North Korea conducts nuclear test: South Korea defense ministry

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Tuesday, South Korea's defence ministry said, after seismic activity measuring 4.9 magnitude was registered by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicentre of the seismic activity, which was only one km below the Earth's surface, was close to the North's known nuclear test site.

"We've been informed by the South Koreans that there's been a (North Korean) nuclear test," a U.N. Security Council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

An international nuclear test monitoring agency said the location of the seismic event was "roughly congruent with" 2006 and 2008 tests carried out by the reclusive state and had "clear explosion-like characteristics".

North Korea, which had been threatening a third nuclear test, had informed Beijing and Washington on Monday of plans to undertake a test, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

The isolated state, which is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions from developing nuclear and missile technology, did not make any immediate comment.

North Korea is not prone to seismic activity and it may take hours or even days to determine officially whether a nuclear test had been conducted.

South Korea's defence ministry said the North Korean seismic event could be the result of a 6-7 kiloton or stronger nuclear blast. South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak called a national security council meeting for 0400 GMT.

North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket in December in violation of U.N. resolutions that banned it from developing missile or nuclear technology after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

It announced plans for a third nuclear test in response to the sanctions imposed in January after the rocket launch, although satellite imagery indicated it has been readying its test site for more than a year.

(Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait)

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Sri Lanka drops IMF loan bid over spending dispute

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Tuesday dropped plans for a fresh $1.0-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund following disagreements over how the money should be spent, the central bank said.

The government announced last month that it was seeking a new cash infusion from the IMF after drawing down a previous $2.6-billion bailout loan six months ago.

"Sri Lankan authorities have decided not to pursue a new programme with the IMF, but to continue maintaining the close relationship with the Fund under standard consultation processes similar to many other member countries," the central bank said.

Treasury chief Punchi Banda Jayasundera had said he wanted the new IMF loan to spend on infrastructure while the US-based lender was only willing to hand over money to bolster the bank's foreign reserves.

"The IMF has indicated that the Fund may not be in a position to consider any direct or indirect budget support to Sri Lanka," the bank statement said.

Money for foreign reserves is not meant for immediate spending, but serves to enhance a country's creditworthiness.

An IMF team is currently in Colombo conducting annual consultations with Sri Lankan authorities.

The 2009 IMF bailout was secured when Sri Lanka's foreign reserves crashed to a dangerously low level of $1 billion. They now stand at a comfortable $7 billion.

The bank also announced on Monday that Sri Lanka's new taxes on cars and luxury goods had helped reduce imports last year and narrow the huge trade deficit.

Faced with a balance of payments problem in 2011, the government hiked car imports by up to 300 per cent, stopped credit for luxury imports and allowed the local currency to depreciate sharply by nearly 20 per cent.

The government has revised down its growth estimate for 2012 from 7.2 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

Sri Lanka's economy grew 8.3 per cent in 2011, up from 8.0 per cent in 2010, the first full year after government forces crushed Tamil rebels bringing an end to the island's ethnic war.

- AFP/ck

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PR2 maker Willow Garage turns to commercial robotics

Things are changing over at robotics startup Willow Garage, the open-source powerhouse known for its very adaptable domestic bot PR2.

Following an IEEE Spectrum report earlier today saying Willow Garage would shut down in the next few months, the company announced on its blog that it "has decided to enter the world of commercial opportunities with an eye to becoming a self-sustaining company."

"This is an important change to our funding model," it added.

Founded in 2006 by Google search engine co-designer Scott Hassan, Willow Garage has been committed to developing open-source robots such as PR2 and TurtleBot and was instrumental in launching the ROS robot operating system.

The terse announcement left it unclear what the new focus will mean for the future of the nearly 50 PR2 robots already in use around the world. The company said its "support of the platform will not diminish."

IEEE Spectrum cited company sources as saying employees were told last Friday that Willow Garage would dissolve within a few months.

