signs that could save your life. and best friends. a boy and his dog and an unbreakable bond inspiring america. "nightly news"egins right now. good evening, there was so little time to flee as near 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts and plunging humidity overnight into a

seconds. >> hit the gas, hit the gas! >> reporter: residents and vacationers thought they were safe, until they looked out their windows. >> panic. 's panic. constance, chloe and 9-year-old lily are alive. >> she called from the house phone and said there were flames 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

structures damaged or destroyed. gatlinburg is a resort town about an hour from knoxville. the flames threatened several popular tourist destinations. the greatest smokey mountains, the most visited park in the country, an aquarium with 10,000 animals, and dolly parton's dollywood theme park. dollywood was spared, but this week, they released a public service announcement about wildfires, said she's heart broken and hotel, the fire trapped dozens of guests. mike and julie sanders got married yesterday here at westgate. 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 ?lxr the fire, a record drought and wind gusts nearly 90 miles an hour. tonight, officials are investigating the cause of the fire and ha not ruled out arson.

scattered across the hillside outside medellin. slowly helicopters approach the site to remove the dead. of t 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 simply, brazili mourning. >> translator: erybody has placed 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

>> one of the considerations investigators will look at is if the airplane was too low on fuel, because it was right at its maximum range. >> 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 against the brazilians today as the south american soccer 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 cr??owd, 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

abdul artan's laptop and other digital devices. law enforcement tells nbc news, there's no established contact with isis or other terror groups, disputing a claim from the islamic state media arm that he wa workg w. 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. lafo post was left on his facebook page, expressing anger over attacks on muslims worldwide. >> it scares me. it scares me that i next door to that. and didn't even know. >> reporter: neighbor lou ann karna han was in shock.

neighbors and friends say he was a devout muslim. amir caddar prayed with artan and saw him just two weeks ago. >> did he sound frustrated with the country? >> no. at all. he actually loved america. he loved the fact of here to go to school. >> reporter: bhu police say artan attacked that school. v >> flipped me up in the air. >> reporter: professor william clark said he thought it was a traffic accident at first. >> but then several shouting immediately. >> reporter: tonight, only three of the 11 injured are still in the hospital. stephanie gosk, nbc news, colombus, ohio. a late flurry this evening of cabinet picks from president-elect donald trump. nbc news has learned steven man uchin is expected to be named trump's pick for treasury secretary tomorrow. and investor william ross is expected to be his pick to lead the commerce department.

mitch mcconnell is his pick for transportation secretary. 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 nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the president-elect, today proposing punishment for a form of protest 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

amendment, upheld twice by the supreme court. >> in this country, we have a long tradition of respecting unpleasant speech. 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 ngs, 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 suggestion of stripping citizenship. that would also be unconstitutional. >> the supreme court has ruled that taking someone's citizenship 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 professional trump ally says he has 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

having somebody check it out. >> the president-elect also on twitter to promote what he's calling his thank you 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 effort t replace obamacare. what next? nbc's kristen welker has that story? >> reporter: since obamacare's implementation six years ago, georgia congressman tom price has been proposing ways to dismantle it. >> mandate that the government what kind of healt care you've got to have? is that what you want? >> no! >> reporter: now as trump's pick for secretary of health and human services, he has his chance.

could leave the 28 million people currently enrolled, in limbo. like adam kuns. and while their trump has said he's open to protecting those with preexisting conditions, kuns 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 gon zeedo is worrying too, wondering if her birth co scrapped. so she opted for a longer lasting iud. >> i made the appointment right after the election, because of uncertainties about what sorts of resources would be provided to me in the next four years. >> reporter: jim herrel says his community has been hit hard by the rising cost of premiums under obamacare. >> anything would be better than obamacare. >> anything? >> anything. >> reporter: but will mr. trump and congressman tom price

re affordable health care into reality? >> talking about repealing the cack affordable care act is the easy part. figuring out how to replace is is going to be really tough. >> reporter: adam counies j hes they keep people like him in mind, while crafting an alternative. there was emotional testimony today in the trial over a deadly police shooting caught on camera. a former south carolina police offi t gunning down an unarmed african american man last year. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more on the drama in the courtroom and the video that stunned the nation. bystander's dramatic video appeared to show a man shot in the back multiple times. today in a south carolina courtroom, the man accused of the murder, gave his first

threat was stopped, like i'm trained to do. >> reporter: michael r for a said he pulled broken tail light 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?]nc support payments and was in fear of being >> i was in total fear that mr. scott didn't >> re 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 tasert' closer to scott's body. >> you don't leave a weapon in ?othe middle of a field like that. >> reporter: slager said in hindsight he would not have chased him on foot and w instead called for

would have done different and this he's remembering now that he didn't remember then, which wa. >> reporter: the jury, made up of 11 white people and one black man, is expected to begin deliberations later this week. gabe gutierrez, nbc ?? news. still ahead he alarming number of n being diagnosed without the most common symptom. and one survivor who

. back now with a warning about detecting breast cancer. the most common symptom women report are lumps in the breast. 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. >> reporter: in 2014, beth la flor did something that may have saved her life. >> is it a miracle that you're here? >> perhaps. pretty cl her breasts. not a lump. >> i would describe it as a thickening. and that's what caught my attention initially. >> reporter: so she had a routine screening mammogram. >> it was negative. >> reporter: nothing? >> nothing. >> reporter: but the nurse who works as a lackitation consultant couldn't ignore the changes to the shape of her breast, so she got another opinion from dr. deborah rhodes at the mayo

her left breast, and this corresponds to her tumor. >> reporter: stage three breast cancer against 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 remember the word n.a.p.s., which stands for changes to the nipple, armpit, any pain, and changes to the skin or shape. >> 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

kristen dahlgren, nbc

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 legos. 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 msivekpot the group $420 million prize. the cash value is worth $254 million, meaning about $12.7 million apiece before taxes. up next, a boy and

amazing. "nbc nightly news"

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 hom 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, wha a??u good boy. >> rte always camera-ready. but he really shines buddy. >> here you go. >> reporter: buddy. not his real name. is ahr 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. from day one.ch other >> reporter: the photos nev clear view of buddy's face for his protection.

than 100,000 instagram followers. because of that, foster grandma sandy hadidea an 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 proceeil to a non-profit that supports foster caregivers, like buddy's foster mom,cary lewis. >> foster care has be hardest but absolute best thie ever done. >> reporter: there are more than 400,000 foster children in the unitedtates. with more than 100,000 awaiting placement. the pictu aot? about lo?mve, and joy, an >> it's such a? porful connection?g. >> reporter: who knows? mayb9i?e you know a dog friend.ds a new harry smith, nbc news. >> can't get enough of those pictures.

for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at news, thank you for %0s? watching and

>> announcer: two sisters suffering from a chronic condition putting their lives at risk. can an intervention cause them to change. >> i want to hear you say it! >> i am committed. >> i am committed! >> announcer: rosie mercado's delicious new diet that will have you wanting -->> more, mor.

[ applause ] >> hi, hey! [ applause ] they are at in their life, you take the positive with the negative. it pushes me to keepgog, i am on the right journey. it's about posivity, and not [ applause ] >> that's a good attitude. anythinghey say about you, and you know, you are out there, you have a bi