kerry sanders, nbc news, kennedy space center. >>> in california, horrifying rollover accident caughtn camera. surveillance video appears to show a car run a stop sign and t-bone an suv, sending the vehicle flying. good samaritans leapt in to help those in the suv who reportedly suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. the other driver reportedly had a toddler in the car. both are said to be okay. >>> when we come back here, breaking bread and barriers around the dinner table. "inspiring america" is next. next at 6: breaking news . a plane bound r san josecrashesn southern california.right now -. ===jess/vo=== pl . a clashver the coyotcreek . who says it waman-made anpreven next. s/next close=== raj/live breakinge: >>> finally tonight, as many of you gather at the dinner table, a story about the international language of food and how it's helping those who have left everything behind for new lives, new homes, and new friends in america. nbc's katie beck has our "inspiring america" report. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: sharing a meal is a universal exchange. a speechless conversation

nbc's kerry sanders reports from florida. >> t minus 30. >> reporter: on the second day, a second try and success. >> three, two, one, ignition and liftoff! >> reporter: the spacex liftoff this morning from pad 39-a, the space spot where apollo launched to the moon and where the last space shuttle blasted off six years ago. today's achievement. >> cheers, congrats. wonderful. it was a great day. >> reporter: not just the liftoff. >> stage one punch down confirmed. >> reporter: spacex's president says returning the first stage of the falcon 9 rocket to a landing zone picture perfect. >> spacex is the only organization that has been able to do that, basically have a mission take second stage and a padload on to orbit, turn around, come back home, re-enter, and land on the dime. >> reporter: a rocket component larger than a 16-story building returned to earth from 85 miles in space. a pillow-soft landing, less than 10 feet from where x marks the spot. billionaire spacex owner elon musk tweeting, baby came back. it's been about three hours since the rocket touched down here and i can stil

our kerry sanders has their touching tale. >> reporter: this love story begins on a blind date. deborah bradley and gary gross each divorced and not looking for anything more than friendship. >> i surprised myself when i found myself in love. >> reporter: that love would be tested when she was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest. >> like everybody that hears the cancer word, you're terrified at first. >> reporter: the worst day of her life also became the best day. >> she looked at me and said, i don't think i can do this alone, and i said, you don't have to. you will never ever be alone. that's when i got down on my knee, and i said "will you marry me?" >> i said "what, today?" i said "what will i wear?" >> reporter: they quickly found a justice of the peace and pledged those vows in sickness and in health. after nine months of an experimental treatmentality emery winship cancer center, debra rang a bell to celebrate she's now cancer free. doctors can't quantify love. i guess it doesn't show up on the scans, but what role did it play? >> oh, wow. >

kerry sanders, nbc news, fort lauderdale. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday.diaz-balart reporting from new york. thank you for the privilege of your time. good night. >>. >>> so many roads out, trees down, power outages. it's been a lot. >> bay area drying out today but problems brought on by this week's storm are far from over from mudslides to washed out roads. taken you to the problem spots tonight. the news at six starts right now. good evening everyone. thank you for joining us. >> today some calm have series of storm hit the bay area but the cleanup only getting started. we have team coverage for you. live in the santa cruz mountains and this is where crews have been so busy trying to clean up that mudslide on 17. >> reporter: good evening. we're right now between vine hill and sugar loaf along highway 17. you can see the southbound traffic and northbound traffic also moving along as it has been moving all day here. in fact, there's a flagger up ahead trying to warn drivers as they travel northbound in case the traffic has come to a complete stop northbo

kerry sanders, nbc news, sarasota. >>> let's turn now to the weather whiplash impacting millions. record-breaking warmth today in the middle of february is about to give way to a big snowstorm set to hit some major metropolitan areas, including new york, philadelphia and boston. in a moment, al roker here with the forecast. but first, here's nbc's blake mccoy. >> reporter: a 55-car pileup snarling the commute north of boston. crunched metal the result of black ice that sent cars sliding. >> the roads were blankets of ice. it was brutal. >> reporter: today's mess comes ahead of a fast-moving storm that could bring up to a foot of snow tomorrow for parts of the northeast. it will feel like weather whiplash. record highs set today in d.c., baltimore, philadelphia and new york city. tomorrow, those same cities will see temperatures plummet by as much as 30 degrees. airlines have already canceled more than 2,000 flights. >> we may see blizzard-like conditions. >> reporter: down south, cleanup is under way after storms there spawned an ef-3 tornado, the most powerful ever recorded in ne

