Today. What went wrong . Investigators poring over the black boxes from that doomed flight carrying a Brazilian Soccer Team. A surviving crew member claiming the plane ran out of fuel, as emotional tributes to the 71 victims are held around the world. And splitting the jackpot. A group of 20 coworkers comes forward with the Winning Ticket in that nearly half a billion dollar powerball drawing. I had to look again because i thought im in a dream. Their big plans for all that money today, wednesday, november 30th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning, welcome to today on a wednesday morning. You have to feel good for these 20 people. They banded together. They have been playing the lottery for eight years now. Doesnt make you any less jealous but it does make you feel good for them. Think about everybody who joins the office pool wishing it would happen, but its nice to see it happen to a good group of people there. There is hope. Well tell you more about that in just a little while. Lets get right now to those dangerous situations unfolding across the south. Its been a really rough 72 hours beginning with the historic wildfires that are still burning in the Great Smoky Mountains of tennessee. Overnight Severe Weather raced across that region spawning multiple tornados. We have complete coverage starting with those storms. Tim fam has the very latest. Tim, good morning to you. Reporter good morning to you. Tornados ripped through polk county tennessee. Were in benton, tennessee, right now. This Convenience Store got hit hard. Poyer lines were down, the roof was torn off and thrown across the parking lot. Right now the community at a standstill as power is out everywhere. Debris is blocking the roads and shutting down a major highway. We spoke with Benton County police rocky king and he says there are at least a few fatalities. He could not confirm exactly how many, but says this Community Looks like a disaster zone. Matt . Tim pham, thank you very much. Al, whats the forecast looking for those people . Its going to be tough. In fact we have new tornado watches out for that region once again. This was a very vigorous system. We were telling you how this was going to the atmosphere was juiced up yesterday. Tornado and wind damage reports, 74 of them. The line stretches 550 miles. Right now we have tornado watches stretching for much of louisiana, including new orleans, all the way up into central tennessee again. Weve even got severe thunderstorm warnings up into parts of the carolinas. Now, look at this, today we have a risk of strong storms stretching ten Million People under a severe risk from new orleans all the way on into Western North carolina. And you can see weve got this front pushing through, strong storms firing up. The only Silver Lining is this is going to help the drought down there. You can see rainfall amounts from 1. 5 to 3 inches. Some areas could pick up 3 to 5 inches locally. Looking at the wildfires in tennessee, you can see more heavy rain moving in, but the sad part about this is while well have drenching rains, which is good news, were also going to have very, very gusty winds so the flames that arent knocked down are going to be fanned by these massive 60mileperhour wind gusts. Youll be back with your forecast in just a little while. And we want to talk more about these raging wildfires in tennessee, including the largest in that state in a century. Parts of two popular resort towns have been leveled, thousands forced to flee. We find Kerry Sanders in pigeon forge this morning. Kerry, good morning. Reporter well, good morning, savannah. That rain that al was talking about has literally just started to fall. Three people have died in the fires here. Ten people are in the hospital, three are in critical condition. Now, the damage here in pigeon forge and in nearby gatlinburg, as you can see, is complete in certain areas. It is just devastating. The Authorities Say that folks decide to move to areas like this because it can be so beautiful, exempt when there is a fire. In this firestorm, the survivors say it was like being in the gates of hell. Tennessees governor says its the largest fire seen in the volunteer state in 100 years. A firestorm raging now for two days in and around the Great Smoky Mountain National park. Please, lord, let us get off this county. Reporter sevier county, in gatlinburg the devastation staggering. The fire so hot it burned some homes to their foundations. 14,000 residents and visitors evacuated. And now some coming home to find out how bad it was. In pigeon forge it was apocalyptic almost. Reporter dakota cogdale returned to his grandparents home of 43 years. A lifetime of memories, gone in the flames. The gun i learned how to shoot with, my first bb gun, is right here. Whats left of it anyway. Reporter the loss tumperred by what was saved. My family is safe, theyre all accounted for. Thats what weve been telling each other. We can rebuild, we cant replace. Reporter for michael reed, fears of the worst this morning. He left his home to see if the fire was moving closer. When it did and so quickly, he was cut off from his wife, constance, and daughters, 12yearold enclosu1 12yearold chloe and 9yearold lily. We got up to the house and i just screamed her name. Reporter again overnight hundreds spent the night in shelters. It was nothing but red. I was taking care of an elderly lady. I had to get her out and our animals out. Thats the only thing that we had time to get. Reporter the fire zone a popular tourist destination, home to dollywood, thats Country Music superstar Dolly Partons popular theme park. Flames ripped through the fringes but the park was spared. Dolly saying shes heartbroken and praying for all the families. What sparked the massive fire remains unclear, but Officials Say it