good morning. coming together in grief. a final public farewell today for senator john mccain after an emotional service at the u.s. capitol with the senator's family and friends and colleagues paying tribute. >> this is one of the bravest souls our nation has ever produced. however you choose to do your part, i hope you do it the way he did it. >> a touching bipartisan ceremony as democrats and republicans mourn side by side. one that will continue today when two former presidents and one-time rivals eulogize an american hero. flooding disaster.

a dangerous start to the labor day weekend after three people go missing caught up in flash floods in maryland. relentless rains washing out bridges and crews into rescue mode. his side of the story. the uber driver who fatally shot a man who confronted him on the side of the road is speaking out for the first time this morning. >> everything to me said don't get shot. >> why he says he had no choice but to fire that deadly shot. all that plus an unbelievable escape for 170 passengers and crew aboard a plane that burst into flames moments after landing. fit for a queen. >> and incredible sendoff from stars and politicians and total strangers turning out to remember and honor aretha franklin. and sibling rivalry. serena and venus williams facing

off for the first time since giving birth to a baby girl. today, saturday, september 1st, 2018. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. welcome to "today." thank you for joining us. i'm sheinelle jones. kristen welker is here with us. thank you for coming on this saturday morning. trekking in from d.c. >> absolutely. >> we say sibling rivalry with serena and venus. they clearly love each other. >> serena won. first time she faced off against her sister since having a child. >> we will have more on that just ahead. right to the top story. the late senator john mccain honored today in the nation's capitol. it all begins at 8:30 where an

procession will drive the body past the veterans memorial. his wife will lay a wreath at the memorial. >> from there, the procession heads to the washington national cathedral for the funeral at 10:00 a.m. mccain's daughter, meghan and george w. bush and barack obama will deliver tributes. >> chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has more outside the cathedral. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. john mccain will leave the senate he loved for the last time this morning, passing familiar monuments reflecting his life's work. along the six-mile route to the service here at the national cathedral. >> american hero. >> reporter: all day and night, silently they came to pay respects. men, women and children by the thousands. sailors wearing dress whites among the crowd.

average citizens, john mccain most likely never met, but touched by his example of service and sacrifice. wanting to give thanks for his life. >> this is history in the making. i wanted to be present for that. >> to me, he was a hero. he never left anyone behind. >> it shows how much people appreciate what he has done. >> reporter: casket arrived h r hours earlier. heavens weeping for the loss of the irrelevant replaceable public -- irreplacable public man. >> this is one of the bravest souls our nation has ever produced. however you choose to do your part, i hope you do it the way he did. >> reporter: inside, mccain's wife cindy and family. children, grandchildren, siblings. his 106-year-old mother roberta mccain. at one point grasping the hand

of meghan trying to comfort her. >> he lies in the place where he served to the last. the congress of the united states. soon, he will go to rest on the grounds where he served first. the united states naval academy. >> reporter: the solemn ceremony with bipartisan touches scripted by the senator himself. republican and democratic leaders laying wreathing together. nancy pelosi helping a frail republican congress member, 87-year-old sam johnson, mccain's cell mate for part of the years in the hanoi hilton. approached the casket. today, when properprocession lee cathedral, it will pause at the vietnam memorial. so cindy mccain can lay a

wreath. and today, opera star rene flemming will sing "danny boy." the two men who defeated john mccain for the highest of office in the land, obama and bush, will deliver eulogies. also an implicit rebuke that mccain was aiming at president trump. the family signalled would not be welcome today at service. sheinelle. >> andrea, thank you. >> a lot of powerful moments ahead. rick davis was a close friend to senator mccain and served as national campaign manager when he ran for president in 2000 and 2008. rick, good morning and condolences to you. >> good morning. thank you very much. >> i want to start off, we have seen so many solemn moments, i think, throughout the week. you had cindy mccain pressing

her head against the casket. meghan mccain openly weeping. his 106-year-old mother there to witness and share. we heard so much about senator mccain this week, rick, i wonder what you want the world to know that we have not heard about your dear friend. >> i think the coverage you described has been really wonderful for the senator and his family. a great tribute to a great man. he has a very personal life also and part of what you will see today is that personal life on grand display at the national cathedral, his friends will gather. it is not just official washington. we saw that yesterday. great pomp and circumstance of our biggest institutions gathered to honor him. today, these are his friends. the pallbearers and people on the stage, these are the folks he would call and have dinner with and spend weekends in his

home in sedona with. the mix of great friends and family members, jimmy mccain and cindy mccain and meghan mccain will give tribute to her father today. it is a highly personal moment today. it is exactly the way he wanted it. as you mentioned in the broadcast earlier, the singing of "danny boy." his personal favorite is what he wanted to have happen today. we are honoring his interests and views, but the people he wanted to surround himself with throughout his life. they may have big names, but they were big in his heart. >> rick, today's service will feature tributes from former presidents bush and obama. two former rivals of john mccain. what would you say is the broader message mccain was trying to send here? >> i don't think he is trying to send it. it has been sent loud and clear during the ceremonies. he wants comedy.

