Today is
Friday April 04, 2025
UPDATE: According to our news partner KETK, Womack is safe and has returned home.
LUFKIN, Texas (KETK)- The Lufkin Police Department is searching for a missing 11-year-old boy who was last seen Wednesday evening.
Zaviar Womack was last seen near Lufkin’s Garrett Primary school at around 5:15 p.m. Womack was wearing the shirt shown in the photograph along with blue jeans and glasses.
Photo courtesy of Lufkin Police Department
Anyone with information on Womack’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Lufkin Police Department at 936-633-0356.
NACOGDOCHES — According to our news partner KETK, a Mexican man, residing in Nacogdoches, pleaded guilty to federal immigration and firearms violations on Tuesday. 25-year-old Joel Bustamante Moreno was detained for selling multiple firearms, including a 9mm pistol equipped with a Glock switch, a device that once fixed to a pistol can make it capable of firing automatically. Officials said Moreno fled the scene when officers attempted to arrest him, wrecked a vehicle and ran to a residence where he was later arrested. Moreno has previously been deported in 2019 and 2020.
He faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
Moreno’s case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program combining all levels of law enforcement and the communities to keep neighborhoods safer. Several parties are part of the investigation including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations and the Nacogdoches Police Department.
LUBBOCK (ABC) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 20 additional cases confirmed, bringing the total to 279 cases, according to new state data published Tuesday.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Just two cases are among fully vaccinated individuals. At least 36 people have been hospitalized so far, the state said.
In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, at 120, followed by children ages 4 and under making up 88 cases, the DSHS data shows.
“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 in its update.
The number of measles cases in Texas is close to the number confirmed for the entirety of last year in the U.S., which saw 285 cases nationwide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Two likely measles deaths have been reported so far in the U.S. this year. The first reported death was in Texas, according to the DSHS. The child did not have any known underlying conditions, according to the department.
The death was the first U.S. measles death recorded in a decade, according to data from the CDC.
A possible second measles death was recorded after an unvaccinated New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus following their death. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said the official cause of death is still under investigation.
New Mexico has reported a total of 33 measles cases so far this year, according to the NMDOH. Many of the cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders western Texas.
Health officials suspect there may be a connection between the Texas and New Mexico cases, but a link has not yet been confirmed.
The CDC has confirmed 301 measles cases in at least 14 states so far this year, including Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington, according to new data published Friday.
The majority of nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, the CDC said. Of those cases, 3% are among those who received just one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
The CDC recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second dose between ages 4 and 6 years old.
One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster, per the health agency.
In the face of the growing measles outbreak, the federal health agency issued an alert on March 7 saying parents in the outbreak area should consider getting their children an early third dose of the MMR vaccine. Texas health officials have also recommended early vaccination for infants living in outbreak areas.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas midwife has been arrested and accused of providing illegal abortions, marking the first time authorities have filed criminal charges under the state’s near-total abortion ban, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday.
Maria Margarita Rojas has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion, a second-degree felony, as well as practicing medicine without a license, which is a third-degree felony.
Paxton alleges that Rojas, 48, illegally operated at least three clinics in the Houston area where illegal abortion procedures were performed in direct violation of state law.
“In Texas, life is sacred. I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state’s pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,” Paxton said in a statement. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore, whose office is located northwest of Houston, referred the case to Paxton for prosecution, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Waller County court records show Rojas was arrested on March 6 and she was released on bond the next day.
Court records did not list an attorney for Rojas who could speak on her behalf.
A woman reached by phone at one of Rojas’ clinics said Monday she did not know who Rojas was. Messages left at Rojas’ two other clinics were not immediately returned. On their Facebook pages, the clinics advertise various services, including physical exams, ultrasounds and vaccines.
Texas is one of 12 states currently enforcing a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Texas’ ban allows exceptions when a pregnant patient has a life-threatening condition. Opponents of the ban say it is too vague when it comes to when medically necessary exceptions are allowed. A bill has been filed in the current Texas legislative session to clarify medical exceptions allowed under the law.
The charge of illegal performance of an abortion carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison while the charge of practicing medicine without a license carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Paxton’s office said it has filed a temporary restraining order to close Rojas’ clinics.
In the U.S., there have been few, if any, criminal charges filed alleging the operation of illegal abortion clinics since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door to state abortion bans.
