tom costello for nbc news. joining us right now is senator bill nelson of florida. senator, pren says in these situations don't talk politics. talk about prayer and talk about thoughts. this is the only instance in which we do talk about guns. what is your reaction to the use of guns by this shooter? all these people dead. he had an ar-15, multiple magazines. what do you make of that situation? >> i want to answer that specifically but let me give you some new information. he wore a gas mask and smoke grenades. he set off the fire alarm so the kids would come out into the hallways. and thus, he had the opportunity with a crowded hallway to start picking off people. and again, it illustrates the horror as tom just outlined. you know, pulse nightclub was just a couple of years ago, 49. 59 in las vegas. when is this going to stop? so your question is the politics. it's not going to stop until the american people say enough is enough. and when is that going to occur? remember a year ago, two years ago, we tried something that was common sense. it was senator feinstein's

let me go to tom costello who has been doing a lot of reporting on the background of the suspected gunman himself. and i think it's fair to point out, tom, that, yes, it's a lot of people said something, there where are a lot of warnings, but clear lit way our background check system works for purchasing firearms, none of that information was in any database or in any rudimentary background check that's done in this country. >> he legally obtained an ar 15, we are told, within the past year or so and there were plenty of people in the school who were raising concerns about his, quote, erratic or awkward behavior and his threats so much so that he had been banned from actually going on to campus. expelled from the school and local authorities or at least the school employees were told watch out if he shows up with a backpack and other students, as we've heard or the course of the past 18 hours or so, other students had said yeah, he talked freely about guns, about killing animals, about this preoccupation with weapons. and they thought that he was, in fact, dangerous. uber, by the way, is

tom costello continues his series about the hacking of america and the warning about the strength and safety about your password. >> good morning. i'm tom costello at the cyber command center with a list of tens of thousands of e-mails and passwords compromised and out there for sale on the interset. passwords like password and 123456. is your mpassword compromised? >> you can see it right here on nbc 10 this morning. >>> honoring halladay. and flatter the king. lebron james reacts to the billboard calling for him to come to philly. >>> good morning, everyone. jessica boyington with you right now with a check on the roads. starting things off in new jersey. this is route 73 and our cameras right around taunton avenue. north and south clear and dry. also checking in with mass transit. we're not seeing any delays here either. we had a bunch of problems yesterday with septa by the beginning of that morning rush. but so far so good. septa, new jersey, amtrak, patco on time. i'll check in with the lehigh valley when i come back. >>> four minutes before 5:00 right now. former pitcher hallad

tom costello nbc news washington. >>> coming up the major winter weather threat taking aim at near million >>> and t as you can clearly see the updates you made to your plan strengthened your retirement score. so, that goal you've been saving for you can do it. we can do this? is at fidelity, our online planning tools are clear and straightforward so you can plan for retirement while saving for the things you want to e aye, captain! ♪ and as you go through life ♪ -whoo! -♪ tryin' to reach your goal ♪ if you could see your cough, you'd see all the sickness you're spreading. robitussin cf max. nothing lasts longer and treats more symptoms for your cough, cold and flu. (elevator bell ringing) robitussin cf max severe. because it's never just a cough. your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient in jellyfish. in clinical trials prevagen has been shown erm memory. en. the name to remember. if your moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's symptoms and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough,e time for a change.octor about entyvio, the onl

here's nbc's tom costello. [ siren ] >> reporter: no city in the country has more female firefighters than san francisco. 16% of the department. >> all units, stand by. >> reporter: today's far more toxic fires may be leading to an alarming rise in breast cancer cases. >> control three, battalion nine. >> reporter: among them battalion chief anita peretley. >> she said, you have breast cancer. and i -- i -- funny. i almost can cry. that same feeling like -- no way! no way. >> reporter: chief peratley is one of many. a stunning 15% of female firefighters 40 to 50 years old in san francisco had been diagnosed with breast cancer. six times the national average. >> i always think of it as, there's a cancer sniper out there. in the fire service. and it's not when. it's not if. it's who's going to be next? >> reporter: deputy chief jeannine nicholson herself has undergone a double mastectomy. >> 16 rounds of chemotherapy. and it was pretty brutal. i lost probably 25 pounds. >> reporter: it's not just breast cancer. 250 firefighters men and women have died of cancer here in the past 12 years

