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DES MOINES (AP) — Snow was piled so high in Iowa that drivers couldn’t see across intersections and a North Dakota snowblower repair shop was overwhelmed with business as residents braced Thursday for heavy snow and wind chills as low as 52 below zero. Frigid weather also was gripping the South, where a rare cold …

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For the last two months, Bobby Stenberg has stayed at Hope Street Shelter, operated by Catholic Charities for homeless people between the ages of 16 and 21. He has his own bed and a closet with a padlock. He’s one of the lucky ones. Social service agencies estimate that every night in the Twin Cities, 1,500 people between 16 and 21 years old are homeless, while fewer than 50 shelter beds are set aside to serve that population. With many states reporting increases in the number of homeless youth amid a still-struggling economy, advocates are asking why such a vulnerable population seems to be perpetually overlooked.

KABUL (AP) — The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for a suicide bombing at a base in eastern Afghanistan that killed eight American civilians and one Afghan, the worst loss of life for the U.S. in the country since October. A U.S. congressional official said CIA employees are believed to be among the victims.

Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist also were killed Wednesday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s south, the bloodiest single incident suffered by that country’s military this year.

KAILUA, Hawaii (AP) — President Barack Obama abruptly ended a round of golf and sped toward his family’s vacation home for what was described as a “personal matter.” An ambulance was seen speeding toward their compound. White House aides said the speedy departure and return to the president’s home was not a matter of national …

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Minnesota authorities say a second person has died because of icy road conditions caused by a fierce Christmas storm on Friday that dumped more snow and ice across the nation’s midsection. The Minnesota State Patrol says a collision Thursday afternoon claimed the life of 34-year-old Robert Krensing of Fergus Falls. Authorities say a minivan in Becker County crossed the center line and collided head-on with the vehicle in which Krensing was a passenger. The National Weather Service warned that blizzards would hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin on Christmas Day and into the evening.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The memory of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy loomed over the Senate on Thursday when his weary colleagues moved his life’s work, health care reform, to the brink of reality.
“He’s having a merry Christmas in heaven,” said an emotional Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., who was appointed to fill the seat after Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer in August. Kirk said it was an honor to essentially cast Kennedy’s vote as Democrats passed the Senate’s version of a bill that would extend insurance to 30 million Americans.
“It’s the proudest public moment of my life,” Kirk said.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota padded its population of 5.2 million by 35,000 residents last year — not enough to keep the state from the cusp of losing a congressional seat. State demographer Tom Gillaspy projected Wednesday that Minnesota could fall just 1,100 people short of what it needs to keep all eight of …

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