A Louisiana grand jury earlier this year indicted a New York doctor on charges that she illegally prescribed abortion pills online to a Louisiana patient. Paxton has filed a civil lawsuit against the same doctor under a similar accusation.
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Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Greenpeace used malicious and deceptive tactics to disrupt the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and keep it from going forward, an attorney for the company behind the project said Monday.
But attorneys for the environmental advocacy group said during their closing arguments that Greenpeace had little involvement with the 2016-17 protests that are central to the case.
A North Dakota jury began deliberating Monday after a weekslong trial over Dallas-based Energy Transfer’s argument that Greenpeace defamed the company and disrupted the project.
What is the case about?
The energy company and its subsidiary Dakota Access accused Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, civil conspiracy, trespass, nuisance and other acts, and is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Nine jurors and two alternates heard the case after it went to trial in late February. Their verdict will include what damages, if any, to award.
Trey Cox, an attorney for the pipeline company, highlighted damages per claim totaling nearly $350 million.
The lawsuit is linked to the protests against the oil pipeline and its controversial Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline as a risk to its water supply. The pipeline has been transporting oil since mid-2017.
What did the company say?
Cox said Greenpeace exploited a small, disorganized, local issue to promote its agenda, calling Greenpeace “master manipulators” and “deceptive to the core.”
Greenpeace paid professional protesters, organized or led protester trainings, shared intelligence of the pipeline route with protesters and sent lockboxes for demonstrators to attach themselves to equipment, Cox said.
Among a number of alleged defamatory statements were that the company deliberately desecrated burial grounds during construction, which Cox said was done to harm Energy Transfer’s reputation in the international investment community. The company made 140 slight adjustments to its route to avoid disturbing sacred or cultural sites, he said.
Greenpeace’s “lies impacted lenders,” Cox said. Energy Transfer suffered $96 million in lost financing and $7 million in public relations costs, he said.
The pipeline was delayed by five months, and the company lost $80 million because it couldn’t turn on the spigot on Jan. 1, 2017, when oil was to start flowing, Cox said.
He asked the jury to find the Greenpeace entities liable.
“It needs to be done for Morton County. It needs to be done for Morton County’s law enforcement and the next community where Greenpeace exploits an opportunity to push its agenda at any cost,” Cox told the jury, referring to the county where the protests were centered.
How did Greenpeace respond?
Attorneys for Greenpeace said Energy Transfer didn’t prove its case or meet its legal burden for defamation or damages, that Greenpeace employees had little or no presence or involvement in the protests, and that Greenpeace had nothing to do with the company’s delays in construction or refinancing.
A letter signed by leaders of Greenpeace International and Greenpeace USA and sent to banks involved in the project’s construction loan contained the alleged defamatory statement about desecrating burial grounds, which Cox equated to digging up dead bodies.
Greenpeace International attorney Courtney DeThomas said the other side hasn’t shown how the one act of signing a letter with 500 other organizations damaged them, and that the letter would have been sent to the banks with or without Greenpeace’s name on it. Thousands of protesters were already at Standing Rock by the time the letter was signed, she said.
Greenpeace USA attorney Everett Jack Jr. disputed the company’s claims as including costs from months before and years after the protests, with no witnesses to say that the Greenpeace entities were the cause.
Jack also said no law enforcement officers or any of Energy Transfer’s security personnel testified that Greenpeace was the cause of any violence or property destruction, or was a leader, organizer or instigator in the protests. He said law enforcement “did a phenomenal job of watching the protests.”
Greenpeace representatives have criticized the lawsuit as an example of corporations abusing the legal system to go after critics and called it a critical test of free speech and protest rights. An Energy Transfer spokesperson said the case is about Greenpeace not following the law, not free speech.
HOUSTON (AP) — Louisiana is set this week to execute a man by nitrogen gas, the first execution in the state in 15 years.
Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, is scheduled to die on Tuesday in Louisiana. He was convicted of the 1996 murder of a woman in New Orleans. If Louisiana carries out the execution, it would join Alabama as the only two states to use nitrogen gas to put a prisoner to death.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976, states have used five different execution methods: lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad and hanging.
Here’s a look at how the U.S. executes people:
Most U.S. executions are by lethal injection
Lethal injection has been the preferred method in the modern era, with 1,428 carried out since 1976. Texas has done the most, killing 593 inmates, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit center.
Twenty-eight states as well as the U.S. military and U.S. government authorize the use of lethal injection, in which an inmate has a deadly mixture of drugs injected into their bodies as they are strapped to a gurney.
