heat of the day is gone. there's henriville, farther to the east, same tornado, but almost wiped out a town to the east. we also have incredible new video out of a tornado on the eastern section here of kentucky. kind of the coal fields of kentucky. west liberty, kentucky. this was by far in my opinion, watching the doppler radar, the strongest tornado on radar. doesn't mean it was the strongest one on the ground, but the rotation was the strongest and tightest, speeds going one way to another way were at least 100 miles per hour. this on radar looks like an ef-3 or ef-4 tornado. now with the first video out, driving into west liberty, you can see the damage. yes, it's dark, but you can get a feel for the buildings knocked down. really, a police car that was damaged completely. and more tornado damage from cars being just -- things tossed onto them. people are out there, search and rescue. the national guard has been called out. 50 members going out to help in the clean up and rescue tonight. it's been a deadly day across the country today. we don't know the number of casualties, but we know more than a dozen so far confirmed by cnn, and now that it's dark, people still missing, these numbers will go up by morning, and we'll have those for you as the night falls and as the day comes up tomorrow. anderson? >> chad myers, appreciate it. we'll continue to check in with you. on the phone is a storm chaser who road ode of the werst of th weather in henriville. what was it like? >> shortly after 3:00, we went in to see in the search and rescue mode. we came up on an elementary/junior high school. there were about 71 children still at the school at 2:30 timeframe. when that happened, they were trapped in part of the building. it took multiple medical people to help get the kids out of the school. while we were trotting the kids out of the school, tornado two hit us again about 15 minutes after the first tornado. that produces baseball to softball sized hail,a at 80-mile-per-hour winds and massive damage. people hit with hail and injured while they were trying to pull people from the rubble from the first tornado. that was in henriville, and it went up to marysville, taking in massive heavy hits. the town by some accounts, the town is gone. i have not been up there, can't get up there, but there was massive damage in marysville. there was massive aide this afternoon after 3:00 at the school and around the city, and we're saying the sheriff was missing, they found him, and digging around the rubble was pretty bad. >> these types of storms at this level, it seems early for early march, isn't it? >> it is, anderson. here is a warning. here is a warning to america and all of the u.s. mother nature is telling you right now, you have outbreaks in several areas, last week and the week before, the first week in march, another super outbreak on the way tonight and this afternoon, this is a warning sign. it's telling you that the gulf of mexico is warmer than normal. we're going to have a lot more active, falling outbreaks. we're not even in peak season until may. this is a precursor of what is coming. people need to be prepared, have a plan. whether you're at school, your home, your office, you need to have a plan. this is just the beginning of what is coming to the next 90 to 120 days in the southern united states and that's going to be a tough year. >> you talked about the kids in the school. they're okay, yeah? >> yes, the kids, there was no kid injured or parent or teachers at the school that were injured. a lot of people fighting, a lot of kids had water on them. the roof had collapsed, walls had collapsed, we had to step over rubble. different walls and sections and break doors down. as you get people through the doors, some people had mud and water on them, and scared and the fire alarms were going off. inside the school was a bad situation. it picked up cars and buses and threw them into the school. it's a very bad scene there. >> we're seeing the pictures of the school buses tossed around like they were toys. jeff, appreciate you talking to us about what you saw today. the damaging storm system, as we said, and as chad reported, covered a major portion of the middle of the country. the storm now extending as far as the atlanta area. let's go to rob marciano just outside of chattanooga, tennessee. what's it like there today? >> i tell you what, it's been a rough eight hours here in eastern tennessee. it all started with a tornadic thunderstorm that rolled through northern alabama around lunch time, made its way through the border and right across chattanooga. by 1:00, it touched down east of where we are here in tennessee. some of the pictures coming out of there, multiple homes damaged if not destroyed. 