Brutal cold lingered in the wake of a massive storm that dumped deep snow across more than 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) from Arkansas to New England and left parts of the South coated in treacherous ice.

Freezing temperatures hovered Tuesday as far south as Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina, and were forecast to plunge again overnight. Parts of northern Florida were expected to sink to 25 F (minus 3.9 C) late Tuesday into early Wednesday.

The U.S. aviation system was returning to normal after a brutal weekend that saw more than 17,000 commercial flights canceled. There were about 6,300 cancellations in the U.S. Monday and about 2,500 Tuesday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking and data company. Less than 500 were anticipated to be canceled Wednesday.

The arctic misery over the eastern half of the U.S. was expected to worsen Friday and Saturday. The National Weather Service said another winter storm could hit parts of the East Coast this weekend, and more record lows were forecast as far south as Florida.

“This could be the coldest temperature seen in several years for some places and the longest duration of cold in several decades,” the agency’s Weather Prediction Center warned Tuesday.

Officials in states afflicted with severe cold reported at least 45 deaths.

Three brothers ages 6, 8 and 9 died Monday after falling through ice on a private pond near Bonham, Texas, Fannin County Sheriff Cody Shook said Tuesday. The boys’ mother said she ran into the freezing lake and frantically tried to pull her sons from the water, but the ice kept breaking beneath them.

“They were just screaming, telling me to help them,” Cheyenne Hangaman told The Associated Press. “And I watched all of them struggle, struggle to stay above the water. I watched all of them fight.”

Emma Teske shovels out her car following a winter storm that dumped more than a foot and a half of snow across the region, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Haverhill, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

More than 410,000 homes and businesses remained without power Tuesday evening, with over half the outages in Tennessee and Mississippi. Reconnecting some hard-hit areas could take days. Electric utility Entergy said some of its 6,000 customers in Grenada, Mississippi, might not have power until Sunday.

Jean Kirkland used a lighter and paper Tuesday to ignite her gas stovetop. Her neighborhood in Lexington, Mississippi, lost power Sunday, and Kirkland and her daughter have been relying on the stove and a couple of gas-powered heaters to keep warm. Outside, icicles dangling from power lines clattered.

“When you’re used to certain things, you miss them when they’re gone,” said Kirkland, who’s been getting by without hot water and lights at night.

Health officials warn against using gas-powered stoves to heat a home. They can give off fumes that increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least one carbon monoxide death was reported in Louisiana, according to the state Health Department.

Dozens of Mississippi counties were in need of bottled water, blankets, tarps, fuel and generators, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending trucks loaded with supplies, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday.

North Carolina’s largest public school system closed schools again on Wednesday, with the Wake County school system saying on Facebook that it was “due to the continued threat of black ice.”

More than 110,000 outages remained in Nashville, Tennessee, and neighboring communities Tuesday. Nashville Electric Service said on social media it had dispatched more than 740 workers to restore power. It didn’t say how long that might take.

Nashville officials said nearly 440 people spent Monday night at community centers being used as temporary shelters, while 1,400 more stayed at area homeless shelters. Many residents booked rooms at local hotels.

Lisa Patterson had planned to ride out the deep freeze at her family’s Nashville home. But she and her husband lost power, trees fell onto their driveway and their wood stove proved no match for the cold. Along with their dog, the couple had to be rescued and taken to a warming shelter.

“I’ve been snowed in up there for almost three weeks without being able to get up and down my driveway because of the snow. I’m prepared for that. But this was unprecedented,” Patterson said.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear warned that the temperatures could become so frigid that as little as 10 minutes outside “could result in frostbite or hypothermia.”

In New York City, officials said 10 people had been found dead outdoors in the cold. More deaths were reported across a dozen states. They included two people hit by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, two teenagers killed while sledding in Arkansas and Texas, and a man found in his home in the Indianapolis area with no heat.

A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway created a dangerous airspace and irregular safety reviews made it worse, the board said. That was a key factor in the crash along with air traffic overly relying on asking helicopter pilots to avoid aircraft.

Throughout the daylong hearing, investigators emphasized the history of unaddressed risks. Those include the Federal Aviation Administration denying a regional supervisor’s 2023 request to reduce air traffic at Reagan and failures to relocate the helicopter route or warn pilots more after an eerily similar near miss in 2013.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy made no apology for her occasionally stern tone.