nbc's tom costello has those details. >> reporter: this is the month say experts we should all be checking are withholding enough or not enough tax. look at your federal withholding, not social security and not medicare. >> what you want to see is that your federal withholding went down, your paycheck went up, and when that didn't happen, you need to talk to your human resources department or your payroll specialist. >> reporter: employers have until february 15th to adjust withholdings based on the new tax law passed in december. employers use a w-4 to calculate how many allowances or dependents you are claiming. that hasn't changed. >> we expect anywhere from, you know, 50, $60 up through several hundred dollars of increased paychex with this. >> three examples, family of four earning $120,000 a year would see their pay go up $122 every two weeks. a couple making $80,000 a year would see an extra $66 per sin $40,000 would get an extra $36 per check. >> look at your pay stub. make sure that the withholding is appropriate for your situation. sometimes family situations change during the co

i'm tom costello in san francisco where the fire department is very concerned about rising levels of cancer among firefighters and specifically breast cancer among women firefighters. they are so concerned about it they've started a bio metric study of firefighters to determine the cause and they believe just like fire departments across the country, that this is the result of a types of fires they are fighting these days. more carcinogens and mo-- more gases that could cause cancer. coming up on "nightly news," what san francisco is doing and what the concern is for female firefighters and what is happening nationwide. >> we'll see lester and tom in a few minutes on "nightly news." >>> san jose high school pulls off something only 500 people in the world have done. we'll tell you next. the reason >>> tonight at 6:00, should they be back on the street? the reason police are crying foul after these two twin brothers accused of having child porn are released in san jose without bail. that is coming up at 6:00. >>> a bay area school is celebrating a student for his world class math skil

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> a solemn day in the u.s. capitol rotunda today as the body of the reverend billy graham laid in honor. politicians and other well wishers paid their respects to graham who died last week at age 99. at a memorial service, president trump praised graham for helping to lift the spirit of america. graham's funeral will be held on friday in north carolina. >>> there's more to tell you about this evening, still ahead, on those discount websites, are you really getting the best travel deals? do the pictures match reality? what we found may surprise you. >>> also the remarkable journey of a man who found his home and his calling in a most unlikely place. we're goi ♪ if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months, ... with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing informa

>> tom costello, thank you. this horrifying shooting in florida marks the 18 time gunfire has erupted on a school campus in america since the start of this year. with more now on these tragedies and images that have become disturbly common in our country, we turn to nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: over and over it's become the iconic footage, students running from a school with their hands up, columbine, sandy hook, now parkland. school shootings so familiar they go by just one name, images that look so similar, and yet each time new families are ripped apart. according to every town for gun safety, this is the 18th time a gun was fired on school grounds this year. missy jenkins-smith was shot and paralyzed in 1997 at a school in west paducah, kentucky. she's now a counselor at a nearby school and she worries. >> students that i work with are looking at school shootings as normal, and to me, that was not normal and it's scary how normal it is. >> reporter: 8-year-old ava olson calls september 28th, 2016, th

tom costello, nbc news, washington. >>> coming up, massive pileup.aw-dropping bird's-eye view of a major mess on the highway. >>> and first neil diamond. and then elton john. now another music legend saying farewell to the stage. legend l to the stage. tery near pugs. for all the people who sneeze around dust. there's flonase sensimist allergy relief. it relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. and 6 is greater than 1. flonase sensimist. for 100 years, heritage and innovation have made gillette the #1 shave in america. now get gillette quality at lower prices - every day. brought to you by more than a thousand workers in boston. we're proud of giving you our best. gillette - the best a man can get. if you could see your cough... it's just a cough. you'd see how often you cough all day. and so would everyone else. robitussin delivers fast,

nbc's tom costello explains. >> this is a cell phone selfie light. >> tv cover for your outdoor tv. >porter: one after another the packages keep coming. >> controller for your vr experience. >> reporter: mike and kelly say they started arriving in october. now they come twice a week. no invoices, no return name or address. just their name and address. even amazon doesn't know who is sending them. >> we didn't order this stuff. we really don't want this stuff. and we really want it to stop. >> yeah. and we have gotten no help from amazon. >> reporter: strangely, they're not even being charged. e-commerce experts say that suggests it's all part of a scam called brushing. vendors, often overseas, pay someone to use gift cards to buy merchandise, then ship it to a legitimate name and address. once it arrives, the phantom buyer, often the vendor, writes a glowing review on amazon or other e-commerce sites. >> the ultimate motivation is to get a good review for the product on to amazon. the more positive reviews, the more likely you'll get sales of those products. >> reporter: those reviews

