we're going to grieve together, we're going to dig out and clean up together, and we will rebuild and move forward together we're going to get through this. we're going to get through this together, because that is what we do. >> ovetwo full days since the deadly and devastating tornadoes ripped through half a dozen states search and rescue crews work more urgently to locate possible survivors. breaking overnight, a drive-by shooting at a vigil for someone who was recently murdered leaves another dead and others fighting for their lives.

one man's tribe beute to ma the season brighter. and the playoff picture is taking shape in week 14 in the nfl. this is "early today." good morning, i'm philip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. urgent search and rescue missions are under way after deadly twisters barreled through six states across the south and midwest. this is just some of the devastation in mayfield, kentucky homes flattened, neighborhoods turned into piles of debris. joe biden had approved a disaster declaration for kentucky, one of the hardest hit states and this is the kentucky candle factory. it collapsed with over 100 people inside. now a rescue team is helping those trapped with assistance from a group of inmates. nbc's kate snow has more >> reporter: volunteers going door to door >> anybody here? >> reporter: heavy equipment working all day long, cleaning

up on a massive scale. you've got to tear down and rebuild. >> yeah, this is -- this town's going to look -- it's not going to be the mayfield that all of us knew. it's going to be a different town but we'll make it mayfield >> reporter: on a cold, sunny sunday across sunday, people picked through the debris of their lives. and at the candle factory, the owner telling us saturday afternoon, they rescued two workers of locating one of their cell phones. >> everybody is trying to call everybody. as the debris gets removed, that allows more signals to get through. >> so you reached someone in the pile >> yeah, somehow >> reporter: but at least eight workers are deceased, nine unaccounted for. how many kids? >> between the two of us, we have eight >> reporter: autumn came here to meet coroners. she still can't find her boyfriend. they just started working here weeks ago.

>> i don't know what to tell them, because i don't know and not knowing is worse than knowing right now. he was within ten feet of my in that hallway >> that's the last time you saw him? >> i have not seen him since >> reporter: she's trying to stay strong for her kids >> i love you, too >> reporter: denise cunningham hasn't eaten or slept much friday she called her 21-year-old son devin, after a tornado hit and a co-worker answered >> and they're all screaming for help all she could tell me is that my son told me he loved me, he didn't think he was going to make it. >> reporter: 110 people were inside the factory that night. if you knew the weather was coming, any thought to suspending production? >> in hindsight, of course all of us would do something differently because you know the path the storm takes but the time you know that's going to come, it's such a gamble to say leave. the last thing you do is don't get in your car. >> reporter: workers say there were warnings around 7:30 that

night but no tornado some employees left. >> they had to be. or you lose your job >> reporter: some saying the factory should have never been open that night. >> they knew it was coming and they kept those poor people in that factory working i am more than angry i think that they should be held accountable for everything that's happened. there was plenty of warning. >> our thanks to kate snow for that report. over 150 miles east in bowling green, tragedy has brought a community together shelters have been set up to help families who survived the torn tornadoes. reporter danielle jackson is follow thing story for us. >> is this the worst thing anybody can go through >> reporter: experiencing an ef-3 tornado tearing through parts of bowling green, kentucky will ever be etched in jenny

lynch's mind >> it was like a freight room going. our curtain went up. all you seen was a little funnel >> reporter: she's receiving items in shelter inside a middle school, where the american red cross has been set up all day. just a few miles down the road -- >> everything is in order. >> reporter: there's more volunteers inside of another school providing water, diapers, food and other items to help this community get back on their feet school buses made their rounds, picking up families stranded near creekwood avenue, taking them to the nearby middle school >> families are walking here becausethey don't have transportation we are assessing what's going on with them and taking care of their immediate needs. >> reporter: forceful tornado winds taking off roofs of several homes. one lady took cover in her closet >> i turned around to sit down in the closet and the window blew out and the whole wall blew in towards me. my bed flew up in the air.

