from the dreadful tornado last night. sam, thanks again. that's all for us tonight. "ac 360" starts now. we begin with breaking news right now. right now is the peaking area of danger for people in alabama and georgia and severe thunderstorm warnings up across the area, and all part of a massive and punishing storm system that did this to the southern illinois town of branson, and hammered kentucky and tennessee as well. it all happened before dawn. here is the terrifying sound that awakened one family in frankfort, kentucky. [ sirens ] imagine wake up to that frankfort was spared thankfully but so many other places were not.

at least ten people have died in this still menacing storm system. one in tennessee, three in missouri, six in harrisburg alone, survivors there and across the area describing what they saw and what they felt. >> it's very devastating. we are very lucky compared to the people out that way. very lucky. >> overwhelmed. just overwhelmed with emotions. i had no idea it was this bad. >> the lights went out. he came out of the bedroom and all of a sudden it was a freight train, the whole house was shaking, i said, oh, my god, it's a tornado and dalton grabbed me and pulled me in the pantry. >> the windows were blowing out and the pantry had no windows. >> harrisburg is under a curfew. the tornado that struck there measuring near the top of the scale, 170 miles an hour winds, upwards of 100 people hurt, up to 300 homes destroyed and a shopping center simply obliterated. the storm that did it measured three or four football fields across and stayed on the ground for miles. literally tore the side off a local hospital.

you can see the beds next to the place where the windows used to be. could have been far worse. hospital staff at least they had enough warning time to get patients to safety to move them further indoors and as horrific as the damage is and as hart wrenching the loss of life is we're also learning as we did in joplin, missouri, last year that the people in harrisburg are made of stronger stuff than timber and bricks and more tar, and we will talk to chad myers on what is happening tonight. >> well, it does look like the weather is tapering off tonight. unlike last night when the storms fired up after dark, the storms today are calming down. we have shower and rain showers to d.c. and richmond and a line popping up from west virginia back down to tennessee, but i don't think it is going to rotate. we won't have anymore tornadoes tonight, and almost every one of them except for the little one that went away waiaway, all of tornado watches have expired. a night unlike last night for us. you talked about the fujita

scale, and the tornado scale and i want to go into it for a moment, because we talk about the category 1 hurricanes and most people don't know what a fujita scale is, but we will talk about the ef-0 which is a rope or dust devil in the desert. 65 miles to 85 miles per hour and minor damage and you will lose shingles on the house with that. a one, you will lose shingles and a maybe a couple of boards on the roof as the winds go to 110 miles per hour. ef-2 is strong, but not where we were yesterday. we were ef-4 yesterday. so strong, and 135 miles an hour, and you have now lost the entire roof. and the top is gone and the walls are there. and now ef-3, 165 miles per hour, and close to where we were at 170. so that is severe damage, and the outside walls are mainly gone, but still a lot of the structure there. at a 4, the outside walls are gone tandside walls are gone and you can see the refrigerator and the kitchen and maybe the bathroom, and that is it. but when you get to ef-5 at 200

miles per hour or more, that is when you will only find the slab or the basement, because there is nothing left of the house whatsoever. anderson. >> this afternoon the mayor said he felt something terrible happened in his gut, and it has. he is having the worst day that a mayor can possibly have especially where chances are that everyone knew someone who died in the storm or whose house has been badly damaged in the storm or whose life will be changed in one way or another after that tornado touched down there. and that is why we are so grateful that he could talk to us. mayor, the scope of this, can you give us a sense of the 2k57b8g th damage that you have been seeing? >> anderson, it has been a

