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By Abdul Matin Sahak MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Dozens of families displaced from their homes in the northern province of Sar-e Pul by Taliban pressure have arrived in the provincial capital, as the insurgents have tightened their grip around the city, residents and officials said.     Taliban fighters have been threatening oil fields around the city of Sar-e Pul as they have stepped up operations with the apparent aim of strengthening their position during peace talks with U.S. officials. ...

DETROIT (AP) — The Latest on a winter storm in the Midwest and New England (all times local):

The Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or advisories for a swath of the eastern United States that is home to 100 million people, said meteorologist Rich Otto of the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. The storm system, which was moving from west to east and was strengthened by arctic air from Canada, hit many parts of the Midwest on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. In Chicago, where some neighborhoods received 8 inches (20 cm) of snow, a third of flights were canceled at the city's two main airports, said Mark Duell, vice president of operations for tracking firm FlightAware.

A diocese in Kentucky apologised Saturday after videos emerged showing students from a Catholic boys’ high school mocking Native Americans outside the Lincoln Memorial after a rally in Washington. The Indigenous Peoples March in Washington on Friday coincided with the March for Life, which drew thousands of anti-abortion protesters, including a group from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills. Videos circulating online show a youth staring at and standing extremely close to Nathan Phillips, a 64-year-old Native American man singing and playing a drum. Other students, some wearing Covington clothing and many wearing "Make America Great Again" hats and sweatshirts, surrounded them, chanting, laughing and jeering. In a joint statement , the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School apologised to Phillips. Officials said they are investigating and will take "appropriate action, up to and including expulsion." "We extend our deepest apologies to Mr Phillips," the statement read. "This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person." The amount of disrespect.... TO THIS DAY. #SMH #ipmdc19 #ipmdc #indigenousunited #indigenouspeoplesmarch #indigenouspeoplesmarch2019 A post shared by KC�������� (@ka_ya11) on Jan 18, 2019 at 4:33pm PST According to the "Indian Country Today" website, Phillips is an Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran who holds an annual ceremony honoring Native American veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. "When I was there singing, I heard them saying ’Build that wall, build that wall,’" Phillips said, as he wiped away tears in a video posted on Instagram. "This is indigenous lands. We’re not supposed to have walls here. We never did." He told The Washington Post that while he was drumming, he thought about his wife, Shoshana, who died of bone marrow cancer nearly four years ago, and the threats that indigenous communities around the world are facing. "I felt like the spirit was talking through me," Phillips told the newspaper. State Representative Ruth Buffalo, a North Dakota state lawmaker and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said she was saddened to see students showing disrespect to an elder who is also a US military veteran at what was supposed to be a celebration of all cultures. "The behavior shown in that video is just a snapshot of what indigenous people have faced and are continuing to face," Buffalo said. She said she hoped it would lead to some kind of meeting with the students to provide education on issues facing Native Americans. The videos prompted a torrent of outrage online. Actress and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted that the footage "brought me to tears," while actor Chris Evans tweeted that the students’ actions were "appalling" and "shameful." This is Trump’s America. And it brought me to tears. What are we teaching our young people? Why is this ok? How is this ok? Please help me understand. Because right now I feel like my heart is living outside of my body. https://t.co/QMxMDxNjvr— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 19, 2019 US Representative Deb Haaland, D-New Mexico, who is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and had been at the rally earlier in the day, used Twitter to sharply criticize what she called a "heartbreaking" display of "blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance." Haaland, who is also Catholic, told The Associated Press she was particularly saddened to see the boys mocking an elder, who is revered in Native American culture. She placed some of the blame on President Donald Trump, who has used Indian names like Pocahontas as an insult. "It is sad that we have a president who uses Native American women’s names as racial slurs and that’s an example that these kids are clearly following considering the fact that they had their ’Make America Great Again’ hats on," Haaland said. "He’s really brought out the worst in people."

Flight headaches were on the rise Saturday as a winter storm moved toward the Northeast. Cancellations spiked into the thousands, with more likely.

Insisting on his demand for $5.7 billion to fund a U.S.-Mexico border barrier as part of any bill to fully reopen the government, Trump sought to pile pressure on Democrats by appealing to immigrants they have tried to help. In a speech from the White House, Trump offered three years of protections for young undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers," as well as for holders of temporary protected status (TPS), another class of immigrants.

Forensic experts filled body bags with charred human remains in the field where the explosion occurred on Friday evening by the town of Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo, in one of the deadliest incidents to hit Mexico's troubled oil infrastructure in years. A number of people at the scene told Reuters that local shortages in gasoline supply since Lopez Obrador launched a drive to stamp out fuel theft had encouraged the rush to the gushing pipeline. "Everyone came to see if they could get a bit of gasoline for their car, there isn't any in the gas stations," said farmer Isaias Garcia, 50.

Democratic strategist Joel Rubin and District Media Group president Beverly Hallberg weigh in on whether or not Democrats will agree to Trump’s new border security deal.

Donald Trump has proposed a compromise to reopen the federal government which would provide extensions to protections for certain undocumented immigrants in exchange for $5.7bn (£4.4bn) to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border. Under the president’s plan, migrants who arrived to the country at a young age and qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (Daca), as well as other immigrants under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), would receive extensions to their protections from deportation. “If we are successful in this effort, we will have the best chance … At real, bipartisan immigration reform,” the president said, before outlining the proposal he says received input from border security professionals.

