are the work of an archaic old dinosaur living in a warped, decaying swamp. shame on you, rush limbaugh. you owe this lady a heart felt apology. i suggest you do it now. that's it for us tonight. they were playing and beating around our head. thank god we made it. >> i looked up. i was talking to my daughter across the street. i looked up and seen debris

everywhere. i thought it was a dream. >> a dream? more like a nightmare, if you want to be honest about it. this is what was left behind by a strong storm. total devastation. several tornadoes touched down. as many as 28 people are dead. in some areas, rescue crews worked deep into the night to find survivors and victims. national guard troops were called up to kentucky and indiana to the hardest hit communities. you can see tornado in tennessee. dozens of people were injured in the storms. we are watching all angles of the story this morning. susan c susan is in ohio. rob is in tennessee where we have seen significant damage. bonnie schneider is standing by in the severe weather center. the damage we have seen have

been small towns like henriville. how bad is it? >> reporter: it is very bad. crushing damage. people here are reeling from what happened to the area. 15 deaths confirmed so far in the entire state of kentucky. a couple of them here in clark county. just to give you an idea, look at this school bus, it was flown here from across the street where the high school is located in henriville. here is the front of the bus you are seeing and the back behind it. the chassis of the bus is resting this way. bus this way, chassis off to the side. it's an indication of how powerful the storms are. a number of us are lined up here, so i can't walk too, too much. as you look up in this

direction, giving you a look at some of the power lines. obviously, power is out to more than 7,000 customers in the region due to the terrible storm. again, this bus came from across the street. the aerial pictures you have seen throughout the day yesterday and again earlier this morning of the high school in henriville, none of the children reported hurt. covering cuts and scrapes. they got out minutes ahead of the storm. at this hour and as the sun comes up, we are going to see search and rescues going on. searches being conducted from door-to-door to see if they can account for everyone. it's hard to put numbers on this at this time. the sheriff says we are built of tough stock. he described the scene as though a nuclear bomb hit it. he says we are going to come out of this on the other end. david?

>> you made a good point. as soon as the sun comes up we are going to see the magnitude of the devastation left behind. tornadoes touched down in chat knew ga, tennessee damaging hundreds of homes. rob is in tennessee. one of the many communities that were slammed by the storms. rob, what do you have there? >> this is one of the first areas, david, to get hit yesterday. a storm that came out of alabama did damage there to several homes with injuries as well. i came across the city of chattanooga and into this community. basically, a suburb north and east of chattanooga of 20,000 people with substantial and very nice homes. some of the homes scraped down to the foundation. by my count, it's 150 to 200 wide in most spots. damage is widespread. we did not have fatalities.

they hope that number stays the same. they are confident they have gone through most of the homes as far as getting most of the people accounted for here. that doesn't make them feel better about the 29 injuries sustained across eastern tennessee by these storms. the gentleman that lives in these homes, he lived here 30 years, a retired naval aviator. yesterday, in the "situation room," i got to talk about his experience. >> i definitely thank the lord for sparing as many people as he has. these things can all be replaced. it's going to take awhile. it's going to take a lot of people and construction to help out. >> reporter: at least 20 homes like this one completely destroyed and unlivable. over 100 homes across the chattanooga area that were damaged. obviously, there's a lot of people without power. at one point, thousands.

it's under 2000 at this point. there are a lot of people that don't have homes to sleep in. they are at area hotels and shelters with friends and family. the grand scheme of things, compared to what's going on in indiana, ohio and kentucky, this pails in comparison. they got hit last year in april as did the folks in northern alabama. it doesn't seem to want to stop here as far as how many storms they got. yesterday, at 1:00 in the afternoon, got another round later in the afternoon and another round in the evening. recovering from this during the day yesterday was very, very frustrating for the victims and the rescue workers. at times, frightening. david? >> looking at that house you are standing at right now, looking at the pictures, that was actually a brick home. any idea on the power of the winds they were dealing with

there? >> reporter: you know, by my experience, it's probably an ef-2 tornado, maybe higher. winds over 110 to 120 miles per hour. maybe 130 miles per hour. easily over 100-mile-an-hour winds. what's striking to me is not just homes like this, but two and three-story homes, newer construction homes sustain damage like this. when the survey teams come out today to do their thorough investigation of the damage, they will come up with specific numbers as to how strong and how big the storm was. we'll have that for you later this afternoon. >> we'll talk to you later. bonnie is standing by in the severe weather center. bonnie, after seeing owl this, are we in the clear yet? >> we are looking better today than yesterday. yesterday, we had 742 reports of severe weather. that's incredible. 95 of those were tornadoes. where do we stand right now?

