(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles music festival abruptly ended Saturday night when police were called to quill a backstage brawl in which rapper Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed, a high-ranking law enforcement source told ABC News.
The mayhem erupted around 8:30 p.m. local time at the “Once Upon a Time in L.A.” festival, which was set to feature Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, at Exposition Park near the Banc of California Stadium, officials said.
Drakeo the Ruler was a 28-year-old West Coast hip-hop artist whose real name was Darrell Caldwell.
Live Nation, the promoters of the festival, issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying, “There was an altercation in the roadway backstage. Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists and organizers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early.”
The incident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol because Exposition Park is a state land in a part of Los Angeles patrolled by the CHP.
The violence came just 43 days after 10 people, including a 9-year-old boy, were trampled to death at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, during a performance by rapper Travis Scott. That concert has prompted more than 300 lawsuits from people who say they were injured.
The Los Angeles fire marshal ordered Saturday’s concert shut down after the man was stabbed and taken to a hospital, the Los Angeles Police Department told ABC station KABC in Los Angeles.
The episode drew a massive response from the LAPD and California Highway Patrol.
No arrests in connection with the stabbing were announced.
Dozens of high-profile artists were scheduled to perform on the concert’s three stages, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, YG, Ice Cube, The Game, Cypress Hill and famed R&B singer Al Green.
ABC News’ Alex Stone, Izzy Alvarez and Zachary Ferber contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., seems to have sealed the fate of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill on “Fox News Sunday,” when he announced that he is a “no” on the legislation.
“I’ve always said if I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” Manchin said.
Despite working “every day” for five months with different members of the party to get there on the legislation, Manchin said his concerns about inflation and the cost of the program still stand.
“You’re done? This is a no?” host Bret Baier asked.
“This is a no on this piece of legislation. I have tried everything I know to do,” Manchin replied, adding that Biden worked “diligently” and was “wonderful to work with” but knew he had concerns.
Manchin’s comments effectively end Democrats’ hopes of passing Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending plan, which passed the House last month, with Democratic votes alone. Manchin is the crucial 50th vote needed to get the bill across the line.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has issued a lengthy statement that Manchin’s bombshell announcement Sunday is “at odds” with what he indicated in private negotiations earlier this week — confirming the White House was caught off guard by Manchin’s news, and unleashing on the senator for the “sudden and inexplicable reversal of his position.”
“On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted—to the President, in person, directly—a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities,” Psaki said Sunday. ” If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”
While Manchin recognized that the party had negotiated down from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ initial proposal of $6 trillion, he felt shortening the timelines of the “aspirational goals” included in the bill was not a genuine answer to the issue.
“The thing that never changed Bret, was basically the same amount of things that they’re trying to accomplish by just changing, if you will, the amount of time that we can depend on it,” Manchin said Sunday on Fox. “So if you’re going to do something and do it, pick what we’re apprised priorities are like most people do in their families, or their businesses, and you fund them for 10 years and you make sure they deliver the services for 10 years,” Manchin argued.
Manchin argued COVID-19 and inflation should be where the country is focusing its fire, rather than dragging out the negotiations further.
“I’ve tried. I mean, I really did and the President was trying as hard as he could. He has an awful lot –A lot of irons in the fire right now — more on his plate than he needs for this to continue when I’m having the difficulties I’m having and basically the challenges we have from different parts of our party basically pushing in different ways,” Manchin said.
Manchin also said it was “not right” that he was getting all the attention for his concerns over the bill, but said he wasn’t going to speak for other Senators who also might have concerns with the mammoth legislation.
It was just Thursday that Biden put out a statement that the negotiations with Manchin would continue this week.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has been one of the senators leading the charge on the Build Back Better bill in Senate, responded to Manchin’s no vote on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Well, I think he’s gonna have a lot of explaining to do to the people of West Virginia,” Sanders said, ticking through the benefits the bill would provide like lowering prescription drug costs, expanding Medicaid and helping to pay for childcare.
