good evening from mayfield, kentucky, one of the hardest-hit towns in the hardest-hit state after one of the deadliest and most destructive tornado outbreaks this country has ever seen. we got extensive reporting from here tonight. we begin, though, first with breaking news from washington where the house select committee investigating the january 6th riot has just approved a criminal contempt of congress referral against former white house chief of staff mark meadows. now, that comes as the committee releases extraordinary evidence -- we don't use that word extraordinary lightly, detailing what meadows and others in the white house did and did not do in the hours leading up to the deadly attack, and laid out in painstaking detail the case to hold mr. meadows in contempt.

paula reed starts from the capitol. it was a revealing hearing. what new information did the committee lay out? >> reporter: extraordinary is exactly the right word. the house select committee laying out new evidence they have obtained, including messages that the former chief of staff mark meadows received from several fox news personalities during the insurrection. this includes messages from sean hannity, ryan kilmeade, and laura ingraham urging meadows to get the president to do something. they also described messages from the president's son, donald trump jr., also pushing meadows to have the president say something, do something. here the vice chairwoman of the committee liz cheney lays out the evidence they collected. let's take a listen. >> according to the records, multiple fox news hosts knew the president needed to act immediately. they texted mr. meadows, and he has turned over those texts. quote, mark, the president needs to tell people in the capitol to go home. this is hurting all of us.

he is destroying his legacy, laura ingraham wrote. please get him on tv. destroying everything you have accomplished, brian kilmeade texted. quote, can he make a statement? ask people to leave the capitol, sean hannity urged. as the violence continued, one of the president's sons texted mr. meadows, quote, he's got to condemn this shit asap. the capitol police tweet is not enough, donald trump jr. texted. >> these text messages prove that the white house knew exactly what was going on, including receiving messages from at least one lawmaker saying, we are under siege. anderson, i'll reiterate that morning are materials that meadows has handed over voluntarily. makes you wonder what he could potentially be withholding. now, right now he's refusing to come in and answer questions

about these documents that he has voluntarily handed over. he and his attorney are arguing that he doesn't want to do that, citing executive privilege questioning the authority of the committee. two arguments that have been rejected by federal judges but continue to be litigated. representative adam schiff had a dire warning for meadows if he continues to stonewall the committee. let's take a listen. >> if you are listening at home, mr. meadows, mr. bannon, mr. clark, i want you to know this. history will be written about these times, about the work this committee has undertaken, and history will not look upon any of you as martyrs. >> reporter: of course that was the committee chairman bennie thompson, not adam schiff. my mistake. but the committee is clear they are going to pursue criminal contempt. they could refer this to the justice department for possible prosecution because meadows has suddenly decided to stonewall

the committee. >> so there's damning evidence about why meadows should be complying with the subpoena. certainly there's a lot of points of inquiry that would not be subjected to executive privilege. how likely is it the justice department would prosecute meadows for contempt? >> reporter: this is a great question, anderson, because of course we know they're moving forward with a criminal case against steve bannon. but this case is different for several reasons. first of all, mark meadows was a top white house official on january 6th. and unlike steve bannon, he has not completely ignored the committee. for a time he did engage. he's handed over thousands of pages of documents. we know this question of executive privilege, while trump has lost twice now in federal court, he has the option to take this larger question to the supreme court. so it's unlikely the justice department will move on this anytime soon. there's that open question about whether they would actually prosecute mark meadows based on what we've seen so far.

but the committee made a very strong argument in the court of public opinion about why meadows is such a critical witness in their investigation. >> paula reed, appreciate it. joining us now is a member of the select committee, california democratic congresswoman zoe lofgren. appreciate you being with us. do you think the full house will support your committee's vote to hold mr. meadows in contempt? >> anderson, before i answer that, let me just say that all of us are with you thinking about the people who suffered so much in kentucky from these terrible tornadoes. and let me answer also that we intend to go to the rules committee promptly and have the full house take this up. but i think the case that has been made is overwhelming. mr. meadows sent all of these documents and he didn't claim any kind of privilege about them. you can't retroactively claim privilege.

