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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Massive U.S. Winter Storm Brings Ice, Snow And Bitter Cold; Tensions High Amid Kurdish Forces And Syrian Government Ceasefire; The Stage Is Set For Super Bowl LX. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired January 26, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:32:45]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. I want to give you an update on that monster winter storm. More than 800,000 Americans are without power. That stretches from Texas to New England. And then you've got dangerous levels of ice accumulating in the South and that's bringing down trees and power lines.
In Mississippi, nine percent of the state has lost power. The governor said there has been catastrophic damage to at least one power distribution line.
And the storm is still dropping snow across the Northeast as forecasters say the mid-Atlantic, Upper Midwest, and Northeast won't begin to thaw out from the bitter cold until early February.
For more, we're going to bring in Bill Waddell. He's a reporter from AccuWeather joining us from Greenville, South Carolina. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm feeling bad that I have you out -- standing outside in Greenville. I've spent time there. They are used to the heat, not the cold.
So how are the roads right now? What's going on?
BILL WADDELL, REPORTER, ACCUWEATHER: Yeah, that's right. Good morning
Typically when I'm done in the Carolinas it is for hurricane season, but it's been the plow trucks out here putting salt on these icy roads and these hills. We have about half an inch of ice and sleet accumulation on the ground in this part of South Carolina and then we had freezing rain falling on top of that. You combine freezing temperatures overnight and it's very slick and icy out here.
This is what a lot of people all across the country are dealing with. And I'll say big picture, we are very lucky in this part of South Carolina compared to some of our neighbors off to the west and the north where conditions are much, much colder. And that's going to be the big impact over the next 48 to 72 hours. Not just all of the people without power, not just clearing the roads and trying to get the travel network back up to speed, but it's this bitter cold. Some of the coldest air expected to far this winter. And when you have people without power and heat for several days, you know, an inconvenience can turn into a life-threatening emergency very quickly. That's what actually AccuWeather meteorologists are concerned about.
CORNISH: Can you talk more about that? I mean, there are so many rural areas where people may be. Their homes are not equipped for this. Can you talk about what the concerns are as we head into this drop in temperatures?
[05:35:00]
WADDELL: Absolutely, especially across parts of the south-south central U.S. There just are not nearly as many plow trucks, winter weather resources, and salt to clear these roads. So it can make it very difficult for first responders to get out there and answer those calls for help and for the utility crews to get to the hardest hit areas. And when we have these bitter cold temperatures, especially overnight, anything that might start trying to melt during the day, it refreezes overnight. So in some parts it's like you're starting from scratch trying to get to these areas.
One of the big concerns in parts of the south and southeast, AccuWeather expert meteorologists -- they put out the warning days in advance before the storm hit for vulnerable populations, including families in mobile homes, to take extra precautions. Why is that? A lot of mobile homes in the south and southeast United States are elevated. That means cold air can often flow underneath the mobile home. So in these situations where some families may be without power and heat for several days in mobile homes that are not well insulated, we can have big problems very quickly when it comes to that.
CORNISH: This is the first we've not had a hurricane make landfall in the U.S., so it's sort of like the U.S. escaped that disaster but now is this storm.
Will this bring the same kind of recovery costs and cleanup that we have to deal with during other kinds of natural disasters?
WADDELL: Yeah. That is so interesting to point out that we did not have any U.S. landfalling hurricanes last season.
You can hear the plow trucks coming here and dropping the salt, so bear with us here for just a second.
But this is going to be very costly and impactful storm. We're talking about impacts for more than 200 million people over the past few days across more than two dozen states. Again, they don't do this very often in this part of the Southeast, so the sparks are flying off of that plow truck.
But when we look at the big picture from the economic impacts of this, AccuWeather experts estimate -- this is a preliminary estimate now -- the total damage in economic loss for this winter storm across the United States will be $105 billion to $115 billion. Think about all of the business losses. All of the facilities that may not have generators. Things that need to be thrown out. All of the travel impacts.
And because this is so widespread, AccuWeather experts say this is going to be the most economically impactful weather disaster in the U.S. since the January -- last year -- the California wildfires. That was $250 billion to $275 billion in total damage and economic loss estimated by AccuWeather experts.
So again, yes, when you look at the big picture with these weather disasters on the graph, they've been popping up at weird times over the past year.
CORNISH: Yeah.
WADDELL: Some of the most impactful weather disasters last year at the very beginning and then toward the end of last year because we did not have hurricanes or major wildfires, I should say, in metro areas during the peak wildfire season as well.
CORNISH: And this is affecting far more people.
Bill Waddle, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
And still to come, the future remains uncertain for Kurds in Syria amid a delicate ceasefire between the country's military and Kurdish forces. We're going to get a live report from the region next.
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[05:42:55]
CORNISH: The Kremlin and Kyiv say further peace talks between the two sides are planned for this week. Officials from both countries, as well as the U.S., sat down last week for their first talks since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine's president says progress was made at the discussion in Abu Dhabi. That view was echoed by Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff who said the talks were "very constructive."
President Zelenskyy now says that a document laying out security guarantees with the U.S. is ready to be signed.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): For us, security guarantees are primarily bilateral security guarantees with the U.S. The document is 100 percent ready. We expect our partners to be ready with the date and place when we will sign it.
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CORNISH: Now, in between the rounds of discussion in Abu Dhabi, Russia maintained strikes on Ukraine. In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and four others wounded. That's according to the city's mayor.
