Violent storm leaves 4 dead in central US

A violent storm swept from the US Gulf Coast up to the eastern Great Lakes, killing at least four people, three in Texas and one in Tennessee, and contributed to the overturning of a school bus in a rain-swollen creek in Kansas. Strong winds and heavy rain lashed the region, and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour were still being forecast for Friday afternoon in some regions. The National Weather Service said it received 230 reports of high winds across 12 states from Louisiana to Pennsylvania, and reports of tornadoes in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Illinois, although none did major damage. Fallen power lines littered Tennessee in the wake of 40 to 50 mph winds, said Scott Unger of the National Weather Service in Nashville. Thousands lost power, officials said.