In the Nation
Another storm
slams Colorado
DENVER - The latest in a series of winter storms battered Colorado yesterday, dumping several inches of snow and whipping up strong wind that created whiteout conditions on the state's eastern plains.
The stormy weather in Colorado followed closely on the heels of a storm that spread heavy snow across parts of the Plains on Saturday, limiting visibility and creating hazardous driving conditions.
That storm was blamed for at least 11 traffic deaths: six in Kansas, four in Nebraska, and one in Oklahoma. In Kansas, accumulation of eight inches was reported in several communities before the snow stopped falling early yesterday. - AP
Airline pilot dies;
copilot lands safely
McALLEN, Texas - The pilot of a Continental Airlines flight became ill after takeoff and was later pronounced dead after the plane made an emergency landing Saturday, a company spokeswoman said.
The 210 passengers on the flight, which departed from Houston, were never in danger, and the copilot landed the plane safely, Continental spokeswoman Macky Osorio said. Continental says it believes the pilot died of natural causes, Osorio said. The pilot's name was not released.
The flight, bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, took off from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport. The flight continued to Mexico with a new crew, Osorio said. - AP
Man survives fall
by hitting overhang
MINNEAPOLIS - A man crashed through a double-paned window in a hotel on Saturday and plummeted 16 floors - but survived when he was caught by a roof overhang.
Joshua S. Hanson, 29, of Blair, Wis., was taken to a hospital. Police and fire officials said he had multiple broken bones and internal injuries.
According to a police report, Hanson and two friends returned from a night of drinking about 1:30 a.m Saturday. When the elevator reached the 17th floor, Hanson ran down a short hallway toward a floor-to-ceiling window.
He apparently lost his balance and crashed through the glass, then fell about 160 feet, landing on the roof overhang one floor up from the street. - AP
Elsewhere:
Gasoline prices fell 14 cents a gallon in the last two weeks to an average $2.18 as crude oil prices declined, Trilby Lundberg said, citing her survey of about 7,000 filling stations nationwide.
Twelve dolphins have died off eastern Long Island, N.Y., and boaters were searching for any others still trapped in shallow waters, a rescue leader said yesterday. The dolphins, which normally stay 30 to 80 miles offshore, may have been chasing bait food into a shallow cove north of East Hampton.
The Navy has removed the commander of a nuclear submarine that was involved in a Dec. 29 incident that killed two sailors. Rough seas swept the sailors from the deck of the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul off the coast of England.