weekend of deadly severe storms. in parts of arkansas. the damages catastrophic reports of at least a dozen tornadoes. they re the hardest hit area was the town of wind. we don t know what s left. all my neighbors house is about destroyed. my two boys are out now trying to help dig people out of their homes. little rock, arkansas also bearing the brunt of these storms, the city s mayor, telling cnn today that entire neighborhoods were flattened. impact is devastating. i just came out of nowhere. clearly no, it was coming. everyone took cover, as relates to the emergency response from that standpoint, but just to see the devastation of the impact of the flattening of homes, flattening of businesses and a matter of minutes. and more devastation and several other states, including indiana and tennessee , as state that is reporting seven deaths now, but the threat is far from over. millions are now bracing for a new round of storms. today cnn has teams tracking the latest from th
begin this hour, with the rising death toll from the tornado outbreak that has ripped across much of the south and midwest just minutes ago, officials in illinois confirmed for more storm related deaths, the overall death toll over the last 24 hours now jumps to 21 lives lost more than 50. tornadoes have been reported in seven states. in the south and the midwest. the state of emergency now blankets, much of arkansas and the national guard is rolling into devastated communities. there are reports of at least a dozen tornadoes touching down in the state. these images are of the hard hit town of wynne, arkansas, and that s where we find cnn s derek van dam. jim i was just talking to my crew a moment ago, and the scene behind us reminds us of being on the set of a major blockbuster movie. i mean, just look at what we have with this destruction coming out of wynne, arkansas, that is a church steeple that was blown off by this tornado. look at the incredible damage in front of tha
Only team that s ever been in the final four before the other three teams first time ever, and florida atlantic san diego state will be the first ones to tip off tonight. we caught up with some of the owls and aztecs fans just a bit ago. march madness is so special fbu has never made it this far. we believe in our school and it s our moment, baby. pretty much went from san diego to houston, but 18 hour drive, but you know, long drive. we do have the sec as such. let s go. text, baby. yeah. 14 unversity f a u f a u f a you alright? how about those texts in texas? oh, fandom. monium pandemonium, jim, nearly 1500 mile drive all the way from san diego state for some of those aztecs pants to get here, more of them. they re everywhere. it s a really special moment. lifetime opportunity, lifetime opportunity for most of the
Advancing into the big dance to top seeds falling in shocking upsets, a wire joins us now from houston. oh, they re having a little fun before the big dance. what s happening? it s all been fun, though, hasn t it exciting? the parties all been fun. this is what it s all about. we are at the final four. we re at the fan zone where you can step on the court and see if you can conquer the court like katelyn polantz. it s just outside nrg stadium. this is where the nfl houston texans play, and that s how big march madness is at the turn of football field into an arena once in a lifetime opportunity for the most of these student athletes who are playing, but a huge moment for these universities, as well as millions of people tune in fred , the revenue that has brought in from the final four him be enough to buy new facilities for a program to fund the team s band to pay for other sports. programs as well. i talked to coach jim larranaga, the 73 year
Capitol hill. this is cnn. as march gives way to april, the men s basketball tournament reaches the game s biggest stage. yet the final four fans have been waiting for tonight s games in houston all year long and so has our very own coy wire coy. i know the atmosphere. atmosphere has to be electric where you are right now in the tip off is just a little while from now what can you tell us? yeah, they re getting ready for the buzzer beaters and the high flying drama. we re here at the tip off tailgate, jim. wish you were here with me. we re just outside of nrg stadium. that s where the nfl s houston, texas play their game. but that s how big march madness is. they have to put a basketball court on a football field, not one of the best things about final four are the fans and we re getting to meet some of them here. you re going to have yukon they re the