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Deadly Tornadoes Strike Texas; Families of Nightclub Fire Victims Share Loss at Sentencing; Teachers Disciplined Over Schoolyard Sexual Assault; Doctors Struggle to Save Lives on Iraq Battlefield

Aired May 10, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Deadly tornadoes tear through Texas. The explosive storm system still on the move. We're watching the severe weather.

Florida burning, exhausted firefighters still on the front lines, battling the brushfires.

LIVE FROM starts right now.

Happening this hour, a judge decides whether a former manager for the band Great White goes to prison. The reason: that nightclub fire that killed 100 people. We're live from the courthouse in Rhode Island.

After dark and with deadly aim, Texas tornadoes, leaving three people dead and the prospect of more victims buried in the rubble. This is what left some homes in Collin County, near Dallas, is what it looks like now. Several others are reduced to concrete slabs.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the town of Westminster. He's been actually traveling throughout the area.

Rob, give us a feel for what it looks like.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kyra, we were just allowed past -- basically a road block. And now we're really getting the sense of how strong these tornadoes were, or at least this one, that came through the community of Westminster.

Look behind me, and you can see not one but two, several homes completely destroyed. These are not trailer homes. This is not a mobile park. These are well-constructed, beam and 2-by-4 studded walls on top and bolted down to concrete slabs.

This one right here, likely 2,000 square feet or better. And this has not been piled up by a bulldozer. This is the way the storm has left this rubble. The couple that was in here, and they're an elderly couple, actually survived. They're hospitalized right now. But unbelievable to look at this damage and say wow, somebody survived this storm.

All right, so you see the debris, you see how it's kind of piled up on this northeast side of the storm. Take a look at the mud and also the grass, how the grains of the grass are strewn that way. Right now, this is where the right side of the vortex of this tornado came through. And arguably, even though the entire tornado is strong, this would be the strongest part.

Look how the path continues just before our satellite truck. That's a mattress that is wrapped around what used to be a telephone pole. And then you see all sorts of debris that's lined in the trees and bushes behind.

This is -- beyond this road, beyond our satellite truck, there's an additional line of destruction with more homes and barns and things of that nature completely destroyed.

What we're seeing now, as opposed to what we saw this morning, Kyra, is this tornado that rolled through was definitely a big one. At least an F-3, judging from this damage, with a well-structured home being completely demolished. Likely an F-4 or better. And as you know, F-5 is the top -- is the top ranking, much like a hurricane. We'll wait to see what the National Weather Services says when they come out to survey this damage.

But this is the worst that we've seen so far now that we're on the scene here in Westminster, Collin County, which also borders Grayson County, Texas.

These storms came through last night around 10:30. There was some warning. Although the SBC did not put out a tornado watch out, there was a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service, 10, 20 minutes of warning at best. Some heard it, and some didn't.

Amazing part of this story, even with three fatalities, Kyra, is that the couple in this home survived. It's -- I hate to say the word "unbelievable," because certainly after the last couple of years of seeing weather tragedies, every time we stumble upon a storm that does something like this, it's still inconceivable, even when you see it up close.

That's the latest from here, Kyra, back over to you.

PHILLIPS: We see the devastation there. Obviously, Rob, behind you. We've also got some aerials, I understand, of the same area where you are right now. We'll look at those live pictures as well from the air.

You talked about that couple surviving. But I understand there are still rescue efforts going on throughout this area and across other parts of Texas right now. Is that right?

MARCIANO: Well, as of about an hour and a half ago -- that's the last press briefing we got from the sheriff's department -- there were still search and rescue crews out. Emergency crews with actually heat-sensing devices and canine units going door to door, going knocking on homes, and trying to see if there are actually survivors possibly trapped in rubble there. So that part of the operation is still ongoing. As a matter of fact, they tell us they want to use the media to say, hey, listen if you live in a home right now and somehow or another are getting this word, you know, call the sheriff's department if your phone is still up or put a sign on your home saying, "We're here. We're OK."