kerry sanders, nbc news at the kennedy space center. >> just incredible. >>> let's switch gears now. a federal election commissioner told us the agency she works for is broken. now she's quitting. commissioner ann ra develop sent her letter of resignation to president trump effective march 1st. the fec is supposed to investigate complaints, but back in september, the i-team shows it takes an average of 22 months for the commissioners to even decide if they will investigation. and the commissioners' vote is often along party lines, resulting in a deadlock. in her resignation letter, she said the campaign finance system should promote citizen engagement and participation in the political process. she then urged president trump to prioritize campaign finance reform. >>> new tonight, a telephone once owned by hitler sold for more than $200,000 at a maryland auction today. bidding started at the red siemens telephone which had hitler's name and the nazi party symbol engraved on the back. the phone sold for $243,000 to somebody who ironically made the bid by phone. >>> get ready to pay mor

kerry sander, nbc news, kennedy space center. >>> what are the condrey's most-congested cities? plus how two of the world's richest men paid for their egg mac muffins. you're watching "early today." you to seize the day by helping you get more out of life and medicare part d. now with zero-dollar copays on select plans... ...and rewards points on all prescriptions, walgreens has you covered. so drop by and seize the savings! walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper reimagined for everyday play.s and right now 50% off. styles that inspire adventure for kids with big imaginations. easy to pair, easy to wear. kids' separates starting at just $7. now that's the good stuff. kohl's. >>> in today's "quick hits," over 100,000 across the country lost their jobs for skipping out on the immigrants day protest. social media are calling on others to boy

kerry sanders, nbc news space center. >> that's what i want to know, how much. >>> all right. youtube just got hit with a whopper milestone in a blog post. the video giant says users around the world are watching an incredible 1 billion hours of youtube content every single day. according to youtube, it would take an individual 100,000 years to log that many hours on the site. youtube credited users for helping achieve the milestone saying, "it represents the enjoyment of the fantastically diverse videos that creative people make every single day." including those people who stand behind some kind of just backdrop with their hands demoing those toys which my kids watch hour and hour again. >>> well, in seattle, washington a lightning strike in a snowstorm that moved into the area. the 55-year-old observation tower has 25 lightning rods on its roof to help withstand strikes officials say happens several times a year. it is one of the first times ever that lightning has struck a tower during a snowstorm there. >>> some 36 million americans under weather risk today. meteorologist

kerry sanders, nbc news space center. >> can't wait to find out who they are and how much they paid. youtube just got hit with a whopper milestone in a blog post. the video giant says users around the world are watching an incredible 1 billion hours of youtube content every single day. according to youtube, it would take an individual 100,000 years to log that many hours on the site. in case you are wondering, the most watched video of all time is gangnam style. somebody has to beat this record. >>> mt. aetna is erupting now. look at this lava. it continued blasting upwardses into the morning. it can last days, even weeks. it produces enough lava to fill chicago's willis tower, the second tallest building in the united states. it poses no danger to the towns nearby. >>> dramatic thunderstorm captured in seattle. watch this as a powerful snowstorm moved into the area. the 55-year-old observation tower has 25 lightning rods on the roof. officials say it happens several times a year. it's one of the first times ever, lightning struck the tower during a snowstorm. people are dealing with

kerry sanders, nbc news, kennedy space center. >>> in california, horrifying rollover accident caughtcamera. surveillance video appears to show a car run a stop sign and t-bone an suv, sending the vehicle flying. good samaritans leapt in to help those in the suv who reportedly suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. the other driver reportedly had a toddler in the car. both are said to be okay. >>> when we come back here, breaking bread and barriers around the dinner table. "inspiring america" is next. around coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the only brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. they have to be great on the inside and outside. my hygienist said to think of my teeth like an apple. to strengthen both, she said to go pro. go pro with crest pro-health advanced. it strengthens... ...teeth inside, a

