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The Associated Press
December 12, 2021, 7:27 PM
MIDWEST TORNADO
Spokesman: 8 factory workers dead, 8 missing from tornado
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Eight people are confirmed dead at a Kentucky candle factory that was hit by a tornado and another eight remain missing, but dozens more have been accounted for, a company spokesman said Sunday, raising hope that the toll from a Midwest twister outbreak won’t be as high as first feared. While officials initially said 40 of 110 workers at Mayfield Consumer Products had been rescued, spokesman Bob Ferguson said more than 90 people had now been located. While eight remained missing, there was hope they might be OK. He said many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went home.
TORNADO-CANDLE FACTORY
Planning questions emerge at tornado-destroyed candle plant
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S. But why its Friday night-shift workers kept making candles as a ferocious tornado bore down on the region remains unknown as rescuers continue scouring the wreckage of the plant for signs of life. Kentucky’s governor said Sunday the ferocity of the storm was so great that there was nowhere safe to hide inside the plant.
AP-US-MIDWEST-TORNADOES-SURVIVOR
Tornado survivor: ‘Not knowing is worse than knowing’
MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Autumn Kirks and her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, were both working the night shift at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, when a massive tornado struck. Now her boyfriend is missing — and all she can do is wait. On Sunday, Kirks stood outside His House Ministries in Mayfield, where people have been told to go to wait for word about the missing. In the aftermath of the tornado that roared through the western Kentucky darkness early Saturday morning, the chances for good news seem to diminish by the hour. Dozens of people across five states were killed, and the death toll is expected to go higher.
MIDWEST TORNADOES-PHOTO
Photo from tornado-damaged home lands almost 130 miles away
A photo from a tornado-damaged home in Kentucky landed almost 130 miles away in Indiana. Katie Posten lives in New Albany, Indiana. She found the photo Saturday morning stuck to her car’s windshield. The black and white photo shows a woman holding a little boy in her lap. On the back, written in cursive, it says, “Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942.” Posten posted an image of the photo on social media and eventually was contacted by a man who says the photo belongs to his relatives in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. That area was hit hard Friday night by tornadoes that roared through the middle of the U.S.
AP-US-MIDWEST-TORNADOES-AMAZON-WAREHOUSE
Crews search rubble after 6 die at Illinois Amazon facility
CHICAGO (AP) — Search efforts at an Amazon facility in Illinois where at least six people were killed in a tornado are expected to take several days. But authorities don’t expect to find more survivors and the local coroner says there are no pending reports of missing people related to the building collapse. The company has not said how many people were in the building not far from St. Louis when the tornado hit at 8:35 p.m. Friday. Both sides of the warehouse used to prepare orders for delivery collapsed inward and the roof caved. Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford says police helped pull people from the rubble.
CALIFORNIA STORM
Rain, snow fall as California braces for brunt of storm
The Western U.S. is bracing for the brunt of a major winter storm expected to hit Monday, bringing travel headaches, the threat of localized flooding and some relief in an abnormally warm fall. Lighter rain and snow fell in Northern California on Sunday, giving residents a taste of what’s to come. Feet of snow are expected on the highest peaks while rain will drench other parts of California. The storm will push south and east before moving out midweek. Another storm will quickly follow on its heels. Forecasters warned people in the Sierra Nevada to prepare for days of snowfall.
POLAND-GERMANY
Scholz, Polish prime minister discuss migration, energy, EU
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed that Europe won’t tolerate attempts at undermining the territorial integrity of its nations and said that diplomatic tools like the Normandy Format should be used to de-escalate tensions after Russia massed troops near Ukraine’s border. Scholz was speaking Sunday alongside Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw. They held talks about migration, energy, European Union matters and fears of potential Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. France and Germany took the lead in brokering a 2015 peace deal between Ukraine and the Russia-backed rebels in what’s known as the Normandy Format.
AP-EU-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-BRITAIN
Boris Johnson: UK faces ‘tidal wave’ of omicron cases
LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant and he has announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it. Johnson said in a televised statement Sunday that everyone age 18 and older will be offered a third shot of vaccine by the end of this month. The previous target was the end of January. He said cases of the highly transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days and “there is a tidal wave of omicron coming.” Johnson announced a “national mission” to deliver booster vaccines at with pop-up vaccination centers and 7-day-a-week clinics.
AP-AF-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SOUTH-AFRICA-PRESIDENT
South African president tests positive for COVID, mildly ill
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease. A statement from his office said that Ramaphosa started feeling unwell Sunday and a test confirmed COVID-19. The statement said he has mild symptoms, is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy Pesident David Mabuza for the next week. The 69-year-old Ramaphosa is fully vaccinated. Ramaphosa visited four West African countries last week. The statement didn’t say whether he had been infected with the omicron coronavirus variant.
AP-US-CHRIS-WALLACE
Fox anchor Chris Wallace makes his own news with move to CNN
NEW YORK (AP) — Veteran anchor Chris Wallace has left Fox News after 18 years for CNN. His announcement Sunday deals a significant blow to Fox’s news operation at a time it’s been overshadowed by the network’s opinion side. Wallace delivered the surprising news that he was leaving at the end of the “Fox News Sunday” show he moderates. Within two hours, CNN announced he was joining its new streaming service as an anchor. CNN+ is expected to debut in early 2022. The 74-year-old Wallace said he was “ready for a new adventure.” Wallace had been one of a prominent trio of straight-news anchors at Fox who offered a contrast to popular opinion hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
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