storm hit the caribbean island of dominica. according to local officials, more than a foot of rain flooded that small island causing mudslides that brought down buildings and destroyed bridges as well as stretches of roads wiped out. right now the tropical storm is just south of the dominican republic with 50-mile-per-hour winds. and folorida governor rick scot has declared a state of emergency in preparation for tropical storm erika. we're going to track the storm with you first, bill. >> the new update from the national hurricane center, first, puerto rico has been spared unlike the island of dominica which went through with nearly a foot of rain. it can bring big problems with rainfall, not with winds. the storm itself is going to go right over the high mountainous terrain of the dominican

republic and haiti, too. we're talking 10,000-foot peaks, and don't be surprised at all if this storm doesn't survive at all through this evening into tomorrow morning. it could regenerate northwest of the island, but making it over those islanmountains is a very difficult task. they did shift this ever so slightly to the south. as we go throughout the day saturday into sunday morning, the bahamas' forecast does look a little better and improved with the worst of the storm further to the south. it's still the general direction of south florida. the keys also at play here in the miami area. the hurricane will start to get its act together as we go throughout sunday, maybe 50-mile-per-hour winds just south, very warm water, favorable conditions will intensify. that monday morning commute when everybody is heading to work and school in south florida is when the storm could be nearest or closest to you with squall-type

weather. 60-mile-an-hour winds shouldn't do too much damage. it begins to narrow closer to the event, so right now it could still go to the west side or east side of florida. if the forecast shifts more over the water, it could reach hurricane status, but the forecast is still going mostly up the spine to florida. there's a good reason why the hurricane center has it going up to florida. if you combine the averages of all these different computers, it is a path straight through florida. the strongest path is this red line which turns the storm further north quicker. this still has it going into a category 2 up towards the carolinas. that's an outlyer, we call it. still unlikely to happen but possibilities. we're not gog giing to give up that. warmer waters could also go to a category 1. so tamron, most of the forecast is good. a weaker storm could completely get destroyed as we go throughout the night tonight,

but it's still heading in the general direction of florida surrounded by very warm water, so we're not giving up on this one until it's completely done. >> and bill, where we stand right now, looking at the video out of dominica, 25 people confirmed dead. they're expecting this number to increase. a building collapsed. the infrastructure is not the same as it would be, say, in south florida, but nevertheless, it's incredible video. >> and it may be doing the same in haiti and the dominican republic. we've seen terrible flooding from storms there in the past and that is a possibility. that's the next concern with this storm. we're lucky in florida, tamron, because we don't have any mountains to worry about, we have sandy soil that typically absorbs heavy rain very easily. if it's a rain event in florida, we can deal with that. florida is most prone to cultural flooding or if you get high winds, say, from andrew or

other storms ten years ago. >> thank you very much, and we'll keep you up to date on that storm. meanwhile we turn to politics this friday morning with republicans in an uproar over comments made by hillary clinton. >> extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups. we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world. but it's a little hard to take coming from republicans who want to be the president of the united states. >> now, the republican national committee quickly responded saying, for hillary clinton to equate her political opponents to terrorist a new low for her failing campaign. she should apologize immediately for her inflammatory rhetoric. donald trump is also firing back on this one. he appeared on "morning joe" via phone this morning. >> her last statement on terrorists was a disgusting statement. >> in the next hour, hillary

clinton will make a high stakes appearance before the democratic national committee at its summer meeting now under way in minneapolis. in the meantime, those gathered are also awaiting a decision by vice president joe biden on whether he will enter the race for a democratic nomination. let's get to kristen welker. she joins us from minneapolis. i can't imagine hillary clinton is too disturbed that donald trump or the rnc is upset with her comments. that being said, there are some reports that democrats are still very upset about her handling of this e-mail situation and how she's chosen to face the press on it. >> reporter: you're absolutely right, tamron. first of all, secretary clinton not backing down on those controversial remarks she made yesterday. part of that is her strategy to go on offense against republicans as she continues to take all of this criticism over her e-mails. i've been talking to democrats here, and they say they want her to work aggressively, answer some of the questions, they

don't want her to joke about it as she has in past weeks. they say this is something democrats really care about and that they're concerned about, and they're concerned it could make her vulnerable in a general election. to your other point, there is a lot of buzz here about vice president joe biden. is he going to get into the race? we know the vice president is mulling a decision right now. he's, of course, at home in d.c. he's not here, by the way, but his superpac is here. they are making the case. the general consensus seems to be if vice president biden gets into the race, it just makes it a better race for democrats. he either wins the nomination or he makes secretary clinton a stronger candidate. the reality is he's been holding a lot of high-level meetings, but he hasn't really started to lay any of the groundwork you would expect to see at this point in time for a candidate who is really seriously wanting to mount a credible campaign. then there is the omission by vice president biden himself. he told democrats earlier this week he's still undecided.

