The 68yearold democrat known for his devotion to civil rights passed away overnight. Well look back at his life and legacy. Wild and windy, more than 63 Million People from North Carolina to maine feeling the effects of a dangerous noreaster. Heavy rains and winds up to 90 miles an hour, causing damage, Power Outages and travel delays and it isnt over yet. Al has the forecast. All that plus in the hot seat, the ambassador at the center of the ukraine controversy set to face tough questions on capitol hill. On strike, a massive teacher walkout in chicago, cancelled classes and leaves tens of thousands of parents scrambling. And remarkable rescue. A hero trooper springs into action to save a driver stuck on the tracks. Weve got a train coming. Weve got a train coming. The heart stopping save with just seconds to spare. Today, thursday, october 17th, 2019. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Hey, everybody, welcome to today. Thank you for joining us on this thursday morning. Another very busy news morning. We have a lot to get to. Turmoil in washington. And chaos in the middle east. A lot of fast moving developments to tell you about. In a stunning rebuke democrats and republicans banded together yesterday, and voted overwhelmingly to condemn President Trumps decision to pull u. S. Troops out of that region. And that was the backdrop later in the day at a tensionfilled white house meeting between the president and congressional leaders that deteriorated into name calling and a walkout by democrats. And the white house has confirmed there is a letter that the president , and here it is, sent to turkeys president on he invasion, and it warns the president of turkey not to be a tough guy or a fool, all of this as Vice President pence and secretary of state pompeo arrive in turkey this morning. They are pushing for a ceasefire. Will it fall on deaf ears . Well start with Peter Alexander. Reporter with the crisis in syria escalating this fight between the president and Top Democrats is spinning out of control, punctuated by that contentious clash at the white house. The Fiery Exchange captured in this photo released by the white house showing House Speaker nancy pelosi standing there in a cabinet room full of men with her finger pointed at the president. All of it marking a wild 1,000th day of the trump presidency. Shortly after a house vote where more than 100 republicans joined democrats condemning the president s abrupt withdrawal of u. S. Troops from syria a heated confrontation inside the white house. Earlier today the house of representatives voted 354 to 60 in opposition to the actions he has taken in syria. He was shaken up by it. That clash between President Trump and Top Democrats spilling out onto the steps of the west wing. I pray for the president all the time and i tell him that. I pray for his safety and that of his family. We have to pray for his health, this is a very serious meltdown on the part of the president. He called her a third rate politician. He said that the there are communists involved and you guys might like that. I mean, this was not a dialogue. It was sort of a diatribe, a nasty diatribe. Reporter President Trump hitting back, accusing democrats of storming out. Releasing these photos from the cabinet room, pelosi seen standing up, embracing the image, making it her background photo on twitter, the president using the same language as pelosi against her, tweeting she had a total meltdown in the white house today. It was very sad to watch. Pray for her. She is a very sick person. Its a tactic often used by the president. Thats because hed rather have a puppet as president. No puppet. Its pretty clear youre the puppet. It comes as we are getting our first look at the letter President Trump sent to the turkish president , after President Trump appeared to give them the green light, reading in part lets work out a good deal. You dont want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people and i dont want to be responsible for destroying the turkish economy, and i will. Dont be a tough guy, dont be a fool. The president wednesday insisting the kurds who fought alongside the u. S. To defeat isis could battle turkey on their own. Theres a lot of sand that they can play with. That has nothing to do with us. And the kurds are much safer right now, but the kurds know how to fight. And as i said theyre not angels. Theyre not angels. Reporter but the kurds are not safer and kurdish commanders tell nbc news President Trump is treating their lives like a joke. The president s ally, senator Lindsey Graham blasting the president s moves. And to President Trump, if youre listening to this interview, isis will come back on your watch and iran will take over. Lindsey graham would like to stay in the middle east for the next thousand years. I want to get out of the middle east. Reporter and we are getting new details this morning about what was said during that exchange here at the white house. Things devolving when Speaker Pelosi explained to the president that russia has wanted a, quote, foothold in the middle east and now has one with the u. S. Withdrawal, according to a senior democratic aide that pelosi told the president all roads with you lead to putin. The president responding i hate isis more than you do, and later as the democrats marched out, his final words, goodbye, well see you at the polls. Savannah. Peter, thank