tracie potts, thank you. >>> 4:48 your time right now. we learned about a second piece of evidence linking a man to the quadruple murder in washington, d.c. daron wint had a preliminary hearing yesterday. his dna was found on a pizza crust and at the hearing wint's dna was on a construction vest in one of the victim's cars. the detectives said that police recovered three-quarters of a $40,000 ransom in this case. >>> a boy pointed what looked like a rifle at fbi investigating the shooting in chattanooga. they found a possible connection to the shooter at an apartment. and when they got there a 15-year-old pointed a rifle at them and it turned out to be an air gun. he had an air soft pistol with him as well. that's a new kind of response to the shooting. the video shows volunteers guarding recruiting centers in alabama and georgia. the military is increasing security and several are moving to equip national guard troops with guns. the department of defense said it's not planning to arm army reservists. >>> police accuse an 80-year-old man

here is tracie potts. >> reporter: don't expect any decisions. but we are expecting some emotional debate as that flag debate gets under way today. they'll start off in the senate where by the way that's where reverend clementa pinckney served. it was his death and eight others that really sparked this controversy. the flag is still flying in front of the state house. the debate is over whether or not to take it down. and we have seen rallies. there was a big anti-flag rally. take down the flag rally on saturday. we have seen them on both sides not only in south carolina, but across the country. what we're expecting to happen there today, debate in the senate, if they actually pass this bill to take it down. it will go to the house. where we're expecting it could be even more contentious although media reports down there looking at the vote count suggest that they may actually have enough votes, enough support to get this done. if they don't one lawmaker says he wants to call for referendum to let the voters decide. >> tracie potts live on capito

nbc's tracie potts is live here to tell us more. good morning. >> reporter: eun, good morning. in both iowa and new hampshire key states, donald trump is gaining ground it appears. taking a look at the iowa poll. he has a commanding lead there. seven points over jeb bush. i should say in new hampshire. in iowa he's actually number two behind scott walker. but only by two points which is within the margin of error. the interesting thing we also see from these polls is his unfavorable rating which is a whopping 60% among registered voters in iowa. so a lot of people don't like him, but of the republicans who do, he is in the lead in at least one of the states and right behind scott walker. this echoes what we're seeing nationwide in the cnn poll where trump has only not commanded the lead, but he's gained support since the comments he made about john mccain. >> all right, tracie potts live on capitol hill for us, thank you. >>> right now, president obama is making a historic trip to ethiopia. he's the first sitting u.s. president to visit that country. right now he's meeting with

nbc's tracie potts has the latest on all this. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning. he was invited down by the local event union, but the national stepped in with some concerns about the appearance of endorsing donald trump and cancelled their portion of this event. trump's campaign tells us as of this morning he is still going to laredo. remember, it was his comments about rapists coming over therd boer that sparked a firestorm of criticism and now we're hearing some republican candidates fight back on some of the comments he's been making. rick perry called trump a barking carnival act saying that he's toxic to the republican party. lindsey graham whose cell phone was released by trump this week calls him a car wreck. we will see a lot more later today as trump according to his campaign heads down to that border in laredo. >> tracie potts on the hill, thank you. >>> democrats are calling it the donald trump bill. lawmakers are expected to vote today on a bill that will hold back federal law enforcement money from states or local governments that don't cooperate wit

and with the west. >> tracie potts, thank you very much. good to see you. >>> 4:47. a new visitor center complex at the flight 93 national memorial in shanksville, pennsylvania, will open on september 10th. it features an education center and a walkway tracing the flight's path on september 11, 2001. the tickets are free but because the park service expects heavy crowds, that's the reason there. search for more on the nbc washington app. >>> we are waiting for the results on a full autopsy of a woman found dead in a texas jail cell but preliminary findings show that sandra bland did take her own life. marks around her neck are consistent with suicide by hanging. officials also say she didn't have the defensive injuries. prosecutors -- prosecutors added, there were 30 cuts on bland's wrists that were proerp proerp -- probably self-inflicted. bland's family maintains she would not have hanged herself. bland's arrest and death are under investigation. her funeral being held tomorrow in chicago. >>> new developments in the mysterious death of a georgia teen found inside

>> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us, thank you. >>> 4:47 now. we're learning how the fbi was able to keep people safe over the fourth of july holiday. more than ten people were arrested in the u.s. over the past month and james comey believes they were planning attacks around the fourth of july. the people arrested are believed link to isis. islamic state sympathizers are so unpredibable it's hard to be sure of the timing of their plans. >>> the government is extending all federal marriage benefits to all same-sex couples. since the supreme court has -- the supreme court's historic decision to legalize gay marriage, programs for veterans, the elderly and disabled will also provide benefits to all married same-sex couples. >>> forced budget cuts will reduce the size of the u.s. army. the new cuts shrink the army by 40,000 soldiers affecting every army installation in the u.s. and overseas. no word on how the cuts will be distributed. the army says unless budget changes are made there may be more cuts needed in the next few years. if more position

