Next cross-country storm to bring snow, extreme cold
ABC News
The next cross-country storm is already underway with snowy weather scattered across the Cascades, Rockies and into the Plains as of Monday morning, with the system forecast to sweep south and east through into Wednesday.
Heavy snow is expected to fall throughout Kansas, southern Missouri and northern Oklahoma on Tuesday morning. By the evening, heavy snowfall is forecast to have spread to northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Travel is expected to be significantly affected in those areas — including on interstates — with 6 to 12 inches of snow forecast.
By Wednesday morning, the storm will bring snowfall to Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. Nashville, Tennessee, could see between 3 and 6 inches of snow.
Virginia is also expected to see snow on Wednesday, with Norfolk and Richmond experiencing as much as 6 inches of snowfall. Washington, D.C. is set to escape the most extreme weather, but may also see a couple of inches of snowfall.
Coming cold snap
The snow flurries will be followed by plunging temperatures, with more than 65 million Americans now under cold weather alerts across 13 states from Texas to Minnesota.
Wind chills in North Dakota could reach 60 below zero, at which frostbite can occur on exposed skin in minutes.
Minneapolis could feel temperatures as low as 42 below zero Monday and Tuesday, with Kansas City feeling like 30 below zero on Thursday morning.
Tulsa could feel like 17 below zero Wednesday and Thursday, with Dallas feeling like 10 below zero.
Numerous daily record low temperatures are possible in this region this week.
(PHILADELPHIA) — U.S. Marshals are on the hunt for a man they say killed a 29-year-old woman and then buried her body in a shallow grave, according to authorities.
The U.S. Marshals Service Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force is asking for the public’s assistance in locating 29-year-old Geovanni Otero, who authorities say a warrant for murder out for his arrest, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals on Monday.
“On November 27, a warrant murder and related charges was issued by the Philadelphia Police Department and Otero is also wanted for violation of his Pennsylvania State Parole. Otetro is charged with killing 29-year-old Melody Rivera in early November,” the U.S. Marshals said. “Her body was found in a shallow grave in the 900 block of Tustin Road in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase section of the city.”
Otero is approximately 5-foot-10 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, officials said. He has black hair, brown eyes and tattoos covering the top of both hands as well as a tattoo of a dagger behind his left ear, police said. His last known address was in the 5800 block of N. Park Avenue in Philadelphia.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Otero’s arrest and authorities say the reward will be “processed immediately upon arrest and not upon conviction.”
“Geovanni Otero is officially charged with the homicide of Melody Rivera. We are hoping the public can provide information that will assit us in removing this lifelong criminal from society,” said Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark.
The U.S. Marshals Service Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force is the lead investigative agency tasked with apprehending Otero for the murder and state parole warrants.
(CONVENTRY, Vt.) — An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a traffic stop in Vermont, according to the FBI, as bizarre details of the suspects’ movements beforehand have been revealed in the arrest affidavit.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, was arrested on Friday and charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer, according to a statement from the FBI.
The affidavit unsealed by investigators reveals some new details about the movements of the two individuals who were involved in the fatal shooting of Border Patrol agent David Maland.
Since Jan. 14, investigators had been conducting “periodic surveillance” on Youngblut and Felix Baukholt, a German national who was killed during the shooting, after they were reported as suspicious by someone who was staying at the same hotel as the pair, according to court records.
“An employee of a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont contacted law enforcement after a male and a female had checked into the hotel to report concerns about them, including that they appeared to be dressed in all-black tactical style clothing with protective equipment, with the woman, later identified as Youngblut, carrying an apparent firearm in an exposed-carry holster,” according to charges unsealed in Vermont federal court on Friday.
Agents from the Vermont State Police and Homeland Security Investigations attempted to approach the pair for a voluntary interview, but they rebuffed law enforcement, “claiming that they were in the vicinity to look at purchasing property,” according to the court records.
Five days later, the pair were spotted in downtown Newport, Vermont, in “similar tactical dress” and carrying a handgun, which is permitted in Vermont, the affidavit said.
On Monday, the day of the fatal shooting, the two were being observed by law enforcement in the parking lot of a Walmart nearby, prosecutors said. Investigators observed Baukholt come out of the store with rolls of aluminum foil that he then used to wrap cellphones, they said.
The stop was initiated by Border Patrol agents under the pretext of an immigration violation, according to the court records.
Between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. agents reported gunshots from the scene, according to the affidavit.
Agents described to their supervisor “that both Baukholt and Youngblut possessed firearms and that Youngblut drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol agents without warning when outside the driver’s side of the Prius. Baukholt then attempted to draw a firearm. At least one Border Patrol agent fired at Youngblut and Baukholt with his service weapon,” according to the affidavit.
Upon searching the vehicle, agents found a cache of weapons and tactical gear, as well as the cellphones wrapped in foil.
The agents have not been interviewed according to the complaint, officials said.
“Agent Maland bravely served his country as a member of the U.S. Air Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office in a statement. “He continued that service when he answered the call to protect and serve as a law enforcement officer, making him a shining example of service over self. This arrest proves the FBI, together with our partners, will work diligently to ensure any individual who uses a firearm to assault such a public servant will be brought to justice.”
Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter is an attractive target “for violent extremists to attack,” especially after the vehicle ramming in New Orleans that killed 14 people, though there are no known threats to the funeral, according to a new security assessment obtained by ABC News.
“State funerals are considered no-notice events that significantly reduce planning timelines for potential hostile actors,” the document said. “However, state funerals still present attractive targets due to the large gathering of senior US government officials, foreign dignitaries, and heads of state, as well as the symbolic nature of the venues and media attention expected.”
Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, will be honored with a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy and President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend.
The memorials for Carter begin on Saturday when he’s transferred from his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to Atlanta. A ceremony will be held at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
Carter’s remains will be transferred to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and he will lie in state at the Capitol from Tuesday to Thursday. After the service at Washington National Cathedral, Carter’s remains will return to Plains.
The assessment also noted other specially designated security events this month, including the certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6 and Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The simultaneous events “may increase the perception of a target-rich environment for a variety of threat actors,” the document said.
“Targets could include the planned special events and ceremonies related to the State Funeral and associated First Amendment-protected activities around these ceremonies,” the assessment said. “While there is no indication that the intersection of these two events will lead to an increased threat picture, the potentially large crowds for both may provide an attractive target to threat actors.”
The document also specifically mentioned the New Year’s attack in New Orleans, noting “the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics has become a recurring tactic employed by violent threat actors in the West.”
The document added that “large crowds gathering in publicly accessible locations to observe or participate in State Funeral events could become targets of opportunity for a vehicle attack.”
Fourteen people were killed and dozens were hurt when a man drove a truck through crowds on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day. The suspect, who also died in the attack, posted several videos online “proclaiming his support for ISIS,” and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, according to the FBI.