he wants people to start working together. from the time he returned to washington shortly after his diagnosis, stood on the senate floor and said we need to come together and do things for the american people. this is a sacrifice for him. he looks at it today and says these are two people who beat me, but i found ways of working with each of them in order to accomplish big things. that is the message i want to send to you even after his passing. he wants to keep sending that message. it is starting to resonate. we saw speaker ryan emulate that message and punch it out. i hope that the celebrations of john's life continue well past today. >> rick, very quickly, it has been said really no one can replace him. is that how you see his loss? >> we heard a number of people say that, but one of the things i'm seeing is an inspiration to many either in political life or business life. all the people cycling through

the arizona state capitol and national capitol yesterday. tens of thousands of people from every walk of life have come through to honor him and i believe they are taking a piece of him with them. we hope that can influence the next generation and even this generation to say, you know what? a man who the american public wants to honor this week maybe i ought to take a lesson from that. maybe this is something i should strive to live by. >> rick davis, thank you for your thoughts and perspective. we should mention nbc news will have coverage of the memorial service all morning long. now to a developing situation in maryland. flash floods swept away three people on friday and rain is not over yet. dave price from nbc station here in new york wnbc is here for dylan. >> it is a start to the weekend. good morning. the labor day weekend to a scary

start after three people were stuck on the flooded road as crews in pennsylvania dealing with other rescues from fast moving water. officials say a driver in hartford county, maryland trying to help two people stranded in the vehicle and all three carried off by the fast current. several bridges in the area washed out and crews conducted more than two dozen swift water rescues. this rescue caught on camera in mt. joy, pennsylvania, shows two people pulling a woman to safety as rushes waters filled her car. 24 hours of rain brought 10.5 inches to mt. joy friday. >> it came up pretty quick. >> emergency workers in boats fished the stranded out of the flood. for others, the water rose so fast there was barely time to escape. >> i lost my harley. you can barely see it sticking out of the water. >> cars swamped in the deluge.

>> the route 31 is bogged down. >> some drivers waded into the fast moving waters. eastbound amtrak train stranded on the tracks for two hours and the incredible scene as the raging river races through the heart of shaffers town. all in all, a dangerous start to the labor day weekend. so let's spend a moment talking about the next several days. we start off with showers and storms. typical of this time of year in the southeast along the gulf states. we have a front bringing scattered showers to the mid-atlantic states and northeast. a flood risk from wisconsin to illinois to iowa. 3 million people potentially at risk there. we look at the pacific northwest. below average temperatures. a warm up for the southeast. rolling into sunday, not a progressive map and not a lot of changes. showers and storms stay with us. heavy rain expands. the front weakens in the northeast. showers get widely scattered.

we see moderation temperatures while triple digit heat continues in the southwest. rolling in labor day, tropical rains roll into florida. heavy rain there. sunny and dry on the west coast. the flood risk continues in the central part of the united states. that is the weather. back to you at the desk. thank you. we have developments from the late night court filing from the trump adviser. george papadopoulos is pleading for leniency. my colleague at the white house geoff bennett. >> reporter: good morning, kristen. george papadopoulos faces up to six months in jail after pleading guilty last year to lying to the fbi agents connected to the russia investigation. that is why in the court document he is pleading for lien

ylie lieniency. papadopoulos is contradicting what attorney general jeff sessions said under both a proposed meeting with russian president vladimir putin. papadopoulos says sessions and donald trump apparently suppo supported his idea that trump meet with putin during the campaign. the white house has dismissed papadopoulos' testimony as disc dishone dishonest. >> the latest twist. geoff, thank you. for the first time, we are hearing from the uber driver in florida who fatally shot another driver after threatened in the scene caught on camera. the sheriff calls it a classic case of stand your ground. we have tammy leitner with more on the story. tammy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it all started at this bar. an uber driver called to pick up a woman who had been drinking. now he is telling his side of the story for the first time.

he says he was forced to fire his gun after another driver cut him off, but it turns out there's a lot more to this story. this morning, the uber driver defending his actions. >> everything to me said don't get shot. >> reporter: the fatal confrontation in central florida on tuesday caught on dash cam. the pickup truck driver cuts off the uber driver and jumps out and threatened him. >> you want me to shoot you? >> oh, my god. >> reporter: that uber driver, robert westlake, said he had to act fast. >> he said i have a pistol. that's not playing around. >> reporter: westlake pulled his gun. graduate of the police academy. he was lie le-- licensed to car a firearm. he called 911. >> he reached for his waist band. i fired one shot.

>> reporter: the pickup truck driver jason boek did not survive. he was holding a cell phone, not a gun. but polk county sheriff is emphatic the uber driver did nothing wrong. >> this is a justifiable homicide all day long. >> reporter: the sheriff says texts that night where boek thoughts his girlfriend was in the uber. >> he tells her quote i'm going f up the uber driver. >> reporter: he does have a record, but a loving father in a toxic relationship and authorities got it wrong. the sheriff says it is a perfect stand your ground case. >> i can tell you robert did the right thing. >> reporter: westlake said he had no choice. >> it was a bad decision that night. it was a very bad night for everyone involved.

>> reporter: robert westlake drove for uber and lyft. he has been let go from both companies because they have policies of a weapon while using the app. back to you. >> tammy, thank you. to detroit. where it was a celebration truly fit for a queen. as friends, family and strangers came out to say final heart felt farewell to aretha franklin. from a former president to the biggest names in pop music and more, they all paid homage to the singer who died last month after a battle with pancreatic cancer. ron mott was there. >> reporter: on her way home, queen of soul crowned by music, touching tributes, a heart felt good-bye from her granddaughter.

