Monday morning news: November 26, 2018

Winter weather wreaks havoc for holiday travelers » A winter storm froze thousands of Thanksgiving weekend travelers in place on Sunday. Snow and ice blanketed much of the central Midwest, bringing blizzard-like conditions that grounded flights and shut down major highways.

Airlines had to cancel more than a thousand flights in and out of the area.

The National Weather Service’s Bob Oravec says while the storm is moving out of the region, driving conditions could remain treacherous.

ORAVEC: It will be below average temperatures. We anticipate a lot of cold air behind the storm so there probably won’t be a lot of melting. It’s going to be fairly winter-like as we get into the last week of November. 

Officials urge motorists to be patient and cautious as workers continue to salt and plow major roadways.

CBP shuts down port of entry to hold off migrant surge » U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down a port of entry in California on Sunday when hundreds of migrants made a run for the U.S. border from Tijuana.

Some 500 migrants overpowered Mexican police and ran past blockades, surging toward the border. U.S. authorities fired tear gas and rubber bullets to keep them from reaching the border fence. Officials shut down both vehicle and pedestrian bridges at the San Ysidro border crossing.

Meantime, the Mexican government is denying recent media reports that it reached a deal with the Trump administration to let migrants seeking asylum remain in Mexico until their cases are processed. The mayor of Tijuana has called the arrival of thousands of people from a migrant caravan a humanitarian crisis.

Lawmakers react to climate change report » Lawmakers are reacting to a major climate change report released over the holiday weekend. More than dozen federal agencies released the report, detailing the effects of climate change on the U.S.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar told ABC’s This Week …

KLOBUCHAR: Instead of just talking about the science, it talking about the impact on places like where I’m from, the Midwest, where you’re gonna see devastation to our crops. And you’re certainly seeing in vivid color those horrible wildfires out West. 

This year’s report said extreme weather events “have already become more frequent, intense, widespread or of long duration.” The report said the last few years have broken U.S. records for damaging weather. It also asserted that the vast majority global warming is man-caused.

GOP Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska told Fox News the report will spark important discussions. But he says climate policies should be fair.

SASSE: The U.S. needs to have a long-term investment and innovation strategy, that’s true. But things like the Paris Climate Accords tend to be more binding on us than on other nations. So that’s not good for the U.S. consumer, and it’s not a long-term solution. But conversations like that are certainly important going forward. 

Outside scientists and officials from 13 federal agencies wrote the report, which is mandated by law every four years.

Brexit deal faces difficult path in British Parliament » After months of stop-and-start negotiations and resignations, Britain and the European Union on Sunday sealed a Brexit agreement.

But the hardest part may still lie ahead. British Prime Minister Theresa May still has to sell the deal to her divided Parliament. That’s an uphill climb considering intense opposition remains from both pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says the deal isn’t perfect, but more aspects of the deal can be negotiated after the UK leaves.

HUNT: There are other things in it that we’ve got to work hard for after we leave the EU, but we can only get those other things when we’ve left the EU. So, you know, can this be a staging post to everything that people have wanted from Brexit? Yes, I think it can. 

On the EU side, the last big obstacle to a deal with Britain was overcome Saturday, when Spain lifted its objections over the disputed British territory of Gibraltar.

In the UK, many of Prime Minister’s Theresa May’s opponents want a second Brexit referendum. Pro-Brexit British lawmakers say May should insist on new terms because the deal “has ceded too much control” to Brussels.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 tops the weekend box office » At the weekend box office, a pair of sequels opened big, with Wreck-It Ralph 2 leading the way.

AUDIO: [Wreck-It Ralph 2 trailer]

The animated action flick took in $56 million, the second-biggest opening ever on Thanksgiving weekend. The latest installment in the Rocky franchise, Creed 2, also opened strong in second place, taking in $35 million.

AUDIO: [Creed 2 clip]

The Grinch dropped to third, raking in another $30 million after a big opening weekend.

You can find reviews of current films, along with ratings and content information at WNG.org/movies.  

(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) Traffic moves west along I-70 near Lawrence, Kan., Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. I-70 is closed west of Junction City, Kan.

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