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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Powerful storms killed two people in Mississippi, tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wide-ranging weather.

The large storm system also brought blinding dust storms to the Southwest, blizzards with whiteout conditions to the Midwest and fears of wildfires elsewhere.

In Irving, Texas, a tornado with winds up to 110 mph (177 kph) struck, while another touched down in the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. There were also two tornadoes in Louisiana’s northern Caddo Parish and at least five in eastern Oklahoma.

High winds forced some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which moved up and shortened the two biggest parades to wrap them up before the bad weather moved in.

The weather didn’t stop Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd.

“We was coming out, rain, sleet or snow,” Jones said.

The alarming weather could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts nationwide could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the impact on forecasts and warnings for this storm.

Deaths from storms in Mississippi

Two people died due to the severe weather, Gov. Tate Reeves posted on the social platform X, without going into detail.

WAPT-TV reported that one person died from a falling power line in Madison County, while a driver in the same county was killed by a tree falling on his car.

Hundreds of thousands left without power

Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. More than 178,000 customers were without power in Texas, about 23,000 in Louisiana, another 18,000 in Mississippi, about 88,000 in Alabama, more than 16,000 in Oklahoma and more than 23,000 in Tennessee, according to PowerOutage.us.

More outages were expected as a line of storms raced across Mississippi and Louisiana and headed for Alabama, producing gusts of 70 mph (113 kph), the weather service said.

Strong winds lead to fires and damage in Texas

In San Antonio, high winds caused at least two grass fires that damaged several structures and prompted officials to order mandatory evacuations in two areas south of the city. One fire prompted officials to call for the evacuation of about 30 homes, San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto told reporters.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the Texas A&M Forest Service was responding to 13 active wildfires across the state, service spokesperson Adam Turner said.

In North Texas, strong thunderstorms with gusts over 70 mph (113 kph) damaged apartments, schools and RVs. At the Las Haciendas Apartments in Irving, northwest of Dallas, winds blew out windows and damaged brick siding along the walls of a building.

Power was knocked out to several Irving schools. In Plano, north of Dallas, winds tore off parts of a high school’s metal roof. In Parker County, west of Fort Worth, at least three RV trailers were overturned by strong winds.

Central Plains and Midwest brace for blizzard conditions

Blizzard conditions were forecast that could make travel treacherous.

Schools will be closed Wednesday in several southern Minnesota districts with 5 to 11 inches (about 13 to 28 centimeters) of snow expected. More concerning were winds forecasted to gust over 50 mph (80 kph) and stay high.

The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said on X Tuesday night that travel was not advised over a large portion of southern Minnesota.

“It’s tough to find a @MnDOT road camera that isn’t covered in ice or blocked completely by blowing snow,” the post said.

South Dakota was expected to receive up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of snow in some areas, and by Tuesday evening, high winds had already deteriorated road conditions.

Jay Jones, who works at Love’s Truck Stop in Sioux Falls, said he saw garbage cans flying around as winds gusted around 50 mph (80.5 kph). Parts of Interstate 29 heading north to North Dakota were shut down.

“It looks really bad out there,” Jones said, adding that he walked to work and would have to “have to tough it out” on his way home.

In Des Moines, Iowa, gusts up to 65 mph (105 kph) were expected Tuesday night — a rare occurrence, forecasters said.

Strong winds and snowfall were making travel hazardous Tuesday night in eastern Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. Part of Interstate 80 was temporarily closed and the agency recommended staying off the roads if possible.

Nationwide, more than 500 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks delays and cancellations. Airports in Dallas canceled the most flights.

Severe weather threatens during Mardi Gras

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick ordered parade-goers to not bring umbrellas, tents or “anything that could fly in the wind and cause mayhem.” In neighboring Jefferson Parish, officials canceled planned parades due to anticipated high winds and thunderstorms.

Even with winds sweeping through New Orleans, the city’s festive Bourbon Street was packed with revelers clad in purple, gold and yellow, shouting for bead necklaces tossed from balconies.

Ashley Luna and her aunt danced and skipped down the street holding beverages beneath the darkening sky, unconcerned about the evening’s prospects.

“The weather can always change. I’m not really worried about it,” Luna said. “I am just going with the flow.”

ATLANTA (AP) — As Donald Trump prepared Tuesday to address a joint session of Congress, protest groups gathered at parks, statehouses and other public grounds across the country to assail his presidency as dangerous and un-American.

