n-b-c's keir simmons reports from london. << the horrifying remains of the bus... a burnt out shell, where 42 died. theeorst accident in frarae for over 30 years... a collision lumber on a remote road near the med wine country of bordeaux. rescue teams airlifted the wounded to hospital... nine injured among those who escaped reports. survivors seen wrapped in foil blankets to keep warm. and reports say all of the of a aetirement group on a one day tour. the french president said this morning he was 'plunged into sadness by the tragedy, and promised a full investigation'.. . the road where the accident happened said to be notoriously dangerous. now it has taken the lis of at least 42 who\% despite the efforts of 60 firefighters... could not be saved. keir simmons/ nbc news/ london, ministry is warning the number of dead may climb. four of the injured are in a serious condition... two with head trauma, two with serious burns. and just to understand the impact of this, it's reported only 700 people e ve in that village where may ofofhe passengers come from, so everyon

joining me now from london, keir simmons. keir, a lot of condemnation coming from other parts of the world. what are other governments saying? >> well, that's right. and there is condemnation from many places that you'd expect. for example, like russia. i guess, kate, what's really important is what doctors without borders and what the u.s. military are saying, since these are the two sides in this. and the u.s. military, the american commander from afghanistan, general john campbell, making clear today that the u.s. had launched strikes in that area in order to protect afghan military, he said. that was different from what the u.s. military had said previously. what doctors without borders is saying is that its hospital was hit on a number of occasions with 15-minute intervals. between 2:08 and 3:15 in the morning. that they had told the u.s. and afghan military of the location of the hospital and they sent out a kind of s.o.s. message while this was happening and still the bombing doesn't stop, and describing appalling scen

. >> nbc's keir simmons is live where he visited our area.l, wendy. this is pretty special. i'm actually inside the british embassy and behind me you can see a party for prince harry under way. that he would need to do this. what he's done is set up this invictus games. the next one will be in florida next year and it is about having veterans come together and compete and also share stories. it's a bit like a wounded warriors olympics and it's very special and backed by the first lady and they were there today to launch it and now they are -- he is here today for this really special party and for the british embassy it's important because it is important for them to profile and make a big deal about the link between britain and the u.s. the royals really helped with that and there may be a few younger ladies in there hoping to meet him. michelle obama herself in her speech said i know, don't pretend, i know you're all thinking there's prince harry. >> and keir, for the younger ladies who are not in there, any chance we'll see him around town

keir simmons, nbc news, washington. >>> when we come back, the brothers who have inspired so many are once again proving that together they can accomplish anything. for the santa clara county sheriff. a homicide suspect tried to turn himself in, but a deputy turned him away. ===take vo ra j=== plus, nearly 500 earthquakes in 2 weeks. what the usgs just revealed about the bay area quake swarm. ===next close=== next. ==jess//take vo== ri >>> for more than a year now, we followed an inspiring pair of brothers who have touched so many. one is in high school and the other has cerebral palsy, on the a campus where they noticed a problem. as kate snow tells us there is no problem too big when these brothers team up. >> reporter: for 9-year-old braden gandee, happiness is flying through the air an a saucer swing for the first time. this tricked out playground would get rave reviews from any kid but especially braden who now has a place to play with his friends. >> reporter: and it is all thanks to the bond between braden and his big brother hunter. >> it is a great feeling inside knowing how

keir simmons has the story the horrifying remains of the bus... a burnt out shell, where 42 died. the worst accident in france for over 30 years... a collision with a truck carrying lumber on a remote road near the famed wine country of bordeaux. rescue teams airlifted the wounded to hospital... nine injured among those who escaped alive according to reports. survivors seen wrapped in foil blankets to keep warm. relatives embracing... in the passengers killed were members of a retirement group on a one day tour. the french president said this morning he was 'plunged into sadness by the tragedy, and investigation'... the road where the accident happened said to be notoriously dangerous. now it has taken the lives of at least 42 firefighters... could not be saved. s/ keir simmons/ nbc news/ london, england :54-1:14 "and the french interior ministry is warning the number of dead may climb. four of the injured are in a serious condition... two with head trauma, two with serious burns. and just to understand the impact of this, it's reported only 700 people live in that village where m