nbc's tom costello has been digging into the hacking of america extensively for us and has this report. >> reporter: today's indictment comes just days after the nation's intelligence chiefs warned russia is determined to influence the next elections. >> this is an attack on our national security. and as if it was a b-2 bomber coming and dropping a bomb over the united states, we have to be prepared to take every step possible to protect our country. >> reporter: security experts say the 2016 elections proved to russia that its tactics worked. they're cheaper than buying a fighter jet, nobody dies and they can deny responsibility. the cyber security chief. >> we've seen russia adopt its long-term strategy to include an information warfare component. we need to adopt to that. >> reporter: among the options open to the u.s. -- enforce current economic sanctions or consider tightening them and a potential cyber retaliation. >> i think our intelligence community, our dod has the best of the best at their fingertips. the dynamic in skish securi -- cyber security, offense is better than agai

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tom costello in cape canaveral. you very much. >>> and president trump loves the stock market, especially when it's breaking records, at least the good records. >> our stock market has picked up since the election. we're doing fantastically, the stock market hit another all-time high. the stock market is at an all-time high and continues to go up, up, up. we did, in fact, break 25,000, very substantially break it, very easily. so i guess our new number is 30,000. had the other side gotten in, the market would have gone down 50% from where it was. 50% from where it was. remember that. you're seeing what's happening with the stock market. people are appreciating what we're doing. the stock market is smashing one record after another. >> as you see right there, he owned the rise, quite a lot. but the fall, so far, no. we witnessed the dow's worst one-day point loss in u.s. history yesterday. and a rocky ride so far today. but not a word from president trump. any minute now, we're expecting to hear from sarah huckabee s

let's quickly go to tom costello. tom? >> i would also add that the sheriff made a point of saying the suspect appears to be a former student, an 18-year-old, not a current student. he believes he's about 18 years old. there is some reporting from the miami herald suggesting that the suspect may be 19 and a former student. and that the suspect was early on identified as wearing a maroon shirt and the suspect then arrested a short distance away was in fact, wearing a maroon shirt. 14 transported and wounded. unknown number of fatalities. presumably, some of them are still inside the school. as the sheriff's department now goes through the process of very methodically clearing room by room before they can actually allow the investigation, the crime scene investigation to proceed. lester? >> tom costello, thank you. we will, of course, continue to follow this story closely from our vantage point here at the winter olympics. and we'll come back on the air as developments warrant. we'll have full details shortly on "nbc nightly

joining us now to preview a series of special reports called the hacking of america, is nbc's tom costello from washington. how are you doing, tom? >> i'm well, thanks. you're absolutely right. people are the weakest link in cyber security. we all see that e-mail that's tempting. we open it up and it looks legitimate. it's not. as soon as you open that or you click on the link, you can infect your computer. what we mean by that is, once the hackers are in, this malware, it can move laterally through your computer or your company's computer. this is the biggest problem cyber security experts deal with every day, trying to prevent all of us in the mainstream from actually making ourselves vulnerable. >> tom, when we hear the word hacker, we immediately think of someone up to no good. there is a good hacker versus a bad hacker, correct? >> listen, absolutely. facebook prides itself on having hackers employed at facebook. they are working on behalf of facebook to determine where are the weakest links within facebook but also what are the hackers after? how can they shore up the defenses. faceb

nbc's tom costello is here from washington with more. how are you doing? >> i'm well. and you're absolutely right. people are the weakest link in cyber security. we all see that e-mail that's tempting. we open it up. it looks legitimate. it's not. as soon as you open it or you click on the link, you can infect your computer. what we mean by that is, once the hackers are in, they can move laterally through your computer or your company's computer much this is the biggest problem they deal with he have day trying to prevent all of us in the mainstream from actually making ourselves vulnerable. >> tom, when we hear the word hacker, we think of someone up to no good. this is such a thing as a good hacker versus a bad hacker, correct? >> listen, absolutely. facebook prides itself on having hackers employed at facebook. they are working on behalf of facebook to determine where are the weakest links within facebook, but also what are the hackers after? how can they shore up the defenses? facebook is not alone. every big company that has a robust cyber security force is doing

