Indiana Judge Targeted by Biker Gang, Police Say

Headline USA Editor
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Indiana Judge Targeted by Biker Gang, Police Say

(Headline USA)  Members of a motorcycle club and a street gang clearly targeted an Indiana judge for assassination, police said Tuesday, days after officers arrested five people in connection with the attack.

Police and prosecutors at a news conference praised what they characterized as a relentless effort to track down who opened fire on Tippecanoe County Superior Court Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kim, at their home in Lafayette on Jan. 18. Both Meyer and his wife suffered gunshot wounds but survived.

The Lafayette Police Department, the FBI, the Indiana State Police and the Purdue University Police Department launched a search for the shooter that went on for days before apprehending five people in synchronized arrests Thursday evening, including four in Indiana and one in Lexington, Kentucky. Court appearances for the suspects were set for Wednesday in Indiana and Kentucky.

“This attack was more than an assault on two citizens,” LaFayette Police Chief Scott Galloway said. “This was an assault on the rule of law itself.”

Prosecutors allege that the attack was designed to derail a domestic abuse case against Thomas Moss, a member of the Detroit-based Phantom MC motorcycle club with ties to the Vice Lords street gang.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the Vice Lords offered the victim in the case $10,000 not to testify against Moss but she refused.

With Moss’ trial set to begin on Jan. 20 in front of Meyer, another Phantom MC member, Blake Smith, purchased a shotgun. A masked man traveled to the Meyers’ home armed with that shotgun on Jan. 18. He lured the couple to the door by saying he was looking for his dog, shot them through the door and fled.

“(Meyer) was targeted,” Indiana State Police Lt. Col. Al Williamson said at Tuesday’s news conference. “They went after him for a reason.”

Police recovered the mask, the shooter’s clothing and the shotgun discarded near the Meyers’ home. DNA on the mask matched Raylen Ferguson, an associate of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation from Lexington, Kentucky, according to the affidavit.

Surveillance video showed a car that was parked near the Meyers’ home had traveled from Kentucky toward Lafayette on Jan. 16 and traveled toward Smith’s residence in the hour after the shootings, according to the affidavit.

Moss, Ferguson and Smith each face multiple charges, including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Amanda Milsap, whom prosecutors allege offered the bribe in the domestic abuse case, faces bribery and obstruction counts. Zeneda Greer, a woman Ferguson lives with, has been charged with helping a criminal and obstruction. Prosecutors have accused her of traveling to Lafayette with Ferguson.

Milsap’s attorney, Earl McCoy, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Online court records did not list attorneys for Moss, Ferguson or Blake. Jail records indicate Greer is being held in Lexington. Online court records in that state did not list an attorney for her.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Proud Boys Leader Says Warrant Issued for His Arrest after Judge Found Him in Contempt

Ken Silva
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Proud Boys Leader Says Warrant Issued for His Arrest after Judge Found Him in Contempt

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio said Tuesday that a warrant was issued for his arrest after a Washington DC judge found him in contempt of court in a long running civil lawsuit with the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Tarrio’s contempt charge stems from a December 2020 incident, when a group of Proud Boys stole a Black Lives Matter banner from the church and destroyed it. That led to Tarrio’s arrest two days before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising. Tarrio was later sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in Jan. 6, despite him not even being there.

President Donald Trump commuted Tarrio’s sentence last year, but that didn’t end his legal troubles. While he was in jail, the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church earned a default judgment against him and the Proud Boys, which has since ballooned to more than $3 million.

Tarrio, a one-time FBI informant, says he has no money to pay the hefty judgment. And while he purportedly owns a 2.5% interest in the cryptocurrency “Proud Coin,” he says those tokens won’t be available to him until at least April 2027.

Accordingly, Tarrio proposed last October that he pay $100 per quarter, which was the same rate he was forced to pay while in prison for a prior $1.5 million judgment.

However, the church wants him to prove his lack of funds by, among other things, providing his electronic devices for inspection. Tarrio refused to do so, leading to the contempt findings on Tuesday.

Tarrio says he still has no plans on providing his phone and other devices.