keir simmons, nbc news, washington. >>> when we come back, the brothers who have inspired so many are once again proving that together they can accomplish anything. when my doctor told me i have age-related macular degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan. including preservision areds 2. my doctor said preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula that the national eye institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd... after 15 years of clinical studies. preservision areds 2. because my eyes are everything. bring us your aching and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested. aleve pm. the only one to combine a sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. be a morning person again with aleve pm. this bale of hay cannot be controlled. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought t

nbc's keir simmons is there tonight and has our report. >> reporter: they were linking arms, marchingce. [ explosion ] when this happened. amid the terror, 95 people died, 245 were injured. this student was there. >> someone missing the leg. >> the leg was missing? >> reporter: he holds up a picture of his best friend. they went to the protest together. >> after the first explosion, we all run -- we all run. >> right. >> and the second explosion, my friends, i cannot -- i couldn't find him. >> reporter: his friend had been killed. he was just 22. there are shrapnel marks on the sidewalk from the force of the blast, an attack sickeningly reminiscent of the boston bombing, two explosions in a packed, crowded place, and everything caught on camera. [ explosion ] turkish media replaying the terrifying scenes tonight report that one of the killers may have been the brother of a suicide bomber from a prior attack in july. no group has claimed responsibility, but the government suspects isis or kurdish militants. while these kurds are furious, accusing turkey of failing to protect them again

>> keir simmons in turkey, thank you. >>> russian president, v dimir tin, today defended his country's military intervention in syria's civil war, saying it would help efforts to reach a political settlement. for its part, the u.s. gave up this past week on a highly promoted pentagon program to train and arm a syrian rebel force.:we get more on that from our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. >> reporter: it was a program created in the midst of war. a year ago, as isis was gning ground in iraq and syria, washington found few reliable allies on the battlefield, so the administration launched a $500 million program to train a new syrian rebel army. this past week, the secretary of defense announced the program is over. >> i wasn't satisfied with the early efforts in that regard. by all accounts, it was an utter failure, even according to cadeptain amara wawi, the spokesman for the syrian fighters we interviewed outside of syria. he asked us not to say where. >> translator: this is a huge humiliation for the americans. we expected a thousand syrian fighters to be trained. >> rep

>> by the way, keir, i'm so sorry. you are charlie brown's ghost with all the holes. >> they still haven't found keir actually. >> and can we thank you for coming across this week and doing this whole kind of fear factor thing. >> it's been great fun, really fun. >> take that off so people can see who you are. >> no, no, no, never mind. >>> coming up next, easy-to-make sweet tweets that goes with our discover the latest from the amop\ premium foot care line, to see why women are admiring their beautiful nails. they have good reason... introducing the latest innovation from amop\, the new electronic nail care system specially designed for your toenails and finger nails with 3 heads for filling, buffing and shinning. an easy way to have natural looking shiny wow nails. wow! the new electronic nail care system from amop\. . >>> we are back with a special "today food" to go along with our "peanuts" party this morning. >> this is the owner of rocket bar and grill in chicago. he's got some perfectly peanuty recipes to make t

the last bid of man to lead the labour party was a wonderful, great scotsman, keir hardie. who died a century ago this weekend and we commemorated him with a book we launched on sunday evening. keir grew up in dreadful poverty and made so much of his life and founded our party, stood up to be counted on votes for women, stood up for social justice, stood up to develop our political party. we owe him and so many more so much. and he kind of was asked once, summarize what you're about, keir, summarize what you really mean in your life. and he thought for a moment and he said this, my work has consisted of trying to stir up divine discontent with wrong. what words they are. what brilliance. so i say to you don't accept injustice. stand up against prejudice. let us build a kind of politics, a more caring society together. let's put our values, the people's values, back into politics. conference, thank you. [ applause ] ♪ ♪ >>> utah governor gary herbert will talk about an initiative to share ideas that are solvie ini problems around the country. he's chair of the national gover

