:00:18. > :00:22.Snow more than 30 inches deep in places has brought the east coast
:00:23. > :00:25.of the United States to a standstill.
:00:26. > :00:30.In New York, three people died while shovelling snow.
:00:31. > :00:33.A travel ban had been imposed in the city.
:00:34. > :00:36.Washington DC's two main airports are likely to remain closed today.
:00:37. > :00:47.Our Correspondent Laura Bicker is in Washington.
:00:48. > :00:55.After 36 hours of snow, the battle to clear up after this Blizzard
:00:56. > :01:00.begins. One in seven Americans will wake up to around one fifth of snow
:01:01. > :01:03.on their doorstep after record-breaking amounts here in
:01:04. > :01:06.Washington, New York and Baltimore. Sarah Campbell reports.
:01:07. > :01:08.The forecasters accurately predicted this as a record-breaking storm.
:01:09. > :01:15.potentially disrupting the lives of 85 million people.
:01:16. > :01:21.until late on Saturday night in New York.
:01:22. > :01:27.By the time it did, central areas recorded 70 centimetres of snow,
:01:28. > :01:35.We figured we might be the only people out here,
:01:36. > :01:39.we might get some maximum speed on the bridge.
:01:40. > :01:41.Thousands of flights have been cancelled,
:01:42. > :01:44.and even if people could find their cars under the thick blanket
:01:45. > :01:47.of white, there was a travel ban in New York and Baltimore.
:01:48. > :01:50.This was to maximise the chances of getting public transport systems
:01:51. > :02:06.and helping emergency vehicles get about unobstructed.
:02:07. > :02:10.No travel ban in Washington, DC. People were warned in the starkest
:02:11. > :02:18.possible terms. On a scale People were warned in the starkest
:02:19. > :02:25.ten it is going to be ten. Run for your lives! The snow has cut power
:02:26. > :02:30.to 100,000 people. We have no power, no electricity. It took my son and
:02:31. > :02:36.neighbours an hour to dig us out. There are concerns the white out
:02:37. > :02:42.could cost the economy. New York was closed for business.
:02:43. > :02:54.Some New Jersey residents were not but everything is closed.
:02:55. > :02:59.Some New Jersey residents were not only hit by snow but icy waters as
:03:00. > :03:03.levels rose along the east coast. The snow clouds which have covered
:03:04. > :03:07.eastern states for the last couple of days are now dissipating. The
:03:08. > :03:12.clear up is getting under way. There will be plenty of opportunities for
:03:13. > :03:12.those who want to, to enjoy the snow while it lasts.
:03:13. > :03:23.Sarah Campbell, BBC News. Is the snow actually over now? Yes,
:03:24. > :03:30.the snow is over. These guys have cleared and it is now actually quite
:03:31. > :03:34.a beautiful day. The worst of it has passed. Millions of Americans will
:03:35. > :03:40.have two dig themselves out. Many routes remain impassable. The travel
:03:41. > :03:45.ban has been lifted in New York. People can begin to get back out in
:03:46. > :03:49.their cars if they can find them. In Washington, DC, the public transport
:03:50. > :03:55.system remains closed. The airports will remain closed. More than 7000
:03:56. > :03:58.flights have already been cancelled. We are expecting further delays and
:03:59. > :04:04.cancellations today. The knock-on effect could go on early into the
:04:05. > :04:09.week. When it comes to the amount of snow that has fallen, there has been
:04:10. > :04:14.a record amount in Baltimore. In West Virginia they had more than 100
:04:15. > :04:19.centimetres of snow. Certainly many of the rural routes will remain
:04:20. > :04:23.impassable for some time to come. The consequences could be
:04:24. > :04:26.substantial. Some estimates are already putting the cost of $1
:04:27. > :04:29.billion. Laura Bicker, thank you.
:04:30. > :04:31.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said it
:04:32. > :04:33.would be "a mistake" for David Cameron to hold
:04:34. > :04:35.a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU as early
:04:36. > :04:43.She told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One that that would confuse
:04:44. > :04:46.with elections due to be held in May in Scotland,
:04:47. > :05:00.You might interpreted as being a bit selfish. The Scottish election is in
:05:01. > :05:04.may, indeed the Welsh and Northern Ireland. To have a referendum
:05:05. > :05:05.campaign starting in parallel would be disrespectful to those important
:05:06. > :05:07.elections. So Eleanor, we know David Cameron
:05:08. > :05:11.would like a referendum sooner rather than later, if he's got
:05:12. > :05:24.the right deal from EU leaders - It is certainly possible but it is
:05:25. > :05:29.not a definite. David Cameron is currently negotiating a whole
:05:30. > :05:33.package of EU reforms with European leaders. There is speculation that
:05:34. > :05:37.if he can get a deal done next month when European leaders meet in
:05:38. > :05:42.Brussels, we could see a referendum as early as June. But today Nicola
:05:43. > :05:47.Sturgeon, the leader of the SNP, said that was too early. It would be
:05:48. > :05:50.a mistake because it may confuse voters if it clashes with the
:05:51. > :05:55.Scottish and London mayoral elections. Also, she said there
:05:56. > :05:59.needed to be more time between when a deal is done and the voters get a
:06:00. > :06:04.chance to have their say to widen the debate on the issue. She does
:06:05. > :06:07.want the UK to stay in the EU but she has warned the end campaign
:06:08. > :06:11.needs to be more positive if it is going to win. She was warning that
:06:12. > :06:13.it will lose if it does not turn around and become more positive.
