interest in "the good wife." go archie's love interest in "the good wife." this is all ending so happily for me. from cnn center, this is cnn sunday morning. it's march 4th, 2012. good morning. i'm gary tuckman. welcome to the southwest men and women watching on the american forces network. wave seen the devastation. now we're finding out more about the people who lived and in some cases died after friday's massive tornado outbreak. washington state's voters have spoken, but will it impact the outcome on super tuesday? and a helicopter crashes captured on camera. the amazing story of a pilot that walked away.

we start with the aftermath of those deadly tornadoes. president obama is offering federal assistance in the areas battered by the storms. the tornadoes left a wide swath of debris from indiana to georgia. at least 37 people are dead. now the focus has changed and survivors, scores of jurtd people are waking up in hospitals this morning. their homes and the homes of their neighbors are gone. people are now picking through the rubble to find anything they can salvage. officials in west liberty, kentucky, say they are thankful the damage wasn't worse, even as the town was devastated by 135-mile-per-hour winds and one reported death. rob marciano getting a look at some of west liberty's hardest hit areas. good morning to you. tell us what you are seeing today. >> well, gary, finally today they have been able to clear the main roads enough to where

larger vehicles can get through, including trucks carrying power poles, emergency crews, and for the first time we're able to show you these pictures life and over my shoulder. that tells you the story. some well built brick and mortar commercial buildings torn p like really i've never seen it. an ef-3 tornado coming through here with winds at 140 miles per hour. not that building, but the bank has been here for 100 years. that building probably has been here 40 or 50 years, and the town hall, the municipal building torn up equally. really a horrible situation here in west liberty and warden county where you mentioned the surrounding areas here. four fatalities. we caught up with a gentleman who works for the police department. he describes what it was like to be just outside of town when the tornado touched down and what it was like when he first saw this mess after.

sfwlo scary times. i hear my mom holler, there it is, there it is, there it is. at that point we looked outside, and the trees wasn't blowing. some grace of god or something. there was no wind. it was on the ground. it was twisting, but there was no wind. didn't know how bad the devastation was until i got here yesterday, and actually i got to see it in daylight the next day, yesterday morning. it was a very scary time. >> a scary to say the least. it's about 12,000 people that live in this town, but this town really feeds the surrounding rural communities. big agricultural community here, so folks coming in here, i mean, everybody is going to -- everybody comes into town for medical assistance. everybody comes into town for the business that they have to do to get groceries, to get supplies, that kind of thing. this is the center point of an entire county, and it's been brought to a standstill ever since this tornado came through

late in the day on friday. communications, a huge problem here in gary, and obviously hour. they've come out with portable generateors, and now thief had the roadways, and help will begin to arrive shortly. they've been able to fairly compensately go through -- they'll start to let people and residents back in and pretty much on lockdown. now folks will be able to trickle back in and take stock of what's left of their belongings. gary. >> so sad, rob maciano. now, there are so many stories from these storms. stories of survival and loss. we're highlighting some of them today. starting with this report from our national correspondent susan candiotti in henriville, indiana. >> this is the hilltop home the hunters built to raise their family more than 40 years ago. this is how it looks now.

flattened, blown to bits by a tornado. those front steps once led to their front door. now they lead to heartache. >> how would you like your dad to be remembered? >> he was a really good guy. he loved nature. he loved people. he loved his family. he loved this community. >> hunter and his wife couldn't resist shooting some video of the twister heading their way. then ran for cover inside. >> they were in the safest spot in the house. it was the very middle of the house. there's no windows. they shut the doors. they cover up with a blanket. >> not safe this time. they were found about 30 feet apart. wayne hunter was dead. his beloved wife, lenora still alive. >> they went into a back room and just held on to each other, covered each other up and knowing them, they said a few prayers. >> hunter was a former volunteer firefighter and recently retired

emergency room nurse. those who knew him say he really believed laughter was the best medicine. >> he would be able to put a smile on everybody's face right now with all the demolition going on here. >> what do you think he would make of all this? >> he would be taking pictures and posting them on facebook. >> and making a lot of jokes. snoo making a lot of jokes. >> now the hard part. trying to save pieces of their hoenl, of their life, and trying to understand why. >> the whole randomness of a tornado is amazing. they hit. within house is destroyed. one house isn't. one person dies. one person doesn't. i don't think you can understand that. >> yet for family and friends of wayne hunter, just because they avoided this twister's path doesn't mean they weren't touched by what it took away. >> mrs. hunter is expected to make a full recovery and credit

neighbors for saving her life. susan candiotti, henriville, indiana. >> one of the more compelling stories was the discovery of a toddler lost in the tornado. the 20-month-old girl was in critical condition at a louisville, kentucky, hospital. she is surrounded by her extended family, so she's not alone, even though her mother, father, and two siblings were killed in the storm. >> it's very hard to imagine that -- >> we have been through a lot. as anyone can imagine. >> it tears your heart. >> much more on the little girl a little later in our program. >> now i want to show you new pictures we have showing the power of the tornadoes. >> this one is from eye reporter

kevin wells from henrivillhenri indiana. he was an ef-4 tornado, and we'll explain what that means in a moment. now check this one out. it was shot from a gas station in henriville. you can see the tornado turning away on the ground ripping apart homes and lives. here's the guy who shot the video. >> it just pulled into shell gas station. they had their doors debt bolted. they weren't letting anybody in, and their doors flew open, and as soon as going through the glass doors, as can you see on the video, the tornado hit right where we were at. >> alexandra steel joins me now. alexandra, from looking at that video -- >> the strength of a tornado is based on the damage estimates that are done after it. that's what we know now. it is an ef-4 tornado from henryville, indiana. one of the strongest ones we've seen. national weather service has gone in and done damage reports

