. >>> then dollywood in danger. >> go, go, go! dolly parton's theme park surrounded by wildfire and frightening flames inching closer. what she's telling us today and she reveals never before told stories of childhood trauma. >> we thought we were going to do. >>> behind the scenes with natalie portman's jackie kennedy transformation. will playing first lady win her another oscar. >> it's very scary to take on someone that people know so well, and we are in new orleans with hgtv's hottest hunk, the property brothers. >> what's sexier? popping your pecks. >> no. or slapping your keg. >> now for november 22, 2016, this is "entertainment tonight." amusement park. would you take a look at this? it's crazy. we'll have the full details in minutes. >>> we begin with katy perry flaunting some brand-new bling in new york. i mean, did orlando bloom put a ring on it? ?? ?? >> first, let us give you a close-up look at the giant rock. it's an oval cut yellow diamond surrounded by tiny baguettes and katy is holding her perfectly manicured hand

dollywood smoky mountain cabins. although there isn't any damage done to the amusement park itself, more than a dozen of the cabins it manages were damage order destroyed. >> hi, this is dolly parton with smoky. she appeared in this psa that was just released yesterday. >> this extended drought has resulted in high wildfire danger. >> e.t. was with dolly just last week at the park for the premiere of her new tv movie. part of it was also shot there. and we also joined dolly inside the amusement park in 1992 when it was expanded. the focus is on other areas like gatlinburg where one resident posted this vvdeo as he tried to escape the wildfires. >> go, >> parton remains hopeful telling us, quote, i am praying for all of the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe. >> and so do we. before the fire broke out we sat down with dolly and she told us about the day she truly thought she was going to die. we will have that story coming up in 12 minutes, but right now mi

near dolly parton's dollywood. the gatlinburg chapel was one of those buildings. famous for its many weddings there in more than a thousand people are in shelters overnight in the popular resort community, the gateway to the smoky mountain national park. >> this morning rain is helping where those fires are burning as you can see there on our map. snow in the rockies and northern plains will make things slippery. wet roads also in the northwest. >>> if you're flying airport delays possible along the northeast corridor from boston to washington. as well as in atlanta and new orleans. >>> now to a bizarre incident at houston's airport. a passenger pulled open the emergency exit on a moving plane and jumped onto the tarmac. >> she was quickly captured by police. but it's not the first time that someone has misused those here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: passengers on this jet were stunned. >> this lady just opened the door and jumped out. >> reporter: landing in houston from new orleans but not at the gate yet the emergency door is gone. as well as a passenger.

a raging wildfire threatening dollywood. images just in of a chapel just press "clean" and let roomba from irobot help with your everyday messes. roomba navigates your entire home. cleaning up pet hair and debris for up to 2 hours. which means your floors are always clean. you and roomba, from irobot. people say, let's just get a sandwich or something. "or something"? you don't just graduate from medical school, "or something." and we don't just pull smoked chicken, bake fresh foccacia and hand-slice avocado. there's nothing "or something" about it. remember 2007? smartphones? o m g ten years later, nothing's really changed. it's time to snap out of it. hello moto. get a 10x optical zoom. get excited world. hello moto. moto is here. the new moto z with motomods. save up to $400 when you trade in your old phone and switch to verizon. ? ? la vie est belle la vie est belle, the eau de parfum. lanc?me. available at macy's, >>> the strange sight on an australian highway. the driver of that suv you saw there is actually unconsciou

miles from there, the wildfire is on the edge of the dollywood amusement park, and guests there have been evacuated. moments ago, we spoke with a park's spokesman, pete owens. pete, what can you tells about the conditions there? this is a big fire, right? >> caller: it is a large fire. it's probably one of the largest >> pete, i know you mentioned before that this week, the week after thanksgiving is usually a a fairly quiet week for you, but you have people there. i can imagine this is fairly frightening for people there? >> caller: well, out of an abundance of caution, we relocated 19 families staying with us in the cabin properties, and then relocated about 50 of our guest room guests here at dollywood >> kind of give us a picture of what's going on. i know the wind gusts have been severe at 74 miles per hour in some locations, and then you got a snake of traffic just trying to get out. what are conditions like? >> caller: well, right now, we're in between rain showers, but we are expecting some heavy rain later on this morning after about 2:00 a.m. the winds are still fairly stro

