Bitter Cold Hits Northeast, Closing Some Schools

Bone-chilling cold prompted schools around the Northeast to delay openings or cancel classes altogether on Monday. The cold snap was linked to at least two weekend deaths, including that of a woman whose frozen body was found in a driveway.

Schools in western and northeastern Pennsylvania, across upstate New York and parts of Vermont and New Hampshire closed their doors or delayed openings to protect students from temperatures that dropped in some locations as low as 25 degrees below zero or even colder.

The wind chill in some areas of New England was expected to make it feel as cold as 50 degrees below zero.In Montpelier, Vt., it was 21 below at 7 a.m.

"Snot-freezing cold," was how Kelly Walsh, 28, described it, walking home from an auto parts store after buying a new battery for her car, which wouldn't start Monday morning."I usually really like it. Today is a bit of nuisance," she said.Others agreed.

Will Forest, a 53-year-old web designer who was walking to work, called the cold "indescribable.I spent the summer in Dallas, Texas, and you can only experience the heat when you're there," he said. "Trying to explain it to people here is impossible. Conversely, this kind of cold, to try to explain to someone down there, you have to experience it. But it's also a really good filter, because if we didn't have this cold, everybody would want to live here and it wouldn't be the place it is."

What did he wear to prepare? "I put on two socks, a fleece and a desire to move very quickly."

The Arctic temperatures led Amtrak to suspend rail service Monday morning between Albany and New York City because the extreme cold affected signals and switches. Amtrak hoped to resume limited service between the two cities later Monday. Other rail lines are still running.The cold was blamed for two deaths over the weekend.

About 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia, a man died after spending the night in his car in frigid temperatures in Lansford, and his wife found him Saturday morning. Temperatures had dropped into the single digits overnight, but it's unclear why 49-year-old Alan Kurtz had slept in his car.

South Africa beat India by 48 runs (D/L method)

India's tour of South Africa has see-sawed right through, and it wasn't surprising when the home side levelled the ODI series with a 48-run win in Port Elizabeth. Despite Virat Kohli's sparkling, flawless unbeaten 87, India never seemed in touch with the required rate chasing 266. India were 142-6 in the 33rd over, woefully short of the required score of 190 when the second rain interruption ended the game.

St. George's Park has heavily favoured South Africa when they bowl under lights; they have won the last five such games and hence Graeme Smith was always going to bat here. The move paid off, and it's now over to the tie-breaker in Centurion.

Dhoni misses a trick.

The only time India had the game under control was between the 19th and the 23rd over when South Africa lost four wickets in four overs having made a quick start with Yuvraj Singh Hashim Amla's 64 (69b). Yuvraj Singh struck twice and two run-outs from Kohli had pushed South Africa down to 118-5.

Here, MSDhoni could have squeezed South Africa further by attacking Johan Botha and JP Duminy. Instead, part-time spinners were given a long run. Resultantly, Botha and Duminy collected singles with ridiculous ease, found the occasional boundary, and before Dhoni knew it their sixth-wicket partnership was 70.

A chance had been missed, and this was no insignificant chance. India could have won the series right here, but the series has hinged on this single partnership. Dhoni and Smith have throughout on this tour been in a competition for taking the biggest step back. By not attacking Botha, Dhoni has taken the biggest such step.

Yuvraj took his third wicket when Botha was stumped. India's front-line bowlers were sloppy today. Harbhajan Singh got off to a poor start and never recovered. He was short in his first four overs. This pitch wasn't as bouncy as the ones he has bowled on in South Africa, and this took some edge off his bowling.

The next man in, Robin Petersen made 31. The highest target achieved under lights at this venue is 268. With Duminy batting through for 72, a score of 265 meant the odds were against India from the start of the chase.

India opened with Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel - two batsmen who'd never open the innings otherwise. Against Dale Steyn's high-accuracy pace and Morne Morkel's steep bounce, getting finding opportunities was tough. But both openers were dismissed by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who has gone from being India's relief bowler in the Test series to their chief tormentor in the ODIs.

Rohit cut a short ball to point. Parthiv played a couple of aerial shots against Steyn - a pull shot and a drive over mid-off. But some well-timed strokes couldn't pierce the off-side field. In the end, he tried to guide Tsotsobe through the on-side, missed the line and fell LBW.

Kohli outshines seniors again.

It's no secret now that half the Indian batting line-up would be heading to the World Cup grossly under-prepared. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have fitness problems; so does Sachin Tendulkar and he hasn't played much one-day cricket lately either. Also, India have missed one of these three due to injuries in most tournaments.

The last time MS Dhoni dominated a bowling attack in a one-dayer was in the Gwalior ODI where he partnered Tendulkar to a double-ton. On this tour, he's been a walking wicket and has crossed fifty just once. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh both suffer from a crisis of confidence against accurate pace bowling. Sourav Ganguly pointed out recently how Raina always seems to be sitting on his back-foot.

In this scenario, it is greatly pleasing to see Kohli who has not only been getting big runs but getting them in a confident manner in a wide array of batting conditions. In this ODI series, he's looked the least likely of the Indian batsmen to get out while he's out there.