he's still very much mourning the loss of his son beau and i'm told a decision is still several weeks away. important to point out, tamron, it's not just about those two candidates. we're going to hear from four candidates today, including bernie sanders who has been in my opinioning -- nipping at hillary clinton's heels. and of course martin o'malley who will be speaking a short time from now. all the candidates will be making the case they are the strongest candidate in the election. tamron? >> thanks very much, kristen. donald trump announced esteeming up with one of his rivals in the presidential race, ted cruz. cruz and trump will appear together on capitol hill next month for a rally to oppose it ran nuclear deal. in the meantime, on "morning joe" this morning, trump said he may be taking a pledge not to run as a third party candidate

should he fail to make the republican nomination. >> to be treated fairly, that's all i want. they've been treating me really nicely. the rnc and everybody has really been great over the last three or four weeks. >> let's bring in our "news nation" political panel, senior political editor and politics managing editor andrea turkel and zeke miller. thank you both for joining us. andrea, let me start out with you here. as kristin welker pointed out, hillary clinton is not backing down even though the rnc has called on her to apologize. this has been a week for jeb bush, donald trump and now the rnc asking her to apologize. with that said shs t, the atmos in minneapolis. you had bernie sanders there, the cloud hovering over the party as to whether joe biden will get in this campaign.

the major question is, is hillary clinton in trouble? >> i think a lot of her supporters were pretty excited about her comments with the republican candidates and their position on abortion. she was pointing out that not only do they oppose abortion, but they oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest, and george bush is even farther to the right than his brother was on this issue. i think she's talking about policy, being aggressive, stressing this theme about republicans sort of going back to the past. this is something you'll hear a lot at the dnc meeting in minneapolis. that is what they would like to hear her saying and move on from this. there are concerns about the e-mail issue and she is trying to move away from it and talk about these policy issues. >> a new report from mark alpern says she has more than one half

to be nominated in the bag, but you have ed rendell, for example, and other sources, democrats, they say, who are leaking out this concerned story for a reason. >> absolutely. you're seeing a battle from hillary clinton right now, whether it be on the e-mail issue, sort of making jokes about snapchat, that english would be deleted, or about them investigating her on the abortion comments. these are things you say only when you're trying to shore up your own party support. they are going to win over independent voters. then again, you talk to republicans, and there are more democratic voters than there are republican voters. democrats needs a turnout game, republicans need a shore-up game. she need to rally around her flag, so to speak, and hopefully

from there she'll win the nomination and support in general. >> let's talk about the republican party. ted cruz and donald trump are teaming up in this rally on the iran nuclear deal. this comes after reports that john boehner reportedly called ted cruz a jackass at a fundraiser, and he enjoyed the fact that he was on the republican campaign because it keeps him out of washington. cruz and trump, how do they benefit aligning themselves with each other, considering, amanda, they will likely be taking each other on very soon with some of the rhetoric we've already seen from donald trump. >> i think donald trump loves anyone who loves donald trump, and because they're being nice to him, it gives him a little bit of establishment, legitimacy, and ted cruz really doesn't expect donald trump to last that long, so he'll be there to pick up the pieces and

get ted cruz's supporters. the rnc is in a tough place. you talked earlier about them being nicer to donald trump. the rnc recognizes that republicans need to do a better job reaching out to these voting blocks, latinos, asians, young people, and donald trump really isn't helping much with that. so they have to not make him too mad but they need to win voters. >> i understand you think ted cruz is banking on donald trump's fall in order for him to rise. >> absolutely. looking at the polls, ted cruz's support has fallen a little bit in the last couple months and donald trump's has risen, and he's wanting to be the voice for the same group of supporters that made their way to donald trump. that's why you see ted cruz constantly picking a fight. donald trump had very different decisions about what to do with

