. >> reporter: anthony franklin is mourning the loss of his girlfriend of more than 20 years. this is what's left of her home in beauregard, alabama. >> maggie is the type of person that's come through this thing once in a lifetime. >> reporter: the tornado, an ef-4, packed estimated winds of 170 miles an hour, tossing this billboard some 20 miles.a series of twis sliced through the deep south, also pounding georgia and south carolina. >> to the community of lee county, we grieve by your side, and we pledge our unwavering support to help you rebuild from the very depths of this horrible tragedy. >> this is where you crowded into? >> this is where my two boys and i crowded into, yes. >> reporter: miles tatum says he huddled with his two sons in a closet while the storm roared through in less than a minute. >> the only reason this part of the barn is here, i'm convinced, is the lord saved us and my kids. >> reporter: tonight, k-9 units are scouring for signs of life, and anthony franklin is remembering the life he once had. and there is late word tonight the national weather ser

. >> reporter: anthony franklin is mourning the loss of his girlfriend of more than 20 years. this is what's left of her home in beauregard, alabama. >> maggie is the type of patson th come through this thing once in a lifetime. >> reporter: the tornado, an ck ef-4, paed winds of 170 miles an hour, tossinghis billboard some 20 miles. a series of twisters sliced rough the deep south, also pounding georgia, and south carolina. >> to the community of lee county, we grieve by your side, and we pledge our unwavering support to help you rebuild from the very depths of this horrible tragedy. >> this is where you crowded into? >> this is where my two boys and i crowded into, >> reporter: miles tatum says he huddled with his two sons in a closet while the storm roared through in less than a minute. >> the only reason this part of the barn was here is i'm convinced the lor saved us and my kids. > reporter: k-9 units are sc scouring neighborhoods for any signs of life and anthony franklin is remembering the life he once had. authoritts have confirmed least four tornadoes in alabama, and

. >> reporter: anthony franklin is mourning the loss of his girlfriend of more than 20 years. what's left of her home. >> she was the type of person that comes through this thing once in a lifetime. >> reporter: the ef-4 packed winds of 120 miles per hour. tossing this billboard 20 miles. the twister pounded georgia and south carolina. >> to the commune of lee county we grieve by your side and we pledge our unwavering support to help you rebuild from the very depths of this horrible tragedy. >> reporter: this is where you crowded into? >> this is where my two boys and i crowded into. >> reporter: miles tatum said he huddled with his two sons in a closet. >> the only reason this part of the barn is here is because the lord saved us and my kids. >> reporter: anthony franklin is remembering the life he once had. >> our thanks to gabe gutierrez. let's get a check on your weather with nbc meteorologist michele grossman. >> good morning. layers is the name of the game today. 226 million of us will be facing freezing temperatures today. feel more like january in many, many spots. we

anthony: yeah, i know. philadelphia is right over there. right across the ben franklinisn't? ♪ they're better than that, they're bigger than that, and the best cheese steak in the area might well come from new jersey. donkey's, opened by leon lucas 71 years ago. a heavyweight contender in the 1928 summer olympics in boxing, he was known during his time in the cavalry as "the donkey." >> robert: they said he had a punch like the kick of a mule. so somebody gave him the handle of "donkey." and he kept it. >> anthony: his son robert runs the joint now and this is what they do here. behold, the jersey cheese steak. >> robert: pleasure to meet you. >> anthony: so this is the place. the best cheese steak in south jersey unless i'm mistaken? >> robert: eh, in new jersey. >> anthony: new jersey, period? >> robert: yeah. >> anthony: is there a difference between jersey style and philadelphia style? >> robert: yeah, we do ours on a round poppy seed kaiser role. >> anthony: really? i'll have one of those. what's the way to go? i mean, anything i need to know or just -- >> robert:

franklin last night. the show was called aretha, a grammy celebration. aired right here on cbs and produced by the legendary hit maker, clive davis. he discussed it all with anthony. >> reporter: she already had a string of hits when she met clive davis. this is literally the beginning of your friendship? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: he was then running the arista label. she was in a bit of a slump? >> yes, but she was the queen of soul and she said you know i'm nearing 40 and i'm nervous that -- can i have hits after 40? i said listen, to me you're timeless. ♪ >> reporter: so davis signed aretha and in 1982 helped her jump back on the charts with "jump to it." >> she wasn't scared like all great artists do, she got nervous. she was a perfectionist. when she came to the studio, she knew every line. she would only do three talks. no other artist does fewer takes than what aretha did. ♪ we going riding on the free wau of love in a pink cadillac ♪ >> reporter: in 1985 when "freeway of love" gave her her biggest hit in a dozen years her comeback was complete. davis, who's never liked business diners always mod an exception for aretha. >> i too always knew aretha was d