they need a break, too. that's what's happening "today in the bay." we are back at 7:25 with a live local update. >> join us for the news at 11:00. see you later. good morning. lights out. chaos in atlanta after a power outage brings the world's buenos días, apagón. busiest airport to a standstill. more than 1,000 flights canceled right in the middle of the holiday rush. >> the system is down. this is a mess. >> power finally restored overnight. [ cheers ] but the ripple effect all over the country could last for days. heading home. senator john mccain returns to arizona after his latest cancer treatment and will miss the crucial tax bill vote. his absence leaving republicans and president trump with no margin for error. we're live with the very latest. for sale. the owner of the carolina

panthers vows to sell his team amud an investigation into sexual harassment claims against him as rose mcgowan wears a black in a silent protest at the golden globes. and inside the pentagon's secret multimillion-dollar ufo program. the u.p.s. driver caught on camera stealing his own delivery. why the number of porch pirates this season is way up. and the prince and the president. >> do i need the british accent? >> why former president obama is sitting down for an exclusive interview with prince harry. today, monday, december 18th, 2017. >> from nbc news, this is "today." live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to "today." thank you for join us on a monday morning. as travel nightmares go, it doesn't get worse than a power outage of the busiest airport.

>> i can't stop looking at the video of people camped out for hours. >> how about the guy on the luggage cart? >> that would be us. >> i wish i i could say it's over. the power is back but the troubles continue. our top story, a travel nightmare for passengers. after the power outage that lasted nearly 11 hours. it paralyzed the atlanta airport. and now the impact is being felt at other airports all across the country. it could go on for days. nbc's kerry sanders is at hartsfield-jackson international for us this morning. hi, kerry. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the problems here just won't quit. the power is back on. the airport is open. but everybody who's had a flight canceled yesterday now needs to get a new boarding pass. that's what all these folks are doing. before you say simple enough, just get your phone out and get an electronic boarding pass, the electronic boarding pass at delta is offline. so everybody is waiting here to get a paper boarding pass to go wait in another line, tsa security.

[ cheers ] this morning, the lights are finally back on at the busiest airport in the world. >> look around. everything is happy again. >> reporter: but the fallout from the epic power outage here at a hartsfield is still being widely felt. more than 300 flights already canceled on top of 1,100 flights canceled on sunday. a passenger tweeting, literal pandemonium when the airport suddenly went dark. this video showing an airport employee sliding down a stalled and overcrowded escalator to help travelers in need. >> this created a big mess. a big mess. >> reporter: the loss of power trapping some passengers on planes for hours. in the terminals, an eerie anxiety as the airport blackout lasted more than ten hours. >> i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: sunday, 12:38 p.m., the crisis begins. a tlent officials blaming a fire deep in the airport's sprawling

tunnel system, that fire so hot producing so many noxious fumes it takes firefighters and georgia power and light teams almost two hours to get to the source. >> that fire caused multiple faults in our system. >> reporter: without power, the control tower ordering planes on active taxiways to hold in place. >> we've been out here for about two hours. >> reporter: in some cases, passengers exited planes right there on the tarmac. inside the terminal, tsa security lines come to a stop. to airport trains shuttling passengers between terminals make it to their next stop and then stall. airline computer systems shut down. it's still unclear what started the blaze. officials working now to answer questions, including for those passengers on domestic and international inbound flights to atlanta that were diverted. >> it's certainly going to be an open and transparent investigation. and the results are going to be made known. >> reporter: 275,000 people travel through the atlanta

airport every day. with christmas only a week away, this may be a case of an early visit by the grinch. >> we're just thinking through all of the things. no cinnabon. >> all the things you want. >> you have to laugh. otherwise, you'd cry. it's awful, kerry. i know it's going to take a few days to straighten out. thank you. it is the beginning of a very busy week on capitol hill, highlighted by crucial votes on the republican tax bill. we learned late last night that senator john mccain will not be there. he's returned home to arizona as he recovers from his ongoing brain cancer treatment. nbc's chief white house correspondent, hallie jackson, is on capitol hill with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. john mccain's doctor is sharing more about how the senator is doing during what will be his noticeable absence on capitol hill. president trump is offering his words of support to mccain and his wife with a senior

administration official echoing that. the republicans think they still have the votes they need to get the tax plan passed. no john mccain, no margin for error with the republican tax bill on the line. >> the word is john will come back if we need his vote. and it's too bad. it's a tough -- he's going through a very tough time. there's no question about it. but he will come back if we need his vote. >> reporter: the senator, battling brain cancer, has returned home to arizona, where he will spend the holidays, days after being hospitalized at walter reed medical center. >> i did speak to senator mccain. and i wished him well. i wished john well. >> reporter: his doctor saying mccain is responding positively to ongoing treatment, as his office says he appreciates the outpouring of support from people all over the country. mccain's daughter, meghan, who shared a poignant, personal moment last week with joe biden. >> your son, beau, had the same cancer that my father was diagnosed with. >> reporter: tweeting now, my

father is doing well, and we're all looking forward to spending christmas together in arizona. mccain is not the only senator fighting health issues. mississippi's thad cochran has also been absent lately but is expected to be back at work when the senate votes on taxes later this week. that, plus new last-minute support from bob corker and marco rubio means the senate will have enough votes to get its plan over the goal line. after the house votes tomorrow. >> we're on the 1 yard line. we intend to punch it in a good, strong way on tuesday. >> reporter: the $1.5 trillion gop plan would double the standard deduction and cut corporate rates, with critics arking the bill mostly benefits the rich. >> what we are seeing here is a real massive attack on the middle-class. >> everybody in every tax bracket will see a tax cut. so picking out one piece in a 1,000-page bill and saying this is going to benefit somebody, it takes the whole bill out of context.

>> reporter: the final tax votes are set to start tomorrow. but don't forget what else happens here in just a few days. that deadline to avoid a government shutdown. that means that by friday, congress will have to cut a deal to keep the lights on. all of it, hoda and savannah, setting up a jam-packed end to 2017 here in washington. >> hallie jackson on capitol hill. thank you. also on the president's plate, national security. he is delivering a closely-watched speech, laying out the administration's strategy for foreign policy. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker with that story. what we expect to hear today. hi, kristen. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the president will deliver that speech and unveil his national security strategy this afternoon, the first framework of its kind since former president obama unveiled his vision in 2015. while it tracks closely with trump's predecessors, officials say it will have an unprecedented focus on trade, border security, and counterterrorism.

and the pivotal remarks come amid fresh tensions over the russia probe. in just a few hours, president trump will roll out his national security strategy. the four pillars -- defending the homeland, american prosperity, advancing american influence, and peace through strength. a key focus of the speech, china and russia. the president expected to argue china and russia challenge american power to influence and interests, attempting to erode american security and prosperity. it comes as the probe into russian election meddling intensifies. overnight, the president returning from camp david, insisting he has no plans to fire special counsel robert mueller. [ inaudible question ] >> no, i'm not. no. >> reporter: and yet, the president expressing new frustration with the investigation, seeming to back the claims of a lawyer for his presidential transition who says prosecutors improperly obtained thousands of transition staff e-mails.