appears to be human caused. This morning teams are still on the fire lines trying to tame a monster. A fastmoving blaze that took the mayor of gatlinburgs business and his home. Were strong, were resilient, and were going to make it. Reporter this morning michael reed, who is still trying to find out information about his wife and two daughters, does not have an update yet. He fears for the worst. Meantime this rain that is falling might sound like a good thing, but the truth is it will soak the ground and these trees here according to the authorities are all so loosened by the firestorm that came through here, they will collapse and that creates a new danger. Of course we just saw some lightning. Lightning is not a friend either because that lightning can spark another blaze. These are really tough times, kerry, and our hearts are with the people. Thank you so much. We want to turn now to the decision facing president elect donald trump over who to pick for secretary of state. He met yet again with mitt romney last night and after that dinner romney heaped praise on the man he once famously called a phony and a fraud. Hallie jackson is outside trump tower where the president elect is again busy on twitter this morning. Hallie, good morning to you. Reporter good morning. Yes, the president elect coming out with a big announcement online just within the last couple of minutes here this morning tweeting that he will be holding a News Conference on december 15th here in new york city with his children to discuss the fact, he says, that i will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to make America Great again. He continues while i am not mandated to do this under the law, i feel it is visually important as president to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of Business Operations. The presidency is a far more important task. This comes as questions have lingered over how the president elect plans to separate his business interests from the interests of the nation. It has been 126 days since his last formal News Conference. All of it comes as he tries to sort out his cabinet, meeting with as you mentioned his former critic, mitt romney. The two sharing a meal of steak, scallops and frog legs here in manhattan. Its the ritzy restaurant rendezvous no one could have seen coming six months ago. The attacks then turning to compliments now. He did something i tried to do and was unsuccessful in accomplishing. He won the general election. And he continues with a message of inclusion and bringing people together. Reporter mitt romney and donald trump joined by incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus at a threestar spot named after famous chef jean george von rick ten. Call it a secondround interview for the secretary of state slot trump still hasnt filled, but his cabinet is coming together. According to a top transition source, the president elect has picked billionaire banker and his former finance chair Steven Mnuchin as the next secretary of treasury. For commerce its wilbur ross and for transportation head, elaine chao who served eight years as labor secretary under george w. Bush and whos married to Senate Majority leader mitch mcconnell. Ive heard rumors that it should be an outstanding appointment. Reporter the president elect now ready for a road trip with nbc news learning from a source familiar with the plans hell head to indianapolis tomorrow to try and make good on a Campaign Pledge to try to keep carrier air conditioning jobs from moving to mexico. You think youre going to ship your stuff across the border for no tax, no nothing. You can forget it. Reporter the company now confirming it reached a deal with the new administration to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in indiana. Its not clear yet what the incentives are or whether they would be available to other u. S. Businesses. After that, its on to cincinnati and the start of a thank you tour in states where trump did well. The candidate, who fed off the energy of campaign rallies, doing it again as president elect. I love cincinnati. Reporter donald trump tweeting about his trip but its another tweet that has him facing fallout in a flagburning firestorm. Quote, nobody should be allowed to burn the american flag. If they do, there must be consequences, he writes. Perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail. But burning the flags is considered a form of free speech under the first amendment, upheld twice by the supreme court. And the suggestion of stripping citizenship also unconstitutional. In this country we have a long tradition of respecting unpleasant speech. I happen to support the supreme courts decision on that matter. Reporter also this morning, news of a rare public appearance by Donald Trumps former rival, hillary clinton. She appeared here in new york city at a unicef gala to introduce katy perry. The two joining each other on stage. Hallie, thank you very much. Were learning more this morning about the possible cause of that deadly crash of a plane carrying members of a Brazilian Soccer Team to a match in colombia. Nbcs keir simmons has the latest now. Reporter on their way to colombia, video posted to social media shows excited young soccer players looking forward to the biggest game of their lives. Now their families, teammates and fans in the small city of chapeco, brazil, forced with loss. A few team members who didnt make the trip shell shocked. Supporters joining hands at the teams home stadium chanting the names of their fallen comrades. Meanwhile crash investigators are going through the planes flight data recorders to figure out what went wrong. As the plane approached, the pilot reported electrical problems and circled before crashing into the hillside. A surviving crew member reportedly told rescuers the