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A series of tornadoes have pummeled Alabama, reducing some homes to rubble and leaving at least three dead and thousands without power. Emergency workers braced for more storms Thursday while trying to account for all residents in the affected areas. State news outlets are quoting Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade as saying that at least three people were killed and multiple people injured. More injuries have been reported in Shelby County, near Birmingham, where homes were flattened. Storm warnings are in effect from eastern Mississippi, across Alabama and into western Georgia.

The CEOs of social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Google have faced a grilling as congressional lawmakers tried to draw them into acknowledging responsibility for helping fuel the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and rising COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. In a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, lawmakers pounded Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, which owns YouTube; and Twitter chief Jack Dorsey over their content policies, use of consumers’ data and media use by children. There is increasing support in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech companies. 

The University of Southern California has agreed to an $852 million settlement with over 700 women who accused the college’s longtime campus gynecologist of sexual abuse. The agreement announced Thursday is believed to be a record amount for such a case. It dwarfs the $500 million that Michigan State University agreed to pay in 2018 to settle claims against sports doctor Larry Nassar. When combined with a $215 million settlement of a separate class-action suit, USC has agreed to pay out over $1 billion for claims against 74-year-old Dr. George Tyndall, who worked at the school for nearly 30 years. Tyndall faces 35 criminal counts of sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016. He's pleaded not guilty and his attorney again denied the allegations on Thursday.

GIBRALTAR (AP) — With its hospital free of COVID-19 patients and only one new coronavirus infection reported in a full week, the tiny British overseas territory of Gibraltar is allowing itself some prudent celebration. The territory of 33,000, located in…

Texas officials have raised the death toll from February’s winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people. That's nearly double the state’s initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history. The majority of the deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The number could continue to rise as officials link more deaths to the storm that knocked out power to more than 4 million customers in Texas. Many homes went without power or drinkable water for days after subfreezing temperatures, failing power plants and record demand for heat pushed Texas’ electric grid to the breaking point. Texas officials had put the initial tally of deaths at 57 but warned it would increase. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday misstated the reality at the U.S.-Mexico border when he asserted that “nothing has changed” when it comes to the number of children coming to the United States since his predecessor, Donald Trump,…

Paul Cayard has raced in the America’s Cup and the Olympics, and was the first American skipper to win one of sailing’s toughest challenges, the Whitbread Round the World Race. One of America’s most accomplished sailors, Cayard now faces another arduous task: guiding the underperforming U.S. Olympic sailing team as its new executive director. The United States has won just one sailing medal in the last two Olympics combined, a startling result for a country that used to dominate the podium. The United States failed to medal in the 2012 London Games, its first whitewash since 1936 and claimed just a bronze medal in Rio in 2016. 

Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor have pushed each other to greatness. Oral Roberts’ star players room together on road trips and have formed a bond through it. It shows on the court. They have led 15th-seeded Oral Roberts to upset wins over No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 7 seed Florida. Their Golden Eagles could keep defying the odds when they play No. 3 seed Arkansas on Saturday in the Sweet 16.

Buffalo Sabres interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis have been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. That means general manager Kevyn Adams will take over behind the bench for Buffalo’s game at Pittsburgh. The team made the announcement two hours before the opening faceoff. This marks the second time the Sabres have been hit by COVID-19 in two months. Buffalo’s season was paused for two weeks in early February after nine players and then-coach Ralph Krueger were placed in the protocol. Krueger was fired last week. The Sabres are on a 0-13-2 winless streak, a franchise record.

Loyola Chicago guard Lucas Williamson is lending his voice and perspective to an upcoming documentary. The film is about the Ramblers’ barrier-breaking team that won the 1963 NCAA championship. Filmmaker Patrick Creadon calls Williamson “our storyteller” whose “very unique perspective” helps connect the past and the present. Along with his work on “The Loyola Project,” he has another task at hand: Loyola is playing in the Sweet 16 in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018 Final Four. The Ramblers face Oregon State on Saturday.

President Joe Biden isn't ruling out the possibility of U.S. troops staying in Afghanistan through the end of the year. His comments at a White House new conference came not long after one of his top generals told Congress that Afghanistan’s military forces need American assistance to successfully counter the Taliban. Biden repeated his assessment that it will be hard for the U.S. to meet the May 1 deadline for full American troop withdrawal that was laid out in a peace agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban. When asked whether U.S. troops will still be in Afghanistan next year, he said, ”I can’t picture that being the case.”

A Georgia man says he was given $915 worth of pennies as a form of payment from his previous employer. Andreas Flaten says he was shocked to see a pile of oily coins at the end of his driveway earlier this month. Atop the pile was an envelope with Flaten’s final paystub and an explicit parting message. Flaten says he left his job at A OK Walker Autoworks in November but had difficulty getting his final paycheck, even turning to the Georgia Department of Labor for help. In mid-March, Flaten says he found the pennies in the driveway. Shop owner Miles Walker says he doesn't remember dropping off the pennies. 

ATLANTA (AP) — A key element of voting restrictions pushed by Republican state lawmakers this year focuses on cleaning voter rolls to ensure only those eligible are registered. Maintaining accurate voter rolls is a bipartisan concern, but there is little…

The nationwide reexamination of policing after the killing of George Floyd has led an Ivy League town in New York to consider an ambitious and contentious plan to remake its force. A proposal would replace the 63-officer Ithaca Police Department with a new Department of Community Solutions and Public Safety. It would comprise both armed officers as well as unarmed responders to handle nonviolent calls like petty thefts. Mayor Svante Myrick argues dramatic change is needed to make law enforcement less militarized and more effective. Police denounce it as a radical idea that could threaten safety in the city that is home to Cornell University.

State legislatures are being forced to confront long standing dress codes that are increasingly viewed as sexist and racist. A Latino state senator in Rhode Island objects to his chamber’s jacket and collared shirt edict as a form of white oppression. Female lawmakers in Montana complain proposed rules dealing with skirt lengths and necklines are overly sexist. And a state representative in Iowa wore jeans to highlight the irony of legislative leaders refusing to mandate facemasks on the chamber floor but still banning casual clothes. The National Conference of State Legislatures says roughly half of state legislatures have a dress code.

Jessica Walter, who played a scheming matriach in TV’s “Arrested Development,” has died. She was 80. Walter’s death was confirmed Thursday by her daughter, Brooke Bowman. The actor’s best-known film roles included playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller, “Play Misty for Me.” “Arrested Development” represented a second act for Walter, and earned her admiration from a new generation of fans. Walter’s daughter says the actor will be remembered for her work and for her wit, class and love of life. Walter’s feature debut was in the 1964 film “Lilith,” with Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg and Gene Hackman, who was also on his first film. 

Two Colorado snowboarders who triggered a slide that destroyed an expensive avalanche mitigation system have been charged with reckless endangerment, and prosecutors are seeking $168,000 in damages. The two men called 911 and cooperated with investigators after the March 2020 slide. They say they didn’t realize their words could be used against them. Now, some worry the case will keep other backcountry skiers and snowboarders from coming forward to report avalanches out of fear of costly retribution. Summit County District Attorney Heidi McCollum says the misdemeanor charges are appropriate, and she doesn't believe they'll have a chilling effect. The trial was postponed Thursday because not enough jurors could be seated.