Frigid weather shuts schools in 3 states

Syracuse, N.Y.

Bitter cold and bone-chilling winds forced dozens of schools in New York, Wisconsin and Michigan to close for a second day.

Cold air from the Arctic stretched from the northern Plains through New England, and temperatures were below zero as far south as the West Virginia mountains. At least seven deaths were blamed on slippery roads and the cold.

The cold wind picked up moisture from the Great Lakes, creating lake-effect squalls that have dumped 3 to 4 feet of snow this week on parts of New York state at the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

Temperatures of 29 below were recorded Tuesday at International Falls, Minn., and minus 20 at Ironwood, Mich.

Austin, Texas

Governor wants to sell state lottery

Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday proposed selling the state lottery for at least $14 billion to create an endowment for Texans without health insurance and a trust fund for cancer research.

That money could be used to form a $2.7 billion endowment for the uninsured and to create a $3 billion fund to fight cancer, Perry said in his State of the State address.

No state has sold or leased its lottery, although several are considering it. Last month, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed leasing the state lottery for 30 years to pay for scholarships aimed at keeping Indiana's top college graduates in-state.

In Texas, the lottery reported more than $3.77 billion in sales in the 2006 fiscal year, the highest amount in its 14-year history. The lottery contributes $1 billion per year to public schools.

Philadelphia

Influential politician charged with fraud

State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, one of the most powerful and controversial figures in Pennsylvania politics, was indicted Tuesday on federal charges that he used a nonprofit group for personal and political gain and defrauded the state out of $1 million.

Many of the 139 charges stem from Fumo's ties to a nonprofit agency in his South Philadelphia district, the Citizens' Alliance for Better Neighborhoods.

Prosecutors said the Democrat used state employees and the nonprofit group to fulfill his every whim — including cleaning his 33-room mansion, spying on his ex-wife, and fighting a project that might block his view. The charges included fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and tax offenses.

Washington

Nationwide recall of Easy-Bake Ovens

About 985,000 Easy-Bake Ovens sold since May have been recalled because children can get their hands or fingers caught in the oven's opening, which poses an entrapment or burn hazard.

The ovens are manufactured by Easy-Bake, a division of Hasbro. The company has received 29 reports of children getting their fingers or hands caught in the oven, including five reports of burns.

The recalled plastic ovens are purple and pink, with the model number 65805 stamped on the back. The recall does not include Easy-Bake Ovens sold before May. For a free retrofit kit, call the company at 800-601-8418.

For more information, visit www.easybake.com or www.cpsc.gov.

Also

A ninth black teenager convicted in the Halloween night beating of three white women in Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced to probation, community service and racial-sensitivity counseling.

Seattle Times news services