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CNN Saturday Morning News

Tornados Rake South, Midwest; Storms Injure at least 29 in Tennessee; Washington GOP Caucuses; FTC Flooded with Complaints

Aired March 03, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From CNN's World Headquarters bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. Live from Studio 7 this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's March 3rd, and I'm David Mattingly. Tornados shred through the Midwest and south killing more than 30 people and there is a new threat of storms today.

Then in two hours Washington State Republicans will officially select who they think should go up against Barack Obama. Could Ron Paul finally win one?

But we begin with the ferocious killer storms that tore through the Midwest and the southern U.S. At least 32 people are dead. Now the frantic search is on for survivors and there are new threats this morning of more severe weather. The monster storm stretched from the Deep South, Alabama, across the border into Tennessee and all the way north to Indiana.

One of the hardest hit areas, Henryville, Indiana. A tornado leveled entire neighborhoods. School buses ended up slamming into buildings. Businesses were demolished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh lord, take this away from us. Mighty Lord. Take this away from us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And these people in Kentucky prayed as the monster storm came close to them. National Guard troops have been deployed there and in Indiana.

In an instant the tornados destroyed homes and turned lives upside down. Here's what's living through a tornado is like in a survivor's own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everywhere you look there's just a story like this, a bus into a building, a mobile home completely flattened, just major damage everywhere in this area. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything was beating around our heads. But thank God we made it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I looked up and I was talking to my daughter across the street and I looked up and I just see debris everywhere. And next thing I knew, I was like, I thought it was a dream.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's gas leaks, the houses are all completely demolished back there, completely to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building shook, the lights went off. The noise was incredible and it cast right in front of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting hail here. Golf ball size hail that I can't honestly tell you what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just like you were on a weighing scale this way and it just kept like going like this and the next thing I know, I'm pushing tables, refrigerators, freezers, whatever I had on me off of me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it seemed liked the house was just lifted up and then just dropped.

MARY KAY WALLS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: The roof fell in and the glass was everyplace. And -- but while I was under the table, I said, lord, make this pass, and it did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Hour after hour this morning we have seen just how powerful these tornados can be. And the tornados could keep coming today. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is in the Severe Weather Center with the latest on the areas that may still be hit, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, David. This is not over yet. I wish I could say the threat has passed, but it has not, especially for Georgia and for Florida. That's where we have tornado warnings right now.

I want to go to the map and show you where they are. You'll see they're highlighted in pink. That's where the tornado warnings are. And I have three to tell you about. Let's go to the south right along the Georgia/Florida border. We have tornado warnings in parts of northern -- northeastern Gaston County in Florida, West central Thomas County in South Central Georgia, southeastern Decatur County, also in southwest Georgia and Southern Grady County.

And now as we head further to the east, we see a second one. These tornado warnings are about -- have another 15 minutes to go, but still, if you're in Morvin or if you're in this part of Georgia, in the southeast Georgia, take cover. This is just to the north of Valdosta. We're seeing some very strong thunderstorms, super cell thunderstorms that show rotation and they could produce a tornado at any time. We're also watching out for a tornado watch. Now this is important to note because it will continue throughout the day today. Right now it's until 2:00 today. This includes areas into Florida including Panama City, Tallahassee. I mentioned Valdosta. And you can see off to the west, we still have heavy bands of rain along I-10 just to the south and east of Mobile, Alabama. And some of those extreme southeastern parishes of Louisiana getting clipped with some severe weather as well but I think the worst of it is into Florida and Southern Alabama and certainly up in the Carolinas.

The big picture shows you that we're not only watching this tornado watch but you can see heavy lines of severe weather working their way into South Carolina at this hour. You can also see some heavy rain starting to come into North Carolina and Virginia.

As far as the northeast goes, we really haven't seen too much of an impact yet from the system. Really just some light scattered showers through New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. A couple of more wintry weather popping up into Maine but overall it's really the area in the southeast that's facing that severe weather threat.

