Dan Sewell

CINCINNATI — A powerful winter storm system pounded the nation’s midsection Wednesday and headed toward the Northeast, where people braced for the high winds and heavy snow that disrupted holiday travel, knocked out power to thousands of homes and were blamed in at least six deaths.

CINCINNATI -- The U.S. suspect in the slaughter of 16 villagers in Afghanistan has a trail of shaky financial dealings -- from working in penny-stock boiler rooms that drew numerous client complaints, to an unpaid $1.5 million fraud judgment, to a failed investment partnership with a former high school football teammate, records show.

CINCINNATI -- Fantasy football means real business for restaurants, and some big chains have launched promotional drives to score with dedicated players of the growing pastime.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Four female airmen described their flirty relationships with a chief master sergeant Thursday, a day after another testified that she repeatedly told him "no" just before he had sex with her in his office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.