At least 9 people are dead, including 8 in Kentucky, in latest blast of winter weather

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — At least nine people have died in the most recent round of harsh weather to pummel the U.S., including eight people in Kentucky who died as creeks swelled from heavy rain and water covered roads.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday that hundreds of people stranded by flooding had to be rescued. President Donald Trump approved the state's request for a disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state.

Beshear said most of the deaths, including a mother and 7-year-old child, were caused by cars getting stuck in high water.

“So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive,” he said. “This is the search and rescue phase, and I am very proud of all the Kentuckians that are out there responding, putting their lives on the line.”

Beshear said there have been 1,000 rescues across the state since the storms began Saturday. The storms knocked out power to about 39,000 homes, but Beshear warned that harsh winds in some areas could increase outages.

Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain, said Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service.

“The effects will continue for awhile, a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on,” Oravec said Sunday.

In Alabama, the weather service in Birmingham said it had confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down overnight in Hale County. Storms there and elsewhere in the state destroyed or damaged a handful of mobile homes, downed trees and toppled power lines, but no injuries were immediately reported. Extensive damage to downtown roofs and buildings was reported in the northern city of Tuscumbia, with authorities asking people to avoid the area, according to WAFF-TV and other local media.

A state of emergency was declared for parts of Obion County, Tennessee, after a levee failed on Saturday, flooding the small community of Rives, home to around 300 people in the western part of the state. “There will be mandatory evacuations in effect for the residents in Rives due to the rising water, no electricity, and freezing temperatures creating a life-threatening situation,” Mayor Steve Carr said in a statement Sunday.

In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue Capt. Scott Powell.

Dangerously cold wind chill temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero (minus 45.6) were expected in most of North Dakota, which remained under an “extreme cold warning” along with parts of Montana and large swaths of South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service.

Water submerged cars and buildings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia late Saturday into Sunday. Both states were under flood warnings, along with Tennessee and Arkansas.

The mother and child were swept away Saturday night in Kentucky's Bonnieville community, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said. In southeastern Kentucky, a 73-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Clay County, county Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry said. There were a total of four deaths in Hart County, Beshear said.

The Kentucky River Medical Center in the city of Jackson said it had closed its emergency department and transferred all patients to two other hospitals in the region due to a nearby river flooding.

Photos posted by authorities and residents on social media showed cars and buildings underwater in south-central and eastern Kentucky. In Buchanan County, Virginia, the sheriff’s office said multiple roads were blocked by mudslides.

High winds brought down trees and power poles across Albermarle County, Virginia. The Charlottesville Police Department said Sunday on social media that officers’ response times could be delayed due to “an overwhelming number of weather-related calls for service.” Police urged residents to stay off the roads.

Power outages were reported along much of the Eastern Seaboard, from New York south to Georgia.

In West Virginia, 13 southern counties were under a state of emergency for flooding and some areas were cut off to vehicle traffic Sunday. Several volunteer fire departments dealt with flooding in their own buildings while answering rescue and evacuation calls.

Ice and snow made road travel treacherous in large swaths of Michigan, which remained under a winter weather advisory until Monday afternoon. Michigan State Police reported 114 crashes Sunday around the Detroit area since snow started falling Saturday.

“Fortunately, most were one-car spin outs and there were no serious injuries,” Michigan State Police said on X. “A majority of them were caused by drivers just going too fast or following too close.”

Authorities in Colorado reported eight people were killed in fatal vehicle crashes since Valentine’s Day and warned drivers to be cautious as the weather made driving more difficult. The causes of the fatal crashes weren't immediately known.

Also in Colorado, three state patrol cruisers that had pulled over along roadsides were struck by other vehicles, including one on Sunday where a trooper had stopped as officials prepared to close a road because of ice. In each case the troopers were out of their cruisers at the time and were uninjured.

Meteorologists said the U.S. was about to get its 10th and coldest polar vortex stretching event this season, with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe.

The National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening cold” in the northern Plains on Monday and Tuesday mornings. It said northeastern Montana could see temperatures as low as 45 degrees below zero (-42.7 degrees Celsius) and wind chills down to 60 below (-51 degrees Celsius).

Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains stretching from Colorado to Washington state, with the danger rated highest in Utah.

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Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

A vehicle turns around at a road closure for flooding along Dunbar Cave Rd., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Portions of Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, sit submerged after heavy rainfall beginning early Saturday morning brought nearly five inches of rain to Warren County and after that snow blanketed the region. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)

Water from the Cumberland River rises out of its banks Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A park ranger takes picture of flood water at Dunbar Cave State Park, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A roof was ripped off and flipped over on a home along Lee County Rd. 449 in Shannon, Miss. during Saturday nights severe thunderstorms that passed through the state. (Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)

A man carries a little girl to a truck from a house amidst debris from a storm in east Tuscumbia, Ala., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)

A high-rising Barren River flows through Bowling Green, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, after heavy rainfall beginning early Saturday morning brought nearly five inches of rain and snowfall to Warren County. (Jack Dobbs/Daily News via AP)

Chris Crowley struggles with heavy, wet snow Sunday afternoon, Feb. 16, 2025, as wind and driving sleet made conditions difficult to remove snow from a driveway on Shawmut Street in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Roofing drapes over a building from a storm at the intersection of Main and Fifth Streets in downtown Tuscumbia, Ala., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)

Cars sit in floodwaters at a railroad underpass in Louisville, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