Here is the tornado watch. It has decreased in terms of the size than it was earlier. You can see it's pushed a little bit further down to the south and east as the storms work their way to the north and east. They're moving at about 35 miles per hour. So we still have ways to go before this threat passes. So right now the area we're watching, southern Georgia, South Carolina, even parts of North Carolina including Wilmington and then into northern Florida.

So this is an area that we're watching. Keep in mind though we're not looking at the same level of threat today than we saw yesterday, not the expansiveness of it. In fact, when we looked at the storm reports tallying up for Friday it was just incredible, the numbers. 758 total storm reports; of those 758, 95 were tornado reports. That means somebody saw a tornado and reported it. And whether or not it will be confirmed, we'll get that data later.

But it's important to know we have an incredible number of weather reports. And that includes wind damage as well as hail. And if you're wondering you know if this is typical for this time of the year, actually it is not. Normally this time of the year we don't see as much in terms of tornadic activity. Usually the biggest month for tornados is May, not March. But we're certainly getting started off unfortunately with a lot of tornadic activity for the first two days of March -- David.

MATTINGLY: We certainly are, thanks Bonnie.

In small towns like Henryville, Indiana the full extent of some of the damage may not be known until search and rescue crews there finish their work. And that's where our Chris Welch is this morning. Chris, what do you see?

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well David, Henryville was one of the hardest hit areas as a result of these storms and these tornados yesterday. I want to show you where I am, where I'm standing. Behind me, take a look at this. This is what was Henryville High School and attached to it is Henryville elementary school -- now, completely demolished. There were -- there's about 1,400 students that go to school in the combined schools. All of them believe it or not made it out completely unharmed.

Now, I want to show you something particularly interesting. This is quite a picture. Look at this school bus. This school bus at this time yesterday was parked in that lot just in front of the high school that we just panned over from. It now sits through the wall of a diner. And it was -- the winds were even so strong it blew the body of the bus right off of its chassis and then through the inside of this building. Now there were folks in the basement of the diner. They got out unharmed. Thankfully there were also no students on the bus at the time; another thing to be thankful for. But not everyone was so lucky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WELCH (voice-over): Stories will be told for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they say it sounds like a freight train coming through, they mean it.

WELCH: From Tennessee to Alabama to right here in Indiana, towns woke up Saturday to a dramatically different landscape than the day before. One altered by a widespread tornado outbreak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the temperatures before the tornado were fluctuating probably 20 degrees from each other in the change in a split of a second and the hail was probably baseball or tennis size.

WELCH: This round of tornados comes on the heels of another band of storms this week that devastated towns like Harrisburg, Illinois. One storm chaser says the outbreak so early in the season could be a warning of what's to come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's telling you today we're going to have a lot more active (INAUDIBLE) outbreaks. We're not even going to be in peak season until May. So this is just a precursor of what's coming.

WELCH: But here in Henryville, they're likely not thinking that far ahead, instead, trying to comprehend how their lives drastically changed in just one day.

RUSTY IRISH, LOST HOME IN STORM: I'm just thankful we're -- we all survived this. Like you said, material things can be replaced, the house can be replaced. We've got places to stay, you know, warmth, food, you know. We don't have to worry about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WELCH: I also want to point out that yesterday last -- last night they found a 2-year-old toddler in a field about ten miles or so away from Henryville. It was not immediately clear how the toddler ended up in the field, but it was airlifted to a hospital, remains in critical condition. As of last notice it remains in critical condition.

They're not releasing the names or the identity at this point, but thankfully -- actually thanks to media report and the attention that story received the baby was identified. But it's just another reminder of the severity of these storms -- David.

MATTINGLY: Just a reminder about how you can find so many just amazing things in the aftermath. I mean this two-year-old out in the middle of the field blown from who knows where in critical condition. We were all hoping that she recovers. But at the same time we're hoping so many people hit by this storm recovers.

Chris thanks so much and we look forward to your continuing reporting out there.

In Tennessee, tornados may have touched down in nine separate counties. An iReporter captured some of that crazy weather that hit the state. The storms injured dozens and forced I-24 to close for hours because of downed power lines.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is on the phone in Ooltewah, Tennessee where homes were ripped off to their -- down to their foundations -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (via telephone): Yes as many as -- over 20 homes completely destroyed just in the area where we are and well over a hundred homes in the northern Chattanooga area have been damaged to the point where they're not liveable.