>> i'm so proud to have someone like her in my life. >> reporter: the stars certainly turned out in force. ♪ i know that my love for you >> reporter: smokey robinson. f fantasia. faith hill. >> our queen. >> reporter: hoops great isaiah thomas. whoopi goldberg. these faces, unfamiliar ones. detroiters standing in long lines to pay respects. ♪ you make me feel >> reporter: aretha franklin was their queen. >> she is the icon. she is detroit. we love her. >> reporter: they loved her talent, obviously, but loved her more for being just one of them. never too big to stop caring. though somber the occasion, the music lifted the room. soaring, inspiring. ♪ you make me feel >> reporter: ariana grande sang

"natural woman." and jennifer hudson with a gospel st gospel staple. bill clinton. >> she lived with courage. i just loved her. ♪ you better think >> reporter: so did the world. love for a queen whose voice ruled and legacy lives on. for "today," ron mott, nbc news, detroit. >> she would be happy. we will take a turn now and dave is back with the quick look at the rest of the country's forecast for the labor day weekend. >> wisconsin and illinois and iowa with thunderstorms rolling through. some severe. heavy rains and high winds and threat of large hail. all of this takes us through monday as a matter of fact. into next week. 1 to 3 inches expected. in some areas, as much as 5. 3 million people under the watch. we are keeping an eye on it.

it's 55 degrees in san francisco. we have wind speeds at about 13 miles per hour and our temperatures are expected to warm up nicely into the 80s for a warmer labor day weekend ahead. 55 in san francisco and 59 in hayward and 58 for san jose. a quick look at the coastal fog, we have a couple of areas of patchy fog through half moon bay and san francisco and lieu the live more area. and that's a quick look at weather. >> thank you, dave. still to come, a homeless man who helped a stranded passenger on the side of the road get the hundreds of thousands finally owed to him? and "bee" careful. what happened when the bees took over

. we are back on a saturday morning with the weekly download and look back at the week that was. >> that's right and started with a senseless tragedy at a florida gaming tournament. >> reporter: a horrific mass shooting unfolded sunday at a video game tournament in jacksonville florida. [ gunshots ] >> oh [ bleep ] what are you shooting with? >> captured during madden nfl. >> killing two people and injuring 11 others. >> we have yet to have a concrete motive. mystery solved, a woman who sparked concerned after being spot the ringing doorbells in the middle of the night. >> she appeared to be barefoot and restraints.

the woman's boyfriend was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound and a victim of domestic violence. just in time for the holiday weekend. >> mommy! >> life guards closed beaches because of shark sitings like this one. >> this isn't sharknado. >> controversy when a french player was warned for turning her shirt around. >> a code violation. >> met with outrage online since male players take it off on the court. the u.s. tennis association quickly apologized. >> prince harry showed off his singing skills in london. show creator was the one egging him on. >> ladies and gentlemen, the

duke of sussex. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ you say [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] >> that's definitely not going to happen. he did try, but i said no. >> reporter: some astonishing moment caught on camera. an e cigarette exploded in his pocket. >> a tractor trailer flipped over in a case of road rage. and a swarm of bees took over a hot dog cart in times square. calling a bee guide to clean up the sticky situation. >> a diver tried to change his mind last minute. the man slipped on the rock and tumbled all the way down anyway.

>> mikey are you okay? >> dude. >> kanye west and having fun with his >> good saturday morning. here's a live look outside at the bay bridge and san francisco. a chilly morning out there. thanks for joining us.

we have a look at the microclimate forecast for the first day of september. >> it's going to be a low one. look at the city lights right now. 55 degrees, but a couple of areas of cloud cover and breezy winds that make it feel chilly along the coast. current temperatures are cooler this morning. no 60s on the map. 58 for san jose. 57 degrees for oakland and 55 for san francisco. i want to show you a look of your 24-hour temperature change. we are spotting areas of fog. this is along half moon bay and areas like hayward, but it's disorganized. not everyone is seeing dense fog. it's patchy areas. as far as the temperature trends for the afternoon, upper aches for today. >> oh, my gosh. gorgeous. >> leave him alone.

>> that video has gone viral. a man held in a choke hold and shoved off a muni train. it startled other passenger who is pleaded for the man to let the younger man go. this happened on the muni line and we spoke with the victim. he said he is the man being held down. a witness said the man who attacked him told police a different version of what led to the altercation. >> he goes, are you getting off and i said that's none of your business. then i go why do you ask, is it because of the music? he said you better turn it down. this is an nbc news special report. >> i have been in my country's service since i was 17 years

old. i neither know nor want any other life. for i can find no greater honor than service. >> remembering senator john mccain. here's chuck todd. >> an overcast, somber morning in washington. family, friends, congressional colleagues are preparing to say good-bye to senator john mccain this morning. she's accompanied by jim mattis and white house chief of staff john kelly. i am chuck todd. a week's worth of tributes led to today's day of remembrance for the american hero who's been honored all week by members of both sides of the aisle. more than 2500 invited guests will be at washington national cathedral for senator mccain's funeral service. his daughter megan along with george w. bush and barack obama,

both rivals of john mccain. one last show of bipartisanship that the senator himself arranged. joining me, special correspondent tom brokaw, and the senator's long time aide and personal friend mark friend ma. we are going to wait here and take this in with all of you.

costello. do you want to set the scene. >> well, it is kind of a damp and drury day in washington d.c. i would make the point what you can't see are several hundred typical americans that are turned out and quietly lining the sidewalk to show their support and respect for senator mccain. you know, as you know, 196 seven days in captivity, five years, and four months in what was the defining event of his life, but

also a defining seering moment in american history. and the vietnam wall, as you know, was designed in the shape of a v, but also as a cut on the national mall. the seering open wound which was so painful for this country. and he believed, of course, in reconciliation, and not only in the respect for the 50,000, 58,000 americans that died, but also in trying to come to reconciliation to reunite the country, and also to reach out to vietnam and reestablish diplomatic relations, which he did. and so this is so poignant, not only for the mccain family, but of course as somebody who grew up during that time it was an open festering wound and he was all about reconciliation. >> right. thank you, tom. mark salter, senator himself planned this day. >> yes, he did. >> what did he want americans to take away from this moment?

