it's where we begin tonight with nbc's gabe gutierrez in atlanta. >> reporter: its official name is the state carry protection act, but critics call it the guns everywhere bill. >> it's the most extreme gun bill in america. >> reporter: gun owners with permits will now be allowed to take their guns into public places, bars, even government buildings that don't have security check points. and the law authorizes school districts to appoint staffers to carry firearms and lets churches opt in if they want to allow weapons. >> when we limit georgians' ability to carry a weapon to defend themselves, we're empowering the bad guys. >> reporter: another change, airports. at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson a record last year, 111 guns were found at tsa screening areas. the new law allows those with permits that set off alarms here simply pick up their gun and leave with no criminal penalty. some law enforcement agencies are slamming the new law. >> police officers do not want more people carrying guns on the street. >> reporter: other opponents like stephanie stone of atlanta argue the law misinterp

gabe gutierrez is live in georgia. gabe, this goes beyond anything we've seen anywhere else in the country. >> reporter: hi there, andrea. many gun control advocates are calling this the most extreme gun bill in america. putting georgia with among the most lenient gun laws in the country. as you mentioned, governor nathan deal is about to start that signing ceremony. it should start any minute now. and georgia lawmakers will speak first and then the governor will sign this into law. more than 100 people or so have already gathered behind me. the supporters of this bill insist this bill is not extreme. they say it's simply about allowing licensed gun owners in georgia to carry their weapons into more places. for example, bars. before this new law, gun owners could not bring their firearms into a bar unless the property owner specifically allowed it. this new law reverses the emphasis and says that if you have a permit, you can bring your weapon into a bar unless the owner specifically forbids it. as for churches, before

nbc's gabe gutierrez is there in vilonia, gabe, tell us the danger isn't over. meteorologists are warning the atmosphere is reloading to produce more storms and super cells throughout the afternoon. where are they headed next? >> reporter: hi, there, ronan, here in arkansas, the rain has stayed away which is a good thing for the residents trying to clean up. other parts of the country could see severe weather today into tomorrow and deep south extending to the carolinas and tomorrow even the mid-atlantic states. as you mentioned, the president just signed this federal disaster declaration which will open up federal funding to this area where in arkansas 15 people died, eight of them in vilonia alone. debris is still everywhere and it's going to take a long time to clear this up. this is aspen creek drive. this neighborhood was full of military families and you can see pretty much everywhere you look an american flag on top of the rubble here. you managed to speak with the father of one of the victims, his son was 31 years old and in arkansas air national guard a

gabe gutierrez with that overview. let's bring in thegrio.com columnist goal di ldie taylor, goldie, you have a personal perspective on the guns, and you wrote about it on thegrioo and you were a child when you lost your father to gun violence and then 20 years later, your brother was killed by a gun. and what do you think about the bill that is about to be signed into law, and you at one point being a gun owner yourself? >> yes, gabe gutierrez is right in the heart of the gun owner responsibility, and the heart of america, the gun owners association will not be there in lha because they don't believe that the bill, this law goes far enough, and that is the grand irony about it, but to say that i am now allowed the bring a gun to a church or school if i am approved staffer and not a resource officer, or to bring a gun into a secured government building and if that is not extreme, i don't know what is. but the political calculus behind this is very interesting. governor dale is facing a more competitive primary and more

gabe gutierrez is in georgia. give us a little bit more detail about this law. >> reporter: hi there, joy. as you mentioned this gun bill signing ceremony wrapped up a short time ago. several hundred supporters here and the bill's supporters insist this bill is not extreme. they stress in their view that this is a bill for law-abiding georgians and it restores the second amendment and protects the second amendment. now, this law will allow licensed gun owners in the state to carry their weapons into many more places. for one, bars. before this new law, gun owners could not bring their firearms into a bar unless the bar owner specifically allowed it. this new law reverses that emphasis and you can now bring your gun into a bar unless the bar owner specifically forbids it. the other major part of this bill is chuchrches. before it was illegal to bring a firearm into a place of worship in georgia. church leaders can decide whether to allow congregations to bring guns into churches. as for schools, school boards can v

andrea, back to you. >> gabe gutierrez in the florida panhandle. extraordinary. we'll get the latest from the emergency operation center there later in the hour. stay with us right here on "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] crest presents: crest 3d white whitestrips vs. a whitening pen. i feel like my lips are going to, like, wash it off. these fit nicely. [ female announcer ] crest 3d white whitestrips keep the whitening ingredient in place, guaranteeing professional level results. crest whitestrips. the way to whiten. reckless seeding... ...failure to disappear. a backyard invasion. homeowner takes matters into his own hands. ♪ ortho weed b gon max. with the one-touch, continuous spray wand... kills weeds without harming innocent lawns. guaranteed. weeds killed. lawn restored. justice served. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. get order. get ortho®. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. female announcer: sleep train's interest free ends sunday. it's your last chance to get three years interest-free financing on beautyrest black

