Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Batters Millions













A blizzard of possibly historic proportions battered the Northeast Friday into Saturday, and forecasters feared as much as two feet of snow and strong winds could shut down densely populated cities such as New York and Boston, where cars were ordered off the streets.


State officials declared states of emergencies throughout the region, and utilities estimated more than a half-million customers were without power by late Friday night.


Some wondered if the storm could top Boston's all-time single-storm snowfall record of 27.6 inches, set in 2003.


By 9 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service, the storm was spinning off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., and expected to move north-northeastward past New England's coast before its effects tapered off on Saturday afternoon.


"Storm total snowfall accumulations of 1 to 2 feet ... with locally higher amounts are possible across much of the Northeast," the National Weather Service said. "The heaviest snow is forecast to fall across parts of eastern Massachusetts ... Connecticut and Rhode Island where snowfall amounts higher than two feet are possible. In addition to the heavy snowfall ... wind gusts as high as 70 mph are possible ... especially near the coasts."


By 9 p.m. Friday, parts of Connecticut and New York had the highest actual snowfall totals listed by the National Weather Service, with 13 inches measured in Ogdensburg and East Setaukey, N.Y., and Lisbon and North Branford, Conn.


Peak wind gusts included a 71-mph measurement in Buzzards Bay, Mass., the National Weather Service said.


Power outages also were reported across the region. As of 11 p.m. Friday, for instance, approximately 300,000 Massachusetts customers were without power, ABC News station WCVB reported. Utilities also reported approximately 170,000 without power in Rhode Island, 30,000 in Connecticut and nearly 20,000 in New York.


The blizzard conditions came together after a storm from the west joined forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter.










Hurricane Sandy Victims Hit Again, Survivors Prepare for Worst Watch Video









Weather Forecast: Blizzard Headed for Northeast Watch Video





The storm showed the potential for such ferocity that, before it even hit with full force, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon and signed an executive order banning vehicular traffic on roads in his state effective at 4 p.m. ET. It was believed that the last time the state enacted such a ban was during the blizzard of 1978. Violating the ban could result in a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.


"[It] could definitely be a historic winter storm for the Northeast," said Adrienne Leptich of the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. "We're looking at very strong wind and heavy snow and we're also looking for some coastal flooding."


Airlines began shutting down operations Friday afternoon at major airports in the New York area as well as in Boston, Portland, Maine, Providence, R.I., and other Northeastern airports. By early evening Friday, more than 4,300 flights had been cancelled on Friday and Saturday, according to FlightAware. Airlines hoped to resume flights by Saturday afternoon, though normal schedules were not expected until Sunday.


The snow fell heavily Friday afternoon in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said clearing the roads was his main concern, and the city readied 1,700 snow plows and 250,000 tons of salt to clear the streets.


New York City was expecting up to 14 inches of snow, which started falling early this morning, though the heaviest amounts were expected to fall at night and into Saturday. Wind gusts of 55 mph were expected in New York City.


"Stay off the city streets. Stay out of your cars and stay at home while the worst of the storm is on us," Bloomberg said Friday.


Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared a state of emergency, deploying National Guard troops across the state to assist in rescues and other emergencies. Schools and state courthouses were closed, and all flights after 1:30 p.m. at Bradley Airport, north of Hartford, Conn., were cancelled. The state's largest utility companies planned for the possibility that 30 percent of customers -- more than 400,000 homes and businesses -- would lose power.


Malloy also directed drivers to stay off the state's major highways.


"Please stay off of 95, 91, 84, Merritt Parkway and any other limited-access road in the state," he said Friday evening.


PHOTOS: Northeast Braces for Snowstorm


Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities canceled school today.


"Stay off the streets of our city. Basically, stay home," Boston Mayor Tom Menino warned Thursday.


On Friday, Menino applauded the public's response.


"I'm very pleased with the compliance with the snow emergency," he said. "You drive down some of the roadways, you don't see one car."


Friday evening, Gov. Patrick also applauded the public's cooperation with the statewide vehicle ban, noting the clear roads were helping utility crews get their work done.


"It's been a great, great help and I thank everyone," Patrick said. "I know it's been an imposition."


