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CNN Sunday Morning

10 Dead in Miss. After Tornado, Storms Hit South

Aired April 25, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Six a.m. where we sit here, and 5 a.m. in Yazoo City, Mississippi, where they have a mess on their hands right now.

Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

That they do. As the sun will eventually rise, they will finally get a better assessment as to what is going on. Take a look at the damage. A deadly line of tornadoes ripping across Southern cities. We were talking about those watches and warnings this time yesterday. Now, the aftermath. Dozens injured, 10 plus killed in Mississippi.

HOLMES: And Mississippi, a lot of damage there. Louisiana and Alabama as well, mass destruction, and people are waking up, literally, to a whole new life this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY SAXTON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It was terrifying. I mean, it scared me to death. I've never been in anything like this before in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Ten people are dead, among them three children, one a three-month-old.

Also, rescue crews searching for more victims this morning. A possibility that the death toll could go up. Coming up this hour, we're looking at the hardest-hit area, Yazoo City, Mississippi. Also, our Reynolds Wolf will be here with the latest on the forecast moving forward.

Also, a story we brought you yesterday, and a happy ending we can tell you about. The young man from Morehouse University who had his mind not so much on NFL dreams, but quite frankly on the books. But you know what? NFL stardom, that ain't so bad either.

He was drafted yesterday and he will be in studio with us. An amazing story for him coming up.

But first, let's tell you about some stories making some headlines from overnight, and something we'll be watching today. President Obama delivering the eulogy today for the 29 miners who died in that mine explosion earlier this month in West Virginia. Both the president and the vice president will join the governor and first lady of the state for that public service that starts around 3:30 this afternoon.

BALDWIN: E-mails dating back to the middle of the housing crisis indicated Goldman Sachs used bets on mortgage securities in a bid to make lots of money as the housing market was collapsing. You will hear more about those e-mail, all the details this coming Tuesday. That is when top Goldman execs will be testifying on Capitol Hill.

By the way, the SEC currently suing Goldman for fraud.

HOLMES: Well, oil is now leaking from that oil well after that oil-rig fire and explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. We were looking at these pictures last week.

But now we know that about a thousand barrels a day leaking from the actual well that's some 5,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Now, a thousand barrels a day -- what does that mean? That's about 42,000 gallons of oil. In comparison to the Exxon-Valdez disaster, that was an 11 million gallon spill. So we're not quite to that level. But still, a lot of oil is being leaked right now.

Still, the site is about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. That is still good news right now; it gives them time possibly to clean up before we have a bigger disaster on our hands.

BALDWIN: Well, back to tornado-ravaged Mississippi. Governor Haley Barbour declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties there. The -- one of the areas hardest hit is this town called Yazoo City. And teams, as you know -- they'll be out this morning looking for survivors. They're still calling this a rescue effort, hoping to pull people out of some of the debris that you're about to see, victims of this deadly tornado that ripped across really the -- the state.

HOLMES: And the issue, certainly concern that there might be more dead, that that death toll could go up. Still a rescue mission because a lot of people could still be trapped and just need some help right now.

Take a look at -- at the map here and some of the pictures we're going to be showing you throughout the morning. We had confirmed tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama right now. Reports though of also tornadoes in Louisiana and Arkansas yet to be confirmed, but expecting those weather watchers to be out there and checking for that damage and trying to confirm.

Like we said also a moment ago, 10 people confirmed dead. Three children among the dead, one of them a three-month-old baby.

Yazoo City and Choctaw County in Mississippi, those were the hardest-hit areas. Yazoo City, reportedly the tornado that hit there was about a mile wide. Injuries also reported in at least 12 counties in Mississippi. Thousands across the state right now are without electricity.

BALDWIN: So of course, we have had reporters on the ground and we'll get a better idea as so -- a damage assessment this morning and see what it's really looking like.

But first, we want to start with Reynolds Wolf, back with us this morning in the CNN Severe Weather Center.

And Reynolds, when we talk about a tornado that is about a mile wide and we look at the devastation caused -- you know, this thing was huge.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it was massive. I mean, no question about it.

And one disadvantage that people in this part of the world had, is unlike parts of, say, the Central Plains in Texas, maybe Oklahoma, even into Kansas and Nebraska, where things are relatively flat, things are somewhat flat in this part of Mississippi, but you do have some rolling hills and plenty of trees. And with that, it's very hard to see what's ahead.

