good morning. epic flooding. the carolinas under water this morning amid rainfall not seen in centuries. raging flood waters stranding drivers, leading to dozens of rescues. homes facing serious problems. >> house is flooding and they can't stop . >> today, another 8 inches of rain in the forecast. dylan is tracking it all. >> ominous signs. coast guard searchers find a life ring in the hunt for the missing cargo ship with 33 aboard, but nothing else. this is hurricane wjoaquin rage in the atlantic. hillary the ham? hillary clinton makes a surprise camrow appearance on "saturday night live." >> donald trump?

isn't he the one who's like, you're all losers? >> this morning, all the highlights from snl's 41st season premiere. >> and small but mighty. meet the brave french bull dog who took on two curious bears rooming around his home. despite his size and being outnumbered, bull dog, 1, bears, zero. sunday, october 4th, 2015. good morning. welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm sheinelle jones. >> i'm craig jones. that french bull dog. its name, jewels. >> how about that? >> jewels. >> he's got a pair of jewels. >> there you go. >> she's 20 pounds. 20 pounds. >> we'll have more on the dog in a moment.

these are some troubling images from down south. this is harden street in columbia, south carolina. for folks not familiar with the area, that's where a lot of the university of south carolina students hang out. this is charleston right now, though. historic, epic, life threatening in some cases, the flooding going on. >> they call some of these storms 100-year storms. this is a 500-year storm they're calling it because you don't see rain of this magnitude. >> that's our top story on this sunday morning. another harrowing night in south carolina as even more rain pounded the palmetto state. it's getting even worse today. gabe gutierrez is in downtown, which is under water this morning. good morning to you. >> craig, good morning. this is what many people here in charleston are waking up to. roads impassable, cars abandoned and water rescues under way. this city got almost a quarter of its yearly average rainfall in just 24 hours.

this morning, parts of the southeast are under water, battling life-threatening floods. in columbia, south carolina, people waded through the rager waters hand in hand, fighting against the current as rescue crews rushed to help. around charleston, hundreds of emergency calls. >> got them out of the water. we can get to the vehicle now. >> more than 11 inches of rain fell here saturday, the city's wettest day on record. overnight, the torrential rains picked back up, flooding these neighbors again and inching closer to the thomes. >> it was unbelievable. this street has not flooded since i have been here for 14 years. >> the three-day rain total topped 13 inches, also a record. the president declaring a state of emergency in south carolina, opening up emergency federal aid. >> this morning was kind of mass chaos. >> from the carolinas to the northeast, storms are ripping

down power lines, washing out roads and destroying homes. >> i heard this loud boom. it was loud. i knew it was a tree. >> in new jersey, this house broke apart and floated down the bay. down the east coast, officials are urging residents not to venture out. >> recognize we're dealing with record rainfalls here. let's take them seriously. >> a warning not everyone is heeding. >> the flowers were floating. >> but a historic downpour that has left cathy jefferson cleaning up today as she braces for more rain. >> my house is totally full of water. the floors are all damaged. the furniture is all wet. everything is gone. >> over the past few days, these torrential rains have been blamed for at least four deaths throughout the country. here in charleston, this peninsula was cut off from many of the roads are starting to reopen, but the big concern now is the rivers that are rising and could reach record flood

stages by tomorrow. back to you. >> gabe gutierrez there in south carolina. >> dylan, how much more rain can we expect from the storm? >> the rain is finally starting to let up in charleston. the fact is when you have river and creek flooding, it takes several weeks for the rivers to subside completely. even when the rain shuts off, we're still looking at the flooding threat. this has been the past 6 to 12 to 24 hours. the rain just training over the same area. look right in through here. the rain is finally started to lift to the north, although columbia is still dealing with this heavy rain. so far, we have picked up about 16 to 24 inches of rain in some areas. that is just record amounts of rainfall, that this area has not seen in years. we've got this area of low pressure and this moisture just being pumped in from the atlantic, eventually, though, this area of low pressure will finally start to pull away so the rain will shift up into parts of north carolina, through the coast through the day on monday, and then tuesday, the

