captioning funded by cbs it's wednesday, november 30th, 2016. this is the "cbs morning news." a firestorm erupts in tennessee, leaving at least three people dead and destroying hundreds of homes. president-elect donald trump makes a deal that is giving workers hope in analysis and could be his administration's best victory. from enemies to allies. mitt romney praises the president-elect as he waits to find out if he will be added to

57 newsroom at cbs news headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning, the worst may be over in east tennessee, but wildfires pushed by powerful winds are blamed for at least three deaths and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. more than a dozen people were injured. the towns of gatlinburg and pigeon forge were hardest hit and thousands were forced to literally run for their lives. in the w was likewe were in hell. demarco morgan has our report and the frightening video. >> hit the gas! hit the gas! >> reporter: you are watching cell phone video taken by two brothers as they escape from a vacation resort area in the mountains of gatlinburg, tennessee. they said they had no warning as the walls of flame surrounded them and their only choice was to ride through it or die. >> please lord, let us get off this mountain. >> reporter: wind speeds suddenly doubled, turning into hurricane force winds that topped 87 miles per hour.

drought-stricken area when burning embers blew and toppled trees ripped down power lines. this community is at the edge of the great smoky mountains national park, the most visited national park in the country. bruce sullivan is the sullivan county fire chief. what is it like to be there? >> it's devastating. all of those people lost their homes and businesses and everything else. things they worked hard for. >> reporte left in smoking cinders. at this red cross shelter, more than 1,000 showed up anxiously waiting to see what is left. greg laden and his family escaped with their pet and the clothes on their backs. >> possessions are possessions. as long as i've got my family, that's all that matters, really. >> reporter: unfortunately, dozens of families who will be returning to see homes like this one right here behind me, completely destroyed. firefighters may get some help fighting the flames. thunderstorms and heavy rain are

demarco morgan, cbs news, pigeon forge, tennessee. president-elect donald trump is expected to announce more cabinet nominees this morning. tomorrow, mr. trump heads to indiana to announce a deal concerning the carrier air-conditioning plant in indianapolis. last night, he tweeted big day on thursday for indiana and the great workers of that wonderful state. we will keep our companies and jobs in the u.s. thanks carrier. carrier says it's re with mr. trump to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in indiana. mr. trump said during the campaign that he would work to keep companies like carrier from moving jobs overseas. details of the agreement are unclear. last night, mr. trump met for a second time with mitt romney, a former rival, on the short list for secretary of state. roxana saberi is in new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. mr. trump is continuing to pick

candidates for the job of secretary of state and there is plenty of competition. mitt romney emerged from the second meeting with president-elect donald trump seeing his former rivals praises. >> he did something i tried to do and was successful at accomplishing. he won the general election. and he continues with a message of -- >> reporter: the former massachusetts governor who had dinner with mr. trump and trump's chief of staff reince priebus in manhattan tuesday night is said to be on the short list for secretary of state, as is retired tennessee lawmaker bob corker, former cia director david petraeus, and former new york city mayor rudy giuliani. >> i think what you're witnessing here is a leader in president-elect donald trump who wants to take in all of the options. >> reporter: cbs news has learned the president-elect is said officially to nominate

secretary and wilbur ross as secretary of commerce. speaking on fox news, vice president-elect mike pence says the administration's top priority is repealing and replacing obamacare. >> it's time for us to allow americans to purchase health care across state lines. it's time to give people more consumer choices. >> reporter: mr. trump kicks off his victory tour tomorrow in ohio and indiana. a recount of wisconsin's presidential election ballots is set to begin tomorrow. former green party candidate jill stein has requested an audit and seeking a recount in pennsylvania and michigan. >> roxana saberi in new york, thank you so much. on capitol hill, house democrats hold leadership elections today. house speaker nancy pelosi is expected to be re-elected but is challenged by ohio's tim ryan. two weeks ago, some democrats angered by the party's poor showing in the general election, pushed to have the leadership election postponed.