it was really very eye-opening. >> tom costello joining us from washington.looks like a great series. thanks for talking to us. >>> you bet. >> be sure to catch the first of the special two-part series, the hacking of america starting tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. right here on nbc 10. >>> coming up next, overcoming the odds. special honors for patients who have coped with medical challenges thanks to the help of some four-legged friends. >>> overcoming the odds. two people facing medal challenges are honored for their success they've achieved with the help from horses. those horses are the key to the therapy provided at the pegasus riding academy. nbc 10's aundrea cline-thomas introduces us to charlotte and rashean. >> there's something about the horses at the pegasus therapeutic riding academy that has students at the field camp beating the odds. >> when i ride my horse, i feel free to be myself, which is not true necessarily in other environments. >> charlotte has cerebral palsy and has been riding for more than two decades. her achievements include gradua

i want to go to washington and nbc's tom costello who is following this investigation. tom, it is rare that a gunman is taken into custody alive. what do we know about this boy? >> by some accounts, we understand he actually tried to blend in with the other students who were running, fleeing from the scene, and he was apprehended by a local police department about -- less than a mile away from the scene. 19 years old, nicholas cruz. we are told by law enforcement authorities that he had gas masks with him. he also was armed with an ar-15, multiple magazines, smoke grenades and gas masks. and he had apparently pulled the fire alarm and that caused yet again more people to flee from their rooms and what they thought was a fire drill but it allowed him according to senator bill nelson, allowed him more targets, if you will, to pick off. we can also tell you he legally bought that ar-15. his mother died back in november. his father died six years ago. so he was living with a family friend. and he had a history of making threats at that school. in fact, he talked a lot about

lack of a program like that leads to something being missed in a tragedy like this occurring. >> tom costello, sean is still with us. tom? >> sean is right. i would just make the point, and i know we're talking about semantics here. somebody messed up. i would proposed many people messed up because you don't have this level of specificity in a complaint in january in addition to what happened back in september and just one or two people are responsible for messing up. here's what i'm wondering. are they overwhelmed with tips? is that why this fell through the cracks? you have to wonder whether there simply is so much it's like drinking out of a fire hose and they're unable to respond or prioritize? they always say see something, say something. yes, but that is incumbent upon the authorities then to do something. and it seems in this case you had many people raising red flags in the school, among the neighbors, his own family which called the police and now somebody very close to him who called the fbi in early january. i think you've got -- i don't want to say institutional failure but you ce

of course, amtrak had permission, according to sources speaking to nbc news' tom costello, that amtrakble to use those particular tracks, but again whether those signals were working are not clear. sources telling tom costello the signals had been suspended for work and a switch may have been in the wrong place on the track. amtrak 91 was heading from new york city to miami. there were 139 passengers onboard and eight crew members. we know now two of the crew members did not make it. one of them was 36-year-old michael sella, the conductor of the train, and 54-year-old michael kemp, he was the train's engineer. 100 passengers onboard the train were taken to area hospitals. they had injuries ranging from serious to minor. two of them, we're told, were in critical condition. coroner margaret fischer here spoke earlier at a news conference about what happened at the train crash. take a listen. >> any time you have anything that happens like that, you would expect more fatalities, but god blessed us and we only had the two, and not that they were in any way diminished, because my goodness,

tom costello joins us live from the kennedy space center. you drew the good straw on this one, tom. >> reporter: not bad. 70 plus degrees in florida. all systems are good. the weather looks good. so far, no technical issues. elon musk calls this the falcon heavy. it is essentially three falcon 9s put together. as you mentioned, this will now be the biggest launch from the ksc since the apollo moon missions. the giant sitting on the pad this morning in florida is set to lift off with the kind of explosive power not seen here in 45 years. the mission, break through earth's gravitational pull and head for a solar orbit, including mars. this reported $90 million mission, paid for by elon musk, billionaire space founder, who admits he is a little giddy. how you feeling? >> really excited. i mean, this is the moment i've been waiting for for a long time. >> lift off on apollo 11. >> reporter: it was from this pad nasa's shuttle and apollo missions were launched. musk says despite the engineering and tests, there's always a decent chance his rocket

