nbc's wendy woolfolk is in mayfield, kentucky, with more on the search for survivors and the tough road ahead for so many. >> reporter: block after block -- >> there are no words. >> reporter: -- mile after mile, destruction. survivors now working to pick up the pieces of their lives. >> i don't know. >> reporter: at every damaged home, every pile of rubble, there is a story. >> just sirens were crazy. just sirens. >> reporter: one kentucky homeowner rode out the storm hanging on to her 18-month-old granddaughter. >> i put her in my lap, wrapped her around me. when the power went off, it was very loud and then i don't know. and then i just bent over with her and just started screaming. i just screamed. >> reporter: but in the middle of all this hardship, there is help. volunteers from all around bringing food to the people of mayfield. >> we made burritos and then we made snacks, snack bags with the burritos, we brought sodas, waters, four different kinds of burritos. >> reporter: there is also determination. >> there's going to be grief, there's going to be cleanup, but then we're goin

nbc's wendy woolfolk reports. >> reporter: more than 100 people are still missing. but in downtown mayfield they've already brought in the heavy loading equipment to start to remove the mountains of debris that used to be homes and businesses. the courthouse, banks, city hall, several churches in an area that's more than 200 years old. but the search is over at the candle factory where the company says all 110 employees are accounted for who were working when the tornado hit friday night. multiple workers have told nbc news that supervisors warned employees they would be fired if they left shifts early. despite the sirens detecting dangerous weather approaching. the spokesman for the mayfield consumer products factory has denied those allegations. eight people died that night. governor andy beshear expects the death toll to rise as all the towns in this region continue to sift through the rubble. president biden is expected to visit here tomorrow. that's the latest from mayfield, kentucky. wendy woolfolk, nbc news. >>> when it comes to homicides, oakland is experien

wendy woolfolk, who joins us live now for mayfield. in kentucky, one of the worst towns we've heard warm awards of support from the governor and the present and bite. and how will people their coping though, after losing everything? barbara, it's incredible to see the resiliency of these people in the state. the commonwealth of kentucky. they are determined to pick up the debris, which is littered. this is the downtown area, barbara. you need to see where we're standing because it's no exaggeration to tell you that everywhere you look in the downtown area, you are going to see destruction. devastation right here beside me. remember these tornadoes hit 2 weeks before christmas, so you might be able to make out that little santa that was i'm shirt. decorating this area, remember, there are homes and businesses in this downtown area. we've spoken to people who live in the house over here, and they were a family of 4 who rode out the storm. all 4 survived along with their 2 dogs. they spent today literally going through drawers in this bed

all right, or wendy woolfolk, there live in mayfield kentucky, wendy. thank you. you, as defense, secretary, lord austin has decided against punishing military personnel. emboldened a drone strike that killed 10 civilians, not counted. storms, capital, cobble and aid work, or 9 members of his family, including a 2 year old child, died in the operation on august 29th. an investigation found the strike didn't violate the laws of war, but mistakes were made. it had them 3 days off from the ice latasha cobble airport following taliban take over with mike hannah as more in this now from washington dc . mike's the pentagon has always said, look, this drones right. didn't violate any laws so, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that nobody would be held accountable for these this well, we must just step back a moment. darren, the pentagon initially would not to confirm that there be any mistakes. it was weeks before it finally admitted that there had to be no mistake in the targeting. that was only off to numerous media reports that indicated this. the pentagon then ord

i want to bring in lauren egan and wendy woolfolk, both nbc correspondents. lauren, of course, reports on behalf of -- for the white house. lauren, let's talk first about the president. we just heard from the president in wilmington, delaware, where you are, addressing the fact that he spoke with the governors earlier today. we'll provide anything these states devastated by these tornados needs in order to help them, of course, recover. take us through some of what we heard from the president. >> that's right. the president promising in his speech to bring with him the full force of the federal government as these states start their rescue and recovery missions right now. he noted that just a few hours ago, he approved kentucky's request for an emergency declaration. he said he would be ready to approve similar requests if other states that were impacted by these tornados requested a similar request as well. the president said that he and the first lady were praying for these families. he has directed fema to provide housing assistance to those that have been