that deal. ted cruz saying he wants to get rid of it on day one. donald trump saying he's a businessman, and he would just force a deal in a much stronger fashion. that aligns himself with more of the moderates in his party, ted cruz with the chris christies and not the scott walkers. they don't necessarily agree on everything, but ted cruz wants him there because ted cruz wants his supporters. >> have a great weekend. we continue to follow the news out of new orleans where former president george w. bush is about to speak at warren easton high school. he is there to mark the 10th anniversary of hurricane katrina. last week president obama was there on the ground. we will bring you mr. bush's remarks as soon as he takes the podium there. coming up, an nbc news exclusive, a look inside the

ho home of the gunman who killed a reporter and a cameraman in virginia. you can find me on instagram and twitter. we'll be right back. ♪ no student's ever been the king of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop, and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger.

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we are back with new details about the man who killed two journalists on live television. investigation gives us a new look inside the killer's apartment. we also learn about vester flanagan's background and his possible plans to get away. the funerals will be held next

week for alison parker and adam ward. we siee a memorial that continus to grow behind you, stephanie. >> reporter: yes, it is, tamron. people continue to bring flowers. we just saw a mother and father and their baby come up with fried chicken for the office, and the community has really stood by. you were talking about the apartment for vester flanagan. it's basically right across the street from the station, and a lot of people here, either employees or former employees, have been telling us they thought it was very odd that he stayed there two years ago after he was fired. in fact, alison parker's dad told us when she first started here as a reporter that her colleagues told her not to move in there because he was a little sketchy. they just didn't realize how serious the threat was. >> the two blessings that we have today -- >> reporter: crowds gathered late thursday in the wake of wednesday's shocking murders. remembering the two lives lost,

many rallying to reform gun laws. an issue stressed by andy parker in the wake of his daughter alison's murder. >> how many times are we going to see an incident like this happen, you know, newtown, charleston, the movie theaters, you name it. it's got to stop. >> reporter: meanwhile a clearer picture of the shooter, vester lee flanagan, is starting to take shape. on thursday authorities looked for evidence inside this apartment where flanagan lived until yesterday. this video provided nbc news shows a near empty interior, besides the refrigerator which flanagan covered in photos of himself. flanagan shot himself in his rental car. inside that vehicle officers found six magazines of ammunition, a to-do list and 17 stamped letters along with three license plates, a wig, sunglasses and a shawl. thursday wdbj's general manager

gave details about flanagan's incident-plagued time at the station. his manager said he generally showed poor news judgment. >> he confronted an anchor in the hallway. at that point management made the determination that it was the appropriate time to separate him from the company. >> reporter: according to court documents, following his termination, an altercation ensued, parts of which were actually recorded by victim adam ward, flanagan insulted him and flipped the camera off. a similar conflict existed more than a decade earlier at a local station in tell has sallahassee, including a reporter who said he confronted her for making a slight on-aramis tak. >> he wanted to take it outside and i was stunned. >> it always appeared to be personal with him, which it really wasn't. >> reporter: today the medical examiner told the associated press that both adam ward and alison parker died from gunshot

wounds to the head. tamron? >> all right, stephanie, thank you very much. we are keeping an eye on developing news from new orleans where former president george w. bush is expected to speak here very soon at the warren easton high school to mark the 10th anniversary of hurricane katrina. new orleans mayor mitch andrew just finished his remarks. in 2006 the former president delivered anniversary remarks. he picked warren easton as an example that he sees as the city's come-back spirit. it's also the school tied to the former first lady's foundation. we'll be back and bring you those remarks. heart health's important... ...so you may... take an omega-3 supplement... ...but it's the ingredients inside that really matter for heart health. new bayer pro ultra omega-3 has two times the concentration of epa and dha as the leading omega-3 supplement. new bayer pro ultra omega-3.

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hurricane katrina. he is about to speak at warren easton high school, the former president accompanied there by laura bush, whose library foundation helped rebuild what is the oldest public school in the great city of new orleans. the former president himself admitted his administration's initial handling of the disaster reflected badly on his presidency. just yesterday president obama visited new orleans, and he praised the resilience of those who live there and who have helped the city bounce back. >> we came to realize that what started out as a natural disaster became a manmade disaster, a failure of government to look out for its own citizens. because of you, the people of new orleans working together, this city is moving in the right direction, and i have never been more confident that together we will get to where we need to go. you inspire me. [ applause ] >> new orleans suffered the worst of katrina's devastation