and confirmed that there were two tornadoes that moved through within ten minutes. the first an ef-4. 75-mile-per-hour winds. on the ground think say for 52 miles, and it was 150 yards wide. the second of an unknown strength, but weaker moving through ten minutes later. this was the scale. enhanced fujita scale. it's a scale based on damage done after the fact between an ef-0, the weakest, and an ef-5, and look with where he stand with some of those. well constructed homes, brick and mortar homes, completely leveled. cars thrown about. we've seen that. an ef-3, a little weaker, which i'm sure we'll see some of those. rooves and walls torn off. well constructed homes. trains overturned. heavy cashes even lifted. we have seen all of that. it looks like an ef-4, the worst that we've seen, moving through henriville, indiana, one of two. just an incredible, incredible event, and, you know, it really

may go down as the worst march tornado outbreak that we've ever seen with over 100 reported tornadoes. those numbers will maybe revive. it still has a good likelihood. >> april, may, and june, the peak of the tornado season, it's at the beginning of march. >> it's been so incredibly warm this winter, so temperatures have been warmer normally in the south. it's that clash of those air masses, that warm, moist air that was available in the south coming up from the gulf of mexico. this kind of potent cold front coming in, and just kind of electrifying things. very strong 150-mile-per-hour jet stream on the upper level. kind of all the dynamics and the ingredients coming up for just this event that really will be historic. >> alexandra steel, thank you. the pictures are just incredible. >> gruesome. >> now to other stories making news. mitt romney has added to his winning streak by capturing yesterday's caucus. he won michigan and arizona earlier last week. the latest win gives him even more momentum heading into super

tuesday, which is only two days away. as you can see, romney captured 38% of the vote. ron paul was second. republican rick santorum, close third. newt gingrich, fourth. >> president obama speaks to the apac conference today. it's the largest jewish lobby in the united states. the president ham come under fire recently for his stance on middle east peace and on iran. we'll have much more on the importance of the president's speech a little later in the program. mass executions in syria. opposition groups saying the syrian military executesed more than 40 soldiers who were trying to detect. meanwhile, the bodies of two journalists killed in a syrian attack arrived in paris overnight. it took more than a week to recover the bodies from inside homs, syria. people are voting across today for president of that country. vladimir putin is expected to win another term as russia's leader. a former president and current prime minister has faced

increasing pressure inside the country since december's parliamentary electrics. questions over that vote were followed by weeks of anti-putin protests. well, here's a rundown of what's ahead at the biggest day yet. the republican race just days away. we have where each candidate stands on the big issues, and conservative radio host rush limbaugh saying is he sorry for his tank attack on a college student. >> a chopper filming a tv show crashes to the ground in what looked to be a tragic disaster has ended in but that. plus, it's been almost a year since japan's earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. how the nation is recovering coming up. when i grow up,

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zoirchlgts millions of people considering right now how they're going to vote. you may be among them. our josh levs is here with an interactive guide to help you decide. >> yeah. good morning to you. good morning, everybody. let's take a look at this map here. i want to set this in context for you. this is our delegate counter that we at cnn.com, and this looks at the states that have voted so far and had caucuses. when you take a look at this, this is a reminder that nobody, even though mitt romney is out in front, no one is even close to getting to the point where they have the kind of delegate count that they would need to get the nomination. i want to encourage you to spend a little time today on cnnpolitics.com. you might be voting on tuesday. it's a chance to stop and learn and think not about the horse race, not about who said what about whom and what comment got flown around, but actual issues and plans, and i'm taking an example of the economy. take a look here. we're going to take you through

a few examples of what the candidates would do on the economy. here's what newt gingrich. we're going after fa betically. a couple of his proposals. to drop the corporate income tax to 12.5% and to move towards an optional flat tax in this country which would be 15%. let's jump over to ron paul now. ron paul has a couple of interesting proposal there's. he is talking about eliminating the fed, the federal reserve. he also wants to return to what's called the gold standard. mitt romney next. he is now calling for -- this is a recent change. an across the board 20% cut of marginal tax rates, as well as he is calling a regular cap of zero dollars for federal agencies. no spending for them that way. finally, rick santorum, talking about lowering tax rates, tripling the deduction for children, and he also wants to lower the corporate flat tax. he wants a flat tax of 17.5%. now, this is a good example. it's a lot of numbers i'm throwing at you, but it's a good idea of why you look at

cnnpolitics.com and look at specific plans. there's also something else that -- it's called project vote smart. it does a similar thing. drills down on where the candidates stand on various issues. i've linked it for you, and everything i just showed you up in my facebook and twitter. joshlevscnn. this is the weekend, gary, for millions of people around the country to educate themselves on where these candidates stand on the issues most important to you. >> josh, good information. we're going to quiz all our viewers later today. >> did you get all that? >> thank you, josh. >> thanks a lot, you got it. rush limbaugh is apologizing to a gojtown law student saying he did not mean to attack her personally. at a congressional hearing last week sandra flut expressed support requiring employers to provide precontraception coverage. rush limbaugh said this on his radio talk show. snoo what does it say about the

college co-ed susan fluke who goes before congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right? a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex. >> well, those remarks drew sharp criticism from the left and from the right. president obama calling fluke to offer his support. in a statement limbaugh said he still disagreed with the policy but acknowledged the controversy saying, "my choice of words was not the best and in the attempt to be humorous i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for the insulting word choices." a robber takes off with the girl scouts cookie money, but he probably never expected what was coming next. that's just ahead. ] [ 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,

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checking stories cross-country. we'll start in arizona where it's hard to believe anyone walked away from this. but they did, and as you see, it was all caught on videotape. a retired military helicopter was filming a chase scene for the korean version of the popular car show "top gear" when it plunged to the ground. the pilot and co-pilot are okay.

