South gets a taste of "snowmeggedon"

The Deep South wasn't able to escape from the severe weather the mid-Atlantic had experienced this past week.  An uncommon winter storm crossed the southern part of the United States Friday morning, dumping sleet, ice and snow. With it came hundreds of flight cancellations. Delta Air Lines and Air Tran Airways cancelled a combined total of 832 flights in to and out of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Texas was hit by the storm first and over 12.5 inches of snow was recorded at the Dallas/Fortworth International Airport by Friday morning, the most snow the state has ever seen in a 24-hour period. Downtown Atlanta, as well as parts of Mississippi and Alabama could see accumulations of up to five inches of snow, according to a CNN meteorologist.

The mid-Atlantic states fared far worse as "snowmeggedon" dumped up to 30 inches of snow in some regions last weekend, and a high of 22.5 inches this week.  See the full story from CNN.

Who will light the Olympic flame?

The identity of the caldron lighter for tonight's opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics remains a secret.  Fans guess the most likely candidates will be Wayne Gretzky or Betty Fox, the mother of the late Terry Fox.  Both Gretzky and Terry Fox are national heros; Gretzsky was an NHL star, and Fox ran the equivalent of a marathon a day for 143 days to raise money for cancer research while he was still battling the disease himself.  There is speculation that a hologram of Fox carrying the torch might also be used. The event begins tonight at 6 p.m. for the first time ever in a domed stadium.

Canada has spent over $117 million in its Own the Podium Program, to secure its spot as the team with the most medals.  The event will take place over a period of 17 days.  See the full story here.

Rebate program to exchange clunker appliances begins today in New York

New York began its rebate for clunkers program today, dishing out $16.8 million for people that buy Energy Star Appliances. The program lasts for ten days, ending February 21.  While the program is part of a larger Federal effort to promote energy conservation and stimulate the economy, many analysts don't think it will be successful doing at doing either one.

Burton Abrams, a professor at the University of Delaware, says that the program will be largely unsuccessful economically because 40 percent of the appliances sold in the country are imported.  He said environmentally it will have even less effect.  Abrams co-authored a paper about the Cash for Clunkers program for old cars.  See the full story here.