“The courts in DC have issued a warrant for my arrest because I am refusing to give them my personal phone so they can entrap more people in their web of weaponization,” he said on Twitter/X. “I WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE ACCESS TO ANYONE. Under this premise the Judge can hold me in jail INDEFINITELY.”

Tarrio further called for the Justice Department’s civil rights division to intervene in what he called “malicious” lawfare.

The next hearing in the case is set for May 28.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Rick Rule: Gold Bull Market Reflects Long-Term Erosion in Purchasing Power

Money Metals News Service
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Rick Rule: Gold Bull Market Reflects Long-Term Erosion in Purchasing Power

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) You might think that this gold bull rally is quite young. However, Rick Rule argues that this bull market has really been going on since 2000.

The Rule Investment Media CEO told Kitco News that the rising price of gold reflects a long-term erosion in purchasing power driven by negative real interest rates and ever-expanding government debt.

“I would suggest to you that a gold bull market and conversely a bond bear market have been underway since the year 2000.”

We see the struggles in the bond market reflected by persistently high yields despite central bank efforts to push interest rates lower. This indicates a lack of demand for government debt. This was overtly demonstrated by a Danish pension fund’s decision to divest Treasuries. Many made the decisions out as a political move, but AkademikerPension said that wasn’t the case, citing concerns about the U.S. government’s fiscal malfeasance.

“The decision is rooted in the poor U.S. government finances.”

Schelde said the driving concern is ever-increasing U.S. debt and decades of overspending, and that the U.S.′s finances made “us think that we need to make an effort to find an alternative way of conducting our liquidity and risk management.”

Last October, the national debt eclipsed $38 trillion, and despite record tariff revenue, the federal government continues to run large budget deficits.

Rule noted that “The net present value of unfunded entitlement liabilities exceeds $120 trillion,” referring to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and federal pensions. He said combining these unfunded liabilities with a $38 trillion federal debt leaves little margin relative to aggregate private net worth.

What’s the solution?

Rule said the only option is for governments lean on the inflation tax.

“My suspicion is the way that we pretend to honor our obligations is that over 10 years, we inflate away the net present value of the liability.”

Rule said that too many investors get caught up in price instead of considering value. Instead of pricing gold in value, we should consider other things, such as healthcare, housing, and everyday goods, in terms of gold.

“If you thought about them in gold terms, you’ll decide that they’re very cheap.”

He characterized the recent surge in gold as a “catch-up,” noting that gold had failed to reflect the steady deterioration of fiat currencies for many years.

Rule compared the current environment with the 1970s, noting that gold tends to rise in nominal terms as the currency erodes.

Looking ahead, Rule said negative real interest rates, ongoing erosion in purchasing power, and years of underinvestment that now require renewed capital spending will continue to support gold, and that the dynamics driving precious metals higher reflect structural conditions, not a temporary trade.

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

CNN Guest Says Trump Admin Has Not Put ‘People in Ovens Yet’ 

Luis Cornelio
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CNN Guest Says Trump Admin Has Not Put ‘People in Ovens Yet’ 

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) CNN on Friday featured a guest who described immigration detention centers using Nazi-era references and suggested that President Donald Trump could put people in “ovens.” 

The guest, Moon Palace Books co-owner Jamie Schwesnedl, made the remarks during an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper on The Lead. 

Schwesnedl claimed that Minneapolis was “invaded by gunmen” and that people were being taken to “concentration camps,” a comparison that even Tapper seemed to find bizarre. 

“Just one note, I’m not here to defend ICE, but I’m not a big fan of people using the term ‘concentration camp’ to describe detention camps. That has a very specific meaning,” Tapper said. 

Schwesnedl doubled down: 

“I understand that, but they take people to Fort Snelling here, which literally was built as a concentration camp, and Alligator Alcatraz, which I think we can all agree is a concentration camp. I’m not saying they’re Dachau. I’m not saying they’re putting people in ovens — yet — but these are concentration camps.” 

Tapper appeared baffled, waving his hand to suggest Schwesnedl stop, to which the guest replied: “I don’t need to argue with you about that.” 

Schwesnedl’s comments are part of a broader pattern on the left, drawing extreme parallels between President Trump’s administration and Nazi Germany.  

