Mississippi, Alabama | featured news

A win in Alabama or Mississippi for Mitt Romney on Tuesday could all but wrap up the nomination and give him a victory in one of the most conservative parts of the country.

Setting the stage for primary elections Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi, Republicans in Kansas gathered Saturday for their presidential caucuses. Forty delegates are at stake.

A strong storm system that produced several possible tornadoes hit the Southeast on Wednesday, damaging dozens of homes and buildings. At least four people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured. Suspected tornadoes were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina, and thousands of people were without power as trees and power lines were downed.

President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of a panel he created to probe the worst oil spill in U.S. history on Tuesday, as a giant slick from BP's blown-out Gulf of Mexico well poses a new threat to the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.