nbc's keir simmons joins us with more. >> about good morning, erica. we were inside the area in syria where the troops will be deployed. u.s. special forces in syria is getting mixed reaction. senator mccain says it is insufficient to resolve the crisis. this is the battle field u.s. special forces will enter. a multisided civil war. ruthless, urban combat. there are isis position over there and across the horizon and there where you can see the smoke rising from the intense battle for this syrian city. in northern syria this summer, kurdish fighters showed me cell phone footage of areas liberated from isis. isis fighters inject themselves with drugs, they said, before launching suicide attacks in vehicles packed with explosives. fewer than 50 u.s. special forces will be here to train and advise, calling it an expansion and not a change of policy. while admitting it is risky. >> as it relates to their mission, this is an important thing for the american people to understand. these force does not have a combat mission. >> reporter: in 2013, the presiden

we go the keir simmons in moscow. and kooer, what is up offthere, and what does putin want to do? does he want to win the war against isis or prop up his friend assad or what? >> well, yes, chris, all of the them. and i just came from a meeting in where he was laying out the view of the u.s. and the allies' campaign gainsts isis has failed. he then made his claim that there is no shade in terms of the different kinds of groups in syria. he said that they are all terrorists, and that is going to give you a picture of exactly how this is approached by the russians, ba because they are of course allies with president ass assad, and so if president assad sees all of the rebels in syria as terrorist, it is likely to be perspective taken by the russians, too. so the russians now are -- launching fresh air strikes while at the same time reuters is reporting, chris, that the iranians are sending in more troops and recording and reporting sources saying that there is a ground push for those against assad supported by russian air strike, and perhaps that is a glimpse of the real plan here.

>> by the way, keir, i'm so sorry. you are charlie brown's ghost with all the holes. >> they still haven't found keir actually. >> and can we thank you for coming across this week and doing this whole kind of fear factor thing. >> it's been great fun, really fun. >> take that off so people can see who you are. >> no, no, no, never mind. >>> coming up next, easy-to-make sweet tweets that goes with our "peanuts" theme, but first this is "today" on nbc. hey. something new has arrived. and it works in the middle of anywhere. the new iphone 6s on u.s. cellular lets you stay connected where other networks don't. [ crackling ] get the new iphone 6s and get $250 back instantly. the new iphone 6s on u.s. cellular. . >>> we are back with a special "today food" to go along with our "peanuts" party this morning. >> this is the owner of rocket bar and grill in chicago. he's got some perfectly peanuty recipes to make this year happiest of halloweens. billy, nice to see you. >> you look fabulous. how you guys doing? >> chicago cubs.

nbc's keir simmons has there are london. >> reporter: the implications are chilling. eastern european smuggling gangs trying to sell radioactive material to jihadists in the middle east. >> we are very concerned by these different incidents of terrorists trying to acquire either nuclear or radiological material. we know that the threat is real. >> reporter: in the past five years, local investigators working at times with the fbi have uncovered four such instances according to the associated press and in one case earlier this year it's claimed an armed smuggler offered to sell enough radioactive seize dwroum c -- cesium to contaminate several city blocks. in another link, this man told investigators he wanted to sell uranium for $35 million per kilo. the associated press says while in some cases radioactive material was seized, in every case it was small amounts or not very potent. meanwhile, our own pete williams has been speaking to his sources he says the fbi have been involved in stings like this but it's not clear what their role was in this particular case. back

there are systmpathizers throughout the region. >> thank you, keir. nice to have you in the studio. >>> and to a new poll that has donald trump and ben carson in a dead heat and jeb bush's numbers slip and marco rubio picking up steam. hallie jackson is in iowa where they will be campaigning later today. >> reporter: hi, carson. jeb bush looking to reset and show he can still win after a last place debate finish in our online poll. jeb bush tailgating in tallahassee with his game face on. but playing from behind with a new nbc news survey monkey online poll showing he did the worst. rubio now responding to the leaked bush campaign memo that outlines attack strategy. >> i don't think it is smart for republicans to do hillary clinton's job for her. one of the reasons why we lost in 2012 is republicans attacking each other. >> reporter: he is picking up support from billionaire mega donor which is a blow to bush's campaign. both candidates on the campaign trail in iowa today along with a slew of others. many lashing out after the debate. >> it was flagra

