ALBANY, N.Y. - Snow, sleet and freezing rain have made roads hazardous across the Great Lakes into New England and closed hundreds of schools.

ST. JOHNS, Ariz. - In a dramatic police interview that gripped viewers nationwide, a 9-year-old boy sitting in an overstuffed chair told investigators that he shot his father and another man, then buried his head in his jacket and said, "I'm going to go to juvie."

SPOKANE, Wash. - More than 6 feet of snow in the past three weeks has left Spokane residents frustrated. Tempers are so frayed that a man was arrested for shooting at a snow plow operator.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A defense attorney for former Orange County sheriff Michael Carona said the government's sweeping public corruption case against his client is riddled with holes and built on the testimony of witnesses who lied to save themselves.

WASHINGTON - It was very windy when a Continental Airlines jet was destroyed while trying to take off in Denver last month, leading aviation safety experts to cite crosswinds as a likely factor in the accident.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The nation's largest government-run utility ignored two small leaks that could have provided a warning years before a coal ash pond collapsed, flooding a neighborhood with a billion gallons of sludge, a former federal regulator contends.

MARTINEZ, Calif. - Two men and a teenager were charged Tuesday in the alleged gang rape of a lesbian in the San Francisco Bay area.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days amid an unprecedented crush of thousands of newly jobless Americans seeking benefits, and other states were adjusting their systems to avoid being next.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's official calendar shows he met with a top union official in his Chicago office the day before Barack Obama was elected president — just as federal prosecutors say the governor was scheming to trade Obama's Senate seat, possibly for a cushy union job.

DECATUR, Ala. - Sgt. Faron White's job running a squad that targeted drug dealers, gamblers and other organized crime in a northern Alabama city earned him accolades but was filled with pressure.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed an $18 billion deficit-cutting package Tuesday that legislative Democrats characterized as the only "game in town."

The first race card of the Obama era is now in play. In an apparent bid to save his political life — or perhaps just irritate and confound his enemies — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is trying to wedge a black man into the all-white Senate. On Tuesday, Blagojevich's choice, Roland Burris, was turned away on Capitol Hill when he tried to take his seat.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former eBay executive Meg Whitman brings intrigue and a big bank account to California's beleaguered Republican Party.

Millions of children and adults have seizures in the United States, but dying from one is rare. That only adds to the confusion and mystery surrounding the life and death of Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston.

CHICAGO - Barack and Michelle Obama are known for nights out on the town in Chicago, dining at some of its poshest restaurants with the smartest chefs. But who knew the president-elect was a food critic?