But throughout its use, lethal injection has been plagued by problems, including delays in finding suitable veins, needles becoming clogged or disengaged and problems with securing enough of the required drugs.
“A number of states are beginning to experiment with new methods of execution … because of the problems with lethal injection,” said John Banzhaf, a professor emeritus of law at George Washington University Law School.
Use of electrocution is down since 2000
Nine states authorize the use of electrocution, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1976, 163 electrocutions have been carried out. But only 19 have been done since 2000.
In this method, a person is strapped to a chair and has electrodes placed on their head and leg before a jolt of between 500 and 2,000 volts runs through their body. The last electrocution took place in 2020 in Tennessee.
Texas used electrocution from 1924 to 1964, killing 361 inmates, according to the state’s Department of Criminal Justice. The electric chair used by Texas was nicknamed “Old Sparky.” It is now displayed at the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, where the state’s death chamber is located.
Louisiana could join Alabama in the use of nitrogen gas
Lethal gas is authorized as the default execution method in eight states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
From 1979 to 1999, 11 inmates were executed using this method, in which a prisoner would be strapped to a chair in an airtight chamber before it was filled with cyanide gas.
In 2024, Alabama revived the method when it became the first state to use nitrogen gas to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith. A mask is placed over a prisoner’s face and nitrogen gas is pumped in, depriving the person of oxygen and resulting in death.
Alabama has executed four inmates using nitrogen gas, with the last one taking place in February.
Louisiana would be the second state to use nitrogen gas as an execution method if it carries out the death sentence against Hoffman. After a federal appeals court on Friday vacated a preliminary injunction that had stopped the execution, Hoffman’s lawyers said they planned to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Firing squads are rarely used in the modern era
Since 1977, only four inmates have been executed by firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
On March 7, Brad Sigmon became the first person executed by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years when he was put to death in South Carolina. The other three executions by firing squad took place in Utah.
Five states including Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah authorize its use, but it is not the primary execution method. For this method, an inmate is usually bound to a chair and is shot through the heart by a group of prison staffers standing 20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.6 meters) away.
Idaho has had firing squad executions on the books as a backup if lethal injection drugs are unavailable since 2023. But in the wake of last year’s botched lethal injection attempt on Thomas Eugene Creech, Gov. Brad Little recently signed a bill into law that makes the firing squad the state’s primary execution method.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Doug Ricks, has suggested Idaho could use a firing squad machine, triggering the guns electronically to eliminate the need for additional execution team members.
Hanging was once the primary execution method
In the U.S., hanging was the main method of execution until about the 1890s, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Data collected by researchers of U.S. executions from 1608 to 2002 found 9,322 people were put to death by hanging, in which a person was blindfolded and their hands and legs were secured before a noose was placed around the neck and they fell through a trap door.
But in capital punishment’s modern era, only three individuals in the U.S. have been executed by hanging in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
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Associated Press video journalist Cody Jackson in Fort Pierce, Florida, and writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at juanlozano70.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With Oklahomans still reeling from deadly wildfires that whipped across the state and destroyed hundreds of homes in recent days, authorities warned that Tuesday would bring a renewed risk of fire to an area spanning from western Oklahoma through the Texas Panhandle and into southeastern New Mexico.
More than 400 homes were severely damaged or destroyed in the outbreak of wildfires that started Friday in Oklahoma. At least four people died due to the fires or high winds, including a person killed in a vehicle accident as a result of poor visibility due to dust or smoke, officials said.
While calm weather over the weekend helped crews get a handle on most wildfires burning across Texas and Oklahoma, forecasters at the National Weather Service said extremely critical fire weather conditions were expected Tuesday in parts of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.
With wind gusts predicted to reach as high as 50 mph (80 kph) in the afternoon, along with dry conditions and “receptive fuels,” fires could spread rapidly, the weather service said.
“These fires, once they get started, become really hard to stop,” said Keith Merckx of Oklahoma Forestry Services. “They move more quickly than our resources can keep up with.”
He said officials will be returning their attention to western and central Oklahoma, where high winds were expected to pick back up again over the next few days. Much of the state will be back under fire warnings beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Andrine Shufran and her husband spent Monday raking through the ashes of their home in a neighborhood in Stillwater that she said “looks like a checkerboard” after the recent fires.
“There’s no predictability or fairness about destroyed houses,” Shufran said. “There’s only two options for the homes in our neighborhood: standing or burned to the ground.”
