Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Millions Face Tornado Threat Today; Oklahoma Town Bears Brunt of Storm; Secret Service Issues

Aired April 15, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Gary Tuchman, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Menacing weather is threatening a huge section of the United States right now. People from Texas to Wisconsin are being warned storms could produce dangerous and potentially deadly tornadoes. That threat was realized some 24 hours ago when 122 suspected tornadoes tore through the midwest. Five people died. Dozens hurt, several critically. Hundreds of homes were damaged and destroyed. Some houses were turned into rubble in just a matter of seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY HILL, LOST HOME TO TORNADO: That piece of iron had to come from a building. It was - you know, it was no straight wind, it was a regular twister. The wind was just blasting out and out and out. The bathroom, like they always say, and while we got here, the roof went here. The good lord was with us. He sure was. It's about more than you can bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Four states were hit by the tornadoes. Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. But all of the fatalities were in one community. The community of Woodward, Oklahoma.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Woodward. He joins us now live. Rob, describe the devastation there.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, we weren't allowed into this community until just a little bit ago. Now the activity is really happening. You can hear he chainsaw. Look behind me. I mean this is a home that was completely crushed by the storm. Family, friends and neighbors coming together to sift through the debris, try to pile it up. So the folks who live here can save what's left. Speaking of, I want to introduce you to Paul Lord, a gentleman who owns this house. And survived this storm, although with some injuries. We're happy that you're alive for sure. Talk about why you were outside the house when the tornado was coming through.

PAUL LORD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I was (INAUDIBLE) get here. (INAUDIBLE). Started back to the house (INAUDIBLE). The family was in the hall bathroom. And my neighbors come over and picked the washer and dryer off the top of my wife. (INAUDIBLE). MARCIANO: Your entire family, multigenerations buried under that rubble. You sustained some injuries to your head. How did they do?

LORD: My oldest grandson had two pretty good lacerations. And I want to thank the triage. (INAUDIBLE) they had me in the emergency room. (INAUDIBLE). And it was like clockwork. The paperwork was on a piece of paper. They had no computers up. And my name was put on a pad. God bless them.

MARCIANO: You've got some good people here. We know it's been a physically and emotionally trying day for you. Amazing the amount of love that's come out here. We'll talk more about your story in the next newscast. (INAUDIBLE). He's outside trying to help his next door neighbor. That's when the storm came in. He got knocked down, he got hit with a piece of plywood. His entire family, wife, kids, grandkids, buried in this rubble but managed to survive. There's multiple stories like that here in Woodward. But as you know, Gary, five fatalities, two were in a car, three were in another neighborhood away from here. But it's amazing to see the destruction, by this really narrow tornado, but obviously very, very strong. So well- built home. Brick, mortar, two x fours and well structured home and its completely gone.

Two side notes, one, they were supposed to sell this home next week. They were scheduled to move. I don't know what will happen with the sale. And two, Mr. Lord has had two brain surgeries. He survived those. And now he's survived this. Gary?

TUCHMAN: Rob, it's an amazing story. It was a bit hard to hear, but those are the sounds and the sights of the aftermath of a tornado. So I know our viewers will understand. Rob Marciano, thank you very much.

In Iowa now, take a look at the pictures coming in from the tiny town of Thurman. A tornado leveled much of the town. Only about 300 people living there, and 90 percent of it, according to the mayor, is now damaged. What's amazing when you look at these pictures, nobody was even hurt. And now we go to another small Iowa town. This is Creston, Iowa. A tornado hit a hospital there. It was a scary 30 minutes, an hour, as they went inside the hospital, huge winds broke windows, sent glass flying into the building. But again no serious injuries being reported.

And while yesterday's threat was far more widespread, it's really important that we make this clear right now. There are several states and some major cities that still face dangerous, even life-threatening conditions as we speak. Jacqui Jeras is tracking this for us. Jacqui, tell us the latest in the mid west and the upper midwest.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we think the next couple of hours, the atmosphere is really going to explode across the upper midwest. At this hour, we're focusing in on parts of Arkansas, and into Missouri. We've got a strong cold front that's pushing through here, igniting thunderstorms. Some of these have been severe, with some hail and then some damaging winds in excess of 60 miles per hour. No rotation with these storms just yet, but we could see some smaller scale tornadoes that develop down here.

