Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.

Blatter was the latest international soccer figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X that supported Mark Pieth's comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.

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Pieth, a Swiss attorney specializing in white-collar crime and an anti-corruption expert, chaired the Independent Governance Committee's oversight of FIFA reform a decade ago. Blatter was president of the world's governing body for soccer from 1998-2015; he resigned amid an investigation into corruption.

In his interview with Der Bund, Pieth said, If we consider everything weve discussed, theres only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! Youll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they dont please the officials, theyll be put straight on the next flight home. If theyre lucky.

In his X post, Blatter quoted Pieth and added, I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.

The United States is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.

The international soccer community's concerns about the United States stem from Trump's expansionist posture on Greenland, and travel bans and aggressive tactics in dealing with migrants and immigration enforcement protestors in American cities, particularly Minneapolis.

Oke Gttlich, one of the vice presidents of the German soccer federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in an interview on Friday that the time had come to seriously consider boycotting the World Cup.

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Travel plans for fans from two of the top soccer countries in Africa were thrown into disarray in December, when the Trump administration announced an expanded ban that would effectively bar people from Senegal and Ivory Coast following their teams unless they already have visas. Trump cited screening and vetting deficiencies as the main reason for the suspensions.

Fans from Iran and Haiti, two other countries that have qualified for the World Cup, will be barred from entering the United States as well; they were included in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will have a security role during the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games, according to information shared with local media by sources at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. The Associated Press independently confirmed the information with two officials at the embassy.

The officials who confirmed ICE participation on Tuesday said that federal ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and would not run any immigration enforcement operations.

During previous Olympics, several federal agencies have supported security for U.S. diplomats, including the investigative component of ICE called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the officials said. They could not be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

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HSI has a global footprint, and its common for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide security support at major international events.

The State Departments Diplomatic Security Service does this as well, routinely supporting events like the Olympics. The use of U.S. law enforcement agencies in these contexts isnt unusual. During the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Transportation Security Administration deployed officers to assist with airport screening due to the surge in visitors and the potential threat of attacks.

Citing images of masked ICE agents that have dominated coverage of unrest in Minneapolis, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said that ICE would not be welcome in his city, which is hosting most ice sports during the Feb. 6-22 Winter Games.

"This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,'' Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE's deployment to the Games was confirmed.

ICE's role had been reported over the weekend by the Italian daily il Fatto Quotidiano, prompting conflicting statements from Italian authorities who did not want to appear to confirm the agency's role.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Saturday he had not received confirmation of ICE's deployment, but added that "I don't see what the problem would be,'' the news agency ANSA reported.

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The Interior Ministry on Tuesday repeated that the U.S. has not confirmed the makeup of its security detail but insisted that at the moment there are no indications that ICE USA will act as an escort to the American delegation."

U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead a delegation attending the Feb. 6 opening ceremony. The delegation will also include second lady Usha Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the White House announced earlier this month.

The confirmation of ICE's role in Olympic security comes after RAI state TV aired video Sunday of ICE agents threatening to break the glass on the vehicle of a RAI crew reporting in Minneapolis, where ICE operations have sparked mass demonstrations. In the past three weeks, federal officers in Minneapolis have shot and killed two protesters against deportations and immigration enforcement.

A federal judge in Oregon dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking Oregon's unredacted voter rolls on Monday in another setback to wide-ranging efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to get detailed voter data from states.

In a hearing, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai said he would dismiss the suit and issue a final written opinion in the coming days. The updated docket for the case showed that Oregon's move to dismiss the case was granted.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield welcomed the move.

The court dismissed this case because the federal government never met the legal standard to get these records in the first place, he said in an emailed statement. "Oregonians deserve to know that voting laws cant be used as a backdoor to grab their personal information.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

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Kasubhai scheduled the hearing after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dated Saturday, the same day federal immigration agents fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which has seen widespread protests over increased immigration enforcement and the previous killing of Renee Good by an immigration officer.

In her letter, Bondi asked the Democratic governor to support immigration officers and shared three simple steps to help bring back law and order" including by giving the Justice Department the ability to access voter rolls to confirm that Minnesota's voter registration practices comply with federal law.

Bondi also asked for the state's records of its Medicaid and food assistance programs, and for the repeal of sanctuary policies that limit local officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

The Justice Department has been seeking detailed voter data that includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, drivers license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. Officials in many states have said turning over such information would violate both state and federal privacy laws.

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The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against at least 23 states and the District of Columbia as part of its effort to collect such data. Last week a federal judge in Georgia dismissed such a suit after ruling the federal government had sued in the wrong city, and earlier this month a federal judge in California dismissed a suit there after finding the governments request was unprecedented and illegal.

The department has said it needs to access detailed voter data to ensure election officials are following federal election laws. Election officials have disputed that and raised concerns that federal officials are trying to use the sensitive data for other purposes, such as searching for potential noncitizens on the rolls.

In a July letter, the department asked Oregon for an electronic copy of its statewide registration list and details on the steps it has taken to remove ineligible voters, court filings show. It sent another letter in August saying it needed the voter list to assess compliance with federal law, and that the list must include information such as full names, birth dates, drivers license numbers or partial Social Security numbers.

Oregon officials responded in August that the department lacked the authority to request the list and offered to provide the publicly available list, court filings show. The department argued it has the authority to request the data under multiple federal laws and is complying with privacy laws.

Kasubhai called for the Monday hearing in Oregon's lawsuit so that attorneys on both sides could provide additional arguments on how Bondi's letter was relevant in interpreting the basis and purpose of the department's request for voter data.

