Its about to enter the third week. We are live along the front lines. Firefighters work to get the growing blaze under control. The Trump Transition Team going after Robert Mueller this morning accusing his office of unlawfully obtaining transition emails reportedly in the tens of thousands. Plus, the new tax bill. What does it mean for you . Well get into all of that with chuck todd. With the release of star wars the last jedi, a sunday sitdown with adam driver. Will fans be happy with what happens . God, i hope. I hope. I hope they will. I hope. I think it will be. Tightlipped adam driver. Plus, harry smith a bit later in the show. Lets begin this morning with the stunning tragic scene in southern california. A massive wild fire burning towards the ocean fueled by high winds with hundreds of homes threatened this morning. Nbcs Steve Patterson is on the front lines in Santa Barbara. Steve, good morning. Reporter good morning, willie. Firefighters are exhausted. Theyve been battling this thing for nearly two weeks. Again, they continue to fight the flames yet despite that, this fire is massive. It is 40 contained but its only getting bigger. This weekend the firefight flares up. The thomas fire raging relentlessly since december 4th is the Third Largest in california history. Its killed two and burned down more than 1,000 homes and businesses. We have 15 minutes to evacuate. The billow of smoke was tremendous. Reporter strong winds pushing flames towards the coast. Oprah tweeting, still praying for our little town. On saturday morning new evacuations were underway in Santa Barbara. This is what firefighters are dealing with. They stay actively engaged. Just this active fire. It could be dangerous. We are under mandatory evacuations. I know a lot of people think it is white noise but the threat is real. Meanwhile, in Santa Barbara, a ghost town. An erie quiet. Instead, residents shield themselves from a dozen days of choking smoke. Reporter so believe it or not the thomas fire is now larger than the size of new york city. 267,000 acres and, again, it is growing. Fire officials now say its on track to be the largest wild fire in modern california history. Two weeks in, still growing. Steve patterson. Back in washington they talk about special counsel Robert Mueller. Nbc White House CorrespondentKelly Odonnell is at the white house. Good morning. Good morning, willie. The flu korch throw versy may be used to undermine the russia probe. Now many are in the hands of prosecutors. This morning special counsel Robert Mueller under fire from the Trump Transition Team. An attorney for the transition confirmed to nbc news that he sent a letter to congress complaining about, quote, unauthorized private and privileged transition emails. In the letter, which has been published by politico, the Trump Transition Team is accusing mueller of unlawfully obtaining tens of thousands of pages of emails claiming it raises potential violations of attorneyclient privilege and the Fourth Amendment which protects against unlawful search and seizure. Muellers team, normally reluctant to comment, did release a statement overnight saying theyve done nothing wrong. When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, weve secured the account owners account or appropriate criminal process. All of this playing out as the president cheer leads about tax cuts. We are back. Were really going to start to rock. Reporter President Trump boasting about the economy on his watch and insisting the gop tax cut plan will stoke more growth. He dismissed critics who said the package favors the wealthy over the middle class. They have the standard sound bites before they know what its all about. Reporter the house vote to pass the 1. 5 trillion tax cut is set for tuesday. This is going to be one of the great gifts to the middle income people of this country. Reporter but for many americans, that could be a gift they wont unwrap for a long time. Some tax saving provisions will not be felt until 2018 returns are filed, time that may carry a price in midterm elections. So theres a lot of risk for republicans down the road. Reporter so the house votes tuesday. The senate will follow shortly thereafter. Thats not scheduled yet. Unlike the Health Care Law where we saw lastminute drama, thats not expected when it comes to tax cuts and the Trump Administration hopes to wrap this all up by the end of the week before the president heads to florida for the christmas holiday. Willie . Kelly, thanks as always. Chuck todd is nbcs political reporter and moderator of meet the press. Good morning. Nice to see you, my friend. Good morning. Looks like the vote comes tuesday. Corker on board, rubio on board, Susan Collins on board. Some of the republicans sitting on the fence and holding out on the bill are now on board. Is there any chance this bill does not become law before christmas . I think the only thing that im curious to wait and see is what happens when the congressional budget score keepers finish with this. Willie, i was impressed with the political response that the republicans in this Conference Committee did with this tax bill. Essentially they took every criticism, every unpopular deduction that they got rid of, they seemed to restore, whether it was on tuitions, health care, or even on state and local taxes. They didnt restore all of it but they restored some of it. What i cant figure out is where they paid for it. They still have to stay within this 1. 