A violent storm packing high winds and heavy rains ripped through Southern and Midwestern sections of the United States as it headed east on Saturday, leaving at least 22 dead and scores injured, according to officials and media reports.
At least five people were killed in Arkansas, according to officials, as first responders sifted through debris for more possible victims after tornadoes sliced through the state on Friday.
Officials also reported four deaths in Illinois and three in Indiana.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Department of Health confirmed seven weather-related deaths in McNairy County, at the Mississippi border. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Director Patrick Sheehan said the number of people injured and damaged structures in several counties were not yet determined.
Just south of the Tennessee border in Madison County, Alabama, 90-year-old Ovie Lasater was killed when a tornado destroyed her home, county coroner Tyler Berryhill told Reuters.
Fox News reported another death in Pontotoc County in neighboring Mississippi.
In Illinois, three people were killed in Crawford County after the collapse of a residential structure, the state Emergency Management Agency said.
These were in addition to the 50-year-old man who died in Belvidere, a city in northern Illinois, after a roof collapsed at a theater with 260 people inside. Dan Zaccard, a senior emergency management official in Boone County, said on Saturday that the incident left 40 people injured.
The crowd at the city's Apollo Theatre was attending a concert featuring the heavy-metal group Morbid Angel, which was on its 'Tour of Terror.'
One person was killed in Sussex County, Delaware, after a line of powerful storms tore through the region on Saturday night, an ABC News affiliate reported.
The National Weather Service on Saturday warned of thunderstorms moving across the eastern third of the United States, likely resulting in power outages and downed trees from winds with gusts over 60 mph (100 kph).
A tree branch is seen impaled through the ceiling as Ester Johnson-El, 62, inspects the wreckage of her bedroom where she rode out the storm with her nephew, grandson, and her grandson?s mother, in the aftermath of a tornado, after a monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, in Wynne, Arkansas, U.S. April 1, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr.
The twisters sheared roofs and walls from many buildings in Arkansas, flipped over vehicles and downed trees and power lines in Little Rock and large areas east and northeast of the state capital, officials said.
The blast of extreme spring weather swept much of the United States on Friday, menacing the nation's midsection from Texas to the Great Lakes with thunderstorms and tornados.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Saturday said there were five confirmed dead in the state.
"Right now, we have five confirmed fatalities. We have a couple of others that have been reported, but we do not have confirmation from local law enforcement on the ground. And, so, awaiting that. But right now, statewide, we have five confirmed fatalities," she said.
Four of the Arkansas fatalities were reported in Wynne, about 100 miles (160 km) east of Little Rock, Cross County Coroner Eli Long said.
One person was killed and more than 50 people were hospitalized in North Little Rock, Pulaski County spokeswoman Madeline Roberts told the Washington Post.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Huckabee Sanders and the mayors of Little Rock and Wynne, the White House said in a statement. He also spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Huckabee Sanders said Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in phone calls on Saturday, offered federal government support.
"Anything that Arkansas needs, they have assured us that those resources will be here and on the ground," she said at a news conference.
In Sullivan County, Indiana, three people were killed, Indiana State Police Sergeant Matt Ames said. A state of emergency was declared for the affected areas, Sheriff Jason Bobbitt said on Facebook.
The turbulent weather occurred one week after a swarm of thunderstorms unleashed a deadly tornado that devastated the Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community's 400 homes and killing 26 people.
Russia will consider so-called NATO peacekeepers as legitimate targets if they get deployed in Ukraine on the front line, Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
"They will be a legitimate target for our armed forces if they are placed on the front line without the consent of Russia with weapons in their hands and directly threaten us," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the official, the West’s real goal is to establish a ceasefire on the front line that is favorable to them.
"It is clear that the so-called NATO peacekeepers are simply going to enter the conflict on the side of our enemies [Ukraine] … Unleash that very third world war, which they so fear when they talk," Medvedev said.
Earlier in March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the European Union is one step ahead from discussing sending military of some peacekeeping type in Ukraine.
Medvedev recalled that the potential results of such actions can be seen in the "history of operations conducted by the United States and its allies in various regions of the world, [including] the tragedies of Korea, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and numerous African countries."