as of the past hour, the tornado watch, the the one we were keeping an eye on is expired. we have a severe thunderstorm watch, though. the problem is, we may not see tornadic winds, we could see strong, gusty winds rolling across north carolina and the atlanta area. this is very important. what it means is anything hanging very, very briefly, just about to fall down from yesterday's severe weather could find themselves impacted more this morning. what you are seeing in south carolina are severe thunderstorm warnings, very strong winds, we'll see hail and we are watching lightning strikes. heavy rain is draining across areas like i-20, far example in atlanta and i-85. if you are driving, you find a lot of water on the roads. this is a problem because we'll see more flooding. i'll talk more about that later on. >> such a warm spring this year.

no year in the last few years has seen normal in any part of the country. is it unusual to have tornadoes this early in the season given all the volatility we have had? >> yes, it is. it is unusual to see this activity in terms of tornadoes. when you look at the average frequency, in march, an average of 92 tornadoes occur for the month of march. to see it so early the first few days of march, consecutive tornado outbreaks, it is unusual. severe weather can happen, as you can see here, anytime of year. it's important to be prepared and ready for it and have a family disaster plan in place in case there is a tornado warning. >> we are going to have more on the severe weather coming up in the next several hours. here is a rundown of what's ahead. it's not just the left, but also those on the right condemning explosive comments from rush

limbaugh. plus, new i-reports of powerful tornadoes that you will only see here on cnn. and the new orleans saints are caught up in a scandal. this is a big deal. do players get paid to injure their opponents? it's caucus day in washington state. the last contest before supertuesday. see how many delegates are at stake as the four gop candidates scramble for more support. stay with us. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday.

there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. our top story this morning is the death and destruction left behind by a line of tornadoes that tore through the midwest and the south. our correspondents are on the ground gathering the latest information. we'll get back to them in a moment. first, here are the other stories we are following this morning. it's caucus day in washington state. voters will make a decision in

the republican presidential race. mitt romney has been leading in recent polls. rick santorum spent a little time there this week trying to change that. our live special coverage begins tonight at 8:00 eastern. daniel will be laid to rest today in chardon, ohio. he's one of the three victims of the shooting from the high school on monday. t.j. lane was charged in the shooting on thursday. the other two victims will be buried next week. the red cross isn't allowed to bring food and other aid in. neighborhood and homs, syria after troops swept in to crush the uprising. more than a dozen people were executed. a journalist was wounded while covering the conflict in syria. he spoke with anderson cooper

about what's going on in that neighborhood. >> reporter: it's the most ferocious, vicious that i have seen. there are actually no military targets within there. it is directive of the new population. i think it would be blown. they are using a medieval siege. a shelling there. the air is covered with snipers. any attempt to leave the neighborhood is met by sniper fire. >> as you probably know, homs has been the epicenter of the antigovernment uprising in syria. an agreement has been reached in the deep water horizon disaster.

bp agreed to pay $8 billion in damages to more than 100,000 fishermen, hotel owners and gulf coast residents impacted by the oil leak in the gulf of mexico. a federal court in louisiana still has to sign off on the deal. bp still needs to settle with the federal government. that story is not over by any stretch of the imagination. police in pittsburgh are searching for the driver of an armored truck who took off with $2 million. he allegedly shot and killed his partner in the truck. police recovered the truck and his cell phone. right now, they are saying he is armed and believed to be somewhere in the united states. now to politics. the contraception issue in washington gained more steam this week thanks to popular

radio host rush limbaugh. as cnn senior congressional correspondent reports, there's support on both sides of the issue. >> reporter: explosive comments even for rush limbaugh. >> what does it say about the college coed susan fluke who goes before a congressional committee and says she must be paid to have sex. what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? it makes her a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex. >> reporter: sandra is a georgetown university law student who appeared at a democratic event last week arguing the obama administration rule is critical for women's health. to hear someone like rush limbaugh call you a slut?

>> i think i felt the way many women do when they are called those types of names. initially, hurt, then very quickly upset and just outraged because someone is trying to silence you. >> reporter: politically, limbaugh played into the democrats playbook called gop opposition a rise on women. >> i rise this morning to say to rush limbaugh, shame on you. >> reporter: the house democrats campaign committee tried to raise money for the issue. democrats circulated a letter saying they repudiate limbaugh. john boehner did just that. a rare slap at the republican mouthpiece with a dig at democrats, too. the speaker believes the use of those words was inappropriate as is trying to raise money off the situation. limbaugh is hardly backing down. >> a woman comes forth with this