Several politicians, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have previously compared ICE and DHS to the Gestapo, Nazi Germany’s secret police. 

Watch the CNN segment below:

Treasury Cuts Ties with Booz Allen Hamilton after Major Leak Scandal 

Luis Cornelio
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Treasury Cuts Ties with Booz Allen Hamilton after Major Leak Scandal 

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Treasury Department canceled $21 million in contracts with consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton after one of its employees leaked the tax returns of more than 400,000 individuals, including those of President Donald Trump. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the cancellations of the agency’s 31 contracts with the firm on Monday, citing Booz Allen’s failure to implement “adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data.” 

Bessent said, “President Trump has entrusted his cabinet to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and canceling these contracts is an essential step to increasing Americans’ trust in government.” 

The Treasury specifically pointed to Charles Edward Littlejohn, a former Booz Allen employee who pleaded guilty in 2023 to illegally leaking tax returns to the legacy media.  

Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for his offenses, which a federal judge called “the biggest heist in IRS history.” 

Prosecutors said in 2023 that Littlejohn used his position as a government contractor to steal tax returns associated with President Donald Trump and those of more than 400,000 Americans. 

Prosecutors said Littlejohn used “broad search parameters designed to conceal the true purpose of his queries,” and then uploaded the obtained information to a private website to avoid being caught by the IRS. 

He leaked tax returns between August and October 2019 to media outlets later identified as The New York Times and ProPublica. 

Booz Allen Hamilton defended itself in a statement to CNN following the contract cancellations. 

“Booz Allen fully supported the U.S. government in its investigation, and the government expressed gratitude for our assistance, which led to Littlejohn’s prosecution,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to discussing this matter with Treasury.” 

Minnesota Church Riot More Sinister Than Reported

Luis Cornelio
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Minnesota Church Riot More Sinister Than Reported

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The disturbing anti‑ICE protest inside a Sunday service in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been revealed to be far more sinister than initially understood, according to court documents first reported by The Daily Signal. 

The protest, which went viral and drew widespread condemnation, occurred on Jan. 18 at Cities Church. Court filings alleged it was a major violation of congregants’ First Amendment rights to assemble and worship. 

The demonstration began after anti‑ICE agitators claimed that David Easterwood, a pastor at Cities Church, is also the acting field office director for ICE in Minnesota. 

According to DOJ filings, protesters terrorized children with loud chants and created an atmosphere in which some churchgoers feared a mass shooting was imminent.  

The anti-ICE agitators even reportedly blocked parents from retrieving their children from Sunday School. 

According to a witness, one unidentified agitator asked a child, “Do you know your parents are Nazis, they’re going to burn in hell?” One child told a worshipper, “Daddy, I thought you were going to die.” 

Prosecutors allege that defendant William Scott Kelly, an anti‑ICE agitator, was caught on video yelling, “This ain’t God’s house. This is the house of the devil.” 

One victim told prosecutors that about 50 members of the congregation were “struck toward the front of the church,” and that the agitators made it “nearly impossible” for churchgoers to leave. 

The situation was so chaotic that a woman worshipper reportedly broke her arm while trying to flee. She told police that “they were terrorized” and that the “children were weeping.” 

She added that “college students and young women were sobbing. It was impactful and it will take time to work through.” 

One victim said an agitator continued to scream in the faces of young children while they were crying, according to the DOJ. 

Shortly thereafter, the DOJ condemned the demonstrations and vowed to launch criminal investigations into the disruption of the service. 

Federal charges were announced against three people involved in the protest, including Kelly, Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, a St. Paul school board member. 

Prosecutors allege the defendants conspired to interfere with the free exercise of religion and violated federal law by disrupting a house of worship. 

Riots Continue in Twin Cities

Headline USA Editor
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Riots Continue in Twin Cities

(Elyse S. Apel, The Center Square)  Rioting is crippling Minneapolis with local lawmen standing down in the wake of the second shooting by federal agents in the Twin Cities.

Local law enforcement continues to refuse to cooperate with federal forces – standing by as rioters went after a hotel where they believed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were staying.

Videos online show rioters smashing windows, assaulting hotel employees, and throwing bricks and other objects at federal agents Sunday night.