A mother of two whose wrist was broken when the car she was in collided with Prince Philip’s Land Rover has told friends she is “unhappy” with the way Buckingham Palace has handled the accident. The Telegraph can reveal that Emma Fairweather, 45, was the passenger in the Kia car last Thursday when it struck the Duke of Edinburgh’s Land Rover near the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Ms Fairweather has since complained of feeling “overwhelmed” by the experience of being involved, firstly, in a crash and, secondly, in one involving the husband of the monarch. Friends and relatives described Ms Fairweather as a “warm and caring woman”, as well as a devoted mother of two teenage children. They said she had told of how “she still has not been cleared” by doctors as fit and well after suffering the injury to her wrist. Others have claimed Ms Fairweather, as well as the 28-year-old female Kia driver who suffered cuts to her knee, had felt “unhappy” because they said they had been “advised” by police not to talk about the collision. No-one from Norfolk Police was available for comment on Saturday. The younger woman’s nine-month-old baby was in the back of the Kia and survived without any injuries after the vehicle struck the Duke’s two-tonne car on the A149 sending it rolling across the road. Ms Fairweather has told friends she is unhappy with how Buckingham Palace handled the crash There was no suggestion the car was speeding. The two women and the Duke were breathalysed but neither was over the drink drive limit. A source has since confirmed that the Duke took and passed a police eyesight test, as part of the ongoing investigation. Four people had to help the visibly shaken prince out of the Freelander. Others went to the aid of the two women  and baby in the Kia amid fears that smoke coming from vehicle could lead to an explosion or fire. A source who knows Ms Fairweather and spoke on condition of anonymity said the mother of two was “frustrated” with how the episode had been handled as she was caught up in a crash that has made headlines around the world. The woman explained: “She said, ‘It’s suddenly become so overwhelming that I’m quite tempted to simply go home. I’m just wondering if I’m out of my depth and should retreat.” While Ms Fairweather has not yet elaborated on exactly why she felt unhappy, there has been considerable dismay locally that the police took a day to reveal that a nine-month-old baby was also in the Kia vehicle. The scene of the crash last week Buckingham Palace revealed earlier that “contact had been made privately with the passengers in the other car and well-wishes had been exchanged”, however it remains unclear whether the prince made that approach or if it been an aid. Meanwhile, some locals have complained that it required an accident involving a member of the Royal Family on a notorious stretch of the A149 to prompt the council to lower the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph. Among those killed on the road is Sandra Greenacre, a 51-year-old police community support officer, who died after being involved in an accident on her way to work in 2013. Her son, Danny Child, 27, from King’s Lynn, told The Telegraph: “Personally, I feel like it is disrespectful to everyone who has had a road traffic collision on the A149. "It’s been an issue for the last five to six years but now a royal has had a crash something has been done. I just feel like it’s disrespectful.” It is not the first time the prince has been involved in a collision. In January 1996, Prince Philip, then 74, was involved in an accident in Brandon, Suffolk, while travelling from Sandringham. Both vehicles were damaged in the prang. Ms Fairweather also told friends how she had been moved by the “numerous” family members and former neighbours eager to ensure she was safe and well. The Duke of Edinburgh returned to the road in a new car on Saturday Credit: Geoff Robinson One neighbour in Kings Lynn, where Ms Fairweather lived for three years before moving out last year, said she was a “wonderfully warm” woman and a “fantastic mother” who was seen regularly walking her dog. “She will be terribly shocked to be caught up in this whole thing. I can’t imagine how she feels about it all,” he said. Ms Fairweather had lived in a two-up-two down semi-detached house, along with her two teenage children, Alex, a 19-year-old fine art student at York University, and a teenage son. It is understood Ms Fairweather summoned a relative, Samantha Fairweather, 38, to the scene of the accident to comfort her. They were photographed alongside the prince’s Land Rover which had rolled onto its side, as well as the Kia car in a hedge. The Duke was reported to have said “I’m such a fool” to a member of the public who had helped him out the car. Victoria Warne, 72, who stopped at the scene with her husband, Roy, 75, said the prince “looked so worried”, adding: “I’m such a fool.” It is understood a bidding war has broken out among tabloid news outlets for Ms Fairweather’s account of the crash and her treatment by the authorities in the aftermath. Additional reporting by Helena Horton and Mike Wright.

Former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Chad Sweet says that after a deal is made there are still more challenges that will have to be faced before construction can begin on a wall.

Police in Newark, Delaware are investigating a disturbing crime involving the rape of a girl by four boys all under the age of 15.

A Belarusian model who claimed she had proof of Russian collusion with the Trump election campaign, had her detention in Moscow extended by three days by a Russian court on Saturday. Anastasia Vashukevich, also known as Nastya Rybka, has been held for questioning since Thursday after she was deported from Thailand as part of a group convicted of participating in a "sex training course". "The court has decided to extend her detention by 72 hours," judge Natalya Borissenkova was cited as stating by the Ria Novosti news agency.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Belarusian model and self-styled sex instructor who last year claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election said Saturday that she apologizes to a Russian tycoon for the claim and won't say more about the matter.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Dover Air Force Base (all times local):

A polar plunge of brutal cold is following this weekend’s blockbuster winter storm, which can threaten lives and complicate travel and cleanup efforts.

At least eight Somali soldiers were killed when the Al-Shabaab jihadist group overran their military camp on the outskirts of the town of Kismayo early Saturday, military officials and local elders said. According to the sources, heavily-armed Shabaab militants launched a dawn raid on the military camp, followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire which lasted hours. "The terrorists attacked Bulogagdud military base using heavy weaponry and explosives.

“It’s time for leaders on both sides to put politics aside, come together, and end this shutdown"

Former Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr weighs in on the rare public statement by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office.

Trump announces trip to a Dover, Delaware, military base to meet with families of Americans killed in a Wednesday attack by a suicide bomber in Syria.