Her home was one of more than 70 destroyed by wildfires in Stillwater, a city of about 50,000 about 65 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City and home to Oklahoma State University.
Shufran, a director at Insect Adventure, a petting zoo that’s part of OSU and the university’s extension campuses, said current and former students, friends and city officials have stepped in to help her and her husband.
“I’ve been more overwhelmed by how fantastic Oklahomans are when they’re friends with you, or neighbors with you, because we’ve had so many people reach out,” Shufran said.
Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce warned on Facebook on Monday afternoon of worsening fire conditions in the area.
“Be prepared to take action quickly, if necessary,” he wrote.
Southwest of Stillwater, residents in two parts of rural Logan County were urged to evacuate their homes Monday afternoon after wildfires that already burned more than 47 square miles (120 square kilometers) in the county since Friday picked back up amid high winds and dry conditions.
An evacuation shelter had been set up at the county fairgrounds in Guthrie, said Logan County Deputy Emergency Management Director Shawn Pierce.
Pierce said an estimated 54 homes were destroyed in last week’s fire in the county, which is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City.
About 10 fires continued to burn in Texas on Monday as officials geared up for more high winds Tuesday, said Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Erin O’Connor.
Although most of the fires have been contained due to slower winds Sunday, Texas officials were expecting wildfire danger to ramp up further into the week, O’Connor said.
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AP reporter Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
TEXARKANA– According to our news partner KETK, four men were arrested on Friday after investigators conducted a sting operation targeting individuals attempting to solicit sex with a minor or prostitute in Texarkana. According to Texarkana Police Department, for several days investigators ran a sting operation to target people attempting to solicit sex and as a result, arrested four men.
Officials said that Gregory Alane Frame, 45 of Wake Village and Derek Dean Thomas, 33 of Henderson, were communicating with an undercover officer posing as an underage girl and then showed up at a location expecting to meet her. Frame was arrested for online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct and Thomas was arrested for online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
Texarkana PD said Cameron Lamont Dotson, 21 of Texarkana, was arrested for online solicitation of prostitution while Robert Hopkins, 37 of Texarkana, was arrested for online solicitation of prostitution and manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. All four men are currently being held in the Bowie County Jail.
PALESTINE – An East Texas State legislator is pushing for a bill that would support veterans who are facing Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) according to our news partner KETK.
East Texas State Representative Cody Harris of Palestine has proposed HB 3717 which would provide $50 million in private and public funding for research into ibogaine-assisted therapy. The therapy focuses on working with veterans who are suffering from (OUD) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) along with other neurological and mental health conditions. Harris spoke about how the bill could transform the lives of many veterans across the state by giving them a second chance through recovery from addiction.
“This bill puts Texas at the forefront of medical innovation and personal freedom by cutting through federal red tape and supporting life-saving research that could give our veterans and countless others a second chance. We can’t afford to wait —Texas must lead the way,” Harris said.
Click here to learn more about HB 3717 through the Texas Legislature online.
SMITH COUNTY – According to our news partner KETK, three people were recently arrested in connection to an East Texas undercover prostitution victim recovery operation. Documents obtained by KETK show that a special agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigative Division in Tyler is part of an ongoing multi-agency operation tasked with identifying and recovering victims of human trafficking.
The special agent reported in an arrest affidavit that an undercover officer solicited a prostitute through an online advertisement containing a phone number. As a part of the ongoing operation, a meeting was set up for an hour of sexual services, records show. An unreported hotel address and room number were sent and when the suspected prostitute showed up they were met by law enforcement and taken to a Texas DPS office to be questioned, according to an arrest affidavit.
A message asking about why the suspected prostitute wasn’t answering their phone was then received by the undercover officer and an arrest document described how a nearby surveillance team noticed the driver of a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix talking to a bystander. Read the rest of this entry »
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former pastor of a Texas megachurch is expected to turn himself into Oklahoma authorities Monday on child sexual abuse charges.
Robert Preston Morris, 63, is expected to surrender to officials in Osage County, where he was charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, his attorney, Mack Martin, told The Associated Press.
Martin declined to comment on the charges against Morris, but said he anticipated entering a not guilty plea on Morris’ behalf.
Court records show an Osage County judge set a $50,000 bond and ordered Morris to surrender his passport to the local sheriff.
Morris resigned last year as pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas suburb of Southlake after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s.
