Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel and life-threatening cold for much of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States.

An annual rattlesnake roundup in south Georgia recently changed the format of this month’s event to celebrate living snakes without skinning and butchering them, earning plaudits from animal rights activists.

“The Caisse is always interested in quality assets that yield stable, long-term returns,” said an executive from the Quebec pension fund when it announced its investment in 2011.