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As day breaks in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, the chirping birds in the blue skies above cut through the eerie quiet.

Occasionally, a car passes with the front window rolled down as people take phone pictures and videos of destruction on a film-set scale.

A lone figure is plotting a path between mounds of wood and corrugated iron, which bear little resemblance to what stood here before.

It is the first time Erwin Macon, a janitor at the local primary school, has been back in the daylight to see what remains of the place he calls home.

The footprint of his mobile home is still there. Everything else, as he says, is gone.

“A lot of people lost their lives. Coming by here, seeing this, it’s hard to deal with,” he says, looking into the distance.

“I’m blessed to be alive.”

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Moment tornado hits Mississippi school

How man clung to carpet to ensure unlikely survival

It was just before 8pm on Friday when Macon received a text from the authorities, urging people to take shelter.

But it was too late. Within a few minutes, the tornado and its near 200mph swirling winds were upon him and the other almost 2,000 people who live in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

“I didn’t even hear the siren go off,” he says.

“So when it came, I couldn’t tell you which direction that storm was coming from.

“First it got calm and quiet and next thing you know, you start hearing all that noise and I felt coming towards me.

“The only thing I could do was to get the mattress off the bed and throw it on top of me and lay on the floor.

“The storm blew the mattress off and the only thing that covered me was the carpet.

“Somehow it wrapped around me, and no debris got on me, it kept the rain off.

“I was just holding so tightly, so I wouldn’t get sucked out. That was God, because I’m not supposed to be here.”

Photos show how deadly storm reduced buildings to rubble

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‘It’s really bad’: Residents hit by tornado

‘Blood running down my face’

Rolling Fork is a deeply religious community – and Lauretta Reed was thanking God, too, after her miraculous escape from the same mobile home park.

She has just been released from the hospital, with stitches holding together a deep gash on her forehead and a finger which was, she says, half hanging off.

“It happened so fast, I don’t know what hit me,” she says.

“I just heard a roar like a big train coming towards me. I don’t know how long it lasted for, but when I came out I had blood running down my face.

“It was still lightening and people were screaming and crying for help and I couldn’t help them. It hurts.”

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The damaged site of Enviva Pellets, a maker of sustainable wod pellets, in Amory, Mississippi. Pic: AP
A resident surveys the damage done to her car in Amory, Mississippi. Pic: AP
A homeowner surveys the damage in Amory, Mississippi. Pic: AP
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Damage from the tornado in Amory, Mississippi. Pics: AP

Seeing the scale of the damage, it is hard to believe that more lives were not lost here, even as the search and rescue effort continues.

Everything in the path of the tornado was pulverised.

Almost everyone here has a story to tell.

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Sheriff heartbroken after relative dies in US tornado

Hiding in a fridge as building destroyed

At Chuck’s Dairy Bar, a diner on the main road of this small town, perhaps the most miraculous of survival stories, as employees hid in a refrigerator while the tornado passed through.

Owner Tracy Harden says: “The lights flickered and someone said ‘cooler’. Nine of us rushed in, really quickly.

“Before my husband could close the door, he said, ‘I can see the sky’. That meant our roof was gone.

“I can’t say how long we were in there, but we felt it moving. We were being pushed and shoved between each other.

“Then all of a sudden it stopped”.

A pickup truck rests on top of a restaurant cooler at Chuck's Dairy Cafe in Rolling Fork, Miss., Saturday, March 25, 2023. .   Emergency officials in Mississippi say several people have been killed by tornadoes that tore through the state on Friday night, destroying buildings and knocking out power as severe weather produced hail the size of golf balls moved through several southern states.  (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
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A truck rests on top of a restaurant cooler at Chuck’s Dairy Bar. Pic: AP
Tracy and Tim Hardin, owners of Chuck's Dairy Bar, survey the tornado destruction to their business in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
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Tracy and Tim Hardin, owners of Chuck’s Dairy Bar, survey the destruction to their business. Pic: AP

The tornado left as fast as it had come.

But the scars – in the minds, businesses and homes of people in Rolling Fork – will take much longer to heal.

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

Donald Trump has said his second state visit to the UK could take place in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed over an invitation from the King when he visited Washington in February.

Trump teases return to UK – latest updates

Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.

“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

Sir Keir Starmer the Trump charmer.
Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA

Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.

The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.

His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.

Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
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Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

More on Florida

He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

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US judge warns Trump administration could be in criminal contempt over El Salvador deportations

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White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.

If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.

And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.

This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.

“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.

Executive vs judicial

This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.

Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.

Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.

Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.

It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.

‘Administrative error’

At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA / AP
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.

During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Image:
The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Democrat senator travels to El Salvador

Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.

“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.

Deportations have been an important part of Mr Trump’s second term, with him being vocal on the issue throughout the campaign trail and into office.

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