HOUSTON (AP) — Hurricane season can be stressful for anyone near the potential path of a storm, as powerful winds and heavy rain can cause widespread damage, cut power for days or weeks and otherwise upend people's lives.
Smart preparation ahead of time can reduce that stress and keep you safer. Emergency management officials say good practices include looking around your home for potential hazards, considering how you might handle evacuation, and putting together a kit of essential supplies.
Anything in the backyard that isn’t tied down, such as furniture and barbecue grills, should be secured or brought inside so it doesn't become a projectile that can come through a window, said Shawn Schulze, regional CEO for the American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region.
If possible, board up windows and place important documents such as passports and birth certificates in a waterproof case or even a Ziploc bag, Schulze said. That will prevent damage and make documents easier to locate in a quick evacuation.
Some preparation needs to happen well before a storm is imminent. That includes trimming or removing dead or weakened tree limbs and shrubs that hang over homes to lessen potential damage from high winds, said Mistie Hinote, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Insurance.
Hinote also urged people to review what type of insurance coverage they have and to make a home inventory of their possessions by taking photos of them in case an insurance claim needs to be made after a storm.
Brian Mason, director of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management, recommends that homeowners get their roofs inspected before each hurricane season and know how to turn off their utilities in case of damage.
Every family should have an emergency kit with supplies to meet its basic needs.
For people who stay, a kit should include at least 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of water per day per person, with enough for up to seven days, Mason said. One way to have enough water is to fill a bathtub.
People should also have enough nonperishable food for up to seven days, as well as flashlights, batteries, candles, medications, portable power banks or other power sources, and a radio that runs on batteries.
Pets should be included in preparations, including bringing them inside ahead of a storm, and having enough food, water and necessary medications for up to seven days, Mason said.
Parents should also include something to entertain their kids, such as games or coloring books, because likely power outages after a hurricane mean there won't be internet and cellular service, and “nothing’s more challenging for a family than kids that are bouncing off the walls because they’re bored,” Mason said.
“If you decide to stay, you need to make sure that you can be self-sufficient for days to weeks, depending on how long it takes for power to be restored,” Mason said.
If people decide to leave ahead of a storm, they should also prepare an emergency kit with enough supplies to get to their destination, officials said.
Before a storm arrives, people should know their evacuation routes are and have backup routes in case roads get congested, Mason said.
Officials recommend fueling vehicles if a storm is approaching. People with electric vehicles should make sure their routes have charging stations along the way, he said.
Schulze said it’s natural for people to be afraid when a hurricane is coming, but having a plan in place and letting loved ones know you're prepared will go a long way to easing fears.
“Think about what the worst could be and prepare for that and you’ll always be ready for what comes your way,” Schulze said.
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Children play in a street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)
Workers board up shop windows ahead of Hurricane Melissa's forecast arrival in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People buy groceries ahead of the forecast arrival of Hurricane Melissa in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments at 10 a.m. ET over the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to someone in the country illegally or temporarily.
The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, is part of his Republican administration’s broad immigration crackdown.
Trump plans to be in attendance. He will be the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation’s highest court.
Every lower court to have considered the issue has found the order illegal and prevented it from taking effect. A definitive ruling by the nation’s highest court is expected by early summer.
Here’s the latest:
Way back in 1841, former President John Quincy Adams represented a shipload of African men and women who had been sold into slavery in the famous Amistad case.
Former President William Howard Taft became chief justice nearly eight years after leaving the White House in 1913. Charles Evans Hughes left the Supreme Court for a presidential run in 1912, which he nearly won, then returned to the court in 1930 as chief justice.
In 1966, Richard Nixon argued his only Supreme Court case, which he lost.
Twenty-four Democratic state attorneys general put out a statement Wednesday morning saying they’re “proud to lead the fight against this unlawful order.”
While Democratic attorneys general have sued the Trump administration scores of times, the plaintiffs in this case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups.
The Democratic attorneys filed court papers supporting their position. Twenty-five of their Republican counterparts filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing the Trump administration.
The only state sitting this one out is New Hampshire.
More than 250,000 babies born in the U.S. each year would not be citizens, according to research from the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University’s Population Research Institute.
The order would only apply going forward, the administration has said. But opponents have said a court ruling in Trump’s favor could pave the way for a later effort to take away citizenship from people who were born to parents who were not themselves U.S. citizens.
The president and first lady Melania Trump showed up for the court ritual marking the arrival of a new justice following the confirmations of Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Justice Brett Kavanaugh a year later.
The ceremony for Trump’s third appointee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump, who was no longer in office, did not attend.
Traditionally the president has avoided attending arguments to maintain distance between the government branches — since the executive officer’s presence is seen by many as a way to pressure the independent court to rule in their favor.
Given the unusual nature of it all — Trump’s presence in the courtroom spotlights how high the stakes are for him, as the court’s decision will have massive consequences on his longstanding promise to crack down on immigration.
Last year, Trump said that he badly wanted to attend a hearing on whether he overstepped federal law with his sweeping tariffs, but he decided against it, saying it would have been a distraction.
Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at UCLA, told the The Associated Press that Trump’s attending SCOTUS oral arguments signals how important the president views this case.
However, Trump’s presence “is unlikely to sway the justices,” Winkler said, adding that the SCOTUS justices “pride themselves in their independence, even if some agree with much of Trump’s agenda.”
The fanfare of Trump being in the courtroom will make for a different experience for the justices themselves, however, as “Trump’s presence will make the atmosphere a little bit more circus-like,” Winkler said.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer is making his ninth Supreme Court argument and second in as many weeks. Sauer’s biggest win to date was the presidential immunity decision that spared Trump from being tried for his effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Sauer was a Supreme Court law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia early in his legal career.
ACLU legal director Cecillia Wang, the child of Chinese immigrants, is presenting her second argument to the Supreme Court. In the first Trump administration, a 5-4 conservative majority ruled against Wang’s clients in another immigration case.
It’s not an April Fool’s joke. Alito was born this day in 1950. Only Thomas, who turns 78 in June, is older than Alito among the nine justices.
In the post-pandemic era, the other justices allow the 77-year-old Thomas, the longest-serving member of the court, to pose a question or two before the free-for-all begins.
In a second round of questioning, the justices ask questions in order of seniority. Chief Justice John Roberts, whose center chair makes him the most senior, gets the first crack.
The justices have routinely gone beyond the allotted time since returning to the courtroom following the Covid-19 pandemic.
A buzzer and the court marshal’s cry, “All rise,” signal the justices’ entrance from behind red curtains. The livestream won’t kick in for several minutes, until after the ceremonial swearing-in of lawyers to the Supreme Court bar.
FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington on Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
People arrive to walk inside the U.S. Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments today on whether President Donald Trump can deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
