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Tornado Kills 89 in Missouri; Rescuers Search for Survivors in Joplin; Life Coach Gives Advice to Older Workers Looking For Jobs; Man Is Arrested In Connected to Beating Giants Fan at Dodger Stadium

Aired May 23, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for this Monday morning, May 23rd.

I want you to just listen to this.

(SCREAMING)

MALVEAUX: It is difficult to see, but those voices leave no doubt. Twenty terrified strangers huddle inside a store's industrial- sized refrigerator. And outside, a tornado is ripping apart Joplin, Missouri.

I want you to take a listen again --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're good. We're good. We're good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God!

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you. I love you. I love everyone.

I love everyone, man. I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Heavenly Father. Thank you, Jesus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys all OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: This is Joplin this morning after daylight revealed the devastation. The tornado cut through the center of town, killing at least 89 people, taking out homes, businesses, a hospital, a high school.

Jaime Green is a photographer for a Kansas newspaper. Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAIME GREEN, "WICHITA EAGLE" PHOTOGRAPHER (on the phone): We huddled down. It was my friend and I and her 6-year-old daughter. We huddled down over her daughter, out in the elements, but up against a wall, up against an office building. Our only other option would have been to throw a bench through the glass window, which we actually thought of, but we didn't -- we decided not to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: That is unbelievable.

Authorities in Joplin expect to find more bodies today as they look through the wreckage of this town. And it is understandable when you see the size of this storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got it on video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You need to run up if you want to stay with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to have to go back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's getting big. Big, big, big.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's huge!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got it all on video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: President Obama telephoned the Missouri Governor Jay Nixon from Europe today to express his condolences. He also ordered the FEMA director to that tornado zone.

Well, right now it's a homecoming for President Obama. He's in Moneygall, Ireland, population 298. Records appear to confirm that Mr. Obama's great-great-great-grandfather grew up in Moneygall. He left for America in 1850.

The president returns to Dublin soon, and we're going to have his address live in the next hour.

Well, Iceland hopes to reopen its main international airport sometime today. But check this out -- ash from an erupting volcano halted, stopped flights this weekend. Now, the cloud is spreading toward Europe, but experts say it's probably not going to cause widespread trouble for air travel like a different volcano did just last spring.

Well, Pakistan's military now caught off guard again. Taliban fighters seized a Pakistani naval base at Karachi. They held off government troops for at least 16 hours in Karachi. At least 10 members of Pakistan's military were killed in that firefight. Now, the Taliban call the attack payback for civilian deaths.

Two imams are now in federal court in Miami -- that's this morning -- for detention hearing. Seventy-two-year-old Hafiz Khan and his son, Izhar, are American citizens born in Pakistan. The two are among six people charged with conspiracy to kidnap and murder by helping bankroll the Pakistani Taliban.

Los Angeles police call 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez their main suspect in the parking lot attack at Dodgers Stadium. Now, police allege that he beat and kicked San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow after the March 31st season opener. This vicious assault left Stow with brain damage, and police are still looking for a second attacker and a woman who drove those men from the stadium.

Well, it's official now. Tim Pawlenty is now a formal candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. He made that announcement in a video on his Web site and social media last night. The former Minnesota governor will make the announcement live, in person, next hour in Iowa.

More on our top story, the deadly tornado that slammed into Joplin, Missouri. Now, rescue crews, they're searching for survivors who may still be trapped under all of that rubble. The city manager says that at least 89 people are confirmed dead, and that number is likely to go much higher.

Our CNN's Brian Todd, he is at a hospital that took a direct hit from that tornado, and he joins us by phone. On the phone.

Brian, if you could, just describe for us what you are seeing.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, we're seeing just a scene of total devastation here at this hospital and in the center of town where the tornado really took dead aim on Sunday afternoon. We're told that it moved west to east through downtown Joplin, starting at about 5:30 p.m. local time here.

