NATION IN BRIEF : NORTHEAST : Wind, Snow, Rains Blamed for 6 Deaths

A storm hit the Northeast with gusty wind, snow and torrential rain, knocking out electricity for thousands, tearing off roofs and causing coastal flooding. At least six deaths were blamed on the storm from West Virginia to Connecticut. From New Jersey to Massachusetts, heavy surf battered beaches already eroded by a December storm. More than 200,000 customers lost power for at least part of the day

along the East Coast and upper Ohio Valley. Donna Ogonowski, manager of a Pizza Hut in Dale City, Va., said the power went off just as several pizzas for Virginia Power employees went into the oven. “I said, ‘I guess they don’t get their pizza until we get our electricity.’ ”