>> do you believe the e-mails were improperly obtained? >> not looking good. it's not looking good. it's quite sad to see that. >> reporter: a lawyer for trump's transition team says mueller should not have been able to obtain the e-mails, which he calls privileged communications from the federal general services administration. the special counsel rejecting that claim, writing, "when we have obtained e-mails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have the account oechber's consent or appropriate criminal process." democrats defended the special counsel. >> the reality is that people in these jobs have integrity. they're under the leadership of mueller, who is known for being a straight shooter. >> reporter: now, the latest flap over russia is unfolding after president trump and russian president vladimir putin had yet another phone call. the leaders spoke on sunday, and according to the white house, putin thanked president trump after the cia provided russia with critical intelligence to thwart an isis-inspired terror attack.

it's the second conversation the two men have had in the past week. savannah, hoda? >> thank you. we are getting a clearer picture of what happened during the october ambush of american soldiers in niger. an investigation says david le david johnson was not killed at close range. the associated press learned that johnson died in a hail of gunfire, hit as many as 18 times after fleeing militants. his body was located two days later. four soldiers were killed in that ambush. also making headlines, the fight against the historic wildfires in california. a break in the winds helped the crews over the weekend but not before new evacuations and the destruction of multimillion-dollar homes. nbc's steve patterson in ventura, this morning, with the latest. hi, steve. good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, this is a race against time. firefighters on the attack

hoping to take advantage of that break in the weather before those heavy winds return. this morning marks two weeks since the blaze broke out. more than 8,500 fire personnel now on the front lines. some working 24-hour shifts to stop the flames from spreading. the thomas fire, scorching 270,000 acres, is larger than the size of new york city. destroying more than 1,000 properties. it's also killed two people, including 32-year-old firefighter cory iverson. thousands lining highways on sunday to pay their respects on his final journey home to san diego. residents in areas being protected by fire crews have been showing their support, including oprah, who tweeted, god bless every firefighter and their families. meanwhile, places like downtown santa barbara have become ghost towns. the majority of the area still under evacuation orders and businesses are taking a big hit

right before the holidays. >> all my friends are buying gift cards because there haven't been places open to shop. >> reporter: the firefighters may finally be getting the break they need, with the forecast calling for calmer winds. >> the westerly winds will bring in higher relative humidity. it will improve the conditions through wednesday. >> reporter: as residents face week three of smoke, ash, and flames, they're hopeful blue skies are on the horizon. back in ventura, the devastation all around, this home burned to the ground, the fire, now 45% contained. but it's still growing. and there's more wind in the forecast this week. savannah, hoda? >> we'll keep our eyes on it. steve, thank you very much. for the first time, the pentagon is acknowledging a secretive program that investigative reports of ufos. it comes from a report from "the new york times" featuring bizarre video getting a lot of attention.

hans nick nichols is at the pentagon with more. hey, hans. >> reporter: the pentagon is bracing for more questions about this secretive $22 million pentagon program they acknowledged for the first time over the weekend to investigate ufos. among the questions, why they say they shut it down, what they could learn about visitors to our planet, and most importantly, would visitors come in peace. the pentagon, this morning, addressing their own real-life x-files. this video from f-18 fighter pilots, dispatched to get closer eyes on a mysterious aircraft. on radar, the egg-shaped mass was moving erratically, appearing to defy the laws of phoenix, flying at 8,500 feet one moment, then hovering at 20,000 feet the next. the pentagon won't say when this took place, but the f-18 pilot told "the new york times" it was unlike anything he had ever seen. >> the navy jets couldn't keep up with it at times.

one of the pilots we quote, was looking down into the water and saw a huge object under the water and another object hovering above it. >> reporter: for some, it's proof that the truth is out there. evidence that the government is aware of actual close encounters. ♪ the truth is, the pentagon has been watching, gathering information in a secretive program called the advanced aerospace threat identification program, officially ended, they say, in 2012. but "the times" reports that the $22 million program which began in 2007 is still in existence. >> just because we don't understand something or just because we see an aircraft in the sky that doesn't show up on our radar, it doesn't mean that it is, in fact, an alien spaceship. >> reporter: funding for the program was pushed by former senate majority leader harry reid of nevada, home of area 51, a place that's been a magnet for ufo believers. this is about science and a national security, senator reid tweeted. if america doesn't take the lead in answering these questions,

others will. and behind it all, a mysterious billionaire. most of the funding money going to a friend of rooesd, robert bigelow, who founded his own aerospace company, telling "60 minutes" he's a true believer. >> there has been and is an existing presence. an e.t. presence. >> reporter: the director of the program, the former director of the program, he told politico that he resigned because he wasn't being taken seriously enough. he says he wanted to take the voodoo out of voodoo science. guys? >> all right. >> live long and prosper, my friend. thank you. al, you're excited about this story. >> my gosh. >> are we alone? >> we're not alone. we're definitely not alone. unfortunately, a lot of people are together in the atlanta airport. they're going to stay that way for a while. we have weather problems to talk about. 39 million people impacted by dense fog advisories from texas to florida. a quarter-mile visibility in atlanta and in dallas. airport delays are going to continue.

and we have a coast-to-coast week of travel impacts. tuesday, this big storm comes into the pacific northwest. it makes its way to the east. and by thursday, it's causing problems in minneapolis and denver due to snow. then, as it makes its way further east, by the time we get on into friday, we're going to be looking at rain and snow, from detroit, chicago, covington, st. louis, memphis, dallas -- those are airport delays. and making our way into saturday, airport delays from boston all the way down to atlanta because of strong winds and heavy rain. and the roads are not going to be much better, either. we're going to be watching this very, very closely this week. and you don't want to hear about christmas day. >> yes, we do. >> come on! >> tell us. >> not yet. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds.

hi. hi. ♪ good morning. i'm meteorologist, kari hall. as we take a live look outside in san francisco, another clear and chilly start as you get ready to head out the door. we are feeling some really cold air in the north bay, only in the low 30s. in san jose, 43 degrees. as we check out the high temperatures, it warms up quickly this afternoon. not as windy. sunny skies, temperatures up to 65 degrees. in the south bay, 65 in the north bay. >> surprise christmas present -- nancy gets to stay for christmas. >> she doesn't know that yet.

but she's going to stay. coming up, the bombshell sexual harassment investigation against a popular team owner rocking the nfl. and porch pirates caught in the act, stealing your holiday gifts. why it's so bad this year and what you can do to make sure you get what you paid for. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ toyland, toyland ♪ little girl and boy land ♪ while you dwell within it ♪ you are ever happy there daddy, it's christmas! ♪ childhood's joy land never let go of your dreams. the mercedes-benz winter event is back.

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it only takes 15 minutes, to bring holiday cheer. get the party started with delicious chex party mix. this isi a very good monday morning to you. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia. [ sirens ] >> this is video from overnight showing a high speed chase in the east bay at 1:30 chen cameras caught a police cruiser chasing a car along east 14th street. police say the car eventually crashed into that bridal shop. you can see the damage outside of the building. police have not yet told us if officers made an arrest or if the people in that car got away. we want to check the forecast for this monday morning. enjoy the day, change in the works, right? >> we will have rain in the middle of the week. today, it's dry, chilly start

with the dry temperatures and mid to upper 60s. then the rain will arrive late tomorrow night for the north bay, the rest of the bay area before sunrise, then it gets cooler. we'll see the high temperatures over the next several days after that rain passes in the upper 50s. morning temperatures, especially for the inland valleys will be really cool, dipping to the low to mid-30s. we may have widespread freezing in the valleys. i'll be monitoring that. mike is monitoring the morning commute. >> it's a lighter commute because we have seen a lot of schools off for vacation for the winter holidays. we are looking at a crash at 880 and 92. that clears just before 7:00. we saw more traffic across the san mateo bridge. now things have calmed down. a live look outside shows how things are shaping up. 92 westbound, away, slowing for both directions of 101 as they travel across and hit the bay shore freeway without problems. back to you.

>> thank you very much, mike. i'll be back with another update in a half hour. see you then.

♪ hoda was just singing this song. >> that was insane. i literally was singing that song, humming the it right now. >> you were at wuven with our control room. >> look at that beautiful tree. it's the 18th of december, 2017. christmas is one week away, rehe pete, one week away. >> and we are so excited about that. >> we are. >> let's start off with a check of the top story, start, there's a major headache over thousands of airline passengers. >> holiday travel nightmare. >> i have never seen anything like that. planes grounded and thousands stranded after atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport loses power, bringing the world's

busiest airport to a stand still a week before christmas. >> they just created a big mess. it's a big mess. >> overnight, the power finally restored. but the impact still being felt. taking time for recovery, senator john mccain heads home to arizona to rest and recover from brain cancer treatment with the gop tax bill vote hanging in the balance. trouble on the high seas, 00s aboard a royal caribbean cruise ship get sick from the nurro virus. papal party. pope francis celebrates his 81st birthday in style, blowing out candles on a pizza and some cake. and down to the wire. >> to the end zone. >> touchdown. >> the patriots beat the steelers on a controversial call by the refs who overturn a last-minute touchdown. >> it's an incomplete pass. >> and he's going to try to run it in. >> he's going to lose the ball. >> as a late fumble by the

