are. it's friday june 17th. on "early today," the president and vice president deliver an incredibly moving message to the people in orlando. could the nation be headed for gun control legislation with monday's vote? pope francis grabs a tiger by the tail saying most modern marriages are actually invalid. a singer collapses in the middle of a performance. the nba's mvp gets ejected in game six and much more ahead of a busy father's day weekend. "early today" starts right now. good morning. thanks for joining us on this friday. president obama visited orlando for the first time since sunday's deadly attack. he says a threat to all americans was made and called for a tightening of the country

traveling with the vice president they delivered 49 white roses in memory of those lost and they grieved with the families in the same way they have for so many tragedies before this one. speaking at a make-shift memorial he says actions overseas can never prevent lone wolf attacks here at home. >> given the fact the last two terror attacks on our soil, orlando and san bernardino, were home-grown, carried out, it appears, not by external plotters and not by vast networks, or sophisticated cells, but by deranged individuals warped by the hateful propaganda that they had seen over the internet. and we are going to have to do more to prevent these kinds of events from occurring. it's going to take more than just our military. >> a vote on stricter gun control laws is

democrats marathon filibuster earlier this week. however, house speaker paul ryan poured some cold water on the measures when speaking with nbc's chuck todd. >> we are looking at the amendment. we want to make sure we get this right. the question right now is if someone is on a terror watch list, are the authorities notified as to whether a person on that list is trying to purchase a gun or not? that is the procedure right now. so the question is can we make sure that that procedure works the way it's supposed to work? >> on thursday, cia chief john brennan delivered a stark warning on the isis threat across the country. >> the grave certainly about how isil has been able to rapidly develop capabilities in other countries, this is a global challenge. the numbers of isil fighters now far exceeds what al qaeda had at its height. we are talking about tens of thousands of individuals. >> can you estimate the number? >> right n

syria/iraq area i think 18,000 to 22,000 fighters. >> brennan's comments come as our latest nbc news survey monkey poll 1 in 4 americans rank terrorism as the top issue facing the country. we are also learning new details of the communications the gunman omar mateen made during his deadly rampage, including online searches and social media posts. nbc's miguel almaguer has those details. >> reporter: we have learned from a source close to the gunman's wife, nor a salman and omar mateen exchanged text messages during the rampage. she said where are you? he said did you see what is happening? she said no. ed i love you babe. we know the gunman murdered 49 and use facebook in the blood shed. omar mateen searchedul

nbc news is told during the massacre, mateen posted you kill innocent women and children by doing air strikes. now taste islamic state vengeance. armed with two weapons during the shooting, an employee at this gun shop tells us mateen tried to buy ammo and body armer here two months ago but was turned down because something felt wrong. in the meantime, the funerals for the victims began. juan guerrero had just finished his first year at college. his boyfriend killed by his side will also be laid to rest. the first of 49 funerals in a city overwhelmed with grief. democrats unite in an effort to defeat donald trump but it also transformed is what the message that bernie sanders sent out in a live stream video to supporters last night. the video was over the past several days as an important message on the democratic race. however, sanders said he would with join hillary clinton to

nowhere near conceding the democratic primary. >> defeating donald trump cannot be our only goal. we must continue our grassroots effort to create the america that we know we can become. and we must take that energy into the democratic national convention on july 25th in philadelphia where we will have more than 1900 delegates. >> that was live streaming, hillary clinton racked up a high profile vote of confidence from former republican richard armita armitage. he served ronald reagan and george w. bush. it comes as clinton installs her own chief of staff at the democratic national committee taking over operations there leading into the fall. on the republican side, the gop continues to be dismayed by trump's candidacy. here is

governor whitman slamming trump on nbc's "last word." >> i am too worried about what this campaign is doing to the country, what his rhetoric is, how he would, i believe, make us a whole lot more vulnerable to terrorists by some of his language. and i think he is the wrong person to be president. he certainly doesn't represent the party in which i grew up. >> despite whitman's nonendorsement, trump continued his divisive message on the trail yesterday but not before getting his mechanical animals mixed up. >> a trillion dollar budget with 80,000 employees. barack obama is directly responsible for it. the responsibility for it lies with president barack obama and his failed policies. >> all right. having a little technical difficulty there. it seems trump isn't the only republican on the trail making extreme statements as of late. senator john mccain reportedly said president obama was directly responsible for the orlando attack.

