the veep enters president trump's national anthem controversy leaving a colts game after some 49ers players took a national anthem knee. but that's not the whole story. >> overnight, the glitz and bright lights of the las vegas strip were silenced for 11 minutes one week to the day after the horrific mass shooting. >> a war of words between republican senator bob corker and president trump gets down right juvenile. we've got the latest. >> then to a deadly explosion at a lick which identified natural gas depot that led to a blast. >> fired from a company ec he cofounded over an onslaught

of sexual allegations. >> good morning. i'm gigi stone in for frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. at the colts 49ers game in indianapolis, vice-president mike pence walked out on the game after more than a dozen players from the 49ers kneeled during the national anthem. this morning some are calling pence's walk out a show of respect for the flag and anthem, while others are deeming it a stunt, asking if it was worth it in the end. nbc's morgan radulford has more. >> reporter: vice-president mike pence greeted fans in indianapolis. the doelts facicolts facing offe 49ers. when the anthem played more than a dozen players took a knee. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: pence stood with his hand over his heart and left as soon as the star-spangled banner ended. >> makes no sense to me. it is ridiculous what he did. it just doesn't make sense. he doesn't have any reason to do that. >> >> reporter: the vice-president tweeted moments later, i will

not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our flag or our national anthem. the protest a divisive issue for millions of americans have created political momentum for the trump administration which has been using the controversy to woo donors for weeks. a question for some whether the walk-out was planned. the president afterward tweeting, i asked vp pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled. >> i think that sending the vice-president to the game was a preplanned stunt. but i think americans don't like stunts. >> reporter: pence's next stop after the game, a fund-raiser in california. morgan radford, nbc news, new york. >> this morning as we get confirmation the vice-president did, in fact, plan his decision to leave the game in advance, at least one 49ers player is speaking out. >> this is what systemic oppression looks like. a man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple things out and leaves the game. with an attempt to thwart our efforts. >> meanwhile one democratic

lawmaker wants to know more, tweeting after all the scandals involving unnecessarily expensive travel by cabinet secretaries, how much taxpayer money was wasted on this stunt? >> developing this morning, the president looks to reshape the country's immigration system sending congress a number of legislative priorities that seem to alter and revamp the way immigration works in the u.s. with the administration putting out a number of desires that's effectively a list of demands, wanting tough immigration reforms in exchange for legislation that would allow the nation's 800,000 so-called dreamers to remain in the u.s. >> among the white house's demands, increased border security, expanding the number of immigrants who can be deported without going before an immigration judge, removing protections for unaccompanied minor immigrants, allowing state and local police to investigate immigration status more broadly limiting visas given to spouses and family members of immigrants, and funding for the border wall, with the white house not explicitly saying how much it would need for the wall

or how many miles it would cover. >> the last point being a nonstarter among democrats with democratic leaders nancy pelosi and chuck schumer issuing a joint statement that read in part, the administration can't be serious about compromise or helping the dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the dreamers. if the president was serious about protecting the dreamers the staff has not made a good faith effort to do so. while democratic congressman luis gutierrez says the president's immigration proposals are a extension of the white supremacist agenda. >> this morning it is not just democrats at war with the president after mr. trump launched into open warfare with top republican senator bob corker who now calls the white house an adult day care center following a number of searing personal attacks from the commandser in chief. nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: piercing criticism of the president by a fellow republican, senator bob corker tweeting it's a shame the white house has become an adult day care center.

someone obviously missed their shift this morning. those sharp words retaliation trump's tirade. a negative voice obstructing his agenda and a coward who didn't have the guts to run for reelection. the president's budget director an hour earlier praising corker. >> it will be fun to work with him because he's not running for reelection. it unleashes him to do and say whatever he has to say. >> reporter: just days ago corker taking this apparent swipe at the president's competence. >> i think secretary tillerson, secretary mattis, and chief of staff kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos. >> reporter: among the most urgent threats, north korea. kim jong-un touting his country's nuclear arsenal hours after president trump obviously warned only one thing will work with the rogue regime.

>> what is the one thing that will work with north korea? >> you'll figure that out pretty soon. >> reporter: the president making clear national security not health care is his top priority. >> i want to focus on north korea. i want to focus on iran, i want to focus on other things. i don't want to focus on fixing somebody's back or their knee or something. how did your house do? >> reporter: president trump dismissing criticism to his response to the hurricane in puerto rico, defending throwing paper towels at a crowd at a church. >> they had these beautiful soft towels. they said throw them to me, throw them to me. so i'm doing some of -- so the next day they said, oh, it was so disrespectful to the people. it was just a made-up thing. >> reporter: as for president trump's feud with senator corker it could have dire implications for his agenda. the president needs corker's support on tax reform, on the future of the iran nuclear deal and potentially a new secretary of state if rex tillerson leaves or is let go. philip? >> peter, thank you. and this morning senator corker is jabbing right back at the president. issuing a number of remarkable

