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Weather

*Giant twisters tear through the south. 26 are confirmed dead from a series of storms that ripped through the southern U.S. over the weekend. At least 10 tornadoes hit Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama Friday night. Rolling Fork, a town in rural Mississippi, was completely flattened. The storms then regained momentum and tore through Georgia on Sunday. Mississippi Governor, Tate Reeves, said more storms could be on the way.

Politics

*FAA remains leaderless. The Federal Aviation Administration still doesn’t have a head honcho after Denver International Airport CEO, Phillip Washington, withdrew his nomination. Washington was Biden’s selection, but Republican and a few key Democratic Senators opposed his nomination because of his limited aviation experience.

Why it matters: The FAA hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed administrator since March 2022 and is desperate to restore the public’s confidence in the industry after an alarming increase in close calls between planes this year. They’re also still trying to repair their damaged reputation from the approval of the Boeing planes that crashed in 2018 and 2019.

Looking ahead: Billy Nolen, a pilot who has held safety positions for three airlines and the FAA, will remain acting administrator for now. Senator Ted Cruz believes Nolen can potentially gain bipartisan support for a permanent posting to the position.

**Tik Tok in trouble. Things don’t look good for Tik Tok. U.S. House speaker Kevin McCarthy said it will move forward with legislation to address national security issues presented by the video sharing app. Last week, Tik Tok CEO, Shou Zi Chou, failed to convince a U.S. House Committee that the company isn’t sharing users data with China. Members of the committee said that Chou’s testimony actually “increased the likelihood that Congress will take action.”

Sports

*March Madness: The Florida Atlantic Cinderella run continues as they beat No. 9 Kansas State to move on to their first ever Final Four appearance. (Highlights) They will face San Diego State next Saturday. | Creighton loses a heartbreaker to San Diego State 56-57. (Highlights) | Miami will take on UConn next Saturday as well.

*Massive payout at the World Golf Championship. Sam Burns defeats Cam Young in the Dell Technologies Match Play tournament and takes home a $3.5 million paycheck.

World

*Russia tactical nukes on the move. President Vladimir Putin says Russia will place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, comparing the move to the way the U.S. has “stored its weapons in Europe for decades.”

What are tactical nukes? Tactical nukes are lower yield weapons that are meant for battlefield operations and are typically fired shorter distances. Their counterparts, strategic nukes, are designed to be attached to intercontinental ballistic missiles and cause maximum damage far behind the front lines of battle. However, tactical nukes can still be devastating. The “Fat Man”, a tactical nuclear bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki during World War II killed an estimated 80,000 people.

Is nuclear war on the horizon? This is the first time since the 1990’s that Russia will keep nuclear weapons outside its borders. Nonetheless, the U.S. has reacted cautiously by saying it doesn’t believe Russia has any intention of using them. Putin also stated, “we won’t be violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.” Confidence instilling? Not exactly.

**Israel’s defense minister gets canned. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, fired defense minister Yoav Gallant, after Gallant wanted to delay the overhaul of Israel’s judiciary citing national security concerns.

***Honduras has a new ally. After cutting ties with Taiwan, Honduras wasted no time linking up with China to begin new diplomatic union. Taiwan is now only recognized as its own country by 13 sovereign states. 

Extras

*Pancakes for escaped convicts. Two escaped inmates make a stop at IHOP…where they were identified by patrons of the restaurant.

**Time to move. These are the 10 worst polluted places in the U.S.

***Hollywood goes to court. Gwyneth Paltrow stands trial for her involvement in a 2016 ski accident.