While it encouraged spinoff companies such as telepresence firm Suitable Technologies, Willow Garage didn't seem to have the sales to sustain itself. In 2010, it announced that 11 research groups would get a free PR2 robot, which it valued at $400,000 each.

PR2 and ROS have encouraged roboticists in many countries to collaborate on creating a universal language for practical, everyday robots.

The humanoid has pulled off some astounding feats, navigating interiors reliably and repeatedly recharging itself, making breakfast, fetching beer, and even helping people shave. Last year, it was a candidate for the Robot Hall of Fame.

Whatever happens at Willow Garage, I hope PR2 keeps evolving.

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State of the Union guests reflect nation's hot-button issues

Several lawmakers are bringing special guests to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night in order to make a statement.

Several lawmakers are bringing guests to help underscore the importance of gun control. More than 20 House Democrats are bringing guests who have been personally affected by gun violence. A bipartisan pair of Arizona lawmakers, meanwhile, will host former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband Mark Kelly.

Other lawmakers are bringing guests tied to issues like immigration and voting rights.

Below is a partial list of officials and the guests they are bringing. CBS News will update the list as more guests are confirmed:

First Lady Michelle Obama:

• Lt. Brian Murphy, who was wounded while responding to the Sikh Temple shooting last August in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He was struck by 15 bullets.
• Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel Pendleton Sr., parents of 15-year-old Hadiya who was killed in a Chicago park.
• Desiline Victor, a 103-year-old Florida woman who waited in line for several hours to vote.
• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.

House Minority Leader Pelosi:

• Mother and daughter from Newtown, Conn. The 4th grader sent Pelosi a letter asking for her support to strengthen gun laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz.:

• Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband Mark Kelly

Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas:

• Musician and gun advocate Ted Nugent

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.:

• First Selectwoman Pat Llodra, a Republican and the Chief Executive Officer of Newtown
• Newtown Detectives Jason Frank and Dan McAnaspie, two of several first responders who rushed to Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day of the tragedy

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.:

• Undocumented immigrant Gabino Sanchez. The South Carolina husband and father of two U.S. citizen children is fighting deportation. Sanchez entered the country when he was 15 years old and has been working and living peacefully in the U.S. ever since.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.:

• Josh Stepakoff, who in 1999 was shot at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Calif. Stepakoff, now 20, is a student at California State University Northridge.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.:

• Matt Gross, a New Jersey native who was shot in the head in 1997, at the age of 27. Gross was one of several victims wounded during a shooting attack on the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

More House Democrats bringing guests affected by gun violence:

Rep. Jim Langevin, R.I.

Rep. Keith Ellison, Minn.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, N.Y.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Conn.

Rep. David Cicilline, R.I.

Rep. Diana DeGette, Colo.

Rep. Tammy Duckworth, Ill.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, Conn.

Rep. Lois Frankel, Fla.

Rep. Lujan Grisham, N.M.

Rep. Janice Hahn, Calif.

Rep. Jim Himes, Conn.

Rep. Alan Lowenthal, Calif.

Rep. Gloria Negrete-McLeod, Calif.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Colo.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Ill.

Rep. Brad Schneider, Ill.

Rep. Bobby Scott, Va.

Rep. Mike Thompson, Calif.

Rep. Krysten Sinema, Ariz.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Md.

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North Korean Tremor Raises Fear of Nuke Test

A large tremor measured at magnitude 4.9 was detected in North Korea and governments in the region scrambled to determine whether it was a nuclear test that the North Korean regime has vowed to carry out despite international protests.

Japan's prime minister has called an urgent security meeting, according to chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, and South Korea raised its military alert level, the AP reported.

Suspicions were aroused when the U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected a magnitude 4.9 earthquake Tuesday in North Korea.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization told ABC News, "We confirm that a suspicious seismic event has taken place in North Korea." The agency said it was trying to confirm the nature of the tremor.

"The event shows clear explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK (North Korea) nuclear tests," said Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the organization.