Now, the bigger tornadoes we think will be developing in the next couple of areas. And this is the area in here that we're going to be watching for things to develop, and then head on up towards the north and into the east and parts of Wisconsin. We already have one tornado warning right on the state line there, between Nebraska and South Dakota. It was producing a funnel cloud earlier, but this is in a very rural area, and no damage has been reported.

So we think a tornado watch will likely be issued in this area within the next couple of hours. So if you live in Sioux City, Sioux Falls, over towards Mankato, Minnesota, in the twin cities, maybe Mason City, Iowa, you need to be on alert and know that things are going to be changing here in the next couple of hours. It's a moderate risk day. Yesterday was a high risk day. But we don't want to downplay the threat, because we're not expecting as many tornadoes, because it's going to be just as serious for the folks that live in this area. So that bright red spot is where we're expecting the larger long track tornadoes.

Now, the outlook area itself is very widespread. We're talking all the way from the U.P. of Michigan stretching down to the gulf coast, including the people in Houston that have a slight risk of thunderstorms. So the tornado threat is greatest here. More of a threat damaging winds on the southern end of things here. The other thing I might want to mention is that it's just crazy windy ahead of this system. Look at the wind gusts in the upper midwest. And so this is just transporting all of that warmth and moisture into the plains, and look at the winds and air coming in from the west, and the differences there. So everything kind of coming together for this to develop into a dangerous afternoon and evening.

And then circling back here, Gary, just to show you, really interesting graphic. This shows you the rotating thunderstorms from yesterday and Friday. It really shows you what was likely some of these long track tornadoes that caused damage in Oklahoma and into Kansas. Also, we just got word right away from the National Weather Service that Thurman, Iowa, the tornado that we just showed the video of, that's been rated as an EF-2 tornado. It was about a half mile wide as it moved through the area. It was on the ground for 10 miles long.

TUCHMAN: Jacqui, when you estimate that the danger is over for the people inside your circle?

JERAS: Well, not until late tonight. This is going to be going after dark once again. And actually, the severe weather threat will move eastward for tomorrow, places like Pittsburgh and into the Great Lakes will have the severe weather threat tomorrow. We've got at least one more day to go with the storm.

TUCHMAN: OK. Everybody needs to stay tuned. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much.

In Afghanistan, insurgents stormed key areas of the capital, and three provinces in a well-planned series of attacks. The Taliban have claimed responsibility, calling it the start of their spring offensive. That's their term. Afghan security forces reacted quickly. Officials say at least 19 insurgents were killed. And one of their targets was the second vice president of Afghanistan. The U.S. is praising Afghan forces for their prompt action without NATO assistance.

I spoke to our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, earlier about what this all means.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Whoever did this knew that they were targeting places that are so super secure. You and I both have been in the presidential palace there in Kabul. You can't even take - as a journalist, you can't even take a pen inside there. The Taliban know it's secure. The diplomatic compounds there, the airfield at Jalalabad, very secure. American troops are based there. That's one of the reasons why it's so secure.

So in many ways, whoever did this will know that all they're going to be able to do is sacrifice a bunch of young suicide bombers, and maybe kill a few people. So this has a lot of sort of publicity show about it. What it is, is I think a statement of intent by the Taliban, by the Haqqani network to say that no matter how much pressure you've put on us in recent years, we're able to carry out our most coordinated, multifaceted attack across the country, better than we've been able to do in the past. We haven't gone away. A statement of intent that they would like to continue with more of this. But I think if they do, they need to look at their tactics. They weren't successful in military terms.

TUCHMAN: Nic, it's now been more than 10 1/2 years since the allies went into Afghanistan. You just brought up an interesting point. When you're in Kabul, in the middle of Kabul where all the government buildings are, you feel relatively safe. The fact that the presidential palace where we have so much security as journalists when we go in, I mean how do these guys implement a plan like this without any one hearing about it and able to get into these buildings and these fortresses?

ROBERTSON: Well, the Taliban have networks of supporters across the country, who are willing to support them. Perhaps not in military means, but give them safe houses to live in. There are villages that will support them, that will give them safe haven, particularly in the east of country where the Haqqani come from. The real facilitate - the real planners in this are often outside of Afghanistan, across the border in Pakistan. That's where the Haqqani network has its headquarters. So they can sit and plan all they want in relative safety, where there are no Pakistani troops that are going to go after them. And then put into effect plans that will use a few loyalists dotted around Afghanistan to get to the places where they want to be. And continue the attacks from there.