some of these are really extraordinary pieces of evidence and require additional explanation. he owes us an explanation, and we need to get it. and his unlawful refusal to answer the questions about the material that he has acknowledged is not subject to executive privilege. it's just simply unacceptable and illegal. >> we noted the committee revealed texts from lawmakers to meadows discussing that the effort to get mike pence to throw out electoral votes. i know you're not publicly identifying those lawmakers at this point. >> correct. >> but does the committee intend to compel them to testify? and do you think americans deserve to know eventually who those individuals are? >> let me just say that we are going to follow the facts wherever they lead, and ultimately the american people will learn everything that we

find out. >> do you believe the evidence uncovered by your committee could be used by the department of justice to obtain a probable cause warrant for the records that you know mark meadows has but has not yet handed over? is this one way that could play out? >> you know, i don't want to speak for the department of justice. they would need a criminal case against mr. meadows in order to advance that. we're now pursuing the criminal contempt, and i think we've laid out the case. whether or not the department of justice is pursuing other matters, they're very tight-lipped. it's not appropriate for prosecutors to discuss who they're prosecuting or who they're investigating. you do that either by an indictment or deciding you don't have a case. and all of that is done to

protect the reputation of individuals. so i don't know what they're up to, but this is a separate matter. the committee needs to find these facts not only to report to the american people, but also to inform us as to what further legislative steps we'll need to take to help prevent something like this from ever happening again. we came very close to overturning our democracy on january 6th. it's not acceptable to me or to the american people. >> does this contempt charge feel any different for you personally? i mean, you mentioned in your remarks mark meadows was a member of congress. he was a member of the house. you said you got along well, you wished him well when he went to the white house. i mean, it's remarkable that a former member of the house who was a pretty mainstream republican is now obstructing a house committee in this way because he's still so slavishly beholden to the former

president. >> it's really pretty shocking to me. i mean, obviously he's a very conservative republican and i'm not. but on a personal level, we got along fine when he was here. and certainly he was very animated about when the republicans were in the majority about how congressional subpoenas had to be answered, especially to the executive branch. so this is a complete departure from everything he said he believed, and i'm disappointed in what he appears to have been involved in, not to mention his unwillingness to follow the law and to come in and talk to the committee. it's a grave disappointment. but we have to do this. you know, the fact that he was a former colleague can't stand in the way of finding the facts. >> it just seems like he doesn't really have any real core beliefs.

the person he was is -- from his prior, you know, positions, his prior stature and the way he carried himself is completely different than the person he has turned into in order to remain in the former president's orbit. >> well, i don't want to comment on mark meadows' character. i just want him to obey the law, come in, answer our questions. >> all right. well, if you can find his character, let me know. what is the number one thing you would like him to testify about if he decided to cooperate? >> there are very many text messages that we want to follow up with, clearly campaign related, part of the plot to overturn the results of the election, you know, what was in his mind. one of the texts expresses his skepticism about the fraud allegations being made by sidney

powell and others. there's a lot there and we need to follow up with him on all of these texts and other documents. and i think we should soon be getting a very large amount of material from the national archives. there may be additional things there that would stimulate the questions. so he is not the only person with information but he has a lot of information that the committee needs. >> congresswoman lofgren, i appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> joining us now is former federal prosecutor jeffrey toobin and former nixon white house counsel john dean and chief political correspondent dana bash. so jeffrey, committee vice chair cheney said that meadows' text messages leaves no doubt that the white house knew what was happening at the capitol january 6th. given what was laid out just now by the committee, do you think she's right? >> oh, absolutely.

what really jumped out at me about these text messages, particularly with the ones from the anchors at fox news and donald trump jr., first of all, that they're a bunch of lying hypocrites because they've been downplaying this riot ever since. but putting that aside, what is incredible to me is that donald trump did nothing for hour after hour despite all his close allies begging him to do something. finally he makes this statement. and what does he say about the rioters? we love you. all of this evidence, you know, adds to the impression that donald trump was on the rioters' side on january 6th. and that is an incredibly chilling message. but that's what i got out of the evidence that came out today.

