A powerful storm threatening howling winds, flooding and heavy snow is bearing down on the East Coast. Its forecast path includes some coastal communities in the Carolinas more accustomed to hurricanes than blizzard conditions.

Hundreds of people gathered Friday outside the federal courthouse in uptown Charlotte to protest recent actions by federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis.

Federal safety officials have concluded that retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was not flying his jet when it crashed last month, killing him and six others. The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on Friday.

This event’s theme was “Rooted in Legacy: Impacting Generations.”