good morning. i'm gigi stone woods. >> i'm frances rivera. we come to you following several breaking news stories. with president donald trump on the fourth day of his first foreign trip visiting the millian presidential palace for the first time, meeting with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas after spending a day in jerusalem. >> the meeting between the two comes as apparent terror attack rocks the uk after an explosion struck during an ariana grande concert in manchester, killed at least 22 and injured 59. the blast occurring in a packed arena with as many as 21,000 attending. leaving many shaken. >> we were in

a bang and just run for me life and -- >> a balloon? >> staff. just started running. >> how did you manage to get out? >> told us to be calm and then a few minutes later let us out. then ambulances came and -- >> the department of homeland security says there are no credible threats to music venues here in the united states. as the blast marks the second attack in the uk in just the last two months. let's bring in law enforcement analyst jim cavanaugh. heart breaking story. where does the investigation go from here? >> they are focusing on the bomber, gigi, it's in full swing now. uk police said they have over

are going to be very aggressive. likely they are conducting a search, a search warrant over there they quacall it a queen's writ to go in the house of the bomber and get everything out, bomb making materials if there. try to walk this back, see who he is and what he's about, wa exactly the motive is. and if it turns out to be terror then who are his accomplices or people who supported him or delivered him there or made a bomb for him. a lot of answers yet that we're going to have to get unfolding in the hours ahead. >> there are investigators could know the identity of this attacker but are not releasing it when it comes to this investigation. you always talk about timing and target when it comes to these attacks. what does it tell you that this happened outside the actual arena in the ticket area or the foyer area, and it happened after the concert after people were

it tells you the real motive of the bombing which is homicide. you know we talk so much about suicide bomber but the motive here is homicide. multiple homicide, mass murder. that's the motive. mass murder. you die committing the mass murder, that's the suicide. so, if it was just a suicide you would be alone somewhere in the park. but that's not what you're doing here. the timing is so critical. you are waiting for the crowd to come out. now, you want to kill all the concertgoer. we don't know the reason he wants to do that, is it tied to international terror, maybe. is it some other distorted plot in someone's head. you know, emotionally disturbed person who wants revenge on whoever you know, ariana grande fans, we don't know that yet. it's more likely terror because that's the behavior we've seen over the years and certainly in recent years in europe at these big

but we don't know all of the answers yet. the terrorists centers are all spun up over washington, all over the world look at this real hard. those analysts looking at us talk, looking at all of their threads, they are talking back to informants looking for the data on the bomb, data on the bomber. they want to see if they can piece anything together that might stop the next attack. >> police are urging the public to share images from the scene. how critical is this to the investigation? >> oh, it's critical, really critical because you can -- with the closed circuit tv and the you know, electronic devices people use at these you can piece together the movements of the bomber just before the blast. and that's really important. he could be with an accomplice, remember the boston marathon bombers, the video showing them together, then separating to plant their bombs so it could be

critical. somebody could deliver the bomber there, walk up with him, hand him something. give him instructions. he could be talking on the cell phone at a particular time and police can go and get those calls, those numbers. so yes, it's critical to watch, how he might have handled the back pack, you know, manipulated a detonator, all those things are important. so yes, if people have video, share it. it might help stop the next attack. >> when you say that next attack, jim, we heard it over and over when it comes to these soft targets and that being the focus of these kinds of terrorist attackers, what is the reassurance the public can get time and time again when we ask how does this happen? and then we also know the soft targets given the intelligence perspective, given the tactical perspective on how the public, whether it's in the uk or here in the united states can be protected. >> right. frances, well

totally protected all the time. we have to live our lives and we have to be brave about that for sure. but the chances of being struck in one of these attacks is very, very small as well. more things can be done. i think we've see attacks outside these venues in paris at the soccer stadium, at the airports prior to security in belgium, we saw it at istanbul and these are all in recent last year or so. so and there's many others going back in history. so we look at that, and we say okay, what about pushing that perimeter security out even if it's lighter it has to be better. so what i would stay a guy walking across or lingering in front of the terminal there, in front of the box office ticket area, how long was he there? that's an important fact. i think all police officers and investigators want to know that. how long was he there? was he there 30 minutes, 20