The rallies and marches — set in motion by the fledgling 50501 Movement, a volunteer-driven group organized in the weeks after Trump’s inauguration — mark the latest attempt at national resistance to the hardened support of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base and the success it has had in reshaping the Republican Party in the president’s populist image.

Yet some early scenes Tuesday vividly demonstrated the difficulty Democrats, progressives and everyday citizens face in marshaling a tangible response to Trump and the swift, sweeping actions of his second administration. Protesters have so many things to push back against — from tariffs to Trump’s reset on the war in Ukraine to the aggressive and sometimes legally dubious actions of the Department of Government Efficiency and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, that it’s hard to know what to focus on.

“There are so many things to fight, but I hope by being here we are starting some conversations,” said Sara Grummer-Strawn, who held a sign declaring “So Much Wrong, So Little Space,” followed by a small-print litany of topics from Ukraine and tariffs to potential education cuts to the denial of climate and vaccine science.

Around her in Atlanta were hundreds of people marching and chanting about a range of Trump initiatives. There were Palestinian flags and Ukrainian flags, along with signs bemoaning Trump ending military aid to Ukraine as it fights off the invading Russian troops of Vladimir Putin.

Trump was called a fascist, a “Russian asset,” “Putin’s Puppet” and “Wannabe King,” among other, more profane monikers. One signed implored “Punch Nazis,” reflecting an increasingly common effort to compare Trump’s presidency to Nazi Germany. Musk was a frequent target of mockery and ire. But there were also appeals for transgender rights, abortion rights and diversity. One understated sign appealed simply, “Save Our Parks.”

Events were scheduled throughout the day in all 50 states, ending late Tuesday in Hawaii.

In Austin, Texas, those gathered at the statehouse leaned in to support Ukraine. Pops of yellow — a nod to the colors of Ukraine’s national flag — dotted the crowd as protesters affixed sunflowers to their hair, hats and clothing. The Texas crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, eventually made its way through downtown, chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

“I think protests can be impactful,” said Carol Goodwin, an Austin resident active in the local advocacy scene. “I think these smaller protests are valuable for the people who come to express their frustrations, and I think this movement will grow over time.”

For some participants, Tuesday recalled 50501’s first day of national action on Feb. 5 — or the many women’s marches in 2017, at the outset of Trump’s first term. But for many others, it was a new step in their engagement.

Goodwin cited Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico and the Oval Office exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week as her reasons for attending.

In San Francisco, Michael Gray also pointed to that White House exchange with the Ukrainian leader. “The meeting with Zelenskyy … just made us so disgusted to see an American president act that way on the world stage,” said the Santa Rosa, California, resident.

Grayson Taylor, a 33-year-old who came to the Atlanta event, had not protested until this year. He described the actions of Trump, his Cabinet and Musk as a “billionaire coup” leading a government that “will be serving the ultra-rich.”

At the same rally, Sherri Frias, 58, said her concerns about the extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans — in conjunction with GOP proposals to roll back Medicaid and other aid programs — drew her to her first protest. Trump has urged Congress to renew the tax cuts, which are set to expire.

Another Atlanta attendee, 67-year-old Phyllis Bedford, said she came to her first political protest because she felt overwhelmed by the breadth of Trump’s actions.

“I was thinking on my way here what I want to say about the situation,” said Bedford, who drove from Republican-leaning Snellville, on the outer edges of metro Atlanta. “All I could come up with is, ‘I’m sorry.’ I am sorry to Canada. I’m sorry, Mexico. I’m sorry, Greenland. I’m so, so sorry, Ukraine and President Zelensky. … We’re just so wrong. And we don’t all support this man.”

“For my own mental health, because it makes me feel like I’m doing something other than just the screaming inside of my head, right? That goes on every day, And I want to be heard.”

The protests come after some Republican members of Congress met angry town hall crowds during a recent congressional recess and as Democrats on Capitol Hill face pressure from voters on the left to be more outspoken.

Taylor wants Democrats to be “rude and aggressive” like Republicans “have been for years.”

“The Republican Party right now is so much more organized, and not divisive,” Smith said. “The Democratic Party, they have individual issues, but in my observation it’s hard for them to come together to deal with the real issues they want.”