Because as you know, what happened with Katrina, one of the many problems after the storm, was accountability for people, and in some cases, bodies. And that's one problem that they're trying to avoid, among the many issues that they're dealing with here this afternoon across parts of north Texas.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Rob Marciano there in Westminster, Texas. Rob, thank you so much.

And severe weather could strike several states today. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is watching all the action for us -- Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sorry, Kyra, what Rob was talking about is really just act one. Act two is going to take place this afternoon and through the evening hours.

I'm going to step away for a moment, folks. I want you to notice on radar, you notice a bunch of geometric shapes. Some of these are shaded in yellow. The ones in yellow, those happen to be severe thunderstorm watch boxes. Now, you'll also notice one that is in red. That is a tornado watch box.

What that means is you have all the components for strong storm, some possibly capable of producing some tornadoes later on in the day, in this area. What you have is a strong front that's drifting right on through, a lot of moist air at the surface. Then you have some daytime heating that will help make this atmosphere more even more unstable.

And then into the afternoon and evening hours, we're expecting the low-level Jet Stream to come on through. When that occurs, it's going to amplify that lift and give us a chance of more of those strong storms. Some of those rotating, super cell-type, that create the storms like the ones Rob showed you, again, up in parts of north Texas.

Now let's zoom in on a couple of these. We're going to take you just south of Memphis, right into portions of Greenville. Here's Clarksdale. You'll notice some of these lines have a little bit of a bow in them. That's a signature mark that indicates a great deal of wind moving from west to east with these systems.

Now, what you have to remember is you can have a lot of damage without even tornados. These straight-line winds can be just devastating. And certainly, you want to take cover in parts of Mississippi.

Meanwhile, we take you back over to Alabama. Again, another intense line of storms. It's already gone through Columbus, Mississippi, about to move through Birmingham and Jasper. So if you happen to be in central Alabama, get ready for the rough stuff.

Meanwhile, farther to the south, just to the east of Montgomery, Eufaula, Alabama, some cells, but certainly not quite as strong. And we do believe, Kyra, that the roughest stuff will take place as we get into the late afternoon, and into the early evening hours. So certainly an area to keep a close eye on.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep talking.

WOLF: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Reynolds Wolf, thank you so much.

Wildfires mean detours for many people in Florida. The state is planning to shut down parts of its busiest highways, including I-95, for four hours every day. Mornings are when smoke, combined with humid air or fog, can have the biggest impact on visibility.

At last count, 103 fires were burning across the state, about half of them in central Florida. The smoke is blamed for a number of serious car crashes.

It's a day of reckoning three years after a night of horror. Providence, Rhode Island. Minutes from now, a former rock band manager will learn his sentence for starting that catastrophic nightclub fire in 2003. You'll remember these pictures very well from The Station, where 100 people were killed. Victims' families live with the memories every day.

CNN's Allan Chernoff was in the court for their heartbreaking testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The courtroom ached with pain of the victims' families. Parents, like Claire Bruyere, who lost her daughter, Bonnie.

CLAIRE BRUYERE, DAUGHTER DIED IN THE STATION FIRE: Her death will always haunt me, knowing I was asleep while my child was gasping her last breath. They took my best friend, my heart, my only child, my reason for being.

CHERNOFF: Minutes after band manager Daniel Beichele ignited a pyrotechnics display for the rock band Great White in February of 2003, The Station nightclub in Rhode Island burst into flames. Dozens of fans never had a chance to get out. And parents never had a chance to say good-bye to their children.

Lou Selly (ph) lost his son, Sam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am still haunted from the visions of the tragic events and thoughts of my son's final moments. My life will never be the same again. I just miss my son so much.

CHERNOFF: Diana Soufaletto (ph) spoke of how her family is still devastated by the death of her brother and his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our mom just hasn't been the same since we lost Ben and Linda. They were her babies, and now I watch her deteriorate day by day. There are days I go into her bedroom, and she's crying and I know why.

CHERNOFF: The pain, for many parents, like Anna Gruttadauria, simply won't go away.