So those -- those folks have found shelter elsewhere be it at hotels, at community shelters, or at friend and families and just now they're beginning to work their way back to their homes to once again start to -- start to sift through things. That was only interrupted yesterday afternoon once the storm came through at one. As you know within another two hours several more severe thunderstorm cells came through there and including more tornados.

So it was a frustrating and at times frightening afternoon and a scary night as well. But the sun has come out. And it's a much more calm day and they're beginning to pick up the pieces.

But I can tell you this. With all the heavy equipment coming in to help clear out the debris, thousands of trees are down around here. Of course, power lines and power poles are down as well. So roads are tight. And it this -- in this part of the world, it's not -- it's not flat by any stretch of the imagination. You've about got the Tennessee River that cuts through basically just west of the Appalachians and just east to the Cumberland Plateau. And it is very hilly and some of these neighborhoods are very tight.

So we've -- we've been forced to move once again because our satellite truck just doesn't allow very much room for the vehicles that really need to get to do the work they need to do to get through. So we once again is going to have -- needed to leave that -- that particular area and let -- let those crews get back to work. It's going to be a long haul, though, David, as it will be in many places.

But we're still happy to report to you this morning that zero fatalities in the state of Tennessee and that has been the one bright spot in this horrible, horrible early March tornado outbreak in the U.S.

MATTINGLY: And that indeed is good news. Thanks Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

MATTINGLY: Ron Paul hasn't won a primary or caucus yet, but things could change today for the Republican presidential candidate. Politics is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Focusing now on politics for a moment, in about two hours, Washington State's caucuses begin. Voters there will decide which Republican they believe should run against President Obama.

Let's turn to CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, who's live in our nation's Capitol. Paul, the big question is could Ron Paul actually pull out a victory here?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: He could. He's been out there and campaigning and he's got ads in the state. It is game day for Washington State, David. For the first time they're really a power player in primary politics. Why? Because of timing -- they're just three days ahead of Super Tuesday.

Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, even Newt Gingrich, they've all been out there; they've all campaigned in Washington State. And it's not just the 40 delegates that are eventually up for grabs. It's basically momentum. They hope if they do well today it will carry over to Super Tuesday when ten states vote.

Take a listen to what some of the candidates are saying about Washington State.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everybody's focused in on Super Tuesday, but you are the voice. You are the voice that's going to speak very loudly before Super Tuesday and put this race on a whole other plane.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are going to be a bunch of states that are going to make their mind up in the next couple of days, but you guys are first and so your voice is going to be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: And you know what; coverage tonight will be out there all day today. And tonight at 8:00 Eastern, Wolf Blitzer, John King, Gloria Borger, the best political team on TV, live coverage of the Washington State caucuses -- David.

MATTINGLY: Well Paul, we've got one more question. We've got Super Tuesday coming up. All the candidates are talking about it. All want to have the momentum going into it. So what sort of preview can you give us here?

STEINHAUSER: Ok. Ten states -- ten states across the country, 419 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday. That's why it's such a big deal because remember, this is a battle for delegates. And you need 1,144 to clinch the GOP nomination.

There's a look at the ten states all the way out west to Alaska; all the way as far east as Vermont and Massachusetts. Let's talk about Ohio though, arguably the most important of the states especially for Santorum and for Romney.

Take a look at this latest poll, David; this came out yesterday from Quinnipiac. Rick Santorum used to be up a lot larger in Ohio but according to this new surveys he's lead has vanished -- up by four points which is basically dead even with Romney; Gingrich at 17, Ron Paul at 12 percent.

Another important state David, Georgia where you are; Newt Gingrich really needs to win his home state if he can continue on in his drive for the nomination.

MATTINGLY: So tomorrow it's going to be a very important day; everybody at the postgame interview from Washington. And Ron Paul's going to be on "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow. So who knows? Maybe he'll have a little victory dance for us. We'll see what happens.

STEINHAUSER: It could happen.