Multiple demonstrators said they want to see Democrats relentlessly highlight the real-world impact of Trump’s executive orders, Musk’s commission and the pending Republican budget plan.

Bedford worked in the financial aid office at Georgia State University. “Most of the kids I dealt with would not have been enrolled without Pell Grants and the (federal) financial aid system,” she said. “And now there’s just a war on education, and higher education especially.”

Grummer-Strawn divides her time between Atlanta and Geneva, where her husband works for the World Health Organization after having spent 24 years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from supporting WHO and clamped down on the CDC’s research and public health advocacy.

“We need to get people to stop and pause and see what each of his actions is leading to, connecting the dots,” Grummer-Strawn said, “even if people don’t think Ukraine and tariffs and public health policy affect them directly.”

Frias, meanwhile, thinks Democrats are doing everything they can given GOP control on Capitol Hill and in the White House. The ultimate responsibility for action, she said, rests with “the people of the U.S.”

(TEXAS) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 — an increase of 13 cases in the past five days, authorities said on Tuesday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website with the new numbers Tuesday afternoon and said the majority of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 74 of unknown status.

At least 22 people have been hospitalized, two more than the last update on Friday, according to the DSHS.

“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,” the DSHS said.

Five cases have occurred in people vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, a number that did not change from the last DSHS update on Feb. 28.

Youths between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 74, followed by 53 cases among children 4 and under, the DSHS said. The virus was found in 27 people who are 18 or older, according to the agency.

The number of fatalities from measles remains at one: an unvaccinated, school-aged child who lived in the outbreak area. The DSHS said Tuesday that the child had no underlying conditions.

The death marks the first time in a decade that someone has died in the United States from the measles, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gaines County in West Texas is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 107 cases, up from 98 on Friday, according to DSHS. Terry County, which neighbors Gaines County, had the second highest number of measles cases with 22.

At least four measles cases were reported in three counties not associated with the West Texas outbreak — Harris, Rockwall and Travis counties.

State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in the county has grown dramatically. Roughly 7.5% of kindergarteners in the Gaines county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5% — one of the highest in all of Texas, according to state health data.

The CDC has separately confirmed 164 measles cases in eight other states this year: Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Rhode Island. The total, however, is an undercount due to delays in reporting from states to the federal government.

About 95% of nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Of the cases, 3% are among those who received one dose of the MMR shot.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to 9 out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

In a statement posted on social media earlier Tuesday, the CDC said it has sent a rapid response team from the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service to Texas “to tackle urgent public health issues like disease outbreaks.”

“The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health. By working together — parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “Under my leadership, HHS is and will always be committed to radical transparency to regain the public’s trust in its health agencies.”

In an interview that aired Tuesday on Fox News, Kennedy said the CDC’s rapid response team had treated 108 patients in the first 48 hours of arriving in Texas. He said patients are being treated with Budesonide, a steroid; Clarithromycin, an antibiotic; vitamin A; and cod liver oil, which has high concentrations of vitamins A and D.

“They’re getting very, very good results,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy has long questioned the effectiveness and safety of MMR and other vaccines, but told Fox News that the federal government has sent 2,000 doses of MMR to Texas to fight the measles outbreak.

“What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government and make sure that we are there to help them with their needs and not particularly to dictate what they ought to be doing,” Kennedy said.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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TEXAS – KUT Radio reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has laid off hundreds of employees as part of a federal workforce reduction initiative under the Trump administration. According to the agency’s former head of research, these cuts could reduce the accuracy of weather forecasting in Texas, a state frequently affected by severe weather events. According to Craig McLean, former assistant administrator for research at NOAA who says he’s been in contact with people “at all levels of the agency,” between 600 to 800 people were fired last week, including meteorologists and staff from the National Weather Service (NWS), a subsidiary agency of NOAA. McLean says these firings could lessen the accuracy of severe weather warnings, prevent storm hunters from making routine flights, and overburden “the existing number of forecasters who are on the job,” leading to “greater risk for the American people.”