kerry sanders, nbc news, fort lauderdale. ♪ >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday.az-ballard, reporting from new york. thank you for the privilege of your time. good night. ♪ ♪ >>> the ten-year anniversary of anna nicole smith's tragic death. hi, everyone, welcome to a special edition of "access hollywood," where we look back at the impact of anna's life and her passing. i'm liz hernandez. an overdose of prescription drugs claimed her life on february 8, 2008, just a few weeks after she made this announcement -- >> yes, i am pregnant. i, uh, i'm happy. i'm very, very happy about it. >> june 1st, 2006, a healthy looking anna nicole posted video on her personal website confirming her pregnancy. >> everything is going really, really good. >> on september 7, anna's six pound, 9 ounce daughr

kerry sanders, nbc news, fort lauderdale. ♪ >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday.az-ballard, reporting from new york. thank you for the privilege of your time. good night. ♪ >>> this is our nbc 10 special celebrating black history month, its past, present and future. we are serving it up right now. >>> nbc 10 celebrates black history month. locally sponsored by keystone first. keystone first, putting you first. >>> this is the african-american museum in philadelphia, at the corner of seventh and arch. celebrating its 40th year this year. it's also the home of our nbc 10 special, celebrating black history month. we welcome you inside this fantastic museum. over the next half hour, stories of african-american history makers both past and present. i'm erin coleman. >> i'm

nbc's kerry sanders is in mexico city where we'll see secretaries tillerson and kelly later today. kerry, there is no use in pretending things are going great between mexico and the u.s. so, how big a lift is this going to be for the secretaries? >> reporter: well, i have a feeling that what this is going to be is more of anything just a symbolic visit by the secretary of state and secretary of department of home atlanta security here because, let's face, it the president here, piento canceled his visit to the united states. now it's representatives of the united states coming here to mexican soil to talk to the government here. but it does not appear that there is any stepping back from building the wall. as you know, the department of homeland security will be picking up efforts on deportation. one of the biggest concerns here in mexico is that the united states will not only be deporting people who are undocumented mexicans in the united states but just undocumented central americans which could mean folks from el salvador, guatemala, honduras, and dumping them on the border and

kerry sanders in mexico city. we'll talk about what's been a rough and tumble past few days for congressional lawmakers. they are getting quite the welcome, you could call it, from their constituents back home. demanding answers on health care to national security and more. watch. >> last i heard, these coal jobs are not coming back and now these people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor. and they worked those coal mines and they're sick. the veterans are sick. they're not getting what they need. if you answer any of that, i'll sit down and shut up like elizabeth warren. >> spent so much money on benghazi. waste a little on trump. >> so this is a story that has been bubbling more and more over the last few days with lawmakers on recess. peter, you had the chance to go to one of these in person in rural virginia. talk me through what that was like. >> we were in blackstone, virginia, about three hours out of washington, d.c., the home district of the congressman dave bratt. he rode a wave of te

nbc's kerry sanders has more now from florida. >> reporter: on the second day, a second try and success>> three, two, one. ignition, and liftoff. >> reporter: the spacex liftoff this morning from pad 39-a. the same spot that apollo launched to the moon and where the last space shuttle blasted off six years ago, today's achievement. >> congratulations. it was a great day. >> reporter: not just the liftoff. >> stage one touchdown confirmed. >> reporter: spacex president says returning the first stage of the falcon 9 rocket to a landing zone, picture-perfect. >> spacex is the only organization that has been able to do that. basically have a mission, take second stage and a pay load onto orbit, turn around, come back home, reenter and land on a dime. >> reporter: it is larger than a six-story building and returned to earth from 85 miles in space, a pillow soft landing, less than ten feet from where x marks the spot. billionaire owner elon musk tweeting, baby came back. it's been two hours since the rocket came back, and it has an acrid smell, sort of like a marshmallow that you kept at the

kerry sanders reports from the kennedy space center. >> reporter: spacex is going where no man or womanas gone before, into deep space with two paying passengers next year. billionaire owner elon musk announcing he has taken two substantial deposits for a week-long mission to the moon and bag. spacex's dragon capsule will circle the moon like the apollo 11 crew 47 years ago. but these passengers, who will be trained and called astronauts, will not land as neil armstrong did. >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> reporter: the names of the two astronaut passengers, their genders, and how much they're paying, remains a secret. but a hint from elon musk, they're not from hollywood. kerry sanders, nbc news, kennedy space center. >> if the adventure goes as planned, it will be the deepest people will have been in space in 40 years. >> i thought we should enter a "worldwide exchange" into that. >> you want to go beyond the world. >> planetary exchange. new show. i would be up for that. you? >> i would be a little scared. >> i don't know if i would want to be the fir

