tonight, raging inferno. a massive wildfire exploding in the great smokey mountains turns deadly. walls of flames fueled by hurricane-force wind gusts surrounding resorts. people running for their lives. fire dangerously close mirac survivors, found in the wreckage of a tragic air disaster. 71 dead as the plane carrying an underdog dream team. revoking citizenship. president-elect trump's new threat over flag-burning that experts say is unconstitutional. detecting breast cancer. 1 in 6 women who develop it won't even notice the most subtle symptom. tonight the subtle

an unbreakable bond, inspiring america. "nightly news" begins right now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, there was so little time to flee as near 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts and plunging humidity set a wildfire exploding overnight into a deadly and destructive rampage outside gatlinburg, tennessee. thousands were driven from their homes, some fleeing with little more than the clothes on their back. this evening, scores of homes and businesses are left in smouldering ruins. we learned today, at least three people have been killed. it's happening southeast of knoxville, around the popular resort areas of tennessee's great smokey mountains. that's where kerry sanders has the latest. >> wow. >> reporter: the fire storm exploded in seconds. >> hit the gas, hit the gas! >> reporter: residents and vacationers thought they were safe, until they

that's all we had was panic. we could feel the heat coming off -- it was nothing but red. >> oh, my god, it's so hot. >> reporter: the escape was complicated by narrow mountain roads clogged with traffic, flames everywhere. michael reed separated from his wife and two children in the chaos. tonight unsure if constance, 12-year-old chloe and 9-year-old lily are alive. >> she called from the house phone and said across the street from our house and she didn't know what to do. i told her to call 911 and get out. that was the last time i heard from her. >> reporter: tonight with the fire still burning, authorities are beginning to assess the damage. entire neighborhoods destroyed. 14,000 ordered to evacuate. 2,000 fled to shelters. at least 150 structures damaged or destroyed. gatlinburg is a resort

several popular tourist destinations. the great smokey mountains, the most visited park in the country. an aquarium with 10,000 animals, and dollywood theme park. dollywood was spared, but this week, dolly, who released a public service announcement about wildfires, said she's heartbroken and praying for all the families. at the park vista hotel, the fire trapped dozens of guests. mike and julie san a few hours later, the unimaginable. >> this whole place is on fire. >> how would you describe this? >> the gates of hell. >> the gates of hell? >> reporter: driving the fire, a record drought and wind gusts nearly 90 miles an hour. tonight, officials are investigating the cause of the fire and have not ruled out arson. there are hot embers in the devastation here and that is a concern tonight. because while the air is calm right now, it's predicted that

hour, can carry a hot ember miles from here, igniting another part of the smokey mountains. lester? >> all right, kerry sanders tonight, thank you. tonight, crash investigators in colombia have released a photograph of the black boxes from the plane that was carrying a brazilian soccer team to a south american championship playoff in medellin. of the 77 people on board, six survived the crash, including just three team members. nbc's tom costello reports on the tragedy and what may have caused the crash. >> reporter: the video and photos from the airport and then the plane are haunting. the young faces of brazil's chapecoense soccer club, an underdog dream team, headed to the championship matches. but only hours later, tragedy. daylight revealed the broken remains of the chartered plane, scattered across the hillside outside medellin. slowly helicopters approach the site to

of the 77 people on board, only 7 were found alive. one of them, 31-year-old goalie, marcos danilo died at the hospital but called his wife before passing away. another player had just learned he was going to be a father. in the team's locker room today, three teammates who didn't make the trip were in disbelief. amid vigils and moments of silence worldwide, soccer great pele said simply, brazilian football is in mourning. >> translator: their confidence in god that things will go well for us. our chapecoense team will have to go on. it is difficult, it is so difficult to speak. >> reporter: the plane was a british aerospace 146, a regional jet with four engines used mostly for short distance flights. but flying from bolivia to medellin, the pilot reported an electrical problem and circled before crashing miles from the airport. >> one of the considerations investigators will look at is if the airplane was too low on fuel, because it

>> reporter: a surviving flight attendant told rescuers, the plane had run out of fuel. accompanying the team on the plane, 21 journalists, hoping to cover a fairy tale ending for a team that had surpassed all expectations, only to end in tragedy. late word that surgeons had to amputate the right leg of surviving goalkeeper jackson follmann. meanwhile, the colombian team that was scheduled to play against the brazilians today aed confederation to award the championship title to their brazilian competitors. lester? >> tom costello, thank you. now to the investigation at ohio state where the fbi is trying to determine what set off a student to plow his car into a crowd, then go on a horrific stabbing spree yesterday. was there a connection to isis, or any other terror group? nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: tonight the fbi is poring over abdul artan's laptop and other digital devices. law enforcement tells

with isis or other terror groups, disputing a claim from the islamic state media arm that he was working with them. authorities say they also have no reason to think his family knew what he was planning. artan smashed his car into an osu sidewalk and stabbed people with a butcher knife that authorities say he bought that morning at a local walmart. law enforcement officials also say a post was left on his facebook page, expressing anger over attacks on muslims worldwid it scares me that i live right next door to that. and didn't even know. >> reporter: neighbor louann carnahan was in shock. >> very nice people. the boy was very pleasant. >> reporter: artan's family fled somalia in 2007, lived in pakistan until 2014, when they moved to the united states. this is artan celebrating his graduation from community college just last spring. neighbors and friends say he was a devout muslim.