Now, in this forecast, we're going to do three things. We're going to show you what happened; we're going to take you to the past. That's one.

Second thing we're going to do is show you what's happening right now.

And then we're going to finish up by showing you what is going to happen later on today.

Now first and foremost, back in time we go. This is 10:30 yesterday morning. You see Yazoo City right here; everything was normal at that time. Line of storms off to the east, some back out to the west. And we put it into motion, you're going to see that one cell pop up right through there, and it moves just right past the city, of course. That tail-end of that -- that tornado came right no through, caused that widespread damage.

And right now, early we think that it may have been an EF3 or 4. What is an EF3 or 4. Well, what it's what we refer as the Enhanced Fujita Scale, in terms of damage from these storms. These are the strongest storms on the planet, much stronger than you'd have with a hurricane. The winds pretty impressive to say the very least.

I'm going to step off the screen so you can get a better look at this. You'll see it ranging from EF0, which is considered a minor tornado, with wind speeds of 85 miles an hour. We're thinking this one was either an EF3 or 4, which is severe or devastating, with winds in excess of 160 miles per hour, possibly as strong as 200 miles per hour.

Now, what they're going to do today is they're going to fly over the area, take a good look at this, and of course, they're going to write up -- the National Weather Service I'm referring to, write up their official storm report.

Now, that is what happened. Here's what we can expect to happen later on this morning. What we do anticipate is that we have a couple of tornado watches that still remain in effect in parts of the Southeast. As we zoom in on these areas -- you'll notice the areas shaded in red. That's where we have the tornado watches in effect.

We still have the strong lines of storms getting very close to parts of the Carolinas and the Georgia coastline. Nothing severe at this time, but there is that possibility through the next couple of hours that we could see more development. Maybe not of tornadoes, but still a very potent storms.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Got some more pictures to show you right now. Put up on the screen on the left, you're going to see what happened in Yazoo City, Mississippi. This is from the air, and you also see it from the ground there on your right.

Our Ed Lavandera got a chance to talk to some of the folks who are in that city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., the cleanup efforts will continue today in Yazoo City and across much of Mississippi that was hit hard by this massive tornado.

The stories of survival are absolutely amazing. And to get to the damage, we had to hitch a ride on a four-wheeler.

I get the sense from what you guys were describing to me that you were right in the middle of it. I mean, it was on top of you, literally.

ROB SAXTON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It was. It was -- glass, debris flying. When I got out of the car, thought -- thinking she was going to get out behind me, I looked back and she wouldn't even get out of the car. She was so scared.

And I was standing up against the building, and debris was just flying by me. And it was hitting my legs and glass was flying. And I said, 'Debris could kill me.' I -- you know, I dove back in the car, and told her, 'Come on. We got to go. We got to go.'

LAVANDERA: Ashley, what was it like for you?

A.SAXTON: It was -- it was terrifying. I mean, it scared me to death. I've never been in anything like this before in my life.

LAVANDERA: The road that brings you into the hardest-hit part of Yazoo City, which is called Old Highway 16 is mostly impassible. Hundreds of these trees stacked along the way, and in the last few hours, they've been able to clear the roadway to a pretty decent extent. But we had to find a couple of guys here who were kind enough to bring us in four-wheelers to navigate through most of this area. We're trying to see the extent of the damage and to talk to people who survived this.

TONY DAVIS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: We've been here 15 years. My wife and I have been in the house for five years. Believe it or not, it was pretty at one time. And me and my wife and my daughter was out in the front yard, and we sat out there, and the weather kept getting bad. And I thought I heard something back over here, and my wife heard something coming out of the southwest.

And it sounded like a -- a freight-train whistle. And my wife and my daughter and I were down here, and we were just balled up. And you could -- being the house is up off the ground, you could -- you could just -- the wind is like it was trying to suck you out from under the house.

LAVANDERA: This blue truck you see right here along the road we're told was driven by a man whose name is Ricky Shivers (ph), that -- he was in that car when it flipped and rolled three times. He was able to get out of the car, but we understand right -- right now, he's one of the injured in the hospital.

