we're going to nbc's joe fryer. joe, if you would, tell us what the scene looks like there. >> reporter: yeah, dara, the four seasons is part of the mandole bay complex. we're overlooking the position i've been holding for the past couple of hours. we want to give you a look outside the strip. this is the only activity you see, are police of looking a few white lights right now. as far as retirement pedestrians. what i want to show you is kiddy corner. this is where this concert, the fe taffe val for the pass few dayers. that's thousands of people coming in. in the center of the screen where you're looking right now. a concert was taking place. country music concert. people thought they heard -- they thought it was fireworks. then they realized that shots were being fired. at this point we don't fully know and haven't heard where the shots were coming from. we know that dozens of people according to witnesses were shot. las vegas police said one suspect is down, what that means, and we're not being discussed on his w

we'll go back to joe fryer who as -- bird's eye view of this. joe, if you well, tell us what the scene deeds. certainly what they've talked about. he seems calmer. we still see police faf we'll turn off the lights. it gives you a better look at what we have been talking about from the upper level ep seeds. you can look across the street, a lot of flashing lights, not as many police car and clearly sum of them. right where you're looking at is where the concert was taking place. witnesses say jason aldean, the popular country and music star was performing. when you hear this you thought it was fireworks, then to stock fire. no, we're see us in this should doe. i'm pointing down the strip. you can see next to mccarron airport in and out live, it's been quite here for a while. that for a while we believe is shut down. they don't want traffic camming in for the laceburg. a lot of fun fire broke out. we heard reports from people there were squad parks. you u.n. kri near they're having reopened. door falling behind. where the concert this was tang week

nbc's joe fryer has the story. >> reporter: jesus campos is breaking 2 1/2 weeks of silence, speaking with ellen degeneres. >> i'm doing better each day. >> the mandalay bay security guard says before the las vegas mass shooth, he was called to check on a door alarm near the 32nd floor suite. campos took the stairs but the door to the floor wouldn't open. so he took a different route. >> there was a metal bracket holding the door in place. it was just out of the ordinary. >> reporter: campos said he called for an engineer, then started walking down the hallway when a barrage of gunfire came from paddock's room. >> at first i took cover. i felt a burning sensation.

as joe fryer said that it seems safer, at least at this point. ve heard it. police have completely shut down this corner. what we saw, police in teams with long guns in many kazs heading into hotels and casinos during this ire you. so this is people lit cali coming out with their hands up. we saw that multiple times. not one, not two, three times at least in this location overall. as soon as we got on scene, people did hear some sort of gunfire. one gentleman said he heard what sounded like automatic machine gunfire. there's so much chaos and panic especially when they're heightened and rushing and running throughout the different scenes where we are. as mentioned, quite quiet. police have a lock on this scene. we see multiple people moving. teams of ambulances and structures. we don't know if some of those people were being checked out in a panic. so, again, police have the skeef, ambulances pushing them ba back. >> steve, we do have reports that the las vegas police is confirming that they have one shooter down and they are asking people to stil

nbc's joe fryer has the details on the devastation from santa rosa. joe? >> reporter: good morning, phillip. you can see the path the fire took in this santa rosa neighborhood. behind me, those houses are okay. but when you look in a different direction, it's a different story. a lot of destruction. that goes on and on. and with the winds picking up overnight, firefighters are working hard to make sure more neighborhoods don't suffer the same fate. this is what it looks like as a sonoma county deputy races to safety, narrowly surviving flames that are turning parts of wine country into a wasteland. >> years, narrowly escaping themselves. >> i don't know why i woke up. but if i hadn't, within ten minutes, we would have been gone. >> reporter: propelled by hot, dry, diablo winds, several fast-moving fires are scorching northern california, with some firefighters battling more than flames. >> we have a dozen guys in our department, that have lost their homes. >> reporter: more resources are on the way, with thousands more evacuating. and authorities are deali