whole thing starts to exit. we do still have flash flood warnings in effect because in this area right north of charleston, that's where we could see perhaps up to another 7 to 10 inches of rain, and again, the creeks are flooded. and they're going to remain flooded until the waters get a chance to recede. >> thank you. now to a development in the search for that missing cargo ship in the atlantic. searchers say they have found a life ring, but nothing else. but the family members of the 33 crew members onboard, most of them american, are not giving up hope today. kristen dahlgren is in florida with the latest with that. good morning. >> hey, good morning, craig. yeah, that life ring was found about 75 miles from the ship's last known position. now, we're told there may have been other life rings spotted in the water, but when they lowered a diver down into the water, conditions were so bad that they were only able to recover that one. what does it all mean? it's too early to tell what it tells us about the fate of the ship. but what the coast guard is

saying it tells them, they're searching in the right place. after hours spent scanning the vast and churning sea, a discovery in the water. >> three life rings and one life jacket. >> it's the first sign in three days. >> our highest hopes are that the crew remain with the ship. and they're riding it out. >> so far, search conditions have been rough. >> the winds were in excess of 100 knots. visibility was less than one quarter mile. >> deb roberts' son is an engineer on board. >> the coast guard, and they've worked tirelessly in putting their own lives in their hands to try to find out loved ones. >> the massive cargo ship was last heard from near the bahamas on thursday as hurricane joaquin bored down. a distress call said the ship had lost propulsion, taken on water and was listing to the side. 33 men and women onboard. danielle is the ship's second

mate. frank ham is a husband and father of five. >> he's strong. better be strong because i just pray everything is okay. >> his daughter and wife don't allow themselves to think the worst. >> oh, i know he's coming home. and i'm just waitling for the phone call. i don't know if i have to fly to puerto rico but i'm going to be right there. >> for those who know the crew, hope is still very much alive. >> fight. fight, and fight some more. because you know you can make it. >> kenneth benten worked on the alfaro just last week. he knows the crew, the training, and if equipment onboard, like survival suits similar to this one, nicknamed the gumby suit. >> once you put the gumby suit on and expose yourself to the water, you're going to float. if you're unconscious, you float upright. >> they have searched some 31,000 square miles but this find really does narrow their focus and they're back up there

flying now. >> kristen dahlgren for us. thank you. turning to oregon where trarjied is uniting a community devastated by the loss of nine people killed in a mass shooting on a college campus. jacob has more on how they're coming together and we learn more about the gunman's final moments. jacob, good morning. >> good morning. investigator discovered yet another gun at the shooter's home where he lived with his mother. this as the sheriff reveals how the shooter actually died. new information this morning about the gunman who killed nine people at that community college in oregon. authorities saying christopher harper mercer shot himself to death after a gun battle with police. his stunned father told cnn he had no idea his son had acquired such an arsenal. >> chris had not been able to get ahold of 15 guns, it wouldn't have happened. >> in myrtle creek, oregon -- >> we're dealing with a heavy heart. heavy because we have lost

precious souls. >> the modest congregation lost one of their own. sarena moore, a single mother who never got to finish her business degree. >> i miss her. i'll miss her. >> for this family of believers, there is some comfort in how she died. the shooter reportedly asked some victims about their religion, including sarena. >> she did stand up and say i'm a christian, knowing she would be shot. >> several of the wounded are still hospitalized, including army vet chris mintz, shot at least five times after confronting the gunman. investigators now say 26-year-old student chris mercer, who was armed with five handguns and a rifle, killed himself after the rampage. the community and nation searching for answers and peace.

