people that we are so much more than just a body part. we can either lay down and let our circumstance overtake us, or we can stand up and take charge. >> to see mona and a team of amputees take charge and take on the world, go to cnn heroes.com. that's if for us tonight. thanks for watching. new orleans and the rest of the u.s. gulf coast prepare for hurricane nate. we'll have the latest on the storm's track for you. president trump's cryptic comments remain a mystery, with white house officials refusing or unable to say what the president meant when he said "it is the calm before the storm." plus, more chilling details emerge about the las vegas massacre. police say the gunman's car was loaded with explosives. but they still don't have a clue to his motive. these stories are all ahead here in the next two hours. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm natalie allen, live in

atlanta, and this is cnn newsroom. ♪ ♪ the u.s. gulf coast, already weary of deadly storms this season, is bracing for hurricane nate. the category 1 storm is expected to make landfall early sunday and the state of louisiana is preparing for a direct hit. or ed lavendera is in new orleans for us. >> reporter: the governors of the gulf states of florida, alabama, mississippi, and here in louisiana, have declared states of emergency in the anticipation of hurricane nate making landfall here in this region this weekend. hurricane warnings have gone out from new orleans, all the way to the florida panhandle as well. emergency officials urging people to take the precautions they need to, to prepare for this storm. it's expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane, winds approaching 80 miles an hour.

but it's also the amount of rainfall that's expected and the storm surge that will come with this storm as it makes landfall. the good news is, it appears to be moving at a really quick pace, so that will really help out the flooding situation in many of these low-lying communities here along the gulf coast. the mayor of new orleans has already instituted a curfew that goes into effect at 6:00 p.m. saturday night through sunday morning. that is when the worst of this storm is expected to make landfall here. somewhere along the gulf coast. either louisiana, mississippi, alabama, or western florida. so all of those areas under a great deal of concern here this weekend as hurricane nate approaches. but as we walked around here in neen new orleans and louisiana, not a great deal of concern, you get a sense, from many folks here in the french quarter of new orleans, people walking around, cocktails in hand, as the storm is a little more than 24 hours away. and in other parts of the city.

this is a city very prone to flooding and always a major concern here, doesn't seem to be a lot of anxiety about what exactly this storm is bringing. that is obviously -- sometimes causes a lot of concern for emergency management officials. they're urging people to quickly take the precautions that they need to, in anticipation of this storm arriving. ed lavendera, cnn, new orleans, louisiana. so that's what possibly could be ahead. let's look at what's happened. central america is grappling with the destruction that then tropical storm nate left behind. at least 24 people were killed in nicaragua, costa rica, and honduras. and several people are reportedly missing. heavy rains and flash floods knocked out power and drinking water throughout the region and hundreds of people were rescued from rushing floodwaters. we're watching the hurricane's path. ivan cabrera joins us from the cnn weather center. it's been a deadly storm. you just heard ed saying people in louisiana aren't that keyed up about it.

should they be? >> they absolutely should be. good to see you. not only because we have a hurricane on the way, but we have a hurricane that over the last 12 hours, has continued to intensify here. i got in, it was a tropical storm. we've just continued with each advisory, getting these winds up. we're now at 80 miles an hour, 80-mile-an-hour hurricane that continues through warm waters and low wind shear, factors that will contribute to additional strengthening as it moves north. look at the movement speed here, upwards of 25 miles an hour. that is unusually fast for a tropical cyclone. that's going to do a couple of things in our favor. it won't be in the gulf, very warm gulf waters for that long. so the strengthening should be limited because of that. and also the flooding won't be as big of a deal as far as the rainfall that it puts out, because it's moving. the problem is, this may catch some folks offguard because it's moving so quickly, you only have a few hours before this things gets in, before the dangerous tropical storm winds come in and then the hurricane winds come in

late saturday evening and into sunday. forecast 85-mile-an-hour winds. if i'm you and watching from the gulf coast, plan for a category 1 to 2 hurricane making landfall saturday night and into the early hours of sunday morning. i say that because there's the potential for additional strengthening, additional than what we're seeing in the official forecast. and then it becomes a big rain-maker as we've been talking about for the rest of the southeast coast. this is one particular thing that is going in its favor here, very warm ocean water. not just right at the sea surface, where we have temperatures in the 80s, but that is deep as well. that's going to use that energy to continue to intensify as it heads up to the north and east. there are the hurricane warnings. if you are in the red, hurricane conditions imminent as we talked about the next 12 to 24 hours. by the time you and i are talking this time tomorrow, this will be inland already with significant wind, storm surge