40 to 50 of them. we had nine or ten injuries of people at area hospitals, and 15 or so people that were treated and released on the scene. so far, the good news is even with all of the damage, there have been zero fatalities. search and resckcue crews continue, but we had two other storms that have come through just in the last hour and a half. those operations have been suspended. one of those storms dropped a tremendous amount of hail on us right here, up to an inch or so in diameter hail. the hail core blocked our vision of what was a tornado that was reported just to our south by a couple miles. and now just about 15 minutes ago, yet another cell went through, that one tornadic, to the north and east. that main line has still yet to come through. a frustrating, devastating day here for the folks who live just north and east of chattanooga, tennessee, where the damage has already been done and now ongoing storms they have had to deal with, one after another, and another batch of them coming in about two hours from now. >> have there been deaths or injuries reported in tennessee? >> not in this section. i can't speak for the rest of tennessee. just to the east of here in cleveland, on the other side of the highway, homes destroyed and injuries over there as well. you know, between what happened today and the storms that rescuers have had to deal with, not everyone is accounted for. that operation is ongoing. we're hoping that number stays in the zero mark, but there's a lot of damage out there. potent storms that have come through. >> and you agree that for this time of the year, this is very early for these kind of intense storms? >> absolutely. and really, the time of the year and where these storms happened is where you have to look for the red flag. we had a tornado reported in nebraska two days ago. that's never happened in the month of february. there's a red flag there. as jeff pointed out, this outbreak, which is very much a mid-to late april scenario is alarming. we have moved out of the area that has been devastated. we were evacuated because of the oncoming storms. that's why all you see behind me is rescue vehicles. we're at the command post that is also acting as a shelter. some churches that tried to open up to be shelters, they didn't have power as well. it's frustrating for residents, victims, and rescuers alike. >> i want to go to lauren smith. he's in louisville, kentucky. what did you see today? i understand you came very close. >> i was in indiana. we were covered, the tornado, we pulled off at the henryville exit, and moment after we arrived, we saw the twister coming across the highway right at us. the video was incredible. but it came across, we ran inside a nearby convenience store with about half a dozen other people. >> we're showing the video now. >> it went by, and waited for it. the building shook. the lights went off. the noise was incredible. and it passed right in front of us. fortunately, where we were, we were not injured, but across the street from us, a few hundred yards away, total devastation. a gas station across the street, 200 yards from us, leveled. a complex beyond the gas station leveled. trees torn down. an amazing sight to see, but there were heroic people there who immediately began to go in and pull people out. i don't think there were any injuries -- there were injuries, no deaths in this area. an amazing sight in the middle of a twister as it bears down on you. >> lawrence, we're looking at the images of you and your crew took as you were trying to seek safety from this. what does it feel like to be so close? what -- does the temperature change? what is the experience like? >> there was no temperature change. it was very quiet, first of all. until it got close to you. then came this terrific roar, and then you could see the debris begin to swirl. we thought we better get inside of a building and get away from this as fast as we can. we went inside, continued to shoot from inside the building through the window. you can see the debris flying everywhere. the noise was deafening. people were screaming inside the building. it passed by us within a few hundred feet, and hit the town of henryville to horrific effect. it was amazing to see the kind of damage that storm could cause. >> it's extraordinary to see the images. how fast did it go -- did it go by you? did it move past you? >> tell you the truth, it seemed like forever, but it was probably only a minute or so before it passed by us. as we looked to our east, as it passed by us, we could see the homes being ripped apart. >> laur nls, i'm glad you and your crew are safe, and able to get the images for us. i appreciate it, lawrence smith, remarkable day today. our breaking news coverage is going to continue throughout this hour with late update on the powerful and deadly storm system. let us know what you think on facebook and google plus. up next, a powerful firsthand account of the assad regime in syria. ability the bombardment of their people. lies, more lies today, and somebody who can directly contradict the lies we're hearing from the syrian regime because they're telling lies about him, and he's alive to tell us the truth. photographer paul conroy just got out of syria, homs, a lot of people died trying to get him out. he calls it a medieval slaughter that has happened and a medieval slaughter that's about to continue. the only difference now is there's no one left in homs who can videotape it and document it and tell the world about it. tonight, he will. i ruurge you to listen to this. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. 