With his wristy style, South African spinners have not been able to stop his strike rotation. During this innings, he drove Petersen over mid-off and straight for two effortless sixes. Against the pacers, he's offered a compact defense and has always looked determined to bat out tough spells before attacking the weak bowling.

If this is what he can do at 22, and if he doesn't go the Yuvraj way, he could threaten Tendulkar's record of ODI hundreds some day.

Iran Air crash toll rises to 77, eight critical

TEHRAN (Reuters) - At least 77 people were killed in Sunday's passenger plane crash in northwestern Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

The Iran Air Boeing 727 crashed while attempting to land in bad weather with 106 on board, officials said. At least eight of the injured were in a critical condition.

"So far, 52 out of 77 victims have been identified and among the fatalities there were 36 men and 16 women," IRNA quoted deputy head of Azarbayjan-e Gharbi coroner's office, Hamid Davoudabadi, as saying.

The semi-official Mehr news agency said four Iraqi nationals were among those killed.

Ahmad Majidi, head of the crisis management office at the Transport Ministry, told ISNA news agency that the flight had taken off from Tehran in good visibility.

By the time the plane arrived in the city of Urumiyeh, in a mountainous area near the border with Turkey, about 1,000 km (600 miles) northwest of the capital, there was zero visibility due to snow and fog, state TV said.

LIGHTS WENT OUT

Survivor Hossein Haqiqi said the pilot announced an emergency landing. "Then, exactly like in the movies, the plane hit the ground and the lights went out. I fainted and was not conscious of anything," ISNA quoted him as saying.

Another passenger, Nasrin Fatahzadeh, said rescuers cut through the plane's seats to pull her free.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered an accelerated investigation while IRNA reported the plane's black box flight recorder had been found.

"The government has announced three days of mourning in the province," IRNA said.

State television showed the wreckage of the plane, which appeared to have broken into several sections on impact. Huge gaps were torn in the fuselage.

Iran has suffered several crashes in the past few decades. Tehran says U.S. sanctions have prevented it from buying new aircraft or spare parts from the West.

The last major air crash in Iran was in July 2009, when a Caspian Airlines Tupolev aircraft bound for Armenia caught fire in mid-air and crashed into farmland near the city of Qazvin, killing all 168 people on board.

One of the country's worst air accidents was in February 2003 when an Iranian Ilyushin-76 troop carrier crashed in southeast Iran, killing all 276 Revolutionary Guard soldiers and crew aboard.

Two Dead Since Arizona Medicaid Program Slashed Transplant Coverage

Two Arizona Medicaid recipients denied potentially life-saving organ transplants have died, even as Arizona doctors, transplant survivors and some lawmakers push to restore health care benefits slashed last fall.

On Oct. 1, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System stopped paying for seven types of transplants that the state's GOP governor, Jan Brewer, and GOP-led legislature said they could no longer afford. The state faces a projected $1 billion program deficit by July 2011.

They eliminated heart transplants for non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, lung transplants, pancreatic transplants, some bone marrow transplants, and liver transplants for patients infected with hepatitis C. Arizona also restricted coverage of prosthetics, eliminated podiatric services, preventive dental services, and wellness and physical exams for adult Medicaid enrollees

A former University of Arizona Medical Center patient waiting for a new liver died on Dec. 28 -- the second person to die since the cuts went into effect, according to Dr. Rainer Gruessner, chairman of surgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson.

On Thursday, surgery department spokeswoman Jo Marie Gellerman confirmed that the patient, who died at another facility, "was our patient. He was on our list." She declined to identify the patient, citing medical confidentiality.

On Nov. 28, Mark Price, a 37-year-old leukemia patient from Goodyear, Ariz., died before he could obtain a $250,000 bone marrow transplant that an anonymous donor offered to fund after hearing media reports about Price's plight.

According to a Nov. 29 report by ABC's Phoenix affiliate KTAR, AHCCCS said Price's transplant was not covered because bone marrow donations from unrelated donors fail. Price's doctor said such procedures succeed 42 percent of the time. Price's family said his home went into foreclosure as he struggled with accumulating medical expenses.

The reductions in Arizona's safety net for the poor have drawn criticism from physicians as well as transplant recipients. Both groups have particularly attacked the practice of denying services to sick patients who had qualified for transplants before Arizona, with federal approval, changed its law. They warn that Arizona's actions may be a harbinger for the rest of the country as needs continue to outpace budgets.

Ind vs SA 3rd test day five, Live cricket score, streaming and highlights

India will need to score 340 to win the third and the final Test match at Cape Town on the final day on Thursday. They will start off the day with the start of their innings. Check live score

South Africa were bowled out for 341 on the fourth day of the third Test match. The star of the show was Jacques Kallis again, who scored another century for the side and rescued them from a precarious position. Live streaming

South Africa had lost 4 wickets for 64 and had lost half their side for 98 before Kallis and Boucher batted like there were no demons in the track. Harbhajan did end with seven wickets in the innings but it wasn’t enough to keep them down and in the end the South Africans were able to bat the Indians out. Watch highlights

India needs to bat out 90 overs to save the game.

The highlights of the fift day will be posted here after the match is over.