kerry sanders in colerain, north carolina to start us off tonight. that path barrelled and rolled across the country from the plain states to the deep south. it spread a lot of disaster. there were a number of close calls, weather channel meteorologist jeff morrow is also with us tonight from north carolina. jeff, i watched your coverage all weekend long. an incredible intensity of weather. >> reporter: yeah, brian. reports of 240 tornadoes have investigators scrambling. they've already confirmed 150 tornadoes. to put that into context, we typically see 163 tornadoes for the entire month of april. the rampage went on for days, terrifying tornadoes touched down in 15 states. the harrowing moments caught on tape. >> we got two, three. oh. >> reporter: thursday tushka, oklahoma, not one but several twisters violently spin around each other. >> oh, my god. this is not good, guys. >> reporter: friday, clinton, mississippi, a tornado works across an overpass and blue power flashes light up the sky. >> there goes the roof off the house. >> reporter: saturda

. >> mitchell: tara lynn of our raleigh affiliate joining us from colerain, north carolina. here is what else is happening. in texas crews are fighting to contain at least half a dozen large wildfires. north of capitol a thousand in palo pinto county forced the evacuation of two small towns. one day after yet another air- traffic controller fell asleep on the job, we have details from the new faa regulations designed to put a stop to the problem. wyatt andrews has the latest on the federal government's new plan and why the obama administration thinks it will work. >> reporter: the new rules from the faa sound deceptively simple. with so many air-traffic controllers sleeping on duty, six have been suspended for eight cases of sleeping, the new rules start with an order to get more rest. instead of the mandatory eight hours off between shifts, the rules now require nine hours off. the rules also ban controllers from swapping into a midnight shift after a day off. a scheduling trick routinely used to engineer a three-day weekend. >> more rest time, more managers on duty and mak

kerry sanders is in colerain, north carolina, with the latest.ood morning, natalie. officials in north carolina are still calculating the costs associated with the tornadoes. 22 dead in this state alone. more than 800 homes damaged or destroyed. the costs will go into the tens of millions of dollars. again today, schools are closed as families try to figure out what to do next. survivors say the shock is starting to wear off and strength is taking over. not only physical might but the determination to stay put and rebuild. in bertie county, kids cut class from the schools that were open monday to lend a hand. in raleigh, ronald and joyce who moved here from new york say they are overwhelmed by the generosity of neighbors. >> oh, it's been a blessing. >> reporter: north carolina governor beverly perdue toured the devastation. >> it's the most powerful thing i have ever seen. i'm so sorry. >> reporter: this is one of the nation's poorest regions. a quarter of the residents live below the poverty line which makes the need for government help to rebu

nbc's kerry sanders is in colerain, north carolina.ike this in the regions that have been impacted for a quarter century. imagine more than 200 tornadoes touching down in six states beginning last thursday. the devastation is widespread. as you said, at least 45 dead. there were still some missing. the governor here in north carolina, governor bev purdue plans to tour more of the area today. fema will provide some assistance, but in some cases the assistance will not be fast enough. look at the house behind me. this one destroyed but there is an upside here. 11 people saw the tornado coming over the horizon. they ran, got inside and remarkably, as you look at that and everything that happened to the house, all 11 got out alive. lester? >> kerry sanders, thanks. a serious breach of security in afghanistan. officials say a man dressed as an afghan soldier opened fire outside the defense ministry killing at least two other soldiers and wounding seven before he was shot dead. forces loyal to moammar gadhafi shelled misrata today in the wes