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Multiple Tornadoes Carve Path Of Destruction Across Six States; KY Governor Declares State Of Emergency After Tornadoes Kill Dozens; Senate Aims To Pass Build Back Better Before Christmas; Interview With Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA); Food Insecurity In America. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 11, 2021 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:27]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday.

I'm Frederick Whitfield.

We've got this breaking news.

A string of powerful tornadoes carving a path of destruction across six states. Dozens have been killed making it the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

The damage is widespread and devastating buildings and homes leveled as you see right there. The full scope of this disaster across this widespread area is still being assessed.

In Illinois, an Amazon warehouse collapsed, killing at least two people. Rescue efforts are underway right now.

In Arkansas, a tornado decimated a nursing home. At least one person killed there.

And in Kentucky, the governor issuing a state of emergency. The death toll is expected to exceed 50 people in that state, possibly many more. Officials calling it one of the darkest days in the commonwealth's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. DEAN PATTERSON, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: We're seeing things that none of us have ever seen before. I went to Hurricane Katrina several years ago and I'm seeing things now I didn't see then.

The damage is here indescribable. It's changed the landscape of the city that we -- that we know here in Mayfield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And moments ago, President Biden was briefed on the destruction. He calls it an unimaginable tragedy and pledged his full support for governors dealing with this disaster.

CNN's Nadia Romero is on the ground in Mayfield, Kentucky. And meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the ongoing storms from the CNN Weather Center.

First to you, Nadia, where we see things just flattened behind you, the destruction. Tell us how people are coping. What are they doing right now?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, so much has changed from yesterday compared to today. Yesterday, summer-like temperatures. Now it feels like December winter-like weather today.

Yesterday this building behind me up and running. People who are here overnight hours, working on overtime because they were trying to get prepared for the Christmas holiday that's just two weeks away. So there were many more people inside than would have normally have been.

Some 100 inside of this candle factory. Take a look behind me. You really can't see anything but rubble and debris. One man described it to me, he says I can't believe it. It looks like a bomb went off.

That is how I could best describe this tornado that came through and leveled this factory. You know, we spoke with one man who came out. And there were so many who've been coming out the overnight hours, early this morning, trying to find their loved once.

His name is Ivy Williams. And he says he was looking for his wife, Janine. Says they've been married for more than 30 years. They have kids, they have grandkids. He said she is the sweetest woman he's ever met. But he hasn't heard from her. He doesn't know what happened to her.

Listen to what he says happened starting at about 10:00 last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY WILLIAMS, MISSING WIFE WORKS AT THE CANDLE FACTORY: I spoke to my wife at 10:00. And she said that it's storming real bad. I said, ok. and then that was it, we hung up.

10:30, that's when my daughter had called me, told me that the roof was off the building. And I came rushing on over here. When I got over here, it was just like this there. It mean it wasn't a building.

I didn't know it was like that. I thought it was a roof that just tore up. And then I just jumped in to start helping as much as I could. I did grab two people out, one lady and a guy. And from then on I was trying to seek, calling my wife's name, Janine Williams. And didn't get no responses.

So on Saturday, when I saw a guy that she used to work with and that's when he had told me that she was on the list, that they had pulled her out. But I don't know where they took her at.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMERO: And there's a lot of confusion here from people who have been stopping by trying to figure out what happened to their love ones who work in this factory.

He says his wife's name was on a list, he was told, but he's not sure what that list means. Is it the list of people who have died or is it a list of people who were taken to the hospital? He just doesn't know.

So he left this area early this morning, went to different hospitals trying to see if he can find his wife. He just called me moments ago and said "I still haven't found her. Have you seen her? Have you heard about Janine Williams?" Unfortunately, I haven't.

And that is a story we have heard from so many people here, looking for one of the more than 100 who are still unaccounted for, Fred.

[11:04:53]

WHITFIELD: My gosh, that's devastating. I mean the information and the whereabouts of people -- all of it scattered because just look at that debris field. That's just a portion of the debris field behind you where everyone caught off guard, caught by surprise.

And these storms just swept through, devastating, flattening so many businesses and homes.

Nadia, we'll check back with you.

