Blizzards pound snowbound Mid-Atlantic to New York
WASHINGTON (AP) — Snow, wind and slush hounded eastern commuters early Wednesday as blizzard warnings from Baltimore to New York City heralded the second major storm in a region already largely blanketed by weekend snowfall. More than 10 inches of new snow fell before dawn in parts of Maryland that had received up to 30 inches just a few days earlier. Plows and salt spreaders fought heavy snow in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the flakes briefly turned to rain to make a slushy mix.
Pakistani officials confirm Taliban chief is dead
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud has died, the country's top civilian security official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was the government's first categorical confirmation of the death of the feared militant, whose passing is likely to weaken, but not vanquish, the al-Qaida-linked insurgent network he led. In a sign of the continued militant threat, a suicide bomber attacked a vehicle carrying tribal police near Pakistan's volatile border with Afghanistan, killing 17 people, including 10 policemen, said a local government official.
New report: Consumers spent modestly in January
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans backed off from holiday spending in January, but retail sales rose for a third month in a row compared with a year earlier, largely because of gas price hikes, according to figures released Wednesday by a key data service. Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline — but excluding cars — U.S. retail sales rose 3.6 percent from January 2009, according to MasterCard Advisor's SpendingPulse, which offer an estimate of spending in all forms including cash.
Space shuttle Endeavour pulls in at space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Shuttle Endeavour arrived to a warm welcome at the International Space Station early Wednesday, delivering a new room and observation deck that will come close to completing construction 200 miles above Earth. The midnight rendezvous occurred as the two spacecraft sailed over the Atlantic, just west of Portugal. It took longer than normal to lock the shuttle and station together because of the relative motion between the two. The space station's five residents filled the time, before their guests came aboard, by trying out camera angles and interviewing one another.
Honda adds 437,000 cars to global air bag recall
TOKYO (AP) — Honda Motor Co. is adding 437,000 vehicles to its 15-month-old global recall for faulty air bags in the latest quality problem to hit a Japanese automaker. The company will replace the driver's side air bag inflator in the cars because they can deploy with too much pressure, causing the inflator to rupture and injure or kill the driver.
Kenya relocates thousands of animals to game park
SOYSAMBU, Kenya (AP) — A senior Kenyan wildlife official says about 7,000 zebras and wildebeests are being moved to one of the country's premier game parks to restore the balance of predators and prey disrupted by last year's drought. A senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service says the animals are being taken from areas where they are abundant in an effort to replenish Amboseli National Park's population. Charles Musyoki says more than 60 percent of the park's zebra and wildebeest population died during the drought.
Changes proposed in how psychiatrists diagnose
WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't say "mental retardation" — the new term is "intellectual disability." No more diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome — call it a mild version of autism instead. And while "behavioral addictions" will be new to doctors' dictionaries, "Internet addiction" didn't make the cut. The American Psychiatric Association is proposing major changes Wednesday to its diagnostic bible, the manual that doctors, insurers and scientists use in deciding what's officially a mental disorder and what symptoms to treat. In a new twist, it is seeking feedback via the Internet from both psychiatrists and the general public about whether the changes will be helpful before finalizing them.
Being bored could be bad for your health
LONDON (AP) — Can you really be bored to death? In a commentary to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology in April, experts say there's a possibility that the more bored you are, the more likely you are to die early.
Fans delighted by DeGeneres' 'Idol' debut
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ellen DeGeneres hit the right notes with "American Idol" viewers. Fans took to the Internet to express their pleasant surprise over the 52-year-old funnylady's debut as the singing competition's fourth judge. DeGeneres assumed her judging panel post for Tuesday's episode chronicling the first round of "Hollywood Week," the cutthroat post-audition phase in which 181 contestants will be narrowed down to 24 semifinalists.
Vonn says bruised shin could limit training
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — U.S. skiing star Lindsey Vonn revealed Wednesday she bruised her right shin while training last week and might skip some practice sessions at the Olympics but plans to race. "I'm coming into these Olympics a lot more unsure than I was, um, a few weeks ago," Vonn said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show that aired Wednesday.
