Coming up next on News Depth.

We're in one of the longest cold-air outbreaks in decades.

A man hopes to run every single street in Chicago.

We ask the chief of the statehouse news bureau about her job.

And California is preparing for the upcoming Super Bowl.

News.

NewsDepth is now.

The unrelenting cold hitting much of the United States has continued for an exceptionally long stretch.

Hello everyone.

I'm Gabriel Kramer, thank you for joining us.

I hope you've all managed to stay warm and toasty this week, because officials in Washington, D.C., said this Arctic blast was one of the longest cold streaks on record.

Temperatures dipped into the negative single digits, and snow and ice created dangerous conditions, and this cold front reached new lows.

Record low temperatures were felt all across the southeastern United States.

Jenn Sullivan reports.

Look at the snow in here.

A massive winter storm dropping historic snowfall across the southeast, causing treacherous travel conditions in multiple states.

We're continuing to ask those that don't need to travel to please stay at home.

Overnight into Sunday, portions of Interstate 85 in North Carolina were shut down.

More than 100 drivers were stranded amid several crashes.

The National Guard was called in to help.

Hours later, the highway reopened.

Snow totals in a few areas, reaching well over a foot.

In eastern North Carolina.

We don't have the equipment like other parts of the country, that do see substantial amounts of snowfall.

This system grew into a bomb cyclone.

Also unleashing hurricane force winds.

So there's one of those powerful wind gusts.

Many coastal communities worried about high tides and flooding.

This is a passing coastal low.

That always brings us concern about beachfront erosion.

This storm also plunging temperatures below freezing.

Most people aren't going out just because we don't even have the, you know, gear, the coats and the gloves and stuff to handle being outside when it's this cold.

Crews using a blowtorch to melt this frozen water fountain in Virginia.

Even Tampa, Florida, seeing snow flurries Sunday.

The frigid cold is expected to linger across the south and east for several days.

Thanks, Jenn.

The cold weather can be particularly hard for homeless people, but thanks to shelters, people experiencing homelessness can find a warm bed and a warm plate.

A seasonal homeless shelter opened in downtown Cleveland last month, making it the third shelter in the area.

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the homeless, also known as NEOCH, owns and operates a shelter that has been nearly full during the bitter cold January days.

The shelter will stay open until April, unless NEOCH receives more funding to keep the shelter open.

NEOCH executive director, Chris Knestrick, says the shelter is different than most because it can house couples, pets and has dedicated space for LGBTQ people.

We're in a better position this year than we've ever had been to be able to make sure people have access to shelter.

Homelessness is always a crisis for anyone, and we should respond like it's a crisis.

Organizations in Missouri said extreme conditions do come with a silver lining.

They are taking this opportunity to offer help and build trust with this vulnerable population.

At Victory Mission, nearly all of its 136 beds were filled as staff focused not only on warmth and food, but also on connecting guests with longer term support like jobs.

Meanwhile, the Veterans Coming Home Center served more than 200 people seeking meals and shelter extended hours despite donation based challenges to ensure no one went hungry or cold.

Adam Woodbrey reports from the warming centers.

People experiencing homelessness is a year round thing, but shelters like Victory Mission, for example, say cold days like this can become a great opportunity to help people.

We always see an influx, you know, when it's raining, when it's cold, when it gets super hot, it's, you know, people kind of come out out of the woods or come out of the situation.

Victory mission has 136 beds set up.

And last night all but 11 were occupied.

And as people come in to get warm.

Executive Director Jason Hynson says it's a great time for him and his staff to build new relationships.

What we're trying to do here is get you in, get you a bed, get you warmed up, get, you fed.

And then, hey, let's talk about the rest of your life.

Let's talk about maybe a job that you could do that, that we can help you get together.

Winter weather for the homeless can be deadly.

And so we are going to be open.

We're opening early or closing a little later to help our homeless brothers and sisters over the Veterans Coming Home Center.

Pastor Mark Glenn says more than 200 people were here Monday morning looking for a hot meal and a place to get warm.

As a nonprofit run solely on donations.

Pastor Mark says the biggest challenges are keeping the heat on and having enough toiletries and disposable dishes.

When we serve two meals instead of just 200, we have to serve 400 as 400 plates, 400 forks, 400, spoons, napkins, bowls.

