1 Tornado Swarms Wreaks Devastation In Nine States, At Least 34 Killed
While just 34 deaths have been confirmed so far, officials say the death toll from historic tornadoes over the weekend is expected to top 100. And that's just in Kentucky, the hardest hit of six states. Governor Andy Beshear says entire towns are gone, with more than a thousand homes turned to rubble. Crews are going door-to-door searching for survivors and National Guard troops have been deployed to at least nine counties amid a state of emergency. More than 30 tornadoes left a path of devastation almost 230-miles long, also tearing through Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. Some say they sounded like a freight train going through a brick house, while others describe the damage as like a bomb going off. President Biden is promising to provide whatever is needed. He's already approved federal resources and extra help. He plans to visit victims and tour the destruction, but doesn't want to get in the way right now. He's also asked the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether climate change played a role in the tornado outbreak. Weather experts say unseasonably warm temperatures helped fuel the deadly tornadoes. In fact, one could set the record for the longest continuous tornado in American history. The strength of the tornadoes was also rare for December. Since 1950 there have only been 21 tornadoes in December that were categorized as EF4 or EF5, the strongest designations.
2 US Reaches 800K COVID Deaths
The U.S. is marking 800-thousand deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. About 450-thousand of those deaths have come in 2021, or about 57%. Health experts say most of the lives lost this year were those who had not gotten vaccinated. This news comes as the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 is starting to spread nationally. Still, the severe illnesses and deaths have been attributed to the Delta variant as opposed to Omicron. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is denying a critique from the World Health Organization that pushing boosters will increase vaccine inequality with developing countries. Appearing On ABC's This Week, the White House chief medical advisor said it's possible to immunize your own people and still get vaccines out to lower income countries.
3 Houston Police: One Killed, 13 Injured In Shooting During Vigil
Local officials confirm that one person is dead and 13 others are recovering after a shooting during a memorial near Houston last night. The Harris County Sheriff's Office says a person in a vehicle opened fire on a crowd of about 50 that had gathered for a candlelight vigil in Baytown. A mother was holding a vigil for her son who was recently killed at his home. "While they were having their celebration of life and releasing balloons in the air,” Sgt. Greg Campbell explains. “An unknown suspect drove down this road and shot rounds into that group of people.” An investigation is underway.