By PATRICK WHITTLE and ADAM SCHRECK

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Black ice, snow showers and fog pestered post-holiday travelers in the Midwest on Monday while the Northeast geared up for its first major snowstorm of the season.

More than 8 inches of snow fell at Chicago O’Hare International Airport this weekend, setting a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was set in 1951.

About 300 flights into and out of O’Hare had been canceled by early Sunday evening, while about 1,600 had been delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Dozens remained canceled or delayed there into Monday, and commuting conditions on roads were expected to remain dangerous in some areas well into Monday night.

In the Northeast, some parts of northern New England were expecting up to 10 inches of snow. A windy, potentially icy storm was headed to the region, and could soak some parts of the six states while piling snow in others, forecasters said.

And with plowable snow expected to coat large parts of Pennsylvania, crews began to treat snow lanes along the 565-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike system on Monday, said the agency’s press secretary, Marissa Orbanek. Vehicle restrictions on the turnpike system’s Northeast Extension, from the Lehigh Valley to Clarks Summit, will be imposed at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

More than 600 equipment operators and safety workers are available to help clear the turnpike’s 2,900 miles of snow lanes, Orbanek said. The turnpike’s winter staffing schedule began in mid-November, and 23 maintenance sheds are staffed around the clock.

“We really prepare for snow all year long,” Orbanek said.

In Chicago, Don Herrian was among the crowds of travelers at O’Hare on Sunday, hoping to make it back home after Thanksgiving as hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled following a winter storm in the Great Lakes region.

The 76-year-old retiree from Ardmore, Oklahoma, had visited his daughter and her family in Indianapolis. He said his first flight was three hours late, and his connecting flight to Oklahoma City from Chicago was already running another two hours behind.

“It is what it is,” Herrian said. “It’s congested, but that’s expected due to the snow, the delays and the holidays.”

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Roads leading to O’Hare were packed Sunday with slow-moving vehicles even after the roads had been cleared of snow. Inside, delayed travelers crowded into gate seating areas, restaurants and sports bars to pass the time. Others grabbed spots on the floors of the terminals, snacking, knitting or scrolling their phones.

Planes were being de-iced at several airports across the country on Sunday, including at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Over 12 inches of snow had fallen since Saturday in areas close to Lake Michigan. Hundreds of churches in western Michigan told worshippers to stay home or watch services online.

In Wisconsin, utility crews worked to restore power to thousands of people. We Energies reported more than 6,000 power outages, with more than half in Milwaukee and South Milwaukee. The airport in Des Moines, Iowa, reopened on the critical travel day after a Delta Connection flight landing from Detroit slid off an icy runway. No injuries were reported, and passengers were transported to the terminal by bus.

By early Sunday evening, over 400 flights into and out of Detroit Metro Airport were delayed and over 45 were canceled, according to FlightAware.

Elsewhere in Iowa, gusty winds on Sunday were blowing snow back onto roads, extending hazardous travel conditions, the National Weather Service said.

“We did have areas of Iowa and Illinois that saw over one foot of snow,” said meteorologist Andrew Orrison.

Over 16 inches of snow fell in Fort Dodge, Iowa, according to the National Weather Service.

Orrison said snow in the Great Lakes region was tapering off, but the new storm was heading to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow by Tuesday.

“It’s going to be the first snowfall of the season for many of these areas, and it’s going to be rather significant,” Orrison said. “The good news is that it does not look like the major cities at this point are going to be looking at any significant snowfall.”

Schreck reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and photojournalist Nam Y. Huh in Chicago contributed to this report.

By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — For many children, the experience of getting their first pair of glasses is an inevitable milestone, the first in a lifetime of visits to the eye doctor.

But what if those lenses could actually help preserve the child’s vision and reduce the chances for more serious eye problems in adulthood?

That’s the promise of a new type of lens approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September. While the technology has previously been available in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, it’s now rolling out in the U.S.

Here’s what to know about the new approach.

What is myopia and why is it increasing?

Myopia, commonly called nearsightedness, is when people can clearly see objects at close range but struggle with distant objects, which often appear blurry or indistinct.