there. >> dropping the space knowledge. >> i got an e-mail in on the way to work. >> tahanks to tom costello that. >>> and another guy doing unbelievable things, bill karins. let's get a check on the weather. >> i'm still working on my kid's pinewood derby car. let's keep it simple. >> you will tell us when the snow is coming, so that is an important thing. >> today is a high impact travel day. thousands upon thousands of school delays and cancellations all the way from texas through the northeast. right now the advisories extend for 70 million people, warnings for about 17 million people and it is really the interior new england through the ohio valley that is getting the worst of it. also we have had two tornado warnings in louisiana. nothing confirmed. the southern end of this has isolated potential for some severe weather. but it is really the stuff around the ohio river northwards, that is where it is cold enough for the ice and snow. here is a closer view of the radar. the pink is where you are getting the freezing rain and sleet. look at southern ohio, just a mess on the radar here wi

tom costello has been digging into his background. what do we know about him?appears for the last year and 18 months to two years he had been living kind of a troubled life. we know that his father died six years ago. his mother died back in november. he had been living with a family of a friend. they say they were unaware of mental illness. students said he talked a lot about guns, that he was almost an outcast at times, socially awkward and he also talked about violence and hurt or killing animals so that all is part of this broader discussion, as you know, about the school having excelled him last year because he was seen as a threat. some teachers are saying he threatened other students. peter, as you know, all these come together. as you look at his alleged posting on youtube and he said sa he wanted to become a school shooter. our questions right now are whierpwhy did that investigation not go any further. they were not able to get a particular location where it might occur and they weren't able to identify if mr. cruz was the one who post ed the video. b

tom costello has the preview. >> we went inside a hack with one of these good hackers to see not only how easily they got inside but also what are the hackers after? how easily can they identify it? and once they find that data how can they extract it? and how can we shore up our own defenses? it was really very eye opening. >> the first of a two part series called the hacking of america airs this morning on the "today" show starting at 7:00 right here on nbc 10. >>> batteries ablaze. the new video sparking growing concerns about the dangers of gadgets onboard planes and what passengers need to know. >>> remembering billy graham. and the week of tributes ahead. >>> and all new at 5:00 this morning, prescription for addiction. students from our area talk about how they got hooked and what they think needs to change to stop the cycle of addiction. this is so exciting, dave! hey gus, meet tucker... . awwww... whoaaaa !! ...and axle, angie, frank, charlie, millie, ralph, henry, audrey and duke... yep...ten times the fun. sorta like this... ahhh, ten times the bucks. it's one of the new ti

nbc news' tom costello has that part of the story. hi, tom. >> reporter: they say the picture is of a problem teenager. he had a fixation with guns, his parents died. he had been kicked out of school and on wednesday came to school with a semi automatic weapon. this morning it appears 19-year-old nicholas cruz planned the attack on his high school. >> he had countless magazines, multiple magazines, at this point we believe he had one ar-15 rifle. i don't know if he had a second weapon right now. >> reporter: his intention, authorities say is to cause chaos and cause as much hoff vac as well. >> he wore a gas mask. he set off the fire alarm so the kids would come out into the hallways. >> reporter: investigators say cruz had been expelled from the same school last year, tore behavioral issues and threatening other students. it contained images of cruz wielding knives and showing off a gun. buzzby is reporting the fbi was warned last year about a youtube post from a user nicholas cruz, who wrote, i'm going to be a professional school sho

nbc's tom costello is at the scene. tom, what is the latest there? >> reporter: savannah, good morning. just a reminder, this train was carrying members of congress to the greenbrier resort in west virginia. this morning this is an accident scene, not criminal. the ntsb is on the scene, federal railroad investigators on the scene, trying to figure out how this garbage truck, which was totally ripped apart as you can see behind me, how it ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. it happened in one lightning fast horrific moment. >> mass casualty incident level 1, train versus truck. >> reporter: a chartered amtrak train carrying republican members of congress, their staff and families to a retreat in west virginia, slicing through a garbage truck on the tracks just west of charlottesville, virginia. >> we were just having a regular train ride and all of a sudden we felt a strong jolt, a really loud sound. we noticed some of our colleagues who were standing fell to the floor. >> reporter: kevin kramer was doing a live radio interview from the tra

