it's like the . apocalypse almost. >> never expect this in november. >> the entire campaign is a lie. ♪ ♪ ♪ good morning. welcome to "sunday today" on this sunday, november 18th. i'm willie geist. the worst wildfire in california's history is now tag 76 lives and well over a thousand people still unaccounted for this morning. president trump traveled to the state on saturday to see the destruction for himself and to thank first responders who have

been working nonstop for weeks to fight the fires and to save lives. the president also visiting family members and survivors of the mass shooting last week in thousand oaks, california. we will get the latest on the president's trip in a live report. then a stunning crash on the track. as a car launches into the air after a collision during a race overseas. incredibly, the driver, 17-year-old woman from germany, survived the wreck. we will have more in a moment. and, later, a sunday sit-down with ethan hawk on his starring role. the lessons he learned from robin williams and the time he said no alongside his acting hero so he could work on a novel instead. >> out of nowhere the phone rings. it's jack nicholson. i said, jack, listen.

i want to work with you but if i don't do this, i'm going to fail myself. what do you think i should do? sounds like you got a book to write. >> a sunday sit-down ethan hawk. number of dead and missing rising overnight in the middle of the worst wildfire ever to hit california. president trump visiting the state to meet with residents who lost everything. nbc's kathy park is in the town of paradise which was burned to the ground. kathy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. nearly 10,000 homes have been reduced to rubble including this entire mobile home community. rescuers will take weeks to look for remains and it will take years to rebuild paradise. this morning, the number of people missing jumping again to nearly 1,300. the camp fire claiming five more lives. the death toll now at 76.

the golden state darkened by flames has president trump and state leaders playing nice. >> this is a very big problem and we have to solve this problem and i know we are going to work together. i have no doubt. come here. i have no doubt, all right? >> reporter: the president landing early saturday to survey the destruction up and down the state meeting with survivors and first responders vowing to help, focusing on forest management he previously criticized. >> we are putting quite a bit of money, about $500 million in the bill for management and maintenance for the forests. >> reporter: nicole net the commander in chief during his tour paradise. >> that is me. i told him it took us 20 minutes to evacuate the hospital and by that time the back of the hospital was on fire. it's heartwarming knowing that he does care. >> reporter: but she is also overcome with heartache reminded of the holidays. >> even if we can't afford to have presents, where are we going to put they?

we don't have a home. >> reporter: the fire is still burning but growing in containment. thick smoke continues to linger. in a community shrouded in shades of black and gray, these bright ribbons mark the homes that have already been searched. >> and they are literally sifting through debris and rubble at every single home site, every single vehicle, trying to find anybody who is still missing. >> reporter: and it certainly has been a very difficult month for the state of california after his day-long tour of destruction for the wildfires, he also met with those affected by the thousand oaks mass shooting. >> staggering pictures in numbers coming out of there. kathy park in paradise, california. thank you. the president spoke saturday about the murder of "the washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi and claiming that the cia has not claimed that his killing was ordered by

saudi arabia crown prince despite by news that the agency believes the order came from the top. nbc kelly o'donnell is at the white house with this part of the story. >> reporter: good morning. the white house appears to want more time for this diplomatic crisis. the president claims his administration will have a report within the next two days that would explain what he call the overall impact of the khashoggi murder. in the same breath he says the cia has not finished its work, even though there are news report saying the agency has an assessment that points to the crown prince. before he returned to the white house in the wee hours this morning, the president promised new answers on the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi by tuesday. >> we are going to come up with a report as to what we think the overall impact was and who caused it. and who did it. >> reporter: while aboard air force one on saturday the president was briefed by phone.

>> i spoke with our cia director. >> reporter: mr. trump denied that the cia has already determined that the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the killing. an intelligence assessment first reported by "the washington post" and confirmed by nbc news. >> they haven't assessed anything yet. it's too early. a premature report but it's possible. >> reporter: giving himself breathing room as he tries to imagine a strategic relationship with the saudi royal family. while avoiding criticism of the crown prince, the president commented on new sanctions targeting saudis linked to the killing. >> we are being very tough on a lot of people. >> reporter: the president also set a different deadline for himself. his written answer to questions from the special council will be turned in soon. >> we do that next week. they are all done. >> reporter: with house democrats coming to power, the president curiously offered to help nancy pelosi secure the

