obliteration. good evening i'm gigi barnett. that's what people are talking about right now. dozen are injured. it leveled houses and businesses reducing them to rubble in the hardest-hit areas. sandra hughes has the latest for wjz. >> reporter: deadly tornadoes tore the the counties in mississippi. >> it blew me from one room to the next room and i grabbed my son and we got on the floor and next i knew the roof come off. >> reporter: his family's home will have to be demolished. the tornadoes tore roofs off homes and downed power lines and trees and leveled buildings. the biggest twister was 3/4 of a mile wide. the state's governor says there was utter oolite ration in -- obliteration. >> however, it went through the southern edge and eastern edge of town. >> reporter: parts of louisiana, arkansas, and alabama were also hit by the system that then headed east. sandra hughes, wjz eyewitness news. >> for a closer look at this storm and how it's going to effect us here in maryland, wee have more in the weather center. >> it's a large one. i want to show you doppler radar. not only severe weather through the southwest with this but the severe weather is up through the ohio valley. about five tornado watches am the way down to mississippi from illinois. and we've had reports of severe weather. nearly 50 reports of tornadoes already today and over 200 reports of severe weather in total. for us so far in maryland, all we've seen is rain move in. hasn't even been that heavy yet. it is going to pick up overnight and then thunderstorms are going to move our way tomorrow. i want to show you this graphic we have here too. there is a chance for these to become strong through the day tomorrow. won't be what we're seeing out to the west. that is not the case. however, they could become strong to severe. in other news tonight, a gas leak forces firefighters to evacuate a local walmart. according to the fire department, the leak started in a vacant restaurant in the same strip mall. the walmart was evacuated as a precaution. no one was hurt. also shots ring out in a grocery store parking lot tonight. and a fire broke out at a party before 11:00 last night. detectives say the brawl then went to the shopping center parking lot. multiple shell casings were scattered over an area the size of a football field. they weren't sure whether the victim was the intended target. they've upgraded his condition from critical to stable. police in montgomery count city say they're closer to the suspects linked to the murder of the principal detectives say now they're looking into betts personal life for clues. >> we talked with friends and family and associates. his lifestyle is just one aspect of all the circumstances of this homicide that we're looking at. >> coworkers found betts murdered after he didn't show up to work a week ago. police believe at least two suspects are responsible for the shooting and they don't believe the murder is a random act. after hours in the water, rescue teams call off the search for a sinking boat with people on board. a man made a distress call around 3:00 this morning telling him the boat was taking on water. the man reported that he left the river watch marina and had three children on board. despite a search, nothing turned up. baltimore county police say the search could ramp up again if they find any leads. add companies say sex sells and that's what some people say pimlico race tack is used. suzanne collins has more on the billboards and the tv ad that has people talking >> reporter: the attendance was way down last year because they stopped coolers have being taken in. and this ad is ready for more customers. >> i get my preak on for hours. >> reporter: it's sexy and what people want for the preakness race. >> we're talking about it. you're here doing an interview. >> reporter: last year the coolers of beer were banned and attendance on the infield dropped down. this is to get that crowd back with tv and radio spots and billboards. >> it means a lot of different things. >> reporter: it sounds a lot like the missy elliot song get your freak on. a senator says if get your preak on brings in money with the state, then she's for it. >> we want people to do is understand that baltimore is losing money as related to the preakness. >> reporter: in and attempt to bring the crowds back to preakness, they will have big- name bands and all the beer you can drink for $20. >> we took it down pretty good last year. we listened to some of the customers. so in saying that we want people to party and have fun, but it's in a more controlled atmosphere. >> reporter: and these spots were created by a company called elevation in washington, d.c. back to you on tv hill. >> thank you. the band performing in the infield this year includes zach brown and collector soul. one using stimulus cash. awarded st. joseph's medical center cancer institute a grant nearly $3 million over the next three years will help create an outreach program for minorities who need cancer treatment. st. joe's is the only in the state to receive that grant. >> we are known for delivering care all in one place all under one roof, all with one team. this now validated the credibility of our success in the community. >> and the money will hire nurses who help get patients to and from doctors visits. real life heros get their recognition today. nearly 2000 supporters gathered to hear the stories of two young people involved in tragic accidents and a team of doctors and news who helped save their lives. every emergency care provider received a hero award alongside the patient that they helped to save. an east baltimore community is benefiting from one company's national day of service. as they cleaned up one of the city's oldest catholic schools. >> reporter: more than 400 volunteers help pick up -- garbage and paint murals. shows the area around the east chase street as one of their service projects. employees and community members helped in the effort. >> this is where we live and we don't want people