for the first time since the shooting, the road leading to umpqua community college has been reopened. students allowed to retrieve their cars from the parking lot, but classes won't start until a week from monday. >> thank you. to politics now. speculation is mounting about whether vice president joe biden will enter the race. the pressure is also growing because the first democratic debate is just nine days away. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with the latest on that. >> good morning. biden supporters say while it is getting late, the vice president technically has until the end of the muth to make a final decision, and multiple sources are telling me he's still undecided. this as he and secretary clinton shared a forum saturday at the human rights campaign. fueling the buzz about a possible biden run. hillary clinton and vice president joe biden spoke at different times saturday, but on the same stage in d.c., a potential preview of what could

become reality. >> i'm running for president to stand up for the fundamental rights of lgbt americans and all americans. >> still undeclared, briden shrugged at the suggestion of a run. >> no, didn't say that. >> but he sure sounded like a candidate, taking on the gop. >> the american people are all ready with you. look at the numbers. there's hoeb aphobes still left. most of them are running for president, i think. >> and vowing to fight for stiffer gun laws after the oregon massacre. >> i will continue to speak until it is passed. >> as biden's moment passing, clinton is courting supporters and super delegates and so far has raised more than $75 million. still, sources close to the vice president say his team is ready to deploy a plan the moment he says go. >> he seems to be comfortable delaying a decision. first we thought he was going to decide by the end of the summer. now it looks like we'll get

perhaps to the end of october before we know or later. >> biden acknowledges he's still undecided, grappling with the loss of his son beau. >> you have no right as an individual to decide to run. your whole family is implicated. >> for her part, hillary clinton has been rebounding from the e-mail controversy. part of her strategy, showing her lighter side. >> hey, bartender, keep them coming. >> on display saturday when she appeared on "snl." >> all anyone wants to talk about is donald trump. >> donald trump? isn't he the one who's like, uh, you're all losers? >> of course, that was snl's premiere. biden supporters also know key states like new hampshire, texas, and florida have filing deadlines that start in november and december. >> thank you. we'll have more highlights from snl in a few minutes. first, let's bring in chuck todd, moderator of "meet the press." >> good morning, busy show. >> very true. let's get your take on the biden

issue. time is running out. is he going to be in or out? >> i think if he's in, we'll know this week. the longer he waits, the more likely he's not going to run. the only way to put together a campaign to win is to do it in the next week or two. >> you sat down with donald trump in an interview that will air today on "meet the press." i thought it was interesting. he talked about what he would do if his support starts to fall apart. >> number one, i'm not a masochist. if i was dropping in the polls where i saw i wasn't going to win, why would i continue? and it's funny. maybe it's like not like me because it's the power of positive thinking and i'm a very positive person, a positive thinker, but i'm a realist. >> so far, still going strong. what are your thoughts? is his campaign built for the long haul? >> we'll see. that's only a question he can answer, but it was basically. he said when he stops leading in the polls, if he starts falling and can't win, that's when he

pulls the plug on this thing. it was a fascinating tell. he said, you know, because i'm falling in the polls, you guys will stop calling me. it was just -- sometimes interviews can be revealing in ways you don't expect. i have to say, that part was revealing in a way i didn't expect. >> quickly, let's talk about a challenging week for jeb bush. slammed for comments he made in the wake of the community college shooting. the polls show him dropping to 4% among possible republican voters. can he pull out? >> he's pouring a ton of money into iowa and new hampshire night wru the fairest way to assess whether he can pull out of this is to see where he's at on november 1st after he's spent a month advertising on air. we're going to have new polls coming out on the show in about 45 minutes. and i think in one of them you'll see some evidence that early money that he's spending in new hampshire is sarting to pay off. can he sustain it?