>> not only the sacrifice of people that fought in the wars, but thanked them for their service, and i think that's kind of what he's doing again today. >> you know, tom brokaw, the last in the senate? >> it's so true, i came from that generation. as i look at that family moving forward, the long line continues. there are the two sons, one in the army, and one in the navy. the fourth generation of that family to serve their country. and i think that that's also part of the enduring legacy of who he is, to repliemind peoplet there is another way of life that does not get enough attention. that's one% in uniform, and fighting the longest wars in american history, in afghanistan, and i hope part of the takeaway from this day will be that we have to remember the

sacrifices that are being made and howiey it is to go to war and hard to get out. >> let's be frank, no memorial in this city that does more to symbolically represent the sacrifice i think than vietnam. >> well, a lot of things, a lot of veterans didn't like that, so they put that patrol off to the side looking down the trail. and jim webb among them one of our most decorated marines in vietnam, but john mccain he was the same kind of rebel who sailed against the winds whenever he needed to. >> you know, mark salter, there is something about this service today that i feel like senator mccain is giving us a civic lesson. >> he is. he specifically asked and i was there when he called president obama the two men who defeated him for the presidency speak for him at his funeral because he wanted to again emphasize his message, which we have much more in common than separated. we have common problems and we

have common responsibilities, to solve those problems. and almost everything in this service was organized for that purpose, that message. >> i have an idea that i don't think will fly, but i think it's worth examining, which is that use this occasion of john's life and his passing and form a coalition, call it the mccain coalition in the senate, which would get republicans and democrats alike to work on a specific issue. all week we've been hearing from republicans praising him and going crazy in the back room. and then somebody said to me, bob carry former senator from nebraska, he said in that coalition, you want to put in some of the big money raisers as well, koch brothers because this could be an in fluke shun point in american politics in which we should be reminded how we need to come together. >> mark, i know you have to get going here. how hopeful was john mccain that this service would have that

kind of impact? >> well, he's hopeful we'll get through our present difficulties. he was a hopeful guy even when the odds were stacked against him. he always held onto hope. and i think this is the reaction to his passing exceeded his expectations. this is like we are burying a president. >> same feeling. and it feels bigger like that feels like an end of an era. >> he would be surprised and very moved. >> all right, mark, i know you have to go. >> thanks. >> thanks very much. we want to stick to the theme of service of this generations of mccains. so joining us former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff retired admiral mike mullen. thank you for taking a few minutes here. i was hoping you would be able to tell us a little bit about the fact that john mccain was just one of a generation of mccains, especially that had an impact on the u.s. navy. >> well, i think as has been discussed widely over the course

of recent weeks, and particularly the focus in senator mccain's passing on his family, and tom said it as well, this is the fourth generation, but his father and his grandfather. and what is so important and impactful is when he was a prisoner and he was offered an early release because of the position of his father who was a four star navy admiral in charge of the entire pacific t and he refused to take that. and he, as you heard him say time and again regular order, and regular order was we should be released in the order we were captured. so it's a family of service that is almost unmatched. and hopefully in the service of his two sons right now, that will continue. to tom's point, those who are serving right now are very, very

small minority, less than 1%, and these wars were are oftentimes forgotten. and john mccain would bring them to our attention routinely and remind us of the requirement, the sacrifice, and the critical capabilities that those who serve our country bring to support its foundation. our foundation as a country. >> what is it going to mean to the naval academy to have senator mccain lie in rest there? >> well, he's been -- he's focused on the naval academy throughout his career. he had an up and down career as a midshipmen, we all know that. there are other midshipmen who have had the same kind of experience when they are there. he gives anybody who graduates

from there hope and inspiration. and i hope today speaks to more than anything else, leadership, because we graduate some 4,000 young men, we graduate about 1,000 or so men or women who go into the marine corp. who represent the best of america, best of our values, whose task will be to lead in difficult times. and he sent that message to them time and time again. so there stnt a naval academy graduate that isn't proud to say they attended the same insurance stug john mccain did. he's that special. >> we have a few minutes here with jeff flake, senator mccain's partner in the senate from arizona. you said were you proud to be known as the other senator. >> yes. >> i would say that's to the a bad honor. >> not at all. i never wanted to lose that mon

-- moniker, actually. >> take us to arizona. we've watched on tv. what's the out pouring like? >> it's incredible. every where you drove in the state, the freeways had rest in pieces jom. it was really a state in mourning. as the governor mentioned he was arizona favorite adopted son. and he chose arizona, we are so fortunate he did. and i can't tell us what it means to the state to have him as representative for so long. and we are so emotional to be at the state capitol there and to see trongs of people lining up to see him. and then see the plane take off for the last time in arizona it was unbelievable. >> that was tough to watch. >> it was. >> actually, to see even as a viewer on television. >> it was. but anyone who knew john knew he loved the state. he said he never found a home

until he got to arizona and to be at his ranch with him. >> it's hard to say he's adopted son. i feel like, if you are saying what's arizona look like, i would say, well, it looks like john mccain. >> exactly. he's quint sessentially arizona. followed barry gold water and very much into that role. independent. arizona. >> when he first became to run out there, they were asking him, they were challenging him because he had not lived in arizona during his lifetime, he said the fact the longest time i've lived anywhere was hanoi in prison camp. >> that completely laid it to rest forever more. >> i am moved at watching the teacher john mccain with this week. and i feel like he's giving a civics lesson in different ways

