At least 2 dead as 45 tornado warnings remain across 7 states
An employee emerges after being rescued from a Family Dollar store destroyed by a tornado on March 10, 2026 in Lake Village, Indiana. The National Weather Service had issued an urgent warning about a large tornado moving through the area, calling it a “life-threatening situation.” (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — At least two people are dead and multiple others suffered injuries in Indiana due to severe weather overnight that is expected to continue into Wednesday, according to the Lake Township Fire Department.
More than 65 million people are in the path of more severe weather sweeping across parts of the U.S. Wednesday, from Houston to Philadelphia.
The system was forecast to spawn strong tornadoes, destructive winds and hail the size of baseballs.
At least 10 tornadoes were reported from Texas to Indiana. The National Weather Service issued at least 45 tornado warnings across seven states.
The most damage was potentially in Kankakee County, Illinois, and Starke County, Indiana. Hail larger than grapefruit in size fell in Illinois — up to 5.2 inches in diameter.
There were reports of houses that collapsed in Indiana and people stuck in homes but as of Wednesday morning there are no reports of missing people, according to the fire department.
Thunderstorm winds of 60 to 80 mph were recorded from Texas to Indiana.
Wednesday morning, thunderstorms continued to surge east, now forming a line more than 1,600 miles long across America from Canada to Mexico and from New York to Texas.
A level 2 out of 5 slight risk threat is in place Wednesday for more than 65 million Americans from Houston to Philadelphia and includes other cities such as Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; Shreveport, Louisiana; and New Orleans.
The main risks are for tornadoes, damaging wind and large hail.
Flash flooding is possible especially from East Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, and southern Arkansas, where training, or consecutive, thunderstorms could dump multiple inches of rain over localized areas within hours.
Storms will reach Cleveland around 9 am and Pittsburgh around 11 am. Memphis will see storms in the morning and Nashville in the afternoon.
There were numerous reports of damage in Kankakee County, Illinois, where a large and extremely dangerous tornado was on the ground earlier Tuesday evening.
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office said “extensive damage” was reported in Aroma Park. There were no immediate reports of injuries, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
A tornado watch was issued for North Central Illinois, along with small portions of Missouri, Iowa and Indiana until 11 p.m. local time.
The severe weather is expected to move offshore on Thursday morning, followed by a cold front that is expected to cause temperatures to quickly drop.
There’s a chance that lingering moisture behind the severe weather system may turn to snow for some areas, including Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday.
Construction crews continue to remove the East Wing of the White House and prepare for the new ballroom construction as seen from the newly reopened Washington Monument on November 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Americans oppose President Donald Trump tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, oppose a 250-foot arch by an even wider margin and oppose the addition of Trump’s signature to paper currency by more than 5-to-1, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.
Trump’s ballroom
The Trump administration announced the construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in July 2025, with Trump promising “it won’t interfere with the current building.” By October, demolition started on the East Wing of the White House, which was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942.
The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll finds that more than half of Americans, 56%, oppose tearing down the East Wing to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, with 28% in support and 15% unsure. The results are nearly identical to an October ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
Currently, strong opposition (47%) outweighs strong support (16%) by about 3-to-1.
In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation – a privately-funded nonprofit designated by Congress to protect historic sites – filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the ballroom construction until the administration completed the federal review process standard for federal building projects. Earlier this month, an appeals court panel allowed construction of the ballroom to continue, granting an administrative stay of an earlier injunction.
Trump has reiterated his desire for the ballroom in the aftermath of the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night, arguing that the hotel ballroom did not provide the appropriate security measures for an event the president is attending.
The poll was in the field before and after the Saturday dinner. Overall, there was no significant difference in attitudes before and after the White House correspondents’ dinner, but Republican support for the ballroom increased from 62% before the dinner to 72% after.
Despite Republican calls for building the ballroom in light of the attempted attack Saturday night, the planned ballroom, according to a National Capital Planning Commission staff report, would have a seating capacity of about 1,000 guests. About 2,600 guests were seated for this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner. A White House event would be under the purview of the administration, whereas many events the president attends – including the correspondents’ dinner – are run by outside, independent, entities.
Republicans proposed a bill that would provide $400 million in funding for the facility. It comes after Trump said in October that the ballroom would be “paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine,” referencing donors. “The government is paying absolutely nothing.” Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to regulate the project and impose restrictions on donations — aimed at prohibiting bribery.
Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats oppose the ballroom project, along with about 6 in 10 independents. Among Republicans, 65% support tearing down the East Wing of the White House to make room for a ballroom. Support grows to 77% among MAGA-Republicans (which include Republican-leaning independents who support the MAGA movement), but it drops to just 31% among non-MAGA Republicans.
An arch
In addition to Trump’s major changes to the White House structure, the president has also proposed a 250-foot-tall arch to be built at Memorial Circle, right before the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, at the other end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial at the other side of the bridge.
“I’d like it to be the biggest [arch] of all,” even bigger than the 164-foot-tall Arc De Triomphe in Paris, Trump said.
By an over 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose (52%) rather than support (21%) the Trump administration’s plan to build the arch. Another 26% are unsure.
