The Golden Globes aired Sunday night and the unofficial kickoff to Hollywood’s award season served glamour, laughs and a few sentimental tears.

Globe voters honored TV and films that explored themes of aging, immigration, acceptance and survival, but the tone of the show was largely light and celebratory, in keeping with an event historically considered Hollywood’s biggest – and booziest – party.

From host Nikki Glaser’s best lines to some sincerely sweet acceptance speeches, highlights from the 82nd Golden Globes follow below:

Nikki Glaser’s funniest lines

Globes host Nikki Glaser – the first standalone, female host for the event – did what she does best: playfully roast celebrities.

Glaser kicked off her monologue by cracking a joke about the show being “Ozempic’s biggest night,” referencing the popular weight loss drug, and later poked fun at Timotheé Chalamet’s name (and facial hair), even featuring Adam Sandler saying Chalament’s name in his signature comedic cadence.

Double nominee Selena Gomez and her fiancé Benny Blanco also made the monologue. Glaser joked that Blanco, who accompanied his fiancée Gomez to the show, was only there “because of the genie who granted him that wish.”

Leader in the telecast, Glaser hilariously attempted to combine “Wicked” and “Conclave” into a song called “Pope-ular” while wearing a cardinal or a pope hat and clutching Glinda’s wand. The bit was short-lived though – as she began to sing, Glaser mimed getting a note from producers in her earpiece letting her know the number “sucked.”

About midway through the show, Glaser took stock of how it was going so far by presenting a tally of who had been thanked during acceptance speeches.

Turns out cast and crew scored big with 11 shoutouts, moms got enough love for a second place ranking, while TV host Mario Lopez got a mention. But, one who did not get any love at all was “God, creator of the universe,” Himself.

“No surprise in this Godless town,” Glaser joked.

Family night at the Globes

Sunday’s ceremony certainly had heart, in part, due to the many nominees who brought their parents to the event. Several winners also made sure to single out their loved ones while on stage.

Zoe Saldana, who won a statuette for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture for “Emilia Pérez,” brought her mother Asalia Nazario along as her date. Ariana Grande, who was nominated for her performance in a supporting capacity for “Wicked,” also brought her mom, Joan Grande, while actress Margaret Qualley brought along her father, Paul.

Glen Powell’s mom and dad Cyndy Powell and Glen Powell Sr. proudly accompanied their son and celebrated the actor being a first-time nominee for his Netflix film, “Hitman.”

Globe winner Adrien Brody’s speech acknowledging his parents, who were also on site, provided one of the most moving moments of the evening. He thanked his mother and immigrant ancestors for their sacrifices that paralleled that of his “Brutalist” character.

Surprise winner Fernanda Torres, who took home the trophy for best female actor in a drama motion picture for Brazilian film “I’m Still Here,” also paid tribute to her mother by dedicating her win to her.

“You have no idea she was here 25 years ago and this is like a proof that art can endure through life, even in difficult moments like this,” she said. “The same thing that is happening now in the world, with so much fear and this is a film that helps us to think how to survive in tough times like this. So to my mother, to my family… thank you very much.”

Ahead of the ceremony, Torres said she was the second Brazilian to be nominated, her mother Fernanda Montenegro being the first for 1998’s “Central Station.” Her mother is also her costar in the Walter Salles-directed film.

Moving speeches

The Globes had a mix of funny, gracious and moving acceptance speeches.

First-time winner Demi Moore, who won for best lead actress in a musical or comedy for her performance in the horror-comedy “The Substance,” gave a tearful speech about self-acceptance that brought many in the Beverly Hilton ballroom to their feet.

“I really wasn’t expecting that. I’m just in shock right now,” Moore said when she took the stage. “I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor and I’m just so humbled and so grateful.”

Moore, 62, recalled an exchange with a movie producer about 30 years ago who called her a “popcorn actress.”

“At that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have,” she said of her win. “And I bought in and I believed that and that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it. Maybe I was complete, maybe I’ve done what I was supposed to do.”

She said that the script for “The Substance” came to her while she was in “this low point” of her life.