>> as you said, never a shortage of news to discuss. chuck todd, thank you. we'll look for more coming up in a bit on "meet the press." we hope you'll join us tomorrow when we sit down for a one-on-one interview with hillary clinton and hold a town hall meeting with her. that's live from new hampshire tomorrow on "today." if you want to ask secretary clinton a question, post it on facebook, twitter, and instagram, using th the #hillarytoday. >> a high profile firing at the vatican. >> good morning to you at home. pope francis started off the meetings of bishops strongly asserting marriage as a bond between man and woman. it came at st. peter's basilica hours after the vatican fired a priest who came out as gay and challenged the church's stand on homosexuality. >> they have revealed a plot to shoot teachers and students.

they revealed the plan, revealing the names of targets and where. at least 25 people were hurt when a ryder truck slammed into a north carolina high school saturday, causing the roof to partially collapse. many of the victims were believed to be students on site for s.a.t. testing and band competitions. at least one person is dead after an apparent gas explosion in new york. firefighters say when they arrived on scene saturday, the entire front of the apartment building had been blown into the street. three bystanders were also hurt. a tragic story out of southern california where a young skateboarder was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. when trauma nurses tried to identify the victim, one of them was horrified to discover it was her brother. >> i recognized the wallet. and she opened it up and it was my brother's face right there. >> heartwrenching to hear that. witnesses say the victim had the walk sign while crossing the

street. the suspected driver was arrested. and finally now, taking a turn here. two bears found themselves barking up the wrong tree in california. this incredible home video of that tiny french bull dog taking it on with the bears on his owner's property. the 20-pound dog named jewels charged down the porch steps confronting one bear and then the other bear. those bears weigh about 100 pounds. they jumped the fence, and in this case, jewels wins. look at him, like bring it. bring it right now, big bear. >> i feel like we should get together and write a children's book. there's some kind of theme in that, right? >> dylan is back with another look at where joaquin is now. >> joaquin is actually approaching bermuda, believe it or not, as a category 3 hurricane. it's going to stay to the west. keep in mind, the northeastern side of the hurricane is very strong. it's windy. and we're looking at the potential for gusty winds and

obviously the rough surf in that area and then it races to sea. elsewhere, the rain continues across south carolina and then north carolina tomorrow. still looking at an additional up to 8 inches in that area. now here's a peek out your window. country. now here's a peek out your window. >> and that's your latest forecast. >> dylan, thank you. up next on "today," hilarious snl seeing double digits in last night's season premier. . from hillary to miliary, we've got the rest.

how do you stay on top of your health? ahh... ahh... cigna customers have plan choices and tools to take control. so they're more engaged, with fewer high health risks and lower medical costs. take control of your health at cigna dot com slash take control. welcome back. you can feel the excitement around here. saturday night live is back for its 41st season. >> miley cyrus was there, but it's hillary clinton serving up a lot of laughs and drinks as well. >> tv programming is complete with the return of snl. miley was host and musical guest, but all eyes were on hillary clinton who played a bartender to kate mckinnon's version of her. >> you could say that.

>> i'm hillary rodham clinton. >> great name. i'm val. do you think he'll win the primaries? >> he must. i want to be the one to take him down. i will destroy him and i will mount his hair in the oval office. >> well, that's kind of a lot. maybe you should take a vacation. >> a -- >> vacation. >> a vacation. >> did somebody say vacation? >> all right, that's good enough, right? not to be outdone, taryn killm took on donald trump. >> the megyn kelly stuff. >> she was worried.

he said she's bleeding every. where. >> that's right, i was afraid she was going to die, honestly. i love megyn kelly. i love her. i think she's great. she's talented and beautiful, but she's a heifer who's always on her period and i hate her and i hope she dies. >> just the start of the season. we have 13 more months before the election, so a lot more material. >> looking forward to that. thank you. right back after this. ♪ ♪ there's something in me... ♪ ♪ ♪ there's something in me... ♪ ♪ ♪ crisp garden vegetables...

