Kerry, Cheney exchange criticisms regarding war

Democrat John Kerry assailed President Bush on Wednesday for clinging to a failed policy that leaves Americans mired in Iraq "with the target squarely on their backs" while Vice President Dick Cheney argued that his boss' rival lacks the judgment to be commander in chief. Marking the first anniversary of the invasion of the Persian Gulf nation, Kerry delivered a broadside to the incumbent's strategy toward Iraq, focusing on the unending hostilities, alienated allies and the loss of lives. Cheney praised Bush's victories in the war on terror and portrayed his boss as a strong, decisive leader.

Fatal snowstorm spreads east, closing schools

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Residents of the Northeast shoveled, scraped and swept up after a snowstorm that swept out of the Midwest and dumped more than a foot of snow in some spots three days before the start of spring. At least 14 traffic deaths were blamed on slippery roads. Hundreds of Ohio schools canceled classes Tuesday, and several districts closed early Tuesday in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut as roads became wet and slippery.

Most of gay newlyweds in S.F. came from Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 4,000 same-sex couples obtained marriage licenses in San Francisco before the state Supreme Court shut down the practice, a study released Wednesday shows. Of the 4,037 same-sex couples who obtained licenses in the city starting Feb. 12, more than 91 percent came from California, according to a nonscientific analysis by County Assessor Mabel Teng's office. The rest came from 45 other states and eight foreign countries, the analysis shows.

University report finds college head plagiarized

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The president of Central Connecticut State University plagiarized from three sources in an opinion piece published in The Hartford Courant, according to an investigative report. "This is a clear, unacceptable case of plagiarism," Connecticut State University chancellor William Cibes said in his report on Richard Judd's Feb. 26 commentary. "About half of Dr. Judd's commentary is taken substantially from the original sources."

-- From wire reports