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[whispering] big dreams. keeping them honest tonight begins with a terrible, terrible truth and the grotesque lies being told about it over and over again. the truth tonight is stark and simple. the people in baba amr, the neighborhood in the syrian city of homs has been under attack for weeks. those people now entirely at the mercy of the regime that has been trying day after day and week after week to murdered them, to kill them. they have been targeted by the heaviest weapons of war, even though there's no war, only killing. in the words of a man who just escaped from the city who just saw all of it happening, what's going on in baba amr is, quote, the mideven siege and slaughter of civilians, the medieval siege and slaughter. the lies meantime from the assad regime do not stop. the syrian foreign ministry issued a statement that pretty much left us speechless. it was about the rocket attack that killed marie colvin and a photographer remi ochlik and injured pawn conroy, who you're going to hear from in a moment. the syrian government after hearing the sad news that miss colvin had been killed exerted immense efforts to find out the circumstances under which miss colvin was killed. it's hard to say anything about that but paul conroy can say plenty about it. as we said, he was on the receiving end of that same attack that killed his colleague. we spoke to him just a short time ago. paul, you were injured in the shelling that killed your friends and colleagues. marie colvin and remi ochlik. how are you doing, first of all? >> i am okay. i'm in london now. i've seen a lot of specialists. they have got the wounds under control in my left leg and removed some metal from my abdomen, so i'm stabilized now. >> you've covered wars all over the world for a long time. in terms of what you saw happening in baba amr, in homs, in syria, how does it compare? >> i would say quite categorically, that's the most ferocious, vicious and unnecessary that i've seen. there are actually no military targets within baba amr. all of the intense shelling is directed at the civilian population. so it's quite a unique situation in baba amr. >> is it even a war? is it accurate to call it that? >> no, i think it would be wrong to call it a war. this is, i think, a medieval siege and slaughter. i would hesitate to use the word "war." >> slaughter. >> in baba amr. >> you say it's a slaughter? >> it's a slaughterhouse in there. the city of and people -- it's a very small neighborhood. i was in misrata for the peak of the shelling there. at least people had space to disappear and run and change neighborhoods. in baba amr there is nowhere to go. the area is ringed by snipers, so any attempt at leaving the neighborhood is met by sniper fire. the buildings are low, single story buildings generally. they can't withstand the heavy artillery that's being fired into them. so it's a slaughterhouse. >> in terms of what's going to happen now, if free syrian army forces have left as they say they have, and the military, the syrian regime is able to just move in and take control of the area, and it seems they have, what do you think is going to happen? >> i mean this was everybody's, you know, biggest fear. i think most people in baba amr had unfortunately had to accept their fate and the world has once again stood by and watched as this assault continued. i think now people have accepted the fact that they will probably end up dead. that's the general feeling of the place, they were prepared dash preparing to die. when i was rushed out of the place, i think most people accepted that the west -- nobody was coming to their help and they were prepared to go to their death. it's unfortunate. >> and now syrian forces are free to go house to house, apartment to apartment and seek whatever revenge they want. and there's really no one there anymore to document it. no international correspondents and even locals with access to youtube cameras and uploading things on youtube? >> absolutely, anderson. unfortunately now -- that was a line of defense to a point, the fact that this could be documented and maybe hopefully the presence of photographers and journalists, both western and syrian, held a modicum of security. but now that's gone. this will continue in the dark undocumented. and i fear that the opportunity will be taken to exact revenge on these people. now the cameras are gone and we can only imagine the horrors that will unfold. i fear to think of what's going to happen to the people now. >> in the last interview i did with marie colvin before she was killed she used the word lies, about the lies the syrian regime has told. it's a word we use on this program a lot to describe the inaccurate statements they have made over the last 12 months. syrian state television now says that calm has been restored in baba amr and they have aired interviews of people who say armed terrorists were responsible for shooting and chaos. that's the line the regime has been pushing since the beginning of the conflict. when you hear what they have to say, what do you think, based on what you saw? >> i feel sick, anderson. this regime one day hopefully will answer at the hague. but the level of lies and deception are beyond -- i hate to use the world human. i hope the outside world doesn't believe any of this nonsense. they've executed, slaughtered, butchered, women, children, men for the last ten months. and the last two weeks that this regime has committed crimes, they're not war crimes, they're just crimes. this is just outright murder. there's no war involved. i think they're hiding behind the lies. anderson, this is pure outright murder of civilians in their homes by a heavily armed force with impunity have shelled and destroyed these people. we saw that. marie colvin died witnessing this. and she saw that, i saw that, we've seen it. this is absolute nonsense. the regime -- these are educated people. these are not people in the hills of afghanistan. these people were educated at