Allison Chinchar, let's talk about the weather pattern and what was experienced to really seemingly historic proportions.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The storm itself has weakened some since the overnight hours. That's good news, but it's not gone entirely. We do still have an ongoing threat with this particular system.

So isolated tornadoes, damaging winds still all possible in the coming hours. Especially for cities like Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, even stretching over towards Charlotte and Raleigh as the day goes on.

Here's a look at the storm. It's a pretty wide swath. It stretches from Maine all the way back to Louisiana. But it's the central and southern portion we're most concerned about for the strongest, severe thunderstorms.

We have severe thunderstorm warnings Tennessee right now and a tornado warning ongoing in Alabama as we speak. These are the areas we are going to be most concerned about as that line of strong storms continues to push east.

But so far, a lot of damage has already been done. Over 30 tornado reports, nearly 200 severe wind reports and 20 large hail reports. In fact we had over 100 tornado warnings alone from this system. That's the highest ever number for any December day. But it's two particular storm tracks that we've been focused on. These two right here that were exceptionally long lived and long tracked potentially having a tornado on the ground for over 200 miles. To put that in perspective, most tornados last less than 10 minutes and travel less than 10 miles.

These were on the ground potentially for hours going over 200 miles. The record, by the way, is over 200 and that was back in 1925 for the tristate tornadoes. So this may end up being the longest track if we can show that it stayed on the ground long enough. And that's going to be something the National Weather Service will have to go out and survey today.

But it's also no wonder why the death toll may end up being very high with this particular storm. Now the highest death toll, 314 for a tornado day but this storm in particular, Fred, may end up cracking the top 10 deadliest tornado days in U.S. history.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely incredible.

Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. We'll check back with you as well as Nadia Romero.

All right. Meantime, take a look at this video right here. Devastation in Mayfield Kentucky after a tornado ripped through that town of about 10,000 people.

And Brandon Clement is a storm chaser, who captured this video. And he's joining me right now on the phone.

So Brandon, as we look at these pictures -- I mean it looks like just a giant steamroller just came on through, knocking down everything in its path except for a couple of resilient buildings there right there. This looks like a historic brick building that we're looking at right here and your drone footage captures it.

So tell me about your experience along the way, as you were also able to capture these images.

BRANDON CLEMENT, STORM CHASER (via telephone): Yes. I started off in Arkansas and waited for the tornado to come up towards the I-55 corridor. I knew it was going to be fast moving and it was going through some pretty rural areas of Arkansas.

Once it crossed over the I-55 -- Interstate 55, just along the Arkansas-Missouri line, it crossed over about 300 yards in front of me, threw a bunch of 18 wheelers and semis in a couple different roads right there.

It cuts over -- cross the river into Tennessee. And then came up -- went down into Arkansas and went to Leachville. And unfortunately at first, there was a fatality there. I talked to several people, a lot of destruction there.

Then made my way up into the Kentucky area. But when I got to Mayfield, it's no comparison to what I've seen so far in the path. It's complete destruction. I mean, I see 50 to 120 paths a year and this is a top two or three in the last decade.

(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: Wow. I mean you say no comparison -- no comparison to what you have seen before. You've been doing this long enough to have some reference points of what happens to a city, a town, community when tornadoes come through.

Give me your initial reaction. Of course, it was dark, but your initial reaction once you were able to capture these images and really see how widespread this path of destruction was, compared to what you have seen prior to this day.

CLEMEN: Yes. I mean I've seen stuff like this before. It's just been a long time. 2011, we had the April 27th outbreak with the Tuscaloosa, Bristol (ph) E-5, Hackleburg EF -5, and Moore, Joplin,. But it's almost that level you see complete destruction of areas.

[11:09:51]

CLEMENT: Forests that are completely mowed over, debarked. The grounds rolled up, debris is spread. I mean you can't tell if a t-shirt that's hanging in the tree is from the house next to it or the one three miles over. Well-built, you know, strong, old, brick buildings completely collapsed, cars thrown, the fatality count. Unfortunately it's really high. It's going to be one of the deadliest tornadoes in modern history. So it's going to be one of the longest tornadoes in history.