5 trillion deficit expansion limit that theyve built in. So the only thing that would derail this is if the math doesnt work as far as the congressional score keepers are concerned. We find that out on tuesday or wednesday. Theyre pushing right up against it right now. 1. 45 trillion as it stands right now. Chuck, i know youre going to reveal some nbc news wall street journal polling on meet the press. We wont get into the numbers. Well get a preview of how energized democrats are feeling where doug jones defeated a republican in roy moore in a very red state of alabama. Africanamericans came out to vote, women, suburban women came out to vote. What does this all mean for 2018 . Look, the democratic youre right. Im glad you previewed that part of the poll. The democratic enthusiasm for the midterm elections is ill give you this one, its 10 points higher than the republican enthusiasm when it comes to thinking about voting already. Willie, that actually has played out throughout 2017. If alabama had been the only election in 2017, id be one saying, hey, lets not over read, but this has been think about every special election we had this year in the house. The schedule of elections in new jersey, virginia, elsewhere, they all had the same pattern. Democrats over performing, showing up in bigger numbers than they had before and republicans sort of less than enthusiastic basically only the regular voters showing up and while democrats came up short in some of those high profile specials, their numbers kept creeping up. Now weve seen its almost as if the way it was building, youve seen it, it hit virginia, it hit new jersey, it hit alabama. I think thats the picture thats being painted going into 2018. We heard, chuck, in kellys report that the Trump Transition Team is claiming the mueller team obtained emails illegally. We heard attorney general rob ros rosenstein being questioned. The president in his white house talking about the fbi being tainted. What are they laying the groundwork for here, chuck . Theyre clearly laying the groundwork to delegitimize the entire investigation and theyre looking at almost every process route they can find. I want to emphasize that. This he have yet to try to discredit the investigation with a disputed claim or a disputed fact or exculpatory evidence or a counter narrative. Instead, their only way theyve been able to push back against him is by innuendo and eluding that maybe the investigation could be tainted but theyve not disputed any facts and theyve not disputed any conclusions and theyve not disputed so i think, look, its clear what theyre laying the groundwork for. Politically theyve done a good job of that and they have their own media organ that trumps it a lot, but i would just emphasize, theyre missing a factbased push back here. Ultimately in the long term that could be a problem. Working hard to undermine ab institution of america. Chuck todd, thank you so much. Well look for more this morning on meet the press. Ohio Governor John Kasich and joe manchin. Some other headlines this morning, a developing story in pakistan where at least eight people are dead and dozens more injured after an attack inside a methodist church. Officials say two suicide bombers got inside during a prayer service. One was killed by police, the other managed to detonate his explosive vest. Isis has now claimed responsibility for that attack. The first day of the ski season at a pennsylvania resort got off to a rocky resort after a ski lift malfunctioned hours after the resort opened. Several people hurt, none seriously, thank goodness, when five chairs came loose and slammed into each other. Took firefighters an hour and a half to get everyone down. Here is a sight you dont see every day. Brittains newly engaged prince harry interviewing former president barack obama. Do i have to speak faster . No, no. Im a slow speaker. No. Do i need the british accent . If you start using long pauses between the answers youre probably going to get oh, okay. I dont want to see that face. There they are setting up. The full interview will air later this month on bbc radio. The prince and the president taped that in september and talked about president obamas life after the white house. Dylan is here with a look at the weather. Good morning. Still pretty chilly in the northeast. We have to talk about the fires out west. We are finally going to see some improvements as for the wind tomorrow. Today we do still have the chance of some very gusty winds. This is the thomas fire. Its only 40 contained. 250,000 acres already burned. We still have that critical risk in the Santa Barbara area today. 16 Million People at risk. While we will still see wind gusts up to 15 Miles Per Hour today, watch what happens when we go into sunday and monday. We could use some rain. The wind will be calmer so it doesnt cause the fires to spread as rapidly. On the flip side we have heavy rain moving through the gulf coast through mississippi and alama. Good morning. Im first alert meteorologist krystal klei. Our sunday will be fairly out there. 