>> dana, it was revealed donald trump jr. was texting meadows almost begging his father to do something stop the violence. he's got to condemn this "s" asap, the capitol police tweet is not enough and then he said we need an oval office address, he has to lead now, it has gone too far and gotten out of hand. you contrast that with the reporting that the former president was borderline enthusiastic as it was all unfolding and his own son can't get in touch with him. >> it's also a reminder that in many ways the former president knows his core supporters still better than anybody, even in the face of republicans texting in dire ways and chilling ways, as read by congresswoman liz cheney.

his own son, who, by the way, was part of the egging on of the conspiracy theories putting out into the ether that encouraged these people to come to the capitol. in that moment they were going, oh, my goodness, look at what we caused. we didn't mean for this to get out of hand, and yet the guy who was in the white house who was trying to benefit from these conspiracies was, as you said, reportedly enthusiastic about it. and here we are not that long later with all those same people trying to whitewash what happened. and that is probably among the most chilling realities as we listened to the text messages, some of them being read by this committee. and the fact that, as you said, this is their former colleague who will not comply after he had so many statements about how the obama white house wouldn't

comply, it is -- it is dripping with hypocrisy. it's almost laughable how hypocritical it is. >> john, how likely is it that the department of justice would try to prosecute meadows for contempt? that's if and when the full house votes on the recommendation. >> i think the full house will hold him in contempt and they'll refer it to the department of justice. i think the justice department will prosecute. we're all aware of the bannon case, which was played out very publicly. the report that the house filed -- or the committee filed with the house shows a much more subtle but actually a much more contemptuous behavior by mark meadows, who led them on, who then changed his mind and didn't give good reasons, and who gave an evidence trail that shows he's central to the whole thing. you can't put that kind of evidence forward and then back off.

i don't think he could have pled the fifth at this point because he's waived it. i think he realized that. so the only route he sees, apparently, is just to take misdemeanor contempt. people may think donald trump is going to take care of him at some point. >> speaking of waver, meadows wrote a book about this, describing what went on january 6th. and now he turns around and says, well, i can't tell congress? i can try to make money off my knowledge of january 6th, but i'm not going to respond to a valid subpoena? that to me is just a legal and factual argument that he will have a great deal of trouble responding to and i think may well lead to his prosecution from the department of justice. >> but dana, doesn't this boil down to mark meadows -- he's been waffling because, yes, he wanted to make money, he needed to make money. that's what he was hoping his

book would do. but then he realizes that the former president is offended and angry, and so he cravenly changes his mind in order to try to win back the affections of daddy in mar-a-lago. >> that's pretty much what i have been told has happened. you're exactly right. he was playing ball, which is why you heard his former colleague after former colleague say in this remarkable hearing that just went on that they got these 9,000 pages of documents that were not considered privileged by mark meadows. and his change of heart was the fact that his former boss was very, very angry about the book. and in the book it wasn't necessarily the january 6th part of it that made the former president angry, it was the fact that he revealed all the lies that they told about the former president's case of covid. and as one person in trump's

orbit said to me recently, he is just the latest person to realize, despite their own independent reputation and career pre-trump, that their fate is directly tied to trump, and if he angers the former president, then he's done in this world and he clearly doesn't want to be. so that's why he's twisted himself into such a pretzel and gotten himself into what appears to be legal jeopardy. >> john, it raises the question, how far will any of these people go in order to stay in the good graces of somebody who, you know, is an unreliable narrator at best, to stay in the good graces of someone whose opinion changes depending on the weather? >> because of my service in the nixon white house where i first saw people who i thought were intelligent just follow orders

without question, i began studying these types of personalities. i've done a couple books on the subject. these people are pretty helpless. they want the approval and they want what their authoritarian figure tells them to do. and if they're also authoritarians, they think this will be to their benefit someday. and so they want to behave like the authoritarian that they are following and think is the strong leader, so when they have their turn, they can expect likewise from their followers. it's not complex, but it's very pathetic, actually. >> jeffrey, i want to play a clip of something congressman adam schiff said during the hearing. >> i want to display just a few of the messages he received from people in congress. the committee is not naming these lawmakers at this time as