The video I've seen of past attacks, these guys have looked very brazen, often exactly the archetype of the jihadist type terrorists, you can imagine with a big beard and a backpack full of rocket- propelled grenades on their backs. These guys do stand out in a crowd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: That's our Nic Robertson reporting. He spent a lot of time in the nation of Afghanistan.

Days after the humiliating failure of a rocket launch, a defiant North Korea is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the nation's founder. A military parade featured what appeared to be a new larger ballistic missile. But defense analysts are unable to confirm if it's real. The country's leader Kim Jong-Un said they will not be bullied by nuclear armed enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM JONG-UN, NORTH KOREAN LEADER (through translator): Our military has become a powerful military, able to handle any kind of modern warfare with complete offensive and defensive capabilities. The foreign powers are not the only ones with a monopoly of military supremacy, and the days of their threatening and lying to us with atomic weapons is forever gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: What you were just looking at is Kim Jong-Un's first televised speech since taking office.

Turning to the scandal that has erupted at the U.S. Secret Service. Eleven agents and uniformed officers from President Obama's advanced detail were sent home from Colombia and put on leave after allegedly having contact with prostitutes. Also five military service members providing support in Colombia have been confined to quarters after allegations surfaced over what military commanders called inappropriate behavior.

The president is in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas. As the summit winds down, President Obama will be holding a news conference from Colombia 20 minutes from now, actually 17 minutes to be precise, 4:30 Eastern time with the president of that nation. We'll bring it to you live when it happens. Again, a news conference with President Obama 4:30 Eastern time.

The race for president is down to two main players. At least for the GOP side, that is. As the campaign heats up, women voters are at the center of the fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: For all practical purposes, the race for president on the GOP side is Mitt Romney, democratic side Barack Obama. Three pivotal voting groups are emerging, women, social conservatives and those whose primary concerns are taxes and fairness. CNN's senior political analyst, the former adviser to four presidents, David Gergen joins me to talk about how the race is developing. David, good seeing you. Thanks for joining us.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks, Gary. It's good to talk to you again.

TUCHMAN: When it comes to women voters, David, President Obama started the week with a double digit lead over Mitt Romney in most polls. It's a weakness Romney has been working hard to change. Let's listen to what he said earlier this week, David.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was disappointed in listening to the president, as he's saying, oh, Republicans are waging a war on women. The real war on women is being waged by the president's field economic policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Here's a question for you, David, can Romney turn things around with women or do Republican positions on abortion and contraception and health care make this too big of a hurdle?

GERGEN: Mitt Romney can certainly close the gap. We have an almost historic kind of gender gap that's opened up. A "Washington Post ABC" poll showed a 27-point difference between women versus men, on the Obama-Romney thing. Obama way ahead among women, Romney way ahead with men. I think Mitt Romney can close that gap some. After all, a number of women are social conservatives. Republicans traditionally in recent years have done very well with married women. They have a much, much harder time with single women.

And I do think that Republicans have vulnerabilities on that. There are so many single women with kids at home who hear about the potential cuts coming, and the various kind of food and nutritional programs. They're going to vote democratic. So they're going to want some reassurances from Mitt Romney, and the Republicans, that they're not going to get thrown out here, that they're not going to be left in the cold. There are going to be making efforts to help them, making up the economic ladder or to live well and look after their kids. There are a lot more single women in this country than there used to be. So it is an issue that Republicans have to pay attention to.

TUCHMAN: David, as we all know pretty well by now, democratic strategist Hillary Rosen sparked a lot of reaction with her comments about Ann Romney or "never worked a day in her life."

GERGEN: Sure did.

TUCHMAN: I want to ask you though. Do you think there are really undecided voters out there, undecided women who are now thinking, "hmm, Barack Obama really doesn't like stay-at-home moms."

