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The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US

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The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The next round of bitter cold was set to envelop the southern U.S. on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year blasted a huge swath of the country with ice, snow and wind.

The immense storm system brought disruption even to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for hats and gloves.

By early Tuesday, wind chill temperatures could dip into the teens to low-20’s (as low as minus 10.5 C) from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form as soon as Wednesday near south Texas, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state that include Dallas, as well as to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip Monday, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations.

Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 kph). The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Tuesday.

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A Kentucky truck stop was jammed with big rigs forced off an icy and snow-covered Interstate 75 on Monday just outside Cincinnati. A long haul driver from Los Angeles carrying a load of rugs to Georgia, Michael Taylor said he saw numerous cars and trucks stuck in ditches and was dealing with icy windshield wipers before he pulled off the interstate.

“It was too dangerous. I didn’t want to kill myself or anyone else,” he said.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes plunges south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Studies show that a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its grip.

Temperatures plunge across the country

The eastern two-thirds of the U.S. dealt with bone-chilling cold and wind chills Monday, with temperatures in some areas far below normal.

A cold weather advisory will take effect early Tuesday across the Gulf Coast. In Texas’ capital of Austin and surrounding cities, wind chills could drop as low as 15 degrees (minus 9.4 C).

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The Northeast was expected to get several cold days.

Transportation has been tricky

Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Virginia State Police responded to at least 430 crashes Sunday and Monday, including one that was fatal. Police said other weather-related fatal accidents occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas saw two deadly crashes over the weekend.

More than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed nationwide as of Monday night, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reported that about 58% of arrivals and 70% of departures had been canceled.

A record 8 inches (more than 20 centimeters) of snow fell Sunday at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, leading to dozens of flight cancellations that lingered into Monday. About 4 inches (about 10 centimeters) fell Monday across the Cincinnati area, where car and truck crashes shut at least two major routes leading into downtown.

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More snow and ice are expected

In Indiana, snow covered stretches of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, leading authorities to plead with people to stay home.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

The Mid-Atlantic region had been forecast to get another 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of snow on Monday. Dangerously cold temperatures were expected to follow, with nighttime lows falling into the single digits (below minus 12.7 C) through the middle of the week across the Central Plains and into the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

In North Texas, 2 to 5 inches (about 5 to 13 centimeters) of snow was expected beginning Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Snow could also hit Oklahoma and Arkansas, with some parts potentially getting more than 4 inches (about 10 centimeters).

Classes canceled in several states

School closings were widespread, with districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas canceling or delaying the start of classes Monday. Among them was Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools, which canceled classes and other school activities for its nearly 100,000 students.

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Classes were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Sunday and announced that state government offices would also be closed Monday. Government offices also were closed Monday in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.

Tens of thousands are without power

Many were in the dark as temperatures plunged. More than 218,000 customers were without power Monday night across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

In Virginia’s capital city, a power outage caused a temporary malfunction in the water system, officials said Monday afternoon. Richmond officials asked those in the city of more than 200,000 people to refrain from drinking tap water or washing dishes without boiling the water first. The city also asked people to conserve their water, such as by taking shorter showers.

City officials said they were working nonstop to bring the system back online.

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Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press journalists Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Lea Skene in Baltimore; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Julie Walker in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

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Read more of the AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

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New video purportedly shows Louvre thieves in action during brazen daytime heist

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New video purportedly shows Louvre thieves in action during brazen daytime heist

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A new video has emerged showing what could be the Louvre thieves in action as they carried out Sunday’s daylight robbery at Paris’s world-famous museum.

The footage, obtained by French broadcaster BFMTV, purportedly shows what has been called one of the most brazen art thefts in recent memory.

The short clip appears to show someone inside the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, which was home to some of the museum’s most priceless treasures.

Footage taken by an anonymous bystander shows a person in a bright yellow jacket standing beside a glass display case.

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BRAZEN LOUVRE ROBBERY CREW MAY HAVE BEEN HIRED BY COLLECTOR, PROSECUTOR SAYS

New footage purportedly shows a person in a yellow jacket beside a display case amid the Louvre heist in Paris. (BFMTV)

The amateur footage was replayed for BFMTV, who filmed that phone’s screen and verified it Sunday. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm its authenticity.

According to French authorities, the thieves executed a highly coordinated operation that unfolded just after the museum opened to the public in the morning.

At around 9:30 a.m., thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre’s facade, forcing open a window to gain entry to the Apollo Gallery, which contains displays of the royal jewels.

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LOUVRE MUSEUM CLOSED AFTER ROBBERY, FRENCH OFFICIAL SAYS

louvre museum building

Thieves executed a daytime heist at the Louvre Museum, stealing French crown jewels. (Thibault Camus : AP)

According to reports, the group made off with jewels once belonging to Napoleon III’s court, including pieces from Empress Eugénie’s personal collection.

“They breached through a window and made this really brazen. These guys are fast and moving quickly with a purpose, and they breach, and they get in there really quickly,” former FBI Art Crime expert Tim Carpenter told Fox News Digital.

After the heist, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke to radio station France Inter and said the thieves “entered from the outside using a basket lift” and “a disc cutter” to slice through glass panes containing precious jewels.

