Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency after a train derailed and spilled chemicals in Rockcastle County on Wednesday.
The big picture: The incident caused a fire and prompted Beshear to urge residents in the remote eastern Kentucky city of Livingston to evacuate. Crews extinguished the fire on Thursday, a spokesperson for rail operator CSX said in an emailed statement.
A series of storms threatening a large portion of the U.S. this week were "likely" to cause holiday travel disruptions for some of the 54.4 million people preparing for Thanksgiving trips, forecasters warned.
The big picture: The severe weather that began on Monday and saw a storm system moving from the southern Plains to the Northeast U.S. through Wednesday was easing, though the National Weather service noted "snow, wind, and icy roads will impact traffic in Utah, Southern Wyoming, Colorado and the Nebraska Panhandle on Thanksgiving."
It could be a colder-than-average Thanksgiving for millions of people across the U.S., as arctic air intrudes from Canada, according to the National Weather Service.
Driving the news: Beyond frigid temperatures, some parts of the country are expected to have a white Thanksgiving, with the cold front expected to bring snow to parts of the Northeast and Rockies in the next two days.
Brazil has sweltered through its hottest day since record-keeping began, as an extreme spring heat wave envelopes the country.
By the numbers: The town of Araçuaí, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, beat the nation's previous record from November 2005 on Sunday when the temperature reached 44.8°C (112.6°F), per Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology.