frankly hilarious claim that she's having so much sex that she can't afford it. not one person says did you ever think about maybe backing off the amount of sex you have? did you ever think it's your responsibility for your own birth control, not everybody else's? >> i don't think the women of america find it hilarious. >> reporter: it's in their interest to keep it going and got a call from president obama. >> were you surprised to get a call from the president of the united states? >> yeah. it certainly wasn't on my calendar for the day. he thanked me for speaking out and being willing to do this and magnify the voices of women around the country. >> reporter: rick santorum who

condemns the president's policy told wolf blitzer, limbaugh is being absurd. dana bash, cnn, washington. citizens across the midwest waking up to scenes like that, a deadly tornado outbreak. a little girl is found alive. it's an amazing story. we'll have it for you next. stay with us. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache.

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checking stories across country. we'll start in indiana where rescuers found a 20-month-old girl alone in a field after yesterday's tornado outbreak. watch this. she was flown to two local hospitals before being identified by relatives. a hospital spokesman says the girl is in critical condition with a tube in her throat to help her breathe. for the moment, she is alive. amazing story out of all that devastation. also in indiana, a rescue of the four-legged variety. look. trigger and tieson were found hiding in the rubble of their owner's home. there is quote total devastation in parts of the surrounding county. 15 deaths reported so far across

the state. in kentucky, the governor has approved the deployment of 300 national guards troops to assist in storm clean-up efforts. a statewide emergency has been issued to get access to state resources. kentucky officials say at least 12 people there died in the storms. finally, in tennessee, traffic was brought to a standstill on part of i-24 after downed power lines forced to shut down both directions of the highway were closed near chattanooga. one of our crews got stuck on the highway there. this is what remains of henriville high school. take a good look at this. storm chaser was in henriville, indiana when the second tornado ripped through the area. he was able to help some of the kids get out of the school

before the tornado pretty much leveled the building. jeff joins us now by phone. jeff, i have to hand it to you. you are out there chasing these storms. how did you end up at this high school and how did you know you had to act to save these kids? >> caller: well, what happened was the tornado -- tornado -- then the tornado went through there made a turn three or four minutes after. everything was, you know, leveled and had to start construction. take shelter from the baseball and softball hail. damage to the vehicle. i saw people running up and they said -- at that time, we went up there and found kids were trapped in the building.

71 kids after school -- after that, they -- it was 45 minutes to get the kids out of school. the second tornado with baseball sized hail. >> so many times, when you are out there and your job as a chaser is to be able to put out the information to help people get out of harm's way. these people were already in harm's way. how often is it you have to pull over and intervene to help people? >> caller: more than you realize. it's a common. it goes with the territory. yesterday, the tornadoes were going 60 to 70 miles per hour. very fast moving, large tornadoes. people had spawned in the morning.

>> storm chaser jeff, thank you for being with us this morning. good job in helping those kids get out of that mess. i'm sure they were happy you stopped chasing, pulled over and helped them to get out of that. good for you. thank you. >> caller: thank you. the storm chasers weren't the only ones grabbing their cameras. the revealing images captured by cnn i-reporters coming up. stay with us. of general mills b, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check.

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this morning, the new residents through the midwest and the south are making up to this, live pictures of the destruction left behind. this is henryville, indiana. we have crews on the ground in the hardest hit areas. we'll come to them later. we are monitoring the situation to bring you the latest. we are getting a clearer picture of this enormous outbreak of tornadoes and the scope of the devastation from you.

some of the most pow erful imags are coming from cnn i-reports. josh levs is keeping his eye on all of this. josh, really eye-popping video coming from the storm. >> we are going to get to it. we are in a lot of places but we can't be everywhere. i-reporters are everywhere. they get amazing images of the storm. take a look at this one. we are going to stay on this video. i'm going to tell you what we are seeing. this is from chad. he says it was about 3:00 eastern time on friday. look at that huge twister. he says he had been let out of work early. he was let out early because they knew about the storm coming. while he was driving home, what he was told to do, he set up that camera.

he's estimating he was about a couple miles away from it. it is stunning. stay on this a second. this is a good example of the kind of video we have been getting from i-reporters and the images coming to us, particularly given how huge some of the storms are. absolutely striking. we'll have more of these for you throughout the day. now, before i go, that's my screen. i want to show you the images we have up for you at cnn.com. these are throughout the stricken area. i'm going to scroll through some of these. you see the serious destruction to homes, businesses and entire roads. these are from agencies. the photos we are getting are from our i-reporters coming through throughout the day. now, you might be watching this morning and be fine. you might be wondering how to help people impacted. we have a page for that. cnn.com/impact has a section that you can go to to help

people impacted by the storms, people losing their homes and their livelihoods. check in there. if you have images, send them to i-report. i'll foe low you throughout the day on social media. joshlevscnn. i'll be back next hour with more amazing video throughout the stricken regions here. >> okay. i imagine we'll see more of that throughout the day. thanks a lot. look forward to seeing that. >> you bet. we are seeing the most devastating images today out of henryville, indiana. stay with us. plus, forget about super tuesday. there's actually a political contest today in the republican presidential race. washington state is making their presidential choice. we'll look at what's at stake, next. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette.

