good morning, banished, president trump's ousted chief strategist steven bannon firing back in the media already, saying the trump presidency he fought for is over already. his exit just the latest in a string of high profile departures within the white house. what's next for president trump and could his former top adviser now turn his fire on him? we're live with the latest. >> breaking overnight, police officers under fire. a string of attacks against officers nationwide in florida, one police officer killed, another gravely wounded and what police are calling a possible ambush. president trump tweeting condolences overnight and now the investigation turns to what

happened. >> terror cell in spain, new arrests overnight tied to the attacks in barcelona and cambrils, spanish police still looking for at least one man who may have been the driver of that van that barrelled through barcelona killing and injuring scores. this as we learn more about the california man who was killed as he celebrate d his first wedding anniversary. all of that plus boston prepares for tens of thousands who are expected at the so-called free speech rally. a seattle seahawks player gets support from a teammate after he chooses to sit during the national anthem. and taylor swift goes dark, her media accounts a blank space with rumors flying she may be able to drop a new album. today, august 19th, 2017. >> this is "today," live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza.

>> welcome on this saturday morning, i'm craig melvin. >> and good morning to you. >> this has become a bit of a familiar ritual, getting up on a saturday morning with another top trump administration official gone. >> it's true. reince priebus, sean spicer and steve bannon all ousted on a friday. >> president trump's former top strategist steve bannon speaking out about his exit from the white house. bannon now vowing to go to war for the president's agenda and against his enemies in the west wing. nbc's kelly o'donnell is in new jersey with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. one of the president's most powerful advisers from the campaign to the west wing is not going quietly. steve bannon is vowing publicly to quote crush the opposition. the decision to oust bannon came from the new chief of staff john kelly and it's a sign of his

authority. >> the post steve bannon era begins, president trump did not respond to questions friday about the dismissal of his chief strategist. bannon leaves the white house but not the battlefield. already back to his former world at the conservative media outlet breitbart named executive chairman and already speaking out. bannon bluntly told the weekly standard, the trump presidency that we fought for and won is over. this image captures the exodus, all of the advisers from the early group now gone. bannon, the hard line nationalist lost his power struggle within to more moderate voices. bannon also said of his return to breitbart, now i'm free. i've got my hands back on my weapons. critics including many democrats blasted bannon as an alt-right leader who gave a bigger

platform to white nationalist anger. wall street reacted with traders cheering. >> bannon is said to have submitted his resignation. >> tuesday president trump defended ban on but later agreed he should go. >> he is not a racist, i can tell you that. >> reporter: peter king wanted bannon out. >> now it's up to the president and general kelly, the new chief of staff to show that the white house can run the chain of command and run in an orderly way. >> reporter: the white house released its own photos and music backed video from inside the president's camp david meetings friday with his national security team. making the absence of steve bannon all the more obvious. >> reporter: and two more unrelated separations from the white house, carol el icon said he'll no longer be advising president trump based on criticism he was doing so while

running his business and the president's arts council is leaving with artistic flair. in a letter explaining their decision, first letter of each paragraph spelled out the word resist, which has weekend a battle cry for democrats and the left against president trump. >> kelly o'donnell starting us off. thank you let's bring in alease jordan, former top adviser to the rand paul campaign and jonathan swan, a national political report for axios. >> good morning. >> there's a lot of competing narratives how this went down with steve bannon. was this a good break-up or bad one? >> about as break-ups can get. there's a good reason why donald trump didn't give steve bannon a warm farewell. it's because donald trump can't stand steve bannon. now that could change over time but at this point we reported on axeios that donald trump was telling associates that bannon was a leaker.