MATTINGLY: Ok. Thanks Paul. A program note: join Fredricka Whitfield every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.

On Super Tuesday, March 6 at 12:00 Eastern, Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team will host the CNN election round table. It's a live insider chat about the day's implications for the presidential race. Go to cnn.com/roundtable.

Now, a big spike in consumer complaints -- we'll tell you how to avoid the biggest scams.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Here's a number that might surprise you. Last year close to two million people filed a consumer complaint -- you might have been one of them -- with the Federal Trade Commission. That's up more than 20 percent from 2010. Financial analyst Clyde Anderson joined me earlier to explain the reason for that spike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Well, you really have to go back and look at the economy. People are hurting right now, and so are the scammers and people that are looking for alternative ways to make money. And so, they are making money off of the people that are clueless and really just don't know what's going on, and they're oblivious. So, we now have to make sure we educate them.

MATTINGLY: And what were some of the top complaints?

ANDERSON: Some of the top complaints I think one of the top complaints that we are seeing a lot of is the imposters. We are seeing a lot of imposters where, basically, what the people are doing is and you've probably gotten an e-mail and saying I'm stuck in another country, please send money, wire funds quickly.

And you're seeing people pose as someone you may know, a family member or friend. And so, when they do that, some people respond and they wire money because they really think this is their family member and this is their friend. They can't get in touch with them and they want to help them. And they send money, and so, they end up sending money to scammers.

MATTINGLY: They send it and they don't get it back.

ANDERSON: They don't get it back. So, you really got to make sure. You go and confirm, reach out to that person, see if you can contact them, confirm the story, before you just go ahead and wire money.

MATTINGLY: Now, here is something that I found hard to believe. Last year, the FTC said people paid $1.5 billion in fraudulent street schemes. That's bigger than the economy of some entire countries.

ANDERSON: Exactly. So, it's a big business.

MATTINGLY: How do we protect ourselves from that?

ANDERSON: Really, what you got to do is do your home work, do your research and know, especially things like debt collection. So, sometimes, a debt collector will call you and it may be a real debt and it may not be a real debt. So, you don't know.

They prey on people that have sometimes negative or challenged credit. They call you and say, hey, you owe us money and they bully you and they intimidate you and they call you names and they say they'll get you arrested.

You really got to take control of the conversation. Make sure that you take control. You ask them questions. Get their information, their contact information, where you can reach them, account numbers. Who's the original creditor? Just really have ask poignant questions to make sure you're on top of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: New tornado watches and warnings are out right now. We'll check in with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider, plus the search is on for trapped tornado survivors. We'll talk about the most common injuries rescue crews will probably see as they go about their work.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: At this very minute there are two new tornado warnings and we're getting some new pictures in from Knoxville, Tennessee. Bonnie Schneider has more; Bonnie what's the latest?

SCHNEIDER: Well, David, we have new tornado warnings in south central Georgia and even now in parts of South Carolina. Even though we don't have confirmed tornados on the ground, please take these tornado warnings seriously because if we're seeing rotation according to Doppler Radar in these storm systems then that means a tornado could touch down at any time, so you want to take cover.

Let's go right to the graphics, I want to show exactly where they are. We'll zoom in to the area. You'll see just north of the Florida border is our first tornado warning. This comes from the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. And that's where we're seeing some really bad weather in southern Brooks County, central Thomas County.

This morning, we'll be continuing for at least another 30 minutes or so. We'll. It might get extended; the one prior to it did.

All right. Here's a new one. This one goes into South Carolina. We're watching this very carefully in Effingham County and in Jasper County. So keep an eye on these storms, we could see a tornado touch down at any time.

We're also monitoring new video coming in from Knoxville where we had storm damage in Tennessee. People still taking a look around to see exactly what happened and the storm surveys will also be determining the strength of the tornado by looking at pictures like that as well -- David.

