A bad tornado season is getting worse

Amid a year that has already seen hundreds of tornadoes and dozens of deaths, even more tornadoes like the ones that tore through Arkansas and Illinois on Friday are expected soon. Also in the news: A former Arkansas governor announced a 2024 presidential bid and LSU upset Iowa in a record-setting NCAA women's tournament win.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Thinking of picking up "Dungeons and Dragons?"

Now, here we go with Monday's news.

More danger forecast after Friday's destruction

The death toll rose to 32 as more dangerous weather was forecast for a wide swath of the South and Midwest thisi. The area is already in ruins from a surge of storms that fueled confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least 11 states.

There have been about 100 tornadoes above average for this time of year, experts say. One factor has been the unusually warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.

• One tornado at the center of the destruction in Arkansas drew stunning preliminary data from the National Weather Service – an EF3 with winds of up to 165 mph, 30 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.

• Even before Friday's outbreak, there had been more than 300 tornadoes so far, and according to Storm Prediction Center data, it was the third-most-active start to a year on record in the U.S.

• A “powerhouse jet stream” moving in from the Plains was moving Friday's storms at highway speeds, and a similar effect is expected Tuesday.

Russia blames Ukraine for bomb that killed military blogger

Russian police have arrested a woman suspected of delivering a bomb that killed a well-known military blogger who fervently supported Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Russia’s top counterterrorism agency said the attack was staged by Ukrainian security agencies. Vladlen Tatarsky was killed Sunday as he was leading a discussion at a cafe on the banks of the Neva River in the historic heart of St. Petersburg. Over 30 people were wounded by the blast. Russian news reports said the bomb was hidden in a bust of the blogger that the suspect had given to him as a gift just before the explosion. Read more

More news to know now

• Sex assault claims are piling up against a California college's sports medicine director.

• Social security is expected to run out a year earlier than expected.

• Ryuichi Sakamoto, Grammy and Oscar-winning Japanese composer, has died at 71.

• A Tennessee drag ban was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

• On today's 5 Things podcast, USA TODAY Health Reporter Karen Weintraub looks at the downside of recent weight loss medications. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

GOP ex-Gov. Asa Hutchinson jumps into 2024 presidential race

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Sunday he will run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, calling himself a "non-Trump" candidate and "alternative" to the Republican who nonetheless wants to reach out to the former president's voters. The former drug enforcement administrator and Homeland Security official indicated border security and the economy would be a focus of his campaign, which faces an uphill battle in what may be a crowded competition to deprive Donald Trump of his party's presidential nomination. Read more

• Hutchinson signed a near-total abortion ban into law prior to Roe's fall last summer.

• Hutchinson is the first GOP candidate to enter the 2024 race after Trump's indictment.

The fight for credibility in Trump criminal case

Any eventual trial of Donald Trump will be a fight for credibility. And it's already heating up. Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, is a convicted liar who "is constitutionally incapable of telling the same story the same way twice." Meanwhile, Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, told CNN that Cohen and other witnesses have provided testimony and documentation. Cohen has already been imprisoned in part because he arranged for $280,000 in hush payments before the 2016 election to silence Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who each claimed to have had sex with Trump. Read more

• Trump used antisemitic rhetoric to get political donations after his indictment.

• Can Trump still run for president if indicted? What the indictment means for 2024.

• Trump's campaign says it raised over $4M in 24 hours after his indictment. 

Just for subscribers:

• Will offshore wind someday power the Great Lakes states? A Lake Erie project may soon find out.

• New York tweaked bail laws. Is reform working as intended?

• As the auto industry struggles to fill good-paying jobs, Ford unveils a new strategy.

• Nightengale's Notebook: Handing out MLB's opening weekend awards.

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. 

LSU beat Iowa for first basketball title in school history

LSU put on a record-breaking performance in the women's NCAA Tournament championship game. Jasmine Carson was a big reason why. Carson scored 21 of her 22 points in the first half as the Tigers torched Iowa's defense in a 102-85 victory on Sunday. The 102 points were the most ever scored in a championship game by a single team and the 187 combined total also shattered the previous mark. Read more

• Angel Reese taunted Caitlin Clark during LSU's title win over Iowa.

• Men's tournament: San Diego State will try to take down UConn Huskies in the National Championship Game in Houston Monday.

One more thing

• Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin met Joe Biden at the White House.

• A "downward spiral" of depression was the focus of a Sen. John Fetterman interview.

• Zendaya, Tom Holland and more stars shined at a star-studded cultural center opening in Mumbai.

• ''Woman Without Shame'': Sandra Cisneros talks sexual desire and feeling ''empowered in my 60s.''

• Get ready for Easter 2023 with 50+ spring sales on candy, decor and more.

Photo of the day: 2023 CMT Awards

The CMT Awards hit the road this year, swapping Nashville for Austin, Texas. Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown returned to co-host the fan-voted show, where Carly Pearce, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker with the Black Crowes and Cody Johnson performed. Check out the best photos from the show. 

• Kelsea Ballerini talked about gun violence at the CMT Music Awards.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daily Briefing: A bad tornado season is getting worse