jim maceda. >>> many world leaders including president obama were not able to make the funeral because of the ash from iceland's volcano made it impossible to fly. it was cool today and it is going to be cold tonight. how cold are we talking? >> near freezing in many areas. some folks may need to grab an extra blanket. areas west of d.c., frost advisories in effect and freeze warnings for virginia piedmont. sub freezing temperatures are a possibility. if you plants cover them or bring them inside. skies clearing up. we saw a good amount of clouds but they are thinning out. that is a sign of the potential for the frost. clear skies at night and calm winds. the heat radiates up into the atmosphere. official high temperature today on the chilly side 59 degrees, well below average. how about the low, 41 at national airport. this has been the coldest morning since march 28th when we had a low of 38. if you think 41's cold, check out these numbers to the west. this is similar to what we will see tomorrow. 32, dulles, manassas 30, culpepper 34. this entire area potential to get near freezing

this overwhelming national grief the investigation continues along with government there, our own jim maceda has the latest from warsaw. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. well, poles returned to work on monday, their hearts were elsewhere. the shock of the fatal air crash mixed with growing questions about how it could have happened. beginning a week of national mourning, poland's grief was quiet and dignified. school children across the country observed a minute of silence in memory of their lost president lech kaczynski. in australia auswitch many marched. and in warsaw some stood in line to sign a book of condolences. >> we don't know how to live without our president. we feel very, very sad. >> reporter: as poland mourned russian investors confirmed they identified the body of maria kaczynski, the president's wife. their closed coffins will lie in state at the palace tomorrow. investigators say the likely cause of the crash which killed 96 is pilot error. the black boxes revealed no technical fault. some analysts say the pilots may have been pressured by passengers, ev

jim maceda, nbc news, krakow. >>> there was a dramatic and emotional development today in the ongoing crisis facing the catholic church over allegations of child abuse by priests. the pope, who has faced questions about his own handling of the crisis, today met with victims of abuse and promised them justice would be done. here's nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: the pope's visit to malta brought him to a largely catholic nation, struggling with allegations of priests abusing young men and boys. in a private meeting, the pope confronted those emotional charges face to face. >> promise you're going to pray for me. he told me, i'm grateful to you, you have the courage to show your face. it was emotional. >> reporter: lawrence says the pope had tears in his eyes as he listened to his story of being molested repeatedly as a child by priests at an orphanage. he was one of eight men the pope met and prayed with. a vatican statement said the pope was deeply moved by their stories and expressed his shame and sorrow over what victims and their families have suffered. grets says meeting the pope re

thank you so much, jim maceda. >>> a stormy saturday all over the country.nado warnings in place across the south. thunderstorms and hail are also expected in the midwest and the southeast. but rain isn't the only threat. look at that. winter storm warnings for heavy snow also reportedly in place in colorado today. take a look at that twister. those are scary. raphael miranda joins with us the latest. >>> we're dealing with snow, a large system across the center of the country. our main concern today will be the severe weather threat, the potential for a major tornadic outbreak. as we take a look at that bullseye there, the area shaded in white is where the greatest potential for tornadoes is later this morning into the afternoon, including portions of mississippi, alabama, the deep south. a close-up of the memphis radar here, the storms moving into the memphis area. these storm have the potential to create tornadoes, large hail and gusty winds. we'll be watching these over the next hour or so. tornado watch in effect for memphis, into new orleans and the ea

jim maceda live in warsaw with more. ds like the mourning continues through the weekend where they have memorials set, state funerals, et cetera. >> reporter: that's right. i'm having a hard time hearing you, monica. the he motion we could talk about, we've been here three days, the sense of shock, trauma has not let up, even though the presidential couple are laying in state in death as they were together in life. a nation that lost so much, so quickly, the president, first lady, chiefs of staff, major leaders and various aspects of government, including intelligence agency. i can go down an extraordinary list of the elite that is no longer here in this country. you feel it on radio and television. you need to turn on the tv or turn on the radio to hear commentators crying with the people they are interviewing. it is literally an outcry of emotion, something personally i haven't seen since the death of jfk. the same type of emotion. you mentioned the memorial service. there will be one on saturday for the 96 individuals