“(Then) I had this magical, bold, courageous, out of the box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called ‘The Substance,’ and the universe told me that you’re not done,” Moore continued.

Colin Farrell credited his makeup artist and craft services team for his win for “The Penguin.”

“No one to thank on this one, I did it all by myself,” Farrell joked when accepting his award. He went on to say that “it takes a village” to create a series and thanked the cast and crew, including the prosthetics artists and “Carolina” from craft service, who gave him much-needed refreshments while he was overheating on set in the heavy makeup required for the role.

When the team from “Wicked” won for cinematic and box office achievement, director Jon Chu spoke about the joy of bringing people together to promote understanding and connection through movies.

Golden glamour

Many of the most luminous guests lit up the Globes with truly golden looks. Stars including host Glaser, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Bell, Mikey Madison, Mindy Kaling and Elle Fanning all donned golden-hued gowns.

Glaser turned up on the red carpet wearing a custom Prabal Gurung dress, telling Women’s Wear Daily that her tiny gold spherical purse was just for show. She added that the bag is empty but joked that it can double as a weapon.

Kaling was seen wearing a metallic gold column gown by Ashi Studio, while Oscar-winner Blanchett turned heads in a gold Louis Vuitton number.

Additionally, there were plenty of shimmering satins and metallics on display, including Angelina Jolie’s silver beaded Alexander McQueen creation and Moore’s iridescent champagne gown. But while many attendees opted for classic silhouettes in demure shades, there were also pops of bright color — red, in particular.

Dakota Fanning, nominated for her role in “Ripley,” turned heads in a strapless red Dolce & Gabbana bodice gown with a daring thigh slit. Elsewhere, Comedian Ali Wong (in Balenciaga), Sheryl Lee Ralph (in custom St. John) and Emma Stone (in Louis Vuitton) also impressed in shades ranging from ruby to burgundy.

Demi Moore is now a first-time Golden Globe winner.

On Sunday, Moore won for best female actor in a film — musical or comedy for her performance in “The Substance.”

“I really wasn’t expecting that. I’m just in shock right now,” Moore said when she took the stage. “I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor and I’m just so humbled and so grateful.”

Moore, 62, recalled an exchange with a movie producer about 30 years ago who called her a “popcorn actress.”

“At that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have,” she said of her win. “And I bought in and I believed that and that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it. Maybe I was complete, maybe I’ve done what I was supposed to do.”

She said that the script for “The Substance” came to her while she was in “this low point” of her life.

“(Then) I had this magical, bold, courageous, out of the box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called ‘The Substance,’ and the universe told me that you’re not done,” Moore continued.

“The Substance” is a feminist fable with a dark warning about the pitfalls of blindly chasing youth, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat of France.

“I’ll just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting,” Moore said of the film. “In those moments, when we don’t think we’re smart enough, or pretty enough, or skinny enough, or successful enough, or basically just not enough: I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know, you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.”

Nippon Steel, whose multibillion-dollar proposal to buy struggling US Steel was blocked by President Joe Biden last week, says it is considering taking legal action against the US government.

On Friday, Biden said he was blocking the controversial $14.3 billion acquisition, marking a significant use of executive authority in the closing days of his administration. He cited the need to protect national security and supply chains.

“We are entitled to a proper review,” Imai told journalists outside his home. “The review process to date and the US government’s decision is not a very proper review. Our company cannot allow this to continue, so we are considering all options for future action.”

The deal has been politically charged since it was announced more than a year ago, stirring bipartisan political opposition to foreign control of a once key component of US industrial might.

The deal was not supported by the United Steelworkers (USW), the union representing American steel workers, which commended Biden’s decision as the “right move for our members and our national security.”

The USW said US Steel’s recent financial performance showed it could “easily remain a strong and resilient company,” USW International President David McCall said in a statement.

But some feared the failure of the deal could starve US Steel of the investment it says it needs, and may also scare away foreign investment in other US companies.

David Burritt, president and CEO of US Steel, called Biden’s decision “shameful and corrupt.”

In late December, the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States, known colloquially as CFIUS, notified Biden that it had not reached a consensus on whether the US Steel sale to Nippon would pose a national security risk, leaving the decision up to the president.

