By Meteorologist Mary Gilbert

(CNN) — It’s already been a brutally cold and snowy winter for the northeastern US, but what’s typically the region’s snowiest month is just getting started.

Impactful Northeast snowstorms, many of which are powerful nor’easters, occur most often in February, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s because the ingredients needed to create blockbuster winter storms historically tend to align this month, unlike earlier in the season.

As a result, trace a path along Interstate 95 from Virginia to Maine and nearly every city along and east of the busy roadway typically gets more snow in February than any other month.

Many major cities along the I-95 corridor have already recorded above-average snow for the first time in several years this winter, due mostly to a historic and deadly January storm.

If conditions hold, all it will take for another blockbuster snowfall this month is a storm that follows just the right track up the East Coast.

A recipe for big snow storms

February’s peak snowiness in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast is tied to the Atlantic Ocean.

Sea surface temperatures along the Atlantic Coast are usually relatively warm at the start of winter, as large bodies of water are slow to shed heat from the summer and fall. Any storms that interact with this warmth are more likely to deliver rain than snow.

Water temperatures typically cool off by February, but this year, they cooled off quicker than normal, due in part to multiple brutal blasts of Arctic air early in the season.

Sea surface temperatures from northern New England all the way to the Carolinas are as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit below normal as of this week, according to NOAA data. That’s extremely cold, even as much of the open Atlantic Ocean remains abnormally warm.

These chilly ocean temperatures, combined with the bouts of cold air, left the door open for a snowy winter heading into February.

As a result, this season has put recent winters to shame for some: It’s tracking as one of the five coldest winters to date for a few Eastern Seaboard locales, according to data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

Both the air and the water could be cold all season, but it’s not going to snow until a storm arrives that can tap into them.

Two storms this winter have already shown what happens when conditions are ripe for the picking. The first was late January’s destructive snow and ice storm that tracked across the South and then up along the East Coast. The other was a bomb cyclone that slammed the Southeast and Carolinas as the calendar flipped to February.

New York City

Por Tal Shalev, CNN

El primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu, tiene la intención de discutir posibles opciones militares contra Irán con el presidente Donald Trump durante su visita a Washington esta semana, mientras Israel prepara medidas de contingencia en caso de que las conversaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán fracasen, según dos fuentes israelíes.

Israel se muestra escéptico con respecto al éxito de las negociaciones incipientes entre Estados Unidos e Irán, afirmó una de las fuentes, pero presiona para garantizar la protección de sus intereses, así como para preservar su libertad de acción militar en cualquier posible acuerdo.

Netanyahu planea presentar a Trump información actualizada sobre las capacidades militares de Irán, según una de las fuentes.

“Israel está preocupado por el progreso de Irán en la restauración de sus arsenales y capacidades de misiles balísticos a su nivel anterior a la guerra de los 12 días”, declaró la fuente, añadiendo que la evaluación israelí es que, si no actúa, Irán podría poseer entre 1.800 y 2.000 misiles balísticos en cuestión de semanas o meses.

CNN no puede verificar las afirmaciones. Funcionarios iraníes han reiterado que, si bien Teherán no quiere la guerra, está preparado para ella. Antes de partir hacia Washington, Netanyahu afirmó que Irán es el tema prioritario en la agenda de su reunión con Trump el miércoles, la séptima reunión entre ambos líderes desde el inicio del segundo mandato del estadounidense.

“En este viaje abordaremos una serie de temas: Gaza, la región, pero sobre todo las negociaciones con Irán”, declaró Netanyahu al abordar a su avión. “Presentaré al presidente nuestra visión sobre los principios esenciales de las negociaciones; principios que, a nuestro juicio, son vitales no solo para Israel, sino para cualquier persona en el mundo que desee la paz y la seguridad en Medio Oriente”.

La próxima reunión se produce tras una serie de intercambios de alto nivel en las últimas semanas. El fefe del Estado Mayor de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI), el teniente general Eyal Zamir, y el jefe de la División de Inteligencia, el mayor general Shlomi Binder, visitaron el Pentágono en Washington el mes pasado, mientras que los enviados presidenciales Steve Witkoff y Jared Kushner se reunieron con Netanyahu y altos funcionarios de seguridad en Jerusalén la semana pasada.

