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A massive winter storm on Saturday dumped snow and freezing rain on New Mexico and Texas as it swept across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold.Shoppers stripped supermarket shelves as the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast huge snowfall in some areas and possibly “catastrophic” ice accumulations.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that up to 240 million Americans could be affected by the storm. At least 16 states and the US capital Washington have declared states of emergency.”Take this storm seriously, folks,” the NWS said on X, predicting an “astonishingly long swath” of snowfall from New Mexico to Maine.More than 3,900 flights in and out of the United States were canceled on Saturday alone, and more than 3,000 others were delayed, according to tracker FlightAware.In Dallas, which has typically mild temperatures in January, freezing rain pelted the Texas city and the mercury plummeted to 21F (-6C).Houston Mayor John Whitmire meanwhile urged residents of the country’s fourth most populous city to hunker down by late Saturday : “Be where you need to be for the next 72 hours.”Eric Maple, a 56-year-old homeless man, was waiting Sunday for a warming center to open in Houston.”We’re not used to what’s supposed to be coming,” he told AFP.”It disrupts things in Houston, but our city’s strong and we’ve got good people here, so we all try to pull together.”State officials vowed that the Texas power grid was in better shape than five years ago, when it failed during a deadly winter storm and left millions without power.Nearly 130,000 US customers were without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to tracking site poweroutage.us, with over 50,000 reported in both Texas and neighboring Louisiana.Snow also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, where some spots already recorded six inches (15 centimeters) on the ground, the NWS said.After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system was expected to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states before a frigid air mass settles in.”The snow/sleet impacts will linger well into next week with rounds of re-freezing that keeps surfaces icy and dangerous to both drive and walk on for the foreseeable future,” the weather service said. The US federal government preemptively announced offices in Washington would be closed on Monday.”We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!” US President Donald Trump, who was riding out the storm at the White House, said on his Truth Social platform. – Polar vortex -The brutal storm system is the result of a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.Scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions of the polar vortex may be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled and natural variability plays a role.But Trump — who scoffs at climate change science and has rolled back green energy policies — questioned how the cold front fit into broader climate shifts.”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” the Republican leader posted on Truth Social.The NWS warned that heavy ice could cause “long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” including in many states less accustomed to intense winter weather.- ‘Five or six minutes’ -New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents to stay inside amid frigid conditions: “Five or six minutes outside could literally be dangerous for your health.”She stressed precautions like protecting pipes, using heaters safely, and checking on vulnerable neighbors.Authorities warned of life-threatening cold that could last a week post-storm, especially in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, where wind chill lows were forecast to dip to extremes under -50F (-45C).Such temperatures can cause frostbite within minutes. 

US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has taken a step closer to staging a highly unusual party convention to prop him up and sell his message to voters ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.At a meeting in Santa Barbara, California, the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted Friday to amend party bylaws to clear the way for a planned midterm convention, as polling shows support for the 79-year-old president waning.The midterm elections, historically unfavorable to the party in power, is the key political issue of 2026 for Trump and Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress.RNC chair Joe Gruters however is upbeat that his party will retain majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.”We’re going to defy history, because we have the best president that ever lived,” he said. “What he’s done in a single year, most presidents can’t do in eight years.”Conventions organized by the main two US parties normally happen every four years, to officially anoint their presidential nominees before a general election.But this unconventional convention will be “a Trump-palooza,” Gruters said.”There’s no better way than to sell the message that the president has given us to the American people.”Jake Hoffman, a Republican state senator in Arizona, said the midterm convention “is a great opportunity to tell the story of Republican success.””Under President Donald Trump, the economy’s back on track, deportations are happening,” he said.However, a year after Trump returned to power, the warning signs have piled up showing that many American people are unhappy with his policies and performance — particularly on bread-and-butter economic issues.Beyond his devoted base of MAGA voters, a majority of Americans complain in polls about a president who cares too much about international ventures, such as Venezuela and Greenland, and who doesn’t do enough to bring down the cost of living.