SNOWSTORM TRAPS DRIVERS IN VIRGINIA HIGHWAY

Thousands of people were trapped in their vehicles for hours along a nearly 50-mile (80-km) stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia after a storm dumped up to a foot (30 cm) of snow, forcing the highway to close, officials said on Tuesday.

Aerial video from Washington television station WRC showed hundreds of cars and trucks jammed on one side while most lanes of I-95 were closed to regular traffic and snowplows cleared the road.

But authorities, including Northam and the Virginia Department of Transportation, came under fierce criticism for the state's response and failure to call in the National Guard. Some called on President Joe Biden to mobilize federal resources to rescue stranded drivers and reopen the highway.

Among those stranded was U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who spent the night on I-95 when his car became trapped while he was en route to Washington.

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