that is it for us at 5:00 and we will see you back here at 6:00 for a full hours of news. th weekend news is captioning sponsored by cbs >> duncan: tonight desperate search. scramming to find the missing after tornadoes leech a catastrophic trail through the south and midwest. over 100 people now feared dead. kentucky among those hardest hit. >> the devastation like none of us have ever seen before. >> entire towns destroyed and devastated. >> i'm david begnaud in mayfield, kentucky, where you have the community coming together to remove debris while at the same time search and rescue operations are still under way right now. >> countless homes now splint erred ruins. survivors struggle after losing everything. >> i'm lilia luciano in bowling green, kentucky, where nearly a dozen people lost their lives. >> with no power, the

temperature dropping. >> i have been in afghanistan twice and i think this is the worst. >> duncan: president biden returns to washington, pledging help is on the way. also tonight, covid alert, delta drives new cases across the u.s. while omicron causes alarm overseas. >> i'm elizabeth palmer in seoul, south korea which is struggling with a record surge in covid cases. >> and later, remembering the vincente fernandez, mexico's national treasure and king of-- music. this is the cbs weekend news from new york, with jericka duncan. >> duncan: good evening, we begin tonight with this. scores of people remain unaccounted for tonight with dwindle hope of finding them alive after tornadoes caught a swath of destruction across at least six states. the vicious centerpiece with a

monster supercell that carved an hours-long 250 mile path from eastern arkansas to western kentucky. over 100 people are feared dead, at least 80 of them from kentucky. cbs's david begnaud is in the devastated town of mayfield. i know that a lot of times the pictures and the video just don't do these stories any justice, david. >> good evening, you know, the police said tonight they're gettng a lot of calls like this, will you go check on my relatives, see if they are okay. i'm worried about them, i haven't heard from them. land lines aren't working, cell phone service is spotty, tht is why we don't know for sure how many people died and are still missing. because of all of that tonight they are still doing what they interest calling a search and rescue operation. in mayfield, kentucky, crews with heavy machine ree were powered up, clearing piles of degree in downtown. right near the center of town we caught this 360 degree view showing what businesses look like before the tornado, and

what the landscape looks like now. >> good morning. >> but so many others were not as fortunate. >> the largest loss of life could be here at the mayfield consumer products candle factory. about 110 people were on the job friday night when the tornado obliterated the plant. 40 people were rescued. but the search for survivors continues candle taker barbara tate told us she is still just trying to wrap her mind around that terrifying moment. >> i closed my eyes and screamed for help, so i'm not doing good a all. >> you're messing with a person when you can't help anybody. you try to help yourself get out. >> 75 miles to the northeast in dawson springs, kentucky, there is drone video that shows an early similar view, decimated homes and businesses. cleanup will be a long process. after more than 30 tornadoes ripped through six states from

arkansas all the way up to illinois. cbs news correspondent mola lenghi is in edwardsville, illinois. >> about 45 employees were able to make it out of this amazon facility after the tornado ripped through the building, toppling a 40 foot tall and 150 foot long wall, in the process killing six people. now at this point this is still an active scene. first responders remain out here. they are still searching but they say at this point everyone appears to be accounted for. >> back here in mayfield, kentucky, candle factory worker richard padilla struggles just to stand. he is still in so much pain after being hit with debris. >> when i was there, under all the stuff, that i was going to die. so i-- i thought if i can survive, my life, definitely will have to it be better. >> three of richard's coworkers tearfully told us their story of how they were able to get out. and escape with their lives. will you hear more of that

interview tomorrow on cbs morning. jericka. >> duncan: david begnaud, thank you for your reporting in mayfield, i know the mayor there saying all they can ask for right now are prayers. just over 500 miles east in the city of bowling green is cbs's lilia luciano. lilia, today i know you met with survivors who were actually able to return to what is left of their home. >> jericka, good evening. i've been talking to local authorities and they say that this is still very much a search and rescue mission and just as we're talking, i'm seeing some volunteers bring their own dogs to assist in the search and rescue efforts, as for survivors, there is still about ten people missing by the way, survivors are coming to find just pure heartbreak, imagine your life just shattered to pieces after this. >> it breaks my heart knowing we have nothing, we have nothing no more. >> shane and hayley ragan returned with their four month

old son korbyn to what is left of their bowling green home. the family left five minutes before the tornado struck packing winds of up to 150 miles per hour. >> you didn't know if it was in front or behind you. >> huh-uh, we didn't know if we was going to make it to the shelter. >> at least 11 people were killed. and more than 600 homes and businesses destroyed in the city. >> we have a tornado on the ground folks. >> for these new parents, their lives were saved, but everything else was lost. >> i've been it to afghanistan, i've been shot at, they tried it to blow me up. this is the one thing that hurt me the worst. >> the couple found their son's diapers and some essentials. >> there is my breast milk. >> along with some irreplacable keep sakes. >> all the stuff they give you at the hospital when he was born, we weren't able to find that. >> and shane, a marry corps veteran. >> your boots. >> yeah. >> found a few small treasures of his own. >> those served me for four years, these remind me of the good times and bad times that

