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MADILL, Okla. -- Severe weather blew through the South on Thursday after killing at least seven people in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, including a worker at a factory hit by an apparent tornado, a man whose car was blown off the road and a man who went outside to grab a trash can and was swept away in a flood. More than 150,000 businesses and homes from Texas to Georgia were without power as the severe weather blew eastward, snapping utility lines as trees fell, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. An apparent tornado killed three people and injured 20 to 30 more in and around the southeast Texas town of Onalaska. Suspected twisters destroyed 46 homes and damaged another 245 in the surrounding area, according to Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy. The judge told the Beaumont Enterprise on Thursday that the dead included a woman in her 20s, a man in his 50s and another man whose age they don't know. "It took me 45 minutes to climb through the roof to get out," said Charles Stephens of Onalaska. He told the Houston Chronicle that he and his wife were holed up in their bathroom when a large pine tree fell through their roof Wednesday night, and he had to use a hatchet free his wife from the debris. Nine suspected tornadoes touched down in southern Oklahoma, National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Zwink said. One of them caused widespread damage across the town of Madill, near the Red River. Just outside town, workers were leaving for the day from J&I Manufacturing, which makes trailers, when a suspected twister hit. The body of a worker was later found about a fourth of a mile away. A second person died in Madill when the tornado blew his vehicle off a highway: The body of Chad L. Weyant, 46, of Madill was found in the median and his vehicle in a nearby field.
'The Chi' star arrested for drugs
GULFPORT, Miss. -- A fired star of the hit Showtime series "The Chi" who was also featured in the Academy Award-nominated film "Straight Outta Compton" has been arrested on drugs and weapons charges on Mississippi's coast. Jason Mitchell, who portrayed Brandon Johnson on the cable series' first two seasons, was arrested Wednesday during a traffic stop in Gulfport, Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson said in a news release. Mitchell was released later Wednesday after posting a $150,000 surety bond. Deputies searched Mitchell's SUV and found about 2 pounds of marijuana wrapped in separate packages along with a bag of 1,300 dosage units of Ecstasy, Peterson said. Deputies also found an AK-47 firearm and a Glock 9mm pistol with extended magazines, he said. Mitchell, 33, of New Orleans, faces multiple counts, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a felon. Mitchell achieved critical acclaim for his role as rapper Eazy-E in "Straight Outta Compton," the story about the rise of the rap group N.W.A., as well as for his work in 2017's "Mudbound."
Ammo purchase law blocked
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A federal judge on Thursday blocked a California law requiring background checks for people buying ammunition, issuing a sharply worded rebuke of "onerous and convoluted" regulations that violate the constitutional right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego ruled in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which asked him to stop the checks and related restrictions on ammo sales. "The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California's new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured," Benitez wrote in a 120-page opinion granting the group's motion for a preliminary injunction. Voters approved toughening California's already strict firearms laws in 2016, and the restrictions took effect last July. "The law's red tape and state database errors made it impossible for hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Californians to purchase ammunition for sport or self-defense," said Chuck Michel, the association's general counsel. "The court found that the flimsy reasons offered by the government to justify these constitutional infringements were inadequate." He expected the state to appeal the ruling, but said that in the meantime "Californians can sleep a little easier tonight knowing their Constitutional rights were restored and strengthened by this decision."
'Parks and Rec cast reunites
LOS ANGELES -- The original cast members of "Parks and Recreation" are getting back to work for a coronavirus-related fundraising special. Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman and Adam Scott are among the sitcom's stars to be featured in the half-hour special airing 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, on NBC. The story reflects the real-life crisis, with Poehler's Leslie Knope striving to stay in touch with her friends while observing social distancing. "Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money," said executive producer Michael Schur. "I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes." Schur said he hopes everyone enjoys the special and, as he said in a statement, "donates!" Contributions will go to Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund, which is helping food banks serve vulnerable community members, NBC said. Up to $500,000 in donations made through May 21 will be matched with contributions from NBC Universal, the sitcom's cast, writers and producers, and State Farm and Subaru
Amish bishop charged
PEQUEA, Pa. -- An Amish bishop failed to notify law enforcement that a church member allegedly confessed to sexually assaulting three girls. Levi Esh Sr., 63, was arraigned Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges and his bail was set at $25,000. Esh failed to report the church member's confession about sexual assaults that occurred around 2012 and 2013. Police cited witnesses within the Amish community who said that while Esh's church excommunicated the member, Esh only had the matter "handled internally" in order to keep it quiet. Esh is bishop of two congregations in Lancaster County.
ADM idles large ethanol plants
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Ethanol producer ADM said Thursday it is idling production at its corn ethanol plants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Columbus, Nebraska, furloughing 90 employees in each facility for at least four months. The plants, each capable of annually producing about 300 million gallons of the typically corn-based fuel additive, are among the largest of their type in the nation. Nearly all gasoline sold in the U.S. contains ethanol. The company said it is managing ethanol production throughout its U.S. corn processing network to focus on cash flows and to divert corn grind to other products that are in higher demand, such as alcohol for hand sanitizer. Industry trade group Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said this is the third week that ethanol production hit a record-breaking low as stockpiles hit a new high due to less consumer demand for fuel. "The evaporation of fuel demand due to COVID-19 has been a knock-out blow to biofuel plants across the heartland, who were already fighting an uphill battle against trade barriers, regulatory threats, and a flood of foreign oil," Skor said in a statement. About 60 of the nation's 204 ethanol plants nationwide have closed since early March.
Oil pipeline approvals delayed
BILLINGS, Mont. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a nationwide program used to approve oil and gas pipelines, power lines and other utility work, spurred by a court ruling that industry representatives warn could slow or halt numerous infrastructure projects over environmental concerns The directive from Army Corps headquarters, detailed in emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes after a federal court last week threw out a blanket permit that companies and public utilities have used for decades to build projects across streams and wetlands. The Trump administration is expected to challenge the ruling in coming days. For now, officials have put on hold about 360 pending notifications to entities approving their use of the permit, Army Corps spokesman Doug Garman said Thursday. The agency did not provide further details on types of projects or their locations. Pipeline and electric utility industry representatives said the effects could be widespread if the suspension lasts, affecting both construction and maintenance on potentially thousands of projects. That includes major pipelines like TC Energy's Keystone XL crude oil line from Canada to the U.S. Midwest, the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline in Virginia and power lines from wind turbines and generating stations in many parts of the U.S. "The economic consequences to individual projects are hard to overstate," said Ben Cowan, a Houston-based attorney with Locke Lord LLP who represents pipeline and wind energy companies.
PA slashes virus death toll by 201
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Health slashed the state's COVID-19 death toll on Thursday by 201, saying probable deaths it had previously included in the count were eliminated after further investigation. The overall death toll now stands at 1,421, down from 1,622 reported a day earlier. The number of deaths confirmed by a positive virus test actually rose overnight by 69, to 1,394. But Health Secretary Rachel Levine said Thursday that 270 probable deaths that had been added to the death toll in recent days have been removed after further investigation. State health officials had recently changed the way they count COVID-19 deaths -- now including probable deaths along with confirmed deaths -- which resulted in a doubling of the state's death toll in just four days. A probable death is one in which a coroner or medical examiner listed COVID-19 as the cause or contributing cause, but the deceased was not tested for the virus.