A severe line of weather stretching from Oklahoma City to St. Louis has kept the cable news channels in extended coverage tonight and destroyed at least one Tornado Hunt truck operated by the Weather Channel.

Meteorologist Mike Bettes and his crew of two were in the truck that was thrown about 200 yards by a twister. Storm chaser Sean Schofer stopped to help and on Twitter writes, “They are OK.” The Weather Channel says Bettes and the two others were wearing seat belts and were able to walk away from the wreck.

On Fox News, Shepard Smith began continuous coverage during his 7pm show and continued until 11pmET, preempting Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren‘s shows. Kelly Wright and Heather Childers picked up at 11pm and will stay on until 2amET. On CNN, meteorologist Chad Myers has been chasing the storms for several days in Oklahoma and contributed to primetime shows anchored by Jake Tapper at 7pm, Anderson Cooper at 8 and 10pm and Piers Morgan at 9. MSNBC simulcast KFOR in Oklahoma City and KSDK in St. Louis for much of the night with NBC meteorolgist Dylan Dyer in studio with Chris Hayes at 8, Rachel Maddow at 9 and Milissa Rehberger at 10.

The network evening newscasts all updated their shows for the West Coast. ABC included an update on “20/20″ at 10pmET and coverage from meteorologist Ginger Zee who is also a storm chaser.

The @weatherchannel vehicle just got thrown by tornado. We stopped to help & they are OK. @jimcantore twitter.com/SeanSchoferTVN…

— Sean Schofer (@SeanSchoferTVN) June 1, 2013

• Bloomberg TV’s Sara Eisen talks to Wall Street Sector Selector about anchoring “Inside Track” from 6-8amET. “The goal is to talk about all the stories that you’re going to be hearing about all day long before they actually manifest themselves in the markets,” she says. “It’s a 6 to 8 am show so it’s just the perfect way to set up the day.”

• After appearing on “The Tonight Show” two weeks ago, David Gregory turned the tables on Jay Leno for this week’s “Meet the Press” PRESS Pass. “There’s just so much more media now that you do,” Leno told Gregory on how his program has changed over the years. “You have to tweet out stuff, then you Instagram stuff, then you send out pictures. The show doesn’t just end anymore.”

• Fox News’ Kelly Wright has been recognized by Morehouse College for his “Beyond the Dream” series. The school inducted him this year into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Sponsors. “What it means for me to recieve this award is  just a fantastic feeling of appreciation, not only to Morehouse but to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Wright said.

NBC News president Steve Capus and ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz were among the honorees at the 22nd annual First Amendment Dinner and Awards in Washington, DC last night.

Capus was presented with the First Amendment Leadership award by “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams. (Both arrived in DC after spending the afternoon at the NBC News upfront in New York.) In his speech, Capus called on news organizations to maintain public trust, implicitly referring to News Corporation’s News of the World hacking scandal:

Last fall, we witnessed a frightening example of a news organization allegedly abusing the privacy rights of citizens in order to access information on their cell phones, of all things. Regardless of how this all went down, it was truly a fall. It’s a scary example of what can happen when we lose sight of ethical journalism and the importance of trust.

Raddatz was presented the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award by her ABC colleague Jonathan Karl. Raddatz said international reporting is “something I’ve been passionate about, and I appreciate that ABC has been supportive of that passion over the years and invested in coverage.”

The RTDNF presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence to the family of the late Andy Rooney. WGBH TV’s Emily Rooney accepted the award on her father’s behalf.

Fox News Channel anchor Kelly Wright was the evening’s emcee.

> Related, TVSpy: NY Stations Carry Live Coverage of Verdict in Rutgers Webcam Spying Case

Whitney Houston‘s funeral is underway at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ.

CNN’s coverage began at 11amET with Soledad O’Brien, Piers Morgan and Don Lemon anchoring from Newark. Lemon described the scene outside the church, where the streets have been blocked off since last night, as filled with “hordes of media from all over the country, from Germany, from China, everywhere.”

On Fox News, Jon Scott said Houston’s “near-perfect voice brought tears and joy to people around the world.” Scott and Uma Pemmaraju anchored from New York, with Kelly Wright reporting from Newark.

MSNBC’s coverage, anchored by Alex Witt, began at 12pmET following this morning’s debut of “Melissa Harris-Perry.” Craig Melvin, reporting from Newark, did a live interview with Shaun Robinson, the “Access Hollywood” reporter who was the last person to interview Houston.