they say the chopper's thick exterior saved them. in texas some guys did the unthinkable. they stole $200 from some girl scouts who were selling cookies outside a wall mart. the girls, though, did not give up without a fight. one pursued one of the robbers and slugged them. >> i started hitting the boy that was in the passenger seat, so i think he got, you know, to learn his lesson a little bit. >> that's right. other girl scouts did get slightly hurt when she tried to hold on to the robber's car that kept from getting away. police are now investigating. hats off to the girl scouts of america. great organization. a big welcome back in oklahoma city from 127 national guard troops returning home from afghanistan. overjoyed family members greeted members of the 45th infantry brigade battalion. they had been in afghanistan since last summer. >> saving the beauty of the ocean. one veteran diver seen a major

change under water so he is trying to fix the water, and that's what's made him this week's cnn hero. >> i grew up diving in the florida keys, and it was just the most magical place. the coral reefs were so pretty, and that's what i decided i wanted to do for a living is dive on coral reefs. in a place where there's live corral, there's always more fish. recreational opportunities for millions of people. i was diving for 40 years, and over time i saw those corral reefs start to die. coral reefs are dying everywhere. coastal communities would be bankrupt, tourism would be virtually gone. the billion people in the world would be impacted. i started thinking, you know, how can we fix this problem. >> my name -- protect and restore corral reefs. >> we've developed a system

that's simple and something that we can train others to do. >> we're here with a piece of corral this big, and we hang it on a tree, and after about a year or two, it becomes this big, and then we cut the branches off, and we do it again. >> ken's corral nursery is one of the largest in the wider caribbean. it's ten times larger than the others that are in existence. >> we've literally planted six corrals here, but 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 those corrals and all those fish, so it's like this whole leave is coming back to life, and making a difference is exciting. he is a good man. still to come, residents across the midwest and south come together and vow to rebuild. we'll travel to one of the hardest hit areas. plus, there are perks to being a teacher in buffalo, new

york, like free plastic surgery. that's right. the taxpayers' dime. everybody from lipo to nose jobs. the full story ahead. not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. thanks, honey. yeah. you suck at folding. [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] just one dose of tide original liquid helps remove food stains better than an entire 40 load bottle of the leading liquid bargain brand. that's my tide. what's yours? sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme.

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i predict that i'm going to like the future. because the future is where i'll be serving up humble pie. a la mode. [ male announcer ] at&t introduces the samsung galaxy note. phone. tablet. both. ♪ free plastic surgery for teachers. soupdz bizarre, right? not if you live in buffalo, new york. last year the district spent almost $6 million of taxpayer money on facelifts, breast implants, you name it. meanwhile, the school district is about $42 million in debt. i went there to get the full story. >> reporter: this buffalo plastic surgeon has a lot of happy patients. >> let's just suppose that i was a woman who weighed over 300 pounds and i lost maybe 150 or

160 pounds. >> indeed, that's what happened to buffalo schoolteacher valerie, but it's not just the results that make her happy. it's the sweet deal that she gets. the sweet deal that all the 3,400 teachers in buffalo are eligible to get. under one of their insurance plans options, they're billed nothing for any plastic surgery procedure, such as botox, liposuction, tummy tucks, and there is no deductible. linda teaches second grade and says she gets regular treatments. >> i think it's great for us. i wouldn't want to see it taken away. >> reporter: this doctor has been a plastic surgeon in buffalo for about 40 years. >> i feel that the teachers have paid their dues, and i think it would be wrong to take it away from them. >> reporter: while he does have plenty of non-teacher patients, he does say three out of every ten are buffalo teachers. the school district insurance covers every single penny. >> they will come in, for, like

hair removal and their lips, face. >> do they also come in for liposuction? >> yes. >> breast enhancement? >> yes, they do. >> facelift? >> yes. >> rhino mrasty? >> yes. >> it's busy? >> yes. >> he is one of many plastic surgeons who advertise in, where else, the teachers union newsletter. last year buffalo schools spent $5.9 million in plastic surgery, which is also known as a cosmetic rider. buffalo teachers have had this rider for nearly four decades. >> i've been unable to identify another district that has cosmetic riders for teachers. >> reporter: you might think buffalo's school district would be flush with cash to be offering perks like flea free lastic surgery, right? wrong. the president of the buffalo board of education says is he projecting a $42 million deficit in next year's budget. >> if you had this $5.9 million what would you be doing with it now? >> hiring about 240 teachers. >> you don't have to be a brain surgeon to know that a plastic surgeon or a teacher would like

this policy more than the typical taxpayer, but the teachers will tell you there's a lot more to the story. they say their contract with the city expired nearly a decade ago. the negotiations have failed. they add, they are woefully underpaid. it's quite interesting to hear what the president of the teachers union says about the plastic surgery benefit. >> we've told the district, you know, from the beginning of negotiations six or eight years ago that we're willing to give it up and as long as the district comes back to the table with us and negotiates, it's gone. >> do you feel that as a gesture of good faith the union should say teachers no more free plastic surgery? >> it would be a wonderful gesture of good faith. >> we're willing to give it up. all the district has to do is come to the table and negotiate it with us. >> but you're not willing to do it unilaterally? >> no. >> the fact is that police and firefighters in buffalo have similar plastic surgery programs. those departments are not dealing with the same financial problems as the economically challenged school system. >> everybody works for a living. they should pay their ties and offerings like everybody else.

