News Stories

USA Today - Gary Strauss, Rick Jervis, Donna Leinwand Leger and Doyle Rice

Viewers glued to TV following Monday's tornado that hit here with the destructive force of an atomic bomb very likely expected to wake up Tuesday to a death and injury toll in the thousands.

How could anyone have survived the apocalyptic destruction of a worst-of-the-worst EF5 category storm? Miraculously, most did, despite an official warning coming just 16 minutes before the twister cut a 17-mile war-zone-like path through this city of 56,000.

Washington Times - David Sherfinski

Rep. Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican, said Wednesday that he was confident Oklahoma will get the help it needs in the wake of the deadly tornado that swept through the state, adding that “these are awfully tough people, and we’ve done this before, sadly, so we’re pretty good at dealing with it.”

Mr. Cole, who for some time served as a groundskeeper at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was destroyed by the disaster, said his family and neighbors were “very lucky.”

POLITICO - David Rogers

Sequestration 2 opened at the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday as Republicans won approval of their dramatic plan to reallocate the reduced funding available after the second round of spending reductions slated for October.

Christian Science Monitor

Since 1998, the Oklahoma city of Moore has experienced four tornadoes. Monday’s storm, which packed winds of as much as 200 miles per hour, perhaps brought the worst devastation, leaving dozens dead, including schoolchildren, and a need for healing from grief and loss.

But the giant twister also brought out the best in a community that has learned, perhaps more than others, that it needs far more than warning systems and storm shelters.

MSNBC - Jane C. Timm

Rep. Tom Cole’s hometown was ravaged by a powerful tornado yesterday, and the congressman described a destruction he never thought he see.

Moore, Okla., the epicenter of destruction and tragedy in the Oklahoma storms, is the Republican representative’s hometown. His parents are buried there; his grandparents are buried there.

Washington Times - David Sherfinski

House Speaker John A. Boehner said repeatedly on Tuesday that he will work with the Obama administration to make sure that it has the resources it needs to support Oklahoma in the wake of the deadly tornado that swept through the state Monday.

NPR - Morning Edition

Rescuers are still combing through the rubble Tuesday morning in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. More is the hometown of Republican Rep. Tom Cole. He encourages everyone to remember that people in the area will need long-term help.

Transcript:

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Christian Science Monitor - David T. Cook

Washington is responding to the devastating tornado that hit Moore, Okla., on Monday with speedy aid, statements of support, and political maneuvering.

President Obama, who signed a disaster declaration for the area Monday night, promised Tuesday morning that federal disaster representatives already in place in Oklahoma will remain on the ground "beside them as long as it takes."