kerry sanders has the latest. pushing forward with its investigation -- a team of ntsb investigators getting their first close up look at the mangled wreckage of the school bus - trying to determine what went so horribly wrong.and this morning, new, disturbing details emerging about the bus driver - 24-year old johnthony walker.now facing multiple charges stemming from the fatal crash that killed five elementary school children and learned that walker has a less-than-perfect driving record...state records show he received his license to drive a school bus in april..five months later he was involved in a minor bus accident - no one was injured. and in 2014 he had his personal license suspended for 25 days for failing to show proof of insurance."every day they come home complaining about the school bus..."jasmine mateen's six year old daughter, zyaira, died in the horrific crash -- and two of her other kids were hurt. . "i've been calling complaining about this bus driver since august. i done called the board of edu

nbc's kerry sanders in miami this morning with more on that and reaction from around the world. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hallie. one of three people who lives in the greater miami area is a cuban-american. not all of them refer to this as home. their political exile.

a free cuba again. >> and kerry sanders joins me now live from miami. do many of the cuban-americans that you talked to, the families that endure the legacy of castro feel that perhaps now they can begin to reclaim their country? >> reporter: you know, they recognize i think that fidel castro's death is really symbolic. it is his brother raul who's i was struck this morning thinking about a trip to cuba 24 years ago and i hopped on a car for a ride and it was a nice car, a mercedes. i said to the guy driving, is this your car in he goes, no, all cars in cuba owned by -- and then went like this and struck like the beard there of fidel saying all cars are owned by fidel and under raul castro, relatively recently, folks in cuba own and sell cars, sell property. so change comes to cuba and raul castro says he'll step down in two years. the person who will take over for him wasn't even alive when the fidel castro revolution began. >> remarkable. castro, even controlled the cars. kerry sanders in miami for us this morning, thank you so much. >>> next on "sund

kerry sanders and i want to begin in pigeon forge with kerry sanders. hell is how it is being described. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: well, in that death, they found the body inside a motel that had burned. there are initially three people missing and then five people missing and now it looks like there may be as many as eight people missing. we've had rain come through here. the evacuees that want to make their way into the area have discovered getting back into an area that has soaked into the ground, the soaked soils are causing other problems, fears that there could be trees coming down and much more. >> the new challenge that the weather is creating for us after the fire is we are experiencing some small mudslides and rock slides. we're having to go back into area that were previously cleared and accessible and go through some of our same processes over again. >> reporter: which, of course, means some people now who want to make their way into the areas that were impacted, like the one where i'm standing at, may find that they'll be dela

kerry sanders has the latest from chattanooga. >> reporter: tonight, a community in mourning, remembering the five lives lost in monday's tragic school bus crash. >> he was hurt. one of them was bleeding bad. one of them had passed out. 24-year-old johnthony walker has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. according to the affidavit, walker was driving well over the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, on a narrow winding road when he lost control of the bus. tonight nbc news has learned from state records that walker had his license suspended in 2013 for 25 days for failing to show insurance, and he was involved in another minor school bus accident just two months ago, no one was from woodmore leamtary school complains she complained to the school about his erratic driving. >> i done called the board of education. i done called the school. >> reporter: among the five children killed in monday's accident, 9-year-old zoe nash, her younger brother also in the bus, survived, but is in intensive care. >> there's no bringing her back, but we

kerry sanders, nbc news, north carolina. >>> today federal reserve chair janet yellen made her first comments since last week's election and snalged what many have been -- signaled what many have been anticipating, that the fed will most likely raise interest rates move could come as early as next week, and that could affect your money. joining subcommittee ali velshi, msnbc anchor and business correspondent. what does a rate hike mean for consumers? >> it means that janet yellen thinks the economy is strong enough now to handle it. one of the great explanations from the fed that i've heard is it leaps ache a car with a gas pedal and brakes. it can lower interest rates, like pushing the gas, raising the economy up. it can slow the economy down by raising interest rates. the fed thinks quarter of a percent, hike, if you have revolving credit, it will affect you because your loan will get more expensive. if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, that could go higher. if you haven't got your mortgage rate yet, they have started to move a little bit higher. the good news is if you are a s

