GREEN MAG

CHICAGO — Around 20 million people across the West and Midwest are under winter alerts Saturday as a fast-moving storm delivers heavy snow, strong winds and blasts of cold that is blanketing cities like Chicago.

On Saturday morning, snow showers were scattered over parts of the northern Plains and Rockies, from Montana to the Dakotas. This precipitation is expected to persist through the day, with snow gradually shifting into Iowa and Minnesota by the afternoon. The risk area includes Des Moines, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Aspen, Colorado; and Jackson, Wyoming.

By nighttime, a burst of snow and wintry mix will shift into Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. This quick blast of winter weather will affect the area, including Chicago, through the overnight hours.

People braving the cold in Chicago on Saturday morning were bundled up in multiple layers of clothing as they walked the snowy streets.

"This is early for us to have this much snow and these temperatures, so we're kind of bracing ourselves for a rough one this year," resident Catherine Karwowski told NBC News.

Katie Jones said she recently moved to Illinois from Texas and she's bracing for her first winter there.

"Just got the big coat, arrived today," Jones said.

Brielle Trostley, visiting Chicago from Florida, said she is struggling to adapt to the cold, but is savoring the novelty of the snow.

"Just to see everything covered in white all the time, that's pretty new for me, because I've never seen snow before," Trostley said.

The snow will extend into parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio while lingering over Illinois on Sunday morning. This system will move relatively quickly, reaching the interior Northeast by Sunday night.

Snow showers will linger over the region through Sunday night before tapering off Monday morning.

The highest snow totals will target the mountains, where parts of Wyoming, Utah, Montana and Colorado could see an additional 5 to 12 inches, with up to 20 inches possible in some areas. The snow combined with 60 mph wind gusts will make mountain travel very difficult through the weekend.

As of 2 p.m., snowfall totals reached 10 inches in Mount Crested Butte, Colorado; 5.4 inches in Orogrande, Idaho; and 3.4 in West Valley, Montana.

Video from Utah's Department of Transportation showed snow-covered roads in the north-central region of the state Friday evening.

Forecasters expect 2 to 5 inches of snow across a swath of the Midwest from the Dakotas through Lake Michigan, including Chicago. Around 6 to 8 inches of snow will be possible over Iowa.

Freshly powdered landscapes could be seen across Iowa in Iowa City, Dakota City and Sioux City on Saturday morning.

Totals across the interior Northeast will be minor, with most seeing a dusting of up to 1 inch. Forecasters expect 2 to 4 inches over western New York.

Cold air mass takes hold

Temperatures will remain on the cooler side for the Rockies, the Plains, the Northeast and parts of the Southeast on Saturday afternoon, with highs 5 to 20 degrees below average. Daytime highs will range from the single digits in the northern Plains, to the 20s to 50s across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast.

Overnight lows will dip below zero across the northern Plains, and as low as the 10s to 20s across the Midwest, Rockies, Appalachians and Northeast. Despite the chill, no record lows are forecast for Saturday.

On Sunday, the bulk of cold air will sit over the Plains, with daytime highs 10 to 25 degrees below average. This will especially affect Minnesota, the Dakotas and Iowa, where highs will stay in the single digits and teens.

Active week in the Northwest

A series of strong Pacific storms fueled by an atmospheric river will bring a risk of widespread flooding to parts of Washington and Oregon through the week.

Flood alerts will go into effect for the western half of these states, including Seattle and the Oregon cities of Portland and Eugene starting Sunday night and lasting through Friday. Rounds of heavy rain will affect the region over the next week, bringing 2 to 6 inches of rain, with up to 10 inches possible in some areas.

Snow levels in this region will climb above 6,000 to 7,500 feet. Prolonged threats include landslides, burn scar flash flooding and coastal flooding.

Rain in the Southwest

Meanwhile in the Southeast, a line of moderate to heavy rainfall continues to linger from the Gulf Coast through the Carolinas.

No severe weather is anticipated, but periods of heavy rain could lead to localized flash flooding. This pattern will persist through the weekend, with rainfall totals ranging from 0.5 to 2 inches.

As a part of a sprawling effort to prevent riders from skipping out on fares, theMetropolitan Transportation Authorityhas tried installing somenew emergency exitsthat sound an alarm but don't allow people to exit for up to 15 seconds.

In an emergency, officials said transit staff can release the gates, which have a yellow sign explaining they are designed to prevent fare evasion and will open after an alarm sounds.

But some riders have found the new doors troubling.

"It just doesn't seem like a good solution just to prevent people going through the doors at the risk of actually putting, potentially, our lives at risk," said Jeff Klein, founder of the New York Lab, a coalition of researchers and community advocates who originally focused on extreme heat in the city's subway.