“I would have hoped that we could have had at least 50 Democrats on board who have the guts to stand up for working families and take on the lobbyists and the powerful special interests,” Sanders said on CNN. “We have no Republicans, not one Republican in the United States Senate or the House for that matter is prepared to stand up to the drug companies or the insurance companies or wealthy.”
Sanders was not shy about telling Americans who are concerned about losing their monthly Child Tax Credit payments to blame Sen. Manchin.
“If Mr. Manchin Votes no, those $300 tax credits that have gone a long way to reduce childhood poverty in America- they’re gone. That’s over. We cut childhood poverty by over 40%, an extraordinary accomplishment. Manchin doesn’t want to do that, tell that to the struggling families of West Virginia and America,” Sanders said.
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday “it’s possible” some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but added he’s not ready to “go to that point” yet, because he wants to “let the facts dictate it.”
The Illinois Republican also revealed that the committee investigating the insurrection is not ruling out issuing subpoenas for sitting members of Congress.
“Nobody — member of Congress, former president, nobody — in America is above the law,” Kinzinger told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Kinzinger, who announced in October he will not seek reelection to Congress, was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump following the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is one of two Republicans serving on the committee. He said the committee would subpoena Trump if they determine it’s necessary.
“Nobody should be above the law, but we also recognize we can get the information without him at this point, and, obviously, when you subpoena the former president, that comes with a whole kind of, you know, circus environment,” Kinzinger said. “But if we need him, we’ll do it.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl “it’s possible” some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on Tuesday night joined Democrats in the House in voting to hold Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt of Congress. Meadows defied a subpoena to appear for a deposition before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Prior to the vote, members of the committee unveiled text messages sent to Meadows during the attack on the Capitol, reading aloud texts from Republican lawmakers, Fox News personalities and the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., that implored Meadows to get Trump to denounce the rioters. Rep Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was one of the GOP lawmakers whose texts to Meadows were revealed, his office confirmed.
The new messages were part of the approximately 9,000 documents Meadows turned over to the committee, before he reversed course and decided to not cooperate with the investigation. The House previously voted to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena by the Jan. 6 committee.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that he “absolutely” thinks his colleagues should be subpoenaed to testify before the House committee on Jan. 6 if necessary.
Kinzinger said he’s “not sure” whether Meadows knew how damaging the text messages would be, but emphasized he had no choice given the committee’s legal authority.
“I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released,” he added.
During debate on the House floor before the vote, Cheney emphasized the importance of Meadows’ testimony. “Mr. Meadows’ testimony will bear on another key question before this committee. Did Donald Trump through action or inaction corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’ official proceedings to count electoral votes?” Cheney said.
Karl pressed Kinzinger on the possibility of the Justice Department filing criminal charges based on what the committee finds, given that it is a crime to obstruct the official proceedings of Congress.
“Are you sending a message that the Justice Department should be prosecuting not just those that broke into the building on Jan. 6, but should be prosecuting Donald Trump himself or at least investigating that possibility?” Karl asked.
“I think investigating that possibility, for sure,” Kinzinger responded. “Our committee is getting more information than law enforcement agencies and DOJ, because we’ve had the power and the ability to get that done.”
“Whatever information we get will be public record, and the DOJ should take a look, particularly if there’s criminal charges to be filed, because again, the big thing is as bad as it was on Jan. 6, there’s really nothing in place to stop another one from happening again,” he added. “If somebody broke the law, it is so essential that we send the message that you are not untouchable as president — you’re not untouchable as a former president.”
House committee on Jan. 6 “is getting more information than law enforcement agencies and DOJ,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday in an interview with Spectrum News he looks forward to seeing what the Jan. 6 committee finds in its probe, effectively endorsing the work of the commission after he had opposed its creation. “I think that what they’re seeking to find out is something that public needs to know,” McConnell said.
“That’s not exactly what Kevin McCarthy, the leader over there in the House, is saying,” Karl pointed out, alluding to the fact that the two GOP leaders in the House and Senate have juxtaposing views toward the investigation.
