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A severe tornado outbreak that began on Wednesday has continued to make its way throughout the South and Midwest, claiming at least seven lives — five in Tennessee, one in Indiana and one in Missouri. Multiple destructive tornadoes (some potentially rated EF3 or stronger) destroyed homes and knocked out power, with dozens of injuries reported.

NBC News reported that there were widespread reports of destroyed buildings, toppled vehicles and downed trees, and more than 247,000 energy customers across the U.S. are without power. Severe weather including tornadoes and large hail is expected throughout the Ozarks, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

As of Thursday, potentially catastrophic flooding was the latest warning from forecasters, with heavy rain thought to make travel impossible in some already hard-hit areas. The National Weather Service warned that “life-threatening, catastrophic and potentially historic” flash flooding could occur across the lower Ohio Valley and mid-South; with forecasters warning that communities in areas affected by flooding “should prepare for possible long duration and severe disruptions to daily life,” with 10 to 15 inches of rain expected through the weekend.

More than 90 million people were at some risk of severe weather in a huge part of the nation stretching from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center. The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management reported that there was damage in 22 counties due to tornadoes, wind gusts, hail and flash flooding. Additional rounds of heavy rain were expected in parts of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley from midweek through Saturday. Forecasters warned that they could track over the same areas repeatedly, producing dangerous flash floods.

Head to The Weather Channel for their most detailed forecast.

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The stock market took a historic plunge in the United States on Thursday after the latest round of sweeping Trump administration tariffs were announced on Wednesday.

As investors tried to assess the potential economic impact of the tariffs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,679 points to close at 40,546. The S&P 500 plummeted 274 points (amounting to roughly $2 trillion) – marking its biggest one-day drop since the Covid-19 pandemic affected financial markets in 2020, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 6%, its biggest decline since March 2020.

From CBS News: Nearly every major industrial sector suffered declines, with tech players, banks, retailers, apparel makers and airlines among the hardest hit. Best Buy shares sank roughly 18%, United Airlines fell 16% and Nike slid 16%, Apple fell 9%, e-commerce giant Amazon slid nearly 9%, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) dropped nearly 9%, and AI powerhouse Nvidia saw its stock drop nearly 8%.

Additionally, overseas markets also slumped on Thursday: in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index briefly dipped 4%, before closing down 2.8%; while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell 1.1%; Germany’s DAX fell 3%; France’s CAC 40 lost 3%; and Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.5%.

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President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs at a White House Rose Garden event yesterday, in which the President detailed sweeping ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on goods imported into the United States, in order to promote US manufacturing.

Mr. Trump opened his remarks declaring, “This is Liberation Day,” stating that “April 2, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

The President aid he would sign a “historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world … Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Very simple. Can’t get any simpler than that.”

Trump confirmed that his administration will impose 25% tariffs on auto imports starting Thursday at midnight: “None of our companies are allowed to go into other countries. That’s why, effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign made automobiles.”  He later held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.

In announcing the tariffs the President said: “It’s our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper. Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years … But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump added that “jobs and factories will come roaring back” and that the reciprocal tariffs will usher in a “golden age” for the country: “We will supercharge our domestic industrial base, we will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers and ultimately more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers.”

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A federal judge in New York on Wednesday permanently dismissed corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Judge Dale Ho dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be revived.  While the Justice Department sought to have the case dismissed to free up Adams to cooperate with the mayor’s immigration agenda, they had wanted the case dismissed without prejudice – meaning it could be brought again.

Judge Ho said he could find no other example of the government dismissing charges against an elected official to enable the official to facilitate federal policy goals.  In a 78-page opinion, Judge Ho wrote Tuesday: “DOJ’s immigration enforcement rationale is both unprecedented and breathtaking in its sweep, and DOJ’s assertion that it has ‘virtually unreviewable’ license to dismiss charges on this basis is disturbing in its breadth, implying that public officials may receive special dispensation if they are compliant with the incumbent administration’s policy priorities. That suggestion is fundamentally incompatible with the basic premise of equal justice under the law.”  Ho added: In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents. That appearance is inevitable, and it counsels in favor of dismissal with prejudice.” (per CNN.)

The Department of Justice moved to dismiss the charges in February, saying that continuing them interfered with the mayor’s ability to govern, thereby threatening “federal immigration initiatives and policies.” The department asked that the charges be “dismissed without prejudice,” allowing for the case to be potentially carried out at a later date.

Adams, who is up for reelection this fall, was indicted last year in the Southern District of New York on five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up. He has said the charges are politically motivated and pleaded not guilty.

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