Winter storm causes third day of dangerous, icy conditions

A deadly storm system lashed a large swath of the southern U.S. with bands of sleet and snow for a third day on Wednesday, grounding an additional 2,300 flights, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, forcing school closures and making already treacherous driving conditions worse.

Watches and warnings about wintry conditions were issued for an area stretching West Texas’ border with Mexico through Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, and into western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. Several rounds of mixed precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet, were in store for many areas throughout the day, meaning some places could get hit multiple times, forecasters said.

“It actually looks like it’s going to be getting worse again across Texas, it is already a pretty big area of freezing rain across western and southwestern Texas,” said Bob Oravec, a lead National Weather Service forecaster based in Camp Springs, Maryland.

Oravec said the icy weather is expected to move northeastward across parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas into western Tennessee and northern Mississippi before it starts to dissipate.

“By later in the day on Thursday it should be pretty much done,” Oravec said.

Democratic-backed legislation would ban the term ‘Latinx’

A group of Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut has proposed that the state follow Arkansas’ lead and ban the term “Latinx” from official government documents, calling it offensive to Spanish speakers. The word is used as a gender-neutral alternative to “Latino” and “Latina” and is helpful in supporting people who do not identify as either male or female, according to the word’s backers.

But state Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr. of Waterbury, the bill’s chief sponsor and one of five Hispanic Democrats who put their names on the legislation, said Latinx is not a Spanish word but is rather a “woke” term that is offensive to Connecticut’s large Puerto Rican population.

“I’m of Puerto Rican decent and I find it offensive,” he said.

Last month, Arkansas banned government officials from using Latinx on formal documents as part of several orders issued by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders within hours of her taking office.

Reyes said his motivations might be different from Sanders’, but he believes her decision was the right one.

‘Dances with Wolves’ actor to be charged with sex assault

A former “Dances with Wolves” actor accused of leading a cult could be facing multiple felonies and life in prison after police said he sexually assaulted young Indigenous girls and took multiple wives during a period spanning two decades, court records show. As of Wednesday, Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who goes by Nathan Chasing Horse, will be charged with at least two counts of sex trafficking and one count each of sexual assault of a child younger than 16, child abuse or neglect and sexual assault, according to the records. Authorities have not said when he will be formally charged.

Las Vegas police took Chasing Horse into custody Tuesday afternoon as he left the North Las Vegas home that, according to the warrant, he shares with his five wives. He was booked before midnight into Clark County’s jail, where he remained held without bail on the sexual assault charges Wednesday morning.

Known for his role as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the Oscar-winning Kevin Costner film, Chasing Horse gained a reputation among tribes across the United States and in Canada as a so-called medicine man who performed healing ceremonies and, police allege, used his position to abuse young Native American girls.

College Board revises AP Black history class after criticism

The official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies that was released on Wednesday downplays some components that drew criticism from conservatives including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had threatened to ban the class in his state. In the new framework, topics including Black Lives Matter and queer life are not part of the exam. They are included only on a list of sample project topics that states and school systems can choose from for assignments.

The course is currently being tested at 60 schools around the U.S., and the official materials are intended to guide its expansion to hundreds of additional high schools in the next academic year. The College Board, which oversees AP courses, said developers consulted with professors from more than 200 colleges, including several historically Black institutions.

The rejection of the course by DeSantis, a Republican, has stirred new political debate over how schools teach about race.

— The Associated Press