Winter storm moves east: 80 million Americans in path of snow, brutal cold
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — At least nine states from Georgia to Delaware are under snow and ice alerts as a winter storm moves east — with brutal, record-breaking cold temperatures in the Midwest and Central U.S. in the wake of the storm.
On Tuesday, the storm brought 11 inches of snow to Missouri, 8 inches to Kansas and more than 2 inches to Oklahoma, where freezing rain and sleet left dangerously slick roads.
Now, the storm has moved into the Mid-Atlantic with heavy snow in the forecast for southern Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina through Wednesday night. Up to 10 inches of snow is possible in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach areas of Virginia.
By Wednesday evening, heavy snow is expected to continue for southeastern Virginia, where the highest totals from the storm are expected. Very icy conditions are expected to continue for eastern North Carolina before pushing off the coast Wednesday night.
Airlines canceled roughly 700 flights on Wednesday. Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee, have the most cancellations.
On Wednesday morning, the snow fell from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, to Lexington, Kentucky. Schools in Nashville were closed on Wednesday.
In Kentucky, where severe flooding over the weekend led to 14 deaths, the new storm dropped 2 to 7 inches of snow.
In eastern Kentucky, some officials are unable to get equipment on the roads to clear the snow, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.
Further south, heavy rain was reported in New Orleans Wednesday morning.
South of Raleigh and into South Carolina, an icy mix is expected.
But behind the storm is an Arctic blast.
Many cities recorded record low temperatures Wednesday morning, including: minus 24 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota; minus 15 degrees in Billings, Montana; 1 degree in Wichita, Kansas; and 2 degrees in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is even colder, clocking in at minus 6 degrees in Dallas; minus 19 degrees in Oklahoma City; minus 19 degrees in Wichita; and minus 27 degrees in Minneapolis.
Extreme cold warnings are in effect from South Dakota to Texas. Wind chills Thursday morning will be 20 to 40 degrees below zero in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. These extreme conditions could bring frostbite in as little as minutes.
The record cold temperatures will spread further south into the Gulf Coast on Thursday and Friday, with record lows possible in Dallas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It will warm up this weekend, and by next week, temperatures will climb to the 60s and 70s in the South.
(NEW ORLEANS , LA) — At least 10 people are dead and about 30 others are injured after a white pickup truck struck a crowd on Bourbon Street early on Wednesday, New Orleans police and city officials said.
LaToya Cantrell, the mayor of New Orleans, described the incident as a “terrorist attack.” The FBI said it wasn’t yet using that term. Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of police, said the driver had attempted to kill as many people as possible. She said he exited the vehicle and fired on police.
The strike appeared to be intentional, police told ABC News, adding the driver had not been taken into custody. Local authorities asked the FBI for assistance early on Wednesday, a senior federal law enforcement source told ABC News. A command center was being set up, the source said.
“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Gov. Jeff Landry said, adding that his family was praying for the victims and first responders.
Leading up to the holidays, federal law enforcement and intelligence had warned police around the country that low-tech vehicle ramming was a key area of concern and that they needed to prepare — and that was before the German Christmas market attack on Dec. 20, in which five people were killed.
In a Dec. 9 assessment for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, federal and local agencies wrote: “We remain concerned about the use of vehicle ramming against high-profile outdoor events…Vehicle ramming has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West, marked by a continued interest by (terrorists, extremists) and lone offenders in targeting crowded pedestrian areas.”
The City of New Orleans, describing Wednesday’s event as a “mass casualty incident,” said the vehicle drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon streets. Police said the strike happened at about 3:15 a.m., according to ABC News affiliate WGNO.
“There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS and 10 fatalities,” the city said, using an acronym for the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.
The injured were taken to five local hospitals, according to the city. They were at University Medical Center, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Center Jefferson Campus and Ochsner Baptist Campus.
The New Orleans Police Department said it was “staffed 100%” for New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl, a college football game played annually on New Year’s Day. An additional 300 officers were on duty from partner agencies, the force said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge sentenced a tearful former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison Wednesday on corruption charges after being convicted of abusing the power of his office in exchange for bribes in the form of gold bars, a luxury car and other items.
