NPR 2008-12-22

Fierce winter storms have been pounding the northern half of the nation today, dumping more snow and ice on states still struggling to restore power knocked out by ice storms last weekend. Unusually frigid 1 temperatures are gripping much of the Midwest, causing travel problems as Tony Arnold of Chicago Public Radio reports.

Strong winds and arctic chill are making travel more difficult. In Chicago, motorists are battling drifting snow and very cold high winds. Gino Izzi is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He says the region got about nine inches of snow in the past week, making this one of the snowiest starts to the season ever. "The condition is bad there with the blowing and drifting snow, and blizzard 3 conditions are even worse when you consider the Arctic air masses moved into place with that strong winds. We've seen wind chills dip to almost 40 degree below zero in spots. " The bitter cold is also being blamed for some 150 cancelled flights at Ohio Airport. Power companies throughout northern Illinois are also blaming the cold for some power outages, affecting some 36, 000 customers. For NPR News, I'm Tony Arnold in Chicago.

Gas prices have dropped another nine cents a gallon over the past two weeks, down to a national average of $1. 66 for a gallon of self-service regular. Prices at the pump have not been that low in nearly five years.

Vice 2 President Dick Cheney acknowledges that the Bush administration is leaving the auto 4 industry crisis to the Obama administration to resolve, but he says President Bush has done his best to manage the problem for now. NPR's Carol Van Dam has more.

The vice-president says it's not easy figuring out what to do with the potential bankruptcy 5 of Detroit's Big Three. Speaking on FOX NEWS Sunday, Cheney defended President Bush's move on Friday, offering the carmakers 17 billion dollars in emergency loans. "The president's package basically extends a line of credit to the companies for a specified 6 period of time and also, at the same time, tries to encourage the kind of changes and restructuring that we think is going to be essential if the companies are ever going to become viable 7. " The aid would be doled 8 out only if the carmakers and the unions make big concessions 9. Cheney says with a month to go before the Bush administration leaves office, it will be President-elect Barack Obama's problem after January 20th. Carol Van Dam, NPR News, Washington.

The top U. S. envoy 10 in Africa says Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is completely out of touch with reality. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer says the U.S. will no longer support any power-sharing deal that allows Mugabe to remain president "He is discredited 11, completely discredited with the neighboring countries. Their only question is now what should they do. " Frazer speaking to reporters in Pretoria. The new U.S. stance is expected to put pressure on South Africa and the other neighboring countries to abandon Mugabe. In recent weeks, Zimbabwe's economy has deteriorated 12 further and a cholera 13 outbreak in the country is worsening.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Russian police have broken up a protest in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok where residents tried to stage a demonstration 14 against new taxes on imported cars. From Moscow, Gregory Feiffer reports.

The port city of Vladivostok is the gateway 15 for tens of thousands of second-hand 16 Japanese cars imported into Russia every year. Many residents' livelihoods 17 are connected to the sale of cars Russians find highly dependable in extreme weather conditions in the Far East and Siberia. But as the global financial crisis shrinks car sales, the government has raised import duties on foreign cars to protect the obsolete 18 Soviet-era domestic car industry. Demonstrators in Vladivostok first came onto the streets last weekend. When they tried to gather in the city's main square today for an unsanctioned rally, riot police beat people with truncheons and dragged off dozens to waiting vans. Political observers say the authoritarian 19 Kremlin is seriously worried about social discontent as thousands face layoffs 20 and rising prices. Gregory Feiffer, NPR News, Moscow.

The flight data and cockpit voice recorders have been recovered from the Continental 21 Airlines jet that veered 22 off a runway during takeoff at Denver International Airport yesterday. The plane burst into flames and 38 people were injured. National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt: "There is extensive fire damage to the right side of the aircraft and the interior is quite burned. " Sumwalt says it's too soon to know what caused the accident. He says the on-site inspection 23 of the plane will begin in earnest tomorrow. Denver's fire chief says it's a miracle everyone aboard the plane survived.