uc berkley closing classes, >> for now lester holt joins us with nightly news. thanks for joining us. breaking news. hundreds of people missing as wildfires rage across california. the death toll continues to right. and a new death threat on the way. twos marines charged with killing one of their own, a green benet strangled in his sleep. prominent ivy league professors accused of sexually abusing their students. a woman at dartmouth saying it's like 21st century "animal house." and a feel-good couple who raised $26,000 to help a homeless man in need. >> they put out a story that hood winked a lot of people. >> now cops say it was all a hoax and they're all in it together.

a new warning from the cdc. be careful cooking that thanksgiving dinner, an outbreak linked to turkey. the toy store with tom hanks on the piano is about to open again. we have your first peek inside. and the moment that will bring you to tears. >> unbelievable. thank you very much. >> this deputy's amazing gift you've got to see. good evening to our viewers in the west where the full scope of the wildfire disaster is beginning to come into focus. the death toll rising to at least 59. and so many families hoping for word of loved ones as the search continues for the 300 people still missing. president trump now planning to travel to the area this weekend to visit with those impacted. while some of the hardest-hit could face a new threat from fl floods and mud sides. nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer is in the

fire zone. >> reporter: in paradise, california, heartbreak. search teams looking for nearly 300 still missing, victims who may have died in homes and cars as a wave of fire tore through here. in this hard-hit community filled with retirees, many may not have been able to outrun the flames and devastating stories. >> it happens so fast, i think they would have been in serious trouble. >> reporter: in the hills outside los angeles, they are -- also hit by wildfire, they're already bracing for another disaster, floods. >> it's a silent killer. there is not any warning. >> reporter: chief brian and his team took us above one of the many burn zones. when fire burns in the hills, it strips them of water absorbing brush and makes the soil hard. during the storm that flows into the rawling massive communities below. >> reporter: a month after wildfires raged near

montecito, the mutd slides that followed were ten times as deadly leaving far fewer rescues. >> there is a greater risk to life through these mud flows than there are to these wild land fires. >> reporter: facing disaster, many communities are living through tragedy. >> everyone is struggling. we lost our homes. we lost our work. >> reporter: those who escaped, rebuilding their lives from the ruins as the search goes on for the missing. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. turning now from the fires to the west to the deadly nor'easter blasting the other half of the country tonight. dangerous conditions snarling roads, power knocked out in places and schools shut down. a wide path of misery from missouri to new england. our ron mott has the latest now from st. louis. >> reporter: winter came crashing into fall today. >> a car wiped out right in front of me. >> reporter: across the country accidents and spin-outs and

disbelief over mounting ice, snow and sleet. >> i don't like the weather. >> reporter: in new york where it was a standstill and d.c. was blanketed in white. the roads leading to slippery roads. >> if the weather is bad, always ask yourself, is this trip necessary? >> reporter: and in cincinnati, branches snapping under the weight of heavy ice. >> i hear another crash here and another crash there. here's another one. missed the power lines again. >> reporter: airports throughout the storm zone seeing more than a thousand delays, o'hare, atlanta, reagan international all contributing to a day of slowdowns. >> this storm will last through the had throughout. eventually it will turn to heavy rain along the coast but in new england, where it's all snow, they can pick up more than eight inches. >> reporter: in st. louis the gateway arch peeked through a snowy shield, more than five inches falling, the largest pileup here in nearly 40 years.

>> it's already snowing like it's january. >> i love it, i'm so excited. i lived in the south my whole life so this is eely the most snow i have ever seen in my life. >> reporter: here in st. louis is snowed for the better part of 16 hours. to all of this snow should melt. temperatures in the mid-40s with plenty of sunshine but all in all, pretty potent first punch from winter. >> ron mott with winter's wake-up call. prosecutors willeek the death penalty for five of 11 suspects indicted for khashoggi's murder but turkey doubts the alleged saudi hit team that reportedly brought a bone saw with them wigged it. ed saudi agents were only spoedsed to bring

him back to saudi arabia. killing him was a decision that mohammad bin salman knew nothing about. >> i believe any rational thinking person will recognize that you sometimes things, mistakes happen. >> reporter: saudi prosecutors will seek the death penalty for 5 of 11 suspects indeed for khashoggi's murder. but turkey doubts the alleged saudi hit team, which reportedly brought a bone saw with them, just winged it. multiple officials told nbc news the u.s. intelligence community believes it's inconceivable the crown prince had no connection to the death. while one middle east official tells us tonight,ed saudi explanation is, quote, a great work of fiction. but the question tonight, will the trump white house accept the saudi explanation? the state department is calling it a good start, but critics say this is just the accusedcong the fall

guys. lester? felony murder charges have been filed against two elite navy seals and two marine raiders for allegedly strangling a green beret to death in 2017. nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nickels on the shocking crime. >> reporter: navy prosecutors say staff sergeant logan melor was with asleep when four fellow special operators burst into his locked room, bound him with duct tape and put him in a choke hold that killed him. the mission was to train local forces to fight al qaeda terrorists but turned on their own. the navy accuses the two seals and the two marine raiders of their house for the duct tape and then killing the 34-year-old green beret while perpetrating a burglary. initially, navy seal tony dedolf said they were rew matthews joined in. one of the seals said he choked him out to get back at him for a perceived slight. the four are also accused of

