At least 1 dead as severe storms sweep through the Midwest
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(NEW YORK) — At least one person is dead after severe weather hit Butler County, Missouri on Friday night, officials said.
There were previous reports of three deaths due to the storm, but Robert Myers with the Butler County Emergency Management Agency confirmed to ABC News that there was some miscommunication in the field and when comparing notes with the sheriff and coroner.
Emergency management is working through the damage now this morning, but Myers said daylight will give them a better idea of the amount of destruction.
The Black River Coliseum has been opened as shelter and Myers said that there are people with injuries in nearby hospitals but did not have an exact number.
Millions of Americans across the country are on alert for a severe weather outbreak as violent, long-track tornadoes with damaging winds of up to 80 mph and large hail is expected across the Midwest and South as the cross-country storm moves east.
There is a rare high risk warning issued for violent tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday afternoon and into the evening.
So far there have been 23 reported tornadoes overnight across four states – Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi as the severe weather outbreak continues into Saturday. Winds gusted up more than 80 mph causing damage in the Midwest from Missouri to Wisconsin.
Tornado watches remain in effect for parts of five states, from Alabama to Ohio, as the storm pushes eastward on Saturday with gusts of winds over 70 mph in some areas.
The Storm Prediction Center said that numerous significant tornadoes, some of which could be long-track and potentially violent, are expected and cities in the high risk areas include Hattiesburg, Jackson, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
The most dangerous tornado threat should begin Saturday during the late morning to early afternoon hours in Louisiana and Mississippi before spreading into Alabama late afternoon into the evening, followed by the western Florida panhandle and into western Georgia through late Saturday night.
The severe storms are expected to be weaker on Sunday as the storms reach the East Coast from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic.
Damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes on Sunday afternoon will be possible for the Southeast, while heavy rain and damaging wind threat will reach the Northeast Sunday evening into the overnight.
The severe weather outbreak is all part of a major cross-country storm system that is also prompting fire danger and red flag warnings across the Plains.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Thursday will consider whether to block the Federal Bureau of Investigation from assembling a list of agents involved in cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack for potential disciplinary action or firings.
A class action lawsuit filed anonymously by a group of FBI agents alleges that the country’s leading law enforcement agency is planning to engage in “potential vigilante action” to retaliate against government employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases or Donald Trump’s classified documents case.
The lawsuit warned that the effort to survey thousands of FBI agents about their past work could be “catastrophic to national security” and result in the termination of as many as 6,000 FBI agents.
The plaintiffs warned that the Department of Justice may seek to publicly disseminate the names of agents that investigated the conduct that allegedly stemmed from the sitting president.
“Such public disclosures would directly put the safety of all impacted individuals at risk as well as their family members,” the lawsuit said. In a court filing submitted Thursday morning, the Justice Department urged the judge hearing the case to reject the plaintiffs’ request to impose a restraining order blocking the collection the list.
DOJ attorneys argued in the filing that the motion for the restraining order is based largely on speculation and that the FBI agents have failed to show they face any imminent threats in connection with the list.
Trump’s federal classified documents case and his Jan. 6 case were both dropped following Trump’s reelection in November due to a longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has issued an executive order to rebuild homes and businesses that the city lost in the ongoing LA County fires that overall have so far burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 12,000 structures
The executive order calls for city agencies to expedite temporary occupancy approvals for 1,400 housing units that are near completion, and the establishment of a “Debris Removal Task Force” and “Watershed Hazards Task Force” to respectively develop plans for debris removal and mitigate the risks and dangers of post-fire flash floods, mudslides and debris flows.
The order also calls for city agencies to collectively expedite the building permit review process, calling for reviews to be done in 30 days following the submission of an application. Inspections by the Department of Building and Safety are to be conducted in two business days of a submitted request, according to the order.
For structures being rebuilt, city agencies will be required to process necessary clearances and releases related to building permit applications and certificates of occupancy within five business days, the order states.
The order notes that eligible rebuilds under these requirements must be rebuilt at the same location where they previously existed, used for the same use as the previous structure and are not to exceed 110% of the floor area, height, and bulk of the previous structure.
“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response that will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities,” Bass said in a statement. “This order is the first step in clearing away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion. We will do everything we can to get Angelenos back home.”
Bass received criticism for being away from the city on a planned diplomatic trip to Ghana when the Palisades Fire first erupted and has been hit by critics for her leadership, particularly from her 2022 Republican mayoral opponent Rick Caruso who claimed Bass was “abandoning her post” during the tragedy in an interview with Politico.
Bass, who posted a warning about the windstorm on social media ahead of the wildfires, told reporters Wednesday, Jan. 8, the day after the fire started, that she took the “fastest route back, which included being on a military plane.”
The wildfires have been predicted by financial analysts to “be the costliest wildfire event in California history,” with Goldman Sachs estimating total losses at $40 billion.
With families displaced across the county, the wildfires have put pressure on communities already facing housing crises. California, and specifically Los Angeles County, has some of the highest rent and home costs in the country, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, with mid-tier homes priced more than twice as high as an average mid-tier home in the United States.
According to Apartments.com, renters also face challenges: the average rent in Los Angeles is 39% higher than the national average rent, the real estate research organization states.
According to the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, the availability of housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the area led to a decline in homelessness for the first time in 7 years.
Los Angeles County’s point-in-time estimate of homelessness declined by 0.27%, while the city estimated a decline of 2.2%. The unsheltered homeless population decreased by larger margins, with the county decreasing it by 5.1% and the city decreasing it by 10.4%.
Addressing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing in the region was a key piece of Bass’ campaign, though not without controversy and hurdles.
In December 2022, Bass declared a state of emergency concerning homelessness on her first day in office.
Bass’ Executive Directive 1, aimed at expediting thousands of affordable housing projects, was also criticized by some residents for targeting areas with rent-controlled apartments that had tenants in place who would be displaced by demolition and construction or for potentially impacting wealthier, designated historic districts.
Bass’ latest order does not note how it may impact the creation of these affordable housing projects.
Since the start of her tenure, she founded Inside Safe, a program to house homeless residents in local hotels and motels. According to local reports, the program faced pushback from hotel and motel owners tasked with housing the participants and was criticized for the poor living conditions faced by those being sheltered.
The program’s website states it has placed more than 3,600 people in temporary housing and more than 700 in permanent housing so far.
Overall, Bass’ office states it has moved 23,000 homeless residents into temporary housing and doubled the number of residents it has moved into permanent housing.
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday denied a request from U.S. Agency for International Development contractors to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s mass termination of their contracts.
The Personal Service Contractor Association, an advocacy group for U.S. personal services contractors employed by USAID, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last month after the secretary of state issued a stop-work order for all foreign assistance and contracts.
The contractors alleged the stop-work order prevented the association’s members from carrying out work for “which their positions were created and exist by law and from overseeing often lifesaving humanitarian relief.”
According to the complaint, the contractors were “irreparably injured” because they say the stop-word order cut “essential communication and network access, endangering their personal safety and security” and water and electricity for their homes overseas due to the funding freeze.
“The impact around the world of freezing foreign aid funding and stopping foreign aid programs has been and remains calamitous,” the contractors said in the complaint.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied the contractors’ request for the temporary restraining order.