This is just the latest escalation of the violence in the Twin Cities, following Saturday morning’s shooting.

During that incident, an armed Minneapolis man approached a group of U.S. Border Patrol agents who were conducting a targeted operation in south Minneapolis against a person illegally in America.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the federal agents during a press conference on Saturday afternoon. She said then that the man, identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, was intent on impeding the operation.

“This individual showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers,” Noem said. “They responded according to their training and took action to defend the officer’s life and those of the public around him.”

Democrats throughout Minnesota and nationally have pushed back against the Trump administration. They say the shooting was unwarranted and have called withdrawal of federal agents from Minneapolis.

Second-term Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, former candidate for vice president and in office when riots burned portions of the city in conjunction with the death of George Floyd, said it is time for Operation Metro Surge to end. He also maintained that the protests are peaceful.

“What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?” Walz said during a press conference on Sunday. “If fear, violence and chaos is what you wanted from us, then you clearly underestimated the people of this state and nation. We are tired, but we’re resolved. We’re peaceful, but we’ll never forget. We believe in law and order in this state. We believe in peace, and we believe that Donald Trump needs to pull these 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota.”

To enter America from another country, if not a U.S. citizen, a visa or some other travel authorization is required to be presented at a port of entry.

Walz compared the situation for illegal immigrants in Minnesota to that of the Jewish Holocaust during World War II.

“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses afraid to go outside,” Walz said. “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody is going to write that children’s story about Minnesota.”

That comparison garnered much public outrage from Republicans, who argue that this is just another example of Democrats attempting to incite more violence in the state.

“After previously calling ICE ‘Gestapo,’ Gov. Tim Walz just compared removals pursuant to federal law to capturing people to carry out genocide,” said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. “Walz is using this reckless rhetoric as signs appeared in Minneapolis over the weekend calling for people to ‘Kill Nazis.’”

Walz promised the state will also be conducting an investigation into the shooting.

“Minnesota’s justice system will have the last word on this,” Walz said. “The state will handle it.”

That comes as Minnesota state law enforcement says it was blocked from the shooting scene on Saturday. Courts granted Minnesota both a search warrant for access to the scene and an emergency court order barring federal officials “from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers.”

This is the third shooting in 18 days in Minneapolis by federal officials. On Jan. 7, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot during an encounter with ICE officers. ICE said Good hit an agent with her car while trying to pull away and the agent fired defensive shots.

One week later, bystanders attacked an agent attempting to execute a detainment. The suspect was shot in the lower body.

Many Republicans are blaming local and state officials for the heightened tension and chaos on the streets in Minneapolis, which led Walz to deploy about 1,500 Minnesota National Guard troops on Saturday.

“This violence is directly fueled by hateful rhetoric from Minnesota’s sanctuary politicians,” Noem said. “It must end now.”

Federal immigration operations continue in Minneapolis, despite Walz’s demands. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also reports that protestors are being arrested for federal charges.

“Arrested for throwing ice blocks at law enforcement in Minneapolis,” it said in a social media post on Sunday of an arrested individual. “Federal crime. Felony. You will be arrested.”

WATCH: Human Trafficking Operation Results in 120 Arrests

Headline USA Editor
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WATCH: Human Trafficking Operation Results in 120 Arrests

(Chris Woodward, The Center Square)  State and local officials have announced the results of a California-wide operation to combat human trafficking.

Speaking Monday at a press conference in San Diego, state Attorney General Rob Bonta said the effort was known as Operation Stand On Demand.

“As a result of this operation, 120 individuals were arrested: 87 arrested for loitering, 25 for solicitation, and eight for pimping and pandering,” said Bonta, a Democrat.fdr

The statewide operation was conducted Jan. 19-24.

Eighteen law enforcement agencies participated in Operation Stand On Demand, which coincided with January being Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

“Let’s be clear,” said Bonta. “Human trafficking is happening in our communities behind closed doors and in plain sight.”

Also appearing at the news conference was San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. She said that, in the United States, the selling of human beings for sex or labor is the second-largest criminal industry.

Drug trafficking is the largest.

