New York: White Christmas brings travel worries

A snowstorm blamed for at least 13 deaths blew out of the Plains and headed for New England on Tuesday, promising to give many parts of the country a rare white Christmas while making a mess out of holiday travel.

By Christmas night, the storm is expected to have painted a broad streak of snow from the mountains of Arizona, across the Midwest and all the way to Maine. The forecast was for 10 to 20 inches around Albany, which has not had snow on the ground on Christmas since 1985.

Since Monday, the weather has been blamed for six deaths in Missouri, three in Oklahoma, three in Kansas and one in New Mexico, all in motor vehicle crashes.

Chicago: Study touts benefits of even a little fish

Eating fish just once a month is enough to reduce the risk of strokes in men, according to a study of more than 43,000 health professionals.

While numerous studies have touted the cardiovascular benefits of eating fish several times a week, the new research found a similar benefit from just occasional meals of seafood.

Men who ate about 3 to 5 ounces of fish one to three times a month were 43 percent less likely to have a stroke during 12 years of follow-up. Men who ate fish more often did not reduce their risk any further, suggesting that a small amount works just as well as a larger one.

Their findings appear in today’s Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Philadelphia: Pregnant doll pulled from Wal-Mart shelves

She’s Barbie’s oldest friend, happily married and visibly pregnant — which, some parents complain, makes her unfit for children.

The pregnant version of Midge, which pops out a curled-up baby when her belly, attached by a magnet, is opened — has been pulled from Wal-Mart shelves across the country following complaints from customers, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Illick said the retailer would no longer sell the “Happy Family” set, which included pregnant Midge, her husband and her 3-year-old son.

Midge was introduced in 1963, the first of a slew of friends and family members for Barbie, who first appeared four years earlier.

Oregon: Charges filed in family slayings

Murder charges have been filed against a missing Portland man whose pregnant wife and three young children were found slain in snowy woods.

Authorities continued to search Tuesday for 37-year-old Edward Morris, who is suspected of killing his family in rural Tillamook County on Friday. The arrest warrant was issued late Monday.

Also Tuesday, the FBI filed a federal arrest warrant that charges Morris with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Such warrants are issued when officials believe a suspect has fled across state or international borders.