this morning, direct hit. >> one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks of all-time, tearing through heart of the south. winds up to 200 miles per hour. town after town, torn apart. sirens sound overnight in alabama and georgia, as weather watches are now in effect for major cities on the eastern seaboard. this morning, direct hit. >> one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks of all-time, tearing through the heart of the south. >> well, good morning. a huge swath of the south is now a villain of death and struction now. >> it borders on historic. these are late-breaking developments right now. at least 82 people are dead.

that is expected to rise. deaths most of the deaths occurred in alabama, where the president declared a disaster area, even before the storms were over. hundreds of thousands, right now, still without power. >> that's right. just incredible video here. one of the giant twisters rampaged through tuscaloosa, alabama. just listen to the power. looks like a scene from a movie there. we'll be hearing from another photographer who got up close and personal with this tornado, in just a moment. >> unbelievable. well, the full scope of this tragedy will not be known until well after day break. we begin our coverage, now, with emily schmidt. >> that is something that you pray that you never, ever, ever see. >> reporter: all night, across the south, people looked up, looked out for tornadoes. this one, in tuscaloosa. >> goodness, look at that. >> that is huge. >> repved. s it arrived. and after it left. >> it looks like we got hit by,

you know, 5,000-pound bomb here. >> reporter: tuscaloosa's mayor says the city's infrastructure is decimated. at least a dozen killed, 100 injured. here, a young girl survived. there are more than 140 tornado reports, from mississippi to maryland. >> that was the front of the house. >> reporter: the worst damage so far is in alabama, where at least 60 people died. and president obama has declared an emergency. >> before it hit, there was branches falling out of the sky before we even knew the tornado was coming. >> reporter: nearly all the town landmarks in smithville, mississippi, are gone. there were only moments to run. here's what the mayor did. >> we grabbed personal belongings. we went into the board room and got under the board table. when it was over with, everything was gone. >> reporter: now, there are more problems, like in poplar bluff,

missouri. it was flooding, now hail. making people wonder when it's safe to say these storms have truly passed. the american red cross ceo says half of the nation's states have been activated for disaster response all at the same time. she says this pace is nearly unprecedented. rob and peggy? >> heartbreaking to see that destruction. emily schmidt, thanks for reporting this morning. and we talked to the man who shot some of the tornado hitting his city. >> chris works at the university of alabama. >> it was surreal. you see things like that on on movies and on tv. but you never expect to see anything like that, you know, live in person. my boss and i were inside coleman coliseum, our basketball arena here on the university of alabama. it's a safe place. but the power went out. and we had no clue what was going on. so, we went up to the third floor where you could see out,

in our parking lot, going towards the hospital there. as soon as we stepped up, we saw this massive, huge, mile-wide tornado. and we didn't know where it was going. we didn't know if it was coming towards us or away from us or what. i could feel the pressure. and i felt like the windows were kind of doing some things they shouldn't do. and i just realized it's time to get out of there. and that's what i did. >> can you imagine seeing that right in front of your own eyes? the severe weather, unfortunately, is far from over. >> meteorologist adrian via has more on the track of this severe weather. >> thank you, rob and peggy. and we are continuing to track the storm system, where the storm path turned deadly across the deep south. and we are watching this system. the threat for tornados will be winding down as it translates further eastward. flash flooding does a remain a threat. and the flooding does continue across the ohio river valley.

some places have been inundated with two, three inches of rain. even looking for thunderstorms to rumble through new york city, the whole way down to jacksonville, florida. rob and peggy, back to you. >> thank you for that. we will have complete coverage of all of the severe weather now sweeping the south, coming up later today on "good morning america." president obama says he would like to put questions of his citizenship to rest. but that did not stop him from using the controversy for laughs at a fund-raiser last night in ne >> my name's barack obama. [ cheers ] i was born in hawaii. >> getting the last laugh there. president obama has formally requested certified copies of his original birth certificate, something in a hawaii state law normally prohibits. mr. obama made light of the controversy again during a taping of "the oprah winfrey show." >> they have confirmed again -- >> once again. >> that you were born in the

united states. >> can i just say, i was there. i, too -- i knew i had been born there. i remembered it. [ laughter ] >> of course, you did. >> now, that episode will air on monday. >> it will. oprah winds down her season. the controversy is not likely to end there. some of the fringe of all this still question the official birth certificate. and they're questioning the president's social security number, as well as his recordmic record. also, the president is being confronted with a major security challenge in afghanistan, following the massacre there of nine americans. eight service members and a contractor were shot execution-style at the kabul airport by an afghan officer. the officer's family said he was depressed and under financial pressure but had no connection to the taliban. our martha raddatz says many military members have e-mailed her saying, what are we fighting for? congresswoman gabby giffords weeks up in florida this morning. she is there to see the launch