The department argued it had authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to request voter records, as the law says such records are to be made available to the U.S. Attorney General upon a demand in writing that states the basis and purpose of the request. Yet Kasubhai said the department's August letter did not satisfy the law's requirement for stating a basis and purpose when requesting voter records. He added that he read the congressional record of the time when the law was passed, and found it was unequivocal on the release of records being associated with investigations involving discrimination in elections.

The Justice Departments outreach has raised alarm among some election officials because the agency doesnt have the constitutional authority to run elections. That power is granted to states and Congress. Federal law also protects the sharing of individual data with the federal government.

The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldnt be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schlitz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result, the judge wrote.

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The order comes a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administrations immigration crackdown in Minnesota following the second death this month of a person at the hands of an immigration law enforcement officer.

Messages were sent Tuesday to ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.

Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward," Schlitz continued in the order. "Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.

The judge said he recognizes that ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally was extraordinary. But the extent of ICEs violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed, Schlitz wrote.

Schlitzs order lists the petitioner by first name and last initials: Juan T.R. It says the court granted a petition on Jan. 14 from the person to provide him with a bond hearing within seven days. On Jan. 23, the persons lawyers told the court the petitioner remained detained.

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The order says Schlitz will cancel Lyons appearance if the petitioner is released from custody

A senior Border Patrol commander and some agents are expected to leave Minneapolis as early as Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The departure of Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who has been at the center of the Trump administrations aggressive immigration enforcement surge in cities nationwide, comes as President Donald Trump dispatched border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to take charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

The person familiar with the matter was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the operation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Bovinos departure marks a significant public shift in federal law enforcement posture amid mounting outrage over the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents.

His leadership of highly visible federal crackdowns, including operations that sparked mass demonstrations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and Minneapolis, has drawn fierce criticism from local officials, civil rights advocates and congressional Democrats.

Criticism has increased around Bovino in the last few days after his public defense of the Pretti shooting and disputed claims about the confrontation that led to his death.

Trump and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz spoke in a phone call and later offered comments that were a marked change from the critical statements they have exchanged in the past. Their conversation happened on the same day a federal judge heard arguments in a lawsuit aimed at halting the federal immigration enforcement surge in the state.

We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength, the president wrote in a social media post.

Walz, in a statement, said the call was productive" and that impartial investigations into the shootings were needed. Trump said his administration was looking for any and all criminals the state has in their custody. Walz said the state Department of Corrections honors federal requests for people in its custody.

It was unclear whether the new tone would lead to changes. Attorneys for the administration, the state and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul appeared Monday before U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, who is considering whether to grant requests to temporarily halt the immigration operation.

She said the case was a priority, though she issued no immediate ruling.

Lawyers for the state and the Twin Cities argued the situation on the street is so dire it requires the court to halt the federal governments enforcement actions.

If this is not stopped right here, right now, I dont think anybody who is seriously looking at this problem can have much faith in how our republic is going to go in the future, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said.

The judge questioned the governments motivation behind the crackdown and expressed skepticism about a letter recently sent by Attorney General Pam Bondi to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The letter asked the state to give the federal government access to voter rolls, to turn over state Medicaid and food assistance records, and to repeal sanctuary policies.

I mean, is there no limit to what the executive can do under the guise of enforcing immigration law? Menendez asked. She noted that the federal requests are the subject of litigation.

Brantley Mayers, a Justice Department attorney, said the government's goal is to enforce federal law. Mayers said one lawful action should not be used to discredit another lawful action.

I dont see how the fact that were also doing additional things that we are allowed to do, that the Constitution has vested us with doing, would in any way negate another piece of the same operation, the same surge, Mayers said.

Menendez questioned where the line was between violating the Constitution and the executive's power to enforce the law. She also asked whether she was being asked to decide between state and federal policies.

That begins to feel very much like I am deciding which policy approach is best, she said.

At one point, while discussing the prospect of federal officers entering residences without a warrant, the judge expressed reluctance to decide issues not yet raised in a lawsuit before her.

I cant be the global keeper of all things here. Like, presumably that will be litigated," she said to the state's attorney.

Menendez made it clear that she was struggling with how to rule because the case is so unusual, and there are few precedents.

"Its because this is important that Im doing everything I can to get it right, she said.

The state of Minnesota and the cities sued the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month, five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs officer. The shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday added urgency to the case.

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Border czar to Minnesota

In other developments, Trump said he would send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. The president's statement came after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has become the public face of the crackdown, answered questions at news conferences over the weekend about Pretti's shooting. Trump posted on social media that Homan will report directly to him.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Homan would be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis during continued operations by federal immigration officers.

In court Monday, an attorney for the administration said about 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were on ground, along with at least 1,000 Border Patrol officers.

The lawsuit asks the judge to order a reduction in the number of federal law enforcement officers and agents in Minnesota back to the level before the surge and to limit the scope of the enforcement operation.

Other state implications

The case has implications for other states that have been or could become targets of ramped-up federal immigration enforcement operations. Attorneys general from 19 states plus the District of Columbia, led by California, filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Minnesota.

"If left unchecked, the federal government will no doubt be emboldened to continue its unlawful conduct in Minnesota and to repeat it elsewhere, the attorneys general wrote.

Menendez ruled in a separate case on Jan. 16 that federal officers in Minnesota cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including people who follow and observe agents.

An appeals court temporarily suspended that ruling three days before Saturdays shooting. But the plaintiffs in that case, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, asked the appeals court late Saturday for an emergency order lifting the stay in light of Pretti's killing.

The Justice Department argued in a reply filed Sunday that the stay should remain in place, calling the injunction unworkable and overly broad.

In yet another case, a different federal judge, Eric Tostrud, issued an order late Saturday blocking the Trump administration from destroying or altering evidence related to Saturday's shooting. Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty asked for the order to try to preserve evidence collected by federal officials that state authorities have not yet been able to inspect.