two weeks ago. >> did he sound frustrated with the country? >> no. at all. he actually loved america. he loved the fact of the opportunity he had here to go to school. >> reporter: but police say artan attacked that school. >> flipped me up in the air. >> reporter: professor william clark said he thought it was a traffic accident at first. >> but then several people started shouting immediately. >> reporter: tonight, only three of the 11 injured are still in the hospital. stephanie gosk, nbc a late flurry this evening of cabinet picks from president-elect donald trump. nbc news has learned steven mnuchin is expected to be named trump's pick for treasury secretary as soon as tomorrow. >> and investor wilbur ross is expected to be his pick to lead the commerce department. elaine chao, wife of senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is trump's pick for

price, major opponent of obamacare is trump's pick for secretary of health and human services. we have a lot more on that in just a moment. but first, the president-elect is overshadowing his own cabinet picks with his threat today about jailing or perhaps revoking citizenship for people who burn american flags in protest. that, experts say, would be unconstitutional. we get details on this new firestorm from nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the president-elect, today proposing punishment for a fof that's protected, though not popular. >> one flag was set on fire. one was -- >> reporter: not long after this segment about a college protest in which an american flag was burned, a trump tweet. quote, nobody should be allowed to burn the american flag. if they do, there must be consequences, perhaps loss of citizenship, or year in jail. but burning the flag is a form of free speech under the first amendment, upheld twice by the supreme court. >> in this country, we have a long tradition of respecting

i happen to support the supreme court's decision on that matter. >> reporter: it's not that americans like flag-burning. in fact, before those court rulings, 48 of 50 states had laws banning it. in 2005, hillary clinton backed a bill that would jail flag-burners. still to some, more troubling than trump's threat to imprison protesters who burn the flag, is his suggestion of stripping citizenship. that would also be unconstitutional. >> the supreme court has ruled that taking away can't be used as a punishment. that citizenship isn't a license that expires when someone commits a crime. >> reporter: now even newt gingrich, a high profile trump ally says he's got his own concerns about certain trump tweets, like a recent one on voter fraud, pointing to the different weight of a president's words, versus a candidate's. >> presidents of the united states can't randomly tweet without having somebody check it out. >> the president-elect also on twitter to

tour, kicking off thursday in cincinnati. he seemed to enjoy the energy of those campaign rallies as candidate. now as president-elect, lester, packing his bags to get back on the road. >> all right, hallie jackson, thank you. let's turn back to the president-elect's pick for health and human services. it's shining a spotlight on the coming effort to repeal and replace obamacare. the question for millions who depend on it, what next? nbc' >> reporter: since obamacare's implementation six years ago, georgia congressman tom price has been proposing ways to dismantle it. >> a mandate that the government tells you what kind of health care you've got to have? is that what you want? >> no! >> reporter: now as president-elect trump's pick for secretary of health and human services, he has his chance. mr. trump's promise to eliminate obamacare could leave the 28 million people currently enrolled, in limbo.

he says obamacare has helped him manage his diabetes. and while mr. trump has said he's open to protecting those with preexisting conditions, koons isn't convinced. >> it's about trying to stay alive. i can't live without insulin. it's not a choice that i have insulin. i either get it or i die. >> reporter: kate gonzedo is worrying too, wondering if her birth control plan will be scrapped. if obamacare is repealed. so she opted for a longer lasting iud. >> i made the appointment right after the election, uncertainties about what sorts of resources would be provided to me in the next four years. >> reporter: jim harrell says his virginia beach community has been hit hard by the rising cost of premiums under obamacare, an average of 10% in the state. >> anything would be better than obamacare. >> anything? >> anything. >> reporter: but will mr. trump and congressman tom price be able to turn their promises for better, more affordable health care into reality? >> talking about repealing the affordable care act is

replace it and how to deal with the 20 million people who have already been covered by the law, is going to be really tough. >> reporter: adam koons just hopes they keep people like him in mind, while crafting an alternative. kristen welker, stone ridge, virginia. there was emotional testimony today in the trial over a deadly police shooting caught on camera. a former south carolina police officer taking the stand in his own defense, aed american man last year. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more on the drama in the courtroom and the video that stunned the nation. >> reporter: this bystander's dramatic cell phone video last year, appeared to show walter scott being shot in the back multiple times. today in a charleston, south carolina, courtroom, the former officer accused of scott's murder, gave his first detailed public account of what happened. >> i fired until the threat was stopped, like i'm trained to

scott over for a broken tail light of -- in april of 2015 and was preparing to write him a warning, but scott bolted from his car. >> in my mind, at that time, people don't run from a broken tail light. >> reporter: prosecutors say he fled because he was behind on child support payments and feared being arrested. slager told the jury he fired his taser three times, but that doesn't stop scott from grabbing the stun gun. that mr. scott didn't stop. >> reporter: the cell phone video, he says, picks up the encounter seconds later as scott breaks away from the struggle. the prosecutor pressed slager on why he moved the taser closer to scott's body. >> you don't leave a weapon in the middle of a field like that. >> reporter: slager now says in hindsight, he would not have chased scott on foot in the first place and instead called for backup. >> his entire testimony was what he would have done different and things he's remembering now that he didn't remember then, which

made up of 11 white people and one black man, is expected to begin deliberations later this week. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. still ahead here tonight, detecting breast cancer, the alarming number of women being diagnosed without the most common symptom. and one survivor who says a second opinion saved her life. [ cough ] shh. i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. better take something. dayquil liquid gels doesn't treat a runny nose. it doesn't?

