begin this hour, with the rising death toll from the tornado outbreak that has ripped across much of the south and midwest just minutes ago, officials in illinois confirmed for more storm related deaths, the overall death toll over the last 24 hours now jumps to 21 lives lost more than 50. tornadoes have been reported in seven states. in the south and the midwest. the state of emergency now blankets, much of arkansas and the national guard is rolling into devastated communities. there are reports of at least a dozen tornadoes touching down in the state. these images are of the hard hit town of wynne, arkansas, and that s where we find cnn s derek van dam. jim i was just talking to my crew a moment ago, and the scene behind us reminds us of being on the set of a major blockbuster movie. i mean, just look at what we have with this destruction coming out of wynne, arkansas, that is a church steeple that was blown off by this tornado. look at the incredible damage in front of tha
And demand action on this issue . you can text joint 95495 for once again that s joined 954954. to get mobilized with us and be notified with what s going on in your community. we have to act now and keep acting every single year. yeah yeah, indeed. but, david, what can you do in terms of countering the messaging that you re seeing from some republican lawmakers who seemed to flaunt this fascination with guns, especially high powered rifles? you see them posting posing with them on social media . the republican congressman who represents nashville, where this week school shooting happened tweeted this image of his family holding rifles. as a christmas card in 2021. he s not the only republican sending like this republican congressmad the other question that i have, david is. how is some of this imagery received by people who have either survived mass shootings or the loved ones of victims who did not. i have to