And so we have to supply that.

And for people coming through, they say they're grateful the shelter is there.

It was in the negative temperatures below zero for the past few days.

And they all work together to make sure that we didn't go hungry, that we didn't get cold.

We were all somewhere safe.

We had a safe place to sleep.

Thanks, Adam.

The cold weather always seems to come with complications.

Let's travel up north to the state of Michigan, where residents across Detroit are expressing frustration after repeated water main breaks, disrupting daily life, causing flooding in streets and even homes.

The Detroit Water and Sewage Department says the city is dealing with 50 to 60 breaks, largely due to aging pipes and extreme cold.

And as Amaya Kuznicki reports, crews are working long hours in subzero temperatures to restore service.

While officials say long term repairs will continue throughout the city.

Later that day, it get progressively worse.

This actually happened at least 3 or 4 times since I've been here.

All my clothes.

I was doing laundry.

You can hear the frustration in these residents voices when a pipe burst.

It means no water flooded streets and sometimes even flooded homes.

We understand that this is an inconvenience.

We know that this is problematic, but we need crews to be safe.

Erica Meah, chief operating officer for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, says that as of Wednesday, the city is dealing with 50 to 60 water main breaks.

The two biggest factors aging pipes and freezing temperatures.

On average, the system is about 95 years old.

To address this, the city has a capital improvement program that invest nearly $100 million each year to maintain the water and sewer systems.

Since 2018, they've repaired or replaced 77 miles of water main.

But to put that in perspective, the city has over 2700 miles of pipe in total.

I would like to graciously thank the crews.

They are out working ten 12 hours in sub temperature and not only is it freezing, but the water is freezing and they're out working, so we asked residents to be patient.

Meah says DWSD has over 200 people working in additional contractor support in different areas trying to fix the problem.

Chauncey Philson is one of those crew members.

He's been working for DWSD for 18 years.

Right now its fixed right now.

Oh it's fixed.

Yes.

Take a look at this video from a neighborhood on Detroit's west side from Tuesday and now Wednesday.

Philson says crews have been working around the clock to get it fixed.

We do our hardest to get everybody, you know, their drinking water.

Thank you.

Amaya.

Now, some winter stories can get our blood flowing and warm us right up.

One Chicago man is on a mission.

He wants to become the first person to run every street in the Windy City.

As Evelyn Holmes shows us, he says nothing will get in his way of achieving his goal.

Including this incredibly cold temperature.

It's easy for people to recognize me.

It has become one of the missions in life for 25 year old Joabe Barbosa to run all of the more than 4000 miles of Chicago streets that make up the city's 77 neighborhoods.

Everyone in Chicago, amazing people everywhere you go.

They always support me on my journey.

I feel safe everywhere I go.

So far, the Roosevelt University grad student has conquered about 80% of the city's more than 2000 streets.

By mapping out a grid and using a zig zag approach to make sure all blocks are covered.

Barbosa often uses public transportation to travel to neighborhoods, running on average ten miles a day, six days a week, regardless of the weather.

We caught up with him this morning at a CTA Blue Line station.

Coldest day in years, But that doesn't stop me because I'm going to be out there with the Chicago flag representing and trying to get more streets.

This is day 364 of running every single street.

Barbosa's journey began in August of 2024.

He post his progress on social media and documents his runs on an app called Strava.

He's managed to check off a lot of the city, and says some of his favorite communities have been on the city's south and west sides.

I really, really like running on the south side.

Amazing people there, always supporting me on my journey.

Born in Brazil and raised in England, Barbosa went to college in Kentucky on a sports scholarship before moving to the Windy City a few years ago to pursue his doctorate in clinical psychology.

Ironically, he says he really doesn't like running, but started it as rehab after surviving a life threatening mountaineering accident in March of last year that left him with frostbite and hypothermia.

His doctor told him he needed to get his blood flowing, so since he couldn't play his favorite soccer every day, he took to the lakefront trails.

So with that, I started running in the lake front trail because I play soccer.

But you can't play soccer every day.

But you can run every day.

But when I was running in the Lakefront trail, I was just thinking, this is beautiful, but this is boring.

And so I thought, why don't I just go to different neighborhoods?