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nbc's kerry sanders is at kennedy space center in florida. g. >> reporter: well, good morning. a lot of excitement here. as you know, 13 seconds before ignition yesterday, there was a problem on the falcon 9 rocket and even though the computer system said that everything could be a go, elon musk hit the button and decided to stop everything to make sure that this act waiter that steers the rocket that showed a problem could be fixed because they knew they had a window today and we are in the countdown mode. space-x believes everything is on track for the launch here and this falcon 9x is departing from pad 39d-a, historically there's pressure here. this is where the apollo missions launched to the moon and where the space shuttle launched from so many of those shuttle missions and now back active. private contractor. spacex. getting ready to do something that they hope is going to be a step towards ultimately going to mars. this is going to be taking a payload up to the international space plags but the lower portion of the rocket, the first s

our kerry sanders introduces us to them both in our "inspiring america" report. >> reporter: just about everyone in nashville knows the remarkable story of h. k. derryberry and gene r rathford. >> it's a joy to me when i'm around him. he's enlightening and enthusiastic. >> reporter: 17 years ago, jim dashed into a nashville restaurant to grab a cup of coffee. h.k. was in the corner. an 18-year-old with legs and braces listening to his radio. the kind of kid an executive on the go might ignore but on this day at that moment jill made a lifelong friend. >> i said good morning. what's your name? >> i'm h.k. what's your name? >> i'm jim. nice to meet you, too. >> reporter: his mother died in a car accident. he was born three months premature. blind and with cerebral palsy. his dad disappeared and his grandmother was raising him by herself until jim walked into the restaurant. >> he loves h.k. i think it was meant to be. >> reporter: no one would know about hk's incredible gifts were it not for jim bradford. >> he has a remarkable mind for days and dates. >> and your birthday was on father's

nbc's kerry sanders now with the latest. >> reporter: two suspects, three murders. >> what we're experiencing is a running nightmare quite honestly. >> reporter: billy boyette on the run for eight days, and mary rice, wanted for accessory to murder after the fact. late tuesday his one time girlfriend was gunned down in milton, florida along with her friend, jacquelin moore. >> i woke up and found his 52-year-old wife in the yard. >> reporter: three days later, 27 miles away peggy bruce shot and killed in her driveway. her car stolen. then yesterday in pensacola, florida, a home invasion shot and critically injured kayla crocker, her 2-year-old son in another room untouched. again, another car stolen. neighbors anxious. >> i was just very scared. turned on a lot of lights. i had a .12 gauge shotgun. i loaded my shotgun. >> reporter: the two suspects were spotted on surveillance video casually eating at this hardy's after yesterday's attack. deputies believe rice was woks working with boyette, but he says she was not a ilg participant. >> she's only trying to survive at this point. >> you need

nbc's kerry sanders is live there for the launch. kerry, good morning. >> good morning, willie. there are high hopes the second time is the charm. the liftoff ignition because they noticed an anomaly in a steering piston. overnight the spacex engineers worked to correct the problem by replacing an actuator that keeps the rocket on course. billionaire elon musk said he personally called off the launch saturday even though the computer systems indicated the launch would be okay. a little no, sstalgic pressure here? because this launch is from 39a, the same launch pad apollo used to go to the moon and where the shuttle lifted off. the space shuttle not only lifted off but flew over and over again. about 10 minutes after the rocket enters space, the lower stage, then, is brought back to earth. it's guided, as you can see it landed here on a barge not too long ago. but today if there's a liftoff it will land here at the kennedy space center. the engineers tell me they think it will land just a coupl and reusing these rockets, that's the economic key and also a step, while today is to

kerry sanders live at the kennedy space center. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning.he countdown is under way, sheinelle. t-minus 1:54.38. the engineers had been concerned that the liftoff was an issue with the helium leak. they have plugged that up. based on the weather, there is a 70% chance of liftoff. the falcon 9 rocket poised for st take off from pad 39 a. where the rockets have launched and shuttle missions. >> liftoff. >> reporter: a private company spacex is now using this pad adds a nostalgic weight of getting it right. >> how do you feel? >> very high anxiety. worse for this particular one. falcon 9 off pad 39a. historical mission. it's nerve wracking. >> reporter: gwen shotwell is the president of spacex. >> what does this make you think of? >> i remember being a little girl. my father sitting me in front of the tell e my father sitting me in front of the tell vision screen. back and white. i saw astronauts land on the moon. >> reporter: she and spacex founder elon musk hope to inspire similar feelings for another generation when spacex lands on mars. targ