41 degrees for the High Temperature in center city. Mostly cloudy conditions through the afternoon. The in blue is the feels like temp which is similar to the actual high. Well be at 38 for the actual high in pottstown and 39 in allentown. As we go into new jersey, 43 in berlin and 46 stone harbor. Delaware, youre looking at low 40s, smyrna and wilmington for highs today. Latest forecast. Dylan, thank you very much. Straight ahead, the highs and the lows of the week. Former Vice President john biden comforted megan on live television. And the amazing moment when a little boy charged onto the matt to save his big sister during a wrestling match. Plus, as we buy our Holiday Gifts online, more and more malls are emptying out and helping. What happens to those malls . Creative uses. Malls are not going to die. Theyll be different. As we head to break, our photo of the week. Rabbi at the western wall lighting a menorah as the jews around the world celebrate hanukkah this week. Preseeeeeents crowd cheering presents for them, kohls cash for you announcer kohls. Give joy. Get joy. With formulas infused with handpressed moroccan argan and camellia oils, garnier whole blends illuminating haircare indulges hair with moisture. For luminous shine. Garnier whole blends argan camellia oils. Find every blend at walmart. When heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. Fast relief in every bite. Crunchy outside. Chewy inside. Tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites. Ayep, and my teeth are yellow. . Time for whitestrips. Crest glamorous White Whitestrips are the only adaaccepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. And they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. Crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. As our ocean spray cranberries, which is why were declaring it the unofficial official fruit of the holidays. The figs gonna be so bummed. [ chuckles ] for holiday tips and recipes, go to oceanspray. Com. Your privacy makes you mytmmed. Number 1 place to go number 2. I love you, but sometimes you stink. Febreze air effects doesnt just mask, it cleans away odors. Because the things you love the most can stink. And try febreze small spaces to clean away odors for up to 30 days. Breathe happy with febreze. See ya. Take care. So probably take it at night. And if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. Gracias. At walgreens, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. Dylan and i ready to whip through the highs and the lows of the week on a very special day. Its calvins first birthday today. It is. This time last year, much different morning. Our first high goes to the beautiful moment on Live National television. Senator john mccain was admitted this week to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment of the aggressive brain cancer he was diagnosed with. Megan is a host of the view where biden was a guest this week. I think about beau almost every day, and it was told, sorry, that this doesnt get easier. Look, one of the things that gave beau courage, my word, was john, your dad, you may remember when you were a little kid, your dad took care of my beau. Beau talked about your dads courage, not about illness but about his courage. There is hope and if anybody can make it, your dad her dad is one of my best friends. [ applause ] that was joe biden at his very best. He switched chairs, went and sat and held her hand. For megan to share that on tv, beautiful moment. Real conversation. It was. Well done, guys. Our first logos to the feelings when you see some guy trying to rough up your sister. Big wrestling match the other day in columbia city, indian yeah between ruby lewis and ryan pendergast. Rubys 2yearold brother raced in to save his sister. He jacks up ryan. Get off my sister as dad comes out to scoop up the boy, the shell shocked ryan gets up off the matt and wonders what in the name of ruby lewis happened. Little jack has a future. Im defending my sister wherever it happens. As the sister of two older brothers, that never changes. Nice job, little guy. Our next guy goes to a feeling dylan never had to worry about. Elation of getting into harvard. A 16yearold who skipped a grade because hes so smart gathered with his classmates around a computer to see whether or not he had been accepted. [ cheers and applause ] looks like he might have gotten in. I think so. Hes already wearing harvard gear. His classmate alex got word from stand fard. How about that Little Family . Now lets give some credit to mom. Maureen little is a single mom to get those young men to those celebrations. Harvard and stanford. Im excited. Incredible. You and i didnt have that problem. Cool. Im into rutgers. Our final logos to the battle over the baby jesus in the nativity scene at First Baptist church at white pine, tennessee. Actually, its kind of amazing. Watch this. All right. So we start there. A lovely childrens rendition of away in the manger. 2yearold keegan seeing the baby has to dance with it. Mary doesnt like it one bit. She wants her child back. As the angelic singing continues, mary and the sheep have a tug of war over the baby jesus. With the church breaking into laughter, mary regains custody for a moment and places the baby back in the manger. Mary throwing the sheep into a modify the headlock just as the song ended mercyfully. Someone stepped in to break up mary and the sheep. Thats how the story actually goes, right . A little bit of a battle. How about a Holiday Bonus high. This one is for calvin. Awkward photos of scared children sitting on santas lap. Long standing christmas tradition. This doesnt look that bad, right . Take a closer look. As if 1yearolds samuels face doesnt say it all, its actually his hands that tell the story. Samuels mom posted this on twitter writing, we taught our baby sign language. This is the sign for help help youre welcome, she wrote. The photo actually was taken 12 years ago but became a viral sensation this week when mom posted it online. Thats hilarious. Teach calvin how to get out of those situations with santa. Coming up next, the sunday sitdown with one of the biggest stars in the world right now. The biggest Movie Star Wars the last jedi on the road from the United States marine corps to playing the villain. Harry smith takes a walk. And Facebook Live chat with me and dylan in just two minutes. