Death toll rises as deadly storms wreck towns

Powerful storms killed at least two dozen people and caused destruction in several states today, while tornado warnings remained in effect.

Henryville High School is seen damaged after a tornado swept through Henryville, Ind., on Friday March 2, 2012. Authorities say at least eight people have been killed by tornadoes that ripped through a wide swath of southern Indiana. (AP Photo/Philip Scott Andrews)

AP

A tornado that swept through Henryville, Ind., today destroyed this high school.

Local emergency workers try to help residents after three tornados moved through the area, killing four, in the small community of Chelsea, Indiana March 2, 2012. A series of tornadoes tore through the U.S. midsection on Friday, killing at least four people in the hard-hit state of Indiana, and blowing apart homes and flattening buildings across the region. REUTERS/ John Sommers II (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)

REUTERS

More than a dozen people were killed as powerful storms hit several states.

Kelly Troglin looks over his friend's house after a tornado destroyed the building in New Market, AL March 2, 2012. A swarm of tornadoes slammed the U.S. midsection on Friday from Indiana to Alabama, splintering homes, damaging a prison, overturning trucks and causing some injuries in the storm-tossed region. Seven people were hurt by a suspected twister in northern Alabama and multiple tornadoes hit along the Ohio River valley and caused extensive damage in at least one county in Indiana. REUTERS/Harrison McClary (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)

REUTERS

A man surveyed a destroyed home in New Market, Ala.

A truck stands amongst storm damage near New Pekin, Ind., on March 2, 2012. Powerful storms stretching from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes in the north wrecked two small towns, killed at least three people and bred anxiety across a wide swath of the country on Friday, in the second deadly tornado outbreak this week.(AP Photo/The Courier-Journal, Matt Stone) MAGS OUT; NO ARCHIVE; MANDATORY CREDIT

AP

A truck stood amongst the debris in New Pekin, Ind.

Debris litters the front of the Henryville Middle School which received extensive damage from storms that rolled through the area Friday, March 2, 2012, in Henryville, Ind. Tornadoes ripped across several small southern Indiana towns on Friday, killing at least three people and leaving behind miles of flattened devastation along the border with Kentucky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

AP

It was the second deadly tornado outbreak this week.

A home in Athens, Ala., was heavily damaged today.

Jean Cole/The Huntsville Times/AP

A home in Athens, Ala., was heavily damaged today.

Utility poles and power lines sat mangled in Athens, Ala., today.

Jean Cole/The Huntsville Times/AP

Mangled utility poles and power lines in Athens, Ala., today.

Greg Cook hugged his dog, Coco, after finding her inside his destroyed home in East Limestone, Ala., today.

Gary Cosby Jr/The Decatur Daily/AP

Greg Cook hugged his dog, Coco, after finding her inside his destroyed home in East Limestone, Ala., today.

A 18-wheeler was flipped on its side this morning in Harvest, Ala.

Eric Schultz/The Huntsville Times/AP

A 18-wheeler was flipped on its side this morning in Harvest, Ala.

BP, plaintiffs reach Gulf oil spill settlement

Specific terms were not released regarding the agreement between the oil giant and a committee representing plaintiffs suing over the 2010 Gulf spill.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/02/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/WynnFoxboroImage1-1.jpg Wynn unveils renderings of proposed Foxborough casino

Casino mogul Steve Wynn wants to develop a casino and convention center modeled after the design of his own luxury home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

A detail of “Walden Pond (Morning Effect, March 13, 2007).’’

Art Review

Spencer Finch aims to unite a master’s eye with high jinks

Spencer Finch’s show “Painting Air,’’ at RISD, reveals a deep debt to Claude Monet, the Impressionist beloved by the hoards and yawned at by the eye-rolling in-crowd.

Police release surveillance photo of missing BC student

Police said they hope to generate fresh leads from new surveillance photos they believe show Franco Garcia minutes after he was last seen.

Obama joins in assailing Limbaugh slur of student

President Obama made a supportive phone call to a law student who testified before Congress about the need for birth control coverage, only to be called a ‘‘slut’’ by Rush Limbaugh.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/02/BostonGlobe.com/Foreign/Images/509331680-447--90x90.jpg Obama: Attack on Iran still an option

President Obama said that ‘‘a military component’’ is among the options for dealing with Iran’s disputed nuclear program, but also called for patience from Israel.

Paul Pierce grimaced after getting fouled in the second quarter.

barry chin/globe staff

Celtics 107, Nets 94

Celtics win 3rd straight, recover winning record

The Celtics got back above .500 after defeating the New Jersey Nets behind 27 points from Paul Pierce.

“We’re looking at campuses across the country and asking, have any been successful at really reducing hazing? And the general answer is, ‘Well, we’re not sure.’”

Jim Kim,  president of Dartmouth College

Globe Insiders

Globe Talk | March 21, 6 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/03/02/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/lennyclarke copy-018--90x90.jpg Boston, a Comedy Captial

Join Dave Russo, Anthony Scibelli, Tony V, Jimmy Tingle, and Lenny Clark for a talk about the city’s comedy scene. Laughs guaranteed.

Business

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Yelp executives reacted during the opening bell ceremonies of the New York Stock Exchange today.

Yelp surges as stock market slips

The online reviews site ended its first trading day at $24.58, far above its initial public offering price of $15, on a day when stocks crept lower.

Nation & World

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Sports

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CHAD FINN

Rajon Rondo said today he is not bothered by trade talk surrounding him.

Celtics shouldn’t trade Rajon Rondo

Dealing Rondo for a merely a couple of decent parts is absurd. That is the fastest way to the NBA purgatory of perpetual mediocrity.

Ideas

“As criminal justice became a clash of mandates and bureaucratic rules, it became untethered from what was once its basic function: separating the guilty from the innocent and delivering fair punishment.”

Leon Neyfakh, on “The Collapse of American Criminal Justice”