Matthieu Blazy presented his first Chanel Métiers d'Art collection in New York City, Dec. 2, 2025. The 2026 collection show, held in a vacant Lower Manhattan subway station, featured several new faces on the runway as stars like Linda Evangelista, Tilda Swinton, Ayo Edebiri, A$AP Rocky and Teyana Taylor graced the audience. Scroll on for more shots from the show.

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Chanel channels subway chic for Métiers d'Art collection show – Photos

Matthieu Blazypresented his first Chanel Métiers d'Art collection in New York City, Dec. 2, 2025. The 2026 collection show, held in a vacant Lower Manhattan subway station, featured several new faces on the runway as stars like Linda Evangelista, Tilda Swinton, Ayo Edebiri, A$AP Rocky and Teyana Taylor graced the audience. Scroll on for more shots from the show.

On Thanksgiving, Klein filmed himself at a Lower Manhattan subway station waiting to open the emergency exit, garneringover 3 million views on TikTok.

New emergency exits are part of fare evasion crackdown

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, fare evasion has increased as ridership dipped, fueling a funding crisis for thenation's largest transit system.

The MTA has taken measures to address fare evasion, including higher sleeves on turnstiles (to prevent jumping) and limiting turnstiles' range of motion, according to theNew York Times.

But emergency exits are a frequent route to evade the fare, according to anMTA report.

In response, officials have deployed private security guards across stations to stand at emergency exits.

And officials have spent around $11,000 per gate to install delayed emergency doors at 190 stations, for a total cost of about $2 million.

Laura Cala-Rauch, an MTA spokesperson, said the pilot program has been successful. Fare evasion is down 30%. On Dec. 5, Gov. Kathy Hochulannounced ridership increasingafter the onset of the pandemic.

Cala-Rauch said the program was evaluated as safe understate building and fire codes. In a statement, the New York State Department of State, which approved the new emergency exit system, said it reviewed MTA's proposals and worked to ensure that the emergency egresses provided health, safety and security.

Eventually, the MTA has said it plans to move from outdated turnstiles to modern entrances that are harder to evade and more accessible, such as motorized swinging doors that open with a fare purchase.

Critics cite safety, accessibility worries

But people with disabilities have expressed concern. Already, the city's subway has faced several lawsuits to comply with thefederal Americans with Disabilities Act.

An emergency, like theSept. 11 terrorist attacksnearly a quarter-century ago or the2022 mass shooting aboard a Brooklyn train, can send people scrambling to leave stations. Deactivating the delay appears to be another thing that could go wrong.

"I don't know if anybody is going to be holding the exit for everybody, because it's every man and woman for themselves in the case of emergency," said Sharon McLennon Wier, a psychologist who is executive director of the nonprofit Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York. "If that gate closes, and then you have to wait a few seconds, those few seconds could be death," said Wier, who is also blind.

On a chilly Dec. 6, Betsy Shortt, a 39-year-old preschool teacher, and her daughter sat on a wooden bench on a northern Manhattan subway platform. The two, waiting for an A train, were about 15 feet from a set of delayed emergency exit doors. They planned to go ice skating.

"People will find ways to get through," Shortt said. Subway fares, she said, add up, especially as fares will increase10 cents in a month, from $2.90 to $3. The subway is a utility, as needed as the water or gas company, she said. "I can understand why people try to evade the fare."

That afternoon, one of the newly installed delayed emergency exits wasn't fully closed, so dozens of people − some towing strollers and bikes, others with just backpacks − walked through it to enter the subway.

Most headed downtown, all appeared to skip the fare.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email atemcuevas1@usatoday.comor on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Controversial NYC subway emergency exits don't open right away

The explosion came as the federal government hasstepped up security activities in the state, sending in additional troops aftertwo recent high-profile assassinations.

Hector Zepeda, commander of the Coahuayana community police, said Saturday the blast killed two of his police officers and that civilians were among the wounded. He said remains of some of the victims were found scattered in the area of the explosion, which also damaged nearby buildings.

"With this operation (from the federal government) a lot of marines came," Zepeda said. "We stopped doing patrols because the operation is going on."

The community police, which patrol various rural communities, are a remnant of the civilian vigilante forces that took up arms more than a decade ago to defend communities from drug cartels, and then were formalized by the state.

Coahuayana is near the Pacific coast in western Michoacan and the border with the state of Colima, a stronghold of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Saturday's explosion happened while Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla was in Mexico City to celebrate with President Claudia Sheinbaum the anniversary of their Morena party's arrival in power seven years ago.

Ramírez Bedolla and Sheinbaum have been criticized for the deteriorating security situation in Michoacan where numerous drug cartels are fighting to control territory, terrorizing locals.

At least three of the six drug cartels that the Trump administrationdesignated as terrorist organizations— Jalisco New Generation, United Cartels and The New Michoacan Family — operate here, in addition to a slew of homegrown armed splinter groups, some supported by the Sinaloa Cartel.

