Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Rare southern snow and Northeast storm disrupt holiday travel plans across U.S.; MLK day of service highlights health equity and quitting support in GA; MLK Day in PA features justice festival supporting immigrants; Statewide strike encouraged in MN in response to ICE.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Newscast for MLK Day, January 19, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A bunch of snow blanketed highways and neighborhoods from Long Island to the Florida Panhandle overnight, turning familiar roads into winter scenes rarely seen that far south and snowy travel across the eastern half of the U.S. during a busy holiday weekend.

That from NBC News.

They report that flight delays continue to pile up Sunday for thousands of people.

There were more than 4,100 flights delayed and 442 canceled.

Separate storm systems stretch across the country, placing roughly 55 million people under winter alerts from the northern plains and Great Lakes, through the northeast and into parts of the southeast.

Meantime, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is widely recognized as a day of service, But some organizations are using the moment to focus on long-term health and well-being.

Georgia advocates say expanding access to support for quitting smoking is critical as thousands continue to face preventable nicotine-related illness.

Kendrick Dardis, vice president of outreach and engagement at the nonprofit Truth Initiative, says health equity starts with making sure people have the information and support they need because individual well-being strengthens families and neighborhoods.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is really a call to action and not just a reflection.

Truth Initiative is showing up during the King Holiday Observance Week to really frame quitting nicotine as an act of liberation and understanding one that protects health and strengthens community.

Truth Initiative, which focuses on policy and resources to help people quit smoking, is attending the Beloved Community Global Summit in Atlanta this week as a part of King Holiday Observance Week.

The summit brings together leaders from across the country to advance Dr. King's vision of the beloved community through service, collaboration, and community-driven solutions.

For Georgia News Connection, I'm Shanteya Hudson.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

We head next to Pennsylvania, where folks are coming together to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of justice, service, and equality.

In Philadelphia, that observance includes the MLK Day Justice Fest 26, a fundraiser to support immigration legal services organizations.

Pennsylvania is home to just over 1.1 million immigrants, making up roughly 8 percent of the state's population.

Catherine Miller Wilson with Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Pennsylvania or highest, says the festival brings people together through music and art to celebrate community and uphold justice.

She adds it carries forward Dr. King's message that dignity and rights belong to everyone, no matter where they were born.

It's a dream about community because community is a place where members feel safe, feel valued, and support one another.

Danielle Smith reporting.

This is Public News Service.

With federal immigration agents showing no signs of leaving Minnesota, local organizers want to display a large sense of solidarity in condemning ICE enforcement.

Major union partners are part of a push for a statewide strike planned for this Friday.

Billed as a day of truth and freedom, a delegation of labor offices call on people around the state to, if they can, not go to work, school, or shop on Friday.

Union leaders say people in targeted neighborhoods, including workers, are already forced into hiding regardless of their immigration status.

Chelsea Globitz-Gabbio of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation hopes fellow residents take a stand.

If we all stand together in solidarity and mass mobilization, we can get the attention of the folks who need to step in and make this chaos stop.

Federal officials, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, appeared on weekend national talk shows to defend ice activity in Minnesota.

But this month's fatal shooting of Renee Good, along with social media videos showing aggressive ice enforcement, are leading to more calls for the operation to end.

I'm Mike Moen.

And clean energy advocates are asking Virginia's utility regulator to reject a proposal from Dominion Energy to change metering rules for new solar panel users.

The proposal by Dominion Energy means people with solar panels installed might end up having to pay the company, even when they generated enough electricity to cover their usage.

It would also change how excess energy is measured, from a yearly measurement to one every 30 That means it would be virtually impossible for people to bank kilowatts during low usage months to make up for high usage months and lead to higher energy bills for solar users.

Brandon Prelew with Solar United Neighbors says the proposal could make solar a bad investment for individuals and communities.

They would then have to pay a little bit if they were to produce the same amount and consume the same amount.

I'm Zamone Perez.

Finally, to West Virginia, where environmental groups say the federal government's decision to green light a major highway through Wardensville as a major setback for communities across the state.

The Federal Highway Administration and the West Virginia Department of Transportation recently issued a finding of no significant impact to wildlife and natural resources for the section of the controversial four-lane highway that would connect to Virginia.

Olivia Miller with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy says the state's decision to spend money on the project while counties struggle with crumbling infrastructure to understand.

So why are we pouring over $500 million into this road when there are bridges and roads failing all across the state?

This is Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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