berman. nice to have you. i m zoraida sambolin. up first, the shooting rampage in tucson, arizona, takes a dramatic step this morning. jared lee loughner now facing a lifetime in prison after pleading guilty to a shooting that killed six people and almost killed a former member of congress, gabrielle giffords. under the plea deal loughner will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole but will avoid the death penalty. the u.s. attorney prosecuting the case says loughner s mental state was a big factor in this decision. the doctors who have treated and observed mr. loughner since the shooting agree that he suffered from a severe mental illness. that is severe schizophrenia. at the time of the shooting and before the shooting. the fragility of his continued competency to stand trial was taken into account. we re live in tu san. we re used to seeing loughner s picture we just showed on the screen. you saw him in the courtroom yesterday. how did he look to you? report
canadian county, west of oklahoma city. pakistan turning over the wreckage of the military helicopter damaged in the raid that killed osama bin laden. it arrived in the u.s. over the weekend. special forces destroyed that chopper after it malfunctioned ahead of the raid. an arizona judge expected to rule today about whether jared loughner is mentally fit to stand trial for murder. loughner is accused of the fatal shootings of six people and wounding 13 others in tu san, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords. the family of bryan stow, the giants fan, severely beaten in the stadium parking lot is suing the team and its owner, frank mccourt. the suit alleges lack of security and inadequate lightning contributed to the attack. a suspect has been arrested. endeavour making the third of four spacewalks on their final mission. they re laying power cables and adding a robot arm attachment
thanks so much for being with us on this wednesday. good to see everybody this morning. you know the pictures are coming in, new pictures, and the devastation, continues for the midwest. that s right. ali velshi in joplin, missouri, where they had a harrowing night. hi, ali. good morning, christine, kiran, it is a better morning here. people counting their blessings. a near miss last night in joplin, missouri. everyone taking shelter and bracing for another twister that thanchgfully never came. this city, as you know, is reeling. 48 hours after the deadliest tornado in recorded u.s. history the death toll stands at 124 people killed. the national weather service upgraded sunday s tornado to an ef-5, the highest possible rating with winds above 200 miles an hour. now in oklahoma, devastating storms carved up canadian county, which is west of oklahoma city. five separate tornadoes touched down and five people are dead. dozens more are hurt. the dallas area got pounded too.
the congresswoman s hospital, mark kelly, he s supposed to xland nasa s final shuttle flight this year. he came out with a statement and said many of you have offered help. there is little we can do but pray those those who are struggling. if you need to do something tangible, anything, donate to one of the causes his wife has long supported, the american red cross and tu san appears food bank. one of the other stories we re following today is the snowstorm in the south. let s take you live to hartsfield-jackson airport. there are hundreds of people sleeping. air tran canceled all of its flights in and out of the airport. we re tracking the storm for you in the news room. ht now, a compe seafood dinner for two is just $29.99 at red lobster. you both get a fresh salad