Studies conducted around the world have shown rising rates of myopia, which researchers have associated with increased time indoors looking at screens, books and other objects held close to the eyes.

In the U.S., 30% to 40% of children will have myopia by the time they finish high school, according to Dr. Michael Repka, a professor and pediatric ophthalmologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Until now, doctors had few options for treating the condition.

“It was typically and simply: ‘Your child needs to wear glasses and they’ll live with it,’” Repka said. “’It will be lifelong and it will likely get worse over the next few years.’”

How do the new lenses work?

The specialized glasses, sold under the brand Essilor Stellest, are approved by the FDA to slow nearsightedness in 6- to 12-year-olds.

The FDA said it cleared the lenses based on company data showing children experienced a 70% reduction in the progression of their myopia after two years.

Over time, myopia causes the eye to grow longer, worsening vision and increasing the risk of tears to the retina — the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that is essential for vision.

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The new lenses use 11 concentric rings filled with tiny raised dots to refocus light onto the retina in a way that is believed to slow elongation of the eye.

“Whether this hypothesis is ultimately proven to be true, of course, matters only in part,” Repka said, noting that the lenses appear to work regardless of how the underling science works.

In the company study, children wearing the lens showed a 50% reduction in eye lengthening when measured after two years. Currently, researchers in the U.S. and other countries are conducting their own independent studies to confirm those results.

Ophthalmologists say the potential benefits go beyond preserving vision to heading off some long-term consequences of severe myopia, which can include cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment that can lead to blindness.

“Now we have a way to slow that down and maybe we can prevent kids from having that really elongated eye that puts them at risk for blindness,” said Dr. Rupa Wong, a Honolulu-based pediatric ophthalmologist.

How much will the lenses cost?

The suggested retail price is $450, according to EssilorLuxottica, the company that makes the lenses.

Major U.S. vision insurance providers are expected to cover the lenses for children who meet the prescribing criteria.

How do the new lenses compare to older treatments?

The only other FDA-approved product to slow myopia are contact lenses made by a company called MiSight. The daily disposable lenses, approved in 2019, use a similar approach intended to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children ages 8 to 12.

But Gupta says many parents and physicians are likely to prefer the glasses.

“A lot of people might be hesitant to put a child as young as 8 in contact lenses, so the glasses offer a really nice alternative,” she said.

Some doctors prescribe medicated eye drops intended to slow myopia, but those are not approved by the FDA.

Which children are good candidates?

Under the FDA’s approval decision, the lenses can be prescribed to any child with myopia who’s within the recommended age range. There were no serious side effects, according to FDA, although some children reported visual disturbances, such as halos around objects while wearing the lenses.

The studies that the FDA reviewed for approval were conducted in Asia. Repka said U.S. ophthalmologists and optometrists may want to see some additional research.

“I think before it becomes widely used, we will need some data in the United States” showing that the lenses work, said Repka, who is conducting a U.S.-based study of the new lenses supported by the National Institutes of Health.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Three current or future Gophers will be headed to Duluth in two weeks with designs on representing their country in the forthcoming World Junior Hockey Championship.

On Monday, USA Hockey named 28 players to the preliminary roster for the U.S. National Junior Team, which is seeking a third consecutive gold medal when the world’s best young players hit the ice in St. Paul and Minneapolis Dec. 26-Jan. 2.

Current Gopher forwards Brody Ziemer and L.J. Mooney, and future Gophers forward Jacob Kvasnicka were invited to the team’s final training camp, during which Gophers head coach Bob Motzko and his Team USA staff will cut the roster down to 25 players.

Ziemer, a sophomore from Chaska, skated for Team USA last winter when they won the world title in Ottawa, Ontario. He is currently tied for the Gophers’ lead with eight goals.

Mooney, a Gophers freshman, is from suburban Pittsburgh and is leading the team in assists with nine. He is the cousin of former Gophers star and current Utah Mammoth standout Logan Cooley.

Kvasnicka, who is from Wayzata, is spending this season playing Canadian major junior hockey in British Columbia and is expected to start his college career next season.

The team’s training camp will be held Dec. 15-23 in Duluth, with the final roster expected to be announced Dec. 24.