joe fryer is in las vegas and joe, you've been covering this story since he's been out. tell us the latest. all right wh >> reporter: o.j. simpson was released just minutes after midnight on october 1st, the first day he was eligible for parole. he was released from lovelock correctional center which is where he has been essentially living for the past nine years. all of this is highly unusual. typically a parolee first of all wouldn't be releasted at lovelock because it's a very rural area. typically they don't release inmates there because there is nowhere near an airport, no where near a rail line. but he knew he had someone to pick him up. also typically he would have to return to the las vegas area and be processed at a parole office here in las vegas but it became clear that the department of corrections was concerned about what would happen if o.j. simpson was released under these normal circumstances, if he went to the parole office on a weekday during normal business hours and there was media, paparazzi and of course members of the public and what would happen w

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >> we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us.t is nightly news for this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching, and good night. now: thanks for joining us. i )m janelle wang -- in for raj mathai. >>> the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us. >> jessica aguirre. we begin with breaking news out of san francisco. firefighters are rushed to where a woman has fallen from a cliff. happened within past hour. we'll take you outside you can see the sky ranger above the scene and the cliff. there are emergency vehicles below. now the san francisco fire department just told us that the medical examiner is on the way which means that that woman is dead. we have a crew at ft. clemson gathering information. well bring you information on the digital platforms as well process. >>> to the news in las vegas and the las vegas massacre investigation. u.s. officials say the shooter may have planned plor attacks including a war bombing. there is no solid evidence but looking into the possibil

once again tonight our joe fryer leads off our coverage with the latest. joe, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. you can see what path the fire took here behind me. those homes are okay. but now looking in another direction, a different story. destruction that goes on and on. and with the winds picking up once again tonight, firefighters are working hard to make sure more neighborhoods don't suffer the same fate. this is what it looks like as a sonoma county deputy races to safety narrowly surviving flames that are turning parts of wine country into a wasteland. >> it's all gone. >> reporter: june and jamie clark lost their home of 38 years, narrowly escaping themselves. >> i don't know why i woke up, but if i hadn't, within ten minutes we would have been gone. >> reporter: propelled by hot, dry diablo winds, or devil winds, several fast-moving untamed fires are scorching northern california with some firefighters battling more than flames. >> we have at least a dozen guys in our department that have lost their homes. >> reporter: more resourc

>> all right, joe fryer tonight in northern california. thank you. >>> now to a new turn in the drama swirling around the nfl, star quarterback colin kaepernick who took his team to the super bowl several seasons ago and later grabbed national attention with the protest during the national anthem has filed a grievance against the league's owners accusing them of conspiring to keep him off the field. nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: after taking a knee on the field, tonight colin kaepernick is fighting to get back on his feet. the former superstar quarterback hiring attorney mark garigos and filing a grievance against the nfl alleging league owners are colluding against hiring him because of his repeated protests during the national anthem. >> kaepernick has a very difficult uphill battle to show that there is some sort of agreement or collusion among the teams in the league to prohibit his employment. >> reporter: kaepernick's protest against racial inequality and social injustice became a movement, wi

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >>> and that is "nightly news" for this wednesday night from las vegas. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> president trump here in las vegas consoling the survivors and the nation. >> we'll overcome together as americans. >> while america heals. >> i don't know if i would be here today. >> the fbi questions the girlfriend of the gunman searching for a motive. >>> the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening. thanks for being with us. continuing to anchor or coverage from the crime scene. >> we're here in our nbc bay area studio. investigators released new information including what is the official timeline of events. this is what we have learned. it started at exactly 10:05 when the first shots fired. seven minutes later the first officers arrived on the scene. at 10:15, the last shot heard from the gunman. two minutes later officers reached the 32nd floor. they searched rooms for victims and cleared the floor. at 11:20, officers entered the room to find paddock dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wou

