cynthia mcfadden, nbc news. >>> next tonight, an nbc news exclusive, an inside look at the u.s. navy's urgent medical mission helping thousands fleeing violence and a collapsing economy in venezuela. nbc's kerry sanders is onboard the medical ship where americans are treating those in desperate need. >> reporter: it is a non-stop flow of humanity. every day 5,000 venezuela people flee in search of a better life. but now here in the caribbean sea, the united states navy arrived, not a warship, rather, the hospital ship "comfort" armed with surgeons, scalpels and sympathy. caring for people like this family. since birth their 7-year-old son needed a hernia operation. [speaking foreign language]. >> reporter: he's saying he couldn't find the help in venezuela for who had this condition. he has a twin brother. they did the same operation on him. this 11-week mission is the first u.s. humanitarian effort helping venezuelan refugees. doctors seeing 16,500 patients in the first few weeks treating everything from burns to cataracts. >> i feel for them because i can hear in their voices

>> cynthia mcfadden , thank you. >>> the first cannabis-based medication was just approved by the fda available by prescription in all 50 states. it treats severe forms of epilepsy and based on a chemical component found in marijuana that does not get users high. >>> we turn to a story hitting home for so many families, perhaps yours. november is alzheimer's awareness and family care givers month, where the millions of family members who care for loved ones with alzheimer's are recognized for a job that can take a serious toll on their health. nbc news anchor maria shriver has more on what she knows all too well. >> reporter: for 14-year-old hailey and her mom robin balancing work, school and care giving has become a daily labor of love. their 82-year-old father and grandfather jim has alzheimer's. >> love you, grandpa. >> reporter: a former naval officer who lost his leg, jim was diagnosed with alzheimer's last year so robin had to move him and her mom into the tiny apartment she shares with her boyfriend and her daughter. >> not that shirt, dad. >> reporter: every morning and evenin

cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, fort worth. texas. >>> up next, best in show, can you guess who it is? we're back in a moment with the nation's top dog and using humor on the highway to get drivers to slow down. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. o

our senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden went to oregon where she discovered the voting by mail approach has brought together democrats and republicans. >> reporter: it is an issue that cuts across party lines. >> don't boo. vote. >> reporter: getting out the vote. >> everyone needs to show up and vote. >> reporter: the folks in oregon think they have figured it out. you have some pretty nasty things to say about the polling place. >> i think the polling place has become the single biggest voter suppression device in american politics. >> reporter: phil keysling used to be the democratic secretary of state here. dennis richardson, a republican, has the job now. and while much of the country is divided by party lines, these two are in total agreement when it comes to the state's vote by mail system. >> it's well embraced. >> reporter: they say their system gets more people voting and is also cheaper and more secure. >> you can't hack paper. >> thank you, sir. >> reporter: 20 years ago, oregon was the first state to adopt an entirely vote by mail system. >> got your ballot

rob goldstone sat down with nbc news' cynthia mcfadden to tell his story. >> you have been called a wide variety of names over the past year. useful idiot, dunce, clown, bonkers, puppet of the kremlin, sinister. any of that fit? >> i've been called much more than that as well. and, you know, ultimately i was a publicist who wrote an email on behalf of my client. >> but it's not just goldstone's words that have the attention of special counsel robert mueller. it's the response from the president's son. >> donald trump jr. said, if it's what you say, i love it. >> his reaction to that is not to say, is this all right? should i call the fbi? >> it's potentially criminal. it's embarrassing. it's a scandal. >> this meeting in some ways goes to sort of the heart of what robert mueller has been looking at. he was appointed to look at any connections that existed between the trump campaign and russia. >> there wasn't anybody higher in the trump campaign except donald trump himself at this meeting. >> so how did a celebrity publicist wind up as a central player in that trump tower conference room

