Parts of central US hit by severe storms, while tornadoes strike in Kansas and Iowa

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Strong storms caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. Tuesday and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa, including one that left two people hurt.

An EF-1 tornado touched down shortly after 6 a.m. near the northeastern Kansas town of Richland, the National Weather Service said. The twister reached speeds of up to 100 mph (161 kph) and was on the ground for about 20 minutes, the service said.

Two people were injured when their RV flipped over during the tornado. Details about the injuries were not immediately available. Buildings and trees also were damaged in the neighboring town of Overbrook.

In central Iowa, a barn was demolished and other buildings were damaged after a tornado touched down in a rural area of Dallas County. The weather service also reported ping pong ball-sized hail in Bloomfield, just north of the Missouri line. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The weather service said the central U.S. was under threat of severe weather through Tuesday. Thunderstorms were expected in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and northwestern Illinois, potentially with large hail and damaging winds. Some isolated storms were also possible in the mid-South, the service said.

In Missouri, Chicago-bound American Eagle Flight 3661 returned to Kansas City International Airport just before 6 a.m., soon after it took off, due to a possible lightning strike, American Airlines spokesperson Gianna Urgo said in an email. Maintenance workers were inspecting the aircraft to see if it was damaged. Passengers were later put on other flights, Urgo said.

A camper was blown over and the roof was ripped off a building when a strong storm hit the area around Smithville Lake in western Missouri, the Clay County Sheriff's Department said. Downed trees and power lines were reported in several communities near Kansas City.

Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

A camper damaged by storms is photographed on April 16, 2024, near Overbrook, Kansas. Two people were injured when their RV flipped over during a tornado; buildings and trees also were damaged in Overbrook. (Eric Ives/WIBW via AP)

Storm systems moving across Shawnee County, Kan., that began Monday night and continued Tuesday morning, April 16, 2024, brought with it downpours, power outages and high winds to the area. Strong storms have caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa. (Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Metal sidings are throw up in trees on Ethan Steenbach's property Tuesday morning, April 16, 2024, in Overbrook, Kan., following a tornado that hit the area. Strong storms have caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa. (Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors said Monday they will not retry an Arizona rancher whose trial in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property ended last week with a deadlocked jury.

The jurors in the case against George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict after more than two days of deliberation. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on April 22.

After the mistrial, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly — or to drop the case. Fink dismissed the case as requested by prosecutors.

Kelly could not immediately be reached for comment. His defense attorney Brenna Larkin did not immediately return a request for comment sent by email after Fink ruled.

The 75-year-old Kelly had been on trial for nearly a month in Nogales, which is on the border with Mexico. The rancher had been charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, killing of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea outside Nogales, Arizona.

Cuen-Buitimea had lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. He was in a group of men that Kelly encountered that day on his cattle ranch. His two adult daughters, along with Mexican consular officials, met with prosecutors last week to learn about the implications of a mistrial.

Prosecutors had said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle toward a group of men on his cattle ranch, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards (90 meters) away. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but argued he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.

The trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security. During it, court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Earlier, Kelly had rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.

Kelly was also accused of aggravated assault of another person in the group of about eight people.

FILE - George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Ariz., Feb. 22, 2023. Prosecutors headed back to court Monday, April 29, 2024, to announce whether they will retry Kelly, an Arizona rancher, after a jury deadlocked in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property near the southern U.S. border. Jurors in the case against Kelly did not reach a unanimous decision on a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial on April 22. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool, File)