. >> let's get to nbc's wendy woolfolk in mayfield, kentucky. al rain there today. it looks like it has calmed down a little bit. we know it rained yesterday. how is that complicating efforts? >> reporter: it has slowed down a bit, lindsey. good morning. there are heavy equipment trucks in the rain. they will get it done. they made a lot more progress than monday or tuesday of this week. things are coming along despite the rain and what is going to be a drop in temperatures. they gave residents earlier in the week to salvage what they could from their homes and businesses and now trying to literally remove the debris. it will be a long painstaking process. really unclear as to when they will start to take down the main structures in the downtown area. >> you know, wendy, a lot of people across the country want to help. what can they do? >> reporter: well, just like governor beshear donated blood, they asking people across the nation to donate blood. the blood supply is so depleted because of covid and also if you are going to donate money, donate

we start tonight in mayfield, kentucky, where nbc news correspondent wendy woolfolk is on the ground near the site of that candle factory. wendy, thank you for being with us. the scenes where you are, incredibly tough to process. what are you seeing and hearing on the ground? >> that's right, alicia, it is awful here. they are losing light here in mayfield, but the rescue crews and the emergency teams from all over the state are not losing hope. the temperature has dropped, but there are still hundreds of brave first responders meticulously looking for anyone who may still be alive in what was the mayfield candle factory. there were 110 people working during the busiest season of the year when the storm hit late last night causing the building to collapse. we asked crews what the scene looks like because from where our vantage point is, you can't directly see the pile, and they described it as when you get over there, it's like walking on the roof of the building. they're looking for crevices, for any sign of life. that structure collapsed. the governor even said there's probably 15 f

to go to a couple of my colleagues who are koring this now, as you may have seen on the drone, wendy woolfolk is here with me in mayfield, kentucky. morgan chesky is in illinois where that amazon factory was. wendy, let me start with you. you've been looking around here in mayfield and getting a sense of what damage has been done. >> it's absolutely incredible what we have seen over the past 24 hours. a long, cold night here in mayfield. first responders from all over the region have been on the pile of rubble all night long, braving these temperatures and hoping to find more survivors. rescuers found 40 people, as we've mentioned, alive. there were 110 workers in that factory working the late shift when the tornado hit. as we've mentioned, busiest time of year as they are working up to the christmas holiday. but their efforts were more complicated because of mayfield's main fire station and its emergency services hub were both destroyed in the storm, as well. but listen to what the mayor said just a short time ago that gives us all hope when they found fire station number one's flag. >> the

i'm wendy woolfolk. you. >>> governor gavin newsom suggested over the weekend that california should write a law similar to the controversial texas law barring some abortions. >> but except in this case, scott mcgrew, that law would target guns. >> yeah, in theory, private citizens in california could sue certain gun manufacturers, the same way private texans can sue people involved in abortion. supreme court decisions in the past have established the right to own a gun and the right to abortion that they are constitutional rights, but the lawmakers who wrote the texas law deliberately wrote their law to try to work around that. so newsom's thinking seems to be if texas can infringe on one right, california might use the framework of that very same law to infringe on another. just change out the words. in this case, assault weapons and so-called ghost guns. he said if texas can ban abortion and endanger lives, california can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives. now whether or not newsom succeeds or

joining me now is nbc's ellison barber and nbc's wendy woolfolk. utter devastation where you are, it's utter devastation where wendy is as well. when people are going back and looking and picking through the remains of their homes, how are they processing what to do next? >> reporter: one woman told me as she was picking through things, the only word to describe all of this is devastation. in this county alone, hopkins county, the coroner tells me they have had 13 people die, all of them here in dawson springs. this is a community of only about 2,700 people. the woman who lives in this house has lived here with her husband for 31 years. she was not in this house when the storm came through. she was across the street in her neighbor's basement when they started to hear the storm, the tornado, everything coming through. you can see the devastation on this street alone. but if we go across the street to the house where she was hiding, you can see that all that's left is a stairwell leading to the basement. she told me that she heard all of the noise,

. >> for more, we turn to mayfield, kentucky, where we find nbc news correspondent wendy woolfolk. what's the latest there? >> reporter: steven, good evening to you. the waiting is really weighing on people now that the temperatures are dropping and darkness is falling, making the situation gone from bad to even worse. no new numbers to report at this point. 40 people were rescued from what's left of the candle factory behind us. governor andy beshear saying it will have to be a miracle to find anyone else alive in this rubble. but the coroner late this afternoon still calling this a rescue and recovery mission, not giving up hope. first responders and emergency crews from all over the state have come to help. it's a massive undertaking. one firefighter saying it was like walking on the roof of a structure that's collapsed into a hole. it's going to be even more difficult with tens of thousands without power and without water. as you mentioned, the tornado that destroyed this candle factory was on the ground for more than 200 miles. it's really difficult to grasp the scope of devas