horrific day here in harrisburg, illinois. we have lost six lives, and we are a tight knit community and people care about each other, and to lose six lives and to have many, many hurt, and of course, millions of dollars in devastation is heartbreaking for a community, and it is heartbreaking. we have seen nit joplin, missouri last year and many of our people went to joplin to help out. my daughter was one of them, and now here today we are faced with this here in our community and our area. so it is a tough day for us, and our hearts are going out and broken for those who lost their lives and the families and those who are injured, but i assure you this, anderson, i appreciate what you said, but a this h is a commu -- but this is a community that will rally around itself. this is a region of the country that we care about each other. the outpouring of support from the governor of illinois all of the way to neighboring communities has been profound. i mean, we've had more people -- more people coming into the community offering to help us

and just in whatever way we need, they are here. so it is very redeeming and making me glad to be an american and mayor of a small town in southern illinois, anderson. >> we saw it in joplin and nashville with the floods and people taking care of one another and bringing out the best. what is the latest on the rescue operations? >> well, right now what we're doing is we're certainly making sure we've got every man, woman and child accounted for. we're making sure that we're taking care of those that have been displaced, whatever they need, food -- >> are there people still missing at this point? >> no, there's not. i think we have everyone accounted for, which is, you know, we're very thankful for that. right now we're just still working through the debris just checking and making -- you know, just doing our due diligence to take care of the people of harrisburg, illinois. >> i heard you say that when the sirens were going off this morning that it was kind of eerily quiet. >> well, when the sirens started going off, i immediately got up, got my wife and my two sons up and we went out to -- actually i

don't have a basement in my home so we went to our neighbor's house. we live up on a hill and i actually stood out with my son and kind of tried to assess where the problem was at within the city, you know, and it became eerily quiet, just and the sirens going off and then you could hear -- you could just hear the horrible sound and you're thinking this is just unbelievable, you know, happening in our community. the worst disaster to hit harrisburg, illinois, with the loss of life and the damage, but, you know, immediately -- i'll tell you this, anderson, we went into action. you know, this is a community that does not run away from, you know, from problems, from horrific events like this. we run to help our neighbors and the people we love and care about. and that's the way the entire region has been today and the entire state of illinois has been and the midwest, i mean, we've got people coming from everywhere. we've just basically put together an army of support to come in here and help us today so we're very grateful and as a

mayor i can tell you i feel very blessed today to have the support that i do in harrisburg, illinois, but the loss of life is heartbreaking and my heart is broken for, you know, the families that now are dealing with this tragedy and, of course, all the ones that are hurt. >> yeah. >> we can rebuild, and we will rebuild, anderson. we're going to put this town back. i mean, we are a community that -- we may get knocked down seven times but we'll get up eight times. >> mr. mayor, finally want to ask you, that store behind you, we see the sign that says sports on it. it looks like that's kind of laying on the ground. was that -- i mean was that a second store -- i mean how tall was that store? >> oh, that was a large store and i mean this -- you know, there's a couple of thing, anderson, the time that this event took place, this tornado came through, of course, it was an f-4 they determined, 170-mile-an-hour sustainable winds but when this storm came through, you know, today we're all connected. we all have our cell phones, we all have ways to communicate, at

five minutes to 5:00 in the morning we don't have our cell phones on, we're not watching television, we don't have the radio on so our communication system was knocked down but the sirens did go off and they went off in time. i actually talked to loved ones who were able to get them in safe, secure areas, but you know, it came upon us, i guess, after -- when the sirens went off, that those who could not get out of the path. again, i was on site almost immediately, and it is like nothing i have ever seen and i pray to god i never have to see it again. >> mayor gregg, i mean, i appreciate your time, first of all and our hearts are with you and with the people of harrisburg and the surrounding counties tonight, thank you for being with us. >> thank you, anderson. good night. >> good night. there's more to talk about. let us know what you think about on facebook, google plus, add us or follow me on twitter@andersoncooper. new developments in the ohio school shooting, more importantly the stories of three kids who lost their lives and we'll talk to the mom of one

teen boy. tomorrow he would have gotten his first paycheck from his first job at a local bowling alley. she wants to bury her little boy with that paycheck in his coffin. we'll talk to her tonight. also throughout the hour breaking storm coverage continues. we'll talk to a storm chaser who got just a little too close to the storm. we'll show you what he saw. when i grow up,