and also the potential for flooding rains as well. what i'll do in the next half hour, break it down city by city and let you know what to expect as far as how much rainfall, storm surge and the arrival of the dangerous winds. >> another storm that's come up quickly and people are having to scramble. welcome back, good to have you with us. >> absolutely. in the u.s. state of nevada, people are paying tribute to the victims of the las vegas shooting. mourners placing flowers and cards to honor the dead. 58 people dead, killed when that gunman opened fire from his hotel room sunday, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern u.s. history. the tragedy has raised a number of questions, including why. why did he do it? here's cnn's brian todd with more. [ rapid gunfire ].

>> reporter: as stephen paddock was raining gunfire down onto the crowd at the route 91 harvest festival, his chrysler touring was parked nearby, filled with explosives. a law enforcement source tells cnn's kyung lah and scott glover that the 64-year-old had filled his car with 50 pounds of tannerite and rigged it to explode if shot, an explosion that could have been deadly as these tests of exploding target compounds show. >> it's composed of two substances. we had two chemicals of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder that when combined make the finished product of tannerite. i don't know what he was going to do with all of that tannerite. >> reporter: while it's not clear if paddock rigged the car as a diversion or a final trap for police, there's new information about the precision with which he planned to kill. cnn has learned from a law enforcement official that paddock tried to buy tracer ammunition at a phoenix gun show

in recent weeks. but the official says for some reason, paddock could not obtain those bullets which light up in the dark. >> if he could have gotten tracer ammunition, what would have been different with the attack? >> the first thing tracer ammunition does for a shooter, it allows them to get onto target in low-light conditions, much more quickly than they might otherwise. so in his particular case, he would have been able to see pretty much where the strike of his bullets were landing within the crowd. >> reporter: former las vegas s.w.a.t. team member chris petco says tracer bullets could have made the casualty count worse. a law enforcement official said with the ammunition he did use, while shooting in dark ps, paddock was probably spraying bullets and couldn't see the people he was hitting. experts say investigators may be focusing on pad padock's chilli attention to detail leading up to the massacre. he brought 23 guns to his room in suitcases, undetected, carefully assembled them and

stacked his clips of ammo neatly against a column. >> he had many layers of redundancy built up and you can view simply the number of weapons that he had available to him, really to underscore the intent that he had to inflict the maximum amount of damage. >> paddock took the time to barricade the stairwell door next to his room, rigged cameras to a service card near the entrance to his suite and to a peephole in the door. >> he was planning a preparation. because at some point, he had to know they were going to come for him. that way he'd be able to address that threat. >> reporter: officials tell cnn, there was a note in his hotel suite. seen here in this photograph, leaked to "the daily mail." not a suicide note, but a sheet containing numbers, now being analyzed. authorities are looking into what might have changed last october when he began buying many weapons, but his motive remains unclear, as does his mental state. >> i think the girlfriend is the key part here, to provide information on what his mental state was.

hopefully, through the electronics and through the girlfriend, they're going to find out exactly what that is, or what his motive was. >> reporter: a key question remains. were there any accomplices in las vegas with stephen paddock? they continue to investigate whether anyone might have known about this attack before it occurred, that they're examining voluminous amounts of videotape, including some from the mandalay bay hotel and that so far, they have not located anyone else who they believe might be a suspect. brian todd, cnn, las vegas. the explosive found in the shooter's car can be purchased legally in the united states. cnn's wolf blitzer spoke earlier with a top las vegas police official and asked him what the gunman was planning with it. >> he purchased legally that tannerite. i believe he also had those two precursor chemicals as we discussed earlier, the ammonium nig nitrate and the chloride. it's a binary explosive, tannerite is, you take the two

chemicals, mix them together and you have tannerite. >> what was he doing with that tannerite? >> let me be clear, i don't know what he was doing with it. but to be clear, we found no evidence that his vehicle was -- or that material in his vehicle had intended to be used as an ied within that vehicle. the answer to your question as well, i don't know what he was going to do with it. it's one of the mysteries of this actually talk, one thing that my investigators, as well as the fbi continue to try to figure out. and that is one of the main focuses of our investigation today. >> yeah, the question is, why somebody that made millions and millions as a gambler, that was his career, suddenly decide to become a mass murderer. something they still don't know. again, that was undersheriff kevin mcmayhill, speaking with wolf blitzer. other news, the white house is shedding no light at a bizarre remark by the u.s.

