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If you were watching news coverage on Monday, before a monster EF-4 tornado barreled through Moore, Okla., you probably heard the term "tornado emergency."

The warning is used rarely by forecasters to flag the deadliest of situations.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. We'd like to start today by mentioning that, as you would imagine, NPR is continuing to follow developments concerning that deadly tornado that struck Oklahoma yesterday. We hope you will stay tuned to your public radio station or check our website, npr.org, for the latest updates.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's turn to another story for now: The acting head of the IRS has resigned, but is still facing questions about the agency. Lawmakers continue their probe into the federal tax agency targeting Tea Party groups seeking tax exemption.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, President Obama offered words of comfort and federal resources to Moore, Okla., where a tornado hit Monday. At last count, 24 people were confirmed killed; the number was expected to rise.

Facing questions for the first time about why Internal Revenue Service personnel singled out some conservative groups for inappropriate scrutiny while he was head of the agency, former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman told Congress on Tuesday that "I was dismayed and I was saddened" to learn about what had happened under his watch.

Before Monday's tornado hit, Barbara Garcia says, she had a gameplan. In the event of an emergency, the Moore, Okla., resident would gather up her little dog and retreat to a bathroom to wait out the storm. But after Monday's powerful twister blew through her neighborhood, Garcia tells CBS News, she couldn't find her dog.