Snow Stomping Urks Neighbors

A Tennessee man was released from jail on charges he threatened a neighbor who had disturbed him by stomping snow from his feet outside their apartment building.

Police said 46-year-old John C. Shepardson was released on bond Monday following his arrest Saturday.

Officers said he brandished a shotgun and threatened 39-year-old Michael C. Pickel who had been stomping snow from his feet around 7 a.m. Saturday.

According to the Kingsport Times-News, Shepardson told police the stomping awakened someone else who was sleeping in his apartment.

Shepardson was charged with aggravated assault. A spokeswoman at the jail did not know Monday if he had an attorney.

Sandstorm Blankets Saudi Capital Of Riyadh

Residents of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, are cleaning up after a huge sandstorm blanketed the city with a thick layer of yellow dust.

Cars and houses are covered by sand after the storm forced the closure of the international airport and shut down schools.

The Saudi Press Agency says flights to Khaled International Airport were diverted to airports in Jeddah and Dammam. The airport has since reopened.

Hospitals dispatched emergency teams to dozens of residents suffering from breathing problems.

Billowing clouds of sand engulfed the city and surrounding areas, forcing drivers to slow to a crawl and people to stay indoors.

Sandstorms are common in Saudi Arabia during the spring.

Snow Brings London To A Halt

A beautiful yet crippling blanket of snow fell across much of England causing transportation nightmares but giving rise to thousands of cheery snowmen in a nation barely equipped for heavy winter weather.

Most schools closed, and millions of workers were unable to make their daily commutes. The capital’s entire fleet of red public buses, which carry at least 6 million people daily, were off the roads, unable to move from their garages.

Air travel was also a nightmare, with service at most of greater London’s five major airports either suspended or severely curtailed. Runways at Heathrow Airport were closed midmorning after the nose wheels of a Cyprus Airways plane slipped off a taxiway shortly after landing. No injuries were reported.

Obama To DC: Toughen Up!

 President Obama has a message for Washington, based on years of Chicago winters: Toughen up!

A winter storm packed much of the Washington area in ice Wednesday. Schools throughout the region shut down — including Sidwell Friends, where Sasha and Malia Obama are enrolled.

Speaking at the White House the President said:  ”As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled. In fact, my 7-year-old [Sasha] pointed out that you’d go outside for recess in weather like this. . . . You wouldn’t even stay indoors. So it’s — I don’t know. We’re going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town.”

Looks like Washington schools are going to think twice before calling a snow day.  This ought to make Sasha and Malia popular with their new schoolmates. 

Memo from Sasha and Malia:  Thanks Dad.