president. donald trump suggested the gathering of senior leaders was, quote, the calm before the storm. he offered no further explanation. meanwhile, rex tillerson's job as u.s. secretary of state appears to hang in the balance. after it was reported he called the president a moron. cnn's jim acosta has the latest. >> president trump warns there's a storm brewing. but the white house won't say what the storm is, or when it will hit. >> i know the president has, as i have from this podium on quite a few occasions, we're never going to say in advance what the president's going to do. and as he said last night, in addition to those comments, you'll have to wait and see. >> reporter: the white house refused to complain comments the president made next to military commanders and their family members thursday night, a photo-op that was hastily scheduled after reporters were told there would be no more public events for the day. >> could be the calm before the

storm. >> what storm, mr. president? >> we have the world's greatest military people, i can tell you that. and thank you all for coming. thank you. >> what storm, mr. president? >> you'll find out. >> reporter: asked again what he meant, the president winked. >> you'll find out. >> but press secretary sarah sanders hinted mr. trump may be adopting what's known in foreign policy circles as the mad man theory, a strategy aimed at throwing off adversaries with cryptic language. >> what is your sense of that? is there anything to that? >> i think the president's addressed this himself. he certainly doesn't want to lay out his game plan for our enemies. so if you're asking, is the president trying to do that, absolutely. >> reporter: this is hardly the first time the presidents theatrics have unsettled

washington. like his rhetoric aimed at north korea. >> they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. >> reporter: but even members of the president's own party argue the white house needs less chaos, not more. >> i think secretary tillerson, secretary mattis, and chief of staff kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos. >> reporter: the white house response to that? >> the president is the one that's keeping the world from chaos. >> reporter: right now the white house appears to be seeking stability at the state department where secretary of state rex tillerson seems to have the confidence of the president, at least for now. despite the fact that administration officials see tillerson on his way out, after he called the president a moron. >> nothing has changed, despite what you may read in the media or watch on tv. i would certainly trust the president and my comments far above those of other reporters.

but with president trump, a good rule is expect the unexpected. whether it's throwing paper towels to people in puerto rico, or how he pronounces puerto rico. >> we are also praying for the people of puerto rico. we love puerto rico. puerto rico. >> reporter: the white house was asked at the friday briefing whether we should expect any cabinet departures as it was the end of the week. the response from the press secretary of state, i don't think so. that's as clear as it got. jim acosta, cnn, the white house. joining us now, teacher at city politics university of london. thank you for joining us so much. first want to talk about what jim just reported about donald trump appearing before military leaders, saying it's the calm before the storm, and doing so with a kind of a mischievous

way, with a cheshire grin, we're used to that. we have iran, we have isis, we have north korea threatening the united states with nuclear weaponry. why would the president float something with that kind of demeanor there in the white house? >> thank you. i think, you know, having observed president trump and also candidate trump before that, it's quite clear to me, or it seems increasingly clear to me anyway, that he plays a kind of three-level game, if you like. one is centered entirely around him. that s he wants to be the center of every story. and i think that's part of his personal style. and he likes to keep people guessing. therefore the attention stays on him. i think the second thing, of course, particularly in regard to north korea, but more broadly as well, there's an actual split within the white house, and it's various departments, particularly the pentagon and state department and the presidency, about diplomacy

versus military action, and possibly war. especially in regard to north korea. i think there's a genuine split there, and i think that plays to a kind of broader set of strategies which is that i think president trump does not want the united states to have any kind of international constraints by any other agreements or institutions or norms. and i think he wants a kind of hypernationalist american power to be active in the world. so i think those three things together, i think help us to understand more clearly the strategies that president trump seems to be following. >> and is that something that causes more understanding, or clarity, or is it about what sarah sanders says, this president's not creating the chaos, as she said. he is keeping the chaos at bay. do you believe that? >> well, i think there is chaos, actually. i think there's increasing, if you like, unraveling in the