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i got up and took two steps off the couch and then me and the two dogs i have and the trailer started rolling down the hill and you can see what's left and after i rolled five times, i mean, i can remember everything about it. i was -- once it hit the ground on the fifth time, everything just -- i saw daylight. i don't know how i'm here. no doubt. good lord just didn't call me is all i know. wasn't my time. >> steven of greenville, kentucky, survived the storm that has taken so many lives.

is it a storm that is on the move, and chad meyers will be following it throughout the hour and we will check in with him shortly. first let's check in with volunteer firefighter and storm chaser brandon culkin. brandon, how are you doing? i see that bandage around your head. >> i'm doing all right. i'm banged up and i'm sore, but i'm alive and that's all that matters. >> what happened to you? >> i was out chasing the storm and i heard that the storm was getting a little too close to the neighboring town so i headed back towards town and the wind and the rain picked up a little bit so i pulled off somewhere and next thing i know, my ears popped and all my windows broke out in my vehicle, and the next thing i know, i'm getting tossed and rolled and, i mean, it's just completely a miracle that i'm standing here right now. >> did you stay -- remain in the vehicle because we're looking at pictures.

i mean it looks like that vehicle just rolled and rolled and rolled. >> it did and i had a gentleman come up to me and make sure i was all right. but after that he went to find help and i climbed myself out of my vehicle and the only way i done that was with the good lord's help. >> where else are you -- i mean do you have bandages elsewhere? >> yeah, i have a laceration on my left hand, on my lower left leg and i have cuts and scrapes on my left arm and just places where shards of glass hit me in my face and all over my body. >> can you -- i mean, can you describe what it's like to be that close. you say your ears popped and then -- >> yeah. >> all the windows cracked -- broke out of your car? >> yeah, it was probably the loudest sound i ever heard. the popping sound, it was like going over a mountain, how your

ears pop, but ten times worse than that, and next thing i know, all the windows shattered in my vehicle and i knew i was getting hit and i was directly in its path and i just kept rolling and rolling. >> have you ever seen anything like this? i mean not just what happened to you but what's happened to your neighbors and to the town? >> no, i've never seen a devastation like this to our community. we've had some floods, but nothing to this devastation in the loss of lives that we've had today. >> have you gotten your head checked out yet? >> yes. >> yeah, okay. >> everything checks out all right. they got me in, checked me out, stitched me up and sent me out the door. >> all right. >> they had bigger priorities to handle and i respect them for that. >> yeah, understandably. brandon, i'm glad you're doing okay and appreciate you coming

on to talk about it and glad you're doing okay, as i said. there's so many stories emerging tonight, not just of what's been lost but how survivors are coping right now and how they've come to grips with the challenges that lie ahead. harrisburg mayor eric gregg said it best, these are people who get up when they're knocked down and if they get knocked down seven times, they'll get up eight times. tyler profilet of kfvs has been on the ground all day talking to people. he joins us now. tyler, what have you been seeing in terms of damage and the recovery effort tonight? >> anderson, i've seen a lot of damage. i rolled up on the scene around 6:30 this morning so just around daybreak and when i first arrived, the strip mall behind me was the first thing that i saw and then as i started to pull around the parking lot, that's where i saw the area that the locals call gaskin city where we've had a lot of the fatalities and a lot of those injuries as well. we have been talking a little bit throughout the show and throughout the day of how

reminiscent this is of joplin. obviously not a population center the size of joplin, but when you talk about the devastation and see the homes flatten and see for miles where there used to be a tree line, it is similar. in the strip mall, don was talking about the different stores here, there was an alltel wireless store and i was able to talk to the manager. he said he grew up in oklahoma, of course, in tornado alley, so something that he's very accustomed to. he says he's never heard anything like this. he's never seen a tornado leave this much devastation, so to give you an idea of someone who grew up with it, they say it's still one of the worst they've ever seen and for the people that were in gaskin city, that area including a teenager i talked to today that was able to survive it, he says it's the closest to death he's ever been. >> tyler -- >> i'm praying. i'm really hoping and praying to god that everything will be cool, but i was really thinking for a second that we were going to die. i mean, i was scared. i really thought my dad and i were going to die and or get thrown from our trailer and die. it was scary. i've never been so close to death in my life.

