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    After a Deadly Tornado, a Small Kentucky City Starts Picking Up the Pieces

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    On Sunday morning in a small Kentucky city, the sun shone and birds chirped.They provided an incongruent backdrop to a scene that looked like a war zone. Just two days before, a fierce tornado carved a 16-mile path of destruction through Laurel County, Ky., and in its county seat of London, the damage was clear: roofs ripped from homes, tree limbs sheared off, cars left as twisted hunks of metal. And several residents dead.By the afternoon, the Sunshine Hills neighborhood of London was filled with the cacophonous beeping of backhoes, accompanied by an army of faith-based volunteers.Those volunteers were among the many people in London, a city of 8,000 about 80 miles south of Lexington, who worked together this weekend to help not only those in need but also the whole community as it tried to process the disaster. Amid the grief and devastation, ensuring displaced people got the necessary supplies and assistance was top of mind for many.“It didn’t seem right to be sitting at home with our property being untouched with so many people struggling,” said Hannah Clark, who lives in neighboring Pulaski County but came to London to volunteer.The tornado was part of a storm system that tore through the central United States starting Friday, killing at least 28 people. Of those, 19 died in Kentucky, all but two in Laurel County. Outside of Kentucky, Missouri was also hit hard: Seven people died in that state, with five in St. Louis.Most of the victims in Laurel County were killed in Sunshine Hills, according to Gilbert Acciardo, a public affairs official for the county sheriff’s office, who did not give an exact number. Many of them were older, ranging in age from 50 to 70.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Missouri Lawmakers to Put Abortion on Ballot Again, Seeking Another Ban

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      The state’s Republicans are putting abortion on a ballot question again, seeking to buck the trend of voters siding with abortion rights on ballot measures.In November, Missouri became the first state to overturn a near-total abortion ban by a citizen-sponsored ballot measure. On Wednesday, it became the first state to try to reverse that decision through a ballot question, after the Republican-controlled legislature approved a measure that would ask voters to ban abortion again.The question will appear on the ballot in November 2026, although Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican who opposes abortion rights, could choose to put the issue before voters in a special election before that.The measure would amend the state Constitution to ban abortion except in medical emergencies, or in cases of rape or incest if the assault was reported to police within 48 hours and the pregnancy is less than 12 weeks along. The measure would also ban gender-affirming surgery or medications for minors.The legislature approved the measure on the penultimate day of its session after fierce opposition from Democrats and infighting among Republicans, some of whom argued that the new amendment should not include exceptions for rape and incest.The move bucks the trend on abortion-related ballot measures. Voters have sided with abortion rights in 14 out of 17 times that the question has appeared on state ballots in the three years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had for five decades recognized a right to abortion in the Constitution. Opponents of abortion rights have grown wary of putting the question before voters, and in states such as Florida and Arkansas, are instead trying to make it harder for citizens to put questions on the ballot, or pass ballot measures.But Republicans who control the levers of state government in Missouri have long been fiercely anti-abortion; it was the first state to officially ban abortion after the court overturned Roe. They are hoping it will not take much to reverse the amendment approved in November, which passed with support from just under 52 percent of the vote.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Christopher Bond, Former Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator, Dies at 86

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      A Republican known as Kit, he was the state’s youngest governor. When he retired from Congress after four terms, he said he didn’t want to be the state’s oldest senator.Christopher S. Bond, who was Missouri’s youngest governor and the state’s first Republican governor since 1945 when he was elected in 1972, and who went on to serve four terms in the U.S. Senate, died on Tuesday in St. Louis. He was 86.His death was announced by Gov. Mike Kehoe, a fellow Republican. The announcement did not say where in St. Louis he died.Mr. Bond, known as Kit, was 31 in 1970 when he was elected state auditor, defeating a 17-year incumbent. He served from 1971 to 1973, when he became governor, having been elected in November 1972 at age 33. He was the first Republican to hold that position since Forrest C. Donnell left office in 1945.Mr. Bond was defeated for re-election, but he staged a comeback in 1980 by ousting Joseph P. Teasdale, the Democrat who had replaced him. He succeeded Thomas F. Eagleton, a Democrat, in the Senate in 1987 after Mr. Eagleton retired.His election to a fourth term in 2004 was the seventh time that Mr. Bond won statewide office — more than any other candidate in Missouri’s history.In 2009, he announced that he would not seek a fifth term in 2010.Mr. Bond during his second term as governor of Missouri. He served from 1973 to 1977 and again from 1981 to 1985.UPI/Bettmann Archive, via Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump to continue Biden’s court defense of abortion drug mifepristone