- Headwinds -Trump’s crackdown against undocumented immigrants — a key domestic initiative — is also being increasingly criticized by independent voters, as vivid images of masked agents roaming calm neighborhoods spread online.A controversial operation in Minnesota has also made daily headlines and resulted in the deaths of two American citizens by federal agents.Even Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster who supported Trump during his 2024 campaign, has likened the Trump administration’s tactics to those of Nazi Germany.Faced with such headwinds, Trump will campaign for the midterms as if these polls were a presidential race, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said this week. – ‘This president cares’ -Republicans, especially in electoral swing states, are trying to sell the message that Trump’s policies, which include steep tariffs on imports from many countries, are putting the economy on the right track.”This president cares about the American worker,” Gruters said a week after the commander-in-chief, while visiting a Ford factory near Detroit, flashed a middle finger to an auto worker who challenged him about his past friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” a fiscal and spending law enacted last year, is starting to trickle into wages for Americans, said Michael McDonald, head of the Republican Party in Nevada.  “As the law starts to take effect, it’s starting to bring it into the paycheck,” he told AFP.But for political scientist Wendy Schiller, turning the 2026 midterms into a referendum for or against the president is a double-edged sword as tariffs and cuts to health care coverage start to bite. “If he tries to tell everybody that things aren’t really that expensive and that the economy is great, he’s not going to be helpful to them, because voters do not believe that,” said the professor at Brown University.”The danger to the GOP (Republican Party) is that this midterm convention turns into a Trump loyalty show and then all their candidates get saddled with a president who is under water in the polls on every major issue.”

Federal immigration agents shot dead a man in Minneapolis on Saturday, in the second fatal shooting of a civilian during the Trump administration’s unprecedented operation in the city, sparking fresh protests and outrage from state officials.The death came less than three weeks after US citizen Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE) officer.On Saturday, as after Good’s death, federal and local officials offered differing assessments of the man’s killing, while video of the altercation quickly spread online.Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting “horrific” and demanded state authorities lead the investigation.”The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it, period,” Walz told a press conference.Federal authorities controversially blocked local investigators from jointly probing Good’s death.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insisted the man killed Saturday, identified by local media as 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti, “approached” agents with a pistol and then “violently resisted” being disarmed.However video of the incident, which AFP has not verified, shows Pretti on a snow-covered sidewalk apparently trying to shield a woman protester from being doused with chemical spray, when an agent pulls Pretti to the icy road.Several agents then struggle to detain him, and seconds later an officer opens fire on Pretti, whose body is then shot multiple times from a distance.Crowds quickly gathered in the wake of the shooting, despite the sub-freezing temperatures and making state law enforcement unable to secure the scene, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bob Jacobson told a briefing.US President Donald Trump meanwhile ratcheted up his war of words with Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing the Democratic leaders of “inciting insurrection” with their rhetoric. Trump has previously threatened to send troops to Minnesota by invoking the Insurrection Act.- ‘End this operation’ -Frey urged Trump to end the federal immigration operation, which has sparked sometimes violent demonstrations.”This is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment — let’s achieve peace. Let’s end this operation.”Police chief Brian O’Hara said an “incredibly volatile scene” had erupted after the shooting and urged residents to avoid the area. Officers who declared the protest an unlawful assembly deployed clouds of tear gas as the crowd grew and used dumpsters to make blockades on the road in the busy south Minneapolis neighborhood known for its restaurants.Local resident Maria, 56, told AFP the situation in the city was “escalating.””They’re attacking and terrorizing our communities right now,” she said describing the situation as “white terror.” DHS wrote on X that “an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and that its officers tried to disarm the man who they say “violently resisted.””Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene,” DHS said.O’Hara said police believed the victim was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”Minnesota allows the open carrying of firearms with a permit.