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. it's now 33 minutes past the hour. welcome back. i'm david. thanks for starting your day with us. our top story this morning, a series of powerful tornadoes left at least 28 people dead in the south and midwest. one of the hardest hit places, henryville, indiana. what you are looking at is a

glimpse of what was left behind. let's go to susan candiotti. the camera cannot capture the scope of what you are looking at there. >> reporter: david, having been here so many times in similar situations, that's right. especially at this hour because of the darkness. we can only show a small portion of the vast amount of damage in this area in clark county, h henryville. we have better motion here. take a look at this school bus that was tossed from across the street on its side. if you come over to the side of it, you can see that the bus itself was sheered off from the chassis. this black thing that you can kind of make out in the darkness. it's the chassis of the truck and the main portion is out that way. the chassis is exposing this

gap. we are hearing reports in the area that natural gas lines because of leaks have been shut down. so they also have, as you can imagine, thousands of reports of customers being without service as well since the tornadoes hit. amazing story of a rescue of a 20-month-old baby, might have been a little older than that that was discovered in a field out here somewhere in this area. the baby was taken to one hospital, then air lifted to a specialty hospital in louisville, which is not that far from here. we are 20 miles north. we were at first unable to identify the baby. because of the publicity, they discovered who this little girl is. she is said to be, as of last night, friday night, in critical condition. they had to insert a tube to help her with the breathing. everyone is hoping and praying

she will be all right. 15 deaths throughout the state of kentucky. two in this area. wac to you, david. >> thank you susan. in the space of three days, two killer tornado outbreaks. it's still early, very early in the year. bonnie schneider joins me at the severe weather center. bonnie, this doesn't look like it's going to be ending anytime soon in terms of the damage. what about the storm itself? >> we are dealing with severe weather across parts of the southeast. there's no tornado watches or warnings as of present. it's incredible looking back at yet. this is google earth. we put down how many tornadoes occurred. 730 reports of severe weather. 95 reports of tornadoes. that is an incredibly high number. we are getting reports in. once they get around to heading out to all the locations, it's going to take awhile. they are will be able to

determine how strong the tornadoes were, where the path was and how wide as well. looking at the severe weather threat, here is what we are facing. heavy rain. there's a flash flood warning to the northeast of atlanta. we are watching for severe weather to break out. this is a training effect. imagine trains going across the track in the same place over and over again. we are seeing severe thunderstorm warnings popping up over south carolina. get ready for heavy downpours, frequent lightning strikes and gusty winds. they have a history of producing large hail as well. we saw that yesterday and will today as well. it's something we are keeping a watch on. no tornado watches or warnings at present. >> okay. keep an eye on it. thank you, bonnie. to politics now and today's washington state caucuses. a cnn political editor paul steinhauser reports today isn't

just about delegate counts. >> washington state is in the campaign spotlight today. it is holding caucuses. 40 delegates are up for grabs. a quick shot going into super tuesday is at stake. washington is the last state to vote before super tuesday when ten states hold contests and all four republican candidates hope today could carry over to tuesday. all four made trips to washington state. it's a long way to travel. congressman ron paul is still there today. romney and santorum and former house speaker newt gingrich all campaigned today in ohio. it's the most important super tuesday state. a new poll indicates santorum's lead in ohio vanished over romney. santorum remains optimistic. >> i'm so excited about what's going on here in ohio. we have great grass roots

support in the state. >> reporter: ohio is just as crucial for romney. >> this is a state with great passion, great energy, great teams. my goodness, gracious. i'm honored to be here with you. >> reporter: it's a battle for delegates. 400 are at stake on super tuesday. >> tune in for special coverage of the washington state caucuses. we'll have the results and analysis starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you might want to think twice before taking another sleeping pill. researchers say they may shorten your life. next, i'll talk with a doctor about just how concerned you should be. stay with us. ough on our retirement savings, especially in this economy. but with three kids, being home more really helped. man: so we went to fidelity. we talked about where we were and what we could do. we changed our plan and did something about our economy. now we know where to go for help if things change again.