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      Donald Trump’s administration on Monday pushed forward in defending US rules easing access to the abortion drug mifepristone from a legal challenge that began during Democratic former president Joe Biden’s administration.The US Department of Justice in a brief filed in Texas federal court urged a judge to dismiss the lawsuit by three Republican-led states on procedural grounds.While the filing does not discuss the merits of the states’ case, it suggests the Trump administration is in no rush to drop the government’s defense of mifepristone, used in more than 60% of US abortions.Missouri, Kansas and Idaho claim the US Food and Drug Administration acted improperly when it eased restrictions on mifepristone, including by allowing it to be prescribed by telemedicine and dispensed by mail.The justice department and the office of Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Trump said while campaigning last year that he did not plan to ban or restrict access to mifepristone. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services secretary, told Fox News in February that Trump has asked for a study on the safety of abortion pills and has not made a decision on whether to tighten restrictions on them.Last year, the US supreme court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to restrict access to the drug, finding that they lacked legal standing to challenge the FDA regulations.Those plaintiffs dropped their case after the high court ruling, but US district judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, allowed the states to intervene and continue to pursue the lawsuit.The US justice department moved to dismiss their claims days before Trump took office in January.In Monday’s filing, government lawyers repeated their arguments that Texas is not the proper venue for the lawsuit and that the states lack standing to sue because they are not being harmed by the challenged regulations.“Regardless of the merits of the States’ claims, the States cannot proceed in this Court,” they wrote.The three states are challenging FDA actions that loosened restrictions on the drug in 2016 and 2021, including allowing for medication abortions at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy instead of seven, and for mail delivery of the drug without first seeing a clinician in person. The original plaintiffs initially had sought to reverse FDA approval of mifepristone, but that aspect was rebuffed by a lower court.The Republican-led states have argued they have standing to sue because their Medicaid health insurance programs will likely have to pay to treat patients who have suffered complications from using mifepristone.They have also said they should be allowed to remain in Texas even without the original plaintiffs because it would be inefficient to send the case to another court after two years of litigation. More

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      A Funeral Director Brought Wind Power to Rock Port, Missouri

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      Eric Chamberlain was at work, driving a hearse, when he first caught sight of the wind turbine that would set him on a path to change the fortunes of his hometown.It was the mid-2000s, and Mr. Chamberlain was leading a funeral procession in Iowa, across the border from his home in Atchison County in northwest Missouri, when giant white blades came into view. Mr. Chamberlain had heard of wind energy but not seen a commercial turbine before. He was intrigued, but obviously couldn’t pull over to take a closer look.“I didn’t stop,” said Mr. Chamberlain, whose family has operated Chamberlain Funeral Homes and Monuments since 1968. “I was polite.”Eric Chamberlain, a funeral director, grew up in Atchison, one of Missouri’s most rural counties.After the funeral, he visited a local newspaper in Iowa to ask people there about the wind energy project.Mr. Chamberlain, 70, grew up in Atchison, one of Missouri’s most rural counties, and over the years watched as waning opportunities and population decline steadily ate away at the place. Young people didn’t come back after college. School enrollment fell. Farms got bigger, and fewer farmers meant less tax revenue. Businesses on Main Street closed and the area went from having two grocery stores to one.Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live More

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      in Elections

      Long-Running Storm Drenches Central U.S. but Starts to Shift East

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      The heaviest rains so far this weekend have hit Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. More rain is expected on Sunday, but the risk of flooding will be less severe.The huge storm system that has caused widespread damage across the central United States is bringing more heavy rain and high winds on Sunday, continuing its dayslong stretch of soaking communities from Texas to Ohio as it begins to move east.The heaviest rains over the weekend so far have fallen in Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, and rising water levels and flooding have prompted water rescues, road closures and evacuation orders. The storm has killed at least 16 people, including a 5-year-old boy in Arkansas, a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky and a firefighter in Missouri, since it began on Wednesday.

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      Source: National Weather Service
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       Values are in inches of water or the equivalent amount of melted snow and ice.
      By Bea Malsky and Martín González Gómez

      The threat of storms and rainfall will shift eastward but diminish on Sunday, which will be a welcome reprieve for residents in the South and the Midwest. In some areas — including northern Arkansas and southern Missouri — rivers are expected to crest on Sunday, and possibly as late as Wednesday, but the risk of dangerous flooding will not be as high as it was on Friday and Saturday.While the worst of the rain is over in northern Kentucky, parts of the region are still expected to receive up to five inches of rain before the long stretch of bad weather finally clears, according to the National Weather Service. “Moderate to major” flooding was forecast on many of the region’s rivers.“Given the fact that everything is so saturated, everything is just running right off the ground and into area creeks and streams,” said Nate McGinnis, a meteorologist with the agency in Wilmington, Ohio.

      Forecast risk of severe storms for Sunday

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      Communities Brace for Flooding as Storm Moves Across Central U.S.

