International
‘Blizzard of the century’ leaves nearly 50 dead across US
| By AFP | Joed Viera |
Temperatures were expected to moderate across the eastern and midwest United States on Tuesday, after days of freezing weather from “the blizzard of the century” left at least 49 dead and caused Christmas travel chaos.
Blizzard conditions persisted in parts of the northeastern US, the stubborn remnants of a sprawl of extreme weather that gripped the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, travel delays and deaths in nine states, according to official figures.
In New York state, authorities described ferocious conditions, particularly in Buffalo, with hours-long whiteouts, bodies being discovered in vehicles and under snow banks, and emergency personnel going “car to car” searching for survivors.
The perfect storm of fierce snow squalls, howling wind and sub-zero temperatures forced the cancelation of more than 15,000 US flights in recent days, including nearly 4,000 on Monday, according to tracking site Flightaware.com.
Buffalo — a city in Erie County that is no stranger to foul winter weather — is the epicenter of the crisis, buried under staggering amounts of snow.
“Certainly it is the blizzard of the century,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters, adding it was “way too early to say this is at its completion.”
Hochul said some western New York towns got walloped with “30 to 40 inches (0.75 to one meter) of snow overnight.”
Later Monday, Hochul spoke with President Joe Biden, who offered “the full force of the federal government” to support New York state, and said he and First Lady Jill Biden were praying for those who lost loved ones in the storm, according to a White House statement.
Biden also approved an emergency declaration for the state, the White House said.
The National Weather Service forecast up to 14 more inches of snow Monday, in addition to the several feet that had already left the city buried, with officials struggling to get emergency services back online.
“Temperatures are expected to moderate across the Midwest and the East over the next few days ahead of this system,” the NWS said in its latest advisory early on Tuesday, but warned that “locally hazardous travel conditions” would persist.
Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted Monday afternoon that the blizzard-related death toll had climbed to 27 across the county, including 14 people who were found outside and three who were discovered in a car.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Poloncarz said Erie’s death toll would likely surpass that of Buffalo’s infamous blizzard of 1977, when nearly 30 people died.
With more snow forecast and most of Buffalo “impassable,” he joined Hochul in warning residents to bunker down and stay in place.
‘Gut-wrenching’
National Guard members and other teams have rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity, but authorities have said more people remain trapped.
Erie County Sheriff John Garcia called the storm “the worst” he has ever seen, with periods of zero visibility and authorities unable to respond to emergency calls.
“It was gut-wrenching when you’re getting calls where families are with their kids and they’re saying they’re freezing,” he told CNN.
Hochul, a native of Buffalo, said she was stunned by what she saw during a reconnaissance tour of the city.
“It is (like) going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking,” Hochul said, describing eight-foot (2.4-meter) drifts against homes as well as snowplows and rescue vehicles “buried” in snow.
The extreme weather sent temperatures to below freezing in all 48 contiguous US states over the weekend, including in Texas communities along the Mexico border where some newly arriving migrants have struggled to find shelter.
Sweeping power outages
At one point on Saturday, nearly 1.7 million customers were without electricity in the biting cold, according to tracker poweroutage.us.
That number has dropped substantially, although there were still around 50,000 without power mid-day Monday on the US east coast.
Due to frozen electric substations, some Erie County residents were not expected to regain power until Tuesday, with one substation reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow, a senior county official said.
Buffalo’s international airport remains closed until Tuesday and a driving ban remained in effect for the city and much of Erie County.
Road ice and whiteout conditions also led to the temporary closure of some of the nation’s busiest transport routes, including part of the cross-country Interstate 70 highway.
Drivers were being warned not to take to the roads — even as the nation reached what is usually its busiest time of year for travel.
International
President Sheinbaum Hails Fátima Bosch’s Miss Universe Win as a Victory for Women’s Voices
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised Fátima Bosch on Friday for winning the Miss Universe 2025 title, recognizing her as a symbol of courage for Mexican women and highlighting her stance against an act of injustice during the international pageant.