gavel. >> i like her. she deserves to be speaker. they are playing games with her like they are with me. it's called presidential harassment. >> reporter: if you thought the campaign, willie, season was over, the president has announced a week from tomorrow he would hold two campaign rallies on the eve of a runoff election in mississippi andnd hs there to work on behalf of the republican senate campaign. >> the endless campaign season. kelly, thank you. chuckas todd is nbc politic director and the moderator of "meet the press." good morning.at good to see you. let's go back to the khashoggi story. nbc news and "the washington post" reporting that the cia believes it's highly likely that the crown prince of saudi araba directly ordered the murder of khashoggi, the journalist. if this report comes out on tuesday that the president has promised from the cia and shows

that that, in fact, is what happened, the question for president trump is what now? will he actually put more sanctions on? will he actually do something substantive about it? >> look. i think -- the question is whether his handd is going to gt forced. i think there is going to be a bipartisan t majority in the united states senate and in the united states house to do something more than what has been proposed so far. and that more is this -- if you're going to sanction a bunch of people in saudi arabia over this, a does it really matter i you don't sanction the man at the top? >> right. >> the crown prince, himself, mohammed bin salman. if mbs who is known as mbs referred to by mbs by a lot of government officials here, if they don't sanction him and the president, yesterday, you could tell they keep trying to find a way to punish saudi arabia without punishing mbs. that is where i think this is where the fight is going to be.

i'm going to talk to lindsey graham this morning, a republican from south carolina. i think he is one of those that would like to see tougher sanctions in saudi arabia. the question is l is he ready t go all the way up to mbs? that, to me, is going to be an interesting answer that i'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say on this one because i think that is where this fight is going to end up being about. >> "the washington post" is reporting even this morning, chuck, that the president remains skeptical even at the cia's conclusion that it has high confidence that mbs was behind it. the president spent part of the week answering questions from mueller and he found time to tweet against the investigation saying it's a witch hshunt. what gdegree of president the feeling is under? >> we saw the president sweating

in real-time this week and apparently he didn't like to answer those questions and he let us know what he thought about the mueller probe. before this week, did you know that he went through -- the president went quiet on mueller only using mueller. or witch hunt until he blew up last week. i think it indicates a couple of things. he knows the democrats have power in the house to go after some investigations. he knows that matt whitaker is not going over with, even with republicans in the senate. and the questions themselves, obviously, it irritates him he had to do it. i think you saw the tirade. the question is it a tirade he'll tie it to something and insist on the firing? or is it just those usual sort of presidential expression of but he won't do anything about it. >> we look for much more on

"meet the press." he will be joined by senator lindsey graham and sherrod brown of ohio. utah national guard major brent taylor, the 39-year-old had taken a leave of absence from his job of mayor of north ogden, utah, to serve in afghanistan. major taylor was killed two weeks ago in an insider attack. he was remembered as a man who always brought out the best in everyone around him. he leaves behind his wife and seven young children. a vintage world war ii fighter plane crashed in texas on saturday killing two on board. they had taken part in a flyover for a local museum. the p-51d mustang slammed into a parking lot in fredericksburg. no one on the ground was hurt. a german race car driver is lucky to be live after a jaw dropping crash at a grand prix event today. after a road race collision, the car is launched into high speed

and slamming her backward into a photographer stand. amazingly, she, the driver, survived and remained conscious but suffered a broken spine. she did manage to tweet her thanks to fans and to first responders. several people on the ground were hurt. but no one, thank goodness, was killed. dylan is here now with a check of the weather. good morning! >> good morning, willie! a clipper system moving through the middle of the country and basically bringing some of its lighter snow across parts of the great lakes. not much to it. the snow is winding down in chicago. cleveland you'll see snow shortly and this will continue to move eastward as we go through the day today. there will be some enhancement off of lake erie and lake ontario and help accumulate some of the snow. if can you take it easy this sunday morning, stay home as long as you can and wait for it to pass by and things will be fine on the roads. snow across upstate new york tonight and on monday, we will start off with a wintry mix in parts of central and northern new england. the farther north you go, the

better chance you'll of seeing snow and this cold front will bring rain showers along with it through the new york city area. not looking at a lot of rain. more of a nuisance as we go into monday but a chance we could see about 1 to up to 3 inches. some of that enhancement off the great lakes and possibilities of seeing some of that accumulating snow pile up on the roads just a bit. elsewhere across the country, we are looking for temperatures in the 30s so it is very chilly behind this system. red flag warnings are and we've got a marine layer this morning, building along the coastline in san francisco. current temperatures at about 51 degrees. that poor air quality remains in the area, and we've been waking up to the cold 20s and low 30s in through the interior valleys and up through the north bay. santa rosa right now 28 degrees. napa 30 degrees, as far as the air quality right now, palo alto still in the unhealthy mark.