US Steel and Nippon have argued throughout the process that the deal is necessary to provide needed investment in US Steel’s domestic steel operations. US Steel has claimed it could be forced to shut down the mills represented by the USW if it doesn’t get the $2.7 billion in investment planned by Nippon Steel as part of its proposed purchase.

Russia may be close to sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea after the isolated nation supplied troops to help bolster Moscow’s war in Ukraine, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Monday.

“The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training. Now, we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advance space and satellite technology with Pyongyang,” Blinken said from Seoul, using North Korea’s official name.

Blinken is visiting the key US ally as part of his last foreign tour ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, and his comments came as North Korea test-fired what appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The US’s top diplomat also reiterated an earlier warning by the US ambassador to the United Nations that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be close to accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, reversing its decades-long commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

The US has repeatedly expressed concern over the growing alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow since Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a landmark defense pact in June last year.

Putin’s visit to Pyongyang was widely seen to be about securing ongoing support from Kim for his grinding war in Ukraine as weapons stockpiles dwindled and huge numbers of young Russian men were killed or wounded in the invasion he began nearly three years ago.

Since then, munitions and missiles have flowed from North Korea to Russia, though Moscow and Pyongyang have both denied the weapons transfers, despite significant evidence. North Korean troops have also joined the fight on Russia’s side according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence assessments.

And observers have long raised concerns that Moscow may be violating international sanctions to aid Pyongyang’s development of its military satellite program.

In October, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun said at the Pentagon that North Korea will likely request Russian technology transfers relating to tactical nuclear weapons, the advancement of North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and nuclear submarines, in exchange for deploying troops to help Russia.

Zelensky praises Trump as Ukraine launches Kursk counterattack

Russia’s southern border region of Kursk continues to be at the center of fighting, months after Ukraine launched its incursion in the territory. On Sunday, Kyiv said it launched surprise attacks against Russian forces in several locations across Kursk.

Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy swathes of territory after staging the cross-border incursion in August last year.

Speaking on Monday, Blinken said more than 1,000 North Korean forces were killed or wounded in Kursk in the last week of December, an estimate also shared by the White House in late December.

Zelensky, who has repeatedly appealed for continued US military aid and weapons since the start of Russia’s invasion, praised US President-elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk during an interview with an American podcaster broadcast Sunday.

Speaking to Lex Fridman, Zelensky said he “very much hopes” Trump will “end the war” and believes the president-elect has “all the power to stop Putin and give Ukraine strong security guarantees.”

The Ukrainian President has previously said that when Trump takes power, the “war will end sooner” – a promise Trump has made to his voters.

Zelensky said Trump won November’s presidential election because he was a “much stronger” candidate than Vice President Kamala Harris.

“He showed that he can do it intellectually and physically. It was important to show that if you want to have a strong country that you must be strong. And he was strong,” Zelensky said.

In the interview, Zelensky thanked Musk for providing Ukraine with the Starlink internet system that has proven crucial in its war effort against Russia.

Zelensky described Musk as “a leader of innovation” and said people like him “only push the world forward.”

“I would really like Elon to be on our side as much as possible, to support us,” he added.

When asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, Zelensky said Kyiv would consider it only if it was “reassured that there are security guarantees” for the territories under Ukrainian control. Without such guarantees, he warned, Putin would attack again.

Ukraine would also need partial NATO membership, Zelensky said, and that the West should provide more weapons to Kyiv to enable it to defend itself in case of future attacks from Russia.

As New Orleans prepares to kick off its extravagant Carnival season this week, the city is asking for federal help in ensuring there is not a repeat of the horrific truck-ramming that killed 14 people early on New Year’s Day.

President Joe Biden is set to visit on Monday and is expected to hear directly from Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other city officials on what Washington can do, including potentially raising the federal security level for its world-famous Carnival, also called Mardi Gras.

