>> mitchell: tonight, communities across the south struggle to cope in the wake of the deadly tornadoes that killed more than 340 people. the largest tornado death toll in 86 years. i'm russ mitchell. also tonight, the new royal couple puts off its honeymoon for now in favor of a quiet weekend as official photos give a behind-the-scenes look at william and catherine's big day. kicking the habit-- disturbing pictures of very young smokers helped shock china into imposing an indoor smoking ban. and how a los angeles county horse ranch is helping youngsters find a safe haven from gangs. >> when you want to fight, you just talk to your horse. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news"

with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: three days after the tornadoes that swept through the south, the full extent of the destruction is still emerging. let's take a look at the latest. the death toll has risen to at least 342 people in seven states. at least 1,700 people are injured, and at least 477,000 customers are without power across the region. satellite imagery shows tuscaloosa, alabama, before the tornado, and after, with the storm's path cutting a long slash across the city. right in the middle of the path is the corner of 15th and mcdougall before, and after. that's where our dean reynolds is tonight. dean, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, russ. well, the people of alabama and the deep south in general are trying to get back on their feet this weekend, but as the mayor of tuscaloosa just told us, this is going to be a very slow and arduous process. >> what's wrong? >> reporter: mayor walter maddox dropped by a relief station to

assure victims help is on the way, but, unfortunately, he expects more bad news and a higher death count. >> i do expect it to rise. i'm hopeful that it won't. >> reporter: more than 1,000 people have been injured in tuscaloosa, and the mayor says emergency workers expect that number to rise, too. >> they believe that number is even higher. many of those that were treated for injuries never got reported into the system. >> reporter: suzanne horsley works for the red cross. does this break your heart? >> this has been horrible, i live here. >> reporter: she and a host of volunteers are running one shelter filled with the suddenly homeless, providing medical treatment, food, and a roof. >> the first night we had almost 500. so gradually, they're finding other places to stay or people to stay with. but right now, these are people who have lost everything. >> reporter: people like dinah clancy, a grandmother who now lives here at the shelter because her home a few miles

away was pulverized by the tornado. dinah beds down each night right next to 20 members of her family who lost their homes, too. is everybody homeless? >> yes, we lost... everybody lost their house. >> reporter: alabama football coach nick saban paid a visit to the shelter this weekend and attempted to lift the spirits. and while everyone is dogged by an obvious question, they mostly had hopeful responses. what are you going to do? >> well, we're taking it one day at a time, but i know we're going to make it. >> reporter: that's exactly what we heard over and over in the midst of this tragedy that disfigured the landscape, stunned the survivors, and killed close to 250 people in alabama alone. now, there is plenty of help available here now. in fact, the mayor told us they have too many volunteers. but they can only do so much. and none of them can perform miracles. russ. >> mitchell: dean reynolds in tuscaloosa, alabama, thank you very much. now let's go across the state

line to the town of smithville, mississippi, which is also still digging out from the storm tonight. the town of 900 was hit by a tornado packing winds of more than 200 miles per hour. 15 residents were killed. elaine quijano is in smithville tonight with the very latest. elaine, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening to you russ. well, of all the towns hit by deadly tornadoes this week, smithville, mississippi, was decimated by the most powerful kind, an ef-5 tornado, and the police chief here, darwin hathcock, told us he was caught directly in its path. >> it was just like a monster coming and i'm just thinking there's no way any of us are going to survive this because it was huge. >> reporter: smithville, mississippi, police chief darwin hathcock scrambled to take cover inside the police station and remembers looking up just as the giant storm passed. >> we could actually see the tornado still, like, right up over us. >> reporter: what did it look like? >> it was just like a lot of

dust and a rotation and quiet looking. >> reporter: in less than 60 seconds, the tornado had destroyed half the homes in town and 14 of the town's 16 businesses. it was the strongest tornado to hit mississippi in more than 50 years. >> we've lost our whole town. we've lost everything we've ever known. >> reporter: the tornado ripped houses from their cement foundations, obliterated large appliances and toppled giant oak trees. damage so severe the national weather service gave the storm its highest rating. >> an ef-5 tornado is extremely violent, incredible destruction, winds greater than 200 miles per hour. it's the top of the list. >> reporter: chief hathcock is in shock. he knew all of the victims. did you ever imagine a tornado could do all of this damage? >> never. i have a new respect for tornadoes. >> reporter: and for the mayor of this small town, the destruction is overwhelming.

