once again we go to nbc's mike taibbi. he is in our los angeles newsroom with more. ke, good evening. >> good evening, brian. under a red flag warning, hundreds of firefighters jumped on that one quickly, and it's now said to be under control. meanwhile, up north what started out as a brushfire on kimball island in sacramento county soon engulfed one structure and threatened many other. firefighters were deployed to try to control the fire while coast guard crews helped residents to safety. no injuries have been reported. now back to brian in new york. >>> all this week across nbc news, we have special coverage of the economic status of women in the country, and the pay gap that exists between the genders. a new bound document called the shriver report is getting a lot of attention, including as we mentioned a minute ago from beyonce who is among many interviewed in the report. and calls gender equality a myth. she says, "men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more." nbc's maria shriver was invited to the white house to present her re

. >> reporter: this is mike taibbi in los angeles. it is the driest and deepest drought on record in much of the southwest and getting worse fast. in just the past week, one estimate of extreme drought for california more than doubled, from 27% to nearly 63% of the entire state. the reason, a high pressure ridge beneath the jet stream that has seemed unmoveable. >> the jet stream is so far to the north, taking the storms up and over that ridge, so that's why we're not getting the much needed rain and snow that we so desperately need in california. >> reporter: among the consequences, reservoirs that feed tens of millions of people and water the farmland that feeds much of the nation at record low levels. scientists measuring the crucial snow pack -- >> we got six -- >> reporter: are worried as they trudge over bare ground that is usually blanketed by now. less snow melt means some species of salmon can't get to their spawning grounds. and had this bear crossing a ski slope instead of hibernating. the biggest threats are the public saf

. >> reporter: this is mike taibbi in los angeles. it is the driest and deepest drought on record in much of the western southwest and getting worse fast. in just past week, one estimate of extreme drought more than doubled from 27% to 63% of the entire state. the reason, the high pressure ridge beneath the jetstream that has seemed unmoveable. >> the jetstream is so far to the north taking the storms up and over that ridge. so that's why we are not getting the much-needed rain and snow that we so desperately need in california. among the consequences, reservoirs that feed tense of millions and water the farmland that feeds much of the nation at record low levels. scientists measuring the crucial snow pack. >> we got six. >> our specialty word as they trudge over bare ground that's usually blanketed about i now. less snow melt means some species of salmon can't get to their spawning grounds and have this bear crossing a ski slope instead of hibernating. the biggest threats are public safety and to the agricultural based economy. some

our report tonight from nbc's mike taibbi. >> reporter: the shaking started at 4:31 a.m. and only lasted ten to 20 seconds, but daylight showed the impact from the magnitude 6.7 earthquake. >> this three story parking structure collapsed. >> reporter: one of the highest ever recorded in a north american urban area. >> i couldn't move. i was so scared. >> reporter: the toll from the northridge quake, some 60 deaths, 9,000 injuries. buildings and freeway bridges crumpled, burst water mains and gas lines unleashing floods and fires at the same time, $25 billion in damages. firefighter ernie oh did they rode that morning to what used to be the northridge meadows apartments. >> a three story collapsed all the way down. >> reporter: 16 first floor residents died here. his rescue of one man was featured in "time" magazine. he worked with other first responders for 36 hours straight. >> it was a big one. we knew it was a big one. >> reporter: but not the big one. what if the epicenter was not under this bedroom community of modest homes and apartments but under the skyline of dow

. >>> this is mike taibbi in los angeles. it's the triest and deepest drought on record in much of the western southwest, and getting worse fast. in just the past week, one estimate of extreme drought for california more than doubled from 27 to nearly 63% of the entire state. the reason? a high pressure ridge beneath the jet stream that has seemed unmovable. >> the jet stream is so far to the north, taking the storms up and over that ridge. so that's why we're not getting the much needed rain and snow that we so desperately need in california. >> reporter: among the consequences, reservoirs that feed tens of millions of people and water the farmland that feeds much of the nation at record low levels. joe del basci that pharmacy melons says with the drought he could ifornia farm. >> we are looking at an emergency. it's coming slowly, but it is going to hit us here. >> reporter: scientists measuring the crucial snowpack >> we got 6. >> reporter: are very worried as they trudge over bare ground that is usually blanked right now.