GERGEN: Well, as I mentioned, Republicans traditionally, I remember all the way back to Reagan now, his chief strategist, Richard (INAUDIBLE), kept saying, "Mr. President, the working, or the working women who are married, and married women who are home, are big, big potential vote getters for you. You know, a lot of them believe in traditional values. They tend to be more moderate. They want a strong economy." And I do think that Hillary Rosen's comments, for which she's apologized, as she should have, helped to put a focus on Ann Romney, who is I think will help Mitt Romney. And the more you see of Ann Romney, the more she grows on you. She's warm in ways that he has been unable to communicate. And she is authentic. She's had life-threatening diseases. She reminds me a lot of Betty Ford, frankly. And I think people are going to be warm to her. And I think they'll be warm to the candidate.

But that's especially true among married women. Again, I stress that the real Romney issue, if he wants to narrow this gap, is also among single women, single stay at home moms, people who are divorced for whatever reason, never had, never married. A lot of those women are having rough times in this economy. The Republicans have to give some reassurances that under Republican leadership, their situations will brighten.

TUCHMAN: If it's estimated that about one-fourth of the recent presidential ballots have been cast by evangelical voters, is Mitt Romney, a member of the LDS Church going to be able to get the socially conservative voters to turn out?

GERGEN: In the primaries, Mitt Romney lost every state in which half the voters were more evangelicals. He won every state in which less than half the voters were evangelicals. So he does have a challenge here in this community. Many will come around, but I think there are two questions, can he get them to rally, but the other question, and I think he's getting some bum advice, frankly, from some conservatives who want him to go even further right in order to get the evangelicals, that's not where it seems to me - it may help him with evangelicals to go further right, but it is going to hurt him with independents. It's going to hurt him with some of the very women that he's trying to get back.

After all, it was over this issue of contraception and women's health care, the controversy was stirred up during the primaries with Santorum. Santorum got him drawn to the right. That's one of the reasons he has this big gap now with women.

TUCHMAN: Let's talk pocketbook issues, David.

GERGEN: Sure.

TUCHMAN: The Congress takes up the so-called Buffett Rule, we're not talking about Jimmy Buffett.

GERGEN: Right.

TUCHMAN: We're talking about Warren Buffet.

GERGEN: Jimmy Buffett would be very happy with that. (INAUDIBLE).

TUCHMAN: As I call it the Margarita rule.

GERGEN: The margarita rule is even better.

TUCHMAN: We'll talk about that in a second. But how does Mitt Romney attack this without looking like, you know, just another rich guy?

GERGEN: It is hard. The language, he's got to find some different language to communicate. But look, I think he has this argument. I personally think that the more affluent people in this country should pay a higher taxes. I support going back to the Clinton rules. But I think under the - I think what Mitt Romney can say is look, (INAUDIBLE) this Buffett Rule at the center, everything around the Buffett Rule is really a gimmick, a political gimmick. It's a very, it would bring in a very tiny amount of revenue. It doesn't (INAUDIBLE) anywhere close to the deficit problem.

And after all, the top one percent, yes, the rates are not very high, but they do pay 40 percent of the taxes in this country. So it's not as if they're - I think they need to - I personally think that President Obama should stop villainizing the wealthy and acting like somehow they're bad guys. I think that's just wrong headed. They do pay a lot.

Now, I think the other part of this, though, for Mitt Romney is, he's got to take a play out of the old Jack Kemp book, and that is, stop attacking people who are successful. What we should do is make it possible for a lot more people to be successful. There are to many people getting stuck at the bottom now. The social mobility we had in the country is disappearing sadly. And I think really threateningly. And the Republicans ought to be for growth, and making sure there are ladders for people who work hard, to work their way up from the bottom and get to the top. That has been the secret to much of America's success. That's who he's got to be for. And too many people stuck at the bottom, and he ought to be for finding ways to get them out of that. I think that worked for Jack Kemp and it would work for Mitt Romney.

TUCHMAN: And before we let you enjoy the rest of your weekend, David Gergen, your advice please for the Obama administration as it tries to deal with the Secret Service incident that created a lot of embarrassment for the United States in Colombia.

GERGEN: It was embarrassing. I think that they have to allow the Secret Service to carry out whatever penalties, or reprimands that may exist, and people may have to be let go. But the White House should be - should not try to make a big issue of this, and be - I think that they ought to remind people, OK, we've had some things here that were not good. But these Secret Service men and women, they put their lives on the line every day for the president of the United States and for other top people in our government. Let's not be too hard on them. Respect what they do. They're under a lot of pressure. OK. They work hard, they play hard, but they do work very hard. And they do serve this country extraordinarily well.