“Right,” Kinzinger replied, laughing. “Look, I mean — I got to tell you, so, you know, say what you want about Mitch McConnell. He obviously holds his cards very close. I think that was a very powerful statement and I appreciate it.”
“I don’t think history books are going to be kind to him.”
GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger knocks House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, says he brought former Pres. Trump “back to political life” after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. https://t.co/PNZ2yryejTpic.twitter.com/8OhvwR7AN7
Kinzinger, who along with Cheney has faced harsh backlash for sitting on the committee, criticized McCarthy for not doing something similar.
“Kevin McCarthy, on the other hand, has not said a word about anything, except for that Donald Trump is probably the greatest president to ever exist,” Kinzinger said. “Kevin McCarthy himself I think made Donald Trump relevant again when two weeks after Jan. 6 or so, he went back down to Mar-a-Lago and brought him back to political life by putting his arm around him and taking that picture and basically sending the signal to the rest of the Republicans that were pretty quiet at this moment, that we got to get back on the Trump train.”
“He bears responsibility for that,” he added. “I don’t think history books are going to be kind to him.”
(NEW YORK) — Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the omicron variant appears to be overtaking all other COVID-19 variants, including delta, calling it “something to be reckoned with” as he advised Americans who will be gathering with family for the holidays to stay “prudent.”
“If you are vaccinated and boosted and are prudent when you travel, when you’re in an airport to be wearing a mask all the time, you have to be wearing a mask on a plane. Do not do things like go to gatherings where there are people who you do not know what their vaccination status is,” Fauci told ABC’s chief Washington correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House chief medical adviser, added that the omicron variant has an “extraordinary capability” of transmitting from one person to another.
“This is really something to be reckoned with,” he said. “It is really rapidly spreading literally throughout the world and certainly in our own country.”
Fauci recommended that people get tested before getting together and noted that many people are choosing to take at-home rapid tests.
“Nothing is 100% risk-free, but I think if you do the things that I just mentioned, you’d actually mitigate that risk enough to feel comfortable about being able to enjoy the holiday,” he said.
When pressed by Karl about long lines for COVID-19 testing and the unavailability of tests in some parts of the country, Fauci said help is on the way.
“What the government has been doing now, and you’re going to be seeing the result of that, is making an investment, literally billions of dollars, to get anywhere from 200 million to 500 million tests available per month,” Fauci said, adding that there will be a lot of tests — many of which will be free — available soon.
Dr. Anthony Fauci tells @jonkarl that he doesn’t foresee more lockdowns as the omicron spreads across the country.
As omicron continues to spread like wildfire, Karl also asked Fauci if he sees any need for lockdowns in the United States in the near future.
“I don’t see that in the future if we do the things we’re talking about,” Fauci said. But he went on to stress that with approximately 50 million eligible Americans still unvaccinated, it’s “quite likely” that some parts of the country will experience a “significant stress” on their hospital systems.
Despite the new variant, some governors are deciding against reinstituting mandatory mitigation measures used earlier in the pandemic. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, recently explained his decision not to reimpose a statewide mask mandate, saying that having vaccines effectively brought an end to the “medical emergency.”
“At this point, if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s really your own darn fault,” Polis told Colorado Public Radio. “People who want to be protected are. Those who get sick, it’s almost entirely their own darn fault.”
Pressed by @jonkarl on when COVID-19 tests will be “truly available and affordable,” Dr. Anthony Fauci notes billions in government investments.
Karl pressed Fauci, asking him if he agreed that the pandemic is becoming “a crisis of unvaccinated.”
“It is certainly much more of a crisis of the unvaccinated, but there are other tools besides vaccine and wearing a mask [that] complements the protection that you get from the vaccine and a boost,” Fauci said.
Fauci stressed that just because someone is vaccinated doesn’t mean they can forgo masks in every situation.
“You can do both and should do both,” he said.
While cases and hospital admissions are rising nationally, Fauci noted the promising data released by Pfizer last week showing its antiviral COVID-19 pill has near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients is a “big deal.”
