1 Winter Storm Leaves Four Dead, Thousands Without Power
A massive winter storm, packing ice, snow and freezing rain, has left four people dead, two-thousand flights cancelled and thousands without power in the Southeast. Adding to the misery? As much as 18-inches of snow has been left in the hardest hit areas of North Carolina and Virginia. Still, Tennessee and South Carolina have seen more than 10-inches of snow. Officials say three men were found dead in York County, South Carolina from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in their home, while a fourth man died in Matthews, North Carolina when his car spun out of control after being struck by a falling tree branch. Down in Charlotte, two people remain hospitalized with life threatening injuries. What now? Trying get life back online – and it won’t be easy as more than 21-hundred flights remain cancelled from the wintry blast and over 13-thousand are delayed. On a local level, officials in several states are urging locals to remain vigilant and stay off the roads as much as possible. And that’s just fine for kids in areas including Greensboro – where school is cancelled today.
2 French Officials Clean Up After Another Weekend Of Protests
With hundreds of thousands of protestors taking to the streets for another weekend, officials are trying to get everything cleaned up – and tourist sites reopened today. This, as Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire calls the weekend’s events a “catastrophe” for the French economy. The country has suffered about $1-billion in damage and economic loss since the “yellow vest” protests began November 17th. In Paris, the mess is worse than in other areas as demonstrators burned cars, smashed windows, and shops looted. It’s believed 10,000 people took part in demonstrations there alone – and more than 12-hundred were arrested. At issue? An ironic one as protestors are angry about higher taxes, but demanding a higher minimum wage – and more social programs. As for what’s next, that may depend on what French President Emmanuel Macron has to say – he’s said to be planning “a major announcement” this week. A government spokesman offered nothing more detailed than that.
3 Comey Speaks To Congress, Trump Lashes Out
As President Trump calls for the end of the Mueller investigation, former FBI Director James Comey says he could bet his life that the Special Counsel’s Russia probe is being conducted in the right way. This as the House Judiciary and Oversight committees released a 235-page transcript of his closed-door testimony on the Hill. During the testimony on Friday, Comey told the two-dozen lawmakers that there aren't many things he'd bet his life on, but he maintained that Robert Mueller's probe is one of them. "I would bet my life that Bob Mueller will do things the right way, the way we would all want,” he tells officials. “Whether we're Republicans or 64 Democrats, the way Americans should want." Comey has agreed to return to Capitol Hill later this month to continue answering lawmakers' questions – even though he’s not sure why. Comey says his testimony Friday was centered on the Hillary Clinton email controversy. He later told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that in his view, President Trump is about as close to being an “unindicted co-conspirator” as someone could get without an indictment being filed.