san francisco moderate. that is your latest forecast. >> dylan, thank you very much. straight ahead the highs and lows of the week including the nurse whose pickup truck was turned into a roasted marshmallow after he bravely drove through the flames of a california wildfire to save lives. plus the play of the year in baseball. as a little leaguer becomes an internet star by flying into home! and later we take you inside the 17 million acres of navajo nation where a group of native americans mounted up and riding the paths of history. >> getting on a bike is same as getting on a horse. when you're on a bike you're, like, free. >> it's all coming up on "sunday today." our photo of the week as we head to break. los angeles firefighter shrouded in smoke as he works to put out a hot spot in malibu. most every, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a huge drag.

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dylan and i are fired up and ready to whip through the highs and the lows of the week. the first highs go to the acts of kindness, bravery and sheer her or rimp in the ongoing horror of the california wild fooirs. as of this morning as we've reported, 76 have died, more than 1200 remain missing in the camp fire which has consumed more than 148,000 acres in northern california. it is the deadliest wildfire in state's history. officials say it will not be contained until the end of next month. the exhausted firefighters working 24 hour shifts are fighting the flames as we speak. local residents are doing their part to help as well. alan pierce is a nurse who manages the icu in paradise, california. this week he hopped into his pickup truck to help with the evacuation of his hospital. here is what alan's toyota tundra looked like afterward. he called it the perfect marshmallow. the nurse drove back and forth through the flames twice to get

people out. pierce credited firefighters, law enforcement and fellow health care workers in the evacuation. as you can see, his lights and side view mirrors melted in the heat and this photograph from inside his truck shows you why. look how close the flames are. by the way, toyota heard alan's story, saw the pickup and wrote in a tweet, don't worry about your truck, we're honored to get you a new one. just an incredible effort by him and a lot of people who worked at the hospital. he said the flames were so close he wrote a note to his family. he got through it to put on peter gabriel's "in your eyes" to mellow himself out. >> one thing to note, this week it looks like there will be rain, by the middle of the week. >> they will take it. the first logos to the chances that one little girl in canada was going to walk inside the house under her own power so 2k5ds deployed the old double bag carry.

she's in her cool gold boots laying on the driveway after a long day. as dad is unloading the car by the ease with which dad makes this carry, we've been here before with jules. he's got the bags in one hand so with the left he scoops up juliet and casually hauls her into the house like a sack of laundry as mom giggles and records the scene from inside the house. it's not even a thing. this is how we go in the house. >> i'm in that phase right now where calvin didn't want to go inside, he loved his new umbrella. in the rain in a puddle he's laying on the floor because he doesn't want to go inside. >> oh, wow. is that right? >> fine, go for it. >> they get to a new weight. >> i can't lift him with one hand. our next high is simply one of the greatest plays in the history of baseball and it happened during a little league game in the dominican republic. looks like a sleepy night as the dr takes a strike. the runner on third baes makes a

break for home and flies into the frame. the boy soars and plate to steal home. the runner should have been out but like a professional wrestler coming off the top row the kid vaults himself home and into viral superstar come to. we have jackie rock bin son stealing home, i think that's still number one and that's number two. >> you can't fault the catcher. he had the right move. >> he's right there. you weren't looking up in that moment. >> it's one of the most athletic things i've ever seen a human being do. our final logos to the big collision that recently interrupted a volleyball practice at concordia university. kyle pierce had the cool idea to surprise his girlfrienden na with a wedding proposal. as jena's coaches run her through drills, kyle, look at the door, sneaks into the gym

and makes his approach with the ring. what are the oddsen na turned to run for a ball just as he was running in with the ring? >> oh. >> well, as long as they were in a heap on the court, kyle dropped down to a knee and asked jena to mary him. she said yes and then one assumes reported to the trainer's room to ice down her injuries. they've all got a story now and they have a viral video. >> strange time to propose. she was in the zone but she said yes. >> she was dialed in and got mowed over. congratulations, guys. coming up next, a sunday sitdown with ethan hawk, the hollywood star who isn't really interested in being a hollywood star. great conversation just ahead. later, harry smith goes under the friday night lights to visit a texas music teacher who took on a big challenge and tuned up one of the best bands tuned up one of the best bands ( ♪ )