because that is an important fact. it may be you can help you defeat the next one. so bomb sniffing dogs outside that can walk up and you know, sniff people that are around there, sniff the area. a guy carrying a lot of explosives in a back pack, a bomb sniffing dog trained to do that, he can big that guy up right away and then officers can be brought in to question him and be moved out. you won't stop everyone but you can stop more. and maybe you know, higher surveillance level of the lighter perimeter with elevated officers watching. things can be done that are not impossible to do. but ultimately it's the crowd the terrorist is after, they were after the crowd. if the you keep that in mind when at these events living your life, keep that in mind. don't always run with the crowd. you might want to think a little more independently, you can't get out of every line and crowd certainly, but you don't always have to be rushing to be in the middle of one. so just think about that.

the crowd, if the crowd's running the terrorist is trying to get them to run toward them. so keep your head on in the public ev that you know, you don't need to just run willy-nilly in every direction. think before you move. >> certainly. especially if there is confirmation in the reports initial reports we heard so far that maybe some of the 22 people who died and the 59 injured may have been injured through a stampede from that. jim, thank you. >> horrible. thanks, frances. thanks, gigi. >> we have a night of strong storms across new mexico. you can see it here. hail more than two inches in diameter coming down covering the ground along the highway. i want to check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins who is following more severe weather in the southeast. what can we expect today? >> good morning. yesterday we didn't have much in the way of flash flooding with a threat continues, it's a

through georgia and the carolinas. now as we go throughout the day over 17 million at risk of flash flooding. the flood watches from louisiana back through the carolinas. this will be today into tomorrow before it drys out. we have a chance of severe storms, 6 million at risk, two areas, one victoria, corpus christi, and from columbus, georgia, savannah town to jacksonville, florida. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now a closer look at the day ahead. well, from texas to florida to the carolinas, chance of heavy rain. some areas could locally get 3 to 4 inches. the rain makes it about as far as washington, d.c., but look for dry today in the northeast. the u.s. naval academy freshman class officially became midshipmen monday with the traditional monumental challenge, at least 1,000 formed a human pyramid around

statue. that's covered in vegetable shortening. the goal retrieve the hat and replace it. less than 2 1/2 hours. >> that's something to be proud of. never mind getting to the naval academy. thank you. still ahead jury selection in the bill cosby trial. and we're monitoring president trump's trip and meets with mahmoud abbas. actually love wearing powerful sunscreen? yes! neutrogena® ultra sheer. no other sunscreen works better or feels so good. clinically proven helioplex® provides unbeatable uva/uvb protection to help prevent early skin aging and skin cancer all with a clean light feel. for unbeatable protection. it's the one. the best for your skin. ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. see what's possible.

claritin every day of your allergy season for continuous relief. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy, 24-hour relief. for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear. every day. this scarf all that's my left to rememb... sayonara. what. she washed this like a month ago! the long lasting scent of gain. now available in matching scents across your entire laundry routine. codogs just won't quit.! neither does frontline. that's why there's frontline gold. with its easy applicator frontline gold delivers powerful protection that doesn't quit for a full 30 days. its triple action formula is relentless at killing fleas and ticks. frontline gold. the latest innovation from the maker of frontline plus. for persistent protection you can trust... good boy! go for the gold. frontline gold. available at your vet.

terrible toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you. (avo) charmin ultra strong. it cleans better. it's four times stronger and you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. more breaking news. u.s. forces killed seven members of the terror group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula during a raid in yemen. they were killed through combination of small arms fire and precision air strikes. defense officials say the target was a single compound associated with a terror group and this was an intelligence collection mission. u.s. forces were seeking laptop

items. there are no reports of american casualties from the raid. leading the news, five jurors have been selected so far for bill cosby's sexual assault trial, standing trial on charges he drugged and molested a woman in 2004. the majority of the people questioned were sfam with the case posing a challenge to jury selection. >> finding people that haven't formed an opinion either because of their perception of mr. cosby as a television father or based on the multitude of allegations it's going to be difficult to find people who can fairly assess the case. >> the five jurors chosen monday are white, notable since the defense argued that race imcould be a factor. more than 50 women accused cosby of misconduct from groping to rape. he has denied all allegations. nbc necan confirm the president asked two