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brainhealth supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Good morning. Im dray clark. 8 26 on this sunday morning. Right to nbc 10 first alert meteorologist krystal klei with a look at your forecast. Good morning, krystal. Good morning, dray. Temperatures are still on the cold side but they arer than yesterday morning at this time. Were at 33 degrees in philadelphia. 25 in pottstown. Wilmington 28. Millville youre at 27 degrees. A lot us are right near or below freezing this morning. We do have increasing clouds. Radar satellite, we will be mostly cloudy. The temperature trend takes us up to the low 40s this afternoon. Just a light wind. Thank you, krystal. The red cross is helping people forced out of their homes. They put out flames just after midnight. Crews responded. Two people, its unclear if they were hurt. First responders rescued this dog from the fire. They made sure the pooch was returned to one of the fire victims. Well, today the focus will be on nick foles, the eagles backup quarterback become the starter as the birds try to win without carson wentz who was injured and out for the season. 10 your official eagles station. Well have coverage before and after todays game with the giants. It begins with game day kickoff starting at 9 30. Tonight look for gameday final after our late news. Im dray clark. Well return at 9 00 with more news and weather. You hear that noise out on the lawn . Could it be santa or the rap tore . Even worse, its a. Marosa. Saturday night live with its final new episode of the year hosted by kevin hart with musical guest who fires. As youve undoubtedly heard, the latest star wars movie the last jedi arrived in theaters after months of hype and plot speculation online. The reviews have been excellent. Its expected to end the weekend making nearly half a million dollars. The villain, kylo ren, shows up where he killed his father, hans solo. Hes an International Star afterwards. That is a role hes still getting used to. The indiana native and i got together for a sunday sitdown here in new york. Adam driver is still getting used to being a movie star. Its a weird thing to adjust to. Youre thinking your job is looking at everyone else and when people are looking at you you cant help but be selfconscious about it. Playing the villain in the most famous movie franchise in history has a way of changing your life. Hans solo, i feel like hes the father you never had. He would have disappointed you. Get out of my hair. If you walk down the street in new york city, probably mainly because of star wars, the experience is different than it would have been two years ago . Yeah. And that sucks. Just kind of sucks. Does it really . No. No. Theres more people that recognize you from star wars. Plus the way im really tall, i try to be covert or, you know, wear a hat. Look, adams wearing a hat walking down the street. But also like dealing with the kid part of it is really great. I dont think i thought about that either, how much the, you know, cross generational. Before he became kylo ren to the world, driver was best known as another adam, his character for six seasons on the hbo series girls. After you. After you. After you. I said after you. Okay, ill go. Okay. Great. Ill go. Driver was working as a stage actor in new york when the call came from girls. He had to be pushed into auditioning. I dont want to do tv. I want to do i was doing a play at the time. But it was hbo. I thought it was different. It still checked my artistic standard here. But then i met lena. I really liked her. I liked her and didnt think i was going to get into my agent. Made me go on it basically. That was it. Girls was the break through role in a career that got off to a rocky start. Driver was turned on to acting by his movie buff grandfather. After graduating from high school in indiana, adam set off for hollywood to take a shot at fame. That shot was brief. I failed. Like i got to california and i had no more money because my car broke down outside of amarillo, texas. I stayed at a youth whohostel a ran out of all of my money and went back home. Everybody i said bye to. I had a girlfriend. See ya in the movies. Then two weeks later, a week later i was right back. Driver moved right back in with his parents and admittedly was lost. Then as he watched the attacks of september 11th on television, he decided he had to do something. He joined the marines. How quickly after 9 11 did you find yourself at camp pendleton. February i was gone. I remember like are you on the run from the police because youre so anxious to go that it makes us nervous. What did you like about it . What did it give you . I loved the people. They made it kind of worth it. When you kind of live with those people day in, day out, theyre constantly showing up for you, thats a hard bond to duplicate. As his platoon was shipping tout iraq, driver broke his sternum in a biking accident, and despite his protests, he was ordered to stay behind. Was it brutal . Yes. To watch guys ship out without you . Its only recently now that im getting used to more of a lazy