"Their (NATO member countries’ - TASS) true intentions are crystal clear - to impose a peace that is favorable to them on the line of contact from a position of strength and to station their ‘peacekeeping’ troops in Ukraine, who would be armed with assault rifles and riding on tanks, and would be wearing some sort of blue helmets with yellow stars," the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council said.
The United States’ rhetoric towards China needs to become more realistic and less emotional, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said on Friday.
“I think that [US rhetoric on China] needs to be a little bit more realistic and a little bit less, perhaps, emotional,” Milley said during a Defense One.
The US should approach its relationship with China with a “steely-eyed, cold-eyed realism” and keep its military competitive with Beijing across all domains, Milley said.
The US needs to be pragmatic and cautious going forward, but can decrease the chances of conflict if it remains strong relative to China, Milley added.
US has small stockpile of long-range missiles to hand them over to Ukraine — Pentagon
The United States has an small stockpile of long-range missiles, which limits the possibility of handing them over to Ukraine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said in an online interview with the Defense One media outlet.
Asked whether Washington was planning to supply Ukraine with ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles with a strike range of up to 300 kilometers, Milley replied "Well, there's a policy decision to date not to, so far. And I would never predict anything on the table, off the table, for the future."
"But from a military standpoint, we have relatively few ATACMS, we do have to make sure that we maintain our own munitions inventories, as well," he continued. "And the range of the weapon - I think there's a little bit of overstating of what an ATACMS can do and can't do."
"You're looking at a single shot, so think of a musket versus a repeating rifle. Whereas the GMLRS fires six shots, and ATACMs fires one. Now the range of the ATACMS is longer, but there's other systems they can get you that range," the high-ranking military official said.
"There’s UAVs, for example, that could do it, and the Brits have a couple of systems. So, those are some things that we're looking at to give them a little bit more legs. But right now, we're not providing the ATACMS," Milley added.
Ukraine repeatedly asked the United States to provide it with ATACMS missiles, but was refused.
Russia’s Aerospace Forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and an Mi-8 helicopter in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.
"The Russian Aerospace Forces’ fighter jets downed an MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Forces near the Koptevo settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic. A Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was downed near the Novovasilyevka settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic," he pointed out.
Russian forces destroy Ukrainian ammunition depot in Kharkov Region — Defense Ministry
Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot in the Kharkov Region, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.
"An ammunition depot belonging to the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade was destroyed near the Izbitskoye settlement in the Kharkov Region," he noted.
According to Konashenkov, Russian tactical aircraft, missile and artillery forces hit 86 Ukrainian artillery units in firing positions, as well as troops and equipment in 92 areas.
Russian forces kill up to 40 Ukrainian troops on Kherson frontline — Defense Ministry
Russian forces killed up to 40 Ukrainian troops on the Kherson frontline in the past day, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.
"Up to 40 Ukrainian troops were killed on the Kherson frontline in the past 24 hours, while three motor vehicles, an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer and a Giatsint-B towed field gun were destroyed," he specified.
Russian forces wipe out two Ukrainian subversive groups in Kupyansk area
Russian forces eliminated two Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups in the Kupyansk area, Western Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told TASS on Saturday.
"The forces of the battlegroup West in the Kupyansk area used UAVs, Msta-S self-propelled howitzers as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers to detect and then eliminate two subversive/reconnaissance groups," Zybinsky said adding that the forces disrupted the rotation of Ukrainian army units at forward positions near the settlement of Stelimakhovka.
"The enemy attempted a simultaneous reconnaissance by fire attacks from two directions employing forces of the 14th separate mechanized brigade," he said adding that the attacks were thwarted and 15 militants were eliminated.
The western battlegroup’s artillery also destroyed two enemy mortar teams, Zybinsky noted.
Russian defense chief chairs meeting on weapons supply to troops
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has held a meeting on weapons supply to troops at the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
"Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu visited the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces to hear reports on the current situation and hold a meeting with the group’s commanders and deputy defense ministers on weapons supply to troops," the statement reads.
Shoigu pointed out that "the Russian government and the Defense Ministry keep weapons supplies under constant control.".
Shoigu announced that Russia has significantly increased the production of high-precision weapons. "Steps to expand production capacities and improve productivity have made it possible to significantly increase the production of weapons for troops, including conventional and high-precision weapons. All this allows us to achieve the goals set by the supreme commander-in-chief based on the plan of the special military operation," Shoigu said, as cited by the ministry.