MATTINGLY: All right. Thanks, Bonnie. As we've been telling you, rescue crews search for the missing and the injured and there is a chance the death toll could rise even higher. Earlier I spoke with Dr. Sujatha Reddy about the types of injuries these crews might expect to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SUJATHA REDDY, PREMIER CARE FOR WOMEN: The most common injuries are actually going to be from blowing glass or debris, things like cuts, scrapes and bruises. The more deadly injuries are again from being thrown by a tornado or something being tossed at you, brain injuries, chest injuries or both.

MATTINGLY: And on top of that there's all the debris that's flying, there's all sorts of lacerations, people have broken bones and things like that. It's almost like getting hit by a car.

REDDY: You can make that analogy or an explosion that tosses you. You know, tornados can pick you up and bounce you around and throw you into something or pick you up to a high height and then drop you, quickly gravity takes over. So these are devastating injuries, potentially.

MATTINGLY: Now, as far as the people that have been found and they're also going out doing a really, just an incredible search this morning through all the wreckage trying to find other people who might be trapped, do you expect based on the injuries, the type of injuries that you see in this, do you expect the death toll to go higher today?

REDDY: I really hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me. Because I think you're going to find people as the sun comes out under debris and they have severe injuries, several hours could really take a toll on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And now pictures you have to see to believe. Josh Levs has your stories. CNN iReports next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Looking at our top stories now, new tornado warnings and watches are out at this moment for southern Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.

Also, a massive outbreak of storms throughout the South and Midwest has claimed at least 32 lives. Lines of storms carved a path of destruction all the way from Alabama to Ohio. The National Guard has been called out to help in Kentucky and Indiana, the two hardest-hit states.

BP says it will pay nearly $8 billion to settle claims related to the worst oil spill in U.S. history. A group representing the plaintiffs said the amount will, quote, "fully compensate" the victims. The three-month-long spill happened after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP. Eleven people were killed in that explosion.

Family and friends are gathering for Daniel Parmertor's funeral right now. He's one of three teenagers killed in the school shooting in Chardon, Ohio. Two other students were hospitalized. Another was grazed by gunfire. Chardon High students -- reopened to students yesterday where their principal led a moment of silence. Grief counselors and police were also on campus.

Let's get back now to our top story this morning. An even clearer picture is emerging now of just how enormous the outbreak of tornadoes and the scope of the devastation that we've been able to see, and that is coming from you. Some of the most powerful images and vivid accounts are coming from CNN iReports.

Josh Levs has been going through the reports for us this morning. Josh, I know you've got some things to show us that are just jaw- dropping.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. Yes, good morning again to you. Good morning, again, everyone. I will tell you our iReporters are just about literally everywhere because anyone can be an iReporter.

We have a really good example of someone who caught a really powerful video last night. We've been talking to you about Henryville, Indiana, and what happened yesterday in the afternoon. Well, here's someone who was just west of Henryville in Borden, Indiana. This is our iReporter Chad Hinton, who sent this.

At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and look at that huge, huge tornado. This is someone who was driving home along Indiana Highway 60, for those who know the area. They'd gotten out of work early, he says, and were heading home to seek shelter.

He set up his phone to get video as he was going home, and look at what he got there. This is a very telling piece of video, and when you think about what we've been showing you today of what happened in Henryville, he tells us this was taken at about the time that that tornado had been working its way into Henryville.

So that, right there, folks, is the size of the tornado that brought so much destruction to that area where we have been reporting today. That's just one example. There's also a lot of parts of the country that have faced other elements of these storms, including major hail.

Take a look at this. Just listen.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: You see that flag waving like crazy, and the winds and the hail which he says was at least the size of golf balls.

This is iReporter Ted Gottwald, who shot some video in downtown Chattanooga. He had been walking with his wrestling team when the hail started, violent gust of wind, this heavy downpour of rain, and these pieces of hail -- and I've seen some close-ups of the hail that struck Chattanooga. In some cases to me, looks like even bigger than golf balls.

You can -- you can feel the pounding when you're watching this video. This is what our iReporters were doing.

Let me tell you all, we only show videos in which we're confident that people did not go to any danger at all and were doing what authorities told to do, and heeding all the warnings authorities told them to heed.

