tornado on the ground. a debtly start to tornado season. severe storms race across the southern plains killing at least one person and damaging dozens of homes and businesses. >> devastated. i'm totally devastated. this is my life. the midair mifts of flight 9525 deepens. one of the pilots was reportedly locked out of the cockpit in the moment the doomed jetliner crashed into the alps. >> i want to ask your forgiveness. and a university of oak fraternity members offers a public apology and faces the media. >> was it that you didn't understand how bad those words were or simply chose to ignore that? captioning funded by cbs

this is the contribution "cbs morning news" for thursday march 26 2015. good morning. i'm alison harmelin in for anne-marie green. an unidentified official said one of the pilots was apparently locked out of the cockpit as the plane slammed slammed into the side of the mountain. the pilot can be heard banging on the cockpit door. the investigator says it's unclear why the pilot left the cockpit. meanwhile the head of the french investigating team said the airbus flew on a straight line into the mountains. and the state department says there were at least three americans on board. two have been identified. yvonne selke and her daughter. her family called them wonderful people.

tina kraus is in digne at the crash site. good morning. >> reporter: the sun came up early this morning and so did the helicopters full of the search crews desperate to find the victims while families sat and wait. crews are flying again over the french alps this morning searching for the data recorder belonging to the doomed germanwings jet. so far analysis of the plane's voice recorder only deepens the mystery over tuesday's crash. "the new york times" indicates one that the audio indicates the pilot left the cockpit before its descent and wasn't able to get back in. someone is first heard knocking lightly on the door and then stronger when there's no answer. in the end, the investigator reportedly reveals you can hear the pilot trying to smash the door down. french investigators have only confirmed voices can be heard on the recorder but say a lot more analysis is needed.

>> having a full understanding will take weeks, even months. >> reporter: among the dead pentagon contractory von selke and her daughter emily. both were in europe for a mother/daughter vacation. a third american was also on board. >> we're in touch with the family but are not releasing the name at this time out of respect for the family. >> reporter: french officials say the plane was flying until the end and the final communication was a routine message asking for permission to continue on its route. this is one of the worst plane crashes in decades and it has tied victims from all over the world together in death. there were babies on board this plane. two of them. two famous german opera singers. we had parents with their children going on family vacations, newlyweds. so heartbreaking stories all around. now families nearby the town here that we're in they're just waiting and hoping for some answers. alison? >> tina kraus in digne, france.

thank you, tina. back in this country one person was killed and more than a dozen injured when a tornado hit the plains. a mobile park was hard hit. this morning thunderstorm watches are posted from oklahoma to southern illinois. one tornado hit just as some young children were starting gymnastics class. firemen carried them out. kris van cleave reports. >> tornado, tornado on the ground. tornado on the ground. >> electrical flashes below and lightning in the sky showed the early formation of a tornado in central oklahoma. it was one of several funnel clouds that touched down during severe thunderstorms wednesday evening. >> the tornado is just over

international. >> reporter: siloam springs was hard hit. powerful winds tipped trailers on their sides. this woman was in her pickup truck when it was flipped overed on its roof. an apparent tornado formed over norman, oklahoma where 24 people did in 2013. >> you've got to get to your safe spot right now. >> reporter: tornados were also reported in arkansas. before that it had been a month since any tornados had touched down in the u.s. kris van cleave, cbs news. another twister caused significant damage in a tulsa suburb last night. what used to be a donut shop now a pile of debris. our meteorologist explains the

reason for the sudden outbreak. >> before yesterday's outbreak california, arizona, and washington state had more tornados than the state of oklahoma. certainly changed on wednesday and there's a good reason for it. for the first time in a long time warm humid air was pulled up from the gulf of mexico and that interacted with the front and the atmosphere just exploded over eastern oklahoma and northwestern arkansas. that front and that humid air will work its way east over the next 24 hours. and later on today we could see localized rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches in just over 24 hours, indiana, east to maine all the way south to central and south florida. but it's the widespread thunderstorms that will catch everybody's attention. there's a chance of a thunderstorm from boston all the way south and west to houston with the greatest risk of severe weather in virginia and north carolina. meteorologist paul deanno for cbs news. saudi arabia and gulf region allies launched a raid.