>> and i predicted at the time that isis would go on check and there would be an attack on the united states of america. it's a matter of record. so he is directly responsible. >> mccain attempted to clean up those remarks with nbc's hallie jackson. >> the president had not pulled everybody out of iraq, if he had not, we would not see the rise of isis so there is the responsibility. >> reporter: i want to be correct-- >> there is responsibility. >> reporter: i want to be clear. >> you want to be clear? i'm not backtracking on anything. i am saying that the president of the united states, his actions were responsible because of the whole writhdrawal of troops from iraq which led to al qaeda going into sea and led to isis and failure to have a strategy to destroy isis has led to the attacks on the united states of america and europe. now

concert in edmondon, canada when meet loaf collapsed on stage. it happened during the second hour of the show when with he w singing "i would do anything for love." >> he was transported to a hospital and no word on his condition or what caused him to collapse. a fan who attended the concert tells nbc news he seemed a little out of it during the first hour. meet loaf cancelled a concert in calgary on monday due to an illness. walt disney says it is reviewing safety protocols after this week's alligator attack. they will close all beaches and include signage and unclear what the signs will detail or whether it will warn against alligators. they have pulled a couple of more alligators from the water but not a positive match to the one that killed

the medical examiner has said the cause of death was drowning. the family's statement words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. we are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time. a deadly assault on a british lawmaker has the uk in mourning today. jo cox a mother of two and rising member in parliament was attacked yesterday in broad daylight. local media reports say a man shot her on the street. the 52-year-old suspect was arrested whose motives remain unclear but it has sent shock waves across the uk where gun violence is rare. it bears referableance to gabby giffords who was shot in arizona. parties campaigning for and against the membership in eu, su

giffords tweeted the sentiment felt by many saying, absolutely sickened to hear of the assassination of jo cox. she was young and courageous and hard working, a rising star, mother, and wife. wildfires continue to rage out west back here in the united states in arizona and new mexico. fire crews used industrial scale quantities of fire retardant. some 66 million people across the west are under heat advisories this weekend which is mounting concerns that the hot, dry conditions could fuel more wildfires. so let's talk about that with meteorologist bill karins who is here with that. definitely not what they need. >> yeah, dry, hot, windy is the worst conditions for firefighters. it's not historic yet but this weekend it will become a historic heat wave. the advisorieadvisories. 36 million people under heat i haves a

under heat watches and go to warnings this weekend. here is where it's dangerous. this is where an all-time thing. tucson 117 all time record high and close that on a sunday 116 and phoenix 122 all time record on sunday and you'll be close to that on sunday. great weather in the northeast and thunderstorms are over around d.c. so that is fifty-two. heat in the middle of the country and not like any cooler but maybe not as humid out there so the heat index is lower. father's day, the desert southwest is roasting but from denver to oklahoma city to chicago, even minneapolis, a very warm father's day afternoon. that is your national weather. here is a closer look at your day ahead. look at charleston today. charleston and savannah under heat advisories and heat index 110 this afternoon. you'll cool off over the weekend. [000:11:53;00] 104 in lubbock and phoenix and tucson beginning their big

warm-up. if you want to cool off, heat wave over us. the south pole is cold as of late and betty it's negative 80. you mentioned the other day it was negative -- >> 112 or something? crazy like that. i can't begin to imagine how cold that would be, you know? >> you wouldn't last long outside. >> you would freeze as soon as you stepped outside your door. thank you, bill. ahead, which major u.s. city is the first tax sodas and other sugary drinks? plus the pope has a close encounter with a tiger. you're watching "early today." ! like a new dress shirt or tie only $19.99 pick him up a new watch... or give him a watch gift set for only $27.99 and save on performance golf shirts and, no matter how you pay take an extra 20% off these already great sale prices! everyone gets kohl's cash too! that you can use later on just about anything you want online or in store! all weekend at kohl's.

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philadelphia is the first major u.s. city to l soda. beginning january 1st, there will be a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages. the tax is expected to generate 90 million dollars in revenue. belonging will be auctioned belonging to whitey bulger. it includes household items and including 33 rolex watches. the proceeds will go to families to the people bulger killed or blackmailed. a scary creature had a special audience the pope. a 6-month-old tiger was brought on stage during the circus event but the cub darted sideways when the pope went to pet it. they say the pope's white clothing likely caught it off-guard. wait until you see what one dad did at a ballpark. and something happened to steph curry that has never