TUCHMAN: And a very good point to end with. It's a remarkable organization, the U.S. Secret Service. GERGEN: It is. You and I both have seen it up close and we know how hard those guys work. They're in danger a lot. I knew some of those guys that got hit. They're in danger a lot.

TUCHMAN: There's no question about it. David Gergen, it's nice seeing you. And thanks for talking to us.

GERGEN: Thank you, Gary. Take care.

TUCHMAN: Well, there's nothing like the power of a picture to tell the story. When forecasters put out the tornado warnings, CNN's ireporters swing into action. The best ireports coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Welcome back, everybody. When bad weather breaks out, CNN's ireporters have become a critical part of getting the very best pictures at the heart of the action.

Let's bring in Josh Levs. Josh has been gathering the best of those ireports. Show us some of the pictures you've been seeing.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I always tell people, don't go into any danger to take videos or photos, but if you're safe in taking these images and kind of putting us inside, show them to us. Let's get straight to this video right here. I want you to see one of the most powerful ireports. Let's listen in to this as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then turn right on Maple Street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: One thing I love about this video, you can actually hear his GPS in the background. His exact spot. You can figure out what it was. This is out of Burdette, Kansas. Benjamin (INAUDIBLE) took this picture, these videos. He talks about how close he was. He said he was initially worried it might hit the town over at Burdette. He says what he saw ultimately did not. He says during the day he saw five others. And you can see there, Gary, this is a good example the kind of video we get, so powerful. It kind of brings you to the spot.

TUCHMAN: I mean it's so changed the business that we have of covering tornadoes. Because I mean 10, 15, 20 years ago we never saw tornadoes.

LEVS: Yes, that is to say we can't be everywhere but our ireporters are everywhere including right here. Here's another one. Let's see if you can zoom in on this photo real quickly. This is another good example of what we got. This is from (INAUDIBLE) over in Carmen, Oklahoma. And you can see right here, probably a little bit cloudy on your screen, but there's another one captured there.

There are other ways that people were affected. I want to jump over to this picture right here and show you this river in someone's front yard. Katy Sykes took this in Wichita, where this was just all this pounding rain. She came up from her basement, went outside afterwards and saw that. One more video to show you as well.

Let's get to that quickly with just some hail that I want you to see. And look at the hail there. This is something to keep in mind. We talk about the tornadoes, Gary. But obviously bad weather affects more of a region than the tornadoes do as well. So you can see other places that are affected as well. That's out of Nebraska. Obviously, folks, keep those videos and photos coming to us at ireport. It's really easy to send them. But only again if it's safe.

TUCHMAN: And again we should emphasize that we're very grateful that you folks do send us the pictures and videos.

LEVS: Helps us tell the stories.

TUCHMAN: Thank you, Josh Levs. Appreciate it.

Will Mitt Romney's Mormon faith become a factor in the race for president of the United States? One evangelical reporter is saying yes. The editor of our Belief Blog will tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: CNN's Belief Blog covers faith aspects of the day's biggest stories. This week one story that caught our eye referred to an evangelical leader who says Mitt Romney's Mormon religion is going to become a bigger deal in the General Election than it was in the Republican primaries.

Cnn.com religion editor Dan Gilgoff, who does great work, joins me from Washington with more on this story.

Dan, thanks for joining us. And tell us which religious leader made these comments and what's the point he's trying to make?

DAN GILGOFF, CNN.COM RELIGION EDITOR: Sure. His name is Richard Land. He's the public policy chief for the biggest evangelical denomination in the country, the Southern Baptists. He's also someone who is really close to the Romney campaign, is going to be a really big player, you know, in the election, at the nexus of religion and politics.

I thought this was really fascinating what he said. He said he thought that the Mormonism of Mitt Romney has become a bigger issue in the General Election because basically the evangelicals that dominate a lot of primary states and have already voted, already accept Mitt Romney, that he's a Mormon, and are comfortable with it.

These are evangelicals who are in competition with Mormons for other converts. So they tend to know a lot about the Mormon faith. He says it's the Democratic-leaning voters and independent voters who don't know a lot about Mormonism who are going to be really kind of shocked to learn about the religion in the coming months as we approach the election. TUCHMAN: So is he saying that a Mormon should not be president of the United States? That certainly sounds awfully bigoted to say something like that.

