Go. Just a little bit of rain does not stop the lighting of the worlds most famous Christmas Tree in a starstudded and soaked celebration. Rockefeller Center Shining bright. And the tree does not need watering today, thursday, december 1st, 2016. From nbc news, this is today, with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Its a thursday morning. Now, we can celebrate. We got this gorgeous tree. Its all lit up. We got willie. Youre just a little shorter than the tree. And youre still out here from last night. I won the coin toss. Matt had to be out here in the rain last night. I get to be here now. It looked like fun. It was a beautiful night. We had a great crowd. It was soaking wet at times. Well have more on the treelighting. We want to start with south. And in tennessee, the wildfires rages on. Kerry sanders is in gatlinburg, tennessee. Reporter good morning, the threat from the fires here is far from over. The proof of was that just before sunrise this morning. Here in gatlinburg, a city thats still very much under a mandatory evacuation order, a house caught fire. Exhausted firefighters did rush to tce for yet more hot spots like this that can quickly ignite into a problem. This morning, serng and rescue efforts are is under way. First responders in tennessee still watching a few hot spots in the aftermath of raging wildfires. Heavy rain was good and bad. The downside, mud and acres in the smokey mountains charred. 700 structures damaged or destroyed. Firefighters said they did what they could with the fastmoving blaze. This was on the johnson firefighters page. The caption, as close as we got to see sleep in 36 hours. Drought and hurricaneforce winds combine to create a firestorm. This morning, there are at least seven dead. And the number of people still missing, more than six. John and janet summers from memphis were vacationi i the sons are in the burn unit. Their parents, not seen in three days. Mpk i told her to get out of the house pip started to make my way to her, but we got disconnected. Reporter this morning, michael reid is still searching for any news about his wife con stance and two daughters, 12yearold chloe, and i dont know what to say about my 9yearold. Reporter gerry and Jeffrey Morgan lost their home in the blaze. And have a 9yearold daughter who goes to school with lily. The daughter keeps asking where her friend is. We pray. Shes been praying for her also. Shell ask about lily. Well, they havent found her yet, honey. Reporter the morgans family home burned to the ground. But like so many here, theyre resolute to move on. Were rebuilding. Were not moving. This did not scare us away. We love this place and this where we want to be. Reporter that fire that sparked here early this morning is now thankfully out. Unfortunately, even with the firefighters on the scene within minutes, they were unable to save the home. A very real reminder here it morning that the threat remains. Now, the theme park dollywood, which is also here in town, built by dolly parton, a native son, or native daughter, whos never forgotten her roots. To be providing assistance to people through a fund, a fund set up to help those who need the help. Willie, back to you. The storms that produced that rain in tennessee also produced tornadoes across the region. Three people were killed. And one tore through rosalie, alabama. Thats where jacob rascon is for us this morning. Good alabama will be out later today. He will declare a state of emergency. Store after store, just demolished. The National Weather service surveyed this area and said it was an ef2 tornado that came through here and was on the ground for less than two minutes. Severe weather pummeling the south yet again. The people behind me had a trampoline. Its 20 feet up in a tree. Reporter lightning, torrential rain, and a possible tornado in South Carolina, after a deadly outbreak of twisters throughout the region. About 30 seconds later, his family barely escaping after a tornado ravaged their home. Scared. Ill be okay. Reporter in tennessee, another twister. The young family salvaging keepsakes, losing almost everything. I screamed at my husband saying, theres a tornado coming. Theres a tornado coming. Get the kids. Grab the kids. Reporter more than 30 torn at least five peep killed, dozens injured, with dozens of structures damaged or destroyed. In georgia, High School Students sang Christmas Songs after a Tornado Warning forced them to take shelter in the hallway. One of many close calls in the first deadly tornado outbreak in this country since may. The National Weather service now says 34 tornadoes are con firped to have touched down. Teams will be out later this morning. As well, dozens of families simply digging through whats left. This as the city of bloomington, tennessee, now con firped that one of its volunteer firefighters and his wife were the two People Killed in that state. Willie . Severe weather stretching up so much of the south. Jacob in rosalie, alabama. Thank you, jacob. We move to politics. As president elect donald trump works to assemble his cabinet. Thank you tour. He has a stop in cincinnati. And first, he makes a stop in indiana, to tout a deal that keeps about 1,000 jobs. Nbcs Kristen Welker is in indianapolis this morning. Reporter hi, savannah. President elect donald trump will mark his first big win, keeping more than a thousand ac, here in indiana, instead of heading overseas. The entire day will have crowds reminiscent of the ones that helped