kerrie sanders explains the plan. >>> elon musk and engineers at spacex have a dream of going to mars and the launch set for saturday morning is a big step for getting there. this morning, spacex engineers say they are highly confident but it is rocket science after all. a tough reminder of that last september, when one of the spacex rockets blew up on the launch pad caused by a highly technical fueling problem. but elon musk is undeterred and his team back at it this morning. the mission to resupply the international space station but the launch of a reusable rocket one step closer to his grand idea to send humans to mars. but musk's dream of getting to mars has a wr in nasa's labs -- >> it is not easy to grow things in space. that's the real challenge. >> reporter: fiction meets science. >> you are actually growing a potato on what would be mars? >> correct. >> reporter: plants create vital oxygen to astro knots can breathe which is 35 million miles from earth's atmosphere. >> are we going to mars? >> eventually, we are, that's the ultimate destination and we can get there in the 20

kerry sanders, nbc news at the kennedy space center. >> you said elon musk just posted on ins gra m. >> he did. says they're counting down getting ready for the launch. hopefully all systems are a go. >>> meanwhile back here at home, tom kierein says it's going to be a nice day. >> we're launching into spring here. >> all right. we'll take it. >> unbelievable. the temperatures are cold now. youv it is feeling like winter on this february morning. and we are about a half an hour or so away from sunrise. the pre-dawn glow getting brighter now. live view from the storm team 4 tower cam overlooking washington in the foreground off in the distance on the horizon of prince georges county. and a gorgeous saturday will be quickly commencing. right now it is cold. at or below freezing. shenandoah valley across most of maryland and virginia. and around the bay as well. right down near freezing. reagan national now at 33 degrees. storm team 4 radar, scanning the sky we have no rain, no snow in the vicinity. so it's a dry pattern that's going to be with us throughout the day. hour-by-hour your p

kerry sanders, >>eath down in florida this morning where we were seeing some of those live pictures. >> pretty much everywhere. we have people chiming in from new york city even saying it's in the 60s here and that's what we're going to see today. >> yeah. we are launching into spring. quickly here. a lot of reports coming up. we're seeing daffodils. sprouts are coming up. even some daffodils blooming. this is certainly early. we're still in mid-february. there's a live view overlooking national harbor on this saturday morning. we've got bright sun pouring down there. just a little bit of a breeze along the river. as we take a look at temperatures, we're into the 40s quickly jumping. what a dramatic warming. reagan national now up to 40 degrees, a bit of a ligh and hour-by-hour temperatures, we will be near 50 here at 10:00. and then by 2:00, the mid-60s. maybe around 3:00 or so briefly getting into the upper 60s. then it gets cool again by the time 6:00 p.m. rolls around. and then by 10:00, back down to mid-50s. then as we get into the morning hours, tomorrow we'll be in the 40s. we

kerry sanders, nbc news at the kennedy space center. >>> if you ever thought of becoming a police officer, now is a good time to take that step. the philadelphia police department is looking for good men and women to join the force. joining us now are two officers. welcome to you both. officer cortez, i want to start with you. you're giving me the pitch. give me your best pitch to become a philadelphia officer. >> well, the first pitch would be it's a great career. the salary is great. the benefits are great, and we're able to serve the community that we love. >> tell me how the recruitment drive is going so far. >> it's good. very good. we have over 5,000 applicants coming in, getting ready for orientation day. >> sergeant ryan, tell me one of the steps people will go through in order to become an officer, become a candidate. >> the first thing is applying online. that's the most important thing. once you apply online, you'll get a confirmation number. then you can contact your recruitment unit and we'll have a recruiter assigned to you. then eventually you'll be called to orientation an

kerry sanders in mexico city.about what's been a rough and tumble past few days for congressional lawmakers. they are getting quite the welcome, you could call it, from their constituents back home. demanding answers on health care to national security and more. watch. >> last i heard, these coal jobs are not coming back and now these people don't have the insurance they