North Korea Threatens More Nuclear Tests, Warns U.S. Watch Video

"If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would constitute a clear threat to international peace and security, and challenges efforts made to strengthen global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," Toth said in a statement on the organization's web site.

Kim Min-seok, a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters that North Korea informed United States and China that it intended to carry out another nuclear test, according to the AP. But U.S. officials did not respond to calls from ABC News Monday night.

The seismic force measured 10 kilotons, according to Min-seok.

"Now that's an absolutely huge explosion by conventional terms. It's a smallish, but not tiny explosion by nuclear terms. It's about two-thirds the size of the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima," James Acton, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told ABC News.

North Korea threatened in January to carry out a "higher-level" test following the successful Dec. 12 launch of a long range rocket. At the time, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un said his country's weapons tests were specifically targeting the United States.

The suspicious tremor comes just hours before President Obama is to give the State of the Union address, and it marks the first diplomatic test in the region for new Secretary of State John Kerry.

China, North Korea's main ally in the region, has warned North Korea it would cut back severely needed food assistance if it carried out a test. Each year China donates approximately half of the food North Korea lacks to feed its people and half of all oil the country consumes.

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Gunbattle rocks Gao after rebels surprise French, Malians

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents launched a surprise raid in the heart of the Malian town of Gao on Sunday, battling French and local troops in a blow to efforts to secure Mali's recaptured north.

Local residents hid in their homes or crouched behind walls as the crackle of gunfire from running street battles resounded through the sandy streets and mud-brick houses of the ancient Niger River town, retaken from Islamist rebels last month by a French-led offensive.

French helicopters clattered overhead and fired on al Qaeda-allied rebels armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades who had infiltrated the central market area and holed up in a police station, Malian and French officers said.

The fighting inside Gao was certain to raise fears that pockets of determined Islamists who have escaped the lightning four-week-old French intervention in Mali will strike back with guerrilla attacks and suicide bombings.

After driving the bulk of the insurgents from major northern towns such as Timbuktu and Gao, French forces are trying to search out their bases in the remote and rugged Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, far up in the northeast.

But with Mali's weak army unable to secure recaptured zones, and the deployment of a larger African security force slowed by delays and kit shortages, vast areas to the rear of the French forward lines now look vulnerable to guerrilla activity.

"They infiltrated the town via the river. We think there were about 10 of them. They were identified by the population and they went into the police station," said General Bernard Barrera, commander of French ground operations in Mali.

He told reporters in Gao that French helicopters had intervened to help Malian troops pinned down by the rebels, who threw grenades from rooftops.

Malian gendarme Colonel Saliou Maiga told Reuters the insurgents intended to carry out suicide attacks in the town.

SUICIDE BOMBERS

No casualty toll was immediately available. But a Reuters reporter in Gao saw one body crumpled over a motorcycle. Malian soldiers said some of the raiders may have come on motorbikes.

The gunfire in Gao erupted hours after French and Malian forces reinforced a checkpoint on the northern outskirts that had been attacked for the second time in two days by a suicide bomber.

Abdoul Abdoulaye Sidibe, a Malian parliamentarian from Gao, said the rebel infiltrators were from the MUJWA group that had held the town until French forces liberated it late last month.

MUJWA is a splinter faction of al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM which, in loose alliance with the home-grown Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine, held Mali's main northern urban areas for 10 months until the French offensive drove them out.

Late on Saturday, an army checkpoint in Gao's northern outskirts came under attack by a group of Islamist rebels who fired from a road and bridge that lead north through the desert scrub by the Niger River to Bourem, 80 km (50 miles) away.

"Our soldiers came under heavy gunfire from jihadists from the bridge ... At the same time, another one flanked round and jumped over the wall. He was able to set off his suicide belt," Malian Captain Sidiki Diarra told reporters.

The bomber died and one Malian soldier was lightly wounded, he added. In Friday's motorbike suicide bomber attack, a Malian soldier was also injured.