plane ran out of fuel. Once that recorder is read out, i think it will become apparent if this is a fuel issue, range issue or if it experienced a mechanical problem. Reporter heavy rain and steep, muddy conditions hampered rescue efforts but six people were saved. Three members of the team, one journalist and two crew members. One wife posting to instagram that her hub is in a stable condition. Another player leaves behind a pregnant wife just 18 years old. The family releasing this video showing the moment he learned he would be a father, dancing and celebrating with his teammates. The 31yearold goalie managed to call his wife after the crash, but later died at the hospital. In the wake of the tragedy, an outpouring of support from the soccer world. Teams in europe and south america paying tribute with vigils and moments of silence. The arch at Londons Wembley stadium lit up in green. Chapecoense had been a cinderella story reaching the finals, a team that inspired brazilian fans now being mourned by an entire nation. And a member of the team board tells nbc news that a team doctor is arriving here in colombia to help identify the bodies. The pope this morning praying for the players and the Colombian Team that was set to face that brazilian team, they now say the trophy should go to the brazilians for the fallen. Savannah. Keir simmons in bogota for us this morning. Thank you. Tuesday was an emotional day in court at the highprofile trial over a Deadly Police shooting in south carolina. The former officer accused of gunning down an unarmed black man fought back tears as he testified in his own defense. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has more on that. Gabe, good morning. Reporter matt, good morning. The defense rested its case after that former officer, michael slager, took the witness stand. Now, the jury is scheduled to visit the scene of the Fatal Shooting later today, and closing arguments could begin soon after in a case that reignited the National Conversation about race and police tactics. This morning the final stages in the trial of michael slager, the former Police Officer accused of Walter Scotts murder. I fired until the threat was stopped, what im trained to do. Reporter in his first detailed public account of what happened back in april of 2015 in my mind, fear. I was scared. Reporter slager told the jury he pulled scott over for a broken tail light and was about to write him a warning when scott suddenly bolted from his car. People dont run from a broken taillight. Reporter prosecutors say scott fled because he was behind on Child Support payments and feared being arrested. Slager said he fired his taser three times but that didnt stop scott from grabbing the stun gun. It was total fear that mr. Scott didnt stop. Reporter the cell phone video he says picks up the encounter seconds later when scott breaks away from the struggle. Slager says in hindsight he would not have chased scott on foot in the first place and instead would have called for backup. His entire testimony was what he would have done different and things hes remembering now which he didnt remember then, which was shocking. Reporter the trial now in its third week has been emotional for Walter Scotts family, his mother breaking down on the witness stand. He said they tasin me, and i heard him groaning like he was in excruciating pain. Reporter the case could go to the jury as early as today. If convicted, slager faces 30 years to life in prison. Gabe gutierrez, gabe, thank you. Tens of thousands of cubans filled havanas plaza of the revolution last night for a Memorial Service honoring fidel castro. The president s of mexico, ecuador, venezuela and south africa attended the service. Raul castro closed the memorial with a speech calling his older brother the leader of a revolution for the humble and by the humble. Today a threeday procession begins carrying castros ashes across cuba. We now know who won saturday nights powerball drawing worth nearly 421 million. A group of 20 coworkers who work at a manufacturing plant in portland, tennessee, came forward to claim their prize. They spoke at a News Conference about the huge win. You never think youre going to win this lottery, but you do it for fun. Well, my son saw la fayette, tennessee, and he started texting, i know mom has bought that ticket. Wake her up, wake her up. I just started screaming but i had to look again because i thought i was in a dream. Everybody up here has a heart of gold. And this isnt changing what they have always done. I was on my way home last night from here and my check engine light came on and i thought, you know, i dont have to get frantic about that now. I called billy and he said, man, you need to get up and watch the news. And i went why . He went we won the lottery. Hope to do a lot of good with it and just keep a level head, kindness, you know. Just dont change. Thats my motto. You get the feeling theyre not going to change. They pooled their money for years. Something like eight years they played together. So after taxes, they say theyll each get about 13 million. Just in time for christmas and for that check oil or engine light. Thats awesome. Al, lets get a check of the forecast. Ive got a tree they could buy. Lets show you really quickie what weve got going on. Again that, Severe Weather going on through the southeast into the midatlantic states, snow in the pacific northwest, also western plains, western Great Western plains, western great lakes, high surf advisories in g for everyone to gather around. And you know what else im thinking . Lights some help. Got it and the ornaments might take a little bit more time. But were gonna get it just right. What do you think bullseye . [ bark ] ok, lets do this hey hows this look . Hmm . Whoa what do ya think . Its like you. I