Temperatures crashed to record lows well below zero Monday as a huge mass of arctic air blustered southward across the Midwest and West, keeping people indoors and leading some cities to open shelters.
The cold and remnants of the weekend blizzard that accompanied it closed hundreds of schools from the northern Plains to the Great Lakes states.
Monday morning lows in North Dakota included minus 18 in Bismarck, with a wind chill factor of minus 42. Rockford, Ill., had a low of just 3 degrees, and 20 mph wind made it feel like minus 18, the National Weather Service said.
Thermometers read 31 below Monday in Glasgow, Mont., and the wind chill was 45 below, the Weather Service said. Record lows Monday included minus 19 in Denver, where the previous Dec. 15 record of minus 6 was set in 1951; and minus 16 at Sidney, Neb.
The storm and ensuing cold have been blamed for at least nine deaths.
New York: Caroline Kennedy wants Senate seat
Caroline Kennedy told New York’s governor on Monday that she’s interested in the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, making her the highest-profile candidate to express a desire for the job. Democratic Gov. David Paterson will choose the replacement. Clinton is expected to be confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state. Kennedy is the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy. Her uncle, the late Robert Kennedy, once held the Senate seat she wants.
New Mexico: Sect leader guilty in child sex case
An religious sect’s leader was convicted in Taos on Monday of criminal sexual contact with an underage girl, who was 16 at the time, in a 2006 incident he called a spiritual healing exercise. Wayne Bent, 67, was found guilty of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He is the self-described Messiah and leader of The Lord Our Righteousness Church in New Mexico. Bent was allowed to return to Strong City, the sect’s compound near Clayton, pending sentencing on Dec. 29. He could face a maximum of 18 years in prison.
D.C.: Pool drains have to be safer
The Bush administration says public swimming pools and hot tubs must shut down after Friday if they do not have new drain covers designed to prevent drowning. The requirements for anti-drowning drain covers are intended to keep children from getting sucked onto pool and spa drains that are under water. Congress passed a law last year requiring the new equipment, and gave pool and spa operators a year to comply.
Mexico: U.S. anti-kidnapping expert is kidnapped by gunmen
A U.S. anti-kidnapping expert was abducted by gunmen in northern Mexico on Wednesday, a sign of just how bold this nation’s kidnapping gangs have become. U.S. security consultant Felix Batista — who claims to have helped resolve nearly 100 kidnap and ransom cases — was in Saltillo in Coahuila state to offer advice on how to confront abductions for ransom when he himself was seized by unknown assailants, local authorities said.
Afghanistan: Taliban leader killed
A joint Afghan-NATO operation in the Nad Ali and Murja districts of Helmand province has killed 40 militants, including the Taliban’s leader in that region, a government official said Monday. The figures couldn’t be independently verified. Also Monday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced 300 more British troops were deployed to Afghanistan.
Israel: 224 Palestinians are freed
Israel released 224 Palestinian prisoners Monday in a gesture to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel holds more than 8,000 Palestinians. Separately, Israel expelled an arriving U.N. human rights envoy after accusing him of bias against the Jewish state. The envoy, Richard Falk, has compared Israel to Nazi Germany and accused the Jewish state of crimes against humanity because of its treatment of Palestinians.
U.N.: Zimbabwe cholera toll nearly 1,000
The United Nations said the death toll from a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has risen to 978, an increase of nearly 25 percent in three days. The U.N. humanitarian office said the total number of suspected cases reported in the southern African country has risen to 18,413 since the start of the outbreak in August.
From Herald news services
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