“We should be angry. This was 100% preventable. We’ve issued recommendations in the past that were applicable to use. We have talked about seeing and avoid for well over five decades. It’s shameful. I don’t want to be here years from now looking at other families that had to suffer such devastating loss.”

Families watch for accountability

Family members listened intently during the hearing. Some were escorted out, including two in tears, as they saw an animation recreating some of final moments of their loved ones’ lives. Others wore black shirts bearing the names of first responder units.

“The negligence of not fixing things that needed to be fixed killed my brother and 66 other people,” Kristen Miller-Zahn, who watched from the front row, said during a break.

The animations demonstrated how difficult it would have been for the pilots to spot each other amid the lights of Washington. They also showed how the windshields and the helicopter crew’s night vision goggles restricted views.

Victims’ families say they hope there’s meaningful change in response to the long list of recommendations the NTSB adopted Tuesday. The measures seek to improve airport training and staffing, particularly at Reagan, while strengthening safety standards. The recommendations are designed to improve a culture of safety at the FAA and Army and reduce the risk of a similar collision.

Systemic problems caused the crash

Before hearing from investigators, Todd Inman said “systemic issues across multiple organizations,” not an error by any individual, caused the tragedy, although the NTSB did also highlight several key mistakes.

Everyone aboard the jet, flying from Wichita, Kansas, and the helicopter died when the two aircraft collided and plummeted into the icy Potomac River. It was the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001, and the victims included 28 members of the figure skating community.

The FAA took some action immediately after the crash and last week made some changes permanent to ensure helicopters and planes no longer share the same airspace around the airport.

Missed warnings

Homendy said she couldn’t believe the FAA didn’t realize this helicopter route provided at most a mere 75 feet (23 meters) of separation between planes landing on Reagan’s secondary runway.

“We know over time concerns were raised repeatedly, went unheard, squashed — however you want to put it — stuck in red tape and bureaucracy of a very large organization,” Homendy said.

Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation Inspector General, said it’s troubling to hear how many times the FAA failed to act.

“It was just a shocking dereliction of duty by the FAA. And they have so much work to be done to fix it. And just from my background, I don’t know if the people there are up to it,” Schiavo said.

The board recommended the FAA seek outside advice on improvements from the department’s Inspector General rather than create a single office to track concerns and enforce standards. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had announced the new safety office Monday.

NTSB investigators said the Army and FAA weren’t sharing all safety data with each other before the crash, and that Army helicopter pilots often weren’t aware when they were involved in a near-miss around Reagan.

Overwhelmed controller

NTSB investigator Katherine Wilson said an air traffic controller felt a “little overwhelmed” when traffic volume increased to 10 aircraft about 10 to 15 minutes before the collision, but then “felt the volume was manageable when one or two helicopters left.”

Yet about 90 seconds before the collision, Wilson said, “traffic volume increased to a maximum of 12 aircraft consisting of seven airplanes and five helicopters. Radio communication showed that the local controller was shifting focus between airborne, ground and transiting aircraft.”

The workload “reduced his situational awareness,” Wilson said. If two controllers had divided up responsibility for helicopters and planes, like they were supposed to at that time of day, the aircraft might have been warned sooner and prevented the collision.

Recommendations for the government

Many changes recommended by the NTSB will depend on how Congress, the Army and the Trump administration respond after the hearing. A bill that Homendy has endorsed would require aircraft to have advanced locator systems to help prevent collisions. The senators who introduced it believe their proposal would address many of the NTSB’s concerns, but they are already discussing a hearing in the next few months focused on the final report.

Before Tuesday, the NTSB spelled out many key factors that contributed to the crash. Investigators said controllers in the Reagan tower overly relied on asking pilots to spot aircraft and maintain visual separation.

The night of the crash, the controller approved the Black Hawk’s request to do that twice. However, the investigation has shown that the helicopter pilots likely never spotted the American Airlines plane as the jet circled to land on the little-used secondary runway.

In a statement, the FAA said safety remains its top priority. It has reduced hourly plane arrivals at Reagan airport from 36 to 30 and worked to increase tower staff. The agency said it has 22 certified controllers in the tower and eight more in training.

