evacuations. the latest on the damage and where the severe weather is headed next. i don t know how we ll do our payroll now. a stunning collapse, silicon valley bank folding marking the second largest bank failure in u.s. history leaving some business owners scrambling to figure out how they will pay their employees. and former president trump is invited to testify before the grand jury investigate his alleged role in hush money payments to stormy daniels. why the timing of the invitation is significant and where the case stands now. and yet another norfolk southern train derails, this time in alabama. the questions this latest derailment is raising about safety on railway tracks and crews begin the cleanup process. we start this morning with the severe weather, these atmospheric rivers, excessive
winds capable of toppling tractor-trailers. in kentucky video captured the moments a delivery man narrowly escaped being hit by a falling tree. that was a close call. 250,000 people are still without power in kentucky and the state s governor says it could be days before electricity is restored to some customers. utility partners are working quickly to restore services but this may take some time. this is very significant, widespread damage. throughout kentucky, it is multiple utility providers that are working and it s going to take at least days to get power up in some places. meteorologist allison chinchar has been tracking the weather for us. the good news, especially for the folks in kentucky, today will be full of sunshine which will help the cleanup process. same thing for a lot of other states. the difference is going to be in the western half of the country.
a soil monitoring program that would be overseen by the environmental protection agency. so that is still in the works. but in the meantime our colleague miguel marquez reporting all week long from the area, hearing those concerns, paula and amara, they certainly want, still, more answers, as you can imagine, and they will continue to call on that. meanwhile the cleanup process, as you just said a while ago, that continues. track replacement is a big focus right now for authorities. they basically want to remove those tracks, but that is some process that is going to take weeks, perhaps even months, likely, into april, where they have to remove the affected tracks, excavate all of the soil, and then obviously remove that soil, and then replace it with fresh soil. so that is the process against that could potentially go into april if not beyond. thank you. and still ahead, republican congressman jim jordan s crusade to expose the department of justice of playing politics, it
process. they are going about it methodically. but quickly. the operation here is a 24/7 operation. ohio governor mike dewine making a another visit today to east palestine, getting a firsthand look at the derailment site and the cleanup process. the whole goal here is to make this community safe. and it can t happen overnight. you can t get all the stuff out of here overnight. transportation secretary pete buttigieg also recently visited after president biden faced mounting criticism for not coming himself. but despite all the attempts to show the work being done to make east palestine feel safe, residents remain worried. i have a part ownership in a farm. so, i m concerned about that, the soil at the farm. can we plant? can we not plant? will anybody buy it if we do plant? more than 160 residents from the affected area have come to the health assessment clinic
to its feet. there s definitely lots of questions that still remain to be answered. reporter: possible answers from the u.s. environmental protection agency, the epa now opening a full-time community resource center in downtown east palestine. i understand that we have to earn the community s trust. there s a trauma here in this community. we understand that. and we want to be transparent and responsive. reporter: officials at every level trying to reassure residents here that their concerns are being heard and addressed. this is a very elaborate process. they re going about it methodically but quickly. this operation here is a 24/7 operation. reporter: ohio governor mike dewine making yet another visit today to east palestine getting a first-hand look at the derailment site and the cleanup process. the whole goal here is to, you know, make this community safe. and it can t happen overnight. you can t get all the stuff out