23 dead, dozens missing in tornado-blasted Alabama community
BEAUREGARD, Ala. — Rescue crews using dogs and drones searched for victims amid splintered lumber and twisted metal Monday after the deadliest U.S. tornado in nearly six years ripped through a rural Alabama community. At least 23 people were killed, some of them children.
Dozens were missing in Lee County nearly a day after the twister struck, according to the sheriff, who said that crews had combed the hardest-hit areas but that other places had yet to be searched.
The winds Sunday afternoon obliterated numerous homes, leaving huge, jumbled piles of wood and household belongings. Some homes were reduced to concrete slabs. Debris was scattered across the countryside, with shredded metal hanging from the pine trees.
“I’m not going to be surprised if we don’t come up with some more deceased. Hopefully we won’t,” Coroner Bill Harris said. He said the dead included almost entire families and at least three children, ages 6, 9 and 10.
On the day after the disaster, volunteers used chain saws to clear paths for emergency workers. Neighbors and friends helped one another find some of their belongings in the ruins. At the R&D Grocery, rattled residents asked each other if they were OK. And a big banner that read “#BEAUREGARDSTRONG” was hung on a fence at Beauregard High School.
Guaido returns to Venezuela, calls for more street protests
CARACAS, Venezuela — A defiant Juan Guaido returned home to Venezuela on Monday despite concerns the opposition leader might be detained and urged supporters at a rally to intensify their campaign to topple the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The 35-year-old leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly showed off his passport before climbing onto scaffolding and pumping his fist during the demonstration in Caracas, delighting euphoric followers whose efforts to oust Maduro have fallen short in a nation gripped by a humanitarian crisis.
There were few security forces nearby and no immediate comment from Maduro’s government, which has tried to divert the public’s attention to carnival festivities Monday and Tuesday. While thousands of Venezuelans heeded Guaido’s call for protests coinciding with his return, many wonder whether he can maintain momentum against a government that, while under extreme pressure itself, has relentlessly cracked down on opponents in the past, jailing or driving into exile top opposition leaders.
“We know the risks that we face. That’s never stopped us,” Guaido said after arriving at Venezuela’s main airport and going through immigration checks. He was greeted by top diplomats from the United States, Germany, Spain and other countries who possibly hoped to head off any move to detain Guaido by bearing witness to his return.
“We hope there won’t be any escalation and that parliamentary immunity is respected,” said Spanish Ambassador Jesus Silva Fernandez.
Luke Perry, heartthrob on ‘90210,’ dies at 52 after stroke
LOS ANGELES — Luke Perry, who gained instant heartthrob status as wealthy rebel Dylan McKay on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died Monday after suffering a massive stroke, his publicist said. He was 52.
Perry was surrounded by family and friends when he died, publicist Arnold Robinson said. The actor had been hospitalized since last Wednesday, after a 911 call summoned medical help to his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles.
“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning,” Robinson said in a statement. Those at Perry’s bedside included his children, Jake and Sophie; fiancée Wendy Madison Bauer; former wife, Minnie Sharp, and mother Ann Bennett.
Although Perry was best-known for his role as McKay, he enjoyed a prolific film and television career. Most recently, he played construction company owner Fred Andrews, father of main character Archie Andrews, for three seasons on “Riverdale,” the CW series that gives a dark take on “Archie” comics. A fourth season has been slated.
The actor’s next big screen role will be in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” which is slated for release in July.
Anonymous winner claiming $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The mystery surrounding the $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot from last October is partly over as lottery officials announced Monday that a South Carolina resident had stepped forward to claim the prize but elected to remain anonymous.
A lottery commission statement said the person submitting the claim for what was the second-largest lottery in U.S. history has chosen the cash option, a one-time payment of nearly $878,000,000. That’s the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in United States history, it said.
“We are delighted that the winner is a South Carolinian and has come forward to claim this remarkable prize,” said Hogan Brown, the Commission’s Executive Director.
The winning ticket was sold between Oct. 20 and Oct. 23 of last year at a convenience store in Simpsonville, a suburb of the South Carolina city of Greenville.
For months, South Carolina residents had speculated on why the winner hadn’t stepped forward.
Northeast digs out after storm closes schools, slows commute
BOSTON — With the official start of spring weeks away, a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the northeastern U.S. overnight Monday, prompting school closures, power outages and a messy morning commute.
Temperatures were then expected to plunge into the teens overnight and linger there for the most of the week, raising the risk of dangerously icy conditions, officials and meteorologists warned.
“Well, we finally got a good one. We’ve been waiting a whole winter and it finally came,” said Michael Raab as he used a snow blower to clear his driveway in the Boston suburb of Arlington, Massachusetts, on Monday. “The kids were happy there is a snow day. I hope we won’t have too many more of these since we’re looking forward to the spring.”
But, at least in New England, the snowy weather isn’t completely done: more could be on the way Friday or Saturday. That storm is still too early to predict, but it shouldn’t be as significant, said Bryce Williams, a Boston-area meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
Monday’s storm, which started Sunday night but hit the hardest in the early morning hours, was the largest storm parts of New England have seen in a relatively quiet winter.