>> joe fryer for us, thank you. >>> let's turn now to the growing scandal surrounding hollywood movie mogul harvey weinstein. another big star has come forward to accuse him of inappropriate behavior towards her. weinstein now facing dozens of accusers. and nbc's anne thompson has all the latest details. >> reporter: today it's actress kate beckinsale telling her harvey weinstein story. on instagram, beckinsale writes about a hotel room incident with weinstein when she was 17. after declining alcohol and announcing that i had school in the morning, i left uneasy but unscathed. a few years later beckinsale says weinstein asked if he had tried anything in that meeting. i realized he couldn't remember if he had assaulted me or not. today the producer labeled a predator on the cover of "time" magazine. >> are you doing okay, harvey? >> reporter: as he left his los angeles home yesterday, weinstein spoke to photographers. >> guys, i'm not doing okay. i'm trying. i got to get help, guys. you know what? we all make mistakes. second chance i hope. okay? >> reporter: with nearly 30 women now c

joe fryer, thank you so much. we'll turn to our legal analyst joining me by phone. danny, are you surprised that this release happened in the middle of the night? >> no, i'm not. i mean, nevada corrections has a lot of discretion in formulating a resolution that gets o.j. out of prison with the least amount of problems. and in a case like o.j. as with any celebrity, the rule book is always thrown out the window. so i'm sure they had a nice meeting and decided he's no ordinary parolee, so we need to get him out in a safe way. and this didn't violate any of the rules of his parole in letting him out early. it's just a procedural thing and it really is a smart choice given that it minimized the amount of paparazzi, the amount of problems that could result. the main thing that the board of corrections is going to be concerned about is that he reports, he complies with the conditions. the fact that they may have changed the rules for his release, not a big deal. >> and what kind of restrictions would o.j. simpson be fac

we have with us joe fryer who has a vantage point over las vegas. joe, give us a quick update in terms of how it's playing out now that police have confirmed that the shooting situation has -- has ended with the killing of the suspect. >> reporter: yeah, well, as we heard, the police -- the sheriff saying earlier he still wants people to remain in place, to shelter in place. now that we've heard the news conference we know how close we are to the scene. we are in the mandalay bay tower. our hotel is the four seasons which is in the mandalay bay tower on the higher levels. we are on the 38th floor. the shooting suspect was on the 32nd floor of mandalay bay. we don't know where along here it happened but we can tell you where we are, the 38th floor. these windows do not open at least where we are in t the scene you're going to see in some of the upper levels throughout las vegas. we want to show you the vantage point where we are. i'm going to turn off the light so you can see through the glass here at night, but basically right across the street that'

joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. >> amazing to hear their story.some lighter moments there with ellen too. >> ellen always provides that. >>> just ahead, which 68-year-old music legend is about to become a dad again. plus, could this popular snapchat filter become this year's hottest halloween costume. you're watching "early today." so... i'm hoping for good years ahead. that's thanks to research funded by the american cancer society. the same folks giving me free rides to treatments, insurance advice, and a place to stay during chemo. i need that stuff like you don't know. and now that you do, please give at cancer.org. in the water, in the water you ready for this? she doesn't like it... you gotta get in there okay, okay careful not to get it in her eyes i know what a bath is... smile honey this thing is like... first kid here we go second kid you coming in mommy? ahh not a chance! by their second kid, every parent is an expert and more likely to choose luvs than first time parents. luvs with nightlockplus absorbs wetness faster than huggies snug

joe fryer is in mandalay bay, and he has a great vantage point. another scene, if the shooter was shooting from an elevated position and did not have access to the roofs, that means they were shooting through a window. hotels generally don't have windows you can open. the window would have to be cut off or broke r broken in a small part -- broken in a small part. then a rifle stuck out the window. if what the witnesses say holds true. multiple witnesses said it seems like it was coming from the sky or elevated position or on high. no one reported actually seeing the shooter. again, that goes back to maybe he was at an elevated position. and we know from metro las vegas p.d., the shooter is in a room in the hotel. that again backs up shooting from an elevated position. it's coming together in bits and pieces. it didn't sound from the quick review a couple of times i heard the video that it was anything that one person could not have done. it could have been just one person. there was some semiautomatic fi fire after the fully automatic fire but tha

