News Wrap: Winter weather cripples holiday travel

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Good evening. It's great to be with you on this Christmas.

  And we start tonight with the monster winter storm that's made its way across the country, covering many areas in snow and ice, dropping temperatures to record lows, and creating holiday travel chaos. Buffalo, New York, was hit especially hard by the storm. Whiteout conditions this weekend caused massive snow drifts and toppled trees. Seven people have died in Buffalo from the snowstorm.

  And, nationwide, the dangerous weather has claimed at least 20 lives. And many Americans hoping to be home for the holidays are still in limbo. Thousands of delays and cancellations today added to the nearly 10,000 canceled flights around the country in the last 48 hours. But after the coldest Christmas in years, relief is on the way. Next week, it's expected to be much warmer across most of the country.

  And in the day's other headlines: Four major international aid groups today suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country's Taliban rulers to ban women from working at nongovernmental organizations. The groups, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE, say they cannot effectively reach people in desperate need in Afghanistan without women in their work forces.

  The Taliban introduced the ban yesterday, allegedly because women weren't wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly. U.S. officials condemned the move.

  At the Vatican, Pope Francis used his annual Christmas message to lament what he called the icy winds of war, and he made an impassioned plea for peace in Ukraine. Thousands crowded St. Peter's Square as the pope called attention to the millions of Ukrainians without heat or electricity this Christmas.

  Pope Francis, Leader of Catholic Church (through translator): Let us also see the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are experiencing this Christmas in the dark and in the cold, far from their homes, due to the devastation caused by 10 months of war.

  May he enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Meantime, in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a defiant Christmas message, calling on the nation to stand firm against Russian attacks and to cherish one another amid widespread power outages.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through translator):

  No kamikaze drones can extinguish the Christmas dawn. We will see its glow even underground.

  Even in complete darkness, we will find each other to hug each other tightly. And if there is no heat, we will hug for a long time to warm each other.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And, around the world, people are celebrating Christmas and this last night of Hanukkah, from soldiers worshipping in Kharkiv, to mass at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, to 1,500 Santas in Kosovo running a charity marathon, everyone celebrating in their own unique way.

  And still to come on "PBS News Weekend": some baking inspiration on this Christmas Evening, and my one-on-one with singer Michael Buble.