and i brought it up before. but that's the part of this that, put it this way, had end me explain to my kids who john mccain is, and why this matter matters so much. >> yeah. look who will be eulogizing him, with joe biden. i was struck, when we went to the rotunda, my wife and i were at the trolly, and washds the trolly come, i remember in 2008 when he lost the race to president obama. it was such a bitter struggle at that time. but we looked at the subway and there was john and cindy mccain, all alone, no secret service, going to the inauguration of barack obama. i thought what a great country this is where the vanquished goes there. >> if you are still there, you served presidents of both parties. so you worked with john mccain

when he was maybe given a hard time to presidents of boats parties. i guess my point is there are some senators who they act one way when their party is in power, and act another way when their party is in power. that wasn't john mccain? >> not at all. in fact, he gave us a tough time in the military. he kwas a pugnacious, dedicated caring individual, passionate about achieving greater outcomes for our country and for our military. and so i testified in front of him many times. and you needed to be prepared. he was always -- >> needed to have fun, right? >> no, he was always going to push you. but i also found that to be a wonderful part of the american process and experience here. he would -- the other thing is he knew what the limits were. even though he would push against a policy and push the military leadership against the

policy, he knew we had limits. and he would often take us right to those limits, but not push us over. and he would always make you think about what we are doing and is there a better way. and you knew exactly where he stood on that. both before you walked into that chamber, but also under his glaring, glaring eye and pointed questions. he was just an incredibly capable, focused leader who cared about america. and, obviously, where he thought we should go. and you always knew where that stood. >> jeff flake, the other i thought great aspect of him as a senator is he loved to try to find the newly elected senator and bring them under his wing. democrat or republican. and i think i've heard lately it was amy klobuchar that he was bringing into the traveling club a little bit. and it was -- he had various

early barack obama, but he always seemed to get to know and build a bridge with every new elected senator liberal or conservative. >> he did. for me as soon as i got to the senate it was join the gang of eight. >> it will be fun. >> yeah, easy policy. but, no, he did that. republican or democrat, didn't matter. and he traveled, his coat tails were leg tendary. >> it was never two meals in one country, that was the rule. but democrat or republican alike, he treated you the same. he always made sure the lowest ranking senator got to ask questions. but the head of state, he really was in that way, very much a teacher and very much concerned that everybody be involved. and so i think he had been on the other end as a young senator years before and remembered what it was like. so every senator, that's why you

see so many here. >> casey hunt on capitol hill for us this morning. casey, i was thinking, senator flake just alluded to it, in many ways i think john mccain certainly the last few years thought to him as the senate's teacher, how to be a senator, john mccain will teach you how to be a senator. who is going to do that now? who is the next professor to teach you how to be a senator like john mccain? >> i'm not sure there is a good answer to that question. and that this may very well have been a funeral for civility and for that kind of politics here in the united states senate. he was really perhaps the last lion. and we'll see if any one steps up to take that place. it's simply not going to be the same here at the capitol without him. and it hasn't been because we obviously lost him from the hallways months ago as he

battled brain cancer. but at the same time you had had sort of his moral collvoice. and when you think back to what he knew and final months of his life, he is making a statement whether it's the speech he gave about spurious nationalism and essentially the house, the western world that america built and how important it was for us to continue to lead in that context, to the way that he has laid out these funeral proceedings. it is all a statement about the bigness of america. this was a man who believed in america more than perhaps any of us ever could, who gave so much to the country. and i think that tom brokaw alluded to this he gave so much when he was in prison in hanoi.

and senator flake knows this better than anybody, it is very, very hard to be the person that stands out and criticizes this administration, if you remember, a member of his party did that. and i'm not sure who is going to continue. chuck. >> what's been the staffer mood? i have to think that as much as we have seen, we certainly gotten a lot of reactions from senators. from john mccain was the type of guy who had time for everybody, so everybody had amok cane story, everybody knew him, press, staff. so what kind of gut punch has this been to every day staffers of capitol? >> you know, chuck, that's a good point. it's gone back and forth about everything else this week between the celebration of his life and the morning of the end. and i think for people who come and work here on capitol hill, this is not a place you come to work if you want to get rich. this is a place that you come to work if you want to make a

difference. and john mccain really showed that coming and working here as part of this congress was a noble endeavor that really could make a difference in the world. and it speaks to that same idea of bigness versus smallness. and i think the question and one of the things that people on both sides of the aisles, staffers, really feel, is this place where i am now, does it still matter the way that i thought that it did. and i think that's going to be one of the questions we'll have to grapple with in the days to come. because, quite frankly, even in his death there has been skrab else to rename the russell office building. so hopefully the takeaway from this is we need more people like john mccain. but perhaps it's just going to be the end of that. >> i'm going to be a little more optimistic than that, but i take your point here. i am stunned that the senate office building, because someone pointed out, nobody would love

more than to have the words mccain sob as their address. i don't understand how this is a controversial thing to do. it is exactly what he would love. anyway, casey. >> exactly. briefly, chuck, his office was there. that's where he used to come downstairs. i remember once he told me, he walked up straight to the camera, you are the worst correspondent, said it with a smile, that is the quote sob in the building we want to see. >> absolutely. thank you, casey. i have michael nbc news presidential historian. and bob carry, a senator. >> hi chuck. >> nice to see you. >> and, actually, senator kerry let me start with you, because this is the last person leaving the senate. and you guys were a great bipartisan bond in the '90s. when you had to fix some problems, vietnam veterans from

both sides of the aisle got together. explain that bond. explain how you guys were able to use that to cut across partisanship. >> it wasn't just vietnam. >> public service guy. >> yeah. but i think the vietnam guys today, most of us, there were some exceptions, was the decision to begin the normalization process which actually began under the first president bush and completed under clinton. it was a bipartisan effort that extended over two president sz. and unfortunately the story doesn't get told much. >> and john who is in my view it's accurate to call him a hero's hero, staffers, they have someone to admire. they want to say i want to be like john mccain. when you say john sob, john could be an sob, but he was an