i think we'll start with joe fryer. fryer in a hotel, the four seasons resort, actually a part of the mandalay bay resort, as well. and he's located on the 38th floor. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. we've been in the hotel all night. this is part of the tower on the upper levels. we're on the 38th floor, and as you heard from the sheriff, they say that this shooter was on the 32nd floor of the mandalay bay. so six floors below here. we don't know from a left-to-right perspective where exactly the shooter was located. we've been on lockdown since the shooting started. told not to leave the hotel rooms. i need to turn off the light so you can look out the window without seeing the reflection. we're high above from the 38th floor. what you're looking at now across the way is where the concert was taking place. a few hours ago, that place was packed with thousands. jason aldean was perming. basically -- was performing. basically the middle of the screen, you see where the concert wastation place. we're on t

we have with us joe fryer who has a vantage point overlooking the area of las vegas. he's been looking over that vantage point for the past several hours. give us a quick update in terms of how it's playing out now that police have confirmed that the shooting situation has -- has ended with the killing of the suspect. >> reporter: yeah. as we heard, the police, the sheriff saying earlier he wants people who have been told to shelter in place to remain in place. we've been on lockdown to tell you where we are. and now that we've heard the conference, we know how close we were to the scene. we're in the mandalay bay tower. it is in the mandalay bay towers. we're on the 38th floor. the shooting suspect was on the 32nd floor of mandalay bay. we don't know where along here it happened. we can tell you where we are, 38th floor, the windows do not open at least where we are in this room. that's pretty much the scene from the upper levels throughout las vegas. we want to show you the vantage point from where we are at the 38th floor. i want to turn off the light and get rid o

joe fryer, thank you. you're in santa rosa, north of san francisco. hundds california, another dangerous fire's on the move. let's go to nbc's gadi schwartz. he's in anaheim. gadi? >> reporter: lester, let me show you what's going on right now. check this out. these are firefighters putting out hot spots in this home, and they were protecting this home over here. in this neighborhood it's house after house that's already gone up in flames. from above, you can see it's house after house that's been destroyed by this fire. a very different fire than the one that is burning up north because these hopes are so close to each other and the wind is so strong that it's traveling from house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood at lightning speed. and this is something that you can see from all across southern california. you can see the smoke cloud from disneyland, you can see the smoke cloud from the ballpark, from the traffic snafrled all the way around here. a very stark reminder that this is the type of danger that people live with every day here in sout

let's get more from nbc's joe fryer. >> sheriff's office! >> reporter: a week after the wildfires began their deadly march across california, the sergeant behind this body camera footage is sharing his story. >> i was scared beyond reason. i'm not a fireman. i've never been trained to be a fireman. so it was exceptionally shocking to me. >> reporter: brandon cutting with the sonoma county sheriff's department urgently knocked on doors when the fires erupted. >> she's disabled. >> reporter: after helping a couple into their car. >> we did as much as we could, but that's what wears heavy on us is what did we miss? >> reporter: the latest death came today. a contract firefighter killed when a water tender truck rolled off a road. firefighters are making progress, attacking stubborn flames from above blocking their path down below. on steep terrain like this, firefighters are worried about something called rollout, logs and vegetation rolling down the hill starting fires in places that resident burned yet. it's why crews dig perimeters around th

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >>> we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us.y news" for this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >> announcer: now a "extra" -- o.j. simp so i pose fog selfies secretly signing memorabilia? the new outrage. is he already trying to hide money? >> will you all seize that income? >>> breaking news details on the vegas mad man. >> the concert vinu he scoped out two months before vegas. >>> the mystery woman. did he have an accomplice? >>> plus why jay leno is praising jimmy kimmel. >> he's from las vegas. >>> dancing's max and vanessa call a truce, but are they just playing nice for the camera? >>> live with mario -- >> my manusher, what's up, man? >>> his all-new star search when you audition on your phone. >> at a chance of a million dollars. >> wow. >>> an "extra" scandal exclusive. kerry washington drops clues about the final season. >> i have a husband, i have kids. >>> plus idris elba and kate winslet, their surprise love fest. >> his brown eyes, his pillow lips. >