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i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. this morning, rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors after an enormous outbreak of tornadoes in the midwest. 28 deaths reported in indiana, kentucky and ohio. i'm joined now by doctor. there are so many ways to be hurt when a tornado comes through. what types of injuries are we looking at? >> the most common from blowing glass and debris. the more deadly injuries are from being thrown by a tornado or something tossed at you, brain injuries, chest injuries.

>> there's all the debris flying, lacerations, broken bones and things like that. it's almost like being hit by a car. >> you can make it an analogy or explosion that tosses you. tornadoes can pick you up, bounce you around and pick you up to a high height and drop you. they are devastating injuries, potentially. >> as far as the people that have been found and going out doing an incredible search throughout the wreckage to find people that might be trapped, do you expect based on the injuries you see in this, do you expect the death toll to go higher? >> i hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me. people have severe injuries, several hours could take a toll on them. >> changing the subject, do you know people taking sleeping pills? i have had to do this because of my erratic schedule, i need a sleep aid.

should we be worried now? >> this study is interesting. there's a lot of flaws. if you look at what it's saying, people that took a small amount of sleeping pills had a higher risk of dying. it doesn't say the pill caused their death. it's not a cause and effect. the people that had trouble sleeping are at higher risk for heart disease and stroke. if you are taking sleeping pills for those reasons, perhaps that's what's causing you to die. it's an interesting relationship. it's not a cause and effect. when i prescribed sleeping pills, i said they take them sparingly and don't use them every day. they are for short term use if you travel abrord. i think it's telling us we don't want to become dependent on a pill. >> that is relief from a personal standpoint. when you are prescribing sleep medication for them, is this an extra layer of explanation you

have to give when talking with them about this medication? >> possibly. it brings to attention all medication has side effects. take medicine when you really need to. >> something else now, something about caffeine. this new product that's on the market that comes in a lipstick container, you spray it in your mouth and get an instant dose of caffeine. how does that work? >> it's called aeroshot. it's an inhaleable caffeine. it goes into your mouth and dissolves. there's three to six puffs in each container. the whole thing contains 100 milligrams of caffeine. it's comparable to a good cup of coffee. >> we know about the energy shots you can buy. is it safe? i mean we talked about the sleep aids. squirt a couple things in your mouth and you are back on track after a sleeping pill. is this something we need to be concerned about? >> there are some concerns

because it's an attractive, cute marketing concept. there's concerns about alcohol and caffeine together. are young people going to abuse it? there's no difference the amount of caffeine in this shot versus a red bull or other energy drinks with more caffeine. by itself, it oo fine. what people are concerned about is that it has potential for abuse because it's gimmicky and cute and easy to use. it's cheap, only $3. the company is not going to market it to young people but it's where we saw a lot of deaths with caffeine and alcohol with college kids. it has potential for abuse. >> young people abusing products, we have never seen that before. >> never. >> thank you so much. lots of good informers this morning. i was interested in the sleep medication. thank you for that advice. >> you are welcome.

waking up to massive damage is what is facing thousands today who live in areas struck by strong storms. we'll take a look at that damage, next.

we have been showing you the pictures all morning. roms reduced to rubble. that's the scene across parts of the midwest and south this morning after a string of tornadoes touched down. cnn's sandra endohas more. >> reporter: when daylight comes to kentucky, the realization of what's happened will be devastating. the small down is not alone. this is henryville, indiana

another town rocked by storms. tornadoes tore across the country's midsection leveling homes, buildings, anything in their path. >> you see these types of things. what you really don't have and understanding of the great devastation unless you see it in person. it's unbelievable. >> reporter: at times more than 20 active tornado warnings across multiple states. >> it's nuts. people's lives are in danger with the storms, the rotating storms. >> reporter: the fury unleashed early starting in alabama ripping off roofs and snapping off power lines. as the day rolled on, so did the storms, gaining in intensity. storms brought heavy rain, golf ball sized hail and ferocious winds. multiple reports of twisters touch i touching keown. in hamilton county, tennessee, one man found his home of 30

years reduced to a pile of rubble. >> this is real live stuff here. >> reporter: it's a race to clear blocked roads to get to the people who need help. in harrisburg, illinois, all right beaten down from the twist er that blew through days ago. residents can only hope they will be spared a second blow. severe weather is expected to be over by saturday morning. then the clean up and recovery effort will begin. one man is taking his branting under water in an effort to beautify the deep. we meet him, this week's cnn hero. u made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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saving the beauty of the ocean. you know, how do you even start with a job that big? one veteran diver has seen a major change under water so he's trying to fix the problem. that's what's made him this week's cnn hero. >> i grew up diving in the florida keys. it was the most magical place. the coral reefs were so pretty. i decided that's what i wanted to do. in an area where there's live coral, there's more fish. reefs provide protection and recreational opportunities for millions of people. i was diving for 40 years. over time, i saw the coral reefs start to die. worldwide, they are in decline. if they die completely, coastal