tracie potts has more. good morning. >> it's not clear they have the will to do that at all, but the embassy will open. president obama is ew hours from now. and they're also opening one here, too. cuba will open an embassy here, too. that is the latest in his efforts to normalize relation. ben harden said this is part of the common sense approach to dealing with cuba, but he also warns that there is still some serious issues that need to be worked out. arrest and attention must cease as he put it. flurl we are expecting secretary of state john kerry to head down there later this month to raise the flag and open that embassy after more than 50 years. aaron? >> tracie potts on the hill for us thank you, tracie. >>> larry hogan hopes to leave the hospital today after finishing up his first round of chemo. the governor posted an update on his facebook page. he's still feeling really strong. he's battling stage three nonhodgkins lymphoma and continues to work during those treatments. >>> the e-mails show senior

nbc's tracie potts is here now with us. so tracie, how does walker plan to stand out? >> reporter: well, he's hoping to trump donald trump so to speak when it comes to immigration. scott walker, the wisconsin governor, who really came to national attention over labor issues and the budget in that state today plans to announce that he's the 15th republican to run for president. actually, he just signed his own state's budget yesterday and then in the new reuters poll, he's in the top ten, which would put him on that debate stage in just a few weeks. but can he steal the spotlight from donald trump and from the issue of immigration? trump just this morning was talking about el chapo the mexican drug lord who escaped over the weekend in mexico. trump said that the u.s. would try to offer him citizenship. very provocative tweet from donald trump. another candidate, lindsey graham, said that trump has hijacked the debate but others are supporting him like carly fiorina who says that donald trump is not extreme, but that his common sense what he's saying about immigration. b

nbc's tracie potts is with us now from capitol hill. why did this year seem so different? what should people keep in mind to stay safe? >> first of all, it's different because there are two events happening at the same time. july fourth falls in the middle of ramadan, the holy days for the muslim community. as a result isis has been calling for attacks and they've been recruiting westerners under 21 years old. lots of social media out there, they've been tweeting 60,000 tweets a day. isis and their supporters. the mall as they prepare for fourth of july, the fbi and homeland security sent out a bulletin to police all over the country saying to be alert particularly in large crowds. because isis has been calling for the attacks with no specific credible threat. and as the defense secretary has said, the big concern here is not so much that they're planning attacks but that they will take credit for inspiring people in this country to do so. so we see in new york we see in d.c. that they've got lots of security you will see and security you will not see. experts say the answ

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us. is anyone going to be able to steal the spotlight away from donald trump? >> they're trying and the latest is scott walker. we got a look at his first campaign ad as of this morning. he just tweeted officially "i'm running." signing the state's budgets wisconsin governor scott walker said he's ready to take on washington. >> the defense between wisconsin and washington is we get things done. today walker becomes republican number 15 trying to grab the spotlight from donald trump and immigration. >> they're taking everything and killing us. >> early this morning a provocative tweet about the mexican drug lord "e el chapo" trump said the u.s. will invite him to become a citizens. >> i think he hijacked the debate. some candidates are defending trump wanting to build a wall between u.s. and mexico. >> it's not extreme. it's common sense. we need to secure the border. >> trump may be controversial but he's popular in a router poll. he's tied with jeb bush for first place among republicans

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. what a day yesterday. are these issues worries government about security? >> well people are starting to get concerned here on capitol hill about whether we have enough of it. the government insists these incidents, the planes the investments and "the wall street journal," their website also went down were not related. that hackers weren't behind it but it does raise questions about how much we're relying on computers. >> shut down, no activity on the new york stock exchange for four hours as experts work out a trading glitch. trading resumes this morning after a 261-point slide. "the wall street journal's" website went down and 800 united flights were delayed due to a technical error. the government insists they were not related. >> there's no indication that malicious actors are involved in these technology issues. the malfunctions at united and the stock exchange were not the result of any nefarious actor. >> but major computer glitches do highlight how vulnerable we are. five years from now, experts sa

tracie potts is live in washington. >> republicans are turning on him but donald trump is not backing down. in fact he's digging in even more comments overnight. in a sunday night op-ed in usa today donald trump claims john mccain abandoned americans. >> donald trump is wrong, wrong, wrong. they're talking about what trump said saturday about mccain. >> he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured. this sunday. >> do you owe john mccain an apology? >> not at all. >> a couple competitors say he crossed the line. >> i think it is a disqualifier as commander in chief. >> after donald trump has been prisoner of war for six years, then he's in a position to comment on and criticize the senator's record. >> we should never ever question patriotism and the heroism of someone like john mccain. >> i think what he's done -- >> trump's response "i don't need to be lectured by failed politicians." he's saying the media is not covering it fairly. we'll hear more from donald trump this morning as well. >> tracie potts, thank you. >>> a rare summer storm turned danger

nbc's tracie potts following the election from capitol hill. she's live for us. good morning. >>> good morning let's start off with one of the other candidates fighting for attention especially now that he's number 16 in the race. look out for john kasich today in new hampshire. in his kickoff, he said he really wants to focus on the budget, and balancing the budget is something he's done before. he comes were eye a fairly weighty resume as governor of ohio. and having served in congress. but he and a lot of others are really trying to get the attention from donald trump who is at the top of the pack right now when it comes to the polls. which also means he should be in that top ten that qualify for the debate in just a couple of weeks. jeb bush said that his own, trump's tone has been divisive, ugly and mean-spirited. "the des moines register," a major newspaper says he should get out of the race. but trump has given out the cell phone number of senator lindsey graham. another one of those bottom-tier candidates who may not make that debate next month. >> tracie