The meeting’s participants also discussed ways to further increase weapons supply to Russian troops, including the need to improve the efficiency of the logistics system.
George Soros (L), Alvin Bragg (R), Donald Trump (C)
Former US President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday night, which has renewed interest in the George Soros-backed district attorney who oversaw the probe into Trump’s alleged breaches of state campaign finance rules.
After his indictment as a result of District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into Trump’s claimed 2016 hush money transactions to adult film star Stormy Daniels, the former president is anticipated to turn himself in to Bragg’s office early the next week.
According to a Fox News report, George Soros donated $1 million to the ‘Color of Change PAC’ a civil rights advocacy organisation in the US in May 2021, and the PAC then spent heavily to support Bragg’s candidacy. Moreover, Soros’ daughter Jennifer Allan Soros and son Jonathan Soros made contributions to Bragg’s campaign directly.
George Soros gave Alvin Bragg $1 million for his DA campaign. Now Bragg could arrest Trump by inflating a misdemeanor while he lets violent criminals walk and ravage NYC.
Forget about equal protection and the rule of law. You live in a third-world country. https://t.co/d9oHWU8SuD
According to state records, Jonathan Soros wrote a $10,000 cheque to the now-district attorney’s bank account on April 26, 2021. Jennifer Allan Soros donated a $10,000 donation to the campaign three days later, on April 29. Reports mention that the pair was among his committee’s greatest donors, even though other people made more direct financial contributions.
The donations were particularly unusual for the two since they rarely contribute to district attorney races, although having contributed to other political campaigns and issue organisations in New York. On the other side, George Soros has spent millions of dollars recently to influence various prosecutor races.
Whitney Tymas, Soros’ longstanding treasurer, typically sets up pop-up political action committees (PAC) in the areas where he targets the elections for his district attorney programme. The financier funds the PACs after they are established, and they often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting his preferred contenders. PACs usually dissolve following the elections.
This didn’t happen in the case of Bragg. Instead, Soros gave $1 million to the Color of Change PAC in May 2021, and the PAC later spent money supporting Bragg’s campaign. The timing of the funds suggests that they supported the initiatives.
Former US President Donald Trump last week attacked the DA and stated that he was a ‘Soros backed animal’. “It was all made up by a convicted nut job with zero credibility, who has been disputed by highly respected professionals at every turn. Bragg refuses to stop despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He is a Soros backed animal who just doesn’t care about right or wrong no matter how many people are hurt,” he was quoted as saying on Truth Social.
However, several news portals like the CNBC, the New York Times have claimed that the ties between the DA Alvin Bragg and financer George Soros are not as close as portrayed by the Republicans. “The connections between Soros and Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, are real but overstated,” states the report by New York Times.
The prominent case is a $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels by Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen days before the 2016 election in return for her silence on an alleged affair with Trump. But, Trump has refuted a relationship with Daniels.
Notably, George Soros, a Hungarian-American billionaire recently targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of backing Adani, making it clear that he intends to target Modi politically. India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar then said that Soros was rich, opinionated, and dangerous and that he funded organisations to bring down governments he did not like.
What Exactly Did Trump Say About Soros?
In a recent all-caps Truth Social post, the ex-POTUS lashed out at Bragg for being "FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS."
"HE IS A SOROS BACKED ANIMAL WHO JUST DOESN'T CARE ABOUT RIGHT OR WRONG NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HURT," Trump e-shouted.
The 45th US president also argued that “Alvin Bragg received in EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS from the Radical Left Enemy of ‘TRUMP,’ George Soros.”
Trump was echoed by Republican Senator J.D. Vance, who tweeted that Bragg "is bought by George Soros." According to Vance, Bragg “allows violent criminals to walk the streets of New York City, but will prosecute the likely Republican nominee (and former president) on a baseless misdemeanor charge."
The same tone was struck by Mark Dankof, a San-Antonio resident, former US Senate candidate and investigative journalist, who told Sputnik that “the Bragg connection to George Soros is self-explanatory.”
'I Don't Know Him'
The 92-year-old billionaire, who topped the list of individual political donors for 2021-2022, contributing more than $128.4 million to Democrats (and $0 to Republicans), was rather quick to distance himself from Bragg following Trump's claims.