Israel ha intentado presionar a Estados Unidos para que garantice que cualquier acuerdo con Irán incluya la renuncia de Teherán a sus reservas de uranio enriquecido, el cese total del enriquecimiento, la imposición de límites a su programa de misiles balísticos y el fin de su apoyo a los intermediarios regionales. La lista coincidía con una serie de demandas anteriores de Estados Unidos para un diálogo más amplio sobre las capacidades militares y las actividades regionales de Irán.

Pero Irán ha insistido en que solo está dispuesto a abordar el tema nuclear. Durante el fin de semana, Trump indicó que podría aceptar un acuerdo que excluya otros temas. Al ser consultado por un periodista a bordo del Air Force One sobre si un acuerdo con Teherán sería aceptable si solo abarcara el ámbito nuclear, respondió: “Sí, sería aceptable, pero una cosa, y desde luego, es que no se permitan armas nucleares”.

El peor escenario para el primer ministro israelí es “un acuerdo nuclear limitado en el que Estados Unidos se conforme con restricciones únicamente al enriquecimiento”, escribió Danny Citrinowicz, experto en Irán del Instituto de Estudios de Seguridad Nacional de Israel, en un artículo publicado en el periódico Israel Hayom.

“Desde la perspectiva de Netanyahu, las dos opciones preferidas son la derrota militar de Irán mediante la fuerza estadounidense o lo que él considera una derrota conceptual, es decir, un acuerdo tan amplio que desmantele efectivamente la capacidad de defensa del régimen”, escribió.

Por Chris Isidore, CNN

McDonald’s ofrecerá a algunos clientes una comida especial de San Valentín este año: Chicken McNuggets y caviar.

A partir de las 11 a.m., hora del Este, del martes, McDonald’s regalará una cantidad limitada de kits que incluyen caviar y una tarjeta de regalo para McNuggets en mcnuggetcaviar.com/countdown.

El sorteo subraya hasta dónde están llegando restaurantes y minoristas para captar la atención de los clientes, con la esperanza de que el gasto llegue después, mientras los consumidores siguen pesimistas sobre la economía y mantienen un control más estricto sobre sus salarios.

McDonald’s dijo en un comunicado que cada kit tiene todo lo necesario para “una celebración elegante pero sin esfuerzo”, incluido un envase de 1 onza de “McNugget Caviar”, crème fraîche y una cuchara de nácar para caviar, junto con una tarjeta de regalo de US$ 25.

Las campañas dirigidas pueden ayudar a impulsar el reconocimiento de marca y las ventas. Una colaboración de McDonald’s el año pasado con “A Minecraft Movie” ayudó a revertir las ventas tras dos trimestres de caídas. (La película fue lanzada por Warner Bros. Pictures, empresa hermana de CNN).

Y con la confianza del consumidor en su nivel más bajo en más de una década, las empresas han buscado maneras de atraer clientes a sus locales. En ese sentido, un sorteo gratuito puede no generar ingresos inmediatos, pero sí construir notoriedad y servir como marketing potencialmente viral.

Si bien McDonald’s se hizo famoso vendiendo hamburguesas, sus ventas de pollo ahora están a la par de las de carne de res en sus restaurantes, dijo el CEO Chris Kempczinski a inversionistas en 2024.

McDonald’s dijo a la revista Food & Wine que la oferta de caviar surgió por elección de los clientes. Durante años, seguidores en redes sociales han elogiado esta combinación “alta y baja”. La estrella del pop Rihanna incluso la probó en un video de TikTok en 2024.

“Han estado combinando Chicken McNuggets con caviar mucho antes de que lo hiciéramos oficial”, dijo la cadena a la revista gastronómica.

McDonald’s reportará resultados trimestrales el miércoles. En los primeros nueve meses del año, las ventas globales subieron 1 %, excluyendo el impacto de los tipos de cambio. Las ventas en tiendas de EE.UU. abiertas al menos un año aumentaron 2,4 % en el tercer trimestre.