Tensions remain high between Kurdish forces and the Syrian government amid a move to forcibly integrate the Kurds into Syria's military. Now, some Kurdish people are also showing their open distaste for the U.S., feeling that they've been left behind after years of supporting U.S. interests.
CNN's Ben Wedeman joins me from Irbil, Iraq with more. Ben, thanks so much for being with us.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Audie. Seven years ago I spent two months in northeast Syria covering what we thought was the final battle against ISIS in which special forces from the U.S., Britain, France, and others defeated that organization. Now, however, the U.S. has decided that alliance is no longer of use and it's telling the Kurds you're on your own.
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WEDEMAN (voiceover): The men and boys are on high alert, machine guns at the ready, at checkpoints around the Kurdish-controlled town of Malikiyah. They fear the Syrian Army, fresh from victories against their fellow Kurds in Aleppo and Raqqa is coming their way.
[05:45:05]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WEDEMAN: "For years, we were allies," says Amja Dabar Aatai (PH), "And then at the last moment the American go with Julani, with ISIS." Julani, the nom de guerre of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa until a decade ago, a leader of an al Qaeda affiliate.
The U.S. position is that the time has come for the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian Army.
The next morning at a school hosting people fleeing the fighting, we found few were buying America's prescription.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Bleep) you, Donald Trump. (Bleep) you --
WEDEMAN (voiceover): "And the same goes to the U.N. and the Security Council," says Abul Diar (PH). He came with his wife, his sons, and his grandchildren -- like so many, uprooted time and time again.
In a country ripped apart by nearly 15 years of war they're beyond the breaking point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WEDEMAN: "Aren't we human," asked this woman. "We moved from Afrin to Shahba to Aleppo to Hasakah. Enough! Enough! We're dying."
Amidst the violence and chaos lies this desolate camp, home to more than 2,000 foreign women and children who flocked to Syria to live in the Islamic State, now guarded by Kurdish forces.
Camp administration Hakeem Ibrahim (PH) tells me the atmosphere turned menacing when the detainees heard the Kurds were under attack.
HAKEEM IBRAHIM, CAMP ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking foreign language).
WEDEMAN: "They said ISIS is returning," she tells me. "And when that happens, we won't leave one of you alive."
One of the guards drove us around the camp. We were told it was too dangerous to walk. We went inside the tent of one woman from Britian afraid to be identified but desperate to talk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I'm a different person. I'm not a Daesh. I'm not Syrian -- no one. I just -- I'm scared for my family.
WEDEMAN: Of course.
WEDEMAN (voiceover): Daesh is colloquial Arabic for someone with the Islamic State. She said the U.K. revoked her citizenship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was born in England. I was raised in England. I don't have anybody anywhere else. My mum, my dad, my brother all live in England.
WEDEMAN (voiceover): The other much bigger camp for ISIS women and children, Al-Hol, is now under Syrian government control. The U.S. is in the process of moving these 7,000 ISIS men who were in Kurdish-run prisons to more secure facilities in Iraq.
On the defensive the Kurds are preparing for battle. These young volunteers load bullets into their magazines. They, too, accuse the U.S. of betrayal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WEDEMAN: "America has always pursued its interests," says this fighter who asked we not show his face. "As soon as it gets what it wants America sells you out."
That said, for them, it's time to go to the front.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And it appears that, you know, President Trump never really wanted U.S. troops in Syria and it's expected that once those 7,000 ISIS prisoners have been taken -- all of them -- out of Syria that the American forces who have been in northeastern Syria for at least 10 years -- just over 10 years -- that they're going to leave as well -- Audie.
CORNISH: OK, Ben. Thank you.
And we'll be right back.
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[05:53:25]
CORNISH: The killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis cast a shadow over the NBA on Sunday as the Minnesota Timberwolves hosted the Golden State Warriors. Before tip-off, the Target Center Arena in downtown Minneapolis, held a moment of silence in Pretti's honor.
And before the game the head coaches from both teams were asked about the shooting.
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CHRIS FINCH, HEAD COACH, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: And for the second time in less than three weeks we've lost another beloved member of our community, um, in the most unimaginable way. And as an organization we are heartbroken for what we are having to witness and endure and watch.
And we just want to extend our thoughts, prayers, and concern for Mr. Pretti's family, all the loved ones, and everyone involved in such an unconscionable situation in a community that we really love full of people who are by nature peaceful and prideful.
STEVE KERR, HEAD COACH, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: I feel for the city. There's a -- there's a pall that has been cast over the city -- you can feel it -- and, you know, a lot of people are suffering. Obviously, loss of life is the number one concern. Those families are never -- will never get, you know, their family members back.
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[05:55:00]
CORNISH: So the game was initially scheduled for Saturday but after Pretti was killed that day the league postponed the game to Sunday out of safety concerns.
The stage is now set for Super Bowl LX after Sunday's NFL Conference championship games.
First, the AFC. The Patriots and Broncos battled in snowy, windy conditions in Denver. Both defenses were dominant but New England came up late in the game with this interception to close things out. The Patriots win 10-7.
Meanwhile in the NFC, it was shootout between the L.A. Rams and the Seahawks in Seattle. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold with three touchdown passes. And Seattle holds off the Rams 31-27.
So in the end it's going to be the Patriots taking on the Seahawks for the Lombardi trophy in Super Bowl. LX. That will be February 8 in Santa Clara, California.
And I want to thank you for joining me here on EARLY START. I'm in Audie -- I'm Audie Cornish in Washington. And we'll be right back after the break with "CNN THIS MORNING."