as nbc kerry sanders explains, a car passenger was recently using that feature right before a horrific deadly crash. >> reporter: critical moments just before a horrific deadly crash, this ten-second snapchat video posted by a passenger in the car using a feature that records and displays their feed. first 82 miles per hour, then 115. less than ten minutes later, that same speeding car in tampa slammed into a minivan. five died in the crash. the driver and his passenger, and in the van on their way home from church, a 39-year-old mother, or 9 and 10-year-old children. another 19-year-old daughter and 15-year-old cousin in the van survived and are in the hospital tonight. >> we do question how it happened, you know, why did it happen. >> reporter: the florida highway patrol says it remains unclear what roll snapchat played. doing the videotaping, the snapchatting at the time, maybe he might not have been performing this operation and driving so recklessly. >> reporter: when moving snapchat displays a do not snap and drive warning. the company says, we actively discourage using the speed

kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. >>> we're back in a moment with the police chase and deadly shoot-out triggered in >>> a massive explosion outside birmingham, alabama, today, sent a plume of smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles. at least seven people were injured as fire crews raced to contain the fireball at the scene. officials say it happened about a mile away from the site of a recent gas pipeline leak. the company has now shut down its main lines in that area. >>> the week-long manhunt for a dangerous fugitive in an end in a deadly shoot-out. the suspect, wanted in a series of violent crimes, including a double murder, led police on a chase last night before he was killed in a gun battle with state troopers. nbc's blake mccoy has more on the takedown. >> reporter: the dangerous fugitive oklahoma police had been desperately pursuing for a week, was finally spotted by don williamson has he was gathering firewood on his property sunday. >> if we hadn't came down here, he'd probably still be here. >> reporter: what followed was a f enforcement that left a sheriff injured a

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

nbc's kerry sanders is in chattanooga. >> late today the national transportation safety board revealed that the school bus that crashed in tennessee kill five students had diverted from its route and was not on a reasonable doubt approved to drive children home. >> one of the things we're exploring is, is a, has he done it before? and b, if so, why? >> police announced that the 24-year-old johnthany walker had no trace of drugs or alcohol in his system. the bus was not equipped with a black box recorder. but officials were able to recover other important data from the record. >> what this bus had was three video cameras, we're bringing in an electronics expert late they are week. >> according to relatives of some of the victims, walker was a known problem. jasmine mateen, whose 6-year-old daughter died, said she complained in person purpose, making all the kids hit their heads. >> 9-year-old cordayja jones died in the accident. her aunt said the fourth grade her also complained about the bus driver. >> she had said one time before to my mom, granny, that man drives like a fool. >> walk

>> kerry sanders, thank you. >>> now to drama surrounding white house transition of power. president-elect donald trump in an early morning series of tweets denying reports of turmoil inside his team as they race to fill key roles. nbc's halle jackson has more on that and the surprise name being considered to join the new administration. >> reporter: tonight, another name now in the mix for secretary of state. sources familiar with the discussion citing south carolina governor nikki haley who begrudgingly backed trump, even after he said her constituents are embars by her. >> governor, are you going to support donald trump? >> it's great to be in cleveland. >> reporter: so far, no response from the governor's office. eight days in. president-elect trump is looking like candidate trump did. inside his transition, much of internal jockeying, leadership changes, complaints privately and publicly. no one really knows who's in charge. >> i think there is some confusion going on about a chain of command coming out of new york. >> reporter: vice president-elect, mike pence, the ne

nbc's kerry sanders has more. >> reporter: where there's fire, there's smoke. north carolina, today, handed out masks to residents, choking on the nasty air. >> my allergies bothering me more than normal. >> reporter: air quality alerts in place from charlotte, to atlanta, to nashville. a view from nasa of the southeast united states reveals the extent of the smoke. the fuel for the fires -- tinder-dry brush brush. more than 70 wildfires now burning in the region, some of which officials are now investigating as wildfires north carolina's ever seen. >> reporter: making it especially difficult to control, low humidity, gusting winds, and record-breaking drought. weather stations in alabama are expected to mark 58 days without a drop of rain tomorrow. in north carolina, caroline kruger says it's the same. >> we've had some dry spells, but this year has been unbelievable. >> reporter: dangerous smoke and haze is expected to last at least through the end of the week. kerry sanders, nbc to report tonight, gwen ifill, anchor of you news anchor and washington week on

