Midwest cold causes disruptions, deaths

The polar vortex that continues to cover much of the Midwest Thursday in a deep freeze is blamed for at least eight deaths so far. The deaths included an elderly Illinois man found several hours after falling while entering his home, a University of Iowa student found behind an academic hall before dawn, and a Milwaukee man who froze to death in a garage, according to authorities. Automobile or snowplow accidents killed at least three others.

Affected cities are still dealing with power outages and canceled airline and train travel. A light rail track cracked from the deep freeze in Minneapolis, and more than two dozen water mains froze in Detroit. Amtrak canceled dozens of trains in and out of Chicago, and even snowplow drivers sat out the worst of the weather in southeastern Minnesota. Rockford, Ill., set a record for its lowest temperature ever when it hit minus 30 degrees Thursday morning. Chicago dropped to minus 23, with windchills around minus 50. The vortex is expected to let up Thursday, but some places could still see record low temperatures.