Monday morning news: March 17, 2025

Deadly storms » Thousands of Americans are still surveying the damage this morning, after violent storms rampaged across more than a half-dozen states killing at least 36 people.

One resident of rural Wayne County, Missouri said he was able to rescue his aunt after a tornado ripped through her house.

RESIDENT: She was trapped in that bedroom, only room standing left of this house. We got her out the window. Um, then we were, we were helping other people. We found a few bodies that was out in the field. Few, few deceased people.

Dozens of tornadoes reportedly touched down over the weekend from Louisiana, Tennessee to Illinois.

And blinding dust storms were blamed for 11 deaths after car crashes in Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.

Trump and Putin to speak this week » President Trump and Vladimir Putin are expected to talk this week, as the Trump administration works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. That’s according to special envoy Steve Witkoff.

WITKOFF: They have a real relationship from the president's first term. They've talked already after the first visit that I had with President Putin. And I think this is going to be a very positive and constructive call between the two men, between the two presidents.

White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said Trump’s direct involvement is a necessary part of the process.

WALTZ: As both President Putin and Zelenskyy said on our first call just a few weeks ago, only President Trump could drive this to an end.

Steve Witkoff said he believes talks have already narrowed the gap between Ukraine and Russia considerably in terms of what each side requires in a ceasefire, and possible end to the war.

U.S. strike against Houthi rebels » The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are vowing to ramp up their attacks, after U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets over the weekend.

But the Trump administration says it’s determined to crush the terror groups ability to terrorize critical waterways.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

RUBIO:  The problem here is that this is a very important shipping lane, and in the last year and a half, the last 18 months, the Houthis have struck or attacked 174, uh, naval vessels of the United States, attacking the U. S. Navy directly 174 times, and 145 times they've attacked commercial shipping.

Rubio says the strikes will continue until the Houthis no longer are capable of “controlling” which ships go through those shipping lanes.

Judge blocks deportations » A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump's executive order to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up the deportations of violent illegal immigrants, such as gang members.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, an Obama appointee, issued the order.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Sunday slammed that decision:

LEAVITT:  We have judges in our judicial branch who are acting as activists, not real arbiters of the law.

But planes carrying hundreds of those illegal migrants to Central America were already in the air on Saturday when Boasberg issued his order.

The judge verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.

The State Department said the U.S. government just sent hundreds of dangerous gang members and leaders to El Salvador.

Macedonia nightclub fire » In North Macedonia, angry relatives waited outside of a hospital on Sunday after a fire tore through an overcrowded nightclub, killing 59 and injuring more than 150.

Officials said victims suffered burns, smoke inhalation, and injuries from a panicked crowd surge during a concert.

TOSKOVSKI: [Speaking in Macedonian]

North Macedonian Interior Minister, Pance Toskovski said concert pyrotechnics sparked the blaze.

Authorities have detained at least 15 people after determining that the club exceeded its capacity and lacked a proper license.

SpaceX Dragon docks at ISS » NASA astronauts stuck aboard the International Space station just welcomed their newly arrived replacement.

AUDIO [Dragon capsule docks]: Dragon contact and soft capture complete. [beep]

Crew 10 docked at the space state Sunday in a SpaceX capsule, starting the process of bringing home marooned astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

WILLIAMS: It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive.

The four new astronauts are from the U.S., Japan, and Russia including NASA’s Anne McClain.

MCCLAIN: I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out the window and we saw the space station.

Williams and Wilmore will come back to earth in a few days on their own SpaceX capsule. The pair went up nine months ago in Boeing's first astronaut flight, expecting to stay just a week. But the Starliner had problems and NASA brought it back without them.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Can Mexico’s government sue Americans over cartel violence in Mexico? That’s ahead on the Legal Docket … plus the Monday Moneybeat.

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