nbc's kerry sanders explained. a passenger was caught using that feature before a horrific deadly crash. >> reporter: critical moments just before a horrific deadly crash, a ten second snapchat video using a feature that record and displays their speed. first 82 miles per hour, then 115. less than ten minutes later, they died in the crash. the driver and his passenger in the van on their way home from chur ch, a 39-year-old mother, her nine and ten-year-old children. her nine-year-old daughter and 15-year-old cousin in the van survived and are in the hospital. the florida highway patrol tez says it has a do not snap and drive warning. in a statement, they say we speed filter, with more accidents from louisiana to texas, all allegedly involving snapchat, one question. >> the only purpose in my mind is for folks and teens to record themselves, show up, how fast they're going. >> reporter: active snapchat users say eliminating the speed filter won't make much of a difference, users will simply point their phone at the

kerry sanders -- >> reporter: folks are going out to vote today. this is a sample ballot here.emember these little bubbles you had in the s.a.t., you fill it out, feed it in. they have had a problem with really excited voters who are filling it out and then you personally feed it in the machine. it's one page and then the other. in some locations folks have been feeding them in too quickly, so they're spit back out. it appears the poll workers are now telling people, take your time. know this is a big deal. just take your time. it will all work out. of course, we're all waiting. it's going to be a very long night as we wait to find out how florida, which is a bellwether state, goes in this presidential election. >> people are nervous out there, kerry. people are nervous. thank you so much. >> reporter: absolutely. >> let's go over to chris jansing in ohio. republican governor john kasich refused to vote for trump in ohio while clinton called on celebrities like lebron james. how close is this race right now in critical ohio? >> reporter: both sides think it's very close, even t

>> kerry sanders tonight, thank you. >>> president-elect donald trump did an about-face today on something that became a popular refrain at his rallies on the campaign trail. lock her up. now backing away from his vow to prosecute hillary clinton for her use of a private e-mail server. it was just one of conflicts of interest, involving his businesses. we get details from nbc's hallie jackson. >> she should be locked up. >> reporter: some promises he ran on as candidate, now looking less likely as president-elect. starting with his pledge to prosecute hillary clinton for her e-mail server. >> she has to go to jail. donald trump confirms what a source close to him first told nbc. quote, it's just not something that i feel very strongly about. >> well, so much for locking her up, i guess. >> reporter: trump, who doesn't have the power as president to prosecute anyone, tells "the new york times," i don't want to hurt the clintons, adding, she went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways. breitbart, the conservative outlet that's backed trump is blaring the headline, broken p

kerry sanders, nbc news, chattanooga, tennessee. >>> president-elect donald trump made more appointments to his cabinet today this time he turned to two prominent republican women, one of them a vocal critic of trump >> raise our families, care for our loved ones. >> president-elect donald trump with a thanksgiving message for the nation. >> it's my prayer that on this thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country. >> it comes as he's trying to diversify his cabinet today. tapping two women, including 44-year-old south carolina governor nikki haley to serve as the ambassador to the u.n. haley, whose parents emigrated from india is a rising star in the republican party critical of trump during the primary. >> i will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the kkk. >> but taking a more measured tone after meeting with the president-elect last week. >> i did vote for him. and i was absolutely thrilled to see him win. >> haley earned national praise for leading the call to take down the confederate flag in south carolina, in the am.e. church m

kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. >>> there is sad news to report tonight. gwen ifill, anchor of the news hour and a former nbc news correspondent has died after a long battle with cancer. she was just 61 years old, and many around here have lost a good friend and a treasured colleague. while the world of journalism has lost a trail blazer. we get more on her ? ? >> good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> reporter: one of the most successful african american women in journalism, co-anchor of the pbs news hour and moderator of the network's washington week. >> their greater vulnerability was on things like the tax return. >> reporter: the daughter of a methodist minister, she started as a paper reporter in boston where she faced racism on the job. she moved on to the washington post and correspondent, joining nbc news in 1994 to cover congress and prosecutors. >> involving the president, the first lady, and their political supporters. >> reporter: then came the switch to pbs in 1999. >> washington week. >> reporter: for what became washington week with gwen ifill. >