nasty civilian. I feel better about being out. To suddenly leave that group at the time was not cool. People have actually ive said this before and people from my platoon have reached out and been like, i read this thing you said and, yeah, i give you permission to let it go. With a medical discharge from the marine corps, adam turned back to acting. He applied to the prestigious Julliard School in new york for a second time. He got in and found another side of himself. My friends in the military would be more aggressive or violent because they couldnt articulate it and i was becoming less aggressive when i was exposed to these highly articulate play rights or even just a thee ak trick call experience that transcended words and suddenly you find a connection with someone. Those acting chops carried him from stages in new york to roles in movies, like spielbergs lincoln and the Cohen Brothers inside lewen davis. This past summer he starred with channing tatum. My life of crime is over. Did you get along with him right away . Yeah. Channings a really open, available person. Easy to get along with with him. I went over to his house at 4 00 in the afternoon and i think i left at 4 00 the next morning. Did you really . Yeah, he was a good hang. Now driver returns as kylo ren in star wars the last jedi. Without giving away the plot. Yeah, right. Will fans be happy with what happens to kylo. God, i hope. I hope. I hope they will. I hope. I think it will be hopefully unexpected. You need a teacher. I could show you the way to the force. Last question from my 8yearold son and by my 8yearold son i mean me, on the light saber, the little cross handle cross guard, yeah. Did kylo ever worry about burning or injuring his hand anyway about that . I get the long one. The little cross at the bottom, any concerns about that. Was he ever scared of the cross . Did he ever get burned . Never worried about it. You were cool with it . Yeah, he saw the advantages as opposed to the disadvantages. Hes an optimist if you cant tell. Thank you, adam. I had to know the answer to that. Star wars the last jedi is in theaters. Adam will return to broadway in 2019. To hear more from my interview with adam and all of our sunday sitdowns, check out our web extras at today. Com sunday. Jimmy fallen talks about the audition that landed him a dream job at sat night live and the state of the late night race today. Thats jimmy fallon next week on sunday today. Dylan is back. Hello, willie. A mix of rain and snow out in the pacific northwest. Heavy rain down along the gulf coast will continue to progress through. Scattered flurries in the northeast. Wednesday the heaviest of the rain moves through the carolinas. Back through the rockies, clear in the northeast. Midwest snow and heavier rain through the rest of the midwest, tennessee and ohio river good morning. Im first alert meteorologist cryst krystal klei. 41 degrees for the High Temperature in center city. Temperatures the same with mostly cloudy conditions through the afternoon. The number in blue is the feels like temp which is similar to the actual high. Well be 38 for the actual high in pottstown and 39 in allentown as we go into new jersey, 43 in berlin. 46 stone harbor. Delaware, low 40s. Smyrna and wilmington. And thats your latest forecast. Im dismissing you. You have a Birthday Party in 20 minutes. Im planning this thing. Happy birthday, calvin. As malls begin their fade from life, some have a second from life, some have a second see ya. Take care. So probably take it at night. And if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. Gracias. At walgreens, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. They cahow many of em . E, sir we dont know. Dozens. All right lets teach these freaks some manners good luck out there, captain thanks but i dont need luck, i have skills. I dont have my keys. on intercom all hands. We are looking for the captains keys again. They are on a silver carabiner. Oh, this is bad. As long as people misplace their keys, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Feel that tingle of a cold sore only abreva can heal it in as little as two and a half days when used at the first sign. Abreva starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. Abreva acts on it. So you can too. So. You like it. Little bit. Nothing gets a reaction like a gift from kay jewelers. Where everything is 25 off. Save 25 off all rings, all necklaces, and all bracelets. Thats 25 off everything december 14th through 18th. At kay, the 1 Jewelry Store in america. Dad . Every kiss begins with kay weve been reporting this year about the decline of malls in the United States. The slow death of that American Institution reveals itself especially around the holidays. As more and more of us buy our gifts online instead of at brick and mortar stores. So what happens to those massive sprawling malls when they go out of business . In our sunday spotlight nbcs Joe Lynn Kent has a look at some creative repurposing. This is the bedroom. She was looking for a change when she moved into her cozy 300 square foot apartment seven months ago. It is very dreamy as it sounds. Her micro apartment has everything she could need. Not oversized, just enough. But out the window the view is different. Its a mall. Her apartment was once a store that sold games and books inside the arcade mall in providence, rhode island. Next door was a chinese restaurant. Her humble home is part of a renaissance in retail. Malls, which were once the place to shop, to see and be seen, are now disappearing fast. And the next five years alone 300 malls across america are expected to disappear between 2000 and 2013 visits to the mall sank 50 and foot traffic across the board is down 3. 