Take a look what's behind me here. This is from CNN.com right now. And what we have here is a series of still photos that show you just some of the devastation, partly from yesterday, some from this morning, and now that we're seeing more of the aftermath and also from recent days.

This right here is Madison County, Alabama. I'm going to scroll through just a few of these photos before I jump to one more thing. And you can see, in so many cases people have lost homes, lost livelihoods, impassable roads. Schools have been knocked out in many cases, businesses just absolutely gone.

This was, once upon a time, someone's front door. Cars that are smashed into little bits. All of this obviously heartwrenching and for many people. You can look at this. Look at this right here. This is absolutely shocking.

And this is from Harrisburg, which we've not forgotten, which was something that was happening last week.

Very quickly, let me remember -- remind all of you, if you want to help those who were impacted by the storms, we have a form for you here, CNN.com/impact is a way you can reach out and help people. I have the links to this and we're talking to you all day on social media, Facebook and Twitter, joshlevscnn.

My blog is CNN.com/josh. All the latest there, go ahead and share your stories, and any photos or video. Keep bringing them all day to iReport. David, I'll be back next hour with even more.

MATTINGLY: I'm sure you will, Josh. Thanks very much. And Josh makes an important note to all of you iReporters out there. Take the pictures. Don't take the chances.

Now, on to southern Indiana which was particularly hit hard by the storms, this is what remains of Henryville High School. Storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski was in Henryville, Indiana, when the second tornado there ripped through. Earlier he talked about how he was able to help some kids get out of the school before the tornado just pretty much leveled the building. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF PIOTROWSKI, STORM CHASER: The tornado actually hits there, went through Henryville, and then as the tornado went through there, which we made it to town about three or four minutes after the tornado. And the second storm was rapidly approaching it. So as we made our way into town, everything was, you know, was leveled and very heavy destruction.

And we realized there was a school just in the path of it. And we drove over by the school, and to take shelter from the second storm with baseball and softball hail and 80-mile-an-hour wind, and actually never sustained damage to the vehicle.

But (inaudible) going out. And I saw people running up to the school, and I asked them, I asked, is there somebody in the school, and they said kids are in. And so at that time, we went up to the school and at that time there were -- kids were trapped in part of the building.

There were 71 kids -- they have a after-school, kind of a (inaudible) area. And then after that, they were there -- they took about 45 minutes to get the kids out of the school as the second storm passed, and the second tornado passed with the baseball hail. And took them to another shelter back of the north of the school.

MATTINGLY: Now so many times, when you are out there and your job as a chaser is to actually be able to put out the information to help people get out of harm's way. These people were already in harm's way. How often is it that you have to pull over and intervene like this to actually help people?

PIOTROWSKI: More than you -- more than you realize. It's a very common -- it's common. It goes with the territory. Especially yesterday, these tornadoes were moving, you know, 60, 70 miles an hour, very fast-moving, very large tornadoes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, from Indiana on to Georgia. Georgia neighbors waking up to damage, and we will take you there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: We've got some new video to show you at this hour, this streaming online from Marysville, Indiana. We're just watching this as it's coming in. Buildings flattened, trees apparently stripped bare. There's all sorts of debris all over the place.

This is just one more indication of the widespread damage, the power of these storms, as they rip through. I'm not sure what that structure was. You can see it's just been completely flattened as we're panning over here to the right. Some empty fields there, obviously a rural area.

And over here you can see the town's water tower in the background and some poles standing up apparently that used to be some sort of structure there, too. Roof, walls gone completely. Earlier when we were running this, I could hear in the background the ever-present sound of chain saws in the background.

That is the sign that tells you that this community is already working to clean up some of the debris and to try and get back on with its life and recover, something that's happening in so many places, so many states, so many counties in town across the country right now.

Damage from the storms has extended all of the way now -- excuse me -- all of the way now into Georgia. Dozens of homes damaged overnight, and parts of the state were under a tornado watch until 5 o'clock this morning.

Jennifer Mayerle is on the phone from Dallas, Georgia. Jennifer, what did you see there?

JENNIFER MAYERLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, right now we're at Poole Elementary School. And this is one area that was really hard hit. The school actually has six classrooms that were actually damaged. You can actually see the roof has completely come off. And you can see all the way up to the sky in six classrooms.