HLN’s coverage — anchored by Ryan Smith and Susan Hendricks, with Jane Velez-Mitchell and AJ Hammer in Newark — begun at 9amET and has featured a series of retrospectives on Houston’s life.

About 1500 people, including ABC’s Diane Sawyer, are attending the service.

The funeral for Whitney Houston will take place on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, and while it is private, cable news is planning extensive coverage.

The funeral will be streamed online at the AP’s livestream page, so fans can bypass cable news if they so choose. In addition, users can expect to watch the AP stream on many news sites including FoxNews.com and CNN.com (even though CNN does not subscribe to AP content, the AP’s coverage is pool coverage, so CNN can use it). Those that do turn on their TV’s will have a number of options.

CNN seems to have the most comprehensive coverage lined up, with Piers Morgan, Don Lemon and Soledad O’Brien anchoring from 11:30 AM-2 PM. Saturday and Sunday evening Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Randi Kaye will host primetime specials looking at Houston’s life.

Fox News will be covering the funeral live from 11:30 AM-2PM, with Jon Scott and Uma Pemmaraju anchoring in New York. Kelly Wright will report from outside the church in Newark.

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Each Memorial Day Weekend, Fox News anchor Kelly Wright thinks back to his own time spent in uniform and why simple gratitude goes a long way for a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. Wright began his journalism career in 1977 while serving in the United States Army.

For me, to serve as a soldier was an honor. While times could be tough, it forged a deep sense of pride in my country. I am truly proud of those who are in the military today. They are true American Heroes.

Please express your gratitude to those who are currently serving in the military. They could be fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, or they could be a wounded warrior recovering from the scars of war. Perhaps you’ll pass by someone dressed in military uniform, please give them a warm smile and say, “Thank you for your service.”

Around 1:30pmET, the cable news channels began continuing coverage of a shooting spree at an event sponsored by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) outside a Safeway store in Tucson this morning. The shooting occurred around 11amMT (1pmET.) At 2:09pmET Fox News reported, sourcing  NPR, that Giffords has died. CNN and MSNBC would also report that Giffords had died, sourcing NPR. FNC’s Bret Baier, joining the coverage of Kelly Wright and Jamie Colby reports “multiple fatalities.”

Giffords, a moderate Blue Dog democrat who was just beginning her third term, was a guest on Fox News Channel just yesterday with Bill Hemmer. Hemmer joined FNC’s coverage around 2:10pm to talk about his interview. “She was proud of the fiscal discipline that she was bringing back to Congress and how important this was,” Hemmer said of Giffords who was proposing a congressional pay cut bill. Hemmer shared that during the commercial break he’d asked her about whether things in Washington were really going to change in the new Congress. Giffords told Hemmer that she was optimistic. “She was filled with vigor and enthusiasm,” he added.

The suspect is in custody. > New: Gunman identified as Jared Lee Loughner, who posted an eery video titled “My Final Thoughts.” We’ve included it after the jump. Also, his YouTube channel is written in the past tense: “My favorite interest was….” “I had favorite books…”

> Update: Fox News’ Peter Doocy reports that in addition to Giffords, four others have died, including a child.

> Update: On CNN, Sylvia Lee, a friend of Giffords talked about how there had been threats against Giffords’ office and that of Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).

> More: On MSNBC, Rep. Kent Franks (R-AZ): “I am mortified beyond words. Gabrielle Giffords and I are on different ends of the political spectrum, but there has never been one unkind or cross communication between us.”

> More: Pima County, AZ Sheriff Clarence Dupnick talking with MSNBC’s Alex Witt: “I think it’s time that we as a country take look at what kind of hatred we inflame with all the crap that goes on … I think it’s time that this country take a look at … the inflammatory crap that comes out out of some of the radio and TV.”

> Update: By 2:30pmET CNN, MSNBC and FNC had reported, through various sources, that Giffords had died. But those reports would soon be corrected. Around 2:50pmET Bret Baier explained the conflicting reports of Giffords’ death and her condition being critical:

We had three sources, one very reputable source on Capitol Hill, one federal official, law enforcement official on the ground in Arizona, and one federal law enforcement official in D.C monitoring the situation. Three different sources tell us that the Congresswoman had been killed in this shooting. Now, it appears according to her office and the hospital, that she is in surgery, and that the hospital has told the AP and Reuters that she is still in surgery and in critical condition.