Donning the Chicago city flag as a cape, Barbosa says while he often runs alone, sometimes he'll pick up a running partner along the way who love Chicago and its people as much as he does.

Just encouraging people to just go out there and just explore Chicago and explore the world.

The Chicago man is not the only runner pursuing the challenge.

At least two others also have designs on the city.

Joabe Barbosa hopes to finish his quest by April or May.

Joabe also said that he plans on submitting his run to the Guinness World Records.

Once it's all said and done.

Now, the ice storm last week turned streets in Texas into a slippery hazard for most residents.

Not fun.

But for longtime skater Kimberly, it became a rare winter playground.

She and her two skating daughters took advantage of the ice coated roads to skate together, embracing the unusual conditions as a better chance to make memories.

Bettie Cross has more.

Leander's ice coated streets and sidewalks were a fall waiting to happen for just about everyone except Kimberly Tyler-Shafiq.

I was so excited.

I felt like it was Christmas.

I ran outside, I was like, let's get our skates on for this mother of two.

The treacherous conditions that had most people hunkered down inside were a winter wonderland.

It was just such a unique experience to be skating in the streets of Travisso in Leander and, just having a blast, just enjoying making memories with my children.

Kimberly has spent 30 years gliding on a steel blade, but the difference between nature made sleet and a zamboni's smooth ice rink got her by surprise.

It was a lot different than skating on an ice rink because there was no grip, so it was a little bit tricky to get used to, but it was so much fun.

Both of Kimberly's daughters are skaters.

This one has been skating since she could walk.

Her older daughter, Bella, is an ice dancer who trains every day.

She was happy to let her mom be the make-the-most-of-a-bad-situation Instagram star.

It was really fun.

We were at the bottom and I was skating with my mom.

I skate every day, so I was like, oh, I should just like, take it easy.

Kimberly and her daughters were some of the few people in Central Texas who think the sleet melted way too fast.

It was amazing.

I wish that we had a few more days of this and it was just really, really fun.

Very cute.

Thank you Bettie.

And that brings us to our write-to-us for this week.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place in Italy and they are starting Friday, February 6th.

That's either today or tomorrow, depending on when you're watching this episode.

And they run until February 22nd.

The Winter Olympics will feature 16 different sports, making the most expansive Winter Olympics to date.

Okay, for the write-to-us on our next episode, we will have a new career call out where we'll talk to a professional cold weather athlete.

Also, a 2030 Olympic hopeful.

A professional athlete is someone who makes a living through their performance and dedication to their sport.

And, you know the drill.

We need your help coming up with interview questions.

So tell us, what do you want to know about being a professional athlete?

Students can send their questions through our inbox form online or by sending us an email to newsdepth@ideastream.org.

And speaking of cold weather, let's check out the results of last week's poll.

On our last episode, we wanted to know what was your favorite thing to ride in the snow?

47% of you said you love to slide down a snowy hill with a sled.

Classic.

31% of you voted for snowmobile, and another 22% reported that you always grab your inflatable snow tube to hit the hills.

It is awesome seeing how many of you are making the best of this cold weather.

Some of us are used to the cold and can adapt nicely while others are not so lucky.

You'll see what I mean.

Let's toss it over to Newshound for this week's petting zoo.

Hey.

Newshound.

Looks like you're preparing for the winter cold.

I love the sweater.

Looks like you're having fun.

What did you find for us this week?

Oh, cool.

A story about animals at the zoo and how their keepers are preparing them for the winter storm.

To check out the full video, you can visit our website and YouTube channel.

I'm glad you're staying warm out there.

Thanks as always.

Newshound.

Last week we learned about Dorothy Fuldheim, the first female news anchor in the United States.

Back in 1947.

And that inspired our next career call out segment.

Journalism plays a vital role in informing the public about important events all over the world.

The country, state and even our cities.

Journalists are trained professionals who work in fast paced, often challenging environments where accuracy, fairness and ethical judgment are required.

They must be skilled in research, interviewing, fact checking, and clear storytelling.

Journalists can work in a variety of platforms, including print, digital, and broadcast.

Journalists follow strict ethical standards and deadlines while dealing with rapidly changing news cycles.

A deadline is a date or time by which an assignment must be completed.