Strong opposition (41%) outweighs strong support (9%) by more than 4-to-1.
A group of Vietnam War veterans have sued to stop construction of the arch, arguing that the project needs to be authorized by Congress before construction can begin, adding that the arch would block the line of sight between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The veterans have reached a compromise with the administration, stalling the lawsuit for now, with a promise that the administration will follow the legal process to build the arch.
Taxpayer funds would cover at least part of the project: $2 million in special initiative funds and $13 million in matching grants.
Majorities of Democrats (78%) and independents (57%) oppose the arch. A slim 51% of Republicans support building an arch, including 59% of MAGA Republicans and just 23% of non-MAGA Republicans.
Trump’s signature on money
In March, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Trump’s signature will be added to future U.S. paper currency. This would be a first for a sitting president, as no previous U.S. president’s name has ever appeared on currency. Earlier in March, the federal Commission of Fine Arts approved Trump’s image on commemorative gold coins and in October, the administration proposed a Trump-themed $1 coin.
Americans oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money instead of the treasury secretary’s by a wider margin than either the ballroom or the arch: 68% oppose it while just 12% support it. Another 19% say they aren’t sure. Over half, 55%, strongly oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money; just 5% strongly support it.
An 1866 amendment prohibits living persons from appearing on government securities and a U.S. statute states that “only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on U.S. currency and securities.” A living president has appeared on currency once before: In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge was featured on a coin celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence along with a portrait of President George Washington.
Majorities of Americans across most demographic groups oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money, including 9 in 10 Democrats and over 7 in 10 independents. Just under 3 in 10 Republicans support it, including just over a third of MAGA Republicans (35%) – the largest share across demographic groups.
The poll did not address the addition of Trump’s photo to national park passes or the renaming of the Kennedy Center. The poll was conducted before the announcement that Trump’s image would appear on limited-edition passports.
Methodology – This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted among 2,560 U.S. adults overall, but these questions were conducted among a half sample of 1,292 U.S. adults and have an error margin of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Error margins are larger among subgroups.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen on March 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Department of Health and Human Services announced it is cutting 10,000 jobs and closing offices aimed at cutting $1.8 billion (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration took steps this week to reinstate hundreds of health and safety officials who had previously been dismissed in widespread layoffs, granting a major win for advocates of workplace safety.
The newly reinstated employees belong to the National Institute of Safety and Health, or NIOSH, a small federal office within the Department of Health and Human Services that’s focused on protecting coal miners from black lung respiratory disease. Critics of the Trump administration have accused the government of stripping away key protections for miners in its bid to reinvigorate the coal industry, ABC News has previously reported.
“This moment belongs to every single person who refused to stay silent,” Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh, an industrial hygienist at NIOSH and the vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees outpost in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday following news of the reinstatements.
In April 2025, hundreds of NIOSH officials were terminated as part of a so-called Reduction in Force, or RIF. Under pressure from lawmakers and labor organizers, the administration brought back some officials months later, and on Tuesday, hundreds more received an email saying the prior “notice is hereby revoked.”
“You are not affected by the RIF and remain employed in your position of record,” according to an email obtained by ABC News.
The reinstatement “ensures the continuation of critical programs that protect all working people, including mine safety research, chemical hazard assessment, and research on emerging occupational risks,” read a statement from AFGE, the federal workers union.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that “the Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases.”
Nixon confirmed that the reinstatement applies to all NIOSH officials except those who voluntarily left government.
Kentucky State Police released this image of the suspect in a bank robbery in Berea, Kentucky, on April 30, 2026. (Kentucky State Police)
(BEREA, Ky.) — A person of interest is in custody Friday morning after a masked man shot and killed two employees during a bank robbery in central Kentucky Thursday afternoon, according to Kentucky State Police.
Police said Friday that the person of interest is “believed to be involved,” but did not immediately release more information.
The suspect entered the U.S. Bank in Berea around 2 p.m. before shooting two employees and fleeing, state police Trooper Scottie Pennington told reporters Thursday.
“We understand the citizens of Berea and in Madison County, they’re scared right now, and we’re scared for them,” Pennington said. “We want to do our best to find this person and bring him to justice.”
The suspect was described as about 6 foot, 3 inches tall, wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, dark gloves, gray pants and light-colored athletic shoes, according to state police.
Pennington said authorities are not sharing if the suspect took anything with him from the bank and weren’t sure if the suspect fled on foot or in a vehicle. Residents should remain vigilant, keep their doors locked and call police if they see anything suspicious, Pennington said.
“Keep a porch light on,” he said.
“We don’t want this to lead to more victims,” Pennington said. “We hope he just turns himself in.”
In a message directly to the suspect, Pennington said: “You’re in a lot of trouble — a lot of trouble — but just turn yourself in before anyone else gets hurt.”
U.S. Bank said in a statement, “Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, our colleagues and the entire Berea community. We are committed to supporting the victims’ families and our colleagues. And we will continue to work closely with law enforcement on this active investigation.”
Berea, a city of more than 16,000 people, is roughly 40 miles south of Lexington.