one fire now on the edge of dollywood where people are being brought to safety. overnight, fierce flames and blinding smoke racing across the tennessee mountains. >> oh, my god. we need to leave. >> reporter: the wildfires engulfing the resort towns of gatlinburg home of dollywood. >> we relocated 19 families that were staying with us in our cabin properties and then relocated about 50 of our guest room guests here at dollywood. >> reporter: officials ordering everyone to leave calling the fire unpredictable. >> we're dealing with a situation here that is very dynamic. it's changing every moment. >> reporter: dramatic video posted online showing people evacuating. the roads barely visible from the smoke and the flames creeping closer to the road. 15-year-old logan baker inside a gatlinburg hotel stuck because the only road out of town was closed. >> we're on the first floor because they had to break the windows on the upper floors because we were suffocating from the smoke like so bad like we were on the ground suffocating. like we were flat. you had to lay perfe

dollywood. >> we relocated 19 families that were staying with us in our cabin properties and then relocated about 50 of our guest >> reporter: officials ordering everyone to leave calling the fire unpredictable. >> we're dealing with a situation here that is very dynamic. it's changing every moment. >> reporter: dramatic video posted online showing people evacuating. the roads barely visible from the smoke and the flames creeping closer to the road. 15-year-old logan baker inside a gatlinburg hotel stuck because the only road out of town was closed. >> we're on the first floor because they had to break the wi because we were suffocating from the smoke like so bad like we were on the ground suffocating. like we were flat. you had to lay perfectly flat or the smoke was like just too thick -- we had masks but it was even too thick for the masks. >> reporter: the fire moved faster than anyone expected. >> ten minutes after they told us we had time to evacuate, the fires were coming up over the all s

dollywood. images just in of a chapel burning. australian highway. the driver of that suv you saw there is actually unconscious after a minor collision, two other drivers are trying to rescue him. finally one manages to open a door, get in and stop the vehicle. police aren't sure if the 30-year-old driver had a medical issue before the collision or after. >> wow. >>> the man charged with killing nine people at a historic black church in south carolina is now acting as his own attorney. a judge agreed to roof to be his own counsel. roof dressed in prison garb sat at the defense table and participated in jury selection. some family members of those who died now worry that the trial will become a spectacle. >>> also in charleston a white former police officer charged with killing an unarmed black man set to take the stand in his own defense. michael slager is expected to provide explanation for shooting walter scott at least seven, no, rather eight times as he ran prosecutors arguing that slager shot in self-defense. >>> workers are expected to walk off

and the dollywood resort were all evacuated.. cabins and homes are packed onto tiny winding roads in dense trees.. the drought conditions in the southeast made conditions ripe to break out of control like they did through the night. many residents barely had time to get themselves to safety.. much less grab their things.. resident: "we covered our face with wet towels and then we finally got in the car and we drove down the mountain a ways and we ran into a tree that was over the road so we had to turn eyes were stinging, so we just grabbed a blanket and took of running." hundreds of homes, structures and resorts have burned.. including a 16 story apartment and hotel building. firefighters believe the worst may be over that's little consolation for the tourist town that's now unrecognizable.. voice of: chief greg miller, gatlinburg fire dept.: "we're dealing with the worst possible conditions imaginable." there are incredibly narrow windy roads in the mountains around gatl investigators are having a hard time making it to all of

firefighters battling 70-mile-per-hour winds trying to contain dollywood. the visibility still very low. the good news is rain is on the way so hopefully that will help in the firefighting efforts. now back to you. >> thanks, angie. >>> developing in prince george's county, police think they know who shot at a shoppers food warehouse. the store opened on time and covered the blown out window with cardboard. the suspect recently start

fire close to dollywood. >>> survivors in the wreckage of a tragic air disaster as the plane carrying an underdog dream team goes down. >>> revoking citizenship. president-elect trump's new threat over flag-burning that experts say is unconstitutional. >>> tonight the subtle signs that could save your life. >>> and best friends. a boy and his dog and "nightly news" begins right now. >>> 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 gatlingburg, their home, with little more than the clothes on their back. homes and businesses 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 >> panic. that's all we had was p