To become a journalist, a person typically earns a high school diploma or GED, followed by a college degree in journalism, communications, or a related field.

Hands on experience through internships or student media are a great way to learn how to be a professional reporter.

The average salary for a journalist United States is about $62,000 per year.

We now meet Karen Kasler, the chief of the Statehouse News Bureau, where she shares Ohio government news for TV and radio.

Karen is here to answer some of your questions about her job.

For this week's career callout.

Hi there.

I'm Karen Kasler.

I'm the statehouse bureau chief for Ohio Public Media, which means my team and I cover what's happening in state government for the governor, the legislature, the Ohio Supreme Court, all sorts of policies, elections for Ohio's public radio and television stations.

And I understand there are a couple questions here.

So let's go ahead and go through some of them.

First of all, a sixth grader from Claggett Middle School wants to know what does a journalist do every day.

Well, what a journalist does every day is really depending on two things.

First of all, the news of the day that a journalist has to cover and then stories that a journalist is interested in covering and wants to cover.

So that means that there's news every day, because some days not a whole lot happens in the community.

But that gives the journalist the opportunity to do stories that they've kind of put off that they want to come back to, but they want to follow up on.

Obviously, the big news of the day, there's a major event that happens.

Journalists cover that.

But then the other half of the job is really following up, digging deeper into stories, really exploring an issue a little bit more thoroughly.

A fifth grade student from John P. Parker Elementary wants to know how do you maintain objectivity?

Well, that's a great question.

Objectivity is the idea that I don't express an opinion on a story.

I just present the facts.

And facts are important to really check out.

You have to make sure that you use facts that are universally determined to be facts.

So you look at studies.

You look at what experts who work for universities and for other entities have said.

It's very important to make sure that you get the facts correct.

And that's especially important when you're out doing stories in the field and you're covering a big event.

You want to make sure that you follow the facts, because sometimes facts can get blurred when things are happening, and you really want to make sure that you stick to the facts and you don't put your personal opinion in a story.

A fourth grade student from Olmsted Falls Intermediate School asks, what is the highlight of your career so far?

Wow.

That is that is a great question.

I've done a lot of really fun things.

I used to work in Cleveland at a commercial radio station, and every year I used to fly with some pilots at the air show, and going upside down in an airplane was really an awesome experience.

I highly recommend that if you're not afraid of heights, and even if you are, because it's really cool.

I've talked to some important people.

I've talked to several governors I've seen, like the original Brown Stadium being torn down.

It was a moment that you felt like history was happening, and I think that's the real highlight is I get to see history as it happens.

And I think that's really a cool thing.

A lot of people don't get that opportunity to be there.

As history is happening in front of them.

It's really kind of extraordinary, and I'm grateful that I have this front row seat where I can share this experience with other people.

And I'm it just it's it's the kind of thing that I always wanted to be a part of.

And I'm very, very fortunate that I get to be.

And so finally, a fifth grader from DeWitt elementary sent in this question, what advice do you have for someone like me who is interested in journalism?

I think one of the first things you have to really work on is your writing to make sure that you're a strong writer, that you can explain things so that people understand them.

You don't have to be able to spell that.

Well, a lot of journalists can't spell, but you do need to have a grasp of facts and a grasp of how to put your words together so that people understand you and that you communicate effectively.

And you have to have a real good background in research and understand where you can find unbiased, accurate information and facts that every day is different.

You have no idea coming in.

You might have an idea, but you don't know where the day could lead to.

It's it can be a really wild experience sometimes.

And that's the real fun of it, is to try to keep up with it and run with it.

And you've got a whole bunch of other journalists who are doing the same thing.

We have a real camaraderie and community.

Even though we're competitors, we still work together and cheer each other on.

It's it's a great field to be in.

Special thanks to our good friend and colleague, Karen Casler for answering our questions about careers in journalism.

Now, are you ready for some football?

California's ready.

The Seattle Seahawks are facing off against the New England Patriots and Super Bowl 60 this Sunday.

The game will be played in Santa Clara and the Bay area already has their game face on.

Across the region, travel, safety and entertainment preparations are underway.

Dustin Dorsey reports the matchups are set in the transformation is underway at Levi's Stadium.

Plans are turning into preparation for Super Bowl 60.