ANNA GRUTTADAURIA, DAUGHTER DIED IN THE STATION FIRE: We thought burying our daughter was the worst thing we could go through, but living without her each day is.

CHERNOFF: Anna and her husband Joe tracked down their daughter Pamela at a nearby hospital after the fire. She had been labeled Jane Doe, the top half of her body burned.

GRUTTADAURIA: We had to identify her. She was all wrapped in all kinds of bandages, and her face was covered. And we recognized her by her feet.

CHERNOFF: For 2 1/2 months, Pam struggled for life at Massachusetts General Hospital. Pam, a 33-year-old supervisor at a Holiday Inn, endured 35 operations. Her hands were amputated. Finally, infection set in. And the parents, with their doctor, had to make the awful decision of whether to take their daughter off life support.

GRUTTADAURIA: How can you decide on whether to shut the machines off on your daughter or not? It was such a hard decision. But then when he explained to us how Pam's life would be and how really sick she was, we said we can't have her live like this.

CHERNOFF: Pam was so close with her parents that she lived at home with them. Now Anna and Joe keep Pam's memory alive each day. A memorial on the front lawn and angels surrounding, protecting their home. Every day, the parents still speak to their daughter.

JOE GRUTTADAURIA, DAUGHTER DIED IN THE STATION FIRE: I go up to the grave. I'll say a little prayer for her. And I'll hold a little conversation with her, tell her how the day was going and what the grandchildren are doing in baseball and what her mother's up to and little conversation like that, you know, and say, "Good night, Pam, I love you."

My heart aches. It really doesn't say anything. It just aches with the pain that I don't have my daughter anymore.

CHERNOFF: Wednesday, band manager Daniel Beichele will be sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison under a plea deal. Anna and Joe plan to be in court. But they say it won't bring them any peace. Nothing, they say, ever will.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: And we'll bring you live coverage of Beichele's sentencing once that begins today.

Well, it's a long way from pig tails in the ink well or a scuffle over kickball. In St. Louis, allegations of a shocking schoolyard sexual assault involving first and second graders.

CNN's Jonathan Freed has more as administrators, parents and police try to figure out what happened and how -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

We have learned now, after speaking to the superintendent of St. Louis schools here, earlier today, that the two teachers who were involved in this, who were outside, in the schoolyard here at Columbia Elementary School on Friday afternoon, when it is alleged an 8-year- old girl, a second grader, was sexually assaulted by a group of 12 first and second graders, Kyra.

The superintendent of schools here has told us that the two teachers were about 15 -- that's one-five -- feet away from where this huddle of boys around this girl was happening. And it wasn't until another child came over and got the attention of the teachers that they went over and stopped what was going on.

Now, let's listen to what the superintendent of schools has had to say. And he clearly says that more could have been done on the part of the school. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG WILLIAMS, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: I believe that the teachers could have been paying much closer attention to what was happening on the playground. You know, I inspected the playground, walked around the playground. While, of course, there's playground equipment on the play lot. I still, as an adult, believe that we could have seen and monitored the playground a whole lot better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: That was Craig Williams, Kyra, and he told us, as well, that his understanding, based on the extent to which they've looked into this at this point, is that the activity there was limited to touching, that it didn't go beyond that, but he says it's still outrageous, it's still unacceptable -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Has anybody, any parents come forward and said, "This is where I think my child learned how to do this"? I mean, these kids that allegedly did the touching, I mean, where did this come from? They're so young.

FREED: Well, that's it, exactly. These are the questions that we're asking. We spoke to the head of the PTO here a little bit earlier today. And she is still adamant that this is an excellent school and would not hesitate to remain involved here and send her child here. Obviously, some mixed emotions going on here on the part of some parents. Some don't understand why there isn't a whole line of parents across the street, you know, picketing and demanding answers today. In part that may be because the superintendent of schools acted -- I think from the point of view of some people -- relatively quickly in dismissing one of the two teachers involved and suspending the other one. Basically admitting, look there were two teachers there. They should have seen what was going on. It was a mistake -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jonathan Freed in St. Louis. Thanks, John.

