Severe weather threat, flooding continue as life-threatening storms pass through the East
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The severe weather threat is expected to ramp down this weekend after one more day of possible severe storms.
There is a slight risk for severe storms in Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and western New York. This includes Buffalo, New York; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; and Charleston, West Virginia.
Damaging winds and some large hail will be the main threat, but a tornado and some isolated flash flooding cannot be ruled out.
Remnant showers and storms moved along a cold front sweeping the Ohio Valley Saturday morning before rejuvenating later in the afternoon.
The level of severity of these storms will be determined by how the atmosphere recovers after preceding rain moving through Saturday morning, but enough energy could build up by late Saturday afternoon for some severe storms to develop over the area. Otherwise, it may just end up being added rain with possibly some rumbles of thunder.
This cold front will continue to push east into the Northeast on Sunday, bringing rain, and some high elevation snow, to the region before pushing off the coast.
Ahead of this cold front, the Southeast has had another day or record heat while the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic begin to cool down.
Saturday could see one more day of record highs across much of the South from Louisiana to Florida to Georgia.
The National Weather Service confirmed at least 35 tornadoes across 10 states this week, stretching from California to Vermont.
Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois have been hit the hardest by multiple outbreaks of severe weather over the week.
Friday was no exception to this active week of severe weather, with more than 300 reports of severe weather from Oklahoma up to Minnesota and east to Indiana.
Wind gusts over 75 mph were also reported in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. Hail larger than baseballs were reported in Illinois and Oklahoma. Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin reported hail greater than golf balls.
In addition, flooding continues to linger for parts of Wisconsin and Michigan from days of rain and, in some areas, on top of a deep snowpack that’s accelerated snowmelt. Fortunately, they have drier weather in the forecast for this weekend into next week.
Cal Fire Firefighters do a prescribed burn ahead of oncoming new wildfire called ‘Hughes Fire’ as it tore through northern Los Angeles County, burning over 9,000 acres just hours after it was first reported in California, United States on January 22, 2025. Jon Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The United States experienced nearly two dozen billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2025, causing at least 276 fatalities and costing a total of $115 billion in damages. For the first time, however, the comprehensive analysis detailing the annual impact of these disasters wasn’t released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Discontinued by the Trump administration in 2025, the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster dataset and accompanying website are now hosted and maintained by Climate Central, a non-profit climate science organization. The group hired Adam Smith, the former lead scientist for NOAA’s U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters program, to continue his work at Climate Central.
Last year, there were 23 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, the third-highest annual total on record, behind 2023 and 2024, according to the new report released Thursday by Climate Central. The past year was also the 15th straight year with 10 or more billion-dollar disasters.
The costliest event of 2025 was the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January, which caused more than $61 billion in damage, according to the analysis. Severe weather events, including severe thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks, accounted for 91% of all billion-dollar disasters last year, the analysis showed.
A record-breaking 28 billion-dollar disasters occurred in 2023, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Extreme weather events, which ranged from severe thunderstorms to hurricanes to wildfires, killed at least 492 people and impacted large swaths of the country.
With data going back to 1980, the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster database is a public record of every significant U.S. weather and climate event that has caused at least $1 billion in damages, adjusted for inflation. Government agencies, insurers, and media outlets frequently rely on the database to report the economic impact of these disasters.
However, last May, NOAA announced that it was retiring the resource, stating there would be no updates beyond calendar year 2024. While all past reports, spanning 1980-2024, will remain accessible on the agency’s website, they will no longer be updated and no new events will be added moving forward. NOAA said that the decision to “retire” the billion-dollar weather and climate disaster product was “in alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes.”
There have been 426 billion-dollar disasters recorded in the United States since 1980, with a total cost exceeding $3.1 trillion, according to Climate Central. The frequency of billion-dollar disasters has increased dramatically since the early 1980s, driven by rising extreme weather events and the growing number of people, homes and businesses in harm’s way.
While climate change may not be directly responsible for causing these disasters, human-amplified climate change is making naturally occurring events more intense and more impactful.
Construction on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building on March 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve will unveil on Wednesday its latest decision on interest rates, marking the first such move since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran drove up gasoline prices and risked a wider bout of inflation.
