Winter Storm Grips U.S., Yemeni President Says He Won’t Run Again

A massive storm has blanketed the United States from parts of Kansas to New Hampshire, bringing snow and subzero temperatures and creating hazardous road conditions. Weather forecasters estimated that as many as 100 million Americans would feel some impact from the storm, and eight states had blizzard warnings in effect on Wednesday morning.

Chicago was hit hard, with O’Hare Airport reporting more than 17 inches of snow, with more expected for an estimated total of as many as 24 inches. Emergency personnel were checking on stranded motorists on one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Lake Shore Drive. Officials warned residents away from driving.

Parts of Indiana were told to expect as many as 14 inches of snow. Even Dallas was preparing for disruption to Sunday’s Super Bowl, with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport closing for two hours on Tuesday. Thousands of flights in and out of Oklahoma were cancelled.

President Obama told the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be prepared to assist with state and local governments’ efforts to cope with the storm.

Yemen’s President Says He Will Not Seek Another Term

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he will finish out his term in 2013, after more than three decades in office. His announcement came after Tunisia’s president left the country amid mass demonstrations and one day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will leave office this fall as mass demonstrations seized Cairo and Alexandria.

In an acknowledgment of fears he would hand the reigns to his son, Saleh said there would be “no extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock,” adding that “the interests of the country come before our personal interests.”

It was not immediately clear how protesters in the capital, Sanaa, would react to the surprise announcement. In 2005, he announced he would not seek another term but later recanted.

The United States has expressed growing concern over Yemen as a base for terrorist groups to plot attacks, and has given $250 million in aid over five years. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Saleh last month.

Car Bomb Kills 9 in Northwestern Pakistan

At least nine people, including children, died near Peshawar, Pakistan, after a bomb ripped through a commercial area Wednesday morning in the third major Taliban-linked attack in the past week.

A local police official said the bomb was timed to inflict maximum casualties, exploding during a period of high traffic in the area.

Hundreds of Pakistanis have died in similar attacks in recent years in the northwestern part of the country.

Spate of Violence Kills 14 People in Two Days in Mexico

A police officer and newspaper vendor were among the dead in a 48-hour span in volatile Juarez, Mexico, which is near the border with New Mexico and Texas. The city has been caught in the grip of gang and drug-related violence.

The vendor, Maribel Hernandez, was believed to have been targeted because she worked in an area extorted by gangs. The police officer was shot while stopped at a red light. More than 100 police officers died in the city in 2010.

Japan’s Mount Shinmoe Volcano Erupts

Japan’s Mount Shinmoe volcano erupted again Wednesday, blanketing the nearby area in smoke and ash. The volcano has erupted seven times in the past week, after decades of being dormant. Residents of the nearby town of Takaharu have been advised to evacuate.

The volcano was featured in the 1967 James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice.”