thank you, tracie potts. as you mentioned we are going to hear directly from trump not only on msnbc, but also this morning on the "today" show. he is joining us in the 7:00 a.m. hour. >>> an arsonist caught in the act on camera attacking a piece of lgbt art work. you can see the surveillance video. caught the man splashing something on this mural. this is in san francisco's mission district. then he set it on fire. this happened ahead of the gay pride exhibition last month. >>> the family of a woman who died in jail now demanding an independent autopsy. investigators say sandra bland hanged herself in the cell in texas last week. texas state police said she was arrested for kicking a state trooper who pulled her over. plandz's family does -- bland's family doesn't buy it. they don't believe it was a suicide. >>> and investigating how a man died after an encounter with police officers. a houston police officer was trying to help a man inside a convenience store. when the officer offered to call an ambulance t

nbc's tracie potts is live now from capitol hill. so tracie, where does this stand right now?porter: well it's in limbo, more like stalemate, eun. the house has passed a five-month extension they have done that 33 times over the last six years and the senate wants to deal with this once and for all, with a big bill. $350 billion that will cover six years' worth of projects but can't agree on how to pay for it. only half is paid for, so the house won't look at that. two different plans, no agreement, and the friday deadline. by friday, authorization runs out for washington to send money out to states to pay for projects that are already under way. plus the federal highway trust fund that we all help pay for when we buy gas with the gas tax, that's dropping below $4 billion, expected to this week. which means it could slow down those payments. house members, members of the senate are trying to work this out. they have a deadline coming up on friday or they could end up staying into their break next week. eun? >> tracie potts live on capitol hill, thank you. >>> secretary of stat

>> tracie potts in d.c. thank you for that report. >>> now have you ever wondered why you're paying so much for airline tickets? turns out you're not alone. the justice department wants to know whether major airlines are illegally coordinating one another to limit capacity and keep prices high. nbc's tom costello reports. >> the justice department is looking into whether some airlines have been colluding, agreeing to limit capacity to maintain ticket prices and profits. the doj telling nbc news we're investigating possible unlawful coordination by some airlines. and often hearse airline ceos ajd analysts talk about capacity discipline. a code word. >> basically saying don't grow your airline, don't add seats, get rid of routes where you don't have your flights completely full. >> fuller planes equals bigger profits and if they do it passengers have fewer choices. the investigation comes as the airlines have begun to turn record profits after struggling for years. today fewer available seats, higher ticket pr

nbc's tracie potts is live here with more on what the white house hopes to accomplish with the visit. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. let's start with the prison visit in oklahoma today. president obama becomes the first sitting president to go behind bars and he's going to use this opportunity to do what he the did in philadelphia on monday to talk about reforms inside prisons and for people going into prisons. too many minorities, too many low-level drug offenders the president says are going into our prison system. meantime, it was just yesterday that he made some pretty candid comments about race when he was asked about the bill cosby case and typically he doesn't comment on on on going cases and he made that disclaimer and then he said this. that anyone who gives a person a drug with the intent of having sex with them without consent, that's rape. that's coming from president obama who as you know was also an attorney previously. now he's getting a lot of comments about just what he said about that. this was a news conference that was designed to defend the nuclear

i want to go to nbc's tracie potts for a look at what this deal looks like and what will happen next on this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning. we are following this developing news out of vienna that they have reached a deal on iran, we are getting lots of reaction this morning. what we have not heard yet is from the white house. eventually, we'll hear from president obama and of course keep in mind that the lawmakers here on capitol hill have to approve this deal. and that's not an easy thing. they are reluctant, republicans and some democrats. they have got a 60-day clock once they get the paperwork to do so. this deal we're hearing out of vienna vienna would allow for international inspectors to go into iran's nuclear facilities, they're saying they'll continue enriching uranium. but they will allow for inspection of their nuclear facilities to make sure they're not building a nuclear weapon. in exchange this is a big deal, the united states and other nations will agree to drop economic sanctions that have been crippling that country. we're waiting to get a lot

nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill with more on what's expected today. tracie good morning. meetings are expected today. one has already happened. all of the superpowers, the u.s., its negotiating partners and iran has to sit down together to work out this key issue that you bring up, eun, which is whether or not the u.n. arms embargo will be lifted. part of the deal had been lifting economic sanctions on iran, but now late in the game they're asking for the arms embargo to be lifted. that would allow iran to buy and sell nuclear weapons. it's something that russia has pushed for. they have a defense system they want to sell to iran. china has agreed to a partial lifting of that arms embargo, but everyone else including the united states is against it. this could be a real sticking point here. let's talk quickly about the deadline. it's supposed to be midnight tonight but that's a soft deadline. the state department has said they could continue talking if they're making progress. the reason they imposed that deadline is because after thursday, congress will get more time, tw