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bay area is waking up to chilly temps this morning - 50's good morning to you. the time now is 6:26. and we want to give you a check of those temperatures right now. starting out in the 50s across the bay area. but we are waking up to some somewhat chilly temps. it will warm up, though. it will be a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-70s to low 80s. san francisco hitting 75 today. oakland, 77. san jose, you'll see 79. and in livermore, 83. i'm vicky nguyen. we have some breaking news to tell you about in the south bay. a four-alarm fire in the south bay sparked evacuations at a mobile home park. the flames erupted shortly before 3:00 this morning at a strip mall in san jose. this is all happening on center

road not far from the coyote creek and highway 101. several stores are up in flames. the fire also threatened surrounding apartments and mobile homes. falling embers caused the evacuation of several of those homes. just take a look at those flames. no word yet on any injuries or the cause of this fire. stay with us as we will continue to bring you updates as we get them. strong winds have caused damage across the bay area. check out this tree that came down on a car in the town of inverness in marin county. there's also damage in san francisco and the east bay from these winds. a high wind advisory is now in effect for the bay bridge and san mateo bridge. that also applies to the north and east bay hills above 1,000 feet. in san francisco near golden gate park, yesterday's winds blew down metal gates near the music festival. tree branches toppled over south of market and in the mission district. a gusty evening threw off plans for several folks on the

peninsula, too. >> we were actually at our garage sale fund-raiser. and everything blew away and we had -- and all of our costumes were blowing away and things were falling on the ground. >> some people said the winds were so strong, they had difficulty driving. and finally found, the fbi has now found a fugitive wanted for killing a 4-year-old during a gang fight in watsonville last year. agents say marcos daniel robles and rival gang members fired shots outside a motel last october. one man was killed and a stray bullet hit and killed jay lynn zervala in a nearby restaurant. the fbi turned to social media for information on the shooter. a witness who saw the posting on facebook gave authorities a tip robles was in mexico. agents found him and returned him to the u.s. they also captured samantha taron believed to be his girlfriend, facing charges for

helping him. he is charged with two counts of murder. two boaters are safe this morning thanks to several good samaritans and a chp helicopter team. the boat capsized in an area of ten mile beach in ft. bragg. one of the victims was able to make it to a log on the beach where good samaritans sheltered her from gusty winds until help arrived. the other person was found on a beach where two other good samaritans also helped until emergency crews arrived. the chp helicopter lifted the boaters to safety. the hottest ticket in town is no longer. 49ers season ticket holders looking to dump their expensive --

we are back on a sunday morning, october 4th, 2015, with a look at historic downtown charleston right now where the rains have been absolutely relentless. the flooding there horrific. life threatening, we're told. streets impassable, cars abandoned. no break in sight. i talked to the mayor of columbia. they said it's the worst they have ever seen it. we want to go back to gabe in charleston. good morning to you. >> good morning. we have just gotten a bit of a break in the rain, but this city got an historic amount of rainfall, nearly a quarter of its average yearly rainfall in just 24 hours. as you mentioned, this morning, many roads are impassable. cars are abandoned. and water rescues are under way.

we saw many water rescues as well in columbia, south carolina. that's where several people were caught in the raging current. they had to hold hands as rescue crews rushed in. here in charleston, saturday, the wettest day on record. there were00offs emergency calls overnight, and at least 37 water rescues. this weather system has pounded much of the east coast over the last few days killing at least four people. here in charleston, much of the peninsula was cut off overnight, but many of the roads are starting to reopen. the concern now, however, is that these rivers throughout the state are rising at this point and they could reach record flood stages by tomorrow. back to you. >> gabe guiterrez. it's amazing to see the pictures out of south carolina. >> now to the tragic death of a young american adventurer. johnny strange killed while attempting a jump in the swiss alps has become the latest casualty in what is known as one of the most dangerous extreme

sports. >> the record-holding dare devil was only 23 years old. he was doing what he loved, base jumping. but this morning, many are asking if the thrill of the support is wurkt the deadly risk. johnny strange found fame at age 17 when he became the youngest person to climb the so-called seven summits, the highest peak on each continent. the california native was known for his risky stunts. wing suit base jumping just one of them, but something went horribly wrong in the swiss alps thursday. police say he crashed just a few minutes after takeoff around noon. strange posted his final youtube video showing him soaring high above the swiss countryside in his wing suit. strange is the latest jumper to die while wind suiting. last may, rock climber dean potter and another climber were killed while jumping in yosemite national park. strange paid tribute to potter in this instagram post writing,

