NEW ORLEANS >> Storm Francine barreled across the U.S. South on Thursday, pounding the region with heavy rains and gusty winds while causing widespread power outages for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. It had weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to a tropical depression as it moved northeastward over central Mississippi, but still packed winds of 35 miles per hour (55 km per hour) and threatened areas with dangerous storm surges early on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.