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Bitter cold grips northern Plains

JAMESTOWN, N.D., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The northern Plains of the United States experienced subzero cold as a blizzard created whiteout conditions and dumped ad much as a foot of snow in some places.

Bitterly cold air, more than 40-mph winds and snow associated with the system combined to produce potentially life-threatening conditions across eastern portions of Minnesota before the system trekked into Canada, AccuWeather.com reported Monday

White-out conditions with heavy falling, blowing and drifting snow Sunday ground travel to a halt across the Dakotas and western Minnesota, where wicked conditions forced Interstate 94 to close between Jamestown, N.D., and Fergus Falls, Minn., and Interstate 29 from Canada to the South Dakota border, media reports said. By Sunday afternoon, more than 8 inches of snow was dumped in parts of central Minnesota, while amounts of about a foot were measured in Montana and North Dakota, forecasters said.

Temperatures plummeted as the arctic cold front forged east. In Kansas City, Mo., the temperature dropped from 60 degrees to 28 degrees during a two-hour period Sunday. Wind chills as low as minus-50 degrees were recorded in portions of the Dakotas and Montana, AccuWeather.com said. Northern Minnesota reported wind chills in the minus-40 degree range.

Forecasters said they expected the subzero cold to remain across the northern Plains through the beginning of the week.

Fed may cut rates to new lows

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Economists predict the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee may cut interest rates to historic lows after a two-day meeting beginning Monday.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said on Dec. 1 that cutting federal fund rate , now at 1 percent, was "feasible."

Tuesday's announcement could include a rate cut to an historic low of 0.5 percent or lower, USA Today reported Monday.

The fund rate sets the rate banks charge for overnight lending to each other. It is no guarantee that banks will lower lending rates to consumers, but a lower rate gives banks room to do just that.

Chief economist of National City Richard DeKaser predicted a rate cut of 0.75 basis points to 0.25 percent.

But some feel even a big rate cut will have a minor effect on the economy. Banks have tightened lending and consumers have cut back on spending, reducing the potential benefits a rate cut would have on the economy, the newspaper said.

Bush seeing Detroit with eye on history

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said negotiations for aiding the auto industry are under way but he's not quite ready to unveil any of the details.

"We're now in the process of working through with the stakeholders a way forward and we're not quite ready to announce that yet," Bush said to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight to Afghanistan, The Detroit News reported Monday.

General Motors Corp. has said it needs $4 billion by the end of the year, while Chrysler LLC has said it needs $4 billion to make it to April.

Bush's relationship with Detroit's Big Three has been uneven over the years, the newspaper said. On July 15, Bush flatly rejected the concept of bailing out a private company.

"Should the government bail out private enterprise? The answer is, no, it shouldn't," Bush said at press conference.

Now, however, Bush is thinking about "how he will be viewed by history," said David Rohde, a Duke University political science professor.

"Does President Bush really want as his legacy the loss of 3 million jobs and the collapse of the U.S. auto industry?" Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., asked.

Bush reaffirms U.S. pledge to Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush ended his likely last visit to theaters of war in Afghanistan where he met Monday with U.S. troops and the Afghan president.

In his meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Bush sought to reassure him of continued U.S. commitment under President-elect Barack Obama.

"I told the President that you can count on the United States -- just like you've been able to count on this administration, you'll be able to count on the next administration, as well," Bush said in a joint news conference with Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. "It's in our interest that Afghanistan's democracy flourish."

Karzai awarded Bush the Ghazi Ami Amanullah Kahn Insignia for his efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan and fight the drug trade.

Bush visited Afghanistan after stopping in Iraq during the weekend.

At Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Bush told the troops he would miss most "being the commander-in-chief of such an outstanding group of men and women."

He also thanked military personnel from other countries for their efforts in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a different place now than it was when he took office, Bush said. Removing the Taliban from power was a "landmark achievement and installing a democracy was an "ambitious goal," he said.

"This is a difficult and long effort," Bush said. "We want to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come. ... And together with the determined people of Afghanistan, we are making hopeful gains."

Blagjovich, lawmakers consider what to do

CHICAGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich decided not to resign but may be open to letting voters decide who fills a vacate U.S. Senate seat, people close to him said.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Assembly scheduled a special session Monday in Springfield to consider how to respond to the arrest of Blagojevich on, among other things, accusations he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Blagojevich, expected to make his first public comments on the situation within the next few days, weighed his options about resigning, deciding against it, a source said. He also indicated he may be warm to a measure that would put the matter of Obama's successor to a vote.

"He has no intention of resigning at this time," the source told the Sun-Times, cautioning that Blagojevich could change his mind.

Among the options the legislative body is considering is a measure that would authorize special elections for Obama's seat and for the congressional seat of incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who hasn't formally resigned his elected post. The bill also would enable whoever is governor to appoint a temporary successor to Obama until election results are finalized, the Sun-Times reported.

Illinois Republican Party leaders, however, are pushing for a special election, the Chicago Tribune reported. Republican State Rep. Aaron Schock, who will join the U.S. House next month, said the Illinois electorate should decide Obama's successor, not Blagojevich or Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, next in succession.

He also said impeachment consideration should begin immediately.

Besides possible impeachment, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state Supreme Court to declare the governor unfit to hold office.