when the levee system failed and 80% of new orleans was flooded for weeks. so what is being done to ensure that doesn't happen again, nbc's tre'maine lee shared a pulitzer prize as part of the newspaper he worked at then, and tre'maine joins us now from the beautiful city of new orleans, and tre'maine, we're keeping an eye on this event with george w. bush. obviously when you talk about new orleans and you mentioned former president, strong reactions from a number of people. it was in his book, a decision point that he referred to a post-katrina flyover, the now infamous photo of him flying over in air force i as a huge mistake, but he wouldn't say if it was the event that damaged his presidency more than anything else. many have said, including david brinkley and others, said it was a stain on his record that he could never recover from. >> reporter: that's right, when

you think about the optics of those days 10 years ago when the city was on its knees and there was a real concern that the city may never return, and you have this picture of president bush flying over, for many it spoke to the distance between the people and government. president obama said yesterday while this was a disaster by all means, it was also a manmade disaster and there was a failure of government to protect its people. here we are 10 years later, and people are wondering whether all of new orleans has risen. we've seen some progress. also a lot of people are wondering, 10 years later, is this city safe again? there are issues concerning the levee system but also the idea of erosion. there was not a natural barrier. i spoke to a number of folks working to restore the coastline, and they questioned whether or not we are prepared once again for katrina. let's take a listen.

>> it w john taylor grew up along the water in new orleans when this swamp was full of trees, marsh and wildlife. now it's all open water. >> we lose the football field of land coming from the gulf of mexico every 45 minutes. >> nothing but trees in here. >> nothing but trees in here with big canopies over them and just full of life. >> reporter: jonathan henderson is an environmental activist. >> for every three miles of wetlands we lose, that is another storm surge we can't stop from inundating places like new orleans, places like tibideau. >> whether we can withstand another type of katrina is really not the question, it's what happens when we get hit by that category 5 storm that's a direct hit on the city of new orleans that scares me. >> reporter: he says the erosion is mostly a manmade problem. >> the oil and gas industry has done a lot of great things for the state of louisiana and for

the u.s. economy, there's no question about that. but they've also done a lot of damage, a significant amount of damage, but slicing and dicing louisiana's wetlands. we've got literally tens of thousands of miles of oil and gas access to pipeline canals in our wetlands. >> those pipelines will never close, so they expose themselves to salt water which gets to the gulf. >> reporter: now retired, he leads the green army focusing on saving new orleans' wetlands. >> i want management companies to do what they got to do until we find another form of energy. but it does not give them the right to leave a mess where they go in. >> reporter: we surveyed the problem from the air. those straight lines are abandoned oil canals. the canals let saltwater from the ocean seep into the plants, which destroys plant life

leading to erosion of soil. it comes with a hefty price tag. >> $50 billion. >> and there's a fight over who is really responsible and who should pay. >> look at it now and remember the way it used to be. how does it make you feel now? >> i feel like the commercial in the '60s and '70s when you looked at the land. it's tough every time i look at this. >> that was rematre'maine lee reporting for us. let me take you to warren easton high school in new orleans where the former president is speaking now. let's listen. >> if enthusiasm and a good strategy counts, new orleans is in good hands. and we thank you very much. [ applause ] >> by the way, i do bring greetings from one of the co-chairmen of the bush katrina fund. he had one of the great lines of all time.

he said, who would have thought getting out of bed at age 91 would be more dangerous than jumping out of an airplane at age 90? i want to thank david garland, president of the warren easton charter foundation board. i want to thank all of the folks who have shown up. as laura said, we had a roundtable discussion. many of our friends were there, people we worked with. norman francis, for example, one of the great leaders of new orleans, one of the great minds of new orleans. [ applause ] >> in spite of the devastation, we have many fond memories. i remember sitting with honore on top of one of those big ships str strategizing. i think you were drinking. i wasn't, of course, but it's great to see you. we're honored that you took time to come. obviously, members of congress, members of the state house,

superintendent white, on and on. thank you all for coming. i really want to thank the leadership of the school, and we'll talk about them here in a minute, but i must confess, the principal is always a teacher. so she tried to teach me how to second line with the band here at warren easton. i know she didn't say it but she was thinking, this boy needs a lot of work. so we're thrilled with your hospitality. in a cruel twist, hurricane katrina brought despair during what should have been a season of hope, the start of a new school year. students who had recently gone back to school suddenly had no school to go back to. many had nowhere to live. the floodwaters, as you all know better than most, claimed schools and homes alike. as laura mentioned, the ground we're on today was under water.

