good morning. i'm gigi stone woods. thanks for being with us. >> i'm frances rivera. we come to you following several breaking news stories. with president donald trump on the fourth day of his first foreign trip visiting the palestinian presidential palace meeting with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas after spending a day in jerusalem. >> the meeting between the two comes as apparent terror attack rocks the uk after an explosion struck during an ariana grande concert in manchester, killing at least 22 and injured 59. the blast occurring in a packed arena with as many as 21,000 attending. leaving many concert goers visibly shaken. >> we were in arena and we heard

a bang and just run for me life and -- >> who told you it was a balloon? >> staff. they stopped us from running. >> how did you manage to get out? >> told us to be calm and then a few minutes later let us out. then ambulances came and we realized it wasn't a balloon. >> in pal stint as part of the foreign trip, while british prime minister theresa may called for vigilance in the face of horror. >> at terrible moments like these, it is customary for leaders, politicians and others to condemn the perpetrators and declare that the terrorists will not win. but the fact that we have been here before and the fact that we need to say this again does not make it any less true.

for us and often while we experience the worst of humanity in manchester last night, we also saw the best. >> for more, we or joined by nbc's matt bradley in manchester. matt, a truly terrible story. what can you tell us? >> reporter: thanks, frances and gigi. we just heard from prime minister theresa may. she addressed the nation with a solemn, very direct speech. she called this attack last night here in manchester callous and said it ranked among some of the worst terror attacks that hit the british isles. 22 dead, the second most deadly attack in recent memory in britain. but it's also the target. they attacked children. this ariana grande concert, most of the fans were young girls and their parents enjoying a night out. that is what has really dealt a body blow to this city.

theresa may offered praise for those who came to the aid of the 59 injured and so many others trying to evacuate. just a little while ago, i went around the corner to a hotel here and saw a whole room filled with girls still wearing their ariana grande pink t-shirts and they looked absolutely shellshocked. >> i'm sure that's the case even now. nbc's matt bradley, thank you very much. the department of homeland security says there are no credible threats to music venues here in the united states. earlier i spoke with retired atf special agent in charge jim cavanaugh and asked what the police should be focusing on this morning. >> they're focusing on the bomber. uk police say they have over 400 officers on this and they're going to be very aggressive. likely they are conducting a search, a search warrant over there they call it a queen's

writ to go in the house of the bomber and get everything out, electronics, certainly bomb making materials if there, and try to walk this back, see who he is and what he's about, what exactly the motive is. and if it turns out to be terror then who are his accomplices or people who supported him or delivered him there or made a bomb for him. a lot of answers yet that we're going to have to get unfolding in the hours ahead. >> celebrities in shock are reacting to the reported explosions in manchester expressing their heartbreak and deep concern for ariana grande and the fans attending the concert. overwhelming response on twitter sending prayers and condolences to manchester, the victims and their family. >> kristen chenoweth with a heavy heart shared this message on twitter. >> as much time as it took for the people who did this, all the hate that they have filled up in their heart, there's so much

more love out there in this world than that act that you did. >> james cordon delivered this tribute to the city and community of manchester on his late night show. >> i think of the spirit of the people there, and i'm telling you a more tight-knit group of people you will be hard-pressed to find. if it is even possible, the spirit of the people of manchester will grow even stronger this evening. my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in manchester tonight. president trump is on the fourth day of his first foreign trip. just hours ago he met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in bethlehem. the two leaders made statements to the press. president trump expressed u.s. commitment to middle east peace and said the following. >> peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded. we must be resolute in

condemning such acts in a single unified voice. peace is a choice we must make each day, and the united states here to help make that dream possible for young jewish, christian and muslim children all across the region. >> nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is in jerusalem this morning. good morning, andrea. what's the latest on the president's trip this morning? >> reporter: right now he's just arrived at the jewish museum, a cultural institution, archaeological muse sem. it also has ancient texts, the dead sea scrolls. he's going to give the final speech of this trip. earlier today, as you just pointed out, he was in bethlehem with mahmoud abbas, the palestinian leader, pledging to do everything he could to help israel and the palestinians try to reach peace, although he has certainly not embraced the palestinian claims that go back for decades now and have been

endorsed by not only the u.n. and international community but previous u.s. presidents, democratic and republican alike, that they should be negotiating along the terms of the 1967 borders for land, for statehood in the west bank and they should be deciding on the future of jerusalem with each having its equities. that's not the position of israel. the president has not weighed in on those details at all. but one of the things he did say at that meeting in bethlehem in the west bank was his feelings, his strong feelings about the terrible bombing in manchester. >> so many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives, murdered by evil losers in life. i won't call them monsters because they would like that