“When the system is stressed, the quality of those forecasts is then put in jeopardy and the ability of the public to take early and appropriate action will be compromised,” McLean said. “We’re diminishing the capacity, the skill level and we’re also delaying the technical delivery of many advances that we know we can be producing.” Texas is no stranger to devastating weather events. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, causing catastrophic flooding in Houston. The storm left more than 100 people dead and about $125 billion in damages. In 2021, an arctic blast knocked out power for millions throughout the state – more than 200 people died. Hurricane Beryl resulted in more than 40 deaths in the Houston area last summer. Before all of these storms, the NWS provided up-to-date forecasts hours, and even days, in advance – a practice that’s now being threatened by recent federal firings, according to McLean. This could impact local news forecasts as well. Meteorologists primarily rely on NWS data, along with other government and private sources. The layoffs come amid a broader wave of federal job cuts under billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has moved to reduce federal staffing across multiple departments, citing budget and efficiency concerns. Thousands of government employees have already been fired.

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that a Texas health official is warning against “measles parties” as an outbreak grows in West Texas, resulting in the death of at least one unvaccinated school-aged child. In a press briefing Friday, Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, urged families to avoid such gatherings and instead get vaccinated. “We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, being hospitalized, potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis, or potentially pass away from this,” he said, according to multiple news reports. “It’s a foolish thing to go have measles parties.” It is not known if measles parties are actually popping up in West Texas. Asked for more information, Cook said, “It’s mostly been … social media talk.”

Measles parties echo chicken pox parties from decades ago, when people would deliberately expose themselves or others to someone with a confirmed case in an attempt to spread the virus in a controlled environment. The chicken pox vaccine was introduced to the public in 1995, largely ending the practice. Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world and spreads mostly among unvaccinated people. Symptoms include a cough, fever, red eyes and the telltale skin rash. Since late January, 146 cases of measles have been identified in Texas, including 20 hospitalizations and one death. Of the 146 cases in Texas, 141 were in people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. No cases of measles have been reported in Dallas or Fort Worth. Local health officials in Rockwall County — just east of Dallas — reported a single case, but they said it does not appear to be connected to the West Texas outbreak. Doctors said they’re preaching the same thing to every concerned parent: Make sure you and your children are vaccinated. “The most robust way that we have to prevent measles is by the vaccination,” said Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, the medical director for Infection Prevention and Control at Children’s Medical Center Plano. “It’s a very effective vaccine and it’s a very safe vaccine.”

TEXAS (AP) – President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies. Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% import duties. The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%, and Beijing retaliated Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico didn’t immediately detail any retaliatory measures.

The U.S. president’s moves raised fears of higher inflation and the prospect of a devastating trade war even as he promised the American public that taxes on imports are the easiest path to national prosperity. He has shown a willingness to buck the warnings of mainstream economists and put his own public approval on the line, believing that tariffs can fix what ails the country. “It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “And now we’re using them.” The Canada and Mexico tariffs were supposed to begin in February, but Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension to negotiate further with the two largest U.S. trading partners. The stated reason for the tariffs is to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and both countries say they’ve made progress on those issues. But Trump has also said the tariffs will only come down if the U.S. trade imbalance closes, a process unlikely to be settled on a political timeline. The tariffs may be short-lived if the U.S. economy suffers. But Trump could also impose more tariffs on the European Union, India, computer chips, autos and pharmaceutical drugs. The American president has injected a disorienting volatility into the world economy, leaving it off balance as people wonder what he’ll do next.

TEXAS – The Houston Chronicle reports that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’s spoken directly with Gov. Greg Abbott about the measles outbreak in Texas, but neither are telling Texas families to get the vaccine that can stop the spread of the highly contagious respiratory illness. Kennedy said while the vaccines can protect children and contribute to community immunity, the ultimate decision to vaccinate should still be with parents. “All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy said in an op-ed published Sunday on Fox News. “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”

His comments come after the Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Friday that the state has now had 146 cases of measles since late January, mostly in the South Plains near Lubbock. Twenty patients have been hospitalized, and one child has died. Houston health officials were investigating two possible measles cases on Friday, ahead of the rodeo. And an infant too young to be vaccinated tested positive on Friday for measles in Austin, public health officials announced. Kennedy said he promised Abbott and Texas health officials any support they need to “bring this outbreak to an end.” Abbott’s office said it had a “productive” call with the federal health agency. “The state of Texas will continue working with the federal government and explore all resources to help keep Texans safe and healthy,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said. Abbott issued his first public comments on the situation on Friday, posting on social media that he’s been in regular contact with state health officials, and that the state “will deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health needs of Texans.” But the governor stopped short of pushing for people to get vaccinated. DSHS officials have been more direct on that front. “The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a vaccine against measles, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine,” the agency says in a statement. “Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles.”