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| Storm brings white Christmas, tornado threat to central US - Reuters Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:42 AM PST  Storm clouds are seen on the east coast of the United States in this NASA handout satellite image taken at 1415 GMT, December 25, 2012. A strong winter storm was expected to bring a white Christmas morning to millions of Americans Tuesday - but also high winds and even the risk of tornadoes for some. Credit: Reuters/NASA/NOAA/GOES Project/Handout WASHINGTON | (Reuters) - A major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to the southern U.S. plains on Tuesday, contributing to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma. The storm system surging east from Kansas and the Texas Panhandle includes the threat of tornados and severe thunderstorms along its southern fringe, from southeast Texas to Alabama, the National Weather Service said. The storm is expected to bring blizzard conditions and 6 to 8 inches of snow as it strengthens and moves northeast into the upper Ohio River valley through southern Missouri and Illinois, it said. Freezing drizzle overnight led to 10 separate collisions on Interstate 40 at Oklahoma City just before 3 a.m., said Trooper Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The 21-vehicle pile-up included three tractor-trailers and shut down the westbound lanes for about five hours, she said. Twelve people were taken to hospitals, and troopers are checking on the severity of their injuries. In a rare taste of Christmas snow, Oklahoma City is forecast to get 3 to 6 inches of the white stuff on Tuesday. The city's biggest Christmas snowfall was 6.5 inches in 1914, and measurable amounts have been recorded only a handful of times on the date. Several flights were canceled at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport on Monday ahead of the storm, but conditions on Tuesday morning were good, the airport said in a statement. Ahead of the storm's path, parts of eastern West Virginia are under a winter storm warning. Ice accumulations of up to half an inch are expected in higher elevations, the National Weather Service said. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Sandra Maler) |
| Pope tweets about his favorite Christmas tradition - USA TODAY Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:56 AM PST Merry Twitter Christmas from Pope Benedict XVI. Over the holiday -- including Christmas Eve Mass and his solemn speech to the world on Tuesday, the pope sent off another tweet on his personal account. For the 14th posting at @pontifex, he answered a question about his favorite family Christmas tradition. Benedict, who has his brother Rev. Georg Ratzinger staying with him over the holiday, replies about a beloved Nativity scene, commonly called a crib. "The cribs that we built in our home gave me much pleasure. We added figures each year and used moss for decoration." Earlier on Christmas Eve, the Vatican unveiled an immense manger scene with 100 terra cotta figures. The crèche was donated by corporations and private donors after the exorbitant costs of prior manger scenes was exposed in the documents stolen by the pope's butler. Monday night, at the end of the two-hour Christmas Vigil Mass, he was brought on a rolling red rolling red platform to see a statue of the Christ child set in a Nativity scene on a side altar within St. Peter's Basilica. And a shy smile appeared on his weary face.. But even as the world took note of his waning physical strength, Benedict's Vatican is now moving into energetic use of social media. Although various Vatican agencies and the pope himself have been on Twitter since 2010, it was the announcement this month of the pope's personal account -- and a call for people to send him their questions about faith and tradition -- that caught fire. He now has 2.3 million followers @pontifex where his tweets are released in eight languages. |
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