the rebels known as houthis captured yesterday. they control a large part of yemen. the u.s. is providing logistical and intelligence support. the u.s. has joined iraq in the fight against tikrit in isis. u.s. warplanes bombed isis in and around the city wednesday. the pentagon says they come at the request of iraq's government. the american military action means the u.s. is providing air support for an offensive that has been largely coordinated on the ground and led by iran. the army sergeant who spent five years in captivity is facing prison this morning. he abandoned his post in afghanistan and was captured by the taliban soon after. last may he was headed back to

u.s. forces in afghanistan as part of an exchange for five taliban prisoners who were imprisoned in guantanamo bay. coming up on the "morning news," kidnapping hoax. police say it was a fake after he turns up days later. dual eruptions with a volcano on the site of mexico. this is the "cbs morning news." so my doctor told me about botox® an fda-approved treatment that significantly reduces headache days for adults with chronic migraine. 15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. it's proven to actually prevent headache days. and it's injected by my doctor once every 3 months. the effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be a sign of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions neck and injection site pain fatigue and headache. don't take botox® if you have a skin infection.

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that's what they had been told by her boyfriend on monday aaron quinn. >> mr. quinn and ms. huskins has plundered valuable resources away from our community and has taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear amongst our community members. >> police say they're now unable to contact huskins and do not know where she is but she and quinn could face charges. today indiana's governor is expected to sign a controversial bill the backer says ensures religious freedom. it gives businesses and organizations protection to follow their religious belief. the critics say they'll -- >> we don't know what stores and restaurants we can go into. that's degrading. it's embarrassing. >> the governor says it's about aing sure people their religious freedom will remain intact.

it's apoised by some business leaders. >> when we return, a public apology. a fraternity member apologizes to black leaders and tries to explain his action. too weak. wears off. stop searching and start repairing. eucerin intensive repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. feel the difference 100 years of skin science makes. look at 'em! they're lovin' their vegetables. this is huge news! it's all thanks to our birds eye chef's favorites side dishes perfectly sauced or seasoned.

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a former university of oklahoma student expelled over a racist fraternity chant is speak publicly about the incident. levy levy petitt says he's sorry and wants to dedicate himself to racism. >> let me start by saying i'm sorry, deeply sorry. i'm so sorry for the pain i caused and i want you to know that directly from me. although i don't deserve it i want to ask for your forgiveness. >> reporter: 25-year-old levy petitt says he will stand up against racist. it shows him taking part in a chant with members of the university of oklahoma's sigma alpha infraternity. >> was it that you just didn't understand how bad those words

were or simply chose to ignore that? >> i knew they were wrong, but i never knew how or why they were wrong. >> reporter: petitt has been expel and the university sae chapter was shut down. before the apology he spent the afternoon at an oklahoma city church speaking with clergy and university leaders, a meeting arranged by anastasia pittman. >> we even done that. this is just the beginning of a great conversation. >> reporter: another student who was expelled for leading that racist chant has issue add written apology but has not spoken publicly. a layer says he has reached a deal with the university and does not anticipate more students will be expelled. straight ahead, musical mystery. rihanna drops hints on social media about possible new music. and in sports basketball

blunder. why one player in the sweet 16 wants to take back his press conference. >> announcer: this portion of the "cbs morning news" sponsored by just for men mustache and beard. just you and the look you want. what if getting ready was this easy? now teeth whitening is! with the colgate optic white toothbrush plus whitening pen. just brush whiten, and go! its stay-on formula deeply whitens for whiter teeth in 2 days. optic white toothbrush plus whitening pen. brush, whiten, go! look! this is the new asian inspired broth bowl

