PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democrat Joseph E. Brennan, whose hardscrabble childhood shaped his working-class views in a political career that included two terms as Maine's governor and two terms in the U.S. House, died Friday evening at his home in Portland. He was 89.
Brennan died with his wife at his side a few blocks from the third-floor tenement housing on Munjoy Hill where his Irish immigrant parents raised a family of eight children, Frank O'Hara, a longtime friend, said Saturday.
Brennan's experience in that neighborhood, a working-class melting pot, stayed with him when he entered politics with a campaign for the Maine Legislature at age 29, O'Hara said.
An Army veteran, Brennan attended Boston College under the GI Bill and graduated from the University of Maine Law School. He served as a county district attorney and state attorney general, in addition to state lawmaker, governor and congressman.
Former Democratic Gov. Joe Baldacci called Brennan “a friend, a mentor and a dedicated servant.”
“He was a man of the highest integrity, who led Maine through difficult times. He believed that he had an obligation to make things better, and he lived that ideal through his commitment to public education and improving the state’s economy,” Baldacci said.
As attorney general, Brennan participated in negotiations with Wabanaki tribes and the federal government on what became the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1980, which was signed by President Jimmy Carter when Brennan was governor.
Also as governor, Brennan launched education reforms, pressed for tough highway safety measures and helped establish the Finance Authority of Maine.
Current Gov. Janet Mills, a fellow Democrat who was appointed by Brennan in 1980 as the first woman to serve as district attorney, said her selection despite objections from a number of men at the time put her on a path to become Maine’s first female governor.
“Gov. Brennan demonstrated for me and others that politics is about building relationships, that public service is not about enriching yourself but about enriching the lives of others, and that the most important relationship is the one we have with the people we serve,” she said.
Another key appointment by Brennan was tapping George Mitchell, a federal judge, in 1980 to fill the seat vacated by Democratic U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie, who resigned to become secretary of state. Mitchell went on to become majority leader in the Senate.
“His family and the people of Maine have lost a great man, and I have lost a dear friend,” said Mitchell, who called Brennan “a superb leader and lawyer who understood the importance of a firm and fair system of justice in our democracy.”
FILE - Former Maine Gov. Joseph Brennan is seen at the State House, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Augusta, Maine. Brennan, whose hardscrabble childhood shaped his working class views in a political career that included two terms as governor and two terms in the US. House, died Friday evening, April 5, 2024, at his home in Portland, Maine. He was 89. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, FIle)
FILE - Maine Gov. Joseph Brennan, left, enjoys a laugh with U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware during the opening ceremonies at Maine's Democratic presidential straw poll in Augusta, Maine, Friday, Sept. 30, 1983. Brennan, whose hardscrabble childhood shaped his working class views in a political career that included two terms as governor and two terms in the US. House, died Friday evening, April 5, 2024, at his home in Portland, Maine. He was 89. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A tornado touched down and crossed an interstate in Texas, causing damage and possible injuries as scattered severe storms moved through Texas and Oklahoma Saturday night.
Forecasters issued tornado and severe thunder storm warnings for parts of both states, as some heat records were broken during the day in South Texas and residents received triple-digit temperature warnings over the long holiday weekend.
A tornado crossed into northern Denton County in Texas late Saturday and overturned tractor-trailer trucks, stopping traffic on Interstate 35, Denton County Community Relations Director Dawn Cobb said in a statement.
The tornado was confirmed near Valley View, moving east at 40 mph (64 kph), prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning for northern Denton County, Cobb said.
The storm damaged homes, overturned motorhomes and knocked down power lines and trees throughout the area including points in Sanger, Pilot Point, Ray Roberts Lake and Isle du Bois State Park, Cobb said.
People who suffered injuries in the storm were transported to area hospitals by ground and air ambulances, but the number of injuries in the county was not immediately known, Cobb said, while a shelter was opened in Sanger.
There also were people believed to be trapped inside a Shell truck stop damaged by the storm in neighboring Cooke County, Cobb said.
The fire department in the city of Denton, about 37 miles (59.5 kilometers) north of Forth Worth, Texas, posted on X that emergency personnel were responding to a marina “for multiple victims, some reported trapped.”
The Claremore, Oklahoma, police announced on social media that the city about 28 miles (45 kilometers) east of Tulsa was “shut down” as a result of storm damage including downed power lines and trees and inaccessible roads.