Diarra described Saturday's bomber as a bearded Arab.

Since Gao and the UNESCO World Heritage city of Timbuktu were retaken last month, several Malian soldiers have been killed in landmine explosions on a main road leading north.

French and Malian officers say pockets of rebels are still in the bush and desert between major towns and pose a threat of hit-and-run guerrilla raids and bombings.

"We are in a dangerous zone... we can't be everywhere," a French officer told reporters, asking not to be named.

One local resident reported seeing a group of 10 armed Islamist fighters at Batel, just 10 km (6 miles) from Gao.

OPERATIONS IN NORTHEAST

The French, who have around 4,000 troops in Mali, are now focusing their offensive operations several hundred kilometers (miles) north of Gao in a hunt for the Islamist insurgents.

On Friday, French special forces paratroopers seized the airstrip and town of Tessalit, near the Algerian border.

From here, the French, aided by around 1,000 Chadian troops in the northeast Kidal region, are expected to conduct combat patrols into the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains.

The remaining Islamists are believed to have hideouts and supply depots in a rugged, sun-blasted range of rocky gullies and caves, and are also thought to be holding at least seven French hostages previously seized in the Sahel.

The U.S. and European governments back the French-led operation as a defense against Islamist jihadists threatening wider attacks, but rule out sending their own combat troops.

To accompany the military offensive, France and its allies are urging Mali authorities to open a national reconciliation dialogue that addresses the pro-autonomy grievances of northern communities like the Tuaregs, and to hold democratic elections.

Interim President Dioncounda Traore, appointed after a military coup last year that plunged the West African state into chaos and led to the Islamist occupation of the north, has said he intends to hold elections by July 31.

But he faces splits within the divided Malian army, where rival units are still at loggerheads.

(Additional reporting by Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra in Bamako; Writing by Joe Bavier and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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"Babel" by Mumford&Sons wins best album Grammy

LOS ANGELES: "Babel" by British folk rockers Mumford&Sons won the coveted Album of the Year award at the 55th Grammy Awards on Sunday.

They beat "El Camino" by The Black Keys, "Some Nights" by fun., "Channel Orange" by R&B singer Frank Ocean and "Blunderbuss" by Jack White, at the climax of the music industry's biggest awards show.

The top prize largely came as a surprise after Mumford&Sons lost out in other key categories, although they took the Best Long Form Music Video for "Big Easy Express."

Mumford&Sons had been nominated for Grammys the previous two years, including for Record of the Year in 2012, but had not taken home a prize until Sunday.

"Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra won the coveted Record of the Year award.

The song beat "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson, "We Are Young" by fun., "Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift.

Belgian-Australian Gotye had already won the 2013 best pop duo/group performance and best alternative music album for "Making Mirrors," his third studio album.

He was presented with the best record award by pop icon Prince. "We're pretty huge fans, we've grown up listening to his music...that's pretty cool," he said, speaking backstage.

"We didn't expect to win... There are so many amazing artists and pieces of music... it's a little bit flabbergasting," he added.

"Somebody That I Used to Know" has been a hit in several countries.

Indie pop band fun. won the best new artist prize at the awards, their second win in the top four categories.

The New York band had already taken the Best Song Grammy for "We Are Young" and are also shortlisted in Album of the Year category, although they fell short of a landmark clean sweep when Record of the Year went to Gotye.

For the best new artist award, fun. beat out high-selling R&B singer Frank Ocean, Americana rockers Alabama Shakes, folk band The Lumineers and country singer Hunter Hayes.

The members of fun. were joined at the Grammy ceremony by Lena Dunham, creator of the critically acclaimed dark comedy "Girls," who is said to be dating the band's guitarist Jack Antonoff.

Their beaten rivals in the best song category were Ed Sheeran for "The A Team," Miguel for "Adorn," Carly Rae Jepsen for "Call Me Maybe" and the songwriters of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

The band topped Grammy nominations announced in December.