The alleged abuse started in 1982 when the victim, referred to in the indictment as C.C., was 12 years old and Morris was a traveling evangelist staying in Hominy, Oklahoma, with her family, according to the attorney general’s office. The abuse allegedly continued for four years.
Cindy Clemishire, Morris’ accuser, said in a statement that she is very grateful to the authorities who have worked to make the indictment possible and is hopeful “justice will ultimately prevail.”
“After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” said Clemishire, now 55. “Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable.”
The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, but Clemishire said she would like her name included.
Morris was known to be politically active. The church hosted President Donald Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.
Morris could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the five charges, according to the attorney general’s office.
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Closing arguments are scheduled to begin on Monday in a pipeline company’s lawsuit against Greenpeace, a case the environmental advocacy group said could have consequences for free speech and protest rights and threaten the organization’s future.
The jury will deliberate after the closing arguments and jury instructions. Nine jurors and two alternates have heard the case.
North Dakota District Court Judge James Gion told the jury last month when the trial began, “You are the judges of all questions of fact in this case,” and to “base your verdict on the evidence.”
Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access alleged defamation, trespass, nuisance and other offenses by Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, its American branch Greenpeace USA, and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. The pipeline company is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
The lawsuit stems from protests in 2016 and 2017 of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and its Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe for years has opposed the pipeline as a risk to its water supply. The pipeline has transported oil since mid-2017.
Trey Cox, an attorney for the pipeline company, previously said Greenpeace “planned, organized and funded a game plan to stop construction” of the pipeline, “whatever the cost.”
Cox also alleged Greenpeace paid outsiders to come into the area to protest, sent blockade supplies, organized or led protester trainings, passed “critical intel” to the protesters and told untrue statements to stop the line from being built.
He said a letter signed by leaders of Greenpeace International and Greenpeace USA and sent to Energy Transfer’s banks contained an allegedly defamatory statement that the company desecrated burial grounds and culturally important sites during construction.
Greenpeace’s “deceptive narrative scared off lenders” and the company lost half its banks, Cox said.
Attorneys for the Greenpeace entities denied the allegations, saying there is no evidence, they had little or no involvement with the protests and the letter was signed by hundreds of organizations from dozens of countries, with no financial institution to testify the organization received, read or was influenced by the letter.
Greenpeace representatives have said the lawsuit is an example of corporations abusing the legal system to go after critics and is a critical test of free speech and protest rights. An Energy Transfer spokesperson said the case is about Greenpeace not following the law, not free speech.
A dynamic storm that prompted foreboding predictions of dangerous weekend weather spawned tornadoes, dust storms and wildfires that killed at least 39 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
The weakening but still volatile weather system was moving Monday into the U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, bringing thunderstorms, hail, damaging winds and the potential for more tornadoes.
Here’s what to know about the unusually erratic and damaging weather.
Monday forecast
Forecasters warned of dangerous winds from Florida all the way north to New Jersey, while heavy rain was likely across New York and New England.
A tornado watch was in effect until early Monday for a large swath of North Carolina and Virginia, with gusts potentially reaching 70 mph and possible hail the size of ping pong balls, according to the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The massive storm that began Friday earned an unusual “high risk” designation from meteorologists. Still, experts said it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.
Multiple tornadoes in several states
In Tylertown, Mississippi, tornadoes ripped tall trees in half and wiped out entire neighborhoods. Six people were killed and more than 200 were displaced, Gov. Tate Reeves said.
Hailey Hart and her fiancé Steve Romero hunkered down with their three huskies inside their 1994 Toyota Celica as a twister ripped apart their home Saturday. Romero said he prayed out loud and hugged Hart as the car rolled onto its side, windows shattering, before it landed on its wheels again.
“It was a bad dream come true,” Romero said. The couple escaped with only scratches.
Wayne County, Missouri, resident Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing trapped neighbors found five bodies scattered in rubble outside what remained of his aunt’s house. Scattered twisters killed at least a dozen people in the state Friday, authorities said.
Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, Missouri, described the home where one man was killed as “just a debris field.”
“The floor was upside down,” he said. “We were walking on walls.”
Wildfires and dust storms also proved deadly
Wind-driven wildfires caused extensive damage in Texas and Oklahoma and officials warned that parts of both states would again face an increased risk of fire danger in the coming week.
More than 130 fires were reported across Oklahoma and nearly 400 homes were damaged or destroyed, Gov. Kevin Stitt said.
