AP
The death toll has climbed to 51, including 20 children, after a massive tornado flattened homes and started fires in the Oklahoma City area on Monday afternoon. Seven children drowned at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, where the tornado tore the roof off the school building. It was not clear how many children were missing. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade were evacuated to a church, but students in lower grades were sheltered in place, KFOR reported. Authorities say the death toll could rise as rescue efforts continue through the night with crews frantically searching for survivors. At one hospital, 85 patients, including 65 children, were being treated for injuries that ranged from minor to critical. Forecasters said the tornado, with winds up to 200 mph, could be an EF4, the second-strongest category. The tornado struck mid-afternoon and tore a 20-mile path during its 40 minutes on the ground, while kicking up a cloud of debris perhaps two miles wide. President Barack Obama declared a major disaster for Oklahoma and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area. He will deliver a statement at 10 a.m. ET. The Red Cross said it was opening a shelter, and the University of Oklahoma opened some of its housing for displaced families.
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About 9.5 million people remained under the threat of more "large and devastating" tornadoes Tuesday as the storm system that devastated the suburbs of Oklahoma City moved east, forecasters warned.
Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said early Tuesday that the threat area appeared to be east and south of Oklahoma City.
"Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible throughout the threat area," Roth said.
He added that cities including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Shreveport, Texarkana and Little Rock were among the cities "close to the the larger tornado threat." The National Weather Service said storms were expected Tuesday "from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi River Valley and into central Texas."
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AP
When the sirens began wailing and teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., heard that a huge tornado was heading toward them, there was nowhere to hide, NBC News reported.
They crouched in hallways and bathrooms, waiting, hoping and praying. Then "the school started coming apart," one neighbor who sought shelter at the school told the Associated Press. A teacher told NBC station KFOR that she draped herself on top of six children in a bathroom to shelter them.
The twister hit the school at about 200 mph at 3 p.m. local time, tearing off the roof and killing seven children. Officials said the children drowned in a pool of water.
As of Tuesday morning, it is still unclear if any other children were killed or trapped alive.
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A massive two-mile-wide tornado rips through southern Oklahoma City on Monday. This footage has been sped up by 10X.
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A massive tornado touched down just south of Oklahoma City on Monday,... See Full Gallery »
Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, along with the outgoing agency chief and IRS inspector general, will appear Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee to be questioned on the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups applying for nonprofit status. Republicans hope the hearing — along with a separate hearing before a House committee on Wednesday — will keep alive the public outrage toward the IRS abuses, which has in turn helped offer the GOP a unifying cause in its opposition to President Barack Obama and his agenda, NBC News reported. Shulman, who was appointed by George W. Bush, served as commissioner during much of the time that the targeting took place. Steven Miller, the acting IRS commissioner forced to resign last week, testified last week, as did J. Russell George, the inspector general whose report unearthed the scandal.
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Local schools, churches and community organizations are coordinating food and shelter for displaced residents and accepting donations of food, blankets and other items in the wake of a massive tornado that struck Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund here, and the organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank. You can also donate to the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief fund and donations will "go straight to help those in need providing tree removal services, laundry services and meals to victims of disasters." The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units to serve hard-hit areas in central Oklahoma, including Moore, where it is sending mobile kitchens that can serve meals to 2,500 people a day, and to South Oklahoma City.
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The whole city looks like a debris field.
AP
Convicted killer Jodi Arias' childhood friend planned to testify, but decided on Monday that she could not go through with it, NBC News reported. The potential witness, Patricia Womack, planned to testify about Arias' abusive childhood, but backed out because she said she was receiving death threats and was deeply conflicted about the case. “I couldn’t do it,” she told NBC News in an email. “I feel there is so much good in Jodi to be saved but then also someone’s dear life was taken.” The sentencing phase of Arias' trial continued on Monday to determine whether to sentence her to death or life in prison for the killing of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Last week, the jury ruled that Arias acted with extreme cruelty, making her eligible for the death penalty. Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi is attempting to secure a life sentence for his client. Arias was briefly placed on suicide watch after her conviction on May 8. In an interview with KSAZ-TV of Phoenix, Arias said she would "rather get death than life" and that death was the "ultimate freedom."
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