Major winter storm wallops Northeast

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The second major snow storm of the winter season blanketed the Northeast on Wednesday, canceling thousands of flights and frustrating commuters but it was not enough to keep New York school children from going to class.

The National Weather Service reported snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states -- only Florida was spared -- and much of the South was still battling icy conditions that made roads dangerous and led to several traffic deaths.

Floods pour into Brisbane; 20,000 homes in danger

BRISBANE, Australia – Floodwaters poured into the empty downtown of Australia's third-largest city Wednesday after tearing a deadly path across the northeast, swamping neighborhoods in what could be Brisbane's most devastating floods in a century.

The surging, muddy waters reached the tops of traffic lights in some parts of Brisbane, and the city's mayor said at least 20,000 homes were in danger of being inundated.
At least 22 people have died and more than 40 are missing across Australia's northeastern state of Queensland since drenching rains that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, flooding an area larger than France and Germany combined. Brisbane, the state capital with a population of 2 million, is the latest city to face down the waters, and officials expect the death toll to rise.

Dad pursued Ariz. massacre suspect before shooting

Hours after Randy Loughner's confrontation with his 22-year-old son Saturday morning, six people were shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded — and Jared Loughner was in custody.

The sheriff's deputies who swarmed the Loughners' house removed what they describe as evidence Jared Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who doctors said Tuesday was breathing on her own for the first time after taking a bullet to the forehead. Among the handwritten notes was one with the words "Die, bitch," which authorities told The Associated Press they believe was a reference to Giffords.

In Arizona case, experts say planning undermines insanity plea

 

How Giffords survived brain shot

 

Senator urges ban on large gun clips

 

Hart: 'Tone it down!'

 

How do you defend a shooting suspect?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Reports: A neighbor says the suspect's parents are devastated
• "Right now it is important as a community to pull together," a bishop says
• Nine-year-old victim's mother: "I hope people will look for hope, for change, for peace"
• Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' remains in critical condition, doctors say

For more information, visit CNN affiliates KGUN, KOLD, KVOA, KPHO and KMSB. Read the federal charges against Jared Lee Loughner (PDF).

Tucson, Arizona  The alleged shooter in Saturday's deadly Tucson massacre may have difficulty making the case for a successful insanity plea, experts said Tuesday.

Weight of words in focus after Arizona shooting

A crowd, including members of Congress and staff, pauses for a moment of silence to honor the Arizona shooting victims.

 

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Militant-themed messages and speeches laced with fear mark political dialogue
• Lawmakers on both sides of aisle call on colleagues to tone it down
• The notion that rhetoric caused the violence is "fallacious," professor says
• Health care debate looms again in House; it could be volatile

For more information, visit CNN affiliates KGUN, KOLD, KVOA, KPHO and KMSB. Read the federal charges against Jared Lee Loughner (PDF).

There's no evidence the heated political environment played any role in the shooting spree that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition and killed six others, but observers say if nothing else, the tragedy will force politicians to re-evaluate their rhetoric.

Obamas to travel to Tucson Wednesday in wake of weekend rampage

Shooting heroes tell their stories

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The president will attend a memorial service and visit with victims' families
• He has spoken to many of the family members already by phone
• Obama led the country in a moment of silence on Monday

Washington  President Barack Obama will travel to Arizona on Wednesday in the wake of the weekend shooting there that left six people dead and 14 wounded, including a member of Congress, two senior administration officials told CNN Monday.

Australia's prime minister: Flooding expected to rise in St. George

January 8, 2011 -- Updated 1246 GMT (2046 HKT)

Australian PM Julia Gillard flies in an army helicopter to view the flooded Fitzroy River in Rockhampton on January 8, 2011.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Gillard says $4 million has been allocated, but hundreds of millions more are needed
• Flooding recedes in Rockhampton but could still peak in St. George
• Parts of eastern Australia are forecast to get above-average rainfall until March
• Queensland official: The repair could take months or years to complete

Rockhampton, Australia While floodwaters in Australia have begun to recede in some areas, the worst could still be on the way for at least one city, the country's prime minister said Saturday.
"Today I've been in St. George, and they are still bracing for the peak of the flood," Julia Gillard told Australia's Nine Network, according to a transcript from the prime minister's office. "They're very well prepared, but of course they're anxious as they await the peak."

In Iraq, a popular cleric cranks up anti-U.S. rhetoric

"We continue to resist the occupier militarily, culturally and by all means," Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tells Iraqis on Saturday.

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Muqtada al-Sadr returned to Iraq after three years in Iran
• He delivers his first public speech in Iraq in years
• The cleric calls for Iraqis to unite and resist

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American political figure who returned to Iraq this week from self-imposed exile, told tens of thousands of his followers Saturday to "resist" and "disturb" the United States.
"We have not forgotten the occupier. We remain a resistance," said al-Sadr, delivering a fiery speech in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, his first public address in Iraq in years. "We continue to resist the occupier militarily, culturally and by all means of the resistance."

Report: Iran says it can create its own nuclear fuel plates, rods

The reactor at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran. The Iranian atomic chief says Iran can build nuclear fuel plates.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Salehi reportedly says Iran wants nuclear technology for "peaceful purposes"
• The West's behavior "facilitated our successes," Salehi tells Fars news agency
• Fars: Iran hopes to inject self-produced uranium into a reactor by the middle of next year

 Iran can now make its own nuclear fuel plates and rods, spurred in part by the West's behavior, the country's atomic chief and acting foreign minister told the nation's media.