nbc's cynthia mcfadden takes us behind the velvet rope, where our team projects the winners. >> reporter: i'm going to take you somewhere at 30 rock. without this i.d. i e an't get in, whve never been to go before. this is nbc's decision desk, the beating heart of our election coverage. hey, john. >> welcome to th decision desk. thank you for coming. >> explain to folks at home what >> we project elections across all of the races. e the main thingnt to do here is make sure that we're always right. >> reporter: he says being right matters more than being first. and it's complicated. c'it s nbls pex ck10 t0,ol000. >> we have mountains of data, hand we're running all of t data through literally thousands of models. >> reporter: how sure do you have to be, 90% good enough? >> absol enough.good our standards are 99.5%. >> if you're not 99.5% certain, the election doesn't get call on television? >> we use that standard across all of the races. itlw it's more so now than ever. >> reporter: isolated from outside inuences, all the senior people in this room must agree before a race is called. >>

cynthia mcfadden look in their long-term impact. >> we've fully acknowledged they are using this product, and it's not acceptable. >> reporter: isn't it irresponsible to put a product out there for adults or anybody else to purchase if you don't know the long-term effects? >> i think the context is critically important. >> reporter: and all i'm asking you is whether you have a product that you can tell me 30 years from now won't be killing people from something else. >> there's growing scientific evidence that there's less intoxicants from e-rig sets than regular cigarettes. >> live pictures from sky ranger there over google headquarters in mountianview as the staged walkiot was set to take place any moment now. now a lot of the workers there in google are planning to walk out. this is against top executives who received payouts there, large payouts, that we've already seen walkouts in london and new york and then here right now in mountianview. a lot of employees set to walk out. we're seeing a diverse group of employees that are standing together against a lot of the pop executives rec

as part of a new investigation this morning, nbc's cynthia mcfadden looks for answers to the long-term impact. >> we fully acknowledge that they are using this product and it's not acceptable. >> isn't it irresponsible to put a product out there for adults or anybody else to purchase if you don't know the long-term effects? >> i think the context is critically important. >> and all i'm asking you is, whether you have a product that you can tell me 30 years ago from now isn't going to -- >> there's growing scientific consensus there's significantly less toxants from e-cigarettes than cigarettes. >> it's ate story all parents want to watch. it airs at 7:30 right here on nbc bay area this morning. >>> we have a warning for b.a.r.t. riders commuting in san francisco. happening today, an entrance to the civic center station is closing permanently. you'll no longer be able to enter in front of hotel at eighth and market. b.a.r.t. is making upgrades to the service. they're planning to turn part of the civic center into a new substation for trains that run through the transbay tube. >>> it's 6

cynthia mcfadden has been taking a hard look at this and joins us from l.a. >> reporter: good morning. just yesterday lawsuits were filed against three e-cigarette companies here in california alleging they market to young people which if true is not legal. meanwhile the biggest e-cigarette maker, juul, isn't part of the lawsuits, but it is in the cross hairs of the fda. this morning we talk to juul and to a leading scientist behind a ground breaking study of the e-cigarettes. as you'll see, the results are alarming. just when it seems cigarette smoking was a thing of the past, a new and disturbing trend among young people. juuling. the most popular brand of e-cigarettes. sleek and loaded with nicotine. >> it just became more and more popular and everyone was huddled around in the bathrooms. >> reporter: this 18-year-old is a college freshman. she says by senior year in high school just about everyone she knew was juuling. >> people hide them in their jacket sleeves and hold them up in class. >> reporter: gordon was part of a ground breaking study to try to figure out if juul or other

c senior investigative and legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden has been taking a hard look at this. she joins us from l.a. >> good morning. >> repory ls were filed against three e-cigarette companies right here in california alleging they market to young people, which, ifru is not legal. meanwhile, the biggestre e-cie maker juul isn't part of those lawsuits, but it is in the crosshairs of the fdng this mor we talk to juul and a leading scientist behind a groundbreaking study of e-cigarettes. as you'll see, the results are alarming. just when it seems cigarettein smok was a thing of the past, a new and disturbing trend among young people. juuling. the most popular bla of e-cigarettes sleek and loaded with nicotine. >> it just became like more and more p and everyone would huddle around in the bathroom because everyone had it all at once. >> reporter: 18-year-old olivia gordon is a college she says by senior year in high school just about everyone she knew was juuling. >> we would hide it in our tacket sleeves. we will pull up and in class and things like that. >> reporter: gordon was