universities. there's a whole system in place, and for 40 years the syrian people have lived under this system, themselves expert in the lies, deception and murder. we once again sat by and watched a whole regime commit murder. not war crimes, there's no war. the war is a fallacy. this is murder of civilians. it is from a regime that is expert in lying and death. they hopefully -- let's hopefully get these people on trial at the hague, the crimes against humanity. >> the other statement the syrian government made today was that they said that they were on the verge of approving a visa for marie colvin so that she could travel to the country legitimately. they have said that oftentimes, they promise visas to people and never delivered on that. they also claim they're going to launch an investigation to find out how marie was killed. do you have any doubt in your mind how marie was killed and who killed her? >> i was with marie when she was killed and i know who killed her. there's no need for an investigation. they were professional artillery men, targeted, bracketed and murdered marie colvin. they murdered remi. this was murder, there's no need for investigation. the syrian regime -- i mean i -- you know, i'm sitting there mourning the loss of a friend and a colleague and i have to listen to this nonsense from the murderers themselves. it's like the murderers are investigating the murderers. it's laughable. >> and the final thing, i believe it's important to confront their lies constantly because otherwise they go unanswered. the syrian government is also now saying that they were actually trying to help you and other wounded journalists leave baba amr but it was the insurgents who refused to let you leave. >> once again, anderson, we're looking at -- it's a pathetic attempt at lying. if that's the best -- i would go face to face on television with any of that syrian regime and challenge their lies. that's an open offer to the assad regime. if they want to face me on a one-to-one interview, i will refute their lies face-to-face. if they give me a visa, i will come to damascus and refute their lies. that's an open challenge for the assad regime. i have that confidence. i will travel back to syria and we can have it out face to face. >> we would like to get a visa too and travel back with you. paul conroy -- >> if you can arrange that, then i'll go with you and we'll confront this regime on their lies. >> they no longer come on my program. we've called them on their lies a few too many times but we keep asking. so listen, paul, i've never met you but i have such respect for what you've done and i'm so sorry for the loss of marie and your friends and your colleagues. i'm glad you're back and alive and speaking out, because you're one of the few people who has witnessed the murders and the slaughter. so thank you. >> thank you, anderson. >> paul conroy. just ahead tonight, much more on the powerful storms that pummeled a wide stretch of the u.s. tornados left miles of damage in their wake. it's a day of sheer terror in a lot of small towns today. also ahead, rush limbaugh's comments about a female law student put him in the cross-hairs of being slammed by all sides. mitt romney finally made a comment about it after dodging some questions about it. we'll show you what he said and what some of the other gop candidates have said as well. nes grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ in the works package, we change the oil we change the filter... tire rotation, suspension, we make suspension checks... what we have here is the multi-point inspection. every time a vehicle comes into a ford dealership you'll be presented with one of these. we check the belts, hoses... brakes. tires and the pressures... battery, all your fluids... exhaust system, transmission... we inspect your air filter... it gets done,it gets done quickly and it gets done correctly. the works. oil change, tire rotation and more: $29.95 or less after rebate - at your ford dealer. you're a doctor... you're a car doctor. maybe a car doctor... welcome back. you're looking at a school bus embedded in a house in henryville, indiana, about 20 miles north of louisville, kentucky. as we have been reporting, the town has been hit hard. the damage extensive. more now on the breaking news. chris welch is in henryville. chris, what's the latest there? >> reporter: well, anderson, i just got to the scene myself and i've been fortunate enough to meet these two people who were fortunate enough to reunite with each other. this is rusty and megan irish. father and daughter. megan goes to school a couple of hours away but because the phones have been down and this massive devastation, they haven't been able to get in touch with each other and just five minutes ago you reunited. walk me through what your afternoon was like. you live here in henryville. it's been a busy couple of damages with tornado damage. here in henryville, tell me what happened. what you heard, what you saw when this tornado came through. >> when the tornado came through initially, a friend of mine called and told me that henryville had been hit extremely hard. i was about ten miles south of here. i rushed here immediately to total devastation. >> reporter: and did you find your home? i know you told me we're not far. how far is your home and what does it look like? >> approximately two blocks from here and the roof is off of it. it's pretty much a total loss. >> reporter: and, megan, you