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Wednesday 14 december 2022

Massive U.S. storm brings tornadoes to South, blizzard threat

Continued from Front from the storms. lines down” in and around
“So the main thing is that the town, Murrell said.
An area stretching from we’ve got everyone in a National Weather Service
Montana into western Ne- safe place,” McNew said meteorologist Doug Spe-
braska and Colorado was just after noon. “And so heger said wind speeds
under blizzard warnings, now we’re starting the pro- reached 111-135 mph (179-
and the National Weather cess of going through the 211 kph) and the tornado
Service said that as much city looking at damage was rated EF-2. It was likely
as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of to property, to businesses, on the ground for about
snow was possible in some homes and then roads two to four minutes, ac-
areas of western South Da- to see what needs to be cording to the weather
kota and northwestern Ne- closed, what we can open service. In parts of Iowa,
braska. Ice and sleet were and how soon we can Minnesota and South Da-
expected in the eastern open them.” kota, the National Weather
Great Plains. Near Decatur, about 70 Service warned that up
In the south, a line of thun- miles (113 kilometers) north- to about half an inch (2.5 Adam Lee, left, and Jr. Ibarra, right, carry a table from a friend's
derstorms that moved west of Dallas, the Wise centimeters) of ice could home after it was destroyed by a tornado, Tuesday, Dec. 13,
across North Texas and County Office of Emergen- form and winds could gust 2022, in Wayne, Okla.
Oklahoma in the early cy Management said one up to 45 mph (72 kph). Associated Press
morning hours brought tor- person was injured from fly- Power outages, tree dam- night, urged people to stay ment of Transportation
nadoes, damaging winds, ing debris while traveling in age, falling branches and off the roads. said. Interstate 29 was also
hail and heavy rain, said their vehicle and the other hazardous travel conditions “There’s essentially no one expected to close and sec-
National Weather Service was injured when their ve- all threatened the region. traveling right now,” said ondary highways will likely
meteorologist Tom Brad- hicle overturned due to All of western Nebraska Justin McCallum, a manag- become “impassable,” the
shaw. Authorities on Tues- high winds. One person was under a blizzard warn- er at the Flying J truck stop department said.
day reported dozens of was taken to the hospital ing from Tuesday through at Ogallala, Nebraska. He Xcel Energy, one of the re-
damaged homes and busi- and the other was treated Thursday, and the National said he got to work before gion’s largest electric pro-
nesses and several people at the scene. Meanwhile, Weather Services said up the roads were closed, but viders, had boosted staff in
injured. In the Fort Worth a tornado damaged the to 20 inches (51 centime- likely won’t be able to get anticipation of power out-
suburbs, photos sent by the Oklahoma town of Wayne ters) of snow was expected back home Tuesday. “I can ages. A middle school in
North Richland Hills police shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. in the northwest. Winds of see to the first poles outside Sioux Falls lost power Tues-
department, showed a There were no deaths or in- more than 50 mph (80 kph) the doors, but I can’t see day morning and sent stu-
home without a roof, a tree juries due to the tornado, at times will make it impos- the rest of the lot right out- dents home early. Power
that had been split in half McClain County Sheriff’s sible to see outdoors, offi- side. I’ll probably just get a outages affecting about
and an overturned vehicle Capt. Bryan Murrell said. cials said. motel room here tonight.” 1,700 customers in the east-
in a parking lot. About 20 But as authorities began as- The Nebraska Department In Colorado, all roads were ern part of the state were
homes and businesses were sessing its impact Tuesday of Transportation closed closed in the northeast reported by utility providers
damaged in the storm, the morning, it was clear there stretches of Interstate 80 quadrant of the state. And Tuesday.
police said. was widespread damage and Interstate 76 as heavy a 260-mile (418-kilome- In southern Minnesota,
In nearby Grapevine, po- to Wayne, which is about snow and high winds made ter) stretch of Interstate 90 winds gusting up to 50 mph
lice spokesperson Amanda 45 miles (72 kilometers) travel dangerous. The Ne- across western South Da- (80 kph) had reduced vis-
McNew said there have south of Oklahoma City. braska State Patrol, which kota was closed Tuesday ibility and in the Twin Cit-
been five confirmed inju- “We’ve got multiple family was called to deal with morning due to “freezing ies metro area, sleet and
ries, yet no fatalities and structures with significant several crashes and jack- rain, heavy snow, and high gravel mixed with rain on
no life-threatening injuries, damage ... barns, power knifed semitrailers over- winds,” the state’s Depart- the roads.q

Biden forms interagency group to draft

antisemitism strategy

being spread by prominent House. "This strategy will in Florida. The rapper Ye —
public figures. raise understanding about formerly known as Kanye
Led by the White House Do- antisemitism and the threat West — expressed love for
mestic Policy and National it poses to the Jewish com- Adolf Hitler in an interview.
Security councils, the new munity and all Americans, Basketball star Kyrie Irving
group will consult with com- address antisemitic ha- appeared to promote an
munity leaders, govern- rassment and abuse both antisemitic film on social
ment officials, lawmakers online and offline, seek to media.
and activists as it drafts a prevent antisemitic attacks Neo-Nazi trolls are clamor-
national strategy to tackle and incidents, and encour- ing to return to Twitter as
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during antisemitism and Holocaust age whole-of-society ef- new CEO Elon Musk grants
the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, denial. forts to counter antisemi- "amnesty" to suspended
Dec. 12, 2022. The action follows on tism and build a more inclu- accounts.
Associated Press Biden's public commitment sive nation," press secretary The announcement comes
By ZEKE MILLER formed a new interagency to healing the "soul of the Karine Jean-Pierre said in a a week after Doug Emhoff,
AP White House Correspon- group to develop a nation- nation" after seeing hate statement. the husband of Vice Presi-
dent al strategy to combat anti- groups marching in Char- Former President Donald dent Kamala Harris, played
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid semitism, the White House lottesville, Virginia, with Trump recently hosted Nick host to Jewish leaders to
a surge in hateful rhetoric announced. torches and swastikas in Fuentes, a Holocaust-deny- discuss the rise in antisemi-
and violence, President The action comes at a time 2017, an episode that pro- ing white supremacist, at tism in the U.S. and around
Joe Biden on Monday when anti-Jewish vitriol is pelled his run for the White Trump's Mar-a-Lago home the world.q