“Nobody has enough resources to fight fires when the wind is blowing 70 mph,” said Terry Essary, the fire chief of Stillwater, Oklahoma. “It’s an insurmountable task.”
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesperson Keli Cain said Sunday that two people were killed as a result of the wildfires and weather.
Meanwhile, dust storms spurred by high winds claimed almost a dozen lives on Friday. Eight people died in a Kansas highway pileup involving at least 50 vehicles, according to the state highway patrol. Authorities said three people also were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle.
Refuge and recovery efforts
President Donald Trump said the White House was monitoring the storms and would assist state and local officials to help in the recovery. He said National Guard troops were deployed to Arkansas, where officials confirmed three deaths.
“Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!” Trump posted on his social media network on Sunday.
At least three people, including an 82-year-old woman, were killed in central Alabama when multiple tornadoes swept across the state.
In Troy, Alabama, parks officials said the recreation center where many residents had taken refuge had to be closed due to damage from overnight storms. No one was injured.
“We are thankful the Lord provided protection over our community, and over 200 guests at the Recreation Center storm shelter on Saturday night,” the parks department said in a statement.
(GAINES COUNTY) ABC — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 259, with 36 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. Two cases have occurred in persons vaccinated with two doses, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Breakthrough infections, when a vaccinated person is infected are rare, as the measles vaccine provides up to 97% protection after 2 doses.
At least 34 people have been hospitalized so far.
In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, with 115, followed by children ages 4 and under comprising 86 cases, according to the data.
DSHS said in its update that it expects more cases to be confirmed in the area and in surrounding communities.
Two likely measles deaths have been reported so far in the U.S. One is a confirmed death associated with measles, while the other has been definitively linked to the measles virus but the cause of death officially remains under investigation.
The first reported death was an unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas, according to the DSHS. The child did not have any known underlying conditions, according to the department.
The Texas death was the first measles death recorded in the U.S. in a decade, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Another probable measles death was recorded last week after an unvaccinated New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus.
Gaines County is the epicenter of the Texas outbreak, with 174 cases confirmed among residents, according to the DSHS. State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in Gaines County has grown dramatically in the last dozen years.
In 2013, roughly 7.5% of kindergartners in the county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine. 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed hundreds of cases in at least 12 states so far this year, including Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington
The majority of nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Of those cases, 4% are among those who received just one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to nine 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, the CDC says. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. 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.
ABC News Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
NOAA (AP) – More than 100 million people in the U.S. will be in the path of an intense March storm starting Friday as the sprawling multi-day system threatens fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and flooding as it tracks eastward across the Great Plains.
Scientists said the storm’s strength and potential for far-reaching impacts is notable, but its timing isn’t particularly unusual. Extreme weather can pop up in spring because storms feed on big temperature differences between the warmth that’s starting to show up and the lingering chill of winter.
“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” said Benjamin Reppert, meteorologist at Penn State University.
The National Weather Service forecast strong winds stretching Friday from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande, with gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph), which creates a significant fire risk in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a winter blast was expected farther north in parts of the Rockies and Northern Plains, with possible blizzard conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The central region from the Gulf Coast to Wisconsin is at risk of severe thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes and hail. On Saturday, severe storms are forecast to move toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and then into Florida. Potential flooding was a concern from the Central Gulf Coast through the upper Ohio Valley.
The turbulent weather is expected to arrive on the East Coast Sunday with strong winds and a flash flooding risk in localized areas. Heavy rain was forecast along the Interstate 95 corridor south to Jacksonville, Florida.
Reppert noted that temperatures in the upper atmosphere in much of the central and eastern U.S. are close to record levels for this time of year, while a cool air mass behind the storm in the western states is one of the coolest on record for that region and this time of year. He said that combination could be behind part of this storm’s expected strength.
Russ Schumacher, a climatologist at Colorado State University, said the storm could become a bomb cyclone Friday afternoon or evening — a designation given when a storm intensifies so rapidly that atmospheric pressure drops a certain amount in a 24-hour period. That would mean higher winds and more intense rainfall.
In addition to fuel from big temperature swings, the storm will be shaped by the jet stream. In a fairly typical position for this time of year, it’s diving south across the U.S. and will help lift air and moisture into the atmosphere to fall back as rain.
The storm also will tap into heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America as declared by President Donald Trump, which is 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 to 2.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than historic averages.
“You kind of have this Goldilocks situation,” said Ryan Torn, professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany, referring to the mix of ingredients in the atmosphere that will add to the storm’s strength.
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