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Holiday flights scrapped as massive winter storm sweeps US

Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

| By AFP | Kamil Krzaczynski with Issam Ahmed in Washington |

More than 1,500 flights were canceled across the United States by Thursday morning as a massive winter storm upended holiday travel plans with a triple threat of heavy snow, howling winds and bitter cold.

At least five states — Kentucky,  Missouri,  Oklahoma, Georgia and North Carolina — have already implemented emergency plans and others were likely to follow.

“This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” President Joe Biden told reporters at a White House briefing on the weather and transport turmoil.

“This is serious stuff,” he added, urging people to heed warnings from local authorities.

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Blinding whiteouts and hazardous road conditions were already being seen in parts of the country slammed by a dangerous Arctic front.

AccuWeather forecasters have said the storm could rapidly strengthen into what is known as a “bomb cyclone” through a process known as “bombogenesis,” when the barometric pressure drops and a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.

National Weather Service (NWS) forecaster Michael Charnick tweeted a video showing drivers struggling along a highway between Colorado and Wyoming, where the temperature with wind chills plummeted to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40C).

The NWS released key safety messages on its Twitter account, warning snow squalls — bursts of moderate to heavy snow lasting an hour or two — had already happened or were expected from the Central Plains to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

“People exposed to extreme cold are susceptible to frostbite in a matter of minutes,” the agency cautioned.

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“Areas most prone to frostbite are uncovered skin and the extremities, such as hands and feet. Hypothermia is another threat during extreme cold.”

Blizzard conditions stranded 100 motorists in Rapid City and Wall in South Dakota, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.

“NO TRAVEL advised,” the sheriff’s office added.

In Minneapolis and Saint Paul, more than eight inches (20.3 centimeters) of snow accumulated over a 24-hour period, the NWS said in a Thursday morning update.

In Buffalo, New York, forecasters called it a “once-in-a-generation storm” with wind gusts of more than 65 miles per hour (105 kilometers per hour), wind chills as low as 10 to 20 degrees F below zero, and power outages.

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Holiday travel peak

The storm comes as the Transportation Security Administration said it expects holiday travel volume to be close to pre-pandemic levels, with the busiest day on Thursday, three days before Christmas.

The majority of US flight cancellations have so far been at Chicago O’Hare or Denver, both international hubs.

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines had already taken steps to issue weather waivers to allow passengers to change their flights without fees.

The American Automobile Association estimated that more than 112 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between Friday and January 2, the vast majority of them — 102 million — by car.

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Central America

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Return of Deported Salvadoran

The Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court order requiring the return of a Salvadoran migrant who was mistakenly sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, despite having legal protection from deportation.

The U.S. government has until Monday to bring Kilmer Armado Ábrego García back to the United States, as ordered by Judge Paula Xinis in a Maryland court.

According to The Washington Post, the administration argues it lacks authority to comply because Ábrego García is currently in Salvadoran custody.

The U.S. had appealed Judge Xinis’ ruling to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court declined to act immediately—prompting the administration to take the case to the Supreme Court. In its filing, the government stated that “the Constitution entrusts the President, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and the protection of the nation from foreign terrorists, including through deportation.”

Ábrego García, a resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and married to a U.S. citizen, came under scrutiny in 2019 after an informant claimed he was a member of the MS-13 gang (Mara Salvatrucha).

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Although he was initially slated for deportation, a judge later granted him a stay of removal after he requested asylum, according to the lawsuit.

Nevertheless, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him on March 12, claiming his status had changed, and sent him to a detention center in Texas.

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International

Teachers in Southern Mexico Bring Education to Stranded Migrant Children

Teachers in southern Mexico have created a program to provide classes for migrant children stranded in the region, following a year-over-year increase of over 70% in irregular migration among minors—many of whom lose months or even years of education during their journey toward North America.

In Tapachula, the largest Mexican city bordering Central America, three teachers offer preschool, elementary, and secondary education through the Chiapas State Migrant Education Program (Pemch).

This initiative has been replicated in key municipalities across Chiapas, including San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Palenque, Comitán, and other border towns. Currently, there are around 1,345 migrant students and a total of 35 teachers working across farms and shelters.

Pablo Arriaga Velázquez, a teacher with the migrant education program in Tapachula, told EFE that the project was born in response to the large number of migrant minors, as enrolling them in regular schools is often difficult.

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Central America

Mulino and Orsi Highlight Shared Vision After Panama Joins Mercosur as Associate State

The Presidents of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, highlighted on Monday the path of integration both countries have undertaken in areas such as trade and the defense of democracy, following a meeting held at the Panamanian government headquarters.

In a brief statement to the press, both leaders emphasized that Panama and Uruguay share many values and are working together across different sectors. They also underlined a renewed connection following Panama’s accession last December to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) as an Associated State.

“Panama has begun a new era of looking southward, seeking opportunities not only for work, business, and friendship, but also for regional integration in a positive sense. Today, I believe we have taken a decisive step in that direction,” said President Mulino.

The Panamanian leader stressed that his country and Uruguay “have much in common” and share “important values in terms of democracy, respect for institutions, and the rule of law—principles that must always be strengthened, no matter how much effort it takes.”

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