- ‘Horrific shooting’ -Earlier, Walz said he had discussed “another horrific shooting by federal agents” with the White House.”Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” he said on X. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar called the shooting “an execution” and accused Trump of transforming Minneapolis into a “war zone.”Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led city, as Trump presses a sweeping campaign to deport undocumented migrants.Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal agents shot and killed Good, a US citizen, on January 7.An autopsy concluded that the killing was a homicide, a classification that does not automatically mean a crime was committed.Public outrage was rekindled this week by the detention of a five-year-old boy as agents sought to arrest his father.The Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday canceled their NBA fixture in the city following the incident, and an afternoon carnival parade was also scrapped.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to be partially walking back remarks on the role of non-US NATO troops in Afghanistan amid growing outrage from European allies.But Trump’s claim in a Fox News interview that NATO sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines” brought fresh condemnation Saturday.He offered an olive branch to Britain after an angry response to his comments earlier in the week, praising British soldiers.On Saturday, a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned his remarks as “appalling”, he appeared to have changed position — at least as far as British troops were concerned.”The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken.”As Trump released his latest statement, in London a Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer had discussed the issue during a call with Trump on Saturday.”The Prime Minister raised the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home,” said a Downing Street spokesperson. “We must never forget their sacrifice.”- ‘Unacceptable’: Meloni -But Britain was not the only NATO ally to express anger at Trump’s earlier remarks, as other European leaders reacted sharply Saturday, recalling the sacrifices their soldiers had made.Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her government’s astonishment at Trump’s comments.During the nearly 20 years of NATO operations in Afghanistan, “our nation paid a cost that is beyond dispute: 53 Italian soldiers killed and more than 700 wounded”, she said in a statement.”For this reason, statements that downplay the contribution of NATO countries in Afghanistan are unacceptable, especially when they come from an allied Nation,” she added.Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk recalled attending a farewell ceremony for five fallen Polish soldiers in Afghanistan in 2011.”The American officers who accompanied me then, told me that America would never forget the Polish heroes,” he wrote in a post on X.”Perhaps they will remind President Trump of that fact.” The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday: “These unacceptable comments are not worthy of response. “It is to the families of fallen soldiers that the Head of State wishes to offer comfort and reiterate the nation’s gratitude.”Some 90 French soldiers died in Afghanistan, according to the French government.- ‘Unacceptable’ -Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook: “I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts. “It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.”Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister pointed out.The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians were sent to Afghanistan over the years. Danish veterans have called for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.On Friday, Starmer had said: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House had initially rejected Starmer’s comments.”President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.- A ‘heavy price’ -Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after Washington — for the first time — invoked NATO’s collective security clause.As well as Britain, France, Denmark, Italy and Poland, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, the Netherlands and Germany were also killed.German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added. Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.burs-jj/gv

What’s a megastar to do when she has defined an entire summer, produced a multi-million-selling album and even persuaded the dictionary eggheads to declare “brat” a word of the year?That’s the conundrum at the heart of “The Moment,” a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary starring Charli XCX as she grapples with her meteoric rise to fame and tries to prepare for a sell-out arena tour.”I’m obviously quite related to my character,” the 33-year-old British singer quipped at the Sundance Film Festival, where “The Moment” premiered on Friday.”I would like to think I’m not as much of a nightmare as Charli in the film,” she said to laughter.The celluloid Charli is indeed a bit of a nightmare: a pastiche of a controlling diva who is on top of every detail, and yet is just a young singer thrust suddenly into the global spotlight and surrounded by an oppressive and needy entourage.She and her tour’s creative director, Celeste (played by Hailey Gates), want to move on from “brat,” the skinny tank tops and IDGAF self-indulgence that dominated 2024, when her album of the same name ruled streaming platforms.But the suits — the record label executive (Rosanna Arquette) and Johannes, the solipsistic film director hired to shepherd the tour movie (Alexander Skarsgard) — want to keep the “brat” money machine rolling.The clash of artistic vision sees Celeste and Johannes battle it out over tour design, in which her on-brand strobe and in-your-face messaging gives way to his light-up wrist bands and a stage set that “looks like a lava lamp,” she tells Charli.A bizarre credit card endorsement aimed at young, queer customers (“How will they know?” asks a bewildered Charli) adds to the pressure and Charli jets off to a spa on Ibiza.A chance encounter there with Kylie Jenner (in a cameo appearance) sends Charli further down the celebrity spiral, and she caves in to Johannes’ sanitized vision of her tour.