you so much. And now to that push for a ceasefire being led by Vice President mike pence in turkey this morning. Todays Senior International correspondent keir simmons has that part of the story. Morning. Reporter we are inside the turkish president ial palace where Vice President where Vice President pence and secretary of state pompeo will hold that high stakes meeting. After their own president , President Trump and his comments effectively undermine their position the secretary of state saying before they left for here they want a ceasefire but on the ground in syria there is little sign of that Turkish Forces fighting street to street in urban conflict, reports of more than 200 civilians killed and turkish artillery continuing to pound. The one leader in the world who seems to have command of events here is president putin as america is sidelined its relationship with the key nato ally, turkey, in crisis the president putin can pick up the phone to the leader of turkey, he can pick up the phone to the leader of syria and his russians forces that are trying to hold the line to prevent this conflict from escalating and meanwhile after this meeting here president erdogan says he will head to moscow for a meeting with president putin and responding to President Trumps call for a ceasefire by saying we never will. Savannah. Thank you very much, keir i want to turn to nbc news analyst jeremy bash. Good morning. Lets first talk about the likelihood of success of this meeting by Vice President pence, secretary of state pompeo sitting down with the turkish president erdogan asking for a ceasefire do they have any leverage . Weve lost a lot of our leverage, savannah, because in giving turkey the green light to go into syria weve essentially taken u. S. Military options off the table and whenever an american takes military options off the table we have far less leverage, far less ability to affect the outcome plus that letter that was released yesterday where the president said dont be a tough guy, dont be a fool. Thats going to embarrass erdogan and embolden him, no way in front of his own press corps or his own people hell be seen as backing down to america. Lets talk about this power balance in the middle east because, i mean, literally borders could be being redrawn right now but the power balance is always the thing there, right, so russia as a player, iran as a player, the u. S. As a player whos winning and whos losing clearly the United States is deciding we want out of there but the problem is savannah we cant just bring our troops home were going to have to put more troops into the persian gulf and u. S. Military forces in the middle east for a very long time and in that vacuum created in Northern Syria there, the Syrian Government assad is going there, hes backed by russia, russia has a stronger hand and when russia has a stronger hand so does iran. How about that . Because here on the one hand the administration has been touting its maximum pressure campaign, very difficult economic sanctions against iran, obviously took itself out of the Iran Nuclear Deal but on the other hand whats happening in syria, most analysts will tell you, is great news for iran. It is because iran has wanted to create a land bridge from their country across iraq, across syria, across lebanon to the mediterranean sea. This is a vital piece. This piece of Northern Syria and now theyre going to get it. Where does that leave israel right now . Well, israel is very vulnerable traditionally israel has wanted to have a tough position against iran but, of course, they were very concerned when the u. S. Military said were out of Northern Syria. Theres been another military conflict in the southern part of syria between israel and syria and thats going to go on, savannah. Jeremy, thank you very much, complicated situation, well keep following it, of course. New developments in the impeachment investigation as well Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has told republicans to prepare for an impeachment trial. Another key witness testifies on capitol hill today Kristen Welker has more for us. Reporter Gordon Sondland is a central figure in the ukraine controversy, set to testify later today, a former trump donor turned Eu Ambassador so lawmakers are going to want to know why he was discussing ukraine, which is of course not a member of the eu they will likely also press him on their top question, was President Trump withholding military aid in exchange for an investigation into the bidens . Now you may remember those Text Messages by sondland, in one he said theres no quid pro quo well, hes expected to say, today, that he was instructed to say that by President Trump. Now, its also worth noting that fiona hill, who is the former top adviser on russia, who testified earlier this week, said that she saw sondland as a National Security risk, savannah. Kristen, we just mentioned earlier in the show that the republican leader Mitch Mcconnell has told other republicans in the senate to get ready for an impeachment trial whats he saying exactly reporter well, he is, and savannah hes signaling that he wants any trial to move expeditiously. Hes essentially looking at the broader timeline look, if the house were to vote on an impeachment inquiry by thanksgiving, theoretically that means that the senate could move on an impeachment trial and have it wrapped up by the end of the