"As for Alvin Bragg, as a matter of fact I did not contribute to his campaign and I don't know him," Soros told a US media outlet.
"I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president," Soros claimed.
"I think some on the right would rather focus on far-fetched conspiracy theories than on the serious charges against the former president," Soros claimed.
But the story is not as simple as it may seem at first glance.
Soros and Color of Change PAC
Most of the GOP members’ criticism of Bragg pertains to support he received from the political action committee (PAC) Color of Change, a "racial justice" non-profit group, which tries to influence government and corporate policy across the US.
While campaigning to become the next Manhattan DA ahead of his nomination in 2021, Bragg received in May of that year more than $1 million in support from the Color of Change PAC, which receives funding from Soros.
Soros' Support of DAs
Bragg is reportedly merely one of at least 75 district attorneys Soros has supported in recent years as part of his efforts "to reshape American society in his liberal vision."
Soros' Open Society Foundations have pumped millions of dollars into liberal DAs, either with direct donations or those that were funneled through political action committees. The apparent goal was to effectively buy elections to install prosecutors who support the billionaire’s leftist agenda.
As for Soros himself, many perceive him as a financier who has made billions of dollars through investments and currency speculation, and a "philanthropist" who seeks to spread his vision of a liberal "open society" internationally.
On Trump, the billionaire minced no words in February, when he told the 2023 Munich Security Conference that the former US president had turned into a "pitiful figure" and could lose the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Soros enjoys enormous influence in Europe with only a handful of countries resisting his influence, Hungary and its Prime Minister Viktor Orban being the first among them.
Over the years, the relationship between Orban and Soros has been fraught with mutual hostility, if not outright hatred. Once fellow-travellers in their struggle against the country's communist regime, two Hungarian natives have grown apart over the years, with Soros financing a wide range of left-wing causes, such as unrestrained immigration and libertine social mores, which according to Orban, serve to undermine the country's national tradition and the Christian way of life.
Soros is also disliked by some in Asia. The 1997 Southeast Asia financial crisis saw Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accuse the billionaire of ruining Malaysia's economy with "massive currency speculation."
The 92-year-old is also known for signaling his opposition to the US Supreme Court decision last year to roll back abortion rights nationally, overturning a near-50-year precedent.
"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn #RoeVWade ends federal protections for abortion, diminishes human rights, and greatly threatens reproductive care. We have invested in reproductive rights organizations that are fighting back at this moment," the billionaire tweeted at the time.
Soros is also notoriously known as "the Man Who Broke the Bank of England", a nickname that is related to the UK Black Wednesday currency crisis in 1992, when Soros, in one night, borrowed and sold $10 billion worth of the British pound, putting Britain’s Central Bank in distress.
What is Color of Change?
The non-profit civil rights organization was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Americans.
Proclaiming itself "the nation’s largest online racial justice organization," the Color of Change PAC says that it "moves decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America."
During a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) left the lower house of Austria’s parliament.
The politicians from the Freedom Party (FPÖ) argued Mr Zelensky's speech violated Austria's neutrality.
They warned ahead of the speech they would hold some form of protest against the address.
Austria has previously said it cannot help Ukraine's defence militarily, but does support Kyiv politically
Although Austria supports Ukraine politically, it is prevented by its neutrality from military involvement in the conflict and is unable to supply the country with weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Austrian neutrality
Austria’s long-standing and constitutionally protected neutrality was tested during Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, prompting questions about the meaning of neutrality and whether Austria should remain a neutral country.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the centre-right ÖVP has repeatedly stated that Austria’s neutrality is non-negotiable. However, the country appears to have adopted a new form of neutrality, which includes military support, but not political support, for Ukraine, with the provision of aid and supplies but no weapons or tanks.
The president of Austria's lower house of parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, pledged more financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and said the country deserved Austria's solidarity.
But as Mr Zelensky spoke, a group of politicians walked out and left placards on their desk with the party logo that read "space for neutrality" and "space for peace".
There are 30 FPÖ politicians in Austria's lower chamber and they were the only party to oppose Mr Zelensky's address. However, a number of MPs from the centre-left Social Democrats were also missing from the chamber.
