But nothing else. This as Hurricane Joaquin rages in the atlantic with the island of bermuda in its crosshairs. Hillary the ham. Hillary clinton makes a surprise cameo appearance on saturday night live. Donald trump . Isnt he the one thats like, youre all losers . This morning, all the highlights from snls 41st season premiere. And small but mighty. Meet the brave French Bulldog who took on two curious bears roaming around his home. Despite his size and being outnumbered, score, bulldog, 1, bears, zero. Today, sunday, october 4th, 2015. From nbc news, this is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. That French Bulldog, its name, jewels. How about that . Hes got a pair of jewels. There you go. Shes 20 pounds. More on that dog in a moment. These are some troubling images from down south. This is harden street in columbia, South Carolina. For folks not familiar with the area, thats where a lot of the university of South Carolina students hang out. This is charleston right now though. Down in the low country. Historic, epic, lifethreatening in some cases, the flooding going on down there. They call some of these storms hundredyear storms. This is a 500year storm. You just dont see rain of this magnitude. That is our top story on this sunday morning. Another harrowing night in South Carolina as even more rain pounded the palmetto state. Its getting even worse today. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez is in charlestons Historic Downtown, which is under watter this morning. Gabe, good morning to you. Reporter good morning. This is what many people here in charleston are waking up to. Roads impassable, cars abandoned, and water rescues under way. This city got almost a quarter of its yearly average rainfall in just 24 hours. This morning parts of the southeast are under water, battling lifethreatening floods. In columbia, South Carolina, people waded through the raging waters hand in hand, fighting against the current as rescue crews rushed to help. Around charleston, hundreds of emergency calls. We got them out of the water. Reporter more than 11 inches of rain fell here saturday, the citys wettest day on record. Overnight, the torrential rains picked back up, flooding these neighborhoods again and inching closer to these homes. It was unbelievable. This street has not flooded since ive been here for 14 reporter the threeday rain total topped 13 inches, also a record. The president declaring a state of emergency in South Carolina. This morning was kind of mass chaos. Reporter from the carolinas to the northeast, storms are ripping down power lines, washing out roads, and destroying homes. I heard this loud boom. And it was loud. I knew it wasnt i knew it was a tree. Reporter in new jersey, this house broke apart and floated down the bay. Down the east coast, officials are urging residentings not to venture out. Recognize were dealing with some record rainfalls here. Lets take them seriously. Reporter a warning not everyone is heeding. The flowers were floating. Reporter but a historic downpour thats left Kathy Jefferson cleaning up today as she braces for even more rain. My house is totally full of water. The floors are all damaged. The furniture is all wet. Everything is gone. Reporter over the past few days, these torrential rains have been blamed for at least four deaths throughout the country. Here in charleston, this peninsula was cut off for much of the night. Many of the roads are starting to reopen. The big concern now is the rivers that are rising and could reach record flood stages by tomorrow. Back to you. Gabe gutierrez there in the low country in South Carolina. Stay safe, friends. Dylan, how much more rain can we expect . The rain is finally starting to let up in charleston. The fact s when you have river and creek flooding, it takes several weeks for the rivers to subside completely. So even when the rain shuts off, were still looking at that flooding threat. This has been the past 6 to 12 to 24 hours. The range is training over the same area. Look in through here. The rain is finally starting to lift to the north, although columbia is still dealing with this heavy rain. So far weve already picked up about 16 to up to 24 inches of rain in some areas. That is just record amounts of rainfall that this area has not seen in years. Weve got this area of low pressure and this moisture just being pumped in from the atlantic. Eventually, this area of low pressure will finally start to pull away so the rain will shift up into parts of North Carolina right along the coast through the day on monday, then tuesday the whole thing finally starts to exit. We do still have some flash flood warnings in effect because in this area right north of charleston, thats where we could see perhaps up to another 7 to 10 inches of rain. Again, the creeks are flooded, and theyre going to remain flooded until the waters get a chance to recede. All right. Thank you. Now to a development in the search for that missing cargo ship in the atlantic. Searchers say they have found a life ring but nothing else. But the family members of the 33 crew members on board, most of them american, are not giving up hope today. Nbcs Kristen Dahlgren is in florida with the latest on that. Good morning. Reporter hey, good