raiders keeps the cowboys' playoff hopes alive. >> oh, my goodness. >> today monday, december 18th, 2017. >> those were both nail biters. >> crazy good games there. we're going to stay on the subject of the nfl but a little different because, of course, the nfl is dealing with fallout this morning over allegations of misconduct against one of the league's most prominent owners. stephanie gosk is here with more on that story. >> good morning, guys. from sports to hollywood with such widespread allegations, it seems in some cases the tide may be turning from accusations to questions of whether or not this is going too far. but first, this rec jobbing is now hitting the nfl. >> championship game is -- >> overnight, a sexual harassment stunner in the sports world. carolina panthers owner jerry richardson saying he'll sell the team he founded at the end of the season. the move following a "sports illustrated" report that he and the panthers have made multiple confidential payouts for workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment and use of a

racial slur. richardson did not mention the allegations of inappropriate behavior leveled against him in his statement. but said in part, i believe that it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership. the panthers say they recently began an internal investigation. the carolina panthers and mr. richardson take these allegations very seriously. and are fully committed to a full investigation and taking appropriate steps to address and remediate any misconduct. and this morning, a new wave of push back against sexual misconduct claims. actress amy smart is fighting an allegation made in the "hollywood reporter" that her hgtv star husband carter oosterhaus forced oral sex on a makeup artist. oosterhaur says the relationship, prior to to his marriage, was consensual. it was said when you are in a

consensual relationship, then you need to take responsibility for engaging in that and not play victim. if that relationship doesn't work out, that is the chance you take. in hollywood, rose mcgowan, actress is like meryl streep who happily worked for the pig monster are wearing black at the golden globe necessary a silent protest. your silence is the problem. you'll accept a fake award breathlessly and affect no real change. i the despise your hypocrisy. this weekend, two movie directors claimed weinstein pressured them to blacklist actresses ashley judd and is the teeno. they are among the 90 women who alleged sexual misconduct allegations against weinstein.

and this morning, msnbc host chris matthews under fire for a 1999 incident. a spokesperson for msnbc confirmed matthews was accused of making inappropriate jokes about a if female employee. an ms nbc spokesperson says the remarks were found to be in poor taste, but not as propositions. in a statement, msnbc says in 1999, this matter was thoroughly reviewed and dealt with. at that time, matthews received a formal reprimand. with all this going on, we've learned anita hill was tapped to be the chair of the hollywood commission for eliminatinging sexual harassment and advancing equality in the workplace. hill famously came forward against accusations against clarence thomas, supreme court justice, in 1980. >> so many different strands to this story. we're going to switch gears

and get a check of the weather for christmas. >> so it's a week, right? we'll show you what we think right now are the chances on of a white christmas, which basically means an inch of snow on the ground or more. spokane, down to denver, light snow. santa fe, chicago, pittsburgh, even boston just on the edge, beckley, west virginia. look at what we're expecting right now on christmas morning. western two-thirds of the country pretty clear. frigid up in the plains. but we're talking about snow. there's a possibility one of the models that we could see a little light snow in parts of northern new orleans. can you believe that? that's crazy. >> wow. >> and snow stretching all the way to eastern ohio into the northeast and parts of new england right along the i-95 corridor. it looks wet. but we are going to be watching this very, very closely because it's going to depend on the position of the rain/snow line. it is still uncertain a week out. some of the models differ, but

we're going to be watching this good morning. i'm meteorologist, kari hall. we are going to have a nice and cool start to the morning. also, all clear skies and a beautiful afternoon with much more comfortable temperatures, reaching the low to mid-60s. then we are getting ready for rain. a quick-moving rain that will be moving in later on tomorrow night for the north bay and the south bay. early wednesday morning, it's a quick one and done. we will have the potential to getting up to a tenth inch of rain. that's your latest weather. get your weather anytime you need it at the weather channel on cable. >> if it snows in in new orleans on christmas, it's going to be the lead story. >> exactly. >> it's early, but there's a possibility. >> that would be fun. still ahead, with last-minute holiday dloifrs on the way, what you can do to keep the so-called porch pirates at bay. and then on pop start, an out of this world opening for

the new "star wars" movie. then former president barack obama granting a rare interview to prince harry. and holiday help, dealing with everyone from unruly guests to ungrateful kids. important advice from mr. manners. lookin' good in here!

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♪ we're back, 7:42. are you still waiting on some of your holiday packages to arrive? >> with christmas just a week away, it's a busy week for deliveries and for so-called porch pirates. what can you do to keep your packages secure? jo ling kent has more on all this. hey, jo. >> reporter: hey, hoda. good morning. today is expected to be one of the busiest shipping days of the year for the u.s. postal service. almost 3 billion pieces of first class mail will be processed with seven days to go until christmas. with more people shopping online, packages are being stolen upon delivery.

sometimes even caught on camera. it looks like a routine holiday delivery. but watch this closely. a u.p.s. delivery person walks up to a house. looks over his shoulder to make sure no one is watching. and allegedly flips the package into his pants. the item, a pair of headphones for hanukkah. he posted the video on facebook. >> i had to play it back again. i told my girlfriend. i think he just put my package down his pants. >> reporter: his girlfriend is the daughter of an nbc news producer. uf u.p.s. says the individual caught on camera is probably a seasonal worker. and the company is working with law enforcement to apprehend the individual. so-called porch pirates are nothing new. they've become more common with the surge in online shopping. one in five americans is the victim of package theft. and that number increases during the holidays. the medium price of a stolen

package, $250. the holiday shopping season is the busiest time of year for u.p.s., the postal service and fedex. and in an attempt to fight porch pirates, the palm beach sheriff's department honored a helper who spotted a pirates. he had no gifts to give for christmas and an addiction to drugs. what happens when the suspect works for the company making the delivery? >> it makes me mad every time i watch it. >> reporter: david said he installed a camera on his front door because he had a package stolen two years ago. >> i was stunned. it seemed like a grinch who is stealing christmas scenario. >> reporter: to guard against package theft at your house, consumer experts recommend doing a few things. redirect a package to a locker or in-store pickup.

use smart gadgets. a doorbell that keeps an eye on your porch. try a smart garage door opener to allow a delivery person to drop off your stuff inside. and now, there's sensors, these divisions that sound an alarm if someone takes a parcel off a motion-detecting plate. there's lots you can do. but the in-store pickup seems economical. >> and what about sending an iphone to nobody home? asking for a friend. >> not a good idea. let's head over to the orange room. dylan is in for carson. >> coming up, a new way to give someone on your naughty list what they really

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[♪ ] all right. we're back with a last-minute gift idea for some people on your list you might be ignoring. what's this all about? >> the holidays are a time for giving and recognizing all of the people who brought you joy over the last year. what about those who haven't? there's a greeting card app called felt and it's easy to let the people on your naughty list

know that's where they are located. they shared this image. everyone has a friend or a sibling that's the trickster. send a lump of coal and a handwritten card to everyone on your naughty list. remember the times your best friend canceled plans with you? it seems harsh. but some are taking them up on it. some folks are getting a real lump of coal. coal might not be that upsetting to everyone. rick twrwrites, i got coal oncer christmas and it made my mom mad i was excited to get it. would you send coal for the holiday? and 58% said no. and 42% said yes. so, for those of you who are interested, you can download the felt app for free and send a lump of coal for $3. and here's hoping all of you have a coal-free holiday. would you do it? >> i don't think so. maybe as a joke to somebody. >> i made a mistake of doing it once to my son. >> how old was he at the time? >> he was only 3.

it was two years ago. >> that was a no-no. >> dylan, thank you. straight ahead, proof there is no place like home for the holidays. >> the prince and the president and the interview that has the world buzzing. we're going to bring all of that (matthew) my wish was a clubhouse, but we call it "the wish house". (mom) and it just immediately brought something positive in our life. "oh, i gotta get up get matthew on his treatment." (matthew) it's not that bad, though. (mom) yeah. (matthew) the good thing about the surgeries is i get to have a popsicle at the end. (mom) he makes the best of everything and he teaches us to be strong and brave, too. (vo) through the subaru share the love event, we've helped grant the wishes of fifteen hundred kids so far. get zero percent financing for 63 months on select models, plus we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity.