grew up here, spent your life here. you went to the school that we've seen a lot of pictures of all evening. you said you got a chance to see the school that you went to. what's your impression after seeing some of this damage? >> it was awful. like the front of it was just tore off. i just saw buses through buildings. it kind of hurt to come back and see all this. i don't like seeing it like this. >> reporter: your home is gone now, but you were telling me earlier, these things can be replaced. when you look around, you look at the city where you were born and raised in, what goes through your mind right now? >> i'm still in shock, really. i'm just -- i'm worried aboabout -- it's a tight knit community, a small community, and just worried about the people that i grew up with and been around all my life. and i'm hoping everything is okay. you know, and with a lot of outpouring here, people are offering to take us in if we need anything, so that's wonderful. that's a good thing about a small town. >> what is the next step? this happened hours ago. you're probably still trying to f figure out what happened. as you go through tonight and tomorrow morning, what happens next? >> i'm going to see what daylight holds. i'm just thankful we're all -- we all survived this. like i said, material things can be replaced. the house can be replaced. we've got a place to stay, you know, warmth, food, we don't have to worry about that. so like i said, we'll just see what tomorrow holds and go on from there. >> thank you both very much for joining us. anderson, back to you. >> please, wish them the best for us and the thoughts and prayers of so many people are with those folks and others tonight. thanks very much. chuck adams is with the clark county sheriff's office. his county took perhaps the biggest hit in the storm. he's in jeffersonville, trying to get a sense of how badly they have been hit. thank you for joining us. how bad is jeffersonville tonight? >> you're watching what i am on the news. we have a command post up there, jeffersonville. we just had a wonderful influx of police officers coming to the scene. we probably have 40 or 50 police officers in the henry ville area now. it's remarkable that we didn't have more fatalities. right now, i only have one reported fatality in the henryville area. and i don't really have an injury number for you, but we were very lucky. >> how much time did people have? how much warning time did people have? >> i know the alarms went off probably several times during the day. so at least three times. and there was quite a bit olwarning. the only problem that we really did have, the school in henryville was still in session, and as you can tell by the footage, the high school is just heavily damaged. they were just so fortunate that some of the children that were still left in the school today weren't injured. we reported minor scratches and some abrasions from the students. so we were very fortunate there. >> thank goodness for that, especially when you see the school bus that has been tossed through a house. chuck adams, i know you have a long night and long days and weeks ahead of you. we wish you the best and the volunteers as well. thank you very much. >> okay, thank you very much, too. >> still ahead, the ugly battle that may be diving independents, especially women in the independent party. comments made by rush limbaugh and comments gop candidates have been asked to make about the comments. >> plus, the images are overwhelming. what the tornadoes left behind today in henryville. more ahead. it's just the environmentde, that bacteria likes to nestle into and they can cause the odor. your denture needs to be cleaned gently on a daily basis. i like to recommend polident, it kills the bacteria without causing any abrasion. when my patients follow my instructions, their dentures feel clean and fresh. they look forward to putting them in their mouth and smiling. chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. raw politics tonight, the ugly battle under way that some republicans say could be driving independents and women away from the gop, even more so now that rush limbaugh has painted a bull's eye on one woman named sandra fluke. the fight is about whether religiously affiliated institutions like catholic universities and medical centers should be required to provide health insurance that includes contraception. democrats wanted fluke to testify at the all-male house hearing on the issue several weeks back. after republican chairman darrell issa said no, she testified to a separate panel of democrats. this week during that bitter senate fight over allowing employers to eliminate coverage for anything they morally object to, rush limbaugh took aim at law student sandra fluke. >> 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. she's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. she wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. >> he also said, quote, if we're going to pay for you to have sex, you have to post the videos so we can all watch, unquote. today fluke got a phone call from president obama. limbaugh reacted to that as well. >> obama just called sandra fluke to make sure she was all right. ah, that is so compassionate. what a great guy. >> some republican candidates who are already saying this is strictly about moral conscience, not women's health, are now being asked by democrats to repudiate limbaugh's comments. and by reporters