>> by the way, keir, i'm so sorry.nd can we thank you for coming across this week and doing this whole kind of fear factor thing. >> it's been great fun, really fun. >> take that off so people can see who you are. >> no, no, no, never mind. >>> coming up next, easy-to-make sweet tweets that goes with our . >>> we are back with a special "today food" to go along with our "peanuts" party this morning. >> this is the owner of rocket bar and grill in chicago. he's got some perfectly peanuty recipes to make this year happiest of halloweens. billy, nice to see you. >> you look fabulous. how you guys doing? >> chicago cubs. >> cubbies. >> we'll start out because we're peanuts. you're going to do a little peanut butter and jelly french toast. >> and i'm amping up this peanut butter, fantastic. let's talk about ingredients. buttery breech bed, peanut butter, cream crease, maple seerp, cream, eggs, concord grapes to sprinkle on top, equal parts cream cheese and peanut butter together and we'll mix that up and get at great creamy

>> by the way, keir, i'm so sorry.nd keir actually. >> and can we thank you for coming across this week and doing this whole kind of fear factor thing. >> it's been great fun, really fun. >> take that off so people can see who you are. >> no, no, no, never mind. >>> coming up next, easy-to-make sweet tweets that goes with our "pea with cancer, early detection can mean life or death. so, when chris brown and will pauls would recklessly deny access to basic health services like mammograms and annual exams, it makes a real difference in women's lives. chris brown voted against funding for cancer screenings. and will pauls opposed funding for clinics that provide access to mammograms - life-saving procedures women rely on. chris brown and will pauls: a risk that women in atlantic county can't afford. . >>> we are back with a special "today food" to go along with our "peanuts" party this morning. >> this is the owner of rocket bar and grill in chicago. he's got some perfectly peanuty recipes to make this year happiest of ha

nbc's keir simmons reports. >> reporter: the u.s. military has launched an investigation. the president offering his deepest condolences to the victims of this apparent u.s. air strike on a hospital. >> our thoughts and prayers are with those touched by this tragedy. and by the violence in kunduz. >> reporter: 12 members of staff killed along with 10 patients, according to the charity that worked there, doctors without borders. this morning it's calling the american air raid a war crime and pulling out of the area of afghanistan where the air raid happened. >> this is severe violation of international humanitarian law and completely unacceptable. >> reporter: the raid happened after taliban stormed into a crucial provincial capital of afghanistan kunduz. the hospital is in the city. the charity strongly denies taliban were firing from inside that hospital building. this is the most important city to fall to taliban since evicted from power by u.s. forces 14 years ago. u.s. and afghan forces have fought back through the weekend, but the president plans to withdraw u.s. comb

>> by the way, keir, i'm so sorry. you are charlie brown's ghost with all the holes. >> they still haven't found keir actually. >> and can we thank you for coming across this week and doing this whole kind of fear factor thing. >> it's been great fun, really fun. >> take that off so people can see who you are. >> no, no, no, never mind. >>> coming up next, easy-to-make sweet tweets that goes with our okay. so everyone is saying, "hurry! you gotta get fios!" but why. why fios? well, right now for a limited time, you can get a great deal from fios, the 100% fiber optic network. fios gives you big capacity so you can get 100 percent out of all your devices. that means if you need more streaming for more devices... fios gives you options. so whatever speed you need, fios has it with the fastest internet and wi-fi avalable from 50 to 500 megs plus you can upload your favorite videos up to 5x faster than cable. but the main reason to get fios? we're rated #1 in customer satisfaction. why fios? ultimately that's why. right no

