LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “An emergency funding bill should focus on the emergency needs of the victims, not the needs of politicians.” Sen. Dan Coats,

an Indiana Republican, on the $50.7 billion superstorm Sandy aid package passed by the Senate Article, this pageCDC: Flu is widespread; 20 kids dead

WASHINGTON - Flu is widespread in 47 states and deaths from the virus and pneumonia are slightly above the epidemic level, though some regions face a potential drop in cases, U.S. disease trackers said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 20 children have died from the flu so far. The Atlanta-based agency doesn’t tally adult deaths until after the season. Two children in New York have died from the flu, and more than 19,100 cases in the state prompted a public-health emergency.

The influenza outbreak that prompted Boston to declare a health emergency has led to increasing hospital admissions and crowded emergency rooms in facilities around the country.

While flu activity remains high in the U.S. it may be decreasing, based on trends for the week Dec. 30 through Jan. 5, the CDC said Friday in a report. Flu activity in the South and Southeastern U.S. may soon see improving conditions, the CDC said during a conference call.

Global warming to intensify, panel says

WASHINGTON - A federal advisory panel released a draft report Friday detailing the extent to which climate change is already transforming the nation’s landscape and Americans’ way of life, warning that these effects will intensify in the coming decades, given the current rate of global carbon emissions.

The draft of the third National Climate Assessment - more than 1,000 pages compiled by more than 300 experts over the course of the past three years - sums up what has become increasingly apparent: The country is hotter than it used to be. Additionally, rainfall is becoming both more intense and erratic, and rising seas and storm surges threaten U.S. coasts.

The report “represents a very thoroughly evaluated” scientific consensus on how global warming is affecting the nation and aims to help policymakers adapt “to the changes that are already happening and those we anticipate in the near future,” said Katharine Jacobs, assistant director for climate adaptation and assessment for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Jacobs oversaw the report.

The draft was posted online Friday afternoon and will be subject to public comment starting Monday. It is scheduled to be finalized in March 2014.

Detectives aim to search Gacy site

CHICAGO - Detectives who have long wondered if John Wayne Gacy killed others besides the 33 young men he was convicted of murdering face the chance of searching for bodies underneath an apartment complex where his late mother once lived, a law-enforcement official said Saturday.

Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, confirmed a Chicago Sun-Times report that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez agreed to ask a judge for a warrant to search the housing complex on the city’s northwest side. Such requests for search warrants are routinely approved.

Dart has been pushing Alvarez’s office for months to sign off on the warrant, but Bilecki said the sheriff’s office was asked for more evidence. Dart’s office then found records showing that Gacy, a contractor, had done handyman work at the complex, and it located witnesses whose sworn affidavits raised questions about Gacy’s activities there.

Cold snap plunges LA’s temperatures

SAN DIEGO - Californians are bundling up with sweaters and gloves and stocking up on firewood as they endure the latest winter storm, which has caused unseasonably low temperatures.

The National Weather Service said records could fall as the cold snap stretches into the weekend.

“It’s only going to get colder,” said Bonnie Bartling, National Weather Service weather specialist. “Early Sunday, you’re looking at possibly mid-30s in downtown Los Angeles.” Long Beach could see temperatures dip into the low 30s, she said.

Freeze warnings were issued for this morning across wide swaths of the LA Basin and San Diego County. Residents were being urged to cover outdoor plants and take pets inside.

Morning frost was expected on San Diego and Los Angeles beaches. Big Sur, on the central coast, prepared for daytime highs almost 20 degrees below Boston’s.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/13/2013