The New Year’s attack came during a busy season for New Orleans; at the time, revelers were still celebrating on the raucous Bourbon Street, with the Allstate Sugar Bowl scheduled later that day, though it was later postponed. The city had also been gearing up for Carnival, with weeks of parades, performances and parties starting Monday. And in February, the crown jewel of American sports: Super Bowl LIX.

Each event is expected to draw huge numbers of visitors from across the country. Local businesses including restaurants and hotels are preparing for the influx of tourists with special deals and events.

But it also poses a security challenge that authorities are now under pressure to address, facing heightened scrutiny as questions swirl about how the attack was carried out and whether it could have been prevented.

Shortly after the attack, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency, writing in the decree that it would allow New Orleans to deploy additional resources as it prepares to see “hundreds of thousands of visitors in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.”

“Extensive coordination and security measures are necessary to secure areas around the events and ensure public safety from the threats associated with these events,” he wrote.

And on Sunday, Mayor Cantrell said the city had requested federal assistance in asking a tactical expert to map out the city and determine what weak spots could be targeted or might need further security. Authorities will also ask an expert to determine whether existing security measures, such as their road barriers and barricades are sufficient, she said – after the attacker drove his pickup truck onto the sidewalk, bypassing the police barrier.

“If they’re not (sufficient), how and what, and where do they need to be placed?” she said. “This is a work in progress, and we’re committed to doing everything necessary to ensure public safety measures.”

Cantrell also said she had submitted a federal request for Mardi Gras to be upgraded in federal security tier, from SEAR 2 to SEAR 1 – something she had been pushing for many years.

The Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) designation and five-tiered ranking system determine whether events require federal security support such as field intelligence teams, air security, bomb detection dogs and more. The Super Bowl has been designated SEAR 1, the top tier reserved for “significant events” with national or international importance requiring “extensive” support.

New Orleans police are also stepping up measures, saying they had a “comprehensive security plan in place” for the first parade scheduled Monday and for all parades going forward.

The road barriers

One of the main points of the New Year’s attack investigation will be why there were no strong barriers to protect revelers in the city’s bustling French Quarter that day.

The issue had been spotlighted years ago, when a private security consulting firm warned in a 2019 report that the risk of terrorism in the French Quarter – specifically mass shootings and vehicular attacks – remained “highly possible while moderately probable.”

The report “strongly recommends” safety structures known as bollards –– vertical posts that can move up and down –– be fixed and improved “immediately.”

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said she did not know the city owned the safety devices, which have since been put in place.

“With the Super Bowl on the horizon, it was important to have those bollards installed, but no less important was the Sugar Bowl and New Year’s Eve,” Morrell added.

“I mean, New Orleans is a destination for pretty much every holiday you can imagine, so having those bollards available – and even more importantly, not having hardened infrastructure even temporarily there instead of the bollards as they’re placed throughout the Quarter – is problematic.”

FBI investigations

In a briefing on Sunday, the FBI revealed that the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had visited New Orleans twice in the months prior and used Meta smart glasses to film the street and plan the attack.

He had stayed at a rental home in New Orleans from October 30 for a few days, and during that time recorded video as he bicycled through the French Quarter, said FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil. Jabbar also visited New Orleans on November 10, and investigators were still putting together the details of that trip.

During the news conference, officials released videos of his actions hours before the attack and provided a timeline of his movements – including details of Jabbar setting fire to an Airbnb and placing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on Bourbon Street.

Investigators are also looking into Jabbar’s trips to Egypt and Canada, and other visits to Atlanta and Tampa. He traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and visited Ontario from July 10 to July 13, 2023, Myrthil said. FBI agents are digging into what he did on those trips and whether they tie into the attack.

All 14 of the victims from the New Year’s attack have now been identified and named. The final victim identified was Latasha Polk, a certified nursing assistant and mother of a 14-year-old, Gov. Landry said in a news conference.

“The Brutalist,” a film about a Jewish architect who survives the Holocaust and emigrates to the United States to achieve the American Dream, had a big night at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

The movie, which stars Adrien Brody, was nominated in seven categories and won four Globes total on Sunday. Brody, who won for best actor in a motion picture drama, marking his first individual Globes win, dedicated the award to those who have faced struggles immigrating and to the “sacrifice” of his parents and extended family ancestors, some of whom fled war to come “to this great country.”

