US tornadoes: Death toll rises as more bodies found

The death toll from the tornadoes that hit the southern US this week has risen to 340, in one of the worst twister outbreaks in the country's history.

Soldiers and emergency teams are still searching for bodies and survivors.

More than 200 tornadoes were reported across six southern US states on Tuesday and Wednesday.

During a visit to Alabama, which bore the brunt of the storms, President Barack Obama said he had "never seen devastation like this".

Mr Obama was speaking in Tuscaloosa, an Alabama town hit by a mile-wide (1.6km) tornado on Wednesday.

"We are going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild," Obama said. "We're going to make sure you're not forgotten."

More than 250 people died in Alabama alone - mostly on Wednesday.

As many as a million homes and businesses in the state are still without power.

The overall death toll across the southern US makes it the second-deadliest tornado outbreak in US history, the Associated Press news agency reports.

BBC Weather update on southern US

It says the largest death toll ever was in March 1925, when 747 people were killed in storms that raged through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said he expected more bodies to be found in the coming days.

The mayor of Birmingham, the largest city in the state, told reporters on Friday: "Whole neighbourhoods of housing, just completely gone. Churches, gone. Businesses, gone... [it] seems like a bomb has been dropped."

Tornadoes and storms have also caused deaths in Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia and in Virginia.

A state of emergency remains in place in those states.

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US stem cell research funding ban lifted by court

A US appeals court has overturned an earlier order to suspend federal funding of stem cell research.

The Washington court said opponents of the research, who say it is illegal because it involves the destruction of human embryos, were unlikely to succeed in their lawsuit to stop the funding.

The ruling marks a significant victory for US President Barack Obama, correspondents say.

President Obama lifted a ban on funding for stem cell research in March 2009.

Soon after, US District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a temporary injunction on the move while a legal challenge went ahead - although this suspension was itself overruled on appeal, pending a final decision.

The US Court of Appeals in Washington ruled 2-1 on Friday that a 1996 US law against federal funding of embryo destruction was "ambiguous", and "did not prohibit funding a research project in which an ESC (embryonic stem cell) will be used".

'Momentous day'

Scientists say the research could lead to breakthroughs for treatments of spinal cord injuries and diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Opponents, who include religious groups, argue that the research is unethical and illegal.

The suit opposing federal funding, which was also backed by some Christian groups, was brought against the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The NIH and the White House both welcomed Friday's ruling.

"This is a momentous day - not only for science, but for the hopes of thousands of patients and their families who are relying on NIH-funded scientists to pursue life-saving discoveries and therapies that could come from stem cell research," NIH Director Francis Collins said in a statement.

White House spokesman Nick Papas said the decision was a victory for scientists and patients.

"Responsible stem cell research has the potential to treat some of our most devastating diseases and conditions and offers hope to families across the country and around the world," he said.

READ MORE - US stem cell research funding ban lifted by court