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >>> we appreciate you spending part of your evening with us.y news" for this thursday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. ralpand as a doctor, nobody ever asked if i'm a democrat or republican. they just want my help. so if donald trump is helping virginia i'll work with him. but donald trump proposed cutting virginia's school funding, rolling back our clean air and water protections, and taking away health care from thousands of virginians. as a candidate for governor, on all of it. ed gillespie refuses to stand up to him at all. this is a super group. >> where was ryan? did kelly ripa really demand he skip the "gma" "idol" unveiling due to her problems with michael strahan? >>> funny to hear a female talk about routes. >> those sexist words ignite a firestorm for nfl superstar cam newton. >>> do you ever see yourself getting married again?

we're going to go to nbc's joe fryer. he is in a hotel room on a high floor himself. you have a pretty good idea of the vantage point that the shooter would have had. >> reporter: that's right, savannah. we're in the four seasons hotel, which is part of mandalay bay. we're on the 38th floor. just six floors directly above where this shooter was at the time. we're on lockdown here. we've been on lockdown here for six hours now. we just checked with the front desk. we're still on lockdown. we have to remain here. minutes ago, police in tactical gear were going door-to-door on our floor, knocking on doors, asking if anyone needed medical assistance. if no one responded, they pounded harder until someone responded. we'll be staying put for a while. we're going to turn off the lights in here. we want to show you off the window. we don't want the lights to create a reflection. when you look outside here. this is the 38th floor. what you're looking at right now is where this route 91 harvest country music festival was taking place. kitty-corner from mandalay bay. this is the

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >>> and that is from las vegas. i'm lester holt.ll of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam and as a doctor, nobody ever asked if i'm a democrat or republican. they just want my help. so if donald trump is helping virginia i'll work with him. but donald trump proposed cutting virginia's school funding, rolling back our clean air and water protections, and taking away health care from thousands of virginians. as a candidate for governor, i sponsored this ad because i've stood up p on all of it. ed gillespie refuses to stand up to him at all. >>> this could be all night long. ♪ all night long >> we love each other. >> meet idol super trio as everyone tries to move forward after tragedy. >> it's or worst nightmare. >> only two days after the nightmare. >> is this normal to anybody in the world? >> only on

we're going to turn now from joe fryer who is somewhere in the vicinity of where o.j. simpson was released, and, joe, what can you tell us about what's going on this evening and why o.j. simpson was released at this hour. >> hey there. well, good morning. i'm actually in las vegas, so it's been sort of an adventurous weekend trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen with o.j. simpson. we've known all along. there's a traditional way that someone like o.j. simpson would have been released, and then we knew all along that they could try and get o.j. out, sort of a nontraditional way because of the concern about all of the publicity. at this point we're actually still waiting for confirmation ourselves from the department of corrections that o.j. has been released. we're receiving reports from the associated press. we're still trying to get confirmation ourselves from the department of corrections. here's what we know. he could have been released as early as october 1st. here right now it is 1:00 a.m., october 1st, which means it could -- this is what happens i

steve, i want to cross over now to joe fryer. i know you've been reporting from your vantage point but i want to tell us if you've gotten the sense in the last couple of minutes the hotel that you're staying at, have they eased up the lockdown that was in place once this incident began now that the police department said they don't believe there are any more shooters? >> reporter: yeah, we simply don't know at this point. we have not receivedan there hasn't been a lot of communication. there's not like a speaker that's been telling people what to do. initially when this started a couple hours ago one of my producers called down to see what was going on. they said the hotel is under lockdown. we are part of the mandalay complex looking down at the strip here but we haven't received any new information since then. we haven't been able to get anyone on the phone to tell us. we know that there is a police presence at this hotel right now and we don't want to be out there creating any sort of situation so we've been staying put here r