nbc's gabe gutierrez is at the base with the very latest. y the gunman as 34-year-old ivan lopez. they say he served one four-month tour in iraq that he was married with a family, and that he had only recently come here to fort hood in february and that he was being evaluated for posttraumatic stress disorder, but he was not diagnosed. now, wednesday afternoon it was a chaotic scene here at the base as it went into lockdown. authorities say the gunman walked into a building and opened fire, then went back outside into his car, kept firing, went inside another building, kept firing, came back out, and that's when he was confronted by a female officer. and at that point police say he turned the gun on himself. so far no word on a motive, but this fort hood community is shaken. this incident brings back painful and vivid memories about that shooting massacre nearly five years ago. natalie, back to you. >> gabe gutierrez at fort hood, thank you, gabe. >>> parts of missouri are bracing for a new round of powerful thunderstorms after a night of wea

gabe gutierrez and tom costello both join me now. tom is on the hill where he was meeting with the family members. you have both been looking into the investigation. tom, gabe, let's start with you on what gm knew and when did the engineer know it? >> well, as you mentioned, the nbc news investigative unit obtained that internal gm memo suggesting a design engineer knew about the ignition switch problem back in 2006 and signed a document authorizing a redesign. that engineer was ray degeorge. we confirmed that he is still employed by gm, although it's unclear in what capacity. under oath in a lawsuit deposition from 2013 he said he did not know about the changes to the ignition switch. but this gm document authorizing changes to the switch appears to be signed by him on april 26, 2016. that suggests the company knew about the problem at least eight years before the recall, even changed the part but never told gm customers who never knew they were at risk. here's the part we're talking about. it's what's called a detent plunger. it wou

. >> joining me now is gabe gutierrez live in vilonia and jeff from storm chasers incorporated and documented 800 tornadoes throughout his career. first to you, gabe, the situation in vilonia after what you went through yesterday. >> reporter: some states to the east brace for more potential severe weather today. here in arkansas we're getting preliminary reports from the national weather service that the tornado that tore through here on sunday night was a powerful ef-3, that's a tornado with winds of at least 136 miles per hour but the damage assessment is still ongoing. thankfully today we've seen the rain stay away and so friends and families and volunteers have been able to sift through the rubble. we're here on aspen creek drive. you can see how powerful this tornado was. debris pretty much everywhere. aspen creek drive, this neighborhood had a lot of military families living here. we've been hearing their stories as we've been here since yesterday. spoke with michelle ma gee here a year and a half. and spoke with a man who lost a lot. his son was part of the arkansas air national guard

gabe gutierrez is going to join us from e ellingellingjer. >> yes, tamron, we are in a politically conservativethe georgia house speaker, and governor nathan dooel is deal is going to sign this law within the next hour. this is what the new law is going to do, allow licensed gun owners in georgia to carry the weapons in more places, and as you said, tamron, to bars, and you could not bring firearms into the bars unless the bar n owner gave you permission, and so this law is going to e reverse that em faemphasis, and you can bring your gun into bar, if you have a permit, unless the property owner tells you to leave. now, with churches, before, it was illegal to bring the guns into churches, but the church leaders will be able to decide whether their congregations can bring weapons into places of worship. as for schools, this new law provides a framework for how the school boards can now authorize and appoint staffers to kcarry guns into schools, and as for the airports, as you mentioned, tamron, not only carry in the common areas of the airport, but you can also now, if you can take your gun acc

tearing through the southeast this week, killing at least 35 people in six separate states, and gabe gutierrez is in pensacola with the very latest. >> tamron, we have been seeing the amazing pictures here out of pensacola, and the florida governor has declared a state of emergency for 26 counties, and this is why. heavy flooding across many neighborhoods and roads are shutdown, and parts of i-10 are impassable. over here, there is a train that is not going anywhere, and many businesses are also reporting damages. florida highway patrol confirms that at least one person died overnig overnight, and this driver was stuck in her car as the waters rose. now, water rescues are still under way. this is a very difficult situation for many of these residents. this area got some 20 inches of rain or so in the past 24 hours. more rain is expected later today. tamron, back to you. >> thank you, gabe. let me bring in our msnbc meteorologist bill karins, and let e let's talk about the situation on the ground, bill, and then move into the rain that is expect odd tr fur -- pex expected or the further turbule

. >>> let's get you up to nbc's gabe gutierrez who is in hard hit vilmonia, arkansas. this is a vine video we showed our viewers yesterday. the images are hard to believe. can you try to put all of this in context for us? >>. >> a heart-breaking scene. as states to our east brace for more possible severe weather as you were talking about, here thankfully the sun has started to come out, and that is good news for the volunteers. you can see behind me we have a lot to clean up. now, president obama has just signed a federal disaster deck lashs for parts of arkansas, including here in falkner county. eight fatalities in this town alone. 50 throughout arkansas. as you can see, the devastation is just immense. the national weather service has released et cetera initial findings and say that the tornado that hit here late sunday night was at least 136 miles per hour. that's an ef-3 tornado. the street we're on right now is aspen creek drive. a lot of military families here. we just spoke with the father of one of the victims. his name was dan wassen. he lived just down the r

tearing through the southeast this week, killing at least 35 people in six separate states, and gabe gutierrezwith the very latest. >> tamron, we have been seeing the amazing pictures here out of pensacola, and the florida governor has declared a state of emergency for 26 counties, and this is why. heavy flooding across many neighborhoods and roads ar

. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez joins me now, who has been following this investigation for quite some time. i wanted to show you an exchange between connecticut senator blumenthal and mary barra about whether she would permit her own kids to drive in the cobalt. >> is that cobalt car, as driven now, safe for your daughters to drive? would you allow them to drive? >> i would allow my son and daughter -- well, my son, because he's the only one eligible to drive. if he only had the ignition key. >> the question is whether or not the ignition key, if there's another attachment, a tag of some sort. as almost all of us do with our car keys, whether that extra weight would pull it down, with the original defect cause the ignition to go off. >> well, andrea, ceo mary barra has been very careful on how she's answered this. in facing quite a grilling from those senators today. as you mentioned, the nbc investigative unit has been digging into the story for the last month. several parts of our reporting came up in yesterday's house hearing and today's senate hearing. steve scalise brought up that doc

and gabe gutierrez is joining us from vilonia, arkansas, and i am seeing people tweeting out the water, and the supplies they have brought in to help the people there, but from the dark ominous clouds behind you, they are still dealing with the bad weather. >> well, hi, there, tamron. a lot offage activity here, and we are not expecting the severe weather here this afternoon, but other states like alabama and mississippi could be, in line for some severe weather, but there is a lot of activity, and thankfully the lack of rain this morning has allowed friends and families and relatives to come here, and this is aspen creek drive, the medical subdivision, and been here since yesterday talking to people. it is an amazing site. a lot of military families here, and another woman michelle mcgee had moved here a year and a half ago and searching for whatever she could yesterday, and back here today, and people are cleaning up, and this is the hardest hit town in arkansas, with eight confirmed deaths in vilonia, and throughout the state, 15 deaths. we are learning more about the victims, and w

nbc's gabe gutierrez is there in the middle of the mess. >> reporter: this is a residential neighborhoodarea. as you can see, plenty of flooding. we are seeing this over and over again throughout pensacola. florida's governor declared a state of emergency for 26 counties. >> and in alabama, people traded in their cars for boats. this is the town of summerdale that you're looking at where rising water called for drastic measures. and in mobile, dramatic rescues played out as first responders put their own lives on the line to save residents who in some cases were literally hanging on there for dear life. >> since yesterday morning when all this initially started we made well over 200 responses. those are including fires, medical calls and other type of emergencies. i do not have a count right now on the water of swift water rescued we've made tonight. >> too many. >> the severe threat is not over just yet. more heavy rains and strong storms are in the forecast, at least through tonight. we will keep you posted. >>> turning now to the story that has a lot of people talking today. just last

gabe gutierrez is in atlanta with the story. good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning.kesperson for the archdiocese says plans for the home in this neighborhood had been in the plans for years and the priest only lives in a small portion of this home. $2.2 million, 6400 square feet, and now -- >> i think it's offensive. >> reporter: -- a lot of backlash. some of the faithful at atlanta's cathedral christ of king are furious at the new home built from the estate of the nephew of margaret mitchell. author of "gone with the wind." archbishop gregory left his older, more modest home two months ago to make room for the six priests living there. not all parishioners are against the move. >> given that all decisions are made, you know, thoughtfully and prayerfully. >> reporter: others say it contradicts the teachings of poach francis who drives humbly and simply. just days ago he removed a german clergyman nicknamed the bishop of bling for a $43 million home. >> when you're in religion and politics you're held to a different level of accountability. >> in "the georgia bulletin

>> all right, gabe gutierrez in pensacola.meanwhile, embattled los angeles clippers owner donald sterling isn't saying if he will fight the stern penalties handed down tuesday for making racist comments. adam silver banned steriling from the nba for life and fined him $2.5 million. hours later, the clippers won their playoff game against golden state before the home crowd. >> like adam said, and we said, the healing process has started. and so we're going to keep growing and getting away from this and that's good. >> that's doc rivers, the clippers head coach there. and sterling will have a big payday if he does sell the team. he bought it for $12 million. its estimated value now, about $700 million. >>> violent clashes erupted in ukraine's capital tuesday night after masked ukrainian nationalists attempted to march on kiev's maiden square to honor protesters killed there in february. the march turned violent when the group's path was blocked by members of the so-called self-defense units who occupy the square. unlike recent v

we'll hear from friends in his hometown in a moment, but first, nbc's gabe gutierrez is at ft. hood with the latest. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning. military officials say the gunman was treated for depression and anxiety and sleep deprivation. and while investigators aren't ruling anything out, an argument on base might have led him to snap. >> reporter: this morning in the search for what set off army specialist ivan lopez, military officials are zeroing in on something that may have happened right before the shooting spree. >> there may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers, and there's a strong possibility that immediately preceded the shooting. >> and authorities confirm to nbc news, they're looking into whether lopez was upset he didn't get more time off to attend his mother's funeral last year. >> he was upset, but didn't show he was upset. >> reporter: neighbor rayshawn turner says lopez brought up the issue of delayed military leave earlier this week. >> he was like, yeah, i have ptsd. and i said what happens when yo