when i remember. >> reporter: to maestro bernstein then at 100, here, here. ♪ for "sunday today" harry smithnother life well lived. cap tape robetain robert martin united states army's legendary tuskegee airmen. he threw 63 1/2 missions over europe, he likes to say, because he was shot down on the 64th. on march 3rd, 19 has martin was flying over yugoslavia when he took anti-aircraft fire. as he was going down, he bailed out. he was knocked out cold by his parachute, but landed near a farmhouse where he hid with the help of local resistance fighters. martin eventually was air lifted to italy, where he celebrated ve day before he shipped home. robert martin joined the army air force in january of 1944, and trained at the segregated facility in tuskegee, alabama. martin and the other pilots there were the first african-american aviators in the history of the united states military. for his heroism during world war ii, he won the distinguished flying cross, the purple heart, and the congressional gold medal. after leaving the army, martin became an electrical engineer for the city of chicago. c

for "sunday today," harry smith, new york. >> courage and grace. and harry smith joins us live.more than three decades, so you have a lot of personal memories with him as well, and i know this is a somber day for you. i wonder if you could share your reflections of him today. >> you know, after interviewing him numerous times over all those years, i really grew to respect him. you could tangle with him and at the end of the day, the next time you saw him, he would be ready for business again. there were very few grudges in his life. >> he enjoyed those interactions. >> he really enjoyed those interactions. the more you pushed him, he would rise to the debate and be engaged in a debate with you. i think so much about that time of him being a prisoner of war, he said in his acceptance speech when he accepted the republican nomination for president, he said, that time in that prisoner of war camp helped me learn to love america. and at the end of the day, when he was fighting with the bush administration over torture policy, people said, well, these people are ruthless. and he said

harry smith, nbc news. >>> our thanks to harry for those reflections.nd a program note, tonight msnbc will mark the charlottesville annivertory with the of a former white supremacis watch breaking hate tonight 9:00 eastern on msnbc. th is nbc nightly news. lester holt will be back with you tomorrow. have a great night. . harvey: you think you've seen some talented kids? ♪ ahhhh harvey: that's the greatest act i've ever seen. yeah! -i'm gonna be a movie star. -aah! -whoa! ♪ ahh wh wait till you see at's coming up tonight, folks. ♪ yeah harvey: this kid has blown up. welcome back, darci lynne. i am so excited, mr. harvey. whoo! your hand is ve. if it's so slimy, why you still hanging on to it? please welcome your host, [ cheers and applause ]

harry smith, nbc news. >> our thanks to harry for those reflections. >>> and a program note -- tonight msnbc will mark the charlottesville anniversary with the story of a former white supremacist who has now dedicated his life to reforming others. watch "breaking hate" tonight, 9:00 eastern on msnbc. >>> that is "nbc nightly news" for this sunday night. lester holt will be back with you tomorrow. i'm kate snow. have a great night. the nature of a virus is to change. move. mutate. today, life-changing technology from abbott is helping hunt them down at their source. because the faster we can identify new viruses, the faster we can get to stopping them. the most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. life. to the fullest. >>> right now at 6:00, fliers found littered around the bay area community. tonight, they've triggered a police investigation. >>> the news at 6:00 starts now. good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm anoushah rasta. >> i'm terry mcsweeney. people in suisun city rattled after fliers showed up inviting people to join the kkk. >> nbc bay ar

harry smith, nbc news, mansfield, ohio. >> and you're never too old to enjoy one, that's for sure.nightly news" for this saturday. i'm kristen welker. for all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching. have a great night. firefighters the heat and exhaustion, to middlefield. and ight now, firefightersea exhaustion to gain the upper hand on the mendocino complex fires. good evening. thanks for joining us. >> the mend oh seen ocino fire 57,000 acres, and the river fire burned about 45,000. cal fire says total containment is only 34%. flames destroyed more than 50 homes. sergio, after all that happened, has to be nice the people returning home this weekend. >> reporter: lots of people coming back, checking to see how their homes are. happy to find the homes are intact. there's a reason why some people are coming back to lakeport. it is in part because two fires are burning a limb fttle far aw. there are still evacuations nearby, but it is across the lake from lakeport. a pretty good distance. the second fire is the r

for sunday "today," harry smith, lake win psaki. >>> harry, thank you as always. aretha franklin was born, you might say, with a gift from god. that iconic, huge, unmistakable once in a lifetime voice was cultivated in her father's baptist church in detroit. her mother was a gospel singer and a pianist. that rare gift produced 20 number one hits over some six decades and earned franklin 18 grammy awards. it made her the first woman inducted into the rock 'n roll hall of fame and put her at the top of rolling stones recent list of the 100 greatest singers of all-time. franklin, though, was a relatively unknown singer when on valentine's day 1967 she recorded an otis redding song called respect. respe-e-s-p-e-c-t ♪ find out what it means to me ♪ ♪ >> franklin's take on respect made the song a powerful anthem. a demand for civil rights and women's empowerment. it rocketed to number one and made aretha a star. aretha franklin's place in history is best you will straighted perhaps by the fact that she sang at the 1968 funeral of dr. martin luther king, jr. and the 2009

