California gas station. The driver killed. Everyone else scrambling to safety. So, what caused the explosion . And back to the danger zone. I feel the need for speed. Tom cruise makes it official. Top gun 2 is cleared for takeoff. Its true. Really . Yes. The big revelation thats taking everyones breath away today, wednesday, may 24th, 2017. Welcome to today. A lot of news to cover and coming out of europe. These images are just in coming in overnight, this extraordinary meeting between pope francis and the president and the first lady. Were going to go live to the vatican in just a few moments. But first we have major developments in the investigation of that deadly attack on an Ariana Grande concert in manchester, england. Several new arrests overnight as we learn more about the suspected suicide bombers. Ties to terrorists. We have full coverage beginning with nbcs chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel. Richard, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt. The race is on to find and arrest anyone connected to the bomber. Today here in manchester, police said that they arrested three men in the same neighborhood in the south of the city where the bomber lived. Also a u. S. Intelligence official tells nbc news that yesterday the bombers 23yearold brother was taken into custody. The official also said the bomber had a Third Brother whose whereabouts remain unknown. The first look this morning of the suicide bombing suspect who killed dodds at the Ariana Grande concert including children. A neighbor confirmed to nbc news the photo is of salman abedi. Identified by british authorities as the bomber 22 years old born in manchester of libyan descent. Frances interior minister this morning said he has known connections to isis. And is believed to have traveled to syria. Isis claimed responsibility for the attack but offered no proof and traveled to libya and likely received training from terrorists overseas. But his allegiances remain unclear. Also unclear, was he part of a cell planning more . Taking no chances, Prime Minister theresa may upped the threat level to critical meaning another attack could be imminent. You might also see military personnel deployed at stern events such as concerts and sports matches helping the police to keep the public safe. Reporter and today, there was a Strong Police presence at Buckingham Palace where the changing of the guard ceremony was canceled. The bomb at the concert exploded at 10 30 p. M. On monday just outside the security perimeter at the arena in an area where vendors were selling tshirts. It blew up as fans were starting to pass through on their way home. Now the hunt is on for others linked to the bomber and with the higher threat level the uk is clearly concerned that the worst may not be over. A u. S. Intelligence official told me that the bomber was identified by a bank card that he left in his pocket. He was later his identity was later confirmed by facial recognition. And, richard, obviously isis has claimed responsibility for this, but as youve been reporting there are potential ties to other terrorist organizations. Reporter that is one of the most confusing and potentially alarming parts of this. Today the French Interior minister said he has proven ties to isis. That he traveled to syria, the isis stronghold but u. S. Intelligence official also told me he has ties to al qaeda as well and this is the question, which group was he part of, was he part of both groups . His alliances, his associations, at this stage remain unclear which is why theres such an effort now to round up as many People Associated with him because they dont know how big this cell might have been and exactly how where the cell leads back to. Richard engel starting us off. Jeremy bash is a National Security analyst, jeremy, good morning to you. Good morning. Let me start where richard left off, this possibility that this suspected suicide bomber had ties to both isis and al qaeda. A kind of hybrid, if you will. How troubling would that be . Well, matt, the bomber looked like isis but the bomb looked very much like al qaeda. If you think about the individual, he was recruited, he was british born, probably recruited online. Acting principally alone. That is a classic isis m. O. But the guice he used appeared to be very powerful. Al qaeda has been known for its very sophisticated bombmaking capabilities and this device may trace back to other organizations. Thats what investigators will be looking at in the next 24 to 48 hours. Would that be unusual, jeremy, for an individual to have allegiances to isis and to al qaeda because weve certainly heard that theres Competition Among these two groups. The organizations are definitely rivals but, savannah, closer to the front lines these groups mix and mingle. They interact and different aspects of his network could have ties to both organizations. That is something we dont know yet. I want to ask you about the arrest that had just been made. We had one arrest made yesterday of a brother of the suspected suicide bomber. Theyre still looking apparently for another brother and then three arrests made just overnight, hour time. So were starting to see that this perhaps is a bigger circle. Yeah, matt, if you look at three aspects, the bomb, the