GILGOFF: No, he's not saying that at all. As a matter of fact, he's someone who -- he doesn't issue endorsements, but he's advised Governor Romney and he's someone who's very comfortable it sounds like with the idea of a Mormon president.

This is why this is so ironic, because here we have this evangelical leader who says, yes, you know, Mitt Romney, it's fine that he is a Mormon, that should be off the table when choosing a president. But he's saying that it's going to be independents and liberals who don't really know a lot about Mormonism, they don't know a lot about religion generally.

And so he's saying ironically it's going to be those type of voters who are most concerned about Romney's Mormonism.

TUCHMAN: And yet obviously though it's fair to say that there are a number of evangelicals who will not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon, and they do not believe that Mormons are Christians.

GILGOFF: Yes. There are some. But I think it's interesting, if you look at public polling on this, it turns out that most Republicans either don't know or don't care that Romney is a Mormon.

At the same time, you have a lot of social conservative, evangelical leaders this week who were really disappointed. Disappointed because Rick Santorum jumped out of the race. They loved Rick Santorum. He was one of them, a true blue social conservative, went to bat for their issues as a senator. Is really a Catholic at heart. Home- schools his seven children.

And now they feel like they're stuck with Mitt Romney. And I think partially because of his religion, but mostly because he's changed on the social issues, they still don't trust him. And they're having a hard time coming to terms with the reality that it looks like Mitt Romney's going to be the nominee for president for the Republican Party this fall.

TUCHMAN: Dan, four years ago I talked to Mitt Romney about his religion, he talked a lot about it, and he's talking very little about it this time. We'll see as the days, weeks, and months go on, as we get closer to the conventions, as we get closer to Election Day, if he starts talking about his faith.

Dan Gilgoff, thank you very much for joining us.

GILGOFF: Gary, good to be here.

TUCHMAN: Well, for more stories on faith, be sure to check out our popular Belief Blog, and that's at cnn.com/belief.

We're getting ready right now for a joint news conference with President Obama and the president of Colombia, Santos. They're wrapping up the Summit of the Americas down in Cartagena, Colombia. That is scheduled to start about 10 minutes from now. And we'll bring it to you when it happens. So stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: President Obama is in the nation of Colombia this weekend for the Summit of the Americas. He'll be holding a news conference just a few minutes from now. It was scheduled for 4:30 Eastern time. The time has obviously passed. But it could start at any minute. We'll bring it to you live when the news conference begins.

Meanwhile the summit is being slightly overshadowed by a scandal that has erupted at the U.S. Secret Service. Eleven agents and uniformed officers from President Obama's advance detail were sent home from Colombia and put on leave after allegedly having contact with prostitutes.

Representative Peter King of New York State, head of the Homeland Security Committee, talked to CNN about what he knows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R-NY), CHAIRMAN, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Basically my understanding is 11 Secret Service agents, they did bring women back to their rooms. There was a -- one of the women did not leave her room in the morning, the hotel manager tried to get into the room. Finally the police came. The woman did leave. Secret Service agent apparently, she said, owed her money. That was basically it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Also, five military service members providing support in Colombia have been confined to quarters after allegations surfaced over what military commanders call "inappropriate behavior" in Colombia.

Well, as Congress comes back into session tomorrow, one of the main issues discussed will be President Obama's proposed "Buffett rule." For more on that, let's go to CNN's Athena Jones in Washington.

Athena, thanks for joining us. Explain, what is the so-called "Buffett rule."

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, simply put, Gary, the "Buffett rule" would impose a minimum effective tax rate of 30 percent for people making more than $1 million.

It takes its name from the billionaire investor Warren Buffett who, as the story goes, discovered not long ago that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her income in taxes than he does. Buffett didn't think this was fair. Neither does the White House.

And so they've really been pushing this issue of tax fairness this election year.

TUCHMAN: So, Athena, roughly do we know how many people would be affected by this and how much revenue would the "Buffett rule" bring into the Federal Treasury?

JONES: That's a good question. Because while there are millions of millionaires in America, many of them already pay 30 percent or more. So Warren Buffett in interviews has suggested that 50,000 to 60,000 could be affected. The White House, in the fact sheet they put out last week discussing this issue, said that they pointed to a number, 77,000 households that in 2009 paid less than 30 percent of their income in taxes.