. >>> plus harry smith a bit later in the show. >>> let's begin with the one-year anniversary of the deadly white supremacist protest in charlottesville and the death of heather haier. demonstrations were peaceful but got out of land as leftist antifa demonstrators lashed out at the media and police. today a large rally is planned in washington, d.c., wh aig police presence to meet them. garrett haake is there for us. >> reporter: good morning, d.c. police will be flooding this area later today tryingo keep separate groups of white nationalists and counterot ters, even as they converge on this small park later tonight. overnight, tense moments in the streets of charlottesville, virginia, far left protesters heckling the media and chanting anti-police slogans. as the city rolled out a heavy police presences n the eve of darkest day. last august, white nationalists and counter protesters clashed across the city. counter rprotes heather haier died after being struck by a car allegedly driven into a crowd intentionally and a helicopter crash took the lives of two virginia tate police off

here is harry smith with "growing hope." >> three mothers and their children t. is 2015 and on this winter day in virginia, they have a big hill to climb. each child is desperately ill, each has a form of epilepsy. >> no one else i knew had a kid with seizures this bad. >> they have an army of specialists and doctors. >> a year of huge emotional stress on our family. >> these women believe that there is something that might help. something illegal in virginia. an oil extracted from marijuana. >> what is your hope for medical marijuana? >> to meet our daughter. to meet who she really is. >> to make that happen, these families would attempt to do something they've been told was impossible. change a law that has stood for decades. we'll follow them on a remarkable journey through halls of government and to the rocky mountains where people with all sorts of illnesses are seeking help. these people, marijuana isn't about getting high. it's about getting well. >> give kisses. okay. that's enough. there we go. >> lisa and bobby smith were elated when their daughter hale

. >> harry smith. nbc news, new york. c news, gain, this evening, the confirming the death of senator john mccain. at the age of 81. this has been an nbc news special report, we will return to our regular programming on the nbc network, our live coverage continues on msnbc. >> paul manafort refused to cooperate with prosecutors and this week was convicted on eight felony counts. >> i must tell you that paul manafort is a good man. >> reporter: people close to the president describe his mood as calm even as legal problems pile up. investigators plunge into personal territory mr. trump once declared off limits. >> if mueller was looking at your fitnesses and your family's finances und to russia, would that be a red line? >> i would say yes. >> reporter: the president today escalang the long-running feud with jeff sessions, mr. trump taunting his attorney general on twitter, saying sessions doesn't understand what's happening beneath him at the justice department. jose? >> jeff bennett at the white house. thank you. >>> in f

more now on his military service from nbc's harry smith. >> reporter: he was john mccain iii, the son and grandson of u.s. navy admirals, but his war was vietnam. in july 1967 the brash young fighter pilot narrowly escaped death on the deck and his plane was nearly sank. three months later his plane's was hit by enemy fire. >> yesterday over hanoi three american planes were shot down and at least two of their pilots captured. one of them was lieutenant commander john mccain iii, the son of a u.s. naval commander in europe. >> i was hit. i can see that the wing was gone. i ejected from my airplane. i was knocked unconscious by the ejection and injured, my arm broken. my leg broken. >> reporter: dragged by the lake by an angry crowd he was severely wounded and in shock. the vietnamese denied him medical attention. >> i was dumped in a dark cell and left to die. >> reporter: then they realized his potential propaganda value. >> when they discovered my father was an admiral they took me to a hospital. they couldn't set my bones properly so they just slapped a cast on me. lieutenant comman

harry smith, nbc news, mansfield, ohio. >> and you're never too old to enjoy one, that's for sure. ht"n news" for this saturday. i'm kristen welker. for all of us at nbc news, thanks for watching have a gre night. >>> lights, camera, access. >> red flags before demi's apparent overdose. this is access the weend edition. there is so much to talk about this week. what do you say we start with people magazine story demi lovato? >> sources telling thezi ma, the red flags were all there. and that, quote, this is absolutely with so many people feared would happen. >> sources close to demi lovato started to change regarding her sobriety, that she believed -- start today believe in what they all the myth of moderation and controlled consumption, she could maybe dabble here and there and be able to not let that lead to harder drug use. >> we've sinn talked to addictxperts and they all say the myth of moderation, it ne

