WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Two days after an angry outburst during a Chicago mayoral campaign forum, Carol Moseley Braun issued an apology on Tuesday to her opponent in the race.During a weekend debate at a South Side church, Braun accused Watkins of "being strung out on crack".

Last week Uganda’s most prominent gay rights activist, David Kato, was found murdered in his home.

Yemen has joined the pro-democracy wave of protests that have swept the Middle East. Last week, thousands of protestors opposed to President Ali Abdullah Saleh flooded the streets of the capital Sana’a. On Monday, smaller crowds of opposition supporters gathered in provincial towns.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Egypt today in the largest demonstration yet. Estimates fluctuate between one and two million people. Though the exact number is uncertain, the demand for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office is clear.

Bad weather on an election day can also have a bad effect on politics by keeping voters away from the polls. In theory, early voting, which in the race for Chicago mayor got underway earlier this week, can encourage turnout.

By most accounts Chicago is in for a doozy of a snowstorm starting sometime later Tuesday. Residents have a pretty good idea what a blizzard will do to the streets, sidewalks and commute times. But what about how weather can affect politics?

Patricia Van Pelt Watkins can laugh about it now, but you can still hear the astonishment in her voice. “I was amazed that she would say something like that,” Watkins said.