hi. >> hayley said shane was h.e.r.o for serving. now for saving their family. >> do you know where you are ledded? >> we've already had plenty of helpo and we're gracious for that and we're just hoping to get more so we can get back on our feet. >> it it has been so moving to see this community come together in what feels like a parade ofp, even containers where people can place their keep sakes that they found. people who survived can stay in shelters and a few our places for now. but there is still no word as to what the plan long-term is for these hundreds of families that have lost their homes. jericka. >> lilia, thank you. president biden returned to the white house today after spending the weekend at his delaware home. the president has said federal aid to the tornado devastated communities is on its way, and he plans to visit but will wait until his presence doesn't

hinder relief efforts. members of hissed administration are already there including secretary of homeland security palejandro mayorkas. he spoke to cbs evening news anchor norah o'donnell while in mayfield, kentucky. >> what were your impressions as you toured the devastation? >> just taken aback by the level of devastation and the trauma that so many people have suffered. because it the site of the candle factory. one sees the rubble what was once a building, now just sticks and stones, we learned of a cell phone that had 27 missed messages on it, which speaks of a loved one trying to treech someone in the factory. just the personal tragedy, that we saw up close and personal, was most moving. >> and norah o'donnell will anchor the cbs evening news tomorrow from mayfield, kentucky. to the pandemic now, the omicron variant has been reported in 27

states but delta is still much more prevalent and more severe. cbs's mark strassmann 3as more. >> call it thanksgiving covid hangover. average number of cases up 37 percent from last week. hospitalizations rising in at least 42 states. deaths up almost 30%. by next weekend the cdc predicts up it to another million americans could be infected with december's biggest covid worry still ahead. christmas. >> a cbs news poll says that over the holiday season despite the threat from both strains two thirds of americans plan to gather with friends and family. more than half will travel by car or dine in a restaurant. just one in five say they have cancelled plans because of omicron. this is grand rapids, one of the nation's hot spots last holiday season. michigan is now seeing an even higher number of cases and that

number is rising. the state's chief medical officer calls the situation critical. >> cases are surging. hospitals are full, and we have a new variant. >> military medics have jumped in that covid-- front line, other reinforcements in fight, people getting booster shot, a new record average, more than 900,000 a day. starting tomorrow, new york state has an indoor mask mandate for anywhere without a vaccination requirements. >> have i to protect people but also the economy. >> an economy that suddenly feels vulnerable. the inflation rate is am up almost 7 percent from this time last year, the highest annual increase in almost 40 years. everything up since last year. home prices, groceries, gas, which leads covid america coming to terms with a different kind of sticker shock.

mark strassmann, cbs news, grand rapid, michigan. >> duncan: today british prime minister bore is johnston raised his country's covid alert level, he says britdan faces a national-- britain faces a national emergency with the rapid spread of the omicron variant detected in at least 57 countries so far. cbs's elizabeth palm certificate in seoul, south korea, with more. >> worried south koreans join long lines every day to be tested for covid. the number of new infections here hit a record high following the government's easing of restrictions last month. at eulji medical center we suited up in ppe, joined staff looking after patients on the covid ward which has been operating at capacity. >> most are elderly and have underlying conditions with fragile immunity. >> how many vaccinations did you have? >> just one vaccine he said. and then the vy rugs struck. >> but he is the exception. more than 80 percent of korean

adults have had two shots. and the government is now moving fast to roll out boosters. >> in vietnam there has been a covid surge too, in spite of a push to vaccinate students between the ages of 12 and 17. but the good news is elsewhere in asia covid rates are falling. at least for the moment. travel restrictions in most countries were tightened up again in november, as health officials across the region braced for the possibility that the drop in infections can a delta calm before an overwhelming omicron storm. it is not yet clear how lethal omicron is going to turn out to be. but we're about to find out. in britain, for example, some scientists think it st going to be the dominant strain by the end of next week, jericka. izabh palmer, thank you. straight ahead on the cbs weekend news, help wanted with

truck drivers in high demand, we get a front row seat and look at life on the road. plus a neighborhood creates a sharing economy that does more than exchange goods.

>> duncan: business is booming at trucking schools amid a nationwide shortage of long haul drivers. the country needs 1 million new drivers over the next decade and 80,000 right now. that's because drivers are retiring about 1200 a week. reporter mark koehn of wisc in madison, wisconsin, shows us just what it takes to work on the road. >> steve ferdin has been driving big rigs most his life. >> 13 years ago he traded the road for the classroom, he is one of the instructors here at the diesel truck driving school in wisconsin. >> what is the hardest part about this. >> for most people it is double clutching.