he's saying who does this guy think he is, resents the narrative that donald trump has seen that bannon was the architect of his election victory and donald trump has been complaining about a book called "devil's bargain" which people close to donald trump which has been described as a vanity biography of steve bannon. this was a kelly decision but it was really also a donald trump decision. >> jonathan, we just heard from kelly o. that bannon goes on the offense, making provocative comments about the trump presidency being over and vowing now to go to war, his words. what is this war going to look like that steve bannon is promising? >> my understanding from talking to a number of sources familiar with breitbart is that the mercer family, billionaire new york hedge fund mogul, bob mercer who also funds breitbart,

they are going to reinvest, probably quite heavily, breitbart will continue what it's been doing, which is a multifront war. they are going to attack a establishment republicans on capitol hill. i expect they'll probably engage in a campaign to remove the speaker of the house paul ryan. and then they are going to turn their fire on bannon's enemies enside the white house. the quote/unquote globalists bannon has been fighting on the ip side. he'll keep fighting on the outside. it's people like jared and ivanka and gary cohn, h.r. mcmaster, dean thdina powell. they'll hold his feet to the fire when it comes to fights, debt ceiling fight, they are going to demand that donald trump sign a bill that has money for the border wall. that's going to be a really hot fight in washington. >> so much talk about bannon this morning.

can you talk about for a moment, why does all of this matter from a policy standpoint and optics standpoint? >> well, you look at how donald trump came into the white house in sort of a black swan event and steve bannon was really the force behind a lot of the ideas that donald trump already had in his heart but helped donald trump market those ideas, gain more widespread appeal and it went shaky from the very beginning. you look at how the executive order about the so-called muslim ban, how that was rolled out and steve bannon, that was his first big initiative. so while steve bannon certainly achieved a lot of renowned for being the top strategist. doesn't have that much successes to add to his ledger for his time in the white house. you look at how many other congressional failures there were, looking at his six months, there wasn't really that much

that he did. and the question now is how destructive of a force is he going to be outside of the white house. >> with with regards to the legislative agenda, going back to what jonathan said, elise, what does all of this mean for that when congress returns? >> well, as jonathan pointed out, the huge question is the debt ceiling and how much of a fight is there going to be over raising the debt ceiling past 19 trillion, which the secretary of the treasury, steve mnuchin said we can pay our bills to the end of september but congress has to vote and approve to raise the limit. that's going to be a huge fight because they are going -- there's going to be the nationalist faction that wants funding for the border wall. will you really see a republican congress put their votes behind a border wall in raising the debt ceiling? it's going to be interesting. liaison with the freedom caucus. >> elise and jonathan, thank

you. let's get to breaking news overnight. police officers under attack in several states, sadly one of the attacks was a deadly one. ann thompson is following all of those developments for us. good morning. >> good morning, craig, the shootings were in florida and pennsylvania, president trump weighing in early this morning expressing his condolences and police are trying to figure out what was behind all of this violence. overnight a string of attacks against police officers in florida and pennsylvania. >> breaks my heart to have to come speak to you tonight about another senseless tragedy. >> reporter: the officers were responding to reports of a suspicious person in an area known for drug activity when they appeared to be ambushed. >> i can inform you that officer matthew backster has succumb to his injuries tonight and howard

is in grave condition and the prognosis sis does not look good the president tweeted my thoughts and prayers are with the kiss sim mee police and loved ones. >> like five or six cops speeding down real fast and two more ambulances come down. we don't know what's going on. >> reporter: two officers were shot responding to an attempted suicide call. >> as the officers approached the house and attempted to enter one of the doorways, the suspect began shooting through the door at the officers. the suspect advanced on the officers and exited the house. >> reporter: police shot and killed the suspect. one officer is in critical condition. the other remains in stable condition. and in pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot outside a grocery store. but both are expected to be okay. the suspect, dead. now both suspects in the jacksonville and pennsylvania cases are dead. police say they have caught three people in connection with

the kissmee case but still looking for one more. >> ann, thank you. >> in spain there were in arrests overnight. but police say they are still looking for at least one more person. kristen dahlgren is in barcelona. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, we're learning from the spanish government this morning, they say they believe this terror cell has been disbanded but authorities say not all suspects are in custody so this morning a massive manhunt is under way. >> in a town north of barcelona, more arrests, the crowd yelling murderer as one suspect is taken by police. four men are now in custody, allegedly linked to two attacks that left 14 dead and more than 100 injured. five other suspected terrorists were killed, shot by police in the seaside town of cambrils after the attack there. among the dead, a 17-year-old