>> i'll be right honest with you, i cried like a baby. we've shown we're resilient. we're going to be resilient. we're going to build back. >> reporter: and here in smithville, people who survived, believe they were spared for a reason, and they're now determined to rebuild the community that they love. russ. >> mitchell: more incredible images. elaine quijano in smithville, mississippi, thank you very much. there is late-breaking news tonight in the battle for libya. a libyan government spokesperson says moammar qaddafi's youngest sonni has been killed by a nato missile strike on one of qaddafi's homes. three of qaddafi's grandchildren are also reported dead. qaddafi himself was also in the home but the spokesperson says he was unharmed. here's wha here is what else is happening. the white house is defending itself of charges of hypocrisy from republicans in the wake of a new campaign contribution controversy. >> folks in washington have made our condition go from bad to worse... >> reporter: limitless political contributions from secret donors, the kind that fund nasty attack ads, is a practice

president obama has repeatedly railed against. >> just flooding the airwaves with negative ads, and they don't have the courage to stand up and disclose the identity of the donors. >> reporter: but two former obama white house aides are now trying to "level the playing field." their goal: $100 million. they've created priorities u.s.a., a democratic group that will raise money from unnamed sources. >> the extreme right is aptly named. >> reporter: their attack ads, already playing online, hope to counter conservative money machine american crossroads, a group affiliated with republican strategist karl rove. crossroads' goal is to raise $120 million for the 2012 election. >> why are democrats shutting down state capitals? >> reporter: in response to the democrat's move, american crossroads called it "brazen hypocrisy," and "how cynical this president can be when it comes to perpetuating it's own power." it was a controversial supreme court decision last year that opened the door to unlimited and anonymous contributions.

>> most americans would like politics not filled with secret cash and the constant chase for big campaign checks but we have to be realistic. any candidate running for the presidency is going to use the laws that they have not the laws as they wish they were. >> reporter: the white house is defending itself, saying it can't control outside groups and that the president still believes disclosure in campaign contributions is vitally important. whit johnson, cbs news, the white house. >> mitchell: and now to the new royal couple. there was some surprising news from buckingham palace today. take a look. here are the official wedding pictures released by the palace this morning. it has been a busy first full day of marriage for the new duke and duchess of cambridge. barry petersen takes a look and gives us a glimpse of what's ahead. >> reporter: when they took a morning stroll around buckingham palace, everyone thought they were on the way to their honeymoon. not so. it was announced that they would take only a weekend off, and so

they left by helicopter for some place in great britain with the honeymoon overseas now set for some future date. the most modern of the new royals apparently has another modern side-- a 21st century workaholic. he'll be back on base next week flying as a royal air force search-and-rescue pilot. but their new life will incorporate some long-standing royal responsibilities to charity. william supports the tusk trust, which works to preserve animal habitat and sustainable community development in africa. a charity that got another royal boost when its founder got an invite to yesterday's big event. >> william and kate are only too delighted that their charity should benefit in this way from the profile of the wedding. >> reporter: other wedding guests were also from charities, supported by william. including claire and alex van straubenzee. they raised money for schools in uganda in memory of their son who was killed in a car crash.

a young man william and prince harry knew from childhood. >> they've got a genuine feel for the charities. >> reporter: the prince and princess have duties in addition to their charities. their first official visit will be to canada in june, and there are rumors they might make a brief stop in the united states so americans get a chance to see them up close and personal. one of the few who shared their first married moments was official photographer hugh burnand. >> i like the gentleness of the way one hand is resting on the other and they're connected and standing right side by side. and i think that has something to do with how they are. they're very much a couple. >> reporter: their life is now a balancing act-- one part public that will always come with the royal job. but they are already asking the press to respect their privacy so they can be like any other set of newlyweds, so they have time alone to start their new lives together.

barry petersen, cbs news, london. >> mitchell: and still ahead on tonight's cbs evening news, is enough being done to keep guns out of the hand of the mentally ill?