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good monday morning. at 7:56. another chilly start. the south bay, 43 degrees. the tri-valley, 35 degrees. we have temperatures just above freezing in the north bay. all clear skies to warm up those temperatures into the mid-60s by this afternoon. not as windy as it was over the weekend. calmer winds. then by tomorrow, we start to see clouds moving in. that's ahead of our next chance of rain bringing in some of the showers to the north bay late tomorrow night and the rest of the bay area tuesday into early wednesday morning. after that, all dry weather, have the potential of a tenth inch of rain and cooler temperatures after this system passes by. we officially begin winter this thursday. let's get an update on the commute from mike. >> some folks starpted winter break, that's why there's a

lighter flow in many places. the south bay has a crash. it just made its way to the median. look how light the south bay commute is. southbound 880 past the dumbarton bridge, nothing big going on. san mateo moves slower than you would like. 880 to richmond and berkeley, a crash cleared from the curve. there's the bay bridge. a little lighter. back to you. >> thank you very much, kari and mike. happening now, firefighters investigating another in a string of more than 20 fires set near south bay freeways. the latest was set yesterday near a shopping cart. the same person may be behind all of the fires. bay area fliers feeling the impact from yesterday's outage at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport. several more flights are canceled today. tens of thousands of flyers are

impacted. another update coming soon. one local company - helping police find people who drive while high. the new technology in the works... as pot becomes legal in days. and - mechanics damage a mini-van during routine maintenance. our consumer investigator finds out - who pays? only on "today in the bay" - 4:30 to 7. for mild-to-moderate eczema? it can be used almost everywhere on almost everybody. the arm of an arm wrestler? the back of a quarterback? the face of a fairy? prescription eucrisa is a

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estamos esperando saber qué canceled. >> we're waiting to find out what's going on and what we're going to do next. >> how will it impact travel today? we're there live. plus, the prince and the president. >> i'll interview you, if you want. >> no. let's keep it that way. >> former president obama sits down for a candid conversation with prince harry, talking family, friendship and the future. did the obamas get a save the date? and we wish you a merry

christmas. jenna heads down to tennessee to catch up with the legendary trisha yearwood and a country christmas. >> i think we should toast the holiday. >> yes, we must. >> today, december 18, 2017. ♪ >> good morning, buford, georgia. >> mother/daughter trip from ohio. >> all i want for christmas is to meet savannah guthrie. >> we love hoda. ♪ >> it's our first time in new york city! >> celebrating our 18th birthdays on the "today" show. >> that's too much cute going on. >> we need to get in it. we need to jump in the middle of that. >> we're going to plunge into the cuteness in a little bit. thank you so much for being with us. great crowd out there. happy to have you with us on a monday morning. >> it's a busy monday morning. >> can you imagine being in the atlanta airport?

>> no. >> we'll start there with your news at 8:00. this power outage at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson, brought the world's busiest airport to a standstill on sunday. more than 1,300 flights delayed or canceled in the last 24 hours. it's not over by a mile. nbc east's kerry sanders is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is a nightmare. the georgia authorities have pinpointed the source of the problem. there's something there called a switch. when the fire went up the lines, it burned seven lines. now, as you can see, they did eventually get work crews to the location, but that took more than two hours because of the heat of the fire and the noxious fumes. because it burned out the main power lines, but in the seven lines are the redundant power lines. the entire airport was without electricity. as you noted, flights canceled. the problem is delta the main

carrier canceled an additional 300 for today. and everyone who was supposed to be on a flight yesterday and is now here at the airport today needs to get a printed boarding pass. you can't do it electronically because that system is now down. so all the people that you see in the line here are waiting to get printed boarding passes to then wait in another line. and that is the tsa security line. it's going to be a long couple of days as they work out the problems of all the backups of passengers, many of them, who are just trying to make it to their loved ones for christmas. savannah? >> our heart goes out to them for sure. kerry, thank you. all eyes are on washington today as president trump outlines his national security strategy. a plan that could alter the country's relationship with the rest of the world. nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. in a few hours the president will roll out the four pillars

defending the america homeland, american prosperity, advancing american influence and peace restraint. a key focus will be china and russia. mr. trump is expected to appear tough to talk about power and influence. this comes as the russia probe intensifies with the president expressing new frustration with the investigation. the president seeming to back the claims of a lawyer for his presidential transition who says prosecutors improperly obtained thousands of transition staff e-mails. the special counsel rejecting that claim write, quote, when we have obtained e-mails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal proce process. the president saying, despite all of that, he's not considering firing special counsel robert mueller. mr. trump is also looking for the first legislative victory on tax reform. and this week is make or break. the white house believes it does have enough votes, but overnight there was word that late senator john mccain will not cast his vote. the senator battling brain

cancer returned home to arizona where he will spend the holidays. the president saying he spoke to sidney mccain and believes he'll come back if his vote is needed. the $1.5 trillion gop plan would double the standard deduction and cut corporate rates. the house is expected to vote tomorrow, hoda. >> kristen welker at the white house. we'll be waiting for that. the older son of sarah palin was arrested over the weekend on domestic violence charges. track palin was arraigned on sunday on three counts of felony burglary, assault in the fourth degree and criminal mischief. the alleged incident occurred in wasila, alaska, on saturday. the further details were not available. palin also was arrested in january 2016 on domestic violence charges and took a plea deal that resulted in some of the charges being dismissed. 8:05. we call it morning boost time. >> here we go. this year's winter day's parade in wisconsin will be a night one couple will talk about for the rest of their lives. this firefighter was marching in

the parade when he suddenly called his girlfriend, grace johnson, and her 2-year-old daughter out to the parade route where he dropped to one knee and asked for grace's hand in marriage. she said yes and the parade goers loved it. but watch what happens next. then matt turns to the little girl and asks if she would be willing to spend the rest of her life with him. she nods yes. and then leaps into his arms. come on. >> i can't take it. i can't take it. >> come on. this is kleenex time. >> that is adorable. kes me happy.and it? thank you. a lot more ahead this morning, including what former president obama was doing being interviewed by prince harry. plus, it is a "pitch perfect" morning in studio 1a because anna kendrick will be here. but first, we'll see what megyn has coming up. hi, megyn. are you afraid of flying? i am. and a lot of people are. going into this holiday travel season, they need some tips on how to handle it.

jeff rossen on the one thing you can do with your pen to avoid fear of flying. top of the hour. >> okay. >> don't go through atlanta. >> exactly. and jenna gets a touch of the holidays with cooking and country music star trisha yearwood. but first, these messages. omewh. or maybe you want to shop around. or, maybe you don't want to drive a car at all anymore... like, maybe you want to ride a camel into the dessert and take a deep hard look within. just figure some stuff out for awhile. that's cool. whatever your plans for buying a car, carmax is the place to sell your car. okay, let's do this, tina, tchick-tchick. here we go, tchick-tchick. i believe in ya tina. c'mon now. ah, we can just hang out here.

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dang! dang. dang. see zero in a whole new way. get zero down, zero deposit, zero first month's payment, and zero due at signing on select volkswagen models. now with the people first warranty. all all right. we're back. 8:10, a sneak peek at a headline making interview. >> the interviewer was prince harry and his subject, president barack obama. kelly cobiella is at kensington palace with more on this. hey, kelly. >> reporter: if you wondered what could make prince harry nervous, turns out, it was this really big interview. he stepped in for the queen, walked the red carpet and announced a royal wedding date, all in one week. and now, prince harry has a new role. guest editor for a british radio show.

and his first interview is a very big get. >> you guys have sound? >> you're sounding great. >> all good? >> i am -- >> it's fun. i'll interview you if you want. >> no. let's keep it this way. i would much prefer that. >> reporter: kensington palace announced the interview with barack obama in a tweet. the prince and former president will talk about their shared interest in the next generation of young leaders. just last month, harry was the one answering questions at an obama foundation summit in chicago. >> the younger generation of the world has turned me into an optimist. >> reporter: their friendship on full display at the invictus games in toronto in september. that's when the interview was recorded. but their bromance goes way back. prince harry has been to the white house, teaming up with michelle obama, supporting military families and girls' education.