“You stood at the apex of our political system,” Judge Sidney Stein said in issuing the sentence. “Somewhere along the way, you lost your way.”
Menendez, 71, was found guilty on all 16 counts last year in his federal trial, becoming the first sitting member of Congress to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. His children, Alicia and Rob, were in court to witness the sentencing.
“The fact that he was a public office holder who held a position of great public trust has to be taken into account,” Stein said as he explained how he calculated the sentence.
Stein said Menendez “became a corrupt politician” as he ticked off the spoils of the corruption: the gold bars, the cash, the convertible.
“When there’s wrongdoing of this magnitude there are serious consequences,” Stein said.
Ahead of the former senator’s sentencing Wednesday afternoon, two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying bribes to Menendez received lengthy prison sentences. Wael Hana was sentenced to eight years in prison and Fred Daibes to seven years.
Menendez calls prosecution a ‘witch hunt’
Outside the court following his sentencing, a defiant Menendez called the prosecution a “political witch hunt.”
“Regardless of the judge’s comments, today, I am innocent, and I look forward to filing appeals on a whole host of issues,” Menendez said.
Menendez referred to the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted the case, as the “Wild West of political prosecutions” while outlining grievances with the evidence and witnesses in the trial.
“President Trump is right — this process is political and it’s corrupted to the core,” Menendez said. “I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”
Danielle Sassoon, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Wednesday’s sentences were the result of “an egregious abuse of power” at the highest levels of the government’s legislative branch.
“Robert Menendez was trusted to represent the United States and the State of New Jersey, but instead he used his position to help his co-conspirators and a foreign government, in exchange for bribes like cash, gold, and a luxury car,” she said. “The sentences imposed today send a clear message that attempts at any level of government to corrupt the nation’s foreign policy and the rule of law will be met with just punishment.”
Menendez says he’s a ‘chastened man’
Menendez sat at the defense table in a suit and tie with hands folded across his stomach before he stood at his seat to address the judge ahead of his sentencing.
“Your honor you have before you a chastened man,” Menendez said as his voice began to break. “We sat in this court room for nine weeks, but you really don’t know me.”
The once-powerful Democrat introduced himself as the son of Cuban immigrants and explained his political biography, occasionally sniffling and choking up while reading from a prepared statement with hands stuffed in his pockets.
“This is who I truly am, judge. A man devoted to service,” Menendez said, becoming emotional as he spoke of family and of constituents he helped. “I have lost everything I have cared about. For someone who spent a life in public service, every day is a punishment.”
The judge said Menendez will not have to report to prison until June 6 so he can be available when his wife, Nadine, goes on trial on similar corruption and bribery charges on March 18.
Menendez’s lawyer adjusted the defense’s request for leniency following the imposition of lengthy prison sentences for his co-defendants.
Menendez previously sought a sentence of no more than two years in prison, citing his “extraordinary public service,” but earlier Wednesday the two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying the bribes were sentenced perhaps more harshly than the defense anticipated.
“The good outweighs the bad in the arc of Bob’s life,” defense attorney Adam Fee told the judge. “We would ask the court to sentence Bob to no more than eight years in prison.”
Prosecutor Paul Monteleoni had asked for 15 years in prison, arguing Menendez “believed that the power he wielded belonged to him.”
“The offense conduct reflects a truly grave breach of the trust placed in Menendez by his fellow senators, by the people of New Jersey,” Monteleoni told the court. “There are not many people who had power on the scale of Menendez.”
‘Rare gravity’ of the crimes
Menendez had potentially faced decades in prison. Sentencing guidelines called for more than 24 to 30 years in prison, with the U.S. Probation Office recommending 12 years’ imprisonment for Menendez, according to court filings.
Federal prosecutors have said the Democrat deserves 15 years in prison for his “naked greed” and the “rare gravity” of the crimes.
“This case is the first ever in which a Senator has been convicted of a crime involving the abuse of a leadership position on a Senate committee,” federal prosecutors wrote in a memo to the judge earlier this month. “It is the first ever in which a Senator — or any other person — has been convicted of serving as a foreign agent while being a public official.”
Prosecutors asked the court to impose a substantial prison sentence “to provide just punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of the public trust, and to deter others from ever engaging in similar conduct.”
