![Power in some Kentucky tornado-stricken areas may take months to restore as attention turns to recovery](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/211215010105-tornado-cleanup-mayfield-1214-restricted-super-tease.jpg)
Power in some Kentucky tornado-stricken areas may take months to restore as attention turns to recovery
CNN
As thousands of people without homes or utilities try to recover from the deadliest day of tornadoes during the month of December in US history, efforts are now turning to the arduous tasks of rebuilding shattered communities.
A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night in Mayfield, one of the hardest-hit towns in western Kentucky, a state where at least 74 people lost their lives. Amidst prayers and hymns, pastors from area churches spoke about those who had been lost and the challenges facing those who have survived.
By Monday, electric power was restored to about 10,000 Kentucky customers, according to state emergency management director Michael Dossett, and roughly 18,500 outages were active.
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Amid Democrats’ shock and bickering over how much to respond to President Donald Trump is a deeper question rippling through leaders across the Capitol and across the country: How much should they rely on the same institutional and procedural maneuvers they used during the first Trump term, and how much are they willing to wield their own wrecking balls?
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In less than a month in office the Trump administration has simultaneously dismantled foreign aid programs that support fragile democracies abroad and put on leave federal workers who protect US elections at home in a move that current and former officials say abandons decades of American commitments to democracy.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell was a generational force for the Republican Party — using procedural tactics and political will to stymie much of former President Barack Obama’s agenda, hand President Donald Trump key first-term political victories and deliver a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority. Now he’s the odd man out.