nbc's jim maceda joins us from london. jim, i went online looking at some of the reaction.hat even though this memo was not to be made public that anyone would put this on paper. we all know anything on a computer is not a secret. >> reporter: that's right. it's not. but you still have to ask yourself how this all could happen. it started with this 23-year-old oxford graduate, a low-ranking civil servant, at the foreign office. he was asked to answer this question. what would the ideal papal visit to britain look like? well, he described in one separate paragraph, he said, look. this is a memo. it's internal brainstorming, a session that we had with several other colleagues and there are some far fetched ideas here. so there was already that warning. but that was certainly an under statement. i mean, in addition to what you just mentioned which is the most controversial of the suggestions, he also said that perhaps the pope could apologize for the spanish armada, the spanish catholic armada. also he might -- might be a good idea to sing a song, a duet with queen elizabeth i

jim maceda, nbc news, reporting from warsaw. >> as we take a look at doppler, a whole lot of nothing at least for today. high pressure is still in control, but we did say front that slid through last night, and it is now positioned over virginia. that is going to be the impetus for low pressure to develop tomorrow, and as a result, we are going to see a much different weather pattern. in the meantime, plenty of sunshine, 66 to 71 degrees. the only other thing we are dealing with today is pollen. extremely high today in the trees. that is what is causing you to sneeze and have those watery comic itchy eyes and sinus problems. more on the seven-day coming up. >> people round the world -- actually, we are moving onto a different story. a man is dead this afternoon after a reported armed robbery in east baltimore. shots were fired around 10:40 last night along the 1100 block of north avenue. the victim was shot multiple times. he later died at the hospital. right now no word on a motive for possible suspect. in northwest baltimore, city police have a new homicide case on their hands. the

jim maceda is live with more.pilots may have blocked key collision aids and warning systems otherwise routinely used on most commercial flights globally. >> reporter: it's not exactly clear whether it's the plane itself that lacked those devices or the airport. it was a very small military airport and it may not have had what was needed to land that plane in those conditions. again, thick fog, 400-meter visibility, about 1300 feet. it remains unclear whether it was the plane or the ground that was the problem. we do know that it's the russian investigators who have been coming the black boxes so far. the polish investigators haven't done that yet. they're getting their hands on them shortly. what they say they're going to be looking for are any kind of conversations between the cockpit and passengers. there's a growing scenario here. so far, it's extremely ant ek doe tall, but there's a growing sense there may have been pressure on the pilots from either the president himself or someone else on that plane to land

jim maceda is live in warsaw right now.o many top level, the best and brightest, as you've described it in that country. how are the polish people dealing with loss right now. >> reporter: as well as can be expected when you're a nation of 38 million and you've lost your president, first lady, your joint chiefs of staff. head of their equivalent of our cia. it was a massive loss. 88 in that delegation that flew or tried to fly and land for that 70th anniversary memorial. there is shock still. there is trauma and long after the events of this week, you mentioned the arrival today of the first lady. she's lying in state now with her deceased husband. there's going to be a special service. hopefully, if the 96 victims are all identified, they will be in rows of coffins after coffins on saturday. that will be followed by a state funeral of the presidential couple in krakow, which is interesting, because it's only been the kings of poland who have been buried there, never a contemporary president. but despite all of that, peter,

. >> nbc's jim maceda joins me from our london bureau.om the vatican is a comparison to christ's suffering, to what he suffered in terms of what he went through before the crucifixion. they're not getting a lot of let's own up to this and deal with it. >> reporter: that's right, contessa. i mean, we're getting a lot of voices on a couple of sides, offense and defense, what we're not getting is anything from pope benedict and the whole world seems to be waiting for him to directly speak to the sex abuse scandal during this easter week. many vatican watchers are saying that's not likely going to happen. that given the fact that it would be extremely untoward for lack of a better term for the pontiff to address such a controversial issue during so solemn and holy a week. so instead, the ranks have closed and others are speaking for him. i can't guarantee it but i would guess that every single thing we have heard the past couple of days has been predigested and approved by the vatican in advance and it is a pretty good choreography. you menti

nbc's jim maceda is in warsaw with the latest. m, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. as the nation's grief over the loss of so many of its best and brightest entered its third day, investigators are raising more questions than answers about the doomed flight's final moments. in a solemn procession, the remains of poland's first lady, maria kaczynski, returned to poland. both died in saturday's air crash and their coffins will now lie in state together at the presidential palace for a public viewing around the clock until their state funeral planned for sunday. as poland mourned its dead, russian investigators eliminated mechanical failure as a likely cause of the crash which killed 96, including dozens of top military brass, lawmakers and priests. they confirmed the pilot was warned about the heavy fog and poor visibility over smolensk in western russia before he close to land the aging russian-made aircraft. that fatal decision has led to claims that the pilot was pressured by v.i.p. passengers, even the preside