morning, craig. That life ring was found about 75 miles from the ships last known position. Now, were told there may have been other life ringspotted in the water, but when they lowered a diver down into the water, conditions were so bad that they were only able to recover that one. So what does it all mean . Its too early to tell what it tells us about the fate of the ship. What the coast guard is saying, it tells them theyre searchinged in the right place. After hours spent scanning the vast and churning sea, a discovery in the water. Three life rings and one life jacket. Reporter its the first sign of the ship in three days. Our highest hopes are that the crew remained with the ship and theyre riding it out. Reporter so far search conditions have been rough. The winds were excess of 100 knots. Reporter deb roberts son mike holland is an engineer on board. The coast guard has just worked tirelessly and putting their own lives in their hands to try to find our loved ones. Reporter the massive cargo ship was last heard from near the bahamas on thursday as Hurricane Joaquin bore down. The ship had taken on water and was listing to the side, 33 men and women on board. Danielle randolph is the ships second mate. Hes strong. He better be strong because i just pray everything is okay. Reporter his daughter dez ree and wife rochelle dont allow themselves to think the worst. Oh, i know hes coming home. And im just waiting for the phone call. I dont know if i got to the fly to puerto rico or where i need to be, but im going to be right there. Reporter for those that know the crew, hope is still very much alive. Fight, fight, and fight some more because you know you can make it. Reporter Kenneth Benton worked on the ship just last week. He knows the crew, the training, and the equipment on board. Like neoprene survival suits once you put the suit on and expose yourself to the water, youre going to float. If youre unconscious, youre going to float upright. Reporter theyve now searched some 31,000 square miles, but this find really does narrow their focus, and they are back up there flying now, craig. Kristen dahlgren for us this morning. Thank you. Turning now to oregon, where tragedy is uniting a Community Devastated by the loss of nine People Killed in a mass shooting on a college campus. Nbcs jacob rast cone has more on how theyre coming together, and we learn more about the gunmans final moments. Hes outside the Community College this morning. Jacob, good morning. Reporter sheinelle, good morning. An investigator discovered yet another gun at the shooters home where he lives with his mother. This as the sheriff reveals how the shooter actually died. New information this morning about the gunman who killed nine people at that Community College in oregon. Authorities saying Christopher Harper mercer shot himself to death after a gun bat with police. Had no idea his son had acquired such an arsenal. If chris had not be able to get ahold of 13 guns t wouldnt have happened. Reporter in myrtle creek, oregon we also come to you with a heavy heart. Heavy because we have lost some precious souls. Reporter the modest congregation lost one of their own. Serena moore, a single mother, who never got to finish her business degree. I miss her. I miss her. Reporter for this family of believers, there is some comfort in how she died. The shooter reportedly asked some victims about their religion, including serena. She did stand up and say, im a christian, knowing that she would be shot. Im sorry. Reporter several of the wounded are still hospitalized, including army vet chris mintz, shot at least five times after confronting the gunman. Investigators now say 26yearold student chris mercer, who was armed with five handguns and a rifle, killed himself after the rampage. The community and nation searching for answers and peace. For the First Time Since the shooting, the road leading to umpqua Community College has been reopened, students allowed to retrieve their cars from the parking lot. Classes wont start until a week from monday. Sheinelle . Jacob, thank you. To politics now, where speculation is mounting about whether Vice President joe biden will enter the race. The pressure is also growing because the first democratic debate is just nine days away. Nbcs Kristen Welker is at the white house with with the latest. Reporter craig, good morning to you. Biden supporters say while it is getting late, the Vice President technically has until the end of the month to make a final decision. Multiple sources are telling me he is still undecided. All this as he and secretary clinton shared a forum together sad at the human rights campaign. The dual appearances only fueling the buzz about a possible biden run. Hillary clinton and Vice President joe biden spoke at different times saturday but on the same stage in d. C. A potential preview of what could become reality. Im running for president to stand up for the fundamental rights of lgbt americans and all americans. Reporter still undeclared, biden shrugged at the suggestion of a run. No, didnt say that. Reporter but he sure sounded like a candidate, taking on the gop. The American People are already with you. Look at the numbers. Theres homophobes still left. Most of them are running for president , i think. Reporter and vowing to fight for stiffer gun laws after the oregon massacre. I will continue to speak until it is passed. Reporter but is bidens moment passing . Clunn to is courting super delegates and has raised more than 75 million. Still, sources close to the Vice President say his team is ready to deploy a plan the moment he says go. He seems to be comfortable delaying a decision. First we thought he was going to decide by the end of the summer. Now it looks like well get perhaps to the end of october before we know or even later. Reporter biden acknowledges hes still undecided, grappling with the loss of his son beau. You have no right as an individual to decide to run. Your whole family is implicated. Reporter for her part, Hillary Clinton has been rebounding from the email controversy. Part of her strategy, showing voters her lighter side. Hey, bartender, keep them coming. Reporter on display saturday when she appeared on snl. All anyone wants to talk about is donald trump. Donald trump . Isnt he the one thats like, uh, youre all losers . Reporter of course, that was snls premiere. Biden supporters also note key states like New Hampshire, texas, and florida have filing deadlines that start in november and december. Craig . All right. Kristen welker, thank you. More highlights from snl coming up. In a minute. First, lets bring in chuck todd. Good morning. Good morning. Busy show. Very true. Lets get your take on this whole biden issue. Time is running out. Is he going to be in or out . I think if hes in, well know in the next week. I think the longer he waits, the more likely it is that hes not going to run. When you look at it, the only way to put together a campaign that can win is to do it in the next week or two. I dont think he can really delay much longer. You sat down with republican front runner donald trump in an interview that will air today on meet the press. He talked about what he would do if his support starts to fall apart. Lets take a listen. Number one, im not a mass consist. If i was dropping in the polls where i saw i wasnt going to win, why would i continue . Its funny. Maybe its not like me because its the power of positive thinking, but the truth is, im a realist. So far hes still going strong. What are your thoughts . Is his campaign built for the long haul . Well see. I think thats only a question he can answer. But i thought it was fascinating. He basically said when he stops leading in the polls. If he starts falling and he thinks he cant win, thats when he pulls the plug on this thing. It was a fascinating tell. He even said, because im falling in the polls, you guys will stop calling me. It was just a you know, sometimes interviews can be revealing in ways you dont expect. I have to say, it was that part was revealing in a way i didnt expect him to say. Really quickly, lets talk about a challenging week for jeb bush. He was slammed for some comments he made in the wake of that Community College shooting. Lets take a look at these poll numbers quickly. They show him dropping to just 4 among possible republican voters. Can he pull out of this . Whats your take . Hes pouring a bunch of money into iowa and New Hampshire right now. I think the fairest way to assess whether jeb bush can pull out of this or not is to see where hes at on november 1st. Advertising on the air, were going to have new iowa New Hampshire polls coming out on the show. I think in one of them, youll see some evidence that early money hes spending in New Hampshire is starting to pay off. Can he sustain it . Thats what well find out. Never a shortage of news to discuss. Thank you. Well look for more of your conversation with donald trump coming up on meet the press. We hope youll join us tomorrow when we sit down for a oneonone interview with Hillary Clinton. Thats live from New Hampshire tomorrow on today. If you want to ask secretary clinton a question, you can post it on facebook, twitter, and instagram using hillarytoday. Other news this morning, a highprofile firing at the vatican as the worlds bishops gather there. Frances is here with more on that. Good morning. Pope francis started off the meeting of bishops this morning strongly asserting marriage is a bond between a man and woman. His comments came during mass at after the vatican fired a priest that game out as gay. Police in california say they have arrested four teens in an alleged plot to shoot students and teachers at their high school. On saturday, police told parents about the plan, which included names of targets, how they would be killed, and where. The school was apparently tipped off by students earlier this week. At least 25 people were hurt when a ryder truck slammed into a North CarolinaHigh School Saturday causing its roof to partially collapse. Many of the victims were believed to be students on site for s. A. T. Testing and band competition. At least one person is dead after an apparent gas explosion in new york. Firefighters say when they arrived on scene saturday, the entire front of the Apartment Building had been blown into the street. Three bystanders were also hurt. And a tragic story out of southern california, where a young skateboarder was struck and killed by a hitandrun driver. When trauma nurses tried to was