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      The rising water levels have prompted rescues and road closures. The storm, which has already wreaked havoc across the South and the Midwest, doesn’t show signs of letting up.Rivers were rising rapidly across much of the Midwest and South on Saturday, prompting water rescues and road closures as a relentless storm continued to dump rain and to rage across the country. The increased flooding, which was happening from Texas to Ohio, came after days of heavy rains and tornadoes that killed at least nine people, including a Missouri firefighter who died while responding to a water rescue call on Friday. Forecasters warned that the floods might continue well into next week, with rivers not expected to crest in some places until Tuesday or Wednesday.Emergency workers reported overnight water rescues in Texarkana, Texas; Izard County, Ark.; and several places in southern Missouri, including around Cape Girardeau. “We’ve got flooded streets everywhere — and lots more rain on the way,” the Texarkana police posted on Facebook.On Friday, the local sheriff in Izard County, in northern Arkansas, was traveling to rescue a family when he crashed his truck on a washed-out road. The sheriff was not injured, but photos showed his truck partially submerged.“All county roads will have major damage like this for the coming days that can be hidden by the water,” the department warned, adding that people should stay home if possible. More

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      Scenes From States Devastated by a Powerful Storm System

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      A massive storm system has pummeled the Midwest and South this week, killing at least seven people and leaving a trail of destruction from Arkansas to Ohio. The risk may only increase in the days ahead as sustained rainfall is expected to cause widespread and potentially catastrophic floods.The storm began to menace the region on Wednesday, when tornadoes and strong winds toppled barns, houses and power poles. Several people died in Tennessee, including a teenage girl whose modular home was destroyed by a tornado. Officials also linked a fire chief’s death in Missouri and a motorist’s death in Indiana to the storm.In many communities, the focus shifted immediately to the threat of flooding. Water already covered roads in Nashville, and schools in some drenched Kentucky and Tennessee communities called off Friday classes. With many waterways expected to crest at major flood stage over the weekend, residents of river towns in Arkansas, Missouri and beyond were racing to fill up sandbags.Here is a look at some of the damage:ArkansasBrad J. Vest for The New York TimesCody Ferguson took pictures of damage to his home in Lake City.Brad J. Vest for The New York TimesJessica Rust showed off a photo of a tornado that she took on Wednesday as she and her family cleared debris from her father’s destroyed mobile home in Lake City.Associated PressPeople surveyed destroyed homes in Lake City.Brad J. Vest for The New York TimesDylon Davies embraced Skylar, his friend’s dog that survived the tornado in Lake City.TennesseeWilliam DeShazer for The New York TimesRescue operations were underway as floodwaters grew in Nashville.@racheljanemarie via XFloodwaters overflowed into streets in Nashville.William DeShazer for The New York TimesUtility workers began restoring power in Selmer.William DeShazer for The New York TimesBuildings were shredded in Selmer.Tennessee Highway Patrol via StoryfulCrews searched through wreckage after a tornado hit Selmer.William DeShazer for The New York TimesFlooding in Nashville.William DeShazer for The New York TimesResidents in Selmer patched a roof as rain continued to pour.Anthony Kyle Borden via FacebookLightening as tornado warnings were issued in Statonville.KentuckyMichael Swensen/Getty ImagesParishioners and community members assessed damage after a tornado struck the Christ Community Church in West Paducah.Leandro Lozada/Agence France-Presse, via Afp /Afp Via Getty ImagesA tornado ripped through buildings in Louisville.Indiana@DKahunaB via StoryfulTornados toppled trees and damaged homes in Carmel.MissouriDavid Robert Elliott for The New York TimesResidents explored the wreckage in Nevada.David Robert Elliott for The New York TimesBusinesses in Nevada were destroyed by the storm.OklahomaMike Simons/Tulsa World, via Associated PressRyland Mosley, 18, who was on the second story of his home when the storm passed, stood outside and observed the aftermath in Owasso.Mike Simons/Tulsa World, via Associated PressDamage in Owasso. More

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      Tornadoes Sweep Across the South and Midwest, Killing at Least 7

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      After hail, heavy rains and more than 30 tornadoes drenched the region, officials warned that a “generational flooding” disaster was possible.At least seven people have been killed in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana, officials said on Thursday, after more than 30 tornadoes, combined with hail and heavy rains, swept through the South and Midwest, flooding streets, snapping power lines and flattening homes and businesses.The flooding was expected to worsen as the storm stalls over the region, putting millions under severe weather advisories over the next few days. Officials warned that a “generational flooding” disaster was possible as more than a foot of rain could fall, pushing swollen rivers and creeks over their banks.Cities and counties across the Midwest and South were ramping up efforts to prepare for the severe flooding that was predicted for the days ahead. Officials said that schools in some districts in Tennessee and Kentucky would be closed on Friday.The Army Corps of Engineers said it had filled about 1,500 sandbags to reinforce a levee near Poplar Bluff, Mo., where the Black River was expected to surge to near-record flood levels over the weekend. An urban search-and-rescue team was also deploying to the area.Gov. Mike Braun of Indiana said he was activating the National Guard to help with the storm response.As much as 10 to 15 inches of rain could fall through the weekend, the National Weather Service said. The most intense rain was expected in Arkansas and Tennessee, where floodwaters were rising in parts of Nashville and rescues were underway.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More