last year, the obamas had dinner at kensington palace and met young prince george in his royal p.j.s. ahead of the 2016 invictus games, michelle obama threw out a challenge to harry on twitter. >> hey, prince harry. remember when you told us to bring it at the invictus games. >> oh, really, please. >> reporter: harry gave it right back. with the queen. >> boom. >> reporter: barack obama and prince harry, sharing laughs again. >> do i have to speak faster? i'm a slow speaker. >> not at all. >> do i need a british accent? >> if you use long pauses between the answers, you are probably going to get the face. >> let me see the face. okay. >> reporter: the interview, touching on obama's last day in office. and his post-presidential life. so far, the palace just releasing that short clip. the actual interview will be

released next week, after christmas and before the big holiday, a christmas family photo this morning from the palace. prince george and charlotte, with their parents, of course, prince william and kate. that's the photo that appears on the family christmas card. by the way, guys, this morning, the palace said that princess charlotte, who is now 2, will be going to school in january. >> that's so cute. >> cuteness overload. >> and, kelly, we love your coat. on a totally separate note. >> yeah. hoda was like one-click shopping that coat during your report. thank you, kelly. jenna is here. let's "trend" together. there's that familiar saying. there's no place like home for the holidays. it may not be surprising that psychology actually backs that theory up. your

mind? >> i think of tucson, arizona. the house i psychologists say there are bonds between people and places. we attach meaning and memories to places we grew up. when you think of home for the holidays, without blinking, what's the first thought in your mind? >> i think of tucson, arizona. the house i grew up in. my mom lives there. what about you? >> i think of people more than places. i automatically go back to my dad reading the bible to us on christmas. i don't know why. that is just what i -- where i go. and we'll be with them again. i'm excited. >> you know what i love about jenna? you put your heart on the table. that's what you do. i love that about you. dylan, when you think of home for the holidays? >> i think of the living room of the home i grew up in. yellow carpet. >> where did you grow up? >> in new jersey. >> i think of my home now. my parents have been gone for a while. just having my kids around. brother and sister, my brothers and sisters come by. >> i think about morgantown, west virginia, where we grew up. i remember racing down the stairs. >> yeah. >> remember when you go back to your old home and you look at it and it seems oddly like

unremarkable. >> or small. >> we used to sled down, those were the stairs. that was the magnolia tree. >> what's funny about home. i can close my eyes and walk through the entire house i grew up in. my parents sold it a long time ago. and i remember every inch. >> or the footsteps you heard. henry says it's a fire hazard. i leave it on. so this morning when it was dark in my house, i turned the tree on. and that lit tree, in a dark house. that brings back memory. >> i do that before i leave. >> i love it. a lit tree. >> down memory lane. don't forget to water the tree. that is a fire hazard. you have "pop start." >> let's switch over to "pop start." in a galaxy not so far away, "star wars" broke the box office this weekend.

the eighth movie, took the number one spot in the u.s., raking in $221 million. and beating out the previous record holder, "beauty and the beast." $220 million may seem like a lot of money, it missed the mark for the overall record, which was "the force awakens." with $248 million. in case you were wondering, "the last jedi" made $450 million in ticket sales. >> up next, john stamos, feeling sentimental this weekend. the actor announced he and his fiancee are expecting. this will be the couple's first child. and stamos is starting to reflect on what it will mean to become a father. sharing this photo on instagram. you see john stamos as a baby with his dad, bill stamos, holding him. stamos captioning the photo, i will fall short of the father that my pop was.

but i'm going to give it my all. such a sweet photo there. and finally, the queen of surprises, oprah winfrey. it was a surprise for many, when oprah attended the university of milwaukee graduation. the tv icon was at the ceremony to watch her sister patricia lee graduate from the university. my sister pat had one big dream when i met her, to go to college and finish strong. today, that dream came true. congratulations, little sis. case in point, it's never too late to pursue your dreams. that's your "pop start." "daly click." john henry krueger qualified for the 2018 olympic games. and his mom couldn't wait to celebrate with him. check it out. >> watch this. that's the most impressive performance of the night right there. >> athletic ability. we know where he got the legs from. >> that's pretty impressive. >> wow. >> a hurdle. >> nothing was going to stop

her. >> that's a mom. >> he's not a hurdler. >> she wastes no time to give her 18-year-old a hug. that's one proud momma right there. we'll see what happens at the winter olympics in february. >> yes. thank you. there should be a mom course. the mom olympic sport. should we get the weather? >> yes, ma'am. we're going to update you on what's going on in atlanta and dallas. we've got all these fog advisories, for 39 million people. atlanta, a quarter-mile visibility. same in dallas. that's going to make the situation in atlanta even worse. and then, during the day today, we're looking at showers and thunderstorms, all along the stationary front. we're going to see more in the way of fog tomorrow because this front's going to drop a lot of rain today, into tomorrow. the downpours may cause locally heavy rain and flooding from oklahoma to memphis. looking over the next several days. upwards of three to five inches

of rain in some spots, from parts of eastern texas all the way into central tennessee. that's w that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. a live look outside and downtown san jose at christmas in the park, that's getting ready to start here in the next 40 minutes. and we will have some nice weather going throughout the day. even though it's a cold start, we will see our high temperatures up to the low to mid-60s. up to 65 degrees in san jose and 64 degrees in san francisco. also 64 in napa and over the next several days, we will have some rain finally moving in. that gets here between late tuesday night and early wednesday morning. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. now, to today's hassle-free holidays. the holidays is a time to gather family and friends. sometimes there's sticky social situations. >> there's one guy we like to callners himself.

thomas farley is here. >> no coal for everyone this morning. >> we didn't get you a gift. >> that's all right. each gift has an this is an nbc news special re we are following a developing situation in washington state. in -- near the town of dupont, where a train has apparently gone off the rails and as you can see in this photo, it is -- some of cars have actually have on an interstate. actually fallen on an interstate. this is interstate 5 southbound. it's, of course, the major north/south ruoute along the wet coast. this train, we believe, was traveling between seattle and portland. part of a new service. the cascade service on this road. you can see at least one of the passenger cars now is in the roadway. another dangling. it's not clear whether there was

a collision that proceeded this. people on the scene have reported a number of ambulances, as you might suspect, heading in the direction. these are some of the first images we're getting now. there's the route. you can see between seattle and portland. nbc tom costello has been monitoring some of the pictures coming across social media. what do you know so far? >> caller: good morning. this was train 501. it was the inaugural day of service on the amtrak cascades high speed line. 14 miles stretch. essentially from tacoma to olympia. and this derailed, we believe, just after the 7:00 a.m. hour there on the west coast. 250 people on board this train, we believe. one of the cars, as you can see from the pictures, hanging over a bridge right down on to the highway. on to i-5. and another car, we believe, awfully close to a body of water there. they declared this a mass casualty incident.

we have multiple fire and rescue personnel and law enforcement responding to and already on the scene. the number of injuries we simply don't know, at this point. it's very much an active scene. in other words, people coming and going and trying to triage immediately those on the scene. beyond that, we don't have a lot of details. it was the inaugural day for the brand new 14-miles of track. >> it's difficult getting to the scene. we're told the weather is not conducive to helicopters. which would, of course, affect any flights there. the southbound lanes of busy i- 5 are closed in that direction. ambulances and rescue crews doing the best they can to get to the situation. these are still photographs people have posted from the scene. the amtrak train, you heard tom suggest maybe as many as 250 people on board. no word on injuries or any other casualties on board that train. but you can see for yourself

this is very, very serious. a situation that will take quite some time to unfold. we have been monitoring our nbc station out of seattle. let's let you hear some of their coverage now. >> on people on board really shocking. crazy to think ten minutes before the accident happened with, minutes actually, people thought it was going to be a great way to get to work. obviously, we hope everybody is okay and we'll continue to follow this on social media. i'm checking facebook, as well. people are sharing this story across the region and national outlets mentioning this. we'll keep an eye on this. for now back to you. >> we want to get to cam who has been following this from the traffic center. you were the first to spot this. what do you know, at this point? >> what i'm seeing besides emergency vehicles leaving the scene ambulances and traffic being moved to the right lane so

more emergency vehicles can get to the crash scene on southbound i-5. taking a live look at the closest washington state department of transportation camera that we can get a view of right now. i'm just seeing a lot of tweets from officials now referring to this in many different ways as massive, massive response. massive damage. they're not saying mass casualty, however, it is clearly being treated as a possible mass casualty incident. with so many emergency responders still heading to the scene. and this is the same camera view from right on the scene of the derailment that we were looking at a few minutes ago from chris karins. the advisory board chair who is actually on the train. so we're just tracking the very latest as it comes in. and waiting to get confirmation and some kind of idea of how many people have been injured in this.