all of us who are old enough to remember will never forget the images of our fellow americans amid a sea of misery and ruin. we'll always remember the lives lost across the gulf coast. their memories are in our hearts, and i hope you pray for their families. hurricane katrina is a story of loss beyond measure. it's also a story of commitment and compassion. i hope you remember what i remember, and that is 30,000 people were saved in the immediate aftermath of the storm by u.s. military personnel, by louisiana law enforcement and by citizens who volunteered. i hope you remember what i remember, and that was the thousands who came here on a volunteer basis to provide food for the hungry and to help find shelter for those who had no home to live in. there are people all around our country who prayed for you, many

of whom showed up so they could say they helped a fellow citizen who was hurting. one of the groups has stepped forward to serve were the educators of new orleans. at a time when it would have been easy to walk away from the wreckage, the educators here today thought of the children who would be left behind. you understood that bringing new orleans back to life required getting students back to school. and even though some of the educators had lost almost everything you owned, you let nothing stand in your way. today we celebrate the resurgence of new orleans schools. we honor the resilience of a great american city whose levees gave out but its people never gave up. out of the devastation of katrina, you vowed to do more than just open the schools. you vowed to challenge the status quo. long before the great flood, too many students in this city

drifted from grade to grade without ever learning the skills needed for success. parents lacked choices in the power to intervene. principals and teachers liked the authority to chart a more hopeful course. it was a system that stranded more than 60% of students failing the schools. it was what i called the soft bigotry of low expectations. the decisions made in the dark hours after katrina sparked a decade of reform. rather than just reopen the schools, reorganized many of the charter schools that are independently operated but publicly accountable for achieving high standards. more than nine and ten public school students in this city now call our charter school home. administrators at these schools have the freedom to slice through red tape and the freedom to innovate.

parents of these schools have choices if dissatisfied. and the results of these schools have been extraordinary. the reason we know is because we measure in any attempt to undermine accountability in our school system does a huge disservice to the students who go to the schools in new orleans. [ applause ] >> according to a new report by the cowan institute, a percentage of new orleans students graduated on time has soared since katrina. the percentage of students that attended schools and do better than the average has almost doubled and so has the percentage of students meeting basic standards. you got to ask why. it didn't just happen. a lot of it was structural, and a lot of it required strong leadership, people to stare into the eye of the storm and refused to back down. so laura and i are here in new

orleans to remind our country about what strong leadership means. and we're here to salute the leaders. i think of jenny rials here at warren easton. after katrina, jenny was forced to leave new orleans. she started a website called warren easton in exile. they ran a vision for returning to new orleans and reopening their school. when jenny returned to new orleans, the first place she went was not her house. it was this school. and as she put it, i would rather have seen my own house burn down than this school. jenny would give anything for easton, and today we give teachers like hers our sincere thanks. [ applause ] >> it's amazing what happened in this city after the storm wiped out the school system.

educational entrepreneurs decided to do something about the devastation and the failure. i met a lot of them when i was president and subsequent to my presidency. nieraf kingsland is one such person. he took a leadership role in organization called new schools in new orleans. he worked with others to help launch dozens of new schools and turn ideas of reform into reality. in other words, this isn't a theoretical exercise. it's important for our country to look at new orleans and realize this is an exercise of implementing a plan which works. so nierak was so encouraged by what he sees here that he's talking up the reforms to other cities around the country. isn't it amazing? the storm that nearly destroys new orleans, now new orleans is the beacon for school reform.

[ applause ] >> he represented the virtues that bill clinton and i had in mind when we announced the new presidential leadership scholars program. we're honored that nieraf was among the first class of scholars. the librarians salvaged their collection from raw wreckage. i know something about librarians. i married one. i'm really proud of the laura bush foundation. she's talked about the grants, talked about pam and marshall. these are citizens who supported this foundation who, if they've been in new orleans, they didn't stay very long. and yet, like many around the country, they care deeply about the future of this city. i hope the students here -- i'm really thrilled you're here, by the way, and thank you for staying awake. i hope you realize the compassion of others and helping