him win the white house. Donald trump tried to show, as president elect, he can put the art of the deal into practice. Were bringing jobs back to our country. Were not going to let carrier leave. Reporter mr. Trump making good on that promise. Convincing carrier not to follow through to move its indianapolis plant to mexico. Manufacture gas furnaces at home, preserving more than 1,000 jobs. Trump tweeting, we will keep our companies and jobs in the u. S. While few details have been released by the deal. Sources close to the negotiations, say carrier will receive tax breaks from the state, where mike pence is governor. Carrier acknowledging, the incentives offered by the state drain the swamp. Reporter meanwhile, there is new scrutiny this morning of one of trumps top promises, draining the washington swamp, after mr. Trump named billionaire wilbur ross as his commerce secretary and Steve Mnuchin as his treasury secretary. He is handing the keys of the treasury to a wall street banker who helped cause the crash. Reporter but transition officials pushing back. Both of the guys think they reporter all this comes as the drama of secretary of state intensifies. The transition team, says the president elect has nor narrowed his pick down to four choices, including mitt romney, and rudy giuliani, campaigning for the role. Trump officials not tipping their hands about the other two contenders. But john kelly may be in the mix. He met with mr. Trump on meetings of his own, including with former secretary of state condoleezza rice. President elect trump tweeted late last night, and ill read you what he said. He wrote, look forward to going to indiana in order to be with the great workers of carrier. They will sell many air conditioners. Now, overshadowing all of this, mr. Trump has said hes going to separate himself from his vast ne given any details about how specifically hes going to achieve that task. Hes going to cap his day in cincinnati, ohio, thanking all of his supporters in that critical swing state. Willie . Savannah . Kristin welker, thank you. Now o that breaking news at bottom of the world. Legendary astronaut buzz aldrin medically evacuated from the south pole, where he was visiting as part of a private tourist group. Top costello covers space and aviation. Top, good morning. What can you tell us . Over the last few week, hes been tweeting out photographings of this trip to the south pole that hes been very excited about with this private tourist group. Something went wrong. He is described as ailing. Thats the word. Nothing further than that. They had to evacuate him on a ski equipped c130 to an amer r to be flown for an emergency on to new zealand. Buzz aldrin landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong back in 1969. He has a ph. D. From m. I. T. He was a veteran of apollo and gemini. At this hour, having survived the moon mission is now on an emergency flight back to new zealand for a medical emergency. Were hoping and praying for much more on that evacuation and on aldrins condition throughout the day on msnbc and nbc news. Com. In the meantime, new anger and outrange of a Police Shooting in charlotte, north carolina. Demonstrators took the streets after prosecutors announ officer involved will not face criminal charges. Gabe gutierrez has the latest on this story. Hi, gabe. Good morning. Reporter good morning. Police were on heightened alert here after that decision was announced. There were four arrests the gun at the shooting scene was cocked and loaded. And this story was much different than what it originally played out on social media. Overnight, a small, peaceful protest in charlotte, slamming the district attorneys decision not to charge Brent Vincent in the shooting death of keith lamont scott. This is a blow to our justice system. Reporter coming two months dont shoot him. Dont shoot him. Theres a huge gap between the police and the community. Thats where we are here. Reporter right after the shooting, violence in the streets and questions about whether scott was armed. Police say they were trying to serve a warrant to a different man at an apartment complex when they saw scott with a gun and marijuana. Its my opinion that officer vincent acted lawfully when he shot mr. Scott. Drop the gun. He doesnt have a gun. Witnesses claim scott was holding a book instead of a gun. But state investigators say that wasnt true. And he ignored commands to drop the weapon. Dont shoot him. Did you shoot him . Did you shoot him . He better not be [ bleep ] dead. I know [ bleep ] that much. Reporter the officer releasing new Surveillance Video of scott before the encounter. The bulge you see here is and gun that was described by officers at the scene. Reporter but scotts family says theres no proof there was a gun in his hand. Whether he had a firearm in his hand or not. Thats not the key question, in terms of determining whether or not keith scott should have lost his life. Reporter attorneys for the scott family say they are planning to file a civil lawsuit but are urging anymore protests to remain peaceful. Willie and savannah . Gabe, thank you. Were learning about the final moments of that doomed flight, carrying members of a Brazilian Soccer Team that crashed in colombia. Heres nbcs keir simmons. Reporter all dressed in white, thousands pack the stadium in colombia, for a Brazilian Team that were set to play wednesday night. Thousands more in the streets outside. In brazil, another memorial, at rival fans, united