MONDAY, APRIL 25 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
to go on trial this summer on
more than a dozen state criminal
counts related to absentee ballot
activities for the 2016 general
election and the 2018 primary
and general elections. A half-
dozen others were also charged.
Dowless’s health had become
an issue while receiving a six-
month prison sentence for
federal crimes involving benefits
fraud that was tangentially
related to the broader state
probe.
— Associated Pressabsentee ballot fraud probe that
led to a do-over congressional
election, has died.
His daughter, Andrea Dowless
Heverly, wrote that her father
“passed away peacefully” Sunday
morning, according to a social
media post. He had been
diagnosed with an advanced
form of lung cancer and died at
his daughter’s home in Bladen
County, his friend Jay DeLancy
told the Associated Press.
Dowless was in his mid-60s.
The political operative was setWEATHER
Storm fuels blizzard in
Dakotas, fires in N.M.
A weekend blizzard unloaded
12 to 20 inches of snow in the
western Dakotas and northern
Rockies, part of a powerful
spring storm that also fueled a
rash of fires in New Mexico on
Friday and Saturday.
The combination of heavy, wet
snow and roaring winds left
more than 15,000 customers
without power Sunday afternoon
in the Dakotas, where the snow
was finally starting to subside.
In New Mexico, the wind
gusts, which peaked in the 60-to-
80-mph range on Friday, eased
Sunday, but numerous fires were
still not fully contained. Gov.
Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said
more than 200 structures had
burned in the state, according to
the Associated Press. The
governor declared states of
emergency in several counties.
The combination of strong
winds, extremely low humidity,
high temperatures and drought
fueled blazes not only in New
Mexico but also in parts of
Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska.
A blaze in Cambridge, Neb.,
about midway between Lincoln
and Denver, resulted in the death
of a retired fire chief and injuries
to at least 15 firefighters,
according to the Associated
Press. It had burned 85,000 acres
through Saturday.
Scientists have determined
that human-induced climate
change is intensifying the fire
risk by increasing temperatures,
which dry out the land surface
more quickly and make it more
combustible. Almost all of New
Mexico and the western portions
of Kansas and Nebraska are
enduring drought.
The storm system responsible
for the fires and blizzard has
produced incredible temperature
contrasts. On its warm side, high
temperatures soared into the
record-breaking 80s and 90s in
the Plains on Friday and
Saturday but plummeted into the
20s on its frigid northwest flank.
In North Dakota, where the cold
and warm air clashed, a blizzard
warning and a tornado watch on
Saturday were separated by less
than 100 miles.
The Weather Service’s Storm
Prediction Center indicated that
no areas in the Lower 48 faced an
elevated fire danger Sunday, after
several days of critical to extreme
conditions in parts of the
Southwest and Plains.
Although the center of the
storm responsible for the
windswept snow and fires is
lifting into Canada, its strong
cold front was continuing to
push eastward through the
central United States on Sunday.
On Monday and Tuesday, the
front will progress toward the
East Coast, producing more
downpours.
— Jason Samenow
TEXAS
Guard member l ost
in river is identified
The name of a Texas National
Guard member who remains
missing after going into the river
along the U.S.-Mexico border to
help two migrants who appeared
to be drowning was released on
Sunday by officials.
The Texas Military
Department identified the
missing Guard member as Spec.
Bishop E. Evans, 22, from
Arlington.
Evans went missing on Friday
as he jumped into the Rio Grande
near Eagle Pass along the U.S.-
Mexico border in a section of the
river known to have strong
currents.
Evans is assigned to A Battery,
4-133 Field Artillery Regiment in
New Braunfels, the Texas
Military Department said in a
statement. He joined the Texas
Army National Guard in May
- Evans left Texas but
returned in 2020 after taking
part in Operation Spartan Shield
in Kuwait.
Dive teams had stopped their
operations Saturday evening
because of the river’s strong
current. Three airboats from the
Texas Department of Public
Safety helped with the search
Sunday.
The two migrants, whom the
Texas Military Department said
Evans was trying to rescue when
he disappeared, were taken into
custody by U.S. agents.
According to the military
department, authorities believe
the migrants were involved in
drug smuggling.
— Associated Press
NORTH CAROLINA
Operative at center of
absentee inquiry dies
Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., the
key player in a North Carolina
DIGESTANDREW KELLY/REUTERSPeople relax on stairs painted
with the American flag at the
Empire Outlets in Staten Island
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