A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday afternoon in federal court in St. Paul.

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Hotel where federal agents believed to be was targeted

On Sunday night, protesters targeted a Minneapolis hotel where federal agents were believed to be staying, blocking a major avenue on the edge of the University of Minnesota campus.

A freelance photographer working for The Associated Press saw smashed glass in the hotel lobby, as well as graffiti with obscenities and threats directed at ICE.

A Minneapolis police officer was inside the hotel and tried to provide aid to a federal agent who was injured. More officers from local and state agencies planned to move in to deescalate the situation, and make arrests, Minneapolis police said Monday in a statement.

But as they began to reach the scene and arrested two people, federal agents arrived and deployed chemical munitions, the police statement said. A DHS spokesperson said a statement on the situation would be provided later Monday.

The U.S. workweek opened with yet more snow dumping on the Northeast under the tail end of a colossal winter storm that brought lingering misery to parts of the South, where freezing rain left hundreds of thousands shivering without electricity Monday. Authorities reported at least 18 weather-related deaths.

Deep snow over a foot extending in a 1,300-mile swath from Arkansas to New England halted traffic, canceled flights and triggered wide school closures Monday. Up to two feet (60 centimeters) were forecast in some of the harder-hit places.

There were more than 800,000 power outages in the nation on Monday morning, 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.

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Utility officials in New Albany, Mississippi, said some homes and businesses could be without electricity for at least a week. In nearby Oxford, where most residents and University of Mississippi students were without power Monday, 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."

Apparently, the new status symbol in this town is having electricity, said Marshall Ramsey, a University of Mississippi journalism professor whose family was running a generator at their Oxford home Monday to power a space heater and keep phones charged.

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. He said half of his neighbors had homes or vehicles damaged.

Its 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 6,400 flight delays and cancellations nationwide Monday, according to flight tracker flightaware.com.

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

New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with 11 inches falling on Central Park. Main roads throughout the city were largely clear Monday morning, but pedestrians had to plod through snow on some sidewalks and multiple subway lines with above-ground tracks saw delays.

Bitter cold grips much of the nation

Meanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm's wake. Many 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 since January 2014.

Record warmth in Florida was the only thing keeping that average from going even colder, said former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, who calculates national averages based on National Weather Service data.

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From Montana to the Florida Panhandle, the weather service posted cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings as temperatures in many places dipped to zero and even colder. Wind made conditions even chillier and the overnight cold made roads freeze over anew early Monday in a cruel reprise of the weekend's lousy travel weather.

In the Nashville, Tennessee, area, electricity was back 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.

It already was Mississippis worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals 200,000 gallons plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Gov. Tate Reeves said. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees to stay home Monday and Tuesday.

Storm leads to deaths in a number of states

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people who died were found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation. Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.

In Massachusetts, police said a snowplow backed into a couple walking in a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority parking lot in Norwood on Sunday. A 51-year-old woman was killed and her 47-year-old husband was hospitalized.

Three people died in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday after shoveling or removing snow during the recent storm, the county coroners office said. They ranged in age from 60 to 84.

Two teenagers died in sledding accidents, a 17-year-old boy in Arkansas, and a 16-year-old girl in Texas, authorities said.

A 28-year-old teacher was found dead and covered in snow after leaving a bar in Emporia, Kansas, as temperatures dipped below zero, Emporia police said in a news release after using bloodhounds to find her body.

A man employed by a snow plow company died Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, after a plow backed over him while clearing a private lot, local police said.

Three weather-related deaths were announced in Tennessee, authorities said. Further details were not immediately available.

The remains of the final hostage in Gaza have been recovered, Israel's military said Monday, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that paused the Israel-Hamas war.

The announcement that the remains of Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after Israels government said the military was conducting a large-scale operation in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an incredible achievement for Israel and its soldiers, telling Israeli media that I promised we would bring everyone home and we have brought everyone home." He said Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war, was among the first to be taken into Gaza.

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The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefires first phase, and Gvilis family had urged Israels government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned.

Netanyahus office said Sunday that Israel would open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians see as their lifeline to the world, once the search for Gvili was finished. It has been largely shut since May 2024, except for a small period in early 2025.

Israel and Hamas had been under pressure from ceasefire mediators including Washington to move into the second phase of the U.S.-brokered truce, which took effect on Oct. 10.

Israel had repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas said it had provided all the information it had about Gvilis remains, and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.

Israels military had said the large-scale operation to locate Gvilis remains was in the area of the Yellow Line that divides the territory.

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as Rani, was killed while fighting Hamas militants.

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Before Gvilis remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently in early December. Israel in exchange has released the bodies of hundreds Palestinians to Gaza.

The next phase of the 20-point ceasefire plan has called for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

Palestinians killed in Gaza

Israeli forces on Monday fatally shot a man in Gaza Citys Tuffah neighborhood, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the body. The man was close to an area where the military has launched the search operation for Gvili, the hospital said.

Another man was killed in the eastern side of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, which received his body. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.

More than 480 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire since Oct. 10, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Israel's top court considers petition to open Gaza for international journalists

The Foreign Press Association on Monday asked Israels Supreme Court to allow journalists to enter Gaza freely and independently.

The FPA, which represents dozens of global news organizations, has been fighting for more than two years for independent media access to Gaza. Israel has barred reporters from entering Gaza independently since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, which triggered the war, saying entry could put both journalists and soldiers at risk.

The army has offered journalists brief, occasional visits under strict military supervision.

FPA lawyers told the three judge panel that the restrictions are not justified and that with aid workers moving in and out of Gaza, journalists should be allowed in as well. They also said the tightly controlled embeds with the military are no substitute for independent access. The judges are expected to rule in the coming days.

