♪ >> experiences bring joy, but so do one-of-a-kind gifts, and you can find both of them here at the museum store. i'm here with my friend sakamoto, and he's going to prove that science can be both merry and fun. what do you have here? >> so this is a shashibo puzzle cube. >> ooh, okay. >> you can make a bunch of different mathematical shapes out of it, so let's see if you can make a rhombic dodecahedron. >> first of all, what is a rhombic dodecahedron? >> it is -- let me show you. >> you're gonna do it so fast, and i'm, like, struggling right now to even open up my cube. >> this is a rhombic dodecahedron. >> okay, so i opened up my cube. >> make it like -- we're getting there. >> we're getting there. okay, wait. let me see. yours is hollow on the inside. >> it is. >> okay. >> you can actually put a cube inside of here. >> wait, i feel like something's coming. oh, wait, i'm doing something now. [ gasps ] >> ooh, i think you made the half. yeah. >> is that a dinosaur? >> yes. >> that's what we're gonna call it. [ gasps ] ooh. it's coming together. [ stammering ] da-da-da! i did it. okay, sakamoto, we have some of your favorite gifts from the gift bag. what do we have here? >> so, this has been super popular. >> what is this? >> it's a covid plushie. >> oh, look at that. >> so it's both educational and cute. >> alright. >> because we have the spike proteins on the side here, but we also have the matching vaccine plush. >> what? okay, so if you want something a little bit more interactive, you guys have a lot of fun games here. >> definitely. we have a great selection of board games, but one of my personal favorites is right here. >> codenames! >> codenames. have you played it before? >> i have played this before. >> fantastic. >> very fun game. >> yes, and it just -- it helps when you know the other players. you're giving secret clues to try to get them to guess the words correctly. but it's great for a group. it's great for a family. >> and we said, it's really similar, if you remember decades ago, the game password. very similar to this but on a group level -- super fun. >> like, a fun secret agent twist. >> it is. it's a really fun game. if you love wine, and really who doesn't, this gift is certainly for you. what do we got here? >> so this is the wine chemistry wine glass set. >> okay. >> and it's super cool because you have the chemical compounds of the things that make the different wines taste different. >> i love this. mine is water, but i also have, let's see, rose oxide, sweet flowery rose petal aroma. >> nice. >> that's cool. >> ooh, ethyl acetate. >> okay. >> fruity sweet aroma. >> this is very cool. and it comes in a set of two, right? >> set of two, yes. >> this is great. i'm gonna take this home. >> so we have a wonderful selection of puzzles, all different art, all different subjects. and so if you picked up puzzles over the pandemic... >> yeah, as many of us did. >> ...we got the puzzles. >> see, this is more my speed, the 64. >> nice. >> really can achieve that in a couple of seconds. i like that, makes me happy. that is not my speed. >> probably not mine, either, but we have 1,000. fabulous. >> the thing i love, though, is that you have fun gifts, but also, people can purchase memberships, right? >> definitely. so a membership is kind of the gift that keeps on giving. you get unlimited access for one full year, as well as invitations to exclusive events, discounts on food and beverage and in the museum store, and access to over 350 science and technology museums around the world. >> 350. >> yeah. >> that's awesome. >> and it starts at $99 for two adults and $149 to add four kids onto your membership. >> that's so reasonable. that's a great gift. >> it's fantastic, great gift option. >> okay, what else do we have? >> so we also have the gift guide online that we just released. it's a curated list of curious and wonderful gifts for the whole family, all ages, all price points, and just highlights some of the fantastic things we have in the store. >> that's great. there's so much stuff you can do. thanks for showing us around. >> of course. >> well, this holiday season is off to a bright start thanks to my friends at the exploratorium. and i'm so excited about glow, and i hope you are, too. ♪ >> this is a pretty new amazon warehouse facility, that massive ef- 3 ripping the roof right off this wall, the length of a football field destroyed. >> reporter: this northeast arkansas nursing home ripped apart, injuring five and killing one. back here in mayfield, entire homes and businesses, wiped out. including mykel tidwell's pharmacy, now gone, but surrounded by a steady stream of drivers offering to help in any way they can. >> it just makes you realize that everything you give means something to other people and that they're willing to come and return the