There is -- I'm not saying it's an EF-5 -- there's a chance it's an EF-5. If it is, it's the first one in a long time, I think the longest we've ever gotten one. It will be the first one in December.

I mean this tornado just checks so many boxes on just the high end of the scale.

WHITFIELD: I mean Brandon, I've covered a lot of tornadoes being on the ground there as a reporter from Arkansas to Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma. And the path of destruction is usually measured by a mile at a time, if even that. But when you look at these images that you're presenting to us and we're hearing our reporting from our meteorologist Allison Chinchar, to hear multiple miles in terms of its width and the path of destruction is simply extraordinary.

And oftentimes when you first arrive to a scene like this, you might see, you know, people who are just kind of picking through, who are nearly shell-shocked. What have you been able to witness in terms of people who have responded, people who survived this storm. What are they telling you?

CLEMENT: Everybody I have spoken to in this town so far knows somebody that has been lost in this storm. And they haven't even got all the names yet. It's not a very big place. And the fatality per capita for this storm, like you talk about Joplin and it's a pretty large city. This is a town of 10,000 people -- 10,300, something like that -- It's unbelievable how many people have died from this storm.

It's just about a three or four-mile stretch where it took place. It's just the worst-possible -- worst possible scenario to come along. It's a very intense tornado, long track, at night, very fast moving.

It's just everything which you don't want to have as a storm chaser or a meteorologist. It checks every one of those boxes that you just don't want to have. It's the worst-case scenario.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. Have you spoken to anyone who might be -- whether they're a first responder or helping out, or whether they are loved ones looking for their loved ones.

We heard from our Nadia Romero, who spoke with an Ivy Williams, and he talked about, you know, looking for his wife who was working in that candle factory. There's a list. Her name is on the list, but now he's still not clear what does that list mean. Her name is Janine Williams.

What have you heard about -- from people directly about who they're looking for, or how they're assisting?

CLEMENT: Well, unfortunately just a little while ago when I was flying the drone, they were pulling some bodies out, and putting them in body bags. And I knew where the location was. The guy was asking me about it, and he's like "My sister-in-law lives over there. Do you know exactly which house?" And I did and I just didn't know what to say to him.

He couldn't got there. They wouldn't let him in. He hasn't been able to contact her. It's just like, you feel helpless and you just feel their pain and know what they're going through. And you know, so many people say the worst part is not knowing, and they're in that phase right now.

WHITFIELD: Well, Brandon Clement, thank you so much for your perspective and your perspective by way of this lens, seeing through your drone footage.

I mean it is absolutely extraordinary and hard to believe that this is what has happened to one of many towns across six states now. These images are out of Mayfield, Kentucky, which was just hammered by this string of destructive tornadoes overnight.

Thank you so much, Brandon. Appreciate it.

And we'll continue to follow this breaking news on these deadly tornadoes and the widespread devastation left behind.

Next I'll talk with a former Kentucky state representative who was on his way back to Kentucky last night but then was diverted because of the storms.

Stay with us.

[11:14:11]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

We're following breaking news.

Powerful and deadly storms are threatening communities from Texas to Vermont. And those same storms spawned multiple tornadoes overnight across six states.

This is what is left right here of a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky. Simply flattened there. The governor of Kentucky says more than 100 people were working at the facility when the tornado slammed into the building. And across the state, he says the death toll is expected to be at least 70.

And in Tennessee, more than 150,000 homes and businesses are without power. One resident tells CNN affiliate WSMV about a mother's quick action that likely saved her and her newborn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A girl that had a newborn, blew the roof off her house. She just so happened to wake up right before it happened, was able to get the baby out of there before it actually hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did they go to the bathtub or something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't say where they went, but police was able to get the baby out of the room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Incredible. I'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot more about other close calls.

I want to bring in now Charles Booker. He has a story of his own. He's a former state representative in Kentucky, who is right now currently running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat against Senator Rand Paul.

Well, he was on his way back to Kentucky, his home state. He was in Texas when the storm struck. Because of the distance, because of the storm system, he wasn't able to travel and leave Texas.

[11:19:59]

WHITFIELD: So good to see you, Mr. Booker. So you were on your way to Paducah, Kentucky -- the western part of the state, not necessarily where your family is, but you were going to be there campaigning, working.

