Midday Roundup: Fighting in Ukraine continues despite cease-fire

Fight on. Despite a cease-fire agreement brokered last week by European leaders, fighting rages on in Ukraine, where rebel groups claimed this morning to have taken control of Debaltseve, a strategic transportation hub. Ukrainian officials disputed the claim but confirmed several government soldiers were ambushed and taken hostage. Both sides were supposed to start pulling heavy weaponry back from the front lines today, under the cease-fire agreement. But rebel commander Vladimir Kononov, in an interview on Russian television, called on Ukrainian forces to surrender. Debaltseve has been at the center of the heaviest fighting in the last two weeks, and last week’s negotiations did not include a resolution about which side controlled the town. Ukrainian officials say they will not abide by the cease-fire unless the rebels comply completely with the agreement.

Out of superlatives. Yet another winter storm is pounding the East Coast with snow, leaving a trail of ice and sleet in its wake in the South. The governors of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia all issued emergency declarations today. In Kentucky, 10 inches of snow fell, making it the fourth snowiest day on record. In Washington, D.C., heated rhetoric might not be enough to keep lawmakers warm as the nation’s capital struggles to dig out from as much as 8 inches of snow and below-freezing temperatures. Federal government offices are closed. Boston, already suffering from 95 inches of snow so far this winter, prepared to get a few more inches today. And in upstate New York, tourism officials have given up any attempt to persuade people to visit. “That’s it,”the tourism board’s website proclaims. “We surrender. Winter, you win. Key West anyone? Due to this ridiculously stupid winter, Ithaca invites you to visit the Florida Keys this week. Please come back when things thaw out.”

Off the tracks. A train carrying crude oil from North Dakota to a depot in Virginia derailed last night in West Virginia. Ten of the 109-car train’s tanker cars exploded. No one was injured, but the fire destroyed a house and prompted evacuations in two nearby towns. The tanker cars were newer models, designed to resist puncturing during an accident. Officials don’t yet know what caused the derailment. But it’s the second such accident in the last few days. On Saturday, a Canadian train derailed in a wooded area in northern Ontario. Twenty-nine of its cars burst into flame. Critics say trains should not transport the volatile oil, but without a viable pipeline connecting the northern oil fields to southern refineries, companies have little choice but to use trucks or trains.

For love of chocolate. Michele Ferrero, inventor of Nutella, died on Valentine’s Day. He was 89. Ferrero ran one of the world’s largest candy-making empires and was estimated to be worth $23.4 billion. His company also makes Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder Eggs, Mon Cheri, and the decidedly non-chocolate Tic-Tac. Ferrero came up with the idea of Nutella after World War II, when chocolate shortages meant most families couldn’t afford it. By mixing a little bit of chocolate with ground hazelnuts, Ferrero created a spread that could last a family of six for weeks. After the spread’s success in his native Italy, Ferrero renamed the spread and launched it worldwide in 1964.

Cry if you want to. Singer Lesley Gore, who topped the charts in 1963 with “It’s My Party,” died yesterday after a long battle with lung cancer. She was 68. Gore was an outspoken feminist and a lesbian. In 2012, she retooled another of her ’60s hits, “You Don’t Own Me,” for an online video public service announcement touting pro-abortion policies.