Brody’s speech follows in full below:

“Thank you to everyone in this room, Golden Globes voters, for this honor, I am deeply humbled by this. I have much to say. I’m going to try and be brief. At the core of ‘The Brutalist,’ it is really a story about the human capacity for creation, so I would be remiss to not acknowledge my fellow nominees. Daniel, Colman, Timmy, Sebastian, Sebastian, Ralph. You guys really just — you reached such heights with your work, and you are such inspirations to me. To my — God, Brady and Mona, I love you guys.
Thank you for giving me wings. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of building this triumph and monument to humanity and the arts.

To my cast and crew, and everyone who has been a part of making this movie, this is a collaborative effort, and I share this with all of you. To my friends and team at CAA, A24, thank you for supporting me through this journey. To my mom and dad, who are here tonight. Oh, my goodness. You always hold me up. I often credit my mother for her influence on me as an artist, but Dad, you are the foundation of this family, and all this love that I received flows back to you.

To my beautiful and amazing partner, Georgina. Your generosity of spirit, your own resilience your immense creativity, are a daily reminder of how to be. I would not be standing here before you if it wasn’t for you. There was a time not too long ago that I felt this may never be a moment afforded to me again, so thank you.

You know, this story is really the character’s journey is very reminiscent of my mother’s and my ancestors’ journey of fleeing war and coming to this great country. I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice, and although I do not know fully how to express all of the challenges that you have faced and experienced, and the many people who have struggled immigrating to this country, I hope that this work stands to lift you up a bit and to give you a voice. I’m so grateful. I will cherish this moment forever.”

A woman who worked as a hairstylist for Fox Sports alleges in a lawsuit that former host Skip Bayless made repeated, unwanted advances toward her — including an offer of $1.5 million to have sex with him.

Attorneys for Noushin Faraji, who was a hair stylist at Fox for more than a decade, are seeking unspecified damages from Bayless, Fox Sports and its parent company, Fox Corporation, according to a copy of the lawsuit filed Friday in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.

The complaint claims Fox executives fostered a hostile work environment that allowed senior managers and on-air personalities including Bayless to abuse workers without fear of punishment.

The Associated Press does not generally identify, in text or images, those who say they have been sexually assaulted or subjected to abuse unless they have publicly identified themselves as Faraji has in filing the lawsuit.

An attorney for Bayless, Jared Levine, did not immediately respond to AP’s telephone and text messages seeking comment. Email and phone messages left at Bayless’s talent company were not immediately returned.

Bayless could not be reached directly for comment.

Fox Sports said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously but had no further comment given the pending lawsuit.

Faraji claimed that the advances by Bayless, which began in 2017 and continued until last year — included lingering hugs, kisses on the cheek and comments from Bayless that he could change Faraji’s life if she had sex with him.

In 2021, she claims in the suit, Bayless offered Faraji $1.5 million for sex and, after she refused, later threatened her job.

“Ms. Faraji knew that he was trying to pressure her into having sex with him, but she kept repeating that she was a professional that had to be kind to all talent,” the lawsuit says.

Bayless worked for Fox Sports until 2024 when his show was canceled after its ratings plummeted with the departure of his co-host, Shannon Sharpe.

Faraji said she was fired in 2024 based on “fabricated” reasons. The lawsuit said she initially remained quiet about her treatment at Fox, believing she could be in danger if she went public.

The suit also claims Fox employees were not paid their full wages or overtime. It seeks class-action status on behalf of other workers who allegedly were impacted.

In 2017 Fox Sports fired its head of programming amid a probe of sexual harassment allegations.

A Chinese filmmaker was due to stand trial Monday over his documentary about China’s nationwide protests against Covid lockdowns in late 2022, as Beijing seeks to erase public memories of stunning scenes of dissent against its handling of the pandemic.

The vaguely worded charge is commonly used by the Chinese government to silence dissent and target activists, lawyers and journalists. It carries a maximum prison term of five years for first-time offenders.

