Across much of US, a first taste of winter as chill arrives

Record-breaking cold that gripped the U.S. East and Midwest on Thursday snarled travel, shut schools, filled homeless shelters and even led to zoo penguins being ordered inside.

Snow expected to accumulate to 3 feet (1 meter) deep was falling in upstate New York near Watertown and snow already blanketing South Dakota was whipped by winds into a "ground blizzard" that made driving treacherous, said meteorologist Dan Petersen of the National Weather Service. (AP)

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