Vox Sentences - Winter storm blankets the US

Blizzard conditions sweep across the US; Ukraine backs February peace talks.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

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Blizzard kills dozens in Buffalo

Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

• Dozens of people across the US have died in weather-related incidents after a winter storm swept across much of the country. [BBC / Bernd Debusmann Jr.]
• By Tuesday, western New York reported at least 30 deaths as emergency crews recover bodies from stranded cars, snowbanks, and homes without electricity. [New York Times / Lola Fadulu, Sarah Maslin Nir, and Hurubie Meko]
• Conditions were worsened by a “bomb cyclone,” which formed after atmospheric pressure dropped quickly near the Great Lakes, unleashing extremely heavy snow and winds. [Associated Press / Carolyn Thompson]
• Airlines canceled thousands of flights on Monday and Tuesday, disrupting holiday travel across the US. [NPR / Ashley Ahn]
• The Department of Transportation is looking into what happened at Southwest Airlines after a scheduling meltdown forced the carrier to ground more than 60 percent of its flights on Tuesday. [Washington Post / Justin George, Rachel Lerman, and Hannah Sampson]
• President Joe Biden has approved a federal disaster declaration to provide resources to New York state. Officials expect the death toll could rise in the coming days. [CNN / Dakin Andone, Artemis Moshtaghian, and Nouran Salahieh]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Rebecca Leber explains how America’s crumbling energy infrastructure and reliance on fossil fuels pushed local power grids to their limit during the winter storm. [Vox / Rebecca Leber]

Ukraine wants February peace talks

• Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday said Kyiv is ready to hold a peace summit in February, one year after Russia’s invasion. [AP / E. Eduardo Castillo and Hanna Arhirova]
• However, Ukraine is demanding that Russia participate in a war crimes tribunal before it directly engages with the Kremlin. [Al Jazeera]
• Russian President Vladimir Putin recently expressed openness to negotiations; however, US and Ukrainian officials dismissed the claim as a distraction. [CNN / Rob Picheta]
• Meanwhile, about 9 million Ukrainians are without power after repeated Russian attacks destroyed critical energy infrastructure. [Deutsche Welle]

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On Monday, Representative-elect George Santos (R-NY) admitted to lying about his college education and work experience. [Vox / Ben Jacobs]

• Pavel Antov, a Russian sausage tycoon who criticized the war in Ukraine, died after falling from a hotel window in India. It’s the latest mysterious death involving Russian businessmen. [BBC / Paul Kirby]
• China is experiencing a surge in travel demand after announcing it would open its borders to international travel. [Axios /Herb Scribner]
• A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the man convicted of plotting to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government to 16 years in prison. [NYT / Mitch Smith]

“It is [like] going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking.”

[New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul on the blizzard / BBC]

Running up that hill with 8 billion people. [YouTube]

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