Hundreds of homes damaged by this tornado, hundreds more left homeless by it as well. Search-and-rescue efforts will continue on this Sunday, making sure that in the rubble there are no other bodies found, and/or survivors. So that will continue today as well.

But everywhere you look, and people that you talk to, there is that stunned look on their faces, as they realize that for many of the survivors, they are lucky to be alive -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, as that reality is sinking in for so many people, and many are lucky to be alive, one man perhaps shares the same sentiment. You know, he says when the -- when the tornado touched down, it actually gave him reason to say thanks.

This morning, the congregation of the Hillcrest Baptist Church already making plans to rebuild. Yesterday's powerful storm just destroyed the sanctuary. I mean, look at the -- totally leveled. The pictures really tell the story.

But the people's hope still alive. Hillcrest has survived an arson in the past, and now a tornado. But one man says God saved his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALE THRASHER, SURVIVOR: I got in the sanctuary and got on the pulpit table, and the whole building fell around me. And three little scratches, Lord blessed. And he put me under that table, because -- do you all see this right here? It's the kitchen, and I started to go in there. And the Lord directed me in that sanctuary. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Three little scratches -- you heard him. Amazingly, no one was hurt when the tornado hit right in that area.

HOLMES: Also, a tornado reported in Alabama, possibly more than tornado there caused a bit of damage. We're waiting, of course, for the sun to come up. And this will give us a better idea of exactly what happened there.

But these are some pictures from last night, some damage around Albertville, Alabama. You see this huge tree come down on a house here, and probably some more scenes around the town, and maybe even around the state like this. Alabama's Emergency Management Agency are going to spend the day totaling up the damage like so many people in so many communities are going to be doing today.

But we will wait for light to come up and will give us a -- a truer picture of exactly what happened. Also, we will continue to show you those pictures and update you on what will be happening today. Like Reynolds said, there could be more severe weather today.

But meantime, we do have so more survival stories we'll be telling you about this morning.

BALDWIN: Including a story from one woman -- she says her friend didn't make it. Amazingly, she made it through. We will hear from her. She spoke with Don Lemon last night.

HOLMES: And we're getting iReports -- people out there in the midst of this damage, helping us tell the story in some of the hardest-hit areas. We'll share those with you as well coming up a little later in the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stared seeing the spinning, and you could see the -- the debris as it started spinning around in a circle. And I started hearing trees snapping, telephone poles snapping -- power just went immediately out.

And it -- it pushed through here in just a matter of moments.

There's a lot damage back towards the city (ph). And like I said, as a lifelong resident, (INAUDIBLE) -- it's going to be a lot -- a little harder to stomach at first, but we'll be able to pick up from this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As rescue crews in Mississippi really now describe what they're in as "response mode," we want to focus also on some of these stories of survival, people who made it through this massive tornado that hit Yazoo City, Mississippi. HOLMES: And CNN's Don Lemon spoke last night to a woman who made it through.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY WALKER, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I work at a salon that's right behind where we're speaking at right now, and have been there working since about 8 this morning.

We knew that it was kind of a bad day. But about 12:00, we had heard reports that there was a tornado spotted in a county next to us. And I had called my mom to go and get my daughter from my home and take her somewhere safe.

And within -- we were told that it was going to hit within 15 to 20 minutes. We were all standing outside, just kind of trying to play it by ear as to whether we should leave and try and go home, or if it was going to miss us. And unfortunately, we were standing outside -- and within minutes, we saw the funnel appear, and then debris starting flying.

Our ears were all popping, and everyone just ran and took cover. And as you had someone else describe it -- it did, it sounded like a -- a freight train coming through, and it felt like minutes, and then it -- but I'm sure that it was just seconds, the time that it lasted.

We had children (INAUDIBLE). We hustled them to the ground, and as I was telling someone else, it was like elementary education came into play, and you automatically put your hands over your head and cover your extremities and do what you can do to block your face.

And we just laid there. And -- and it -- you could just feel the glass and debris flying in and cutting you. And it felt like minutes, but it literally was over probably within 30 seconds in time.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And you -- there was a....

WALKER: But it hit so fast, we didn't know it was coming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So fast. That's the thing about tornadoes. That's just one of the stories of survival we're hearing this morning out of Mississippi.

HOLMES: Yes, Josh Levs hearing a lot more stories. People have iReports helping us. Sometimes the best eyes and ears we have are the folks who are on the ground for us, sending those to us.