if i had been in the bed i would have been really hurt. really scary >> reporter: people say even though this tra, they're glad to know they have a helping hand >> the school and the staff, the salvation army and the american red cross, this is what family should be about. we're god's family at this time. >> our thanks to danielle jackson for that report. now to breaking news one person is dead and three others are fighting for their lives after a shooting in bay town, texas. police say a vigil was being held for a person who had been murdered when shots were fired at the crowd >> there was quite a large group out here, possibly about 50 individuals. all of a sudden a vehicle that was traveling behind me heading towards thompson, drove by the location and began opening fire into the crowd >> at least 14 people were shot. one perp was killed and three

others airlifted to a hospital overnight, police said they did not have any information about possible suspects. prime minister boris johnson announced an accelerated covid booster shot plan for the uk an effort he says is needed to build up a wall of protection against omicron. >> no one should be in any doubt there is a tidal wave of omicron coming and i'm afraid it is now >> johnson announced booster shots would be available to all adults by the end of the year. the nhs booking system briefly crashed as a rush of people made appointments here in the u.s., another grim milestone more than 800,000 lives lost to the virus. that's more than the population of north dakota. hospitalizations have climbed 37% over just the last month omicron has been confirmed in 25 states but experts say it is still the

delta variant fuelling the surge. in today's ground breaker, history in louisiana susan hudson ousted four-term incumbent when she was voted the first female sheriff of orleans perish her 53% win makes her the first black woman to hold office in the state. for a decade, hudson worked as an independent police monitor for the new orleans police department one of the nfl's oldest rivalries closed out a very intense sunday of football let's start with the bears they got out to an early 10-0 lead in lambeau, poking holes in the packers' defense early with the trick plays. both teams ts combined for 45 points i touchdowns and the packers win 45-30. but this may have been overshadowed by history in tampa bay.

>> brady has to launch it. and he catches it. >> tom brady broke drew brees' passing completion record with that toss there to mike evans in the second quarter the bills rallied in the fourth to force overtime. but the bucs withstood the stampede perryman there with a 58-yard catch to the house the bucs stay perfect at home, winning 33-27. the broncos initially left a man off of the field, the first play of the game that was in honor of demaryius thomas who tied on thursday at the age of 33. an emotional day in denver the probroncos win it 38-10 the washington football team put up 20 unanswered points after trailing the cowboys 24-0. but the cowboys d ran the clock out. dallas holds on to the 27-20 win. and in l.a., the chargers

quarterback bolted three touchdowns, including this one as los angeles ran away from the giants 37-21 the chargers win moves them into the number five spot. but the next six teams in the hunt are separated by just half a game a pair of nfc west pass catchers tounld ers found themsg the top performers after a weekend of just devastating and historic tornadoes and that massive path of destruction, we want to bring in nbc meteorologist joe biden f janessa webb >> my thoughts and prayers go to all the people impacted by the storm, in hawaii, we were talking about the snowfall and the area offed the floolg. some of that moisture lifted into that severe weather event we saw on friday also, the gulf is still very

warm some of our temperatures in that area in the 80s and s70s. so temperatures about 20, 25 degrees above average. we're going to continue to really deal with that wind shear in that area so this was the perfect recipe for these storms we're going to continue to watch that for this week thursday and friday and another event across that area you can see a ton of sunshine for texas. mid 70s. 96 inches in some spots of california we'll talk about that coming up.

>> no joke is right. janessa, thank you a quick break and we'll look back at a music icon and national treasure. a stern warning from g7 to russia deescalate along ukraine's border or else that's next. every night. right after dinner. definitely after meatloaf. like clockwork. do it! run your dishwasher with cascade platinum and save water. did you know an energy star certified dishwasher uses less than four gallons per cycle? while a running sink uses that, every two minutes. that means even small loads can save water. so why not do it? run your dishwasher every night with cascade platinum. the surprising way to save water. ♪ ♪ what a pain in the— —alice? ♪ if it's “let's wrap this up?” season, it's walgreens season. ♪

son of a— —beth? if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it's walgreens season. leading the news, a stern warning from russia for members of the g7. during a meeting in liverpool, england, the group of foreign ministers issued a joint statement telling russia to deescalate the situation on the ukraine border or face massive consequences russia zest mated to have 175,000 troops at the border, and u.s. intelligence officials fear an invasion could come within weeks now to loss of a legend here mexico is mourning the death of music king vicente fernandez ♪ ♪