Residents say that they saw the telltale signs -- the swirling clouds, the dark sky, and then the rumble and the thunder, and it just got much, much worse very, very quickly. They did say that they had a warning of about maybe 20 minutes between the first tornado warning and when the tornado struck. That's almost twice as much as they usually get, so that could be a positive development in maybe keeping the death toll down.

But they're still looking for survivors. They're still looking for people trapped in homes, trapped in buildings, possibly even trapped in vehicles. They were pulling people out all night, so this is something that goes on. And the reason that I'm coming to you by phone is because the weather has turned on us. It started raining very heavily here with a thunderstorm again. That's complicating the rescue efforts -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Brian, I imagine that's making people pretty nervous and pretty upset, the fact that there is more bad weather under way.

TODD: They're often used to it this time of year because this is when it starts to roll in, but it certainly is making things much more difficult for them. You know, they're trying to pick through what's left of their homes and trying to salvage something. And then they look up in the sky and here comes something else.

So they're -- they seem to be handling it very well, but you've got to see it. When you see these scenes of devastation -- and people just have nothing left -- that it's got to take a huge psychological toll on them at this point.

MALVEAUX: And Brian, where are people going?

TODD: That's a very good question. They are offering some shelters. We're trying to find out where some of those are right now. They're still setting up some of them.

They took some of these people from this hospital here that got so severely damaged to other medical facilities in the area. So they're just kind of getting their arms around a lot this and trying to place people in the right areas, trying to kind of maybe match people up with loved ones who might have gone missing.

They're still trying to find out, get an accounting of just who's injured, who's missing, to see if they can maybe pinpoint where some people might be trapped. So it's a huge job there, and they're just kind of getting going on it right now.

MALVEAUX: And Brian, do they suspect that there are still people alive under the rubble?

TODD: It is their hope that they can try to pinpoint them and locate them. They really wouldn't play on that when we asked them. And we asked them flat out, "Are there still people trapped under the wreckage that you know of?" And they just wouldn't go there.

I mean, they did start pulling people out overnight. They're hopeful. They're combing this area very, very carefully and trying -- you know, often they get flagged by someone on the side of the road saying come in here and look.

That's often how these teams get to a location. So it's -- that's what they're trying to do now. They're just trying to get their arms around who is left to possibly be rescued.

MALVEAUX: And Brian, how are they doing these searches? Are they using dogs? Are they using heavy equipment, or people just on foot? Can you describe how they're actually searching for folks? TODD: We know that search and rescue teams are doing what they call grid searches, which is often how they do it in these situations. They'll divide up certain sections of the city between certain teams.

I haven't seen any dog teams in here yet, but I'm certain that we'll start seeing them. And we'll see probably search and rescue teams from other municipalities coming in here.

They do say they are getting some help from outside, teams coming in and coordinating with them. But they've got to kind of meet with the city people here and know exactly where to go. You know, people who are coming in from the outside, they've got to know which neighborhoods are which, and some of the local people may not recognize some of the neighborhoods at this point.

MALVEAUX: I'm sure you've spoken to some of the survivors. What do they tell you? How were they the lucky ones? When you take a look at the devastation and the pictures, how did people possibly escape this?

TODD: You know, they're saying that -- some of them are saying it's just a matter of luck, and some are calling it divine intervention. I interviewed a gentleman named C.J. Campbell, who was in his house with his sister. And the way he described it to me was just unbelievable, that they huddled in a hallway, and that the floor started just buckling, the whole house started shaking.

And they thought they were going to get basically just taken completely up into the air in the swirl of the tornado. By some stretch of luck, they just -- they huddled there and they survived it. But their whole house just completely collapsed around them and was torn apart.

And when you talk to people like that, you just -- you can't imagine what you've gone through. I mean, you see the devastation, you see these pictures. Just to see what this did, this was half to three-quarters of a mile wide at its widest scope, so it really tore a huge swath through this town.

MALVEAUX: And Brian, people talk about just minutes, having just minutes to prepare. Most of the people that you talked to, do they say that they just didn't have enough time or didn't have enough warning?