Good morning to you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, again, to you guys.

They're coming in by the minute, literally. We're camping out; we're looking at every image as it comes through.

And coming up next, we're going to take you inside that storm as it was coming through. We're actually going to show you what it's like to be surrounded by that storm.

Plus, we have new images this morning of what the governor is calling "utter obliteration."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Windows exploded. We were -- find -- to find ourselves in the middle of this storm, and glass was going everywhere. And she panicked and was trying to get over here, and about that time, the car just picked up and turned sideways and slung across the -- the intersection there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, the search for survivors of the earthquake in western China now over. The focus is now on rebuilding the 15,000 homes destroyed, including 87 damaged Tibetan monasteries.

Tibetans have accused of Beijing of not doing enough in the immediate aftermath of the magnitude-6.9 quake. Death toll now at more than 2,200.

BALDWIN: A rally in Arizona over this weekend against what is being touted as the toughest illegal-immigration law in the country. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law Friday afternoon, and critics say a section of this particular law could lead to racial profiling. It essentially gives police officers legal permission to ask for a person's immigration status, their papers, if they suspect he or she may be in Arizona illegally.

HOLMES: And in just a few hours, thousands will gather in Washington, D.C., to rally for climate change. Director James Cameron and the Rev. Jesse Jackson will be there, while Sting, John Legend, others scheduled to play.

They'll have plenty to rally for, since last night, Congress postponed indefinitely the release of a new climate bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Keeping an eye on what has happened, and the aftermath of tornadoes that we saw hit the Southeast yesterday.

We are getting pictures literally by the minute coming into us.

BALDWIN: Josh Levs following that.

Josh, good morning. What are you seeing?

LEVS: Good morning again to you guys.

We are getting so many new images. Let's get straight to them.

I want you to see some of these photos we've been taking a look at this morning. This first one here, with some damage inside Yazoo City. This is from Jason Newell (ph), who was taking a look at -- trying to salvage what he could from a church that was destroyed after a tornado swept through that area.

And we know, Governor Haley Barbour saying "utter obliteration" in parts of Yazoo County. About 15 other counties also damaged.

Here's another one. This is a man searching rubble. This is Gene Selton (ph) -- Shelton (ph) of Benton, Mississippi, searching a damaged home, trying to find survivors somewhere in there.

We're also seeing a destroyed barn and extensive damage to this barn right near French Camp, Mississippi. This farm was over 60 years old, and the owner there, Mark Armstrong (ph), is saying it could take years to rebuild the buildings on the farm right there.

Now, we're also getting some iReport videos that are showing what's going on. Let's listen to this one for a second, because this is a -- a -- some really serious heavy, swirling rain from iReport Cameron Scott (ph), who sent in this from Olive Branch, Mississippi. Took this video outside his house by standing inside his garage.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it comes. (INAUDIBLE). Wow!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: That basically continues for quite awhile, and we look at it, I want to tell you that we don't put any iReports on the air if the person who took them went to any kind of damage at all. He was standing safely inside his home at the point that he took that.

But what this video shows is that this pounding rain is swirling. And if you take a look, a lot of it is -- is going horizontally around him. You can see some of it in a circular motion. And it was affecting that entire area there, one of the areas that was damaged.

And as a reminder, this started earlier in the day, too, in a lot of places. I'm going to end by showing you this -- this is some hail in Mississippi, in Southaven. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(HAIL FALLING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: This is from another one of our iReporters, Kathy Cozan (ph), in Southaven, Mississippi. She got this video. She says some of this hail was golf-ball size, pelting down at her home throughout the day.

So guys, we are camped out here; we're following your tweets, your twit pictures, iReport photos, everything you got that's taken safely. And I'll be back next hour with some of these latest images from these areas affected by the storm.

BALDWIN: Amazing. The hail -- and you could tell that rain was just sideways.

LEVS: Sideways.

BALDWIN: Sideways.

LEVS: Yes, you could see it going in swishing motion, circular.

BALDWIN: Josh, thank you.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

BALDWIN: Well, we've been talking specifically about Alabama, Mississippi -- the Southern states really hardest hit by the tornadoes, and we're showing every bit of video that we can to just illustrate the damage from these tornadoes.

