At Least 10 Dead, More Injured, After Tornados, Floods And Storms Sweep Midwestern And Southern U.S.

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  • At least four dead from tornados and storms in eastern Texas

  • At least three dead in eastern Arkansas from storm damage and flooding 

  • Woman dead after flash flood in southwestern Missouri 

  • Man and child dead after separate incidents in southern Mississippi

Search and rescue efforts are underway after weekend tornados, flooding and severe storms left multiple people dead and dozens more injured across the southern and midwestern U.S. 

At least four people in Texas were confirmed dead following tornadoes Saturday that struck across Van Zandt County, roughly 65 miles east of Dallas. Information on the victims was not immediately available. 

Three more people died across Arkansas after floods and storms. A 10-year-old girl in northwest Springdale was found dead late Saturday after she was swept away in floodwaters. A 65-year-old woman in De Witt, about 80 miles east of Little Rock, died when winds felled a tree that crushed her mobile home. A 24-year-old woman was found dead on Sunday at a Eureka Springs creek near the Ozark Mountains, the Associated Press reports.

Local officials said a woman in Christian County, southwestern Missouri, died Saturday in a flash flood. Madelaine Krueger, 72, from Billings, Montana, drowned after rushing water swept away her vehicle; her husband, also in the car, survived, the Christian County Headliner reports

A man near Durant, Mississippi, about 65 miles north of Jackson, died in a strong storm, though no details were immediately available. Sunday evening, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed a child in Rankin County had died from electric shock in floodwater. 

Patrick Marsh, a warning coordination meteorologist with the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, said at least five tornadoes were documented since late Friday night to Saturday, including three in Texas and ones in far eastern Oklahoma and far northwest Arkansas. 

Hail, thunderstorms and wind damage also hit a portion of the southeastern quarter of southern plains states, the Midwest and the Southeast, affecting states including Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Montana, Illinois, Georgia and even as far Northeast as Ohio. 

“Severe weather in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas are sweeping East, so ongoing warnings in Alabama and Tennessee” are in effect Sunday, Marsh told HuffPost. 

In Canton, Tex., tornados flattened homes, stripped and uprooted trees and flipped over vehicles as they cut a path stretching more than 30 miles. 

“It is heartbreaking and upsetting to say the least,” Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett said during a Sunday morning news conference.

Saturday was the night several schools in affected states were to hold proms, but severe weather sparked cancellations. In Canton, the event space “The Rustic Barn” was set to host a local high school’s prom when the tornado sirens began to blare. 

“We were having a high school prom for the Edgewood kids last night. Luckily, most of the kids hadn’t got here. There was a few when the sirens started going off,” owner Reagan Sumner told ABC News affiliate, WFAA Channel 8. 

Sumner said inside, they could feel the air pressure change and everyone ran inside for shelter

“We got into the room that was in the front of the building ― the only room still standing. We started hearing the sounds of the roar. All of a sudden it was just explosions, and we had about 15 to 20 people in the bathroom, little babies to older people.” Sumner said.

“That was the only room standing after it was all over,” he added. 

Hours before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) toured the damaged areas by helicopter Sunday, he appeared on Fox News to assure residents that the affected areas would rebuild.

“Just know that we’ve been through these before and working together, Texans will rebuild and restore the loss of property,” Abbott said. “We can’t do anything about the loss of life, but w’ell come together as a team, as we usually do, in the state of Texas.” 

Over the weekend, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) declared states of emergency due to weather-related damage. 

Marsh said any large, widespread weather event over multiple days is rare in the sense that they don’t occur daily, but he noted they do occur several times a year. 

“And when we do have them in the cool, or ‘transition’ season, if they’re going to happen, you tend to get more of the stronger storms during this period,” Marsh said, describing the transitional season as stretching approximately November to May. 

“The storm prediction center was forecasting a severe weather event about a week ago,” he added. 

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Nancy Pelosi: 'I Never Thought I’d Pray' Bush Was Still President

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Nancy Pelosi may have sparred with former President George W. Bush during his eight years in office, but now she’s making it no secret: She wishes he was still here.

The House Minority Leader made that admission on ABC’s “This Week Sunday” after mistakenly referring to President Donald Trump as “President Bush.”

The California Democrat made the slip while discussing Trump’s first 100 days and both parties willingness to work together.