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kerry sanders in mexico city. >>> a new twist to a murder mystery in asia. how did kim jong-un's half-brother die? police have made a string of arrests. they want to talk to a senior north korean official. >>> also, a disturbing trend around the country. increased threats to jewish communities. president trump spoke out against anti-semitism for the first time in an exclusive sprue with nbc news. what jewish leaders want them to do. >>> and how republican leaders are handling tense town halls across the country this week and what they hope to learn by meeting voters faceo-face. i'll speak with republican congressman tom reed of new york. at angie's list, we believe there are certain things you can count on, like what goes down doesn't always come back up. [ toilet flushes ] so when you need a plumber, you can count on us to help you find the right person for the job. discover all the ways we can help at angie's list. here you go.picking up for kyle. you wouldn't put up with part of a pizza. um. something wrong? so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up

nbc's kerry sanders joins us from mexico city. nice to see you.ell me what's going on down there. >> reporter: well, i would say that here in mexico, there's a very different description of the relationship right now between the mexican government and the u.s. government. very different than from what sean spicer characterized it as. you know, we do have this quote from luis who is the secretary -- the foreign secretary here, he's the counterpart to the rex tillerson, the secretary of state. and he said to reuters, talking about returning people over the border from the united states into this country who are not mexican because the orders that have been released, the memos suggest that among those who will be deported will be those to the closest contiguous country which means folks from el salvador, from guatemala, other countries, could be, as they say here, dumped into mexico, creating a problem here. as we heard the foreign secretary luis garrey saying to reuters, "we will not accept it because there's no reason why we should and because it's

nbc's kerry sanders is at the zoo to explain. ing to you. >> reporter: well, good morning. a fed ex truck expected to pull up here any time now to begin what will be ultimately a very special delivery. bao bao, as you noted, who was born here will be making this incredible trip to her ancestral homeland. this is part of a long standing agreement between the governments of united states and china. >> 3, 2, 1! yeah! the national zoo because its star attraction, bao bao, is about to ship off to the moment she's never known. >> she is moving back to an area where there's the best bamboo in the world. >> reporter: that trip, not a slow boat to china. instead, this plane dubbed the panda express takes off today with just one package on board, a 200 pound piece of precious cargo. bao bao is chinese for the word precious. she will not be sedated for the 16 hour flight and with plenty of space for carry on. >> try some sweet potato. >> reporter: she's bringing sweet potato, apples, honey, 50 pounds of bamboo plus a vet from the zoo and her

kerry sanders is on the launchpad at kennedy space center, with exclusive access to the you're rights closer than the rocket engineers. the falcon rocket is tilted down. they're doing one final check. but the countdown is under way. the plan is for this to lift off 10:01 on saturday morning. it is fitting that elon musk's dream going to mars begins with a launch here. this is the same pad that was used by the apollo missions to go to the moon. this morning, spacex engineers say they're highly confident. but it is rocket science after all. a tough reminder, last september, when one of the sp e spacex rockets blew up on the launchpad. but elon musk, a real-live tony stark, is undeterred. his team back at it this morning. the mission, to resupply the international space station. but this weekend's launch of a reusable rocket, one step closer to to mars. really fun. going to have a great time. >> reporter: but elon musk's dream getting to mars and colonizing the red planet, has a wrinkle. food. >> i have to figure out a way to grow three years' worth of food here. >> reporter: remember t

kerry sanders is in sarasota, florida. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt.ed under the big top when they were doing that rehearsal. nik wallenda and seven others were on the wire. they were stacked into an eight-person pyramid. going along, someone lost the balance and came crashing down. five came crashing down. there was no net. they came into the floor here. there was a little carpet. but no mats. nothing to protect them. five are in the hospital. but nik wallenda says doctors tell him, remarkably, after some recovery, everybody will be back to normal. this morning, despite a horrific high-wire accident, nik wallenda says the show will definitely go on. >> it's tragic. it's horrible. it's a nightmare. but the wallendas, we'll get through it. >> reporter: eight performers, six men and two women, were reversing a pyramid act similar to this, shot by nbc news two weeks ago, hoping to break a guinness world record. alt the top, nik's aunt, seated four stories above the ground, when according to nik, someone lost their balance. >> i was on the wire at the same