TODD: Well, the people who have been through this before will tell you that that's more time than they usually have. They usually have an average of about seven between minutes between when the warnings go off and when the tornado comes. They had about 20 minutes, according to one local official, this time.

So these are people who know what to do in these situations. They live through these tornadoes all the time. But I think the sheer power of this, Suzanne, and the sheer scope of it, you know, many of them may just not have been able to get to the places they needed to get to. MALVEAUX: OK. Brian, thank you very much. Be safe. And obviously we wish the very best to those people there in terms of restoring their lives, their homes, and their safety, the safety of their families.

Thank you, Brian.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're covering in the next two hours.

As you can see, first, images of utter destruction becoming painfully familiar now. I mean, Joplin, Missouri, is now just the latest city to be devastated by a massive tornado.

And the opportunity to be first lady, well, that's not impressing some political wives. That's your chance to "Talk Back."

And then a suspect that police call the primary aggressor now in custody after a brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan.

Plus, seeking employment after 50? What you need to know in order to stand out.

And you've seen, right, the long-form birth certificate? Now check out the family tree. President Obama discovering his Irish roots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: This tornado killed at least 89 people in Joplin. Hundreds are hurt, and some people are still believed to be trapped underneath the debris. Rescuers are worried about gas explosions because so many gas pipes are now busted.

I want to bring in our Alexandra Steele to talk about even some of the more concerning news, and that is the continuing bad weather that they are going to see on the ground there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Now to the flooding along the lower Mississippi River. It is cresting right around Louisiana State Prison. About 2,500 inmates have been sandbagging for days to keep those waters at bay. Well, the nation's largest maximum security prison is bordered on three sides by the Mississippi.

Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today we are asking, should political wives matter?

Carol Costello with the question.

That's provocative, Carol.

COSTELLO: It is provocative.

MALVEAUX: Should they matter? COSTELLO: And they apparently do these days in political circles.

MALVEAUX: I would think so.

COSTELLO: Yes.

As you may know, Republican Governor Mitch Daniels has announced he is not running for president. Like Mike Huckabee before him, he cited family reasons for his decision. But Daniels' story comes with a whiff of scandal. His wife Cheri once left him for another man and then she came back to the marriage.

After hearing people call his wife a bad mother for abandoning him and their four daughters, Daniels told "The Indianapolis Star, "The notion that Cheri ever did or would abandon her girls or parental duty is the reverse of the truth and absurd to anyone who knows her, as I do, to be the best mother any daughter ever had."

Wives have always mattered in politics, but what's gotten to us -- but what has gotten us to the point where a candidate's wife can be the game-changer, subject to the same scrutiny that every candidate has to endure? Many aspiring political wives have had their own lives, their own careers, and they've even been divorced. And, therefore, they have more potential skeletons in their closets.

These days, political wives have to be the perfect combination -- traditional, yet not interfering, and they have to appeal somehow to today's modern working woman. Gail Collins of "The New York Times" says the candidates' wives should be off limits and they should not campaign for their husbands either. She says, "Finally, we could end the tradition that a presidential candidate's spouse is running for something, too. If we want a first family to obsess over, we should just hire a king and queen."

So, our "Talk Back" question today: Should political wives matter in elections?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: Yes, the scrutiny is unbelievable now.

COSTELLO: I know. And it's just a shame. It's a big decision for you to run yourself. And this has to do with husbands of political candidates, as well, right?

MALVEAUX: Sure.

COSTELLO: So you have to worry about your spouse's background, too.

MALVEAUX: And then the kids, because I think the daughters weighed as well. They did not want that necessarily.

COSTELLO: Yes. They had a family meeting and they said, dad --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Don't do it. And he listened. He's good.

COSTELLO: Yes. Family is important.

MALVEAUX: The women caucus rules in that house, he said.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I like that.

MALVEAUX: Yes. I do, too.

Thanks, Carol.

In a moment, you're going to see what storm chasers are encountering as they go after the tornadoes in the Midwest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: CNN's Jim Spellman has been out and about in Joplin this morning. And he is also trying to avoid this latest storm that is on its way.