“There are going to be a lot of people of high risk who are going to benefit greatly from having a pill that would dramatically diminish the likelihood they’re going to wind up in the hospital,” he said.
“There’s no way I’m going to walk away from this until we get this under control…It’s kind of like we’re halfway through World War II, and you decide, ‘I think I’ve had enough of this. I’m walking away.’ You can’t do that,” Dr. Anthony Fauci says. https://t.co/bMUu31rtGkpic.twitter.com/NaGzkngLGi
Fauci will celebrate his 81st birthday on Christmas Eve, but he told Karl, “There’s no way I’m going to walk away from this until we get this under control.”
He added that stepping away now would be like “we’re halfway through World War II and you decide, ‘Well, I think I’ve had enough of this, I’m walking away.’”
“You can’t do that,” Fauci said. “You’ve got to finish, and we’re going to finish this and get back to normal.”
(WASHINGTON) — A hunger strike that started in Phoenix has made its way to the nation’s capital. Students from different parts of the U.S. have gathered outside the White House participating in a hunger strike which they say is to help get the Freedom to Vote Act passed.
The bill addresses voter registration and voting access, election integrity and security, redistricting, and campaign finance.
The students are part of UN-PAC, a nonpartisan, pro-democracy youth organization.
“For many months, we’ve been knocking on doors, we’ve been making phone calls, we’ve been meeting with senators, and it hasn’t been enough,” Shana Gallagher, co-founder and executive director of UN-PAC said. “We really feel an existential urgency around passing the Freedom to Vote Act, the federal democracy reform package that the Senate has landed on before the end of the year.”
The hunger strike began in Phoenix on Dec. 6. On the fourth day of the strike, protesters met with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz to discuss the legislation.
“She reiterated her support for the Freedom to Vote Act, and we hope desperately that when the time comes, she will do whatever it takes to pass the bill,” Gallagher said. “But the meeting did go well enough that we decided we should move our hunger strike to D.C. because the person who needs to be prioritizing the passage of this bill now is President Biden.”
As the group is about to enter the third week of their hunger strike, they say that many are feeling the impact of not eating.
“Every morning, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus of exhaustion,” Joseline Garcia, co-founder and the national organizing director of UN-PAC said. “My stomach feels like it’s been twisted and tied up into knots, and there are sharp pains as if knives are poking it.”
Before taking part in the hunger strike, the group discussed the risks, Garcia said.
“We considered the risks soon after we started considering this as a serious tactic,” Garcia said. “We do have a team of medical professionals that check on us twice a day, to see where everyone is at.”
The group has received online support from celebrities including Kerry Washington and Mark Ruffalo.
“When we are able to get access to platforms that are willing to amplify our message, it helps spread the word which will be necessary to move the Senate and President Joe Biden,” Garcia said.
Even though members of Congress have left Washington, D.C., for the holidays and the Senate is not scheduled to return until Jan. 3, some strikers including Callynn Johnson, a student at the University of Central Florida who flew to participate in the strike, say they remain committed to seeing this hunger strike through until they see movement on the Freedom to Vote Act.
“The current plan is that this is an indefinite hunger strike until we do see this bill passed. And as much as I would love to go home for the holidays and see my family, this very much depends on whether the Senate prioritizes this issue,” Johnson said.
Chace Harrison, 11, died at Royal Hobart Hospital on Sunday afternoon, Tasmania Police said.
“Our thoughts continue to be with his family, and the families and loved ones of all the children involved, during what is an incomprehensibly difficult time,” Police Commissioner Darren Hine said in a statement.
The tragedy happened on Thursday during an end-of-year celebration at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport, in north Tasmania. A gust of wind lifted the bouncy castle into the air, causing several children to fall from a height of about 32 feet, police said.
Police on Friday had identified the first five victims as 11-year-old Addison Stewart and 12-year-olds Peter Dodt, Zane Mellor, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones and Jye Sheehan.
“The loss of six young lives will be felt by our community for a long time – so please take care of yourselves and those around you,” Hine said on Sunday.
Two children were still in critical condition at the hospital, and one was recovering at home, police said on Sunday.