world. the old way, the established powers of the west and the united states, are being increasingly challenged by other states, which have become increasingly powerful, and more assertive. and also by non-state actors and large swathes of global population as well, because of the more kind of financial position that people find themselves in. so there's a degree of unraveling that is change. and i think every president really in the last 10, 20 years, has been trying to deal with that in various ways. and i think now, president trump has his own particular way, and it seems to be that the hypernationalism which says that we do not want to be constrained by international norms or agreements or institutions and so on. i think that is one of the hallmarks of this presidency. and you can see that in the fact that america withdrew from the climate accord. you can see that with the iran nuclear agreement, where iran is actually complying with the terms of the agreement but is still being sanctioned in

various ways and rhetorically attacked. so what we can see, united states under president trump is being far more, if you like, hypernationalist than previous administrations have been able to do. >> one can argue, he steps away from the things that president obama, his predecessor, put in place, and then kind of circles back around to it in a certain way. but i want to get to rex tillerson. because it almost appears the u.s. president and his secretary of state aren't on the same team. i want to ask you what you make of it. fare fareed zakaria likened to president trump in the bleachers, commenting on what's going on in the game, when he related to the secretary's work to defuse the nuclear threat when he was in asia. >> yes, i think that goes back to the original point. and that is, there are various strategies one can volume. i think the end point of diplomacy as championed by rex tillerson and to some extent jim mattis, and the sort of military option, i think the end point of

both of those strategies is a denuclearized north korea. both are on the same page in that regard. however, the option that president trump appears to be favoring, of war, or some other kind of military action, is far more risky. and i think the diplomatic sort of people, within the white house, i think they are chaffing at the undermining of their efforts to try to come to some sort of a peaceful conclusion to this whole issue with north korea. and i think president trump tends to undermine that. he may well argue because he takes a hard military line, that actually north korea will be more worried, and therefore more likely to come to the negotiating table. the problem with this is that the united states is gearing up for some kind of military action, and that could then bring in china to that as well. so it's a very, very risky strategy at a time when the world is on the brink of very many great conflicts and

disasters. and it would seem to be that this heightens that risk even more. and many people would argue this probably is very highly irresponsible. >> we appreciate your comments, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. well, now many women in the united states could lose access to free contraception, president trump has his eyes on your birth control. that's coming up here on cnn newsroom.

welcome back. due to a new rule from the trump administration many women across the united states could soon be cut off from free birth control. some say it's turning back the clock on women's health care. others say it's a win for religious freedom. cnn white house correspondent caitlyn collins delves into it. >> reporter: we're seeing the trump administration essentially walk back this mantd-of-mandate. this is an obama-era rule that required employers to provide women with birth control through their health insurance, but with this new rule, it grants broad

exemptions to companies that have a moral or religious problem with doing that. so companies can now stop offering free birth control through health insurance if they have sincerely held religious beliefs. this is something trump promised he would do. we heard sarah sanders defend it at the briefing at the white house. >> the president believes that the freedom to practice one's faith is a fundamental right in this country. and i think all of us do. and that's all that today was about. our federal government should always protect that right. and as long as donald trump is president, he will. >> that obama-era rule was something that religious conservative groups pushed back against ever since it was first implemented. and as you can see from sanders' comments there, it's something the white house is framing as a big win for religious liberty. but this rule is certain to see some pushback from groups. we've heard heard from the american congress and gin clo s

gynecologists who had strong language, saying the health and human services rules under this current administration are focused on turning back the clock on women's health. %-p ryan said tfit was a landmark d for religious liberty. what we know for certain, it's certain to end up in the courts. several groups have already threatened to file lawsuits over it. caitlyn collins, cnn, washington. in international news, brexit talks calls for a change in leadership and what some see as a crisis of confidence. just a few of the challenges confront british prime minister theresa may and it should be just the beginning. here's nina dos santos in london. >> our economy is back on track. >> reporter: the skutering performance of the british prime minister at the conservative party conference is viewed by many as a symptom of a deeper malaise. a crisis of confidence in the

