Tracy Mumford

The storm is expected to get going this afternoon in the Rockies before moving east across the country over the weekend.

Meteorologists say some regions could get a foot or more of snow.

And after that, an intense freeze.

The wind chill in North Dakota, for example, could drop as low as minus 50 degrees.

One meteorologist told The Times, it's going to be hazardous for humans to step outside.

Further south, the big concern is freezing rain.

State and local officials are preparing for the possibility of trees, power lines and roads being covered in heavy ice, causing travel delays.

There's also concern about the power grid.

Experts are drawing comparisons to another massive winter storm in Texas five years ago that led to extensive blackouts and left around 200 people dead.

A new analysis of crime data from across the country is pointing to a remarkable milestone.

2025 will likely register as having the lowest national homicide rate in more than a century, according to the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice, which crunched the numbers.

The drop is part of an overall decrease in violent crime that's been happening for years, apart from a temporary surge during the pandemic.

Experts say there's no one clear answer for why crime rates have been falling, but they have a wide range of educated guesses.

Some point to the phasing out of lead gasoline back in the 70s, which had impaired brain development.

Some other possible factors?

The growing use of surveillance cameras, new policing techniques, more programs that give teenagers summer jobs, better mental health treatment, or even the country's aging population.

One professor who studies crime told The Times that changing habits, like more screen time, could also be playing a role, saying American society is, quote, becoming much less face-to-face, which is sort of a requirement for violence.

The big wow out of the Oscar nominations this year was that the vampire movie Sinners broke the record for most nominations ever, beating out the previous three-way tie of Titanic, La La Land, and All About Eve.

Thank you, sensei, thank you!

Viva la revolución!