you realize a good education. it turns out that every good scho school, a school that's succeeding, a school that's succeeding and we know it's succeeding because we measure against other standards, requires strong principles. and there is no doubt that lexie medley is a strong leader. [ applause ] >> i love when she says, if you fail, we fail. the student is our product. we don't believe in putting out anything but the best. in order to succeed, and in order to lead properly, you've got to set high goals and high expectations. and that's what lexie and this school have done. as you heard, this school has

graduated 100% of its seniors for the past five years. [ applause ] >> lexie earned our admiration and our gratitude along with our best wishes for a happy birthday tomorrow. [ applause ] >> it's a story of schools like this one and others that we see a determination to rebuild better than before. it's a spirit much stronger than any storm. it's a spirit that's lifted communities laid low by tornadoes or terrorist attacks. it's a spirit that i saw in new orleans 10 years ago that is very evident today. we see this spirit in the population that has ticked back up as families settled back down. we see it in the tourists who were drawn here not only by this city's rich heritage, but by the new hotel rooms and restaurants. we see it in the spirit in

lauren duff. as laura mentioned, we first met her in 2006 when she was a freshman. she was happy to be back at the school she loved at the time, and you know what she told me? she said, i want to be a teacher. and here she is as a member of this faculty, teaching english. i probably needed her when i was in high school. when i asked how students have overcome adversity, lauren said, we teach our kids to be resilient. that's in the culture of this city. lauren is right. the resilience you teach at warren easton is the same resilience that this city showed the world in the wake of hurricane katrina. on this anniversary, the work of making a stronger and more hopeful new orleans goes on. we've achieved a lot over the last 10 years. and with belief in success, and

a faith in god, new orleans will achieve even more. the darkness from a decade ago is lifted, the city has risen again, and the best days lie ahead. thank you for having me. [ applause ] >> president george bush saying the darkness has been lifted out of new orleans as a result of what he says is the school reform that's taken place in that city, referring to new orleans as a beacon of school reform and says that a decade of reform has produced one of the best school systems as it is focused on charter schools. in fact, the president citing the number 9 out of 10 public school students attend a charter school. let me bring in nbc news senior political analyst mark murray.

you hear george bush, katrina, new orleans, you and i both know the images and things that pop up in even the most balanced of minds here. today he is focusing on school reform and what he believes is the good that came out of so much bad. >> reporter: yeah, tamron, these two things can actually be true, that the bush administration badly handled the katrina hurricane initially. whether it was optics or actual work in the bureaucracy, they totally botched things. it became a full political crisis in humanitarianism, the bush administration decided to roll up its sleeves, give money, do things. politically the damage was done from that initial thing, and it's worth remembering how bad the year 2005 was for george w. bush after winning reelection the year before. you had hurricane katrina, the

bush administration's push for privatizing, so security which didn't pan out, and of course the iraq war which was the biggest problem that administration was dealing with at the time. >> not doing great in the polls, it was interesting this morning on the "today" show. we showed the air cloud are the things that come to mind with each of the candidates, and with jeb bush the first thing was his last name bush, and as donald trump pointed out, on the campaign billboards and flyers, it's just "jeb." many saw that as an attempt to move away from the name bush because of the outline of the second term of his brother. >> there are many who think it is a generic, clinton versus bush election, and that's an election republicans just can't win. it is worth noting that the bush

campaign, dealing with hurricanes and hurricane relief when he was florida governor even back in 2004 when the state was hit by multiple hurricanes, and, in fact, it's worth noting that jeb bush's hurricane emergency management person is the person who now leads president obama's fema director. >> let's go to the democratic national committee, summer meeting in minneapolis. we were speaking with kristen welker at the top of the hour. you have debra wasserman schultz speaking now, but you have bernie sanders supporters in front who don't want people to forget he is drawing in huge crow crowds, even though i think he is leading in one or two polls, but it is widely seen as hillary clinton's game to lose. when you look at some of these headlines right now, mark, including the one that i believe was in the times today that, again, you have some democrats, maybe some who are at this meeting, upset with her handling of the e-mail situation. >> the contacts of today's meeting really matters, and

tamron, these are the parties elite figures, the state chairs, partile directed, and hillary clinton has endorsements from more than half of the city's elected congress and governors. this should be home turf for her, but you'll hear from all the democrats including sanders, including chafie making their pitches on why they're the best chance for the general election, ask that's t and that's the argument you'll hear from all these democrats. >> how soon before we start to see major pushback from martin o'malley who has slightly gone against hillary clinton and bernie sanders regarding her handling of the e-mails. we're seeing more of the directed attacks on the republican side of this equation

