WEATHER
*Cloudy today there could be a spot shower, high 71
LOCAL
*Friday evening possible storms are the news this morning, some of them could be severe but the city and county are a lower risk, the more severe threat into the night that our storm chances ramp up. While it's a lower end risk, some of those storms could be severe.
The severe threat Friday is focused on the Western half of Missouri with an increased risk. mainly from hail and wind, though can't rule out an isolated tornado.
NATIONAL
Oklahoma Teachers Are Headed Back To Class -
Teachers in Oklahoma are heading back to the classroom after a nine day walkout.
Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest noted that teachers secured 479-million-dollars in funding for the next school year. Priest said that will amount to the largest pay raise for teachers in the state's history.
Source: Time
Hickenlooper Mulls Over Sending Troops To The Border - Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper isn't shutting down the idea of sending National Guard troops to protect the U.S.-Mexico border.
He said yesterday that President Trump hasn't asked for his state's help, but it would be something to look into if that call was made. Some border states have either deployed or agreed to send troops to the area. The president has said he wants as many as four-thousand of them in the border region.
Hickenlooper says he would also have to look at the situation and make sure it was appropriate. “In the past, Colorado has sent troops to the border for specific purposes, and generally those troops have stayed under the authority of the governor.”
Source: Denver Post
*Donald Trump released an executive order on Thursday calling for a review of the Postal Service's finances. Trump called for a task force to investigate the Postal Service's "unsustainable financial path" in the executive order. Trump also called for the task force to "conduct a thorough evaluation of the operations and finances of the U.S.P.S."
Trump attacked the postal service and Amazon back in December, saying that the Postal Service was "dumber and poorer" and lost billions by not "charging MUCH MORE" to Amazon and other shippers.
Source: The New York Times
Cincinnati 911 Center Under Investigation After Teen’s Call And Death -
A Cincinnati police dispatcher is on leave amid an investigation into a teenage boy's tragic death.
Police officials say they want to know why information Kyle Plush gave to the dispatcher about the type of vehicle he was trapped in wasn't relayed to officers. The 16-year-old died Tuesday night when he was crushed by a folding bench seat in his van outside Seven Hills School.
The teen call 911 using voice commands after being trapped after leaning over the third row of seats in his Honda Odyssey and the collapsed, pinning him. It took four minutes to find the GPS signal in the correct parking lot, but they couldn’t pinpoint the signal.
That’s when Plush called again and gave the make, model and year of the van. The dispatcher, who is on leave, failed to pass the info on to the officers. He was found six hours later by family members.
City leaders are also using the communication breakdown to push for a merger of Cincinnati and Hamilton County 911 centers.
Source: WKRC
Spring Storm With Some Winter Fun Is Coming -
A major spring storm is moving through the West Coast and is heading east.
Heavy snow is falling from Washington down to the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. As the storm moves east, dozens of states are under winter storm watches going into this weekend. Severe storms with possible tornadoes are expected today from the Gulf Coast up along much of the Mississippi River. The area from Colorado to Michigan may also be hit hard with heavy snow.
The severe weather will continue on Saturday, and snow will continue to fall in the northern Plains and Great Lakes with possible blizzard conditions. On Sunday, the storm will move into the Southeast, from Florida and up through the Carolinas.
Source: Washington Post
SPORTS
The Cards beat the Reds 13-4