it was scary. >> tyler, you were saying a number of folks who lost their live, six in that area, were all in that same area. do we know why in that area so many died? >> anderson, this was just the path of the tornado. there was a clear path of destruction. i know it's nighttime now but you can see that there was a 200-yard-wide path that this tornado cut through and the margin of error for complete destruction and being safe was so narrow, as a matter of fact, you saw homes that were destroyed and flattened and literally right across the street, talking 35, 40 yards, you had homes that just had the siding ripped off, so the gap between total destruction and being spared was so, so narrow, so some people were very, very fortunate but obviously for six people and hundreds of others that were injured they weren't quite so lucky. >> yeah, and at this point, you know, what are people telling you in terms of how they moved forward? >> well, it's really impressive

and kind of what to reiterate what the mayor said. this is a town that's starting to dig in and dig out of this rubble. i notice people at 9:00 this morning that just had damage to their roof and they were already beginning to repair, people were already beginning to repair the siding. they had some heavy equipment, backhoe, bulldozers trying to clear the roadway, trying to dig out of the rubble to see if any of their loved ones that were unaccounted for were still inside so the people here are already in the rebuilding mode, you didn't see a lot of people standing around looking. you saw a lot of people actually getting to work and starting to help their neighbor. >> all right, and as the mayor said it seems like everything is accounted for in harrisburg and that is certainly good news. there are not a large number of missing or wounded. tyler profilet, thanks for your reporting. if you want to help, we set up a one-stop location. cnn.com/impact.

you'll find all the organizations and ways you can make a difference there. again, that's cnn.com/impact. just ahead on the program, new details in the ohio school shooting. three young lives cut short in the high school cafeteria. three families destroyed tonight, the mother of one of the victims, a teenage boy named danny, joins me ahead. what she has to say is heartbreaking, but she wants you to hear about her son. she wants you to hear about the boy that he was and the life that's been lost. also ahead in "raw politics" tonight, will mitt romney's wins power him through super tuesday? was the win in michigan in name only and the wyoming caucuses tonight, the results, first with isha sesay. >> anderson, in syria the sneej homs is getting worse with opposition saying that the assad regime is flying helicopters overhead in syria firing at citizens on the ground. i've had surgery, and yes, i have occasional constipation.

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in a phone call today president obama expressed his condolences to the principal of chardon high school in ohio. it's the school and the community, of course, there, they're all still reeling from the deadly shooting rampage. up close tonight we have new details about the 17-year-old suspect. we'll have that report in a moment, but first the terror that gripped a school during the attack. it's ap paernt on the 911 recordings that were released. >> we just had a shooting at our school. we need to get out of here. oh, my god. >> okay. >> we need help badly. >> okay, we need to know where the shooter. >> i don't know. i don't know. >> we got everybody out there outside the building. >> where is the shooter? where is the shooter? >> excuse me?

>> where is the shooter? >> everybody, quiet down. he could be -- he could be out there. >> are you -- do you see the shooter? >> no, i didn't. i just felt like the gun. >> okay. did you see the gun? >> yeah. >> okay. now, listen to me, listen to me, where are you at? >> i'm outside the school right now. we hear the sirens. >> yes, yes, i'm a student. i was right by the shooter when he pulled the gun. >> okay. who was the shooter? >> his name is thomas lane. i saw him take out two and then i was gone. i was out of there. >> five students were shot. three of them died. danny parmertor was 16 years old. daniel was his real name so was demetrius hewlin and russell king jr. was 17. all three left home that morning expecting it was going to be