>> all right. so we're just now hearing from people who were either on board the train -- >> you're watching, as we did coverage from seattle on this tragedy on the tracks. we presume is a tragedy, certainly. you see the cars of the high-speed train. there was a great deal of excitement. there was a new service that went into affect. the new charger locomotives were initially going to be limited to more than 79 miles per hour. we have no idea what speed it was going in this particular section when it jumped the tracks here. we don't know if it hit something. if there was some crossing there. but you can see the results here of the trains that left the track and some of them spilling over that tressel on to the roadway. this is southbound interstate 5. obviously, a very -- it's busy at any time of day there, but certainly in the morning rush hour. this is -- would be south of seattle. this would put it between probably tacoma and olympia,

washington. there are a number of crews on the scene. this is a mass casualty, as tom costello pointed out. tom continues to monitor some of the information coming out of the region. what do you have, tom? >> reporter: well, this is train 501, and it was a brand new 14-mile stretch of track, we believe, from tacoma to olympia. at this point, the information is sketchy. we don't have the number of people that may be injured or potential fatalities. we know they have a multiple fire and rescue and ambulances moving into that location. i'm already on the scene. 250 people reportedly have been on board this train. and it was such a big deal this inaugural day that the local station there had been doing the coverage on their morning news. interviewing people who were excited about starting the day on this brand new train line. on this express train line. so we'll have to see what the cause may be. you know, they don't open up the brand new train lines without

extensive testing and high speed testing. so exactly what the cause may be, we simply don't know. >> yeah. what i've been reading, tom, they were positive train control you discussed so many times in terms of added safety feature in that area. we want to go back to seattle. they're talking to a witness now. let's listen. >> reporter: definitely looked like there was a lot of big mess and stuff going down. very devastating and traumatic scene down here. >> are you seeing first responders in the wreckage? have you seen it yet? what are they doing? >> caller: they were just -- they kind of backed everyone up so you couldn't see too well. but before most of them got there, you could get somewhat close to what was going on a little bit. but they're kind of -- the thing was dangling off the tracks there. >> there were people in the third car. obviously it was app an amtrak

train. what did you see specifically? >> caller: the front of it, it looked like, it was hanging off and another one piled on top. it looks like the third car was piled on topsideways. it was kind of on top of cars. >> does it look like the train fell on cars below, coulter, on i-5? >> caller: yeah. that's what it appears to look like. >> oh, my god. >> did i hear you say it appeared cars also, then, ran into it? >> caller: that's what it looked like. yeah. it looks like cars crashed into the side of it. before they could stop. >> oh. >> from what you tell, were the injuries on the train or in the cars or both, do you think? >> caller: looked like both. it looked like it was coming from both sides there. >> this must be horrible for you to have seen something like this. i mean, you sound calm, but you

can't be. >> caller: yeah, i was in front of it. it was nerve wracking sick to your stomach after seeing this now. >> oh, gosh. >> wow, okay. >> we can't imagine. >> have you seen anybody walking away from the train? >> caller: no. they have everyone pretty blocked off. pretty far backed up making people turn around. >> okay. >> caller: not letting you get close. get some room for aid cars. >> is that what they're doing? they turned the traffic around or the traffic completely stopped? they shut down the department of transportation camera. >> caller: yeah. it's pretty backed up a ways. they're trying to get people to turn around, but mainly getting people off to the side so they can get more help out there. that's what the sheriffs were saying. >> is this an area that is home to you? do you live in this area? is it a part of your daily commute? >> caller: umm, yeah, we go down to tacoma every day.

it looks like they have every sheriff from every county around here now. >> yeah. it's a mass response. is there anything we didn't ask you that you could shed light on about what you've seen down there today? >> caller: i think that's about it. just a mess and catastrophic now. >> we really appreciate you taking the time. we really do. we hope you're going to be okay after seeing something so horrible today, kolter. we appreciate you sharing with us today. >> k-5's coverage out of seattle of this train calamity that occurred south of seattle in the area between tacoma and olympia, washington. dupont is the closest town we have there. this photograph, obviously, taken after the incident. you don't see any emergency vehicles there. what you see is cars that stopped where they could. according to that witness, some of those cars may have struck the wreckage. you can see where your -- with your own eyes how it came down

in the roadway itself. it's obviously a major interstate. so cars would have been likely moving at a fairly good clip when this happened. as we noted, this is a new train service. in fact, k5, the station we were listening to a moment ago one of the reporters was on board the train and had gone off prior to the impact. described excitement on the train. people were excited about the new service between seattle and portland. a high-speed train that has been underwent significant testing over the last several months was capable of much quicker routes, you know, between portland and seattle. but limited, initially, we're told to 79 miles per hour. again, we don't know the speed it was traveling. this is in pierce county, about 15 miles of track had been upgraded to accommodate this new service. again, whether that involves the track. we're looking at the trestle we're looking at here, we don't know. we've seen another traffic cam

shot a moment ago of cars being directed off of i-5. this is the immediate back up. someone photographed right after the accident. no way to go. vehicles simply pulled off. again, some of them may have impacted that wreckage. it appears from what we can see only one or two cars actually off the trestle. as you look up the track a little bit, some other cars -- there you go. you can see one is totally down there. another one dangling off. another one behind that appears to be perhaps upside down. ntsb is, obviously, monitoring this. will determine whether to send a go-team. it seems apparent the photographs we're getting now this will be a serious accident and likely will be hearing something with regard to injuries. but so far nothing. jo ling kent is in our los angeles news room. >> reporter: good morning. i'm here on the west coast.

we're hearing it's a massive accident. it happened near i-5 near mount road on this new route. this is a route that has 14-miles of new track. this has been new and updated track over the past several months. what we know what we're seeing on social media reports of massive damage now. law enforcement says people should avoid the area, and you can see why. that photo you're seeing there shows the car hanging off on to the road. as you mentioned earlier, this is is a route that is going from seattle to portland. a high-speed train. the ntsb right now gathering information, trying to figure out if they should be sending a team on to the scene. this is a new route that a lot of people in the area in the seattle area were excited about. this is the first service, reportedly, of this early route going in this particular direction. you can see those pictures are just harrowing with the train hanging off the bridge there and

the overpass. we're hearing from law enforcement there are reports of massive damage to that area, lester. >> jo ling kent who is monitoring reports coming in from washington state. pierce county along mount road is the most specific address we have for where this occurred. this picture here appears to be taken from the track level. so above the interstate 5 that we had been looking at. we learned from our partners at k5 that the weather is not suitable to fly in. we assume that would also apply to first responders who might be flying in medical evacuation choppers. there were reports of a number of ambulances moving northbound toward the scene. you can see getting in the southbound lanes, getting to the scene may be problematic. because of the sheer volume of traffic. here is where the traffic appears to be -- they're moving cars off in advance of that scene here. trying to open space. we don't have any estimates now

on injuries or other casualties from this accident. you can see the locomotive, we believe one of those new high speed locomotives still appears to be on the track. the rest of the cars are twisted in various locations. this area, we were told, had positive train control. you may have heard that discussed in previous derailments. it has to do with an ability to emergency stop of the train itself. we're told this was equipped with that kind of equipment. jo ling kent, you have more for us? >> that's right. we have new information from the pierce county sheriff's department. they're saying now that the derailed amtrak passenger train which was going in the southbound direction has resulted in injuries and casualties. and numbers are to come. but law enforcement continues to gravitate toward the area to respond to this. but, again, the derailed amtrak train caused injuries and casualties. again, this was a passenger train. a new route going the southbound

direction, one of amtrak's high speed services, lester. >> jo ling kent with that information. it's sad to hear, but, frankly, expected given the enormity of what we're looking at of the condition of that wreckage. let's go back to tom costello right now. tom, you have covered a number of amtrak accidents, and they have learned lessons from each of those accidents. i know it's far too early to talk about what happened here. but typically what is going to happen now in terms of an investigation? >> caller: well, i would us is spent the ntsb is going to launch a go team quickly. we're monitoring the situation now, that's expected. they'll quickly launch a go team probably from the west coast and then in addition to that their railroad experts from washington, d.c. this is about 40 miles south of seattle, we believe. at the moment i-5 south is closed. positive train control, to remind you, an automatic braking system. which essentially slams on the