Chen, who goes by the name “Plato,” was arrested by Shanghai police in January 2024 after releasing a documentary to mark the first anniversary of what became known as the “White Paper” protests.

The protests marked the largest outpouring of public dissent China had seen in decades and posed an unprecedented challenge to leader Xi Jinping.

The demonstrations were sparked by a deadly apartment fire in the western city of Urumqi in November 2022. Many believed pandemic lockdown measures had hampered rescue efforts, despite official denials. The tragedy ignited deep public anger that had been boiling over after nearly three years of rolling lockdowns, mass testing and financial hardship.

Protests erupted across the country, on a scale unseen since the student-led Tiananmen movement in 1989. On university campuses and the streets of major cities, crowds gathered to call for an end to Xi’s zero-Covid policy, with some decrying censorship and demanding greater political freedoms.

Some held up blank sheets of white A4-sized paper – a metaphor for the countless critical posts and news articles that had been removed by censors – and the reason why the demonstrations became known in some quarters as the “White Paper” protests.

In Shanghai, protesters even demanded that Xi step down – an unimaginable act of political defiance toward the country’s most powerful and authoritarian leader in decades.

The demonstrations eventually fizzled out amid a sweeping security crackdown by authorities. Soon afterward, the Chinese government scrapped Covid restrictions in an abrupt about-face, though it did not directly acknowledge the protests in any public statement.

Chen’s documentary was released on YouTube and X, which are blocked in China. His accounts on both platforms have since been removed.

In Chinese the documentary was named “Urumqi Middle Road” – a nod to the street where demonstrators gathered in Shanghai to highlight their anger over the fire in the city with the same name.

In English it was called “Not the Foreign Force.” Chen previously said that he wanted to use the documentary to counter the government’s attempt to discredit the protests and blame “foreign forces” for orchestrating dissent – a tactic often deployed by China’s ruling Communist Party to explain away moments of genuine public anger.

Like many young people who took part in the protests, it was Chen’s first time voicing his political demands in China when he took to the streets of Shanghai on November 26, 2022, according to a post he published when releasing the documentary.

He said he produced the documentary to convey his personal experience and reflections.

“I hope to explore why, whenever internal conflicts arise in China, foreign forces are always made the scapegoat. The answer is clear to everyone: the more the government misleads, forgets, and censors, the more we must speak up, remind others, and remember,” he wrote. “Only by remembering the ugliness can we strive toward the light. I also hope that China will one day embrace its own light and future.”

International rights groups have been calling for Chen’s release since his arrest.

Chen “has only ever served the public interest by reporting on historical protests against the regime’s abuses and should never have been arrested. We call on democracies to increase pressure on Chinese authorities to ensure that all charges against Chen are dropped,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement in March.

China’s opaque court system, which answers to the Communist Party, already boasts a conviction rate above 99%. Trials are routinely held behind closed doors. China languishes towards the bottom of the table of the RSF’s annual press freedom ranking at 172 out of 180 places it assesses.

Millions of Americans from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic are bracing for a wintry Monday with heavy snowfall, ice, rain and storms, which are forecast to disrupt morning commutes, delay the start of school, and snarl airline schedules across the East Coast.

Meanwhile, the nation’s eyes will be focused on Washington, DC, Monday as the US House and Senate will meet in joint session to count each state’s electoral votes and formally declare Donald Trump and JD Vance the president-elect and vice president-elect, in the midst of a winter storm warning expected to bring snow mixed with sleet, with accumulations between five to 10 inches and isolated amounts of up to 16 inches.

Businesses and government agencies in the region are announcing closures, while just to the west, multiple states have already been dealing with inclement weather, shutting down major highways, like I-29 in Missouri, leaving people stranded. All told, the treacherous weather encompasses a 1,300-mile swath of the United States and has left more than 55 million people from Missouri and Arkansas to New Jersey and Delaware under winter weather alerts.

US federal government offices in Washington, DC, will be closed Monday due to the weather, according to the Office of Personnel Management, but the closure will not affect Congress.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told a news conference Sunday afternoon the top priority is getting the city fully opened as soon as possible and urged people to give snowplow teams space to work. “If you don’t need to be on the roads tonight and tomorrow, stay home. Please stay off our roads,” she said.