just another day at school. goes without saying that their families were shattered. on cbs this morning danny's parents described arriving at their hospital where he was taken and begging him not to die. >> said don't go, danny, don't go. >> don't. >> don't go, danny. he fought. he just didn't have no brain waves left. >> think about going to a funeral and picking out a casket. what is that? picking out a casket for your son. i don't want to do it. we were supposed to go and pick out colleges and supposed to go visit ohio state next month. i'm mad now. i'm mad now. it's just my little boy. he was so little, just 16. he was 16 years old. >> picking out caskets for their children.

that is what three families are faced with now. we wish them strength through this incredibly difficult time. i talked earlier to danny's mom, dina. dina, i'm so sorry for your loss. how are you and your family doing? >> i guess like they say you find the strength somewhere, you know. and, of course, our family, bob's family and mine is just amazing. they're just -- they're just doing everything and we're just -- they're just carrying us and just supportive, the city, the state, the nation, which i didn't -- i didn't know that it was that big, i just thought it was us. just unbelievable how people are so great and supportive. >> and we're looking at pictures of danny now. i mean he looks such an outgoing, exuberant kid. what do you want people to know about him? >> yes, you know, you said the right words, anderson. that's -- that is danny. how could you not like danny? he was just -- everybody loved

him and he is just going to be missed so much and we just love him. he was so -- i mean he was like a jokester, and everybody just wanted to be around him if he was around, you know, that kind of kid that they gravitate to and always that person that everybody likes. that's danny. that is my danny. >> and i understand danny just started a job, his first job. >> yes, yes, he was so excited. it was at the local bowling alley right here in chardon, and always he wanted -- and he just loved it, but he just wanted that first paycheck. he can't get that check. he just can't get it. he was -- he just loved it. he only worked there for like two weeks, three weeks and then -- my heart is broken. it's just torn apart and everybody in the family and i just -- i want -- that's why i

wanted to talk to you too, i want people to know him that they didn't get to have the joy of knowing him, but hopefully through this they can because, you know, he wants to say thank you for the support and we all do, too. that is what we feel is our way to thank you all for the overwhelming support. it's just unimaginable how great people are. >> do you know what he was going to spend the check on? >> well, of course, he said he was going to save for a car but he also wanted to -- he kept saying he wanted to get an iphone and, you know, or new skis because he just loved skiing and of course, not with the first check but anything, kids that -- we joked because me and my husband laughed because he kept saying this is going to be big money, mom. this is going to be big money. it was so cute. uh-huh. >> i heard that you may actually bury the check with him. >> yes, anderson, we are, we are

going to. we're not cashing it. we want him to have the check. him with that check, you know, so, yeah, we are going -- >> it was a big step for him. >> yes, yes, absolutely. >> dina, i really don't know what to say to you other than, you know, my heart breaks for you and i think so many people around the country and around the world are thinking about you and thinking about danny and your whole family and it doesn't give you peace but i hope it gives you some strength. >> yes, thank you. it does, it really does. it does. it's helping me. it's helping me to see that that's out there for us, i've taken another step. it's helping me get through one -- they say day by day, how about minute by minute. >> breath by breath. >> right, right. >> my mom often said just breathe in and breathe out and that's how you get through each minute.

>> yes, uh-huh. >> well, dina, as i said, i wish you strength and thank you for telling us about danny a little bit tonight. >> thank you for letting people see him. you know, i appreciate that, anderson, a lot. >> one shooting victim remains hospitalized. classes are expected to resume at chardon high school on friday. prosecutors said the accused shooter, 17-year-old t.j. lane is likely to be tried as an adult. details of his troubled home life have been emerging. tonight we have more to report on that. here's martin savidge. >> reporter: late wednesday afternoon in court proceedings, cnn won access to accused shooter t.j. lane's juvenile record. it shows in 2009 he was involved in an assault putting another boy in a choke hold and punched him in the face. lane pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of disorderly conduct. >> three down in the cafeteria. we need an ambulance too. >> three officers? >> yes. >> okay, hold on.