joe fryer, nbc news, las vegas. >>> and that is "nightly news" for this wednesday night from las vegasster holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. . >>> now on "extra." >> i hope that you're doing okay. >> celine dion near tears. oprah's message of hope. katy perry demanding action. >> everybody feels like their heart has just been ripped out. >> the stars rallying to help america heal from the vegas massacre. luke bryan revealing his phone call with jason aldean right after the attack. >> he said what i have seen i will never unsee. >> then the gunman's girlfriend back in the u.s. what did she know? her sisters break their silence. >>> plus. >> we are there as a victim of the shooting reunites with the doctor helping him walk again. >> gabrielle union in fertility battle. >> her new confession about suffering more than eight miscarriages. >>> table flipping teresa back for more jersey housewives drama. >> i grab you by the back of your hair. >> we've got teresa on joe's prison life and the divorce rumors. >>> plug vivica a. fox spilling secrets from her

nbc's joe fryer now with his story. >> reporter: jesus campos is breaking 2.5 weeks of silence, speaking with ellen degeneres. >> i'm doing better each day. >> reporter: the mandalay bay security guard said before the las vegas mass shooting he was called to check on a door alarm near gunman stephen paddock's 32nd floor suite. he took the stairs, but the door to the floor wouldn't open, so he took a different route. >> there was a metal bracket holding the door in place. it was out of the ordinary. >> reporter: campos said he called for an engineer, then started walking down the hallway when a barrage of gunfire came from paddock's room. >> at first i took cover. i felt a burning sensation. i went to go lift my pant leg up, and i saw the blood. [ sirens ] >> reporter: after campos radioed for help, engineer steven schock showed up, unaware what was happening. >> jesus leaned out and said, "take cover, take cover," yelled at me. within milliseconds if he didn't say that, i would have got hit. >> reporter: at one point, a female guest came out of a different room. >> and i told her to go b

i think we're going to start with joe fryer, located in the hotel at the four seasons resort, which is part of the mandalay bay resort as well and located on the 38th floor. joe, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey there, matt, good morning. so we have been in the hotel all night. this is where we were staying, the four seasons is part of the mandalay bay tower on the upper levels so we're on the 38th floor and as you just heard from the sheriff they say this shooter was on the 32nd floor of the mandalay bay so six floors below here. we don't know from a left to right perspective where exactly the shooter was located, but we have been on lockdown everin to leave our hotel rooms. obviously there is a strong police presence here. we want to give you an idea of the perspective. i need to turn off the light so you can look out the window without seeing the reflection. here we are high above from the 38th floor, what you're looking at right now across the way is where the concert was taking place. so a few hours ago that place was packed with thousands of people. jason aldean was performi

i think we're going to start with joe fryer, located in the hotel at the four seasons resort, which is part of the mandalay bay resort as well and located on the 38th floor. joe, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey there, matt, good morning. so we have been in the hotel all night. this is where we were staying, the four seasons is part of the mandalay bay tower on the upper levels so we're on the 38th floor and as you just heard from the sheriff they say this shooter was on the 32nd floor of the mandalay bay so six floors below here. we don't know from a left to right perspective where exactly the shooter was located, but we have been on lockdown ever since this shooting started, told not to leave our hotel rooms. obviously there is a strong police presence here. we want to give you an idea of the perspective. i need to turn off the light so you can look out the window without seeing the reflection. here we are high above from the 38th floor, what you're looking at right now across the way is where the concert was taking place. so a few hours ago that place was packed with thousands

