Good morning, NBC News readers.
Tornadoes ripped through eastern Alabama Sunday leaving a trail of destruction, the Trump administration is expected to toughen the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba and vintage VWs are getting a new life as electric vehicles.
Here's what we're watching this morning.
'Everything got wiped. It's been leveled'
Some Alabamians will be picking up the pieces of their lives this morning after devastating twisters tore through Lee County, uprooting trees, destroying homes and killing at least 23 people. Dozens were injured and authorities warned that the death toll is expected to rise and that children are among the victims.
"The devastation is incredible," Sheriff Jay Jones said.
The Lee County Emergency Management Agency said the worst of the damage was near the town of Beauregard.
"Everything got wiped. It's been leveled," said Jonathan Hickman, a resident of Beauregard.
Trump admin moving to scare off foreign investment in Cuba
The White House is expected to act as early as Monday to allow unprecedented lawsuits in American courts against some foreign companies doing business in Cuba, U.S. officials and others familiar with the move told NBC News.
The move threatens to discourage more of the foreign investment in Cuba that provides the island's economy with a key lifeline.
It could also play into the Trump administration's efforts to ostracize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who is closely aligned with Cuba.
'Double tragedy'
A panhandler was accused of killing Jacquelyn Smith in a case that shook Baltimore in December. But now, police say that the "circumstances were very different."
Police allege that it was actually her family — her husband and stepdaughter — who staged the attack.
Plus
- More Americans see Democratic positions on climate, health care and abortion as "in the mainstream," according to a new NBCNews/WSJ poll.
- House and Senate panels are looking at whether a pardon was discussed with Michael Cohen.
- A former ultra-Orthodox settler is now battling for Palestinian rights. "We fought for a country 70 years ago — a country for Jews," said Shabtay Bendet. "I don’t understand why we don’t give Palestinians what we struggled for before."
THINK about it
The Mueller investigation has proven that the special counsel process is broken. Here's how to fix it, according to Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
Classic cars get an electric rebirth
Vintage Volkswagens and other classic cars are getting a new lease on life at Michael Bream’s California workshop, where he removes their gas-guzzling engines and transforms them into electric vehicles, often using parts salvaged from wrecked Teslas.
One fun thing
ICYMI: "Saturday Night Live" had a field day with Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress, enlisting the talents of Ben Stiller to reprise his role as President Donald Trump's former personal attorney.
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Thanks, Petra