our investigation is ongoing. if we could cue the first graphic. this one reads, on january 6th, 2021, vice president mike pence as president of the senate should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all. you can see why this is so critical to ask mr. meadows about, about a lawmaker suggesting that the former vice president simply throw out votes that he unilaterally deems unconstitutional. >> i mean, jeffrey, how significant is that, a sitting lawmaker texting that to the white house chief of staff? >> you know, one useful way of thinking about this whole coup attempt was, there was this sort of legal side of it, this attempt to get mike pence and members of the house of representatives to undo the results of the election, to, for the first time in american history, overcome the will of the voters.

that's one side of it. the other side of it is the violence, is the riot. meadows is a key witness on both parts of that, as we learned today and have been learning for several weeks. and this is what this committee should be investigating. but shouldn't that lawmaker have to answer for his or her attempt to tell the vice president to overcome the will of the voters? it's something that i never thought i would see, and i think most people never thought they would see, that the idea that congress on its own could overcome the will of the voters. but obviously many, many members of the republicans in the house of representatives, in the senate, wanted vice president pence to do that and we were willing to do it themselves. >> appreciate it. coming up next, the latest

on the tornadoes here in kentucky, including breaking news on the search effort at a local candle factory where eight people lost their lives. also, gary tuchman was one of the first outsiders to arrive. what he saw and heard from some of the survivors. with directv stream i can get live tv and on demand anywhere. look, serena williams... matrix... serena... matrix... serena... matrix... ♪ ♪ ♪ get your tv together with the best of live and on demand.

introducing directv stream.

do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine... ...that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so, you need to get tested for hiv immediately before

and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv... ...and if descovy for prep is right for you. get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at stepupprepup.com. cough cough sneeze sneeze... [ sneezing ] needs, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ just before air time, the owners of the candle factory here in mayfield, kentucky, said that everyone inside when friday's tornado hit have now been accounted for according to louisville's emergency management director. eight people lost their lives there. at least 74 people died statewide in kentucky, and at least 14 more in four other states. according to kentucky's governor, andy beshear, 109 kentuckians remain unaccounted for, which certainly speaks to the magnitude of the destruction and loss and heartache all around us, and the confusion that still exists.

but as always, it only says so much. to really get a sense of what happened here, you just need to drive down any street, get out, and just walk in any neighborhood. and you can see block after block after block, scenes like this. it's hard for us to make out what you're actually looking at. turns out this is actually the roof of a garage that used to be over there about 30 feet behind the camera. this house was owned by a man named terry richards who also owns this one and lives in it with his mom. they hid out the storm in the basement. i want to show you where terry's mom usually spent her time and where they were watching television earlier in the day. the room up there, that's a sitting room, and terry's mom likes to sit on that couch. if you can tell, that's part of the couch kind of wrapped up

with trees sticking out of the house. so had they not heeded the warnings to get down into the basement, they could have been watching this on tv when the storm struck. this is the closet -- his mom's closet. some of her clothes are still hanging up on hangers. it's one of the surreal things, i'm sure you've seen this before in tornadoes, that a whole house can be ripped apart, but items on a table or, in this case, clothes on a hanger in closet can still be hanging. this is a house that terry and another person have been working on turning into an airbnb for the last four years they've been working on this. they said it was close to being completed and they were going to open it up to be an airbnb. now they say it's probably not salvageable. they don't think they're going to try to make it work again. but you can see there's still a chandelier in that room, still a fan in that room.

