Claudette strengthens into tropical storm again and is blamed for crash that killed 9 kids

Claudette regained tropical storm status Monday morning as it neared the coast of the Carolinas less than two days after 13 people died - including eight children in a multi-vehicle crash - due to the effects of the storm in Alabama.

Claudette had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory early Monday. The highest winds were  occurring mostly over water, southeast of Claudette's center. It was located some 65 miles east-southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina and 120 miles north of Cape  Fear, North Carolina and moving east-northeast at 25 mph, forecasters said.