british government, triggered by a disastrous election which cost the conservative party its majority and left some to suggest theresa may is in office but not in power. now word that 30 of her own mps would back a call for her to stand down. that call coming from the public face of this rebellion. 48 mps are needed to trigger her removal. today, theresa may moved to steady the ship. >> what i think is necessary for the country now, what the country needs is calm leadership, that's exactly what i'm providing, and i'm providing that with the full support of my cabinet. thank you. >> reporter: but this call for calm, like the falling letter behind her confidence backdrop as she delivered her speech, is not a good look for the prime minister. and the timing is terrible with brexit negotiations set to continue on monday, the prime minister's weakness cannot have

escaped the notice of eu negotiators, with the pound having its worst week in a year. the prime minister had hoped that a mea culpa over her decision to call a snap election would have turned the tide on her fortunes, but to no avail. >> i hold my hands up for that. i take responsibility. i led the campaign and i am sorry. >> there is one saving grace for theresa may, that's the fact that faced with a resurgent labor and opposition, her party will do all it can to avoid triggering a general election. so until its members can fix on a suitable successor, it's likely that she may limp on a little while longer. nina dos santos, cnn, at westminster in london. another update of our top stories coming up here. we're following a quick-moving hurricane nate has it barrels towards the u.s. gulf coast. hi, i'm the internet!

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welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching cnn newsroom. i'm natalie allen. here are our headlines. authorities say there's no link between the las vegas gunman and the terror group isis. police say they still don't know why stephen paddock opened fire on country music fans last sunday. he made more than 50 pounds of explosives in his car. the white house refusing to clarify a mysterious remark the u.s. president made this week. it came during a photo-op while meeting with pentagon leaders. donald trump said, quote, maybe it's the calm before the storm, end quote. when asked what he meant, mr. trump said, you'll find out. no official has offered any

further explanation. >> authorities in central america are reporting at least 24 deaths from tropical storm nate, which is now a hurricane in the gulf of mexico. in costa reek a heavy rains and flash floofeds caused this powerful landslide. we're tracking the storm now as it moves toward the u.s. let's get the latest. we've had so many storms to keep up with. suddenly there was this tropical storm. it's been deadly. now it's on a rampage. >> yeah, and it's becoming right to the u.s. this will be the third hurricane in six weeks, after harvey and irma, and that hasn't happened for nine years. in fact, if it hits new orleans and louisiana, and we think it will, isaac was the last storm in 2012, also a category 1, although this may be flirting with category 2 status in the next 24 hours, which would be inland by then. last hour i told you we'd talk about city by city and the impacts. we'll talk about that as far as

the storm surge. but here's the track again, 12 hours, 80-mile-an-hour winds. that's assuming it's going to maintain its intensity and not strengthen in the next 12 hours. it certainly could do that. and then there we are at 24 hours making landfall with 85-mile-an-hour winds. we're hoping that's about it. expect cat 1 or cat 2 with this landfalling storm saturday night, early sunday. here's the storm surge, the most dangerous part of the storm, the water that gets pushed in from the ocean, as a result of the winds. and we're thinking again, east of louisiana. this is east of new orleans, i should say. away from the risk reduction zone. if you're there, you'll be in much better shape. if you are not, mandatory evacuations, you gotta get out of the way. it's going to be a life-threatening storm with five to eight-foot storm surge. 4 to 6 across portions of the panhandle of florida and down to 1 to 3 along the big ben. but city by city, new orleans, your tropical storm force winds,

protect life and property. you don't want to be out in winds in excess of 39, 40 miles an hour. and we're not expecting sustained winds of hurricane strength, but the gusts could be possible certainly saturday night and into early sunday. we'll watch closely, the 5 to 8 foot storm surge, that threat through sunday evening. the rainfall not as much in new orleans because the bulk of the moisture will be on the east side of the storm. and that's going to be east of new orleans. so it will impact places like biloxi. and also mobile as well. so we'll continue to watch that, the potential there for the surge, and also for the rain. by the way, look at this track. haven't shown you this in a while. the storm will be headed north and east. tropical storm watches as far north as atlanta. although conditions there will be not certainly as life-threatening as they will be along the gulf coast. tropical storm watches with gusty winds and heavy rain that's going to be continuing to

move to the northeast. we are about 15, 20 minutes away from the next update from the national hurricane center. we'll have that for you as with well. >> okay, we'll see you soon with that. u.s. vice president mike pence visited storm-ravaged puerto rico friday. he was briefed on the recovery efforts after hurricane maria ravaged that island two weeks ago. while touring san juan, pence was confronted by an angry resident. >> you're gonna help us, it's gotta be now. and i know fema, you know, you got the papers. we need more people, we need communications, mr. vice president. and so, thank you for coming, but may this be of help. because right now, we are all wet, i'm a little bit angry, mr. vice president. >> the vice president says he understands people are frustrated but that it will take time to rebuild.

