Typhoon kills 4 in Philippines, cuts power ahead of Christmas

Tattered lanterns, festive lights and tin roofs littered towns in the central Philippines on Tuesday after Typhoon Melor swept through, killing at least four people and leaving millions without power ahead of Christmas. Distraught survivors surveyed their damaged homes on the eve of the traditional nine-day Christmas vigil that Filipinos observe with dawn masses and rice cakes. Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the Philippines, where 80 percent of its 100 million people are Catholic, a