>> i don't think the taxpayer has to pay for that. not for free, anyway. >> at least for now the policy remains. in a school district with a unique mix of brain and beauty. >> we want to hear from you about this story. should school teachers get free plastic surgery paid for by taxpayers? send me your thoughts. tweet it@gary tuckman cnn. we'll read some of them on the air. stories of survival from the deadly tornadoes. one little girl loses her entire family, but she's found in a field alive. the latest on her condition just ahead. thanks for babysitting the kids, brittany. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive.

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it's 32 minutes past the hour. i'm gary tuckman. thank you for starting your day with us. 37 people are confirmed dead after tornadoes hit several states impacting an estimated 17 million people. marshall guard troops have been deployed to i understand i understand and kentucky. president obama has pledged federal assistance. ohio governor john kasic echoing the sentiments of many of those saying "we're knocked down, but we're not knocked out." one of the hardest hit areas was in southern indiana, seen as athena jones in henriville, indiana, of course, this morning. good morning to you, and what's going on there right now? >> reporter: good morning, gary. well, today officials here tell us that they're going to be play focussed on cleeb-up efforts. there's going to be a lot to clean up. they're also going to be

focussing on trying to get some of the services back in order. we saw electricity workers out last night working on power lines, but, meanwhile, the families here, families who have been affected, are still grappling with their loss, loss of property, injured loved ones. we spoke to one young mother yesterday who lost her home. let's listen to what she had to say. >> we have nothing. our place was completely devastated, and there was nothing left. i mean, everything i have on is not mine. it's been borrowed. probably the worst part was not know if anything my kids and my husband were okay. >> finally, made it to my road and right up my road and found my husband with the debris, and then he told me my kids were okay. i asked the lord if he could take everything from me, but my family. >> and now this woman, her story is not unusual. she said that the lord answered her prayers, and she, in fact, lived in a module ar home and

lived on the street, the one street here in henryville where there was a fatality. her family was blessed. another family about 20 miles southwest of here who also lived in a module ar home, four members of that family were killed. the one remaining survivor, 20-month-old is in lieu ville children's hospital in critical condition. her young mother and father 21 years old, 28 years old and two young siblings were all killed on friday. family and friends of that family spoke with the media. let's listen to what they had to say. >> she was in her car seat upside down. she was found under the rubble. >> now, family friends say that the babcock family has not had

insurance, and there's been a fund set up, the babcock family fund at bank of america that people can donate to to help pay for funeral costs and to put into a trust for angel and they're hoping she recovers. back to you, gary. >> athena, so devastatingly sad. we'll talk to you later this morning. it's now time to check our other top stories. mitt romney won the washington caucuses last night. he carried 38% of the vote versus 25% for second place finisher ron paul. that means romney gets the lion's share of washington state's 40 delegates. president obama speaks to the apac conference today. it is the largest jewish lobbying organization in the united states. the president ham kurnd fire recently for his stance on middle east peace and iran will have much more on apac and the mornings of the president's speech a little later in the show. in washington it seems like there's very little room for

compromise across the aisle. that reality led to a surprise announcement this past week for maine republican senator olympia snow. she's not going run for a fourth term. cnn congressional correspondent dana bash has more on what that means. >> reporter: flashback, september 2009. >> i want to do my job, and our job is to sit here and do it as long as it takes. >> reporter: a frustrated olympia snowe out on a limb working with democrats on health care reform. >> people in this country are rightfully worried as to whether or not we can possibly get this right. >> snowe was the only republican to vote for the president's health care plan ms committee. she ultimately opposed the bill, and was the last republican trying to work across the aisle on the issue. it makes her surprise retirement announcement so telling. >> people deeply frustrated and angry by the inability of elected officials here in washington to get together.

>> the maine republican tells cnn even she can no longer stomach the partisanship. >> it's an all or nothing proposition, and that failure, i think, has really eroded public's confidence about the direction of this country. >> just eight years ago snowe was part of the gang of 14. bipartisan senators trying to unblock judicial nominees. now centrists like snowe are already a rare breed, and five other moderate senators are also leaving this year, including joe lieberman. >> people are sort of pulled apart by this process and end up in worrying camps. >> in recent partisan years snowe's attempts to find -- sometimes angered both parties. in 2007 she challenged the bush iraq policy. >> the administration has not placed the emphasis on the political resolution. it's absolutely essential. >> during the health care battle with democratic negotiators trying to woo her --

>> there is no us in you. >> some liberal democrats lashed out. >> this is the united states of america. this is not the united states of maine. >> after 33 years in congress, snowe knows her departure is a bad omen for the institution she still loves. >> even in the most perilous times facing our country, we couldn't get together. >> snowe says she still sees the need for a vital political center in this country, but she can't see running for another term and spending six more years on an increasingly fruitless effort to get things done in what she calls the lowest common denominator, politics. dana bab, cnn, capitol hill. >> thank you, dana. it's been almost a year since japan faced down a monster quake, a killer tsunami, and a nuclear disaster. ahead, we're taking you inside the crippled fukushima power plant. find out why it's still vulnerable. ♪

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we are one week away from the one-year anniversary from the day that everything changeed in japan. on march 11th, 2011, a powerful earthquake triggered a monster tsunami. a wall of water swept over japan's northeast coast sweeping away everything in its path. this is unbelievable watching that night and that day. nearly 20,000 people died in japan. a teenager shot this video of the water engulfing his town. another young man was clinging to a telephone wire screaming for help. the teen threw down the camera, waded into the water and carried him to safety. after the tsunami hit just one day after it hit i saw the damage it caused firsthand in a city that was nearly erased. this is mina -- japan. about three miles from the pacific ocean. never in my career of covering

natural disasters have i seen a town so utterly pulverized. just completely mowed down. this is not from the earthquake. this is from the tsunami. we know that because this is where the water stopped on its way from the ocean. if you go to the half a mile away from here, a half a mile to the west, there is absolutely no damage whatsoever in the nearby neighborhoods. but here there's nothing left. we see cars. we see trucks. we see motor homes. trees. personal belongings of people all over the place. they come from all over this town of 20,000 people. now, there are still thousands of people unaccounted for. that doesn't mean they're all dead. it doesn't mean they're all hurt. it's hard to keep track of people. the fact is there are still many bodies under this rubble. the tsunami caused japan's worst ever nuclear disaster. it crippled the fukushima diaichii nuclear plant. radiation leaked. 80,000 people had to flee the area.