nbc's tracie potts on capitol hill with more. >> reporter: because lawmakers here on capitol hill thinkhat even though the government insists there was nothing nefarious as they put it behind this no cyber attack no hackers, it does expose the fact that we are very vulnerable when it comes to computer systems. let's start with the stock exchange. as we await the opening bell, we are waiting to see if investors will have more confidence after the 261-point slide yesterday. the new york stock exchange shut down for almost four hours because of what turned out to be a technical glitch. "the wall street journal's" website shut down as well. a united airlines grounded hundreds of flights again, due to the technical error. the government says they don't seem to be connected and they don't seem to be the result of hackers. but here on capitol hill, lawmakers are saying that the government needs to do more and set national standards for private companies like the stock exchange and like united that have a huge public impact. >> tracie potts on the hill, thank you. >>> it is 4:47. presidential c

nbc's tracie potts has more on the lawmakers' demands for president obama to start firing people. >>un, they want to start with the director of the office of personnel management. not that this all happened under her watch, but think her response has been weak. katherine archuleta was first grilled in june after we learned about the breach a month earlier and now it's much wider. they are calling for her and the person in charge of information technology for the administration to be fired. no indication that's going to happen. archuleta has said she is not going to step down. what she's doing is trying to respond to this massive breach. we are talking about very sensitive information. social security numbers, banking information. health records even. and fingerprints of people who applied for background checks or who were federal workers. all of it stolen from the database that opm says is targeted ten million times a month. that's how many they thwarted. this one they didn't. in fact, they think the hackers were in the system for a year before they were detected. so lots of people i

nbc's tracie potts has more on what iran is asking for and what the u.s. is look to give.racie, good morning. >> reporter: eun good morning. the u.s. is willing to lift economic sanctions that have been crippling iran's economy in exchange for getting inspectors in to look at their nuclear program. but now iran is asking for more. they want the arms embargo lifted so they can buy and sell weapons. russia's behind that. they have been wanting to sell iran a defense system. china is behind a partial lift of the arms embargo. but the rest of the negotiators including the united states are not and that seems to be a sticking point on the last day of negotiations. it's a soft deadline. the state department has acknowledged it could get pushed a few days if it looks like they're making some progress. we're getting updates in vienna and it looks like the u.s. and the negotiating partners, france, germany, britain, china and russia have already met this morning. that meeting is over. we're waiting to find out when they're going to sit down with iran and meet that midnight deadline

nbc's tracie potts is live with us on capitol hill to tell us more about this poll. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, what we have learned from this poll is that donald trump has a seven point lead over jeb bush in new hampshire. and also in iowa he's pretty close within two points of governor scott walker. walker is in the lead. donald trump within striking distance. and within the margin of error of our poll. it also echoes a new cnn nationwide poll. that one has trump at number one at 18% and that's actually up several points since the comments he made about john mccain. the story this morning, donald trump seems to be surging in kae states and nationwide, despite the comments that he made. looking at the democratic side hillary clinton has a commanding lead in iowa. and while she still is in the lead in new hampshire, that lead is shrinking. the representative for next door for vermont bernie sanders, is gaining some ground there. she's still in the lead but not nearly as much. the other thing that we're watching in the polls the unfavorable ratings.

tracie potts is live in washington this morning.ump doesn't seem worried, but his party certainly does. >> yeah, the republican party is worried about this, laura, thinking he may alienate them from the very voters that they're trying to go after for 2016, latinos. the pga is moving october's grand slam from donald trump's posh l.a. golf course. trump says he'll just keep their deposit and rerent the green. i get two fees instead of one, he says in a statement. on media coverage of the nine companies who dropped him so far, trump replies, give me a break. he's now second in several republican presidential polls. but trump's comments about mexican immigrants -- >> they're bringing drugs. they're bringing crime. they're rapists. >> aren't sitting well with some immigrants working on his new hotel in washington. all the people i know are workers, not rapists, this man says. >> me, it's not going to affect me. here i am, i'm working. i'm -- i'm grateful to be here. >> hillary clinton tells cnn -- >> i feel very bad and very disappointed

tracie potts is following developments. she'll have a live report in 30 minutes. >>> happening today, some of the strictest safety regulations in the state of california up for debate in berkeley, this following last month's deadly balcony collapse. >> kris sanchez has more on what the new balcony construction proposals are. welcome back, kris. >> thank you very much. this is the berkeley city council talking about changing policy, but also in actual construction, which means they want to hold not only the builders responsible, but they're also putting the onus on the city itself, and its inspection process. let's start with the physical changes first. we saw in the video following that june 16th balcony collapse that the beams supporting the balcony were made of wood and the investigation revealed that there was severe dry rot. you can see it crumbling away there. the berkeley city council is proposing that going forward, those beams be built with something more durable, and be better waterproofed. the council is also call