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but a recent study found that 1 in 6 patients have symptoms other than lumps which can be more difficult to identify. nbc's kristen dahlgren with more on the subtle signs you should be watching out for. >> do you want your reins tied? >> reporter: in 2014, beth laflor did something that may have saved her life. >> is it a miracle that you're here? >> perhaps. pretty close. >> reporter: she noticed a change in her breasts. not a lump. >> i would describe it as a thickening. and that's what caught my attention >> reporter: so she had a routine screening mammogram. >> it was negative. >> reporter: nothing? >> nothing. >> that allows you to go a little longer. >> reporter: but the nurse who works as a lactation consultant couldn't ignore the changes to the shape of her breast, so she got another opinion from dr. deborah rhodes at the mayo clinic. >> there's a very bright area in the center of her left breast, and this

>> reporter: more imaging showed stage three breast cancer, beneath dense breast tissue. a new study in england showed 1 in 6 patients have symptoms other than a lump. >> what this new study tells us, is, it's profoundly important to be aware of your breasts, to be familiar with your breasts, even outside of a ritual monthly self-breast exam. >> reporter: in other words, know your own body. dr. rhodes said remember the word n.a.p.s., which stands for changes to the nipple, armpit, any pain, and changes to >> if there's subtlety, there will be more subtle to someone who doesn't know you as well as you know yourself. >> reporter: beth is now two years cancer-free, loving every second with her granddaughter. and all the milestones she might have missed if she had missed the subtle signs of her cancer. >> good job. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, rochester, minnesota. up next, the factor that could make you eight times more

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there's alarming health news tonight if you or someone you love is a smoker. a new study shows that smokers under the age of 50 are over eight times more likely to have a major heart attack than non-smokers. researchers found this age group of smokers is the most vulnerable of any group. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas at the white house. today first lady michelle obama unveiled this year's decorations. families of u.s. service members invited for an early view. part of the theme includes a lot of legos. a team of master lego builders spent 500 hours designing and building the decorations. 200,000 legos in all. there's a whole lot to celebrate this holiday season for 20 co-workers from tennessee who just hit a massive jackpot. today the group claimed a $420 million prize. the cash value is worth $254 million, meaning about $12.7 million apiece before taxes.

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finally tonight, two best friends taking social media by storm. a boy and his dog, bringing smiles to tens of thousands with their adorable pictures. now they're part of a mission to help other kids that need a place to call home. harry smith has more in our latest installment of "inspiring america." >> reagan, come here. >> reporter: as dogs go, reagan is a true ham. >> hey, reagan, what a good boy. >> reporter: always camera-ready. besty, 3-year-old buddy. >> here you go. >> reporter: buddy. not his real name. is a foster child living in oregon. >> i started calling him reagan's little buddy, because that's who he was. >> reporter: the dog belongs to buddy's foster grandparents. together the boy and the dog are nothing short of adorable. >> there was an instant bond. they loved each other from day one. >> reporter: the photos never show a clear view of buddy's face for his

yet the two have more than 100,000 instagram followers. because of that, foster grandma sandy had an idea, a book. >> i felt like, it's a story that needs to be told. in addition to cute pictures. the good that they've been able to do for each other. and for foster kids everywhere. >> reporter: the proceeds will go to a non-profit that supports foster caregivers, like buddy's foster mom, cary lewis. >> foster care has been one of the hardest but absolute best things that we've ever done. >> reporter: there are more than 400,000 foster children in the united states. with more than 100,000 awaiting placement. the pictures tell you a lot about love, and joy, and sharing. >> it's such a powerful connection. >> reporter: who knows? maybe you know a dog who needs a new friend.

>> can't get enough of those pictures. what a pair. that's going to do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and goodnight. watching and goodnight. good evening. the big story tonight. could thousands of jobs he coming to arizona. governor do see says the lucid motors factory could create jobs in the next year .

batteries and now it is getting into the auto manufacturing business.>> the question now is, are they taking arizona for a ride? graham is verifying the story tonight. >> reporter: arizona is riding shotgun is this new electric cars being built. governor doug ducey liked what he saw today. even new mexico is along for the ride. can the lawn -- can the automaker there are only two of the cars on the street, but arizona could build tens of thousands of more. >> our appeal is the endless drive to be the best.>> reporter: lucid motors will spend $700 million on a plan that could employ people in the next years. >> -- >> reporter: claudia pavlovich of neighboring sonora, mexico