tom costello, thank you. >>> not quite orbit, but another wild ride on wall street, dramatic swings as dow plunged at the open, rebounded before finishing up 567 points. so for everyone rushing to check the 401(k)s yesterday, you probably feel a bit better tonight. jolene kent went down to the stock exchange to get a first look at the volatility and what it means for your money. >> reporter: first, a plunge. >> you may be having a fakeout. >> reporter: the dow is sinking 565 points at the opening bell. 24 minutes later, a surge up into the green, up 367. moments later, down again by 236. soaring 567 points at the close. what's happening here? >> it's a bounce back. yesterday the market sold off. a little over 4% was an exaggerated move. today once the market calmed down a little bit. you've got opportunistic trader types. >> reporter: the large swings are driven by expected interest rate hikes, political uncertainty in washington and automatic trading set off by computers. >> if you have a high-volume selloff, the market zigzags back and forth. >> reporter: steve mnuchin downplayed the

. >> tom costello said the good guys call themselves hacker as they look for clues. >> we saw with equifax systems around the world, the financial system is vulnerable? >> absolutely. it's terrifying. such huge volume of information. hundreds of millions of records of consumers being lost. that just shows you the potential that individuals have to impact the economy at large. you can see it on the today show starting right here on nbc10. >>> more than just a signatures an item that is a turning point in baseball and american history goes up for sale today. 8 minutes before 5:00, a challenge to the ceiling. a harlem globetrotter takes his skills to new heights. >>> good morning, everyone, jessica boyington with you right now. checking on the roads, we're watching the schuylkill expressway. the cameras and you can see a delay here as we just picked up the construction on the westbound side. again, the westbound side, not the eastbound side. moving towards center city there. a little slow behind that. i'll keep my eyes on it by the time you head out the door you should be fine. that will clea

tom costello is joining us with more on that. >> reporter: good morning. police say the picture that is emerging of the suspect is of a troubled teenager who had a preoccupation with guns. both of his parents had died. he'd been kicked out of the high school last year and wednesday he came back with a semi-automatic rifle. this morning it appears 19-year-old nikolas cruz meticulously planned the attack on his former high school. >> he had countless magazines, multiple magazines and at this point we believe he had one ar-15 rifle. >> reporter: his intention, authorities say, to cause chaos and kill as much people as possible. >> he wore a gas mask and smoke grenades. he set off the fire alarm so the kids would come out into the hallways. >> reporter: investigators say cruz had been expelled from the same school last year for behavioral issues including threatening other students. according to the miami herald, cruz's instagram page underscored his love of weapons and contained images of cruz wielding knives and showing off a gun. this morning buzzfeed is re

nbc's tom costello now with the alert regard new twist on an old scam. >> the reason of this call iso inform you that irs is calling about tax fraud. >> reporter: threatens arrest if the taxpayer doesn't return an irs refund. what's different, the victim actually has received an irs refund that the scammers have filed on his or her behalf. and now the scammers want the money. >> call our department number 202-629. >> reporter: how it works, hack into computers stealing personal and bank account information and then file a false tax return and request a refund check or direct deposit into the real taxpayer's bank account and posing as the irs or collection agency, the scammers cabinet the victim by e-mail or phone to go after the money. >> indicating that they, you know have a refund in their bank account that is by mistake and demanding it be returned to them. >> reporter: the scammers tell the victim to electronically transfer the money to the scammers' bank account or face arrest. don't believe it. >> we will not contact you from an e-mail. we will not act you by phone. >> reporter

savannah and hoda, back to you. >> all right, tom costello. tom, thank you. >>> as we mentioned, the president tweeted about this. he offered his prayers and condolences and he's tweeting again this morning. let's go right to nbc's national correspondent, peter alexander, who is at the white house. peter, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. a senior administration official telling me this morning there is a strong chance that president trump will publicly address this tragedy at some point today, but for the moment there are no public events on his schedule. on wednesday the president didn't make any on-camera remarks. an aide tells me some advisers recommended he say something but he opted not to. you talked about him on twitter. just moments ago literally the president this morning tweeting so many signs that the florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. must always report such instances to authorities again and aga

