Tornado-ravaged areas hit by snowstorm, cold
WEST LIBERTY, Kentucky (Reuters) - A winter snow storm added to the woes on Monday of tornado-struck Indiana and Kentucky, dropping several inches of snow on the ravaged region where dozens of people were killed, meteorologists said. Overnight, three to five inches of snow fell in southern Indiana and north-central Kentucky, where recovery efforts were underway after Friday's deadly twisters, the National Weather Service said.
Toddler found in field after tornado dies of injuries
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) - A toddler who was found alive in a field in tornado-ravaged southeastern Indiana after her parents and two siblings were killed when a twister struck their mobile home died on Sunday of her injuries, her family said. Angel Babcock had been in critical condition in a Kentucky hospital since Friday, when the 15-month-old was found near her family's destroyed mobile home in New Pekin, Indiana.
Boy, 7, survives brush with tornado in North Carolina
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - A 7-year-old boy was recovering on Sunday after a tornado sheared off the walls of his North Carolina home, snatched him from his bed and threw him 350 feet onto the embankment of a nearby interstate, the boy's grandmother told Reuters. Jamal Stevens suffered only minor injuries from the Friday twister that demolished his family's two-story home in Charlotte near Interstate 485, where Jamal was found by his family a few minutes after the twister struck his neighborhood.
Judge refuses to dismiss Madoff-NY Mets case
(Reuters) - A federal judge rejected a bid by the New York Mets owners to end a $386 million lawsuit by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud and said the team might have to give up as much as $83.3 million of illegal profits. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan nonetheless said he remained "skeptical" that the trustee, Irving Picard, can prevail on the rest of his lawsuit, which accuses team owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz of acting in bad faith in dealing with Madoff.
Court blocks DEA's Florida suspension of Cardinal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has agreed to temporarily allow Cardinal Health Inc to continue distributing strictly-controlled prescription drugs from a Florida facility, blocking a Drug Enforcement Administration order to suspend shipments. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order late on Friday temporarily lifting a February 3 DEA suspension that was issued because of concerns that Cardinal was not adequately watching for prescription abuse.
IRS software glitch delays some tax refunds
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service's new software system for handling electronic tax returns has experienced problems during the tax filing season, angering some taxpayers whose refunds have been delayed. In an issue that could draw congressional scrutiny, the IRS said it was addressing the software glitches and that delays in sending refunds to taxpayers would be minimal.
Earthquake rattles San Francisco area: USGS
OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake, which was initially reported at a 4.3 magnitude, was centered about 15 miles northeast of San Francisco, and was at a depth of 5.5 miles, the USGS said.
Judge clears way for Alabama county's bankruptcy
(Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County can go ahead with its $4.23 billion bankruptcy case, the biggest ever by an American municipality, a federal judge ruled. Overcoming arguments by creditors that the county was ineligible for bankruptcy because it had the wrong type of debt, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett issued a ruling late Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, saying the complex case can go ahead.
Tornado victims flock to Facebook for helping hand
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Residents of the storm-ravaged communities in the Midwest are reaching out to each other, neighbor to neighbor, through social media sites to coordinate disaster relief and share information. A chain of fast-moving tornadoes spawned by massive thunderstorms cut a swath of destruction from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, killing at least 39 people and leaving many residents homeless and seeking food, clothing, and shelter.
More men accuse former Red Sox staffer of abuse
BOSTON (Reuters) - Nine more men have come forward to accuse a deceased Red Sox staffer of sexually abusing them decades ago as teenagers, including some who were working for the major league team, an attorney representing them said on Monday. The alleged victims say former Red Sox clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick, who died in 2005, sexually molested them at Boston's Fenway Park, in his home and at other stadiums around the country.