they're going to try to see what they can salvage from this property, but it doesn't -- right now they're concerned about actually entering it and going in because there's still so much -- things just hanging loosely. if you can see, there's an enormous tree that's also fallen onto the house. when you start to see this on television, it seems like, you know, if you're sitting at home watching this, you may be thinking you've seen devastation like this before, and obviously tornadoes have hit for a long time and we've seen them on television. but once you're here, it's not what you've seen before. every structure is different, and every house has its own story and all the people that live here have their own story about what this means in their life and what the ripple effects of this are in their lives. in this case, the economic ripple effects for terry and his mom living here. there are, as we said, eight

people who died in that candle factory. there have been more deaths in dawson springs. and that's where ed lavandera is right now. i want to go to him to find out the latest on the situation there. ed? here's ed's piece. >> can you believe this? >> reporter: brianna still hasn't figured out how she is still alive. >> when i opened my eyes and looked around, i had no idea where i was, none. all i could do was stand up and scream for help and try to find someone to help me and my kids. >> reporter: she's piecing together the memories of the tornado striking her home in dawson springs, kentucky. the only place to hide was in a bed with her children clutched under her arms. she says that saved her kids' lives. that's when the windows exploded and the roof collapsed on her, crushing her arms. >> and then after that in a millisecond we were no longer in the bed or in our house. we were on the ground all the

way over there somewhere. >> reporter: on the other side of those cars? >> like, over this rubble on the ground in mud. with absolutely nothing near us. >> reporter: so you flew from this spot right here? >> all the way -- >> reporter: over that rubble over there? this is the area? >> yeah. >> reporter: you're close to 200 feet away? >> i think being on the mattress saved us because for the most part of flying through the air, we were on the bed. >> reporter: that's one of the most unbelievable things i've ever heard of people surviving. >> it's insane. i can't believe me and my kids are okay. i can't believe that there's no broken bones on my children. >> reporter: they were all cut and bleeding, but she remembers neighbors helping her into a basement. >> thank you so much for helping us. thank you so much. i'm all right. i'm all right.

>> is your girl and boy all right? >> i have a head injury, though. i have a head injury. >> i see. >> and my face. my arm is broken. >> i'm glad you're all right. >> thank you. thank you for help us. >> that's what we do. >> reporter: with nowhere to live, they are living in a hotel room. she says her children both have special needs that require her full-time attention. so she isn't working outside of the home. her mother lives with them and her job pays the bills. >> we've been given clothes, blankets, and food, but we had nowhere to go. >> reporter: they said don't have home insurance and the little savings they have is paying for a few nights in this motel. >> i'm not okay. like, one minute i'm sitting here and i'm smiling, and one minute i'm bawling my eyes out. we are extremely lucky to be alive because we were thrown

through the air and our neighbors passed away right next to us. >> reporter: they are one of the hundreds of families in dawson springs that will struggle to recover. the mayor here says about a third of the city's population of 2,500 lives below the poverty line. >> there's going to be a lot of people that don't have insurance. they live from month to month on a social security check or whatever they can get. >> reporter: getting through this is going to be tough for them. >> very tough, very tough. >> reporter: you can see the bruises and scars from the storm all over brianna, but the wounds to her life from this cut much deeper. how are you emotionally? >> i'm tore up. i've lost absolutely everything. >> gosh. it's just so awful. there are so many people who are still just, you know, trying to figure out what happens now.

two or three people said that to me today, what do i do now? i spoke with governor beshear earlier today. he told me that dawson springs is his father's hometown. i know president biden is scheduled to visit there on wednesday. what are people telling you about what happens now? >> reporter: well, i think they're facing it on a couple different fronts. there's the short-term need. which this story highlights. exactly what do people do here just to get through this week? there's a great deal of concern about that. so temporary housing to get them through the next several months of rebuilding is really going to be crucial. the mayor told us today that there's simply nowhere for people to live right now. 75% of this city of dawson springs was decimated by this tornado. how do you bring all those people back and get this community back up on its feet for the foreseeable future?