. >> and we turn to harry smith who is her with some of mccain's most enduring words of wisdom. years. he was never at a loss for words. >> reporter: jn mccain spe 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in vietnam. he was beaten, tortured, two years of solity confinement. there he said heell in love with america. >> i loved it for its decency, for its faith and the wisdom, justice and gooess of its people. i loved it because it was n just a place, but ande a cause worth fighting for. >> reporter: mccain wore that love on his sleep sleeve. he seemedre compelled to s what he knew to be true, lessons for the rest of us. >> what a privilege iis to serve this big boisterous brawling, strive, daring, beautiful bounceful, brave, magnificent country. >> reporter: mccain loved that lost., even the fights he >> this campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life.s and my heart filled with nothing but gratitude for the experien and to the american people for giving me a fair hearing. >> reporte running f high office is high risk. the costs, are considerable. >> you know, campaigns are o

. >> harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> joining me now is msnbc military analyst jack jacobs can countpassing of john mccain. >> well, there's a big gap now in leadership. he was the kind of person everybody could rely onto be sensible about things, start at the end and work backwards, think about what the objective is first before you allocate resources. he was the kind of person who taught us a very important and productive way of looking at things, and that is that you can't do anything about yesterday. the only thing you can work on is tomorrow, and you have to dedicate yourself to improving the future, fulminating about the past gets you absolutely nowhere. and i think he taught that to all. >> you know better than most vietnam was such a divisive issue it washed through our politics through the 1990s, the question on whether you stood for the war, opposed the war, whether you got deferments, it used to be the issue in politics. john mccain someone who a pow for four years, worked with carry. he was able to overcome his own personal history but the anxiety about the vietnam war. >

then on the other side all verified uses that are sticking up for canada political commentator harry leslie smith says when canada fights for the rights of dissidents inside arabia they totalitarian government phrases trade and recalls of our ambassador make no mistake saudi is more of a danger than iran to peace in the region and then had ken roth seeking it up shortly it's coming up in a minute from human rights watch he says that the reformist saudi crown prince wants to use his oil clout to return to the truck the lights era meaning prehistoric times when. criticism for human rights abuse was considered an interference it's essential that other nations join canada to seek freedom for saudi women's rights activists we do and get your thoughts on the story or anything else that we offer covering so get in touch is the hash tag aging is great thanks really this will be want to keep in our n.c.r. quickly it escalates our from here because already it's a in a very short space of time it has escalated quickly or right let's look at some other international news headlines now maryam namazie is in lo

smith from "america rising," talks about the upcoming midterm elections. how dataiscussion on coryfecting -- submitters booker, senators kamala harris and elizabeth warren are among some of the speakers. >> joining us from new york on c-span's "newsmakers" program is alexandra smith, the executive director of the pac "america rising." here in washington with the questions, james homan, national political reporter for the "washington post," and al weaver, he covers politics for "washington examiner." at the outset, let us talk about the organization. what is your mission and what role do you plan to play in the midterm elections? tox: our sole purpose is fight and defeat the democrats. we are the gop's premier opposition research organization . we spend countless hours reviewing videotape, going out in the field ourselves, reading countless pages of material to really shape the narrative on democratic candidates. in the 2018 cycle, we will be playing the same role as we had in our inception during 2013. we will look at democratic targets, particularly our friends running in the trump states, the 10 democratic senators running in states that 2016, along with

mary's sister, the widow of louis smith, age 32, passed on october 23. harry of littlestown suffered the loss of his son and two brothers from the flu. finally, pete jay smith of centennial lost two family members within a week's time. his mother died on october 14th and the 16-year-old daughter passed on october 19th. the flu crisis in adam county was waning. still, by october 25th, the situation at camp colt seemed to be on the upswing. four military positions were transferred from gettisburg to attend now victims in other camp. the military deaths were 117 in colt in october. total of 149 deaths since the epidemic struck. several more dough boys died in the flu in october for a total of 156 fatalities overall. the passage of the last soldier from influenza occurred on november 2nd, 1918. majority of the dough boys had departed gettisburg before the third wave of the influenza struck in late november and early diocese. the last civilian victim of the spanish flu was a three-year- old girl from butler township. total of 133 civilian deaths from influenza or p