We're incredibly proud to welcome the world to Silicon Valley, and the Valley Transportation Authority is ready to take people where they need to go.

VTA has been holding trainings for operators and maintaining the fleet of busses and light rails for the event.

22 extra trains will run Super Bowl Sunday to help move an expected VTA record 25,000 fans on game day.

We have taken every lesson we learned from serving Super Bowl 50, 10 years ago and building even stronger, smarter and have a more efficient plan for Super Bowl 60.

In San Jose, an all new visitor center celebrated its grand opening Monday.

Steps from San Jose State and downtown.

The locker room is where visitors can learn about where to spend time in the city.

Host a podcast in the free studio, or even load up on gear of local teams.

Just one of many ways, the city aims to take advantage of being on the global stage.

Cause it's never about the event.

It's about what we can do around the event.

The intent of this visitor center is a one-stop concierge service for our residents, our patrons and our partners.

Thanks for the coverage, Dustin.

Super Bowl 60 tickets are selling quickly and the average cost is higher than last year's in New Orleans.

And while attending the game will not be cheap for out of towners, that doesn't even include the price of airfare, hotels or other travel costs.

Olivia Stein tallies up the cost for Super Bowl 60 and has a look at what fans can expect.

Levi's Stadium and the Bay area are ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans.

The Super Bowl 60.

According to, our going to travel for yet another year.

Sports is one of the top four reasons why people are looking to travel in 2026.

And the Super Bowl is really considered a mega event.

When.com travel expert Katy Nastro says a lot of the costs surrounding the Super Bowl are cheaper than last year's in New Orleans.

But that doesn't mean it's easily affordable.

Nastro says fans are paying an average of more than $300 for flights to the bay, with bookings from Seattle and Boston at the top.

Meanwhile, our ABC7 data team found nightly hotel rates are up $2,300 to stay in downtown San Francisco on average for Super Bowl weekend.

And Nastro says prices rise region wide, the closer you are to the big events, by looking a little bit further out from where that stadium is, maybe equidistance from that in the airport or the larger airports in the area, you're going to find more hotel options.

And yes, Uber might be a little bit more expensive, but you are going to save on your hotel costs.

Special thanks to our intern, Olivia for sharing that story with us.

Now, let's toss the ball over to you to see what you have to say.

Who are you rooting for in Super Bowl 60?

Kick it over to our poll page to cheer for your favorite team.

You could choose between.

Go, Seahawks!

Go, Patriots!

Go sports!

or go snacks!

I can't wait to see the results of that poll.

But you know what I would say.

Go, Browns!

Okay, let's get back to the show.

People can learn so much about themselves, about teamwork and about others by giving back to their community.

Not only that, but when you give back, you made the world a better place.

We're always very proud of students that we meet who do their part to make the world a better place.

And this week, we're going to tell you about the PAWS Club at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School in Chagrin Falls and give them a well-deserved A-plus award.

Paws stands for People Always Willing to Serve.

And it's a club at the school that's open to students and fourth through sixth grade.

Paige L told us that the group gets involved in all kinds of service projects to help other people, like food drives and holiday gift giving for people in need all over the Cleveland area.

Paige R added that they even recently helped to distribute meals to people in need.

Home rooms from the school donated Target and Amazon gift cards to PAWS.

Then PAWS used shopping lists provided by families to go shopping to buy a wide variety of gifts.

They bought things like clothing, stocking stuffers, games, sports equipment, and toys.

Rowan and Hazel told us that they had a great time shopping for the gifts.

But here's the thing.

They did it on a Saturday.

That is dedication to the cause.

Gino told us that he really learned a lot by helping people.

And he asked us to give a shout out to his sister Stella, who was in PAWS when she was in sixth grade.

Emily added that it's important to look for ways to help people, because you never know what a difference you could make for someone.

This week's A-plus Award goes to the PAWS Club at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School for truly making a difference in the lives of others.

Anything is PAW-sible when you work as a team.

I know you're over my jokes, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.

That's a wrap for this episode of NewsDepth.

We'll be back next week with more news and more stories.

Until then, you can keep the conversation going because we always like to hear from you.

And there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us here at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week.

NewsDepth is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Clear Callouts featured in news that they're funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.