to at least respond to them. today rick santorum, who speaks out frequently against contraception had this to say in the situation room. >> i'd like you to respond to rush limbaugh. >> well, he's taking -- he's being absurd. that's an entertainer can be absurd. he's taken the absurd -- you know, the absurd sort of point of view here as to how far do you go. look, he's in a very different business than i am. >> house speaker john boehner through a spokesman called what limbaugh said, quote, inappropriate but so were attempts to exploit it. mitt romney, on the other hand, first refused to respond to questions about the comments. >> governor romney do you have a comment on rush limbaugh's comments on contraception, sir? >> perhaps he didn't hear it. later he said, quote, it's not the language i would have used, unquote. more on the raw politics and its impact on the gop. ari fleischer, mary matalin, and maria cardona. ari, is it appropriate to ask gop candidates about rush limbaugh's comments? a lot of folks say, look, rush limbaugh is just an entertainer, but others say, look, he has a role in the republican party. >> well, look, you know, they are not -- they are not radio people themselves that are running for president, so yes, it's appropriate to ask them. i don't think it's the be all and end all of their campaigns. what russ said was reprehensible. he shouldn't have said it. it's insulting. he didn't need to say it, he shouldn't have said it. he should apologize for it. but this has been a strange week, anderson. you had the huffington post had somebody published who wrote the most virulent anti-catholic things ever, who likened the catholic mass to the barbaric ritual. that was larry doyle writing in the huffington post. you know, there's all kinds of sideshows in politics. i don't remember the democrats getting asked to apologize for arianna huffington. they should also. >> the guy you quoted is a former writer for "the simpsons." is he on the same par as rush limbaugh? because rush limbaugh addresses, we see a video of him addressing cpac and conservative groups. >> the huffington post has millions of readers and identified with the left wing of american politics and they made the conscious decision to publish this. rush just speaks contemporaneously. huffington post made the decision to push so millions could read. that's terrible judgment. how come the mainstream media is not making a big deal of the huffington post. >> mary madeline, what do you think? >> i think that there would not be -- the republicans would not have ascended to the majority in 1994 without rush limbaugh. there wouldn't be a moderate conservative movement without rush limblimbaugh. they would not be a voice for the fly-over country and no victories in the fall without rush. what's the problem here is that there's nothing more effective than political humor, political satire. nobody does it better than rush. the problem is that republicans get all wobbly and respond to democratic demagoguery and they should pivot to the issue. rick santorum could have pivoted to how atrocious it is for the overreach of the government to be running over encroaching on religious liberty or the government demanding that a private enterprise provide and pay for contraceptives or whatever, abortion-producing drugs. so i think the republican response to this is always wrong. after the dust settles, and rush is right, 99.7% of the times. every one of these candidates right now has to go back and reassert the essential rationale for their candidacy. this is a very important tuesday coming up. they shouldn't allow themselves to be distracted like this. >> maria, was this just satire. bill maher on the left who said some pretty outrageous things. >> the problem is what rush did was very personal to somebody who was testifying about an issue that she felt was personal. it was an ugly, ugly personal attack and absolutely he should apologize for it. i'm glad that ari thinks that he should. and i don't think that this is someone that we want our young kids listening to, our young men, our daughters listening to. and think that it's okay to use that kind of language. especially when you have the megaphone that he has. and that's the problem here. he is not just somebody who wrote an article that was posted on the web. to mary's point, he is a spokesperson for the republican party. republican candidates listen to him. but republican candidates should also have profiles and courage and know when something is absolutely crossed the line like it has in this instance. >> mary? >> anderson, can i just ask you, what standing did that young law student have in this pseudo -- it wasn't even a real hearing. she's not a member of the clergy, she doesn't work for an insurance company, she's not really any kind of student leader. what's her point? it's a tragic case when a young woman with such clear ambition devotes her life to going to a jesuit university, paying $40,000 a year and takes on her cause, government sponsored, taxpayer funded, contraception, there's no problem. i lived right behind georgetown when i was in washington. you can walk to any pharmacy and get birth control anywhere, you can get an abortion anywhere up there. there is no problem. it's a tragic case that our young people are not exposed to good satire but they take on as their cause, particularly in a jesuit university where they could devote themselves to the great history and mission of the