Officials said their investigation was ongoing, with forensic child interviewers from New South Wales Police Force expected to arrive in Tasmania on Sunday. They will help conduct interviews with young witnesses in the coming days, police said.
“It is paramount we don’t pre-empt any outcome until all evidence is gathered and the investigation is complete,” Commissioner Hine said. “This will allow the Coroner to determine the findings based on all the available evidence and facts.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Saturday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Houston 116 Detroit 107
Final Boston 114 New York 107
Final Toronto 119 Golden State 100
Final Orlando 100 Brooklyn 93
Final Oklahoma City 104 L.A. Clippers 103
Final Cleveland 119 Milwaukee 90
Final Washington 109 Utah 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Carolina 5 Los Angeles 1
Final OT Philadelphia 4 Ottawa 3
Final Detroit 5 New Jersey 2
Final OT Dallas 4 Chicago 3
Final Edmonton 5 Seattle 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Indianapolis 27 New England 17
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Final UAB 31 (12)BYU 28
Final (16)Louisiana-Lafayette 36 Marshall 21
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)Baylor 78 Oregon 70
Final (2)Duke 87 Elon 56
Final (3)Purdue 77 Butler 48
Final (5)Gonzaga 69 (25)Texas Tech 55
Final (6)Alabama 65 Jacksonville St. 59
Final (7)Kansas 80 Stephen F. Austin 72
Final (8)Arizona 84 Cal Baptist 60
Final (10)Southern Cal 67 Georgia Tech 53
Final (13)Auburn 74 Saint Louis 70
Final (14)Houston 72 Oklahoma St. 61
Final (19)LSU 66 Louisiana Tech 57
Final Providence 57 (20)UConn 53
Final (21)Kentucky 98 North Carolina 69
Final (22)Xavier 80 Marquette 71
Final Hofstra 89 (24)Arkansas 81
(WASHINGTON) — Ali Alexander, the conservative activist behind the “Stop the Steal” movement, recently told congressional investigators that he had communicated with several House Republican lawmakers ahead of the Jan. 6 rally and Capitol riot, along with at least one member of the Trump family’s inner circle.
Alexander disclosed his communications — and the relevant materials turned over to the Jan. 6 House select committee — in a new lawsuit challenging the panel from obtaining his phone records from Verizon.
“Alexander received a notice from Verizon that the Select Committee had subpoenaed Verizon for nine categories of information associated with Alexander’s personal cell phone number, including IP addresses, devices, billing addresses, account changes, a list of contacts, call session times, and dozens to hundreds of other data points or metadata from November 1, 2020 … to January 31, 2021,” according to a Friday complaint filed against lawmakers on the committee and Verizon.
Alexander had challenged the grounds for obtaining his cellphone communication, saying in the complaint the data is “not pertinent to the investigation and sweeps up privileged communications between Alexander and clergy, Alexander and people he spiritually counsels, and Alexander and his respective attorneys.”
According to the complaint, Alexander testified to the committee on Dec. 9 that he “had a few phone conversations” with Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., potentially texted Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and spoke in person to Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
All three GOP lawmakers were involved in the efforts to challenge the electoral results on Jan. 6, and participated in meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill on the subject.
Brooks released Saturday night what he said was the text he received from Alexander, showing the activist introducing himself on Dec. 16, 2020, and calling Jan. 6 “a big moment for our republic.” Brooks said he did not recognize the number at the time and called the contents “benign” anyway.
“The insinuation that this single text to Congressman Brooks from an unknown number by someone claiming to be ‘Ali Alexander’ somehow suggests Congressman Brooks in any way helped plan the Capitol attack is absurd, outrageous and defamatory,” Brooks wrote in a statement.
Alexander had boasted in a social media video in January that he had worked with the GOP lawmakers to challenge the election results. He did not take part in storming the Capitol.
“In January, Mr. Alexander held an organizing call where Members of Congress might have been present, and some were invited. He doesn’t recall who was in attendance because there was no roll call of attendees because the call was so large,” the complaint reads.
