It is Friday, at last…

Weather: Calmer. After yesterday’s rough weather, we’re in for a much nicer day. We’ll have sunny skies with a high near 70, and a low tonight in the middle 40s. Saturday will be a little warmer, but showers and thunderstorms return on Sunday with highs in the upper 60s.

We dodged a bullet, but elsewhere… Metro Birmingham experienced little more than a spell of heavy rain with a few cracks of thunder on Thursday, but some parts of Alabama were hit by tornadoes and high winds. The community of Macedonia in Pickens County was hit by a tornado that began in Mississippi, where it killed one person and did extensive damage in Kemper and Noxubee counties. One person there was killed. Other damage in Alabama occurred in northern Winston and Walker counties, as well as in the Huntsville area; no word yet on whether that was from a tornado or straight-line winds. Another twister was reported near Notasulga.

Panera Bread, Dunkin’ Donuts come to Gardendale. Mayor Othell Phillips announced in his state-of-the-city address Thursday that the two national restaurant chains would open locations in the city. Panera Bread, which has several stores in metro Birmingham but none yet on the northern side, will build on the former Shoney’s site on Fieldstown Road. Dunkin’ Donuts, a fixture in the northern part of the country for decades which is now expanding into Birmingham, will open almost directly across the street in a new strip center next to Waffle House. Dunkin’ had previously announced a new location in Warrior.

Nukes in North Korea? The Christian Science Monitor reports that the belligerent communist nation has “nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles,” according to a Pentagon report. That news was made public by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R- Colo., who read from what he said was an unclassified report in a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who was testifying at the time, would not comment on the report’s findings, and appeared to be miffed that the report was being brought up in a public hearing. Meanwhile Secretary of State John Kerry is on the ground in South Korea, where he told the country’s president and military leaders that a nuclear-capable North Korea was “unacceptable by any standard.”

Sports: Round one at The Masters. Sergio Garcia of Spain and Mark Leishman of Australia are atop the leaderboard after the first round at six udner par, but two golfers at the extremes of age made the most news, Fred Couples, still in top form at age 53, was tied for fourth at four under, while 14-year-old amateur Tianlang Guan shot a one-over-par 73 to stand a good chance of playing on the weekend. Guan is the youngest player at a major tournament in nearly a century and a half. Tiger Woods is stalking the leaders at two under… Baseball: Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke suffered a broken collarbone after a bench-clearing brawl in Thursday night’s win at San Diego. The melee began after Greinke Hit the Padres’ Carlos Quentin with a pitch. Quentin charged the mound, and the two players lowered their shoulders and collided. No word yet on any suspensions… Prep sports: Thursday’s schedule was a washout; there’s a limited schedule for today, as baseball teams get ready for the first round of playoff action starting next Friday. No word yet on when the best-of-three series between Bragg and North Jefferson middle schools for the Jefferson County championship will be held; we’ll check on that later today.