If they were to win all four of the major categories, it would mark the first such achievement in more than 30 years, according to The New York Times.

British songstress Adele won the Grammy for best pop solo performance, the first award handed out during the main event.

She also gave a typically straight-talking answer when asked how she is feeling about the Oscars later this month, where she is nominated for best song for the theme tune to Bond movie "Skyfall," admitting she was nervous.

The 24-year-old singer, who swept the board with six Grammys at last year's awards show, took the pop performance prize for a live rendition of her hit "Set Fire to the Rain."

"My good luck charm, J-Lo," she said as she accepted the award from Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull. "This is amazing. I wanted to come and be part of the night. I loved it last year, obviously," she added.

Last year she won best song, best record, best album for her breakthrough "21," best short video, best pop album and best pop artist, winning all six categories in which she was nominated.

Speaking backstage after accepting her award Sunday, Adele said it was less stressful this year than last, even though she is now a mother, having given birth in October.

"I've been up since 6:00 am so I'm quite tired," she told reporters, but added that, as a new mother "it's nice, I haven't been as stressed out... you have to prioritize what you stress about and worry about."

Here are the winners of the main categories at the 55th Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: "Babel" - Mumford&Sons

Record of the Year: "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye featuring Kimbra

Song of the Year: "We Are Young" - fun.

Best New Artist: fun.

Best Rock Song: "Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys

Best Rock Album: "El Camino" - The Black Keys

Best R&B Song: "Adorn" - Miguel

Best R&B Album: "Black Radio" - Robert Glasper Experiment

Best R&B Performance: "Climax" - Usher

Best Traditional R&B Performance: "Love on Top" - Beyonce

Best Urban Contemporary Album: "Channel Orange" - Frank Ocean

Best Pop Performance, Solo: "Set Fire to the Rain (live)" - Adele

Best Pop Performance, Duo or Group: "Somebody That I Used to Know" - Gotye featuring Kimbra

Best Pop Vocal Album: "Stronger" - Kelly Clarkson

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Kisses On The Bottom" - Paul McCartney

Best Rap Song: "Ni**as In Paris" - Jay-Z & Kanye West

Best Rap Album: "Take Care" - Drake

Best World Music Album: "The Living Room Sessions Part 1" - Ravi Shankar

Best Alternative Music Album: "Making Mirrors" - Gotye

Best Orchestral Performance: "Adams: Harmonielehre & Short Ride In A Fast Machine" - San Francisco Symphony

Best Opera Recording: "Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen" - The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Best Jazz Instrumental Album: "Unity Band" - Pat Metheny Unity Band

Best Country Song: "Blown Away" - Carrie Underwood

Best Country Album: "Uncaged" - Zac Brown Band

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance: "Love Bites (So Do I)" - Halestorm

Best New Age Album: "Echoes of Love" - Omar Akram

- AFP/ir

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Microsoft Surface Pro ad debuts amid supply gripes

The Surface Pro ad is here, but so are gripes about supply.

The ad (above) has an obvious business bent, focusing on pen input. And, of course, how light it is (two pounds). There's also a nod to the touch interface and USB connectivity.

The ad was directed by Jon M Chu, who directed the earlier Surface RT ad.

Meanwhile over at the official Surface Blog commenters are howling about supply.

"I went to three Best Buys, and two Future Shops. Sold out everywhere...Am I disappointed? Of course, I was really looking forward to 'trading-up' my
iPad 4 for the
Surface Pro," said a person identified as ChrisJamesKnapp.

Others were just as harsh. "I really wanted the Surface Pro 128. I went to 4 stores...but like most others I was completely let down by the lack of inventory. It reeks of incompetence at best or a poor marketing ploy at worst," said ARigs.

They have a point. The 128GB Surface Pro sold out immediately online and in short order at most Microsoft stores after it went on sale Saturday.