Iraq E.R. Folks, this is no TV drama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that guy over there is getting a needle in his back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to go behind the scenes of a very real Baghdad combat hospital.

Plus, deadly tornados touched down in Texas. Live pictures now of the damage in Westminster, which is just north of Dallas. The severe weather is on the move. We're going to stay on the story. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As you know, CNN is your hurricane headquarters. And we've been following these live pictures out of Westminster, Texas, seeing the severe weather damage. Our Rob Marciano is on the ground there.

Now we're getting live pictures in from Birmingham, Alabama.

Reynolds Wolf is going to tell us about how this system continues to move from state to state.

Tell us about Alabama.

WOLF: Well, what we're seeing in Alabama right now, Kyra, some fairly heavy storms. Most of these are forming just to the west of this vantage point. Now the -- what you happen to see on part of the screen, of course, is a shot from Red Mountain, looking north, the city of Birmingham nestled right there on the right-hand side.

Now from the television screen, from the left to the right is I- 65, and Legionfield (ph) is over on the left-hand corner of the screen. What we're seeing right behind me, if we take the computer, weather computer full, is this line of showers and storms, some of these very intense.

At this hour, the National Weather Service has already posted many severe thunderstorm warnings. And this storm is going to continue to march through places like Jasper, eventually through Gardendale (ph), Birmingham, back through Hoover, Alabaster. We're going to have some large hail. We're going to have some heavy rain, and there's always the potential for tornados to form. So this is really a very, very unstable area that we're going to watch.

Again, most of it just to the west of Birmingham at this time. Here's I-65, coming right through parts of Birmingham. I would say within the next 30 minutes or so it will be moving right past Red Mountain, eventually moving into places like Talladega, Jacksonville, and back over to Gadsden.

So this is going to be just the beginning of what we're going to be dealing with, Kyra, through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, as well. Just these strong showers and storms. And of course, the potential for tornados will exist, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right, Reynolds. We'll be talking a lot through the day, no doubt.

WOLF: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

And you know about the 2,000-plus U.S. troops that have been killed in the war in Iraq now, but more than 1,700 (sic) troops have been hurt, a big number. But many of those would have been on the other list, were it not for the military doctors and nurses who fight for young lives every day.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has their story on a report you may have seen on "THE SITUATION ROOM". And if you didn't, you should know these pictures are pretty graphic and not always very easy to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baghdad's combat support hospital is about to get busy. Information on the incoming is scant, nuances important.

DR. DAVID STEINBRUNNER, LT. COL., U.S. ARMY: We're two liter urgent. And it sounded like there was some nervousness in the voice of the people calling it in originally.

CHILCOTE: Colonel David Steinbrunner is the on duty doctor.

STEINBRUNNER: We won't really know until they get to the door.

CHILCOTE: And in a war zone, even the most seasoned doctor can be surprised at what comes through that door.

STEINBRUNNER: Holy crap!

CHILCOTE: The triage begins. The walking wounded goes to a nurse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a medic.

CHILCOTE: Next door in the E.R., Steinbrunner is beginning his initial check on the soldier brought in on the stretcher. At first glance, things aren't looking good.

STEINBRUNNER: He's real pale, guys.

CHILCOTE: Through an oxygen mask, though, the soldier manages to mumble a message. The doctor relays it to the team.

STEINBRUNNER: He said, "Please don't let me die."

CHILCOTE: In return, he gets the doctor's words.

STEINBRUNNER: I promise. I wouldn't lie to you. Don't you dare try to die on me, OK? I didn't give you permission.

CHILCOTE: He's just as honest when the soldier asks if he can save his leg.

STEINBRUNNER: I don't know. That I don't know, OK? We'll try to save it if we can, OK? I just don't know. I can't give you an answer yet.

CHILCOTE: Also at the soldier's side, a chaplain. The anesthesia is administered. But the soldier still stirs.

