Winter storm batters US power, snarling Christmas travel

A battering winter storm left 1.7 million homes and businesses without power across the United States on Saturday, as millions more people were left to worry how the prospect of further outages would effect holiday and travel plans.

The blinding blizzards, freezing rain and frigid cold that enveloped much of the country knocked out power from Maine to Seattle, while major electricity grid operator warned the 65 million people it serves across the eastern U.S. that rolling blackouts might be required.

Across the country, officials have attributed at least a...