According to The New York Times, A tornado described by the National Weather Service as “large and deadly” touched down south of Oklahoma City Monday afternoon in the suburb of Moore, causing widespread destruction officials said.President Obama has been in touch with Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and alerted her that he’s directed the government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide any assistance she needs. FEMA has sent a special team to Oklahoma’s emergency operations center to help out and dispatch resources.Obama also let Fallin know that she was to contact him directly if the federal government can provide additional help. The White House says Obama’s homeland security team is keeping him updated on the situation.Two elementary schools were badly damaged, Plaza Towers Elementary School and Briarwood Elementary School, according to reports from KFOR-TV. (Who is streaming live coverage online from Moore.) Lance West, a reporter and anchor for KFOR-TV, was tasked with giving the gut wrenching news to the audience that the search at Plaza Towers Elementary School, had changed from a “Search And Rescue” to a “Recovery Search” as word officially came down that they believed they had located the 24 children Kindergarden through 3rd graders, and that they feared all had perished. Lance West was understandably overcome with the news and had a hard time trying to deliver it live on air.Helicopter pilots from KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City flew over and filmed the horrific destruction.

MSNBC is reporting that the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner is now saying there are 24 confirmed deaths thus far, but they are expecting that number to rise drastically as the severity of the storm simply made it impossible for some to survive. MSNBC is also calling this the worst Tornado in United States history.

Meteorologist in Oklahoma City, knew that most people in the local area don’t have storm shelters or basements in their homes. They tried to be pro-active and told residents to “GET IN THEIR CARS AND DRIVE AWAY FROM MOORE!”

This is unheard of, as most TV weathermen always say go to an interior room and stay away from the windows. They say if you are in your car to get out of your car and lie in a shallow ditch. So, to hear that residents were told to run from the storm, shows just how worried the weather people in the area were that fatalities were going to me enormous.

Our thoughts go out to the people of Oklahoma tonight as well as with those who will still have to deal with violent weather this evening.

May 20, the MCTV Street team comprised of myself and our web editor AJ Williams went to Belle Isle to experience first-hand what it is like inside an Indy Pace car at the Grand Prix on Belle Isle. The Cheverolet Detroit Grand Prix hosted a “hot lap ride” with three of the Grand Prix’s hottest drivers: Will Power, Driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and three-time IndyCar Series road course champion, Simona De Silvestro, Driver of the 78 Nuclear Energy Chevrolet for KV Racing Technology and standout female driver, Townsend Bell, Driver of the No. 60 Sunoco “Turbo” Panther Racing Chevrolet and NBC Sports color commentator.

The drivers, having just come off of qualifying weekend at Indianapolis are preparing to race in the Indy 500 the next Sunday before coming to Detroit for the Grand Prix. We were able to experience the newly-paved and reconfigured 2.3-mile street circuit at Belle Isle with the drivers giving “hot lap” rides in high-performance Chevy Camaros.

We were fortunate to ride with Will Power, a phenomenal driver for Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. The trip around the track was breathtaking, a pure rush of adrenaline. In an interview with Power, he expressed confidence in Team Penske. In answer to what a win would mean to him he commented:

"I can't imagine winning it. It's such a unique race"

In regards to the new track, Power said:

"It's a huge improvement. It makes for a really nice flying circuit."

The Detroit Chevrolet Grand Prix is May 31st through June 2nd on beautiful Belle Isle. Purchase tickets by going online  http://www.detroitgp.com/tickets/

Check out the video below of Amber Bogins in the 'Hot Seat' of her 'Hot Lap Ride'

As GM Student Corps members, they’ll help improve neighborhoods, learn valuable life skills

 A group of 110 Detroit-area high school students are about to begin paid summer internships as members of the brand-new GM Student Corps, a program introduced today by General Motors North America President Mark Reuss that combines service, education and mentoring.  

The students representing 11 United Way Network of Excellence Schools will work in teams of 10 to develop and implement service projects in Detroit-area neighborhoods. Helping to train and mentor them are 60 GM retirees and 12 GM student interns from the University of Detroit Mercy, where many students major in service-based programs. Employee volunteers from TeamGMCares also will assist throughout the summer.

The teams are currently planning their projects. Work is scheduled to begin in mid-June and conclude in August.

“Improving the quality of life in our communities means more than writing a check,” said Reuss. “It also requires investing in our young people, teaching them how good it feels to see their hard work help others, and providing them with the skills they need to lead and succeed as professionals and as citizens. Once you serve, you’re hooked for life.”

A unique aspect of the GM Student Corps is that it unites people from a range of age groups and walks of life to work toward a common goal – improving local neighborhoods – while helping students develop career skills.

Schools participating in the GM Student Corps are: Central Collegiate Academy, Detroit Public Schools Cody Campus, East Detroit High School, Hamtramck High School, Harper Woods High School, Henry Ford High School, Madison High School, Melvindale High School, Detroit Public Schools Osborn Campus, River Rouge High School and Van Dyke Lincoln High School.

In addition to managing every aspect of their projects, from budgeting to planning to implementation, the students will meet periodically with mentors for life skills sessions following a curriculum developed by Junior Achievement.