the trump campaign coloaded with russians to interfere in the election. the story now confirmed by a former senior intelligence official with mr. trump asking both the director of national intelligence and national security agency to make a statement. both declined and are expected to testify before congress today. as michael flynn that could give the trump white house more grief after he rebuffed a congressional subpoena invoking the fifth amendment. peter alexander has more. >> reporter: ousted national security adviser michael flynn facing new fire according to this letter from the top democratic on the house oversight committee flynn apeeshs to have lied to security clearance investigators by telling them he was paid by u.s. companies when he attended this 2015 gala with russian president vladamir putin. in fact the trip was financed by russia state media. flynn planning to invoke the fifth after apo

investigation. a source close to flynn telling nbc it would be imprudent to comply. >> i don't think there is any way that somebody who is this high up in the food chain is going to be granted immunity at this point in time. >> president trump during the campaign mocked those who have refused to testify. >> you see the mob takes the fifth. if you're independent why are you taking the fifth amendment. >> former fbi director comey is scheduled to testify before congress next week after a hearing before the house oversight committee was postpone bid its chairman jason chaffetz. >> actress and socialite dina merrill died. her son confirmed the news. she was one of hollywood's leading ladies, appearing in some 30 films. she grew up in the lap of luxury heiress to wall street and cereal fortune. it was her family who built the mar-a-lago estate now owned by

after her acting career she turned to fundraising for various charities. dina merrill dead at 93. just ahead how world markets are reacting to the apparent terror attack in england. karen joins us with details. you help ensure that children in the u.s. and around the world are safe, healthy and educated. this red nose day, swing by walgreens and get your noses on to help end child poverty. walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy.

new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair with the proven power of retinol. reduces wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena® ♪ dixie ultra's new flexproof® technology makes it twice as strong as the leading store brand. that's strength you can count on. ♪

me to listen carefully. i'm ralph northam,aught and when survivors of the virginia tech shooting asked me to support an assault weapons ban and close the gun show loophole, i took on the fight. i saw what those weapons can do as an army doctor during the gulf war. now, i'm listening carefully to donald trump, and i think he's a narcissistic maniac. whatever you call him, we're not letting him bring his hate into virginia. we're following breaking news out of manchester, england where a blast outside an

grande concert venue left 22 dead and 59 wounded. karen choe is keeping an eye on world markets reacting to this attack. good morning. >> good morning from london. well, the headlines very much dominated by the attack in manchester last night. i must say the mood in asia very much risk off and even at the start of the european session you saw initial selling, but we did have an update from the british police before the market opened up this morning, confirming the attacker himself died at the arena, helping bring confidence back across the public but also for investors. the market ticking higher and here in the uk the ftse tracking up a third of one percent so i think the focus very much still on the key reform agenda for the administration. any tax changes and investors picking through the detail of the federal budget. it's been pretty

result of investors pulling back from this, watch the dollar trade closely today still on the back of any news around the trump administration. gigi, frances, back to you in the studio. >> a lot to watch. thank you. ahead here on "early today" why o.j. simpson could be set free in a matter of months. more "doing chores for mom" per roll more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer... ...than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper and now try bounty with new despicable me 3 prints. in theaters june 30. only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes.

for fast pain relief. tylenol® can you hear it? this ice cold coke is calling you. i'm just a dollar... ...at mcdonald's...come get me. ♪ don't let the ice cold, deliciously refreshing coke down. it's waiting for you. and the clock is ticking. so go now - like, right now and get any

nald's. ♪ [ ominous music playing ]] ah! ah! ah! [ children laughing ] wooo! yea! have a despicably delicious breakfast with these special edition jars of nutella. coppertone versus the sun. [ children laughing ] coppertone protection is water resistant and stops up to 98% of the sun's damaging uv rays. coppertone. because protection matters. new this