Earlier Saturday night, the National Weather Service's office in Norman, Oklahoma, said via the social platform X that the warning was for northern Noble and far southern Kay counties, an area located to the north of Oklahoma City. “If you are in the path of this storm take cover now!” it said.
A following post at 10:05 p.m. said storms had exited the area but warned of a storm moving across north Texas that could affect portions of south central Oklahoma.
At 10:24 p.m., the weather service office in Fort Worth posted a message warning residents in Era and Valley View they were in the direct path of a possible tornado and to immediately seek shelter. The Forth Worth office continued to post notices and shelter warnings tracking the movement of the storm through midnight and separately issued a severe thunderstorm warning with “golf ball sized hail” possible.
The weather service office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, warned on X of a dangerous storm moving across the northeast part of the state through 2 a.m. and issued severe thunderstorm notices for communities including Hugo, Boswell, Fort Towson, Grainola, Foraker and Herd.
The Norman office had compared conditions Saturday to “ a gasoline-soaked brush pile.” Forecasters said any storms that form could explode with large hail, dangerous winds and tornadoes.
“There’s a small chance most of the matches are duds and we only see a few storms today. Still, that’s not a match I would want to play with. It only takes one storm to be impactful,” it said via Facebook.
Excessive heat, especially for May, was the danger in South Texas, where the heat index was forecast to approach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in some spots during the weekend. Actual temperatures will be lower, although still in triple-digit territory, but the humidity will make it feel that much hotter.
The region is on the north end of a heat dome stretching from Mexico to South America, National Weather Service meteorologist Zack Taylor said.
Sunday looks like the hottest day with record highs for late May forecast for Austin, Brownsville, Dallas and San Antonio, Taylor said.
Brownsville and Harlingen near the Texas-Mexico border already set new records Saturday for the May 25 calendar date — 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) and 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), respectively — according to the weather service.
Red Flag fire warnings were also in place in West Texas, all of New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. Humidity was very low, under 10%, and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (97 kph) were recorded.
“We’ve got very dry air, warm temperatures and strong winds creating a high fire danger over a wide area ... that can lead to rapidly spreading or uncontrollable fires,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, several inches of snow fell Friday into early Saturday in Rolla, North Dakota, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
April and May have been a busy month for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Climate change is heightening the severity of storms around the world.
April saw the United States' second-highest number of tornadoes on record. So far for 2024, the country is already 25% ahead of the average number of twisters, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman.
Iowa was hit hard this week, when a deadly twister devastated Greenfield. And other storms brought flooding and wind damage elsewhere in the state.
The storm system causing the severe weather was expected to move east as the Memorial Day weekend continues, bringing rain that could delay the Indianapolis 500 auto race Sunday in Indiana and more severe storms in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.
The risk of severe weather moves into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.
This Thursday, May 23, 2024 satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows destruction in Greenfield, Iowa after a Tuesday, May 21 tornado. (Maxar Technologies via AP) Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies
This Thursday, May 23, 2024 satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows destruction in Greenfield, Iowa after a Tuesday, May 21 tornado. (Maxar Technologies via AP) Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies
This combination of Oct. 22, 2022 and May 23, 2024 satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows destruction in Greenfield, Iowa after a Tuesday, May 21 tornado. (Maxar Technologies via AP) Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies
This Thursday, May 23, 2024 satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows destruction in Greenfield, Iowa after a Tuesday, May 21 tornado. (Maxar Technologies via AP) Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies
A person crosses Caroline Street in the afternoon heat Saturday, May 25, 2024, near Discovery Green in Downtown Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
High winds associated with the morning severe weather overturned this semi-trailer on Interstate 280 west of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024. Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)
Severe storm clouds move across the northwest edge of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024. Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)
Severe storm clouds move along Interstate 80 at the northwest edge of Davenport, Iowa on Friday, May 24, 2024. Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.(Roy Dabner/Quad City Times via AP)
Margaret Cantu waits in the heat for food and water from volunteers Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston. "I'm trying to forget the storm, it really scares me," she said. Cantu, 68, lives with her 70-year-old husband. She said they don't have power. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A spctator cools herself with a small electric fan as temperatures climb into the high 90s Fahrenheit while she and friends watch the Team USA cricket match against Bangladesh, part of a three-game T20I series at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Sheaka Morshed wears sunblock on his face as temperatures climb into the high 90s Fahrenheit while watching the Team USA cricket match against Bangladesh, part of a three-game T20I series at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A person crosses Caroline Street in the afternoon heat Saturday, May 25, 2024, near Discovery Green in Downtown Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