tracie potts nbc news, washington. >> the new miss usa is leaving her mark. she slayed the interview part of the competition by saying the country needs to improve race relations. nbc and nbc -- >> forget about black friday and cyber monday. the best time to get a good deal might be this check. >> walmart steps up the fight with amazon for retail dam nans dominance. a rival sale is being launched. they will launch more than 2,000 online discounts. it's also lowering the minimum order for free shipping from $50 to 35. walmart is calling out amazon for making the deals only available to prime members. that's the morning business report. >> a 13-year-old in virginia is getting several honors for his invention to eye the perfect pitch in baseball. it's called striky sensors. the boy created a box that he says is the perfect 28-inch strike zone. it uses lasers to help young baseball players improve. he explains how it tells a pitcher if it's a ball or a strike. >> you stand in your backyard and throw your ball threw. it has a laser. and a light illuminates if you

nbc's tracie potts is live with us from the hill. acie, how does the president plan to build support? >> well, first of all, by getting the details out, he knows he can do that in a wide ranging news conference than he can in a ten-second sound bite. make no mistake, even know lawmakers on the hill typically don't attend these things, his message for them today is intended for them. they will be the decision makers deciding whether to accept or reject the terps of this deal. they've only got 60 days to do it. all of that skepticism on capitol hill especially the republican leaders. we heard john boehner saying he's going to do everything he can do stop this deal. john mccain says he thinks it's the worst deal for america. and they will not stop iran from building a nuclear weapon. there are democrats obviously supporting the president that he hopes enough to help him sustain a veto. he already said if congress sends in any bill that would not allow for this deal, he'd veto it. and now republicans are trying to figure out if they can p

let's get the full story with tracie potts live in washington. hey, tracie. >> hey there, good morning. let's take a look at these nbc/maris polls, the first two key states the first caucus state, iowa. and the first primary state, new hampshire. in new hampshire, donald trump has a solid lead. seven points over jeb bush. in iowa he's number one behind wisconsin governor scott walker. but still well into that top ten that we'll see on that debate stage in cleveland in a couple weeks. the other thing that we're watching is say nationwide policy. an in-poll that shows donald trump at 18%. he's the number one republican in that poll. what's interesting, that entire poll was taken after the comments he made questioning john mccain's military service and whether he was a war hero. he's gotten a lot of backlash from that. the other thing we're watching are the democrats. hillary clinton is leading the pack especially in iowa where he's gault a commanding lead. her lead is shrinking a little more. only 13 points in vermont over senator bernie sanders. th

tracie potts, washington. >>> a few scattered light showers now on the radar. they are moving from west to east ahead of a cool front. right now a few sprinkles in fairfax county. it's breaking up heading east. maybe another ten or 15 minutes. a few skratscattered sprinkles. mainly just south of the metro area, between around 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. after that the lower humidity comes in after 90 in a few hours. it will be in the 80s tomorrow thursday and friday, with lower humidity. much more comfortable weather moving in. that will last to saturday. maybe a little more humid sunday and monday. might get storms on sunday afternoon. >> right. thank you. a brand new website for deals is now up and running. take a look. this is jet.com. and the founder says that he wants to take on amazon by offering discounts on almost everything on the site not just some items. it's kind of like a warehouse clean up but online. the membership costs $50. >> mick fanning is back home after surviving a shark attack during a competition. he spoke about the terrifying ordeal after ar

nbc bay area's tracie potts has more on how walker hopes to shift the focus away from donald trump. >> reporter: scott walker showed the path to victory. >> st. brand new this morning his first compare ad. >> he balanced budgets, cut taxes, created jobs and showed how to fight and win. >> america needs new fresh leadership. >> reporter: he becoming republican number 15 trying to grab the spotlight from donald trump and immigration. >> they're taking everything and killing us on the border. >> reporter: earlier this morning a provocative tweet about the drug lord el chapo. >> touch says the u.s. will invite him to become a citizen. >> i think he's hijacked the debate and become a wrecking ball. >> some are defending trump wanting to build a wall from u.s. and mexico. we need to secure the border. >> he's popular, tied with jeb bush for first among the republicans, with landlord 16%, we've learned this morning that hillary clinton will be talking about her economy plan this week starting with a speech today on profit-sharing for employees. tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> in the m

we want to go to tracy potts on this. we hear these alerts on a lot of holidays what makes this one different? >> the fact that the 4th is falk smack in the middle of ramadan, they are calling for a pack, not necessarily organized by them. >> that has law enforcement on high alert. they spent out bulletins to thousands of police, telling them to be alert for large crowds, fireworks here this weekend. lots of preparation on the mall. metro, they will have their eyes and ears opened, watching for people traveling to and from those events on this holiday weekend. it's important to know, aaron, there is no specific credible threat. there is nothing specific going on authorities are aware of. they assume isis inspires people to act on their own. all of that not always predictable. experts are also saying that don't necessarily stay home because are you concerned or afraid of what's happening that's what they want. >> that you need to come out, enjoy yourself but be very careful and watchful. >> thank you, tracy. >>> with the n

nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill. how does the president expect to gather support?t of all, by a press conference. he know, it's better than a ten second sound bite. president obama will try to get his message out directly to the public but as make no mistake, he's talking to lawmakers who have 60 days to accept or rejacket this deal. while secretary of state john kerry says it's certainly better than nothing than the ten-year limits on iran's nuclear program. here on capitol hill republicans especially are quite skeptical. house speaker john boehner has already said he thinks it's a bad deal and they'll do everything they can to make sure this does not happen. similar sentiments from mitch mcconnell. however there say question of veto. even if it gets to the president's desk he's already said he'll veto it. did republicans get enough democrats to help them override that veto. right now, the numbers don't appear to support that. >> thank you, tracie. >>> a former loudoun county sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty to soliciting a prostitute. 33-year-old philip gray was a

tracie potts is live in washington with us. what do we know about these new warnings? >> reporter: what's new here is that the fda now believes it can happen much sooner and at higher doses, typically people who are taking more of it are at a higher risk. they also think it can happen within a week or a few weeks of taking these drugs. many times people are combining the drugs and that's a concern. celebrex a prescription drug that's in that class pretty much everything except for aspirin in that class. what the fda wants you to do is take the lowest possible dose maybe even try acetaminophen first. they're putting more prominent warning labels so people are aware there is this risk. >>> the fbi now says arrests in the past few weeks like lie prevented terror attacks around the holiday. >> reporter: as big cities were making plans for july 4th celebrations, the fbi was making arrests. some of those people were talking about killing people on the holiday. fbi agents made a dozen terror related arrests in the past month. the fbi director said that some were carried out t

tracie potts tells us why. >> reporter: nbc got a behind the scenes look at security preparations in new york. >> we're on guard 24 hours a day, seven days a week. >> specially this year. the fourth of july coincides with ramadan. isis is calling for attacks. >> isil is a whole different ball game than other terrorist organizations. >> reporter: for six months, they have been recruiting westerners from under 21. >> if you cannot fight, you can give money. >> reporter: ten suspects have been arrested in the past two weeks. supporters are sending out 60000 tweets a day. >> they are self-radicalized, self-organized people on social media. are we concerned about it? absolutely we are concerned about it. >> reporter: northauthorities say there is no specific threat. they are warning people to be extra vigilant around crowds like saturday's fireworks. concerned? security experts say, don't stay home. >> that's the best way to say the united states es notis not willing to put up with this terrorist nonsense. >> you heard it there from the defense secretary. isis isn't necessarily planning a

tracie potts explains why authorities are warning police to be on the lookout. >> reporter: nbc got aes look at security preparations in new york. >> we're on guard 24 hours a day, seven days a week. >> reporter: especially this year. the fourth of july coincides with ramadan, muslim holy days. isis is calling for an attack. >> isil is a whole different ball game. >> reporter: for six months they have been recruiting westerners under age 21. >> if you cannot fight, you can give money. >> reporter: some have been arrested in the u.s. in the past two weeks. supporters are sending out 60,000 tweets a day they are self radicalized on social media are we concerned about that? absolutely. >> reporter: authorities say there's no specific credible threat but homeland security and the fbi are warning police to be extra vigilant around crowds this weekend, like saturday's fire works in the nation's capital. >> it will be well monitored. >> reporter: concerned? security experts say don't. stay home. >> that's the best way to show the united states will not put up with this terrorist nonsense. >>

nbc10 national correspondent tracie potts looks at the agreement and what it will take to get the deal through congress. >> this is a tine of hope for the entire world. >> reporter: after 20 months of intense negotiations and several extensions iran has agreed to limit uranium production for ten years and access to nuclear equipment and fuel for 15 years. >> a win-win solution on what in our view was an unnecessary crisis. >> reporter: once verified the u.s. and other countries could lift economic sanctions as early as next year. >> every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off. >> reporter: the u.n. arms embargo would stay in place five years, eight for missiles. it could lift sooner if iran complies. >> if iran violates the deal, all these sanctions will snap back into place. >> reporter: the international atomic energy agency, the monitors will report on any outstanding issues by december 15th. israel vehemently opposed any concessions. this morning prime minister netanyahu calls the deal a big historic mistake. >> iran will get a jackpot, cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of doll

nbc's tracie potts joins us now live. so tracie we know that donald trump has been in the news lately. how is scott walker going to make himself stand out? >> reporter: well he's hoping to say what he did in wisconsin he can do in washington and focus on the dysfunction that we have seen in government here and try to replicate what he's done in his home state of wisconsin. but you're right, all we have been talking about for days and weeks now is donald trump and immigration. just this morning in a tweet he made more provocative comments. this time about el chapo, that mexican drug lord who escaped prison in mexico. trump who's been really hammering down on immigration said that the u.s. might offer him citizenship. obviously, nothing to support that, but a very provocative comment, a tweet by donald trump early this morning. today, scott walker is hoping to change the discussion a bit and focus on his campaign. he's by the way number 15 among republicans to join this race. when that happens later today. but he's already p

nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill with more on the president's plan. tracie, good morning. >> good morning. today, he will speak directly to americans but also make no mistake his message is intended for those on capitol hill who in the next 60 days have to vote on whether or not to accept or rejacket this deal. the president is holding what will likely be a wide ranging news conference on this iran deal, covering everything being asked any question about it. he's going to have a hard sale here on capitol hill. he and secretary kerry have orchestrated this deal. but especially republican leaders don't think it's a good deal and they don't think it will stop iran from developing nuclear weapons. john boehner saying we're going to do everything we can to stop it. can they actually do that? based on what they're hearing so far, they may get something on the president's desk to reject this deal. the president has already said they'll veto it. it doesn't seem like alone they have enough republican support to override that. right now, they just don't have eno