Jim, essentially give us a sense of what you are seeing there. I know that bad weather is on its way, and a lot of people, very scared, very frightened by what has taken place and what happened to their town.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I mean, to start with, yesterday, this destruction is just unbelievable. And it spreads from one end of the city to the other. I mean, block after block, mile after mile.

And then, now, as search and rescue is going full bore, this weather pattern moves in -- lightning everywhere, you can probably hear the thunder right now, heavy rain. It's got to be hampering their effect.

They've been doing a door-to-door grid search trying to find anybody who still is trapped in a structure, who maybe sought shelter and the structure was damaged, try to keep that death toll from going any higher. And this has got to be hampering their efforts.

And even people we've seen and chatted with driving by, it's just bad for the nerves to have another storm coming through right after so many people lost so much just yesterday -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Do they believe that there are people who are alive where you are?

SPELLMAN: Well, that's the main thing they want to do right now, is do this what they call a door-to-door grid search, to go to every building they can to see if there is anybody alive.

This weather is just the last obstacle, though. There's downed power lines everywhere, very difficult to even drive through the city.

Plus, gas lines in the houses are ruptured, and they've been fighting fires caused by that. And there's just debris everywhere, from these cars you see that are just strewn about the city to whole trees blocking passage. So it's already a challenging job for sure. And this weather is just the last thing that they needed right now -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Jim, I understand that that really suspends some of those search and rescue efforts. Do we have a sense of how critical the timing is now, how crucial it is to get in there? Or do they believe there's a window, perhaps 12 hours, perhaps days, even?

SPELLMAN: Well, I think one of the big problems here is it's really difficult for anybody to get a handle on things like that. Communications are very difficult. Cell phones are working, but spotty.

No electricity. Very hard for anybody who may be trapped to get any kind of word out, except for just going door to door. So we haven't heard anybody put that kind of hour, you know, type of thing on it. But they're definitely operating as if this is the most crucial thing, because, again, they just don't want any more people to die in this disaster than need to -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Jim, who's on the ground? I understand they called in the National Guard, the Red Cross. Are there a lot of folks that are working this, trying to help out?

SPELLMAN: Yes, there's police from all over the state. We've seen the National Guard, like you said. And the National Guard also has an arrangement with neighboring states so that they can come in.

It's a very fluid situation. They're still seeing what they need.

We're also seeing heavy equipment. Just here in the hospital, they were using a backhoe and a bulldozer to remove cars to be able to get a better entrance way. So it's not just police and paramedics, but even just these big construction vehicles that are taking part in trying to make some sense of this disaster -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Jim, is it possible to have your photographer pan over, or to look around, to widen that shot so we can actually see what you're seeing?

SPELLMAN: Sure.

Jack, take a look.

Sure. We're working under a tent right now, Suzanne, so you're going to see a little of the sausage being made. But you can see these cars right here.

These are four cars. This looks like a junkyard or something. This is the parking lot of the hospital, St. John's Regional Medical Center, and they're just tossed around like nothing.

And if you come back over here, Jack, and look at the hospital itself, and maybe zoom in a bit, you see the hospital took a direct hit. And this is the last thing you need, because this is exactly the kind of building that you need to be operating during a disaster where people are going to go for help.

Windows, blown out. They had to evacuate the hospital as fast as they can.

And one of the stranger sights that I've ever seen, right by the emergency room door there is a helicopter that was destroyed, a medevac helicopter. It was on the ground, but it was destroyed. It's right over there by the emergency room. It's stunning -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Unbelievable. Thank you, Jim. We really appreciate it.

These images of destruction -- I want to show you the woman who took these pictures. She had to take cover to save her own life when those storms hit. And you're going to hear from her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of the stories we are working on. Up close and terrifying. A tornado roars into Joplin, Missouri.

Next, police arrest a suspect they call a primary aggressor in the horrific beating of a San Francisco Giants fan.

Then, forget about Kenya or Hawaii. The president visits his ancestral village in Ireland.

