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Tag: ice

  • Warriors’ Steve Kerr voices support for Minneapolis amid ICE occupation, protests

    MINNEAPOLIS — As thousands of people marched shoulder to shoulder through the streets of downtown Minneapolis Sunday afternoon, demanding that the federal immigration crackdown in their city end, Steve Kerr did not want to discuss basketball before the Warriors’ 111-85 victory over the Timberwolves. 

    A little over 24 hours after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti amid protests a few miles away from Target Center, causing the postponement of Saturday’s game between the visiting Warriors and the Wolves, the longtime Golden State coach gave his first public statements on the situation. 

    “I love the city of Minneapolis, and people here are wonderful. And it’s very sad, what’s happening, and I feel for the city,” Kerr said. “There’s a pall that has been cast over the city. You can feel it, and a lot of people are suffering. Obviously, loss of life is the No. 1 concern. Those families will never get their family members back. And you know, when all the unrest settles down, whenever that is, those family members won’t be returning home, and that’s devastating.”

    Kerr said Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy alerted him Saturday morning that the league was considering postponing the game.

    He also received calls from both Wolves coach Chris Finch and veteran forward Joe Ingles, who let Kerr know that the Wolves players were “feeling really uneasy” about the situation. 

    “I told Chris and Joe, ‘We trust you guys. We trust the league, whatever makes the most sense,’” Kerr said. “So ultimately, obviously, the game was postponed. I totally agree with the decision. Everything should be about safety and concern for not only the players and the fans, but everybody here in Minneapolis with what’s going on.”

    BCA officers stand near the scene of a fatal shooting that took place yesterday, in Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray) 

    Ultimately, the NBA postponed the game just under three hours before tipoff. Kerr’s teams have previously gone through sudden postponements.

    The Warriors coach was just a rookie on the Phoenix Suns when his team had its game cancelled in Miami during the riots of 1989. Over three decades later, the Warriors’ games against the Jazz and Mavericks were postponed after the sudden death of Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević.

    The Warriors arrived in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon and watched as tens of thousands of people marched down the streets to protest the protracted presence of federal immigration officers in the city. 

    Though protests did not break out near the arena on Saturday, they were in full force a few hours before tipoff on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds held signs expressing displeasure at Immigration and Customs Enforcement being in the city, and chants rang through the crowded streets. 

    Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters on Saturday that a 37-year-old man was killed on Saturday morning but did not identify him, citing limited information about what led up to the shooting. The man was identified by his parents as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse.

    Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrate after Conley scores during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
    Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrate after Conley scores during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) 

    The protests continued inside the arena.

    During a moment of silence held in honor of Pretti, several fans could be heard yelling “(expletive) ICE,” although no physical signs or written messages in opposition to immigration personnel were seen in the lower bowl. 

    During a break in the action with about five minutes left in the first half, chants of “ICE out” were heard while De’Anthony Melton was shooting free throws. In the third quarter, several members of the Target Center’s dunk crew entertainment team were seen wearing “ICE OUT” shirts.

    When the game was being played, neither team was very sharp. The Timberwolves, understandably, appeared to lack focus during the first half, turning the ball over 16 times in the first 24 minutes.

    The Warriors led 47-46 at halftime as both sides seemed to just go through the motions, and Golden State pulled away in the third quarter after outscoring the home team 38-17. The Warriors (26-21) snapped a two-game skid, which was the same number of games the team had played without Jimmy Butler, who was lost for the season on Monday with a torn ACL.

    Steph Curry scored 26 points, passing John Havlicek and tying with another Celtic great, Paul Pierce (26,397), for 19th on the all-time scoring list.

    Teammate Moses Moody scored 19, while Brandin Podziemski put in 12 points. Anthony Edwards poured in 30 points for the Timberwolves, while former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo scored 22.

    The teams will play again here on Monday at 6:30 PT.

    Joseph Dycus

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  • The Trump administration is lying about gun rights and the death of Alex Pretti

    Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, outside a restaurant on Saturday. The victim, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, was licensed to carry a firearm, and he had one with him. The available footage does not show every detail of what happened, but Pretti was holding a cell phone rather than his gun when the officers initiated contact and began wrestling him to the ground.

    Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have already declared the killing completely justified, claiming that Pretti had intended to murder law enforcement agents. There is no evidence of this—none whatsoever—which makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the administration is prepared to brazenly lie about what happened.

    Other Republican officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel, are taking the position that merely bringing a gun to a protest is a violation of the law or an indication of murderous intent. This is deeply wrong, and it is in conflict with the First and Second Amendments—two fundamental rights that Republicans typically profess to care about.

    As with the killing of Renee Good two weeks ago, the legal threshold at which lethal force can be justified is whether the officer who killed Pretti reasonably feared for his own safety. Only a careful, impartial investigation can determine that. The Justice Department has declined to conduct such an investigation into Good’s death, instead seeking to investigate the victim’s family.

    Video footage of Pretti’s death shows federal agents using pepper spray on protesters. Pretti appears to be recording the altercation with his cell phone. After an agent shoves one of the protesters to the ground, Pretti moves to assist her. Several CBP agents then decide to bring Pretti down.

    It’s conceivable that the agent who shot Pretti had the impression that he was reaching for his weapon—though the first shot clearly went off after another agent disarmed the protester. It’s also possible that the killer didn’t have even that much justification. Yet federal authorities have all but ruled out that possibility, and are making abjectly false statements in support of their mendacious posture.

    Noem has repeatedly claimed it as a fact that Pretti intended to harm officers. “This individual showed up to a law enforcement operation with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition,” she told reporters. “He wasn’t there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence.” Miller flatly asserted that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who “tried to assassinate federal law enforcement.”

    These are lies. They have no evidence that Pretti wanted to kill anyone. Even if evidence were unexpectedly to come out tomorrow that he was secretly a would-be assassin, it would still be wrong for officials to state as fact that Pretti intended to kill. There are no known facts that establish murder as his motivation. This is a man who was watching officers interact with protesters and recording it on his phone. Contrary to what the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X, he did not approach law enforcement, let alone with a gun drawn.

    These willful omissions and obvious lies do not inspire confidence that the federal government has any interest in discovering the truth of what happened. That is a glaring indictment of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement specifically and law enforcement in general.

    As if quietly conceding that none of the available facts were advancing their preferred narrative, several Republican officials are taking the ludicrous position that merely possessing a gun in the first place is evidence of an intent to cause harm. Bessent and Patel both sided with Noem on the Sunday morning shows, agreeing that Pretti should not have possessed the gun in the first place. Bessent said the protesters should carry billboards rather than guns. Patel said that bringing a gun to a protest was a violation of the law. That is simply untrue, as Minnesota is a concealed carry state, where it is lawful to carry a firearm in a public place. The notion that an individual cannot or should not exercise his First Amendment and Second Amendment rights at the same time is usually a misguided leftist talking point; in fact, the American Civil Liberties Union has taken criticism from conservatives and libertarians for becoming squishy on this and advocating against the gun rights of protesters after the January 6 riot.