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. this is a big deal but not everyone is celebrateing. >> reporter: no they're not. jeb bush tweeted this would legitimize oppression in cuba. some are expected to maybe try to hold funds for building or refurbishing that embassy. what we know today is that in just a few hours president obama will make the formal announcement and then the request will go to cuba's foreign minister to open the embassy there. right now we've got what's called a u.s. interest section there that can deal with visas and things like that. this one would have a lot more teeth. it can pave the way for business and tourism. one thing it won't do is lift the trade embargo between the u.s. and cuba. that's something only congress can do. >>> there is new hope for greece this morning after they became the first developed country to default on an imf loan. but this morning there are reports that prime minister has accepted an eu proposal with some changes. stock markets around are reacting positively to the news. >>

tracie potts joins us now. a lot of obstacles here. can you walk us through on how this might all play out? >> having an embassy is a big step compared to what we have right now. take a look. cuba has an intrasection here as it is called in d.c. and we have one in havana. not quite an embassy. not even run by the governments, they deal with things like visas and passports and an embassy has a lot more and that is what president obama is expected to announce in a few hours. not everyone agrees that this is in the best interest of the united states here on capitol hill. some critics say that it's not something that the u.s. should be doing. some republicans may try to block it we're told by holding the money to build this embassy. or, by holding up confirmation of an ambassador once president obama names one. >> tracie potts for us on the hill, thank you. >>> breaking news on the roads right now. still have a lot of different problems around town. 50 near rheverly metro. still have reports of flooding eastbound and westbound there. a war

nbc 10 national correspondent traci potts has a preview from washington. >> i don't think this will be easy, i don't think it will be painless but i do think it will be respectful and it will move swiftly. >> reporter: this morning, the confederate flag still flies high above south carolina's state house. today's debate shaking the very core of southerners on both sides. >> we need to stay focused on what the ultimate goal is and that is to bring the flag down and put it in a museum. >> this flag is not about racism at all. it's to honor the 620,000 americans that died for this flag, black, white, irish. >> reporter: nascar fans asked not to fly the flag this past weekend. some refused, adding the words heritage, not hate. >> not a racial thing. it's a heritage thing. >> it means that there's no hatred, no racism on that flag. >> reporter: in arkansas pro-flag demonstrators were defiant. >> you can do nothing but silence the enemies. we don't cower at such a charge. >> reporter: today's debate starts in the senate where reverend clementa pinkney serves. his death along with eight paris

tracie potts is live in washington. how are law makers reacting to day? >> but here on capital hill, law makers are very skeptical. he's planned a news conference today really trying to break down all the details in this deal. >> what's the alternative gorksalternative, go to war now? >> it is high time for people in the united states to start looking at iran without those tainted glasses. >> reporter: but that may not be easy on capitol hill. >> it looks like he made a worse deal than even we had feared. >> we'll do anything we can to stop it. >> reporter: republicans don't appear to have enough democrats on board to help them override it. >> i think it's going to be hard in any event. and i'm sure he'll work hard to get his 34 votes. >> i want to go through this process and make sure we fully understand what it is we're voting on. >> all of us are going to study those details. >> reporter: congress has 60 days to approve the deal. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said he will continue to urge lawmakers to reject this deal. >>> and we're al

nbc's tracie potts is live with a look on the campaign trail. >>> one of those issue, abortion, planned parenthood and possibly cutting $500 million on federal funding. on a secret report that shows a doctor talking about fetal tissue donation in an explicit way. rapids paul senator, and republican candidate is leading that fight. and we could see a vote on that issue here, before the senate recesses for the august break in the next few days. also, iran, big issue on the campaign trail. ted cruz has been talking about that. and whether or not the president's plan his deal with iran is going to keep people safe. he thinks that it will not. that it will pose a threat to both israel and the united states. >>> hillary clinton pushing climate change and making no comment on the keystone oil pipeline. she's been asked about it a number of times. she said because she was involved in the decision making as secretary of state she feels it's necessary to wait until president obama makes a decision. lots going on in the campaign trail, chris christie in new hampshire, rick perry in new york, and b

tracie potts is live in washington for us. so, could we see more of donald trump even if he loses in the primary? >> reporter: it is certainly possible. he said if republicans don't nominate him he could run as a third-party candidate. right now he is focusing on immigration. now it is getting a full review on the campaign trail. donald trump at the mexican border. >> we have a tremendous danger on the boarder with illegals coming in. >> reporter: the union that invited trump bowed out. protesters showed up. >> how can he disenfranchise over 50% of the population. >> reporter: in washington the so-called donald trump act cleared the house prohibiting federal funds to sanctuary cities that protect suspects from deportation. >> there are cities more interested in provide sanctuary for the criminals. >> reporter: hillary clinton tells supporters we need more. >> we are not going to deport 11 or 12 million people. we're not going to do that. the best answer for that is comprehensive immigration reform. >> fixing broken immigration