mike taibbi nbc news, los angeles. >>> and that's our broadcast on a tuesday night, thank you for beinge hope tocke tomorrow . good night. >> let me do this. what the hell you think. i shame you. you to you understand that. >> i would have to say no. i'm billy bush. so what setoff loose cannon dennis rodman in north korea this time round.

mike taibbi nbc news, los angeles. >>> and that's our broadcast on a tuesday night.s, and, of course, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> for the past four years, i have been under surveillance by some department of the government of the united states. >> a glimpse inside the mind of an admitted child abductor. admitting how he attempted several kidnappings before he took a 7-year-old girl. i'm jessica. >> i'm raj mathai. he said what he did is a cryout for help. he adds he didn't harm the little girl. that seven-year-old girl is safe tonight and 43-year-old davis is locked up. jodi hernandez has the jail-house interview and jodi, chilling information how he was circling that neighborhood looking for the perfect victim. >> reporter: that's right, raj, he said he was close to kidnapping others not once, not twice but three other times before he found the seven-year-old victim. he talked very openly with us inside the jail this afternoon providing disturbing details of the kidnapping and what led up to it. >> it took a period of three d

for "today," mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >> good for him! on nbc. [ wind howling ] [ female announcer ] it balances you... [ water crashing ] ...it fills you with energy... and it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. in a convenient two bar pack. this is nature valley... delicious granola bars made with the best ingredients in nature. nature valley. nature at its most delicious. >>> how sweet is that little face? >> cute face. >> super cute. >> cute face. >> that's going to do it for us this saturday morning. tomorrow on "today," it's never too late to pick up running, but you do need to start with the right pair of shoes. we'll help you find the perfect sneakers and set your goals. >> looking forward to that. >>> plus, all week long we have been talking about our "shine the light" project on the "today" show to raise awareness about some very important causes that are near and dear to many of our hearts. tomorrow, it is our turn to tell you about ours. all four of us are working together to a [ female announcer ]

. >> and mike taibbi spoke to the school district about why they took the children's lunches? >> it is indefensible. >> reporter: politicians including the state senator called it an outrage of the students attending the utah state school and words lit up with pathetic, and shame, and how could anyone take the l lunches out of 30 or 40 kids and then throw the lunches away, because their parents had zero or negative balances in the meal accounts. they were thrown away, because once it is served to a s

for "today," mike taibbi, nbc news. >> an incredible little girl. >> i don't know what to say.touching. >>> we'll be back right after this. [woman]ask me... [announcer]...if you think the best bed for one of you might be a compromise for the other one... [woman]ask me about our tempur-pedic. [announcer] they're sleeping on the newest tempur-pedic bed... the new tempur choice... [man]two people.two remotes. [announcer] firmness settings for the head,legs,and back... and with tempur on top,that famous tempur-pedic comfort comes any way you like it! [woman]ask me about the lumbar button. [man]she's got her side...and i've got my side. [announcer] tempur-pedic.the most highly recommended bed in america. [woman]don't touch my side! ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of craving something that i can't have ♪ ♪ turn around, barbara ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one. ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ hey, so i'm on amazon, and it says i can pay with my cashback bonus? yeah! right there at checkout. so whatcha shopping for? hats. lots of

mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >>> brake failure is being blamed for a frightening landing at anay thursday, crashed through a fence and stopped just a couple hundred feet from nearby homes. there were four people on-board but nobody was hurt. >>> just to prove it wasn't a fluke, cheerleader ashley arnault tried her front flip half-court shot wednesday -- it's in! it's clean. ashley went viral last year, you may remember, when she first hit the shot but she did have trouble when she was visiting us here on the "today" show repeating the shot. as you see, she rebounded nicely last night making it look easy there. great job, ashley. proud of you. >>> 8:07 right now. let's get another check of the weather with al. >> announcer: "today's" weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> all right. we got a lot of seahawk fans over here. hey! and americorps folks as well. for today, we got snow to talk about. kansas city. you're going to be looking at some snow later this morning. then a mix of freezing rain and drizzle, then changing over to steady snow by th