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here is a live look outside -- san raf good sunday morning. it is6:26. here is a live look outside. can't tell, but that is san rafael through the smoke. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast. another near freezing morning across the bay area. >> indeed. we have a good marine layer building along the coastline, it's starting to make its way into the interior valleys, and this is a shot of san francisco. i know it looks completely white. you think the camera is out, no. you can make out lots in the bottom corner but that's that marine layer and we're still seeing unfortunately very poor air quality, which is why in some spots including san

francisco there's a spare the air alert in place. 20s right now in santa rosa. the air quality index is showing areas of concern. we're still seeing a lot of reds and some purples in through the concord area, which means very unhealthy air. we'll break down the changes we have this upcoming work week. it involves rain and hopefully improving air quality >> see you at 7:00, vianey, thanks. today is another day of dangerous air quality across the bay. several weekend events have been canceled or completely postponed. in berkeley, people seeking relief waited in long lines in hardware stores for the coveted n-95 masks. same in san francisco, the masks are hard to come by. cable cars are still shut down. the golden gate national recreation area announced several weekend closures.

tourists we spoke with said they understood but were disappointed. >> everything seems to be closed. alcatraz closed. >> going across the bridge, i've never seen anything like this. we almost canceled our trip because the smoke and air quality was so bad and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to see any of the sights. >> at cal's memorial stadium it was eerily quiet as the game was canceled. it is rescheduled to december 1st. in paradise, president trump came to california, stepped off air force one and right into a disaster zone. the fire burned 149,000 acres, it's now 55% contained. flames have destroyed nearly 10,000 homes. the death toll is once again rising, it stands at 76. more than 1,200 other people remain missing. later today, senator kamara harris will visit the burn zone

in butte county. we have video in august when she met with victims of the mendocino fire. senator also meet with local firefighters, leaders and evacuees. coming up this morning on "today in the bay," it's a chance to give back during this holiday season. we'll tell you all about it. it takes off yesterday and continues to christmas day. we'll that, plus your top stories and weather, very important, coming up at 7:00. in the meantime, we'll send you back to "sunday today" with willie geist.

now just what specific examples of voter fraud have you uncovered? >> in georgia many people were wearing disguises in order to vote multiple times. for example, i saw this man vote in atlanta. then he went into his car and changed into this woman. >> "saturday night live" last night with its take on the president's claims of voter fraud during the mid term elections. steve correll hosted the show and the musical guest was ella me. i think you'd agree that ethan hawk is a movie star. he's a well known and well respected actor who spent some

30 years in the spotlight, but as you look down his long list of credits, you don't find many of those big budget blockbusters that make movie stars. in fact, the most commercially successful film hawk has appeared in was the second one he ever made "dead poets society." he has built a career on deep, challenging roles like the one in "boyhood." ethan and i got together to discuss the latest film earning him award season praise. >> this is your hood? >> this is my hood. my kids go to school down here. this is generally where my dogs pee. >> is that right? >> they enjoy this spot. >> put an historic landmark here. ethan hauke is at home in new

york. right now the city is showing him some love back. his latest film, "first reform" about a priest struggling with his faith was honored with three nominations for the gotham awards, an early bell weather for the oscars. he's nominated for best actor. >> the way that i felt when i read it is i didn't have the language to communicate my frustration that i was feeling about how difficult it is to be a grownup when you are trying to be a good leader to your children, a good leader to your community and you're seeing leadership that upsets you and it's a grown up dialogue about it. >> what do you think the movie says about faith in america right now? >> it takes the idea of thinking deeply about your spiritual life seriously. my father is very religious. my mother is very religious. they're deep thinkers. i felt drawn to this because i

