More than 4,000 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Saturday ahead of a monster winter storm that has already cut power to more than 100,000 utility customers as far west as Texas, and threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall. Forecasters said snow, sleet and freezing rain, accompanied by dangerously frigid temperatures, would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into next week. Calling the storms “historic,” President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia. “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said. “We do have tens of thousands of people in affected states in the South that have lost power. We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said late Saturday afternoon. The number of power outages continued to rise. As of 6:30 pm ET, more than 130,000 U.S. customers had lost electricity, the bulk of them in Texas and Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.com. The U.S. National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that will bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the southeast U.S. and cited “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts.” Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region of the U.S. by Monday. As of 6:42 p.m. EST, more than 4,000 U.S. flights scheduled for Saturday had been canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. More than 9,000 U.S. flights originally set for Sunday also have been canceled, the website indicated. Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt flight changes and cancellations. In an update on its website on Saturday morning, Delta Air said it “continues to make schedule adjustments due to Winter Storm Fern,” with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including Delta hubs in Boston and New York City. The airline said it was relocating experts from cold weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports. JetBlue said as of Saturday morning it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday, with additional cancellations possible, as it was “closely monitoring” forecasts for the storm. U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts. Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it could be among the largest-ever winter events to affect the utility’s operations. Noem, speaking at a news conference about U.S. government preparations for the storm, warned Americans to take precautions. “It’s going to be very, very cold,” Noem said. “So we’d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.” (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Sergio Non, David Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)

U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts as frigid weather hitting half of the country’s population stressed their operations. The PJM Interconnection – the largest U.S. regional grid that serves 67 million people in the East and Mid-Atlantic – reported temporary spikes in spot wholesale electricity prices that soared above $3,000 per megawatt hour on Saturday morning from earlier levels of less than $200 per MWh. Older power plants, typically idled much of the year, are coming online to take advantage of the elevated prices to serve higher than expected demand, said Georg Rute, CEO of grid software company Gridraven, and an expert on how weather affects power line capacity. “A 40-year-old gas turbine switches on because it sees these super-high prices,” Rute told Reuters. He added it is a sign of stress in the PJM system and elsewhere. Prices also soared in other regions as stormy weather and temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) pushed up electricity demand and prompted some operators to shut in natural gas production in key basins, while grid companies also faced constraints on gas pipeline supply. Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast holds, it has the potential to be one of the largest winter events to affect the utility’s operations. While regional grid operators juggle restricted fuel supplies, congested transmission lines and wild weather, electric utilities are staging crews to repair expected ice and snow damage on low-voltage distribution lines that bring power to homes and businesses. Faced with constricted gas supplies, regional U.S. grid operators are asking coal and gas-fired power plants to boost output, according to grid operations reports. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator called on power plants to maximize output and curtailed electricity exports in a territory that stretches across 15 states in the Midwest and South and Manitoba, Canada. Over the past 24 hours, MISO imported up to several thousand megawatts of power from PJM’s territory to meet demand, according to MISO’s operations reports. PJM faces greater reliability threats in winter because natural gas plants – the backbone of its generation – frequently face fuel supply constraints and mechanical freezing during extreme cold, according to analysts at consulting firm ICF International. Neighboring grid MISO issued an all-hands-on-deck emergency action designed to avoid capacity shortfalls as some power plants are forced offline or reduce their output because of freezing temperatures, alerting utilities to be prepared to produce as much electricity as possible. MISO spot wholesale electricity prices soared to nearly $500 per MWh in MISO’s Minnesota hub, as the upper Midwest experienced transmission bottlenecks across high-voltage power lines. By contrast, spot electricity prices in MISO’s southern territory were less than $50 per MWh. In New England, fuel oil generation kicked into high gear to help the six-state region’s electric grid conserve natural gas, its top fuel source. Early Saturday, oil-fired generation accounted for 35% of the New England grid’s output, compared with a typical level of about 1% or less, ISO New England’s operations display showed. Natural gas, usually the grid’s main fuel source, accounted for 22% of the grid’s generation output. New England spot electricity prices were more than $300 per MWh, or about double the price on Friday. For the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the winter storm is the biggest test for the state’s main grid operator since 2021, when a storm nearly caused a catastrophic regional blackout. More than 200 people died as ERCOT lost about half of its generation capacity amid frigid weather. Since then, stricter state and federal rules have been implemented to require better winter readiness by utilities and grid operators throughout the country. Rute said ERCOT appears to be in good shape as it has abundant fossil-fuel generation, big contributions from wind and solar power, and more battery storage than any other grid. “I think there’s very little chance of a (2021) rerun,” he said. “But no blackout happens the same way twice.” (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Jan Harvey, Liz Hampton, Rod Nickel)