Explosives dropped from drones, buried as mines or planted alongside roadways are increasingly employed by criminal groups operating in the state. Last year, some 3,000 explosive devices were seized in the state compared to 160 in 2022. So far this year, there have been more than 2,000, according to the state security agency.

Michoacan is a key importer of chemical precursors for synthetic drugs. In the last two months, 17 drug laboratories were dismantled by Mexican authorities there. The state also produces avocados exported to the U.S. and is a major producer of limes, sectors extorted by cartels for years.

The state government said Saturday in a statement that an "explosive device" was responsible, but did not provide details. Images circulating online showed a completely burned out vehicle.

Last month, Sheinbaum sent 2,000 troops — on top of the 4,300 permanent ones and 4,000 in neighboring states – to Michoacan following the killings of an outspokenrepresentative of the lime growersand a popular mayor standing up to the cartels.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa told an international conference that since he took power a year ago, he has been sending "positive messages regarding regional peace and stability."

He said Israel has rejected his overtures, "extrapolating" its conflict with Hamas militants and justifying what he called aggression in the name of security. He promised Syria would not behave in that way.

"We are not concerned in being a country that exports conflict, including to Israel," he told the Doha Forum.

Al-Sharaa, who was once detained by the U.S. for joining al-Qaida in Iraq, called on Israel to withdraw its forces from his country and to recommit to a 1974 truce agreement. He called on the international community to put pressure on Israel and expressed hope a formula could be reached to meet "reasonable" security demands.

"There are currently negotiations, and the United States is participating and engaged in those negotiations," he said.

Since thefall of former Syrian President Bashar Assadin December 2024, Israel has held a slice of southern Syria that was previously a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone under a 1974 disengagement agreement.

Israel says it seized the 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile)demilitarized buffer zonein southern Syria in a pre-emptive move to prevent militants from moving into the area after Islamist insurgents toppled Assad.

Israeli troops have regularly carried out operations in villages and towns inside and outside the zone, including raids snatching people it says are suspected militants. At least 13 peoplewere killedin an Israeli operation against suspected militants last month.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said he was satisfied with al-Sharaa's performance, and urged Israel not to "interfere" in Syria's affairs.

"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria's evolution into a prosperous State," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Israelhas also launched hundreds of airstrikeson Syrian military sites and pushed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus.

Police said he had been accused of posting "information with seditious intention" on social media.

"That mainly included (materials intending to) incite hatred among (others) toward the Hong Kong government and the central government," Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police National Security Department, told reporters.

"For example, he pointed to the Hong Kong and the central governments as instigators of exploiting the tragedy to cause chaos and turmoil," he said. "That's something totally impossible."

Local media reported other arrests earlier but authorities have not confirmed them.

The fire, which broke out Nov. 26 at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, has prompted a debate about government accountability.

Authorities have warned against attempts to use the fire to try to undermine the local government or the central government in Beijing. Hong Kong is part of China but, like nearby Macao, has its own legal system and laws. Both are former European colonies that were returned to China in the late 1990s.

Police said the man had also been arrested on suspicion of disclosing information related to a national security probe, possibly with the intent of prejudicing the investigation.

On Dec. 2, he was asked to come to a police station to assist with a national security investigation, according to police. "But on the following day, we discovered that he had brazenly released all (or) some of those details on social media," said Li, despite being warned not to disclose the information publicly.

He said officials believed the 71-year-old man was attempting to tip off others involved in the case.

The initial cause of last month's blaze was unknown, but the government said it would set upan independent committeeto probe the cause.

At least 21 people have been arrested by authorities as officials investigate suspected corruption and negligence over a major renovation project that had been taking place at the housing complex before the fire broke out.

Substandard green netting coveringthe scaffoldingthat enveloped the buildings, as well as foam boards installed on windows of the buildings, have been identified as among the main causes for the fire's rapid spread to seven of the eight residential towers in the complex. Some fire alarms were also found to be not working.

Last weekend, the organizer of a petition calling for government accountability over the fire was arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition, local media including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily reported.

Li did not confirm nor deny any other arrests but said officials had spotted a lot of fake information about the fire that they believed was intended in part to incite hatred against Hong Kong and Beijing.

Li also said that some people were attempting to provoke conflict by distributing pamphlets and putting up slogans near the scene of the fire, which he said resembled scenes from massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

The protests led to a crackdown that has effectively silenced political dissent in the city. There are no opposition candidates ina legislative electionon Sunday, with all those running vetted to ensure they are loyal to Beijing.

John Lee, Hong Kong's leader, has warned that authorities would take action against those who exploit the tragedy.

"For anybody who tries to sabotage the commitment of society, I will do all I can to ensure justice is done," he said.