7 this holiday season. Why . On average millennials make half of their purchases online. Nearly half of nonmillennials do too. Traditional malls are not going down without a fight. Some are getting a makeover. Malls are not going to die. Theyre going to be different. Malls are reinventing the way they do business and rethinking what they can be. At the mall in los angeles theres a gym, medical clinic, concert space alongside the usual Movie Theater and retail store. The malls of the future will be a place where people come, they live, they work, theyre entertained, they have their Movie Theaters, bowling alleys, bars, clubs, they can do brick and mortar shopping so its all inclusive. Throughout the country one of detroits largest shopping malls was turned into offices for the ford motor company. The empty halls of nashvilles 100 oak mall reimagined. Now new doctors offices for vanderbilts medical center. We have approximately 25 to 30 square feet of retail for every person in the United States. When you look at the model in japan or europe its 6 to 9 square feet of retail per person. Were over retailed. Were going to see condensed retail and have fewer brick and mortar stores. Just outside Cleveland Euclid square mall demolished. The land will be repurposed for a new Amazon Fulfillment Center that will employ 100 workers. Theres coffee shop, Clothing Store and salon a few steps away. She doesnt have to go far for an oldfashioned sense of community. Everything is here. Everything is at your fingertips. A relic of the past part of the wave of the future. Providence, rhode island. Jo, thank you very much. Next on sunday today harry smith meets up with a former army ranger whos walking from argentina to alaska. How many miles have you gone so far . Close to 11,000 miles. Thats hard for me to comprehend. I try not to kpre thecompreh. Well tell you why hes making the 16,000 mile trek on foot. A pioneer of world war ii a pioneer of world war ii who helped pave the way for the turns out things arent always what you think they are. A pioneer of world war ii who helped pave the way for the take guinea pigs. Theyre not pigs at all, nor are they from guinea. Or take this haircut. I may look all business, but look out. But theres a party going on back here. Kinda misleading, isnt it . Well, at carmax, you dont have to worry about being misled. The price online is the same price in the store, which is the same for everyone. Even guinea pigs. Its only fair mr. Biscuits. Only fair. Carmax music sting preseeeeeents crowd cheering presents for them, kohls cash for you announcer kohls. Give joy. Get joy. Tand, our adulte children are here. So, we save by using tide. Which means we use less. Three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. Those are moms. Anybody seen my pants . Nothing cleans better. Put those on dad its got to be tide. Miim alive and have a second chance. James im thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. Darlene im thankful to be able to help people in crisis. Vanessa im thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. Christie new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. But if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know we are here for you. This holiday season, choose help. Call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj. Gov. Its time now to take a little sunday stroll from argentina to alaska. In our sunday closer harry smith meets up on the trail with a man who spent the last year on a 15,000 mile walk. Reporter a man alone walking down a highway in the desert southwest. He catches your eye because hes pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Most of us would buzz right by, but if you were to slow down, youd hear him singing. Reporter this is a man comfortable with his own company, and that might be the most important requirement for Holly Harrison who has been walking alone for a year. How many miles have you gone so far . Close to 11,000 miles. Thats hard for me to comprehend. I try not to comprehend it because it can be really daunting for me, too. Holly is walking the entire length of the western hemisphere. He started last december in the southernmost city in the world, argentina. Reporter whats your destination . My destination is prudhoe bay, alaska. Reporter two others have done it, but he would be the first to do it his way. Im trying to do it in whats considered a true hike, which is nonstop, continuous hike, no breaks. Reporter why . Why . You know, its because no ones ever done it. Reporter out on the road harrison has a nickname. He goes by cargo because a good portion of his gear is stored in these odd looking poles. Right now inside here im carrying my tent and then ive got my extra clothes, which is really nothing but extra socks because i dont have any extra clothes, just what i have on. Reporter the former army ranger says traveling light is the key to managing the grinding daily goal of 20, 25 or even 30 miles a day. Typically around 12, 13 hours a day is what i walk. Reporter in all those miles cargo has found the rhythm of the road. His stride in sync with a selfcreated cadence. Walking the americas is a long, long way but you cant stop walking until you read prudhoe bay. Thats 14 Different Countries full of challenge and danger