The Federal Aviation Administration says seven people were killed and a crew member survived with serious injuries when a private business jet crashed in a snowstorm at Maines Bangor International Airport.

The Bombardier Challenger 600 carrying eight people crashed on takeoff at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday night as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm. The airport, about 200 miles north of Boston, shut down after the crash. Snowfall was heavy at the time in many other parts of the country, but accumulation had just started in Bangor and other planes had been taking off safely.

The jet was registered to a corporation that shares the same address in Houston, Texas as the personal injury law firm Arnold and Itkin Trial Lawyers, and one of the law firms founding partners is listed as the registered agent for the company that owns the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB said preliminary information shows the plane crashed upon departure and experienced a post-crash fire, but that it would have no further statement until after investigators arrive in a day or two.

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The NTSB said it has no role in the release of information about victims and that such information is handled by local authorities. But airport director Jose Saavedra refused to comment, saying at a news conference Monday that he was awaiting guidance and support from federal partners.

An audio recording of air traffic controllers includes someone saying "Aircraft upside down. We have a passenger aircraft upside down, about 45 seconds after a plane was cleared for takeoff. First responders arrived less than a minute later, Saavedra said.

Bangor International Airport offers direct flights to cities like Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina, and is located about 200 miles north of Boston. It was closed shortly after the crash and will remain closed until at least noon Wednesday.

The crash happened as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm. Bangor had undergone steady snowfall Sunday, though planes were landing and departing around the time of the crash, Saavedra said.

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The National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine, said the airport received nearly 10 inches of snow in total, though the snowfall was just beginning at the time of the crash. About a tenth of an inch of snow fell between midnight and 7 p.m. Sunday, and snowfall was light but steady at the time, the service said.

We have crews on site that respond to weather storms on a regular basis, Saavedra said. This is normal for us to respond to weather events.

Throughout the weekend, the vast storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the eastern half of the U.S., halting much air and road traffic and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Southeast.

Commercial air traffic was also heavily disrupted around much of the U.S. Some 12,000 flights were canceled Sunday and nearly 20,000 were delayed, according to the flight tracker flightaware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were among those impacted.

The Bombardier Challenger 600 is a wide-bodied business jet configured for nine to 11 passengers. It was launched in 1980 as the first private jet with a walk-about cabin and remains a popular charter option, according to aircharterservice.com.

The airport in Bangor is by far the largest city in Maines northern and eastern reaches. Its longstanding joint use agreement with the Maine Air National Guard means runways are ready rain or shine or snow, an airport website says, under the phrase: A Little Snow Doesnt Scare Us.

A massive winter storm dumped sleet, freezing rain and snow across much of the U.S. on Sunday, bringing subzero temperatures and paralyzing air and road traffic. Tree branches and power lines snapped under the weight of ice, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Southeast were left without electricity.

The ice and snowfall were expected to continue into Monday in much of the country, followed by very low temperatures, which could cause dangerous travel and infrastructure impacts to linger for several days, the National Weather Service said.

Heavy snow was forecast from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, while catastrophic ice accumulation threatened from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

It is a unique storm in the sense that it is so widespread, weather service meteorologist Allison Santorelli said in a phone interview. It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so were talking like a 2,000-mile spread.

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President Donald Trump has approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states by Saturday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-positioned commodities, staff and search and rescue teams in numerous states, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state was bracing for the longest cold stretch and highest snow totals it has seen in years. Communities near the Canadian border have already seen record-breaking subzero temperatures, with Watertown registering minus 34 degrees Fahrenheit and Copenhagen minus 49 F, she said.

An Arctic siege has taken over our state, Hochul said. It is brutal, it is bone chilling and it is dangerous.

Effects of the storm

In Corinth, Mississippi, where power outages were widespread, Caterpillar told employees at its remanufacturing site to stay home Monday and Tuesday.

May God have mercy on Corinth, MS! ... The sound of the trees snapping, exploding & falling through the night have been unnerving to say the least, resident Kathy Ragan wrote on Facebook.

In Clarksdale, Mississippi, Sanford Johnsons family still had power Sunday while nearby towns had outages. Enough snow and sleet fell that few motorists were out, he said.

I had to break it to my youngest daughter that the play date she scheduled likely wont happen today. We have no plans on driving, Johnson said.

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On the east side of Nashville, Jami Joe, 41, had power Sunday afternoon but she feared the juice might not last long as ice-heavy limbs from mature oak and pecan trees continued to crash around her house. Its only a matter of time if a limb strikes a power line, she predicted.

In Little Rock, Arkansas, officials say the weight of accumulated snow and sleet likely caused the collapse of an awning onto several houseboats. Six people were rescued and 22 were evacuated, Pulaski County officials said.

Robert Williams, a porter at a residential building in Queens, said the snow plow he was using broke down just as he was beginning to clear the sidewalks early this morning. He and a co-worker have instead had to go out nearly every hour with shovels and salt to clear a path around the building, which takes up the entire block.

No matter the elements, we still have to put on our big boy shoes and come out here and do what we have to do, Williams said.

Storm knocks out power and snarls flights

As of Sunday morning, about 213 million people were under some sort of winter weather warning, Santorelli said. Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power according to poweroutage.us, with Tennessee and Mississippi hit especially hard.

Some 11,500 flights were canceled Sunday and more than 16,000 delayed, according to the flight tracker flightaware.com. Airports in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey were hit especially hard.

Bitter cold makes things worse

Even once the ice and snow stop falling, the danger will continue, Santorelli warned.

Behind the storm its just going to get bitterly cold across basically the entirety of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, east of the Rockies, she said. That means the ice and snow wont melt as fast, which could hinder some efforts to restore power and other infrastructure.