    U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli went even further in the wrong direction, writing on X: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.”

    Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) took that to task. “Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right, and if you don’t understand this you have no business in law enforcement or government,” wrote Massie.

    Essayli’s comments also drew a rebuke from Gun Owners of America, a lobby that defends the Second Amendment.

    “Federal agents are not ‘highly likely’ to be ‘legally justified’ in ‘shooting’ concealed carry licensees who approach while lawfully carrying a firearm,” the group wrote on X. “The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting—a right the federal government must not infringe upon.”

    More Republicans should take their cues from Massie and Gun Owners of America. The administration is eager to jettison cherished First and Second Amendment rights to forestall any possibility that a federal agent might be held responsible for an improper shooting. If they succeed, the GOP will cease to be a political party that even pretends to care about free speech and gun rights.

    Robby Soave

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  • See photos of winter storm in NC, monks on their chilly journey

    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity.

    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity.


    Travis Long

    tlong@newsobserver.com

    Much of North Carolina is being impacted by a major winter storm bringing snow and ice, along with expected power outages to the area.

    A procession of Buddhist monks continued their 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity, despite the cold and icy conditions.

    Here are photos from our continual coverage of the storm. Check back often for updates.

    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh, N.C. on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity.
    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh, N.C. on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity.
    A procession of Buddhist monks walks along snow-covered Raleigh Boulevard in Raleigh on Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. The monks are making a 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C., as part of the Walk for Peace, an effort to promote peace, compassion and national unity. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

    Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026.
    Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

    Brandon Chapman with the City of Raleigh Department of Transportation applies ice melt in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026.
    Brandon Chapman with the City of Raleigh Department of Transportation applies ice melt in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

    Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026.
    Traffic is light on Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com

    Vehicles slowing make their way east and west on US 64 in Apex, Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026.
    Vehicles slowing make their way east and west on US 64 in Apex, Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com

    This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 9:36 AM.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    Scott Sharpe

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  • Thousands of flights canceled as major winter storm moves across the US

    Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.”What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents. “We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.”All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane. Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.”We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport. More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted. “Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.” Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures. “Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.”We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.” The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.”Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie. Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow. President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.” Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.”I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.” Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

    OKLAHOMA CITY —

    Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.

    Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.

    “What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”

    Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents.

    “We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”

    Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.

    “All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.

    Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

    Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.

    In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.

    “We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”

    All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport.

    More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

    After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted.

    “Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.”

    Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.

    Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures.

    “Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”

    Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.

    “We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.”

    The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.

    In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.

    “Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie.

    Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.

    School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.

    Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.

    Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow.

    President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.”

    Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.

    “I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.”

    Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

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  • Thousands of flights canceled as major winter storm moves across the US

    Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.”What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents. “We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.”All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane. Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.”We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport. More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted. “Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.” Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures. “Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.”We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.” The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.”Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie. Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow. President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.” Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.”I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.” Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

    OKLAHOMA CITY —

    Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice.

    Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40% of the U.S. population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warned of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.

    “What really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it’s just going to get so cold,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts.”

    Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. As crews in some southern states began working to restore downed power lines, officials in some eastern states issued final warnings to residents.

    “We are expecting a storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday while announcing restrictions on commercial vehicle travel and a 35 mph speed limit on highways. She added: “It’s a good weekend to stay indoors.”

    Little Rock, Arkansas, was covered with sleet and snow Saturday, giving Chris Plank doubts about whether he would be able to make a five-hour drive to Dallas for work on Sunday. While some snow is a yearly event, Plank was concerned most about the ice.

    “All of the power lines are above ground, so it doesn’t take very much to end up in the dark,” Plank said.

    Forecasters say the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

    Around 120,000 power outages were reported in the path of the winter storm Saturday afternoon, including about 53,000 in Texas and 45,000 in Louisiana, according to poweroutage.us.

    In Shelby County, Texas, near the Louisiana border, ice weighed down on pine trees and caused branches to snap, downing power lines. About a third of the county’s 16,000 residents were without power on Saturday.

    “We have hundreds of trees down and a lot of limbs in the road,” Shelby County Commissioner Stevie Smith said from his pickup truck. “I’ve got my crew out clearing roads as fast as we can. It’s a lot to deal with right now.”

    All Saturday flights were canceled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma’s biggest airport.

    More than 12,000 flights were canceled Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport, a major hub, saw more than 700 departing flights canceled on Saturday and nearly as many arriving flights called off. Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

    After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted.

    “Please, if you can avoid it, do not drive, do not travel, do not do anything that can potentially place you or your loved ones in danger,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Saturday. “Instead, I urge every New Yorker who can to put a warm sweater on, turn on the TV, watch ‘Mission Impossible’ for the 10th time, above all to stay inside.”

    Officials in Georgia advised people in the state’s northern regions to get off the roads by sundown Saturday and be prepared to stay put for at least 48 hours.

    Will Lanxton, the senior state meteorologist, said Georgia could get “perhaps the biggest ice storm we have expected in more than a decade,” followed by unusually cold temperatures.

    “Ice is a whole different ballgame than snow,” Lanxton said. “Ice, you can’t do anything with. You can’t drive on it. It’s much more likely to bring down power lines and trees.”

    Crews began treating highways with brine after midnight Saturday, with 1,800 workers on 12-hour shifts, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said.

    “We’re going to do what we can to keep the ice from sticking to the roads,” McMurry said. “This is going to be a challenge.”

    The Midwest saw windchills as low as minus 40 Fahrenheit, meaning that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes. The minus 36 F reading in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning was the coldest in almost 30 years.

    In Minneapolis, the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but protesters calling for ICE to leave Minnesota on Saturday still faced an outdoor temperature of minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Workers from The Orange Tent Project, a Chicago nonprofit that provides cold-weather tents and other supplies to unhoused people throughout the city, went out to check on those who did not or could not seek shelter.

    “Seeing the forecasted weather, I knew we had to come out and do this today,” said CEO Morgan McLuckie.

    Churches moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.

    School superintendents in Philadelphia and Houston announced that schools would be closed Monday.

    Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.

    Around the southeast, people used the cancellations to have some fun. On a hill outside the Capitol building in Nashville, adult sledders on green discs and inflatable pool animals giggled with joy as they slid in the snow.

    President Donald Trump said via social media on Friday that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials, and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.”

    Nine states have requested emergency declarations, according to a FEMA briefing document released Saturday. The declarations can unlock federal emergency resources. Trump on Friday approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, and requests from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia were still pending as of Saturday morning.