joe fryer is in santa rosa for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.rs are bracing for more dangerous conditions this weekend. dry windy weather that could make things even worse. the death toll has now climbed to at least 31, making this the deadliest week for wildfires in state history. many of those victims were in their 70s and 80s. there are fears the death toll could rise further. investigators are looking into hundreds of missing person reports. in santa rosa alone, the mayor now says more than 2,800 homes were destroyed. along with feet of commercial space. a devastating blow for wine country's largest city. this morning, thousands are still evacuated. some are living in shelters. we've spoken with people who still do not know if their homes survived this. right now, 8,000 firefighters are on the front lines battling more than 20 large wildfires, with no relief in sight. smoke remained a huge issue. in some parts of the bay area, it's the worst air quality ever recorded. >> big part of the story as well. thank you very much. >>> a surprise anno

nbc's joe fryer is in las vegas with more. >> reporter: willie, good morning. under normal circumstances he would have been released from the las vegas area where the crime took place. this is not your normal inmate. he was released directly from loaf lock prison, his home for the past nine years. they released a photo of him signing his paperwork and a brief video of him walking out of prison. releasing a paroled prisoner over the weekend, but they wanted to ensure public safety and reduce the potential for an incident, especially with so much media attention. simpson was granted parole in july after serving nine years for a botched hotel room heiss in vegas. of course, in 1995 he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife nicole brown simpson and her friend ron goldman. we know he would like to move to florida and live there, but he still must finish some for now it's unclear who picked up simpson from prison or where he's heading today now that he's free. >> released minutes into his first possible release date. joe fryer in vegas, thanks so much. >>> now to the

here is nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: this morning, caters lynn coleman is setting the record straight, providing harrowing new details about her time in captivity. the american born coleman was kidnapped with her husband joshua boyle back in afghanistan in 2012. the couple was held by the taliban-linked haqqani network before their rescue by pakistani forces. in a wide ranging interview, at a hospital where she's being treated, coleman said she is certain she and her family were held in both afghanistan and pakistan and says claims made by islamabad in washington that they were rescued before crossing the border to pakistan were false. we were not crossing into pakistan that day. we had been in pakistan for more than a year at that point. joshua boyle says he and kate lan went to afghanistan to help the afghan people when they were kidnapped. the boyles have three children, on born in captivity. two sons, ages 4 and 2 and a 6-month-old daughter. aware of criticism calling the couple reckless for traveling in afghanistan while she was pregnant and having more kids in captivity. she tel

. >> nbc's joe fryer explains. >> reporter: >> how are we doing?>> reporter: hospitals share little common ground with museums, yet the pediatric ward at utah valley hospital is home to a constantly revolving collection of art. >> can i draw something on your window? >> reporter: works created not by a skilled painter, but by a nurse like dennis hatfield. >> i'm not there with michael angelo, i know that. >> reporter: when he's not drawing blood, he's drawing cartoons. bursts of color splashed upon the glass doors and windows. >> it's been a passion of mine since i started working pediatrics. >> sidelined by a serious infection, this 5-year-old requests superman. for her mom, the gesture is more powerful than a locomotive. >> they care about my child. so that's probably been the best message we've gotten here. >> reporter: hatfield's idea has spread among the staff. contiguous in a good way. giving nurses to connect with young patients. >> and then seeing that we're not just here to poke them and hurt them, but we're also here to make things fun. >

brian. >> nbc's joe fryer reporting for us earlier this evening from santa rosea, california. okay. a final break. when we continue, the president's tortured relationship with one of the tools of the presidential trade when the 11th hour rolls on. jimmy's gotten used to his whole room smelling like sweaty odors. yup, he's gone noseblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric. with up to twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it... ...again and again and maybe just one more time. indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy. >>> last thing before we go tonight, a kpils that comes with our thanks to our friends and prime time neighbors at all in. and while it's true that presidents say the darnedest things, this president has such an interesting relationship with a teleprompter, the magic glass panels upon which his remarks, like ours, scro