saga of o.j. simpson acquitted in the so-called trial of the century, convicted of a robbery in las vegas years later. >> he is now behind bars for nearly a decade but could soon walk out as a free man. how soon? here is stephanie gosk. >> reporter: o.j. simpson has been in a nevada prison on burglary and kidnapping charges since 2008. the department of corrections announced a july parole hearing. if it goes his way the once football star turned murder suspect could be set free as early as this okts. simpson was convicted of the armed robbery of two memorabilia dealers in las vegas, charges unrelated to the 1994 murder of ex-wife nicole brown and friend ron goldman. that murder followed by a live high-speed chase, a trial that gripped the country for months and simpson's controversial acquittal still fascinate. >> these gloves are too

and ron goldman maintain simpson is guilty of the double homicide. a civil court found him liable find he pay $35.3 million. >> he may well get parole just based upon the merits of his conduct in this case. previously they ranked him as low risk. >> simpson was denied parole in 2013. if he is denied again this summer, his next chance for freedom would be in 2020. stephanie gosk, nbc news. >> public appetite for that story never dies down. we'll go live to manchester for the latest on the deadly attack at the ariana grande convert. ♪

underwater stunts, sylvia. except me, of course. this is my stop. adios! ♪ if you're a stuntman, you cheat death. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. número uno! ♪ dixie ultra's new flexproof® technology makes it twice as strong as the leading store brand. that's strength you can count on. ♪ incr...think it wouldotection in a pwork, but it does.dn't... it's called always discreet for bladder leaks, the super... ...absorbent core turns liquid to gel. i know i'm wearing it but no one else will. always discreet for bladder leaks.

now at 4:26. new information at a concert aimed at teens for a terror attack. an updated death toll. they were supposed to be celebrating his graduation. instead, friends and family are preparing to celebrate the life of a murdered college student cut short. how his classmates will honor him at today's ceremony. while you were sleeping, president trump touched down for the third stop of his first foreign trip and his arrival comes as we're getting i preview of his proposed budget here at home. "news 4 today" starts now. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm

much more on those stories in a minute. first we want to get you up to speed on your weather and traffic. >> melissa keeping an eye on the roads for us. let's begin with chuck and shee sheena in the storm team 4 weather center. >> nice and dry. if you were hoping to see sunshine on your tuesday, you may need to hope for something else. >> we'll see it by the end of the week. until we get there, we're stuck in this gloomy wet weather pattern. the good news is we don't have any rain with these clouds right now. we're looking at cloudy skies currently. then we zoom out. we have rain in the forecast. computer models disagreeing on the timing of it. overall we'll be quiet until lunchtime. 67 by noon. later on this afternoon and evening we have a better chance of rain moving in. hold onto the umbrellas until the end of the week. look at the forecast coming

>> good morning, sheena parveen. nothing really slowing things down too much. we do have a few work zones if you're headed out sometime soon. inner loop near old georgetown, work zone blocking the right lane. outer loop after branch work zone there blocking the right lane. another one being reported, the express lanes between springfield and i-66 not seeing any traffic there right now at least. in northwest, still have this closure. macarthur boulevard and foxhall. we're going to take a look at 95 coming up in just a minute. >> melissa, thank you. 4:28. new this morning on what the british prime minister is calling an appalling terror attack. we now know that children are among the 22 victims killed in the attack outside an ariana grand

forensic evidence indicated a suicide attack. the blast happened after people were leaving. grande had finished her last song when the explosion sent people to safety. we have team coverage. >> angie goff is in the newsroom tracking the reaction online. news 4's justin finch is live at the british embassy. justin? >> reporter: aaron, good morning. we know here in the u.s. the concert blast is being watched especially closely after warnings that civilian venue and events could emerge as potential terror targets. back in september the department of homeland security and fbi issued alerts saying isis was inspiring lone wolf attacks. that fits the profile. this manchester arian

concert. the u.s. warning came after the pulse nightclub shooting left 49 dead in orlando back in june of 2016. this morning we know homeland security is keeping tabs on manchester sending out a statement reading in part, we have no information to indicate a specific credible threat involving music venues in the united states. the public may experience increased security at events. we know back this morning, they're treating that as a potential terror attack until they have information proving otherwise. back in to you. >> justin finch at the british embassy. thank you. we want to check in with angie goff at the live desk with how the world is reacting to this news. >> in shock. arianna grande, herself, who had wrapped the showef