of the shuttle "endeavour," that her husband, mark kelly, will be commanding. it is the first time that she is not in a hospital since she was wounded in a shooting back in january. >> amazing recovery continues. coming up next after the break, what to name your kids to help them be successful in business or in sports. also, britain's happy couple releases a statement overnight. we're live in london with their message to the world. and of course, we'll have more of our breaking coverage on this thursday morning. deadly, southern tornados with more danger expected today. stay with us. abch@ @am@closed u

the government releases a snapshot of the economy's health this morning. it's expected to show that 2011 got off to a sluggish start, with a slim 1.9% growth rate from january to march. but economists believe this quarter will be better. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke agrees. at the first press conference in the history of the central bank, he said the economic recovery is picking up again. bernanke also said that the risk of inflation is low. and that the spike in gas prices, thankfully, will be short-term. we'll see if he's right. also, fresh evidence that the recent gains in hiring are widespread. new numbers show unemployment rates fell in 317 cities last month, compared to a year ago. that's the most cities since the recession ended officially in june of 2009. well, bernanke's comments and the improving outlook for the u.s. economy are now lifting most overseas markets this morning.

tokyo's nikkei average jumped 1.6% today. hong kong's hang seng is lower. and in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow climbed 95 points yesterday. and the nasdaq gained 22 points. well, if you've been holding out for the white iphone, today's your day. the device goes on sale after nearly a year of delays. it was introduced at the same time that the block iphone 4. but manufacturing problems have kept it out of stores. it will be available on at&t and verizon wireless. how about this? can your name determine how well you do in business? maybe so. for men, peter, jack and bob are the most common names for ceos. for women, it is deborah and sally. when it comes to sales, the most popular men's name is chip.e th. we like that. >> peggy and rob, no. no luck for us. >> not on that list. >> a whole different list. all right. coming up next on your thursday,

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welcome back. recapping our breaking story this morning. a massive loss of life overnight as a destructive line of storms battered the deep south. at least 82 people were killed. most of them, by a powerful, mile-wide tornado that left part of tuscaloosa, alabama, looking like a war zone. and the death toll is expected to go up as the sun comes out this morning. president obama has declared a state of emergency. and it's not over yet. the stormy weather is moving up the east coast. drenching rain from the severe storms is making far nasty morning commute. flooding on i-90 from new york ille. jacksonville.

i-70 and i-80 between chicago and cleveland. wet on i-5, between chicago and portland. snow-covered on i-94 in the cascades. >> if you're planning on flying today, airport delays are possible in boston, new york, philadelphia, d.c., charlotte and miami and chicago. that weather is an issue. >> just unreal. turning overseas where the final countdown is under way for the big day.e the royal couple the ro they have been incredibly moved by the affection showed to them since their engagement. >> the message came in their official wedding program, which was just released. simon mcgregor-wood is joining us from london with more this morning. good morning, simon. >> reporter: good morning, guys, from a gray and chilly london town, where we have just over 24 hours to go before the big day. through a side entrance of westminster abbey last night, kate middleton, prince william and prince harry, one final and very private rehearsal before the big day. the order of the wedding service was published this morning in a

souvenir official program. >> it's an astonishing story. >> reporter: the bride-to-be is spending her last day as a commoner with her family at the goring hotel, ahead of a ding de prewedding dinner tonight. prince william will spend his last night as a bachelor at clarence house, where he will have a quiet dinner with his father, prince charles, brother, harry, and stepmother, camilla. some have been staking out prime real estate near the historic abbey and buckingham palace for days. >> it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> want to enjoy in the atmosphere. >> reporter: the atmosphere is building to fever pitch. wednesday's full rehearsal was complete with horseback trumpet players. fly-overs by the royal air force. and in pre-dawn quiet, all the

queen's horses and all the queen's men. beside the towers, rees were brought in to decorate the 100-year-old abbey. >> very happy. >> i think it will be a historical moment. >> reporter: the historic marriage of the young couple, who will one day be the king and queen of england. a real sense of growing excitement here today. there are literally hundreds of people now camped out in the street behind me. with all eyes, now, turning to the weather. and it doesn't look great. forecasters are predicting a 70% chance of rain on will and kate's big day. rob? peggy? >> what would be tragic about that is they will have the enclosed carriage instead of the open carriage. we have to ask you, simon. are there any signs that the young couple has last-minute nerves? >> reporter: unbelievably, apparently not. look at that guy on the motor bike, prince william, returning to clarence house late last night after playing soccer with