Along the Gulf Coast, temperatures were balmy Sunday, hitting the high 60s and low 70s, but thermometers were expected to drop into the high 20s and low 30s there by Monday morning. The National Weather Service warned of damaging winds and a slight risk of severe storms and possibly even a brief tornado.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people who died were found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday before the snows arrived in earnest, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation.

He pleaded with New Yorkers to stay inside and off roads: We want every single New Yorker to make it through this storm.

Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.

Across the affected areas, officials announced that school would be canceled or held remotely Monday.

Recovery could take a while

In Oxford, Mississippi, police on Sunday morning used social media to tell residents to stay home as the danger of being outside was too great. Local utility crews were also pulled from their jobs during the overnight hours.

Due to life-threatening conditions, Oxford Utilities has made the difficult decision to pull our crews off the road for the night, the utility company posted on Facebook early Sunday. Trees are actively snapping and falling around our linemen while they are in the bucket trucks."

Tippah Electric Power in Mississippi said there was catastrophic damage and that it could be weeks instead of days to restore everyone.

The Tennessee Valley Authority provides power to some utilities across the region, and spokesperson Scott Brooks said the bulk power system remains stable but overnight icing had caused power interruptions in north Mississippi, north Alabama, southern middle Tennessee and the Knoxville, Tennessee, area.

Icy roads made travel dangerous in north Georgia, where the Cherokee County Sheriffs office posted on Facebook, You know its bad when Waffle House is closed!!! along with a photo of a shuttered restaurant. Whether the chains restaurants are open known as the Waffle House Index has become an informal way to gauge the severity of weather disasters across the South.

A massive winter storm set the stage for a brutal travel day Sunday, with airlines warning of widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation's busiest airports.

RELATED STORY | Winter weather travel guide: Refunds, rebooking, and survival tips

Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people more than half the U.S. population in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said Saturday night. After sweeping through the South, forecasters said the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow from Washington through New York and Boston.

More than 14,100 flights have been canceled across the U.S. since Saturday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Over 10,000 of those were scheduled for Sunday.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport warned travelers on its website of widespread flight cancellations. Nearly all of its departing flights scheduled for the day 420 flights, or 99% have been canceled.

WATCH | Millions braced for winter storm forecast to spread across much of the US

Significant disruptions have hit major airport hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Atlanta, home to the nations busiest airport, as well as New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.

American Airlines had canceled over 1,400 flights for Sunday, about 45% of its scheduled flights for Sunday, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines each reported over 1,200 cancellations for the day, while United Airlines had more than 860. JetBlue had more than 570 canceled flights, accounting for roughly 71% of its schedule for the day.

Democrats demanded that federal immigration officers leave Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the frigid streets and increasing tensions in a city already shaken by another shooting death weeks earlier.

Family members identified the man who was killed as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who protested President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown in his city. After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with federal officers, who wielded batons and deployed flash bangs.

RELATED STORY | Federal agent fatally shoots VA nurse in Minneapolis while filming ICE activity

A federal judge has already ruled that officers participating in the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota cant detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who arent obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents.

That decision came in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Minnesota activists. Minnesota and its two largest cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, have also sued the Trump administration making similar arguments that the federal officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.

The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, officials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and a federal building where officers have squared off with demonstrators daily.

Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, Police Chief Brian OHara said.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired defensive shots after a man with a handgun approached them and violently resisted when they tried to disarm him.

In bystander videos of the shooting that emerged soon after, Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.

O'Hara said police believe he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Hundreds of Minnesota businesses close as antiICE protests sweep Twin Cities

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference that Pretti had shown up to impede a law enforcement operation. She questioned why he was armed but did not offer details about whether Pretti drew the weapon or brandished it at officers.

The officer who shot him is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said.

Trump blames Democrats

The president weighed in on social media by lashing out at Walz and the Minneapolis mayor.

He shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered and said: What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why werent they allowed to protect ICE Officers?

Trump, a Republican, said the Democratic governor and mayor are are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was among several Democratic lawmakers demanding federal immigration authorities leave Minnesota. She also urged Democrats to refuse to vote to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying via social media: We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer later said that Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes money for DHS, which oversees ICE. Schumers statement increases the possibility that the government could partially shut down Jan. 30 when funding runs out.

Pretti was shot just over a mile from where an ICE officer killed 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7, sparking widespread protests.

Pretti's family released a statement Saturday evening saying they are heartbroken but also very angry and calling him a kindhearted soul who wanted to make a difference in the world through his work as a nurse.

The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trumps murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed," the family statement said. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.

Video shows officers, man who was shot

In a bystander video obtained by The Associated Press, protesters are heard blowing whistles and shouting profanities at federal officers on Nicollet Avenue.

An officer shoves a person who is wearing a brown jacket, skirt and black tights and carrying a water bottle. That person reaches out for a man, and the two link up, embracing. The man, wearing a brown jacket and black hat, seems to be holding his phone up toward the officer.

The same officer shoves the man in his chest and the two, still embracing, fall back.

RELATED STORY | Do ICE agents truly have absolute immunity?

The video shifts to a different part of the street and then comes back to the two individuals unlinking from each other. It shifts focus again and then shows three officers surrounding the man.

Soon at least seven officers surround him. One is on his back, and another who appears to have a canister in his hand strikes a blow to his chest. Several officers try to bring the mans arms behind his back as he appears to resist. As they pull his arms, his face is briefly visible. The officer with the canister strikes him near his head several times.

A shot rings out, but with officers surrounding the man, its not clear where it came from. Multiple officers back off. More shots are heard. Officers back away, and the man lies motionless on the street.

The police chief appealed for calm, both from the public and from federal law enforcement.

Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands, the chief said. We urge everyone to remain peaceful."

Gregory Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the administrations big-city immigration campaign, said the officer who shot the man had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.

