look at this huge plume of smoke. unhealthy air will stay with us all weekend. >> lester holt is next with nightly news with more extensive coverage. tonight, california in flames. raging infernos exploding from north to south, people found dead in their cars on roads cut off in a massive struggle to escape. up and down the coast, it's paradise lost. entire cities burned to the ground, homes torched in malibu and beyond. >> this massive fire here in southern california has now jumped the 101. it is making a run towards the ocean. >> tonight, firefighters overwhelmed, flames scorching the size of 80 football fields every minute. a war of words erupts, the nra versus doctors fed up and speaking up after the latest mass shooting in america. and a mom whose son survived the vegas massacre only to die

in that barish -- in that bar issues a thundering call to action. >> and i don't want prayers. i don't want thoughts. i want gun control, and i hope to god nobody else sends me anymore prayers. new turns in the election cliff hangers in florida, arizona and georgia. votes still being counted and lawsuits flying. michelle obama getting personal like never before tearing into president trump and revealing a painful chapter in her marriage. who is recording you? new rules that everyone who uses uber should know. the price you pay that could mean an early present for families. and lady gaga's private battle and new message inspiring millions. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight from pacific palisades, california. >> good evening. as we come on air, the malibu coastline beneath a blanket of

smoke. flames powering up and down hard to reach canyons there. and hard to reach homes. the fire cutting a destructive path to the ocean pushed by dry santa ana winds. and the pacific coast highway, the primary route for 13,000 under mandatory evacuation orders, all lanes southbounds toward safety. there are six major fires burning and 240,000 people forced from their homes. the largest fire burning hundreds of miles to the north claiming the lives of five people found dead in cars. apparently unable to outrun the flames. our team has it all covered starting with gadi schwartz in west lake village. the latest from there? >> reporter: good evening, lester. it is a surreal scene out here, especially for those of us that live in los angeles. this is the way we get to the beach. we have traveled this road so many times before. it's been consumed by

flames. the wall of flames came in the dead of night. two fast moving firestorms within miles of each other. firefighters unable to stop their advance. instead focusing on evacuations. >> evacuate, sir. >> the fire department says get out. he says you are going to get trapped. the fire is on on us. >> reporter: 101 freeway one of the most travelled in america is shut down in both directions as flames jumped the road heading for the coast. >> this is an erie sight. very seldom do we see the freeway completelyright no down in both directions as the fire has breached the freeway. it is burning towards the ocean. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: in wesley village, neighbors watched firenados rip through their canyons. were you able to get everything out? >> just my papers out. >> reporter: are you scared? >> yes. absolutely. well, we are safe,

okay. we are safe. >> reporter: others evacuated with everything they could, including horses. >> the fire was all around me. i couldn't see anything except smoke and fire. >> reporter: right now we are seeing people who waited for the last possible minute getting out while the flames get so close. on the ridges, the firefighters work to beat back flames that felt like a blast furnace. we are falling back for safety. in malibu, an impending plume of smoke causing the entire city for evacuated, and causing traffic jams. >> it feels like the garden of eden turned into the gates of health. >> even celebrities affected. caitlyn jenner's home apparently burnt to the ground. also, the ranch where west world is filmed. another fire broke out

in griffith park. forcing the closure of the l.a. zoo and the evacuation of some animals. southern california's santa ana winds unrelenting, the fire uncontained. >> as we move forward, you know, would have predictions, but we don't know what mother nature is going to give us. >> reporter: communities now praying for relief from more tragedy and loss. god audio schwartz, nbc news, west lake village, california. >> reporter: i'm ambiguousal almaguer. >> hchly father, please help us. >> reporter: these are the terrifying moments families fled the flames in northern california. >> there are embers blowing under my car. >> reporter: some in the stiff paradise living in hell narr narrowly escaping with their lives. >> we are going to get fire. >> no we are going to get out of here. >> reporter: as fire close inside, joe allen keeping his 3-year-old calm asong. ♪ it will be all right ♪ >> reporter: they made it to safety. but tonight five bodies have been

discovered in vehicles consumed by flames. the inferno moving at 80 football fields a minute. >> we are trying to protect structures. >> reporter: in the heart of the fire fight an hour outside sacramento crews are losing grounds. kathy park in the city. >> you can see a propane tank going up in flames. the flames continue to consume this area. >> reporter: tonight it's feared the number of fatalities could grow. for crews it's too dangerous to look for the missing in places like this. >> it was just huge. i said we are all going to die. we have got to get out of here. >> reporter: exploding from ten acres to more than 70,000 in a matter of hours, firefighters are outmanned and overmatched. >> that fire, from the second it started, was off to the races quickly grew within minutes and it was well off to burning at dangerous rates of spread. >> reporter: with 50,000 evacuated, most of the city of paradise is gone. the so-called camp fire damaging 2,000