xhupts would be bankrupt, tourism would be virtually gone, a billion people in the world would be impacted. i started thinking how can we fish this problem? my name is ken. i help grow and restore coral reefs. we have developed a system that's simple in something we train others to do. we start with a piece of coral this big, hang it on trees. after a year or two, it becomes this big. then we cut the branches off and do it again. >> ken's coral nursery is one of the largest in the business. >> we placed six corals here. now, there's over 3,000 growing in this area alone. >> before i felt helpless watching it die. now, i think there's hope. it's not too late. everybody can help. i see all the corals and all the fish. the whole reef is coming back to

life. making a difference is exciting. >> wow. that is just amazing. remember, all of our cnn heroes come from your suggestions. be sure to go to cnn heroes.com to see how you can nominate someone. just ahead in the next hour of the cnn news room, deadly storms across the midwest and south brought on by a violent slew of tornadoes. our crews are standing by with the latest starting with rob. >> reporter: good morning, david. we are live north and east of chattanooga where at least one tornado came through this area. tens of homes damaged as well as injuries. we'll have a live report in the next hour. coming up on "sanjay gupta, m.d." -- >> i'm dr. sanjay gupta.

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for the second time in less than a week, parts of the midwest and south are waking up to nearly unbelievable devastation. killer tornadoes ravaged entire neighborhoods one after the other and crumbled homes like match sticks. here is a look at the devastation some will never forget. watch. >> everywhere you look, there's a story like this. a bus into a building. a mobile home completely flattened. major damage everywhere in the area. >> beating around our heads. >> i looked up and i was talking

to my daughter across the street and i looked up and saw debris everywhere. next thing i knew, i thought it was a dream. >> there was gas leaks. the houses are completely demolished back there, completely, to the ground. >> the building shook. lights went off. the noise was incredible. right in front of us. >> bail sized hail. i can't honestly tell you what's going on. >> it was just like you were on a weighing scale this way. it kept going like this. the next thing i know, i'm

pushing tables, freezers, whatever i had on me off of me. >> from cnn center, this is "cnn saturday morning." it's 7:00 a.m. here in atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in chicago and 4:00 in l.a. good morning to you all. i'm david mattingly. people are waking up to total devastation. they homes and towns leveled by tornadoes that swept through the south and midwest. in some areas rescue crews worked deep into the night to find survivors and victims. as many as 28 people are dead. national guard troops were called up in kentucky and indiana to help some of the hardest hit communities. >> it's just leveled. absolute destruction. >> the tornado hit and destroyed our town. >> we got down. it hit the building we was in. throwing stuff everywhere.

we came outside there was a lot of people on the street that was injured laying there on the road and on the black top. >> this is what it looked like in borden, indiana. look at this. you can see the tornado there. dozens of people were injured in the storms. we are watching all the angles of the story this morning. susan candiotti is in henryville, indiana, one of the hardest hit areas. rob is in tennessee where we have seen significant damage and bonnie schneider is standing by in the severe weather center. one of the first areas hit by the tornadoes was chattanooga, tennessee where hundreds of homes were reduced to rubble. rob is in tennessee, one of the many communities outside chattanooga that were slammed by the storms. rob? >> reporter: a suburb of chattanooga, 20,000 people live here. it's a nice community. there are well-built homes here like the one behind me stripped

down to the foundation. this was one of the first communities to get hit in the onslaught of tornadoes across the country. it was a storm that started in northern alabama, damage to a high school there, injured folks there, came across the border over signal bound across the city of chattanooga and 150 to 200 wide path of this twister, which by the way, the national weather service will go out like they do in all destruction zones to see how strong the twister was. we have over 27 injuries. happ happy to say, zero fatalities. they think that number will hold. they have gotten through most of the homes as far as search and rescue goes. most of the people are held accounted for. but, yesterday was a long day. this happened at 1:00. then later on in the afternoon as people were scrambling to recover and to find victims and clear roadways of debris and

power lines, not one, but two more storms came through. we had to evacuate this area as night came down. an incredible hailstorm came through the area. there was a tornado south of where this one hit two to four miles around 6:00 or 7:00 last night. another round of storms came through. that actually shut down traffic across highway 24 because power lines were across the interstate. a tremendous amount of damage here across eastern tennessee. the only bright spot of that story is zero fatalities. we can't say that for the rest of the country in this incredible, incredible early march tornado outbreak. >> that's right, rob. zero fatalities. it's great news out of a bad situation. thank you, rob. we may not know the full extent of some of the damage until search and rescue crews finish their work like in small towns like henryville, indiana.