This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at, he said.

Walz said he had no confidence in federal officials and the state would lead the investigation into the shooting.

But Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said during a news conference that federal officers blocked his agency from the scene even after it obtained a signed judicial warrant.

Protests continue

Demonstrations broke out in several cities across the country including New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

In Minneapolis, protesters converged at the scene of the shooting in Minneapolis despite dangerously cold weather by the afternoon the worst of an extreme cold wave was over, but the temperature was still -6 degrees (-21 Celsius).

An angry crowd gathered after the shooting and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them cowards and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: Boo hoo. Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. Protesters dragged garbage dumpsters from alleyways to block streets, and people chanted ICE out now and Observing ICE is not a crime.

As dark fell hundreds of people mourned quietly by a growing memorial at the site of the shooting. Some carried signs saying Justice for Alex Pretti. Others chanted Pretti's and Good's names. A doughnut shop and a clothing store nearby stayed open, offering protesters a warm place as well as water, coffee and snacks.

Caleb Spike said he came from a nearby suburb to show his support and his frustration. It feels like every day something crazier happens, he said. Whats happening in our community is wrong, its sickening, its disgusting.

Family members say the man killed by a federal officer in Minneapolis on Saturday was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown in his city.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was an avid outdoorsman who loved getting in adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog who also recently died. He had participated in protests following the killing of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month.

He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset, said Michael Pretti, Alexs father. He felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others.

RELATED STORY | Federal agent fatally shot man in Minneapolis amid immigration tensions

Pretti was a U.S. citizen, born in Illinois. Like Good, court records showed he had no criminal record and his family said he had never had any interactions with law enforcement beyond a couple of traffic tickets.

In a recent conversation with their son, his parents, who live in Wisconsin, told him to be careful when protesting.

We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically, Michael Pretti said. And he said he knows that. He knew that.

The Department of Homeland Security said that the man was shot after he approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not specify if Pretti brandished the gun, and it is not visible in bystander video of the shooting obtained by The Associated Press.

Family members said Pretti owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota. They said they had never known him to carry it.

The family first learned of the shooting when they were called by an Associated Press reporter. They watched the video and said the man killed appeared to be their son. They then tried reaching out to officials in Minnesota.

I cant get any information from anybody, Michael Pretti said Saturday. The police, they said call Border Patrol, Border Patrols closed, the hospitals wont answer any questions?

Eventually, the family called the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, who they said confirmed had a body matching the name and description of their son.

The U.S. military said Friday that it has carried out a deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first known attack since the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro earlier this month.

U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat was engaged in narco-trafficking operations and that the strike killed two people and left one survivor. It said it notified the Coast Guard to launch search and rescue operations for that person.

A video accompanying the post announcing the latest strike shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The U.S. military has focused lately on seizing sanctioned oil tankers with connections to Venezuela since the Trump administration launched an audacious raid to capture Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

With the latest military action, there have been 36 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September that killed at least 117 people, according to announcements from the U.S. military and Trump. The majority of those of strikes have occurred in the Caribbean Sea.

The last reported boat strikes occurred in late December, when the military said it struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats over two days, killing a total of eight people while others jumped overboard. Days later, the Coast Guard suspended its search.

The U.S. conducted a large-scale operation in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, on Jan. 3 that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, who were then flown to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.

RELATED NEWS | Democrats slam Trump for not notifying Congress before Maduro raid

Maduro, before his capture, said the U.S. military operations were a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. strikes targeting alleged smugglers are having an enormous impact on slowing drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Weve stopped virtually stopped almost 100% of all drugs coming in by water, Trump said in remarks on Thursday at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington D.C., polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling.

DC Water, which operates the sewer system, is hooking up pumps to divert sewage around the rupture and allow crews to make repairs. The rupture happened late Monday and they are cautioning people to stay out of the area.

The spill was caused by a 72-inch (183 centimeters) sewer pipe that collapsed, shooting sewage up out of the ground and flowing into the river. The sewer system is capable of handling 60 million gallons (230 million liters) of water each day, enough to fill about 90 Olympic-size swimming pools.

"Oh my god, the smell is horrific," said Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and part of an environmental nonprofit. "It's such high concentrations of sewage that just grabbing a sample is a public health risk."

DC Water cautioned people to wash their skin if it was exposed.

The spill occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, along Clara Barton Parkway, which hugs the northern edge of the Potomac River near the C & O Canal National Historic Park.

Crews are removing lock gates on the C & O Canal. Pumps will be installed upstream to move sewage into the canal and then rerouted downstream of the rupture back into the sewer system, according to DC Water.

The spill does not impact drinking water, which is a separate system, DC Water said. Crews are expected to work through the weekend even with the forecast of bad winter storms.

Naujoks said the spill is happening at time when the river is low. He went out to look at it Wednesday and was "kind of stunned."

"Sewage is just bubbling up like a small geyser, maybe two, three feet into the air," he said. "Sewage water is running in every direction."

The District of Columbia Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including whether they are testing the river's water.

Nationally, hundreds of billions in infrastructure investment is needed over the next two decades for clean water problems like aging sewer pipes. In other places where sewer breaks are persistent, it can lead to backups into homes and regular flooding.

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's administration must keep federal funds flowing to child care subsidies and other social service programs in five Democratic-controlled states at least for now.

The ruling Friday from U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick extends by two weeks a temporary one issued earlier this month that blocked the federal government from holding back the money from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York. That expires Friday.

The judge said he'd decide later whether the money is to remain in place while a challenge to cutting it off works its way through the courts.

RELATED STORY | 5 states sue Trump over freeze on aid for low-income families

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this month that it was pausing the funding because it had "reason to believe" the states were granting benefits to people in the country illegally, though it did not provide evidence or explain why it was targeting those states and not others.