reporters, including cnn's kem lau were allowed into the stricken plant just last week. >> a year after these reactors at the fukushima nuclear plant exploded in a triple meltdown. reporters were reminded this is still one of the most hazardous places on the planet. we wore head to toe protective gear, full facial respirator and hazmat suits. then we drove up to the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years. >> this is our first look on the ground at the reactors. this is the heart of the nuclear problem in japan. what you are seeing over my shoulder are the reactors. there are four of them. the two that you see over my right shoulder, those are two of the reactors that exploded in the early days of this disaster. when you take a look at the reactors, you can see they have a long way to go. this is a year after this disaster, and you can see that the force of the explosionled those buildings? you can understand how so much

radiation spewed from this point when you are standing here. >> an army of 3,000 workers are now here daily in shifts to control the melted nuclear fuel and contain the further spread of the rays radiation. missed the on site crisis management building at the plant a control center monitors the progress and safety of 24 hours a day. the highest risk we still see is if something goes wrong with the reactor says the plant manager. the plant is in cold shutdown, but the nuclear fuel needs constant cooling, and the situation is far from over. tepco says the plant won't be decommissioned for at least 30 to 40 years. the challenges evident as we drive around the fukushima plant. debris still mangled from the tsunami sits untouched because of radiation concerns. these blue tanks and these larger gray ones hold water contaminated with radiation. tepco is continuously schaleninged with finding more space for the water. work conditions and safety,

while they've improved since the early days of the disaster, remain a constant concern. she's done amazing work over the last year, and so has everybody in our cnn tokyo bureau. a shout out to all of them. an actress killed off the shows desperate housewives sues for wrongful termination. she said it all started over a slap. we'll talk about it next.

. "american idol "has been the gold standard for a successful tv show for more than a decade now, but the singing competition

that's made stars of kelli clarkson, jennifer hudson, carrie underwood has been losing viewers. about five million people have tuned out from last season. joining us now is entertainment jushlist john murray. john, it's nice to have you here been. >> good morning, gary. >> are people starting to, like, just get over this talent contest? >> well, it seems to be the case. folks are tuning out, and surprisingly so now, "the voice" is actually beating it in the ratings. it's not even just beating it in overall ratings, but it's out performing it in key demographics. it seems like folks are bored with "american idol." >> how is "the voice" besting "american idol?" how is that happening, with your expertise? >> i think "the voice" is focused on talent. you don't see the long lines. you don't see the people wearing the costumes who can't sing. if "american idol" wants to survive -- and i really think it's run its course -- it has to get back to the singing. i suggest they do an all-star sing-in. bring all-star season. bring back some of the previous

contestants from the past that didn't win. super-size the prizes and try it again. >> super-size the prizes. sounds very fast food-ish of you, john. meanwhile, on to another topic. on oscar sunday media mogul sean diddy combs wrote this on twitter. he said, "god has blessed me as a producer for the documently "undefeated." then he added this tweet. he said, "god is greatest. thank you, undefeated." he didn't actually win anything, did he? >> he shoour didn't, gary. he went on to say i got to promote my new tv network, and i won an oscar today. you can't win what you're not nominated for. god is great, but he is not going to give you what belongs to somebody else. apparently diddy signed on to be a producer of this new dmrim the documentary "undefeated." it was nominated before he signed on. the announcement came out on february 9th, which was two and a half weeks. he went to support the film. he is trying to bring more visibility to the documentary,

and he is involved in turning the documentary into a feature film. he didn't win an oscar. he kind of misled the public. i understand his excitement about the documentary, but you got to tell the truth, diddy. >> all right. well, the former puff daddy may have puffed it up a little bit. meanwhile, let's move on to actress nicolette sheridan. we were just talking about her $4 million lawsuit against abc's "desperate housewives." what do you know about that situation? >> if you listen to nicolette sheridan, "desperate housewives" sounds more like the rural housewives of beverly hills. now, she's mad because she said she was written out of the script. she is suing for wrongful termination, and she said that the show's crater mark cherry, hit her. now, he said, well, i did hit her, but it wasn't like she is saying. he said i was rehearsing some lines with her. i was giving her an example of how i wanted her to execute one of the parts. now, she claims that he got mad because she didn't like one of the scripts. there was some line in there with a troerchs a beatles song, and so she is saying that because she complained, because he struck her, and because she went to the brass about it,

that's why he wrote her out of the script. she was in court on friday, and there's a report that said she lost her cool during cross-examination when they accused her of embellishing the whole thing. >> is it a desperate lawsuit? stay tuned. right, john murray? >> stay tuned, and her former co-stars will be testifying against her. >> yeah. that will be good television fair in itself. john murray, always good talking to you. thank you very much, okay? >> thanks, gary. >> well, a big speech today for president barack obama. he is speaking to the powerful jewish-american group apac. what impact would this have on his re-election? we'll take a look 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.