nbc's kerry sanders is >> late today the national transportation safety board revealed that the school bus that crashed in tennessee kill five students had diverted from its route and was not on a reasonable doubt approved to drive children home. >> one of the things we're exploring is, is a, has he done it before? and b, if so, why? >> police announced that the driver, 24-year-old johnthany walker had no trace of drugs or alcohol in his system. the bus was not equipped with a black box recorder. but officials wer important data from the record. >> what this bus had was three video cameras, we're bringing in an electronics expert late they are week. >> according to relatives of some of the victims, walker was a known problem. jasmine mateen, whose 6-year-old daughter died, said she complained in person and writing. >> it was about him slamming on brakes on purpose, making all the kids hit their heads. >> 9-year-old cordayja jones died in the accident. fourth grade her also complained about the bus driver. >> she had said one time before to my mom, granny, that man drives like a fool. >

nbc's kerry sanders wildfires in the southeast now extends up to 10,000 feet in the air. a challenge for the thousands of firefighters working around the clock. >> a little tough to breathe. >> reporter: the party rock fire in north carolina has been burning for 12 days now, and it's still growing. just one of the now 50 large fires burning nearly 120,000 acres across seven states. residents just beyond the evacuation zone still impacted. >> this is a little that rattleiness. >> reporter: in arizona, those with asthma and other breathing problems seeking relief. >> if somebody were to walk into a designated smoking area, in a closed room like an airport, you'd be exposed to the same type of smoke that we're exposed to from the forest fires. >> reporter: news from government forecasters. the drought fueling the flames could winter. >> the south remains warm and dry, a trend we could see last through at least february. >> reporter: the northern u.s. could see a cooler and wetter winter. already in utah tonight, snow. a storm system bringing the first blizzard of the season

that's where kerry sanders has the latest. >> hit the gas, hit the gas! >> reporter: residents and vacationers thought they were safe, until they looked out their windows. >> panic. that's all we had was panic. we could feel the heat coming off -- it was nothing but red. >> oh, my god, it's so hot. >> reporter: the escape was complicated by narrow mountain roads, flames everywhere. michael reed separated from his wife and two children in the chaos. tonight constance, 12-year-old 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 mou

nbc's kerry sanders has details. >> reporter: wearing his striped jumpsuit in court today, dylann roof began representing himself. federal judge richard gergel granted the 22-year-old's request to serve as his own lawyer but warned it was strategically unwise. roof mostly listened as the judge questioned potential jurors. he did speak up after one juror said, the death penalty is always justice for murder. roof saying, at this point, i think he should be struck. roof faces 33 federal hate crime charges for the massacre of nine worshippers at a black church in charleston in june of 2015. the survivors say they forgive roof and some even say they don't believe in the death penalty, even in this case. now they may have to testify in court. >> one of dylann roof's goals may be to actually put the victims of the crime right in front of him. make them as uncomfortable as possible. >> reporter: it could take weeks for a jury is selected and opening statements scheduled. kerry sanders, nbc news. >>> turning overseas where the battle for aleppo appears to have reached a brutal turning point. sy

kerry sanders has the latest from chattanooga. >> reporter: tonight, a community in mourning, remembering the five lives lost in monday's tragic school bus crash. >> he was hurt. one of them was out. >> reporter: the driver of that bus, 24-year-old johnthony walker has been charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. according to the affidavit, walker was driving well over the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit, on a narrow winding road when he lost control of the bus. tonight nbc news has learned from state records that walker had his license suspended in 2013 for 25 days for failing to show insurance, and he bus accident just two months ago, no one was injured. at least one mother from woodmore leamtary school complains she complained to the school about his erratic driving. >> i done called the board of education. i done called the school. >> reporter: among the five children killed in monday's accident, 9-year-old zoe nash, her younger brother also in the bus, survived, but is in intensive care. >> there's no bringing her back, but we take the

. >>> this is kerry sanders with our first up-close look at damage in gatlinburg, flames. in the aftermath of the frantic evacuations, now a different chaos, tracking down those still-unaccounted for. no one's heard from alice haggler since the fire raced through her neighborhood. >> my mother call immediate frantically, that the house was on fire. we got disconnected. and because of that, i haven't heard if her since. >> then, there's michael reed. still waiting for news. >> looking for my wife, constance. and my daughter, li and my other daughter, chloe, who is 12. >> the greatest fear? those missing could be dead. today, the death toll rose to at least seven. this morning, much-needed rain began to fall in the drought-stricken smokies. but it was too little, too late. 17,000 acres here burned. gerry morgan lost all her mother's keepsakes, including photos, treasures that took on extra meaning >> all of her china, all of her silver ware. everything's gone. >> the morgans escaped as the flames engulfed their driveway. they thought the fire department had the blaze under c