Bosch, a native of Tabasco, claimed the crown at the competition held in Thailand. Her participation drew significant attention following an incident involving the director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, who told her to remain silent for not sharing event-related content on her social media platforms. The remark prompted Bosch to walk out of the room in protest, an action supported by several other contestants.
President Sheinbaum denounced expressions like “you look prettier when you’re quiet,” asserting: “Women look more beautiful when we speak up and participate. And she raised her voice, saying, ‘This is unjust, I don’t agree.’”
Fátima Bosch, 25, became the fourth Mexican woman to win the Miss Universe crown, joining Lupita Jones (1991), Ximena Navarrete (2010), and Andrea Meza (2020).
Bosch triumphed over Thailand’s Veena Praveenar, who placed as first runner-up, and Venezuela’s Stephany Abasaly, who took third place. This year’s pageant featured contestants from 120 countries and territories, including nine mothers, one transgender woman, a genocide survivor, and the first-ever Palestinian contestant in the competition’s history.
International
Peru Orders Arrest of Betssy Chávez Amid Diplomatic Rift With Mexico
Peru’s Judiciary issued an international arrest warrant and ordered five months of pretrial detention on Friday for former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, who is facing charges of attempting a coup d’état and is currently taking refuge in the Mexican Embassy in Lima.
Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico, arguing that the asylum granted to Chávez constitutes interference in its internal affairs. The former prime minister is accused of participating in former President Pedro Castillo’s attempted coup in December 2022.
“The court orders five months of pretrial detention for the defendant Betssy Chávez Chino, as well as national and international search and arrest notices,” the Judiciary stated.
Judge Juan Carlos Checkley argued that there is a “clear” flight risk and a significant chance of jeopardizing the upcoming oral trial.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said it secured pretrial detention for Chávez “on charges of rebellion and, alternatively, conspiracy, to the detriment of the State.”
Chávez, who has been on trial since March 2025, faces a potential 25-year prison sentence. She has been staying for 18 days at the Mexican Embassy residence in Lima, awaiting a safe-conduct pass to leave the country.
The Peruvian government announced on November 7 that it intends to seek a review of regional diplomatic asylum regulations, following Mexico’s decision to grant protection to Chávez.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Castillo’s ousting, when Mexico granted asylum to the former president’s wife and two children. Since then, both governments have withdrawn their ambassadors.
International
Paraguay launches dengue vaccination for children in high-risk areas
Dengue fever, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, remains a persistent threat in tropical and subtropical countries such as Paraguay, where it claimed the lives of 132 people among nearly 100,000 infections during the 2023–2024 Southern Hemisphere summer, according to official data. However, that figure was lower than the record set in the 2012–2013 season, when 252 deaths were reported among roughly 130,000 infections.
“Today marks a very important step toward protecting our children and bringing peace of mind to families,” Paraguay’s Minister of Health, María Teresa Barán Wasilchuk, said in a speech on Wednesday.
The vaccine will be administered to children between 6 and 8 years old in municipalities with the highest incidence of dengue cases in the past five years. Authorities will use TAK-003 (Qdenga), developed by Takeda—one of Japan’s largest pharmaceutical companies—which was approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2024.
“We celebrate this step, which positions Paraguay as a country with one of the most robust immunization programs,” said Héctor Castro, director of the Acosta Ñu Pediatric Hospital. “We will work tirelessly to ensure this government decision becomes a success in the fight against this scourge.”
Vaccinating children against dengue “is not only a historic and public health milestone, but also a humanitarian one,” Castro added during remarks delivered at the hospital in San Lorenzo, near the capital, Asunción.
President Sheinbaum Hails Fátima Bosch’s Miss Universe Win as a Victory for Women’s Voices
Peru Orders Arrest of Betssy Chávez Amid Diplomatic Rift With Mexico
Paraguay launches dengue vaccination for children in high-risk areas
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