horrified to discover it was her brother. I recognized the wallet as she opened it up and it was my brothers face right there. Just heart wrenching to hear that. Witnesses say the victim had the walk sign while crossing the street. The suspected driver was arrested. And finally now, taking a turn here. Two bears found themselves barking up the wrong tree in california. This is what were talking about. This incredible home video of that tiny French Bulldog taking on the bears on his owners property. The 20pound dog names jewels charged down the porch steps, con fronting one bear. Ten he goes after another bear. Those bears weigh about 100 pounds. Just chased them right off. They jumped the fence. In this case, jewels wins. Hes like, bring it. Shes 20 pounds . I feel like we should get together and write a childrens book. I feel like theres some kind of theme in that, right . Dylan is back with another look at where joaquin is right now. Joaquin is actually approaching bermuda, believe it or not, as a category 3 hurricane. It is going to stay just to the west. Keep in mind that northeastern side of a hurricane is very strong. Its windy. We are looking at the potential for some gusty winds and obviously the rough surf in that area. Then the storm races off out to sea. Elsewhere across the country, the rain continues across north and South Carolina. Still looking at an additional 8 inches of rain in that area. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Heres a peek out your window. Good morning, everyone. Another windy, cool day out there on this sunday. Lots of clouds, especially along the coast. Also watching out for close oastal flooding later today. High temperature of 61 degrees. You still need the jackets out there, especially with that wind gusting throughout the afternoon. Overnight tonight, some clearing, down to 52. Still breezy. Not quite as windy. Take a look at the sevenday forecast. Tomorrow looking a little better. Still breezy with a high of 64 degrees. The good stuff, tuesday and wednesday. Sunshine, back to the 70s. Thats your latest forecast. Dylan, thank you. Up next on today, hilarious. Snl seeing double digits on the season premiere. We have the wrap after this. How do you stay on top of your health . Ahh. Ahh. Ahh. Cigna customers have plan choices and tools to take control. So theyre more engaged, with fewer high health risks and lower medical costs. Take control of your health at cigna dot comr slash take control. Welcome back. Welcome back. You can feel the excitement around here. Saturday night live is back for its 41st season. Miley cyrus was there last night. Then was Hillary Clinton serving up laughs and drinks. Frances has more on that. Tv programming is complete with the return of snl. Miley was host and musical guest. All eyes are on hik, llary clinton, who played a bartender to Kate Mckinnons version of her. Hi, im Hillary Rodham clinton. Great name. Im val. Do you think hell win the primaries . He must. I want to be the one to take him down. I will destroy him, and i will mount his hair in the oval office. Well, thats kind of a lot. Maybe you should take a vacation. A vacation . A vacation. What did you say . A vacation did somebody say vacation . All right. But not to be outdone, they also took on donald trump. All of this stuff has been blown out of proportion. People say he was not nice to her, but he was worried. He say shes bleeding everywhere. I was actually afraid she was going to die, honestly. I love measuring gyn kelly. Shes talented and beautiful, but shes always on her period. 13 more months before the election. A lot more material. Looking forward to that. Thank you. Right back after this. Theres something in me. Crisp garden vegetable. Fresh local milk, real cream. And no artificial flavors. Now you know why nothing else tastes like philadelphia garden vegetable. Rich, creamy, and delicious. Now with even more crisp vegetables. Only philadelphia. Still to still to coming back live toe South Carolina, where 8 inches of rain in the forecast for an area already under water. Dramatic rescues and more trouble on the way with rainfall not seen in centuries. Also ahead, a Young American daredevil killed while participating in one of the most dangerous extreme sports. Why Wing Suit Base jumping is growing in popularity despite the deadly consequences. Thats after these messages. Popularity despite the deadly consequences. Thats after these messages. S cost a ridiculous number of miles. Or theres a fee to use them. I know. Its so frustrating. Theyd be a lot happier with the capital one venture card. And you would, too why . Its so easy with venture. You earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, every day. Just book any flight you want then use your miles to cover the cost. Now, thats more like it. Whats in your wallet . Looking for a delicious dinner idea . Make tonight white chicken chili night start with bushs white chili beans, simmered in our flavorful chili sauce. Then add rotisserie chicken. Punch it up with a little heat. And a few ingredients from your pantry. Its easy to make the perfect pot of chili every time. Make your chili better with bushs great chili recipes, good morning. Its 9 26. 