but it aint no big deal to an exarmy ranger. Reporter he sleeps where there is shelter, sometimes a whose tell or hotel, but more often than not its under the road himself. Only cargo could find comfort in the convenience of a culvert. Reporter for the record, this is not the ritz. I know. Reporter this is not even a hostel. I passed the ritz but it was still daylight so i had to keep on going. Reporter cargo logs his miles with a satellite tracker and connects with friends and family on facebook. I have to tell you about my little adventure in bogata. Reporter i looked at your posts online and i see a guy with a sparkle in his eye and kind of a spirit of, how about this, look what im doing. Is that you . Im happy out here, harry. A bad day out here is better than a good day at work if you ask me. Reporter he selffunded the trip by selling his whose andho along the way he has been surprised by the kindness of strangers. They lay out water on the road for me. Some people are really nice, man. Reporter cargo has faced Gale Force Winds in argentina and hes dodged drug lords in central america. Hes well past the Halfway Point in his journey and it seemed nothing could stop him until last week. Thats cargo in the hospital after suffering a heart attack but hes already been released and believe it or not cargo is back on the road. Do you ever feel like youre in danger . The biggest fear i have is fear of failure and, you know, i feel like ive got to do this walk no matter what. Ive got to do it, you know . Wow, wow, wow. Harry joins me live. Lets start with his health. Hes okay after the heart attack . Three days in the hospital. They put a stent in and the doctors were not thrilled when he said, well, you know, im going to go start walking again. Thats a picture from yesterday outside of reno. He walked just five. He said, im taking it easy. Only five . Yes, instead of 30. Lets talk about when he gets where hes going. 11,000 miles through a 15,000 journey. When does he end up in alaska . He hopes to get to alaska say june 1 so hell have the summer to get all the way to prudhoe bay. What a guy. People ive met, maybe one of the most amazing free spirits ever. Unbelievable. So cool. Harry, thank you very much. Always good to see you. Appreciate it. This week we highlight another life well lived. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is well known, made famous in books and movies. Those historic pilots werent the only africanamerican pie e pioneers in world war ii. Pair a troopers by choice. 555th parachute Infantry Battalion known as the triple nickel was the United States armys first all black pair a trooper movement. Clarence beavers was one of those men. He grew up in harlem, 15th of 16 children and the grandson of escaped slaves. His grandfather served with the union army in the civil war. Beavers joined the National Guard when he graduated high school in 1939 and was drafted in 1941. He volunteered for parachute school in fort benning in segregated georgia. Beavers and his fellow soldiers lived and ate separately than white soldiers. When they earned their wings they expected to join the fight in europe. Instead, they were sent to oregon to fight forest fires started by japanese balloon bombs that were floated into the american northwest. Their mission called operation firefly was kept secret from the public to avoid panic about the attacks. The men earned the name the Smoke Jumpers as they made more than 1200 jumps from cargo planes, landed in trees and extinguished the fires. They paid for the integration of the United States military three years after the war. Clarence beavers, who was the last living member of the Ground Breaking triple nickel died on december 4th at home in huntington, new york. Huntington, new york. He was see ya. Take care. So probably take it at night. And if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. Gracias. At walgreens, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. Copdso to breathe better,athe. I go with anoro. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way with anoro. 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Congress votes on tuesday for tax reform and then will attempt to stave off a government shutdown. Friday night just before midnight the federal money runs out. Mitch mcconnell said, quote, there isnt any chance were going to shut the government down. And on wednesday, round two of the implosion of the georgia dome. Last month youll remember workers tried to knock down the football stadium in atlanta with explosives but some of the walls remained standing. Lets hope no marta city buses get in the way of the live shot this time. Anything to get the marta bus into the show. Quick programming note, tune in to watch the years ten most with Brian Williams and nicole wallace. The roller coaster year that was 2017 at 9 00 p. M. On msnbc. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us. Well see you back here next right now on nbc 10 news today, federal agents are taking special to protect the new jersey senator. Thawing out. A live look on this cloudy sunday morning after the week began with snow on the ground and freezing temperatures. Temperatures begin to climb. And focus on foes. The backup becomes the starter as the eagles try to win without wentz. Good morning. Im dray clark. Its 9 00 on this sunday morning. We are in the midst of a bit of a warmup, milder today. Lets get a check on your first alert forecast with meteorologist krystal klei. Good morning. Good morning,