>> keir, thank you. >>> israel launched attacks against gaza. the latest bombing left a crater, killing a pregnant woman and her young daughter. israeli officials say the targets were hamas weapons facilities. with tensions increasing, secretary of state john kerry leaders on both sides, offering support to restore calm. >>> there is new pictures of a french train hero, spencer stone, recovering in the hospital. he was stabbed in a fight outside a bar in sacramento. the picture was taken by one of the other heros visiting and said stone was in good spirits. >>> rain and flooding plagued residents along the east and west coasts of south carolina, additional evacuations as more rain fell on the street. torrential rain in tacoma, washington, sent streams of water through the streets and into a football stadium. look at the waterfall that's spilling on to the field. completely covering it there. >>> action on another playing field is getting plenty of buzz. we talked about it. take a look at this collision in the second game of the division series b

. >> nbc keir simmons reports from moscow. >> reporter: 36 civilians were killed according to reports this morning. targets russia selected without consulting washington. its foreign minister defiant. >> don't listen -- >> reporter: russia says it struck isis ammunition depots and a command center that syrian rebels supported by the u.s. fighting syria's president assad claim they were hit. secretary kerry quickly met with his russian counterpart. kerry insisting only isis should be targeted. >> we're concerned obviously if that is not what is happening. >> reporter: the russian air strikes included areas around the city of homs and hama. u.s. and allied air strikes have largely targeted northern syria. one fear is that america's allies will be sucked deeper into the crisis. this is saudi arabia's former washington ambassador speaking to me as russia prepared to strike. >> it's like lighting a fire somewhere and instead of throwing water on it, you're throwing gasoline. >> reporter: the air strikes were launched just days after the president met with russia's leader. now putin has rat

>> that was nbc news' keir simmons. oncht chaos within the republican party, a party still searching for its leader in the house. paul ryan is contemplating his next move a move a growing number of republicans will include running for house speaker. the position is vacant after kevin mccarthy stunned everyone by dropping out of the race on thursday. for the latest on that we go to nbc's kristen welker who is in washington at the white house. kristen, how are you? >> hey, jonathan i'm great. thanks for having me. congress is on recess for a little more than a week and congressman ryan is expected to use that time to discuss a possible decision with family, friends and colleagues, and there's broad agreement that the house really needs to reach a decision soon in order to restore order but here's the problem. ryan, who seems to have enough support to get elected as you pointed out expressed he's not sure he wants the job. he called his current position his dream job, currently chairman of the house ways and means committe

this is in fall keir county into culpepper. that's getting into prince william, fairfax, loudoun and into washington in another hour or so. temperatures are milder. we are in the mid to upper 50s. i have a he got the rain totals expected. that's coming up the next weather and traffic on the 1s at 4:41. now maine slays is looking at how the radar is impacting the roads and where it's wet and where it's dry. >> absolutely. you can take a look and see to the lest of that green strip. right now you can see we do have a lot of moisture here this morning. that, of course, is going to be moving in as tom has told us. right now one problem, 95 north you have the right side blocked because of an incident there. hoping it gets out of the way soon. prince georges county, no major problems. a lot of the road work that should have been hemmiappening y is not. they've held off because of the rain. quantico to the belt way, 18 minutes. can't do much better than that. i'll see you back here in 10 u you. >>> today a jury hears closing arguments

nbc's keir simmons joins us now from virginia. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. good morning, everyone. prince harry arrived yesterday night and leaves again tonight so women of america you have less than 24 hours to meet prince harry, plus he has to fit in a visit to see the president. he's being chaperoned by michelle obama and dr. jill biden. they will be here to see wheelchair panel and how terrific it is to see them together championing the interests of our injured service men and women. prince harry in london monday night for the premier of the latest bond movie. he's in washington this morning to witness real life courage. specialist sydney davis suffers post-traumatic stress, ptsd and at times she's been suicidal. playing sports helped. >> pulls you out of that hole that you're in, and you start to see your depression lessen. >> reporter: seeing prince harry today may lift her mood, too. him. >> i know. i'm trying to contain myself. >> reporter: sergeant blake johnson served in afghanistan in 2012 like

