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the power lines but the roads are fine."
• She said ominous warnings of a winter storm kept most people in -- though schools remained open -- and few stopped by the diner for Monday's $5.99 special of popcorn shrimp, fries and a medium drink.
• "Business was horrible today," said Walden, who closed the business four hours early and pledged to try again Tuesday with a different special: two burgers, two fries and two drinks for $9.99.
• ___

• BANGKOK (AP) -- Protesters in Thailand forced the closure of several government ministries Tuesday and vowed to take control of state offices nationwide in a bid to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, escalating the biggest challenge she has faced since taking office.
• Police issued an arrest warrant for protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former opposition lawmaker, who led the storming of the Finance Ministry a day earlier. But police said he would not be arrested at the rally as part of a pledge to avoid clashes with protesters.
• Protesters say they want Yingluck, who took office in 2011, to step down amid claims her government is controlled by her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
• Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile for the past five years to avoid a two-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction.
• Thousands of protesters fanned out to new targets in Bangkok on Tuesday, emboldened by their takeover of the Finance Ministry, where Suthep and hundreds of protesters camped overnight. The transport, agriculture and tourism ministries were also closed Tuesday because of their proximity to protests.
• ___

• TANAUAN, Philippines (AP) -- As Typhoon Haiyan tore across the eastern Philippines, coconut plantations older than the fathers of the men who tend them were smashed like matchsticks and call centers that field customer service gripes from around the world fell silent. The storm that killed thousands also wrecked livelihoods

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