let me fix that do we know where? >> they're all in the cafeteria. >> where is the shooter? >> i don't know. >> reporter: since monday's rampage at chardon high school this small tight-knit community has been asking one question, why? authorities say lane hasn't given them any reason for the attacks. >> he chose his victims at random. this is not about bullying. this is not about drugs. >> reporter: on tuesday when lane first faced a judge after his alleged killing spree, neither his mother nor father were in the courtroom. it was a telling sign. documents show t.j. lane had a troubled home life and that his parents often led by violent example. police reports obtained by cnn show officers were frequently called to the home to break up domestic fights. court documents also show t.j.'s father, tom lane, suffered from anger management issues and depression and at one point even attempting suicide. he spent time in and out of jail. a court document from 2002 describes a particularly violent attack by tom lane on another

woman. it reads "he strangled his ex-wife by the throat until she lost consciousness for several seconds. also held victim's head over a washing machine and poured cold water from a utility hose over her nose and mouth preventing free breathing." tom lane was convicted of felonious assault and sentenced to four years in prison but was released after only nine months. such was t.j. lane's unstable family background. even prosecutor david joyce seemed to hint that it could be an argument for the defense. >> this is someone who's not well and i'm sure in our court case we'll prove that to all of your desires and we'll make sure that justice is done here in this county. >> martin, how do people in the community feel about t.j. lane? >> reporter: you know, that's a very complicated question, anderson, and i've had that conversation with a lot of people here. it always starts off with people starting to say, you know what, i feel sorry.

then they stop themselves immediately because, of course, we know that nothing can condone, nothing goes along with excusing this young man from what he's been accused of doing. and i think the best way somebody put it to me was they said that they feel sorry for his life, and what they mean by that is that they just wish somewhere, maybe a couple of months ago, maybe a couple of years ago somebody intervened, somebody reached out some way somebody got to him because maybe all of this heartache tonight could have been avoided. >> martin, appreciate the reporting. marten, thanks. coming up "raw politics." will mitt romney's win in michigan propel him through super tuesday. even though romney got more votes, rick santorum says it was a huge win for himself in michigan. we will explain that. i'll speak with james carville, mary matalin and erick erickson. that deadly path of destruction. where they're heading now. a live update from chad myers. you only need one.

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more breaking news in the world of politics. earlier this evening, cnn caledd the caucus of wyoming. cnn now projects that romney wins with 39% of the vote and 33% for rick santorum. and that is three wins in a row for romney and freshly winning the michigan primaries and he headed to ohio today to campaign ahead of super tuesday. and the victory in the home state is not as decisive as

romney had hoped. though he got more of the popular vote in michigan, and he santorum picked up 15 of the state's delegates. now all eyes are looking ahead to super tuesday and in ten days it is 100 delegates at play. >> well, we know that romney won all of the delegates last night, and split the popular vote, but he split them in michigan. we just learned the final results in wyoming. romney carries the caucus in wyoming and santorum now in second place and one-third of what romney has. the race is to 1,144 and if you are at 181, you have a long way to go. from here, we go the washington state saturday, and here for the hypothetical assume that ron paul gets the first win of the campaign, and ron paul picks up the bulk of the delegates and the math changes a little s as but then we move to biggest day of the country from new england to idaho and alaska and way out

west and states in between and ten states on the ballot. you see here 419 delegates at stake. here is a hypothetical. romney wins massachusetts and virginia and only ron paul and romney on the ballot there. and gingrich wins if and romney idaho and santorum north dakota and for the sake of the hypothetical says that ron paul picks up a second win and what does that get you? romney pulling away and also a huge fight for the two biggest super tuesday battle grounds, ohio and tennessee. at the moment santorum is leading there. if you get them purple, that is is santorum starting to challenge, and a little bit behind, but starting to challenge the delegate lead, a and this is what the rick santorum campaign needs to prove they are a long-term contender. watch the spending over the next few days, because romney wants to turn ohio and tennessee in his favor and if that happens, it is a couple more delegate