>> mitchell: in pittsburgh, national rifle association chief wayne lapierre called it at his group's annual meeting for attorney general eric hold tore quit over the so-called gun locker scandal an a.t.f. sting. outside, protesters urged the n.r.a. to help close loopholes. in another gun control debate, despite a federal law that bars the mentally ill from buying guns, a patch work of state laws enables hundreds of thousands of them to evade an f.b.i. database. >> i do miss him.

>> reporter: seven years ago jeff mim's brother, tony, a veterans police officer in athens, alabama, was killed by a man who twice been committed to mental hospitals. >> send me the police now. that man, farron barksdale, called 911 asking to speak to police. >> what's your name? >> send a cop over. >> reporter: when two police officers were sent over, mim, and sergeant larry russell, barksdale waiting in ambush killed both with an assault rifle, calmly laid down in his yard, and then smiled as he was arrested. should he have had that rifle? >> oh, no, no. >> reporter: should he have been stopped with a background check? >> with all his history, he should have been in the database. >> reporter: federal law going back 43 years requires that anyone judged to be a mental defective gets reported into a federal database which should stop them from buying a weapon in and an instant background check. but farron barksdale was never reported to the database.

neither was the virginia tech shooter seung-hui cho. and after the shooting of congresswoman gabrielle giffords, by a suspect thought to be delusional but never diagnosed, the loopholes in the database system were supposed to be closed. it hasn't happened. >> people that are dangerously mentally ill are buying guns in this country and i guarantee you some of them are using those guns. >> reporter: a cbs news survey shows nine states still report no mental health judgments into the system at all. at least 17 other state restrict the reporting of the mentally ill. in fact, reporting is so low nationwide, gun control advocates estimate only 10% of the mentally ill are barred from buying weapons. the problem with reporting comes from differences in state law. in some states, privacy laws prohibit it. other states see the database itself as unfair. the argument is not everyone judged to be mentally ill is also violent.

>> i think it's too broad. >> reporter: in alabama, state senator gerald dial believes nonviolent mentally ill patients should not lose the right to bear arms. under a law he cosponsored, the state can only report the mentally ill, who also pose a threat to use firearms inappropriately. do you recognize that under your language, barksdale would not have been reported. >> we know that and you just can't make a law that fits every situation. >> reporter: to the family of officer tony mims', farron barksdale's loophole should have been closed. >> we think that parents should not bury their children. everyone in the family was affected terribly, terribly. >> reporter: after every one of these mindless tragedies, their rises a bipartisan national consensus to stop the criminally insane from owning guns. the reality is mentally ill people buy weapons every day walking through the gaps in state law. wyatt andrews, cbs news, athens, alabama.

>> mitchell: u.s. military officials in iraq say an american soldier has been killed during operations in the south. that brings the u.s. death toll in iraq for april to 11. that is the highest since 11 troops were killed in november of 2009. and just ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," the under-aged smokers who helped fuel an indoor smoking ban in china. china.