TOURISM SAFETY FEARS RISE AFTER MUSEUM THIEF STEALS PHARAOH’S PRICELESS BRACELET: 4 THINGS TO KNOW

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Priceless jewelry stolen from the Louvre in a heist

A crown worn by French Empress Eugenie, which was targeted by thieves during a heist at Paris’ Louvre Museum on Oct. 19, 2025 but was dropped during their escape, on display in this undated still frame from a video. (Louvre Museum/Handout via Reuters)

“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” the ministry also said in a statement. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”

The Louvre remained closed on Monday as investigators combed through the scene and reviewed surveillance footage.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Louvre Museum and the Ministry of Culture for comment.

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Israel continues deadly Gaza truce breaches as US seeks to strengthen deal

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Israel continues deadly Gaza truce breaches as US seeks to strengthen deal

Israel has continued its air strikes and shootings in Gaza, raising fears over the future of its fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas, as United States envoys ramp up diplomacy to get the deal back on track.

The Palestinian Civil Defence agency said that four people were killed in two separate attacks, both times “by Israeli gunfire as they were returning to check on their homes” in the al-Shaaf area, east of Tuffah neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza City.

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Israel’s military claimed it had fired at militants who crossed the so-called yellow line of demarcation and had approached troops in the Shujayea neighbourhood, which is adjacent to Tuffah, and “posed a threat” to Israeli soldiers.

The yellow line, set out in a map shared by US President Donald Trump on October 4, is the boundary behind which Israeli troops pulled back and remain stationed under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Gaza City residents reported confusion over the line’s location because of a lack of a visible boundary. “The whole area is in ruins. We saw the maps but we can’t tell where those lines are,” said Samir, 50, who lives in Tuffah in the city’s east.

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Several outbreaks of violence have taken place since a fragile US-brokered ceasefire began on October 10, with at least 97 Palestinians killed in total, according to Gaza officials.

‘Blatant breaches’

Amid the rising death toll, Israel and Hamas have pointed the finger at one another for breaking the terms of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10.

Israeli air attacks on Sunday killed 42 people, including children, according to local health officials. Israel said the strikes were in retaliation for a truce violation by Hamas fighters, who it claimed shot and killed two Israeli soldiers in Rafah.

Hamas denied involvement in the event, saying it has no contact with any of its remaining units in Israeli-controlled parts of Rafah and “is not responsible for any incidents” there. One official accused Israel of fabricating “pretexts” to resume the war.

The group, which has released 20 living Israeli captives, said it was working to complete the handover of the remaining bodies of captives in Gaza, citing “major challenges because of the extensive destruction” of the enclave.

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The Red Cross received the body of a 13th deceased captive from Hamas on Monday and transferred it to the Israeli military, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Sunday, Israel threatened to halt shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza, though it later said it had resumed enforcing the ceasefire.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the delivery of aid into the territory had resumed, though he did not say how much.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said on Monday that Israel was still blocking the entry of aid into Gaza. “Several military checkpoints are blocking their entry, and these trucks are packed with various humanitarian supplies,” he said.

Abu Azzoum said the Israeli army had struck the eastern parts of Khan Younis on Monday, triggering fears among Palestinians that the ceasefire would not hold.

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Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on 20 October, 2025 [Stringer/Reuters]

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said, “The fragile ceasefire in #Gaza must be upheld”, in a statement on X, and called for investigations into the “blatant breaches” of international humanitarian law.

Salvage efforts

Amid the continued violence, two of Trump’s envoys travelled to Israel on Monday to shore up the ceasefire deal.

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Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Netanyahu, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.

US Vice President JD Vance and the second lady, Usha Vance, are scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday and meet with Netanyahu.

The ceasefire’s next stage is expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and the future governance of the devastated territory under an internationally backed “board of peace”.

Egypt hosted talks in Cairo on Monday with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya over ways to follow up on implementing the ceasefire, Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas and other allied factions reject any foreign administration of Gaza, as envisaged in the Trump plan, and have so far resisted calls to lay down arms, which may complicate the implementation of the deal.

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Asked about maintaining the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Trump appeared to blame Hamas for the ceasefire breaches, saying that it was facing “some rebellion” in its ranks, which the leaders needed to straighten out.

“They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated,” he said. But he insisted that such actions would not involve US troops on the ground.

Since the ceasefire started, Hamas security forces have returned to the streets in Gaza, clashing with other armed groups and killing alleged gangsters.

Trump had last week said that Hamas had taken out “a couple of gangs that were very bad; very, very bad gangs”.

“And that didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you. That’s OK,” he said.

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Video: How Jared Kushner Re-emerged at the Center of the Israel-Hamas Peace Deal

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Video: How Jared Kushner Re-emerged at the Center of the Israel-Hamas Peace Deal

new video loaded: How Jared Kushner Re-emerged at the Center of the Israel-Hamas Peace Deal

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, had a single goal: Get to a yes first, and hash out the details later. Tyler Pager, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, describes Mr. Kushner’s role in cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

By Tyler Pager, Christina Shaman, Laura Salaberry, Melanie Bencosme and Zach Wood

October 20, 2025

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