so many lives have changed in puerto rico since hurricane maria hit. our leyla santiago visited a small town to see how residents there are coping. >> reporter: these winds are nothing compared to maria's wrath for the people of lares. this time, they're a sign that help has arrived. half an hour earlier, customs and border protection agents deployed from san juan, two and a half weeks after the storm, to deliver fema's aid to hurricane survivors in need. >> why is it going by air versus by land, for that place in particular? >> it's pretty far up the mountain. so it's a pretty good community and there's also a hospital there. >> reporter: this team has been flying over hurricane devastation for weeks. >> you know, we did harvey and irma. and i think the thing that's

striking is how much on a larger scale this is, compared to those. they seem to be a little more isolated, and this seems like the entire island was really devastated. >> reporter: wheels touch down, engines do not stop. unloading begins. ten minutes on the ground. as soon as we arrive, police officers arrived, firefighters arrived. people from the municipality, social services. they tell me that some of this will be delivered straight to the municipality people in areas that haven't been able to get out. and some of it will be delivered to the hospital. this river flooded the hospital the day after maria struck. >> so, we've been a couple weeks without power. >> reporter: dr. adrian gonzalez says half the supplies coming in are from fema. do you feel the federal government is doing enough to help you? >> i do, i do.

>> reporter: in this remote mountainside community, rooted in puerto rican pride, the recovery mission has only just begun. the winds of hope have arrived in lares. fema is bringing help. now with a sense of urgency. leyla santiago, cnn, lares, puerto rico. well, as investigators search for a motive in the las vegas massacre, we're hearing some amazing stories of survival. many of those who were injured in the shooting have given credit to taxi drivers, who pulled over and took them to the hospital. stephanie elam has that part of the story. >> reporter: fireworks. that's what cab driver win fredo thought he heard as he waited to pick up a fare at mandalay bay. >> rapid fire. >> reporter: with bullets still flying, he drove across the street to help.

>> i said, oh my god, it's like a war zone. everybody was screaming, panic, crying, people on the ground. i see a lot of wounds. hit in the back, in the head. >> reporter: people crowded around him, banging on the car, begging for help. >> can you please come to the corner? can you please come to the corner? to the corner, i got a guy shot in the corner. >> reporter: so he jumped out and opened his doors, rescuing six people, all of them shot. >> go, go, go, go, go! >> reporter: what kind of wounds did you see? >> really bad. the ones in the back, one in the neck. i don't know if he's alive now. he was telling me, she's dying, he's dying, while i'm dying. >> reporter: he rushed his wounded passengers to sunrise hospital. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: not knowing any of their names, he still has no idea if they are alive.

does it weigh on you that you don't know what happened to them? >> sometimes you cannot sleep in thinking about what's going on. >> reporter: like him, many others raced to the scene to help. transporting wounded, who were also left wondering who came to their aid. rocky palermo tells erin burnett how someone selflessly helped him after he was shot. >> somebody stopped in the car, there was already four people in the vehicle, there wasn't enough room for me. somebody gave up their seat. they weren't injured. someone gave up their seat for a complete stranger to go in there to take that seat. if it wasn't for all that happening, we wouldn't have been having this conversation at all. >> reporter: another taxi driver, krcory was also at mandalay when the melee began? upon. >> people just said, go, go, and then all these people started to get into my cab. i think i had at least, like, five or six people in my car.

and so i said, okay, nobody else, nobody else. >> reporter: for him, there was no choice, he had to help. >> i'm just a human being. i need to help the people. i look around, there's nobody else. >> reporter: stephanie elam, las vegas, nevada. >> well, if you would like to help the victims of the las vegas shooting, can you find out ways to do that. you can go to our website, cnn.com/impact. the u.s. has said a potentially deadly new york terror plot has been foiled. three men are accused of targeting concerts and landmarks in the city last year. the charges against them are unsealed friday and officials say all three suspects have been arrested. the men are from canada, the u.s., and the philippines. two claim to have ties to isis, one allegedly met with bomb experts in pakistan. and ahead here, how fake

news generated from deep inside russia spawned an anti-muslim prest deep in the heart of texas.