that's where susan candiotti is this morning. susan, how bad is it there this morn i morning? >> reporter: i think i have been describing it as crushing damage to the area. so bad, they are waiting until the sun is finally coming up for authorities to continue to search for anyone who might not be accounted for and can also look at a lat of the damage, get early assessments in the light of day. looking over my shoulder, that's henryville, the high school in henryville in clark county that was devastated by that, by the tornado. let me walk over here and immediately introduce, this is austin albert. your dad is the principal of that high school. you got out, one could say in the nick of time. roughly, how soon was it before you got out when the storm hit? >> i would say 30 or 40 minutes. >> reporter: you heard the alarms? >> yeah. as soon as school got out and i got to my car, the alarm started

going off in the fire station. >> reporter: you were home when it hit. what did the temperature feel like and you saw the hail. describe all that. >> the temperatures before the tornado were fluctuating 20 degrees and changed in the split of a second. the hail was probably baseball or tennis size. >> reporter: this is just breathtaking damage to your school. more importantly, your dad was still there when the storm hit, as well as a number of other student who is had to ride things out. what was that like for your dad? >> i don't know what to say. my dad, he's a hero. i don't know what else to say. i don't think i could have done the calls he made. >> reporter: part of the hard part for him was where to hunker down. what did they wind up doing as far as you know? >> as far as i know, they went into the high school office area and ended up being safe.

everyone survived. >> thank goodness. the other thing austin told me is that in some of the safe areas of the school where they might have been, those two were crushed by the tornado. again, another reason why everyone is saying thank goodness everyone got out of there with just some scrapes and minor bruises. back to you, david. >> thank goodness is right. thank you for that. meteorologist bonnie schneider is standing by. you were hearing that story about how it was such a long day and long night for so many people across the country. are we in the clear yet? >> we are in the clear from tornadic activity. there's a slight risk for a good portion of the southeast. it was a long day and a long night. when you look at google earth, we plotted where the tornadoes were, where the wind damage and hail damage across the states being, of course, indiana, kentucky, ohio hard hit. this is where a lot of the tornadoes hit in tennessee.

what do the numbers mean? how do they calculate? they may astound you. one day of severe weather, 95 reports of tornadoes, 233 reports of wind damage. 458 reports of hail. that's 740 reports of severe weather breaking out in one day. usually, we see a fraction of this in one day let alone in early march. unfortunately, astounding nu numbers as we tally what occurred on friday. here is what we are looking at right now. thunderstorms, one severe thunderstorm warning popping up over south carolina. if you are in the vicinity of the thunderstorm, in the florence area, this is where the heaviest rain is falling now. we are seeing a steady, heavy flow of rain. it was a scary night last night. a tornado warning in marietta and sirens went off. a lot of people were alarmed. that continues. we are looking at the threat of flash flooding.

we have reports of that as well. today, we are looking at a slight risk of severe weather popping up over the southeast. david? >> thanks, bonnie. more on the tornadoes in a moment. first, voters in washington state are getting ready to decide which of the gop presidential candidates they favor. details on the latest face-off, next.

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stories. the republican race for the presidential nomination heads to washington state today, sight of the latest 2012 caucuses. 40 delegates are at stake in the contest, which comes three days before super tuesday. voters will also take part in a non-binding straw poll. washington's caucuses are open meaning the democrats and republicans and independents can all participate if they want to. bp says it will pay nearly $8 billion to settle claims related to the worst oil spill in u.s. history. a group representing the plaintiff said the amount will fully compensate the victims. the three-month long spill occurred after an explosion on the deep water horizon oil rig operated by bp. 11 people were killed in that blast. family and friends will gather today to remember daniel, one of

three teenagers killed in a school shooting this week in chardon, ohio. two other students were hospitalized and another grazed by gunfire. the high school reopened to students yesterday where the principal led a moment of silence. grief counselors and police were on campus. shocking charges leveled against the new orleans saints now. the nfl says the team's defense had a bounty program that paid players for injuring their opponents. a lead investigation showed 27 saints players were involved. in some cases, particular players were targeted. the team's owner says the saints have fully cooperated in the probe, which could result in fines and suspensions. now, chasing deadly tornadoes. while most people are busy taking cover, some people like

to drive right into the path of the storm. i'll talk to one of them, next. [ beep ] [ mom ] scooter? the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

