5 things you need to know Monday

Editors

USA TODAY

Snow forecast could preclude flight plans

Airlines have preemptively canceled more than 1,500 flights — so far — in anticipation of a heavy storm expected to blanket New York City and the Northeast with a foot or more of snow. Around half of those were to go wheels up on Monday, before the flakes are expected to start covering NYC in the wee hours Tuesday. Besides those in New York, airports serving Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and Baltimore are all likely to see major schedule disruptions if forecasts are accurate. All major U.S. airlines are waiving change fees in light of the cancellations.

This relatively light snow in Brooklyn on March 10, 2017, is a small taste of what's in store for overnight March 13-14, forecasters say.

FBI at SXSW, but no Comey

Participants at the lively, tech- and music-infused South by Southwest festival wanting to hear from FBI Director Jim Comey will have to settle Monday for a subordinate. Comey, in political crosshairs from both directions in recent weeks and months, last week abruptly cancelled his planned Austin appearance, citing scheduling conflicts. In his place will be Jim Baker, the FBI's general counsel. The national security expert will sit down for a chat (possibly touching on President Trump's tweet that Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped?) with Newseum CEO Jeffrey Herbst.

RadioShack to close 187 stores

Monday marks the date by which RadioShack said it would close 187 stores after the electronics retailer filed for its second bankruptcy in two years. In a Chapter 11 reorganization petition filed Wednesday, owner General Wireless stated it planned the close the stores, about 9% of its locations, as well as the RadioShack portion of the 360 stores that it shares with Sprint. About 1,850 of RadioShack's 5,900 employees are expected to be affected by the moves. The chain, based in Fort Worth , previously filed for bankruptcy in 2015, resulting in about 2,400 store closings.

A sign reading, "Clearance Blowout," is seen in the window of a RadioShack store on Feb. 3, 2015, in Miami.

Alleged White House intruder scheduled for court appearance

The 26-year-old California man who allegedly jumped a perimeter fence at the White House is expected to appear in federal court on Monday. Jonathan Tran, 26, of Milpitas, Calif., was charged with entering or remaining in restricted grounds while using or carrying a dangerous weapon, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Saturday. He was arrested late Friday after a uniformed Secret Service officer saw him walking across the grounds in a restricted area, according to a police report.

A SUV is parked outside of the South Portico on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2017.

Outage's end in sight after 800,000 Michigan customers lose power

After a windstorm left 800,000 of its customers without power, a Detroit-based utility announced that it expects to restore service to all affected customers by 11:30 p.m. Monday. Just 85,000 customers remained without power as of noon Sunday, according to the utility, after an army of repair techs worked overnight amid single-digit temperatures. The storm was "the most significant weather event DTE Energy has experienced in its more than 100-year history," says Trevor Lauer, president of DTE Electric.

A tree and a snapped power pole closed Spring Arbor Road on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Jackson, Mich. Fire departments are busy with high winds in the area.

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