jesuit enterprise. why she's doing this is a tragedy. oh, yes, it does, maria. >> i think a lot of women and a lot of mothers actually think that it's a good thing when young women stand up for what they believe should be equal rights for all women and that's what this is about. equal access to life-saving, preventative services. that is the gist of the issue. now, clearly what rush has done was made it about sluts and prostitutes and that's where it's a problem for the republican party because they have not repudiated that. >> ari. >> maria, i've been consistent on this and i said i thought it was inappropriate and should apologize. would you call on arianna huffington to apologize for that on her website? >> yes, i don't think that's appropriate either, ari. i think this kind -- on either side -- >> and do you think nancy pelosi should join you? should nancy pelosi and barack obama apologize -- ask for huffington to apologize? >> they don't speak for the huffington post. they don't speak for arianna huffington. >> well, but you're saying republicans should ask rush limbaugh to apologize. so shouldn't nancy pelosi and barack obama ask arianna huffington to apologize? >> apologize for what, for running that? for publishing that piece? >> absolutely. for publishing an anti-catholic hate piece. >> it's absolutely -- it's not the same issue because, again -- >> what a double standard. that's a double standard. >> no. rush limbaugh made a personal attack of this woman calling her a slut, calling her a prostitute. >> i guess also the question is -- >> and that is something that should not be accepted by anybody. >> i guess also the question is does rush limbaugh have -- does arianna huffington have the same standing in the democratic party that rush limbaugh does in the republican party. >> anderson, the issue isn't how much is your reach, the issue is how wrong were you when you said something. i don't think the standard is for an apology for something inappropriate is how many people heard you. she has millions, rush has millions. it's not whether one has more millions that the other. the question is did you cross a line. i guess what maria is saying it's wrong to insult one person but it's right to insult billions of people, which is what the huffington post did. >> no. what i'm saying is it's completely different. >> it's okay to be anti-religious? >> no. >> why won't you say barack obama should call on arianna huffington to apologize? >> because it's not -- absolutely not the same thing. >> maria, you can respond and we've got to go. >> it is absolutely not the same thing. the huffington post is a publication. rush limbaugh is somebody who has his own words and should be responsible for his own words. these are not arianna huffington's words. these are rush limbaugh's own words. and by the way, his advertisers are withdrawing their money from the show so clearly it's not something that people agree is okay. >> we're simply out of time. maria, appreciate it. >> 20 years trying to take him out and they have not done it yet and are not now. >> and that's the problem with the republican party. >> appreciate it. mary, appreciate it, ari, appreciate it as well. coming up, more on the tornado damage. we'll be right back. 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[whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. time now for the ridiculist. tonight, we're adding something airlines are trying with airplane seating arrangements. two airlines have decided to let passengers choose who they want to sit next to based on their ficeback profile. it calls it meet and seat. you share your profile with your other passenger profiles and figure out who you want to sit next to. other airlines are considering it as well. let's not just mind our own business on planes, god forbid anybody get peace and quiet. let's turn every second of our lives into a social networking experiment. why stop at facebook? let's get match.com on board. i think that sounds great. look, i don't mean to sound like a curmudgeon, but what was so wrong with rolling the dice. maybe you get the nice, quiet stranger, and sometimes you get jan candy in planes, trains, and automobiles. >> i want to finish this article. >> you catch me running off at the mouth, give me a poke in the chops. aw, aw, that feels good. i'm telling you. my dogs are barking today. >> isn't a flight by definition supposed to be a transient part of our lives. we're talking about a relationship you're having with someone from point a to point b. do we need to know their poking status and an affinity for nickelback. if someone is flying planes an as interest, it could help identify tham in an airplane situation. >> can you fly this plane and land it? >> sury, you can't be serious. >> i am, and don't call be shirley. >> people don't tell the whole truth about themselves on their facebook profile. they're not going to write, i talk incessantly or i smell like blue cheese. in other words -- blue cheese. it's not going to help you avoid the situations described in a clip where a woman called to cspan trying to get help from newt gingrich. >> a couple weeks ago, i had a situation where i was on a plane with three seats on either side. i sat in the middle. i had a woman on one side that had obsession perfume, liz tay tayler's obsession, and it was so overpowering, and man next to me must have had shrimp scampi. >> i bet this idea is going to take off. have fun making facebook