sweep that will put romney more on the way and well ahead of others and that is what he wants on super tuesday to prove he is the front-runner, an sd santoru needs to keep them from going red. >> let's bring in our strategists. let's bring in our cnn contributors democratic strategist james carville and republican strategist mary matalin and erick erickson of redstate.com. james, john's question. question turn it around. >> possibly. this is not a race anymore, anderson, in my opinion between romney and santorum or gingrich. this is romney versus 1144. that's the only thing that matters. he's the only candidate in this race that has hey chance to get to 1144 and every time these other guys get delegates, it keeps him away from that that means he's going to have to go to tampa and deal with a situation when he gets there. this is not -- he's not running against anything other than a number right now. it's romney versus a number. that's where i think this race

is at this moment. i suspect that i'll -- ohio might be a little more favorable to him than tennessee, but -- i don't know. i'd like to see some polls before i listen to erick and mary on that. they know more about that than i do. >> mary, if james is right that he's running against that number, the fact they actually divided the delegate number with santorum in michigan, does that mean his win in michigan wasn't really so much of a win? >> you know, we are ostensibly having a fight here in the nomination process about purity versus electability in a general election and we're impugning meanings to victories or defeats in this nominating process that are completely irrelevant to the general election. they don't tell us anything of these -- go to the 14 swing states which is all that's going to matter in the general election. the process in those swing states include over half that are caucuses or nonbinding or conventions and which

disincentivize turnout and of the remaining half three of them are home states of one of the candidates, so those are going to be discounted. so we are trying to impugn meaning for the general election in a situation where there isn't any, and that is because we have a new process and new rules and super pacs and so many things, so i think thatm rony has to be running against a number, but he has to do what he has always had to do which is to get the purity down and get the conservatives more mobilized and activate and psychologically get them excited. >> erick, a prominent republican told cnn that the campaign after super tuesday would be a lot like water torture. has the race gotten to the point where it might be hurting republican chances in the fall. >> you know, i'm thinking that it's starting to hurt. if only because you've got a limited amount of money out there and a lot of it is poured into the primary instead of going into the general election. now, if they save the money, they'll be able to spend it in

the general election but the burn rate particularly for romney right now he has a ridiculously high burn rate. go back to john king's scenario, i interviewed newt gingrich this morning, and he doesn't see santorum's prolonged viability largely because of one of the scenarios john king highlighted what if romney wins ohio and tennessee gingrich remains in second place in the delegate count, and thinks he'll be able to rebound. his staff told me he thinks santorum got his best shot at romney in michigan and fell short of it and they really see this race rebounding between the non-romney candidates which to james' point drags it out. >> james, to mary's point, which was that romney's got to kind of energize conservatives more, i think i'm right on what she

said, do you believe that this is actually by doing that, by trying to appeal to conservatives someone said paul begala was saying he was moving to the right throughout this primary and caucus process, is he alienating independent voters that he'll need in a general election? >> well, he's already -- he's not doing well with independents at all but mary and erick are right, you won't get the republican nomination without, you know, stimulating the conservative vote. that's overwhelming bulk of that. look, he's moved way to the right on his tax plan and now in addition for being for the bush tax cuts for another 20% across-the-board tax cut. he's already moved far, far to the right on immigration to the point where jeb bush refuses to endorse him so he's moving as fast as he can -- as fast as he can get there today he said he would be for -- he's going to keep on -- he's going to have to move because he can't get to 1144 unless he gets his conservatives more enthusiastic about it. >> anderson, can i say this? i didn't make my point well to you earlier. it comes down to the swing states. no fundamentals have changed in the swing states. we're talking about today is not going to -- has no meaning for the general election and the swing states, obama's numbers are down, republicans have greater registration than they