Menendez’s attorneys had sought leniency, urging the court to even consider whether a non-custodial sentence — such as “home detention and rigorous community service” — would suffice.
“Probation’s recommended sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment would be draconian — likely a life and death sentence for someone of Bob’s age and condition,” his attorneys wrote in a memorandum to the judge earlier this month. “Bob is deserving of mercy because of the penalties already imposed, his age, and the lack of a compelling need to impose a custodial sentence.”
The defense noted that Menendez is helping his wife battle cancer and argued he is no longer in a position to be a repeat offender, given that he was convicted of crimes that arose from his position as a U.S. senator.
“With this case, his political and professional careers have ended; his reputation is destroyed; and the latter years of his life are in shambles. He is certain never to commit future offenses,” his attorneys wrote. “And his current state — stripped of office and living under a permanent shadow of disgrace and mockery — are more than sufficient to reflect the seriousness of the offenses and to promote respect for the law.”
The former New Jersey senator, who resigned in the wake of his conviction, has maintained his innocence.
“I have never violated my oath,” Menendez said outside the courthouse following the verdict in the nine-week trial. “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
Menendez twice unsuccessfully bid for a new trial ahead of his sentencing, most recently last week, with Stein finding the trial was fair while denying his request.
Menendez had also tried unsuccessfully to postpone his sentencing until after his wife stands trial.
Co-defendants get lengthy prison sentences
Two New Jersey businessmen who were found guilty in the case were also sentenced on Wednesday. Hana was sentenced to eight years in prison and Daibes to seven years — significantly more than what the defendants had sought and slightly less than what prosecutors recommended.
Prosecutors said Menendez promised to use his power as a senator to help Hana, who is originally from Egypt, by preserving a halal meat monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt.
Prosecutors said the former senator also promised Daibes that he would interfere with Daibes’ federal prosecution and help the government of Qatar by supporting a Senate resolution praising the country.
Daibes’ fingerprints were found on the envelopes of cash found at Menendez’s home and serial numbers on the gold bars traced them to Daibes and Hana, according to prosecutors.
In issuing the sentences, Judge Stein called the evidence against Hana “substantial” and had strong words for Daibes.
“You are an American success story. You grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. But there is a dark side to what you have done,” Stein said of Daibes. “You bribed Sen. Menendez multiple times.”
Another New Jersey businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty in the case ahead of trial. Prosecutors said Uribe paid for Menendez’s $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for helping disrupt a criminal investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office related to Uribe.
(NEW YORK) — Three Fort Cavazos soldiers have been accused of a conspiracy to smuggle undocumented immigrants, according to the Department of Justice.
The Texas-based soldiers were caught on Nov. 27 allegedly driving three people — one Mexican national and two Guatemalan nationals — after a United States Border Patrol Agent initiated a vehicle stop in Presidio.
An agent approached the vehicle, which then fled and “struck a second USBP vehicle, injuring an agent inside,” the DOJ said.
Police eventually stopped the vehicle and apprehended the three undocumented immigrants, as well as one of the soldiers, identified as Emilio Mendoza Lopez.
The car’s driver, who was allegedly Angel Palma, “fled on foot and was located the following day at a hotel in Odessa,” prosecutors said.
The Department of Justice has accused Mendoza Lopez and Palma of traveling to the Army base to Presidio “for the purpose of picking up and transporting undocumented noncitizens.”
A third soldier, identified as Enrique Jauregui, has been accused of recruiting and facilitating the scheme.
Text messages between the three soldiers, which were obtained through a search of Palma’s phone, allegedly revealed communications “indicating collaboration in the smuggling operation.”
Mendoza Lopez is charged with one count “of bringing in and harboring aliens” and made his initial court appearance on Monday.
Palma and Jauregui are both charged with one count of “bringing in and harboring aliens” and one count of assaulting a federal agent. They were arrested Tuesday, and are expected to appear in court on Friday.
It was not immediately clear if any of the soldiers had obtained attorneys.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Army base said they “are aware of the arrest of three Fort Cavazos Soldiers” and said they would “continue to cooperate with all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.”
