Monday morning news: December 19, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Weather » Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel and even life-threatening cold for much of the central and eastern U.S. this week…

TAYLOR: Potentially record-low temperatures leading up to the Christmas holiday.

That as an arctic front blasts through the country. Zack Taylor with the National Weather Service:

TAYLOR: Below-zero readings are likely and expected across the Northern Plains and portions of the upper Midwest. But even for locations down into the southeast, temperatures dipping down into the single digits or teens.

By Thursday night, temperatures could plunge as low as 13 degrees from the Gulf Coast region of Louisiana to Atlanta. Temperatures could drop to 5 degrees in Nashville..

Parts of New England have already been buried under two feet of snow. More than 80,000 customers in the area were still without power on Sunday.

Immigration » The city of El Paso, Texas has declared a state of emergency with the border crisis expected to multiply as the pandemic-era Title 42 rule expires this week.

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser:

LEESER: We know that the influx on Wednesday will be incredible. It will be huge. Talking to some of our federal partners, and when I asked them, do you guys believe that you can handle it today, the answer was ‘no’.

The Title 42 rule makes it easier for the government to expel migrants who cross the souther border. When that rule expires, the Department of Homeland Security estimates that as many as 14,000 migrants may try to cross the border every day.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin:

MANCHIN: We have a crisis at the border, everyone can see that. 42 needs to be extended, really truly until we can get immigration reform.

Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain accused President Biden of largely ignoring the crisis. She said Republicans have repeatedly called and written to the White House…

MCCLAIN: Requesting, asking, demanding ad nauseam to meet with the president about this crisis. But again, it falls on deaf ears.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the situation at the border this week will be “total chaos.”

Ukraine restores power to millions » In Ukraine, crews have been able to restore electricity to nearly 6 million people after more Russian attacks over the weekend dealt another blow to the power grid.

But many remain in the dark and the cold as Russia continues to strike civilian targets. Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova:

MARKAROVA: We have been asking for all air defense. And we see what happens when we don’t have enough air defense.

Kyiv is asking the West for more air defenses.

NoKo missiles » North Korea on Sunday test-fired a pair of ballistic missiles with the potential to strike Japan.

The launches came two days after the North claimed it had performed a key test needed to build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland.

The two missiles traveled from the country’s northwest before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Last week, Tokyo announced it will ease its defense-only military restrictions.

COVID rates and hospitalizations » COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise amid the holiday season. White House virus response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. He told ABC’s This Week, the increase is not surprising.

JHA: Because we have seen increases each of the last two winters. And then what else is happening in colder, drier air, the virus spreads more efficiently.

Holiday gatherings, of course, play a significant role.

Confirmed cases and new COVID-related hospital admissions are both up about 50% from this time last month. But those numbers are still just a fraction of the January omicron peak.

Cases of flu and RSV have also been on the rise, keeping health workers much busier in recent weeks.

World Cup » Fireworks lit up the sky above Buenos Aires on Sunday as Argentines celebrated in the streets after the country won its third ever World Cup final.

The Argentinian team beat France in dramatic fashion on penalties.

Millions of Argentine cried, yelled and hugged as they followed the game, which was a rollercoaster of emotions.

It was the country’s first World Cup title since 1986.

Box Office » At the weekend box office, the long-awaited Avatar sequel fell short of studio expectations, but still scored a big holiday opening.

TRAILER: We cannot let you bring your war here. Outcast, that’s all they see...

Avatar: The Way of Water earned $134 million dollars domestically.

The R-rated action comedy Violent Night finished a distant second with $6 million, followed by Wakanda Forever.

I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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