Tell me about your experience of your travel when they told you, you're not going to be leaving Texas. What did you expect was happening in Kentucky.

CHARLES BOOKER (D-KY), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: We had been doing a lot of traveling across the Kentucky and across the country as we are doing this campaign for the U.S. Senate and I was preparing to head home to my family and saw the news developing of the storms, this incredible storm system. And I was actually preparing for a weekend of events in Paducah, McCracken County right in the area of the path of the storm.

And we were being told that not only was our ability to get to our loved ones, our extended family in western Kentucky being delayed, but that now so many of our loved ones have been lost. We know that potentially close to 100 Kentuckians have been lost, and thousands without power. And my heart goes out to my family across Kentucky right now.

WHITFIELD: It is heartbreaking. I understand you have family in Louisville and the Bowling Green area. Have you been in touch with them? And if so, how are they doing?

BOOKER: I have -- I have -- my campaign is built by Kentuckians, so we have been sending our team out across Kentucky to check in with their family and to activate plans to provide relief, which we are immediately doing.

But my brother-in-law is actually in Bowling Green at Western Kentucky University. And we know that the storms hit there as well. And a student I was told had lost -- we heard a student lost their life.

And so this has been terrifying. This really is a moment that is bigger than politics. It's about us coming together as family. And we have suspended our campaign activities for this weekend and are directing all of our energy and our love to providing relief for our family right now.

WHITFIELD: We know, of course, first responders are there, you know, in areas hard hit. Mayfield is where we're looking at some images right now, a hard hit area. They're doing all they can to try and find survivors. We're hearing incredible stories of other people who have survived or have been pulled from rubble.

What do you think it's going to take in order to get all hands on deck, you know, from every corner of the state and beyond to try to help. So many people, when you look at how widespread this devastation is, I mean it's just extraordinary. Are you concerned at all about the resources available to try to tend to everybody's needs?

BOOKER: I am deeply concerned. The governor of Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear correctly called for a state of emergency last night and is calling on President Biden to declare a national emergency to provide relief. I'm echoing that.

But what you lifted up about Kentuckians showing resolve and strength that's who we are. That's the truth of Kentucky. And the very place where I was going to have my event in west Kentucky, the host is my extended family. I call him my brother, Brian Shimwell (ph).

They have turned their event space into a resource facility for first responders -- providing food and comfort and resources for those who are helping our loved ones. That's what we do.

We'll get through the storm, but we need help. And I'm sending my love and prayers across the country to those affected as well.

WHITFIELD: And you know, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, right. And resources have already been strained on lots of levels as a result of what we've all been enduring in the last two years.

And I mean, this is colossal, what is taking place right here, but I wonder if you have concerns about how these two extraordinary event are now merging in your home state.

And you know, six states as a whole overnight, but we're in the middle of the pandemic. And now you have this kind of natural disaster. What are your thoughts and concerns?

BOOKER: Well, you know, these are historically trying times. And for the Commonwealth of Kentucky we've been dealing with pandemics of poverty, of loss, of abandonment for a long time. And then the bottom fell out with this pandemic, and now this historic storm that has really changed lives for a lot of my dear loved ones forever.

And I'm very concerned about what this moment means which is why I'm going to do all I can because the truth of the matter is we need real investment in our infrastructure, in our commonwealth to be ready when the storms hit.

And we need to make sure that our leaders in Washington are providing relief, and not ignoring us like they typically do, because at this moment it's bigger than the politics. It's bigger than all of the misinformation. It's bigger than the lies. This is a moment when we need to come together to provide relief.

[11:24:54]

WHITFIELD: Charles Booker, hope you're able to get home safely. Best in your travels and best to all of your loved ones and your extended family there in Kentucky, especially after such a hard-hit evening and day. Thank you so much.

BOOKER: Thank you.

We've got so much more straight ahead on the deadly tornadoes and the potential for more storms moving east today. We'll bring you the latest weather forecast. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're continuing to follow breaking news today.

Dozens of people have been killed after a line of severe tornadoes cut a path of destruction across six states making it the deadliest December day for tornadoes on record.