brakes, if for any reason the train is exceeding the posted speed limit or any sort of obstruction or if there was any sort of a blockage on the tracks. the fact it comes with positive train control is interesting. that would, if it's working, it should have automatic braking. it doesn't account if there was a problem with the tracks. we know it was a brand new stretch of tracks. we've been saying 14 miles or so of new track. a brand new high-speed train. they would clearly have tested that. it would be difficult to test a train fully loaded during the testing phase. a lot will be part of the investigation. not only the amtrak investigators and the ntsb and the federal railroad administration, as well. at this exact moment, the focus is on the casualties, it there are injuries and fatalities. and then trying to remove all of the twisted debris off the tracks and to reopen the

interstate. but at the moment, obviously, a mass casualty situation unfolding. >> tom costello, thank you very much. and we're all seeing these pictures with the sense of shock and dread. and as we heard a moment ago from the sheriffs there in pierce county, washington they are confirming there are injuries. no numbers. no word on the severity. again, the pictures speak for themselves that this is a very serious accident. we want to update you again, if you're joining us train 501 between portland and seattle jumping the rails on this overpass. over test -- trestles. we don't know for sure whether cars were hit or cars may have struck the wreckage. the picture is not that clear. one witness thought that maybe some of the cars had hit the wreckage. but right now the urgency is to get first responders on the scene. this stretch of rea between

seattle and portland know it's congested all the time. it's a busy route. that's why there was excitement over the high speed rail. offering more opportunities for people to leave their cars behind. obviously, the christmas shopping season. many people in washington state will want to cross over into oregon to take advantage of lack of sales tax there. a lot of commuters, shoppers, perhaps caught up in this. let's go back to our nbc affiliate now k5 in seattle as they continue to cover. we'll see if they have more information for us. >> crews still coming to the scene. that an ambulance heading to the scene now. not speeding. but presumably there are more injured people that still have to be treated there. working to bring you the latest. guys? >> we know that at least nbc news is reporting, so i'm going to say that pierce county sheriff's department confirmed injuries and casualties. we also now have a confirmed there are injuries in this and casualties. we don't center numbe-- have nu.

people have been injured and rushed to want hospital. we're waiting for more information about that. and we'll talk with our reporter live. he was on the third car that went off the tracks. and then transfer trains as he was reporting on these trains in the expanded route of amtrak this morning. incredible to look at the pictures. >> yeah. i want to get to the surface. here is where we're piecing this together. this was a brand new service from tacoma to portland. and here is essentially where this crash happened. okay. this is right here at that overpass. here is the straightway. long straightway all the way to this point. as i zoom in here, you can see this is the first curve that these tracks or engineer would have encountered for several miles. so this is -- that was traveling southbound here. this is what you're looking at. this very curve right here. as we were presuming, there's actually a dip in the tracks there. we don't know the cause, again.

but this is is a large curve just before that overpass. last known speed 81 miles per hour, according to the amtrak website, as joyce mentioned. no word on the number of casualties but cam noticed a lot of emergency vehicles traveling away from the scene northbound. presumably lights and sirens taking people to the hospital. >> we know -- >> some good information there -- some useful information from k5 about the lay out of the track with regard to the interstate there that may offer some texture as we try to find out what happened. the larger issue is getting help to those who need it. we're getting updates now. not only from the local sheriff but amtrak, as i understand. let's go back to jo ling kent in our los angeles news room. >> that's right. amtrak coming out with a statement in the early hours after the accident. amtrak says it is aware of the incident with train 501. the service is called cascade service from seattle to

portland. they're on the scene now. amtrak management is there. they're responding. they do confirm, as well, along with the pierce county sheriff's department that injuries are reported. so right now that service heading in the southbound direction is temporarily suspended, as you can expect. that service from seattle goes north and then east and that's continuing to operate in those opposite directions. what you see now is a real reflection of the pictures on your screen. the injuries are reported and the pierce county sheriff's department is also saying casualties are reported, as well, and those numbers are to come. >> jo ling, to clarify. i think you said 504. 501 is the train. >> that's right. >> we're on the same page. as we try to get new pictures from the scene, as you can imagine, those people who are there hopefully some of the folks there have, you know, offered whatever assistance they can. but the first responders, obviously, trying to get to this scene. as we said, it's not conducive to flying helicopters now. the ceiling was simply too low.

a lot of cars to get through. we know they have been diverting traffic off that southbound 5. you can see from the radar picture there it continues to rain in that area. the area we're talking about is seattle on the map. you can come on down and in the tacoma between tacoma and olympia, roughly. south of the seattle area. it looks like the entire state getting a soaking today. we want to go back to tom costello now. tom is also monitoring this. he's on the television. what else have you learned? >> caller: well, i think we're very much dependent on local authorities to give us an update. when you've got this kind of mass casualty situation. all the information will come from the local fire department and the sheriff's department there. in the meantime, the ntsb is, obviously, beginning to move. i would expect a formal activation very quickly. federal highway -- let me say that again. federal railroad administration will be responding. any time there's a major

incident involving loss of life. they respond, as well as, of course, as amtrak. so this is very early moments, and the federal response at this moment is very much dependent upon what the locals are saying. a state d.o.t. spokesperson confirmed there were 75 people on board the derailed portion of this train. we did have our local affiliates saying there are 250 people in total on board this train. so i'm not sure if that d.o.t. spokesperson is referring only to the cars involved. and we don't have the number of injuries or anything else of that nature. >> tom, actually, we do have an update. just came across here. it's from the pierce county spokesman ed shroyer. it includes multiple injuries and fatalities. that's the first confirmation we learned loss of life in this derailment. it happened about 7:40 a.m.

pacific time. those trains jumping the track. some of the cars, as you can see, on to the roadway. again, we're learning there are deaths and injuries. that's the extent we have. we have on the phone -- i'm sorry -- alex rozier is a report we are k5 in seattle. what can you tell us? >> reporter: lester, the scenario here is interesting. we were on the train. we just got off the train about 10 minutes before it derailed. just outside of tacoma, washington. so here is the thing, this morning there was a brand new rail service that started from seattle to portland. amtrak added to their service early in the day. so there was a brand new 6:00 a.m. train that left seattle. and we boarded that when it took off this morning at 6:00. we got off at -- right before, i mean, ten minutes before it derailed. and all these people that we were speaking with are likely on

board. and looking at the images we're seeing. i'm waiting in traffic now trying to get to the scene. but looking at the images that we're seeing here it's very clearly appears that the car we were on is the car that derailed here for many of these people headed potentially to olympia, which is the capital of washington. or to portland, oregon on the train this morning. >> there would have been several stops along the way. did it appear that every seat was virtually filled? >> reporter: it picked up as the morning progressed. and, yes, there was a wide variety of ages. and the thing about it, along with the people who were making the commute to portland this morning, as did maybe potentially for business. there were a number of rail enthusiasts. this was a big day for amtrak. every single passenger got a little commemorative land yard they could wear announcing today as the first day for the new service. there were many rail enthusiasts

that wanted to be part of the historic moment. essentially, they added a brand new train session in tacoma, washington, which allowed them to expand their service. and this morning was the debut of it. they had 14 miles of new upgraded track, as they call it. and we don't know if this portion where they derailed was of that 14 miles new track. but, obviously, there was something along the way that caused this. >> as you're speaking, alex, we put up a photo. it's the first close-upshot of the wreckage. we can see one car that appears to be upside down. totally on the roadway. another on top of it. so this is our first most graphic look at the scene of the devastation there. alex, did you get the sensation of speed? i know this is out toed -- touted as a high-speed train. did you get a sense it was

different than any other train you've been on? >> reporter: yeah. all the amtrak officials and the washington department of transportation officials that we spoke with had all said this train cut down their time. it was going to be a 3:20 minute train ride to portland, which was the fastest it has been since they started their service. it was a reduction of about 10 minutes, but it's still faster than their previous service. and just the fact it happened on the first day. the very first train is quite shocking. and amtrak and both the washington state department of transportation had a lot of questions here. >> just to be clear, you were on board. you were doing a story on the new service? >> reporter: yeah. we were on board. we did live shots for our local broadcast here in seattle. all morning long. we concluded those live shots at 7:00 a.m. local time. and we watched that train leave