we've heard many times from u.s. officials that russia meddled in last year's presidential election. now we're learning more about the tactics they used and just how effective they were. claire sebastian looks at a protest that took place in texas. but it all began in russia. >> reporter: a small group of anti-muslim protesters gathers outside an islamic center in houston, texas, in may of 2016. >> down with the nazis! >> reporter: a much larger counter rally forms across the street. just another example of the struggle for tolerance and understanding in america. and yet this is different. the anti-muslim protesters were responding to an event promoted

on facebook called, stop islamization of texas, organized by a facebook group called heart of texas. heart of texas, with knowledge of the matter is among 470 fake pages facebook turned over to congress. ads facebook said came from an internet research agency that according to people who worked there, operated out of this building in st. petersburg. more than 5,000 miles from texas. the houston rally, an example of a russian effort that had real impact on the ground. while the stated mission of heart of texas was to promote texas secessionism, cnn has suggested parts of the account that suggest racial discord was also part of its playbook. one post asks, since when has this country turned into a

liberal cesspool full of all sorts of ethnic and sexual -- >> the houston rally was small and ended peacefully, according to the houston police department and yet the council of american islamic relations in texas had alerted the fbi after a post threatened to, quote, blow this place up. fear and divisions on the streets of houston, engineered from russia. claire sebastian, cnn, new york. former u.s. president barack obama reveals the best decision he ever made and here's a hint. it came years before he ever set foot in the oval office. building a website in under an hour is easy with gocentral...

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being the leader of the free world certainly isn't easy with so many critical decisions on a daily basis, but former president barack obama says his best decision actually came decades ago. he surprised his wife on their 25th wedding anniversary this week, and as jeanne moos reports, michelle obama had a special tribute of her own. ♪ at last

>> reporter: oh, they're lasted all right, 25 years. michelle obama tweeted at her husband tuesday, a quarter of a century later, you're still my best friend and the most extraordinary man i know. i love you. along with a wedding photo. he delivered his anniversary message to her -- >> hey, honey. >> reporter: via video. it was billed as a surprise. i had -- >> i had to crash this party. >> reporter: at a conference per women, he marvelled at her saintliness. >> the idea that you would put up with me for a quarter of a century. >> reporter: as michelle beamed. >> it's truly the best decision that i ever made, to be persistent enough asking you out for a date that you finally gave in. i hope you feel the same way. >> reporter: for the 25th anniversary, actor titus burgess composed what he called -- >> ode to the obamas.

>> reporter: in which he celebrated their union, "here here." maybe the obamas are thinking of getting themselves an anniversary present. the "new york post" page 6 reports they're eyeing an upper east side apartment in manhattan, a $10 million duplex close to the mayor's mansion with five bedrooms and four baths. baths with a view. and a drive-through, so they won't have to parade in and out publicly. no confirmation on the rumored condo purchase from the obamas' spokesperson. at least the president didn't need a spokesman to deliver the three words that mattered. >> parachuting in, just to say how much i love you. ♪ at last >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. ♪ ♪ the skies above >> reporter: new york. >> happy anniversary to the happy couple. well, when saudi arabia's king salman travels, he does it

in style. a huge entourage, a huge plane, and even a golden escalator to get him to the tarmac. but on his first trip to russia, there was a bit of a problem. the escalator malfunctioned, and he had to walk down to the bottom. the king met with russian president vladimir putin on a trip expected to focus on energy and the conflict in syria. got a little exercise there. thanks for joining us for this hour of cnn newsroom. i'm natalie allen. be right back with more news from around the world and right near in the u.s.

tracking hurricane nate, while puerto rico recovers from its battering by maria, the u.s. gulf coast now braces for an impact. president trump referred to a gathering of his military leaders as, quote, maybe the calm before the storm. the white house trying to figure out what he meant-r about that. and more disturbing details by the las vegas gunman police say his car was loaded with explosives and ammunition. but they still don't have a clue to his motive. we're live in atlanta, welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i'm natalie allen. "cnn newsroom" starts right now. the u.s. gulf coast is stilling itself against hurricane nate which is due to make landfall early sunday. the storm has already caused extensive damage in