sob in service duty eye honor country. that was it at all times. and vietnam was hard on him. it was a difficult process because he had been a prisoner, he was attacked more than they were, because they called him a traitor to the prisoner of war issue sochlt when you are fighting a battle like that tend to bring you together. >> michael, this week felt like we've been burying a president. >> absolutely. it's hard to keep reminding myself even this morning this is not a president, although someone really of presidential level. >> but i guess my feeling is the reason why we are all feeling as if this is a worthy sendoff is that this feels like an end of an era, not just that this is a politics that some people wish we could bring back. and there is a worry that this may put a period on the end of a

sentence. >> it might well do that. joe biden in his july gspeech s they should stop sitting on the floor because it didn't look good. that's almost a border between the old way and new way and the new way is not that good. >> senator mccain is approaching here at national cathedral now and the family. we will continue to follow this moment. bob kerry, when you look at the senate today, do you throw stuff at the tv? what do you do? how do you feel? >> well, they have a tendency to become the older you get, and i've gotten old, to become an old far. >> in my day. >> exactly. and i think young people are going to be inspired by john mccain. >> i don't think it's an ends of an era. certainly the last vietnam

veteran. generational change. but young people have watched him. they'll be inspired. my guess is you'll be interviewing new members of congress who are inspired by mccain and going to behave like mccain as a consequence. >> right. there is a sense in the same way others inspired later in life, other senators, hue burt humphrey, dislocation side of the aisle. >> absolutely. >> one of the important things that congress does is authorize the waging of war. and this is the end of the time in which we've had people who had the kind of expert that you had that john mccain had to bring to bear on those issues. >> you are going to have people come into congress that have been at war 16, 17 years, so in many ways it's worst thanl what john mccain did. >> you have to understand how vietnam how badly it was waged from the beginning and how unpopular it was. >> that's true. >> and how congress was accessory. that's the kind of ex-he per ens

that it's a shame we'll lose. >> it's true. i think you are going to get inspiring group of young people come noog congress in this next term. and i think many will be inspired by his ideas. the timing couldn't be better in terms of having an impact on the way congress behaves. >> let's be frank here, john mccain new timing mattered. >> sure. >> he planned it pretty good. >> almost as good as david bowie. >> he clearly knew the moment that we are in right now. and that this -- he has no problem using this moment. >> everything we see today. everyone watching this should ask themselves what is john mccain trying to tell us by choosing this hism or this part of the ritual. >> the national cathedral, it is a place that we've mourn a lot as a country. and every time we are here it's still -- it's still always awe

inspiring. >> you could write history of america just by writing about the national cathedral. and the idea was it began being built, it took about 60 years to get built, but early in the 20th century the people who did it the idea was this would be the american west minister abby that presidents would have their services here. maybe they would be buried here. as it happens woodrow wilson was buried here. others were not. and, actually, franklin roosevelt who wanted to be buried at hyde park where he lived his family estate, when he saw the dean of the washington cathedral coming toward him he figured that the dean was once again going to say why don't you have yourself buried when the time comes right here in the national cathedral, he said i don't want to talk to the body snatcher. >> i'm going to walk away feeling stupid. >> you'll at least walk away

feeling a little bit smarter. it is a who is who in the national cathedral. you've seen some folks in there. there is ambassador huntsman. ivanka trump is here paying respects. there are hundre there are quite a few senators here. >> yeah. >> if someone had a bad thing to say about him, you won't here it. >> you won't hear it today. >> i hope so. not any twitter feeds or anything. admiral mullen, the importance of having lawmakers that have served in the military, you know, it's always something i was brought up where i remember my father saying it was always important to him to know that there were world war ii veterans that understood the pain of war,

the cost of war. and i remember him being glad if soviet leaders were world war ii veterans they all understood the cost of war and they wouldn't rush into it. >> well, it's a really important point, chuck. and we are, i don't know if it's an all-time low, but certainly post world war ii through the vietnam era where we had 60 to 70% of those who served in congress who served in our military and had that background that could ven gthen get you to the best decision with respect to going to war, which is the most serious decision i think we make as a country. and now we are in the single digits, i think, although i think as senator kerry said we have expectations this year that there will be a bunch of veterans voted into congress. i'm actually working with some

on both sides of the aisle. and part of the reason for that is because they do -- they have seen the world. they have made tough decisions. they have led in tough places and willing to reach across the aisle and put the partisanship behind them as best they can. and that's what i hope this moment is about. i think it's been said that this is the end of an era. i actually hope it's the beginning of an era of hope. because what senator mccain represented was leadership and reconciliation. whether it was with his enemies or with the country we went to war with or with his colleagues across the aisle, to do things better for the country. and i hope that message is what gets picked up here, and leaders will start to speak out in that regard and represent him in moving us forward from this position that we are in right now. and, again, more veterans will be coming into congress, and i

think over time we'll see them make the kind of difference. and someone, some group will step up to represent all that america is on both sides of the aisle who served our country in both peace and war. >> let me go to hally jackson our chief white house correspondent. it's obviously been pa awkward week as the president has sort of played an odd role in all of this this week. what's been the mood of white house staffers? forget the president, of white house staffers this week with the loss of john mccain? >> reporter: as far as their response, chuck, to the president, seems to be rue full resignation as far as their response to the death of john mccain, sadness and grieve. some of these staffers worked with john mccain outside of the president's administration prior to joining in. and we know sarah sanders and

