BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) – Tornadoes and storms killed 45 people in Alabama on Wednesday bringing the total dead in storms and flooding across the U.S. South to at least 72 people over the last three days, authorities said.

The violent storms included what may be the worst ever twister to hit Alabama. It killed 15 people as it ripped through the university city of Tuscaloosa, crushing houses, picking up cars and uprooting trees by the hundreds.

"Everybody says it (a tornado) sounds like a train and I started to hear the train," Anthony Foote, a resident of Tuscaloosa whose house was badly damaged, told Reuters. "I ran and jumped into the tub and the house started shaking. Then glass started shattering."

Deaths occurred in Arkansas and Mississippi, where 11 were killed in each state, and also in Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee. But Alabama appeared the hardest hit.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) confirmed 45 storm-related deaths in nine different counties across the northern and central parts of the state, with at least nine people also injured, authorities said.

Authorities there and in Mississippi said they expect the toll to rise as emergency workers attempt rescues and recovery in the storm's wake.

Tornadoes are a regular feature of life in the South and Midwest but rarely are they so devastating.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Alabama and ordered federal aid for the stricken state.

"While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms," Obama said in a statement on Wednesday night.

Governors in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee also declared a state of emergency.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley mobilized around 1,400 National Guardsmen and said they would be on the ground early on Thursday to help with search and rescue, logistics and debris removal, a statement from his office said.

"These guardsmen are well trained and will take every action necessary to protect lives and property in this emergency," Bentley said.

DIRECT HIT

The supercell thunderstorm that produced the tornado in Tuscaloosa, west central Alabama, was still producing a tornado three hours later in northwestern Georgia, said Josh Nagelberg, a meteorologist on the AccuWeather.com website.

"This could be the worst tornado in Alabama's history," Nagelberg said, adding that by 9 p.m. local time 0200 gmt the twister passed within a few miles of Rome in northwestern Georgia and appeared to be weakening.

Marshall county in northeastern Alabama had six fatalities, according to the state emergency agency.

"At this time, we have six dead and one missing," Sheriff Scott Walls told Reuters, adding that five of the victims were killed in a single house.

"That house was in the direct path of the tornado. We had homes and businesses that took direct hits. Every community in the county has suffered damage," he said.

On Wednesday night, Mississippi authorities said that the storms had caused at least 11 deaths in eight separate counties in the state in the last 24 hours.

The storms also forced the Tennessee Valley Authority to close three nuclear power plants in Alabama and knocked out 11 high voltage power lines. Tens of thousands of homes have lost power.

Two people also died in Dade County, Georgia, near the border with Tennessee and Alabama and hundreds of homes destroyed when a tornado hit on Wednesday evening, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported on its website.

The storms and flooding were the latest in the violent weather that has pummeled much of the mid-South this month. Two weeks ago more than 47 people died as storms tore a wide path from Oklahoma all the way to North Carolina.

(Additional reporting by Verna Gates in Birmingham, David Beasley in Atlanta and Leigh Coleman in Biloxi; Writing by Matthew Bigg, Editing by Jerry Norton and Peter Bohan)

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would create criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants who work in Oklahoma and those who smuggle them into the state.

It would also give police officers more authority to question citizenship status of suspects.

The bill, approved by a 37-8 vote, originated in the Oklahoma House and underwent revisions in the Senate. The two chambers must reconcile differences in the bill before it can go to Governor Mary Fallin. Senators faced a deadline on Thursday to pass bills that originate in the House.

Oklahoma is one of several states -- including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah -- where Republicans are pushing immigration measures reminiscent of the one that became law in Arizona a year ago. The Arizona law required police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected of being in the country illegally.

Under the Oklahoma measure, local police officers trained through a federal program would be authorized to ask about immigration status.

The bill would also make it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants to work, apply for work or solicit work in a public place. Convictions could result in up to a year in jail and/or a $500 fine.

In addition, the measure:

- Targets the common practice of employers hiring day workers who gather along roadways by making it a misdemeanor to stop a vehicle in a roadway and impede traffic while picking up workers. In addition, it prohibits undocumented workers from entering vehicles stopped in a roadway.

- Prohibits employers from hiring workers who do not have proper identification issued by state or federal authorities, but it does not call for any specific punishment for violations.

- Makes human smuggling for profit a felony offense punishable by no less than a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine; it also allows for the forfeiture of vehicles used to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.

- Repeals a section of Oklahoma law that enables undocumented immigrants in the state to pay in-state tuition for college.

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Funds for refinancing home mortgages were much more available in predominantly white sections of major U.S. cities than in minority areas after the recent housing crash, a study showed on Thursday.

The study's authors called for more investment by lenders in poor communities and for improved disclosure requirements for mortgage lenders to protect unwary borrowers.

"Paying More for the American Dream V," found that in the seven metropolitan areas included in the study -- Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City and Rochester, New York -- conventional mortgage refinancing in minority communities decreased by an average of 17 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year.

But in predominantly white neighborhoods, mortgage refinancing loans jumped by an average of 129 percent.

This is the fifth in a series of reports that began in 2007, compiled by a coalition of nonprofit groups across the country, including the California Reinvestment, the Woodstock Institute in Chicago and the Ohio Fair Lending Coalition.

The study also found lenders "were more than twice as likely" to deny refinancing applications by borrowers in minority communities than in majority white neighborhoods.

Previous reports by the coalition showed that during the recent property boom minority borrowers were more likely to obtain high-risk subprime loans than white Americans, even if their credit was good.

"These findings build on our past reports, which have documented ongoing racial disparities in mortgage lending," Adam Rust, Director of Research at the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, said in a statement. "Lenders are loosening up credit in predominantly white neighborhoods, while continuing to deprive communities of color of vital refinancing needed to aid in their economic recovery."

Subprime loans -- offered to borrowers with poor credit -- and risky products like "stated income," or "liar loans" where banks did not check borrower's income, exploded during the housing boom. Irresponsible lending contributed to a housing market crash in 2007 that triggered America's worst downturn since the Great Depression.

The crash also resulted in an unpopular bailout program for the U.S. banking sector that continues to have political repercussions.

A separate study published in the American Sociological Review in October found that predatory lending aimed at predominantly minority neighborhoods led to mass foreclosures and directly contributed to the crash.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)