The states say the move was instead intended to damage Trump's political adversaries.

A judge previously gave the states a reprieve to the administration's plan to halt funding for the states unless they provide information on the beneficiaries of some programs, including names and Social Security numbers. The temporary restraining order was set to expire Friday.

Around the same time as the actions aimed at the five states, the administration put up hurdles to Minnesota for even more federal dollars. It also began requesting all states to explain how they're using money in the child care program.

The programs are intended to help low-income families

The programs are the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for 1.3 million children from low-income families nationwide; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant, a smaller fund that provides money for a variety of programs. The states say that they receive a total of more more than $10 billion a year from those programs and that the programs are essential for low-income and vulnerable families.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent letters to the states on Jan. 5 and 6 telling them they would be placed on "restricted drawdown" of program money until the states provided more information.

For TANF and the Social Service Block Grant, the request required the states to submit the data, including personal information of recipients beginning in 2022, with a deadline of Jan. 20.

RELATED STORY | Trump administration says it's freezing child care funds to Minnesota after series of fraud schemes

States call the action 'unlawful many times over'

In court papers last week, the states say what they describe as a funding freeze does not follow the law.

They say Congress created laws about how the administration can identify noncompliance or fraud by recipients of the money and that the federal government hasn't used that process.

They also say it's improper to freeze funding broadly because of potential fraud and that producing the data the government called for is an "impossible demand on an impossible timeline."

The administration says it's not a freeze

In a court filing this week, the administration objected to the states describing the action as a "funding freeze," even though the headline on the Department of Health and Human Services announcement was: "HHS Freezes Child Care and Family Assistance Grants in Five States for Fraud Concerns."

Federal government lawyers said the states could get the money going forward if they provide the requested information and the federal government finds them to be in compliance with anti-fraud measures.

The administration also notes that it has continued to provide funding to the states, not pointing out that a court ordered it to do so.

The temporary rules imposed after last year's collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter to improve the safety of the crowded airspace around Washington D.C. are being made permanent, the government announced Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to make sure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport shortly after the investigation into the Jan. 29 crash began. The rules also prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.

The National Transportation Safety Board plans to hold a hearing next Tuesday to detail everything that contributed to the deadliest plane crash on American soil since 2001.

RELATED STORY | U.S. admits Army, FAA failures contributed to deadly D.C. mid-air collision

After that horrific night in January, this administration made a promise to do whatever it takes to secure the skies over our nations capital and ensure such a tragedy would never happen again. Todays announcement reaffirms that commitment, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

The families of the 67 people who died after an Army Black Hawk helicopter struck an American Airlines jet that was preparing to land hope Duffy and Congress will act on the recommendations NTSB is expected to make next week to help prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.

Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said he and many of the other families plan to keep going to Washington so often that lawmakers will get sick of seeing them until changes are made.

I hope to have some hearings done in the Senate and Congress, and I hope results come out of these hearings that they have, said Collins who lives in Dighton, Massachusetts. I hope were not just placated and it falls off into the background until another big news story comes up.

The FAA said the new final rule will take effect on Friday. It will continue to require military aircraft to broadcast their locations using their ADS-B Out systems, which was routinely not done before the crash. And air traffic controllers are not allowed to rely on pilots to ensure visual separation between aircraft within five miles (eight kilometers) of Reagan airport.

The NTSB has said that the Black Hawk helicopter in the crash was flying 78 feet (24 meters) higher than the 200-foot (61-meter) limit on the route and likely had a faulty altimeter. But even if the helicopter had been adhering to that limit, the NTSB has said the route design didn't provide nearly enough separation to ensure safety.

Air traffic controllers had warned the FAA years beforehand about the dangers of all the helicopters around the nation's capital, and the agency failed to recognize an alarming pattern of 85 near misses in the three years before the crash.

Collins said he still flies often for work and pleasure, but his parents haven't boarded a plane since the crash.

I still think flying is probably the safest mode of transportation, but I think it could be a heck of a lot safer, he said.

Many of the people who died on the flight were young figure skaters and their parents and coaches who had just attended a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, after the U.S. figure skating championships were held there.

A vast network of labor unions, progressive organizations and clergy has been urging Minnesotans to stay away from work, school and stores Friday to protest against immigration enforcement in the state.

Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen daily protests since Renee Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7. Federal law enforcement officers have surged in the Twin Cities for weeks and have repeatedly squared off with community members and activists who track their movements.

We really, really want ICE to leave Minnesota, and theyre not going to leave Minnesota unless theres a ton of pressure on them, said Kate Havelin of Indivisible Twin Cities, one of the more than 100 groups that is mobilizing. They shouldnt be roaming any streets in our country just the way they are now.

RELATED STORY | Minnesota police chief says ICE stopped off-duty officer at gunpoint

On Thursday, a prominent civil rights attorney and at least two other people were arrested for their involvement in an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a Sunday service at a church in St. Paul. They remained in federal custody Friday morning.

Vice President JD Vance meanwhile visited Minneapolis to meet with ICE officials and address reporters. He encouraged protesters to remain peaceful and urged city and state officials to cooperate with federal forces to ease the fraught situation in Minneapolis.

Organizers hope Fridays mobilization will be the largest coordinated protest action to date, with a march in downtown Minneapolis planned for Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service warned of dangerously cold weather, and early Friday, the temperature in Minneapolis was minus 21 with a wind chill of minus 40 (minus 29 Celsius with a wind chill of minus 40 Celsius).

RELATED STORY | ICE activity increases in Maine as anxiety grows in immigrant communities

Havelin compared the presence of immigration enforcement to the winter weather warnings.