nbc )s tom costello reports on stunningly high rates of breast c >>> female firefighters are facing theggest battle yet, breast cancer. >> the stunning high rate of breast cancer. >> no city in the country has more female firefighters than san francisco. 16% of the department. but today's far more toxic fires may be leading to an alarming rise in breast cancer cases among them, the battalion chief. >> she said you have breast cancer. i almost cried. no way! no way! >> chief bradley is just one of many. a stunning 15% of female firefighters, 40 to 50 years old in san francisco, have been diagnosed with breast cancer. six times national average. >> i always think of it as, there is a cancer sniper throughout in the fire service. and it is not when, it is not if, it is who is next. >> jeanine nicholson has undergone a double mastectomy. >> 16 rounds of chemotherapy and it was pretty brutal. i lost probably 25 pounds. >> and it is not just breast cancer. >> 250 firefighters, men and women, have died of cancer in the just the past 12 years. chris never smoked but lost his vocal chords. >> i'

sources are telling tom costello that some of the signals for csx has been suspended because of workhe track may have been in the wrong position. again, these are things the ntsb will be looking into as they investigate this crash. we are expecting to hear from them later this afternoon and we'll bring you the details when we have them. >> thank you very much. maya rodriguez in west columbia. >>> joy reid has more on this tribute to american history. >> allen page, nfl mvp, hall of famer, member of the vikings purple people leaders, and the first african-american justice on the minnesota state supreme court is now immersed in a project far from the courtroom, but still intrinsically tied to the quest for justice. for 30 years, he and his wife, diana simms page have collected artifacts connected direcy to the save trade. and the jim crow laws that took root after the civil war. the collection is now partially open to the public for the first time in an exhibit at the han pin county library, minneapolis central, in downtown minneapolis. on display a slave-made brick from the original w

tom costello is at the kennedy space center with us. now that we saw it, we get what all the fuss is about. >> it was pretty cool wasn't it? elon musk who owns tesla, said it was almost picture-perfect. one of the three rockets crashed into the ocean. the other two landedt this morning, blowing up over thetograp and tng this mannequin, this fake astronaut, on its way into deep space. and the images look so spectacular, you think they're fake. this morning, space has a new voyager, a mannequin named starman, riding a tesla roadster. and heading his orbit around the sun. his journey beginning in spectacular fashion. >> reporter: a picture-perfect liftoff at the kennedy space center as 3 rockets and 27 engines simultaneously fired to lift the spacex falcon heavy rocket off the pad. at mission control near los angeles, jubilation. then just a few moments later, an engineering marvel as the two side rocket boosters landed back on earth on their exact targets next to each other. >> and the falcons have landed. >> that was epic. that's probabl

. >> tom costello is asking to jump in. tom? i think we just lost tom. we'll come back to him once we get him. in looking at his body language there, what did you make out of that? he kept his head down the whole time. >> defendants we see in first arraignment, they're shocked they in the system. we have this incredibly emotional and high-energy event in their lives and they're coming down from that. he's been sitting in interrogation room for the last couple hours getting peppered with questions until his attorneys came in. and attorneys interviewed him. there's a lot of information that's going through him. now he's being faced with the reality of the act is over and now this is what the rest of your life is going to look like for however long you're living. tom is with us now. tom. >> i was struck by something he said. he is sad and remorseful. that suggested she is at that moment suggested he is, in fact, guilty. i thought that was an extraordinary thing to say. and i also really sympathized with her. here is a defense attorney who has a constitution

. >> that was tom costello reporting. musk spent a half a billion dollars. that was his own money to develop the falcon heavy. meanwhile, he could someday use the technology to zip people around the earth at faster speeds like l.a. to london in 30 minutes, london to hong kong in 34. >> just remarkable. >> it is. >>> accused of ripping off an elderly woman, the bizarre scheme, and the action the state wants to take. p a lawyer accused of a and here you have a bánh mi inspired fried chicken sandwich. you'd never find this at a fast food restaurant - it's a good thing. is that right, martha? why don't you try my asian fried chicken sandwich? it's made with crispy fried chicken strips, crunchy asian slaw and a gochujang mayo - all on a toasted baguette. security! get him! you afraid of a little competition? you want to go to war with me, jack? do you really? oh my gosh! what! i can't smell! i can't smell! introducing my food truck inspired sandwiches. only at jack in the box. account, credit cards, and a dead woman. >>> a lawyer has been accused of a bizarre sch