We want you to hear what it was like when that deadly tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri. Now this is just incredible audio. It was recorded as a group of people crowded inside a convenience store refrigerator. You can hear the terror as they huddle in the dark, there is some praying to survive. I want you to take a listen to this experience they had.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love everyone. I love everyone, man. I love you, guys. I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Heavenly father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is everyone OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Can you imagine? Can you imagine if you were in that room with those people? The person who recorded that is Isaac Duncan. And earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," he describes how it unfolded. He said he and a friend were driving around when they heard a tornado was about to hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC DUNCAN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: We just pulled into the quickest thing that we could see, which was that first trip. And when we went in, the electricity was out. There were 20 people in the back huddled down. And everyone was deciding what to do, and all of a sudden the glass in the front of the building got sucked out, was -- completely blew out.

So my buddy had the idea to run as fast as we can and get in the cooler. We all jumped in the cooler. It was pretty small so everyone was tight, you know. It was -- everyone was getting kind of crushed. And there was -- it was to store beer so this was broken glass everywhere. Most of the people got cut pretty bad. And just -- on their knees and hands. And anywhere that was touching the ground.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": You could hear the destruction. In the end, was that convenience store still standing?

DUNCAN: Basically the only thing that was left standing was the cooler that we were in. Everything, everything around it was gone. You know, when -- it actually tore a few holes in the refrigerator, and so we climbed out one of the walls. When we crawled out, everything was flattened, trees, houses, everything around there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We'll have more on that story.

Assault with a deadly weapon is the charge facing a man suspected of brutally beating a Giants fan at Dodger stadium. We're going to bring you a live report from L.A.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A man described as the primary aggressor in the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan is now behind bars in Los Angeles. Our CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is joining us live from L.A. Thelma, give us a sense, this arrest comes seven weeks after Bryan Stowe was attacked outside dodger stadium. What do we know about this suspect. THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The suspect, Suzanne, is 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez of Los Angeles. He's described by police as the primary aggressor in the attack. Early Sunday morning, detectives and SWAT team members descended on an east Hollywood apartment where Ramirez was staying. He was taken into custody. Police also seized evidence.

Now the manhunt that involved 20 full-time detectives had been going on for nearly two months. LAPD got more than 600 leads, but it wasn't until late last week that they got the information they needed from a parole officer who led police to Ramirez. He's being held on $1 million pail and is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

MALVEAUX: What do we know about the search for the other suspects?

GUTIERREZ: Well, the focus now of that manhunt on a second suspect who police say also took part in the vicious beating of Bryan Stowe. Investigators are also hoping -- asking for the public's help in identifying a woman who was seen driving the men away from dodger stadium in a light four-door sedan. Police say that she had what appeared to be a 10-year-old child in the car.

MALVEAUX: And Thelma, real quick here, how is Bryan Stowe doing? What is his condition now?

GUTIERREZ: He's in critical condition, Suzanne. He suffered a severe skull fracture and brain injury in the attack. He was recently transported to a hospital in San Francisco, closer to home. Stow is now opening his eyes, but still has a very long road ahead.

MALVEAUX: OK. Thelma, thank you very much. Appreciate it. We wish him the best.

GUTIERREZ: OK.

MALVEAUX: Our sources across the Midwest have been getting extraordinary video of the latest tornado outbreak and all of the destruction of the just watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the trees. The trees are debarked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Hear one storm-chaser drive through Joplin right after the tornado hit. There's not much to see for miles. Check out the tornado from the air. KNBC had a helicopter tracking. It as you see how big this is, at least a half a mile wide.

Now before it formed, other tornadoes took aim at the twin cities. One person was killed in the Minneapolis area. Almost two dozen others hurt, trees, power lines down in one neighborhood after another. Now more visual images of the devastation. Jaime Green is a photojournalist with the "Wichita Eagle," and she also survived, survived this storm that ripped through Joplin, Missouri. And she's joining us live.

Jaime, thank you. First of all, I'm glad you are OK. I understand you were with your best friend and her young daughter. Can you tell us how you escaped?