wanted to do a portrait of religious life that didn't make fun of it or demonize it but could make you think. >> he was born in texas and they were divorced when he was young. her son found acting in high school in new jersey. his first movie credit came at 14 years old when he played opposite the late river phoenix in "the explorers." >> makes sense to me. >> next came the role that changed his life. as a boarding school student in the 1989 classic "dead poets society." >> captain, my captain. >> i didn't realize at the time what a tattoo that movie was on my heart. >> what did you learn from robin williams just watching him as a young actor? >> he gave me the first taste of what acting could be, that when it goes really well, you disappear and you're in service of a larger story. i did this scene with robin, he

asked me to sound my barbaric yolp. >> yell like a man. >> yolp. >> there it is. >> it was an amazing experience because the deeper into that scene i got, by the time the day was over, i couldn't remember what had happened and it was the first taste of how positive and how beautiful performance could be, which is part of the collective imagination. when something goes right like that, it has reverberations that last a long time. >> those reverberations have led to memorable roles as a gen x. >> is there a frog in your throat? >> a dna cheater. >> they are going to find me. >> and a narcotics officer alongside denzel washington in "training day." >> i felt like this is a good cop picture. it's threading the needle of making mainstream material that isn't insulting. it's hopefully the thing you can

see at 16 and love and 26, i don't understand that level, see at 46 and go, i see what they're saying. >> he has four children, two with wife ryan and two with his ex-wife uma thurmond. his daughter maya has joined the family business. she'll star in the upcoming third season of the netflix hit "stranger things." >> i have a 20-year-old daughter who's falling in love with acting, and one of the things about young people's idealism, it reminds you of your idealism. it makes me want to be the actor that she thinks i am. >> hawke's idealism was born in the theater. a decade ago he was nominated for a tony award in "the toast of utopia." he rushes back home to the stage whenever he gets a chance. >> it's because it's do or die.

if you say i saw you in "training day." i don't know if you saw it on cable, the film festival. whatever it was, i wasn't there, right? if you come up to me and say i saw you coast of utopia, immediately i was there. that's a different experience. often, hey, i was there the night that a cell phone rang and martha plinton yelled at the person in the audience. that's the night the lights didn't work, right? >> oh, yeah. >> so it's a living thing and it's beautiful because of that. >> hawke is known around hollywood for not being terribly interested in hollywood. >> i wasn't ambitious for fame or for money. i was ambitious to make a substantive contribution to the arts. >> that means he has turned down jobs a young actor would have to be crazy to walk away from. >> jack nicholson is my favorite actor and i got offered to do a movie with him and i really wanted to do it and i had to turn it down because i was 25.

i had sold a novel but the editor of the novel was challenging me to do a rewrite on it. i knew that if i didn't do this rewrite and work at least as hard as i could, that i would be the delatante that everybody accused me of being. i needed to have this experience. i turned down a yak nicholson movie. >> wow. >> out of nowhere the phone rings. it's jack nicholson. hey, i hear you're not doing the movie. i said to jack. i told him the situation. i want to work with you, but if i don't do this, i'm going to fail myself so i have a choice in either failing you or failing myself and what do you think i should do? sounds like you've got a book to write. >> so he got it. >> he completely got it. >> hawke wrote that book and a few others and he's continued since to take on projects that excite him artistically, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't listen to an author for a good

old-fashioned summer blockbuster. >> you're young enough, fit enough to still fit into a super hero. >> you tell universal. definitely. >> also there's fathers. super me rows have dads. >> until that big super hero role comes along you can see ethan in "first reformed" and the nominations continue to roll in for that movie and for hawke. you also can check out the film "blaze" which ethan wrote, produced, and directed. robert barr in brooklyn, thank you, for hosting our conversation. to hear how the premature death of ethan's friend river phoenix affected his career and life, check out web extras at today.com/sunday. listen to the podcast. you can fine it on tune in or wherever you get your podcasts. next week, a sunday sitdown with one of the biggest stars in

the world. hugh jackman on a career that covers "wolverine," "p.t. barnum." hugh jackman on sunday today. coming up this morning, dylan and i will answer your questions. use #sunday todtoday on twitter facebook. and instagram. >> big travel week ahead as we head towards thanksgiving, and we are going to see a little bit of an unsettled pattern to the forecast monday, especially across the northeast. nothing too heavy. we will see heavier rain across northeast texas. by the time we get to the middle of the week, heavy rain is possible back through california. it's dry through the middle of the country. lighter snow through central and northern new england and on friday, the day after thanksgiving, we will see a system try to move into the middle of the country. scattered rain showers and through florida. it is pretty chilly.

