Winter Blast, West Bank, and Frozen Flower Sculptures

Cross-Country Winter Storm

Nearly 75 million Americans have been under a winter storm warning or a winter weather advisory, as blizzard conditions sweep across the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and the Northeast. Weather conditions have caused power outages in California and Arizona, blocked interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming, and triggered more than 1,500 flight cancellations across the country.

The northern states are expected to be hardest hit as schools shut down in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. More than 20 inches of snow is forecast for parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin over three days this week, with Minneapolis on track for its second-biggest snowfall on record. Wind gusts could reach as high as 50 mph in some places, while temperatures in Grand Forks, North Dakota, could fall as low as minus 25 degrees.

In contrast, warm weather as high as 90 degrees is expected in the Southeast. Some areas of the country, including the Mid-Atlantic, could see temperatures as much as 20 to 30 degrees above normal.

West Bank Raid

Ten Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured as Israeli forces attempted to arrest three alleged terror suspects in the northern West Bank city of Nablus yesterday. All three suspects were killed, as well as several civilians, including a 72-year-old man, during the midday gunfight.

As part of a campaign to tamp down on insurgents in territory it has occupied since 1967 (see map), Israeli forces regularly raid West Bank residences believed to hold suspects—though analysts noted daytime raids are less common. Israeli forces claimed they were targeting gunmen suspected of planning attacks, two of whom belonged to the newly formed Lion's Den, a faction of young Palestinian men focused on combating the Israeli occupation (see explainer). 

The incident comes less than a month after a similar raid in Jenin, where nine Palestinians were killed, followed by a mass shooting where seven Israelis died outside a Jerusalem synagogue. See background on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here.

Sentencing in Sarah Lawrence Cult

A woman who served as a top deputy to the leader of a sex cult at Sarah Lawrence College was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison yesterday for her role in the scheme. Isabella Pollok, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money last year, is said to have run financial accounts and acted as an enforcer for leader Lawrence Ray for more than a decade. 

The scandal roiled the liberal arts campus located just outside New York City. According to reports, then-50-year-old Ray moved into his college daughter's dorm room in 2010. For more than a decade, Ray is said to have coerced and manipulated a group of female students (see overview), including carrying out psychological abuse and establishing a prostitution ring. Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison in January. 

The story initially came to light in a 2019 expose (paywall), and was documented in a number of podcasts and a newly released Hulu series (view trailer). 

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