[11:29:58]

WHITFIELD: In Illinois an Amazon warehouse collapsed, killing at least two people. In Arkansas, at least one person died when a tornado decimated a nursing home. Kentucky's governor declaring a state of emergency and asking FEMA for help. The death toll is expected to exceed 70 people in that state, possibly more. Tens of thousands of people remain without power.

The potential for more severe weather continues as the storms now move east. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking this dangerous system from the CNN Weather Center.

So Allison, where is it headed?

CHINCHAR: Right. We just got an update here just a few moments ago. But the Storm Prediction Center kind of updating where they think the greatest threat is going to be for the remainder of the day today.

The good news part of it is cities like Knoxville, Huntsville, they've been removed because the main system has now exited that area and pushing off to the east.

But now you're starting to see the enhancement of other areas. Atlanta now in a slight risk. Also same thing for Montgomery stretching almost all the way down to Mobile. But Charlotte also looking at the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms.

Yes, isolated tornadoes, damaging winds and hail are also going to be factors today with these strong thunderstorms.

Here's a look at where that line is expected to slide. We do have one active tornado warning at the moment. This is across portions of Alabama. Notice it's not even along the main line. It's out ahead of if where that sunshine is out and it's really heating up the atmosphere ahead of the main line before it comes in.

But this has been a very devastating storm system already just in the last 24 hours. We've had over 30 tornado reports, over 200 severe wind reports, and 20 large hail reports.

In fact this particular system spawned over 100 tornado warnings alone. That's the highest ever for a single December day. Very impressive.

But even more so, two particular tracks that we've been looking at. These two white lines you see here, potentially two separate tornadoes that may have been on the ground for over 200 straight miles. Now we won't know that and confirm that until the National Weather Service is able to go out and assess and survey a lot of the damage today.

But this is impressive. Again, keep in mind, the vast majority of tornadoes are on the ground for less than ten minutes and go less than ten miles. Some of these may have been on the ground for hours and gone I mean 100 or 200 miles at one point which, of course, Fred, is likely why the death toll number is going to be rather high.

WHITFIELD: It's extraordinary. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for that. We'll check back with

you. And of course, we'll continue to follow this breaking news. So much more straight ahead on the damage and devastation left behind by these tornadoes.

Stay with us.

[11:32:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're following this breaking news.

Powerful and deadly storms still threaten communities from Texas to Vermont. Those same storms spawned dozens of tornadoes overnight across six states.

In northeastern Arkansas, a tornado ripped through a nursing home, trapping residents and staff. One person died and at least 20 injured. A second person died in a nearby store.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are scrambling to get President Biden's Build Back Better agenda passed before Christmas but a number of hurdles remain.

And in a moment we'll get back to our storm coverage.

But right now, across our shows today, we will be highlighting a few of the key issues in Build Back Better talking to both the lawmakers building these policies and the people impacted by them.

First up, immigration reform. The bill would include work permits and temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants. But as of now, it is unclear whether immigration provisions in the bill will remain or be cut.

Joining me right now. Democratic Congressman Raul Ruiz of California and he is chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. So good to see you.

REP. RAUL RUIZ (D-CA): Good morning.

WHITFIELD: So Congressman, you know, this is a major priority for you and for many. The senate parliamentarian has already rejected two immigration proposals. How likely do you think the bill language passed in the House will make into the Senate bill.

RUIZ: The work permits and protections provisions that's in the Build Back Better Act is a budgetary item that will help improve the economy for all American families here.

So it has relevance through budget reconciliation. It will increase the GDP by about $1.5 trillion in a decade. It will increase the amount of jobs in over a half a million new jobs in that amount of time as well.

So the initial plan was to pursue a pathway to citizenship or a targeted group then the parliamentarian said that that didn't qualify because it was targeted. So then we amplified it so that it wouldn't be a targeted but a more longer term and they said -- the parliamentarian said because it was indefinite, that it didn't qualify.

So now we have a provision that is limited in scope. It's 10 years and it's not targeted. So we're meeting her requirements to pass this through.

And regardless of this requirement. The Senate has rules where they can continue to pursue despite what she decides.