term. they would think that's a great na name. i will call them from now on losers because that's what they are, they're losers, and we'll have more of them, but they're lose losers. >> reporter: and with that donald trump also pledged his solidarity, gave his condolence, his prayers and the prayers of the united states for the people of manchester and the united kingdom. not altering the trip in any fashion as far as we can tell, he will be leaving for rome, meeting with pope francis tomorrow morning. all these stops are fraught with diplomatic perils for this president on his first foreign trip, meeting with the pope, he had criticized the pope during the campaign responding to comments pope francis made about his immigration comments and then going to nato which he

previously called obsolete. he's backed off of that. he'll be meeting with the european leaders after this terror attack, what apparently is a terror attack. >> challenging goals ahead. andrea mitchell, thank you. turning now to sef virile weather, a strong night of storms swept across new mexico. you can see the hail larger than golf balls, over two inches in diameter are coming down, completely covering the ground along the highway. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins following more severe weather in the southeast. bill, what's happening? >> good morning to you. we're going to have big weather headline, it will be out of the southeast. this is where all the bad weather is. we have a stationary front that sat here. some of this will be beneficial. we showed you pictures over the last couple months of the fires in florida and georgia. we are going to get soaking rains over those areas, so that's good. the areas to the north are the problem. already you can see all the rain on the map and it's continued now for -- this is the third straight day. we have 27 million people under

either aerial flood watches or flash flood watching including north korea down to the new orleans area. we may get enough instability for strong thunderstorms. 6 million people at risk into southern georgia and south carolina. much of the country is looking good except the south and southeast. that's look at the a b season. from fresno to redding, temperatures in the triple digits. >> the u.s. naval academy freshman class, yesterday they officially became midshipmen with the traditional and monumental challenge. at least 1,000 formed a human pyramid around a 21-foot statue covered in vegetable shortening to retrieve the plebe hat and replace it.

joe mcgraw capped it in less than 2 1/2 hours. must have been quite the party after that was done. >> i can bet going down that was a lot more fun than going up. >> a great mission. >> still ahead, jury selection in the long awaited bill cosby trial. we'll have those details for you here on "early today." can you actually love wearing powerful sunscreen? yes! neutrogena® ultra sheer. no other sunscreen works better or feels so good. clinically proven helioplex® provides unbeatable uva/uvb protection to help prevent early skin aging and skin cancer all with a clean light feel. for unbeatable protection. it's the one. the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. see what's possible. allergy symptoms doctors recommend taking claritin every day distracting you? of your allergy season for continuous relief. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day.

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it's four times stronger and you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. more breaking news. u.s. forces killed seven members of the terror group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula during a raid in yemen. they were killed through combination of small arms fire and precision air strikes. defense officials say the target was a single compound associated with a terror group and this was an intelligence collection mission. u.s. forces were seeking laptops, cell phones and similar items. there are no reports of american casualties from the raid. leading the news, five jurors have been selected so far for bill cosby's sexual assault

trial, standing trial on charges he drugged and molested a woman in 2004. the majority of the people questioned were familiar with the case posing a challenge to jury selection. >> finding people that haven't formed an opinion either because of their perception of mr. cosby as a television father or based on the multitude of allegations, it's going to be difficult to find people who can fairly assess the case. >> the five jurors chosen monday are white, notable since the defense argued that racism could be a factor. more than 50 women accused cosby of misconduct from groping to rape. he has denied all allegations. nbc can confirm the president asked two officials in march to publicly say they saw no evidence the trump campaign colluded with russians in interference in the 2016 election, the story first reported by "the washington

post" now confirmed by a former senior intelligence official with mr. trump asking both the director of national intelligence and national security agency to make a statement. both declined and are expected to testify before congress today. michael flynn could give the trump white house more grief after he rebuffed a congressional subpoena invoking the fifth amendment. nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: ousted national security adviser michael flynn facing new fire according to this letter, flynn appears to have lied to security clearance investigators by telling them he was paid by u.s. companies when he attended this 2015 gala with vladimir putin. in fact, the trip was funded by russian state media. after a senate subpoena for personal documents in its russia investigation. a source close to flynn telling nbc news, it would be highly

imprudent to kplien >> i don't think there is any way that somebody who is this high up in the food chain is going to be granted immunity at this point in time. >> president trump during the campaign mocked those who have refused to testify. >> you see the mob takes the fifth. if you're innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment? >> former fbi director comey is scheduled to testify before congress next week >> actress and socialite dina merrill died. her father was "wall street journal" e.f. hutton, mother marjorie meriweather post. it was her family who built the famous mar-a-lago estate now owned by donald trump. she appeared in some 30 films. dina merrill at the age of 93. how world markets are reacting to the terror attack in london. you're watching "early today." stay with us.