“We will diligently consider any additional recommendations” from the NTSB, the FAA said.

Several high-profile crashes and close calls followed the Washington collision, alarming travelers. But NTSB statistics show the lowest number of crashes since the pandemic hit in 2020, with 1,405 nationwide.

In partnership with the National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC), the EU delegation to the Philippines had initiated the rehabilitation of bike racks in Rizal Park and Intramuros.

Cyclists in Metro Manila converged on Saturday in Rizal Park to join the EU in its commitment toward sustainable urban development and climate action in the Philippines.

EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro said the bike racks in Rizal Park are a perfect representation to promote cycling as a viable and accessible mode of transportation, to help reduce carbon emissions and traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote a more sustainable urban landscape and healthier lifestyle for Rizal Park visitors.

“The European Union has set ambitious targets to combat climate change. We are working to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. But we know that climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions,” Santoro said.

“It is heartwarming to note that today, we are all convinced that soft mobility, through public transport and bicycles, is an effective and affordable solution for achieving these objectives,” Santoro added.

Cycling associations and advocates supporting the relaunch include Kalyetista, Cycad, Cyclebros, Firefly Brigade, Tiklop Society of the Philippines, Pinas Lowridaz BC and Make it Safer Movement.

NPDC deputy executive director Jezreel Gaius Apelar said the facilities and partnerships stand as a testament to the shared commitment of the Philippines and the EU to promote active mobility, sustainability and inclusivity in public spaces.

Mia Bunao, administrator of Kalyetista/Explore Your City on a Bicycle, said the bike rack project of the EU is a “gift that creates a sense of community.”

Pio Fortuno Jr., president of Tiklop Society of the Philippines, said, “While every completion of any bicycle-friendly infrastructure is a cause for celebration, this one is special since it allows bicycle access to the Philippines’ historical landmark and it is made possible by friends from the European Union.”    

A total of 66 international organizations were named in a White House memorandum as “contrary to the interests of the United States.”

Most notable among them is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty underpinning all major international climate agreements.

Trump, who has thrown the full weight of his domestic policy behind fossil fuels, has openly scorned the scientific consensus that human activity is warming the planet, deriding climate science as a “hoax” at the UN’s high-level summit last September.

The UNFCCC was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 and approved later that year by the US Senate during George H.W. Bush’s presidency.

The US Constitution allows presidents to enter treaties “provided two thirds of Senators present concur,” but it is silent on the process for withdrawing from them — a legal ambiguity that could invite challenges.

Trump has already withdrawn from the landmark Paris climate accord since returning to office, just as he did during his first term, a move that Democratic president Joe Biden later reversed.

Exiting the underlying treaty could introduce additional legal uncertainty around any future US effort to rejoin.

“President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the bedrock global treaty to tackle climate change is a new low and yet another sign that this authoritarian, anti-science administration is determined to sacrifice people’s well-being and destabilize global cooperation,” Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists told AFP.

The memo also directs the United States to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN body responsible for assessing climate science, alongside other climate-related organizations including the International Renewable Energy Agency, UN Oceans and UN Water.

As in his first term, Trump has also withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement and from UNESCO — the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — which Washington had rejoined under Biden.

Trump has likewise pulled the US out of the World Health Organization and sharply reduced foreign aid, slashing funding for numerous UN agencies and forcing them to scale back operations on the ground, including the High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme.

Other prominent bodies named in the memo include the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which works on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which focuses on trade, investment and development.

Speaking before the General Assembly in September, Trump delivered a scathing broadside against the UN, saying it was “not even coming close to living up” to its potential.

Japan has criticized new Chinese restrictions on exporting so-called dual-use goods to the country, imposed after comments from its prime minister on Chinese military drills near Taiwan upset Beijing.

“A measure such as this, targeting only our country, differs significantly from international practice, is absolutely unacceptable and deeply regrettable,” Japan’s top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara saidd.

Dual use items are goods, software or technologies that can have both civilian and military applications, and can include certain key rare earths used to make items like drones and computer chips.

China meanwhile followed up on Tuesday’s restriction by announcing an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making seminconductors. It said this followed an application from its domestic industry, which had complained that prices for the chemical imported from Japan had fallen by 31% between 2022 and 2024.

