Snowstorm leaves US midwest in the dark

The Northeast’s second winter storm of the week dumped more than a foot of snow in some states on Wednesday, forcing schools, businesses and government offices to close, snarling air travel and sending cars and trucks sliding on slippery roads and highways - an all-too-familiar litany of misery in a winter where the storms seem to be tripping over each other.

What made this one stand out - and caused all those outages - was the thick coating of ice it left on trees and power lines. While the storm has long since cleared out, its effects are expected to linger for days.