"We're working with our retail partners who are currently out of stock of the 128GB Surface Pro to replenish supplies as quickly as possible," wrote Panos Panay, who heads Surface the Surface team at Microsoft.

Microsoft's
tablet is one of the few, if not the only, PC product in the last few years to spawn lines outside of stores. Like the October Surface RT rollout, there was a line yesterday at the Microsoft Store in the Century City area of Los Angeles.

But the product sold out much faster this time, leading to questions about whether Microsoft had stocked too few Surface Pro tablets.

For example, prospective buyers who arrived at the Century City store were told soon after the store opened that stock was sold out of both the 64GB and 128GB models.

The Pro is priced at $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB version. More about the specs and pricing here.

On Saturday, there was a small line outside the Century City Microsoft Store near Beverly Hills. The Surface Pro sold out immediately at the store.

(Credit:
Brooke Crothers)

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New Englanders slowly recover from weekend blizzard

NEWPORT, R.I. Travel eased and life slowly returned to normal for most New Englanders after a massive blizzard, but many remained without power in cold and darkened homes and a forecast of rain brought a new worry: Weight piling up dangerously on roofs already burdened by heavy snow.

61 Photos

Powerful blizzard descends on Northeast

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Northeast sees record snow fall

The storm that slammed into the region with up to 3 feet of snow was blamed for at least 14 deaths in the Northeast and Canada, and brought some of the highest accumulations ever recorded. Still, coastal areas were largely spared catastrophic damage despite being lashed by strong waves and hurricane-force wind gusts at the height of the storm.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Connecticut, allowing federal aid to be used in recovery, and utilities in some hard-hit New England states predicted that the storm could leave some customers in the dark for days.

CBS News correspondent Miguel Bojorquez reports that Hamden, Conn., about 80 miles from New York City, experienced the deepest snow: 40 inches. The blizzard had dumped five inches of snow per hour.

Hundreds of people, their homes without heat or electricity, were forced to take refuge in emergency shelters set up in schools or other places.

"For all the complaining everyone does, people really came through," said Rich Dinsmore, 65, of Newport, R.I., who was staying at a Red Cross shelter set up in a middle school in Middletown after the power went out in his home on Friday.

Dinsmore, who has emphysema, was first brought by ambulance to a hospital after the medical equipment he relies on failed when the power went out and he had difficulty breathing.

"The police, the fire department, the state, the Red Cross, the volunteers, it really worked well," said the retired radio broadcaster and Army veteran.

Utility crews, some brought in from as far away as Georgia, Oklahoma and Quebec, raced to restore power to more than 300,000 customers -- down from 650,000 in eight states at the height of the storm. In hardest-hit Massachusetts, where some 234,000 customers remained without power on Sunday, officials said some of the outages might linger until Tuesday.

Driving bans were lifted and flights resumed at major airports in the region that had closed during the storm, though many flights were still canceled Sunday.

Boston recorded 24.9 inches of snow, making it the fifth-largest storm in the city since records were kept.

On eastern Long Island, which was slammed with as much as 30 inches of snow, hundreds of snowplows and other heavy equipment were sent in Sunday to clear ice- and drift-covered highways where hundreds of people and cars were abandoned during the height of the storm.

More than a third of all the state's snow-removal equipment was sent to the area, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, including more than 400 plow trucks and more than 100 snow blowers, loaders and backhoes.

Play Video

Snow leaves Long Island Expressway commuters stranded

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Mass. town powerless after record snow storm

The National Weather Service was forecasting rain and warmer temperatures in the region on Monday -- which could begin melting some snow but also add considerable weight to snow already piled on roofs, posing the danger of collapse. Of greatest concern were flat or gently-sloped roofs and officials said people should try to clear them -- but only if they could do so safely.

"We don't recommend that people, unless they're young and experienced, go up on roofs," said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Officials also continued to warn of carbon monoxide dangers in the wake of the storm.