keir simmons has more. prince harry... in london monday night for the premier of the latest james bond movie... is in washington this morning... to witness real life courage... specialist sydney davis suffers post traumatic stress... ptd... at times she's been suicidal... playing sports helps... sot specialist davis. 'it pulls you out of that hole that you're in and you start to see your depression lessen.' seeing prince harry today... may lift her mood too... sot 'you know you may get to meet him... i know, i'm trying to contain myself...' sargent blake johnson served in afghanistan in 2012... ... like prince harry... sot prince harry 'the american guys are being really nice to us, had us over for thanksgiving'since then harry has been flying round the world to help those in need... spending summer in africa working on conservation... meeting sick children... and even admitting he'd like to his own little ones... sot harry 'of course i'd love to have kids right now but there's a process that one has to go through' next ye

keir simmons was there. >> prince harry. [ cheering a applause ] >> reporter: prince harry has ted himself injured veterans. >> i'm in no doubt that the two deployments to afghanistan changed my life. there is little that can truly prepare you fothe reality of war. >> reporter: like so many vets he left the r woering what t do next. his answer, leave no one behind. today that mission brought him to ft. belvoir, virginia, joined by michelle obama and dr. jill biden. >> wounded warriors aren't just a distance cause. to him they are brother and sisters in arms. >> he created the games for athletes who are also wounded warriors. first held last year in london, next may it will be others. where sydney davis will compete. e'come close to suicide from post traumatic stss and harry's devotion to veterans means a lot to her. >> there is a connection between him and all of us. he really cares. it is nice. >> reporter: and that royal star power doesn't hurt, either. >> ladies, prince harry is here. don't act like you don't notice. >> he learned from his mother diana. and now he is 31 meeting with the

. >> nbc's keir simmons with a unique perspective for us this afternoon and spending sometime recently alongside fighter there is in syria, thank you, my friend. >> you bet. >>> joining me now to talk about the foreign policy, retired navy commander criss harmon, a senior naval ianalyst and anthony cordsman, center for strategic and international studies. thank you to you both. >> let's start with you, if i could, commander. this idea that the stated u.s. strategy is to degrade and defeat isis, what does today's announcement do for that stated goal? >> nothing whatsoever. look. i agree with the goal of degrading and defeating isis but the asets against the problem are wholly inadequate. look at it in four and a half years of the syrian civil war, around 300,000 civilians dead, around 4 million civilians external refugees, 11 million have become internally displaced persons and 50 special forces makes no difference whatsoever. we're facing bad options. you could say it's bad options, horrible options and impossible options. the's no clean decision here but the 50 guys in syria makes no

. >> next what the medical examiner says killed keir sten cerneny. >> these two bucks county high school students quickly becoming an internet sensation because of a special honor. it'll be here before you know it. hello, halloween. it's the one night when everybody dresses up. and that includes dinner. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. it's always worth remembering... that icing the cinnamon rolls is a privilege not a right. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. toin just one click,rything even keep your toilet clean and fresh. introducing lysol click gel. click it in to enjoy clean freshness with every flush. lysol. start healthing. ♪ yeah, click but these liquid gels are new. gels and go. mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. this one is max strength and fights mucus. mucinex fast max. the only cold and flu liquid gel that's max-strength and fights mucus. let's end this. >>> happening today two people charged in the death of a toddler who became known as baby doe have a court hearing. the body of the child now nerved as bella bond found on a beach in massachusetts

joining us now with the least and nbc's keir simmons in london. keir? >> hey, kate. soon as those pictures emerged and they were so striking, simply because it was so surprising to see president assad outside of syria, president assad had already traveled back to syria. so it was clearly a very sensitive operation to get him into moscow, to get him to have that meeting with president putin and his senior team, and then back into syria. it was choreographed, it was carefully thought about. and while russia says that the conversation was mostly about tactics on the ground, it was also clearly aimed at sending a message, not least to washington, that these are two sides, that are very closely aligned and that the u.s. hope that in some way they might persuade russia to encourage assad to step down does not look very likely. president assad himself saying when they met to president putin, the terrorism that is now spreading today, could have, without your decisions and actions, spread to even more territories and states, not just in our region, but to other regions too.