Examples of service projects might include painting and cleanups at local parks, planting and tending a community garden, setting up food banks or meal programs and others. Life skills sessions include career development, banking and finance, and health and safety.

Also, interns will be exposed to various career and educational opportunities at Focus: HOPE, Junior Achievement “Financial Park,” the GM Design Center and GM Heritage Center, the GM Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and the UDM campus.

GM will pay for the budgeted student projects and provide Chevrolet Express vans and Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickups so adult mentors can transport materials and students to project sites and life skills classes.

Throughout the summer, students will be encouraged to document their projects on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #GMStudentCorps. 

GM Student Corps members were selected based on leadership potential, overall energy, enthusiasm and grit, school activities, citizenship and academic performance. At the end of the summer, leaders from each student team will formally present their programs and results to Reuss and his staff. In addition, the GM Summer Corps experience will be chronicled in a documentary filmed by UDM Professor Jason Roche.

Leading the 60 GM retirees is former GM executive Mike DiGiovanni, who retired in 2010 and is now a full-time professor of economics at the UDM.

“As retirees, we look forward to joining forces with current company leaders as a unified GM to effect meaningful change in Detroit,” said DiGiovanni, who grew up on the city’s west side. “But most of all, we want this program to be rewarding, fun and life-changing for the students.”

A Wayne County Circuit judge accused of having an affair with a complaining witness in a child support case before him, then discussing the case with her, is expected to testify during a hearing over the allegations that begins this morning in Ann Arbor. For Full Story Click Here.

If you missed Minister Louis Farrakhan's visit to Detroit City Council, Destiny Chapel of Fellowship Cahple on Friday May 17, you can here him here as he spoke to Detroit City Council during his two-day visitto the city.

The Nation of Islam leader was in Detroit to address a myriad of issues, including Detroit's financial crisis, the emergency manager and abandoned property.

"... Wherever there's a carcass, there's always a buzzard somewhere ... So Downtown is being bought up. It seems to be coming along very good. But as you drive through Detroit, it's like a wasteland. But wastelands always give opportunity to those who have vision. While the buzzards want to eat the carrion... there are those who want to see the city come back to life."ged Detroiters to pool their resources and began buying vacant land for development.

Hear more of Farrakhan's remarks by clicking below:

UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, disappointed and angered by the withdrawal of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from a Detroit hearing on foreclosures, will proceed with plans to co-host the May 20 event. “This was our chance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to listen and learn about how destructive their policy of foreclosure and eviction is for metro Detroit,” says Estrada, who anticipates spirited testimony at the People’s Hearing. “They need to see and hear the evidence that their policies are hurting working families and undermining neighborhoods.”

Following two months of discussion and planning, the federal agencies have withdrawn from the hearing at the direction of legal counsel, claiming-- at the 11th hour-- that it would be “awkward” for officials to hear testimony from homeowners who are in litigation fighting eviction by Fannie or Freddie.

Throughout the planning process, organizers of the event provided full disclosure of the anticipated agenda and details of the public hearing. Officials from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the failing mortgage investors taken over by the federal government in 2008, agreed in March to come to Detroit and hear testimony from homeowners, union members, and community leaders about the foreclosure crisis. Fannie and Freddie, which own or insure more than half of all residential mortgages in the country, have foreclosed on more than 15,000 families in Wayne County since the government takeover by the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA). Thousands more have lost their homes in Oakland and Macomb.

Fannie and Freddie have declared a moratorium on foreclosures in areas stricken by Hurricane Sandy. Estrada and organizers from Detroit Eviction Defense argue that they should do the same for Metro Detroit, flattened by banking fraud, mass unemployment, and the resulting storm surge of foreclosures. They are also calling on Fannie and Freddie to reverse their current policy of refusing to lower the principal on “underwater” loans where the balance owed is higher than the plummeting market value of the home.

Testimony at the May 20 hearing will be videoed, and organizers vow to hand-deliver the recording to federal officials. “The UAW sees the fight to halt foreclosures as part of its historic commitment to social justice for all working families,” said Estrada. FHFA officials have committed to scheduling a discussion with UAW representatives, community leaders, and public officials as soon as possible to review policy alternatives specific to the Detroit area.

A new report, “A Hurricane Without Water: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Foreclosure Crisis in Metro Detroit,” will be available at the hearing and at http://www.detroitevictiondefense.com/

(CNN) -- The Powerball jackpot for Saturday's drawing will be at least $550 million, the third largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, after no one matched the winning numbers in Wednesday night's draw.

Wednesday's jackpot in the multistate lottery was $360 million. The numbers were 2, 11, 26, 34 and 41 with a Powerball of 32.

Saturday's jackpot will be the second largest in the history of the Powerball game, behind a $587.6 million jackpot that was split by winners in Arizona and Missouri in November.

The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was $656 million in the Mega Millions game in March 2012. That was split by three tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

The Powerball game is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A single ticket costs $2, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million.

And if that's a little too pricey for you, a Mega Millions ticket will cost you only $1. The jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing will be at least $190 million, and the odds are the same, 1 in 175 million. Mega Millions is played in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jackpots in both games are based on payouts as annuities over 30 years. Players can choose a cash payout that will be less.