Behind the storm, bitterly cold air is settling across the Central US. Over 45 million people from Nebraska to Texas and east to Louisiana are under cold weather alerts, where low temperatures below freezing and wind chills below zero are possible. By Tuesday, temperature drops of as much as 30 degrees below normal for the eastern two-thirds of the US will lock in whatever snow and ice fall from the storm.

Weather alerts and forecasts for key cities

Weather disrupts schools and travel

The governors of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri and New Jersey declared states of emergency, while Maryland’s governor declared a state of preparedness.

The National Guard was deployed across major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana over the weekend, where hundreds of motorists were stranded by at least eight inches of snow and winds gusting up to 45 mph, the Associated Press reported.

At least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, while hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, according to the AP.

There were 1,260 flight cancellations in the US early Monday as the storm moved through, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

Major effects, including “considerable disruptions to daily life … dangerous or impossible driving conditions and widespread closures,” are expected from the storm through Monday in parts of the Central and Eastern US, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index.

Schools on the East Coast to the Midwest, due to reopen Monday after the holiday break, will also likely face delayed restarts.

All public schools in Washington, DC, will be closed Monday due to weather conditions, the district said in a post on X Sunday. Alexandria City Public Schools and Arlington Public Schools in Virginia are also closed.

Cincinnati Public Schools, one of Ohio’s largest school districts, will close on Monday due to inclement weather, its website said, while some schools in Louisville, Kentucky and Springfield, Missouri, will also shut due to dangerous road conditions brought by icy rain and sleet.

Ice and snow bring down powerlines

The massive winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the central plains region Sunday leaving at least 230,000 customers across five states without power. The storm is expected to bring an “extensive” amount of snow to those in the Central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic area, the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said Sunday.

‘Significant icing’ expected

Meanwhile, an ice storm warning remains in effect until noon CST Monday for areas of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. Travel of any kind in those areas is “strongly discouraged,” as the bridges and overpasses are likely to “become slick and hazardous,” according to the Weather Service.

“We’re taking this really seriously, and I hope everybody else across America is too,” Beshear said Sunday.

The greatest risk of dangerous ice will set up just south of the snowiest areas. Significant icing is possible from Kansas and Missouri through the central Appalachians and potentially parts of Maryland and Delaware.

The National Weather Service said “significant icing” is expected.

On Sunday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper said in a post on X some “may be stuck for extended periods of time,” because of “untreated roadways and hazardous conditions.”

As blizzard conditions began in Topeka, Kansas, on Sunday, strong winds caused snow gusts throughout the area, as seen in video shared by the National Weather Service office in Topeka on Sunday morning.

Topeka’s 14.1 inches of snow – recorded on Sunday – is the third largest calendar day of snowfall on record, while Kansas City’s 10.8 inches is one of the top 10 snowiest days on record and the snowiest day since 1993.

“More of this can be expected through the day with drifting snow making travel nearly impossible. Stay home and stay safe,” the weather service in Topeka said on X.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority said at least dozen or so crashes happened Sunday and posted photos on X of some of the crashed vehicles near Andover.

On Sunday the Kansas Department of Transportation said “ALL highways in northeast Kansas, including I-70 from the Missouri state line west to the Ellsworth County line in western Kansas, are closed,” making it difficult for those to get around.

When he woke up Sunday, Cho said conditions hadn’t improved, but he is praying to God he can get home on Monday.

Storms in the south

Those in the South can expect rain and some embedded thunderstorms. The massive storm will finally exit the East Coast late Monday and fully diminish in impact overnight.

A tornado watch was issued Sunday until 9 p.m. for parts of Arkansas and Louisiana, while parts of Mississippi were on tornado watch until roughly 10:45 p.m. There were at least two confirmed tornadoes so far in the watched areas, with notable tornadoes occurring in Avery, Arkansas, and Pelahatchie, Mississippi. The severe storm threat weakens to a level 1 of 5 for Monday as it shifts to parts of southern Georgia and northern Florida.