team on board have been recovered. 71 people died when the jet slammed into the mountains outside medellin. remarkly, there were six survivors. last night, fans gathered at the team's headquarters to pay their respects. colombian officials say the plane suffered an electrical failure, but a surviving flight attendant said the plane ran out of fuel. closing arguments are scheduled today in the trial of the former south carolina policeman charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist. michael slagr, who is white, shot and killed water scott as he fled a traffic stop in april of last year. scott was shot five times in the back. yesterday, slagr testified in his own defense. >> i was on a fight on the ground. mr. scott was coming after me with a taser twice. in my mind -- my mind was like spaghetti. >> slagr faces 30 years to life if convicted of murder. before he carried out knife

a somali born student went on facebook saying he was sick of seeing his fellow muslims killed. last night the university held a rally. 11 people were injured in the attack. the suspect abdul razak artan was killed by police. anderson payne was helping the injured when he was attacked. >> i thought he was angry because he had just wrecked his car which is do you know what i mean? normal. but when i saw him start to swing and i saw the knife, i knew it was not just an accident. >> a self-described islamic state news agency called artan a soldier of the islamic state who carried out the operation. north dakota officials hope to shut down those oil pipeline protests with fines. yesterday, state officials said that they would fine anyone bringing supplies to the protesters. but emergency evacuation order to protect people from harsh weather was not enforced. demonstrators charged the

pipeline to contaminate water supplies. coming up on the "morning news." inauguration access. big donors are being court for events surrounding the president's swearing in. the nfl players wear custom cleats for charity. this is the "cbs morning news." .

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brick and mortar, what?! [ music continues ] [ tires screech ] [ laughs ] [ doorbell rings ] when you bundle home and auto insurance with progressive, you get more than a big discount. that's what you get for bundling home and auto! jamie! you get sneaky-good coverage. thanks. we're gonna live forever! a spirited giving campaign is a foot in the nfl. players will be wearing customized cle spotlight their favorite charity. the league is easing its uniform rules for the my cause, my cleats effort. big money flows at donald trump's inauguration. a tragic dorm fire in turkey. those are some of the headlines on the morning newsstand. the bbc reports that a dormitory fire yesterday in southern turkey killed a worker and 11 teenage girls. a regional official says an electrical problem may have

the dorm housed impoerished girls from villages where there are no schools. the journal news of suburban new york reports a guilty plea in the crash that injured comedian tracy morgan. the truckdriver who slammed into morgan's van is facing prison time for vehicular homicide and aggravated assault. one of morgan's friends was killed and three other people were hurt in the 2014 crash. the tennesseean reports on the first court appearance of a bus driver accused in the death of six schoolchildren. johnthony walker is charged with vehicular homicide after the crash last week in chattanooga. police say they plan to seek additional charges. "the washington post" says a house vote is expected today on a bill that could speed up government approval of new drugs. 21st century cures would ease standards for drugmakers. consumer advocates say the complex 996-page bill is being rushed through and needs a closer look. the "houston chronicle" says texas a&m will hold a large

time, a white nationalist is scheduled to speak on campus. the appearance by richard spencer next tuesday was booked by a private citizen. the university says his event can't be cancelled, citing his free speech rights. "the new york times" lists the prices for donors seeking access to officials during donald trump's swearing in events and giving a million dollars or more buys four tickets to be congressional and cabinet leaders or have lunch with vice president-elect mike pence. inauguration organizers hope to raise $75 million. "the hill" reports a surprise appearance last night by hillary clinton. she presented a humanitarian award to singer katy perry during the unicef gala in new york. mrs. clinton has kept a low profile since election day. still ahead, something new in facebook messenger. we will show you new games where

? tomorrow's the day we'll play something besides video games. every day is a gift especially for people with heart failure. but today there's entresto?- a breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto? was proven to help more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine.

it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto? with an ace inhibitor or or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto?. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. tomorrow, i'm gonna step out with my favorite girl. ask your heart doctor about entresto?. and help make the gift of tomorrow possible. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. ? money money money money ?

windfall thanks to patagonia. that is how much the outdoor clothing manufacturer took in last friday. the company had pledged to donate its entire black friday take. patagonia gives 1% of its sales year-round to grassroots groups. pretty good. on the cbs "moneywatch" now. facebook messenger launches games and an electric carmaker bets on arizona. jill wagner is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. >> reporter: stocks on wall street finished higher driven up by uptick in health care stocks and that offset declines in energy stocks ahead of the big opec meeting ahead today in vienna. the dow rose 23 points yesterday. the s&p gained three points and the nasdaq finished 11 points higher. the electric car start-up lucid motors is building a plant in arizona. arizona's governor says it will create about 2,000 jobs by 2022. the plant will productive their first car.

the parts will come from mexico. they say they will give priority to hiring veterans. >> kelloggs says it will no longer advertise on breitbart.com. that used to be run by steve bannon. critics say it is racist, sexist, and anti-semitic. kelloggs says it works to make sure its ads do not appear on sites that are not in line with company values. and facebook is getting into the mobile gaming business, big-time. >> this guy versus this nana in pacman. gook facebook messengers are opening up to outside game developers.facebook messengers e opening up to outside game developers. that means friends will be able to face-off in games like pacman and overwing. 17 advertisers are available. after the round is finished people in your conversation could see your score and challenge you back. they had me at pacman. >> i have a public service announcement to my friends on

i do not want any of those annoying invitations to game playing. i'm not interested. >> okay. they have been warned. >> thank you. jill wagner at the new york stock exchange, thanks a lot, jill. still ahead. a cuban commute meet black cubans in america who are looking for the future in the

