avenue and East 32nd Street, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, after reports of a shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis, where immigration enforcement has been conducting a major crackdown. (AP Photo/Tim Sullivan)

Federal law enforcement officers stand near a roadblock at Portland Avenue and East 32nd Street, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, after reports of a shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis, where immigration enforcement has been conducting a major crackdown. (AP Photo/Tim Sullivan)