Snowstorm hits Ohio, Northeast

Snowstorm hits Ohio, Northeast

NEW YORK

A widespread winter storm dumped snow over the Northeast and parts of Ohio on Saturday, just days after the regions were hit by another storm moving from the nation’s midsection.

The National Weather Service expected up to a foot of snow in parts of southern New England, with the heaviest snowfall possibly in Providence, R.I., and Boston, which declared parking bans to allow snow- removal vehicles to clean the streets. Winter-storm warnings were in effect in parts of those states and in Connecticut.

New York City and Philadelphia saw a mix of rain and snow as the storm moved in from the west. In Ohio, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati saw about 2 to 5 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

5 children, 1 adult die in Miss. wreck

JACKSON, Miss.

Five young siblings and one adult died early Saturday when a sport-utility vehicle went off an eastern Mississippi road and plunged into a rain-swollen creek, authorities said.

Neshoba County Sheriff Tommy Waddell said the victims appear to have drowned after a Dodge Durango left a county road 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia just after midnight Saturday.

Helmets recalled

Vega Helmet Corp. is recalling more than 30,000 XTS motorcycle helmets after testing found that a few did not meet crash- protection safety standards.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said people using the helmets may not be adequately protected in a crash. The recall will start in late January and centers on large, extra-large and extra-extra-large (or XXL) helmets. The models in question were made between May 2011 and last October, according to a notice posted Saturday on the NHTSA’s website.

Vega, based in Tukwila, Wash., said it will replace the recalled helmets.

Curiosity faces long to-do list in 2013

PASADENA, Calif.

Since captivating the world with its acrobatic landing, the Mars rover Curiosity has fallen into a rhythm: Drive, snap pictures, zap at boulders, scoop up dirt. Repeat.

Topping its to-do list in the new year: Set off toward a Martian mountain — a trek that will take up a good chunk of the year.

The original itinerary called for starting the drive before the Times Square ball drop, but Curiosity lingered longer than planned at a pit stop, delaying the trip.

Curiosity now will head for Mount Sharp in mid-February after it drills into its first rock.

6 men charged with murder in India

NEW DELHI

Indian riot police blocked major roads, imposed restrictions on “illegal assembly” and shut down subway stations Saturday as they braced for fresh demonstrations even as politicians appealed for calm after the overnight death of a rape victim at a Singapore hospital from multiple organ failure.

On Saturday, six men accused and under arrest in the attack on the woman were charged with murder.

The brutal assault by multiple attackers two weeks ago of a 23-year-old paramedical student, who has not been identified, has sparked national soul-searching on India’s treatment of women. Thousands have demonstrated across the country, including a large gathering in Delhi a week ago met by police wielding tear gas, water cannons and truncheons.

Combined dispatches