Tornado warnings have been issued for parts of Arkansas and Pennsylvania. In a message to people in impacted areas, the National Weather Service (NWS) said: "TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris." This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections...

New Hampshire could become the latest US state to ban child marriage after its House of Representatives passed a bill that would raise the minimum age for marriage to 18. Until 2016, child marriage – defined as a union involving at least one person under 18 years of age – was legal in all 50 states, sometimes only under specific circumstances, such as pregnancy. But since the US signed up to a United Nations plan to end the practice by 2030, 12 states have passed laws banning it, beginning with...

Passersby can be forgiven for mistaking Friendship Aspire Academy for a place of worship: One of the elementary school’s main buildings is actually a repurposed church, a towering, ‘60s-era cast concrete sanctuary complete with a pipe organ tucked into an old choir loft. The architecture suits the tiny elementary school on South Hazel Street, which has taken on a kind of spiritual significance for families since it opened six years ago. The first of seven charter schools here either taken over or built from the ground up by the Washington,...

Parts of Alabama will face the possibility of severe storms over the next three days. Damaging winds, hail and a tornado or two will all be possible, especially on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The first round of storms may arrive in north Alabama this afternoon and track to the east and south through the evening, according to the National Weather Service. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is maintaining a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe weather for all of north Alabama, part of central Alabama and the northwest...

At least one person in Oklahoma has died as a result of a tornado that ripped through small towns, as severe storms moved from the South and into central areas, causing devastation and disruption to for millions. Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told NBC News that the unidentified person died as a result of a tornado in Barnsdall, a city of about 1,000 people some 40 miles north of Tulsa, amid some of the storm's worst devastation, on Monday night. Virden said it was too early to say how many...