    “I think there are two parts of this storm that make it unique. One is just a broad expanse of spatial coverage of this event … You’ve got 2,000 miles of country that’s being impacted by the storm with snow, sleet, and freezing rain,” said Josh Weiss, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. “The other part of this storm that’s really impressive is what’s going to happen right afterward. We’re looking at extreme cold, record cold.”

    Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Julie Walker in New York, David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, George Walker in Nashville and Laura Bargfeld in Chicago contributed to this report. Amy reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

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  • Federal Agents Fatally Shoot Another Person in Minneapolis: What We Know

    At the first local press conference following the shooting, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey recounted watching the video of masked federal agents “pummeling one of our citizens” before shooting and killing him, then asked, “How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”

    An another press conference later Saturday, Frey highlighted how two of the three homicides recorded so far this year in the city have involved federal agents.

    Governor Tim Walz said the video footage he’s seen of the shooting is “sickening” and alleged that DHS officials have lied about what happened:

    “Thank God we have video,” Walz said. “Because according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took an onslaught of a battalion against them, or something.”

    “It’s nonsense, and it’s lies,” Walz said. “This needs to be the event that says, ‘enough.’”

    He once again called for President Trump to “Remove this force from Minnesota. They are sowing chaos and violence.

    “We can’t live like this,” Walz said:

    He also called for state authorities to lead the investigation into the shooting, said that the state was “creating a log of evidence” to eventually prosecute federal agents, and that “Minnesota’s justice system will have the last word on this.”

    Numerous other state and local officials, including Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, repeated their demands for the Trump’s administration’s siege to end.

    Minnesota congressman and House GOP whip Tom Emmer said in an X post that Walz and Minneapolis leaders have “put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk”:

    The governor and local leaders’ rhetoric has empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk. It’s dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse. Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I’m going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed.

    Chas Danner

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  • NC Gov. Stein calls agents’ killing of ICU nurse in Minneapolis ‘a travesty’

    Gov. Josh Stein speaks while giving an update on N.C. Strong in Raleigh on Jan. 15.

    Gov. Josh Stein speaks while giving an update on N.C. Strong in Raleigh on Jan. 15.


    Ethan Hyman

    ehyman@newsobserver.com

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Saturday decried the killing by federal agents of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the VA in Minneapolis. Stein called his death “a travesty.”

    “The videos coming out of Minnesota are awful, heartbreaking, and infuriating,” Stein said on social media site X.

    Video showed agents “wrestling (Pretti) to the ground and shooting him multiple times” during a confrontation with protesters Saturday morning, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

    The fatal shooting was the second by federal agents this month who arrived in large numbers in Minneapolis; Border Patrol agents descended on Charlotte in November in addition to large operations in Chicago and other cities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement plans.

    Pretti “was exercising his first and second amendment constitutional rights,” Stein said. “ … He should still be alive right now. There must be a transparent investigation and accountability. This senseless violence must stop.”

    This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 7:26 PM.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    Joe Marusak

    The Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news.
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  • NC Gov. Stein calls agents’ killing of ICU nurse in Minneapolis ‘a travesty’

    Gov. Josh Stein speaks while giving an update on N.C. Strong in Raleigh on Jan. 15.

    Gov. Josh Stein speaks while giving an update on N.C. Strong in Raleigh on Jan. 15.


    Ethan Hyman

    ehyman@newsobserver.com

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Saturday decried the killing by federal agents of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the VA in Minneapolis. Stein called his death “a travesty.”

    “The videos coming out of Minnesota are awful, heartbreaking, and infuriating,” Stein said on social media site X.

    Video showed agents “wrestling (Pretti) to the ground and shooting him multiple times” during a confrontation with protesters Saturday morning, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

    The fatal shooting was the second by federal agents this month who arrived in large numbers in Minneapolis; Border Patrol agents descended on Charlotte in November in addition to large operations in Chicago and other cities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement plans.

    Pretti “was exercising his first and second amendment constitutional rights,” Stein said. “ … He should still be alive right now. There must be a transparent investigation and accountability. This senseless violence must stop.”

    This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 7:26 PM.

    Related Stories from Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak

    The Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news.
    Support my work with a digital subscription

    Joe Marusak

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  • ICE agents’ killing of Minneapolis protester sparks emergency march in NYC demanding feds back off – amNewYork

    Hours after ICE agents in Minneapolis shot and killed its second protester this month, hundreds of New Yorkers took to the streets of Lower Manhattan amid arctic temperatures on Saturday to demand an end to the federal agency’s escalating operations.

    Photo by Dean Moses

    Hours after ICE agents in Minneapolis shot and killed its second protester this month, hundreds of New Yorkers took to the streets of Lower Manhattan amid arctic temperatures on Saturday to demand an end to the federal agency’s escalating operations.

    The impromptu march that the organization Hands Off and the New York Immigration Coalition called on Jan. 24 was sparked by several gruesome viral videos that showed multiple masked federal agents in Minneapolis shooting protester Alex Pretti multiple times. Pretti, an ICU nurse, had come to the aid of a woman whom agents knocked down before ICE members turned their attention to him — wrestling him to the ground and pummeling him with their fists.

    One of the agents then grabbed what appeared to be a holster with a gun from Pretti’s waist; multiple reports indicated that he had a license to carry the weapon in Minnesota. After the gun was taken, multiple ICE agents fired shots at Pretti, killing him.

    The videos contradicted multiple narratives from the Department of Homeland Security, its secretary, Kristi Noem, and others who claimed that Pretti had confronted them first with a gun and threatened the agents’ lives.

     

    However, the released videos do not appear to show Pretti holding a firearm; instead, the weapon appears to be concealed in his waistband. Local police say Pretti has no criminal history aside from traffic violations and did have a permit for the weapon, as required by state law.

    Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, elected officials denounced the slaying. Mayor Zohran Mamdani wasted little time in again calling for the dismantling of the immigration enforcement agency.

    “As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today. ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE,” Mamdani wrote on X.

    In the hours following the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by ICE agents, hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Lower Manhattan to call for an immediate end to federal occupation of American cities.Photo by Dean Moses
    Protesters, including priests, stood up against ICE.Photo by Dean Moses
    In the hours following the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by ICE agents, hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Lower Manhattan to call for an immediate end to federal occupation of American cities.Photo by Dean Moses

    U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also took to social media to demand fellow elected officials vote to cut funding to ICE.

    “We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny.DHS just shot a man in broad daylight two weeks after they shot a mother in the face without consequence. They need our votes to continue. We cannot give it to them. Every Senator should vote NO,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

    Immigration rights advocates, like the Immigration Coalition and Hands Off NYC, called an emergency protest in Union Square on Saturday to stand in solidarity with Minneapolis and to demand that ICE be withdrawn from the state and that operations in New York cease.