. >> tracie potts live in washington, d.c. this morning, i want to go.hinks that this is a good idea. >> no, they don't. but if you go, you'd be part of history because this is something we have not seen for more than half a century. opening an embassy there, cuba opening an embassy here, part of normalizing relations. but right, not everyone thinks this is the best idea. after more than half a century, president obama's expected to announce later this morning that the u.s. is reopening its embassy in havana. >> it's going to be great. >> reporter: cuba's been taking off the states of sponsored terror. john kerry will head to havana july 20th to open the embassy. >> the more they change, the better for both countries. >> reporter: america's top diplomat will deliver the formal request to cuba's foreign ministry today. >> hopefully throughout the line of communications they can continue to discuss some of the topics that have not been resolved up to now. >> reporter: like human rights and u.s. fugitives hiding out in cuba. a new embassy could pave the way

. >> tracie potts live in washington, d.c., this morning.d move by trump during a campaign stop. i have to say one that whether you're a republican or democrat, independent, it's questionable, at best. >> well, everybody at this point in the race is wondering if trump has their phone number because he made lindsey graham's cell phone public yesterday. it is the latest in a string of comments and actions that have raised questions among many republicans about trump remaining in this race and really he is taking a lot of the attention away from some of the or candidates. >> i have decided to run for president of the united states! >> reporter: meet republican number 16, ohio governor john kasich, look for him in new hampshire today. >> we are going to take the lessons of the heartland and straighten out washington, d.c. and fix our country. >> reporter: but kasich may not even make the debate stage in his own state. only the top ten qualify and this race is being dominated by donald trump. >> watch this idiot lindsey graham on television today

"today in the bay" tracie potts live in washington, d.c. this morning with the latest. . >> reporter: right. and it looks like there may be no shooter there. the latest information that we are he' getting, laura, from authorities, they've done a first entire sweep of the place and there was no active shooter, no one found with a gun, no bullet holes seen, no shots heard. the initial report was a possible shots fired, but they haven't found anyone who heard gunshots in that facility. now, the s.w.a.t. team doing ago second team just to be sure about but d.c. ems, the emergency personnel, dozens of ambulances told us that no one there has been treated. that is certainly good news. initially the officials that we talked to there said that they thought it may be a post or a tweet, something online that gave them the concern that there may have been shots fired. there was a heavy response of police, the fbi, ambulances, they even stepped up security at the white house about a mile or so away. they are as far as we know still on lockdown, people were asked to shelter in place.

tracie potts live from d.c., thank you. >>> secretary of defense, ash carter, has commissioned a study aimed at ending the military's ban on transgender people. one oakland resident, sasha buick effort, who served in the marines in 1980 says if the rules had been changed while she was in service, she would have had no fears of reaction from her fellow marines. >> my worst nightmare would be to be dishonorably discharged for who i am. >> 18 foreign marines already allow transgender soldiers, including israel, great britain and australia. and it's possible that as early as next year, the u.s. could be adding its name to that list. >>> in the wake of the supreme court's decision on marriage equality, we may be getting closer to donor equality when it comes to blood. the food and drug administration is considering ending a 32-year-long ban in allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood. that would only be if they have not had sexual relations with other men in one year. >>> a developing story. at least one person has died, several others missing this morning as a band of severe thunderst

now he's in a private country where the prime minister got 100% of the vote in the last election tracie potts. >> that's right. he's having a news conference today in ethiopia with that prime minister. take a look pictures coming to us from africa where president obama and the prime minister are talking about issues they discussed privately earlier. president obama arrived in ethiopia several hours ago. he got the red carpet treatment and a military guard escort in a country not the same type of crowds we saw on his visit earlier. the focus today is likely to be a meeting with the african union and other countries about the situation in south sudan and whether or not they'll come up with a peace keeping agreement august 17th. the u.s. is there, the white house said to put pressure on the process. they want peace in that region in eastern africa because we poured $40 million into humanitarian efforts. >>> this morning a search is underway off the coast of central florida and rescuers are scanning the ocean through the night and trying to find two 14-year-old boys who went missing at sea on fri

"today in the bay" tracie potts joins us live in washington, d.c. how his numbers continue to rise. >> reporter: and also the reaction from the republican party. you will see it this shortly. but on "the today show" the head of the republican party says he is not so much concerned about trump running as a third party candidate, but that he does understand that the numbers, this bump in the polls that trump is seeing, taps into the frustration of americans with washington. cnn's new poll shows donald trump at the head of the pack with 18% support. that's up 6 points since his comments on john mccain and just ahead of jeb bush. >> there's a movement going on. this this is more than me, this is a movement going on. people are tired of these incompetent politicians in washington that can't get anything done. >> reporter: in a pair of this new nbc polls trump has a 7 point lead over bush in new hampshire, in iowa he is a couple of points behind wisconsin governor scott walker. other candidates are fighting for attention. >> i want to reach out to new peo