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dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. relations with israel and issues with iran highly the president's day today. he is scheduled to speak this morning at apac. a major meeting of the largest jewish-american lobbying group. cmn chief white house correspondent jessica yellin has more on the stakes. >> reporter: as the president prepares for a visit with president benjamin netanyahu and a speech to apac an unexpected outburst at a new york fundraiser. >> change none -- nobody has

announced a war, young lady, so you're jumping the gun a little bit there. >> reporter: the israeli prime minister was less reassuring. >> the warnings that i and others have been giving over the years will materialize unless iran is stopped. >> the president is trying to walk a fine line between voicing full-throated support for israel. yet, playing for time to head off a preemptive israeli strike against iran's nuclear program. told the atlantic's jeffrey goldberg "when i say we're not taking any option off the table, we mean it. that includes a political and economic, diplomatic and military component. as president of the united states, i don't bluff." he added, "we've got israel's back." israeli leaders argue time is one thing they don't have. they say they fear their window to set back iran's nuclear program is rapidly closing. former ambassador dennis ross. >> both sides will want to talk,

i think, about if, in fact, diplomacy gets underway, how much time does one give it? what are the chances of it succeeding? what are the signs that it's moving in the right direction? >> public officials say they want more time. >> i think it's probably smarter for us to be pressing on the sanctions and the negotiations. >> reporter: sabotage has also reportedly set back iran's nuclear program. iran believes israel and the u.s. are behind it. >> we think that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i mean, that's been our counsel to our allies, the israelis. it's well done, well documented. >> reporter: officials here insist the president's relationship with netanyahu is far healthier than their prikley public display. remember when the israeli leader lectured the president in the oval office?

>> i believe that they have a professional relationship. i choose those words deliberately. they have a relationship where they do business together. >> reporter: the president says he does not expect the israeli leader to ask for a u.s. commitment to join any israeli attack against iran. at the same time u.s. officials do not necessarily expect any advance warning if israel does decide to attack. gary. >> jessica, thank you very much. we'll get back to the tornados in just a moment. this morning we're focussing on the survivor stories. as we look for ways to recover their lives in the middle of the debris. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is?

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from cnn center, this is cnn "sunday morning." it's march 4th, 2012. good morning. i'm gary tuckman. we've seen the devastation. now we're finding out more about the people who lived and in some cases died after friday's massive tornado outbreak. washington state's voters, well, they've spoken, but will it

impact the outcome two days from now on super tuesday? in a helicopter crash that was captured on camera, the amazing story of the pilots who walked away is just ahead. 37 people are confirmed dead following a severe weather outbreak that spawned tornadoes in several states. an estimated 17 million people. national forward troops have been deployed to indiana and kentucky. president obama has pledged federal assistance to state officials. ohio governor john kasic echoing the sentiments of many of those affected saying, "we're knocked down, but we're not knocked out." one of the more compelling stories was the discovery of a toddler lost in the tornado. the 20-month-old girl is in critical condition at a louisville, kentucky, hospital. she's surrounded by her extended family, so she's not alone, but her mother, father, and two siblings were killed in the

storm. >> it's very hard that it happened to all of them. >> we've been through a lot. everything. more than anyone can imagine. >> it's just so hard to watch. residents of the ton of west liberty, kentucky, can't believe their eyes after an ef-3 tornado ripped through the town center leaving a trail of debris. our rob marciano is in west liberty. i saw that. this is an undercover situation in west liberty. i'm glad you got out there to take a firsthand look. >> well, it's a tough place to get to. this is a rural community, and as you know, the further east you get in kentucky, closer to the appalachians, the more rugged the terrain gets, and this ef-4 tornado managed to get into morgan county to get across the state of kentucky which, by the way, of the 38 fatalities, 17 in this state. this is the worst hit state

across six counties where these fatalities happen. this is the county seat of morgan county. a rural community where all their business is done in this town and of west liberty and it just got creamed. this is a part of a bank -- basically the mobile teller area. i would say it's probably built in the 1960s. completely decimated. this parking lot is being used as a mobile command center feeding some of the troops and law enforcement workers. beyond this is the main street. this is the first time we've been able to access main street, because they were able to clear enough of the roadway to get larger vehicles, including rescue and repair vehicles, and, you know, our satellite truck. we're able to see now some of the town just totally torn up there beyond main street. you can see the trees, my goodness. i'm just seeing that now as light comes up. how they are splintered in two. here's a municipal building. that's where the city hall is. also the police department. then back here this is the main part of the bank.

the bank itself has been in business for 100 years. the building probably built in the 1960s, but look how torn up that is. especially the corner towards main street. you have cinder blocks. you have reinforced concrete there that's completely torn down. 140-mile-per-hour winds certainly did a heck of a lot of damage to this place. now, this town has been on lockdown because they didn't want residents and business owners coming back until they were able to clear some of the roadways enough and go through the buildings and the homes to make sure that they cleared them, to make sure that everybody was accounted for. they think for the most part that is the case. damage assessments will be done throughout the day. they will finally allow residents and business owners to come into town and to take stock of exactly what happened, and it's been a shocking sight for the few that have gotten back so far. gary. >> those pictures, rob, they look not real, but they're oh so real, oh so sad. rob marciano, we'll talk to you later this morning.

i just returned yesterday myself from covering the storms. i was in harrisburg, illinois, earlier in the week. nashville, tennessee, a couple of days ago. i saw homes reduced to rubble, and entire communities that were obliterated. meteorologist alexandra steele joins me now in for reynolds wolf. the one thing i notice whenever i cover a tornado, but particularly this time, the shock on the victims' faces. those who lost loved ones. those who barely survived. >> the breadth and depth and scope of this outbreak. it may well go down in history as the worst march tornado outbreak on record. there were reported between 94 and 100 tornadoes. the record was 74 tornadoes back in 2006, so that's one way to look at it. also, you know, as a meteorologist, when we have one or two or three tornado warnings, it's a big deal. you know, we break in. we go on the air. tornado warning mean aing tornado has been spotted. to have over 270 tornado warnings out there. so, i mean, look at this.

