top news stories 12-20-11

1. five killed in plane crash in central texas-Five people, including two children, were killed when a single-engine plane crashed in central Texas and authorities say weather may have played a role in the crash.Ernest Contreras of the Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened Monday night just before 10 p.m. in a farming and ranching community in Brazos County. Everyone aboard the plane was killed.
2. deadly southwestern snowstorm brings deadly conditions, halts travel-Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal accidents and shuttered highways in five states crawled deeper into the central U.S. early Tuesday, with forecasters warning that pre-holiday travel would be difficult if not impossible across the region.
3. power plant closures due to enviromental regulations to take toll on town- For more than 90 years, the coal-fired power plant in Glen Lyn, Va., has been churning out electricity and contributing to local prosperity. Of late, it has generated nearly a quarter of the revenue for the $1 million budget of the town.