police believe rented the van that plowed through las ramblas on thursday. spanish authorities are still on the hunt, reporting he could be the driver of that van in what police now believe was plan b. authorities say they think the men were planning a much bigger attack using explosives until a house where they were stock piling propane exploded wednesday night. among the dead in barcelona, american jared tucker. celebrating his first anniversary with his wife heidi. back home in california, his father still in shock. >> i don't know how you feel. i'm not angry necessarily but more -- i don't understand it. it's just hard to understand how anything like that could happen. >> the family is now safely back in the states. they were 10 feet from where the van jumped the curb in las

ramblas. >> we were hoping knowing was going to happen. >> there's sadness and solidarity. the crowd chanting i am not afraid. the popular tourist destination as crowded as ever amid haunting reminders of all that was lost. so still a good showing by the crowds here but just to give you some idea, this is still a crowd on edge. there was a point where a massive people began running and screaming and the police rushed to our south. it was a false alarm but that gives you some idea that people here are very aware there is still a terrorist on the loose. >> you can certainly understand that. thank you. >> in boston today, tens of thousands of people are expected to come out on both sides for rallies over freedom of speech from white nationalists to the counterprotesters who want to fight against the message of hate. morgan ratford is in boston

where there's a very heavy police presence already to prevent a repeat of charlottesville. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. this is expected to be the largest rally since charlottesville. this is so-called free speech rally. they invited white nationalist speakers to take the stage and also why boston police department says they expect to see more than 20,000 counterprotesters coming right here to say that boston doesn't stand for bigotry. just one week after a white supremacist rally turned violent, leaving one woman dead, more demonstrations are popping up across the country. from durham, north carolina, where hundreds took to the streets protesting bigotry. to boston where police are setting a barricades ahead of the so-called free speech rally which invited several white nationalists, leaving some residents on edge. >> i hope nobody gets hurt and i don't know, piece of me wants to

sabotage it but i'm just going to stay away. >> boston's rally is expected to be the biggest since charlottesville. its organizers claim this one isn't about white nationalism, it's about having the right to express your views even if it is offensive. >> the speakers that we have booked are very much in keeping with our message of trying to bring people together around our core values of free speech. >> just blocks away, several groups are organizing a counterprotest. they say that hate even under the guise of free speech has no place in boston. >> why protest? what about those who say you can't convince the other side. >> why sit and do nothing would be my response. we're not going to like what each other has to say. >> reporter: neither side willing to back down. four other cities across the country are holding counter rallies today, which is why boston officials are pleading for peace. >> we don't respond hate with hate.

>> reporter: and residents are taking a stand. >> you want the world to know there's 20,000 people who think hate is say bad idea. >> reporter: now to be clear, there were four other free speech rallies scheduled across the country today but those all got scrapped after things in charlottesville turned violent. that's why boston police say they are going through people's bags and monitoring social media to make sure it remains a safe place. >> we hope and pray it is peaceful. >> now to other stories making headlines, two suspects in the fatal stab of a 26-year-old man were extradited from chicago to california to face first degree murder charges. one suspect was a professor and other employee at oxford university. investigators say one of the suspects had a personal relationship with the victim. >> a los angeles judge on friday rejected a request by the woman who was raped by roman polanski.

the oscar winner fled the country in 1978. the woman said she has for given polanski and wants to move on with her life. >> michael bennett sat during the national anthem for the second straight preseason game. his decision to sit is in response to the recent violence in charlottesville, virginia. team mates supported bennett with britt laying his hand on the defensive end's shoulder. >> dylan is back with the weather. >> we had nasty storms move through the northeast. we have some flooding that was reported at a train station. look at this in long island new york, the rain pouring over the sidewalk there. we also had a family that was rescued in farmingdale new york, an elderly couple stuck in their car with 3 feet of water surrounding that car. luckily they got out with no injuries. we are going to see another round of storms today although not as widespread, maybe

isolated pop-up storms. most of the activity will be back across the greatespecially. it's all with this unsettled air sitting across the northeast. very humid and combine that with the cold front moving eastward and that could trigger isolated storms, not widespread by any means. we have heavy rain down along the gulf coast today adding to the several inches of rain we've been seeing over past several weeks. that could lead to minor troubles but not defini seeing dense fog 56 right now and in san now we got that marine layer but over the next couple of hours latest forecast.