The elevated price increases coincide with a slowdown of economic growth, threatening to intensify an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation,” which poses difficulty for the Fed.
If the Fed opts to lower borrowing costs, it could spur growth but risk higher inflation. On the other hand, the choice to raise interest rates may slow price increases but raises the likelihood of a cooldown in economic performance.
Markets are expecting the Fed to hold interest rates steady. Investors peg the chances of interest rates being left unchanged at about 99%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The central bank maintained the current level of interest rates at its most recent meeting in January, ending a string of three consecutive quarter-point rate cuts.
The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lackluster jobs report last week showed the U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, which marked a reversal of fortunes for the labor market and erased most of the job gains recorded in 2026.
The unemployment rate ticked up from 4.3% in January to 4.4% in February, the BLS said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.
A revised government report last week on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at a sluggish annualized pace of 0.7% over the final three months of 2025.
Those economic headwinds helped set the conditions before the outbreak of war with Iran, which spiked oil prices and risked price increases for a host of diesel-fuel transported goods.
U.S. crude oil prices hovered at about $96 per barrel on Tuesday, soaring more than 50% since a month earlier.
Since the military conflict began, U.S. gas prices had gone up 81 cents to an average of $3.79 per gallon as of Tuesday, according to AAA.
The rate decision on Wednesday will also mark the first such move since a federal judge blocked Justice Department subpoenas to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after determining the government “produced essentially zero evidence” to support a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, according to an unsealed court opinion.
“A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said in his opinion on Friday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro blasted Boasberg as an “activist” judge and pledged to appeal his ruling.
Former President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive prior to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump at the United States Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Melina Mara – Pool/Getty Images)
(CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK) — Former President and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton are facing lawmakers this week over their ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Clintons are scheduled to participate in closed-door depositions with the House Oversight Committee in Chappaqua, New York, after months of continuous negotiations over their appearance.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear on Thursday, with Bill Clinton appearing the day after. Friday’s deposition will be the first time a former president has appeared in front of a congressional panel since former President Gerald Ford in 1983.
The committee first attempted to subpoena the Clintons in July of last year as Republicans demanded more information on the former president’s travels on Epstein’s private aircraft and what the committee called the “family’s past relationship” with Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as part of their probe into Epstein.
The Clintons were subpoenaed to appear under oath in front of the committee for a deposition in January, but failed to comply, arguing the subpoenas were without legal merit. Rather, they proposed a four-hour transcribed interview instead.
David Kendall, the Clintons’ lawyer, argued that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony. Kendall contends the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.
Former Secretary of State Clinton “has no personal knowledge of Epstein or Maxwell’s criminal activities, never flew on his aircraft, never visited his island, and cannot recall ever speaking to Epstein. She has no personal knowledge of Maxwell’s activities with Epstein,” Kendall wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to the committee. “President Clinton’s contact with Epstein ended two decades ago, and given what came to light much after, he has expressed regret for even that limited association.”
Republican House Oversight Chairman James Comer responded that the committee was “skeptical” of the claim that the Clintons only had limited information.
“[T]he Committee believes that it should be provided in a deposition setting, where the Committee can best assess its breadth and value,” Comer responded in October.
Comer had long threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt if they failed to appear before the committee, so when they didn’t, a contempt resolution was drafted and put to a vote. The Oversight Committee passed the contempt resolution, with nine Democrats voting in favor of it, teeing it up for a full House vote.
At the last minute, before the resolution was brought for a full House vote, the Clintons agreed to sit for a deposition, postponing further consideration of a contempt vote.
This week’s interviews with committee investigators will be video recorded and transcribed in accordance with the House’s deposition rules.
“We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,” Comer said in a statement when the deposition was agreed upon.
While the Clintons have agreed to speak with the committee behind closed doors, they have still pushed for public hearings as part of the committee’s probe into Epstein.
“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton wrote in a lengthy post on X. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”
Hillary Clinton has echoed her husband’s sentiments while also continuing to call for the full release of the Epstein files, which they have accused the Department of Justice of selectively releasing.
“It is something that needs to be totally transparent,” Hillary Clinton said during a panel appearance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. “I’ve called for, many, many years, for everything to be put out there so people can not only see what is in them, but also — if appropriate — hold people accountable. We’ll see what happens.”
Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.
