At least five dead and 600,000 without power as storm hammers much of the US
At least five people died and hundreds of thousands were in the dark as storms covered much of the US on Tuesday.
Tornadoes swept across the midwest and south of the country, blizzards were felt in the northwest, and parts of the east of the country were threatened with flooding.
In the northeast of the country, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and New York City officials evacuated nearly 2,000 migrants housed at a sprawling tent complex ahead of predicted wind speeds that could top 70mph.
In Maine, the governor Janet Mills delayed the opening of all state offices until noon Wednesday due to the stormy conditions.
Water rises at a residential area in the aftermath of a storm in Piermont, New York
The National Weather Service warned of possible major flooding in portions of Long Island in New York State with waves of up to almost three metres through Wednesday morning.
There was also a chance of major and minor flooding along streams and rivers throughout the three states, even though rain was expected to tail off.
Meanwhile, more than 600,000 energy customers in a contiguous path from the tip of Florida to the top of New York state were without power early Tuesday evening, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
The wild weather came as portions of the northeast were still digging out from a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas over the weekend.
A tornado touches power cables, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Pic: Paul Gallo/Reuters
On Tuesday, the same weather system brought heavy rain, hail and at least three reported tornadoes to the south before moving eastward.
Rain and high winds extended into the nation’s capital Washington DC, forcing Vice-President Kamala Harris’ aircraft to divert from Joint Base Andrews to Dulles International Airport near Washington when it encountered wind shear, a sudden shift in wind direction or speed.
Near Cottonwood, in Alabama, 81-year-old Charlotte Paschal was killed when her mobile home was tossed from its foundation, the Houston County coroner said.
A suspected tornado had touched down in the area.
People stand on an enormous snow pile in downtown Oskaloosa, Iowa
Pic: AP
Police in Clayton County, south of Atlanta, said a man died during heavy rain when a tree fell on his car on a state road in Jonesboro.
More than 80 public school systems across Georgia called off classes entirely while others taught students online or delayed the start of in-person classes.
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City teams remove snow as it falls during a blizzard at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Pic: AP
In North Carolina, one person died and two others were in critical condition after a suspected tornado struck a mobile home park in the town of Claremont, north of Charlotte, said Amy McCauley, a spokesperson for Catawba County.
A possible tornado knocked down several old brick storefronts in downtown Bamberg, South Carolina, blocking the main intersection through the city about 60 miles south of Columbia.
Thousands of bricks blocked US 301, the main road through that part of the state, and about 40 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, said Justin Bamberg, the Democrat who represents the area in the House of Representatives.
Snowfall In New Jersey on Sunday
Pic: AP
In southeastern Wisconsin, an SUV driver died Tuesday in a head-on collision with a semi-trailer on a slushy, snowy state highway, the authorities said.
In western Michigan, a 35-year-old woman died after she lost control of her minivan on a slushy road and it collided with an SUV, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
Storm-related injuries were reported in Florida, but no deaths.
A section of Panama City Beach showed parts of roofs blown away, furniture, fences and debris strewn about, and a house that appeared tilted on its side, leaning on another home.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
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