- Tribute to Reiner -The script, written by Bertie Brandes and Aidan Zamiri, who also directs, draws heavily on archetypes in a plot that sticks closely to the familiar artist-against-the-machine formula.But, Charli said, those characters accurately describe the music industry.”I’ve met different versions of all of the characters in this film,” she told filmgoers.”I’ve met the people who are truly rooting for you… I’ve met the people who are in it to be close to the artist. I’ve met the sort of people who are so ‘we totally get you’, and they really don’t.”Debut feature director Zamiri, whose background is in music videos, said the mockumentary style he was aiming for owed a debt of gratitude to “This is Spinal Tap” — the 1984 comedy about a fictional British band.”I think this film wouldn’t exist without Rob Reiner and ‘Spinal Tap’,” he said, paying tribute to the director who was murdered alongside his wife in their Los Angeles home in December.- Pivot -“The Moment” is one of three films starring Charli XCX that are screening at Sundance; she has smaller roles in ensemble pieces “I Want Your Sex” with Olivia Wilde and “The Gallerist,” which features Natalie Portman.The move into film is a deliberate effort to find something new, she told the audience.”Right now, like the ‘me’ in the film, I am really wanting ‘brat’ to stop and actually really pivot as far away from it as possible,” she said.”And that’s not because I don’t love it. It’s just because I think for all of us as artists, you want to challenge yourself, and you want to switch the creative soup that you’re in and go and live in a different bowl for a while and just feel enriched by that.”Asked how she finds time for so many projects, she reached for a lyric from her smash track “365.””I don’t know, I just do. When you love it, you do it, right? ‘Don’t sleep, don’t eat, just do it on repeat,’ to quote myself,” she said with a mock curtsy.The Sundance Film Festival runs until February 1.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border.Relations between the United States and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order.During a visit to Beijing last week, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but Trump warned of serious consequences should that deal be realized.If Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.”China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” he said.”If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.”Trump insulted Carney by calling him “Governor” — a swipe referring to the US president’s repeated insistence that Canada should be the 51st US state.Trump this week posted an image on social media of a map with Canada — as well as Greenland and Venezuela — covered by the American flag.Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, pushed back against Trump’s latest threat.”There is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” he wrote on X.- ‘Canada thrives because we are Canadian’ -The two leaders have sharpened their rhetorical knives in recent days, beginning with Carney’s speech on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he earned a standing ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the US-led global order.His comment was widely viewed as a reference to Trump’s disruptive influence on international affairs, although Carney did not mention the US leader by name. Trump fired back at Carney a day later in his own speech, and then withdrew an invitation for the Canadian prime minister to join his “Board of Peace” — his self-styled body for resolving global conflict.Initially designed to oversee the situation in postwar Gaza, the body appears now to have a far wider scope, sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the United Nations.”Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said.Carney shot back on Thursday: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.” He nevertheless acknowledged the “remarkable partnership” between the two nations.- Trade spats -Canada heavily relies on trade with the United States, the destination for more than three quarters of Canadian exports.Key Canadian sectors like auto, aluminum and steel have been hit hard by Trump’s global sectoral tariffs, but the levies’ impacts have been muted by the president’s broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement.Negotiations on revising that deal are set for early this year, and Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States doesn’t need access to any Canadian products — which would have sweeping consequences for its northern neighbor.Matthew Holmes, executive vice president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that he hoped the two governments would “come to a better understanding quickly that can alleviate further concerns for businesses.”The two nations, along with Mexico, are set to host the World Cup later this year.

