ATLANTA (AP) — Forecasters say wintry weather will be bringing snow to parts of the Southeast this holiday weekend after what has so far been a mild season.
The National Weather Service said the storm will begin as rain Saturday night and turn into snow Sunday morning and continuing into the night. The weather service was predicting four to eight inches of snow in parts of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. Light snow was expected in the Washington, D.C. area.
The storm is the product of a low pressure system moving northeast across the Gulf Coast states as well as cold air from the North.
The storm could produce slick travel conditions, especially in high-elevation areas such as the Appalachians, later Sunday. It is expected to move off the Mid-Atlantic coast on Sunday night.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — There’s one last task today for the family of Whitney Houston.
She’ll be buried in Westfield, N.J., not far from where her funeral was held in Newark. The grave is next to her father, John.
At yesterday’s funeral, testimonials from relatives and friends, the songs from legends and pop stars, preaching and even laughter punctuated the invitation-only ceremony at a Baptist church where she once sang in the choir.
Fans were kept blocks from the church and the invitation-only funeral, but their presence was felt. A huge shrine of heart-shaped balloons and personal messages covered the street corner around the church entrance.
Houston’s death last Saturday marked the end of a life that was marked by stunning achievements and an equally stunning fall from grace amid struggles with drugs and a tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown.
High court dilemma: Can lie about medal be crime?
Xavier Alvarez was in good company when he stood up at a public meeting and called himself a wounded war veteran who had received the top military award, the Medal of Honor.
Alvarez was lying about his medal, his wounds and his military service, but he wasn’t the first man to invent war exploits.
He was, however, one of the first people prosecuted under a 2006 federal law aimed at curbing false claims of military valor.
Concerns that the law improperly limits speech and turns people into criminals for things they say, rather than do, will be key issues as the Supreme Court reviews his case and the Stolen Valor Act. Supporters say such false claims are fraud.
The justices hear arguments on Wednesday, the birthday of Gen. George Washington, who established the U.S. military awards system.
BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in small canisters is safe for consumers.
AeroShot went on the market last month in Massachusetts and New York. It’s also available in France. Each canister contains the caffeine equivalent of a large cup of coffee.
AeroShot didn’t require FDA review because it’s sold as a dietary supplement. But New York’s U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is concerned about overuse of the product, particularly by young people, and says FDA officials have agreed to review its safety.
An FDA official confirmed to The Associated Press that the agency would review AeroShot. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Manufacturer Breathable Foods says AeroShot is safe.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Greek parliament is set to vote on emergency austerity measures next week necessary for a €130-billion ($170- billion) bailout deal with the EU and IMF to avoid default.
The legislation — a package of wage and pension cuts and on health sector reforms — was approved in a marathon Cabinet meeting that began Saturday afternoon and dragged into early Sunday. It must still be approved by Parliament.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos says the measures will be permanent.
He says it is necessary to introduce them on Monday to convince the Eurogroup finance ministers convening the same day that Greece is determined to move along with reforms. The measures must be implemented over the next three weeks.
A small group of union members protested outside Parliament on Sunday without incident.
NEW: Cars circle central Moscow in anti-Putin protest
MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of cars are circling central Moscow to demand that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allow free elections in Russia.
As they travel along the wide Garden Ring, which makes a nearly 10-mile loop around the Kremlin, the cars are flying the white ribbons and balloons that have become a symbol of the peaceful anti-Putin protest movement.
Sunday’s demonstration is taking place two weeks before the presidential election that Putin is expected to win. None of the four challengers to him poses a serious threat, but Putin does need to get a majority of the vote to avoid a runoff.
A similar protest in support of Putin drew at least 2,000 cars late Saturday.
Putin’s supporters have been trying to counter the opposition protests by showing that they too can bring people out onto the street.
JERUSALEM (AP) — President Barack Obama’s national security adviser is in Israel for talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Tom Donilon is the latest in a series of American officials to discuss the Iran issue with Israeli leaders. Last month, U.S. military chief Martin Dempsey visited Israel, and next month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected at the White House.
A White House statement calls Sunday’s visit the latest in “regular, high-level consultations.”
Both countries believe Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The U.S. says international sanctions must be given more time to stop Iran. Israel says time is running out and all options, including military action, must be considered.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says the next round of talks between Iran and six world powers on the country’s nuclear program will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ali Akbar Salehi made the comments during a press conference in Tehran Sunday. He didn’t give any timing for the talks.
The last round of talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany were held in Istanbul in Jan. 2011 but ended in failure.
The West wants Iran to meet U.N. Security Council demands to stop uranium enrichment but Tehran accused the other side of pushing not “dialogue but dictation.”
The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran maintains its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign ministry says it is withdrawing its ambassador to Syria.
The Egyptian state news agency MENA said Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr decided Sunday during a meeting with Ambassador Shukri Ismael to keep the envoy in Cairo until further notice.
The report did not give a reason for the decision.
Violence has been spreading across Syria as originally peaceful protests seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad have escalated into increasingly armed insurrection.
Hundreds of Syrians protested in the capital Damascus on Saturday, an affront to the regime in one of its strongholds.
UPDATE: Officials: 18 killed in Iraqi police academy blast
BAGHDAD (AP) — Police say a suicide bomber has killed 18 people and wounded 27 in a crowd of police recruits who were leaving their academy in eastern Baghdad.
It’s the latest strike on Iraqi security officials who are often targeted by insurgents seeking to underscore how vulnerable the country remains.
Iraqi police said the bomber detonated his car Sunday outside the fortified national Police Academy compound when the crowd of recruits came out and began walking down the street.
Officials at three nearby hospitals confirmed the casualties.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A local government official says a time bomb has killed eight members of an anti-Taliban militia in northwest Pakistan.
Tribal agency official Iqbal Khan says six more members of the militia were wounded in the Sunday incident in the Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region.
He says the militia was set up to fight against a local radical group known as Lashkar-e-Islam.
Khan says explosives planted at a militia checkpoint were detonated by a timer.
He says the militia later killed two Lashkar-e-Islam members, without providing details.
Pakistan has outlawed the group, which wants enforcement of a Taliban-style version of Islamic law.
Radicals often target the militias, which they perceive as Pakistani government supporters.
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