Category: US

Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government. DOGE has published a list of nearly 800 federal real estate leases that it is seeking to cancel. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect. The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone. The AP also obtained more information about each lease on DOGE’s list through other publicly available datasets, including their addresses, the dates the leases had started and were originally expected to expire, and the landlords who own the properties. Of the 47 Social Security Administration offices listed for closure, only some had anticipated dates for when those lease cancellations would take effect. Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of the 26 offices listed as expected to close this year, along with the termination date for each lease, according to the General Services data: Alabama 634 Broad St., Gadsden: Sept. 30 Arkansas 965 Holiday Drive, Forrest City: April 25 4083 Jefferson Ave., Texarkana: May 25 Colorado 825 N. Crest Drive, Grand Junction: June 21 Florida 4740 Dairy Road, Melbourne: May 16 Georgia 1338 Broadway, Columbus: Sept. 30 Kentucky 825 High St., Hazard: April 24 Louisiana 178 Civic Center Drive, Houma: April 25 Mississippi 4717 26th St., Meridian: June 1 604 Yalobusha St., Greenwood: June 1 2383 Sunset Drive, Grenada: May 1 Montana 3701 American Way, Missoula: June 21 North Carolina 730 Roanoke Ave., Roanoke Rapids: Aug. 1 2123 Lakeside Drive, Franklin: June 23

Another storm system is affecting millions of people in the middle of the U.S., leaving parts of the Midwest and Great Plains under blizzard conditions and a broad swath of neighboring states at risk of high winds and wildfires. Roughly 72 million people were under a wind advisory or warning Wednesday, with winds gusting over 45 mph (72 kph), according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. At this time of year, cold air lingering in the north collides with warm air coming in from the south to produce strong, low pressure systems, Jackson said. But Wednesday’s weather is the third storm system to rapidly develop in recent weeks and bring high winds to a large swath of the U.S., a “very active pattern” since February, Jackson said. At least 42 people died over the weekend when dynamic storms unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust and wildfires — leaving behind uprooted trees and flattening hundreds of homes and businesses across eight U.S. states in the South and Midwest. Snow for some A band from southwestern Kansas up to central Wisconsin was expected to see as little as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow or as much as 1 foot (30 cm) Wednesday. Combined with high winds, forecasters warned of whiteout conditions. The Kansas Department of Transportation closed more than 250 miles (402 kilometers) of Interstate 70 from the Colorado border east to Salina, Kansas because of winter weather. The first stretch to close — 39 miles (62 km) between Goodland and Colby in western Kansas — was also impacted by last week’s high winds. Eight people died after a dust storm resulted in a pileup of 71 cars and trucks. Blizzard conditions early Wednesday led to near-zero visibility in south central Nebraska, the state patrol said in a Facebook post urging people to stay off the roads. More than 160 miles (257 km) of Interstate 80 cutting east from Lincoln west

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