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what a game it was. the hot start. dominating down low and everybody else in front of the home crowd. now steph curry had an odd night. he hit 20 threes but the two-time reigning mvp was in foul trouble most of the game and frustrated by the cavs dominance. for the first time in his career, he did this. >> able to get that and the rebound. a foul on curry and curry is going to get a attack. he throws his mouthpiece after fouling out of the game! >> curry threw his mouthpiece and it hit a fan. that was also the first time he has ever been ejected from a game. he later said it was a weird feeling. the cavss went on to win 115-101 to force a game seven but controversy would ensue with curry's wife sending out a tweet that since been deleted. i've lost all respect. sorry, this is absolutely rigged for money or ratings, i'm not sure which. i wenon't be silent.

just saw sorry. then tweeted later, tweeted in the heat of the moment because the call was uncalled for. the warriors host game seven on sunday. copa america finals. jones passes to clint dempsey who has the first goal of the game. the u.s. got their second goal on an assist by dempsey. the americans go on to win 2-1. and as we head into father's day weekend, a shout-out to this dad at the phillies game! did you see that? he managed to hold his toddler in his lap while juggling a couple of hot dogs and snacks in a food tray and able to ma man-handle a foul ball like nobody's business. way to go, dad! regard what caused amy schumer to make a major change to her movie? find out next.

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released next year day weekend. disney's movie "finding dori." the "finding nemo" is plad by ellen degeneres looking for her kid. to make an impact this weekend is "central intelligence" featuring duane johnson and kevin hart. we would like to take a moment to thank the special father figures in our lives. sunday, of course, marks father's day. a time we reflect on how these men have played a role in shaping and defining who we are today. here are some photos of our team members with their loved ones. all of us here at "early today" would like to wish you a very special day. ♪ which you are you? be the you who doesn't cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

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be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®. let the cleanup begin. after hours of rain, hail and even a tornado, people across our area getting the first real look at the damage this morning. and so long to sanders. not quite. why the senator still is not conceding his bid for the white house. as one phase ends, another begins. what you need to know about metro's second safe track surge. good morning. >> a lot of people waking up this morning in the dark after that string of storms we saw through the area. >> depends on where you lived

and how bad it was. let's go to the live numbers. >> most of the outages are in the richmond area. in northern virginia, a little more than 5,800 people -- >> some of the outages she mentioned in richmond area we checked says that northern virginia a little more than 5,800 people without power including more than 1,000 each in fairfax, loudon and stafford counties. 900 outages in forestç heights. and up to 100 in the dark in southern maryland. we'll get back to the live desk for updates on those numbers. >> we're waking up with rain in the area. in fact, it is a weather alert today. >> we're going to cancel the weather alert day because the threat of severe weather not around anymore. we'll be tracking showers during the morning hours. i want to show you the storm reports from yesterday and they

line up well with where we're these are hail reports. notice loudon, prince well counties, middleburg reporting hail close to 2 inches in diameter. baseball size hail. these are wind and hail reports together. they favor west virginia and virginia. here's the latest on radar. grab the umbrella this morning. you won't need it this afternoon. i'll have the latest timing on rain coming up in a bit. for now, over to wtop where dave is tracking the roads this morning. good morning. >> good morning. not so bad on the roads at the moment actually. road conditions range from dry to damp in some cases. on inner loop near telegraph road, police activity but clean and green getting past up to wilson bridge and old town alexandria. i-66 moves well. a crash in fairfax county on

lehighway near monument drive and southbound laes blocked. back to you. that sound of heavy rain and golf ball size hail went on for hours in middleburg, virginia, overnight. the line of thunderstorms with powerful wind gusts snapped trees, cars were also pretty badly damaged. look at that because of the hail. those are big hail. some neighbors put down sandbags to keep the water out while others were without power for hours. >> the storms even spawned a confirmed tornado in martinsburg, west virginia. look at this picture here. you can see the funnel cloud. we also have some video. unclear if the twister caused any damage. >> weather was a problem for those trying to get out of town. someone tweeted us this video while stuck on a plane at reagan national for hours. at one point a full ground stop was in effect.

50 flights were canceled and good number of flights off until after midnight.ç we're watching some tough conditions out west for firefighters battling those wildfires in california. it's hot and dry. some of the worst of it in rugged coastal canyons west of santa barbara where the firefighters are struggling to fight those flames and hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of aircraft doing their best against a blaze that is now grown to 1,700 acres. thousands of residents forced out of their homes as well in arizona and new mexico where wind whipped blazes rage on. back to you. this morning we're preparing you for the second phase of metro safetrack program. whether you're driving or using the train, you'll likely feel the impact.