thanks for your wind suit advice. i'm sorry to hear you died flying. see you on the other side. mark sutton was perhaps the most famous base jumper in recent years. he doubled for james bond as daniel craig in the olympics, but his life was also cut short a year later as he crashed in the alps. at least 200 base jumpers have knin killed twine 1981 and 2012. 50 while wearing wind suits. but despite the risk, wind suit jumping is growing in popularity, thanks in part to videos shot with gopro. >> scenarios in which there are death most of the time can be prevented. we end up finding out why they happen. a lot could be because of the gear itself, because of poor decisions the people made. >> skydiving experts are quick to point out that wing suit diving from a plane is very different from base jumping. >> you have to distinguish between the two activities. one is an air spoers and one is

an dangerous activity. >> a dangerous activity with yet another fatal outcome. this sport has gotten so popular, there's even a competition going on this weekend, in fact, in illinois. the first ever wing suit flying national championship. no doubt, johnny strange will be weighing heavily in their hearts there. >> thank you. dylan dreyer is back. when are our friends down south going to get relief? >> south carolina will get relief tomorrow, and north carolina will get relief on tuesday. in the meantime, we have flash flood warnings in effect with another 6 to 8 inches, possibly up to 12 inches in some areas with the next round of rain moving through. we already picked up almost a foot and a half of rain in some areas. it's incredeble what is going on down there. now, you wait for the streams and rivers to start to subside, which could take weeks. a slow, slow process in the low country down there. that area of low pressure will start to pull away as we go into tuesday. out in the southwest, we have moisture moving in. even raining in l.a. today.

and it's chilly across the northeast, and temperatures today will top out in the upper 60s in parts of the mid-atlantic and eventually upper 50s in the northeast. this is good because we have gloves on the plaza for the first time, my first set of gloves i'm seeing, and you're from michigan. you would think you would be more used to the chilly temperatures. >> yes, but i still like to take good morning to you. your time now is 6:35. and you are waking up to chilly temperatures this morning across the bay area. 50s around the bay right now. but it should warm up. and we're looking at a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-70s to low 80s. san francisco, you'll reach 75. oakland, 77. san jose, 79. and livermore, you're going to hit 83. >> and that's your latest

forecast. >> thank you. up next, some great sunday stories this morning. the man behind the martian tells erica about how he turned a hobby into a hollywood blockbuster. >> also, the outdoor activity helping breast cancer revivers reel in recovery. recovery. how avid readers are turning back in time to get their fix. right after these messages. is your head so congested it's ready to explode? you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®-d to powerfully

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morning with a story behind the story of one of this week's biggest films. it's "the martian," and it tells the tale of an astronaut who gets stranded on mars. >> the story behind the film is almost like a film in itself. andy wrote "the martian" as a hobby. convinced he'd never make it as a writer. the universe had other plans. >> reporter: for the man who created "the martian," the film's success is the latest in a series of events he never expected. >> am i in a coma? you know, i'm just dreaming all this? >> andy weir's tale of an astronaut stranded on mars scored this self-described space geek a four-day, vip visit to nasa. >> i went into the mission control center. i sat at a station, remote control, camera mounted to the

outside of iss. >> reporter: and has earned him praise from fans. >> former iss commander. ♪ i'm feeling very still >> he liked it. buzz buzz aldrin, he's taken a liking to me. >> probably the biggest feeling of victory i had was getting the book published nushl eed initi. all my life, i wanted to be a writer. >> reporter: you weren't sure you had the right stuff? >> all evidence indicated i didn't. i had given up on being a professional writer because i failed too many times. i just said, this is going to be my hobby. >> reporter: weir began penning the "martian" as a serial. >> when i had errors, it was like having 3,000 fast checkers.