As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Department of Defense, 837 National Guard soldiers and airmen under state control had been activated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York in anticipation of the storm -- 552 in Massachusetts, 235 in Connecticut and 50 in New York. The extra hands were helping with roadways, transportation, making wellness checks on residents and other emergency services.


Beach erosion and coastal flooding was possible from New Jersey to Long Island, N.Y., and into New England coastal areas. It was feared some waves off the coast could reach more than 20 feet.






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Japan may release data proving Chinese radar incident: media


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan may release data it says will prove a Chinese naval vessel directed its fire control radar at a Japanese destroyer near disputed islands in the East China Sea, local media reported.


Japan has said a Chinese frigate on January 30 locked its targeting radar on a Japanese destroyer - a step that usually precedes the firing of weapons - but China insists that its vessel used only ordinary surveillance radar.


The incident has added to tensions between the two nations over the disputed islands.


Japan will consider how much normally classified data it can release, the media reports said, citing comments by Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera on local television.


"The government is considering the extent of what can be disclosed," Kyodo news agency quoted Onodera as saying.


China has accused Japan of smearing its name with the accusations, and on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency continued the war of words.


"By spreading false accusations and posing as a poor victim, Japan had intended to tarnish China's image so as to gain sympathy and support, but a lie does not help," it said in an English language commentary.


"China has been exercising maximum restraint and stayed committed to solving the dispute through dialogue and consultation."


Japan and China have been involved in a series of incidents in recent months in the East China Sea where Chinese and Japanese naval vessels regularly shadow each others movements.


Both countries claim a small clusters of islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, believed to be rich in oil and gas. Controlled by Japan, possession of the uninhabited outcrops and the sea surrounding them would provide China with easier access to the Pacific.


Hopes had been rising for an easing in tensions, including a possible summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping. But the radar issue has seen China and Japan engage in a fresh round of invective.


China's Defence Ministry on Thursday said Japan's complaints did not "match the facts". The Chinese ship's radar, it said, had maintained regular alerting and surveillance operations and the ship "did not use fire control radar".


Japan's position against China has hardened since Abe led his conservative party to a landslide election victory in December, promising to beef up the military and stand tough in territorial disputes.


The commander of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific said the squabble between Japan and China underlined the need for rules to prevent such incidents turning into serious conflict.


China also has ongoing territorial disputes with other Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines over islands in the South China Sea.


(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Michael Perry)



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Malaysian state scales back Borneo dam plans






KUCHING, Malaysia: A Malaysian state minister Friday said the government would not push ahead with controversial plans to build 12 dams on Borneo island, after outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.

The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.

"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need that. We will only need four of them," James Masing, Sarawak's state minister of land development, told AFP in an interview.

Masing said the government was backing off in response to widespread criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals staging blockades of roads into dam areas.

"I'm pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and think again," he said.

The government mooted plans for the dams as part of an industrial development drive to boost the resource-rich state's backward economy.

But the now-complete Bakun mega-dam deep in the interior has been dogged for years by allegations of corruption in construction contracts, the flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and displacement of thousands of local tribespeople.

Besides Bakun, another dam at Murum is nearing completion and two others are in the planning stages.

The four dams -- at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram -- are already expected to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak currently uses, Masing said.

"The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink) is a very good development for me," said Peter Kallang, member of a Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned against the dams.

However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people, compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.

He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with support along the way by local tribespeople.

The Swiss-based jungle-protection group Bruno Manser Fund says about 90 percent of Sarawak's rainforests have been damaged as the state government has opened up virgin forest to loggers and palm-oil plantations.

Critics also allege chief minister Taib Mahmud, who has ruled Sarawak since 1981, has enriched himself and his family through corrupt timber and other dealings, and have called the dams white elephants.

Taib has dismissed the corruption allegations.

Critics of Taib accuse the federal government of failing to act against him because his tight control of Sarawak has kept it a vital ruling coalition stronghold.

- AFP



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Crave giveaway: Nuance Dragon Dictate for Mac 3



Congrats to Craig L. of East Wenatchee, Wash., for winning a $200 gift certificate to geek shop KlearGear.com in last week's giveaway, and to Chuck V. of Eden Prairie, Minn., for a scoring a bag of CES swag the week before that. Now, on to this week's business...


Are you a fan of speech recognition software? Put your hands up in the air. We're giving away a copy of the latest version of Nuance's Dragon Dictate for
Mac.


Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 promises 15 percent better out-of-the box accuracy than its predecessor, as well as faster mistake correction, among other improvements. Also, if you like to capture your spontaneous fits of genius using a digital voice recorder or iPhone,
iPad, or
iPod Touch, the software will transcribe the recorded audio files when you connect to your Mac.

Normally, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 would cost you $199.99, but you have the chance to get it for zero, nada, bupkis. How do you go about doing that? There are a few rules from our department of people who make rules, so please read carefully.

  • Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the Join CNET link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.

  • Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful, it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.

  • Leave only one comment. You may enter for this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.

  • The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) copy of Nuance Dragon Dictate for Mac 3, with a retail value of $199.99.

  • If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. The winner must respond within three days of the end of the sweepstakes. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.

  • Entries can be submitted until Monday, February 11, at 12 p.m. ET.


And here's the disclaimer that our legal department said we had to include (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, February 11, 2013. See official rules for details.


Good luck.

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Ex-LA cop, murder suspect sent parcel to Anderson Cooper

In this image provided by the Irvine, Calif., Police Department via The Orange County Register, former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Jordan Dorner is shown. Dorner is a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, who were found shot to death in their car at a parking structure Sunday night. (AP Photo/Irvine Police Department via The Orange County Register) / AP/Irvine Police Department via Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES Law enforcement officials are inspecting a package CNN's Anderson Cooper received from a former Los Angeles police officer who allegedly killed three in a shooting spree.

CNN spokeswoman Shimrit Sheetrit said Thursday that a parcel containing a note, a DVD and a bullet hole-riddled memento were sent by Christopher Dorner and addressed to Cooper's office.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith says LAPD robbery-homicide detectives will inspect the package for clues.

The package arrived Feb. 1, days before the first two killings Dorner is accused of.

It contained a note on it that read, in part, "I never lied."

Dorner was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements.

A coin typically given out as a souvenir by the police chief was also in the package, and riddled with bullet holes.

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Door-to-Door Search for Suspected Cop Killer













More than 100 police officers were going door-to-door and searching for new tracks in the snow in the hopes of catching suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner overnight in Big Bear Lake, Calif., before he strikes again as laid out in his chilling online manifesto.


Police held a news conference late Thursday, alerting the residents near Big Bear Lake that Dorner was still on the loose after finding his truck burning around 12:45 p.m. local time.


San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said the authorities can't say for certain he's not in the area. More than half of the 400 homes in the area have been searched by police, who are traveling in two-man teams. Bachman urged people in the area to not answer the door, unless you know the person or law enforcement in uniform.


After discovering Dorner's burning truck near a Bear Mountain ski resort, police discovered tracks in the snow leading away from the vehicle. The truck has been taken to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs' crime lab.


Read More About Chris Dorner's Allegations Against the LAPD


Bachman would not comment on Dorner's motive for leaving the car or its contents, citing the ongoing investigation. Police are no aware of Dorner having any ties to others in the area.








Christopher Dorner: Ex-Cop Wanted in Killing Spree Watch Video









Engaged California Couple Found Dead in Car Watch Video







She added that the search in the area would continue as long as the weather cooperates. However, a snowstorm was forecast for the area. About three choppers were being used overnight, but weather conditions were deteriorating, according to Bachman.


Dorner, a former Los Angeles police officer and Navy reservist, is suspected of killing one police officer and injured two others Thursday morning in Riverside, Calif. He was also accused of killing two civilians on Sunday. And he allegedly released an angry "manifesto" airing grievances against police and warning of coming violence toward cops.


In the manifesto Dorner published online, he threatened at least 12 people by name, along with their families.
"Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over. Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family," Dorner wrote in his manifesto.


One passage from the manifesto read, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty."


"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own," it read. "I'm terminating yours."


Hours after the extensive manhunt dragged police to Big Bear Lake, CNN's Anderson Cooper said Dorner had sent him a package at his New York office that arrived on Feb. 1, though Cooper said he never knew about the package until Thursday. It contained a DVD of court testimony, with a Post-It note signed by Dorner claiming, "I never lied! Here is my vindication."


PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings


It also contained a keepsake coin bearing the name of former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton that came wrapped in duct tape, Cooper said. The duct tape bore the note, "Thanks, but no thanks Will Bratton."