charges in an interview with "the new york times" claiming the president was treating his office, quote, like a reality show with reckless threats towards other countries that could set the nation on a path to world war iii. he was alarmed by a president who acts like he's doing the apprentice or something. >> one week after the deadliest mass shooting in modern american history, mourners gathered in las vegas holding a candle light vigil in memory of the dozens of people killed. the city dimmed its iconic lights 11 minutes honoring both victims and heroes from the tragic event. 11 symbolized the number of minutes shooter stephen paddock was firing on the crowd. now nbc's steve patterson has more on how some survivors are struggling in the massacre's aftermath. >> reporter: you know, gigi, there are so many families emotionally impacted by what happened now one week ago. but emotion is not all they're dealing with. funeral and medical costs on top of moving forward. we spoke to those families and people on the ground here trying

to make a difference. for the families forever changed by those 11 minutes, it's the worst night of their lives. 58 lives taken and for many of the hundreds injured, another nightmare is just getting started. nicole's mother was trampled that night trying to escape. she lost feeling this her left leg. >> it's really hard to see her in that state of mind and like be so upset over it and so sad. >> reporter: now intensive physical therapy so she can get back home to california. but with no health insurance, she says the cost will be astronomical. >> it's going to be a lot of money. >> reporter: to help raise money diane's family set up a gofundme page. it is one of hundreds of crowd funding [ inaudible ]. las vegas county commission chair steve set it up just hours after the shooting. we asked with so many affected how the money will be

distributed. >> there are so many families freaked. y -- affected. how do people now get that money? >> what we'd like to do hopefully is get everybody at the end, put a single fund together and distribute the money out of that in the most fair and equitable basis. >> it's really hard to not be able to take her home with me. and the whole thing is just super upsetting and very tragic. >> reporter: a campaign of relief with the hope that in the face of so many concerns, at least one will be a little easier. meanwhile, investigators executed a new search at the home of gunman stephen paddock, all in an attempt to find fresh evidence, anything that would lead them to a motive in this case. gigi? >> steve patterson, thanks. >> hurricane nate weakened to a tropical depression sunday after slamming into the gulf coast as a category 1 storm over the weekend. with maximum sustained winds nearly 85 miles per hour and a

storm surge of up to 5 feet. in biloxi, the storm flooded roads and buildings including the first floor of the golden nugget hotel and casino. look at that there. the storm knocked out power to more than 100,000 residents in the gulf coast but many have been restored. no storm related deaths or injuries have been reported. >> meteorologist bonnie snyder is keeping an eye on nate as it heads north. bonnie, what can we expect? >> gigi, philip, we're looking for rain from nate. it is across parts of the south and northeast. if you're traveling you may be impacted by it with airport delays due to cloud coverage and rain. in denver it is a different story. we are looking at snow. temperatures have dropped 30 degrees in 24 hours. now, this is going to be dangerous if you're where

temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s and of course rain and even thunderstorms ahead for the northeast. so, the winter-like cold is to the west and the summer like warmth to the south and east. jeel gee, philip? >> thanks, bonnie. residents in madison are cleaning up after a tornado tore through the region saturday night. the storm touched down for just ten minutes but left behind a trail of damage. downing trees, power lines and destroying homes. strong winds of 70 to 80 miles an hour. the national weather service says the tornado was on the ground for about ten minutes. fortunately there were no injuries reported. >> the latest details behind the firing of one of hollywood's most powerful men, we'll tell you about that. and what set off this massive inferno. "early today" is back in two minutes. ♪ psoriatic arthritis tries to get in my way? watch me. ♪ i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me.

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explosions this weekend. it happened in the capital of ghana. the first explosion was at a liquefied natural gas depot. that led to a fire and explosion at a nearby gas station. witnesses say the explosion brought back memories of a gas explosion two years ago in which at least 90 people died. >> leading the news this morning, harvey weinstein has been fired from the weinstein company. the movie studio that he cofounded. the board of directors said it notified him of the termination citing new information about weinstein's alleged misconduct. the hollywood mogul is facing multiple claims of sexual harassment spanning the course of decades. several women including actress ashley judd came forward with lurid allegations last week setting off a fire storm of negative publicity. in a statement weinstein sincerely apologized for his, quote, past behavior. however his lawyer threatened to sue "the new york times" for publishing the allegations claiming it was false and defamatory. sources say the weinstein company is considering changing

its name. >> also from nbc news.com, this on house majority whip steve scalise who four months after being nearly shot to death said he remains opposed to stricter gun control. telling nbc's chuck todd in an exclusive interview he still stands behind the unlimited right to bear arms. despite his own shooting and that of las vegas seven days ago. take a listen. >> it is a long history in our country to make sure that you protect the rights of citizens to bear arms. >> but is it unlimited? >> it is. you're right in the sense there are already limits on the gun ownership, but frankly let's go out and enforce those laws. don't try to put new laws in place. don't fix these problems. they only make it harder for law abiding citizens to own a gun. >> scalise made his return to capitol hill last week with thunder rust applause on the house floor. he will continue his rehabilitation as he recovers from his wounds. >> straight ahead we'll take you inside one of america's desperate opioid centers.

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breaking jeefr night, firefighters in northern california battle several wind wildfires including forced evacuatio evacuations. the president and senator launch a war of words. a a week since the shooting massacre, now, victims are forced to face massive medical bills and rehab costs. public firing of a hollywood movie mogul. recipe for recovery, one of america's most famous chefs comes to puerto rico's aide. early today starts right now. >> i'm