And so it's certainly going to be in the thousands, not the millions. As you mentioned, that leads us to just how much revenue is this going to bring in if it doesn't affect that many people.

Well, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which is that non-partisan committee in the Senate that has economists and lawyers and accountants studying these kinds of issues for members of Congress, they estimate that the rule would bring in $5.1 billion next year, in 2013. And then $47 billion over the next 10 years. So that's just $4.7 billion a year on average.

If you look at those numbers, that's a tiny, tiny percentage of the deficits we would be looking at, or expected to be looking at in those coming years. So not a big budgetary impact. But certainly for the White House a big political debate to have.

And so even though it's not expected that this legislation will get past this procedural hurdle it faces this week in the Senate, don't expect the Obama White House to drop it. They think this is a big issue that the middle class understands, this whole issue of tax fairness. And I can bet that they're going to keep talking about it this election year -- Gary.

TUCHMAN: You can bet on that, Athena Jones. Thank you very much. It's nice seeing you.

JONES: Thanks. Good to see you.

TUCHMAN: Well, the story we'll be bringing you at 5:00 Eastern time, it's a horrible story, modern-day cannibalism. Three people under arrest in Brazil. Police say kill women -- this is really unbelievable, but they kill women and use their flesh to make stuffed empanadas. It's a popular pastry and it's a true story. We're hearing that they may have sold those empanadas. We will have a correspondent in Brazil who will gather the facts on this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Stay with us here on CNN. The Summit of the Americas is now over in Colombia. We expect at any minute the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, to have a news conference. We'll bring it to you live when it begins, it could start at any minute.

Now while millions still face the threat of tornadoes today, people across four states are assessing the damage already done by more than 120 suspected tornadoes. Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, four states hit. Five people killed, hundreds of homes damaged if not out and out destroyed.

Now let's turn our attention to the tiny town of Thurman, Iowa, where the town's mayor says there's not much left, 90 percent of the community he says is damaged, 300 people live there. We get the story from our Omaha, Nebraska, affiliate KETV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This massive piece of metal blocking Larry Hill's refrigerator blew in just before dinner.

LARRY HILL, LOST HOME TO TORNADO: That piece of iron had to come from a building. It was no straight wind, it was a regular twister.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hill and his wife heard the sirens and ran for their backyard shelter, but they say a twister came too fast.

HILL: So we started back in, and windows started blasting out and out and out. We go into the bathroom like they always say, and while we got here, the roof went here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With no other options as the walls began to blow in around them, the couple took cover in this coat closet.

HILL: I was more or less laying on her. And I had to get up. I was starting to shake pretty good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were just west of the storm as it made its way into the tiny town of Thurman, Iowa. Thurman's mayor was right underneath it.

MAYOR ROD UMPHREYS, THURMAN, IOWA: It lasted three to four minutes probably. What seemed like an eternity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Mayor Rod Umphreys surveyed the damage, he saw most of the town did not survive. But all of its residents did.

UMPHREYS: We had a couple of trees that fell on some homes and people were unable to get out of them. But no major injuries, which is the greatest thing.

HILL: The good lord was with us. He sure was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as Larry Hill looks at what little is left of his home, well, there really aren't words.

HILL: It's about more than you can bear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Now let's bring in Jacqui Jeras in our weather center.

Jacqui, how concerned are you about now, tonight, early tomorrow morning, Midwest and the Upper Midwest?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'm always concerned whenever there's a threat of tornadoes. But today will be reduced compared to yesterday, in terms of the number of tornadoes, and in terms of the area being impacted by the worst of the conditions.

So we have a tornado watch that was just issued, literally a minute ago, by the Storm Prediction Center for much of southern Minnesota, extreme northern Iowa, and west central parts of Wisconsin. This includes the twin cities Minneapolis-St. Paul, and includes (INAUDIBLE), down towards Rochester, Winona, Lacrosse, Wisconsin, and down into Mason City, Iowa. And this will be in effect until 11:00 tonight.

And this is really the area we're going to be watching for thunderstorms to be developing that could start rotating. There's a lot of spin with this storm. And much of the energy with it is going to stay to the north.

That said, we still have a rift across parts of Missouri and into Arkansas. We've got a line that's associated with a cold front that has been producing some strong thunderstorms with winds at times in excess of 60 miles per hour.