    “This is not normal — no one should be killed for protecting their neighbors. No one should be killed for standing up to masked agents who are abducting people off the streets. ICE’s killing of another Minneapolis observer makes it clear: when masked, armed agents are unleashed on communities with no accountability, people die,” a statement released by Hands Off NYC read.

    Protesters gathered in Union Square with signs and whistles, marched up 5th Avenue, and culminated the demonstration in Madison Square Park.

    Protesters wear face masks and googles like those in Minneapolis.Photo by Dean Moses
    In the hours following the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by ICE agents, hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Lower Manhattan to call for an immediate end to federal occupation of American cities.Photo by Dean Moses
    New Yorkers raised their fists and chanted.Photo by Dean Moses
    Many yelled to abolish ICE.Photo by Dean Moses
    New Yorkers raised their fists and chanted.Photo by Dean Moses
    The march went along 5th Avenue.Photo by Dean Moses

     

    Dean Moses

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  • Latest deadly shooting by federal agents pushes government closer to shutdown as Trump claims Minnesota officials are ‘inciting insurrection’ | Fortune

    Another deadly shooting in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown heaped pressure on Senate Democrats to shut down the federal government again.

    Meanwhile, Trump appeared to inch closer to deploying active-duty troops to the state after accusing local officials of “inciting insurrection.”

    A series of appropriations bills passed the House of Representatives earlier in the week, including one to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.

    The Senate must pass those bills in a so-called minibus or else the government will run out of funding on Friday. That’s after lawmakers agreed to end the previous shutdown in November with short-term funding.

    The shooting death of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month had already prompted Democrats to seek reforms from DHS in exchange for votes on funding.

    Another non-fatal shooting by immigration officers followed, but the latest death on Saturday stirred fresh demands from House Democrats that counterparts in the Senate must reject DHS funding.

    “Senate Dems should block ICE funding this week. Activate the National Guard. We can and must stop this,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on social media.

    So far, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as well as Minnesota’s two Democratic senators have called on ICE to get out of the state without saying anything about the appropriations bill.

    But Sen. Chris Murphy, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees the DHS budget, reiterated his earlier push to linking reforms and funding.

    “1. ICE must leave Minneapolis. 2. Congress should not fund this version of ICE – that is seeking confirmation, chaos and dystopia,” he posted.

    Murphy added later: “The Senate should not vote to keep funding this rampage. We are not powerless. We do not need to accept this.”

    Other Democrats, including senators Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, Brian Schatz, Mark Kelly, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Jacky Rosen have also signaled they will block DHS funding.

    The shooting also followed days of reports about immigration officers in Minnesota detaining young children, arresting U.S. citizens, and forcibly entering homes without judicial warrants.

    But on Saturday, Trump blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for demanding that immigration agents leave the city.

    “The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” he wrote.

    That suggests Trump may invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military to Minnesota. Last week, two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska and specializes in arctic operations, were given prepare-to-deploy orders.

    If he does that, the political fight over his immigration policies would likely escalate from a budgetary standoff to a constitutional battle.

    Earlier this month, Trump said he would invoke the 1807 law “if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job.”

    A day later, he told reporters there wasn’t a reason to use it “right now,” but added “If I needed it, I’d use it.”

    Jason Ma

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  • Man Is Shot And Killed During Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown, National Guard Activated – KXL

    FILE – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to the media, Nov. 9, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal immigration officers have shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier.

    Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a 37-year-old man was killed Saturday but declined to identify him.

    He added that information about what led up to the shooting was limited.

    Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them.

    O’Hara said police believe the man was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”

    More about:

    Grant McHill

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  • Prayers Up! Federal Agents Kill Another Minneapolis Resident Weeks After Renee Good Shooting (VIDEO)

    Some things hit differently when the violence comes to your own streets—and Minneapolis is feeling it again. On Saturday, federal officers, including ICE, were back in the spotlight after a man was shot and killed. Now, outrage is sparking as the city still reels from another deadly federal shooting just weeks earlier. The air is seemingly thick with tension, anger, and questions that still haven’t been fully answered.

    RELATED: Unveiled ICE Memo Reportedly Reveals Agents Have Been Instructed That They Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrants

    Minneapolis In Uproar As Shooting Details Surface

    According to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 51-year-old man who was shot died amid the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown. Details around the shooting are still emerging. Nonetheless, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the person had a firearm with two magazines. DHS also released a photo of the handgun they say was recovered from the scene, though protesters say that doesn’t justify what happened.

    Protesters Clash With ICE Near Renee Good Site

    The location couldn’t have been more charged: just over a mile from where Renee Good, 37, was killed by an ICE officer on January 7. After the shooting, hundreds of demonstrators poured into the streets, screaming at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and chanting “ICE out now.” One officer reportedly mocked the crowd, walking away with a dismissive “Boo hoo,” while others shoved protesters into vehicles. People even dragged dumpsters into streets to block traffic, showing the depth of the city’s frustration.

    “They’re killing my neighbors!” shouted local resident Josh Koskie, capturing the anger felt by so many in the crowd. Federal agents responded with batons and flash bangs, escalating an already tense situation. Walz, a Democrat, called for an immediate halt to the operation. He also urged President Trump to withdraw what the Department of Homeland Security has described as its largest-ever immigration enforcement mission.

    City Tensions Rise After Back-To-Back ICE Tragedies

    The shooting came a day after thousands braved freezing temperatures to protest federal immigration enforcement, demanding that law enforcement leave the city. As Minneapolis continues to wrestle with back-to-back tragedies involving ICE, the tension is palpable. And, many are left asking what comes next for a city caught in the crosshairs of federal action and community outrage.

    RELATED: ICE Agents Reportedly Detain 5-Year-Old Boy In Minnesota And Use Him To “Bait” Father Into Capture

    What Do You Think Roomies?

    Desjah

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  • Federal Agents Kill ICU Nurse in Minneapolis

    A man who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis Saturday was an Intensive Care Unit nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, family members have confirmed. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old, Illinois-born US citizen, was a Boy Scout who grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, his father, Michael Pretti told the Associated Press. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street,” the senior Pretti said. “He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”

    According to local broadcast station KTTC, Pretti was shot at around 9 a.m. local time in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. Video of the incident (warning: the video is graphic) shows a man being wrestled to the ground by a crowd of masked men in tactical gear. At least one of the men appear to shoot the man once he was on the ground.

    Via X, the Department of Homeland Security claims that the man had “a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and “two magazines” in his possession. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,” the DHS said of the incident.

    Minnesota is an open carry state, which means that a properly permitted person is allowed to have a visible firearm in their possession in most public places. According to Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara, Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.” According to the AP, he had no history of criminal activity.

    The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, a lobbying group that opposes gun restrictions, has issued a statement critical of the DHS’s characterization of the shooting victim. “Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms — including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” chair Bryan Strawser said. “These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.”