Alexander also spoke over the phone with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s partner and a Trump campaign fundraiser, and told investigators it was a “short and pleasant” conversation about the Georgia Senate runoffs and GOP primaries in 2022, according to the complaint.
In January, after the Capitol riot, Biggs’s office told ABC News the congressman was “not aware of hearing of or meeting Mr. Alexander at any point — let alone working with him to organize some part of a planned protest on January 6.”
Adele and Ed Sheeran are among the leading nominees for the 2022 BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys.
Both Adele and Ed have four nominations, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year — “Easy on Me” and “Bad Habits” respectively — as well as Best Pop/R&B Act. Additionally, Adele’s 30 and Ed’s Equals are both up for Mastercard Album of the Year.
Other nominees for Song of the Year include Elton John and Dua Lipa‘s “Cold Heart” and “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals. Dua is also up for Best Pop/R&B Act, while Glass Animals and Coldplay are up for Best Rock/Alternative Act. Coldplay is also up for Best Group.
Notably, gender-based categories have been removed.
In the International categories, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat and Billie Eilish are up for Artist of the Year, while BTS, Silk Sonic, Måneskin and reunited Swedish icons ABBA are up for Group of the Year.
International Song of the Year nominees include:
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Doja Cat feat. SZA – “Kiss Me More”
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”
Lil Nas X – “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Måneskin – “I Wanna Be Your Slave”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Good 4 U”
Polo G – “Rapstar”
The Weeknd – “Save Your Tears”
The 2022 BRIT Awards will be handed out February 8, 2022 at London’s O2 Arena and livestreamed globally on YouTube.
(NEW YORK) — After a series of strong and devastating tornadoes struck the Midwest and South this week, killing at least 89 people, a winter storm is threatening parts of the Northeast and more tornadoes may crop up in other parts of the U.S.
As severe storms threaten parts of the South, a winter storm is moving into the Northeast. On Saturday, heavy rain moves east with strong thunderstorms moving across coastal Texas and Southwest Louisiana.
A tornado or two is possible with gusty winds and hail in those coastal areas.
The same storm system will extend into upstate New York and northern New England with freezing rain and heavy snow. Up to 8 inches of snow is possible through Sunday morning.
In the West, over a foot of snow was reported in Utah where a skier got caught in an avalanche Friday.
On Saturday another surge of moisture will move into the Pacific Northwest.
Four states from Oregon to Montana are under weather alerts.
South, Midwest tornadoes possible
Heavy rain moved across hard-hit area in the mid-South prompting several reports of flash flooding and water rescues. Three to 4 inches of rainfall was reported from Oklahoma to Illinois as of Saturday morning, and a flash flood.
As a low-pressure system moves through the Ohio Valley today, the threat of heavy rain and flash flooding is diminishing across parts of the Mid-Mississippi Valley.
However, this same system will bring the risk of severe storms to 6 million in the South.
A line of strong thunderstorms will sweep across coastal Texas and southwest Louisiana with heavy rain, gusty winds, hail and a tornado or two is possible.
Major cities that may see severe storms include Houston; Beaumont, Texas; and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Over the next several days, rounds of heavy rain will move in the Gulf Coast with 3 to 4 inches of rain possible.
Northeast
The same storm system will move into the Northeast bringing heavy snow, freezing rain and rain showers.
Up to 8 inches of snowfall is possible through Sunday morning.
A cooler air mass moves across the Northeast this weekend into next week.
Temperatures are at least 20 to 30 degrees cooler than yesterday.
Temperatures will be near normal through Christmas.
West
Over a foot of snow was reported in Utah.
Ten to 12 inches of snow was reported in Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
A new storm moved into the Pacific Northwest with heavy rain, snow and gusty winds. Highest elevations may see up to 2 feet of snow this weekend along the Northern Cascades. High winds may cause whiteout conditions. High wind alerts are in effect through Saturday with gusts up to 60 mph.
Over the next several days, waves of moisture will move into the West bringing heavy mountain snow and rain. One to 3 feet of snow is possible over parts of Washington and California.
