News Wrap: Bitter cold, snow and ice storms plague much of the U.S.

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• Amna Nawaz:

  In the day's other headlines: Major snow and ice storms and bitter windchills plagued much of the country again. In state after state, classes were canceled, planes were grounded and homes were dark.

  Stephanie Sy has our report.

• Stephanie Sy:

  After days of freezing cold and snow, major cities across the United States woke up to find schools and offices closed. More than 1,300 flights on the East Coast were canceled. For many places on the East Coast, including Manhattan, it's the first significant snowfall in years.

  New York had not seen more than an inch of snow in 701 days. Philadelphia has faced a similar snow drought.

• Isaiah Stout, Philadelphia Resident:

  My daughter's 4. She doesn't remember the snow, so this is her first time actually checking it out. So yesterday, I said, it might snow today, you guys, so when they woke up this morning, see snow all over the ground, they lost their minds.

• Stephanie Sy:

  In the country's interior, temperatures have stayed below freezing. A brief warm-up is predicted, but a new surge of cold air is expected by the end of the week.

  Windchills in the Rockies, Great Plains in Midwest plunged as low as negative 30 degrees.

  Austin Rowser is managing the snow removal in Omaha, Nebraska, where crews have been working overtime.

  Austin Rowser, City of Omaha Public Works: We have had a lot of people working 12-hour days for nine, 10 days in a row. So, it's been — obviously, that's a lot of time. It's a lot of effort, a lot of work and a lot of dedication that our people have put into the snow.

• Stephanie Sy:

  In these dangerous conditions, he warns drivers to be vigilant.

• Austin Rowser:

  The best thing for anybody to do in any location and conditions are bad is just to make sure that you have plenty of time, slow down, understand how your vehicle operates differently. We can't slam on brakes when we've got ice on the road.

• Stephanie Sy:

  Farther south, snowplows cleared the roads during the winter storm warning in Tennessee. A layer of snow covered Western Kentucky, and freezing rain created icy conditions in Alabama. But it wasn't all misery.

• Woman:

  Our arsenal of snowballs.

• Stephanie Sy:

  With federal offices closed in Washington, D.C., the National Mall was for snow lovers who have waited two years for enough snow to put up a proper fight.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

• Amna Nawaz:

  So far, the arctic wave is blamed for at least seven deaths nationwide. And a new ice storm is moving into the Pacific Northwest and heading east.

  The top tax policymakers in Congress announced a bipartisan agreement today to expand the child tax credit and restore a variety of breaks for businesses. The package totals roughly $78 billion paid for by ending a pandemic era business credit. Lawmakers are pushing to win passage before tax filing season kicks off.

  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an urgent new appeal today for help against Russia. He met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. And he warned against letting war fatigue undermine Kyiv's cause.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President:

  If anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken. If one must fight against Putin together in the years ahead, isn't it better to put an end to him and his war strategy now?

• Amna Nawaz:

  Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his forces have regained momentum in the war, and he insisted Russia will not give up any territorial gains in Ukraine.

  Back in this country, the killer of five people at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes charges. Anderson Aldrich has admitted shooting patrons of Club Q in Colorado Springs in November of 2022. Aldrich pleaded guilty to state murder charges last year. The federal charges carry a possible death penalty.

  A federal judge in Boston blocked JetBlue Airways today from buying Spirit Airlines. The Justice Department had sued to block the merger of low-cost carriers worth $3.8 billion. Today, the judge agreed it would hurt competition and drive up fares.

  Wall Street had a lackluster day following the holiday weekend. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 232 points to close at 37361. The Nasdaq fell 28 points. The S&P 500 slipped nearly 18.

  And the 75th prime-time Emmy Awards are now history with some historic firsts. Quinta Brunson won best actress in a comedy, "Abbott Elementary." She's the first Black woman to do that in more than 40 years. And Ali Wong became the first Asian American best actress in a limited series for her role in "Beef."

  Overall, the final season of HBO's "Succession" won six awards last night. And "The Bear," about a struggling Chicago sandwich joint, won best comedy.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": Donald Trump appears in court for the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll; a new book explores how populist politicians have transformed the Democratic Party;a group of students take it on themselves to address the growing mental health needs in schools; plus much more.