Jordan Valinsky, de CNN, contribuyó con este reporte.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post McDonald’s ofrece caviar gratis, sí, caviar, por San Valentín appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Andrew Kirell, CNN

(CNN) — Paramount on Tuesday moved again to sweeten its hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, escalating its effort to derail the company’s pending acquisition by Netflix.

The David Ellison-led entertainment empire said it would pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders (WBD) approximately $650 million for each quarter the Netflix deal is not closed, beginning in 2027.

Paramount also said it would “fully and promptly” pay the $2.8 billion fee that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would owe Netflix if their deal is terminated, according to a new SEC filing.

The filing comes as WBD moves toward closing its $83 billion deal to sell its studios and streaming assets to Netflix. Last month, Netflix revised its offer to all cash. (WBD’s remaining cable networks, including CNN, would spin off into a separate company called Discovery Global.)

Paramount notably did not increase its current $30-per-share, all-cash offer for the entire company, including CNN.

But the new “enhancements,” Ellison said in a statement, are meant to provide WBD shareholders with “certainty in value, a clear regulatory path, and protection against market volatility.”

WBD’s shares opened up about 1% on the news. However, to date, there is little evidence that shareholders are siding with Paramount in sufficient numbers. WBD has recently said that “more than 93%” of its shareholders are “rejecting Paramount’s inferior scheme.”

WBD’s shareholders are expected to hold a special meeting in late March or early April.

Netflix on the counter-offensive

Meanwhile, Netflix has been ramping up its PR battle against Paramount’s hostile bid.

During a Monday interview on the Fox Business Network, Netflix’s chief global affairs officer, Clete Willems, warned against Paramount’s proposal, saying the company “has identified $6 billion in synergies in the offer that they made, which is code for $6 billion in job cuts.”

Willems also addressed concerns about a Department of Justice probe into Netflix’s business practices, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Such reviews, Willems said, are part of the “totally ordinary course of business” when examining a merger.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post Paramount sweetens hostile bid to stop Netflix-Warner Bros. deal appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Researchers in Turkey say they have unearthed archaeological evidence that the Romans used human feces in medical treatments.

Although Roman texts described the practice, this is the first time that physical evidence has been documented, according to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Lead study author Cenker Atila, an archaeologist at Turkey’s Sivas Cumhuriyet University, told CNN that he had spotted residues in some Roman glass bottles, known as unguentaria, at the Bergama Museum during research for “Glass Objects from Bergama Museum,” a 2022 book he coauthored.

Atila found residues in seven different vessels but only obtained a conclusive result from one artifact excavated in the ancient city of Pergamon that dates from the second century.

After removing the clay cap and collecting a sample of brownish flakes within the bottle, Atila found that it contained “human feces, a high concentration of thyme and olive oil,” he said.

“Because we are well acquainted with ancient textual sources, we immediately recognized this as a medicinal preparation used by the famous Roman physician Galen,” he said.

Born into a wealthy Greek family in Pergamon, Galen was an anatomical pioneer who served three Roman emperors; his medical texts had lasting influence for some 1,500 years.

“Finding the very remedy described by Galen himself was both a great surprise and a source of immense excitement for us,” Atila added.

Fecal transfer is an ancient treatment

According to ancient texts, human and animal feces were known as “treatments for conditions ranging from inflammation and infection to reproductive disorders,” the study authors wrote.

“Although often discussed with euphemism or caution, such substances were not necessarily perceived as repulsive or irrational. Rather, they occupied a liminal space in ancient pharmacology – considered potent and efficacious, yet also symbolically and sensorially charged,” the authors added.

Atila said the results of the study analysis mean a medical practice “previously known only from ancient written sources has now been physically proven through an archaeological object.”

“At the same time, our findings provide evidence that ‘fecal transfer,’ which holds an important place in modern medicine today, was already known in antiquity,” he said, referring to the practice of collecting a fecal sample from a healthy donor and transplanting them to a patient in order to harness the benefits of microbiota.

(The US Food and Drug Administration has approved two fecal transfer products for the prevention of recurrent bacterial infection of the colon in adults.)

While this kind of glass bottle was typically used to hold perfume, this one was apparently repurposed as a medicine bottle, Atila said.

As for the thyme, it was used for its antibacterial properties and to suppress the odor of the feces, he explained.