Storm brings Mid-Atlantic to standstill
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A raging storm Saturday left tens of thousands without power in Maryland and Virginia and forced much of the nation's capital to a standstill, officials said.
Nearly 90,000 homes were without power in Virginia and Maryland after the storm dropped 12 to 21 inches of snow overnight as it moved through the Mid-Atlantic states.
A father and son were hit and killed Friday by a tractor-trailer as they tried to help a snow-stranded driver in Virginia, police said.
Public bus and rail service and flights from airports in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia were at a standstill and Amtrak canceled much of its service south of Washington.
Mail delivery was suspended Saturday in Washington and in parts of Maryland and Virginia south to Fredericksburg, The Post said.
"This extremely dangerous storm is expected to produce record snowfall for the Washington metropolitan area," the National Weather Service said Saturday, urging residents to remain in doors.
A storm warning was in effect for most of the region until late Saturday with forecasts of up to 30 inches of snow in some areas by Sunday.
Gates skeptical of Iran nuke assertions
ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's skeptical of Iranian assertions that Tehran is ready to reach a nuclear enrichment deal with the West.
Speaking Saturday in Ankara, Turkey, Gates downplayed comments made by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki that Iran was close to reaching a deal in which quantities of low-enriched uranium would be shipped abroad and further enriched for use in a medical research reactor, The Washington Post reported.
"The reality is that they have done nothing to reassure the international community that they are prepared to ... stop their progress toward making a nuclear weapon," Gates told the Post.
The newspaper said other U.S. and European officials have voiced similar doubt about Mottaki's assertions, calling them nothing but a bid to buy time while it continues to attempt to build a nuclear arsenal.
Mottaki, speaking Friday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, said Iran is nearing agreement on a United Nations request to have Iran send its low-enriched uranium abroad to be further enriched for use in a medical research reactor, The New York Times reported.
"We are approaching a final agreement that can be accepted by all parties," Mottaki said. "I personally believe we have created conducive ground for such an exchange in the not very distant future."
Mottaki said Iran must be allowed to decide how much uranium would be enriched, a demand that might not be approved by the United States and other governments, the newspaper said.
At least 15 killed in Mexico rainstorms
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- At least 15 people were killed this week by mudslides and flooding in Mexico triggered by freak rainstorms, officials said.
The rains pounded the country for most of this week, peaking Thursday, allowing officials to assess the damage Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
They determined that the western part of the country, especially the western state of Michoacan, were hit hardest. Thirteen people died in Michoacan from landslides and flooding with an unknown number of residents still missing, the newspaper said.
Officials said at least 15,000 residents and 2,000 homes in Michoacan were affected by the rains.
The Times said three children died in Angangueo when their home was submerged in a flooded river, while two other people died during a landslide in Zitacuaro and another victim was reportedly killed in Ocampo by a collapsing wall.
Storm brings Mid-Atlantic to standstill
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A raging storm Saturday left tens of thousands without power in Maryland and Virginia and forced much of the nation's capital to a standstill, officials said.
Nearly 90,000 homes were without power in Virginia and Maryland after the storm dropped 12 to 21 inches of snow overnight as it moved through the Mid-Atlantic states.
A father and son were hit and killed Friday by a tractor-trailer as they tried to help a snow-stranded driver in Virginia, police said.
Public bus and rail service and flights from airports in Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia were at a standstill and Amtrak canceled much of its service south of Washington.
Mail delivery was suspended Saturday in Washington and in parts of Maryland and Virginia south to Fredericksburg, The Post said.
"This extremely dangerous storm is expected to produce record snowfall for the Washington metropolitan area," the National Weather Service said Saturday, urging residents to remain in doors.
A storm warning was in effect for most of the region until late Saturday with forecasts of up to 30 inches of snow in some areas by Sunday.