“The dumping of imported products from Japan has damaged the production and operation of our domestic industry,” China’s Commerce Ministry alleged on Wednesday.

State-aligned media on Wednesday cited sources as saying that Beijing was also considering further restrictions on crucial rare earth minerals, but China’s government has not made any official statements in this direction.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry has also criticized the restrictions, along with the prime minister’s spokesman Kihara, but Tokyo has not as yet announced any reciprocal measures against China.

Taiwan comments from new government in Tokyo rile Beijing

China has been showing mounting displeasure with comments from Japan’s government and individual politicians pertaining to Taiwan.

On November 7, less than a month after taking office, Japanese Prime Minsiter Sanae Takaichi had suggested in comments to parliament that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute an existential threat to Japan. She even implied that Japan’s military could potentially mobilize in support of the US, if it were to take steps to try to protect the administration in Taipei. Japan is also increasing its defense spending and redefining its military’s mandate, after decades of it being defined as a purely defensive force since defeat in World War II.

China, which considers the island rightfully part of its territory, has been pressing Takaichi to retract the comments. Japan’s first female prime minister has not done so, but did say on Monday that her government was “open to various opportunities for dialogue with China and has never closed the door.”

The tensions were further stoked on Tuesday when Japanese lawmaker Hei Seki, who was sanctioned by China last year for “spreading fallacies” about Taiwan and other disputed territories, visited Taipei and called Taiwan an independent country. He said he had made the visit to show that China and Taiwan were “different countries.”

“The nasty words of a petty villain like him are not worth commenting on,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Wednesday when asked to comment on Seki’s visit.

Japan — like the US, Germany, and many countries in the West — walks the fine line of formally adhering to the “One China” principle, not recognizing Taiwan as a country, while simultaneously providing support to the island democracy and trying to dissuade Beijing from any efforts to change the status quo by force.

Tension contrasts with South Korea overtures and state visit

China’s new restrictions on Japan also coincide with the first state visit by a South Korean president since the COVID pandemic.

President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up a four-day trip on Wednesday. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of several cooperation agreements in areas like technology, trade, transportation and environemental protection.

Lee and South Korea also did not join Japan’s government in condemning Chinese military drills near Taiwan late in December.

But the Philippine government, through a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), stressed that there are still “relevant principles of international law” that must be observed, including “the independence and sovereign equality of states, the peaceful resolution of disputes, the prohibition against the threat or use of force, and non-interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states.”

On Saturday, Jan. 3, Washington attacked Venezuela before announcing the capture of Maduro and his wife. The move came as US President Donald Trump accused Maduro, the Venezuelan president for a decade, of carrying out a campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the US.

While several countries which already issued statements on the US’ purported invasion of Venezuela have already taken their stand on the move—either in support or in opposition—the Philippines, a staunch ally of the US, just called on both sides to respect international law.

On the other hand, several lawmakers called on President Marcos to “immediately issue a clear and unequivocal condemnation of US military aggression against Venezuela” as they cited “a violation of international law and assault on a sovereign nation.”

“The Philippines views with concern the evolving events in Venezuela and its consequential impact on peace and stability in the region as well as on the rules-based international order,” the DFA said.

“The Philippines calls on concerned parties to respect international law, including the UN Charter, exercise restraint to prevent escalation of conflict, restore peace and order in Venezuela, and promote the safety and well-being of all the people, including the Filipinos living in Venezuela and the surrounding countries,” it added.

Marcos made the invitation during the Filipino-American singer’s visit to Malacañan on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

“I’m very excited for that. I think I need some time to really plan out what I’m gonna be singing because I’ll be representing the Filipinos so I wanna take my time figuring out my song choices,” Sanchez said in an interview shortly after meeting the President and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

During the courtesy call, Marcos told Sanchez that she “made us all very very proud.  

The President also shared that hosting the ASEAN Summit next year comes with high expectations as leaders anticipate high-level performances from Filipinos.

“The problem is with the ASEAN, they expect now a really high level of performers and of musicality. We got the best,” Marcos told Sanchez.

The President, the First Lady, Sanchez, and her team spent around 30 minutes in a relaxed conversation, Malacañang said.

Meanwhile, Sanchez revealed that she is currently working on her album and her plans in collaborating with Filipino artists.