had in the last cycle. we have more republican governors, we have more senators, we have more house members, we have more legislators. we have an infrastructure and the intensity of opposition to obama and the decrease of his support in the swing states is what is going to matter. what we are saying today and say with authority, it will have an impact in general election, it just isn't. we are not there. >> well, anderson, the summer gas prices will have a bigger effect on the general election than what is happening right now. if the gas prices are coming up and people are pulling money out of other sectors of the economy to drive to work, the economy will suffer again, and there are so manyrtfactor, and i agree with mary on that point. but at the same time if the

economy starts to improve i asked gingrich what's the republican backup plan if it improves? all he could really say is the economy is not going to improve. well, if it does, the republicans may have some trouble. >> hmm. >> anderson, okay, i think this thing has been not very good for romney at all. i mean any -- his numbers have really, really taken a hit, and he's having to keep pulling and keep pulling because he's running against a number. he's not running against a person and that's always a tough thing to do. >> right. james carville, mary matalin, erick erickson, i have to leave it there. coming up, dozens more dead in syria. the heaviest shelling in homs. according to opposition activists, only bad weather finally stopped the gun fire from helicopters aimed at people on the ground. also ahead the latest on deadly storms in the midwest, massive damage with more tornadoes possible tonight as the storm heads through the south and into the mid-atlantic we'll track it for you ahead. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

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will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. i'm isha and anderson is back in a moment. first, let's get the latest on the deadly storms that have at least 12 dead and others injured in illinois. chad myers joins us live. chad? >> you know, even though the storms are gone, anderson, people picking up the pieces still get injured. a couple of showers are popping

up with lightning across parts of tennessee and kentucky and west virginia, but not the storms that popped up last night. the storms that fired up in the middle of the night don't typically do that. when the sun dice off, like it did today the storms typically die off because you lose the heat of the day. it is that heat that will make the air want to rise like a hot air balloon and you heat the air with sunshine and the heat wants to rise and you get bubbling clouds, and that is what happened yesterday day, but last night, the storms kept going, because the energy of the atmosphere kept it going and colder air aloft and even though it was nott cold down there, it was warm up here and the air wanted the go up, because it was warmer that on the air below it. and so showers to nashville, but nothing rotating and no more tornado warnings or watches for tonight. it is a mild night. now n is a very good time, and i say for you the go out, but a no severe weather for a while and get a noaa weather radio for

about $30, and they go off in the middle of the night and wake you up if there is a tornado. you only program for your county, and it goes off when your county has a warnings, and it is for $30, the closest you will come to saving a life. isha. >> thank you, chad. other stories we are following is that in syria a siege on the story of homs, and the neighborhood has left the opposition fearing an all-out ground invasion. activists say for the first time helicopters fired at the civilians on the ground today and only stopped when snow started to fall. an opposition group says that 29 people were killed throughout the country today. a big agreement announced today between north korea and the united states. north korea has agreed to halt nuclear tests and long-range missile launch and the uranium enrichment program for food aid

to from the united states. that amounts to 5 million metric tons of food. >> the united states still has concerns, but on the occasion of kim jung il's death, i said it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation on to the path of peace by living up to the obligations. today's announcement is a modest first step in the direction. we of course, will be watching closely and judging on north korea's new leaders by their actions. >> a big setback to the government's attempt to stop smoking a. federal judge ruled that a mandate requiring tobacco companies to place graphic images on their product is unconstitutional. in testimony before congress, ben bernanke said that the job market is far from normal and household income is flat, and too many americans don't have access to credit.

davy jones of the monkees has died of an apparent heart attack in florida. he was the lead singer in the popular 1960s tv series. he was 6 years old. and it is a new paper airplane record for distances. it went through a hanger at mcclelland air force base to shatter the old record at 107 feet, and he has had some practice throwing it, but a he is a former nfl quarterback. we will be right back. everyth

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