dollywood there and ripley's aquarium. their homes in pigeon forge as well. dollywood and ripley's aquarium were slightly touched by some of the flames and they came close causing damage but i want you to know the animals and the marine life are okay. bill has worked finished touring the hardest work areas. -- hardest hit areas. we learn the fire killed at least three people and responders are going house to house to make sure everyone is most terrifying moments as people scramble to evacuate. >> reporter: flames closed in on the park vista hotel in downtown gatlinburg. people trapped inside reported video on their cell phones as the fire burned. the lights flickered on and off as the smoke-filled lobby filled out. logan baker was inside. >> the smoke is really bad. >> at one point at least 30 structures in gatlinburg were burning. a roadside restaurant and lodge were destroyed. >> high winds caused the chimney to fire which began in the smoky mountains last week to descend on surrounding towns. drivers capture the fire cascading down the mountain. as they we

wild fires forcing evacuations at dollywood, cheryl casone with the details.: guests at the tennessee theme park were told to clear out as wild fires rage nearby. the fires were, quote, right on the doorstep on dollywood but firefighters were able to keep flames from getting close to the park. this wild fire has now burned more than a hundred homes in the surrounding area, one person has been injured in this blade. texas reporting its first zika case that was likely to spread by local mosquitoes. the case involves a woman who lives in cameron county, she's not pregnant, luckily, second state to report transmission of the virus. florida has had more than 2430 cases of locally transmitted zika. well, nissan is recalling 2016 pickup, more than 12,000 of them, the issue of faulty fuel system, the truck can run out of gas without warning. meanwhile nissan wants to soup up your old ride, the car maker going to offer access and other safeties to car. they've sold, updating a vehicle with the latest technology is going to help increase the after sales business. and ok

fi dollywood. >>> survivors in the wreckage of a tragic air disaster as the plane carrying an underdog dream team goes down. >>> revoking citizenship. president-elect trump's new threat over flag-burning that experts say is unconstitutional. >>> tonight the subtle signs that could save your life. >>> and best friends. inspiring america. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> 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 gatlingburg, tennessee. thousands fleeing their home, with little more than the clothes on their back. homes and businesses 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 safe, until they looked out their windows. >> panic. that's all we had

the flames are getting close to the property of dollywood. firefighters are on stand by at the park this morning. no repor of fatalities. >>> breaking news from colombia. a plane carrying 72 passengers crashed on approach to the airport in medellen. we want to get the latest from rafael romo. >> reporter: john, we know a plane carrying 72 passengers with the members of the brazilian soccer team crashed south of medellen, colombia. the plane declared an emergency related to an electrical failure on board. at that point, the plane was a few minutes away from landing at the medellen international airport. there are five survivors, including one member of the team. the search and rescue efforts are under way. the mayor. medellin says there are saying there are searching for survivors. we are talking high altitude. they were on the way to play game one of two in the south american cup. the match was to be held on wednesday. john, back to you. >> rafael, thank you. we will keep on top of that story. >>> kcubans are waiting in line to pay respects t

it has hit dollywood and also the replete aquarium still standing -- ripley's aquarium still standing. the mayor and several crews in the area and we will get to him in just a moment. >> new developments in a robbery caught on video and the video completely wild. not only did the the utes trait do the the utes -- the thieves drive-throughs but it looks like at least a dozen people. the atf things this might be an organized group look at the glass where the truck smashed into. you can see how it is all boarded up happening at the tampa arms company. it is a shopping plaza on waters avenue right by the walmart supercenter off of north .

as long as life lets us. >> reporter: at dollywood the part-time jobs end next month. their income enough to make their next stop time off in florida. >> we're living on 20% and we haven't starved yet. we haven't gone to bed hungry. >> reporter: a craving for something different as work camps trade money for memories. [ laughter ] >>> that will do it for us on this saturday night. i'm lester holt from all of us at nbc news. thank you for watching >>> right now on news3 live at 6:00, the passing of fidel castro has cuben americans sounding off. we'll have a live report. >>> plus smoke on the strip. what cause ed a fire that resulted in power outages and the shut down of the pumpy ride tonight. tracking the latest specific storm already moving into the coast. >> this is something we're celebrating because he has caused pain on all generations of cubans. >>> reaction to the death of