tom costello sights sources who say investigators are looking at the possibility that a rail line switch in the wrong position. today's crash also left at least 116 amtrak passengers injured. that train was heading from new york city to miami at the time of the crash, about 2:30 a.m. this morning. >>> donald trump jr. is letting loose on the russia investigation and dismissing the importance of the controversial trump tower meeting. >> come to a conclusion already. you've been looking two years, come up with nothing other than their own nefarious actions and own collusions. come up with nothing. i took a meeting. 20-minute -- big -- >> it's true. i took a meeting? i took a meeting? >> they needed it to be true because they staked their entire credibility. the whole narrative, oh, now we can keep on. keep on the heat because they knew what was going on. >> well, bring in democratic morris reid. conservative commentator and author of "the gate keepers: how the white house chief of staff define every presidency "and senior aid visor to the new york democratic party. big panel. welcome. ladi

sources are telling nbc's tom costello that a track switch may have been in the wrong position. the amtrak, we know was heading from new york to miami. had about 140 people on board. and the governor of south carolina took a moment to speak about the victims of that crash. >> here's what we can tell you, we've been to the scene, and i would ask, this is a sunday, everyone going to church if you've been or not going, say a prayer for please people that are involved. >> and both people killed in the derailment have been identified as am strak employees. most of the injured passengers, though, are expected to be released today. >>> coming up, all that for $1.50? house speaker paul ryan gets some heat for taking a victory lap. s at man) he's looking at me right now, isn't he? yup. (butch barks at man) butch is like an old soul that just hates my guts. (laughs) (vo) you can never have too many faithful companions. that's why i got a subaru crosstrek. love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek. i'm never gonna be able i'll take a sick day tomorrow. on our daughter's birthday? mo

nbc's tom costello is parked at the kennedy space center in cape canaveral.rgeous day for a launch. what makes it so significant? >> i think it may not happen. that's a headline breaking right now. that is because we have such strong upper atmosphere winds right now. wind shear very high up. they've now postponed this launch until 3:05 at the earliest eastern time. the window closes at 4:00. i think we're right now in a very precarious situation for a launch and the clock itself has stopped. so i would not be surprised if they try to postpone this for a day or so. to underscore, this is an unimagined test mission. you mentioned it is the biggest rocket in the world today. it would be the biggest launch from here in terms of rocket power since the moon missions of apollo in 1973. so will this rocket get off the ground? assuming the winds stop, will it be successful? i asked musk that question out there on the pad and as you know he is the founder of space x. his answer was a bit surprising. listen to this. >> i hope it goes right. i give it maybe i don't know

tom costello has more on what you need to be on the lookout for. >> it's a new twist on an old scam.the reason of this call is to inform you that the irs is file ago lawsuit against you for tax fraud. >> an automated call claim to go by the irs threatening arrest if the taxpayer doesn't return an irs refund. but here is what's different. the victim actuallies has received an irs refund that the scammers have filed on his or her behalf. now the scammers want the money. >> call us back on our department number. 202-629 -- >> here is how it works. the scammers hack into employers or tax preparers computers stealing personal and bank account information. they then file a false tax return and request a refund check or direct deposit into the real taxpayer's bank account. then, posing as the irs or collection agency, the scammers contact the victim by e-mail or phone to go after the money. >> indicating that they have a refund in their bank account by mistake and demanding that it be returned to them. >> the scammers tell the victim to electronically transfer the money or face arrest. don'

he talked to tom costello about having a town orvil village on mars.s to be buried there in decades. the science doesn't say it is necessarily practical in decades. but without guys like elon musk and guys like him, he won't dream big enough to try. >> you're absolutely right. at nasa, we like to say we make the impossible possible. turn science fiction into science facts. it's dreaming. elon has brought an energy and imagination to the space industry that was sorely needed. he's challenged everybody. nasa and other commercial companies. we all appreciate that. you have to keep everything in perspective, however. you know, all of a sudden, launch day comes and the mission comes and you've got to make sure that what you set in your sights is achievablchievable. you should strive for something bigger and better than has ever been done before. >> elon musk said, 50% chance or better the thing is going to blow up before it takes off. scott, you have come as close as most humans have ever come to living in space because you lived in space for a while. when