School closures and state of emergencies

With winds gusting up to 45 mph, local authorities have been forced to take action urging residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Several states have declared an emergency while power outages have left thousands of customers in Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana in the dark. From Missouri to Maryland, storm warnings have been issued.

Impacted states

According to Newsweek, all public schools in Washington D.C. have been closed, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump’s meeting with U.S. Congress.

Missouri: Heavy snowfall of 10 to 14 inches in parts of central and northeast Missouri has led to school closures, especially in counties like Jackson and Vinton, Newsweek reports. School closures in Boone County and St. Louis County were also announced.

Kansas: Kansas is experiencing blizzard-like conditions. Travels are completely disrupted. As a result, schools across the state, including Shawnee County, Wichita Public Schools, and Lawrence Public Schools, have announced closure.

Indiana: Indiana is suffering a massive power outage, meanwhile emergency has been declared. Several school districts have been affected, with Indianapolis Public Schools, Perry Township Schools, and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation all closing.

Also read: Major US winter blast shuts down government offices in several states, stirs dangerous travel conditions

Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency, and many school districts have canceled classes. Schools in Jefferson County and districts in Oldham, Bullitt, Shelby, Spencer, and Greater Clark counties have all closed. Fayette County Public Schools and numerous other districts in Kentucky have followed suit.

Maryland: Heavy snowfall has hit Maryland. Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency as the storm began affecting the state.. Schools in Baltimore City, Cecil County, Harford County, Carroll County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County have all closed due to the storm’s impact.

Washington D.C.: In the nation’s capital, Winter Storm Blair has caused all public schools to close, as the city prepares for snow and bitter cold temperatures.

What to know about Winter storm Blair

According to the National Weather Service, the winter storm which has been named Blair could bring “the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade.” According to BBC, AccuWeather forecaster Dan DePodwin said: “This could lead to the coldest January for the US since 2011.”

Also read: Kamala Harris to certify Trump’s win four years after Capitol attack, calls her role a ‘sacred obligation’: Watch

The storm has severely affected the travel sector. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and many major roads and highways have been declared hazardous due to snow and ice accumulation. Power outages have affected hundreds of thousands of residents in Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. Additionally, frigid temperatures in southern states have led to freeze warnings in areas like Florida.

“Whiteout conditions will make travel extremely hazardous, with impassable roads and a high risk of motorists becoming stranded,” the NWS said.

Associated Press

Ohio State Buckeyes (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten)

Minneapolis; Monday, 9 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Buckeyes -5.5; over/under is 137

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota hosts Ohio State after Dawson Garcia scored 20 points in Minnesota’s 81-61 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Golden Gophers have gone 8-3 at home. Minnesota has a 2-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Buckeyes have gone 1-2 against Big Ten opponents. Ohio State is eighth in the Big Ten with 24.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Devin Royal averaging 5.1.

Minnesota makes 44.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.2 percentage points higher than Ohio State has allowed to its opponents (38.5%). Ohio State averages 8.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.0 more made shots on average than the 6.4 per game Minnesota allows.

The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lu’Cye Patterson is averaging 10 points and 3.9 assists for the Golden Gophers.

Bruce Thornton is shooting 54.0% and averaging 16.9 points for the Buckeyes.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Gophers: 5-5, averaging 68.6 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 5.7 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.0 points per game.

Buckeyes: 6-4, averaging 83.3 points, 30.0 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 50.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The fifth-year Ohio State defensive end opted to enter the transfer portal on Sunday, according to multiple reports.

Ohio State linebacker Mitchell Melton is entering the transfer portal, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports.

Melton, who is repped by @APSportsAgency, is a former top-185 overall recruit who has 12 tackles and two sacks this year.https://t.co/9Xz4TxxKfX pic.twitter.com/He1Laiy5vp

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 6, 2025

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Initially recruited to Ohio State as a linebacker, Melton moved to defensive end after missing the entirety of the 2021 and 2022 seasons due to injuries. He’s seen occasional playing time as a rotational player over the past two seasons, recording 15 total tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Had Melton stayed at Ohio State for the 2025 season, he likely would have remained in a backup role for the Buckeyes. While Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau will exhaust their eligibility after this season, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry and incoming Idaho State transfer Logan George are the most likely candidates to lead Ohio State’s depth chart on the edge next season. C.J. Hicks is also a potential candidate to become a full-time edge player next season.

Melton still has another year of eligibility because he took a redshirt in 2021 after all players received an extra year of eligibility in 2020. With Melton and Patrick Gurd departing, Ohio State will not have any members of its 2020 recruiting class on its roster next season, as the rest of its scholarship players from that class (Gee Scott Jr., Josh Fryar, Ty Hamilton, Cody Simon and Lathan Ransom) who remain with the Buckeyes are set to exhaust their eligibility after this season.