“I never have seen so much willingness to help win. And winning means winning for the American people, that either we win or whoever wins understands the priorities of the American people, and they are not with President Bush,” she said before catching her mistake ― one she also made in February ― and dramatically putting her hand to her heart.

“I’m so sorry, President Bush! I never thought I’d pray for the day that you were president again,” she exclaimed.

When Bush left office in 2009, he had one of the lowest approval ratings in recent history. Now eight years later, his memory appears to have improved with time. Many of Trump’s critics point to the sitting president ― who hit a record-low approval rating last month ― as the reason why.

This change in opinion wasn’t overlooked Saturday night at Samantha Bee’s “Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner” when former Saturday Night Live star Will Ferrell reprised his impression of the 43rd president to a standing ovation.

”How do you like me now?” he asked before giving a quiet snicker to the roaring crowd.

“History has proven to be kinder to me than many of you thought,” he remarked. “For the longest time, I was considered the worst president of all time. That has changed ― and it only took 100 days.”

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Montana Democratic Candidate Affirms Support For Legalizing Marijuana

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Rob Quist, the Montana folk singer turned Democratic congressional candidate winning over voters in traditionally GOP areas, affirmed his support for legalizing recreational marijuana, one of several policy differences that emerged during a debate held Saturday evening.

Quist’s progressive platform, which includes support for a single-payer health care system, has helped to bring national attention to a special election for Montana’s only House seat, recently vacated by President Donald Trump’s interior secretary pick, Ryan Zinke.

“To me, the war on drugs has been an abject failure,” Quist said Saturday, when asked if he supported legalizing both medicinal and recreational marijuana. “I think the majority of Montanans and Americans agree they would like to see the decriminalization go forward and not criminalize people for something that should not be criminal.”

Quist’s GOP opponent Greg Gianforte said he supported some access to medical marijuana but warned against legalization, comparing it to more addictive drugs.

The two candidates clashed over a wide range of issues in their only televised debate before the hotly contested May 25 special election.

Gianforte, a tech millionaire who moved to the state from New Jersey, defended his wealth, amid recent reports of possible financial ties to Russian companies that received sanctions from the U.S.

“This pejorative of a millionaire? Again, I’ve been clear: I’m in favor of prosperity. I’m an electrical engineer. Honestly, I think we have too many lawyers in Washington,” Gianforte said. “Maybe we need some more engineers. They’re trained to solve problems and we can actually do math, which is a desperately needed skill back there.”

When Quist brought up the issue of Gianforte’s investments, Gianforte dismissed any concerns about them.

“We have a broad range of investments. Anyone who invests in emerging markets around the world has investments in Russia,” he said. “This is a tiny portion of our portfolio.”

Quist and Gianforte also staked out clear positions on Trump’s executive order that could roll back national monuments, which conservationists say could endanger public lands, a major issue in Montana. Both candidates have promoted themselves as advocates for preserving public lands.

Quist warned that Trump’s order, which calls for a “review” of at least two dozen monuments, could lead to their privatization.

“People have worked on these monuments and some of these wilderness areas for years at a time, and they’re great economic boons for the areas that have them,” Quist said. “I really have deep concerns about this process, and I think the people of America are going to stand up against it.”

Gianforte defended the order, attempting to thread a thin needle between environmental protection and resource extraction. 

“What we’re asking for is local input from the people,” Gianforte said. “This review process allows local input to occur.”

On abortion and Planned Parenthood, Quist affirmed his pro-choice views and condemned “the assault on women’s reproductive rights.” While Gianforte said he supports defunding the organization, complaining that tax dollars are used to pay for abortion, the organization’s Title X federal funds actually go toward non-abortion women’s health services.

“I don’t believe that organization has been a particularly good steward of resources,” Gianforte said.

Libertarian candidate Mark Wicks compared himself and his opponents to cars, saying that Quist is similar to “a little half-ton pickup” and Gianforte a “luxury car.”

“It’s really smooth and comfortable getting down the road. But at the end of the day, it just wants to be parked with the other luxury cars down at the country club,” Wicks said, before adding that, if elected, he would be “the work truck.”

The Montana House race has attracted national attention, especially among Democrats hoping to make electoral gains amid a groundswell of anti-Trump activism.

Quist got a boost earlier this month, when the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it would spend money in the race. But he reportedly turned down a visit from Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez, a source told HuffPost on Saturday. Quist has said he would welcome Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who previously announced that he would campaign with Quist as part of his efforts to expand the Democratic Party’s base. 

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