>> we'll get more on big eclipse coming up. >> i can nerd out if you want me to. >> in a second, stand by. >> the debate over confederate statues in the country. should they be taken down? >> we'll catch you up on the rest of the big stories, including a terrifying moments a man struggles to stay afloat in raging waters. first, this is "today" on nbc. e. first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ ♪ isaac hou has mastered gravity defying moves to amaze his audience. great show. here you go. now he's added a new routine. making depositing a check seem so effortless. easy to use chase technology, for whatever you're trying to master. isaac, are you ready? yeah. chase. so you can.

time for "the download," our look back at the week that was. the political fallout from charlottesville dominated most of the conversation, but there were plenty of other headlines. >> from the ongoing back and forth from the u.s. and north korea and a victory in court for taylor swift, just some of the stories you may have missed.

the war of words heating up between the united states and north korea. >> we'll take it out. >> the u.s. warning it is prepared to use military force against the rogue nation should it choose to launch ballistic missiles toward guam. mexican drug kingpin el chapo appeared in federal court asking for a judge to dismiss his public defender so that he could hire mob boss john gotti's former lawyer instead. >> the bottom line is that joaquin guzman is not going to be afforded a fair trial. and that's what we're here for. >> the judge made no promises, aware that the government may seize any compensation claiming it as drug money. a nationwide frenzy. millions counting down to monday's historic eclipse. >> got to do it. >> apparently everybody wants to see it. >> it's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. >> it's the first solar eclipse to cross the united states from coast to coast in almost a century. a dangerous week in hollywood.

tom cruise slammed into the side of a building while shooting a "mission impossible" sequel. the movie star breaking his ankle. [ siren ] then tragedy struck a vancouver set of "deadpool 2" after a stuntwoman was killed in a horrific crash. witnesses say she appeared to lose control of her motorcycle which went barreling into a building across the street. victory in court for taylor swift against a former radio deejay after the jury in her high-profile groping trial ruled unanimously in her favor. >> the case hinged on this 2013 photo in which swift says david mueller groped her under her skirt. >> she was very confident on the stand. you heard about a lawyer badgering a witness -- this of the first time i've seen a witness badger a lawyer. >> to have her standing up for women around the world is really cool. >> the jury awarding swift a symbolic dollar. >> it is of immeasurable value. some of the week's most memorable moments caught on camera. a fiery crash in kansas when a

truck hit a barrier wall and burst into flames. the driver survived with only minor injuries. a dramatic river rescue in alaska when a 64-year-old kayaker struggled to stay afloat in the raging waters. a man linked in after him and helped bring him to safety. [ cheers ] and a brazen jewelry heist in broad daylight. six robbers, one of them armed with a sledgehammer, sped away from this london jewelry store leaving shop owners stunned. ah! >> and a courageous dad in ireland conquered his fear of heights by crawling to the edge of a cliff to catch a glimpse of the atlantic ocean. that was a neat story. we have these adorable puppies. i'm going to tell you why. still to come, why these adorable puppies are here on set. also, taylor swift goes dark on the

you. it is 5:56. here's a live look outside. some traffic there on 580. i'm surprised to see people awake right now on a saturday mornin thanks so much for joining us.

we have a look at that forecast. looks a little hazy. >> it is. more o along the coast. still seeing low-lying clouds. the south bay is nice and clear. temper are fairly mild. right 60 degrees. penins 56. tri-va about 60 degrees. look at that fog in san franci going to linger throughout the over next couple of hours yester we hit a high much 66 70s. for san jose it may be 60 right sunday i'll talk more about that during the 7:00 a.m. hour. an east bay man in spain

attack his wife will soon return to the bay area a widow. ♪ friend and family of jared hei heidi nunez tucker who teaches she's supported by her commun >> heidi is a beloved teacher hurtin family cannot believe that this happen >> heidi nunez tucker told nbc