A vehicle sits in flood water along the Red River, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A vehicle drives the opposite direction of a road closure sign along Dunbar Cave Rd., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A vehicle turns around at a road closure for flooding along Dunbar Cave Rd., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Several homes and other pieces of property were damaged along Lee County Rd. 154 in the Union Baptist Community near Shannon, Miss. Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)

A car sits destroyed along the road in Shannon, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, following Saturday nights storms that passed through Northeast Mississippi. (Thomas Wells/Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)

Water rises along the Cumberland River at McGregor Park, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Ahmed Yasir steps on the gas while others push and rock his car was stuck in a driveway in Lewiston, Maine, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

A road is closed due to flooding in Louisville, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

A truck sits in flood waters along the Cumberland River, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Clarksville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Cars sit in floodwaters at a railroad underpass in Louisville, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

This photo provided by the Warren County, Ky., Sheriff's Office shows a partially submerged car outside of Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Warren County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A truck driver checks her rig after chaining up along the clogged westbound lanes of Interstate 70 as skiers head to the mountains for the Presidents' Day weekend Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, near Georgetown, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A runner contends with a heavy snow while crossing Alameda Avenue at Marion Parkway as a winter storm sweeps over Colorado's Front Range communities Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A layer of snow is seen on a tree line after an overnight winter storm in Truckee, Calif., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A car drives in the Tahoe-Donner neighborhood after an overnight winter storm in Truckee, Calif., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

An emergency vehicle is pulled out of the water a day after it was pushed into the surf by a debris flow caused by heavy rainfall, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A residents carries their dog past a mud-covered street after a storm Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Sierra Madre, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A vehicle is dug out of the mud after a storm Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Sierra Madre, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

An emergency vehicle is pulled out of the water a day after it was pushed into the surf by debris flow caused by heavy rain, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A Dodge Challenger is seen buried in snow near Soda Springs, Calif., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A hillside is seen covered with snow amidst a winter snow storm in Soda Springs, Calif., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Ice builds up along the Lake Michigan shoreline Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in St. Joseph, Mich.(Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

Scott Von hoses mud off his garage in his property after a storm Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A fire-damages vehicle is left in front of a beach front property after a storm Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Motorists travel along a snow covered State Route 267 in Truckee, Calif., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Series — a.k.a. the celebration of Shohei Ohtani — begins this week in a festive atmosphere. The Japanese two-way star is among the most beloved athletes in the world and coming off one of the best seasons in the history of Major League Baseball while earning his third MVP for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

It's easy to forget that almost exactly one year ago, his career was briefly on the rocks.

The Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, last March when a bombshell was revealed: Ohtani's interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was being criminally investigated for ties to an illegal gambling ring and had stolen a huge amount of money from the baseball star.

Eventually, Mizuhara would plead guilty to bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. He was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison in February. Ohtani was never implicated in the scandal, but it was the first whiff of controversial news for a player with a squeaky-clean reputation.

Looking back, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it was a valuable lesson.

“He's really become his own man,” Roberts said. “I think his English has gotten considerably better. He's handling a lot of matters by himself and not having any type of conduit. I think he's opened himself up more to staff, the players, his teammates.

"It's just good to see him become his own man, and I say that in an honest and positive way.”

Ohtani is no longer a young man by baseball standards — he turned 30 last July — and is in the prime of a one-of-a-kind career. He revealed last spring he was married to Mamiko Tanaka and the couple is expecting a baby later this year. Combined with the Mizuhara situation, the developments have forced Ohtani to mature, becoming a more well-rounded individual.

That could serve him well as he deals with the reality of his surgically-repaired body.

Ohtani had surgery during the offseason to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder that he suffered during the World Series. He's also trying to return to the pitcher's mound after needing major elbow surgery in 2023 for the second time in his career.

Roberts said Ohtani's improved maturity was noticable earlier this month after the manager suggested that the player slow down his throwing program, instead concentrating on hitting for a few weeks to get the shoulder ready for his designated hitter role in 2025.

Last year, Ohtani might have tried to push through without resting. This year, he took Roberts' advice.

“He's smart, he wants to pitch, he wants to hit, but he really understands that he had a major surgery (on his shoulder) and he's coming off another major surgery in his elbow," Roberts said. "So to be as good as he expects to be, I think there's got to be some sacrifices.

"I think as you get older, you have more experiences, you're more likely to listen to stuff like that.”

It's fair to wonder if we've already seen the best of Ohtani, considering it's going to be nearly impossible to recreate last season, when he became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season.

His stolen base attempts in 2025 figure to be down drastically — particularly early in the season — as he tries to protect his left shoulder. His projected return to the mound is in May, which could eat into his plate appearances later in the season. It'll be a delicate balance, but Ohtani and the Dodgers seem to be on the same page.

“I'm going to let the team dictate that," Ohtani said. “I do want to play as much as possible, as many games as possible, but if the team feels like I should get a break, I'll follow that.”

If there's anything we've learned about Ohtani over the past seven years, it's that it would be foolish to put limits on what he can accomplish. The three-time MVP and the Dodgers open the season as favorites to capture a second straight World Series title.

Ohtani hasn't lost his flair for the dramatic, either. In his first spring at-bat after shoulder surgery, he hit an opposite-field homer against Yusei Kikuchi.

“He does not cease to amaze,” Roberts said. “Every time Shohei gets up to bat, you've got to watch because something special might happen.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, of Japan, smiles as he celebrates in the dugout after hitting a single against the Texas Rangers and being replaced by a pinch runner in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) makes his way into the dugout before their spring training baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani runs to third on a base hit by Tommy Edman during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani calls time after hitting a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani warms up prior to a spring training baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Monday, March 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)