Happening Today: Tornadoes, Trump Probe, Hillary Clinton, AIDS Transplant, Luke Perry, ‘Leaving Neverland’

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‘My Life Is Gone’: Pain and Loss Amid Tornado’s Destruction

Picking through the twisted debris that had been her Alabama mobile home, Carol Dean found her wedding dress and a Father’s Day note to her husband reading, “Daddy, I love you to pieces.” But the storm took the 53-year-old husband and father. Dean was on the clock at Walmart while her husband was home in Beauregard. As forecasters warned stormy weather was heading toward the Alabama-Georgia line, she said, David Wayne Dean sent a text message cautioning a friend to keep up with the weather on the news. Then the storm hit and David Dean didn’t make it out. His body was found on the other side of an embankment in the neighbor’s yard. “Our son found him,” Dean said between sobs. “He was done and gone before we got to him. My life is gone. He was the reason I lived, the reason that I got up.” The tornado that struck the area where the Deans lived packed winds estimated at 170 mph (274 kph) and chewed a path of destruction nearly a mile (1.6 kilometer) wide. Mobile homes tucked among tall pine trees were swept from their bases and smashed into unrecognizable piles of rubble. Toys, clothes, insulation, water heaters and pieces of metal were scattered across the hillsides where once towering pines were snapped in half. At least 23 people died.

House Democrats Launch Aggressive New Trump Probe

Democrats launched a sweeping new probe of President Trump, an aggressive investigation that threatens to shadow the president through the 2020 election season with potentially damaging inquiries into his White House, campaign and family businesses. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said his panel was beginning the probe into possible obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power and is sending document requests to 81 people linked to the president and his associates. The broad investigation could be setting the stage for an impeachment effort, although Democratic leaders have pledged to investigate all avenues and review special counsel Robert Mueller’s upcoming report before trying any drastic action. Nadler said the document requests, with responses to most due by March 18, are a way to “begin building the public record.” Trump dismissed the Nadler probe and others as futile efforts “in search of a crime.”

Hillary Clinton Says She Won’t Run for President in 2020

Hillary Clinton says she won’t run for president in 2020, but vows she’s “not going anywhere.” The former secretary of state, senator and first lady ruled out another campaign during an interview posted by New York TV station News12. Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, says, “I’m going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe.” She says, “What’s at stake in our country, the kind of things that are happening right now are deeply troubling to me.” She says she has spoken with several of the candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, and has told them, “Don’t take anything for granted, even though we have a long list of real problems and broken promises” from the Trump administration.

Second Man Seems to Be Free of AIDS Virus After Transplant

A London man appears to be free of the AIDS virus after a stem cell transplant, the second success including the “Berlin patient,” doctors reported. The therapy had an early success with Timothy Ray Brown, a U.S. man treated in Germany who is 12 years post-transplant and still free of HIV. Until now, Brown is the only person thought to have been cured of infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Such transplants are dangerous and have failed in other patients. They’re also impractical to try to cure the millions already infected. The latest case “shows the cure of Timothy Brown was not a fluke and can be recreated,” said Dr. Keith Jerome of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who had no role. He added that it could lead to a simpler approach that could be used more widely. The patient has not been identified.

Friends Express Grief, Shock Following Death of Luke Perry

A legion of celebrity friends and fans of Luke Perry took to social media upon hearing of the death of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star. Perry died just days after suffering a massive stroke at his Los Angeles home. Perry had most recently 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. Upon news of his death, the cast was sent home for the day. The show’s executive producers said in a joint statement they were deeply saddened to learn of Perry’s passing. Former 90210 cast member Gabrielle Carteris also expressed her condolences.

Damning ‘Leaving Neverland’ Premieres on HBO to Controversy

HBO premiered the first part of the controversial documentary “Leaving Neverland,” and for just about all it was a difficult watch. The documentary, which the Michael Jackson estate sued HBO over, features interviews with Wade Robson, James “Jimmy” Safechuck, and their families as they document their entire relationships with Michael Jackson when the two boys were children, starting with how they met and going into graphic detail about how the alleged sexual abuse occurred. When the four-hour documentary premiered at Sundance Film Festival, healthcare professionals were made available in the lobby of the theater to help any audience members upset by the content of the film. The allegations raised in the documentary have been denounced by the Jackson estate.