there's no housing, so that is really the biggest crisis facing this community for the next several months. >> ed lavandera, remarkable reporting, thank you. just before airtime, i spoke with people from neighboring states who are helping with search and rescue. indiana activated its task force 1 search and rescue team. division chief tom neil is leading it. chief neil, can you walk me through what you and your team are doing right now in the search at the candle factory? >> sure. we're up doing daytime operations and our operational period will end at 7:00 p.m. central standard time. and throughout today our main focus has been to remove the roof structure, which is of heavy steel, with heavy crane and excavation equipment to

create open void spaces so that we can have canine and human search to search portions of the building that we have not been able to obtain good voice bases because of the heavy structure laying over the open space of the open production area of the candle factory. >> this is a delicate question, but is this still a rescue mission? is it a recovery mission at this point? >> well, as of this afternoon, the owner of the company has painstakingly contacted family members, loved ones of his employees, and he has triple-checked that list against the list of those that have been -- what were considered unaccounted for. and at this time we're pretty confident with our searches of the building, both through live canine and human remains detection canines as well as detection equipment and the

owner's efforts in looking for the unaccounted for members of his company, we are confident that there is no other people that remain in this structure. >> so how much longer will your team work on this site? >> we're going to finish up our operational period this evening at 7:00. we're going to have a brief at 7:00 to look and see where we're at. we may maintain 24-hour operations continued partially into the night with lexington fire and louisville fire personnel that will assist the contractor that's on site to help clear additional debris. we're pretty confident with the search efforts through canine detection as well as secondary searches through human contact that we're pretty confident

there is no other employees of the candle factory that's remaining in this building. >> that's certainly good news because there had been previously a number unaccounted for, but it sounds like they have now been accounted for one way or another. in terms of just the wreckage at the scene, how does it compare to things you've seen in the past? what was the extent of the collapse here? >> looking at the area where this particular structure is, it's in a smaller industrial complex with other industrial buildings around it. there's a john deere dealership that's directly across the street that had a big impact from the tornado and some other accessory buildings that are in this complex. but clearly the candle factory took the direct hit from the tornado.

and from our vantage point from here and the industrial complex, we can clearly see the tornado path that went through mayfield, kentucky. and you can see the damage that it left behind. >> yeah. it's extraordinary to see it up close. chief thomas neil, i really appreciate your time and all your team's efforts. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> the chief reminded me, i first met him 16 years ago in the early days of hurricane katrina, the second day after the storm hit. he was involved in rescue operations there. they do extraordinary work. so many teams on the ground here. although much of the focus has been on mayfield and the candle factory, this is not the only place where people are suffering. our gary tuchman was one of the first reporters to reach the town of bremen, kentucky. what he found is that close-knit

community in shock. we'll take you there next. i feel fearless in my skin. [uplifting music playing] ♪ i had a dream that someday ♪ ♪ i would just fly, fly away ♪ don't settle for products that give you a sort-of white smile. try crest whitening emulsions... ...for 100% whiter teeth. its highly active peroxide droplets... ...swipe on in seconds. better. faster. 100% whiter teeth. shop crestwhitesmile.com. and that's just basic wavy guy maintenance, right? next up, carvana. oh, boy. carvana just doesn't seem to understand how the test drive works.

they give their customers seven days. and if they don't like it, they give 'em their money back. wait, they take the car back? that's crazy! what if it was driven by like a zookeeper? or a mud wrestler? or a guy who's on the outs with the missus and he just needs a place to sleep for seven days? yeah. (vo) buy your car online. love it or return it. with carvana. charmin ultra soft has so much cushiony softness, it's hard for your family to remember they can use less. sweet pillows of softness! this is soft! holy charmin! oh! excuse me! roll it back, everybody! sorry! charmin ultra soft is so cushiony soft, you'll want more! but it's so absorbent, you can use less. so it's always worth it.

now, what did we learn about using less? you've got to, roll it back everybody! we all go, why not enjoy the go with charmin. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1, then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards.

as the search for survivors continues here in mayfield, some remarkable stories have been emerging about those who made it. kiana parsons perez was trapped with co-workers inside the candle factory. after calling 911, she began live streaming what from beneath five feet of rubble trying to bring in more help. >> we are trapped. please, y'all, get us some help.