struck stay with us for continuing spain. it's currently the top story on nbcbay 5:59. coming up on "today in the bay" cleari the shelters. we wan to help find homes for our anchors will be live at we'll have your top stories right back to the "today"

penins right now at 56 degree keepin those low-lying clouds

degree 61 degrees for the temper trend in san >> and that's your latest

you. it is 6:26. here's a live look outside as bridge quite a few people are awake. good morning. we have a look at our

microc forecast. >> i w mentioning to you last breezy and it's because of the fog. we're waking up to exactsly that. colder along the coast. in the south bay in the 60s. 56 degrees along the peninsula. 60 degrees for the tri-valley the fog hugging the coastline. expect to see low-lying clouds. temper for san jose would by about 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. mid-af as far san francisco goes we i'll have details. stay tuned for that. this mornin an east bay man

celebr his first terror attack. his will return to the bay friend and family of jared night. heidi nunez tucker who teaches friend us even though >> she's a beloved teacher. we hurt when she's hurting. >> we're just devastated. cannot believe that this happen >> heidi nunez tucker told nbc outdoo cafe when she decided to

go shopping for souvenirs and he went to the restroom. that's when track struck. stay with us for continuing it's currently the top story on nbcbay our facebook, and twitter pages coming up at 7:00, we're we wan to help find homes for our anchors will be live at we'll have that plus all your we really hope you join us. right the "today" show.

good morning. banished. president trump's former chief strategist steve bannon speaking out overnight about his exit from the white house. his departure just the latest in a string within the trump administration. this morning why he says the trump presidency he fought for is over already. breaking overnight, police officers under fire. one officer is killed, several others injured in at least three separate shootings in two states. the investigations now moving forward as president trump tweets his condolences. ♪ i've got a blank space baby and taylor swift goes dark. the pop superstar clears out all of her social media accounts and her website overnight as the speculation swirls about what she has planned next.

today, saturday, august 19th, 2017. ♪ [ cheers ] >> happy birthday, lindsay! >> that's me! >> all the way from georgia. [ cheers ] >> i got here at 4:00 a.m. to say happy birthday, mom and dad. >> happy 90th birthday, bob. >> we love "today"! >> we love "today"! [ cheers ] ♪ and we love the girl scouts and bob and all the birthday folks on the plaza, as well. good morning to you. welcome back to "today" on this saturday morning. this feels like summer. >> i love this. >> finally. >> we haven't had too many days in the northeast that have felt like summer. >> you're right. >> this is great. >> going to be like this all day? >> all day. >> thank you guys for coming out. a brig crowd this morning. we have a lot to get to the final half hour.

let's begin with today's news. >> reporter: good morning, i'm kelly o'donnell, covering the president in new jersey. for the first time this morning, president trump acknowledges the dismissal of steve bannon with a tweet where he says that steve bannon's service was a credit to the country and "it was great." on the outside, bannon says his plan is to "crush the opposition." the post-steve bannon era begins. president trump did not respond to questions friday about the dismissal of his chief strategist. bannon leaves the white house but not the battlefield. already back to his former world at the conservative media outlet breitbart, named executive chairman. and already speaking out. bannon bluntly told "the weekly standard," "the trump presidency that we put it for and won is over." this image captures the exodus. all the advisers from this early group now gone.

bannon, the hard-line nationalist, economic populist, lost his power struggle within to more moderate voices with whom he had sparred. bannon also said of his return to breitbart, "now i'm free. i've got my hands back on my weapons." critics including many democrats blasted bannon as an alt-right leader who gave a bigger platform to white nationalist anger. wall street reacted when news of his exit broke with traders cheering. [ cheers ] >> bannon is said to have submitted his resignation. >> reporter: tuesday president trump had defended bannon but later agreed he should go. >> he is not a racist. i can tell you that. >> reporter: the white house released its own photos, and a music-backed video from inside the president's camp david meetings friday with his national security team, making the absence of steve bannon all the more obvious. and also new this morning, a statement from the press secretary tells us that the president and first lady have announced they will not attend

