The Latest on severe winter storm hitting parts of the U.S. Southeast (all times local):
2:55 p.m.
Authorities have responded to hundreds of traffic accidents as a winter storm dumps snow and ice on parts of the Southeast.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that the State Highway Patrol has responded to more than 500 crashes and 1,100 calls for service. Cooper said some crashes had caused major delays on interstate highways.
Virginia State Police Sunday afternoon they'd responded to more than 60 crashes as southern parts of the state have seen more than a foot (30 cm) of snow.
Officials have urged motorists to stay off the road as crews work to clear them of snow and ice.
11:20 a.m.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is strongly urging residents to stay off the road as a massive winter storm blankets parts of the Southeast with snow and ice.
Cooper said at a news conference Sunday that emergency crews, including the National Guard, had worked overnight to clear traffic accidents on major interstates. Cooper said one tractor trailer ran off a road and into a river.
Cooper told residents to stay at home and wrap holiday presents and watch football while the snow falls Sunday.
"Stay put if you can," he said.
Cooper said more than 175,000 North Carolina households were without power and utilities had brought in 1,500 out-of-state workers to help restore service. He said that 11 shelters are open, mainly in western North Carolina, for people needing a place to stay.
10:55 a.m.
More than 300,000 power outages have been reported as a winter storm makes its way across the Southeast.
About 180,000 outages tracked by poweroutages.us on Sunday were concentrated in North Carolina, where forecasters have said some mountain areas could get up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow or more.
Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency as the storm approached.
More than 82,000 were without power in South Carolina, while a total of about 75,000 outages were reported across Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
10:40 a.m.
More than 1,000 flights have been canceled out of North Carolina's largest airport as a winter storm makes its way across the Southeast.
That's according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport says it's also "reduced its operations" as rain, freezing rain, and snow move across the area.
Charlotte-Douglas is the second-largest hub of American Airlines. The airline says it's cancelled a total of 1,100 flights for Sunday and 300 flights for Monday.
American has also issued a travel alert for nine airports throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia, meaning passengers may be able to change travel plans without a fee.
Airport officials say snow teams worked overnight in Charlotte on Saturday to clear the airfield, roadways and overpasses.
A storm spreading snow, sleet and freezing rain across a wide swath of the South has millions of people in its path, raising the threat of immobilizing snowfalls, icy roads and power outages.
Governors and local officials in several states declared emergencies ahead of the storm crossing several Southern states.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday that residents in the some parts of the state should be ready for a lengthy fight with the storm, which began dumping snow and sleet over the southern Appalachians Saturday night.
"We're preparing for days of impact, not hours," Cooper said. "Stay safe where you are. Getting out on dangerous roads could put your life at risk."
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. In recent days, neighboring Chad also has questioned whether an existing agreement covered the U.S. troops operating there.
The U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in Chad for now, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday at a press briefing.
“As talks continue with Chadian officials, U.S. AFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some U.S. military forces from Chad, some portions of which were already scheduled to depart. This is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election," Ryder said.
In Niger, the majority of the 1,000 U.S. personnel assigned there also are expected to depart, Ryder said.
U.S. and Nigerien officials were expected to meet Thursday in Niger's capital, Niamey, “to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces," the State Department said in a statement late Wednesday. Follow-up meetings between senior Pentagon and Niger officials are expected next week “to coordinate the withdrawal process in a transparent manner and with mutual respect,” Ryder said.
Called status-of-forces agreements, these deals allow the U.S. to conduct critical counterterrorism operations within both countries' borders and have supported military partner training. The reversals have prompted concern that U.S. influence in Africa is losing ground to overtures from Russia and China.
Relations have frayed between Niger and Western countries since mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president in July. Niger’s junta has since told French forces to leave and turned instead to Russia for security.
Earlier this month, Russian military trainers arrived to reinforce the country’s air defenses and they brought Russian equipment, which they would train Nigeriens to use.
Niger plays a central role in the U.S. military’s operations in Africa’s Sahel region, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert. Washington is concerned about the spread of jihadi violence where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the Islamic State groups.
Niger is home to a major U.S. air base in the city of Agadez, about 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital, which is used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since beginning operations there in 2013.
Officials from the State Department, U.S. Africa Command and the Pentagon will work with Chad’s government to make the case for U.S. forces to continue operations, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady said Wednesday.
Grady told The Associated Press in an interview that if both countries ultimately decide the U.S. cannot remain, the military will have to look for alternatives to run counterterrorism missions across the Sahel.
“If we are asked to leave, and after negotiations that’s the way it plays out, then we are going to have to recalculate and figure out a new way to do it,” Grady said.
The news of the departure of U.S. forces in Chad was first reported by The New York Times.
FILE - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Christopher Grady, right, arrives for a closed door briefing about the leaked highly classified military documents, on Capitol Hill, April 19, 2023, in Washington. Grady says there's been no final decision on whether or not all U.S. troops will leave Niger and Chad. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role
US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role
FILE - A U.S. and Niger flag are raised side by side at the base camp for air forces and other personnel supporting the construction of Niger Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger, April 16, 2018. The United States is attempting to create a new military agreement with Niger that would allow it to remain in the country, weeks after the junta said its presence was no longer justified, two Western officials told The Associated Press Friday April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Carley Petesch, File)