conspiracy and obstruction of justice. >> this type of behavior is unacceptable. the largest special operation forces should not be judged by the actions of a few. >> reporter: they face the potential of life in prison. hans nickels, nbc news. new developments tonight after the arrest of stormy daniels' lawyer michael avenatti on suspicion of domestic violence. avenatti defending himself and so is his most famous client. peter alexander has the new details for us. what's the latest? >> lester, good evening to you. adult film star stormy out against the investigation saying she will hire a lawyer if it proves to be true, daniels calling the allegation very troubling but saying americans should reserve judgment unt t investigation is complete. tonight, there are still no specific details about what allegedly happened. it'sllthe alleged victim is. les lice say avenatti was arrested wednesday suspected of felony domestic violence. he's vigorously denied the

allegation. his ex-wife and estranged wife rushed to his defense. avenatti of course one of the president's most vocal antagonist suggested the on twitter that the allegation is politically motivated. >> peter alexander, thanks. there is late word the florida senate race is headed to a manuel recount. the votes will be counted by hand and the procedure required by state law because of how close the margin is between rick scott and bill nelson. tonight, the fda says it's taking drastic action to stop the spread of a national epidemic. the skyrocketing number of teenagers who are vaping, using e-cigarettes and the feds say they want to ban menthol cigarettes all together. we get more from nbc's costello. >> reporter: in boulder, colorado, school nurse liz blackwell is on the front lines of an exploding e-cigarette epidemic. >> it's having an impact on whether or not they can participate in sports. it's having an impact

on the relationships within their families. >> reporter: the problem is nationwide. the fda said it's taking action. >> what is at risk is we'll reverse the gains in recent years of trying to bring down smoking rates among adults and kids. >> reporter: the fruity flavors in e-cigarettes target teens. now the fda is ordering stores that sell fruity e-cigarettes to physically wall them off from teens, and verify every customer is at least 18. it's also moving to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. the stats are alarming. a stunning 78% increase in e-cigarette use among high schoolers in one year. a 48% jump among middle schoolers. the vaping industry says it supports raising the legal age to 21. tonight, the fda is under fire for not banning flavored e-cigs together and will fight the ban on menthol cigarettes insisting they do not pose any

greater health risk. facebook is under fire after a report accuses the social media giant of not being forthcoming about the russia misinformation campaign that played out on the platform during the 2016 election. nbc's jo ling kent with more. >> reporter: facebook knew more about russian attempts to influence american voters in 2016 than it originally led on. according to an exclusive report in "the new york times," kree mark zuckerberg and sheryl sandberg ignored warning signs and sought to conceal them. nbc news confirming the social network hired an outside p.r. firm to deflect attention by spreading dozens of articles critical of google and apple. last night facebook dropped the firm. >> to suggest we weren't interested in knowing the truth or that we wanted to hide what we knew or that we tried to prevent investigations is simply untrue. >> reporter: facebook's board of directors said in a statement as a board

we did indeed push zuckerberg and sandburg to move faster. >> the big issue is tech had a big year led by facebook. they were worried more about the blame on themselves. >> reporter: even prince william criticizing big tech. >> technology companies have a great deal to learn about the responsibilities that come with their significant power. >> reporter: this comes as facebook takes a financial hit. the stock dropped more than 20% in the last six months, and the number of new users is slowing down as scandals take a toll. lester? >> thank you. dartmouth college is hit with a lawsuit for $70 million from seven women that accused the school of ignoring their sexual misconduct complaints against professors for more than a decade. now as gabe gutierrez reports, those accusers are speaking out. >> christine, who just got her ph.d. in

neuroscience at dartmouth but in 2015 she says she was raped by a professor while attending a conference. >> i have no memory of that night. we had sexual intercourse, which i now believe to be sexual assault. >> reporter: she and six other women in a federal lawsuit filed this morning accused dartmouth administrators of knowingly permitting three of the prominent and well-funded professors to turn a research department into a 21st century animal house. according to the class action complaint, these professors leared out, groped, sexted and intoxicated female students. >> what dartmouth did was too little too late. >> reporter: in a written statement, dartmouth strongly disagrees with the characterizations of the college's action but as a result of the misconduct, we found earlier this year by three faculty members, we took unprecedented steps toward revoking their tenure and terminating their unemployment. >> the biggest misstep of dartmouth is not properly handling the complaints in the early 2000s.

