Glimmer of relief amid deadly tornadoes' devastation

At least eight people at a Kentucky candle factory were killed during a barrage of devastating tornadoes across several Midwestern and Southern states late Friday night into Saturday, but the death toll in that facility, at least, will be far lower than first feared.

The victims there were among dozens thought to have been killed across several Kentucky counties. The state was the worst-hit by far in the unusual mid-December swarm of twisters that leveled entire communities and left at least 25 people dead in Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on Sunday night. He was to be briefed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and others late Monday morning about the situation on the ground. Mayorkas and Criswell were among federal officials who viewed the twisters' aftermath on Sunday.