chief of staff jon kelly wanted the president to be able to be more respectful in his response. had pushed the president to, for example, lower those flags, that flag above the white house back down to half staff after the president had it raised. we understand the white house is very aware of the events happening this morning. and i was told by one official they wanted to do everything they could to make sure that they are being respectful of this moment. we know that the president's daught daughter ivanka trump is inside with her husband, with kelly who stepped into the role in the senate after joe left the senate. the president is here but he's at the white house. he's been tweeting not about senator mccain but about the department of justice. but i'll tell you when i talk to people close with the senator

and reflecting on his life and legacy, here are two words he doesn't want to hear today, donald trump. they want to talk about john mccain, what it means to have civility. it's so striking to see the bipartisan on the floor of the cathedral, chuck. republicans and democrats talking with each other. and, frankly, that's not something that you see every day in washington. >> thank you. i'm sorry for the staffers who are mourning john mccain because they may have worked on his campaign. we are going to take a quick break here. and when we come back, the formal services will be getting underway. new listerine® sensitivity gives you lasting protection from tooth sensitivity. with first of its kind protection, it blocks tooth sensitivity at the source. so instead of your favorite foods making you feel like this. you'll enjoy them like this. bring out the bold.™

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we are just a few moments away from the start of the national memorial service for senator john mccain. we expect to see senator mccain brought into the national cathedral here in a few minutes. still with us, nbc presidential

historian michael and former senator bob kerry of nebraska, and the former chairman of the choint chiefs of staff retired admiral mike mullen. both presidents bush and obama have also entered the cathedral. also joining me will be chief white house correspondent hallie jackson and casey hunt. michael, two presidents giving a you' eulogy here. >> the same thing with lying in state in rotunda, maybe a dozen senators in american history has done that the last one was world war ii veteran. >> absolutely. it's a good idea where i think john mccain place his will be on

the future and in politics. because i think one result of this whole week, and even a week for a president is a relatively new development. abraham lincoln took a week in 1865. but the modern era is ronald reagan one week after he died in june of 2004. since then, it's become almost the custom when a president passes, carried on by gerald ford two years later, you have the week, and that's portraying some ideas. but in this huge division today with donald trump with whom john mccain there was such conflict between the two of them, this is a week that john mccain is not only trying to, to the extent he planned this, effect his place in history, but also effect the politics of the next two years. and if the result is that for the next two years when a politician that does something

that's divisive, they will say that's not what john mccain would have done. >> they have two people that defeated him eulogizing him. you have mrs. obama walking in now. but to allow your, you know, to allow your opponent that moment of, okay, you know, of forgiveness, of getting over it, what's that like? >> well, i mean, never completely get over it. because you are thinking about all of the mistakes you made and things. but john was running against forces way beyond his control. the president was unpopular. the economy was in the toilet. so he had plenty of reasons to understand why he was not able to get across the line. >> look, i think it was hard for him to get over it. come back to the senate is never easy. but he came back and behaved

spectacularly. and then, i'll say it again, when he was alive, when he was in the senate day-to-day basis, to say mccain sob in the same sentence. >> apparently he quoted harry truman, all you have to do is write me a letter and say sob. but when you think of the harry truman personality, i think mccain and him had the same similarity. >> and were you talking about getting over a presidential loss, walter mondale, when he lost in 1984 to ronald reagan called up george mcgovern, lost to nixon years earlier and said when does it stop hurting? and mcgovern 12 years later says i'll let you know when it does. one never gets over this and john mccain did it as valiantly as any presidential candidate i

can think of. >> but he also had four star admirals, he believed in service and continuing on. he would never guy who said i lost i am going to quit. >> and he is someone like when you go through hanoi hilton, and devastate anyone else. >> the families coming out now. i believe they'll be accompanying the senator. the paulbearers. warren beatty, a relationship he struck up during the campaign finance reform. joe biden. michael bloomberg. former secretary davis, long-term political aide. a friend steven dart. also, a long time friend and aid to senator mccain.

so we will sit back and take this in with you.

> dear friends, give your burdens and i'll give you rest. let us pray for our brother john, that he may rest from his labors, and enter into the light of god's eternal sabbath rest. we face in jesus christ, we receive the body of our brother john for burial. let us pray with confidence to god, the giver of life, that god will raise him to perfection in

the company of the saints. deliver your servant john sovereign lord christ from all evil. set him free from every bond. that he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitation where with the father and the holy spirit you live and reign one god forever and ever. amen. let us also pray for all who mourn, that they may cast their care on god, and know the consolation of his love. almighty god, look with pity on your sorrows for whom we pray. remember them gracious god in mercy, nourish them with

patience, comfort with the sense of your goodness, lift up your confidence upon them, and give them peace through jesus christ our lord. amen.

you can see there the family accompanying senator mccain. they are about to enter the cathedral here. there is nothing like the precision of military honors. >> absolutely. and you know what, i almost hate to say it, chuck, but this is one of the last remaining unifying national events we have

is the funeral of an admired leader. and that has actually healed in many cases, not of funerals, but in this cathedral, as you remember after 9/11, there was a service with former presidents and others. clinton and gore, who you mentioned who have just arrived here for this service, they had been estranged, this brought them together. president's kennedy in in 1963, presidents truman had not talked to each other. they buried the hatchet and had a drink together. >> my first memory of television was humphrey. the country needs shared experiences. we are so fractured and for thousands of reasons. but having a shared moment like this, an american moment. >> yeah. look, but it is shared grief. i miss him.