to think bad of it. i feel pretty good because that helps out though community and birds and stuff won't pick at certain things. >> reporter: at 182 years old, it was one of the oldest schools in the area. they couldn't have done any of these improvements on their own. >> this is a tremendous number of people who have come together to show they care about the community. >> it would just be a phenomenal amount of money. this is what america is all about. >> reporter: school leaders say what they're looking forward to most is this new medication garden. by the end of the day it'll be filled with plants and flowers. community members say they're appreciative of this work knowing these people are serving only for the benefit of others. >> thank you. thank you for coming out and helping. >> reporter: eyewitness news. >> and across the country, comcast day volunteers completed more than 500 community hour services. coming up an wjz's eyewitness news, more mine major just after the explosion killed 29 minorrers in west virginia. another accident miles away. and rock star brett michaels in critical condition. plus a man strikes it rich when a chain machine malfunctions. what did he do with the money? and : >> i'm meteorologist bernadette woods. this is the beginning of the storm. we'll have the complete forecast when eyewitness news returns. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, weeks after a west virginia coal mining accident explosion kills dozens, another mine accident leaves one worker dead. this time 28-year-old john king died after getting trapped between a rock -- between a block of coal and a piece of equipment yesterday. the accident took place miles away from the april 5 explosion that killed 29 miners. that was the nation's worst mining disaster in 40 years. airline passengers with tickets to and from europe are being asked to give up their seats to people stranded from the volcano. virgin is one making a request. the airlines are expected to lose more than $2 billion. the majority of europe is free of volcanic ash and airlines are back to normal. several rallies held across the country today protesting arizona's new immigration law. afraid it could lead to civil rights abuses because it makes it a crime to be in the u.s. illegally. it also says police officers can ask anyone to prove their legal status. supporters say the law is necessary while those in opposition say it's an open invitation to discriminate against hispanics. >> they're giving the tools to the law enforcement officers of arizona the same tools we have now given to the border agents. >> that law legalizes racial profiling which we fought so hard to end in this country. >> and violaters of the new law which goes into effect this summer could be arrested and sent to jail. president obama has called it misguided and asked the justice department to investigate if it is illegal. rocker bret michaels is in critical condition tonight after suffering a brain hemorrhage. they rushed the lead singer to intentionive care after severe headaches. they discovered bleeding at the base of his brain stem. it's now known where he is being treated right now. michaels is also had an emergency appendectomy last week. he is currently a contestant on the reality show the celebrity apprentice. and john edwards prepares to testify about his former mistress. he will reportedly answer questions under oath about his relationship with rielle hunter. against former aid andrew young. young says he took a sex tape showing hunter and edwards having sex at a time when she was possibly already pregnant with their daughter. it's been agreed upon they should have a large orbiting telescope. it took more years to launch the hubble telescope. it was designed to last for 15 years. but this weekend it celebrates its 20th year in space. >> reporter: it says something when as a birthday present, your picture is ongoing. the results have been astounding. consider this comment about the the telescope's impact. >> hubble has changed almost everything we knew about the universe. >> reporter: hard to remember that hubble was right after the launch the butt of jokes. 1/50 the width of a human hair. astronauts had to make a fix but then it exceeded expectations time and time again. >> the hubble was not expected to do most of this things it has done. >> images so rich they almost look fake. made from the imagination of what the heavens should look like. but this is real. >> you would look through the night sky through the straw. we showed that basically in our universe there are some 200 billion galaxies like our own. >> reporter: it's been called one of science's greatest achievements. >> originally it was planned for 10, then it was extended to 15, now we're at 20 and we're talking that it will last even much longer. >> reporter: the hubble telescope is controlled by scientists here on this building on john hopkins but if you want to get involved, there's an i-max film opening today. you get to see some of those hubble photographs on the big screen. at the scientist center, eyewitness news. back to you now on tv hill. >> with the space shuttle fleet to be retired this year, future servicing missions will be impossible. the hubble telescope will continue to operate for five to seven years. a massachusetts man proves there are still honest people in the world. the man was using a change machine at the car wash when it started spitting out $167 worth of quarters. he not only gave the money back, but he waited and made sure nobody used the car wash before the police arrived. the owner then awarded him with $50 in free car washes. i'd be standing there for more money to come out. >> weatherwise now, there's weather going on out there. we're not in on what's happening but as we reported earlier, already ten deaths from the tornadoes. last year we only had 21 deaths from tornadoes. but today is packing a punch. that's the storm that's starting to affect us. we have rain around our region. that's all we're dealing with. it's going to pick up a built as we head through the overnight but we'll go on a tour of what's going on. you see patches of darker colors making their way to the city and that's where it's picking up a bit. so far it's been light and drizzle out there. over towards the eastern shore, you can see some of those darker colors moving in. chestertown through galina. and out to the west, more of those colors. but nothing all that extreme quite yet. show you that today we started off with sunshine before those clouds came in and thickened up. now the rain is starting to pick up. while this is happening, the raining have turned around to the southeast. we topped out in the 60s today. we're not going to drop all that much more with the clouds in place. 