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ANDY BESHEAR: This event is the worst,
most devastating, most deadly tornado
event in Kentucky's history.
We will be north of at least 70 lives lost here in Kentucky.
I think we will have lost more than 100 people.
And I think it could rise significantly.
[sad music]
- We're seeing things that none of us have ever seen before.
The damage here is indescribable.
It's changed the landscape of the city
that we know here in Mayfield.
[sad music]
- The windows start breaking, dogs flying through the air.
I didn't know what to do-- walls feel like they was caving in.
It was very scary.
ANDY BESHEAR: I just want everybody
to know that you are not alone.
Today, Kentucky is absolutely united.
We are united with our people.
JOE BIDEN: This is one of those times when we aren't
Democrats or Republicans.
Sounds like hyperbole, but it's real.
We're all Americans.
We stand together as a United States of America.
And so I say to all the victims--
you're in our prayers.
[sad music]
CARL AZUZ: It wasn't just Kentucky
that was affected by severe and deadly weather from Friday
into Saturday.
More than 50 tornadoes were reported
in eight different states--
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi,
Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Several of those states have reported
deaths related to the weather.
And CNN meteorologists say it's possible that a single tornado
stayed on the ground for more than 250 miles from Arkansas
to Kentucky, leaving a path of violence behind it.
The Bluegrass State was the hardest hit.
Kentucky's government hasn't released
an official death toll.
It's just not known yet with phones down,
power lines down, and debris preventing
rescuers from getting through some terribly
damaged communities.
The Kentucky National Guard has been deployed
to clear roads, conduct searches,
and bring power generators to hospitals and shelters.
A candle factory in the state collapsed with workers inside.
That was in the city of Mayfield you heard about.
10,000 people live there, and its downtown
area was completely devastated, according
to Kentucky's governor.
An Amazon warehouse was destroyed in Illinois.
Officials say at least six people
were killed in that building.
And a nursing home collapsed in Arkansas.
That state's governor said it was
a miracle that only one person died there
after the roof was lifted off.
There were warning sirens in advance of at least some
of these tornadoes, but even in buildings
with concrete walls and steel frames,
the destruction was intense.
In some places, rescue workers were
using their hands to dig through debris
in the search for survivors.
And as their work continues, churches, community,
and charity groups are accepting donations
for the people affected.
CNN has a link to some of the national organizations
involved in the relief effort.
You can find that at CNN.com/impact.
10-second trivia.
What makes up the fastest-growing stream
or flow of global waste?
Electronic waste, construction waste, packaging, or plastic?
[clock ticking]
Discarded electronics, also known as e-waste,
compose the fastest-growing stream worldwide.
Dispose of garbage, turn waste into energy,
and give people in the relatively
flat city of Copenhagen the chance to go skiing.
These are a few of the goals of Copen
Hill, a massive incinerator project in the Danish capital.
It's had its challenges.
For one thing, it costs $670 million to build,
which critics say is especially expensive
when Denmark should be recycling instead of burning its garbage.
They also say it's too big-- that Copenhagen doesn't produce
enough garbage for it to use, so workers
have had to import waste from other areas
to fill its large furnaces.
And the surface of the artificial ski slope
wore out faster than officials thought it would,
so they're having to close parts of it to make repairs.
For a look into the upsides and goals of the project,
here's CNN's Richard Quest.
RICHARD QUEST: There it is--
said to be one of the most efficient waste
to energy plants in the world.
This amazing structure transforms about half
of Copenhagen's rubbish into heat and power.
An efficiency to one side--
where else can you slalom down a hill full of garbage?
It's part of the philosophy of the famed Danish architect
Bjarke Ingels.
Even if the product is practical,
the packaging doesn't have to be.
Wow.
- Welcome to our production facility.
RICHARD QUEST: This is good, old fashioned, modern technology.
Height, tubes, steam, noise.
Grr grr.
- Exactly.
RICHARD QUEST: It all starts here.
Up to 300 waste trucks stop every day
and feed the belly of the beast.
Then turn up the heat, it's dropped into the furnace.
The fire heats water to create steam.
The steam is converted into energy,
and voila, you have enough power to heat
about 150,000 local homes.
And, that says Simonson, is not even the point.
- The purpose of this place is waste treatment, right?
We're not here to produce energy.
We are here to provide waste treatment solutions.
Citizens all over the world every day buy products,
and those products come with an environmental bill.
We want to minimize this bill of the citizens.
It is very full right now.
RICHARD QUEST: What Simonson is saying, of course,
is they are cleaning up our mess because someone has to.
And thankfully, they are good at it.
The claim to fame is right here in the smoke.
It's filtered from nearly all contaminants.
It is monitored and measured 24/7.
All that's left is steam and CO2.
Carbon capture, the Holy Grail.
The next project using a pioneering chemical process
that claims to capture 90% to 95% of the carbon emissions
from the plant, before then being
released into the atmosphere.
The Danish capital's ambition is to become the world's
first carbon neutral city.
Can you be CO2 neutral or negative by 2025?
- Yes.
That is the aim.
That is the goal.
And that's what we are working on.
RICHARD QUEST: A game-changer?
Yes, if it works.
Taking it all in from a breathless ascent,
I get a glimpse not only of the city below,
but of the future of waste management for all of us.
And the picture is pretty.
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: The Grinch would consider
this house a challenge.
If you've ever wondered how many decorated Christmas trees could
fit into one place, this residence in Germany
holds the Guinness World Record.
Before we get to the number, let's marvel at the display.
Owners have been working on it for months.
Each tree was decorated by hand.
There are 300 strings of lights, 10,000 ornaments, and all
that adorns the record number of 444 Christmas
trees, which is quite a sash.
It makes sense that stocking a house like that would
deco-rate the blue ribbon.
And now that their name is in lights,
it's time to go rocking around the Christmas trees that
gar-landed them a record by garnering a gift they
orna-meant to hang by the chimney with care,
assuming they can find the space.
That about wraps up our show.
Kenesaw Mountain High School, shoutout to the Mustangs
of Kennesaw, Georgia.
We will be on the air through this Wednesday.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.
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