In Boston, two people died Saturday after being overcome by carbon monoxide while sitting in running cars, including a teenager who went into the family car to stay warm while his father shoveled snow. The boy's name was not made public. In a third incident, two children were hospitalized but expected to recover.

A fire department spokesman said in each case, the tailpipes of the cars were clogged by snow.

Authorities also reminded homeowners to clear snow from heating vents to prevent carbon monoxide from seeping back into houses.

In Maine, the Penobscot County Sheriff's office said it recovered the body of a 75-year-old man who died after the pickup he was driving struck a tree and plunged into the Penobscot River during the storm. Investigators said Gerald Crommett apparently became disoriented while driving in the blinding snow.

Christopher Mahood, 23, of Germantown, N.Y., died after his tractor went off his driveway while he was plowing snow Friday night and rolled down a 15-foot embankment.

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Possible Dorner Sighting Leads to Store Evacuation

A Northridge, Calif., home improvement store was evacuated tonight because of a possible sighting of suspected cop-killer Christopher Dorner, just hours after police announced a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

As helicopters hovered overhead and a command center was established, police searched the Lowe's store and eventually told shoppers they could leave, but could not take their cars out of the parking lot.

LAPD spokesman Gus Villanueva said the major response to the possible sighting was a precaution, but couldn't say whether Dorner was in the area.

The announcement of the $1 million reward today came as authorities in Big Bear, Calif., scaled back their search for Dorner, the disgruntled ex-cop who is suspected in three revenge killings.

"This is the largest local reward ever offered, to our knowledge," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference today. "This is an act of domestic terrorism. This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."

The money for the reward was pooled by businesses, government, local law enforcement leaders and individual donors, Beck said.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

The reward comes on the fourth day of a manhunt for Dorner, who has left Southern California on edge after he allegedly went on a killing spree last week to avenge his firing from the police force. Dorner outlined his grievances in a 6,000 word so-called "manifesto" and said he will keep killing until the truth is known about his case.

Irvine Police Department/AP Photo

Manhunt for Alleged Cop Killer Heads to California Mountains Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Search: Officials Search for Ex-officer in the Mountains Watch Video

Dorner's threats have prompted the LAPD to provide more than 50 law enforcement families with security and surveillance detail, Beck said.

Authorities are chasing leads, however they declined to say where in order to not impede the investigation.

Dorner's burned-out truck was found Thursday near Big Bear Lake, a popular skiing destination located 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Investigators found two AR-15 assault rifles in the burned-out truck Dorner abandoned, sources told ABC News.

The truck had a broken axle, which may be the reason he decided to set fire to it, the police sources said.

Full Coverage: Christopher Jordan Dorner

Officers have spent the past couple of days going door-to-door and searching vacant cabins. The manhunt was scaled back to 25 officers and one helicopter in the resort town today, according to the San Bernadino Sheriff's Office.

On Saturday, Beck announced he would reopen the investigation into Dorner's firing but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive ex-cop.

"I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment, and to do so I have directed our Professionals Standards Bureau and my Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing to completely review the Dorner complaint of 2007; To include a re-examination of all evidence and a re-interview of witnesses," Beck said. "We will also investigate any allegations made in his manifesto which were not included in his original complaint."

Dorner is suspected of killing Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence last Sunday in their car in the parking lot of their Irvine, Calif., condominium complex. Both were struck with multiple gunshot wounds.

Quan's father, Randal Quan, was a retired captain with the LAPD and attorney who represented Dorner before a police review board that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force in 2008.

On Wednesday, after Dorner was identified as a suspect in the double murder, police believe he ambushed two Riverside police officers, killing one and wounding the other.

The next day, Randal Quan reported he received a taunting call from a man claiming to be Dorner who told him that he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to court documents documents.

Anyone with information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner is asked to call the LAPD task force at 213-486-6860.

ABC News' Dean Schabner, Jack Date, Pierre Thomas, Jason Ryan and Clayton Sandell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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