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forecast in some cities around the country. on the "cbs moneywatch," big layoffs at major bank and singer rihanna drops hints on social media. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, jill. >> good morning, alison. a selloff in technology and biotechs has sent wall street stocks down for a third day in a row. the dow fell 292 points the s&p was down 30 and the nasdaq

finished 118 points lower. wells fargo is laying off 1,000 workers. the bank is closing its home lending office in milwaukee. employees there handled the day-to-day affairs of mortgage holders including payments and working with those who are late in their payments. wells fargo said that due to the improving economy, there are fewer customers needing assistance. the combination of h.j. heinz and kraft foods creates one of the largest food companies in the world. heinz announced it was buying kraft yesterday. some of the most popular brands used in the american kitchen including heinz ketchup, oscar mayer lunch meats and jell-o. federal regulators still need to approve the deal. so do kraft shareholders. a supreme court decision has appeared to make it easier for women to sue employers for failing to accommodate a pregnancy. a former ups driver claimed the company violated her rights under the pregnancy

discrimination act. it does accommodate other employees like those with disabilities or those who have been injured on the job. the justice has sent the case back to lower court. ups said it did not discriminate against the driver. facebook said it's allowing companies to send apps to its merge services. more than 40 new add-on apps have been developed so far. users will be able to book reservations, shop online and track their orders. and alison rihanna is releasing a new song possibly even an entire album today. she posted a miss tear use photo on instagram yesterday. what's believed to be the title of the song is written in braille on the side. we can't say it on tv. rihanna's last album, unapologetic sold more than 4 million million copied worldwide.

>> thanks a lot. after a three-day break, it's time to restart the madness. the ncaa tournament is down to its last 16 teams. fans of the number one seed in the west wisconsin, are soaking up some sun in los angeles. the badgers will take on north carolina tonight. and wednesday's pregame news con trent with nigel heys learned a hard lesson about hot microphones when he commented on a woman in attendance. >> gosh she's beautiful. >> i heard that. >> did you hear that? >> all right. we'll open it up to questions. in the midwest region they're tuned up for a matchup tonight. wichita is opening up for another one where fighting irish are trying to extend to the lead eight. that's the first of our two games here on cbs tonight and it's followed by top ranked and unbeaten kentucky taking on west virginia. our coverage starts at 7:15 eastern.

this month president obama got some serious laughs when he read mean tweets about himself on jimmy kimmel. some members of congress are getting in on the act by reading what some people are saying about this. >> this man advice more than me and i'm a freakin' wreck most days. well, get over it. that's what i do. >> nancy, find a new job like dead pan cleaner or tore clerk. you suck as a senator. i'm not a senator. >> i'm sure there are worse things about them written on social media. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the ceo of aetna mark better leeny stops by the cbs studio. i'm alison harmelin, this is the "cbs morning news."

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>> i went straight back in there to find the child. my thoughts were to find the child. for a second i got scared i couldn't find the child. >> the 14 year veteran griffin police officer and father of three struggles to breathe. hello. looking for a baby. >> he searches but can't find the child. >> i get frantic at one point because i could not find him. lots of smoke. is there a little baby in here? >> he grabs random clothes in his mouth and for a few seconds they block the cam rand then he finds the baby in the back bedroom. >> it was an awesome fieldeeling to find him. once he was outside, firefighters were just arriving. >> ray-ray, i'm joe, man.

>> reporter: for the next several minutes hudson coughs and holds on tight to ray-ray until pair med ilksdices arrive. >> she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. that makes me feel good. that makes my job worth doing with that happening. so much. >> humbled to the end he didn't want to tell his wife. once ray-ray was safe it was on to the next call. a driver in washington state is facing a $124 fine. the man was pulled over by a state trooper in the hov lane when he noticed the passenger looked a little stiff. the cardboard cut joud showed the actor who plays the most interesting man in the world in the dose eky beers commercials. >> coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on the investigation of the

plane crash in the alps. we'll get more from captain sully sullenberger. plus a preview of the sweet 16. we'll talk with mark bertolini who stops by the studio. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. thanks for watching. i'm alison harmelin. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

looking live right now at storm scan three heavy downpours and high wind expected today as a storm moves across our area and we could see then are storms later on tonight. good morning i'm erika von tiehl. i'm nicole brewer in for ukee this morning. we have new video of the violent start to the nation's tornado season. several twisters spotted in oklahoma and arkansas, one person died when powerful wind tore through a mobile home in tulsa, oklahoma. at least 15 others were injured. tens of thousands of people are waking up without power. that same system is bringing us some rain. >> katie fehlinger is in the weather center tracking that and a lot of green behind you,