i'd like him to -- >> i have to do a show tomorrow without john mccain. i'm sorry. >> your most frequent guest. >> yes. >> but it is a great american story. the mccain story, the whole family, it's a great american story. >> world war i, world war ii. >> vietnam. >> but if that family's story and the grief you feel at his loss today doesn't make you feel good about being an american, it's time to get up. >> i was going to say, admiral mullen, i'm feeling this sense of pride just watching these moments right now. i imagine you must be welling up yourself. >> yeah, it's a very, very hard moment, very poignant moment, and very special moment. of those who are there, and we haven't talked a lot about them, who also mourn him and love him and really are hurting because of the loss, it's many of our

allies, junkets we were talking about earlier, those weren't just junkets, he basically represented america globally and had a huge impact there as well. so it's a universal global loss that we feel today for everybody that every knew senator john mccain. >> he was an ambassador for dislocati democracy and freedom, he really was. >> sometimes figures in history can have as much or more impact in death than they did in life. and if this week helps people to understand what john mccain stood for, the way he practiced politics around the world, his hopes for democracy at that time a time when democracy is underchallenged in an awful lot of places, this could be something that has a very positive effect. >> i take it traveling overseas with john mccain could be fun, too? >> that's one way of describing it. and i hope bob will tell the most interesting stories. >> no, i won't tell them all. >> never on the record.

>> no one is listening. >> again, this grieving, i mean, the grieving in vietnam, for gosh sakes. >> captors were mourning. >> yes. and in many ways making peace is harder than making war. and john was a part of an effort to make peace with former enemy. it was not easy to do. and produced a wonderful result. >> if we can do that in vietnam, i think the two parties can come together every now and then. >> right. >> every now and then. >> and what is the lesson he's trying to convey by choosing obama and george w. bush, the two guys who defeated him? >>en both gusz in the biggest terms john mccain was biggest thorn where he flirted with even changing parties, to barack obama the first four years. >> but he still worked for them. >> and he is trying to send ts message we fought each other tooth and nail but you should

have a relationship. >> let me introduce the unpleasant moment, it wasn't that they worked with them, they worked with him. they chose the fact even they were criticizing them and debating. they still saw him as an important ally. >> defense secretary leon panetta and carter there, it's a history of last 25 years of american politics in this national cathedral. >> you could begin a novel with this scene and begin to describe all these people how they relate to one another and especially how they related to john mccain. >> are you going to do that? >> maybe i'll be inspired this morning. maybe we can do it together. >> we are waiting here for the family. they are very precise. there is henry kissinger sitting right behind chief of staff john

kelly. go on down the line. lindsey graham. >> and talking about tales, they had the famous dinner for pow. john mccain was there as a star. >> i'm going to pause for a minute while some stations join our special coverage of senator mccain's funeral. >> we are just moments away with senator mccain and the family about to enter national cathedral. it is quite the service. we are going to hear from meghan mccain and james mccain. also hear of course from both former presidents bush and obama. we are going to hear from former senators and current senators, long-term friends of his. it's a whose who of paulbearers.

he collected an eclectic group of friends and allies, bob kerrey. >> he did. i mean warren beatty he is sitting there. you would think warren beatty, yet when you think of the movie he did, "bull worth," john mccain could be bull worth every once in a while. >> and i'm sure he thought of that, too. >> mr. and mrs. bush. >> i love it that the community you spoke of after 9/11 was managing to bring al gore and bill clinton back together. i was sitting -- >> for those just joining us, they laid a wreath at the washington memorial. she was accompanied by white

house chief of staff john kelly. a moving tribute as senator mccain made his way from the capitol to the vietnam memorial, and now at the doors here at the national cathedral. >> and i think we saw a former vice president cheney. this is someone in the george bush administration felt strongly about enhance ds interrogation. john mccain fought back strenuously. >> there is probably not a person in this room that he didn't have an argument with. and yet didn't walk away also probably shaking hands at the end of that argument. >> with john you didn't have an argument. you always had an argument that was qualified with a cal or full adjective. >> first time i met him he called me -- and he didn't know me yet. and i lived up to it probably.

>> you talked about it earlier, but for an audience watching this not in washington, a lot of things you hear about washington, it's a swamp, broken. the young people working in the senate offices, working in the white house and all these agencies, they are going to be inspired by this. and in many ways we get a lot better government than we deserve given our attitude towards what people are doing. and it's not ease yiet. you talk about argument, it's not easy to resolve a conflict. >> i tell people this all the time. i spent 20 years interviewing every person running for the house and senate, with a previous job, and i say 95% flt people that get here ran for office for the right reasons. they might get corrupted of the it happens. this place can corrupt you. there are all sorts of reasons you may fall down. but still a lot of idealism that is in this town. as swampy as we in the media sometimes portray it. >> and i say it, too, chuck,

because if expectation is unity coming out of it, it's going to have to be american people create the environment for this unity. because if the way they argue left and right, it's awfully difficult for the young people and their representatives to behave any differently. >> look, let's be frank, we are in a moment where you don't reward compromise. >> right. >> we are not rewarding it. we punish it. politically we punish it right now, michael. >> but if you look at american history, that has happened at other moments before. >> we go through cycles. >> the period before the civil war with slavery, people get sick of it, after richard nixon in 1974 had to resign over the watergate scandal, they said i want people that practice politics in a more ethical way. >> admiral mullen, is it that much harder sometimes to lead

troops, to lead sailors when the politics is so acrimonious at home? >> actually, what our military members look to is the support of the american people. and while they have their individual political views and look at is our support. they are terribly bright and focused and watch what goes on in terms of the partisanship. they don't express that. if they have supported boo i the american people as they have been in the iraq war and in afghanistan then they'll march off to do their jobs. extraordinary young men and women would do that. they like to see the kind of compromise that we are discussing. which is what they have supposed to do based on whoever the president is. we