53 degrees this sunday morning, october 4th. A live look at the brooklyn bridge. A gas explosion has killed a woman and leveled a threestory Apartment Building in brooklyn. Three people also injured in that blast, believed to be caused by a disconnected stove. News 4s Sheldon Dutes has the story from borough park. Reporter firefighters stayed out here through the night keeping an eye on the explosion site, which is just about a block away from where im standing. Today more inspectors are expected to come back to the scene. Theyre focusing their efforts on some of the wreckage and debris you see here on 13th avenue. Flames and thick plumes of smoke filled this stretch of 13th avenue shortly after the deadly explosion. That blast happened just after 1 00 p. M. Yesterday afternoon, killing a woman who was inside the building. Officials are looking into the possibility that it may have been caused by den nants who disconnected their stove. Of course, to take a stove with you, it entails disconnecting the gas line, which leads us preliminarily to look in that direction for the cause of this explosion. Reporter a father and his 10yearold son who were walking here along 13th avenue were hurt by some of the falling debris. And a 27yearold man was also injured. All of them, however, are expected to survive. In borough park, Sheldon Dutes, today in new york. All right. Lets check the weather now. Mostly cloudy and breezy with a shower still possible along the coast. A high of 61. Overnight, breezy and cool, low of 52. Monday, partly cloudy, mild we are a light breeze. Well see a high in the 60s. Tuesday, mostly sunny and nice. Goes up a little bit. We go into a stretch of the 70s there. Be aware of a chance of flooding along the coast today. 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Dont wait. Call now. We are back on a we are back on a sunday morning, october 4th, 2015, with a look at Historic Downtown charleston right now where the rains have been absolutely relentless. The flooding there horrific. Life threatening, were told. Streets impassable, cars abandoned. No break in sight either. I talked to the mayor of columbia a short time ago. He said its the worst hes ever seen it. We want to go to Gabe Gutierrez live in charleston. Reporter weve gotten just a bit of a break in the rain, but this city got a historic amount of rainfall. Nearly a quarter of its average yearly rainfall in just 24 hours. This morning many roads are impassable. Cars are abandoned. Water rescues are under way. We saw many water rescues as well in columbia, South Carolina. That is where several people were caught in the raging currents. They had to hold hands as rescue crews rushed in. Here in charleston, saturday was the wettest day on record. There were hundreds of emergency calls overnight. At least 37 water rescues. This weather system has pounded much of the east coast over the last few days, killing at least four people. Here in charleston much of the ninsula was cut off overnight. The concern now, however, is that rivers throughout the state are rising at this point. They could reach record flood stages by tomorrow. Guys, back to you. Gabe gutierrez there in the low country. Just amazing to see those pictures. Tough to see. Now to the tragic death of a Young American adventurer. Johnny strange killed while attempting a jump in the swiss alps, has become the latest casualty in whats known as one of the most dangerous extreme sports. Frances has more on that. The recordholding daredevil was only 23 years old. He was doing what he loved, base jumping. But this morning, many are asking if the thrill of the sport is worth the deadly risk. Johnny strange found fame at age 17 when he became the youngest person to climb the socalled seven summits, the highest peak on each continent. The california native was known for his risky stunts. Wing suit base jumping just one of them. But something went horribly wrong in the swiss alps thursday. Police say strange crashed just a few seconds after taking off the mountain around noon. Strange posted his final youtube video, showing him soaring high above the swiss ountry side in his wing suit. Strange is the latest jumper to die while wing suiting. Last may, rock climber dean potter and another climber were killed while jumping in Yosemite National park. Strange paid tribute to potter in this instagram post, writing, thanks for your wing suit advice. Im sorry to hear you died flying. See you on the other side. Mark sutton was perhaps the most famous base jumper in recent years. He doubled for james bond Actor Daniel Craig during the Opening Ceremony of the london olympics, but his life was also cut short loa year later after he crashed in the alps. At least 200 base jumpers have been killed between 1981 and 2012. 