55 in baltimore-we made it to 63 this afternoon after starting out the day at 43 degrees. it is a huge one here 37 you notice some blue back in here. that's snow on the western edge of this. the center is rotating over the middle of the country and the severe weather we've seen has gone through illinois all the way into mississippi and spreading eastward. those are the most powerful storms. they had over five tornado watches throughout the day. and there were 200 reports of severe weather. they're going to lose strength through the overnight. the rain is going to pick up tonight and tomorrow another round will come our way with some thunderstorms. some of those could be strong for us. not as strong as what's out to the west. there is a slight risk for damaging wind and hail. and if that is apparent, we'll let you know about the watches. as a low comes our way, there's our chance for the thunderstorms. they move out tomorrow night and then the chance will continue monday into tuesday. we're going to see rain and drizzle through the overnight. then tomorrow we get up to about 66. much warmer to the south of us. could see a few thunderstorms, but then the chance of rain is going to linger into monday and tuesday before it clears out of here on wednesday. coming up next in sports, a heart breaker for the o's in boston. we'll be back with stan in sports. ,,,,,,,, [ male announcer ] looking for a price that starts low and stays low? look no further than fios. now pay just $99.99 a month for verizon fios tv, america's top-rated internet, and phone guaranteed for 2 years. that's fios price protection, and it saves you hundreds of dollars. fios delivers the best channel lineup and the peace of mind that comes with paying the same low price every month. call 1.888.get.fios now to lock in $99.99 with a 2-year agreement. a price guaranteed for 2 years. we'll even include a free dvr for 6 months. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. [ telephone rings ] by 3:00! 15 more. need this in 10 minutes. [ machines ringing and whirring ] let's do this. multitasking runs on dunkin'. america runs on dunkin'. with our new freshly baked bagel twists, available in cinnamon raisin and cheddar cheese. pair it with america's favorite coffee today. america runs on dunkin'. hurry in today and try our new cheddar cheese and cinnamon raisin bagel twists. [ male announcer ] it's rollback time at walmart. now even on faded glory, which has been completely re-engineered for quality with soft, organic cotton... better fits... and lockstitch seams. and because everyone deserves clothes guaranteed for quality, we've rolled back the price. faded glory. one of thousands of rollbacks at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. orioles giving their best tonight despite the head trip of being the worst team. they were entering the game, brian mattis struck out. birds losing 7-3. smacking this shot out of the park. and you can call it 7-4. off papelbon but her shuts down hughes with the final out. and boston slipped by the orioles with one run again, 7-6 the final. and with that tune in to this same station tomorrow to see if the birds avoid the sweep. pro football now. the draft continues. the ravens plucked four chases. during today's fourth rounding with the ravens picked their second tight end. pitta out of byu. and round friday, they grabbed david reed who slid out they have the all star game. also in round five, jones. and he's now a raven and in round six, don't ask me where's the beef. 6'7", ramon harewood out of morehouse. he is expected to be a project, a big project. literally. meantime, navies have caught the fever. men's college lacrosse. john hopkins jumping to ailed. half-time advantage. how frustrating for the visiting blue jays. saw the winning goal from andy warner. beat hopkins 9-8. also tonight those tigers continuing to saver the sweet taste of not just winning but the one thing better than winning, winning consistently. weeks ago they were 1-5 but now they are the regular season champs. and riding a five-game win streak. that's sports. got to tell you jason campbell who used to be with the redskins. he's now a raider. that's sports. still to come at 11:00, high in the sky, this one's a whopper. find out how many limes are inside and who's eating it. ,,,, [ male announcer ] looking for a price that starts low and stays low? look no further than fios. now pay just $99.99 a month for verizon fios tv, america's top-rated internet, and phone guaranteed for 2 years. that's fios price protection, and it saves you hundreds of dollars. fios delivers the best channel lineup and the peace of mind that comes with paying the same low price every month. call 1.888.get.fios now to lock in $99.99 with a 2-year agreement. a price guaranteed for 2 years. we'll even include a free dvr for 6 months. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. how's this for dessert? chefs cook up a key lime pie. the signature dessert measured 70 wide and weighed about 450 pounds. it took the juice of more than 1000 key limes and 20 pounds of sugar to create it. slices were then sold to benefit a local military memorial. that sounds good. little late for that but sounds good. back in a moment. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,