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. with ? it's beginning to look a lot like christmas everywhere you go ? an emotional day for michelle obama, as she welcomed military families to the white house holiday party for the last time. yesterday's event was part of the first lady's joining forces

500,000 people have made holiday visits to the white house during president obama's tenure. a caravan setting out from havana today will take fidel castro's ashes to his finally resting place. the three-day procession will travel the length of the island nation to santiago, cuba, and follow the route that castro and its revolutionaries took to the capital in march of 1959. cu cremated saturday one day after his death at the age of 90. castro's death opens a new and uncertain chapter in cuba's history. afro cubans hope it means a change for the better in the island's racial divide. the story from don champion. >> reporter: inside this miami cigar shop, twins yvette and yvonne rodriguez stand out. >> it's almost like a test to be

how cuban are you? you speak spanish, speak spanish. >> reporter: feeling underrepresented, they created a cigar line. the three blends. >> a strong full body cigar with this that is like a dark-skinned woman. >> reporter: celebrate the races of cuba. >> we come in all different shades. >> reporter: the twins see equality must be a focus as cuba moves into a post-castro era. >> we are in limbo because we are not sure anything is going to change. >> reporter: today blacks in cuba live in the poorest communities and many could not escape fidel castro's regime. the majority of cuban exiles are white. and since people in cuba often rely on family abroad for help, many afro cubans don't have life lines. historian perez says -- >> a lot of social practices and institutions that we see in

louisiana have very strong parallels to what we see in the caribbean and that is important in terms of identity and a color cast system. >> reporter: it's a complex reality the rodriguez twins are determined to improve. >> we are creating a platform for maybe to build an organization. >> reporter: and explain one cigar at a time. don champion, cbs news, miami. well, there could be job openings soon at an auto plants part in northern tennessee. powerball jackpot with a cash value of $254 million. one of them buys $240 worth of tickets for the group every week. well, lottery officials in nashville say each winner will get a pretax prize of nearly $13 million! yeah, that's enough to quit your job, i think. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," the effect of climate change on the gorilla population. i'm anne-marie green.

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here is another look at this morning's top stories. stampeding wildfires in east tennessee killed at least three people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. thousands were forced to flee. some having to make their way through a tunnel of flames. more than a dozen people were injured. overnight rain may have helped dampen the flames, though. president-elect donald trump is expected to announce more cabinet picks this morning. held his second meeting with former rival mitt romney last night at a restaurant in new york city. romney is on the short list for secretary of state. tomorrow, mr. trump travels to indiana where he has cut a deal with carrier air-conditioning to save 1,000 jobs. the bucket of ice that

jan crawford has more on the challenge that raised millions for charity. >> reporter: it was a social media sensation. 17 million people, friends and coworkers, along with presidents and billionaires and celebrities. all braving the ice bucket challenge that raised more than $200 million to fight als and it really got started with this. a blue plasticuc senerchia used to mop her floors she did the challenge for her husband anthony who suffers from the degenerative disease. >> that was the first documented collection between a.l.s. and the ice bucket. >> reporter: bonnie lillian is curator of the american museum at the smithsonian called giving

think, why would the smithsonian collect a mop bucket? it really tells us the story that objects can help understand our history. >> reporter: it's displayed next to a box in the 1800s that would have been used to help charity. >> and then a tin can. that would go into a much bigger community collected into money to a bigger pool and bigger pool and so in some ways, it's not that much different from the ice bucket challenge. >> reporter: it shows that one contribution would put together with so many could make a huge difference. >> right. it seems like the proverbial drop in the bu times, it really has an impact. >> reporter: drops in a bucket, or from a bucket. they have become a deluge of good. jan crawford, cbs news, washington. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," more on the california jogger found alive after disappearing for three weeks. we will get the latest from

dana jacobson speaks with a player who is looking into this. and we talk with actor mahershala ali from the movie "moonlight." that is the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching.

right now on cbs 2 this morning...what you can do to protect yourself from being a victim this holiday season. the new picks for donald trump's incoming administration. an update from the bakken pipeli h arrests and how construction in the hawkeye state is moving along. welcome to cbs two this morning...i'm dora miller,