Bratton told Cooper on his program, "Anderson Cooper 360," that he believed he gave Dorner the coin as he was headed overseas for the Navy, Bratton's practice when officers got deployed abroad. Though a picture has surfaced of Bratton, in uniform, and Dorner, in fatigues, shaking hands, Bratton told Cooper he didn't recall Dorner or the meeting.






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Opposition leader's funeral brings day of reckoning for Tunisia


TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's political crisis looked likely to deepen on Friday with strikes and protests planned around the funeral of assassinated opposition politician Chokri Belaid.


Belaid's killing on Wednesday has brought thousands of people onto the streets of the capital Tunis and other cities in violence-marred protests.


Unions have called a general strike for Friday, setting the stage for further confrontation two years on from the pro-democracy revolution that inspired the Arab Spring.


Tunisia is riven by tensions between the dominant Islamists and their secular opponents, and by disillusionment over the lack of social progress since the overthrow of dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.


In response to Belaid's assassination, Prime Minister Hamdi Jebali, an Islamist, said on Wednesday he would dissolve the government, name a non-partisan cabinet of technocrats and hold early elections. But his partners opposed the move and it is yet to be approved by parliament.


No one has claimed responsibility for the killing of Belaid, a lawyer and secular political figure, who was shot by a gunman as he left home for work on Wednesday.


But a crowd set fire to the headquarters of Ennahda, the Islamist party of Prime Minister Jebali, who leads a coalition with two junior secularist parties. Ennahda denies any involvement.


While Belaid had only a modest political following, his criticism of Ennahda policies spoke for many Tunisians who fear religious radicals are bent on snuffing out freedoms won in the first of the revolts that rippled through the Arab world.


"Criminals assassinated Chokri's body, but will not assassinate Chokri's struggle," his widow Besma said on Thursday.


"My sadness ended when I saw thousands flocking to the streets...at that moment I knew that the country is fine and men and women in my country are defending democracy, freedom and life."


All three ruling parties and sections of the opposition rebuffed Jebali's plan to create a small, technocrat government to take over day-to-day matters until elections could be held, demanding they be consulted before any such move.


"In the likely event that there is no agreement, civil unrest will increase, reaching a level that cannot be contained by the police," said Firas Abi Ali of the London-based Exclusive Analysis think-tank.


"If unrest continued for more than two weeks, the army would probably reluctantly step in and back a technocrat government, as well as fresh elections for a new Constituent Assembly."


The economic effect of political uncertainty and street unrest could be serious in a country which has yet to draft a post-revolutionary constitution and which relies heavily on the tourist trade.


The cost of insuring Tunisian government bonds against default rose to its highest level in more than four years on Thursday and ratings agency Fitch said it could further downgrade Tunisia if political instability continues or worsens.


(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)



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Philippines' Aquino to visit rebel stronghold

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Microsoft goes after Google with attack on Gmail privacy



Microsoft takes aim at Gmail.



(Credit:
Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET)



Microsoft is ratcheting up its attacks on Google with a campaign urging users of the Web giant's e-mail service to dump Gmail for its own Outlook.com over privacy concerns.


In its national campaign titled "Don't get scroogled by Gmail," Microsoft dredges up an old issue with Google's free e-mail service: Google scans users' e-mails to determine relevant advertisements to place alongside the messages.


Microsoft says a study it commissioned found that 70 percent of consumers polled were unaware that major e-mail providers "routinely" read e-mail to sell ads and that nearly 90 percent disapproved of the practice, which has been criticized in the past.


"Outlook.com believes your privacy is not for sale," Stefan Weitz, senior director of Online Services at Microsoft said in a statement. "We believe people should have choice and control over their private email messages, whether they are sharing banking information or pictures of their family or discussing their medical history."


The anti-Gmail effort is Redmond's latest salvo at Google. The European Commission has spent the past two years investigating Google after competitors such as Microsoft complained that Google adjusted search results to bring up its products and Web sites first. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently found that Google's search results were not biased in favor of its own results in a way that was anticompetitive -- a decision that was largely seen as a victory for the Web giant.

