Deadly snowstorm hampers travel in central US

Snowstorms are storms where large amounts of snow fall. Snow is less dense than liquid water, by a factor of approximately 10 at temperatures slightly below freezing, and even more at much colder temperatures.[citation needed] Therefore, an amount of water that would produce 0.8 in. (2 cm.) of rain could produce at least 8 in (20 cm) of snow.  Blizzard warnings went up across wide sections of the U.S. Southwest and Great Plains on Monday, threatening holiday travel ahead of the Christmas weekend.

Warnings forecasting snowfalls of up to 18 inches (.4 meters) stretched across the region as the storm barreled toward parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

The storm was expected to disrupt holiday travel on major interstates in the region, including Interstate 35 in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, interstates 25 and 40 in New Mexico and Interstate 70 across central Kansas.By Thursday, this system should move off the coast with another system forecast to move in behind it.

 This second system should begin to take shape in the Southern Plains late Wednesday night, with rain and thunderstorms extending from eastern Texas into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys: some locally heavy rainfall is possible in this area on Thursday.

'It's not too late' to jump in 2012 presidential race said, Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Can Sarah Palin still enter the 2012 presidential race? You betcha.

"It's not too late for folks to jump in," the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee said during an interview on the Fox Business Network Monday night. "Who knows what will happen in the future."According to The Associated Press, Palin told Fox over the weekend that she felt no enthusiasm for anyone in the current field of Republican candidates and that she needed to feel something before endorsing one of them.Before Palin's comments aired Monday night, reality TV producer Mark Burnett said she was in talks to film a second season of "Alaska." According to The New York Post, Palin's outdoors adventures with her family would be filmed during the summer of 2012 and the show would air after the November election.

Burnett said "Sarah Palin's Alaska" premiere in November 2010 was seen by more than 5 million viewers, making it the most-watched premiere ever on TLC.

When Palin said in October that she wouldn't seek the GOP nomination, she said she hoped to be more effective in getting others elected. But with the Iowa caucuses set to begin the nomination process Jan. 3, just two weeks from today, a new candidate could dramatically shake up the Republican field. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said he agreed with Palin's assessment.

"I would not be at all surprised to see one or two more candidates between now and the end of April," Gingrich told FOX News & Commentary. "The clock is running but the clock sure hasn't stopped."Palin said she also had concerns about the lack of focus on "values and character" from the GOP field. "It's not all about politics," she said. "It is all about value and character."

Kim Jong Un New Leader of North Korea

Now Kim Jong Un is going to become new leader of North Korea. Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of the recently deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has long been expected to succeed his father. However, the younger Kim remains much of a mystery. Kim Jong Un is believed to have been born between 1983 and 1984. However, his exact age is unknown, as are the name of his mother and his marital statusThe body of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is lying in state at a presidential mausoleum, as throngs of somber, weeping mourners continued to express sorrow at the longtime leader's unexpected death.

North Korean state television on Tuesday showed images of Kim's body - partially covered by a red blanket - lying in a glass coffin and surrounded by flowers at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial PalaceThough observers fear a power struggle following Kim's death, North Korean state media have given clear indications that he will be succeeded by Kim Jong Un. Media reports have referred to him as a "great successor" and the "pillar of our people."

Late last year, the elder Kim promoted Kim Jong Un to the rank of four-star general, in what was seen as a bid to extend the world's only communist dynasty to a third generation.

Kim Jong Un's influence within the North Korean leadership is uncertain.  Although he was appointed to several top posts last year, analysts say he has had little time to earn the trust of power brokers in the military and the ruling Korean Workers' party.