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Severe weather and critical fire risk, ranked 'multi-hazard,' expected nationwide

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Severe weather and critical fire risk, ranked 'multi-hazard,' expected nationwide

This graphic by the National Weather Service shows forecasted weather conditions across the U.S. for Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

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A spring storm bringing severe weather will impact the U.S. through the middle of the week, with parts of the country experiencing thunderstorms and “critical fire” risk conditions.

The “multi-hazard storm” is expected to move across the Central Plains and through the Midwest toward the Great Lakes region starting Monday evening, the National Weather Service (NWS) says.

“Thunderstorms should increase late this evening and merge into a squall line overnight across parts of the southern and central Plains. Several tornadoes, scattered to numerous severe wind gusts, and large hail are all possible,” according to the NWS Storm Prediction Center.

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Heavy snow and strong winds will create “dangerous travel conditions” across the area, including Nebraska, and parts of the Midwest, through Tuesday. The forecast warns that blowing snow may “significantly reduce visibility, with localized whiteout conditions possible.”

A strong cold front will also bring severe weather across parts of the South, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, extending to eastern states, such as Virginia from Tuesday into Wednesday. The NWS says there will be “concerns for very strong damaging winds, tornadoes, and at least some areas of large hail” across the central Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, thunderstorms and heavy rain could lead to “damaging winds and potentially a few tornadoes.”

Fire danger in Southern Plains and Carolinas

Red flag warnings are in effect for parts of Texas through Tuesday evening, with fire weather watches in effect across the state, parts of New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma. A red flag warning indicates an increased risk of fire due to a combination of very low humidity, warm temperatures and strong winds.

Wind advisories are also forecast for eastern parts of Texas beginning Tuesday evening, extending across the South to East Georgia through Wednesday evening. Some places may experience winds of 20 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 55 mph, according to the NWS. These strong winds “can make driving difficult,” the NWS says.

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Increased fire danger also remains in effect for parts of the Carolinas, including upper South Carolina and western North Carolina, which have already been scorched by wildfires driven by high winds, low humidity and dry conditions since the weekend.

“Although relative humidity will be higher during the day Tuesday, temperatures will be warmer and winds will be stronger during the afternoon,” the NWS said on Monday. “The likelihood of precipitation remains near zero in most of the area until Tuesday evening, so fuel moistures will remain dry.”

Central North Carolina is also facing heightened fire danger, with expected wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph across the region through Tuesday, the NWS office in Raleigh says.

As of Monday evening, there are more than 193 fires burning across North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. Additionally, more than 4,300 acres have been burned across South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide just a few months before the midterm elections, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission ⁠were forced out on Thursday in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other ⁠two, Democratic appointees were notified of their terminations via email from ​the White House presidential personnel office.

“On ‌behalf of President ‌Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position ‌as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email, seen by Reuters, said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Election Assistance Commission serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election ‌administration”, accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail-voter registration form developed by the National ​Voter Registration Act of 1993, according to the commission’s website. The terminations follow Trump and top administration officials’ advocacy to change vote-by-mail requirements and investigations into the 2020 election outcome, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

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“It is ⁠irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on ​causing chaos for ​our election officials across this ​country,” Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes said in a ​Thursday statement. “This ‌move undermines the integrity ​of nonpartisan ​election administration.”

The 2002 law that established the commission, the Help America Vote Act, states the president can appoint replacements to the commission.

It is unclear how Trump will move ahead with the commission.

Reuters contributed reporting

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn (left) walks with his attorney Norman Eisen to speak to reporters and protesters gathered after his arraignment at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning.

Federal prosecutors charged Hearn with a single count of destruction of property causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool.

Hearn has previously claimed, which his attorneys repeated during a short press conference outside the court, that he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity.

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The Trump administration had just completed a $14 million renovation of the pool.

But shortly after the work finished, peeling paint and algae gathered in the water. The remodel has been largely criticized as a massive failure and waste of taxpayer dollars.

Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released Hearn on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 5.

Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, spoke to reporters outside of court following the hearing. He said the administration is using Hearn as a “scapegoat … for their own failures.”

“It is not a crime to touch the reflecting pool, to touch water in the United States of America,” he said.

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Prosecutors say there is a host of evidence against Hearn.

This is a developing story.

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

Three more people have been criminally charged with destruction of property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Officers say they detained Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno one Saturday afternoon in June and described in court documents witnessing them peeling and removing pieces of blue paint from the Reflecting Pool.

One officer “witnessed Carreno reach down into the reflecting pool and pull up a piece of the blue paint,” according to the court documents.

The officer who detained Dennison-Gibby “found 1 additional piece of the reflecting pool liner” in her purse, the documents said.

All three incidents were recorded on the officers’ body worn cameras, they said in the court documents.

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Several “partnering law enforcement agencies assigned to the Reflecting Pool” working with US Park Police were involved in detaining the two men and one woman — including officers from Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and California.

One of the officers said in court documents that Thiers “admitted to removing a piece of blue sealant from the Reflecting Pool and still had it in his hand when I made contact with him.”

The three defendants were arraigned in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of destruction of property with a value less than $1,000. The judge ordered them to stay away from the Reflecting Pool.

Lawyers for Thiers and Dennison-Gibby declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Carreno’s attorney.

If found guilty of destruction of property, the defendants could be fined up to $1,000 and face a maximum of 180 days behind bars.

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The New York Times first reported that three additional people had been charged with damaging the Reflecting Pool.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that vandals caused major damage to the pool by gashing the lining after his administration spent more than $14 million on renovations, though he has not provided evidence to support that claim. The officers who charged Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby did not accuse them of gashing the lining.

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, last week for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn — unlike Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby – was charged with destruction of property with a value of more than $1,000 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted. He is set to be arraigned in court Thursday.

Crews began draining the Reflecting Pool over the weekend to make repairs, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and the administration’s allegations of vandalism – that have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of national interest.

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