1 States Of Emergency In Oklahoma, Arkansas As Storms Chew Through Kansas
As Mother Nature continues spreading her bad mood across much of the Midwest, Americans are picking up the pieces and surveying the damage. This morning? The entire state of Oklahoma is under a state of emergency because of severe weather. The Sooner State has seen heavy flooding, tornadoes and damaging winds in recent weeks. In the past week alone, six people have died in the severe weather. Forecasters say record flooding will get more intense in Oklahoma and Arkansas – with a new round of storms is expected to dump more heavy rain across the region, pushing the Arkansas River even further beyond its banks. The news is also devastating in Kansas City – where dozens of homes have been shredded into sticks and chunks of soaked drywall after at least one massive tornado ripped through the region last night. Officials say the massive twister appeared to be at least a mile wide at one point – and have confirmed about a dozen injuries. And with so much debris was on the runway and conditions so tenuous, Kansas City International Airport remains closed.
2 Possible Tornado Strikes New Jersey School
Was it a tornado that reportedly trapped a number of folks at Lenape Valley High School in Stanhope, New Jersey last night? Depends whom you ask. The National Weather Service hasn’t confirmed it, but photos of a funnel cloud in the area have been posted to social media and a tornado warning had been issued for Sussex County earlier yesterday evening. The great news? No serious injuries were reported – though the school's website says school is closed today. The district has not officially explained why, but there are several unconfirmed mentions across social media reporting a twister damaged the building. There are also multiple mentions of downed power lines and trees in the area, and while that is also unconfirmed, Jersey Central Power and Light reports more than 61-hundred people in Sussex County were without power at last check.
3 SCOTUS Rejects Case on Transgender Student Bathroom Access
The Supreme Court is upholding a Pennsylvania school district policy which allows transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity. Without including comment, the High Court turned down an appeal from Boyertown Pennsylvania School District students who say they’re concerned they may encounter transgender students who are not fully clothed. The students argued that the policy violated their right to privacy under the 14th Amendment and Title Nine. The transgender bathroom policy was put in place during the Obama Administration. And while President Trump repealed many of the protections afforded to the LGBT community, in this case, Boyertown kept the policy.