“People thought that they were going to go out and buy a human being like they’re a hamburger or a slice of pizza, and instead they were faced by the power of the people standing here and many more out there who risked their lives to be on the streets and to make sure that their plans did not go that way,” said Stephan.

Others appearing at the press conference were San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Michael Vargas and San Diego County Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez.

The sheriff said protecting communities and standing up for victims is a top priority for her office.

“Victims can be any age, any gender and any background,” said Martinez. “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.”

Martinez went on to say that what is so insidious about trafficking is that “it leaves lasting, physical, emotional and psychological impacts on the victims.”

Bonta added that “this work is not just about arrests.” It is also about intervention, accountability, and helping survivors begin a path to safety, recovery and healing.

“Our human trafficking task forces in San Diego, Fresno and Sacramento work tirelessly to investigate cases, recover victims, and pursue traffickers and sexual predators,” the attorney general said. “Since 2021, these efforts have resulted in 983 traffickers arrested, over 1,000 survivors rescued, and offered assistance.”

If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, the attorney general’s office advises you to contact 9-1-1 and/or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Los Angeles Homeless Services CEO Charged with Defrauding Taxpayers to Pay for Luxury Lifestyle

Headline USA Editor
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Los Angeles Homeless Services CEO Charged with Defrauding Taxpayers to Pay for Luxury Lifestyle

(Headline USA)  The CEO of a Los Angeles homeless services charity faces federal and state fraud charges after prosecutors said he lived a luxury lifestyle that included lavish vacations and designer clothes paid for with $23 million in public money meant to keep people off the streets.

Alexander Soofer, 42, was arrested Friday at his $7 million home that investigators believe he afforded using funds that were supposed to support his nonprofit Abundant Blessings, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.

The charitable group was contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a county agency, to use taxpayer money to find shelter and provide three meals a day for more than 600 homeless residents.

Instead, prosecutors said Soofer bought a $125,000 Range Rover, a $2,450 Hermes jacket, a vacation home in Greece and a trip to Hawaii, where he stayed at the Four Seasons hotel that was famously the setting for the HBO TV show “The White Lotus.”

“He was living the high life while the people suffering, the homeless, lived on the streets with no shelter, no food,” Essayli said during a Friday news conference with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

If convicted as charged, Soofer could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, Essayli said. An email was sent Monday seeking comment from Soofer’s attorney, Hilary Potashner.

According to the indictment, Soofer falsified invoices to claim he was serving fresh meals and renting out rooms while homeless people were instead fed canned beans and bulk packs of microwavable ramen noodles.

Investigators found Soofer falsified records to cover up the fact that he paid himself to “rent” properties for homeless people that he already owned, the indictment said.

“Mr. Soofer called his company Abundant Blessings, but the only abundant blessings were the blessings he gave himself,” Hochman said.

During the news conference, the prosecutors pointed to concerns that billions spent to combat homelessness haven’t brought enough people off the streets. The number of homeless residents across Los Angeles County dropped 4% last year, according to the annual count released last July. The tally estimated that some 72,000 people were living in shelters or in sidewalk encampments countywide.

Los Angeles County officials last March moved to take control of hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, citing two scathing audits that found that the homeless services authority spent it recklessly and without transparency.

Between 2018 and 2025, Soofer received more than $23 million in homeless housing funding. Of that, more than $5 million came directly from the county homeless services authority and more than $17 million came through a Los Angeles-based nonprofit called Special Service for Groups Inc., the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. None of the money came directly from the state.

Soofer is charged federally with wire fraud and the state charges include 11 felony counts of conflict of interest, two felony counts of offering false evidence and five felony counts of forgery.

Soofer appeared in court Friday but did not enter a plea. He was released on $1.5 million bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Feb. 26. His arraignment on state charges was not yet scheduled.

The arrests became fodder for the ongoing war of words between President Donald Trump’s administration and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. After a conservative commentator placed blame for the fraud on Newsom, the Democratic governor’s press office pushed back.

“This case was uncovered by local investigators working with law enforcement — exactly the kind of accountability and oversight the state has pushed for,” Newsom’s office said.

That prompted a response by Essayli, who again blamed Newsom.

