Republicans in Congress called several Democratic governors to Washington on Thursday to question them over policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Residents in Kentucky and Missouri are digging through tornado-stricken neighborhoods and clearing debris after severe storms swept through parts of the Midwest and South and left more than two dozen people dead.

Easing winds have delivered a brief but much-needed reprieve to firefighters as they battle two massive blazes in the Los Angeles area.

A growing force of firefighters and equipment has moved into the Los Angeles area.

The plunging polar vortex is bringing subfreezing temperatures to some of the southernmost points of the U.S. A forming storm system is threatening to dump snow on parts of Texas and Oklahoma, while communities in Louisiana and Florida may see frigid cold.

Much of the U.S. is being blasted by ice, snow and wind, as the polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend is keeping an area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the coast of Maine in its frigid grip.