    At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took issue with the DHS account of the homicide. “Thank God we have video because, according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took on an onslaught of a battalion against them or something,” Walz said. “It’s nonsense, people. It is nonsense, and it’s lies … The American public knows, and this needs to be the event that says enough.”

    As of 4 p.m. local time, protestors have continued to gather in the area to protest today’s homicide, which is the third shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks. On January 7, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent while seated in her SUV; on January 15 agents shot a man in the leg, reportedly after a car chase.

    Complicating the issue are federal officials that are reportedly blocking a local investigation into the slaying. Speaking with CNN, O’Hara says that “federal officials [have] attempted to prevent local police from accessing the scene.” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirmed the conflict between agencies, saying that even with a search warrant, federal officials denied them access, and has refused to provide investigators with the names of the federal agents involved in the shooting.

    “I attempted to contact the individual that I was told was the overall commander at the scene, and I have not received a call back from them,” Evans said at a Saturday news conference.

    Eve Batey

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  • Hundreds of Charlotte flights cancelled ahead of ‘life-threatening’ ice storm

    Charlotte could see a dangerous 0.75 inches of ice through Monday afternoon from a storm expected to move into the region late Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the National Weather Service reported.

    Charlotte could see a dangerous 0.75 inches of ice through Monday afternoon from a storm expected to move into the region late Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, the National Weather Service reported.

    National Weather Service

    Hundreds of incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Saturday ahead of an ice storm expected to shut down the region into Monday.

    By 1 p.m. Saturday, at least 437 flights were cancelled, most all of them on American Airlines and its affiliated carriers, according to tracking site Flight Aware.

    “CLT will remain open and operational, but travelers should expect significant impacts across the network,” airport officials posted on X at 11:30 a.m.

    Charlotte can expect up to a debilitating three-quarters of an inch of ice from the winter storm forecast to bring freezing rain to Mecklenburg and surrounding counties late Saturday through Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologists said.

    “A major ice storm is still on tap,” NWS forecasters said on Facebook at 7 a.m. Saturday. ”Make sure to finish any preparations today. Precipitation rates ramp up this evening.”

    “Significant ice accumulation on power lines and tree limbs may cause widespread and long-lasting power outages,” according to an NWS ice warning bulletin. “Trees and large limbs could fall on structures, posing threat to life and property.”

    “Ice and snow covered roadways will become treacherous and impassable,” the NWS said.

    Hazardous conditions could affect Monday’s commute, forecasters said.

    Light snow and sleet moved across the Appalachians into the western Carolinas around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service reported.

    “Impacts will be relatively low this morning, but cooling temps set the stage for much greater winter impacts later this afternoon and evening,” NWS meteorologists said on social media site X.

    A state of emergency began at noon for Mecklenburg County and “will remain until it’s safe to end it,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office posted on X.

    The declaration allows for increased public safety staffing and bans price increases.

    The town of Davidson activated its emergency operations center at 6 a.m. Saturday. “Public safety personnel are in place to respond to emergencies throughout the weather event,” according to a town news release.

    At 1 p.m., the town of Mooresville closed all public town buildings, including the Charles Mack Citizen Center, Mooresville Public Library east and west branches, Mooresville Skate Park and all recreation centers.

    White House approves NC emergency declaration

    North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Saturday said the White House approved his request for a statewide emergency declaration. That will enable the state to get more generators to hospitals and shelters, access emergency fuel for state vehicles responding to storm incidents, and get U.S. Forest Service help clearing roads in state forests, Stein said at a news conference.

    “We are grateful for their partnership and quick response,” Stein said on X.

    Once the storm hits, stay home and off the roads, “unless absolutely necessary,” Stein urged.

    “Be prepared for potential power outages, and make sure you have a plan to stay warm and in contact with loved ones,” the governor said.

    Workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are preparing equipment ahead of Winter Storm Fern.
    Workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are preparing equipment ahead of Winter Storm Fern. Charlotte Douglas International Airport

    Charlotte forecast: Single-digit lows

    Charlotte has a 100% chance of freezing rain and sleet late Saturday and early Sunday, and a 100% chance of freezing rain mixed with sleet on Sunday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast.

    “The sleet could be heavy at times” late Saturday and early Sunday, according to the forecast.

    All freezing rain is forecast after noon Sunday, “with new ice accumulation of 0.2 to 0.4 of an inch possible,” the forecast showed. “New sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.”

    The NWS forecasts highs of 34 on Saturday and 31 on Sunday, and lows of 21 late Saturday and early Sunday and 28 late Sunday and early Monday.

    Monday should be mostly sunny, with a high near 38, although the low could plummet to 8 degrees late Monday and early Tuesday, 17 degrees late Tuesday and early Wednesday, 18 late Wednesday and early Thursday and 12 degrees late Thursday and early Friday, according to the NWS.

    “The cold lingering into next Monday will impact folks’ ability to travel,” Stein said at Saturday’s news conference.

    Drivers should check DriveNC.gov for the latest road conditions in their areas, he said.

    This is a developing story that will be updated.

    This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 10:34 AM.

    Joe Marusak

    The Charlotte Observer

    Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news.
    Support my work with a digital subscription

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  • Stranded by winter weather? Here’s what airlines owe you

    Winter weather can upend even the best-laid travel plans, but one less thing to worry about is losing money if your flight is canceled: U.S. airlines are required to provide refunds.A major, dayslong winter storm is threatening to bring snow, sleet, ice and extensive power outages to about half the U.S. population. Thousands of weekend flights already have been canceled, and forecasters warn that catastrophic damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.Here’s a guide for travelers as flight disruptions start stacking up: When airlines expect bad weather to create problems for flights, they often give travelers a chance to postpone their trips by a few days without having to pay a fee. Search online for your airline’s name and “travel alerts” or similar phrases to look for possible rescheduling offers.American Airlines, for example, said it is waiving change fees for passengers impacted by the storm, which brought freezing rain to parts of Texas on Friday. The Texas-based airline has canceled more than 1,200 flights scheduled to depart Saturday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.American also added extra flights to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport through at least Sunday — totaling more than 3,200 additional seats. Use the airline’s app to make sure your flight is still on before heading to the airport. Cancellations can happen hours or even days before departure time. If you’re already at the airport, get in line to speak to a customer service representative. If you’re still at home or at your hotel, call or go online to connect to your airline’s reservations staff. Either way, it helps to also research alternate flights while you wait to talk to an agent.Most airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge, but it depends on the availability of open seats. You can, but airlines aren’t required to put you on another carrier’s flight. Some airlines, including most of the biggest carriers, say they can put you on a partner airline, but even then, it can be a hit or miss. If your flight was canceled and you no longer want to take the trip, or you’ve found another way to get to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money — even if you bought a non-refundable ticket. It doesn’t matter why the flight was canceled.The airline might offer you a travel credit, but you are entitled to a full refund. You are also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras that you didn’t get to use. If you paid with a credit card, a refund is due within seven business days after you decline an offer from the airline for another flight or a voucher, and within 20 calendar days if you paid for the ticket with a check or cash, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S. airlines aren’t required by the Transportation Department to compensate passengers for meals or lodging when an airline cancels or significantly delays a flight during an “uncontrollable” event like bad weather.Each airline, however, does have its own policies for assisting passengers who are stranded by a so-called “controllable” flight cancellation or long delay. These include disruptions caused by maintenance issues, crew shortages or computer outages that halt operations. The Transportation Department can hold airlines accountable for these commitments and maintains a website that lets travelers see what each airline promises if a major disruption is their fault. If the weather forecast is troubling, Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, suggests looking into booking a backup flight. Some airlines stand out as potential backups, Potter says, because they let customers get a full refund as long as they cancel within 24 hours of booking.The customer service phone lines will be slammed if flight cancellations and delays start stacking up during a bad storm. If you’re traveling with someone who has a higher frequent-flyer status, call the airline using their priority number. Another trick: Look up the airline’s international support number. Those agents can often rebook you just the same.