the kennedy space center honors, a tradition in washington that has long included the first families. the taping for that celebration of the highest in humanities and the arts will be in december. the first couple saying they want the honorees to celebrate without any "political distraction." >> kelly o'donnell in new jersey, thank you. police in boston say they're ready today for the big crowd that's expected for a so-called free speech rally and those who are planning to gather to protest against it. today's event just one of several across the country where thousands are expected. nbc's morgan radford is in boston this morning with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is expected to be the largest rally since charlottesville. to give you a sense of things, this is a so-called free speech rally. they've invited a series of white nationalists to come and take the stage. they tell us, look, this is not about while nationalism. they say this is about the ability to express your views, express your speech, regardless

of whether or not they're offensive. on the other side, boston police department tells us they expect to see between 20,000 and 30,000 counterprotesters coming right here to boston commons behind me, and they told us -- and we spoke to the organizers yesterday -- that they're here to show that boston does not stand for bigotry. they want to show people of all races, religions, colors, and creed that they stand with them and that their voices are louder than those who are supporting so-called free speech. and of course, this comes on the heels after the violence in charlottesville that left one woman dead. just yesterday there were more counterprotests in durham, north carolina. that's when protesters heard rumors that the kkk would be holding a glaerl north carolina, and then thousands took to the streets. they wanted to say, look, we stand with durham. we will not allow them to take back the south, to take back our state. we want to show that we're expressing a sentiment of love as opposed to hate. today boston police say they want to make sure that this is a safe space. they want to make sure there is no violence today.

that's why they're monitoring social media feeds, trying to identify anyone who they think might be trying to inspire violence and turn this into an unsafe space. >> okay, thank you. also this morning, there have been a string of separate attacks against police officers overnight. in florida and pennsylvania, kissimmee florida. police say two officers may have been ambushed responding to a call there. one of the officers has died while the other is in critical condition. three suspects have been arrested there. another is still at large. meanwhile in jacksonville, florida, two officers were hurt after a shooting incident there. that suspect has been killed. in pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot outside a grocery store. the suspect there also killed. a 22-year-old college junior in ohio has a lot to celebrate this morning after this field goal scored him a full scholarship. >> come on --

[ cheers ] jake suiter from bowling green university was challenged by his coach to make the 53-yard field goal during practice this week. he sure makes it look easy. his scholarship will last the rest of his college career. >> wow! >> right? that's one kick -- >> 53 yards. he earned that scholarship. >> nice. dylan dreyer on the plaza with another check of the weather. hey, dylan. >> good morning, guys. we've got a big birthday. bob is turning 90 years old. where is bob? >> he's out -- >> on the phone -- >> he's at home just waking up. he danced a lot at sammy's last night. >> sammy's in new york? >> yes. he's from new york. we're from all over -- >> and you guys are here? >> absolutely. >> to wish him happy birthday. >> that's awesome. >> we were here for his 80 tth n years ago. >> glad you made it. bob, we miss you, but happy birthday. take some aspirin. let's look at weather across the country. we are looking at some cooler air starting to try to move in to upstate new york. 78 in syracuse. caribou, maine, 67 degrees.

temperatures certainly below average. you go down south, and it is very hot and very humid. highs will be in the low to mid 90s. it's going to feel like it's closer to 100 or higher. on sunday, it still looks very hot, 97 in montgomery, alabama. tallahassee, 94 degrees. again, the humidity will make it very uncomfortable, as well. it is going to stay in the upper 80s and lower 90s through raleigh as we continue through next week. we should get into the 90s this is a live look over san curren temperature right now south 60 degrees. we're expecting to see an dopple is showing that we're expecting for this to burn off but keep us nice and cool

good morning. coming up next on "today" in the bay, family and friends mourn a how they are remembering him and the message they want to send in hishonor. an off duty firefighter shot dead after leaving a local brewer gunfir if your family is

you. it is 7:00. here's a live look outside. the covering downtown san thanks so much for joining us. we a look at our microc forecast. we made it to the weekend. >> we did. it's going to be a good one at settin up nicely with cooler that fog the peninsula and haze