Other Minnesotans selected to the preliminary roster include: goalie Caleb Heil (Victoria) committed to North Dakota; defenseman Logan Hensler (Woodbury), a sophomore at Wisconsin; defenseman Adam Kleber (Chaska), a sophomore at UMD; forward Brendan McMorrow (Lakeville), a freshman at Denver; goalie A.J. Reyelts (Proctor), committed to UMD; and forward Max Plante (Hermantown), a sophomore at UMD and won a gold medal with Team USA last year.

The Americans’ opening game of the tournament is Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. versus Germany at Grand Casino Arena.

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Since it started as a hashtag in 2012, GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, has become one of the biggest fundraising days of the year for nonprofits in the U.S. This year, nonprofits face uncertainty about how donors may respond to a range of changing factors.

High prices may affect how much small dollar donors give this year or how many charities they will support. But President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation, which passed in July, also included a new charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for married couples for the majority of tax filers. That could incentivize more households to give.

For larger donors, a strong stock market usually indicates they will give generously. These major donors also make up an increasingly important share of overall charitable donations and are more likely to give than less economically well off households, according to a study from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in partnership with Bank of America.

Nonprofits are also letting potential supporters know about a range of new challenges this year, with many human service organizations seeing higher demand while facing cuts to government grants, especially last month’s freeze of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. And many charities are highlighting programs that will match or multiply donations — even up to a factor of five at some nonprofits — to showcase increased impact.

Altogether, that sets up GivingTuesday, which falls on Dec. 2 to be a high stakes fundraising day for U.S. nonprofits.

How did GivingTuesday start?

The #GivingTuesday hashtag started as a project of the 92nd Street Y in New York in 2012 and became an independent organization in 2020. It’s grown into a worldwide network of local organizations that promote giving in their communities, often on different dates that have local relevance, like holidays.

Now, GivingTuesday, the nonprofit, also convenes researchers working on topics about everyday giving. It also collects data from a wide range of sources like payment processors, crowdfunding sites, employee giving software and institutions that offer donor-advised funds, a kind of charitable giving account.

What is the purpose of GivingTuesday?

The hashtag was started to promote generosity and the nonprofit continues to promote giving in the broadest sense.

For nonprofits, the point of GivingTuesday is to raise money and engage their supporters. Many will be familiar with the barrage of email and mail appeals that coincide on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Essentially all major American nonprofits will organize fundraising campaigns and many smaller, local groups also participate.

Nonprofits don’t have to be affiliated in any way with GivingTuesday, the organization, to run a fundraising campaign. They can just do it, though GivingTuesday does provide graphics and advice. In that way, it remains a grassroots effort with groups and donors participating however they like.

How to donate on GivingTuesday?

There is essentially no wrong way to choose what nonprofit or cause to give to, volunteer with or champion.

Asha Curran, CEO of the nonprofit GivingTuesday, suggests looking at what your friends, relatives or connections have supported and consider matching their gift. That means giving the same amount to the same nonprofit.

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“It’s like a double act of generosity,” Curran said. “You’re giving to the cause and you’re also saying, ‘I really care about what you care about.’”

You could consider giving to organizations based in your community, whose impact will be felt locally. You could also choose to support a nonprofit that works on a cause you have a personal connection to. There are also many organizations that rate nonprofits or offer analysis about which organizations are most effective, though you will see a range of opinions on what it means to be effective.

Many nonprofits appreciate donors committing to give smaller gifts each month rather than one lump sum at the end of the year. These regular donations help them plan ahead.

You can also consider giving directly to people on crowdfunding sites or through mutual aid networks, which are often small, informal groups that organize to meet local needs.

Has GivingTuesday been successful?

That depends on how success is measured, but it certainly has grown far beyond the initial effort to promote giving on social media. The day has become an enduring and well-known event that seeks to center charitable giving, volunteering and civic participation in the U.S. and around the world.

For years, GivingTuesday has been a major focus of fundraising for nonprofits, with many seeking to organize matching donations from major donors and to leverage their networks of supporters to contribute. It is the beginning of the end-of-year fundraising rush, as nonprofits seek to reach their budget targets for the following year.

Donations on GivingTuesday in 2024 reached $3.6 billion, an increase from the previous two years.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.