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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 23 december 2022

Temperatures fall far and fast as winter storm threatens U.S.

By HEATHER HOLLING- asylum.
SWORTH and JILL BLEED Elsewhere in the U.S., au-
Associated Press thorities worried about the
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Tem- potential for power failures
peratures plunged far and and warned people to
fast Thursday as a win- take precautions to protect
ter storm formed ahead older and homeless people
of Christmas weekend, and livestock and, if pos-
promising heavy snow, sible, to postpone travel.
ice, flooding and powerful “This event could be life-
winds across a broad swath threatening if you are
of the country and compli- stranded with wind chills in
cating holiday travel. the 30 below to 45 below
The National Weather Ser- zero range,” according to
vice reported that temper- an online post by the Na-
atures across the central tional Weather Service in
High Plains plummeted 50 Minnesota, where transpor-
degrees Fahrenheit in just tation and patrol officials
a few hours. In much of reported dozens of crashes
the country, the Christmas and vehicles off the road.
weekend could be the Michigan State Police pre-
coldest in decades. pared to deploy additional
“This is not like a snow day troopers to help motorists.
when you were a kid,” Pres- Snow falls during a blizzard warning, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, at the Old Capitol Building in And along Interstate 90 in
ident Joe Biden warned Iowa City, Iowa. northern Indiana, crews
Thursday in the Oval Of- Associated Press were braced to clear as
fice after a briefing from blizzard conditions, Cook it impossible for a delivery dropped. much as a foot of snow as
federal officials. “This is seri- said. driver to re-supply him. “I think trust will be earned meteorologists warned of
ous stuff.” The frigid air will Already, roads in rural In Texas, temperatures over the next few days as blizzard conditions there
move through the central stretches of western South were expected to quickly people see that we have starting Thursday evening.
United States to the east, Dakota were blocked, plummet Thursday, but ultra-cold temperatures About 150 National Guard
with windchill advisories af- leaving people stranded state leaders promised and the grid is going to be members also have been
fecting about 135 million with dwindling supplies of there wouldn’t be a re- able to perform with ease,” deployed to help snow-
people over the coming food and heating sources. peat of the February 2021 he said. bound Indiana travelers.
days, weather service me- “It’s just kind of scary for us storm that overwhelmed The cold weather extend- More than 1,700 flights had
teorologist Ashton Robin- here, we just kind of feel the state’s power grid and ed to El Paso and across been canceled Thursday
son Cook said Thursday. isolated and left out,” said was blamed for hundreds the border into Ciudad morning within, in or out of
Forecasters are expecting Shawn Bordeaux, a Demo- of deaths. Juarez, Mexico, where mi- the U.S., according to the
a bomb cyclone when at- cratic state lawmaker, who Gov. Greg Abbott, in a grants have been camp- tracking site FlightAware,
mospheric pressure drops said he was running out of news conference Wednes- ing outside or filling shelters with Chicago O’Hare and
very quickly in a strong propane heat at his home day, was confident the as they await a decision Denver airports seeing the
storm to develop near the near Mission on the Rose- state could handle the in- on whether the U.S. will lift most. Freezing rain forced
Great Lakes, which will in- bud Indian Reservation creased demand for en- restrictions that have pre- Delta to halt departures
crease winds and create because snow drifts made ergy as the temperatures vented many from seeking from its hub in Seattle.q

Arizona to remove shipping container wall from Mexico border

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona mote San Rafael Valley, sources. State agencies will Ducey has long maintained worked out on how much
Gov. Doug Ducey will take in southeastern Cochise have to consult with U.S. that the shipping contain- it will cost and when it will
down a makeshift wall County, by Jan. 4 without Forest Service representa- ers were a temporary fix- start,” Karamargin told The
made of shipping contain- damaging any natural re- tives. ture. Even before the law- Associated Press.
ers at the Mexico border, suit, he wanted the federal The resolution comes two
settling a lawsuit and politi- government to say when weeks before Democrat
cal tussle with the U.S. gov- it would fill any remaining Katie Hobbs, who oppos-
ernment over trespassing gaps in the permanent bor- es the construction, takes
on federal lands. der wall, as it announced it over as governor.
The Biden administra- would a year ago. The federal government
tion and the Republican “For more than a year, the filed a lawsuit last week
governor entered into an federal government has against Ducey’s adminis-
agreement that Arizona been touting their effort to tration on behalf of the Bu-
will cease installing the resume construction of a reau of Reclamation, the
containers in any national permanent border barrier. Department of Agriculture
forest, according to court Finally, after the situation on and the Forest Service.
documents filed Wednes- our border has turned into The federal government
day in U.S. District Court in a full blown crisis, they’ve “owes it to Arizonans and
Phoenix. decided to act,” C.J. Kara- all Americans to release a
The agreement also calls A long row of double-stacked shipping containers provide a margin, Ducey’s spokes- timeline,” Ducey wrote last
for Arizona to remove the new wall between the United States and Mexico in the remote man said. “Better late than week, responding to news
containers that were al- section area of San Rafael Valley, Ariz., Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. never.” of the pending federal
ready installed in the re- Associated Press “Final details are still being lawsuit.q