we've got a combination of clouds and haze, as the marine layer deepens for the coastline. this is what it looks like right now in san jose. those temperatures chilly in the 40s at 42 degrees. we're still tracking that unhealthy air quality. there is a winter spare the air alert in effect, and we're also expecting that to remain in effect through tuesday at about 11:00 p.m. take a look at current temperatures right now in santa rosa, 28 degrees. napa at 29, concord 39. and that's your latest forecast. >> dylan, thanks a lot. we'll see you in just a minute. next on "sunday today" a trip to the beautiful navajo nation. they're riding in the path of their ancestors with an eye on the future. that's made me who i am. i'm all for my theatre, my barbershop and my friends.

because the community doesn't just have small businesses, it is small businesses. and that's why american express founded small business saturday. so, this year let's all get up, get out and shop small on november 24th. i got croissant. small business saturday. a small way to make a big difference. navajo nation is the largest native american territory in the united states.

its 350,000 people are spread across 17.5 million acres in three states. but for all intents and purposes, they live in an entirely different country from the rest of us. the unemployment rate is 42% and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. the problems of alcoholism and suicide persist. in our sunday spotlight, nbc's gadi schwartz rides along with one navajo program to help people reconnect with their past while searching for a better future. >> reporter: across the sweeping navajo nation, there have always been those born to ride. for generations, navajos have harnessed that power on horseback, but now for some, horsepower is giving way to pedal power. >> yeah. woo who! >> getting on a bike is the same as getting on a horse. because when you're on a bike, you're, like, free.

>> reporter: every year, claudia jackson organizes a 300-mile bike ride that draws hundreds of navajo riders. it's called a tour of -- or hope. >> it's brought a different kind of energy to the communities. there's a bike revolution happening. >> reporter: it's a chance for some community bonding and fun. there are other reasons why she organizes these rides. >> a lot of them will say they're fighting alcohol, they're fighting mental issues, they're fighting trauma. some of the kids come where they've witnessed or know of a family member that's committed suicide. >> reporter: a suicide rate that is more than 3.5 times higher than any other ethnic group in the united states. 43% living in poverty, nearly triple the national average in poverty. >> two years ago we had a young child join us who had never ridden a bike. >> reporter: who was that? >> this was nigel. they wanted to find somebody he could ride with. >> reporter: that is how 14-year-old nigel james met vincent seleby.

what was it like riding with him? >> slow. ha ha. >> i was kind of excited. i could do some crazy stuff, but i wasn't fast. >> reporter: vincent had been mountain bike riding for years what he saw in nigel was a special. a rodeo rider riding a horse. >> like galloping. getting the flow, rhythm, that is how i feel. that's how i feel when i'm going down the trail. >> good? >> yeah. >> reporter: like with quick bursts of speed over steep, sketchy terrain testing themselves over the same rugged canyons as their ancestors. >> good? >> good. good. >> reporter: with a native skill i tried really hard to match. >> whoa. >> you guys are crazy! >> reporter: if you had to describe this to people, they don't bike and they're not from the navajo nation, what's it like being out here? >> on the reservation it's really hard. some of us don't have running water, some of us don't have jobs.

it's hard for us to get by sometimes. when you ride out there it takes the negative energy out of us. >> reporter: we discovered the legacy and their land. >> it's like riding the iron horse to check out the land and the old trails that our people used to use before us. >> reporter: a tribe within a tribe, blazing new trails through a timeless place. for "sunday today" gadi schwartz on the navajo nation. >> gadi, thank you very much. next on "sunday today," harry smith takes us to texas to march along with the high school band brought back to life by one music teacher. >> competing with what we call the rich suburb schools, i want to go out and show those programs that we're just as good as them. and later, a life well lived. the man who served at the white house much longer than any president ever has and kept it beautiful through all those years. "flight of the bumblebee?" ♪