favor. >> reporter: a glimmer of hope amid the darkness. >> yes, ma'am. >> with the catastrophic damage here going on for miles, the search and rescue efforts are under way tonight, the governor saying that we could see a hundred deaths in this state alone before the day is done. >> and our hearts go out to all of the families impacted by this. thank you. joining us now is the mayor of mayfield, kentucky. as you saw there, one of the communities hit the hardest by these deadliest tornadoes. mayor, thank you so much for your time this evening. i know you are incredibly busy and going through a lot, but we've seen these images, buildings flattened, debris for miles. you're out there on the ground, talking to the grieving families impacted by this. how would you characterize the devastation in your town right now? >> it is utter and total for the most part. the fire station and city station are across the parking lot from one mother. we had no power. when the sun started coming up this morning, it looks like match sticks. our whole town looks like match sticks lying around. >> we're seeing those images on the screen. >> and at the candle factories, dozens are unaccounted for. there are reports they were sheltering in place. why were they working in this storm and what warnings went out to the community? >> i can tell you only why they were working. those candles are sold internationally. that is one of our largest employers in the community. it is a local-began company, we're very proud of that company. and what i've heard is that they were there because of the holidays, to make -- have more candles to put out for the holidays. the warnings, i don't know what they were given specifically at the factory, but i do know that just personally we had 45 minutes to an hour to watch from our local tv station in paducah, kentucky, to know what was headed our way. >> again, looking at the pictures there, it's one thing to shelter in place but when tornadoes are completely destroying buildings, there's only so much can you do. president biden has pledged his full support to the states impacted by this. what kind of help are you already getting and what does your community still need right now? >> well, we have gotten the most amazing help from all over the commonwealth. we are far western kentucky. earlier today the governor and i and our judge executive were at the candle factory. he pledged there that there would be a monetary fund set up. i would think that in the long run money is going to be what we need, prayers are what we need right now. we have had the most extraordinary help for our first responders who are working gloriously and heroically in every capacity. we are being aided by first responders by as far away as louisville, kentucky and people are coming in to spell our guys to get rest because they've been working nonstop. nobody here has slept since about 9:00 last night. >> we are inspired by the strength of your community. mayor kathy stewart o'nan, thank you. one of the storms trachvele more than 200 miles and may have triggered one of the longest tornado tracks ever in history. >> reporter: high above bowling green kentucky, the scope of the devastation comes into view. winds up to 150 miles per hour ripping across streets, splintering homes and jof overturning vehicles. >> i thought i was going to die. >> 11 people in bowling green are dead and those who survived are shaken. >> reporter: were you hiding or in the living room? >> we were in the living room but we ducked between the couch and our book shelf. we were in the middle of the room where we were supposed to be, luckily. >> reporter: now a massive recovery effort is under way. the mayor of bowling green asking people to stay off the streets. >> bowling green citizens, we're taking a knee at this moment. we need to continue searching while we have these critical daylight hours left to be able to take care of our community. we need to you stay off the roads unless it's absolutely an emergency for you. >> reporter: we met this team going toor door to door assessie damage. >> what is your first impression out here? >> people lost their homes, lost their lives. there's no word for it. >> reporter: this entire top floor of jada gwatheny's home was blown away. >> my room was up here. >> reporter: was up here. >> we were at the front door and watching the wind get stronger. it was like a freight train. >> reporter: now she's going through debris, salvaging what she can. >> reporter: tonight more than 400,000 are without power. kentucky's governor said they're working on bringing in large scale generators. sh shelters are now open for those displaced. temperatures are expected to dip below freezing in some areas. >> that's resources can't come soon enough. thank you. let's go to our senior meteorologist rob