Deadly weather is still on the move; the Fed plans another rake hike; a new report reveals details on on long COVID deaths; and the USPS honors a late congressman. These stories and more highlight the morning rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022.
Mother, son die in tornado, storm still moving
“I just heard a big old gush of wind and like really, really heavy rain, and then like all of the sudden it was just kind of quiet for a minute. And then all that wind picked up, and I just grabbed a hold of that bar that’s in the restroom and because it shook the house, it was shaking the house really badly and then I heard my mom screaming, because she had my kids in the house,” Decatur, Texas, resident Isela Gonzales said Tuesday.
Severe weather pummeled Texas yesterday. And a state over, a mother and her eight-year-old son died after a tornado touched down in Louisiana.
Several dozen others were injured from a massive storm system that produced twisters across the South and blizzards in the Great Plains.
The extreme weather conditions will continue into Wednesday, with an eye on more tornado warnings in the south and blizzard warnings from Montana to Colorado and up through South Dakota, where they’re expecting two feet of snow and winds up to 50 miles per hour.
Title 42 to end in one week, 19 states join legal fight
Title 42 is set to expire one week from today after a judge ruled it illegal. After that, Border Patrol agents won’t be able to send migrants back across the border on the grounds of a public-health emergency.
Officials warn the daily number of migrant crossings could be as high as 14,000 to 15,000 starting Dec. 21. In fiscal year 2022, the daily average was 6,000, which was a record in itself.
The Biden administration is already appealing to try and keep Title 42. Now, 19 states are joining the fight, asking an appeals court to keep Title 42, or at least give them enough time to take the case to the Supreme Court.
They’ve asked the court for a decision by Friday.
Federal Reserve to announce 7th rate hike of 2022
For months, the Federal Reserve has been incrementally raising interest rates. While experts expect another rate-hike to be announced today, it’s expected to be a smaller half-point increase compared to the four most recent hikes of 75 basis points a pop.
It could be a sign of the times that Americans have finally seen the worst of inflation. The latest inflation report pointed to a drop in things like gas prices, airfares, furniture and toys.
There have been six rate hikes so far this year. While it’s a move to slow inflation, some experts worry it could trigger a recession.
CDC releases report on long COVID deaths
The CDC has released a new report this morning, detailing the number of deaths related to long COVID.
Long COVID is described as lingering COVID-19 symptoms that can last for weeks, months, or even years after someone’s initial recovery.
The CDC says out of the more than 1 million coronavirus deaths, 3,544 of them were cases of long COVID. That’s less than .03%.
Common symptoms of long covid range from difficulty breathing to long-term menstrual cycle changes. It’s something medical experts continue to research as so much is still unknown or unexplained.
USPS reveals stamp honoring Congressman John Lewis
The late congressman John Lewis will be honored with a postage stamp next year.
The U.S. Postal Service said the stamp “celebrates the life and legacy” of a lawmaker who was dedicated to civil rights.
He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s before spending three decades in Congress. In all, nearly 60 of his 80 years were spent in public service.
John Lewis died in 2020 from pancreatic cancer.