50 of them died while wearing wing suits. Despite the risks, wing suit jumping is growing in popularity, thanks in part to videos shot with gopros. The scenarios in which there are deaths most of the time can be prevented. We end up finding afterwards why those happened. Of the gear itself or because of or decisions those people made. Sky diving experts are quick to point out that wing suitr vingwfrom a plane is very different from base jumping. You have to distinguish between the two different activities. One is an air sport. One is a dangerous activity, to fly a wing suit down a mountain. A dangerous activity with yet another fatal outcome. This sport has gotten so popular, theres even a competition going on this weekend in illinois. The first ever wing suit flying national championship. No doubt Johnny Strange will be weeaighing heavily in their hearts thpeere. Thats for sure. Frances, thank you. Dylan dreier is back. When are our friends down south going to get some relief . South carolina will get some relief tomorrow. Then North Carolina will get some relief on tuesday. But in the mean me, we have flash flood warnings in effect with another 6 to 8 inches, possibly even up to 12 inches in some areas with the next round of rain thats moving through. Weve already picked up almost a foot and a half of rain in some areas. Its incredible what is going on down there. Now you wait for the streams and the rivers to start to subside, which could take weeks. Thats a slow, slow process in the low country down there. That area of low pressure will finally start to pull away as we go into tuesday. Out in the southwest, weve got some moisture moving in. Its even raining in l. A. Today. And it is chilly across the northeast. Temperatures today will top out in the upper 60s in parts of the midatlantic. Then upper 50s tomorrow in the northeast. This is good because weve got gloves on the plaza for the first time. This is my first set of gloves. And youre from michigan. Yes. You think youd be more used to the chilly ma temperatures. Yes, but i still like to take precautions. I like that. My hands are freezing cold. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Now heres a peek out your window. Good morning,deveryone. Another windy, cool day out there on this sunday. Lots of clouds, especially along the coast. Also watching out for coastal ooding later today. As you head inland, sunshine by the end of the day. High temperature of 61 degrees. You still need the jackets out there, especially with that wind gusting throughout the afternoon. Ernight tonight,ome clearing down to 52. Still breezy, not quite as windy. Tomorrow looking a little better. Still breezy with a high of 64 degrees. The good stuff, tuesday and wednesday. Sunshine and back to the 70s. And thats your latest forecast. All right, dylan. Thank you. Up next, some great sunday stories this morning. The man behind the martian lls erica how he turned a hobby into into a hollywood block buster. And helping Breast Cancer survivors reel in recovery. Ayd how avid readers are turning back a few pages in time is your head so congested its ready to explode . You may be muddling through allergies. Try zyrtec d to powerfully clear your blocked nose and re ieve your other allergy symptoms. So, you can breathe easier all day. Zyrtec d. At the pharmacy counter. You see this look on my face . Sfx growling thats not anger, thats hunger. So im gonna have a snack to make me feel better and once i do you will see a look of satisfaction and contentment blossom ac ss my faee. See, now i feel better. Make your tummy happy mmm the citi d ble cash card cofes in very handy with cash back twice on purchases. Earn once when you buy, and again as you pay. Thats cash back now, and cash back again later. Its cash back d\j vu. The citi double cash card. The only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1 when you buy and 1 as you pay. P with two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards heres a little healthy advice. Eat well, live well, anged take of whfo makes you, you. Right down to your skin with aveeno avee daily moisturizing lotion with the goodness of active naturals oat and 5 vital nutrients for healthier looking skin in just one day. Healthy skin equals beautiful skin. And for shower softness, add the body wash, too aveeno natural beautiful results its the final countdown the final countdown if i youre the band europe, you love a final countdown. s what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or mor on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Were back on a sunday morning with a story behind the story of one of this weeks biggest films. Its the martian. It tells the tale of an astronaut who gets straned on mars. Am the story behind that advent onure is almost like a hollywood film in itself. Andy weir wrote the martian as a hobby. Convinced hed never make it as a writer. As he tells erica, the universe had other plans. Reporter for the man who created the martian,s film success is the latest ind ri s of events he never expected. Im like, am i in a coma and im just dreaming all this . Reporter andy weirs tale of an astronaut stranded on mars scored t geek a fourday vip visit at nnasa. They let me go into the Mission Control center. Id sit a the a station and Remote Control a camera mounted to the outside of iss. Reporter and has hern earned him some praise from wellknown fans. Commander chris hatfield, former iss commander. He liked it a lot. Buzz al dren and i have hung out many times. Hes taken a liking to me. Reporter yet, the biggest thrill for this commuter programmer came long before buzz or hollywood called. Probably the biggest kind of eling of victory i had was just getting the book published initially. All my life ive wanted be a writer. You say you always wanted to be a