Isolated tornadoes are expected here. So we can't rule out that possibility, and something that people need to be aware of tonight. As we take a look at the big (INAUDIBLE) area, we're really talking from the UP of Michigan tonight, all the way down towards the Gulf Coast, where we have that threat of severe thunderstorms.

And this system is going to stick with us, by the way, into tomorrow. So people who live in Upstate New York, down into the Appalachians, need to be prepared for severe weather tomorrow afternoon as well.

TUCHMAN: An active couple of days. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Well, coming up next, the curtain lifts again for an historic landmark in the nation's capital. Entertainer Bill Cosby shares his personal stories with Candy Crowley about the Howard Theatre.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Before there was the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, there was the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. Now after being closed for more than 30 years, the D.C. landmark has come back to life.

CNN's Candy Crowley spoke with Bill Cosby about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Gary, Bill Cosby was in Washington this week to help write another chapter in the legacy of the Howard Theatre, the historic arts landmark shuttered and deteriorating for more than 20 years.

First opened in 1910, the Howard was billed as the world's largest colored theater, and later as Washington's "Black Broadway," and "The People's Theater." Cosby brought with him two of the people who pushed for Howard's new life and remember its heydays.

REV. SANDRA BUTLER-TRUESDALE, HOWARD THEATRE RESTORATION COMMUNITY CMTE.: Of course, The State is in the same place. And the balcony. But this, the feeling is still here. That's what's more important to me, is that feeling of the ancestors that came before us. It's still here.

CROWLEY: And who was here? Who in Washington frequented?

BUTLER-TRUESDALE: Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Lena Horne is the first person that my mother brought me to see here. And Lena Horne was not a vocalist, she was a dancer at that time. Count Basie, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, many, many people were here back in the heyday.

Of course, then after the jazz era, it went into R&B. And there were groups like The Temptations, The Supremes.

BERNARD DEMCZUK, ASST. V.P., GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: And let's not forget the doo-wop era, the doo-wop from '55 to '65. I was at the University of Maryland in '65 to '70, and we would come down here and we'd go to the du-wop shows. Alan Lee Doo-Wop Revue (ph) was absolutely marvelous. Doo-wop singers, the street singers, they were fabulous.

CROWLEY: So it was a mixed crowd? It was not an African-American...

DEMCZUK: Well, predominantly black.

BUTLER-TRUESDALE: Yes, predominantly black, because one of the things that I always remember is, even though the theaters were segregated, our theaters were never segregated because whites could always come to our theaters.

We couldn't go to theirs, but we could go -- you know, they could come to ours.

CROWLEY: When we say theater, I tend to think plays. But this was entertainment. This was...

DEMCZUK: It was plays as well. As a matter of fact, this was really the beginning of black -- serious black dramatic arts right here.

CROWLEY: There are now places where -- on Broadway, African- Americans, I mean, it's obviously integrated. There are many, many places to go. What's important about saving this theater?

BUTLER-TRUESDALE: Well, I think it's mostly the history of the theater. To save this theater meant a lot to us, because this, first of all, was the first black theater in the country. And so to say this...

CROWLEY: Before Apollo, before any of those that are so famous.

BUTLER-TRUESDALE: It was before The Apollo, yes, it was. And just let me tell you, there were four shows a day. Those shows started at 1:00, and one of the greatest things, it was 90 cents a show. And the seats were right here. And you could look right at the entertainer. You didn't have to look at a screen or anything.

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: May I also add, please, and not to rush me, my wife admitted -- she's 68 years old, my wife admitted that at age 15, her father dropped her off here to see James Brown. And she admits that she tried to get his cape and was thrown back.

CROWLEY: Are we going to see a Bill Cosby show here?

COSBY: I don't know. Right now I'm engaged at other theaters. On the 20th of April, I'll be at the Kennedy Center for two shows.

CROWLEY: Uptown.

COSBY: But I'll be black.

(LAUGHTER)

DEMCZUK: Will continue to be black.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: That's Candy Crowley talking to Bill Cosby, who hosted a star-studded event at the theater. And singers Al Jarreau, Martha Reeves, and Smokey Robinson, all legends, we just a few of the celebrities who attended.

At anytime now we expect a news conference to begin in Cartagena, Colombia, after the Summit of Americas. Barack Obama, the president of the United States, the president of Colombia will be speaking. When it starts, we'll go to it live. So stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)