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night lights of texas where they take their football and their marching bands very seriously. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: to band parents and band members across the country, the sights and sounds are familiar. practice before and after school, relentless repetition. come halftime, no matter the school, no matter the score, school pride takes the field. the band at woodrow wilson high school in dallas is no exception. but it wasn't always this way. >> good job, guys. >> reporter: seven years ago chris evans was teaching music in a well to do suburban dallas high school. >> we happened to play this school, woodrow, in a football playoff. i kind of looked over and could tell that this was a program in need and it was very small and they were not making the highest

quality sounds. there was maybe 17, 15 kids total in the band. >> reporter: 15 in the band, a disaster, but not in his eyes. >> when we saw this band across the field i said, hey, i'm going to work there next year. >> reporter: he left the comfort of the suburbs for the challenge of a city school. band had instruments but few were even playable. >> i said, the first thing we need is to modernize our inventory. when i got here most of our instruments, our horns were better suited to make lamps out of. >> we're going to start with music rehearsal. >> reporter: he's the type of teacher students will talk about decades later. energy to burn and an insistence on excellence. >> up, all the way down. i feel kids want to be pushed. >> start strong. >> give them a realistic goal and once they get it they experience it and they want to go further. >> reporter: the kids at woodrow

wilson have gone all in. your band director does not mess around. >> yeah, he takes every seriously. i like it. what's worse than having a director that doesn't care at all. this one, he cares a lot. that's why we've been successful for the past few years. >> reporter: and for the school, a mix of low and middle income families, it shows how different notes joined together make beautiful harmony. bailey moore place merima. >> because our group is so diverse we get to have relationships with people we never would have because of this program. we all have one thing in common, which is the band program. >> check the length of your pant leg. >> reporter: in seven years the band has grown many times bigger and many times better earning superior scores in competition. >> competing with what we call the rich suburb schools, i want to go out and show those promise that we're just as good as them.

>> 16-0, let's give them the football song. >> the wildcat marching band that could 3w5ir8ly purr now roars. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: for "sunday today," harry smith, dallas. >> harry, thank you very much. this week we highlight another life well lived. presidents have come and gone through the white house over the years, but for a half century, one man always was there. irvin williams was the longest serving head gardner in the history of the white house. he was appointed in 1962 and served in that role until his retirement in 2008. in the 1950s williams worked as a park superintendent in washington and often worked landscape projects inside the gates of the white house. first lady jackie kennedy was so impressed she hired him to manage and improve the 18 acres of the presidential compound. at president kennedy's request

williams developed the rose garden which has served as a famous setting for presidents since. williams oversaw gerald ford's swimming pool, the tree house for president carter's daughter amy, george h.w. bush's horseshoe pit and he made sure the lawns and gardens were at their best for the annual easter egg roll. williams recalls the kennedy children riding their ponies throughout the white house gardens and adopted a dog given to the kennedys from irvin williams who kept the people's house beautiful for generations, died last week in reston, virginia. he was 92 years old. a monsoon to help someone change a tire, save a whale that had beached itself... you're gonna be ok big guy. push! lend a hand in an old-timey barn raising... you got it, jebediah!

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we close this morning with look at our sunday mail we take your questions from twitter and facebook and really good batch this week. >> they always are. first question from kat in southern california. what's your funniest thanksgiving memory? >> our evolved around pictionary. the word was ugly, my brother was pointing at my grandmother. >> pointing at your grandmother? >> she never got it right. >> that's awfully! >> for obvious reasons she didn't pick ugly. >> that doesn't make it better. there were pencils flying. these are vicious games. >> very intense games.

>> what about you? >> always an uncle herb story. we love him. a gravy boat one year and he said if everyone puts $20, he said he would chug the gravy boat and he did! there was another one but i can't tell you that one. >> next question is from angela in virginia. would you rather never eat your favorite food for the rest of your life or only eat your favorite food for the rest of your life? >> luckily, i have a lot of favorite foods. i had to get rid of one of them, the others would fill in the gap. i think you can have too much of a good thing. >> i am right there with you. i like chicken parm but couldn't have at the time rest of my life. >> jennifer from texas, which monopoly piece do you pick and have you ever finished a game of monopoly?

>> i can't watch someone else brush their teeth. that's gross!good sunday mornin!

it is november 18th. here is a live look outside -- good sunday morning to you. it is november 18th. here is a live look outside. smoke covering the bay bridge toll plaza, yet another day covered in smoke. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kira klapper. vianey arana has a look at our microclimate forecast, and you say there is some hope on the way. >> yes, it's going to come in the form of rain, but now, we're starting to see that ridge kind of ease off. that's keeping us dry and unfortunately smoggy, because it traps the air quality and traps all of those ugly and gross particles that we don't want to breathe in right at the surface level. now a trough is rolling in and you're going to notice this morning a marine layer.