it's really unbelievable. henryville with an ef-4. tornadoes, how they're lassfied is after the fact between -- there's a scale, of course, the ef-scale, enhanced fujita scale between ef-0 and ef-5. this is an ef-4 meaning brick and mortar, well constructed homes and buildings, cars, trains, tossed about. now, here the national weather service has to go in, assess the damage, so between 94 and 100 tornadoes reported. now, that number 345i go down, but the national weather service has to go out and survey the damage. that's how the kale is done on the damage level. it all coordinates to the damage scale. the severity and kind of the level of the tornado. >> it was really intense. it's just the beginning of the season. i mean, spring is the height of the tornado season, and we're still three weeks away from the official beginning of spring time. >> that's right. of course, may being the peak. april, may, june. now, we're in march. this year climatologically it's been a little off. it's been very warm in the south, so all that moist, humid air from the gulf of mexico was there, was available.

ingredient number one. this cold front that was pretty poet ebt coming down with some cold air, and then a robust jet stream at about 150-mile-per-hour jet stream. kind of all the ingredients came together for really the perfect scenario of destruction. >> thank you very much. >> sure. it's time to move on to politics. president obama speaks to the apac conference today. it's the largest jewish lobbying organization in the united states. the president is under fire from the republican candidates for his stance on middle east peace and on iran. meanwhile, mitt romney has added to his winning streak by capturing yesterday's washington state caucuses. he won michigan and arizona earlier last week. this latest win gives him even more momentum heading into super tuesday this week, two days from now. as you can see on our chart here, romney captured 38% of the vote. ron paul was second. rick santorum a close third. what does that all mean? super tuesday coming up next. here are the numbers.

ten states. that's one-fifth of the united states. more than 400 delegates, and that is more than 30% of the delegates needed for the nomination. joining me now patricia murphy. she's the founder of citizen jane politics and a contributor for "the daily beast." patricia, thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> so here in georgia, this is the biggest prize on super tuesday. >> yes. 76 delegates. >> obviously, newt gingrich has to win here to stay in the race. >> georgia is everything for newt gingrich. >> there's no way he can be a credible candidate for president if he doesn't win here, but he needs to show strength in other states. you can't just win in your own backyard and say i can be president. he has racked up several losses in several contests, so he needs to win georgia, come in second in a lot of states, and it wouldn't hurt to win a couple other states as well. you can't say you're electable if you don't win elections. >> what does rick santorum have to do? i mean, he -- all the momentum. only won three contests in the

upper midwest, colorado. then you have mitt romney come back, and he has gotten momentum now. what does santorum have to do two days from now? >> let's say one word. ohio. ohio has become the litmus test. >> they always become a litmus test. >> isn't always like the new florida? >> with colder weather. yeah. yeah. >> too bad. but these -- all the republicans are really gunning for ohio because it is a huge swing state, as we know. it also is a great -- an important combination of values voters, christian conservatives. it's midwestern. they're in the rust belt. this is a place where all these candidates want to show strength with all these different segments. if he can win ohio, he can legitimately say there is a group of republicans who are strong for me. i am strong for them. this contest will go. he wants to make this a two-man race. he wants gingrich out of the way, by the way. >> gingrich still wants the two-man race, too. >> he wants to be the other piece of the two-man race. for romney this is a chance to

start to close the door on these other candidates. he has been able to rack up one, two, three, four, five wins in a re now. if he can do well on super tuesday, he can say give it up, people. i'm going to be the nominee. let's just move forward so he can start to convince doneors and start to convince the party establishment. yes, i am electable. yes, republicans do support me. super tuesday is essential for that. >> meebl, patricia, were you surprised that senator columbia snowe decided not to run for re-election? >> i was surprised if that she has been in this difficult situation for many, many years. when i say difficult, it is tough to be a moderate in washington. it doesn't matter if you are a democratic or republican. >> a little easier to be a moderate democrat than a moderate republican in this day and age, right? >> not really. you tend to lose elections if you are a moderate democrat. in 2010 we saw the majority of the moderate democratic caucus not electriced, so it's tough either way. you're either going to quit or get dumped by your voters because these parties have become so polarized. snowe has been in this situation for a long time, but she just

turned 65, and she told her constituents, i'm exhausted of this. washington is more polarized than ever, and she had to look ahead at the next six years and say what am i really going to get done? is it worth the sacrifices i make in my own life to get almost nothing done in washington, which is what it feels like for these moderates. you don't have an impact. if you do, your own party is going to come after you, and that's what she experienced. she hoped to move the health care bill towards final passage and brought it out of committee. she was a crucial vote for it. republicans anile ated her. she was ost are a sized from the caucus in a lot of ways, and i think at the end of the day she just said this is just not worth it. >> patricia murphy, thank you for some super sunday of nalgsz. >> thank you. >> leading up to super tuesday. >> nice seeing you. >> nice seeing you too. thank you. >> thanks. another one far from away the united states in russia where vladimir putinin is looking to return to the presidency. we're live in moscow next. no. it's truck month! no. it's truck month! no.