STEINBRUNNER: We've got to put him down. Poor guy's waking up through all this.

CHILCOTE: Then, another call rings out. More are on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two more inbound, two minutes.

CHILCOTE: But for this soldier, it's too late. They've been doing CPR on him for a half hour. Five minutes later, he's pronounced dead.

In all, four soldiers were brought to the hospital after a bomb hit their vehicle. Private First Class Victor Vicente was behind the wheel. He's on the phone home. He doesn't tell his wife what happened to the others. That's the military's job.

PFC. VICTOR VICENTE, U.S. ARMY: I have a cut on my head. But it's not a big problem.

CHILCOTE: But he won't be going home.

STEINBRUNNER: Hey, I hate to tell you this, but basically, you're RTD, return to duty.

CHILCOTE: The casualties are separated only by curtains. There's little privacy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that guy over there is getting a needle in his back. CHILCOTE: Take this day and turn it into every day. You have Dr. Steinbrunner's routine since he arrived in Iraq.

STEINBRUNNER: It seems like it's been a long time, but it's only six or seven months.

CHILCOTE: With this system of medical care, U.S. servicemen and women are now twice as likely to survive wounds that would have killed in Vietnam.

STEINBRUNNER: Where do you push so far? You put a little...

CHILCOTE: Today, that soldier is in the E.R.

X-Rays are back.

STEINBRUNNER: There's no free air.

CHILCOTE: And they're looking good.

STEINBRUNNER: Sweet. Sweet.

CHILCOTE: He's stabilized and ready for the operating room. Dr. Steinbrunner's job is finished for now.

STEINBRUNNER: He may lose an arm or a leg. He may save it. I don't know.

CHILCOTE: Steinbrunner kept his promise.

STEINBRUNNER: He lost a lot of blood in the field so -- but he's a young, healthy guy so -- he was compensating. That's why he could talk and maintain and everything like that. But you could see the color of his skin. I mean, he was pale. He was definitely looking very, very sick.

So now I'm going to take care of his buddy. Thanks.

CHILCOTE: Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Baghdad bureau director, Cal Perry, produced the piece you just watched. He joins us now live from Baghdad.

Wow, Cal, I think that's the first time we've ever seen a piece like that. Very emotional, not only for the soldiers, but the doctors. This must be an unbelievable training ground in many ways dealing with situations they've never seen before when it comes to operating and the type of wounds they're seeing.

CAL PERRY, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU DIRECTOR: It is. As you said, I mean, it's things that no doctors in the world are seeing. It's certainly things that doctors in the United States are not seeing.

These doctors, they see blast wounds. They see soldiers that are coming in, their legs are literally blown off. And they're faced with sort of an emotional challenge that no other doctor really is faced with.

The day that we were there, a soldier died in the room. And in the very same room, doctors were saving his life. And to see doctors as they're pronouncing a soldier dead, one of their countrymen, to then turn and have to treat another soldier and save his life, it's an incredible thing to be able to do.

And they do it every day, seven days a week. They do it every single day of the year because they have to. They talk about sitting on the roof, trying to get a moment to themselves. And a chopper comes into the LZ, and they know. They know that it's going to be a very seriously wounded individual, but they never know what they're going to see. And it's certainly something very difficult to deal with.

PHILLIPS: When you say they never really know what they're going to see, I'm thinking about the injuries, but what about the patients? Has there ever been a weird moment where they're working, maybe, on a couple U.S. soldiers and then maybe the Iraqi target comes in, the enemy, and they have to work on that individual's life, as well?

PERRY: Well, absolutely. As you've said, these -- these doctors, they're doctors first, and they're soldiers second. And they'll tell you that. They do treat insurgents. And it's something that they have to do and that they do do on a daily basis.

Dr. Masure (ph) is somebody who we profiled in the piece. He's an incredible man. And I could really tell. He told me a story of the Australian soldier who was killed. He died of a bullet wound to the head. And Dr. Masure (ph) was the one who treated him.