HOLMES: And that storm system also spawned some twisters in other parts of the country, including in the Midwest. Next (ph), we're going to be taking a look at some of the places dealing with the storm damage this morning.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello there, everybody. Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BALDWIN: And good morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We are all over the Mississippi story; 10 dead, including a three-month-old baby.

HOLMES: Yes, we're also keeping an eye on a couple of other things, some headlines we want to bring to you now, including the president. He'll be in West Virginia today delivering the eulogy for those 29 miners who died in that mine explosion earlier this month.

The president, along with the vice president, is going to join the state's governor and first lady at a public service this afternoon around 3:30 Eastern time.

BALDWIN: Some potentially embarrassing e-mails have surfaced from Wall Street investment giant Goldman Sachs. A U.S. Senate committee released these e-mails which show Goldman executives bragging about making huge amounts of money during the global economic downturn. In fact, in one of these e-mails, Goldman's CEO's touted the company's profit from betting against the U.S. market.

Those bets, called shorts, were at the heart of this government lawsuit against Goldman Sachs.

HOLMES: Well, it's a possibility now, one disaster could turn into another. We have found out now that oil is, in fact, leaking from that oil well after that oil-rig fire and explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials say 1,000 barrels of oil leaking a day. That translates to about 42,000 gallons. In comparison, Exxon Valdez disaster leaked some 11 million gallons of oil. So, we're not to that kind of disaster level yet, but still we need to find a way to stop this leak.

Of course, this explosion, you are seeing parts of it. It happened on Tuesday. The search for 11 missing workers from that rig was suspended on Friday. Still the oil leak, about 40 to 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. They do believe they have enough time to clean it up before an even bigger disaster.

It's the day after now in Yazoo, Mississippi, and other parts of the Southeast that were hit hard last night. Teams will be out monitoring-and actually looking for survivors and victims of that deadly tornado that tore through parts of the South. The governor of Mississippi has declared a state of emergency in 17 hard hit counties.

BALDWIN: Yes, 17 counties, emergency officials now calling this response mode. They're hoping to go find more survivors. But they're fearing either the death toll will rise or fearing more victims.

It's tough to believe, take a look at some of the destruction we're seeing in Mississippi.

HOLMES: We have confirmed tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama. But also we have reported tornadoes in Arkansas and Louisiana. It takes time sometimes for the weather service guys to get out there and confirm in fact a tornado did hit. We are expecting the confirmation some time soon.

Ten people confirmed dead; among them, three children. One of the kids a three-month-old baby. Now Yazoo City, in particular, in Yazoo County, and also Choctaw in Mississippi, where the hardest hit areas-the twister in Yazoo City was reportedly a mile wide. Injuries reported in 12 Mississippi counties. Thousands across the stout are without electricity.

BALDWIN: And the storm, you see all the damage going really as far north as St. Louis, Missouri. We'll show you the impact. We'll have more pictures for you in just a moment. First Reynolds Wolf.

Reynolds, I know we talked about the Fujita scale when we measure tornado damage. You were talking last hour about enhanced Fujita.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. What they did is originally you have the Fujita scale. That came out a while back. Then you had this other one that just sprung up the couple years ago. This is the one that gives us a better hand of the scale based upon damage, not just on wind speed but on damage. Again, they're thinking this is an EF 3 or 4, which is just a catastrophic system.

One thing we need to mention, very quickly, just to clear up for many of our viewers. When we talk about a reported tornado, one of the reasons why sometimes it takes a couple days to clarify. Because if you have a tornado that is going through an area that is highly populated, you could have 20 reports on one tornado. It gives sometimes the false premise that you have 20 different tornadoes. No, you have just a bunch of different reports.

So, what is going to happen is the National Weather Service will come out with an official report, perhaps tomorrow, maybe even Tuesday. They'll give us an official report on the entire thing. Not just what happened in Yazoo City, but for the entire two-day event that really began late Friday into Saturday. This morning there's still a chance they could have a tornado or two.

Let's go back in time, 10:30, very quickly, yesterday. We are going to put this in motion. Here's Yazoo City, there's that one cell that clicked right to the top half of the city, the northern half of Yazoo City. Again, this storm guesstimated to be up to a mile wide. The reason why I say guesstimated, is because it is impossible to really tell when someone is seeing this thing move across a given area, scale can sometimes be a little bit deceiving.