. >> harris: we have to break it was an breaking news now, shepard smith he was at the news desk. >> a developing situation now from an airport outside new york city in nearby new jersey. there was a jet that took off at 10:50 a.m. today so about an hour and 50 minutes ago with 16 people on board, gulfstream four and upon takeoff, two of the tires on this private jet blue off. it's been variously described as blue out or blue off but it sounds like the tires themselves might have come off this jet. and the jet began circling teterboro airport at that time. it took off a month these are pictures of emergency crews staging at teterboro but there's a new development and i will get to that. this bluetooth tires as it took away from run of four at teterboro it was heading to a similar airport, general aviation airport outside of london, it has been in a holding pattern now for the better part of an hour and 40 minutes or so, and was planning to return to teterboro airport to attempt an emergency landing. so they cleared everything at teterboro which is the largest general aviation airport

when you're james baldwin, a couple of your friends are harry belafonte, lena horne and the rain hands berry. and a young activist named jerome smith. jerome smith is by lore, legend and literally, along with john the was, the most decorated freedom rider in the history of this nation. not because of his intelligence and resistance but also because he suffered physically. he was beaten within an inch of his life so many times. far more than any other figure. so, he was there. the meeting got off to a good start. bobby kennedy wanted the negroes to be grateful. sound familiar? be grateful for what we've done for you with whatas you know, john kenn gained more in death than he did in life as a reputation for what he did for plaqueblack peo. on the one hand, there were the white bigots he had to appeal on the south who literally called black people - - from his elevated judicial bench. even striking for back then in 1962-and 1963. then the georgia governor vanderburg robert john kennedy called to get martin luther junior king out of jail. he placed a call to the governor and they got king out before the election.kennedy became preside

smiths. ohio state's athletic director also suspended, gene smithinit will gout pay through the 16th of next month. osu's president says this investigation may prompt changes hiring process. at the live desk, leon harris. >> leon thank you. >>> hawaii is under threat tonight. rightnow, category 4 hurricane lane is barreling toward thes. isla a hurricane warning already issued for maui and the big island. check out this real look tonight from noaa's hurricane hunters flying into the eye of thestorm. the view from the international space station we want to show youer l in this story shows you just how massive lane is. nbc's dan sheneman reports with all the pictures about thest la for hawaiians seeking shelter tonight.e >>> thurk is zeroing in on the island a research aircraft flew into e eye of the storm that's expected to make landfall thursday afternoon. lane has lost some punch. >> it was downgraded from a 5 to a category 4 s brm still packing 130-mile-per-hour winds and moving slowly. >> so is the effects of this hurricane as it masses the island of oahu could lt longer than one that moves back quickly. >> it bught back memories of hurricane iniki in 1992 h >> i'm goinge where it's safe. i'm not co

october 16th, 1968 and that's tommy smith and giancaj r john carlos who won the bronze and silver medal. they are part of a larger movement who had been inspired by dr. harry edwards in the late 1960s to try to have a boycott of the olympics of black athletes boycotting the olympics because of the human rights violations that were happening in the united states against african-americans. everything from police brutality to racial segregation to violence against blacks. when we think about what eventually happened, some athletes at the olympics decided that if they -- if they did win they were going to stage these -- these protests and what smith and carlos do is they go to the podium without -- without any shoes on, just black socks, they each have a black glove and they raise the black power symbol. it's interesting because that was a very, very powerful iconic moment, but they were really kicked out of the olympic village, they were stripped of their medals, they were really vilified in the mainstream by the 1990s san jose state where they were both athletes have erected statues in their honor but for really over a quarter of a century they were denied e

smith. is thoroughly going to 1.19 so i can shop at harris? -- harrod's. it is clear that sentiment is high. all bets are open. come over and bring the empty suitcase. the bloomberg first word news. shares of the italian company that operated the collapsed bridge are being battered today, suffering the biggest loss in three decades. the government has begun the process of revoking atlantia's concession. 39 people were killed in the disaster. for the first time in two months, u.s. and china will resume negotiations in the trade dispute. it will be at a low level. the chinese delegation will meet with the treasury undersecretary. the nations have appeared to reach an agreement in may but the president of the u.s. backed away from the deal soon after. an act of retribution against president trump's critics. he revoked the security clearance of john brennan and drew a direct connection between his action and the russia investigation. the u.s. and turkey remain locked in a stalemate that has rocked global markets. new tariffs on turkish goods will stay in place

we will be joined by bradley smith, a former chairman of the federal elections commission in 2004. stick around for that discussion. harrys in alice, texas. a republican, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, terry. caller: i am in favor of judge kavanaugh. i think he will be a fine judge. host: why do you think he will be fine? caller: because he has so much experience and i don't think you could find somebody -- he is just a good person as well as being a long time judge. there is nothing wrong with him. host: have you been following this dispute over his documents from when he was a white house lawyer in the bush administration? caller: i don't think those really matter because he was working for someone else. i think it is just an excuse to throw something up against a truly fine person. i just think that is really silly. host: on twitter, bob writes that if kavanaugh was qualified and had no serious skeletons in his closet, grassley and trump would not be hiding his bush-era documents. republicans can seat whoever they choose. why would they choose anyone who the opposition would agree with? this is tr