High winds, hail, heavy rain and tornadoes battered Southern states from Alabama to North Carolina Wednesday and Thursday morning, leaving three people dead and hundreds of properties with heavy damage.

USA Today, CNN and other news outlets reported that the strongest storms hit central and northeast Tennessee and into North Carolina. In Claiborne County, Tennessee, a 22-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle. Near Nashville, another person was killed.

In Gaston County, North Carolina, near Charlotte, a tree fell on a car, killing one person and injuring another. Kentucky also saw hailstorms and possible tornadoes.

Bloomberg news reported that up to 22 million people, from Dallas to Atlanta, in coming days could face another round of severe thunderstorms, bringing downpours, hail and possibly tornadoes.

For the last week, the central and Southern parts of the country have been battered by ferocious storms and flooding that all got their start from a Pacific system that dumped heavy snow across parts of California and the West over the weekend, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center.

Since then, the Great Plains, Midwest and South have been pounded by a deadly outbreak of heavy rains, high winds and tornadoes that have delayed air travel and knocked out power.

Photo: The same massive storm system that hit the South also a damaged FedEx facility in Portage, Michigan. (Brad Devereaux/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)

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Natural Disasters
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North Carolina
Tennessee

Dean McGee is “in it for the long haul” to find justice for the McGhee family after their 16-year-old son was suspended for using the term “illegal alien” at his North Carolina school.

In April, Christian McGhee was suspended for three days after asking a teacher whether her reference to the word “aliens” referred to “space aliens, or illegal aliens who need green cards.” After a student allegedly threatened to “kick his a—” for using the term, Christian was referred to the assistant principal who concluded it was a “racially motivated comment which disrupts class.”

In response, the Liberty Justice Center, where McGee works as the Education Freedom Attorney, announced a lawsuit against the Davidson County Board of Education on behalf of the family on Tuesday.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, McGee described the school as effectively attributing racism when it wasn’t there.  

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SUSPENDED OVER USING THE TERM ‘ILLEGAL ALIEN’: REPORT

“It’s the assistant principal, the administrator, who elevated this to a racial incident where one did not exist. The boy who responded to our client said, ‘hold on, I wasn’t really offended. This isn’t a big deal.’ And the words of the assistant principal, these are his own words, explained what he said to our client’s mother, ‘No, sir. Those words are a big deal,’” McGee said.

“In other words, the assistant principal was telling this boy, well, you might not be offended, but you should be offended,” he added.

McGee also recalled that Leah McGhee, Christian’s mother, had suggested a mediation session between the two families and the faculty to discuss the situation rather than dole out punishment.

“And the assistant principal said no. Harsh punishment. Three days out of school suspension. That was his solution. Not empathy, not understanding, just punishing this child and branding him racist on his permanent record,” McGee said. “But the ironic result is a total lack of empathy toward either student, total lack of healing, lack of a learning opportunity, and just meeting out punishment, stigmatizing, branding a 16-year-old boy in a way that could harm his future if it’s not fixed.”

Although the McGhee family has faced backlash and threats on the assumption that Christian said something racist, McGee noted that there has also been overwhelming support for the family. 

The McGhee family is demanding an apology from the school and school board over Christian’s suspension. (iStock)

“I don’t mean to downplay the harassment and threats that my client and his mother received. But there’s also been an outpouring of support, and I think that support just comes from a place of intuitive empathy for a kid who is being mistreated by his own school and in such a vicious way that has a potential impact on his future,” McGee said.

Public opinion also appeared to take the McGhee family’s side at the Davidson County Board of Education meeting Monday night. All but two speakers voiced their support for Christian McGhee and attacked the school board for failing to address his suspension.

NORTH CAROLINA BECOMES 9TH STATE TO PASS UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE, THE FIRST TO DO SO WITHOUT GOP TRIFECTA

“You are not in any way, shape or form helping our students. By the way, if you squash a student’s question, you squash education. I’m appalled, and you still got the smirk on your face. I so hope you get voted out,” one speaker said.

The McGhee family is seeking a public apology from the school board on the matter and demanding that the suspension be removed from Christian’s record. In the event the district court does not rule in their favor, they are prepared to appeal.

McGee took issue with the fact that it was the school, not the students, who saw something wrong with the term “illegal alien.” (iStock)

“Our organization has appealed in the past and won a case at the Supreme Court. We would be willing to do that here if it’s necessary. We’re in it for the long haul for this family,” McGee said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Davidson County Board of Education members for a comment.

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A positive case of tuberculosis (TB) has been identified at a school in Randolph County.

Leaders with the Randolph County Public Health system said the case was identified at Eastern Randolph High School, adding person with TB has not been in attendance since late April.

Health officials said students and staff have been made aware of the case. Health leaders said they’re working closely with the Randolph County School System and the State of North Carolina TB Consultants/Experts to identify individuals who may have been exposed to the positive case.

Read more at WXII.com.