[11:39:52]

WHITFIELD: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has said that he would support overhauling the parliamentarian's ruling if immigration is out. But Senator Joe Manchin has been opposed to that. Have you had conversations with Senator Manchin?

RUIZ: You know, we've had conversations with Senator Sinema, with Senator Manchin's staff, with the Senate leadership, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, senators have had numerous conversations with Senator Manchin. We respect his focus on following the rules in this particular case.

The Senate has rules so there is no -- there is no bypassing the Senate rules. The senate has rules that can continue beyond the parliamentarian's ruling, where it will -- it would require ten Democrats to vote against the chair's ruling in order to reverse the chair's ruling and get it into as a amendment form into the Build Back Better Act.

But then, of course, you have to go through the vote-a-rama and on the other amendments, the shenanigans that Republicans will definitely try to remove any immigration provisions that's going to help our essential workers, immigrants continue to provide stable labor force for our country. Overall, this is good for America, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So if immigration however, does not find its way in this package, have you talked to the White House about the next potential steps?

RUIZ: There's conversations about executive orders. There's also conversations that we have. Look, we passed two incredible bills out of the House. The Dreamers Promise Act and the Farm Work Force Modernization Act. It's in the Senate.

We have Republicans who refuse to bring it up to vote for it. Republicans are obstructing immigration reform in the senate right now. We only need ten to have relief on something that all -- a majority of American, Republicans and Democrats agree with, which is stabilizing our farm work force and also giving a pathway to citizenship to our dreamers and (INAUDIBLE) holders and so we can get this done. We also have the U.S. Citizenship Act, that is the comprehensive Biden plan for immigration reform that we can move forward. But we're never going to stop until we help our essential workers, our dreamers, our farm workers and all those that have contributed to our economy and provide a stable labor force right now when we're needed, when job opportunity is skyrocketed, the economy is roaring back.

And so we really need the Build Back Better Act to help us stabilize that force and create even more jobs.

Now, mind you, the Hispanic community, we want a stable and fixed immigration system, but you know, we also want to have money in our pocket with the child tax credit. And we also want to decrease the cost of child care. We want to be able to have our seniors with hearing aids, which the Build Back Better Act will provide. We want to be able to afford housing which the Build Back Better act is going to help reduce housing costs for American families.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RUIZ So this Build Back Better Act is a rocket booster for our economy that's going to launch our middle class families by putting money in their pockets and also reducing the cost of the three most expensive things for American families which is child care, health care, and housing.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Raul Ruiz, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

RUIZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So throughout our hours today, we're also talking to the people most impacted by these policy proposals.

And that brings me to Damian Diaz and Othon Nolasco. Together they founded a non-profit that helps feed undocumented immigrant families called No Us without You Los Angeles.

Damian, good to see both of you and Othon. So Damian, you first. Tell us what inspired you to start this organization?

DAMIAN DIAZ, NO US WITHOUT YOU LOS ANGELES: Thanks for having us, Fredricka. Before we get started, we would like to just mention that we're fortunate to be here, but also our heart goes out to all the loved ones and people that has been affected by the tornado going on throughout the south. But thank you again for having us today.

We started out our organization about 22 months ago at the beginning of the pandemic, March of 2020. Because we didn't see any representation of our back of the house community within our hospitality sector in Los Angeles.

So Othon and I, we jumped to action with ten families and quickly got to about 1,600 at our peak. And this is just through food assistance that we provide.

WHITFIELD: And Othon, pardon me, I think I mispronounced your name earlier. Pardon me for that, Othon. (CROSSTALK)

[11:44:51]

WHITFIELD: So are the families that you know -- are the families that you are aiming to help in need, in huge need? Describe for us what kind of needs they have.

OTHON NOLASCO, NO US WITHOUT YOU, LOS ANGELES: You know, all the families that we serve are undocumented, and unfortunately they've hit (ph) into a system that really didn't help them out.

So when Los Angeles was shut down, like the rest of the country last March, they had no sort of income, even though they pay into the unemployment insurance system here in Los Angeles every week.

And so they were without any income. They didn't get any federal stimulus checks, nothing. So we had people reach out to us that we worked with for years that didn't have money to buy food for their children.