keir simmons is live in london with more.ood morning. >> reporter: i think you got it exactly right. he went toe thank president putin and to help president putin because what moscow is describing this as is a meeting where they talked about strategy, talked about what they were going to be doing and how they were going to be coordinating this ongoing conflict in syria with russia sending in air power and president assad attempting to push on the ground. but at the same time, while he went to moscow to meet putin, it may equally be to send a warning to washington and president obama. it was a short trip, signalling that the long alliance between putin and assad is stronger than ever. president assad seated next to president putin, the syrian leader's dramatic moscow visit announced for the first time this morning. assad arrived in secret last night. syria is russia's friend, putin said in a statement, wishing assad a warm welcome. contrast that with the tension between president obama and russia's leader last month. the syria

>> we are covering all of the angles and keir simmons is live in moscow, and courtney kubi a is from the pentagon and we have joe flores from capitol hill. and so i want to go to you, kooer, because you had the opportunity to speak to syria's ambassador from russia, and what did you learn from that conversation? >> yes, thomas. first, the russian defense ministry here is saying that there is another wave of air strikes over syria. we haven't gotten many details. we understand that they are saying that they are using more sophisticated aircraft which is a third wave in the day time, and so what you are getting now is a clear picture of a sustained campaign by the russians at the same time by the way reuters is reporting that lebanese source, and we assume that must mean hezbollah sources saying that hundreds of iranian forces are gathering, and that there is a plan to conduct a ground campaign to try to take land back that was taken from president assad's forces be by the rebels. and we assume that would be supported by these russian air strikes. and you are right, today, i was at a n

let's talk with keir rodnidge. were these suspensions expected?ere expected from the previous day when we learned that the invest congratulations going on. no one can quite believe in essence the three top men in world football administration would all be put on gardening leave for three months at the same time. >> and do you think any of them will try and fight it, or is it a done deal? >> well, i think blatter and platini will fight it, certainly. voelk may, i don't know. platini is the most defiant of the statements in response. blatter's lawyers also also accuse the disciplinary judges of not understanding their own rules. you know, they were personally quite almost intemperate statements in response. so they obviously feel very hard done by. >> i want to ask you, keir, if the suspensions hold, meantime, whose running fifa and how does fifa begin to repair or operate as the world body in the midst of all of this? would this give them some sort of breather to try to restore some integrity? >> well, at the moment, fifa is sort of flat lining. un

nbc's keir response simmons is with us. this is all of. what can you tell us about it. >> reporter: good morning. the french are waking up to a tragedy here, a head-on collision between a bus and a truck that became a gigantic blaze, according to witnesses, and on board the bus was a group of retirees. it happened at 7:30 this morning french time overnight your time, and as we speaker french leaders, including the prime minister, are heading to the scene. the horrifying remains of the bus still smoking, a burned out shell where 42 people died. the worst accident in france for a truck carrying lumber on a remote road near the famed wine country of bordeaux. rescue teams airlifted the injured to the hospital and nine escaped alive according to reports. survivors seen wrapped in foil blank totes keep warm. relatives embracing in shock, and reports say all of the passengers killed were members of a retirement group on a one-day tour. the french president said this morning he was plunged into sadness by the tragedy and promised a full investiga

afghan forces requested the air strike because they were under attack, but as nbc's keir simmons sayshat explanation is not sitting well with who says the u.s. is to blame. >> the president offering his deepest condolences to the victims of this apparent u.s. airstrike on a hospital. >> our thoughts and prayers are with those touched by this tragedy, and by the violence in konduz. >> reporter: according to the chair they worked there, doctors without boarders and this morning it's calling the american air raid a war crime and says it's pulling out of the area of afghanistan where the air raid happened. >> this is a severe, severe violation of international humanitarian law and completely unacceptable. it happened after the taliban stormed into kunduz. the hospital is in the city. the charity strongly denies that the taliban was firing from inside that hospital building. this is the most important city to the taliban since they were evicted from power by u.s. forces 14 years ago. u.s. and afghan forces have fought through the weekend and the president expects to withdraw some troops fr