JAIME GREEN, PHOTOJOURNALIST, "WICHITA EAGLE": Well, we happen getting messages from friends and I where we're from, that there was a terrible storm coming. They told us to seek shelter. We found an overhang on a medical office building from where I'm standing now. We parked and got out of the car. And we huddled together. Myself, my friend, Denise, and her daughter, Alexis.

We huddled together against a wall. And I think about two hours -- two hours -- it felt like two hours, but it was two minutes probably, two minutes later we were OK. And the storm had passed. We were pretty close to the, you know, the heart of the devastation. We were about a quarter mile on the other side of had hospital behind me.

MALVEAUX: What was that like when you were leaning against the wall and this tornado comes through?

GREEN: Did you say what was it like?

MALVEAUX: What was that like? You were huddled against the wall, the tornado passed through, could you feel the wind, was there vibration?

GREEN: Well, I was for the most part closing and hunkering down -- closing my eyes and hunkering down. It was very scary. All I could hear was wind. The power lines were snapping all around us. I'm sure that was happening, but for some reason I could hear the wind. It was just a frightening feeling. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it, but we did thankfully. It was pretty scary.

MALVEAUX: Jaime, you got over your fear and started taking pictures of everything around you. What did you see? What captivated your attention?

GREEN: Well, I knew that we had bad communication with our friends in Wichita. I'm a photojournalist for the "Wichita Eagle." so my editor was telling me, you know, you're by the heart of it, the hospital has been hit the hardest. I was like, yes, that's right in front of us.

So I went out there. I waited a bit. I knew there were downed power lines everywhere. And I saw other people walking. So I waited a little bit. When I saw that and knew that we were safe, I went out and started photographing the hospital walking around a little bit.

And then we knew it was going to get dark soon so we actually left town. A lot of the pictures I took while driving out of town. MALVEAUX: And the last question here. What really struck you? What was the one scene perhaps that you captured that was just unbelievable to you?

GREEN: It had to be -- I saw this twice unfortunately. In the back two of pickup trucks there were two people, actually there were four people, two people that looked injured, and two people that were on top of them and the drivers of both of the trucks were desperately trying to get in and out of traffic to get to a different hospital, Freeman hospital, not far from this hospital, St. John's. So, you know, that was pretty upsetting.

MALVEAUX: Do you have any idea what the condition is of any of those people you saw on the truck?

GREEN: No, I don't. I don't.

MALVEAUX: Well, we are so glad that are you safe, we're so glad that are you safe, and we thank you very much for sharing those photos with us, obviously to do your job, to do the story, but also that you were able to get to safety with your friend and her six-year-old daughter. Thank you, Jaime.

GREEN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: To find out more on how to help those devastated by the tornados in Missouri, go to CNN.com/impact. There you're going to find all the organizations and the ways you can help those in need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want to update you on our top story this hour. Rescue crews are searching for survivors after a deadly tornado plowed through Joplin, Missouri. The city manager says at least 89 people were killed. It leveled homes, severely damaged a hospital, as well as a high school. One storm-chaser describes the scene as complete devastation. He says parts of the city of Joplin are simply unrecognizable.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty officially jumped into the presidential race. Our Paul Steinhauser, part of the best political time on television, live from the political desk in Washington. Paul, so we know that Pawlenty's in. Mitch Daniels is out. Who's next? Who are we waiting on?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Here's who we're waiting on. Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor, of course, the U.S. ambassador to China just back. He's been looking and acting a lot like a presidential candidate, trips to New Hampshire and South Carolina, two very important early voting states. He could have an announcement in the next couple of weeks on running for the White House.

Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota, and a darling of many in the tea party movement. She said she could also make a decision either later this month or in June whether she will or won't run for the White House.

And then hovering over all this I guess as well is Sarah Palin. Will the former Alaska governor and of course the vice presidential nominee for the Republican Party in 2008, will she announce her not? She says she hasn't said yes or no, hasn't ruled anything out. No decision is any time imminent. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And Paul, I know some Republicans may not be thrilled or excited by the current crop of candidates. Do we know who else might jump in?