in grief. I dont have words. Reporter making you cry. Yeah. It makes me cry all day. Reporter aviation officials believe the plane ran out of fuel. And a stunning recording is obtained by the associated press, between the control tower and the pilot. We are asking for priority in our approach. We have a newel fuel problem. The controller tells the pilot, he can start to approach in seven minutes. Two minutes later, the pilot again asks to land. But is told, there is an aircraft below. She asks, how much time do you have to stay put . Fuel energy, the pilot responds. Im asking for immediate descent. A short time later, the pilot says the plane is in total electric failure and out of fuel. The aircraft slams into a hill were bodies everywhere and people screaming for help. It split in half, he says, pointing to the tail of the plane, visible at the top of the hill. Thats where the survivors were found. Only six survived. Among them, the standby goalie remains unconscious. His doctor, hopeful. He is a young patient. And also, hes very athletic person. Reporter most of his teammates are gone. Last night, a balloon released for every one of the 71 who died. The journal of psycho pharmacology. So tempted to turn to willie for expert analysis on that story. I hope it helps a lot of people. Indeed. Mr. Rocquer . Im going to go to the weather map. Good call. Thats where were talking about santa ah in winds. We have High Pressure dominating. The High Pressure going to build into the great basin. Watches and advisories for 9 million people. A wind gust of 60 to 70 miles per hour, from shaver lake all the way to parts of colorado. I should say, arizona. Also looking at the december outlook. Out west, much cooler than average for december. Were looking at nearaverage for much of the country. Warmer in the northeast. Its looking wet in the east, especially as you get to parts of the southern gulf and wetter out through the plains. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 and thats your latest weather. Guys . Al, thank you. Coming up, a mysterious message branded into the skin of the california mother who survived a brutal kidnapping ordeal. Well have the latest, as her husband is speaking out in an emotional interview. And on rossen reports, new technology to keep your kids safe. 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Theres nothing or something about it. 7 26 on this thursday morning. Hi, there. Im dana wagner here at channel 3, and we have a lot of tourists in town this weekend. I know we always have tourists in begins tonight at the thomas mac center, and we also have a lot of nascar fans, as well, with the all important forecast for tourists, and the locals. Heres kelly that. Its looking good, looking dry, nice with wind and clouds and the temperatures still cool but rising. North las vegas at 38 degrees, paradise youre coming in at 40, same in henderson and highs las vegas, again, with a mix of scattered sun and clouds and the winds kick up with gusts up to 25 miles per hour, Stronger Tomorrow and cooler temperatures tomorrow, too, 53 degrees and going to knock temperatures down even colder. In the 6 00 hour, you saw traffic snarled on 515 and clearing up the accident, so good news out there in henderson. Over by the thomas mac center, you can expect a lot of east tropicana, but we are going to see a lot of traffic for nfr, with starting at 6 45 going to 9 00 and a fenderbender on the shoulders and slow on southbound 15 like we expect in the morning every time, dana. Thank you. The electric car future may not have a future in North Las Vegas. They started construction on their plant in North Las Vegas stopped construction last month and the state treasurer, dan schwartz this man, believes that they may have run out of money. Good morning, everybody. We light the Christmas Tree. Its 25 days until christmas. We have a big crowd out on the nice and warm this morning. Get outside and visit us. A balmy start to december. Inside studio 1a, a check of the headlines. The toll from the raging wild fires from tennessee is growing. Seven people have died and 700 buildings have been damaged or destroyed around gatlinburg. The recount of president ial ballots in wisconsin begins today. Fewer than 23,000 votes but is expected to emerge the winner after the recount. The president elect is headed to indiana and ohio state, to kick off what theyre calling a thank you victory tour. And golfs biggest star is making his return today tiger woods will be playing in the hero world champion. Its his first following two back surgeries. You can watch it on our sister network, the golf channel, and this weekend here on nbc. This hour, we start with a kidnapping of a california mother. Police are revealing more about alleged abductors who held her for three weeks. Gadi schwartz has been following this for us this morning. Good morning. Reporter this morning, we have new details of the two women who kidnapped sherri papini. And we have new questions about the possible motive of this horrific crime. Beaten on the side of this Northern California road, authorities released new clues about the two women suspected of abducting her at gunpoint near her home. Both of the suspects spoke spanish during the time of her captivity. Both of the suspects concealed their faces to side their identities from here. Reporter in interviews, papini was able to provide basic details about her kidnappers. One woman was younger, with long, curly hair, pierced ears