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the people of russia are making their presidential choice today. here's prime minister vladimir putin voting today. he is the favorite to win the election. remember, putin was president for more than a decade before stepping aside and taking the prime minister job. joining me now from moscow is cnn foreign affairs correspondent joe dougherty. she's back in the city where she served to well in our moscow bureau for so many years. is there any real threat to putin winning today? >> you would have to say no. i mean, his ratings, his

popularity, they're very high, and the question is really will he win in this first round where you have to get 50% of the vote plus, or will it go to a second round run-off, but even if it went to a run-off, he would definitely win, or at least that is the consensus. very little question. i think it's interesting that, you know, you have a lot of people now much more motivated about politics and about voting, and that's something new. >> now, jill, are we going to see the same kinds of protests we saw after the parliamentary elections in december? one thing about putin, you are saying yourself, he is popular, but it seems like he was much more popular months ago. a year ago. two years ago. a lot of people believed he brought back russians' pride. you brought back protests. are we iffing to see more protests today? >> you definitely are going to see more protests. in fact, they've gotten permission from the city of moscow to hold them, and they're planning on having quite large

demonstrations. that i think is one of the most interesting questions. you know, will those demonstrations continue even if vladimir putin you does win because that's the essential question. the people who are going out on the streets and there are many scenarios. they could continue. they could be perhaps very angry that vladimir putin wins, or they could just kind of throw up their hands and say, well, that's life. i guess we'll go home. or you could have a scenario where they continue to stay out there on the streets. nobody really knows, and one of the questions is what will vladimir putin and his government do after the election? would they crack down? would they let it continue? or would they just ignore it? there are a lot of scenarios. i think you would have to say those demonstrations will continue. >> that was a funny sign we just saw in the video, jill. it said "2010 put-in. 2012 put-out."

it doesn't look like put will be out. it looks like put will be in. nice seeing you. >> new orleans saints players are being called out now for intentionally trying to hurt their opponents all to collect cash. it's really outrageous. is this common in the nfl? we'll find out next. [ man ] predicting the future is hard. but i have this new smartphone. and now i can see everything more clearly. ♪ i can organize the analysis. sort through all the data. maybe even rattle some cages.

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recent revelation has shaken the national football league like no other scandal in recent years. an investigation has found that the new orleans saints were actually rewarding some of their players for hurting players on the other team. around $1,000 for knocking a guy out of the game. one player, jonathan vilma, who

you see here, allegedly offering $10,000 for anyone who injured then vikings quarterback brett favre. joining me now is the former linebacker for the atlanta falcons and buffalo bills. thank for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> thanks for having me. does this come as a surprise to you from your days in the game? did you hear coaches say i'll give you money if you take out a player? >>. >> i had the privilege of playing for greg williams. >> he was allegedly in charge of this plot, right? >> you know, he was one of my favorite coaches of all time. still is to this day. great motivator. a great leader. >> did he get carried away? yes. what he did was wrong. he admits that now. all the players who bought into that men tamt of maliciousness were -- now that we know what goes on with brain trauma, it's pertinent that we put an end to this type of behavior. >> i'm a huge football fan.

that's a whole other story. i don't mean to be naive about it. i would think players would joke with each other about this and put up bets, but to have a member of the coaching staff say to the players, i'm going to give you extra money. you're going to get extra money for knocking a player out of the game, for impairing his health, for possibly hurting them forever, that seems totally outrageous in its face. >> this is a classic case of group think. group think and psychology is a term describing a group of people that come back to do bad, irrationale things. individuals would see and assess that same situation as being bad and wrong. it's what happens in cults. you get caught up in the moment and the heat of the battle, and in a sport like football, it's an uber-competitive sport, and the chase -- the pursuit of the elusive lombardi trophy sometimes causes guys to lose their heads a bit, and, you know, that's what makes this game exciting. it's the will to win and the

guys who are willing to do anything to go out there and succeed. >> yeah, but you can win without doing stuff like this. this is my next question. do you think that other teams, also have coaches that are paying players to hurt other players? >> i hope not. i think that now -- >> in your days for the bills? in your days with the falcons, did you ever hear a coach say i'll give you money if you knock a player out of the game? >> that was the unique experience that i had with that, and i realize that afterwards when i had other coaches that that wasn't the morm. that's not how things were in the nfl. you know, so i think that the fault was admitted, and i respect coach greg williams even more now for standing up and admitting his faults and taking ownership of his mistakes that he has made, and this is going to be a great moment for us because it puts player safety and health issues being such a hot button right now, it furthers the point that we really need to look out for our fellow teammates and the players of this game and the future of our game because there are kids out there who are watching this sort of attitude and this maliciousness, this attitude that is harmful, and you can

still play the game of football competitively with viciousness. it can be a violent game and an exciting game for fans, but we can still do it with respect for others. we can do it with integrity and with good old-fashioned sportsmanship, and i think that's the direction we need to go. >> you guys are our kids' role models, and you all have to keep that in mind. tell your friends who are on the field right now that that's how we all feel. thanks for your smart words. really appreciate it. >> startling images of a helicopter crash in arizona. >> oh, my god. >> we'll have details on the men inside that chopper next. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian, and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back.

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in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, 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. free plastic surgery for teachers. that's the case for all teachers. they all qualify for it in buffalo, new york. for the last four decades they've been getting the hollywood star treatment on the taxpayers' dime. last year the district spent almost $6 million on facelifts, breast implants, a lot of nip and tucks. earlier we asked you if you thought school teachers should get free plastic surgery paid for by taxpayers, and most of you have been sounding off against the idea. roderick tweeted us, "teachers

getting free plastic surgery is just crazy. it's a teaching job, not a beauty contest." and michelle says, owe i think this is wrong. funds from school districts should be used to teach." so what do you think? share your thoughts with me on twitter@gary tuckman cnn, and we will read them on the air a little later. checking our top stories. at least 37 people are dead after friday's tornado outbreak in the south and in the midwest. amid scenes of destruction, many state and local officials are vowing to rebuild. the national guard is now on the ground assisting residents of kentucky and in indiana. a helicopter pilot and his crewmember walked away from this. >> oh, my god. >> the men say the helicopter's exterior had saved their lives. they were filming an episode of "the car show "top gear korea." initial reports suggest a mechanical malfunction led to the crash. the incident is still under investigation. mitt romney has come under fire on t