So, as I mentioned, they'll have the local National Weather Service office actually go out and take a look at this. And they'll measure the length and width of the storm and also see how long the path went. The storm did not last very long. It began to die up. Then we had more of them develop back into parts of Alabama. Even as far north, as Brooke mentioned, near St. Louis. Yes, we had one up there also. Then as the storm makes its way a little bit more to the east, it has begun to weaken considerably. That's some good news.

What we also have that is working in our favor is as the storm makes its way across the Eastern Seaboard what it's going to do is it is going to run out of a lot of its energy. If you had a full day of daytime heating, high temperatures in the 80s, maybe the 90s, then you had this frontal boundary moving through with a very moist air mass ahead of it. You have a very unstable atmosphere. But as it is, it is early in the morning. The atmosphere is not going to have a chance to cook or boil up. So it when this boundary sweeps on through, it will bring some rainfall to much of the Eastern Seaboard and back to the Great Lakes. We're not going to see the same type of unstable atmosphere that we have seen over the past two days and parts of the Southeast, and Central and Southern Plains.

As we wrap things up quickly, it looks like a pretty nice day for the rest of the country. Many of you are wondering what your weather is going to be like in other parts, not just in the Southeast. Central Plains looks pretty good, also out to the West, just beautiful conditions for you. Plenty of sunshine, high temperatures in San Francisco, as far as south as Los Angeles; 60s and 70s warming up to 79 in Dallas. And in Memphis, back into Atlanta, 70s and 80s. Pretty nice conditions, oddly enough, in places like Yazoo City where they will be cleaning up for days to come. Let's send it back to you.

BALDWIN: Hmm, tough, tough situation for them there. We wish them the best. We'll stay on that out of Mississippi and a lot of other parts of the country.

Reynolds, thank you.

HOLMES: Yes, Reynolds. We appreciate you. We'll check in with you again. We're going to be showing a whole lot of more of exactly what happened last night. The sun will start to come up, and we're going to get a better sense of what happened.

BALDWIN: They're assessing damage, as Reynolds mentioned, as far north as St. Louis. Look at a map here, and including Alabama. Albertville, Alabama, several homes and businesses. An entire mobile home park damaged by the winds. Trees coming down on homes, businesses, I think I read and entire mobile home park, just damaged by these winds. Trees coming down onto homes and power lines. Storms, part of the system was what brought the tornadoes to Mississippi. Tornado damage in the west Alabama town of Ward. Flash flooding also an issue in portions of Birmingham, Jefferson County. Amazingly despite these pictures, power lines, and trees down, but no injuries reported there.

The storm system also bringing severe weather to Georgia. Imagine this. A family of four in this home, when the tree just smacks down in the middle of their living room over their roof. The father says he and his wife were just eating lunch when the tree fell. His two daughters were upstairs. No one was hurt.

HOLMES: Take a look from St. Louis. Our affiliate collected some of this stuff for us. This is in the city of DuPage. The twister actually damaged the police station there. Damaged several homes there as well. Police in another part, called Webster Grove also reported at least one house was hit by lightning. It toppled trees and, also as in many parts of the country, now, thousands of people are without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden I just started to all the debris coming up the street, the fencing down at the gas station. The lady just across the street from me just pulled in her driveway, and just made it inside just as a tree was cracking down. She let out a big scream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And, of course, right now, even though the focus is still on in some places, rescue, we'll certainly have to move from that to recovery. Also they'll be assessing all the damage and the damage estimates we expect to start coming in soon.

BALDWIN: Well, to Washington it's a huge week ahead for the president. Financial reform taking center stage and the first major hurdle could happen as early as tomorrow. We will look ahead at the week in politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Some of the stories making headlines this morning. In Western China a shift from rescue to recovery, also rebuilding; 15,000 homes destroyed by this month's magnitude 69 quake, including 87 damaged Tibetan monasteries. Tibetans, though, accusing Beijing of not doing enough in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. The death toll now at 22,000 with at least 73 still missing.

BALDWIN: A couple hundred people rallied Saturday at Congressman Raul Grijalva's office in Tucson Arizona, against Arizona's latest new anti-immigration law. Critics argue it could lead to racial profiling. Grijalva has been a critic of the bill and he closed his offices in Tucson and Yuma Friday after receiving death threats.