    Winter weather can upend even the best-laid travel plans, but one less thing to worry about is losing money if your flight is canceled: U.S. airlines are required to provide refunds.

    A major, dayslong winter storm is threatening to bring snow, sleet, ice and extensive power outages to about half the U.S. population. Thousands of weekend flights already have been canceled, and forecasters warn that catastrophic damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.

    Here’s a guide for travelers as flight disruptions start stacking up:

    When airlines expect bad weather to create problems for flights, they often give travelers a chance to postpone their trips by a few days without having to pay a fee. Search online for your airline’s name and “travel alerts” or similar phrases to look for possible rescheduling offers.

    American Airlines, for example, said it is waiving change fees for passengers impacted by the storm, which brought freezing rain to parts of Texas on Friday. The Texas-based airline has canceled more than 1,200 flights scheduled to depart Saturday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

    American also added extra flights to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport through at least Sunday — totaling more than 3,200 additional seats.

    Use the airline’s app to make sure your flight is still on before heading to the airport. Cancellations can happen hours or even days before departure time.

    If you’re already at the airport, get in line to speak to a customer service representative. If you’re still at home or at your hotel, call or go online to connect to your airline’s reservations staff. Either way, it helps to also research alternate flights while you wait to talk to an agent.

    Most airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge, but it depends on the availability of open seats.

    You can, but airlines aren’t required to put you on another carrier’s flight. Some airlines, including most of the biggest carriers, say they can put you on a partner airline, but even then, it can be a hit or miss.

    If your flight was canceled and you no longer want to take the trip, or you’ve found another way to get to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money — even if you bought a non-refundable ticket. It doesn’t matter why the flight was canceled.

    The airline might offer you a travel credit, but you are entitled to a full refund. You are also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras that you didn’t get to use.

    If you paid with a credit card, a refund is due within seven business days after you decline an offer from the airline for another flight or a voucher, and within 20 calendar days if you paid for the ticket with a check or cash, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

    U.S. airlines aren’t required by the Transportation Department to compensate passengers for meals or lodging when an airline cancels or significantly delays a flight during an “uncontrollable” event like bad weather.

    Each airline, however, does have its own policies for assisting passengers who are stranded by a so-called “controllable” flight cancellation or long delay. These include disruptions caused by maintenance issues, crew shortages or computer outages that halt operations. The Transportation Department can hold airlines accountable for these commitments and maintains a website that lets travelers see what each airline promises if a major disruption is their fault.

    If the weather forecast is troubling, Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, suggests looking into booking a backup flight. Some airlines stand out as potential backups, Potter says, because they let customers get a full refund as long as they cancel within 24 hours of booking.

    The customer service phone lines will be slammed if flight cancellations and delays start stacking up during a bad storm. If you’re traveling with someone who has a higher frequent-flyer status, call the airline using their priority number. Another trick: Look up the airline’s international support number. Those agents can often rebook you just the same.

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  • Protesters gather in downtown Orlando to demand ICE’s removal

    RESISTING WITHOUT VIOLENCE. THAT PROTEST WAS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL IN CENTRAL FLORIDA TODAY, INCLUDING ONE IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO AT CITY HALL. THAT’S WHERE OUR GAIL PASCHALL-BROWN IS NOW TO TELL US HOW THIS RALLY IS COINCIDING WITH MANY OTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. GAIL. STEWART. THAT’S BECAUSE TODAY, JANUARY 23RD, HAS BEEN DECLARED A NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY BY THE ICE GET OUT FOR GOOD MOVEMENT. AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS TO BASICALLY REMEMBER THOSE LIVES LOST AND TO DEMAND ICE’S ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE REST AND OTHER INCIDENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AT ITS HEIGHT. SOME 150 PROTESTERS AND SPEAKERS GATHERED OUTSIDE ORLANDO CITY HALL TO GET ICE OUT OF ORLANDO AND FLORIDA. NO FEAR, NO HATE, NO ICE IN OUR STATE, NO FEAR, NO HATE, NO ICE IN OUR STATE. AND I’M HERE BECAUSE I’M ANGRY. AARON LEWIS OF ORLANDO, 5051. ONE OF THE GROUPS ORGANIZING THIS EVENT SAYS ICE IMMIGRATION, CUSTOMS AND ENFORCEMENT IS NOT ABOUT SAFETY. IF IT WERE, WE WOULDN’T BE TERRORIZING NEIGHBORHOODS AT DAWN. IF IT WERE, WE WOULDN’T BE DISAPPEARING PEOPLE INTO A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO BREAK THEM. THIS IS WHAT THAT SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE. RENEE. NICOLE GOOD IS DEAD. A MOTHER, A NEIGHBOR KILLED BY ICE, A FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD WAS USED AS A DECOY, LIKE BAIT. DEMONSTRATORS ARE EAGER TO SEE ICE MELT IN FLORIDA. WE WANT TO SEE ICE ABOLISHED, NOT JUST RETRAINED, NOT REGULATED, GONE OFF THE STREETS. YOU CANNOT TRAIN THE CRUELTY OUT OF THESE PEOPLE. AND NOW THAT THEY WANT TO BRING A 1500 BED ICE DETENTION CENTER TO ORLANDO, NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEY WANT TO DO THAT RIGHT HERE. WE SAY NO, THIS IS NOT ENFORCEMENT. THIS IS TERROR WITH PAPERWORK. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT PROTESTING IS NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH TO KICK ICE OUT OF ORLANDO. WE NEED TO DO STRIKE ACTIONS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE’RE CALLING FOR IS A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE ON MAY 1ST ON LABOR DAY. ORGANIZERS OF THIS ICE OUT FOR GOOD RALLIES SAY NOW IS THE TIME. STAND UP, FIGHT BACK, TELL YOUR LEADERS THAT THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT IN AMERICA. FIND ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK AND GET PLUGGED IN. ICE OUT OF ORLANDO, ICE OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND ICE OUT FOR GOOD. THANK YOU. NOW, THE NEXT THING THAT ORGANIZERS TELL ME THAT THEY’RE ALSO WORKING ON IS A FEBRUARY 3RD PUBLIC ONLINE MEETING. AND THAT WAY IS TO DISCUSS MORE WAYS TO GET ICE OUT OF ORLANDO, COVERING ORANGE COUNTY LIV