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 con

there's very little damage there at dollywood. they'll probably release their own information soon about plans to reopen and trying to condition takcontain the fires and keep pop-up fires from happening. we expect more wind today which is not good for us. the fire spread so fast, it originally burnt a certain layer of the underbrush. we make sure those things don't start more fires. >> at this point, everyone okay there? >> i'm sure there are some injuries. i haven't gotten any official reports of injuries in the city of pigeon forge, but like i said, last night was a reactionary. it spread so fast because of the wind and the conditions, it was a reactionary deployment for the fire department and over 15 other agencies around the area that helped us. now, we can take time to get out and get our eyes on the sites and see what damage we're dealing with. so we expect some news to come soon. the deployed teams start to report back. >> mayor david ware of pigeon forge, tennessee. as these wildfires close in, hundreds if not thousands o

dollywood. and take in the great smoky mountain. see what that is all about. did i say fun? still hoping it will be but it's been one heck of a day. i had a delay in phoenix which caused me to miss my connection in denver, so now i'm in chicago hoping to catch a flight to knoxville and then have an hour and half drive to pigeon forge, and dollywood. still hoping to get there and have a great time. it will be about eight or nine hours later than i anticipated. but you know what? i guess such is life during travel on thanksgiving week. nightmares, ryan cody, 12 news. >> oh, boy. >>> ryan as you heard there is going to be talking to dolly parton about her new musical coat of many colors which airs right here on 12 news on november 30. >>> tomorrow night he will give us a behind the scenes look at dollywood and on tuesday he is talking to dolly herself in a 12 news exclusive. >> verify this. verify this. should i let my baby play tackle football? >> pamela jones things one bad hit and friday night lights could mean lights out for her son. so we put her in front of the experts so

the flames are turning one of the area's biggest tourist atractions....dollywood....into an orange armageddon.....smoke and ash filling the streets...luckily, authorities report no damage. the fires were fanned by- strong wind speeds of up to 60 miles per hour -- and the decade. back at home.. we're getting ready for the first freeze warning of the year. these are the temperatures in the valley right now. 13 first alert meteorologist karla huelga's in the weather center now to tell us how far these temperatures are going to fall. karla? there's a new push to designate u- n-l-v as a sanctuary campus gathering support... to fight president elect donald trump's campaign promises. reporter parker collins shows us the controversial petition. 19:09:31-19:10:07 i've been out here speaking with students and faculty about this petition and have been getting mixd reaction on it. take vo at 19:09:38 this letter is addressed to the president and the provost here at unlv it's been going around for a while and it was written by some of the faculty here and they're telling me it already has hundreds of sign

sweeps through the smokey ground, three died in the cherished areas, that includes dolly parton's dollywood, what brought down a brazilian plane that brought down almost every player of a brazilian soccer team. >>> more about president-elect trump's denner with mitt romney. it was enlightening and engaging and i enjoyed them very, very much. >>> a dangerous pipeline explosion in the kansas city area. the long awaited return of tiger woods. "early today" starts right now. it's good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. we begin this wednesday morning with breaking news on a deadly and destructive weather in the south. there are at at least confirmed fatalitiesft through southern alabama. nbc's bill cairns is tracking this severe outbreak. talk about the threat. is it still over? >> no, it's not over yet. we are dealing with a tornado watch in areas of southern tennessee. the worst of it overnight had been earlier in areas of mississippi. then it shifted into alabama overnight. as far as the reports go, as of now, we have about 85 reports of either wind damage or tornado. tornadoes and it looks

gatlinburg is on fire and flames are already grabbing the theme park of dollywood. responders watch as embers carry a cloud of more trouble gatlinburg mayor is calling the forecast ominous saying that winds could reach as much at 60 miles per hour. danita, rain is in the area. >>> mark johnson can you ad lib more about the dry fire conditions? >> some relief is on the way. look at this rain and thunder activity. here's gatlinburg. follow the arrow. there's knoxville, chattanooga. this rain will between now and tomorrow morning. good news for firefighters. here's the factors that contributed to this wildfire situation. a severe drought this year. they haven't had much rain there. plus arson. these are manmade fires not caused by nature. all caused by man. the high winds yesterday 75 mile per hour wind gusts and as frank mentioned about a # 0 per gust. this is going to help. one to two inches of rain is good news. that should kick down some of the fires. let's check out what's going on in our neck of the woods. some of that rain heading to tennessee is heading our way