So that's where it came from. Food security was the goal, and we've been working on that for 22 months, as Damian said.

WHITFIELD: And then Damian, you know, what would these proposals in the Build Back Better bill mean for your efforts and your organization?

DIAZ: Well, this would be a godsend for all our families. As Othon mentioned, 100 percent of our families in our community that we serve are undocumented. So as he mentioned, they pay into the system, but receive zero of the benefits, federal stimulus, things like that.

So between child care and housing especially, now that the moratorium is going to end in March coming up, we're afraid that people are going to be getting evicted. And we're working hard to make sure that they can catch up on back rent financially to avoid those types of things.

WHITFIELD: And Othon, you know, this started as a relatively small venture, but now I understand you're feeding over a thousand people. How are you able to keep up with the demand?

NOLASCO: You know, initially we used our own money to buy groceries for families. And then quickly our friends and loved ones, colleagues started donating. And we treated it like a business from the beginning. We applied for an LLC, got our application for tax-exempt status and we are a 501 c3.

We have been able to turn our previous lives as hospitality consultants into a positive thing. So our former clients are now our benefactors. And we write every grant application that we can.

The important thing is like Damian said, we're worried about families getting evicted come the rent moratorium ending in March.

WHITFIELD: And then Damian, quickly have people expressed to you what they would do if not for your organization?

DIAZ: The easiest way to answer that question, coming directly from their mouths is that we're a miracle, we're a godsend. Our organization and the volunteers that make up our organization.

When the families we serve receive our phone calls as outreach, they start crying. They literally say it's the miracle they've been praying for.

So for us to provide these types of resources is invaluable to them and their families indefinitely throughout this pandemic and onward.

WHITFIELD: Damian Diaz and Othon Nolasco, I know so many people are so grateful for your generosity and your big heart that you're extending to so many there particularly in Los Angeles. Thank you so much for you time.

NOLASCO: Thank you, Fred.

DIAZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, we'll get back to our breaking news.

A line of severe tornadoes leaving behind a path of destruction across six states. We'll bring you the latest, straight ahead.

[11:48:19]

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WHITFIELD: All right. We're following this breaking news.

Powerful and deadly storms sweeping across the South and Midwest overnight. President Biden was briefed on the string of devastating storms and is sending help. FEMA's director says she has spoken with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear as his state confronts historic damage.

He says at least 70 Kentuckians have died and calls it quote, the most devastating tornado in Kentucky's history.

In Mayfield, Kentucky, Beshear said -- excuse me -- there has not been a successful rescue from the leveled candle factory since 3:00 a.m. Eastern time.

Just last hour, Mayfield's mayor told CNN about her town's resilience in the face of devastating tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KATHY STEWART O'NAN, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: My heart is broken, but I am watching our first responders from our community, from the county, from across the state of Kentucky work so bravely to recover and rescue when they can.

We are a community, we're a small community. We are a strong community. And I know that in the months to come we will see the best of the people of this town. This is what we do. We take care of each other in bad times and in celebrating good times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We'll have so much more straight ahead on the deadly tornadoes and the potential for more storms moving east today. We'll bring you the latest weather forecast straight ahead.

But first, this week's Impact Your World.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATALIE WILSON, BLACK AND MISSING FOUNDATION: The Black And Missing Foundation was started because of a necessity.

There was a young lady by the name of Tamika Houston who went missing from my sister-in-law's home town of Spartanburg, South Carolina. When she disappeared her family struggled to garner coverage.

[11:54:50]

WILSON: About six months later Natalee Holloway disappears. Her name and face became a household name. So we decided to do some research to see maybe this is an issue affecting our community.

30 percent of missing persons in the United States were persons of color. That number has since increased to 40 percent. Yet we rarely see our people on the news.

We help families from A through Z. And that includes creating flyers and social media posts as well as boots on the ground.

Since our inception in 2008, we have been able to bring closure to over 300 families.

BRANDI STALLINGS, PARENT OF FOUND CHILD: I was frantic when Kennedy was missing. To have an organization that hears your pain and can help and assist and not judge you is something that I think all families need.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:55:45]

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