> More: Shepard Smith took over anchoring on FNC at 3pmET.

CBS’s Russ Mitchell anchored special reports at 2pmET and again at 2:30pm. ABC’s David Muir anchored specials at 1:37pm and 2:37pm. MSNBC’s Alex Witt interrupted her own coverage on the cable network to anchor an NBC network special at 2:25pmET.

> Condition Update, 4pmET: Doctors are “very optimistic” about Giffords’ recovery. She was shot one time, “in the head, through-and-through.” The bullet, “went through her brain,” said a spokesperson in a news conference carried on the newschannels.

> Update: Fox News, MSNBC programming changes after the jump…

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The Today show’s Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford will host the 15th Annual NLGJA Headlines & Headliners benefit this Thursday night in New York.

Some of the other TV types in attendance: From Fox News Jamie Colby, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Megyn Kelly, Geraldo Rivera and Kelly Wright; from NBC News, Natalie Morales, Amy Robach, and Jenna Wolfe; from CBS, Manuel Gallegus and Erin Moriarty; from HLN, Jane Velez-Mitchell; Jeanne Moos from CNN and from CNBC, Carl Quintanilla and Trish Regan.

Click here for more information and to attend…

The U.S. cable news networks are providing coverage this morning of an 8.8 earthquake that struck central Chile overnight, along the Pacific coast. This is the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in 50 years — since 1960′s 9.5 quake, the biggest in recorded history.

FNC, CNN and MSNBC are relying on images from TV Chile as well as from that network’s news channel 24 Horas. CNN is also relying on information from CNN Chile, and CNN en Espanol. MSNBC is using the resources of NBCU’s Spanish-language network Telemundo. That network, as well as Univision, have been airing uninterrupted coverage from Chile this morning.

Reporting times: Fox News – 2:35amEST, CNN/U.S. – 2:59am, MSNBC – 3:25am. The quake struck at 3:34am. Santiago is two hours ahead of EST.

> More: I received an email from Todd Ogasawara, editor of mediabistro.com site MobileContentToday, a short time ago. Todd lives in Honolulu:

We’re under an ocean-wide tsunami warning (first in decades) caused by the massive earthquake in Chile. Whatever hits will hit around 11:19am HST (4:19pm Eastern) Saturday Feb. 27.

Just got back from Safeway where foot traffic was starting to build by the time I left at 2:25am.

> More: Fox News will preempt Journal Editorial Report, FOX News Watch and Glenn Beck and instead stay live from 2-4pmET with Kelly Wright and Juliet Huddy.

> Related: CNN Relays Most News About Crisis

> More: CNN correspondents/anchors heading to the region: John Zarella, Soledad O’Brien, Ted Rowlands, Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Cohen, Gary Tuchman. (h/t: ICN)

> More: FNC’s Phil Keating is en route to Chile.

> 1pmET Update: CNN/U.S. is simulcasting CNN International. MSNBC is preempting docs for continuing coverage. CNN has also updated who they are sending to the region: It is Soledad O’Brien, Dan Simon, John Zarella, Hala Gorani, Sara Sidner, and Karl Penhaul.

> More: Pres. Barack Obama addressed the situation from the White House at 1:48pmET. CNN, FNC, FBN, and MSNBC, carried the statement on cable, and ABC carried it in a special report anchored by Sharyn Alfonsi. NBC was in Olympic coverage and CBS was broadcasting NCAA basketball.

> NBC’s Lester Holt delivers a special report during Olympic coverage at 2:30pmET with video and an excerpt from the president’s remarks.

> More: Ann Curry, Mike Taibbi, and Mark Potter headed to Chile to cover for NBC News. CNN’s Larry King will air a live show tonight at 9pmET.

> More: For ABC, Jeffrey Kofman and David Wright are on their way to Chile. “Nightline” producer Malia Patria is in Chile on assignment and was having dinner when the quake struck. She did a live report for “World News” Saturday.

Fox News has added a live hour tomorrow afternoon at 2pmET/11amPT to cover the Michael Jackson story. The hour will be anchored by Kelly Wright and Juliet Huddy. The business block stays intact from 10am-NoonET. Also, Greta Van Susteren will anchor a live “On the Record” tomorrow night at 9pmET from Los Angeles.

And WebNewser reports on another rare move the network has made.