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Justice Department established probable cause to charge former CNN host Don Lemon and four others over the anti-ICE church storming in Minneapolis last weekend. The appeals court, however, declined to force a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth District was unsealed on Saturday after the Justice Department asked the appeals court to force a lower district court in Minnesota to sign the five arrest warrants. The ruling did not make the names of the five defendants public, but CBS News reported that its sources confirmed one of the defendants is Lemon. The Justice Department vowed on Friday to pursue charges against Lemon “to the ends of the Earth.” While Friday’s ruling supported the Trump administration’s pursuit of charging Lemon on paper, it did not solve the Justice Department’s request. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon responded to the ruling, writing on X, “Stay tuned ?.” The Justice Department could now seek a grand jury indictment or represent the charges to a magistrate judge.” Lemon joined a large group of anti-ICE protesters who stormed Cities Church in Minneapolis last Sunday during the worship service because one of the church’s pastors is believed to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Three of the anti-ICE agitators who organized the church storming have been arrested by the FBI, including Black Lives Matter activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. Lemon’s attorney argued that he is protected under the First Amendment since he was with the anti-ICE agitators to cover the church storming as an independent journalist. The Justice Department, however, argues that Lemon was coordinating with leaders of the anti-ICE group before the church storming. “Freedom of the press extends to a lot of different areas,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier this week. “It does not extend to somebody just trespassing and being embedded with a group of rioters and being part of the group that storms inside of a church.” Magistrate Judge Doug Micko refused to sign the arrest warrant for Lemon, saying that federal prosecutors failed to present enough evidence to justify his arrest. The Trump administration is pursuing charges against Lemon and others who participated in the storming of Cities Church through the FACE Act, which penalizes people for interfering with Americans who are exercising their right to religious freedom. The FACE act was used by the Biden administration to go after pro-lifers who were accused of blocking access to abortion clinics. News of the appeals court ruling broke as Minneapolis erupts into chaos again after an armed man was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday morning. Video showed federal officers attempting to detain a man on the street during what the Department of Homeland Security said was a “targeted operation” for an illegal immigrant “wanted for violent assault.” The man was armed with a loaded “semi-automatic handgun” and was shot and killed by a federal agent who was fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow agents, according to Homeland Security.

Virginia Democrats have introduced legislation that would significantly raise income and investment taxes, putting the Commonwealth on track to become the highest-taxed state in the nation. These proposals, which include new top tax brackets and higher levies on investment income, would push Virginia’s effective income tax rate above California’s. Democrats introduced the legislation shortly after consolidating power in Richmond, creating higher income tax brackets and expanding taxes on capital gains and other investment income. If lawmakers enact the bills, the changes would raise Virginia’s top effective income tax rate to roughly 13.8%, surpassing all other states. Lawmakers backing the measures argue the tax hikes are necessary to fund public priorities and stabilize state finances. Virginia Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-VA) said the proposals would require “millionaires [to] pay their fair share of taxes,” arguing the revenue would help “buffer” Virginians from broader economic pressures. Left-wing policy group The Commonwealth Institute, one of the many groups behind this proposed plan, said a “Fair Share tax” could raise more than $1 billion annually for education, housing, and other public services. Democrats have positioned the tax proposals as part of a broader affordability agenda. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) has said her administration will prioritize lowering health care, housing, and energy costs. She campaigned on what she called an agenda to build a more “Affordable Virginia.” Throughout her campaign, Spanberger emphasized cost relief as a central theme. Her campaign promised that an “Affordable Virginia Plan will lower costs, save Virginians money, and make it easier for people who work hard to get ahead.” She later pledged that her administration would “lower health care, energy, and housing costs in 2026.” But critics argue the tax increases directly undermine those affordability promises. Virginia Republicans remain skeptical of these promises, with State House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-VA) pointing to the tax proposals as the leading edge of what he calls a slate of “bad bills.” The Republican Party of Virginia released an official statement saying, “Spanberger’s economic agenda would take Virginia down the same failed path as California and New York.” The criticism quickly extended beyond Richmond. Conservative policy groups and Republican-aligned organizations warned the proposals would put Virginia at a competitive disadvantage nationally. “It’s always a bad time to raise taxes, but it would be particularly foolish for Governor Spanberger and the Democrats who now control Richmond to do so at this time of heightened state tax competition,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Other conservative groups echoed that warning. The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a major fundraising organization aligned with House Republicans, said the proposed tax increases would raise costs statewide, discourage investment, and drive jobs and capital out of Virginia. “It’s about to get very, very expensive to live, work, and raise a family in Virginia,” the organization said. The CLF also accused Democrats of moving quickly to raise taxes after campaigning on affordability, noting that “within 48 hours of taking power in Richmond, Virginia Democrats have introduced legislation creating new sales and retail taxes.” The group added that “Democrats campaign on affordability, but the minute they’re given power they rob hardworking families of their paycheck in the form of higher and new taxes.” Although lawmakers have not officially adopted the plan, Democrats’ 64-36 control of the House of Delegates and 21-19 majority in the Senate make passage likely. Still, as Democrats defend the tax hikes as a “fair share” contribution to fund affordability initiatives, the measures risk turning Virginia into a tax-hiking outlier and a liability for Democrats in the 2026 midterms, as voters increasingly see higher taxes as the party’s solution to affordability concerns.

President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon reacted to the Border Patrol-involved fatal shooting in Minneapolis, accusing Democrat leaders in the state of inciting insurrection and questioning if they called off local law enforcement so federal immigration officers would be left unprotected. The shooting, which occurred hours ago, reportedly involved an armed 37-year-old white male. “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go,” Trump posted to Truth Social, captioning an image of the gun. “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?” “It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!” the president continued. Trump then brought up the stunning fraud scandal in Minnesota, where it’s suspected that billions of tax dollars were stolen. The scandal has been tied to the state’s large Somali population. “Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account?” the president wrote. “And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota? We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats’ Open Border Policy.” “We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW,” he continued. “Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud.” Trump also accused far-Left Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) of “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” “Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America,” Trump said. “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!” he added. “12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!” Truth Social: Donald Trump As reported by The Daily Wire, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the incident occurred Saturday morning during a “targeted operation” for an illegal immigrant “wanted for violent assault,” when another individual came up to Border Patrol agents with a “semi-automatic handgun.” Related: Armed Suspect Fatally Shot By Federal Immigration Authorities In Minneapolis