    Protesters gather in downtown Orlando to demand ICE’s removal

    Updated: 11:18 PM EST Jan 23, 2026

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Protesters gathered outside Orlando City Hall on Friday as part of a national day of solidarity for the “ICE Out for Good” movement, demanding the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Orlando and Florida.At its peak, around 150 protesters and speakers gathered, chanting, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state.”Aaron Lewis of Orlando 5051, one of the event’s organizers, criticized ICE, saying, “If it were, we wouldn’t be terrorizing neighborhoods at dawn. If it were, we wouldn’t be disappearing people into a system that is designed to break them. This is what the system looks like: Renee Nicole Good is dead, a mother, a neighbor killed by ICE, a 5-year-old child used as a decoy, like bait.”Jackie Giralt, another organizer from Orlando 5051, expressed the group’s goal: “We want to see ICE abolished, not just retrained, not regulated, gone off the streets. You cannot train the cruelty out of these people.”Lewis also highlighted concerns about a proposed 1,500-bed detention center in Orlando, stating, “And they want to bring a 1,500-bed detention center to Orlando, not somewhere else; they want to do that right here. We say no, this is not enforcement, this is terror with paperwork.”Izzy Coventry from Socialist Alternative emphasized the need for more than just protests, advocating for strike actions and calling for a national strike on May 1, International Workers’ Day, also called Labour Day in some countries. Organizers urged attendees to take action, with Giralt saying, “Stand up, fight back, tell your leaders that is not what we want in America. Find organizations that are already doing the work and get plugged in.”The rally concluded with chants of “ICE out of Orlando, ICE out of our communities and ICE out for good.” Organizers are planning a public online meeting on Feb. 3 to discuss further steps to remove ICE from Orlando while ensuring the working class is not adversely affected.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    Protesters gathered outside Orlando City Hall on Friday as part of a national day of solidarity for the “ICE Out for Good” movement, demanding the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Orlando and Florida.

    At its peak, around 150 protesters and speakers gathered, chanting, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state.”

    Aaron Lewis of Orlando 5051, one of the event’s organizers, criticized ICE, saying, “If it were, we wouldn’t be terrorizing neighborhoods at dawn. If it were, we wouldn’t be disappearing people into a system that is designed to break them. This is what the system looks like: Renee Nicole Good is dead, a mother, a neighbor killed by ICE, a 5-year-old child used as a decoy, like bait.”

    Jackie Giralt, another organizer from Orlando 5051, expressed the group’s goal: “We want to see ICE abolished, not just retrained, not regulated, gone off the streets. You cannot train the cruelty out of these people.”

    Lewis also highlighted concerns about a proposed 1,500-bed detention center in Orlando, stating, “And they want to bring a 1,500-bed detention center to Orlando, not somewhere else; they want to do that right here. We say no, this is not enforcement, this is terror with paperwork.”

    Izzy Coventry from Socialist Alternative emphasized the need for more than just protests, advocating for strike actions and calling for a national strike on May 1, International Workers’ Day, also called Labour Day in some countries.

    Organizers urged attendees to take action, with Giralt saying, “Stand up, fight back, tell your leaders that is not what we want in America. Find organizations that are already doing the work and get plugged in.”

    The rally concluded with chants of “ICE out of Orlando, ICE out of our communities and ICE out for good.” Organizers are planning a public online meeting on Feb. 3 to discuss further steps to remove ICE from Orlando while ensuring the working class is not adversely affected.

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  • Buckle up, Fort Worth: It’s going to be nasty cold. Here’s a blow-by-blow forecast

    A layer of snow coats the ground in the Fairmount neighborhood of Fort Worth on Feb. 14, 2021.

    A layer of snow coats the ground in the Fairmount neighborhood of Fort Worth on Feb. 14, 2021.


    Amanda McCoy

    amccoy@star-telegram.com

    If you thought it was miserably cold Friday in Fort Worth, you’ll soon know the true meaning of misery.

    North Texas will dip below freezing Friday night and not emerge until Tuesday afternoon after having endured wind chills of -15. And then, of course, there’s all the ice, sleet and snow.

    Here’s a detailed look of what you can expect in Fort Worth from our National Weather Service office here.

    Friday, 10 p.m.-midnight: The Arctic cold front will have penetrated deep enough into the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the rain to start freezing onto surfaces — aka freezing rain. Elevated surfaces such as bridges should glaze over quite quickly. Temperatures will keep ticking downward to around 25 degrees with blustery winds.

    Saturday morning: The cold air keeps rolling in relatively close to the ground; as that freezing air mass thickens, it’ll start turning the rain into sleet, especially before dawn. The sleet could be heavy at times. These broad bands of rain might develop thunderstorms Friday night or Saturday morning, which in this case is called “thundersleet” or “thunder-freezing rain.”

    Saturday afternoon: Through the day, the temperature will continue to drop to about 23 by 4 p.m., with wind chill values as cold as 11. Forecast models show a “lull” in precipitation, but it isn’t over yet! More widespread, heavy precipitation starts Saturday evening through Saturday night.

    Saturday night: A few thunderstorms are likely, which means periods of heavier sleet and freezing rain. Temps will drop to 14 degrees with wind chill values as low as 1. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than 1 inch is possible.

    Sunday morning: North Texas will should finally start to see actual snow (or a mix of snow and sleet) early in the day before everything tapers off by noon. By then, everything will be coated with a layer of ice one-quarter to one-half of an inch, topped by 1 to 5 inches of sleet and snow (the higher amounts will be closer to Oklahoma). It isn’t melting; temperatures will reach only 21 degrees during the day, with 25 mph wind gusts.

    Sunday night/Monday: The skies will start to clear, but you do not want to be outside. Temperatures will be in the single digits — around 6 in central Fort Worth — with gusty winds making it feel like -5 to -15. Monday’s now looking to remain below freezing with a high around 28 degrees and a low of 11 overnight into Tuesday.

    (We haven’t talked much about Tuesday yet, when the afternoon highs will break through the freezing mark, but Tuesday morning wind chills might be -5 to 5 degrees).

    Later: Just when we’re getting back to normal, we *may* be looking at another “potential winter weather maker” next weekend. The outlook is unclear, but it’ll be nothing like this winter storm. In true Texas fashion, it may be here and gone within a day.