STEINHAUSER: There's dissatisfaction against some Republicans against the current crop upon candidates. There's been a lot of questions for four gentlemen to run. All four are saying thanks but no thanks. And they are, as you see, Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, Paul Ryan, chairman of the House budget chairman. All urged to run, all saying thanks but no thanks. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, thanks, Paul, appreciate it. For the latest political news, you know where to go -- CNNpolitics.com.

For baby-boomers who still have about ten years or so before retiring, the job market can be a scary place. Alison Kosik says it's not all doom and gloom and joins us with today's top tips.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne. No doubt about it, if you find yourself out of work after having a 20 or 30-year career, the job search can be intimidating. The good news is the jobless rate for older workers is actually lower than the national average. But the bad news is once you're out of work it is often harder to find a new job.

In fact, an Urban Institute study found that men between the ages of 50 and 61 are 39 percent less likely to get a job each month than younger workers, women are 18 percent less likely. For older workers 62 years and up that number jumped to 51 percent for men, 50 percent for women.

MALVEAUX: How should an older worker target their job search? It sounds like you're narrowing down some jobs that could be a good fit?

KOSIK: Not necessarily. We talked with a career coach, Ford Meyers. He says it is always important to research a company before you apply for a job. Look at the corporate culture. If an older worker applies to a company known mostly for hiring in gen-x or gen-y workers, it is a waste of time. You wind up trying to fit a square peg into the company's round hole. Bottom line -- do your homework.

MALVEAUX: Great advice, thank you, Alison. Obviously the question being how do you prepare yourself for a job interview? Alison will be back with us with more tips straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: So your resume catches the eye of an employer, you get the call for an interview. But how do you prepare yourself if you're an older candidate? Alison Kosik is back for more on "Today's Tips." what is considered older, by the way?

KOSIK: Older can really be anywhere from your age to what you look like and how you present yourself. We talked with career coach Ford Meyers and he says don't worry so much about looking your age. You can look older, just don't look outdated. In other words, don't put on that suit you last wore for an interview during the carter administration, for instance. It is going to make you look out of touch beyond your fashion sense. Update your wardrobe before your interview.

And get yourself a new hair style if necessary. It may sound silly and shallow, I know, but it really could really make a difference. Finally, the advice is -- you're laughing -- be energetic, show you're eager and excited to take on a new role, that you want to meet no people and develop new goals no matter what your age is. Attitude goes a long way.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. And hair style and getting updated, upgraded, that's all good stuff as well.

KOSIK: Yes.

MALVEAUX: You and I are think I both upgraded.

(LAUGHTER)

All right, thanks, Alison. Appreciate it.

We're getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. Our Carol Costello is here with what folks are saying.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About political spouses? Oh, they do have a lot to say. The "Talk Back" question, should political wives matter in an election? This From Julia, "Whether they like it or not, wives will be scrutinized. After all, a spouse is an essential part of the individual. The spouse is the other half, so why would we pay attention to only one half of someone?"

This from Gilbert - "Spouses -- women run for offices, too, of political candidates should matter. The fact is that having the wrong partner can have terrible consequences and will affect job performance."

This from Chris. "No, we do not vote for them. If they want to get involved they need to run for office themselves. From Kim - "Of course it matters especially in Cheri Daniels' case. It is just plain unnatural for what she did leaving her family."

"Political spouses you mean? No, last time I went to a job interview nobody wanted to interview my husband as well. What's the difference?"

Please continue the conversation, facebook.com/CarolCNN.

MALVEAUX: Carol, thank you very much.

I want to update you on our top story this hour. Rescue crews are searching for survivors after a deadly tornado plowed through Joplin, Missouri. The city manager says at least 89 people were killed. It leveled homes, severely damaged a hospital and a high school. One storm chaser described the scene as complete devastation. He says parts of the city of Joplin are unrecognizable. We'll take you there live to Joplin just moments away.

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