structures, with more under threat. tonight evacuees and firefighters are among the injured. and it is unclear how many have been killed. a hospital evacuated, the elderly rushed to safer ground. no time to spare. >> when i get down here, everything is on fire, even our ranch is on fire. my house is on fire. everything. >> reporter: with families like the allens narrowly escaping with their lives. >> look, we are past it. we are out of it, okay? >> yea. >> yea. >> reporter: they may have lost it all, but still have each other after fleeing paradise. miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> as the flames are rapidly spreading in southern california we were just a short distance away last night reporting from the scene of the bar massacre that left 12 dead. tonight shocking new details about the gunman. law enforcement officials say he posted on social media as he carried out his rampage saying he was bored, but sane. his motive, however,

still a mystery. as we now know the identities of the 12 killed, they include a police officer, a father of two, and ege udents. the nra has not commented on the massacre, but something the gun lobby group tweeted just hours before it happened has sparked a fierce feud with many of the nation's doctors. nbc's catie beck explains. >> reporter: 27-year-old telemachus orfanos was killed wednesday night. one of a dozen lives lost in california's borderline club shooting. he is your shived the las vegas concert shooting last year. sadly, not this time. his mother,tells kabc tv she wants change. want gun control and i hope to god nobody else sends me any more prayers. i want gun control. no more guns. >> reporter: parents are part of a growing chorus of concern over gun violence, one that

now includes doctors. do you think gun violen pceslic health issues? >> i think it is a public health crisis. i think we are all in it. >> reporter: now a war of words raging on social media between the national rifle association and doctors. on wednesday, before the california shooting, the nra firing back on twitter against a doctor's group that said physicians should be talking to patients about gun safety. someone should tell self important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. the tweet sparking fury in doctors across the doesn't. we are not anti-gun. we are anti-bullet patients. do you know how many blts i pull out of corpses weekly. this doctor says he already talkssafety with his patients. >> we are dealing with on a daily basis, the trauma that we are seeing. we are the voice. >> reporter: but still a fierce debate with no solution in sight. catie beck, nbc news. more breaking news tonight. the election which i have hangers. major races still not

called in florida, geand now lawsuits are flying. here's nbc's carry sanders. >> reporter: tonight it's florida, florida, florida again. >> cleared. >> reporter: tens of thousands was still uncounted votes. >> let's get to work. >> reporter: for rick scott, the vote totals are narrowing from a 56,000 vote lead election night to a 30,000 gap the next day, and tonight less than 15,000 votes. >> i will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election. >> reporter: scott, without evidence, blaming democrats. president trump today. >> all of a sudden they are finding votes out of nowhere. >> do you have evidence? >> i don't know. you tell me. >> reporter: incumbent senator democrat bill nelson says he can't claim victory without first having a complete vote count. >> votes are not being found. they are being

counted. >> reporter: the confusion in florida in several counties. >> that vote is invalid. >> reporter: it is a lot like the 2000 presidential meltdown, only this time, no hanging chads. in the hotly contested governor's race in georgia, democrat stacey abrams challenging the results hoping to force a runoff. in arizona a razor tight senate race as hundreds of thousands of votes are still being counted. by tomorrow afternoon florida may have no choice but to order a state-wide recount. lester. >> carry sanders, thank you. tonight with his pick for acting attorney under fire president trump is deg h choice while also seeming to distance himself from the new man overseeing mueller. the president saying he doesn't know matt whitaker even after saying exactly the opposite. here's peter alexander. >> reporter: president trump arriving tonight in paris, hours after lashing out when asked if he wants matt his acting attorney general to

rein in special counsel robert mueller's investigation. >> what a stupid question that is. what a stupid question. but i watch you a lot. you ask a lot of stupid questions. >> reporter: as a conservative commentator, whitaker reportedly sided with the president arguing the mueller investigation goes too far, even suggesting ways to undermine it. mr. trump today says he hasn't spoken to whitaker about the probe. >> that's up to him. >> reporter: and trying to put distance between himself and the man now running the justice department. >> i don't know whitaker. he worked for jeff sessions. he was always extremely highly thought of. he still is. but i didn't know matt whitaker. >> reporter: that's not what he told fox wso. >> he is a great guy. i know matt whitaker. >> reporter: critics hielf. >> i don't think we can expect he can fairly oversee an investigation when he

doesn't think it is necessary. >> reporter: as for a permanent ag, the president says there is no rush. peter alexander nbc news, the white house. as all that plays out, the president has just touched down in paris and is already taking a swing at his host. kristen welker is there. >> reporter: it is striking that president trump is lashing out against the french president this. suggested when macron suggested europe should build its own military. president trump upon landing fired back, tweeting that's very insulting. the two were once so close their relationship was described as bromance. now that's fizzling amid a range of policy differences. >> kristen welker in paris. former first lady michelle obama is opening up like never

before. in her candid new memoir mrs. obama reveals the things she will never forgive president trump for and her private battle that many families struggle with. here's andrea mitchell. >> our motto is when they go low, we go high. >> reporter: after fiercely guarding her privacy in the white house years now the most revealing memoir ever written by a former first lady ripping president trump's falls accusations about her husband's citizenship as dangerous. what if a person loaded a gun and went looking for the president, or our girls. putting my family at risk. for this i would never forgive him. writing her body buzzed with fury after the infamous "access hollywood" tape. something she slammed at the time. >> a candidate for president of the united states has bragged about sexually assaulting women. >> reporter: today