Ukraine and Russia agreed on Saturday to hold a second round of US-brokered direct peace talks next weekend after a two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi, despite Ukrainian complaints negotiations were undermined by a barrage of deadly strikes.The trilateral talks in the UAE will resume on February 1, a US official said, adding: “I think getting everyone together was a big step.”I think it’s a confirmation of the fact that, number one, a lot of progress has been made to date in really defining the details needed to get to a conclusion.” Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are last known to have met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, in talks that ended only in deals to exchange captured soldiers.This week was the first time they have faced each other to talk about a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “a lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive”. On the eve of day two, Russian drones and missiles cut off millions from electricity in sub-zero temperatures. Kyiv accused Moscow of undermining the negotiations by launching yet another “night of Russian terror”.  AFP journalists saw people running through the streets to find shelter as explosions lit up the night sky over the capital Kyiv.After another sleepless night, weary Kyiv residents had little hope for a breakthrough in the nearly four-year war.”They’ll just say that everything is fine, that again, nothing has been agreed, and again there will be rockets,” said Anastasia Tolkachov, who had to spend a night in a car park. – ‘Again and again’ -A United Arab Emirates government spokesperson said the meetings, which involved top military officers from both sides, were held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere”.The talks focused on “outstanding elements of the US-proposed peace framework as well as confidence-building measures”, the spokesperson said.According to Zelensky, “the central focus of the discussions was the possible parameters for ending the war”.  Both warring sides say the fate of territory in the eastern Donbas region is the main unresolved issue in the search for a settlement. Over a million people in Kyiv and Chernigiv were left without electricity in sub-zero temperatures due to Russian strikes. About half of Kyiv’s apartment blocks were cut off from heating, Ukrainian authorities said.”This night in Kyiv, it’s really all happening again and again,” Iryna Berehova, 48, told AFP, adding: “These explosions, these sleepless nights, these worries for our children, for our safety, they are very exhausting.” “These negotiations that are taking place don’t even give us any hope for the better.” The European Union, which has sent hundreds of power generators to Ukraine, has accused Moscow of “deliberately depriving civilians of heat”.Zelensky last week declared a state of emergency in the energy sector, which has been battered by relentless Russian strikes on heat and electricity supplies. The Moscow-installed governor in the occupied Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said a Ukrainian drone strike killed three people in an ambulance van heading to a sick man. While diplomacy to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II has gained pace again, Moscow and Kyiv appear deadlocked over the issue of territory.- Donbas territory dispute -Trump met Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday and US Steve Witkoff later held talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.Hours after Putin met Witkoff — and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — in Moscow, the Kremlin said its demand that Kyiv withdraw from the eastern Donbas region still stood, calling it “a very important condition”.Kyiv rejects it. “The Donbas is a key issue,” Zelensky told reporters on Friday, ahead of the talks in the UAE.Zelensky said he and Trump had agreed on post-war security guarantees in Davos.An initial US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and western Europe for hewing too closely to Moscow’s demands, while Russia rejected later versions because they proposed European peacekeepers in Ukraine.Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine by force if talks fail.Trump has in the past pressured Ukraine to agree to terms that Kyiv sees as capitulation.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said Saturday that federal agents deployed in Minneapolis as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown had carried out “another horrific shooting,” less than three weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good.An unconfirmed video was circulating of a person who appears to have been shot during a street disturbance, with several gunshots heard and at least one person in the vicinity wearing a vest marked “POLICE.”The city government said it was “aware of reports of another shooting involving federal law enforcement in the area of 26th Street W and Nicollet Ave” and seeking more details.”I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz said on X. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”Thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led city, as President Donald Trump presses his campaign to deport undocumented immigrants across the country.Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal agents shot and killed Good, a US citizen, on January 7.An autopsy concluded that the killing was a homicide, a classification that does not automatically mean a crime was committed.The officer who fired the shots that killed Good, Jonathan Ross, has neither been suspended nor charged.The detention of a five-year-old boy this week, as agents sought to arrest his father, rekindled public outrage.