    ❄️🌡️ Winter storm in North Texas:

    Matt Leclercq

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Matt Leclercq is senior managing editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He previously was an editor at USA Today in Washington, national news editor at Gatehouse Media in Austin, and executive editor of The Fayetteville (NC) Observer. He’s a New Orleans native.

    Matt Leclercq

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  • Vancouver Police Chief Warns Public Is Getting Too Close And Interfering With Police – KXL

    Courtesy Vancouver Police Department.

    VANCOUVER, WA – Vancouver police are urging members of the public to keep their distance during active police operations, citing safety concerns for both officers and bystanders.

    In a video posted to social media, Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price addressed recent incidents in which people approached or interfered with specialty unit responses. Price said those actions can create dangerous situations, distract officers, and slow critical police work.

    The chief emphasized that officers often respond to high-risk situations that require focus and space to operate safely. He urged community members to follow lawful directions from officers and remain at a safe distance when police activity is underway.

    Police say cooperation from the public helps ensure incidents are handled quickly, safely, and without unnecessary risk. The department encourages anyone with concerns about police activity to raise them through appropriate channels rather than at active scenes.

    More about:

    Tim Lantz

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  • More Than Half The US Threatened With Ice, Snow, And Cold In Massive Winter Storm – KXL

    DALLAS (AP) — Forecasters say over half the U.S. population could be affected by snow, ice or bitter cold as a winter storm sweeps across the county.

    On Friday, schools in Chicago and other cities canceled classes due to extreme cold.

    Then the storm is forecast to bring snow, sleet, and ice from Texas to New England.

    Forecasters warn the damage could rival a hurricane, especially in areas hit by ice.

    More than 1,000 flights were delayed or canceled Friday, with more expected Saturday.

    People are stocking up on water, food and generators as they prepare for the storm.

    More about:

    Grant McHill

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  • What percent of ICE detainees have criminal histories?

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the majority of immigrants in federal immigration detention have a criminal history.

    She made the statement during a lengthy and somewhat confusing back-and-forth with CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan Jan. 18 on “Face the Nation“:

    Brennan: “What’s the breakdown of the percentage of those you have in custody who have actually committed a criminal offense versus just the civil infraction?”

    Noem: “Every single individual has committed a crime, but 70% of them have committed or have charges against them on violent crimes, and crimes that they are charged with or have been convicted of, that have come from other countries that are here illegally, first of all. And then they have committed a criminal act while they’ve been here or in their home countries as well.”

    Brennan: “It’s not 70%.”

    Noem: “Yes, it is. It absolutely is, Margaret. You guys keep changing your percentage, you pick and choose what numbers you think work, but that is the facts, is that 70% of the people that we have detained have charges against them or have been convicted of charges.”

    Brennan: “OK, well, our reporting is that 47% — based on your agency’s own numbers — 47% have criminal convictions against them.”

    Noem’s comments could be taken a number of ways. At first, Noem’s wording made it sound like she was referencing people with violent criminal convictions or charges. But she also talked about pending charges. And Brennan asked Noem about people currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, but Noem’s wording made it sound like she was describing detention more broadly under Trump’s entire first year in office.

    Analysis of government data shows most people the government has detained have not committed violent crimes. And people who are facing criminal charges aren’t necessarily accused of a violent crime, and they could be acquitted.

    While campaigning in 2024, President Donald Trump promised to prioritize deporting violent criminals, and he has since tried to assure Americans that’s what his administration is doing.

    “We’re looking to get the criminals out right now, the criminals,” Trump said at a Jan. 20 press conference marking the one-year anniversary of his second term in office. “We’re focused on the murderers, the drug dealers.”

    Entering the U.S. illegally is generally a misdemeanor and being in the U.S. illegally is generally a civil offense.

    The percentage of immigrants who have criminal convictions or pending charges varies depending on the data’s time frame: Are we talking about Trump’s first year in office? Or are we taking snapshots of who’s in detention at any given time. Either way, Noem’s figure is higher than what the data reflects. Currently, about half of immigrants in ICE detention have criminal convictions or pending charges. But when we look at all immigrants who have been federally detained since Trump took office for his second term, the number goes up to approximately 64%.

    The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to our request for comment. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers.

    Have 70% of detained immigrants committed violent crimes?

    Independent data analyses have found the percentage of detained immigrants convicted of violent offenses to be far below 70%.

    But the figure is hard to quantify. DHS’ public data shows how many immigrants have been convicted or charged with a crime, but not what type of crime. So the group could include people who have been convicted of rape or murder as well as those convicted of property theft or traffic violations.

    An October analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that 5% of detainees from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 had been convicted of violent crime. Most detainees with a criminal conviction were found guilty of traffic violations.

    The New York Times reached a similar conclusion, finding that from Jan. 20 to Oct. 15, 7% of immigrants arrested by ICE had violent convictions.

    Do 70% of immigrants currently in detention have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges?

    No, the percentage is about half. ICE periodically updates public-facing statistics about people who are in immigration detention. According to the latest data — from Jan. 7 — 68,990 people were in detention.

    Of those, 17,729 were listed as having criminal convictions and 17,881 were facing pending criminal charges. That means about 26% of detained immigrants had a criminal conviction and another 26% had pending criminal charges. So about 52% of detained immigrants had either a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge.

    Looking at a more recent time frame, CBS News reported Jan. 16 that internal DHS data showed a record-high of about 73,000 immigrants in ICE detention. About 47% of those detainees had criminal convictions or pending charges, CBS reported. Brennan cited this figure on air.

    The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research group that uses Freedom of Information Act requests to analyze government data, charts detention data snapshots taken twice a month. The percentage of immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges during Trump’s first year in office ranged from 41% to 57%.

    Do 70% of all the immigrants detained during Trump’s second term have criminal convictions or pending charges? 

    The best figures suggest it’s in that ballpark. University of California Los Angeles researchers at the Deportation Data Project collect and publish immigration data received via FOIA requests. A PolitiFact analysis of its data from Jan. 20, 2025, to Oct. 15 found 64% of immigrants who have been detained under Trump’s second term had either a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge.

    About 66% of immigrants ICE arrested from Jan. 20, 2025, to Oct. 15 had criminal convictions or pending charges. Not everyone ICE arrests ends up in detention because there’s limited space.

    The share of detained immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions has “fallen rapidly,” David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said. So it’s “bad faith to ignore the more recent share” of immigrants who have been booked into detention.

    It’s important to note that people with pending charges may never be convicted of a crime; the charges could be dismissed, or they could be found innocent. Many people will miss their day in a U.S. court because they were deported.

    About 30% of immigrants detained during Trump’s first year had criminal convictions, the Deportation Data Project found.

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