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The risks of more severe weather in tornado-ravaged Mississippi “seem to be getting worse and worse”, the governor has warned.

A state of emergency has been declared following a destructive tornado on Friday that killed at least 26 people, but locals have been warned that more dangerous conditions could be on the way.

Although he was speaking at a sunny outdoor news conference on Sunday, Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said the seemingly pleasant conditions could quickly take a turn.

“What we’ve seen […] is in the 24 to 36 hours leading up to this afternoon, it appears that the risks seem to be getting worse and worse, not better,” he warned.

Mr Reeves said there were “significant risks” to anyone living south of Interstate 55, the south’s longest highway.

Officials are prepared for “potential severe weather” and are “monitoring that very closely”, he added.

It will make grim reading for those who could be in the path of further storms, with Friday’s having left a trail of devastation through one of the poorest regions of the US.

Recovery will be ‘a long-term event’

The state of emergency declared by President Joe Biden means federal funding will be made available to the areas hardest hit – Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties.

Recovery teams are continuing the daunting task of sifting through the debris of flattened buildings, with dozens injured and hundreds more people left homeless.

Deanne Criswell, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, warned: “We know that this is going to be a long-term recovery event.”

Read more:
Photos show how deadly storm reduced buildings to rubble

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Sheriff heartbroken after relative dies in US Tornado

‘Blessed to be alive’

There are fears that the number of people killed could climb as more rubble is cleared away.

Twenty-five of those confirmed dead so far were in Mississippi, the other in neighbouring Alabama.

Erwin Macon, who works at a school in the town of Rolling Fork, from where Mr Reeves spoke, told Sky News he was “blessed to be alive” after his mobile home was destroyed.

Another local, Tracy Harden, said workers at her Chuck’s Dairy Bar had to hide in a fridge as the tornado arrived and ripped the building’s roof off.

According to data from the National Weather Service, the tornado reached gusts of between 166mph and 200mph.

Read more:
The most unlikely tales of survival from pulverised town

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Tearful resident recalls miraculous survival

Tigers escape damaged enclosure

Elsewhere, a tornado touched down in Troup County, Georgia, early on Sunday.

Five people suffered minor injuries, up to 100 buildings were damaged, and many roads were blocked by debris.

Damage at a safari park in the Pine Mountain area led to two tigers escaping from their enclosures, though they have since been found and safely returned.

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Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022

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Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022

A man has pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022.

Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminal justice student, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings.

He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary.

It comes after he agreed to a plea deal, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, in a bid to avoid the death penalty.

Read more:
Surviving Idaho student ‘saw masked man in black clothing’
Idaho suspect ‘warned after making creepy comments’

Bryan Kohberger during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho
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Bryan Kohberger during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho. Pic: Reuters

Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana's boyfriend Ethan Chapin
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Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin

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Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has sparked ugly debate – so why is it so controversial?

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Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' has sparked ugly debate - so why is it so controversial?

It is certainly big – 940 pages long – but on the question of beauty, Congress is divided.

Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has sparked ugly debate – both for its ambitious scope and for the political manoeuvring that’s gone on around it.

Elon Musk branded it “political suicide” for Republicans and threatened to fund challenges against those who back it in next year’s midterm elections.

But the president hit back, suggesting he would consider cutting Musk’s lucrative government contracts or even deporting him back to South Africa.

The “big, beautiful bill”, or HR 1 to give the proposed legislation its proper title, is Mr Trump’s signature spending and tax policy.

It extends tax cuts he secured in 2017 and bankrolls his second-term agenda in the White House.

File pic: Reuters
Image:
File pic: Reuters

Here is a summary of the key points:

Permanent tax cuts: Extending relief from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Small business support: Doubling the small business expensing limit to $2.5m (£1.8m) to help businesses expand and hire staff

Child tax credit: Expanding the child tax credit and making it permanent, benefiting 40 million families

Making housing affordable: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit to kickstart construction of affordable homes

Defence and border security: Allocating $170bn (£123bn) for border security alone, including $46bn (£33bn) for completing the border wall

Made-in-America incentives: Providing tax breaks and incentives for domestic manufacturing to promote US industry

Healthcare and social welfare: Implementing restrictions on Medicaid, which provides healthcare for millions of Americans, and reducing funding for certain healthcare and nutrition programmes.

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Clash over ‘monster’ debt bill

Musk, Mr Trump’s former ally and the man who established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, the biggest increase in history.”

“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” was President Trump’s response.

The national debt currently stands at $37trn (£27trn) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill could add $2.4trn (£1.7trn) to that over the next decade.

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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk

Bill splits Republican ranks

Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill and, following criticism from the president, announced he would not seek re-election in North Carolina.

He said he couldn’t support it due to his concerns about the impact cuts to Medicaid would have on people in his state.

Democrats in the Senate forced a full reading of all 940 pages and then a vote-a-rama, a series of marathon voting sessions.

Read more from Sky News:
Elon’s dad on the Musk-Trump bust-up
How Musk’s cost-cutting mission fell flat

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In the House of Representatives, it passed by a single vote, 215-214. In the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, had to cast the deciding vote to break a tie (50-50).

Legislatively, the progress of the bill has been a case study in the complexities of American law-making.

Strategically, it represents a mammoth effort to consolidate the president’s policy agenda and secure his legacy.

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment – but there are still many unanswered questions

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Gaza ceasefire proposal a significant moment - but there are still many unanswered questions

In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.

For the people of Gaza, for the Israeli hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.

The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?

At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached.

“Israel is opposed to this. At this point, only President Trump can break this deadlock.”

The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”

Israel-Gaza – live updates

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Will Trump achieve a Gaza ceasefire?

The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.

We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.

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Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return?

We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.

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Dozens killed at beachfront cafe in Gaza

We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.

Read more:
British-Israeli soldier killed in Gaza
‘Almost 60 killed in Israeli strikes’

If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.

It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.

Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war, safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.

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