but not really with the democrats. >> so far martin o'malley has been the only one to really criticize hillary clinton over this. he's called it a distraction and he focuses on other issues rather than hillary clinton's e-mails. we've heard just absolute silence from all the other democrats who are running, which i think is pretty telling. you've mentioned, though, how jit tery democrats can get, but in general, they're all jit terry individuals. i think what we're all seeing from this e-mail story, and really just to watch is how long does this start. it's going to be hard for her to get away from it. if, on the other hand, the fbi decides, you know what, there really wasn't any crime, and this turns into a political story the ren cans and be able

to operate and try to dissuade democratic voters. >> thanks, mark. we'll see you on monday. >> thanks, tam. warnd the deliberation of the jury for the prep student, or will he go free? a live report is next. ♪ mother nature can turn in an instant;

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developing now. jury deliberations are under way in the closely watched trial of a former prep school student accused of raping a younger classma classmate. jurors could deliver a verdict as early as today. now in closing arguments yesterday the attorney for the defendant owen labrie argued that the accuser lied about being raiped in order to maintan her reputation. >> [ bleep ] was faced with a choice. i can either say that, yes, i was with owen and tell the truth about what they had done or say, yes, i was with owen and we had

sex but it was not with my consent. and, therefore, she would be able to have an explanation. >> the prosecutor however argued that labrie took advantage of his accuser and refused to take no for an answer. labrie pleaded not guilty to all charges. if convicted he could face more than 20 years in prison. joining me now from concord, new hampshi hampshire, is nbc's gabe gutierrez. we also know this is about the school's reputation as it's come up many times in the trial about the culture and climate that may have allowed this to happen. >> yeah, that's exactly right, tamron. the cameras are behind me. the media is waiting for verdict in this case. this is a case that has really brought national attention to the issue of sexual assault on high school campuses. something that many sexual assault victims rights advocates say is not often discussed if jury of nine men and three women must now decide whether this

encounter on a high school campus amounted to rape at one of the nation's most elite prep schools. prosecutors have alleged that the -- that owen labrie, now 19 years orlanld, sexually assault 15-year-old girl on st. paul's campus as a rich chaul that has come up many times on this trial known as senior salute. both times have blasted st. paul's culture at many points throughout this trial. during closing arguments yesterday they each had different interpretations of the defendant's role in that culture. take a listen. >> st. paul's school failed the children with their attitude toward senior salute. the idea that you would wink at a tradition that senior salute represents is shocking. >> this isn't the school's fault. this isn't the fall of the

culture that's at st. paul's school. it was the defendant who manipulated that culture to get what he wanted. >> reporter: now, a dean of students at st. paul's testified that he learned of the senior salute back in the spring of 2013. but the school has said and has maintained throughout this trial in a written statement that the allegations of that culture were notemblematic. a jury of nine men and three women. if convicted owen labrie faces up to 20 years in prison. he faces nine charges in all. >> thank you very much. we'll keep an eye on the decision a is expected by the end of the day. that does it for this day of "newsnation." we'll be back on monday. can a business have a mind? a subconscious. a knack for predicting the future. reflexes faster than the speed of thought.

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trump. once on the fringes donald trump has now cemented himself as the leader of the gop pact in several key polls. this as he continues to turn up the heat on the establishment candidate jeb bush. >> well, i don't want to be nasty and i don't want to say that but i will tell you that if you look at the polls he's not really second anymore. he's fourth and fifth in a lot of the polls. and i have -- you know, i've always assumed that he would be a primary competitor. search for answers. nbc news gets an exclusive look inside the life of the man who took two innocent lives in virginia as those who knew and loved the victims try to find the strength to carry on. >> adam's fiance is obviously in tremendous grief. it is -- you know, it is bad enough to find out that you're fiance is shot. it's worse to be the producer of the show where that happens live. >> we'll talk to the man who mentored adam ward at wdbj

coming up. and after the storm, ten years after katrina, president obama comes to new orleans to see the recovery firsthand. but as hud secretary julia castro tells us, the work remains unfinished. >> for as much progress as we've made there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. good day. i'm luke russert in for andrea mitchell. wrapping up week seven of donald trump's rein over the republican presidential primary field and like many left wondering what the former top tier candidates will do between now and february to push trump off what's become a lofty political person. chuck todd is political director and moderator of "meet the