we're at the candle factory in mayfield. please. please. y'all! y'all, please send us some help. somebody please send us some help. we are trapped. the wall is stuck on me. nobody can get to us. y'all, please. we can't move. andrea, calm down. y'all, please, y'all, pray for us. just get somebody to come and help us. >> she made it out and saturday was her birthday. what she and her co-workers have endured has become the focus of national attention. and the town of bremen, less so,

despite 11 casualties. our gary tuchman is on the scene there. here's what he found. >> reporter: the tornado tore right through the small town of bremen, kentucky, where only a few hundred people live. the twister left dead and injured within the town limits. and nearby parts of the county. you know all these people? >> i do. >> reporter: alex pipe is a deputy sheriff with the sheriff's department and a life-long resident here. >> i think at this point right here, most of us are all still in shock. >> reporter: much of bremen has been destroyed or damaged. this was a neighborhood of many homes, but now it's almost as if the houses evaporated. no evidence a home was ever here. in other areas, you see rubble and some of what was inside the house, like appliances, but no sign of the kitchen. and schoolbooks, art projects, stuffed animals, reminders of the horror that so many children and their families experienced late friday night. in other parts of bremen, houses still stand, but are demolished inside.

joe gish is a farmer who lives in town. he says his house is okay, but -- your brother and his wife live in this house? >> yes. >> reporter: they had a premature baby and they were at the hospital? >> yes. >> reporter: you must have been so eternally grateful they weren't here. >> yes, but after about an hour of just being through this, i hit the ground and passed out. i just -- you know, it was just too much. >> reporter: profound emotional turmoil is something everyone we talked to is going through here, because of how tight-knit this community is. age ranges of the loss of life has been from 5 months old to folks in their 70s. >> reporter: how quickly all this damage occurred is absolutely stunning. when people suffer this kind of damage during a hurricane, it typically takes hours of winds and rain. but the people who experienced this say it all happened within one or two minutes. the shock that this happened to

bremen will eventually go away. but the sadness and grief will be part of the fabric of this community for generations. >> i saw a facebook post earlier. someone was talking about a conversation they had an hour before one of their friends had passed, you know. and it's still not sinking in. >> gary joins us now from bremen. what you point out is so true about the speed of this tornado. i mean, in some cases it's 20 seconds or less than a minute or so, and so much devastation. >> reporter: that's right, anderson. i mean, it was stunning to the people who live here. you know, the searching here for missing people is now over because everyone is accounted for. there is nobody missing. that is the positive news. that being said, anderson, the

death toll of 11 could still climb because there are at least two residents here who are in the hospital in critical condition. and also in the hospital are the mother and father of that little baby who died, the little baby the deputy mentioned. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: anderson? >> our thoughts and prayers are with them tonight. gary, thank you. coming up, we'll talk with a pastor who took shelter with his family in his church basement as his church and this town were devastated by the tornado. what he experienced, next. only from discover. as a professional bull-rider i'm used to taking chances. but when it comes to my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars.

hey tex, can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. yeah. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪

switching wireless carriers is easy with xfinity.

just lean on our helpful switch squad to help you save with xfinity mobile. they can help break up with your current carrier for you and transfer your info to your new phone. giving you a fast and easy experience that can save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill. visit your nearest xfinity store and see how the switch squad can help you switch and save. get $200 off a new eligible 5g phone when you switch to xfinity mobile. talk with our helpful switch squad at your local xfinity store today.

are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! as we reported earlier, the death toll from the tornadoes here in kentucky has risen to 74 with 109 still unaccounted for. as the storm battled mayfield, kentucky, where we are tonight, one pastor took cover with his family in the church basement. it was a terrible ordeal. here's what he told the "washington post." >> we could hear people screaming, cries for help. couldn't tell where they were,

where it was coming from. power lines down, buildings down, debris in the street resembled what i think a war zone would look like. >> take a look at this. the cross that stands above the church entrance survived the storm even as the glass shattered around him. the pastor of that church is with us now, reverend wes fowler of first baptist church in mayfield. pastor, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> first of all, how is your family doing? >> the family is doing okay. we had a few scary moments on friday night. >> your kids are 12, 8 -- >> 12, 8 and 6. >> your down in the basement. it's pitch black, i imagine. >> that's right. power is out. >> how did the kids -- it's got to be terrifying. >> we were at home first and we got the news that the weather