[ singing in spanish ] his music captured the hearts of millions with a career that spanned six decades. and he was just as iconic on the silver screen, starring in dozens of films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s in 1998, he got a star on the hollywood walk of fame and won three grammys and nine latin grammys. he was an icon that inspired a younger generation, including his own son, alejandro he was 81 years old. novelist anne rice has died. important in new orleans where many of her stories took place, her books sold more than 150 million copies and were often adapted for the big drscreen

she was 80 years old a new jersey man is lighting up his neighborhood with a show-stopping holiday display. this is it right there the winterland of lights goes back to a promise of his girlfriend that he would beat cancer ida siegel reports >> reporter: lohser court is your average, quite suburban road until you hit the russo house. where christmas is spilling out of every crevice and on every inch of the front lawn here. homeowner john russo says creating this wonderland of lights has become his life's work >> i just fell in love with it, she fell in love with it and kept going, buying more lights and putting them up. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the idea for this elaborate display came back in 2014, on a dare of sorts it was a promise he made to his girlfriend after getting diagnosed with throat cancer she said, when you survive,

build a light show and so he did. >> it represents a long, hard fight. it was seven weeks of torture with the chemo and radiation >> reporter: not only did john survive, but he's had a clean bill of health since which means every year he adds on a new feature new this year is the dancing penguin. >> there's still a lot more downstairs that needs to be put up >> reporter: john says he works on it all year around. he personally programmed all 12,000 plus lights to match a play list you can find on the radio. ♪ ♪ it costs hundreds of dollars in lelect electricity, not to mention the thousands he spent on the lights themselves but he says it's worth it. >> they're amazing >> which is your favorite one? >> the big christmas tree. >> reporter: hundreds of cars show up on the weekends. the only payment he asks is a

donation for toys for tots >> i love it i love listening to the kids screaming and yelling. >> reporter: a gift for his young neighborhoods from a guy just happy he was given the gift of surrival. >> our thanks to ida siegel for that report. next on "early today," live from new york, it's billie eilish, pulling some double duty on "snl. and why legos could be worth their weight in gold pain. and dealing with a bulky vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily. grabbing it in all those hard-to-reach places. gotcha!!! and for our floors, sweeper's textured cloths lock all kinds of dirt, dust and pet hair. unlike my vacuum, it sneaks under and around places. look at that!! dust free and hassle free. stop cleaning and start swiffering.

i've been telling everyone... the secret to great teeth is having healthy gums. crest advanced gum restore. detoxifies below the gumline... and restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. finally getting there...is the best! but with febreze freshness in your car... ...driving there is pretty darn good too. enjoy 30 days of freshness with febreze car. ♪ la, la, la, la, la ♪ cheez-it snap'd! they're on a mission to save every sandwich from a boring bag of chips. noooo! sandwiches meet your cheesy, thin, crispy cheez-it snap'd savior. so cheesy! so cheesy. cheez-it snap'd. level up your lunch. goodbye chippies you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick.

it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. you try to stay ahead of the mess but scrubbing still takes time. now there's dawn powerwash dish spray. it's the faster way to clean as you go. just spray, wipe and rinse. it cleans grease five times faster. dawn powerwash now available in free & clear.

you met the santa, like from the bible? >> were your nervous >> was i ever, but i said to myself, don't be a fool, be smooth as ice and play it cool so here is what i said -- hey, sexy momma, nice teeth. >> pop star billie eilish pulled double duty on "saturday night live" hosting and performing

if you've ever purchased a limited edition lego set, you might have made the smartest financial decision yet russian economists have found retired lego sets sold for 11% annually that's more than an investment on gold, large stocks or other assets special legos related to famous rgt dings or holidays have the laesvalue. still to come, janessa webb will have your weather forecast for the week ♪♪ just like the men and women who wear it on their uniforms and the country it represents. they're all only meant to move one direction which is why we fly it this way on the flanks of the all-new grand wagoneer. moving boldly and unstoppably forward. cheez-it snap'd!