Introduced in 2004, Gmail was immediately slammed as a horrific invasion into Internet users' privacy by lawmakers and privacy advocates alike. The unexpectedly criticism contended that it should be illegal for a company to scan the text of its customers' e-mail correspondence and display relevant advertising. The practice has led to occasional lawsuits against the Web giants.




However, Google has long maintained that its automated scanning technology did not invade users' privacy.


"Advertising keeps Google and many of the websites and services Google offers free of charge," Google said in a statement. "We work hard to make sure that ads are safe, unobtrusive and relevant. No humans read your email or Google account information in order to show you advertisements or related information."


As of last October, Gmail was a close-second to Yahoo as the No. 1 free e-mail provider in the U.S., claiming 69.1 million users to Yahoo's 76.7 million, according to ComScore. Microsoft's Hotmail was a distant third with 35.5 million, according to the market researcher. Microsoft announced last year that Hotmail would be phased out for a rebranded Outlook.com.


While Microsoft also shows ads with its Outlook service, the tech giant asserts it automatically scans the contents of users' e-mails only to prevent spam, malware, and other unwanted activity

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Blizzard could dump 2 feet of snow in New England

CONCORD, N.H. A blizzard heading to New England could make travel nearly impossible and dump up to 2 feet of snow on a region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter.

The snow will start Friday morning, with the heaviest amounts dumped on the region that night and into Saturday as the storm moves through New England and upstate New York, the National Weather Service said.

CBS News weather consultant David Bernard said Wednesday that New York may possibly get snow in the six to 10-inch range. He added that it's a little bit early and that the storm is really going to crank as we go Friday into Friday night.

A blizzard watch for parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island said travel may become nearly impossible because of high winds and blowing snow.

"This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine," said Louis Uccellini, director of the weather agency's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Uccellini, who has written two textbooks on northeastern snowstorms, said Wednesday it was too early to tell if the storm would be one for the record books. But he said it will be a rare and major storm, the type that means "you can't let your guard down."

The storm would hit just after the 35th anniversary of the historic blizzard of 1978, which paralyzed the region with more than 2 feet of snow and hurricane force winds from Feb. 5-7.

No one is wishing for a repeat, but skiers, snowmobilers and other outdoor enthusiasts were hoping for just enough snow to turn around a disappointing season.

The snowmobile season in northern New England started off strong, but after rain and warm temperatures last month, many trails in Maine turned essentially to thick sheets of ice, said Maine Snowmobile Association Executive Director Bob Meyers.





Play Video


Blizzard on the way




"People got a taste of it, and there's no question they want some more," he said.

Nearly all of Vermont's snowmobile trails opened after Christmas but riding lately has been limited to hard-to-reach mountain areas. Riders hope this week's storm will bring enough snow to cover bare and icy patches.

"I'd say maybe 75 percent of the trail system may be back up and running if we got a good 8-inch storm," said Matt Tetreault, trails administrator for the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers.

Thanks to the ability to make their own snow, the region's larger ski resorts aren't as dependent on natural snowfall, though every bit helps. At Mount Snow in Vermont, spokesman Dave Meeker said the true value of Friday's storm will be driving traffic from southern New England northward.

"It's great when we get snow, but it's a tremendous help when down-country gets snow," he said. "When they have snow in their backyards, they're inspired."

Assuming the snow clears out by the weekend with no major problems, ski areas in Massachusetts also were excited by the prospect of the first major snowstorm they've seen since October 2011.

"We'll be here with bells on," said Christopher Kitchin, inside operations manager at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, Mass. "People are getting excited. They want to get out in the snow and go snow-tubing, skiing and snowboarding."

Tom Meyers, marketing director for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Mass., said that at an annual conference of the National Ski Areas Association in Vermont this week, many participants were "buzzing" about the storm. He said the snow will arrive at an especially opportune time — a week before many schools in Massachusetts have February vacation.

"It is perfect timing because it will just remind everybody that it is winter, it's real, and get out and enjoy it," Meyers said.

Still that may be too late for Michael Amarello, director of the Horse Hill 7K snowshoe race, which is scheduled for Saturday in Merrimack, N.H. He said Wednesday that he hadn't yet decided whether to postpone the race, but was leaning in that direction. Race organizers wouldn't have time to mark the course if it's snowing hard Friday afternoon, he said.

"We want snow, but we don't want snow Friday night — we want snow today or tomorrow!" he said.

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