Cars sit stopped about three-quarters of the way up the first hill of the Magnum XL200 ride at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003. Riders were stranded on the roller coaster for 20 minutes before they could walk down aft
NEW YORK — Major cities in the northern U.S. and Canada were slowly emerging from the worst blackout in American history Friday morning as power trickled back to the crippled region.
An estimated 50 million people were suddenly plunged into darkness Thursday — and power officials were still struggling Friday morning to understand exactly why.
The blackout spread in minutes late in the afternoon, immediately knocking out all electricity in New York City, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto and Ottawa. At one point, an estimated 80 percent of customers in New York state were powerless.
By dawn Friday, lights had flickered on and air conditioners had restarted for some, but millions of others continued to roast in stuffy rooms....