president trump hit back. >> she got paid a lot of money to write a week. and they always insist you come up with controversial. >> reporter: she focuses on her life story, like a devastating miscarriage. telling robin roberts. >> i felt lost and alone and i felt like i failed because i didn't know how common miscarriages were. because we don't talk about them. >> reporter: conceiving moet malia and sasha through invitro fertilization. and to the outside word they seem to be the perfect couple they struggled. >> marriage counselling is where we learned how to talk out our differences. >> reporter: andrea mitchell, nbc news supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg is out of the hospital. the eain fall. the court says ginsburg is doing well and working from home. what you say in an uber could come back to haunt you. just ask members of an

nhl team who learned the hard way after video of their recent ride was leaked. as jo ling kent explains uber is changing its policy. >> reporter: it is something we have always done. sounding off while in an uber thinking it is a private place. here the ottawa senators complained about their assistant coach. >> i haven't paid attention in three weeks. >> reporter: little did they know the driver's camera was recording every word later posting their high-profile dirty laundry on line, going viral. >> i think it is a violation of our policy. >> i wouldn't want to be recorded without knowing. >> reporter: the driver told ottawa newspaper he had the camera in his vehicle r protection and regets posting the video. it comes after another uber driver live streamed 700 rides without passenger permission. uber now changed its rules saying broadcasting a person's image audio

or recording is a violation of uber's terms and may result in account access. the company banned the drivers permanently. but they are not banned from recording drivers for security reasons. the bottom line, watch what you say, and where you say it. jo ling kent, nbc news, los angeles. you're headed down the highway

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two weeks from a thanksgiving travel rush gas prices are tanking which means more money in your pocket. but there could be trouble ahead. here's tom costello. >> reporter: it's happened so fast you may not have even noticed. pump prices have dropped like a rock, down six cents in a week, 17 cents in a month. unleaded now averaging $2.72 a gallon nationwide, the lowest level since april. the reason, an abundance on oil on the world market. >> the country is saving $75 million a day versus what we

were shelling out just four weeks ago. the average household, well, call it two or three dollars every tank they are saving. >> reporter: prices could continue to drop as triple a predicts a record 48.5 million of us will clog the roads for thanksgiving. that's 5% more traffic than last year. >> i waited and it dropped down by nine or ten cents. i means a good holidays. holidays are coming. that's a good thing. >> reporter: experts say gas prices could go back up by christmas as u.s. sanctions curtail iranian and other exports and other oil producing countries consider cutting back. tom koss teleo, nbc news, washington. next a dramatic rescue caught on camera. stay with us. but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your cost. unfortunately, it can't do anything about that.

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up about last night in a call to action. here is joe fryer. >> reporter: in front of an audience, lady gaga received an award and delivered a message. >> when it comes to mental health, we can and we will make it a priority by leading the way. >> reporter: that topic was the focus of her 23-minute speech at a sag, aftra foundation award ceremony. lady gaga opened up about her mental health battles including depression and suicidal thoughts. >> we need to share our stories so global mental health no longer resides and festers in the darkness. >> reporter: last night, she referenced recent mass shootings including wednesday's bama california. investigators still don't know the gunman's motive but said the veteran might have been suffering from ptsd. >> which is a mental issue. we know it's dangerous and important and we have to pay attention to it. >> i don't sing my own songs. >> why?

>> i just don't feel comfortable. >> reporter: the singer turned actress has a leading role in "a star is born," it deals with mental health and by speaking out she wants to raise awareness, hoping to see more programs devoted to this vital issue. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. i want to show you an amazing rescue caught on dashcam. a car in flames against a highway guardrail in new jersey. two troopers racing to save a man who was unconscious and had his foot on the gas pedal. with the flames growing they managed to pull him out. luckily, nobody was seriously injured. but those were two heroes at work. more from southern california in just a moment. jimmy (shouting): james! he's survived record rain and a supplier that went belly up. so while he's proud to have helped put a roof over the heads of hundreds of families, he's most proud of the one he's kept over his own. brand vo: get the most out of your money, whether you're using quickbooks smart invoicing to get paid

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we will continue to monitor the fires here in southern california late into the night and into the dangerous weekend ahead. our team is fanned out across the state. for now, that's now: good evening and thanks for joining us on this busy and smo right now at 6:00. california is burning. >> look at that. that's flames hundreds of feet high. >> three major wildfires, all of them spreading quickly. >> 48 hours to 72 hours in ventura county has been a difficult time. >> firefighters are rushing in as tens of thousands of people are rushing out, forced to flee their homes. >> heavenly father, please help us. >> the bay area also breathing in the impact. the smoke so thick in our region, it's now a health concern. >> my daughter's got asthma. it's really bad.

>> the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening and thanks for being with us on this busy and smoky friday. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. paradi paradise lost. wildfires tearing across the state, taking lives and decimating entire communities. now the fires are showing no signs of slowing down. acting governor gavin newsom has asked the white house for emergency funds. from the south to the north, officials are reporting the first deaths from these fires, and that number just rose. within the last hour, a sixth death has been confirmed from the camp fire in butte county. the other five people died cars. 70,000 acres burned, an homes a buildings