On one side there's an exterior wall that completely blew out. A few trailers, mobile classrooms that were no longer being used, completely tipped on their side and it's just really an interesting sight over here. They've been working all morning. And I talked to the superintendent of Paulding County Schools, who is calling -- the interesting thing that he said is, thank goodness it happened at 9:30 at night when no one was here instead of 9:30 in the morning, when kids could have been in the classrooms while this was happening.

But a lot of damage to six of the classrooms. You can see the clocks stopped at a certain time in around when the storm actually blew through this area. And again, just in these classrooms, the ceiling has fallen in. A lot of the artwork on the walls is drenched with water. And there's a lot of damage here, also damage all around Paulding County.

Just in a subdivision across the street from the school, several homes were damaged. We're hearing as many as 40 homes. Another subdivision, four homes completely destroyed. The airport, which is near this area as well in Dallas, one hangar was destroyed. There was damage to one of the runways. We're hearing as many as 22 planes that were damaged.

MATTINGLY: Yes, in fact -- in fact, Jennifer, while you were talking about them, we've got video right now rolling. And we can see those planes , flipped over, smashed on the runway there. It looks like that there was nothing that could have held them down and when this storm came through.

MAYERLE: Yes, and they're telling us, for a while this morning, it wasn't even safe to be over in the airport area because there was just so much damage. They weren't sure if some fuel had leaked or what was going on in the area.

But we are understanding that they're going to have an update for us around 1 o'clock today on exactly how extensive the damage was at the airport. But, again, the planes just flipped over. And you can see just how powerful that wind must have been to move those very heavy aircraft and just kind of throw them around like that.

MATTINGLY: Right. And some video we were looking at, just a little bit earlier from this same area, as you were talking about it. There were these very substantial homes, two-story homes, looked like they were well built, the tops completely sheared off of them. Do people have any idea what sort of a tornado came through there, how strong it might have been?

MAYERLE: They don't know. But, you know, I talked with a couple of teenaged boys, who said they were just at home with their mother. And they heard the wind just whipping around them. And it got kind of quiet.

They all went into the hallway, and they said they sat down and prayed, and just hoped that they were going to being OK. And really what they talked about was just that loud whipping noise, and just wondering what was going on around them as they sat in the hallway, kind of hunkered down.

MATTINGLY: Well, that's exactly the place they needed to be, because we're looking at some video, showing of these homes. The exterior is completely demolished. Everything inside is tossed about. It seems like the only safe place would have been in a closet right smack in the middle of that house. So I assume that's where people were going to be taking shelter.

MAYERLE: Yes. The one good thing that we've heard about here in Paulding County, is that there were no deaths, no injuries reported yet. So that everyone did heed the warnings and got to safe spots in their homes to ride out the storm last night. And, in fact, those boys just said, hey, we were OK.

And even here in the elementary school, one of the areas where when they have a tornado drill, the kids get into the hallways, into the interior hallways and they have four wings of the school, and while there were classrooms damaged on the front side of the school and even an exterior wall that blew out on the backside, the area where the kids for the tornado drills and where they're supposed to go was absolutely fine. So we always say go to those interior hallways where you're going to be safest.

MATTINGLY: That's right. And we're so glad that so many people heeded those warnings. It probably saved their lives in some situations. Jennifer, thank you very much, reporting from Paulding County, that is outside of the Atlanta metro area. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Now, my time is almost up today but the NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredericka Whitfield. and what have you got for us?

FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Yes, indeed. Well, lots, of course, we're going to keep an eye on the storms that are now threatening states along the East Coast.

And our legal guys are going to be with us, as they always are. Avery and Richard are very fascinated with the Nicolette Sheridan case, this is the "Desperate Housewives" case, the former "Desperate Housewife," is suing for her job back for one, or at least back pay in the amount of millions. And she's also alleging in this case that the show creator assaulted her.

Our legal guys are going to weigh in as to whether she has a -- stands a pretty good chance of getting what she believes she is owed.