his friends down in the park for two hours. so, no signs of nerves for prince william, for sure. rob and peggy, thank you. >> staying calm. that's an encouraging sign. abc's simon mcgregor-wood. thanks, simon. you can join our team of diane sawyer and barbara walters on "good morning america" later today. and tomorrow morning for the big event. set your alarm clocks early. 4:00 a.m. eastern time our live coverage begins. something of a bizarre encounter you could say involving paris hilton. yesterday, a man suddenly lunged at both of them. and one of hilton's security guards took the man down. he had been arrested last fall after showing up at hilton's gated community. ironically, hilton was going to court to testify against another man who broke into her house. the nfl is reviewing a judge's decision that came down late last night. the judge declined the owners' request to reinstate the

lockout. it's up to a higher court to decide. the legal wrangling is taking place as the nfl draft is set to begin later tonight. that was tom durkin's voice you may have heard over the triple crown in the last decade. durkin is stepping down because of the anxiety the major races cause him. he says he's tried everything and he just can't do it anymore. well, the atlanta hawks, l.a. lakers and dallas mavericks can wrap up their current nba playoff series with wins tonight. as for last night's action, the highlights, now, from espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. a great day of playoff action. we start in the nba. zach randolph and the grizzlies, looking to finish off the spurs. manu ginobili, with the loose ball. fading away out of bounds. sticks the long ball. or does he? take a look. foot on the line. so, it's actually a two. and the spurs trail by one.

under two seconds to go, gary neal taking care of the rest. sticks the long ball there. we're headed to overtime. tony parker hits that "j" right there. the spurs go on to win 110-103. they trail 3-2 games in the series. bruins hosting the canadiens. this is game seven, as well. canadiens on the powerplay, down 3-2. p.k. subban, gets past tim thomas. we're tied at 3-3. under 15 minutes left in overtime. nathan horton with the slap shot beats carey price. the bruins win 4-3. their next opponent, the philadelphia flyers. and that is your espn news update. i'm don bell. coming up next, the president reshuffles his staff. and is expected to make a major announcement later today. and good news overnight, one month after a baseball fan was beaten into a coma. [ woman ] i had this deep, radiating pain everywhere...

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from the gulf coast to new england, with many rivers still rising at record rates. people facing historic flooding are now scrambling to pile up sandbags and get to higher ground. and swollen rivers are not expected to start receding until the middle of the week. today, the president is expected to make a major announcement. he is expected to announce leon panetta as the next secretary of defense. he is scheduled to announce that david petraeus will replace panetta as head of the cia. and it was one month ago today, that bryan stow was beaten outside of dodger stadium in l.a. doctors have reduced the medication that's keeping him in a medically-induced coma. and prince william and kate middleton are spending a final night as singles with their respective families. william will be at his father's residents while kate will be at a london hotel. for some of you, now, your local news is coming up next. >> and for everyone else, the young prince william and the

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♪ activ >> next on abc news. breaking news in almeda county. sheriff deputies are investigating a fatal shooting involving one of their own. we'll have the latest. less than 24 hours until what is called the wedding of the century. what happens between today and i do . i like it. >> and the sunshine is and breezes will make things tough today. and and finally this morning, just one day away. of course, we've learned a lot about prince william and kate

middleton, as their marriage approaches. >> one part of william's early life was a big secret until now. bill weir reports on his summer here in the states. >> reporter: it was the summer of '92. charles and diana's crumbling marriage was under intense scrutiny in london. so, they arranged a secret vacation for william, slipping him out of england, to the e.r. bar tell dude ranch in montana. >> he was wearing a baseball cap, much like he saw his mother do. >> reporter: paul was a 21-year-old ranch hand on summer break from yale. >> i think quickly he got a sense that this was a safe place. this was a place where nobody was going to be chasing him or his family around. >> reporter: before long, an average, 10-year-old boy emerged, pretending to be a cowboy, bobbing for apples. and enjoying cucumber

sandwiches. he goaded his new friend into executing a mild form of western justice. >> he decides to be a smartmouth. the right thing to do at the time was to hang him up in a tree by his shorts and spray him with a hose. >> reporter: did it occur to you at any moment that i'm spray sp the future king of england. >> it did occur to me. >> reporter: and he was loving every second. >> he was. all the people at the ranch have kept this a secret for 20 years. our priority was this boy's privacy and this boy's happiness. i've gone back to all them and made sure it was okay to come out and do this now because i think it's an important message that he was at his best when he had the comfort and safety and a place of his own to be himself. >> and only to get more intense.