“I’ll be releasing my album the first quarter of this upcoming year and I also plan on doing some Tagalog songs and also collaborating with Filipino artists. I’m very excited for you to hear the new music,” Sanchez said.

She also said that she has been learning more tagalog as she wants to perform some tagalog songs and write a tagalog song.

When asked for advice she can impart to Filipino dreamers, Sanchez said “when something is meant for you, it’s a long journey.”

“I feel like when something is really worth it, when something is meant for you, it’s a long journey and I’m so happy that my journey was recorded for my world to see — starting when I was 11 years old trying out for America’s Got Talent, being rejected, and then coming back to [American] Idol at 16 and not winning, and again coming back 20 years later and taking it home, winning AGT Season 20,” she said.

“That was amazing and waiting in that amount of time, that was a struggle. But this was really my year because not only did I win, but I was also pregnant and I gave birth to my first baby, and I’ve been on cloud nine,” she added.

She gave birth to her first child in October 2025, shortly after the conclusion of the talent show.

“It’s well worth it so just keep on pushing, keep on fighting and I feel like as Filipinos we are just naturally talented with that voice so I say just keep on pursuing your dreams,” she further said.

Sanchez first gained prominence as the runner-up of American Idol Season 11. She has since made several return visits to the Philippines for concerts and major events, including the 2012 American Idols Live! Tour and the 2023 Miss Universe pageant hosted by the country.

Sanchez is set to headline “The Grand Countdown to 2026,” a New Year’s Eve celebration hosted by Newport World Resorts at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. The event marks her first major performance in the Philippines since winning America’s Got Talent and her first homecoming concert following the international competition.

Carlson’s departure from Manila, where she has been assigned since July 2022, was announced by the US embassy on Monday, Dec. 29.

“Ambassador Carlson will complete her tour as Ambassador to the Philippines in January,” US embassy spokesman Jameson DeBose said.

The embassy’s announcement came amid reports that President Donald Trump was recalling nearly 30 diplomats, including ambassadors and senior embassy posts, from different parts of the world, including from the Philippines.

The Associated Press reported that two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said chiefs of mission of at least 29 countries were informed that their tenures would end in January 2026. US ambassadors typically serve their posts from three to four years.

The US embassy maintained that Carlson “will complete her tour as Ambassador to the Philippines in January,” in a career that the ambassador herself described as “rewarding.”

Interested groups are invited to attend the hearing on Jan. 12, 2026 at the Philippine Trade Training Center Building in Pasay City, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board said.

Domestic workers in Metro Manila currently receive a monthly salary of P7,000.

The last minimum wage order for domestic workers in the National Capital Region took effect on Jan. 4.

Starting January 2026, minimum wage earners in Caraga, Mimaropa, Zamboanga Peninsula and the Cordillera Autonomous Region will receive higher pay, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission.

Minimum wage earners and domestic workers in the Ilocos Region, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas have received a salary increase.

Quezon City was among the five local government units (LGUs) recognized during the 2025 Presidential Awards for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities (PACFMC) on Monday.

“We thank the Council for the Welfare of Children and the national government agencies behind this award for recognizing Quezon City’s initiatives toward building a truly child-centered city,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement.

“We will continue to invest in programs that safeguard and promote children’s rights, and enable them to grow, thrive and live freely and productively,” Belmonte added.

The PACFMC recognizes LGUs that demonstrate exemplary performance in advancing children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation.

To qualify for the award, LGUs must first earn the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance and achieve a minimum rating of 80 percent in the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit.

Among the initiatives cited by the national committee were the city’s strong and responsive Children’s Code, consistently high budget utilization for child-focused programs and flagship initiatives for children.

The city was also recognized for its network of child protection centers and temporary shelters, solarization of public schools and sustained efforts to address online sexual abuse as well as exploitation of children and child labor.

“We recognize that building a child-inclusive city requires a multisectoral and holistic approach,” Belmonte said.

“That is why we work closely across departments and with our partners to ensure that our programs and services genuinely respond to the needs and realities of our children,” she added.

Other awardees include Naga City for the Independent Component City category, Tagaytay for the Component City category, Cabagan, Isabela for the First to Third Class Municipality category and Santo Tomas, La Union for the Fourth to Sixth Class Municipality category.