>> reporter: he was asked for a e-version and kindle download. he posted it for 99 cents. >> i pulled down a pocool 30 ces per book in royalties. >> reporter: the story that had taken three years to write suddenly changed weir's life in a matter of days. >> when they were negotiating the book deal, then fox came for the movie rights, and those two deals were agreed to four days apart. >> reporter: when you saw what ridley scott put together as his vision, did it match what you initially had in your mind when you were writing it? >> mostly. it's a faithful adaptation. >> reporter: did you have any hand in the screenplay? >> mostly my job was to cash the check, and i feel i did it well. >> reporter: weir's main character shares the author's sense of humor. >> i have to grow three years worth of food here.

luckily, i'm a botanist. mars will come to fear my botany powers. >> has any of this changed the way you look at potatoes in. >> no. i'm a fan of potatoes. i like how they taste. >> reporter: just don't expect him to follow him into space. would you go to mars? >> no, hell no. i write about brave people, i'm not one of them. >> reporter: his knowledge of what happens in space has impressed many, including a former astronaut. >> the book, "the martian," nails the integrity of the astronauts creativity and improvisati improvisation. >> reporter: weir hopes his story will inspire other authors to reach for the stars. >> self-publish. you have nothing to lose. >> i'm still alive, surprise. >> reporter: erica hill, nbc news, san francisco. >> i love it. erica tells us andy's first big

purchase was a piece of a meteorite from mars. if you'd like to read some of "the martian," we have an excerpt on today.com. dylan has our fans of the day. >> you guys are from jacksonville, florida. they're on a mother-daughter trip, which i love. it's not just you guys, there's a whole group of you. >> yes, it is. >> they're all sleeping in the hotel. >> they are. >> ranging from 80s to 4. i guess it's making sense. you're missing out. still to come, living life on the fly after battling breast cancer. the retreat helping happy anniversary dinner, darlin' i'm messing up every dish, pot, and plate... ...to show my love. ta-da! all this devotion only calls for a little bit of dawn ultra. now even more concentrated. just one bottle has the grease cleaning power of two bottles of this other liquid.

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>> actually, haven't thought about cancer that much, for once. >> reporter: she was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and had a radical mastectomy at 42, spending months in intense chemo. >> i felt like no one understood what i was going through. it's lonely. >> reporter: the women at these fly fishing retreat do understand. >> i never thought i'd go to cancer camp. >> here you are. >> here i am. >> reporter: they've all survived breast cancer. like tonya hanson, a lawyer. >> for me, it was very much like, i've got a monster inside of me, get it out of me. don't tell anybody that i'm sick. i was afraid it would affect my business. i didn't feel like i could share my illness with anybody. but coming here, i can. >> reporter: allowing women to share their stories is part of the mission for casting for recovery, the non-profit that sponsors the retreats. the motion of fly fishing helps

exercise muscles that may be weaker after treatment. this unconventional support group offers much more than physical therapy. >> most importantly, the opportunity to be here for the weekend and connect with other women who know exactly how you feel and what you've been through. it's an amazing thing. >> reporter: with practice, each day on the water gets a little easier. >> look at that. >> reporter: for some, the hardest part isn't catching the fish, it's the release. >> you catch it, and you let it go. it's just hard. ♪ my peaceful journey is today >> talking about cancer is emotional and exhausting, and it wipes you out. catching a fish and not catching a fish, just hitting your mark is exhilarating. it's life. this is life. i'm doing more of it. >> reporter: for "today," hallie

jackson, nbc news, wyoming. >> beautiful. >> there's something healing about nature and being outside and letting everything else go. >> makes sense. >> clear your mind and find that peace, wherever it may be. in a pond with fish or elsewhere. >> strength in numbers, obviously. good to see the women coming together for healing and recovery. just ahead, harry smith will take us on the road where the wheels and the pages are still turning. ♪ when is your flu shot more than a flu shot? when it helps give a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need in a developing country. thanks to customers like you, walgreens "get a shot. give a shot." program has helped provide seven million vaccines. make your flu shot make a world of difference. walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy.