And he tells this story about the countrymen of the Australian soldiers gathering around as it becomes clear there's nothing he can really do for him. They pulled an Australian flag sort of over his chest. He had a little koala bear on him, and he died right there in front of them.

An hour later, Dr. Masure (ph) is treating an insurgent with a very similar wound. And he told me this story. He sort of paused, and he was obviously very emotional about it. And he said, you know, "I'm not God and I can't play God."

But you can tell it really does take a toll on these doctors. But as I said, every day, they have to get back after it.

PHILLIPS: Cal, that's what I mean. I didn't mean to say Iraqi soldiers. I meant to say the insurgents when I was referring to -- to the enemy. But that does bring me to the point of do they work on Iraqi soldiers as well, the ones that are working with U.S. troops to try to take down the insurgents?

PERRY: They do, and translators, as well. They see the entire gamut of the war. And that's something that I found very fascinating about this hospital, is they see the war up close and personal every day because it arrives at their front door. So on any given day, they're treating a translator, an Iraqi soldier or an insurgent, and they have to treat everybody equally. They are doctors first. They said this over and over again. They really wanted to impress this point.

But again, when they see a U.S. soldier come in, you can tell it really hits home, and it's something that they have to do. And it just -- it's a very difficult thing, but they do it every day.

And as this sort of statistics that you've named, 17,500 wounded U.S. soldiers is an incredible amount of wounded U.S. soldiers, but they're saving lives. These are soldiers that would have died in Vietnam. The one Ryan Chilcote's piece that we profiled, that's a soldier that, we were told, would have bled out in Vietnam, probably would not have lived.

PHILLIPS: Wow. They've come a long way with regard to operational procedures. Now, Dr. Steinbrunner, you focused on him in this piece. But you told me, even through your personal pictures, you were very touched by Dr. Masure (ph). Tell me more about him and why he left such an impact on you.

PERRY: He's an incredible man. And he really -- he understands, as difficult as it is, and the horrible things that he sees, this is something that he's never going to forget for the rest of his life.

And it's an incredible training ground, as you said. I mean, these are the doctors that are going to go home and they're going to save lives of people in car crashes that probably would not have survived, because they'll have that training. They're seeing injuries that are really, on the one hand, horrific but they're learning.

And the staffs are incredible: 18-year-old medics who are doing things out here in Iraq that they wouldn't be doing in the U.S., because they see it on an everyday basis. Five guys come in wounded at a time, and they have to pitch in and help out. And they do, and they do an incredible job.

PHILLIPS: Final question, anything that really sticks out in your mind that you'll just never forget? I mean, you cover a lot of stories in Iraq. This was the first time you guys had a chance really to spend a couple of days in a situation like this. Quite a reality check. Is there anything that stands out specifically?

PERRY: Yes, the emotional strength of everybody involved, of the helicopter medic that's providing CPR care on a soldier that probably has no chance to live, but for 30 minutes that medic is going to give it every shot that he has, just in the chance of a miracle.

The young doctors that every day, they're pronouncing somebody dead on one side of the room. Then they have to turn around, that very moment, and they have to treat another U.S. soldier, and they saved his life.

The emotional strength that it takes on a daily basis, when you're seeing those kinds of wounds, to emotionally be able to cope with it, get by, and move on the next day, is really something that I'll never forget.

PHILLIPS: Cal Perry, you and Ryan Chilcote did an amazing job. Thanks so much.

You can see more stories like this on "THE SITUATION ROOM". Tune in this afternoon at 4 p.m. Eastern and watch the live prime-time edition at 7 Eastern.

Well, if you find your stockbroker peering into a TV monitor today, he or she, well, they're not watching "Oprah", more than likely. The Fed is just one hour away from a big decision on interest rates, and the fallout could be historic. That's coming, just ahead on LIVE FROM.

And once again, live pictures from Westminster, Texas. You can see the tornado damage. We're watching all the severe weather around the country, including Alabama. Stay tuned to CNN.

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