this morning, rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors after an enormous outbreak of tornadoes in the south and midwest. at least 28 deaths are reported in indiana, kentucky and ohio. extreme meteorologist reid timer

joins me on the phone from glassgow, ki ki. he goes out there to take all the risks to follow these storms and refers to some of your 9:00 to 5:00 job holders, that seems crazy. but you actually drive right into those storms, right? tell us how you do that? >> caller: it's not as dangerous add it looks. we have a vehicle designed to do it. it's covered with armor. we can safely intercept tornadoes up to a certain strength. we have instruments to better understand the wind circulations near the ground. on days like yesterday, our main mission is to relay reports to the national weather service and keep people warned in the path of the storms. >> how close to an actual

tornado did you get yesterday? >> caller: probably a couple motions. the motions were 70 miles per hour, up to 80 miles per hour at times. they were really moving. anytime we came close to being near the tornado, it would blow by us and we couldn't keep up. yesterday, our main mission wasn't really research but to see as many tornadoes as we could and relay the reports to keep people warned. >> have you ever been caught in a direct hit? >> oh, yeah. we have been in a dozen or more tornadoes in our armored vehicle. >> when you get caught in a direct hit like that, from your personal experience, tell me what's going on. all those people in their house that is got hit directly by the tornado, what are you trying to survive? what are you living through in that? >> caller: the reason i'm doing it is research. meteorology is my passion. it's almost an obsession.

we are trying to better understand the wind speeds that caused the damage. there are theories that show the wind speeds could approach the speed of sound on small scales when you get the tornadoes that break into the miniature suction board. we are trying to use our armored vehicle to get up close, if not inside and measure the data and provide it to structural engineers to better design homes to with stand the tornadoes. >> i want to understand, if someone is in their home and it's hitting their home, you have experienced this in your vehicle, what risks are they put at with all the debris flying around? >> caller: well, i can tell you, a lot of people think tornadoes are beautiful, but they are extremely powerful and destructive and need to be respected. we have a vehicle that is specifically designed to intercept. that first wind gust, when it hits the vehicle, you realize how powerful tornadoes are. most of the ones i have

intercepted were weak. you need to heave the warnings and take necessary precautions. when tornado warnings are issued, people assume it's not going to hit their location. it's important to get underground or interior room or closet. have a noaa weather radio. >> good advice. extreme meteorologist. that is not an understatement. reed timer, thank you for joining us. imposter scams, crooks posing as respected companies and government agencies are there, ready to take your money. it's making the ftcs list of top consumer complaints for the first time. also, top complaints against banks, payday lenders and sweep stakes letters. our financial guru, clyde anderson is here and he'll tell you what people complain about most and how you can protect

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at this hour, some new tornado warnings have been issued. bonnie schneider, tell us about it. >> david, we have a new tornado warning issued for southwest georgia. this is for baker county and northeastern miller county and northwestern mitchell county. a tornado has not been detected by a storm spotter, but we are seeing indication on the doppler radar that a tornado could touch down from the thunderstorm at anytime. rotation has been detected. camilla is under this tornado warning at this time. this will go until 8:00 this morning. we are monitoring the risk for

severe weather even today after yesterday's incredible day of 95 reports of tornadoes. today is certainly just getting started. we are likely to see more tornadoes throughout the day. i don't think today will be as active as yesterday, but we are still not out of the woods yet for severe weather. we are seeing it in southwest georgia. david? >> we'll keep an eye on that as well as the clean-up efforts that go on across the south and the midwest. we'll be right back. r people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze.

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where, basically, what the people are going, you have probably gotten an e-mail saying i'm stuck in another country, send funds. a family member or friend so when they do that, some people respond and wire money thinking this is their family member and their friend. they can't get in touch with them and want to help them. they send money to scammers. >> they send it and don't get it back. >> they don't get it back. go and confirm, reach out to that person before you wire money. >> here is something that i found hard to believe. last year, the fcc said people paid $1.5 billion in fraudulent schemes. that's bigger than the economy of some entire countries. >> exactly. it's a big business. >> how do we protect ourselves from that? >> do your research. a debt collector will call you and it may be a real debt or not. you don't know. they prey on people with negative or challenged credit. they bully you and intimidate

you and call you names and say i'll get you arrested. take control of the conversation. ask them questions. get their information, their account information. ask poignant questions. >> watch yourself and your money closer. words to live by. thanks. >> pleasure is mine. you can join us every saturday at this time as clyde anderson gives the latest money saving tips. thanks for doing that. mitt romney has come under fire for his health care law in massachusetts. how did that laurel change the way people get their health care or the way they pay for it? some answers as dr. "sanjay gupta, m.d." starts right now.