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trade on the back of positive economic data. the british pound did slip versus the other major currencies. u.s. investors may turn their focus today on president trump's budget plan which is officially released this morning. oil prices notably are trading lower today as the budget proposes the u.s. sell half the country's strategic oil reserves. countries efforting by opec to cut production and tighten global oil supplies. also, on the watch list today, new home sales a key indicator of short-term demand in terms of the housing market. gigi and frances, back to you. >> a lot to watch. thank you. just ahead, why o.j. simpson could be set free from prison within a matter of months. you're watching "early today." more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer...

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coppertone protection is water resistant and stops up to 98% of the sun's damaging uv rays. coppertone. because protection matters. new this morning, a possible new chapter in the saga of o. juchlt simpson. >> he has been behind bars for nearly a decade for robbery but could soon be a fair man. here is nbc's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: o.j. simpson has been in a nevada prison on burglary and kidnapping charges since 2008. the department of corrections announced a july parole hearing. if it goes his way the once football star turned murder suspect could be set free as early as this october. simpson was convicted of the armed robbery of two memorabilia dealers in las vegas, charges unrelated to the 1994 murder of ex-wife nicole brown and friend ron goldman. that murder followed by a live

high-speed chase, a trial that gripped the country for months and simpson's controversial acquittal still fascinate. >> these gloves are too small. >> the families of nicole brown and ron goldman maintain simpson is guilty of the double homicide. a civil court in 1997 found him liable find he pay $35.3 million. >> he may well get parole just based upon the merits of his conduct in this case. previously they ranked him as low risk. >> simpson was denied parole in 2013. if he is denied again this summer, his next chance for freedom would be in 2020. stephanie gosk, nbc news. just ahead we'll go live to manchester for an update on last night's deadly attack. this is "early today." ♪

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welcome back. the get out the door forecast includes sunscreen and cool clothes in the desert southwest. 105 today in phoenix, interior sections of california, around the triple digits, too. the cooling effects from the ocean in l.a. and san francisco. still warm and beautiful, the best weather in the countries that been in the pacific northwest. it will continue into wednesday, billings is great, salt lake city fantastic. even hotter in phoenix. looks like summer has arrived in the west. still waiting for it in areas of the east. we continue to follow breaking news this morning after a blast at an ariana grande concert left 22 dead and 59 others injured, in what is now the deadliest day in england

since the 2005 bombings. matt, we understand nbc news confirming there has been an arrest related to this attack? >> reporter: that's right, franks, frances. there was a 23-year-old man arrested here in manchester in the southern part of the city just this morning. this is the first known arrest to have been made in connection with this terrorist attack at the manchester arena which is behind me. this could be significant. this could mean this attacker who police believe detonated himself alone, that he did, indeed, act with some help. but it's not quite clear. remember in march after a lone wolf attacker killed about five people outside of westminster abbey and the parliament building in downtown london, the police launched a huge nationwide dragnet and arrested nearly a dozen people, most of them eventually released. one of the major components missing in this investigation which is rapidly unfolding as we

speak is a claim of responsibility. remember in the westminster attack, isis claimed responsibility over twitter within hours after the attack occurred and said the attacker had actually been inspired by isis. now, if this was an isis attack, we can expect some sort of claim of responsibility probably over one of isis' semi official or official news organizations over social media, mostly over twitter. right now we're hearing some sort of chatter among jihadi groups, but nothing to lead anyone to believe that isis is about to claim responsibility. that's something to look out for in the next couple hours. just recently theresa may, the prime minister addressed a frightened nation and offered full some praise for energy servise emergency services and said police officers are still at a severe level of alert. >> matt bradley, thank you. that does it for us here on

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last longer with k-y duration. terrorists will never win. and our values, our country, and our way of life will always prevail. >> breaking news at 4:30. word of an arrest after an explosion at an ariana grande concert. that information just coming in to our newsroom. 22 confirmed dead at this point. some of them children. british prime minister theresa may has responded to the terror attack. thank you for joining us on this monday. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we'll get more to the breaking news, but also, cooling temperatures today. good news. >> great news because it will be lower than it was yesterday. especially for the inland valleys where we haven't had much relief. it will be a little be