marciano. give us some context of the historic nature of this event and what comes next. >> reporter: december is typically our quietest month of the year as far as tornadoes are concerned. we had a storm come through with winds of 155 miles an hour, one of three ef-3s in december. it's not over yet. we still have a storm that has to push off to the east. i radar shows the action from upstate new york all the way to new mexico. damaging winds potentially tonight as this process off to the east, winds could gust over 50, 60 miles an hour. we had it to 70 in buffalo. the cold air behind this thing is real. hundreds and thousands of people are without power from michigan to the mid south. definitely a cold night ahead. >> all right, rob. you and the team stay safe. thank you. we do long to other stories, including the pandemic. covid cases are increasing across the country. 36 states have seen a jump in daily cases of about 10% or more in the past week. the country now averaging more than 117,000 new cases per day. that's up about 22% from a week ago. officials urging everyone to get vaccinated or boosted. new yorkers there lining up at this mobile vaccination clinic right near central park. amid growing concern about the new omicron variant. >> tonight with much of the u.s. in the grips of a post-thanksgiving winter surge, some hospitals yet again feeling pushed to the max. >> just hanging on for dear life, hoping we can provide the care we need to provide for covid patients and non-covid patients. >> michigan is one of 17 states with an icu capacity of 15% or less. the military deploying medical personnel to help strained health care workers. navy medical response teams helping in new mexico as well. >> patients have priority. >> reporter: fueling the surge, cooler temperatures driving more indoors, the delta variant and 93 million unvaccinated americans. here in new york a new mandate taking effect monday will require masks in all indoor public places unless businesses and venues check for proof of vaccination. >> if all of a sudden everybody in new york gets a vaccination in the next two weeks, we'll have a different conversation. >> we want to get over all of this going on. in order to do it, you have to abide by some of the rules. >> reporter: more than 50 million americans now opting for a booster shot. those now extended to 16 and 1-year-olds. the cdc said boosters do provide increased protection to the omicron variant, which has now spread to over half the country, though still only accounts for 0.1% of total cases in the u.s. >> phil lipof, thank you. >> coming up, we catch up with our own michael strahan to discuss his historic journey to where few have gone before. f an, is a walk through your history. do you remember who this is? 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[ everyone agreeing ] no one can deliver your mom's homemade short ribs. that's why instacart helps deliver the ingredients. and you add the love. finally tonight, communities rocked by tragedy, strength and survival in america's heartland. >> reporter: as the sun came up across parts of the south and midwest today, the devastation became clear and overwhelming. still, in the face of pain and loss, there is resilience and strength. some, like carissa smith, pitching in to clean up debris caused by the storm. others worked together to clear off a car. countless people offering help, to loved ones, to neighbors, and strangers. emergency officials, comforting those who are hurting. >> already you've seen neighbors helping neighbors. that's what kentuckians do. one family, lucky to be alive, talked to reed yadon, a member of our louisville station's weather team. >> you were on facetime when it happened. tell me what happened. >> it picked me up and threw me out of the house. >> reporter: it literally threw you out of this house? >> yes. >> reporter: also it threw your mother out? >> she's still in the hospital, under this car. >> reporter: stable condition? >> as far as i know she's still stable. >> reporter: you are sounded the alarm. >> you got to stay up all night to protect your family. >> reporter: what did you tell them? >> it's time. >> reporter: his dog, phoebe, like the rest of the family also survived. tonight this mother and daughter shaken but grateful. >> she's alive. that's all that matters. that's all that matters. and our hearts go out to all the families >> next on abc 7 news, we are learning more about the deadly standoff in antioch. plus, storms leave a wave of destruction across several states. and steph curry taking another shot at the record brooke -- record book tonight. abc 7 news at 4:30 starts righ i now. it started with gunshots, fire, and ended with a man who got into a standoff with police. good evening and thanks for joining us this evening. i'm j.r. stone.