>> mitchell: a ban on smoking in public places takes effect tomorrow in china where there are more smokers than anywhere else in the world. but despite alarming pictures of youngsters happily puffing away, the ban is expected to be widely ignored. celia hatton has more. >> reporter: this amateur video showing some of the tobacco industry's newest recruits, shocked people across china. the boys' identities are unknown, but alarm over their bad habits fueled china's drive to get the country's 300 million smokers, one-third of the world's total, to quit. the new regulations will include venues from restaurants to movie theaters though the entire plan is still vague. "they just announced the ban a month ago. they'll need more time to prepare" explained antismoking advocate dr. yang gonghuan. this isn't the first time the

government tried to get people to kick the habit. in an attempt to make the olympics smoke free failed. just like this month's ban, there were no real punishments for ignoring the regulations. many worry chinese officials aren't serious about stamping out smoking because they're addicted to the tobacco industry's tax revenue. almost equal to its $82 billion defense budget. but critics warn that without tobacco control, smokers will continue to lose something much more valuable than money-- their health. this beijing lung cancer hospital is overrun with patients and it's easy to understand why when you look at the statistics. 600,000 people die of lung cancer every year in china, compared to 160,000 in the u.s. it's predicted that number will rise to one million by 2025. "people are generally unaware of the dangers of tobacco"

the dangers of tobacco" explans the doctor at this poorly funded antismoking clinic. few are confident this month's smoking ban will work but many in china hope the government comes up with a new plan soon to convince the country's smokers to stop lighting up before it's too late for the next generation. celia hatten, cbs news, beijing. >> reporter: and still ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," the urban horse farm helping to put inner city kid on the right track. the right track.

metropolitan >> mitchell: finally this saturday evening young people in one california city trying to escape a life of violence have found an unlikely haven of safety and calm-- a horse ranch in their own backyard. here's bill whitaker. >> reporter: in cities across the country, gang violence has become an unfortunate part of everyday life, especially for young people. compton, california, has been troubled by gangs more than most american cities. but tucked away within its city limits there is a ranch where youngsters can escape their problems, forget about their fears. so you have this horse paddock right in the middle of gang territory in compton? >> right in the middle and we're still doing it, we're still cowboying up. >> reporter: 19-year-old kenny atkins is not part a gang, he's part of a posse, the compton jr. posse.

the free program teaches kids to ride horses and trains them for competition. kenny has been coming here for three years. >> when you're stressed, it takes away the stress. when you want to fight, you just talk to your horse. >> reporter: for 11-year-old sonni garcia, this is about the only time she gets to enjoy the outdoors. it's simply too dangerous to play outside in her gang-ridden neighborhood. you think you're going to keep riding horses? >> um, i want to be a jockey. >> reporter: mayisha akbar, a lifelong horse lover, started the compton jr. posse in 1988 with money out of her own pocket, literally in her backyard. she saw young people dying from gang violence all around her. she also noticed how much the neighborhood kids liked to be around her horses. >> i like to say that we were in competition with gangs. so we had to provide the same things that gangs did in order to keep our children's interest. we would provide camaraderie, you know, an extended family, a

safe haven. >> reporter: the tiny ranch now attracts children from all over los angeles county, including 15-year-old danielle beavers, the once rebellion teen doing poorly in school and hanging out with the wrong crowd until she began coming here two years ago. she eventually met her match, a high-strung horse named ziggy. now her grades are up and her anger is down. >> when he got mad, i found out that i couldn't be mad at him. i had to calm down, so he could get where i was. >> reporter: so ziggy's been your therapist. >> yes, he has! and i've been his therapist, too. >> reporter: danielle is now winning awards for her jumping. as for kenny, he has bigger plans. >> i hear you want to go to the olympics? >> yeah, yup. that's my goal. that's my number one goal. i'm going to make it, too. i'm going to make it. >> reporter: the lesson for children here, anything is possible once you get through the hurdles and put yourself on the right track. bill whitaker, cbs news, compton, california. >> mitchell: and that is the "cbs evening news." i'm russ mitchell in new york. i'll see you again tomorrow. good night.

captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access g democrat says it could help ease pain at the pumps. what she's proposing...and why big oil says it's not so simple. not exactly drill, baby drill but one bay area democrat thinks it could help ease pain at the pump and why others say it is not so simple. oakland grappling with another murder investigation. why the police chief says the public fate is partly in its own hands. some bay area communities invaded by burglars. how police say homeowners can avoid being the next target. cbs 5 eyewitness news is next. ,,