>> reporter: the attorney general's office launched an investigation into the allegations. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. ass of families get set to gather around the table for thanksgiving, a warning from the cdc about an outbreak linked to turkey. nbc's ann thompson what you need to know before cooking. >> reporter: before these guys go from this to this, a warning tonight about a salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey, ground meat patties and the birds themselves. the cdc reports 164 people got sick in 35 states over the past year. one person died. the symptoms, fever and stomach problems within 72 hours of eating. to avoid getting sick, always cook your turkey to 165 degrees. >> you can tell if your turkey is cooked if you use a food thermometer and measure the temperature of the bird at several different points. >> reporter: thaw in the fridge not the counter and wash your hands before and after handling raw poultry.

to make sure your thanksgiving is a happy one. ann thompson, nbc news new york. tributes are pouring in tonight for roy clark, from his tv show for a quarter century. many viewers remember him as a guest for "the tonight show." with johnny carson. clark was 55. also tonight, it was the feel-good story that made headlines and authorities say it was a hoax and just in time for the holidays, our team gets the first look inside the iconic toy store making a big comeback. and the moment moving so many to tears.

we're back with a shocking twist and heart warming story that caught nationwide attention. a couple raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a homeless man in need, people across the country pitching in money but authorities now say it was a scam. here's nbc's rehema

ellis. >> reporter: when johnny, a homeless veteran, reportedly gave his last $20 to help a stranded kate mcclure get gas last november, she and her boyfriend started a go fund me page to pay back the heart warming story went viral and more than $400,000 poured in. >> that changes my life. >> reporter: but mow police say it was an elaborate hoax the trio cooked up together and all three are charged with theft by deception and could face ten years in prison. >> they put out a story that hoodwinked a lot of people. >> reporter: today the online reaction swift and angry, they used people's hearts to steal. now someone that deserves help won't get it. the prosecutor says the money was gone in a few months spent on a new years eve vegas trip, a bmw, luxury handbags and cash withdrawals. the feel-good story started to unravel when bobbett sued the couple saying they

kept most of the money. back then they defended themselves. >> and i still believe we did a good thing and i would do it over again. >> reporter: tonight gofundme says this is a rare case of fraud and all 14,000 donors will get their money back. rehema ellis, nbc news. coming up, your first look at all of the fun in store as an american icon makes its return. and good newspapers about the point-sized super hero that captivated the nation.

just in time for the holidays, the famous toy store where tom hanks danced on the piano in "big" is about to open its doors again three days after closing and you'll never guess where gatti schwartz got a sneak peek inside. >> reporter: you know what is better than toys? how about an entire toy store? welcome to fao schwarz. making a christmas comeback. >> can i pull this?

>> please do. >> reporter: for over 150 years, it captured the imagination of generations, including a real princess and who could forget tom hanks in the movie "big"? and that nostalgia can strike a powerful cord. what's different this time around? >> this story is so much more exponential. you can do everything from a kid grocery store to creating your own cart. >> reporter: the famous stuffed animals sharing space with hatchanimals and 2,000 square feet of sweets and an era where women are toy soldiers too, their costumes designed by super model gigi hadid. a toy store hoping to remind us all to play. >> this isn't a toy museum. have fun, enjoy it. >> reporter: on that note, gadi schwartz, news new york. >> i think he may be down there still playing on that piano. a happy update about a boy we told you about five years

ago. miles scott, a.k.a. batkid had the whole country cheering him on when his make-a-wish transformed san francisco into gotham city for a day. he was battling leukemia and he's 10 and we're pleased to report he's cancer free. a super hero indeed. we'll take a short break and be back with the emotional life changing moment all caught on camera. universities are closin

because of the smoke. the cancelations include some sporting events. but, what about the big game between cal and stanford? plus, i )m tracking where air quality is the worst and when the smoke clears out. next. in tonight's "inspiring america," the video that has moved so many. a sheriff's deputy seeing the world in living color. >> got you a small surprise. >> that was a bit of an understatement. jeff dishman had been color blind his whole life.

his colleagues at the humboldt county sheriff's office had pitched in and bought him special glasses, allowing him to see color for the very first time. >> oh, my god, i can see. >> the gift, the idea of deputy samantha freeze, who's worked with dishman for eight years. >> can you see? >> a different world. >> dishman couldn't wait to share the news with his wife. >> my wife is going to watch the sunset with me. and i saw my wife's eyes for the first time last night and they were such a beautiful blue and my daughters are so beautiful. >> a gift that brightened the day for so many of us, too. >> you're unbelievable. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> what an amazing moment. deputy dishman can't wait to go back to the grand canyon and experience all of its colors for the first time. that's "nightly news" for this thursday. i'm lester holt, for

all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6: the number of people unaccounted for after the camp fire has doubled . right now at 6:00, the th b number of people unaccounted for after the camp fire has now doubled. where does that number stand? also alone in a wheelchair and surrounded by the flames. we have an exclusive interview with the woman who survived and the man who rescued her. but first, after another day, schools say they're closing down because of smoke. we're tracking not just the schools but the other activities being canceled. the news at 6:00 starts right now. thanks for joining us, i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. we're keeping an eye on that news conference expected to

begin shortly in butte county, but we want to begin in the bay area with the unhealthy air quality. purple area, northern california has the worst air in the world at this hour. monday t among the dozens of schools that have canceled classes, contra costa, alameda, marin and san francisco counties. no word yet from santa clara county. you can see which schools and colleges are closed right there on our ticker on the bottom of your screen. they took cable cars off the street this is afternoon. sfmta has bus shuttles running in their place. we begin with chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. you've been talking about waiting for this wind to come in and start moving the smoke away. >> we still do think that's going to happen. we a