HOLMES: Just a few hours from now thousands also going to be gathering at the National Mall in Washington to rally for climate change. The film director James Cameron and Reverend Jesse Jackson going to be there, along with Sting, John Legend and others, who are scheduled to perform. They will be rallying for a lot it seems. They need to be talking about, because last night Congress postponed indefinitely the release of a new climate bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: President Obama will attend a memorial for the victims of the mine disaster in West Virginia later today, and then due back at the White House later this afternoon.

BALDWIN: That is just the beginning of many items on the president's agenda this week. That, and of course, Congress. CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser has a look ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Brooke, T.J.

The push by the White House and congressional Democrats on financial reform is front and center this week. The Senate could vote as early as tomorrow to begin debate on the bill. The big question, do the Democrats have the 60 votes needed to move to the next step?

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama heads out to the Midwest Tuesday and Wednesday to push for Wall Street reform and to talk about the economy and creating new jobs. Mr. Obama makes stops in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. All three states hold crucial elections this November. Two are major battleground states in the next presidential election.

Also in the political spotlight this week, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, he must decide by Friday either to stay as a Republican or run as an independent in his bid to be Florida's next senator. Crist used to be the overwhelmingly favorite in the Senate race, but his teaming up with President Obama last year, in support of the federal stimulus has made him an enemy of many conservatives. Now he trails former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio by more than 20 points, according to the most recent polls in the race for the Republican Senate nomination down there in Florida. Another busy week ahead in the politics, Brooke, T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

The governor of Mississippi, his first-hand knowledge of some of the areas hardest hit by the tornado yesterday. His hometown of Yazoo City, just one place a tornado has been confirmed. We are going to hear his description of what happened. Stay with us.

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HOLMES: The death toll, we know, is at ten right now from tornadoes that hit Mississippi and Alabama. The 10 dead we know of are all in Mississippi right now, among them, three children including a three-month-old. The death toll, though, could climb.

BALDWIN: So last night we heard from the governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, who called CNN from Yazoo City, which of course is one of the areas hardest hit. But it is also his hometown and he spoke to us about where he was when the twister hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR, MISSISSIPPI: We were on the road between Jackson and Yazoo City trying to get to Yazoo. Soon after the storm hit, the storm hit about 10 minutes after 12:00 Central Time. We got there about 30 minutes later.

But this is a gigantic storm. This tornado-at places appears to be several miles wide. It set down on the ground in Madison Parish, Louisiana, and crossed the river, into Mississippi, hit Eagle Lake. By the time it got to Yazoo City it had been on the ground about 70 miles, and it looks like it was on the ground at least another 80 miles when it hit Choctaw County, Mississippi.

But in Yazoo City it skimmed the edge of town but hit a lot of neighborhoods just outside the city limits, it went through a shopping center, absolutely obliterated a church. It's a very, very bad storm. Regrettably we have some fatalities. Reportedly five at this point, that is not official.

But the other side of this is the outpouring of volunteers in the community, who went out in these areas that are on state roads and county roads, some of them even on dirt roads, rode four wheelers, took a chain saw to help cut out their neighbors. It was powerful to see the community come together and people immediately within the hour were out trying to get roads open and save people from their entrapment.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: The governor called 17 different counties states of emergency. The National Guard has been called in and now the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, on alert this morning. In fact we have a quote from a spokes person. Let me read it to you. They say, quote, "FEMA is in contact and in coordination with our state and local partners and stand ready to help if a request is made."

Do you remember the federal program last year? Remember cash for clunkers?

HOLMES: Yes, pretty popular. A lot of people interested in that and got a new car out of it. Now there's a similar program dubbed cash for caulkers. You could get paid to help the environment. Stay with us.

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HOLMES: All right. Money in the bank for going green at home. This is a cash for caulkers program. It rewards homeowners who look out for the environment, and it could create some jobs.

BALDWIN: They're hoping it will. But as the bill makes its way through Congress, you may be asking, what's in it for me? Our Kate Bolduan gets the inside track from homeowner who have decided to go green.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIMBERLY MOTT, HOMEOWNER: I swear I just cleaned up.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Herb and Kimberly Motts say like any family they're trying to plan for the future. Just look in their basement and attic. The Motts are greening their Ft. Washington, Maryland home.

