Powerful storms, tornadoes kill at least 2 in central U.S.
ST. LOUIS — Dangerous storms left a string of more than 30 tornadoes across the central U.S., damaging homes in Oklahoma, demolishing a racetrack grandstand in Missouri and inundating the region with water over a short period.
Two deaths, both in Missouri, were blamed on the severe weather that started in the Southern Plains Monday night and moved to the northeast. Missouri and parts of Illinois and Arkansas were in the cross hairs Tuesday. By Wednesday, the storm will move into the Great Lakes region, where it will weaken. But another storm system was gathering steam for later this week, potentially covering an area from Texas to Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.
Patrick Marsh, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center, said eyewitnesses reported 26 tornadoes Monday and six more Tuesday. One, near Tulsa, was a mile wide with winds in the range of 111 mph to 135 mph.
Confusion for Carson
When a freshman congresswoman asked U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson at a congressional hearing Tuesday whether he knew what the housing term “REO” was, Mr. Carson thought she was referring to the similar-sounding cookie.
“An Oreo?” the secretary asked.
No, said Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., her tone firm. She spelled it back to him, twice. Mr. Carson came up with: “real estate e-organization.”
It’s actually “real estate owned.”
The term refers to property owned by a bank or a lender after it has been foreclosed. Ms. Porter wanted to know why there was disparity in the rate of REOs issued by the Federal Housing Administration compared with other government-owned real estate.
Hours after the hearing ended, Mr. Carson tweeted a photo of a package of Oreos next to a note thanking Ms. Porter for participating in the hearing, with the caption: “OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter. Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way!”
Immigration ‘czar’
President Donald Trump is expected to name Kenneth Cuccinelli, a former attorney general of Virginia and an immigration hard-liner, as his choice to coordinate the administration’s immigration policies, a White House official confirmed Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has been considering creating an immigration “czar” for months. But the specifics of Mr. Cuccinelli’s role — including his title and the scope of his duties — are still being hashed out, according to the official. And although the position was originally conceived of as a White House job, Mr. Cuccinelli is expected to be based in the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Cuccinelli met with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, along with nearly a dozen administration officials, including Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security.
Abortion rule lawsuits
NEW YORK — Two dozen states and municipalities sued the federal government Tuesday to stop a new rule that lets health care clinicians decline to provide abortions and other services that conflict with their moral or religious beliefs.
A Manhattan federal court lawsuit asked a judge to declare the rule unconstitutional and say it was passed in an arbitrary and capricious manner. In a separate lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, California sued as well, saying there was no evidence that the impact on patients was considered.
The rule is scheduled to take effect in July.