writer, but you werent ireally sure that you had the right stuff. Oh, right. All evidence indicated that i didnt. Id given up on ever being a prtrofessional writer because i failed too many times. So i just said, this is going to be my hobby. Reporter weir began penning the martian as a serial, posting the story one chapter at a free time on his blog. Quickly developed a loyal following, who happily offered feedback. They would tell me whenever i had math errors ors rrors in chemistry or biology. Was like having 3,000 fact checkers. Reporter readers asked weir for a downloadable version. He posted it on amazon for the lowest possible price. I pulled down a cool 30 cents per copy. Reporter it quickly took off. Topping the bestseller list, the story that had taken three years to write suddenly changedy weirs life in a matter of days. Er when they were negotiating the book deal, then fox came for the movieorights. Those two deals were agreed to four days apart. Reporter when you saw what ridley scott put together as his vimbsion, did it match what you in trywially had in your mind when you were writing it . Mostly. Ityos a very faithful adap frtion. Reporter did you have any hand in the screen play . Mostly my job on the film was to cash the check. I feel like i did it well. Reporter weirs main character, mark watney, shares the authors sense of humor in. I got to figure out a way to grow three years worth of food here. Luckily, im a botanist. Mars will come to fear my botany powers. Reporter as any of this changed the way you look at potatoes potatoes . No t im a big fan of potatoes. Reporter just dont expect him to follow watney into space. Would you ever go to mars . No. Hell no. Reporter why not . I write about brave people. Im not one of them. Reporter for a man who has nog desire to leave karths orbit. Weirs knowledge of what happened in space has impressed many, including fors. R edastronaut, dr. John grunsfeld. The book really nails the integrity of the astronauts creativity and improvisation. Reporter weir hopes his ory will inspire other authors to reach for the stars. If you cant break into the indust th, then selfpublish. Youve got nothing to lose. Im still alive. Surprise. Reporter erica hill, nbc news, san francisco. Erica tells us andys first big purchase, by the way, fter signing his book deal, was as piece of a meteorite from mars. If youd like to read some, we have an excerpt on today. Com. Now to dylan and the plaza fans of the day. Im joining by adele and kathy. Youre from jacksonville, florida. Eyre on a mother daughter trip, which i love but its not just you guys. Theres a group of you. There is. Theyre all sleeping in the hotel room. Ranging from 80s to 4. I guess it makes sense theyre ill leep. But youre missing out. Still totcome on today, living life on the fly after battling Breast Cancer. The retreat helping survivors recover after these messages. In im messing up every dish, pot, and plate. To show my love. For a little bit of dawn ultra. Now even more concentrated. Ju ist one bottle has the grease cleaning power of two bottles of this other liquid. You still got it, romeo. A drop of dawn an pd grease is gone. queens youre my best friend plays ooh. You make me live, whatever this world. At petsmart, we know that pet adoption changes lives. Thats why Petsmart Charities helps save more than a thousand homeless pets every day join us no mattnrtwhere you adopt, come to petsmart for a free adoption kit with over 400 in coupons. I really love you its our gift to you for providing the greatest gift of all. For some great food, fun, and entertainment, come on down to Grand Central this weekend to find out what macao has to offer. There are over 22 World Heritage sites. This year marks the tenth anniversary of this honor. Its onehour ferry ride from hong kong. We have a lot of connecting flights as well. People can enter for a chance to were back with pink power today in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month. This morning we head out west ere some women are learning a nelyw skill, fly fishing. Halle jackson explains how catching a fish and letting it go is helping these women heal. Reporter its not always easy to catch trout i wyr ing. Theyre like, are you kidding me . Really . Cgood luck, lady. Reporter but the challenge keeps Kristen Kelly focused on the fish and only the fish. Actually, i havent thought about cancer all that much. Reporter she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer a year ago and had a radical mastectomy at just 42, spending months in intense chemo. It was a very lonely process. I felt like no one understood what was going through. Reporter but the women at this fly fishing retreat do understand. I never thought id go to cancer camp. Here you are. Here i am. Reporter theyve all survived Breast Cancer, like tonya hansen a lawyer. For me, it was very much like ive got a monster inside of me, get it out of me. And dont tell anybody that im sick. I was afraid it would affect my business. My illness with anybody. But coming here, i can. Reporter allowing women to share their stories is part of the mission for casting for recovery, the nonprofit that sponsors these retreats. The motion of fly fishing helps exercise muscles that may be weaker after