K. MOTT: If I do something then my children will benefit from it. They'll see the importance and then they'll keep going. And then maybe we can reverse this awful cycle we've gotten into with our planet.

HERB MOTT, HOMEOWNER: I'm interested in green, I'm interested in saving green in my pocket.

BOLDUAN: That's the kind of thinking the White House wants to persuade more Americans to adopt. Through a proposal called Home Star. The plan is still working its way through Congress, but would offer rebates of up to $3,000 for upgrades like new appliances, furnaces, and insulation. With additional rebates possible after a full home energy audit. It's quickly earned the nickname, Cash for Caulkers.

(On camera): This government program is modeled after another government program from last year, Cash for Clunkers, which offered car buyers a rebate for trading in their gas guzzlers for more fuel- efficient vehicles. Now people could get a payback for investing in energy savers at home. Let me show you. From drafty windows to leaking ducts, the government's goal is to promote energy efficiency as well as jobs. That's where people like David Braggins come in.

David, what is the problem that you're trying to fix here?

DAVID BRAGGINS, EDGE ENERGY: Well, in most homes the biggest leakage is in the basement area. What we're doing is sealing off where the basement foundation wall meets the main level. And by properly sealing this, we're eliminating the source of a lot of air leakage in the basement.

BOLDUAN: So what's the benefit, then, to the homeowner?

BRAGGINS: The less air leakage the homeowner has, the less their energy bill is. Because the only function of their heating and cooling equipment is to replace the air lost in their house.

BOLDUAN (voice over): The benefit for Braggins home energy company, he hopes for a bounce in business. But not everyone sees the program as a win/win.

DAVID KREUTZER, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Yes, people will be happier. They'll be more likely to buy the energy efficient appliance, if somebody else helps pay for it. But that doesn't mean that it stimulates the economy or creates jobs. Because that money, that they give to me, has to come from somebody else, who now is spending less.

BOLDUAN: The Motts say it's the other way around.

K. MOTT: We need to take care of our people here. We need to be able to give them jobs and if it means that, yes, we need to dig a little deeper to do that, it's going to benefit the country in the long run. That's what I think.

BOLDUAN: They hope their $4,700 investment now will pay for itself in utility savings in about five years. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Fort Washington, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is 7:00 a.m. where we sit, here in Atlanta. It is 6:00 a.m. in hard-hit Yazoo City. Welcome to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BALDWIN: Good Sunday to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. ]

Yazoo City, one of the areas hardest hit, also where the governor of Mississippi is from. He is talking about the utter devastation there. You can see it with your own eyes. Pictures coming in of this deadly line of tornadoes ripping across multiple southern states flattening homes, leaving dozens injured.

HOLMES: Mississippi hard hit, Louisiana, Alabama hard hit as well. People this morning are talking about just how rough of a night they had.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started to see this spinning and you could see the debris as it started spinning around in a circle. I started hearing trees snapping, telephone poles snapping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Ten people dead, among them, three children. We're going to be looking at the damage. Also going to be looking ahead to some more severe weather that could be hitting parts of the country. Reynolds Wolf is going to have that for us. Also this morning, we'll have live in studio, a young man who is life changed yesterday. He is going to the NFL. We told you about him and his extraordinary story. A physics major, also working on a civil engineering degree as well. Only playing football three and a half years and he was drafted yesterday by the Baltimore Ravens out of tiny Morehouse College. He's in studio with us. All 6'7", 350 pounds of him. That's coming up.

But first let's tell you about stories we have been keeping an eye on from overnight.

President Obama delivering the eulogy today for the 29 miners who died in that mining explosion earlier this month in West Virginia. The president, vice president, going to be joining the governor of West Virginia and the first lady at a public service this afternoon, around 3:30 Eastern Time.

BALDWIN: Also some potentially embarrassing e-mails have surfaced from Wall Street investment giant Goldman Sachs. A U.S. Senate committee released these e-mails which show Goldman executives bragging about making huge amounts of money during the global economic downturn. In fact, in one of the e-mails, Goldman's own CEO touted the company's profit from betting against the U.S. market. Those bets, by the way, they're called shorts, they are at the heart of this government lawsuit against Goldman Sachs.