they're on a mission to save every sandwich from a boring bag of chips. noooo! sandwiches meet your cheesy, thin, crispy cheez-it snap'd savior. so cheesy! so cheesy. cheez-it snap'd. level up your lunch. goodbye chippies what makes febreze air effects different? while cheaper aerosols rely on artificial propellants... febreze uses a 100% natural propellant. check it out! pressure created by what's in your air makes the bottle spray. which means freshness everyone will love. my hygienist cleans with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. i thought i was getting my floors clean. and then i learned my mop could be loaded with bacteria. so, i got a swiffer wetjet to get a cleaner... clean the spray breaks down dirt and the pad absorbs it deep inside. buh bye. try wetjet with a money-back guarantee. hi sabrina!

hi jen! hi. so you're the scientist here. i just have to ask. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. really?! this nourishing prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. one day? for real! wow! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ i gotta say i'm still impressed. very impressed. new daily moisture for face. everything you love for your body now for your face. does scrubbing feel like a workout? scrub less with dawn platinum. new daily moisture for face. its superior formula breaks down and removes up to 99% of tough grease and food residue faster. so you scrub less. tackle grease wherever it shows up. scrub less. save more. with dawn. new vicks convenience pack. dayquil severe for you... and daily vicks super c for me. vicks super c is a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. did you know there are surfaces in your home that look clean

but a closer look shows there are often layers of invisible dirt left behind. try mr. clean magic eraser for a deep down hygienic clean. magic eraser removes the messes you can see as well as more of the dirt and grime you don't. all you do is wet, squeeze and start erasing dirt and grime all around the house and try magic eraser sheets for a deep clean in hard to reach places that you can toss when your done. mr. clean magic eraser. for a deep down hygienic clean all around the house. good morning, my friends you know, all eyes are on california we're talking about big-time snow and rain event, all of california could be dealing with some moisture. but it's northern california this is not a misprint six to eight feet of snow. these are going to be at the tallest peaks. butalking about wind gusts 50 to 60 miles per hour very dangerous >> janessa, thanks

a community unites in prayer nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. ♪ ♪ what a pain in the— —alice? ♪ if it's “let's wrap this up?” season, it's walgreens season. ♪ son of a— —beth? if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it's walgreens season. you don't get much time for yourself. so when you do, make it count with crest pro-health. if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest.

fast forwarding into your monday the exclusive reveal of the 2021 "time" person of the year is upon us. profiling a person or idea that has done the most to influence the event of the year. catch it live on the "today" show at 7:30 eastern nominees for the golden globe awards will be announced this morning the 9th annual event will be live streamed from the beverly hilton on the golden globes youtube channel. starting today through january 15, all indoor public places in new york that do not

require proof of vaccination must implement a mask mandate. finding hope amid the loss and devastation in kentucky. the community showing us the healing power of faith our kate snow is on the ground there. kate, good morning >> reporter: here in kentucky, the landscape literally changed overnight. but one thing that remains constant, the importance of faith for the people in this community. ♪ joyfuliumphant ♪ >> reporter: for the faithful here in mayfield, kentucky, prayer is healing. >> we will simply pull together and find ways to grieve, to celebrate, to locate, and to care >> reporter: and so nearby their church without walls, the weary summoned the strength to gather. this is what first christian church looked like here's what stands today the building unsafe. but the congregation undeterred.

>> we'll get there >> reporter: near what's left of what was first baptist church, a chance to grieve, cry, and console. and in the face of so much tragedy, the spirit of unity stands strong. >> this really is just a building i mean, this is just the church building it's where the church comes to wor worship. we love it and we're proud of it, but it's not the church. the church is the people >> reporter: across mayfield at one of the holiest times of the year, other houses of worship destroyed, too but even in the very darkest of times, in this city, love and unity remain very much alive lighting the way for the difficult journey ahead. >> we feel your prayers. continue to keep us in our prayers. and lift us up as we make decisions and move forward >> we have seen so many examples here of people holding each other up phil up and frances?

>> kate, thank you they need it, especially this time of the year great to be able to have them see each other >> a dark in a very dark time. our thoughts with those affected

this is kentucky's most devastating tornado event in our history. we have lost far too many of our brothers and sisters the damage is devastating, an entire -- entire blocks, more than one block, with nothing standing >> emotion running deep as residents and rescuers continue an urgent search for possible survivors from friday night's historic tornadic destruction and leveling o