year and before those all important primaries. Yesterday, behind closed doors, when he was talking to fellow Senate Republicans he said he planned for the senate to move as quickly as possible it is worth noting that the House Intelligence Committee chairman adam schiff has said he wants to move expeditiously as well but has not committed to a timeline, savannah. Kristen welker from the White House Press briefing room, thank you so much. Breaking news from washington overnight, long time democratic congressman Elijah Cummings the champion of civil rights and the key player in the impeachment investigation has died nbcs Geoff Bennett joins us from capitol hill with the latest on the story. Reporter Elijah Cummings death is a massive loss, not just for congress but for the country. Here on capitol hill he was seen as a strong moral force. Politics aside, who was widely respected by both democrats and republicans. And for the folks he represented in his native baltimore they viewed him as not just a good congressman but also a good man. Elijah cummings had been a familiar face on capitol hill for nearly 25 years. A 12term congressman known for his soaring oratory, cummings ascended the heights of political power as chairman of the House Oversight committee. Yet through it all cummings never moved away from the inner city of his native baltimore Elijah Cummings was one of seven children born to South Carolina sharecroppers who moved north for a better opportunity he credited his parents, both preachers, for instilling in him a moral code which led him into a life of Public Service and was the Guiding Force of his career when riots erupted on the streets of baltimore in 2015 following the death of a 25yearold black man in Police Custody it was cummings who called for justice while urging calm. Weve got to go home. Reporter and when the maryland democrat took a lead role in investigating the Trump Administration he defined for all what he saw as his chief obligation. Were dancing with the angels the question will be asked, in 2019 what did we do . To make sure we kept our democracy intact. Reporter all the while highlights his friendships across the aisle as a model of what could be despite an era of deep partisanship. Of all the people on this committee ive said it and got in trouble for it, that youre one of my best friends i know that shocks a lot of people. And likewise, mr. Chairman. Yeah. Reporter cummings was sidelined for months following heart surgery in 2017. He later told his staffers his recovery renewed his focus on the importance of his work a calling, he believed, to be the champion in congress for civil rights and civility. Cummings had not been here on the hill for the past several weeks as hes been dealing with his health issues. Meantime im told the work of the Oversight Committee which he chaired and cared so much about would continue without delay just as cummings would have wanted it. Meantime today though people are remembering him for his strong moral leadership and the passion he brought to Public Service hoda geoff thank you so much, so struck to see him say so many words but the words about youre my best friend, crossing party lines and showing us true civility. And having that moment when he said youre my best friend and coming to the defense of a republican congressman, not at a moment when things were easy but a moment of high tension in the capitol. He was a true statesman and its a great loss we wish his family the best, our prayers are with you. That nasty noreaster impacting tens of millions from the south to new england, high winds knocking out power, causing a lot of damage too. Al has a forecast in a moment. But lets go to kathy park in long island in the thick of it hows it looking reporter the combination of heavy rain and strong winds created a mess overnight, knocking down trees, utility poles, even this structure behind me. T intensified, and knocked and the structure was actually set to be demolished and you can see and hear the crew thats starting to get to work. Wild waet weather pull going new england and leaving more than a quarter of a Million People without power. The quick moving storm forming when one system from the midwest and another off the Atlantic Coast combined creating powerful winds and rising waters. In boston one woman posting tong a huge surprise on her doorstep. I thought it was an earthquake and no, its the tree of my neighbor. Reporter at bostons Logan Airport 70mileperhour wind gusts cancelling more than 800 flights. In connecticut drenching rains soaking the area and causing local flooding on new yorks long island high winds causing even more structural damage to a local business, already in the process of being torn down. Crazy, just came out of nowhere. On a scale of one to ten, its a solid seven. Reporter in new jersey sandbags stacked to protect store fronts, streets flooding almost immediately in the riverside city of hoboken. Storm weary residents used to it. Its the same every storm its hoboken. Reporter in philadelphia dangerous driving conditions leading to tragedy at least three people were killed when a Passenger Van overturned with 11 people on board. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation. And the wild weather isnt over. While the rain has moved out, gusty conditions are sticking around for much of the day gusts are expected anywhere between 40 to 50 Miles Per Hour