the station, and minutes after we concluded that live shot, minutes after we got off that same exact train, it derailed. and now we're looking at what you're seeing here. >> yeah, you're looking at it and i know we're watching this tragedy unfold and there are fatalities, but you're a reporter and a person, too, who, you know, avoided this. can you offer your personal thoughts for a moment? >> reporter: that's been the hardest thing. i'm shaking still. the reality is that, yeah, i mean, i'm looking at the images. we were on car three and that appears to be, from the images i'm seeing, potentially the car that derailed. we met a wonderful man who was talking to me this morning just heading to work and he leaves seattle every morning for a town just outside of the state capital of washington. just outside of olympia. and he was on board that train. he was so excited about the new early service. we saw what appeared to be two

younger people at the end of the college semester. maybe they were college students heading home for break. obviously it's the week of christmas. many of these potentially heading to see family and friends. it's just heartbreaking and, you know -- yeah without question could have been us. >> alex, we're happy that you and your crew are okay. we appreciate your reporting. we'll let you get back to your coverage. >> reporter: appreciate it, lester. thank you. >> that was alex rozier from king 5 in seattle. you remember his story, he was covering this inaugural service on this amtrak cascades line. and exited the train about 10 minutes before what you see on the left of the screen occurred. this derailment. one of the train cars off the trestle on to the roadway bed of interstate 5. another know down on top of it. and one of the earlier shots it appeared another one that was tumbling on the other side. but the official word we got from officials there in pierce

county there are injuries and there are fatalities in this accident. we don't know how many. they've got to get, obviously, to the scene and assess it. i'm sure they'll pasta informati -- pass that information along. the pictures we're looking at, didn't speak to folks getting out of unscathed. we go to tom costello now and continue to monitor other sources on this. >> caller: well, let's remind everybody what positive train control is. the technology that is on all of these major fast lines, if you will. these express lines. like this one in the northwest. essentially u automatically allows for braking to avoid accidents. that's the idea. preventing train-to-train collisions or excessive speed or misaligned track. the fact this train had lost the train control really raises some questions there. because supposedly that should have significantly mitigated the risks of an accident, at least

on a stretch where you don't have much competition in terms of other trains. so this will clearly be of great concern to authorities as they're trying to discern what happened. this is about 40 maiiles or so south of seattle on the brand new cascade line that goes from seattle to portland. we're told it was traveling in the neighborhood of about 80 miles per hour or so at the time of the accident. right at a place where we believe there is a straightway, if you will, on the track. but all of that is very much -- you have preliminary information as the ntsb and the federal railway administration and amtrak respond. again, at this point, we have a report of both injuries and fatalities right there on i-5 with i-5 south closed. as you would expect, all southbound amtrak traffic also closed at this hour. >> tom, you know, on the east coast, we've lived with and experienced high speed rail in

the form for some time. that was limited by track condition. >> caller: that's right. >> how critical you have to replace the tracks before you can realize the full potential of the locomotives. >> caller: absolutely. they are literally, in some cases, doubling or tripling the potential speed of train. and so they have to be able to handle fully loaded train with a passenger weight, if you will, and moving that fast, and heat up the rails, of course, very quickly. they -- in the case of a northeast corridor, they absolutely had to improve and upgrade those tracks all the way from d.c. up to bosston. on the northeast corridor not every single stretch of track is upgraded. the train cannot hit the full potential along the entire northeast corridor. i don't have first-hand knowledge as to how much the track there in the seattle tacoma area was. in fact, portland was, in fact,

upgraded. you have to believe they did some upgrades to handle a speed approaching 80 miles per hour. >> we can see in this picture here at first responder -- perhaps a firefighter. there's a ladder there that is perched up toward the wreckage. obviously they have gotten to these cars right now. and are likely going through triage now. perhaps there will be people who need to be extricated. it's, obviously, a precarious situation. there was one of the earlier photographs appeared to show smoke in the background. that car on its bottom there sustained a lot of damage. hard to tell if it's fire damage or not. but as you can see from that picture, you can see what appears to be smoke in the left-hand side of the screen. imagine this now. this train thundering along. derailing. the cars tumbling on to the roadway and you have southbound traffic moving along. we don't know if any cars were hit or whether any of those cars

hit the train wreckage, we don't know how quickly traffic was moving. the weather, as we have been showing in the radar map, is rainy. the conditions were not good. certainly for car travel. we don't know what effect that might have had on train travel. nonetheless, the conditions are such they can't fly. they can't fly medical evacuations teams. this is a mass casualty event with a lot of departments converging on the scene. they've got to secure the wreckage. they have to tend to the wounded and extra candidate them and get them to hospitals. what we know there are injuries. there are fatalities, but beyond that we have no specifics. jo ling kent continues to monitor her sources from los angeles. >> reporter: there have been multiple casualties as a result of this amtrak derailment near tacoma washington in dupont. this was reported, according to authorities around 7:40 this morning. the train was going in the

southbound direction. there's no official numbers right now on exactly how many injuries or casualties that we're looking at. but we know that i- 5 going in the southbound direction, the highway you see there is also being suspended and closed down by law enforcement. and law enforcement also saying to avoid the area due to the massive accident. but right now we don't have any specific numbers. we know, though, this was a new rail route leaving early this morning for the first time. headed from seattle to portland. it's cascades route. it's commuter as well as scenic route for amtrak. it's a special kind of train there that has a gold sheen on it. it says "cascades" on the side. it's a special route for amtrak. first responders on the scene. there's no sense of what caused this particular accident. no numbers yet on casualties or injuries. >> all right, jo ling kent,

thank you. we were talking to alex rozier a reporter for king 5. he was on the train and got off about ten minutes before the accident. he described an excitement -- atmosphere of excitement. you had commuters on the new 6:00 a.m. departure on the new high-speed train. you also had rail enthusiasts who wanted to be part of the inaugural trip. there were souvenirs given out to people. it was a mixed crowd enjoying the new service. it was promising to cut the commute between seattle and portland, i believe olympia would have been the next stop as it thundered the way south. then this happens. you can imagine what it was like for him to learn the news that the train he was on had jumped the rails a few minutes later. there it is. that wreckage stretched out from atop that trestle to interstate 5 itself. and the cars that are backed up with no place to go. many of the people witnessing this horror right in front of

them. i'm sure we'll be hearing from many of them as time goes on. tom costello continues to join us on the telephone. tom? >> caller: well, lester, unfortunately at the moment we're in a wait and see mode here. as we wait to hear from local authorities. the extent of the injuries and fatalities. and certainly everyone is hoping the number is low. but the pictures would suggest the injuries could be quite severe given the fact you've got several cars now off the tracks on the brand new line. you will have multiple federal investigations as well as the local investigation. and among the question will be could positive train control could have played a role positively or negatively in this? that's the new technology that was in place on this high-speed train. we're told it was, in fact, in place on the train. if so, did it function properly or not? and what might have been a

contributor here? i think there will be probably looking very closely at the condition of this brand new set of tracks. in upgraded section of tracks that was carrying this high-speed train. >> all right, tom costello. thank you very much. let us quickly update you. it happened about 7:40 pacific time this morning. 10:40 eastern along -- above i-5, if you will. this train, the 501 amtrak. part of the new cascade service 6:00 a.m. departure from seattle derailing as it was crossing over interstate 5. coming off the trestle. at least one car, we've seen, of that train totally flat on the roadway. apparently upside down. another one nosed down on top of it. there was further wreckage up on the track itself. officials there in pierce county tell us there are injuries. there are fatalities. there are no numbers right now. we'll continue to monitor this, as we get more information and we'll come back on the

this morning on "megyn kelly today," a consensual relationship or something more? a woman who says she has a sexual relationship with matt lauer tells her story to us live. then, she has faith. a member of the mormon church challenges her own beliefs. and our month of merry freebie train rolls on through. all that and more on "megyn kelly today." hello. hi. hi. happy monday, everybody. happy monday. thank you. thank you very much. and soon in the show, i will explain why i'm wearing these pants.