joe fryer is following this breaking story and joins us from las vegas. what can you tell us about why he was released in the middle of the night? >> well, what we can tell you is all along the department of corrections has been concerned about safety with his release. why is that? if he followed the typical pattern of someone convicted of a crime, typically that person would be brought to another prison in southern nevada near las vegas, high desert state prison, transferred from there to the parole and probation office and sign paperwork, meet parole officer, be released to friends and family, but there would be a huge media scrum shall perhaps members of the public who would see him, the car he pulled in. when he leaves, that could create what would have been a dangerous situation in the minds of soom in law enforcement community and state officials because perhaps there would be a number of people following o.j. simpson, giving chase and they're afraid that was a safety issue. they're citing safety reasons for why the unconventional release. why is it

nbc's joe fryer in santa rosa tracking this progress. >> reporter: helped by calmer winds and cooling temps, 11,000 fire fighters are gaining ground, but the toll on first responders has been brutal. >> people understand how long are the shifts you're working here? >> we work 24-hour shifts. >> reporter: a week after the fire started they're still burning aggressively, still threatening homes and fire fighters are working around the clock to put them out. thousands of fire fighters are now sleeping in tent cities using makeshift bathrooms, eating when they can. >> after being up all night you're going to probably end up sleeping in one of these dirt lots at base camp. we're thankful for sleep. we're not complaining. >> reporter: while saving many other homes, losing their own. >> this is my house, this is my home, my everything. now i have to figure out where to go from here. >> reporter: most of the see deceased are older than 730. to escape the childhood sweethearts held each other in the pool five hours. he survived, but she too weak from the smoke died in his arms. >> they did tha

nbc's joe fryer has been in vegas since this all started. joe, walk us through everything that has happened in the last 36 hours. >> reporter: it's been quite a bit, stephanie. we know this started on sunday night, 10:08 p.m., the first report of shots fired. it was an hour and 12 minutes later at 11:20 when the man burst into the room here at the mandalay bay tower. and at that point, they say the suspect, stephen paddock, had taken his own life. we know inside the room that searches have yielded 23 weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition. another search at his home, which is in mesquite, nevada, outside of las vegas turned up 19 more weapons. thousands of rounds of ammunition. we know he spent a lot of time here in vegas at casinos. he had high status with one of the casinos here. law enforcement officials and a casino executive tell nbc news that in recent days leading up to this, he had gambled a significant amount of money. one source puts that amount at $10,000 or more a day. though it's unclear if he won money or if he lost money. it

joe fryer is in hard-hit santa rosa for us. joe, listen, i have covered wildfires a lot and you have covered wildfires a lot, this looks bad. what kind of progress are firefighters making? >> reporter: well, hallie, firefighters are optimistic to make more progress today. so far all the fires, there's at least 15 of them in the northern california area, so far zero percent containment on pretty much all of them. but the good news is that they have been slow to spread in the last 24 hours. that's largely because those wind gusts, those wind gusts that top 50 miles an hour during the heart of this thing, those have died down considerably. that's giving firefighters a chance to attack these fires. but the damage really has been done. if you're looking behind me here in santa rosa, you can see this is just a small sample of the damage throughout these neighborhoods. neighborhood after neighborhood, every single home on these blocks destroyed. we know throughout this northern california area, at least 1500 homes and businesses have b

nbc's joe fryer reports. >> reporter: helped by calmer winds and cooling temps, 11,000 firefighters are gaining ground. but the toll on first responders has been brutal. >> help people understand, how long are the shifts you guys are working here? >> we work 24-hour shifts. >> reporter: a week after these fires started, they're still burning aggressively, still threatening homes and firefighters are working around the clock to put them out. thousands of firefighters are now sleeping in tent cities, using make sthishift bathrooms, eating when they can. >> after being up all night, i'll probably be end up sleeping in these dirt lots here at base camp. and we're grateful for any kind of sleep. we're not complaining. >> reporter: while saving others' homes, many firefighters cope with losing their own. >> this is my house. this is my home. this is my everything. now i've got to figure out where to go from here. >> reporter: most of the deceased are older than 70, like carmen barres. she was with her husband, arman armando, when flames engulfed their home. to escape, they held each other in