treatment. But this unconventional support group offers much more than physical therapy. Most importantly, the opportunity to be here for the weekend and connect with other women who know exactly how you feel and what youve been through. Its an amazing thing. G reporter with practice, each day on the water gets a little easier. Look at that. Reporter but for some, the hardest part isnt catching the fish, its the release. You catch it and you let it go. Its just hard to let go. Talking about cancer and and exhausting and it wipes you icout. Catching a fish, and even not catching a fish, just being able to hit your mark is exhilarating. Its life. This is life. Iypm doing more of it. Reporter for today, halle jackson, nbc news. Beautiful. Theres something so healing about nature and just being outside and letting Everything Else go. N makes sense, doesnt it . To clear your mind and find that peace, wherever it mayile. A pond with fish or elsewhere. Strength in numbers obviously too. Good to see those women coming together for healing and recovery. Just ahead, harry smith is here. Hes going to take us on the groad where the wheels and the pages are still a turning. Thats right after these messages. When is your flu shot more than a flu shot . 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If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. This this morning on sundays with harry, america is a big, complicated, diverse place, as we all know. There are a lot of people doing a lot of different but interesting things. Part of harry smiths job is to stop in and see what youre up to. Good morning, everyone. I am forever wondering, what must that be like, or who does that . Fortunately, there are people here at nbc who wonder the same thing. And they tell me, why dont you go find out . Whats blue and yellow and red all over . You give . Its a book mobile. In an age when it seems everyone on the planet is connected to the internet, one would think book mobiles would long ago have been sent down the exit ramp of obsolescence. Thank you very much. Not so, say the folks who live in and around idaho. There are no libraries in this end of the county. So the book mobile is our library. Reporter ed and linda joy have been patrons for 35 years. My wife and i have gotten very addicted to Agatha Christie murder mysteries. Best sellers to dvds, if you ask for it, chances are the book mobile will come up with it. I have the dates on the calendar. Each month its like christmas to me. Theres always something new and interesting. If i reserve something, i know shell have it for me. Wow. Its nderful. I just love it. I wouldnt miss it for anything. Its better than going to church. Debbi johnson is library and chauffeur to the 3,000 books and other items on board. Growing up in rural idaho, she remembers loving the day the book mobile came to town. When i was little and on the book mobile hold it. Youre from idaho. Yeah. Where did you grow up . Culdesac, idaho. Thats really the name of a town . Its a dead end too. Pretty much. Thats amazing. But yeah, we had no library. So the book mobile from liston, which is about 21 miles away, would bring up the book mobile. Now shes behind the wheel. People still happy to see the book mobile . Oh, yeah. They are. Especially people that cant get out and drive. And there are the people that have their kindles and read books too. But theres some people that will never not have a book in their hand. For the home schooled foodie family who live up the road, the book mobile puts the world in reach. I just watched your kids as they came in here. Their eyes are wide. Theyre excited about whats inside. Its pretty cool to see. Debbie is awesome. They come in here with their lists of things theyre interested in, and she always manages to find them lots of books. Requests limited only by your i was curious about, well, whats so great about snorkeling . Really, its quite enthralling. Books from a bus. Why not . We get food from trucks. And whats in here is that much more nourishing. Amen. How great is that . Isnt everybody connected . Why would anybody in the world need Something Like that, right . And the patience to wait for Something Like that to come to your town. Theres so many lessons inherent in this vehicle. And the other thing thats interesting, some of these people live sort of way out on the end of the road. They dont see their neighbors except when they go to the book mobile every other week. I say, you guys need a coffee pot in the back here. It would be good if they took that to scale. It would be nice to see more of those over the country. Whats interesting also is this book mobile, for instance, stops in town too. There are neighborhoods in town where it stops, especially where there are collections of older folks. Those people come on. Listen, the book mobile, people so fantastic. You hit a pothole anywhere in a big city, those books come down. I did ask about that. Apparently a curb or two is gone over. Books go this way and that way. My favorite part of that story. Its better than church. Just like this. Thank you, harry. Now a reminder to tune into meet the press this morning for chucks one on one with donald trump. Thats going to do it for us this sunday morning. Have a fantastic sundays