:06:14. > :06:19.Eleanor Garnier, thank you. The International
:06:20. > :06:20.Development Secretary, Justine Greening, says
:06:21. > :06:22.the Government is looking at calls from charities for the UK to take
:06:23. > :06:24.in thousands of unaccompanied refugee children who have
:06:25. > :06:26.made it into Europe. Many of the children are fleeing
:06:27. > :06:29.the conflict in Syria. Ms Greening is suggesting up
:06:30. > :06:31.to three thousand children Downing Street says no decision has
:06:32. > :06:38.been made on the issue. A pollster who carried out research
:06:39. > :06:40.for Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown has criticised
:06:41. > :06:43.the report on the party's general Labour said the report
:06:44. > :06:46.by Dame Margaret Beckett had But Deborah Mattinson says her work
:06:47. > :06:51.for the report was ignored. In an interview for Sunday Politics
:06:52. > :06:55.on BBC One, she says she fears an opportunity has been missed
:06:56. > :07:03.to revive the party's fortunes. Lots of defensive stuff in there,
:07:04. > :07:07.but nothing that actually, really, I felt, shone a light
:07:08. > :07:10.on what had gone wrong. The number of profit warnings posted
:07:11. > :07:14.by listed companies has reached the highest level since the start
:07:15. > :07:16.of the last recession. The data, compiled by
:07:17. > :07:19.the consultants, EY, comes amid growing concern for
:07:20. > :07:23.the health of the global economy. More from our business
:07:24. > :07:28.correspondent, Joe Lynam. Companies who supply the oil sector,
:07:29. > :07:32.smaller general retailers, and some listed firms
:07:33. > :07:37.in the hospitality sector are just three of the types
:07:38. > :07:39.of businesses which have issued the most profit warnings
:07:40. > :07:42.at the end of last year. The last time there were
:07:43. > :07:44.as many in a single quarter was the start of 2009,
:07:45. > :07:47.when Britain was in the middle of its deepest recession
:07:48. > :07:50.in modern times. A profit warning
:07:51. > :07:52.is where publicly listed companies are obliged to warn their investors
:07:53. > :07:55.when they think that they will earn less than
:07:56. > :07:59.they had previously advised. In the last three
:08:00. > :08:01.months of 2015, there were a hundred profit
:08:02. > :08:05.warnings by listed companies. 16 included companies
:08:06. > :08:08.working in the oil sector, seven warnings came
:08:09. > :08:10.from general retailers, and six were travel
:08:11. > :08:13.and leisure businesses. On average, share prices
:08:14. > :08:16.tumble by almost 14% The thing to remember about a
:08:17. > :08:23.profit warning is that it is really the board having to explain
:08:24. > :08:25.to the market that they maybe got it wrong,
:08:26. > :08:27.maybe their views on the outcomes for the future are not where they
:08:28. > :08:31.thought they were going to be. So in that regard,
:08:32. > :08:33.the fact we are in a more volatile world makes
:08:34. > :08:35.the likelihood of that more frequent,
:08:36. > :08:36.more likely to occur. And most of that volatility stems
:08:37. > :08:39.from a slowdown in China. If the world's second-biggest
:08:40. > :08:41.economy isn't building or buying as much, the rest of
:08:42. > :08:44.the world feels it. The world economy may have issues,
:08:45. > :08:47.but things are looking positive GDP is one of the fastest in Europe,
:08:48. > :08:53.unemployment is at a near record low, whilst employment
:08:54. > :08:56.is at a record high. But Britain won't be immune
:08:57. > :09:00.from a major global slowdown, which these profit warnings
:09:01. > :09:03.may be signalling. The Iranian transport minister says
:09:04. > :09:09.Tehran will sign a contract this If confirmed, it would be the first
:09:10. > :09:17.big commercial contract to be announced since the lifting
:09:18. > :09:20.of international sanctions imposed Yesterday China announced a trade
:09:21. > :09:25.deal with Iran worth ?400 billion In tennis, the defending
:09:26. > :09:35.champion Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter finals
:09:36. > :09:38.of the Australian Open in Melbourne. He beat Gilles Simon
:09:39. > :09:40.of France in five sets. But the top seed made a hundred
:09:41. > :09:42.unforced errors before finally defeating his opponent in just over
:09:43. > :09:45.four and a half hours, You can see more on all of today's
:09:46. > :09:53.stories on the BBC News Channel. The next news on BBC One
:09:54. > :10:15.is at five past five. Good afternoon. There is plenty
:10:16. > :10:21.going on with the weather this week. We are starting mild, we will end
:10:22. > :10:22.mild and in between wet and windy weather, all courtesy of the storm
:10:23. > :10:23.system