A massive winter storm dumped snow and freezing rain on New Mexico and Texas Saturday as it spread across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold.Shoppers stripped supermarket shelves as the National Weather Service forecast huge snowfall in some areas and possibly “catastrophic” ice accumulations from freezing rain.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that up to 240 million Americans could be affected by the storm. At least 16 states and the US capital Washington declared states of emergency.”Take this storm seriously, folks,” the National Weather Service said on X, predicting an “astonishingly long swath” of snowfall from New Mexico to Maine.More than 3,400 flights in and out of the United States were canceled on Saturday alone, and more than 1,100 others were delayed, according to tracker FlightAware.In Dallas, freezing rain pelted the city and temperatures plummeted to 21F (-6C).Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged residents of the country’s fourth most populous city to hunker down by late Saturday: “Be where you need to be for the next 72 hours.”Warming centers were set to open Saturday for those in need.State officials vowed that the Texas power grid was in better shape than five years ago, when it failed during a deadly winter storm and left millions without power.Snow also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, where some spots already recorded six inches (15 centimeters) on the ground, the NWS said.After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system was expected to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states before a frigid air mass settles in.”The snow/sleet impacts will linger well into next week with rounds of re-freezing that keeps surfaces icy and dangerous to both drive and walk on for the foreseeable future,” the weather service said. The US federal government preemptively announced offices would be closed on Monday.”We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!” US President Donald Trump, who was riding out the storm in Washington, said on his Truth Social platform. – Polar vortex -The brutal storm system is the result of a stretched polar vortex, an Arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.Scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions of the polar vortex may be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled and natural variability plays a role.But Trump — who scoffs at climate change science and has rolled back green energy policies — questioned how the cold front fit into broader climate shifts.”WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” the Republican leader posted on Truth Social.The National Weather Service warned that heavy ice could cause “long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” including in many states less accustomed to intense winter weather.- ‘Five or six minutes’ -In New York state, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul warned residents to stay inside amid frigid conditions: “Five or six minutes outside could literally be dangerous for your health.”She stressed precautions like protecting pipes, using heaters safely, and checking on vulnerable neighbors.Professional and collegiate basketball games have been rescheduled as a result of the weather.Authorities warned of life-threatening cold that could last a week post-storm, especially in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, where wind chill lows were forecast to dip to extremes under -50F (-45C).Such temperatures can cause frostbite within minutes. 

US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage across Europe after claiming that NATO allies shied away from the front line in Afghanistan.In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump claimed NATO had sent “some troops” but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines”.He also repeated his suggestion that the alliance would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so.”I fully understand that Danish veterans have said no words can describe how much this hurts,” Danish Prime Minister Mette said Saturday on Facebook.”It is unacceptable that the American president questions the commitment of allied soldiers in Afghanistan,” she added.In the interview, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers were among NATO troops who died during the conflict in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday: “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly, appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured.” The White House rejected Starmer’s comments and defended Trump.”President Trump is absolutely right — the United States of America has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance has done combined,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement sent to AFP.Following the 9/11 attacks, Britain and a number of other allies joined the United States from 2001 in Afghanistan after it invoked NATO’s collective security clause.”Denmark is one of the NATO countries that has suffered the highest losses per capita,” the Danish prime minister underscored.The country’s population was about 5.4 million in 2003 and, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau, around 12,000 Danish soldiers and civilians had been sent to Afghanistan over the years. As well as Britain, troops from other NATO ally countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Denmark also died.”Let us honour the 53 Italian soldiers who fell during the mission in Afghanistan,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a post on X on Saturday. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius recalled the “heavy price” his country paid, stressing that “our army was ready when our American allies asked for support” in 2001. “Many wounded are still suffering today from the physical and psychological consequences of that period,” he added. The Danish Veterans Association earlier said it was “at a loss for words” over Trump’s claims. “Denmark has always stood by the United States, and we have shown up in crisis zones around the world when the United States asked us to,” the association said in a statement.Danish veterans are calling for a silent march in Copenhagen on January 31 to protest Trump’s remarks.Trump’s comments follow a bruising transatlantic crisis over his threats to seize Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — now seemingly defused. The US president on Wednesday backed away from threatened tariffs on Europe for opposing his claims on the Arctic island.