as you can see my left knee when i shift the gear, i'm going to go like this, half and out, half and out and that is a coordination thing. >> not to mention an empty tractor trailer weighs some 31,000 pounds, it's 64 feet long and eight and a half feet wide. driving one is not an easy job. on the road. >> off duty status. >> or in the classroom, more than 900 students earn their commercial driver's license or cdl. >> we go through double clutching and maneuvering, it is too much information to take in at one time but at least they have some idea, they see what double clutching is, they have seen. >> it is a difficult occupation from the standpoint that you have to be committed. you have to like it because whether you go long haul or whether you work for ups, it is an irregular hours situation. >> jerry clab ak own and operate the december il truck driving school, a company their father

started in 1959. >> i think our typical driver is probably in his 30s, probably has had some jobs that have not been very satisfying, or high paying. >> st a four week course here to get your license, getting a job after that is up to the students. >> there is not a company in this country with more than a half dozen trucks that isn't looking for somebody. >> jobs are there. >> the jobs are there. >> most companies starting pay is about $1,000 a week, it it goes up from there. >> instructor ferdyn has advice for someone thinking about getting into this line of work. >> think it through, think what you want to do with it, some people want to see the country, some people want to earn a steady living. some people want a route where they are home every night, they have to know what they want ahead of time within the stereo typical image of a truck driver and the job is changing. >> this ain't what do you want to do, drive a truck for a living,yeah, as a matter of fact, maybe i do. you know. >> for cbs news, i'm mark koehn, sun prairie, wisconsin. >> duncan: still ahead, the

grassroots push to buy nothing, creating something that is also bringing neighbors together. plank blank

>> duncan: as repailers-- retailers work to get you in their store there is a nationwide move am to buy nothing, in tonight's weekend journal aaron erin hassanzadeh in minneapolis shows us how neighbors are taking recycling to a new level. >> it all started with a simple idea. >> hello. >> give away you what don't want and ask for the things you need. >> there's three types, there is ask, and then give and gratitude. >> after moving from brooklyn and realizing her neighborhood didn't have a buy nothing online group, sadie struss started her neighborhood chapter. the group now has nearly a thousand membes who are saving money, cutting down on waste and meeting their neighbors in the process. >> everyone i think is just looking for some type of

connection. >> when sadie's little one outgrew a few toys they made their way here to mora caldwell's house. >> you are able to sort of see what people are going through within this group by what they are asking for and giving. >> hello. >> i think it's really been eye great way to get to know neighbors. >> maura posted in the group that she had this costume that her kids all wore. >> and this summer when mira's garden exploded, she teamed up with her mom to dan all of those extra tomatoes with an ask and an offer for the group. >> i need your jars, and i will get you sauce, it just created an sense of community in my community that i hadn't had. >> i know half the neighbors now, i know their names. >> she posted these and i got really excited, she would love them. >> there are so many things that you buy that are just very short lived, so it has been a great way to meet neighbors. >> and one of those neighbors jc cross took her up on an offer to clear out old party decorations. >> i was like maybe somebody

would want this balloon art, i don't know. >> i use it for my six year old's birthday party. >> for many this group is a window into the lives of others. >> it is just too easy to live life alone. >> going through life's seasons with the people you live next to but never really know. >> you really get to see them through some of the most important parts of their life. >> being part of something like this gives people an opportunity to connect and get it to know one another. >> unearthing our basic unifying humanity, that was always just a house or two over. >> as humans and as neighbors and connect in that way. >> i'm erin hassanzadeh, cbs news, minneapolis. >> duncan: next on the cbs weekend news, remembering a national treasure.

>> american gothic novelist anne rice has died. her son says the cause of her death was due it to

complications from a stroke. rice wrote more than 30 books and sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. 13 of those were part of the vampire chronicles. anne rice was 80 years old. >> well, his voice and his presence represented a passion and pride for mexican culture. tonight vincente fernandez is being remembered as a national treasure. he's knowns as the king of ranchera music, fernandez died in his home city of guadalajara. he was 81. when we come back an update on the catastrophic destruction caused by tornadoes across several states and what is being done to help those in need. 7

wlingsz as we reflect tonight on our top story we are thinking about the over 100 people who are feared dead and their families. at least 80 of them are in hard hit keb ken where they are

dealing with-- kentucky where they are dealing with some of the worst damage and number of deaths in the history of that state from tor tad-- tornadoes, con ge grant-- congregants of two churches held their service together in a parking lot surrounded by rubble. many of the attendees have lost their homes and some are missing loved ones, an emotional governor andy beshary of kentucky told "face the nation" margaret brennan recovery will take a long time, he said he already set up a relief fund that will go directly to those impacted by the tornado. >> we're going to help people with fun ral expenses and then we're going to help them rebuild knowing that the costs they're going to face are going to be long-term, but i want to thank the entire country. you have been there with us. we appreciate the love and the support. we are tough people, we're going to get through it and it is not going to be easy. >> that is the cbs weekend news for this sunday. we thank you for joining us,

have a good night. we are seeing some of the best rain from this storm now set up shop over the pen peninsula. why health officials say the new year could bring new case fist we are not careful. good evening. let's take a live look now outside. much-needed rain hitting the area and it will be awhile before things clear up. we are tracking the rain right now. darren? >> raining all day for everybody. but, for many of us it is about to get