“You and the California legislature facilitated this fraud by handing out billions in tax dollars to these nonprofits with zero vetting and zero state oversight,” Essayli said Friday on social media.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

30 People Dead From Effects of Winter Storm as More Freezing Cold Pummels US

Headline USA Editor
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30 People Dead From Effects of Winter Storm as More Freezing Cold Pummels US

(Headline USA)  Many in the U.S. faced another night of below-freezing temperatures and no electricity after a colossal winter storm heaped more snow Monday on the Northeast and kept parts of the South coated in ice. At least 30 deaths were reported in states afflicted with severe cold.

Deep snow — over a foot (30 centimeters) extending in a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) swath from Arkansas to New England — halted traffic, canceled flights and triggered wide school closures Monday. The National Weather Service said areas north of Pittsburgh got up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of snow and faced wind chills as low as minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 31 degrees Celsius) late Monday into Tuesday.

The bitter cold afflicting two-thirds of the U.S. wasn’t going away. The weather service said Monday that a fresh influx of artic air is expected to sustain freezing temperatures in places already covered in snow and ice. And forecasters said it’s possible another winter storm could hit parts of the East Coast this weekend.

A rising death toll included two people run over by snowplows in Massachusetts and Ohio, fatal sledding accidents that killed teenagers in Arkansas and Texas, and a woman whose body was found covered in snow by police with bloodhounds after she was last seen leaving a Kansas bar. In New York City, officials said eight people were found dead outdoors in the course of the frigid weekend.

There were still more than 630,000 power outages in the nation Monday evening, according to poweroutage.com. Most of them were in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.

In Mississippi, officials scrambled to get cots, blankets, bottled water and generators to warming stations in hard-hit areas in the aftermath of the state’s worst ice storm since 1994. At least 14 homes, one business and 20 public roads had major damage, Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday evening.

The University of Mississippi, where most students hunkered down without power Monday, canceled classes for the entire week as its Oxford campus remained coated in treacherous ice. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on social media that so many trees, limbs and power lines had fallen that “it looks like a tornado went down every street.”

A pair of burly, falling tree branches damaged real estate agent Tim Phillips’ new garage, broke a window and cut off power to his home in Oxford.

“It’s just one of those things that you try to prepare for,” Phillips said, “but this one was just unreal.”

The U.S. had more than 12,000 flight delays or cancellations nationwide Monday, according to flight tracker flightaware.com. On Sunday, 45% of U.S. flights got cancelled, making it the highest day for cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

More light to moderate snow was forecast in New England through Monday evening.

New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with neighborhoods recording 8 to 15 inches (20 to 38 cm) of snow. Though public schools shut down, roughly 500,000 students were told to log in for online lessons Monday. The nation’s largest public school system saw snow days stripped away after remote learning gained traction during the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm’s wake. Communities across the Midwest, South, and Northeast awakened Monday to subzero weather. The entire Lower 48 states were forecast to have their coldest average low temperature of minus 9.8 F (minus 12.3 C) since January 2014.

In the Nashville, Tennessee, area, electricity returned for thousands of homes and businesses Monday, while more than 170,000 others awoke bundled up in powerless homes after subfreezing temperatures overnight. Many hotels were sold out overnight to residents escaping dark and frigid homes.

Alex Murray booked a Nashville hotel room for his family to ensure they had a working freezer to preserve pumped breast milk to feed their 6-month-old daughter. Anticipating a long wait until power gets restored at his home, Murray planned to extend their hotel stay through Wednesday.

“I know there’s many people that may not be able to find a place or pay for a place or anything like that, or even travel,” Murray said Monday. “So, we were really fortunate.”

In Emporia, Kansas, police found a 28-year-old teacher dead in the snow after she was seen leaving a bar without her coat and phone.

Police said snowplows backed into two people who died in Norwood, Massachusetts, and Dayton, Ohio. Arkansas and Texas reported two deaths apiece.

The cause of deaths for the eight people found outside in New York City as temperatures plunged between Saturday and Monday morning remained under investigation.

Officials reported four deaths in Tennessee, three deaths apiece in Louisiana and Pennsylvania; two deaths in Mississippi; and one each in New Jersey, South Carolina and Kentucky.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

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