News Wrap: Winter storm dumps mountains of snow in Sierra Nevada

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other news: The biggest storm in the West so far this winter has moved on after dumping mountains of snow in the Sierra Nevada. But now another storm is moving in on its heels.

Stephanie Sy has our report.

Stephanie Sy:

A new round of snow is blanketing the mountains of Northern California, even as residents struggle to dig out from an epic days-long blizzard.

Hurricane-force winds whipped up snow squalls in the Sierra Nevada, where some communities were buried under more than seven feet of snow. Snowplow driver Kyle Frankland says his equipment is wearing out.

Kyle Frankland, Snowplow Driver:

The snow is wet underneath and there's about a foot of fresh snow in Truckee here, and it's been hectic. I have broken a lot of parts.

Stephanie Sy:

Of course, there's also the fun part.

Jenelle Potvin, Truckee, California, Resident:

Our dogs are having a blast. Our neighbors are having fun. Everybody's snowmobiling and skiing in the streets.

Stephanie Sy:

The storm closed ski resorts, but die-hard skiers weren't deterred.

Slater Stewart, Truckee, California, Resident:

The storm has been pretty crazy. I have mostly just been hanging out inside. But, today, we're going to go ski some mellow tree lines and hopefully avoid the avalanches.

Stephanie Sy:

After a weekend spent closed, Interstate 80 outside Lake Tahoe reopened today to all but big rig trucks. An avalanche also briefly closed a separate highway into Tahoe.

Truckee business owner Kevin Dupui saw only a trickle of customers.

Kevin Dupui, Truckee, California, Resident:

Business has been pretty slow, considering all the roads were shut down and some of the hills were shut down, but we totally get it, because the roads haven't been that safe, so don't really want people driving around.

Stephanie Sy:

Utility crews have been working to restore power to thousands of businesses and residents.

Meanwhile, in the Texas Panhandle, it's fire, not ice, that's the problem. The largest wildfire in the state's history continues to rage, fueled by strong winds. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is only 15 percent contained. It's one of a cluster of blazes that have already burned some 1,900 square miles around Amarillo.

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

Amna Nawaz:

The Texas fires are now blamed for two deaths. Officials say the fires also destroyed hundreds of homes and killed thousands of cattle.

A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, pleaded guilty today to leaking highly classified military documents online. The 22-year-old agreed to serve a maximum of nearly 17 years in federal prison. After the hearing in Boston, federal prosecutors said they hoped the case and the plea deal send a message.

Joshua Levy, Acting U.S. Attorney, District of Massachusetts: Jack Teixeira will never get a sniff of a classified piece of information for the rest of his life. But we also bring these cases for general deterrence. The message goes out to anyone who may be tempted to violate their position of trust like Mr. Teixeira that there are very, very severe consequences.

Amna Nawaz:

Teixeira posted secret assessments of Russia's war in Ukraine and other topics online. Members of the social media platform Discord have said he was trying to impress them.

The State Department urged Americans today to leave Haiti, as heavily armed gangs attacked the main international airport. Late Sunday, the Haitian government declared an emergency after gangs freed thousands of prison inmates, leaving burning tires and open prison doors in their wake. Police said an overnight curfew could help them recapture the escapees.

In Iran, results from Friday's elections show hard-liners easily kept control of Parliament. But turnout was just 41 percent, the lowest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. That was in part due to an opposition boycott. Still, officials today rejected American criticism of how the election was conducted.

Nasser Kanaani, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman (through translator):

If U.S. government officials are concerned about democracies and votes of nations, they first find a fix for their own country and the election system's health in America itself, as we are seeing strange stories in every U.S. election.

Amna Nawaz:

The election was Iran's first since anti-government protests rocked the country more than a year ago.

Lawmakers in France voted overwhelmingly today to enshrine abortion rights into the national Constitution. President Emmanuel Macron pushed for that after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide abortion rights in America. Today's vote in Paris was 780-72. Abortion has been legal in France since 1975 and is widely supported.

The European Union has fined Apple nearly $2 billion for antitrust violations involving music streaming. The bloc said Apple has illegally barred Spotify and other rivals from telling users they can save money on subscriptions outside the iPhone system.

Margrethe Vestager, Antitrust Commissioner, European Union:

For A decade, Apple has restricted music streaming app developers from informing their consumers about cheaper options available outside of the app. This is illegal, and it has impacted millions of European consumers.

Amna Nawaz:

Apple disputed the E.U.'s finding and said it will appeal the decision.

Back in this country, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines scrapped plans for a merger valued at $3.8 billion. A federal judge had blocked the plan in January, saying it violated antitrust law. The deal would have formed the fifth largest carrier in the nation.

And on Wall Street, stocks edged lower after last week's run-up. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 97 points to close below $38,990. The Nasdaq fell 67 points. The S&P 500 was down six.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Israelis who live near the Gaza border return home for the first time since Hamas' October 7 attack; presidential candidates make their last case to voters before Super Tuesday; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; plus much more.