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♪ ♪ yoplait. the smooth and creamy yogurt your whole family loves. yoplait original with no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. this morning on sundays with harry, america is a big, complicated, diverse place, as we know. there are a lot of people. there are a lot of different but

interesting things. >> you can say that. part of harry smith's job is to stop in and see what you're up there. good morning to you. >> good morning, everybody. if you're ever wondering what must it be like, or who does that? fortunately, there are people here at nbc who wonder the same thing. they tell me, why don't you go find out? >> reporter: what's blue, yellow and read all over, it's a bookmobile. in an age where it seems everyone on the planet is connected to the internet, one would think bookmobiles would long ago have been sent down the exit ramp. >> there you go. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: not so, say the folks who live in and around idaho. >> there are no branch libraries in the south end of the county, so the bookmobile is our libr y library. >> reporter: ed and linda have been patrons for 35 years. >> my wife and i have gotten addicted to agatha christie

murder mysteries. >> reporter: best sellers to dvds. if you ask for it, chances are, the bookmobile will come up with it. >> each month is christmas for me. there's always something new and interesting. if i reserve something, i know she'll have it for me. >> wow. >> it's wonderful. i love it. i wouldn't miss it for anything. it's better than going to church. >> reporter: debbie johnson is librarian and chauffeur to the 3,000 books and other items on board. growing up in rural idaho, she remembers loving the day the bookmobile came to town. >> when i was little and on the bookmobile -- >> hold on, you're from idaho. >> yeah. >> where did you grow up? >> cul-de-sac, idaho. >> that's a real place? >> yeah. we had no library, so the bookmobile from 25 mile as away

would bring it up. >> reporter: she's behind the wheel. >> people come to the bookmobile? >> especially those who can't drive. people have their kindles and read books, too, but some people, they'll never not have a book in their hand. >> reporter: for the homeschooled foodie family who live up the road, the bookmobile puts the world in reach. >> i watched your kids as they came in here, and their eyes are wide and they're excited about what's inside. it's pretty cool to see. >> debbie is awesome. they come in here with their list of things they're interested in, and she always managed to finds them lots of books. >> reporter: requests limited only by your imagination. >> i was curious about, well, what's great about snorkeling. >> reporter: books from a bus, why not? we get food from trucks. what's in here is that much more

nourishing. >> how great is that? >> isn't everybody connected? why would anybody in the world need something like that, right? >> the patience to wait for something like that. >> right. >> to come to your town. >> there's lessons inherent in this vehicle. the other thing that's interesting, is some of these people only see their neighbors when they go to the bookmobile. i said, you need a coffee pot. >> it would be good if they took that to scale. it'd be nice to see those around the country. >> what's interesting also is this bookmobile, for instance, stops in town, too. their neighborhoods, older folks come on, listen, the bookmobile people come right out of their houses. >> it's fantastic. >> you hit a pothole and the books tumble down. in this case, it's safe driving. >> apparently, a curb or two is gone in some spots.

>> my favorite part of the story, it's better than church. >> just like this. >> thank you, harry. so great. reminder to tune into "meet the press" this morning for chuck's one-on-one with donald trump. >> that'll do it for us on sunday morning. thank you for being with us. have a fantastic sunday. have a good week, too. that breaking news is in the

south bay -- crews are still on the scene of a ar and that breaking news is happening in the south bay. crews are still on the scene of a four-alarm fire that has sparked evacuations at a mobile home park. the flames erupted shortly before 3:00 this morning at a strip mall in san jose. this is on center road not far from coyote creek and highway 101. several stores are up in flames right now. the fire also threatens surrounding apartments and mobile homes. falling embers from the fire caused the evacuation of several of those homes. no word yet on injuries or the cause of this fire. stay with us, though. we will continue to bring you the latest updates as we get them. goodni