Nation & World Digest

Storm wallops Northeast

ALBANY, N.Y. — A powerful winter storm dumped a foot or more of snow in the Northeast on Wednesday, knocking out power to thousands and stalling air traffic from Boston to Philadelphia, all ahead of a second system packing strong winds that could blanket the area with another foot of snow.

The storm cut a swath from eastern Pennsylvania into northern New England, slamming typically snowy regions that had been spared the paralyzing storms that hit cities farther south earlier this winter. About 150,000 customers lost power Wednesday, hundreds of schools were closed, and at least three traffic deaths were blamed on the storm.

Whale that killed trainer blamed in previous deaths

ORLANDO, Fla. — A killer whale attacked and killed a trainer in front of a horrified audience at a SeaWorld show Wednesday, with witnesses saying the animal involved in two previous deaths dragged the trainer under and thrashed her around violently.

Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium, and the park was closed immediately.

Veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was one of the park’s most experienced. It wasn’t clear if she drowned or died from the thrashing.

SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs confirmed the whale was Tilikum, one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who lost her balance and fell in the pool with them in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.

Tilikum also was involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by Orlando SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he also was bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Colo. gunman was able to walk freely around school

LITTLETON, Colo. — The gunman who wounded two middle-school students in a city still haunted by the Columbine massacre was allowed to enter and leave the building hours before he opened fire in the parking lot, investigators said Wednesday.

A math teacher who tackled the 32-year-old gunman and stopped the rampage Tuesday was hailed as a hero, and officials said the quick response was further proof that the city learned the lessons of Columbine in quickly responding to the shootings.

But there was growing evidence the school missed a chance to head off the attack.

Investigators said unemployed ranch hand Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood walked through the doors of the Deer Creek Middle School earlier in the day, indicated he was a former student and chatted with teachers, apparently without drawing much suspicion.

Study: High-fat diet raises women’s risk of stroke

SAN ANTONIO — A moment on the lips, forever on the hips? A bad figure is hardly the worst of it. Eating a lot of fat, especially the kind that’s in cookies and pastries, can significantly raise the risk of stroke for women over 50, a large new study finds.

The new study is the largest to look at stroke risk in women and across all types of fat. It showed a clear trend: Those who ate the most fat had a 44 percent higher risk of the most-common type of stroke compared with those who ate the least.

Panel recommends nearly everyone get a flu shot

ATLANTA — A government panel is recommending that virtually all Americans get a flu shot each year, starting this fall.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices gradually had been expanding its recommendation for flu shots — 85 percent of Americans already were included.

On Wednesday, the panel voted to recommend a seasonal-flu vaccination for everyone except babies younger than 6 months and those with egg allergies or other unusual conditions.

The panel’s recommendation now goes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC usually follows the panel’s advice and spreads the message to doctors and hospitals across the country.

US warns citizens against travel to Mexican state

OAXACA, Mexico — The U.S. government warned its citizens Wednesday against traveling to a northern Mexico border state where shootouts killed 19 people the previous three days. The alert came a day after assailants stormed a rural town in southern Mexico and killed 13 people.

Associated Press