Minnesotans understand that when were in a snow emergency we all have to respond and it makes us do things differently, she said. And whats happening with ICE in our community, in our state, means that we cant respond as business as usual.

More than a hundred small businesses in the Twin Cities, largely coffee shops and restaurants, said they would close in solidarity or donate part of their profits, organizers said.

Somali businesses especially have lost sales during the enforcement surge as workers and customers, fearing detention, stay at home.

Some businesses are choosing to close in solidarity with the protesters rather than the unscheduled interruption of having agents apprehend staff, said Luis Argueta of Unidos MN, a civil rights group.

Many schools were planning to close Friday, but cited different reasons. The University of Minnesota and the St. Paul public school district said there would be no in-person classes because of the extreme cold. Minneapolis Public Schools were scheduled to be closed for a teacher record keeping day.

RELATED STORY | 'We need some cooperation:' Vance visits ICE operations in Minnesota

Clergy planned to join the march as well as hold prayer services and fasting, according to a delegation of representatives of faith traditions including Buddhist, Jewish, Lutheran and Muslim.

Bishop Dwayne Royster, leader of the progressive organization Faith in Action, arrived in Minnesota on Wednesday from Washington, D.C.

We want ICE out of Minnesota, he said. We want them out of all the cities around the country where theyre exercising extreme overreach.

Royster said at least 50 of his networks faith-based organizers were joining the protest. About 10 were traveling from Los Angeles while others from the same group planned a solidarity rally in California, said one of the organizers there.

It was a very harrowing experience, said the Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez of the large immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles last year. We believe God is on the side of migrants.

Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who was among the FBIs top fugitives and faces charges related to multinational drug trafficking and the killing of a federal witness, has been arrested in Mexico, top Justice Department officials said Friday.

Wedding, 44, is accused of running a drug trafficking operation, and officials say he orchestrated several killings to further the drug crimes. He was on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Wedding's arrest in social media posts. Patel said Wedding was being transported to the U.S. after being apprehended Thursday night in Mexico, where U.S. authorities believe the former Olympian been hiding for more than a decade.

This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, Patel wrote on the social platform X, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice.

At a news conference in California on Friday morning, Patel said Wedding's arrest was the result of international cooperation and praised Mexico's government and global partnerships for their roles in the operation.

When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front, and thats what youre seeing here, he said, describing him a modern day El Chapo who "thought he could evade justice.

Patel held meetings in Mexico on Thursday and left Friday with two detainees, Mexico's Security Secretary Omar Garca Harfuch wrote on X. He said the two detainees were a Canadian citizen who turned himself in at the U.S. embassy, as well as someone else who was among the FBIs most-wanted and had been detained by Mexican authorities.

A member of Mexicos Security Cabinet, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Wedding was the Canadian citizen who turned himself in.

Wedding competed for his home country in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Olympic records show he participated in a single men's snowboarding event, parallel giant slalom, finishing 24th.

Wedding was charged in 2024 with running a drug ring that used semitrucks to move cocaine between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada. Authorities said his aliases included El Jefe, Public Enemy and James Conrad Kin.

In November, Bondi announced that he had also been indicted on charges of orchestrating the killing of a witness in Colombia to help him avoid extradition to the U.S.

Authorities said Wedding and co-conspirators used a Canadian website called The Dirty News to post a photograph of the witness so he could be identified and killed. The witness was then followed to a restaurant in Medelln in January and shot in the head.

Wedding faces separate drug trafficking charges in Canada that date back to 2015, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Wedding was previously convicted in the U.S. of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010, federal records show. Federal prosecutors in 2024 said they believed Wedding, after his release from prison, had resumed drug trafficking under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

A U.S.-based activist agency said Sunday it has verified at least 3,919 deaths during a wave of protests that swept Iran and led to a bloody crackdown, and fears the number could be significantly higher.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency posted the revised figure, up from the previous toll of 3,308. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution.

The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the toll.

RELATED STORY | Arab allies urge Trump to delay Iran strikes over protest crackdown

Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, the countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the protests had left several thousand people dead and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Irans ailing economy.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency says 24,669 protesters have been arrested in the crackdown.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest in the country.

Tension with the United States has been high, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against anti-government protesters.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a post Sunday on X, blamed longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies for any hardships the Iranian people might be facing. Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation, he wrote.

During the protests, Trump had told demonstrators that help is on the way and that his administration would act accordingly if the killing of demonstrators continued or if Iranian authorities executed detained protesters.

But he later struck a conciliatory tone, saying that Iranian officials had canceled the hanging of over 800 people and that I greatly respect the fact that they canceled.

A family member of detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani said Sunday that the 26-year-old is in good physical health and was able to see his family days after his planned execution was postponed.

Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani who is living abroad, told AP that his family had been told his execution would be set for Wednesday but it was postponed when they reached the prison in Karaj, a city northwest of Tehran.

I ask everyone to help in securing Erfans freedom, Somayeh, who asked to be identified by first name only for fear of government reprisal, said in a video message.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Family of Iranian prisoner spared from execution fears what comes next

On Saturday, Khamenei branded Trump a criminal for supporting the rallies and blamed the U.S. for the casualties, describing the protesters as foot soldiers of the United States.

Trump, in an interview with Politico on Saturday, called for an end to Khameneis nearly 40-year reign, calling him as a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.

No protests have been reported for days in Iran, where the streets have returned to an uneasy calm. Instead, some Iranians chanted anti-Khamenei slogans from the windows of their homes on Saturday night, the chants reverberating around neighborhoods in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan, witnesses said.

Authorities have also blocked access to the internet since Jan. 8. On Saturday, very limited internet services functioned again briefly. Access to some online services such as Google began working again on Sunday, although users said they could access only domestic websites, and email services continued to be blocked.