was getting bad, so then we came to the church to get to the basement because we thought that would be safer. >> you could hear the storm building. >> yeah. we actually have a tunnel there, the only tunnel there in graves county. it connects facilities underground. we went to that tunnel thinking that was the safest place to be. then we heard the weather getting worse and we could hear something that was very not normal. power was out and we took cover, and then the tunnel started shifting and shaking and it started filling with debris. we got against the wall and i leaned on my family to hopefully protect him and the youth pastor was laying on his family. >> you were literally laying on them with your body? >> i was covering my wife and my wife was covering my two sons. >> i'm sure there was a time when your wife thought you weren't going to make it. >> if she was here now, she would tell me there were definitely moments. we were telling our kids, everything is going to be fine. in our minds we're thinking

we're not sure we're going to make it out of this. >> you weren't even sure. >> it was a very difficult moment, there's no doubt. >> how long did that last, the worst part? how long did it -- >> i think it lasted probably 30 seconds to a minute. but felt like a lot longer. >> isn't it incredible that you come out and you see what can be done in 30 seconds to a minute? >> it's hard to believe. we walked outside and i had my flashlight, and i was confused. born and raised here. i know this town well. it wasn't the same -- like the landscape wasn't the same. it was very eerie. >> how was the church? >> the church was okay. we've been making phone calls the last couple days. i'm guessing when you say church, you're talking about the people. we have a building and that's the facility where the church meets. the facility is in pretty rough shape. the church is resilient, the believers, those who place their faith in christ, they're doing okay. we've been checking on them all day today and all day yesterday. they've got damage.

some have lost their homes. we had one that passed away in the storm. so that's difficult. but i think they're doing okay. >> i like the distinction you make between the building and the church itself. >> the building can be replaced. >> there are so many people in pain tonight, people who have lost loved ones. what is your message to them? >> i hope it's a message of hope. i've been telling our church members this. when times are good, it's really easy to be a follower of christ and it's easy to do what the scriptures tell us to do, to love one another, to be patient with one another, to forgive one another. it's easy when times are good. but when times are bad, and when it's difficult and we're suffering, i think this is when the world is watching, and i think this is when we have to live out our faith and be the people in christ that we're

supposed to be. >> i have to tell you, i've met so many just kind, decent people today who are helping out, strangers who are doing whatever needs to be done around here. it's remarkable. >> welcome to mayfield. that's our town. it really is. >> wow. and do -- you were going rebuild the structure? >> fortunately our structure is possibly going to be saved, it looks like. we might be the only large building downtown that doesn't have to be torn down. interestingly, our building is the largest cross, it forms the largest cross in graves county. it's kind of neat. >> it's still standing. >> everything else may be crumbling, but the cross is going to stand. >> pastor, thank you. i wish the best for you and your family. >> thank you. >> pastor wes fowler. up next, people here and what happens next. so by using this $400 stock video as our holiday commercial this year, we can afford to offer three months of free service on any plan, including unlimited i'm still not sure why someone made a stock video showing a snowman sitting on an explosive device that's about to blow. this doesn't seem very holiday but you know, worth it.

♪ ♪ cases of anxiety in young adults are rising as experts warn of the effects on well-being caused by the pandemic. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. [ joe ] my teeth were a mess. i had a lot of pain. as far as my physical health, my body was telling me you got to do something. and so i came to clearchoice. your mouth is the gateway to your body. joe's treatment plan was replacing the teeth with dental implants from clearchoice. [ joe ] clearchoice has changed my life for the better. it's given me my health back. there's an amazing life out there if you do something for your health now.

where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don't worry, sweetie. she promised she'd be here for it. ooh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity, with wifi speed faster than a gig! me too! woah, look! mom is on tv! she's amazing! (cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2