And then, Katy Perry, the singer, she's multitalented and you'll see that in a new video game that she is now the subject of. And our Marc Saltzman is going to give us an inside preview of what this game is all about and why and how it will be up to adults and kids to decide how she sounds and what her new look, what color her hair should be, all that kind of good stuff.

And then, of course, if you're thinking about changing careers, you need to ask yourself at least five questions. And Valerie Burton will be along to kind of test your skills at whether you should determine, is it time to change my career?

Among the questions to ask yourself, what am I missing in my current career that I want in my new one? And then there are four others. Something to think about.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTINGLY: So many heavy questions, you know, for a Saturday.

WHITFIELD: I know, because it's a big thing to consider, whether you want a career change. Of course we're going to keep you posted, everybody, on the weather situation. New images, new eyewitness accounts, all that straight ahead, beginning at noon. Full day.

MATTINGLY: OK. Looking forward to it. Thank you very much.

Radio host Rush Limbaugh calls a female law student an offensive name. And President Obama responds with a phone call. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: The debate over women's rights and contraception got even more heated this week with radio host Rush Limbaugh stoking the fire. He used nasty language to describe a coed who argued for free contraception last week. And his comments have both sides digging in their heels. Here's senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Explosive comments even for Rush Limbaugh.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, TALK RADIO HOST: What does it say about the college coed Susan Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.

BASH (voice-over): Sandra Fluke is a Georgetown University law student, who appeared at a Democratic event last week, arguing the Obama administration rule requiring free contraception is critical for women's health. We played Limbaugh's comments for Fluke.

BASH: To hear someone like Rush Limbaugh, with millions of viewers, call you a slut?

SANDRA FLUKE, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW STUDENT: I think I probably felt -- well, I know that I felt, probably, the way many women do when they are called those types of names. Initially, hurt, and then very quickly upset and just outraged because someone is trying to silence you.

BASH (voice-over): Politically, Limbaugh played right into the Democrats playbook, called GOP opposition to free contraception a war on women.

REP. JACKIE SPEIER, (D), CALIFORNIA: I rise this morning to say to Rush Limbaugh, shame on you.

BASH (voice-over): The House Democrats campaign committee tried to raise money from the issue. And Democrats circulated a letter demanding GOP leaders repudiate Limbaugh.

Friday morning, House Speaker John Boehner did just that, a rare slap at a powerful Republican mouthpiece, with a dig at Democrats, too, a spokesman saying the Speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is trying to raise money off the situation. But Limbaugh is hardly backing down.

LIMBAUGH: A woman comes forth with this frankly hilarious claim that she's having so much sex -- and her buddies with her -- that she can't afford it. And not one person says, well, did you ever think about maybe backing off the amount of sex that you have? Did you ever think it's your responsibility for your own birth control, not everybody else's?

FLUKE: Well, I would say that I don't think that the women of America find it hilarious.

BASH (voice-over): It's in the Democrats' political interest to keep this story going. Fluke even got a call from President Obama.

BASH: Were you surprised to get a call from the President of the United States?

FLUKE: Yes. It certainly wasn't on my calendar for the day.

(LAUGHTER)

FLUKE: But I was happy to add that to the schedule. He thanked me for speaking out and being willing to do this, and for helping to magnify the voices of women around the country.

BASH (voice-over): On the presidential campaign trail, Mitt Romney wouldn't answer a question about Limbaugh, but Rick Santorum, who vehemently condemns the president's policy on contraception as an intrusion on religious freedom, he told Wolf Blitzer, Limbaugh is, quote, "being absurd," -- Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Since Dana filed her piece, Romney has responded during a campaign stop. He said he would not have used the language Limbaugh used. He then said he wanted to focus on an issue he considers significant, mainly jobs.

Well, now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Fredericka Whitfield. Thanks for having me. And I'm going to turn you over to a real professional here.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, you are the real professional. I know you've been juggling a whole lot all morning long. We've got quite the load this afternoon, too. We're going to talk about politics and, of course, the big story driving forth today, the storm.

Thanks so much, David. Good to see you.

MATTINGLY: You too.