bomber and the network, these Family Member arrests are going to be part of that network. Who else did he communicate with . Who did he talk to in the community . Who did he talk to online . Who are his other ties and also important to note his travel potentially to libya. If you go back and look in january 2017, the American Air Force conducted a b2 strike on a Training Camp in libya killing about 80 isis terrorists who had fled the city of sert 25 mys southwest of libya and there was concern that the reason we struck that Training Camp, juice about four months ago was because isis was plotting attacks in europe. Jeremy, i want to put an image up on our screen. This is actually a live shot. Investigators are outside the home of the suspect in manchester as we speak. So theyre headed back there, number one. What significance do you make of that that theyre going back to the home, that theres more work to be done and, secondly, what about the fact the uk raised its terror level to the highest level possible. Does it signify something more significant . If you look at the bomb and the possibility of other attacks in england, this was a very prudent step. They dont do this lightly. As for the raid that were watching here on the screen at their home theyre looking for laptop, cell phone, anything else they can exploit to figure out who this individual was connected to. By the way, theresa mays words were very specific. She said it is now concluded based on todays investigations that the threat level should be raised to critical. So its about information they just learned. Yeah, absolutely, jeremy, thank you so much. Thanks, guys. There are also remarkable stories of kindness emerging from this tragedy and learning more about the victims. Nbcs chief Global Affairs correspondent bill neely has more. Bill, good morning. Reporter good morning, savannah. The very center of this story are the missing and lost. Parents and children. A mom and dad confirmed dead. They had been waiting to collect their daughter. A 14yearold girl who was so desperate to go to the concert she went on crutches. She is missing. And dozens of children and teens still in the hospital. Victims all of them of a massacre without mercy. This is tack was deliberately targeted. Thousands of teenagers and children attending an Ariana Grande concert. The distraught artist back home in florida and among the many faces of the dead and the missing, one stands out, the youngest victim, Saffie Roussos described as simply beautiful, loved by everyone. Her mother and sister were injured. Georgina callander was 18. She tweeted her excitement at seeing her idol, Ariana Grande, who she met two years ago. Her mother leslie struggled to lay a flower for the daughter she has lost forever. 15yearold Olivia Campbell now confirmed among the dead and her mother writing rest in peace, my darling, precious, gorgeous girl. Taken far too soon. There wasnt a bone in her body that you could say was horrible and she was never horrible to anybody. Reporter 32yearold Kelly Brewster also killed. The trauma is deep here. The tears flowing the a vigil for the dead. The survivors still horrified by what they saw. It was just absolute carnage. Just screaming, my babies are in there because i thought the bomb had gone off in the arena. Reporter as thousands of terrified teenagers and their parents fled. And the injured were rushed out, help rushed in. Dozens carrying the wounded, Paula Robinson gathered children in a hotel posted on social media then had calls all night from desperate parents. I was just showing people to make the way if you have if you cant find your mum and dad then sorry. If you cant find your way there, just make your way to the holiday inn. Reporter manchesters defiance in the face of the bomber is loud and clear. What have they done . If you look around what have they done . They brought people together. Reporter Manchester United players paying tribute to victims with a moment of silence. They play a big european final tonight. Manchester united, a city grieving this morning but strong. Well, this massacre has struck not just the families of the 22 dead or the 21,000 would were at that concert or even just the city of manchester, it has struck every parent and teenager in this country and beyond. We can all put ourselves in that situation waiting for your child that night and for some, waiting for the phone to ring this morning. Matt, savannah. Breaks your heart. Bill, thank you very much. As you might expect, the concert attack has officials here in the United States ramping up security at a lot of highprofile Public Places across this country. Nbcs Stephanie Goss is just a few blocks from us in times square. Steph, good morning to you. Reporter good morning. Theres always a lot of security in times square but its become standard as you say to see even more. People here will see more counterism units and more bag checks in the subway and special, new explosivesniffing dogs. Around the country overnight spectators poured into sporting events and concerts, while the threat level in the uk has been raised to critical here in the u. S. Police say they remain vigilant keeping a watchful eye out for trouble. There is somebody on every corner. Thats good. I like. Reporter we have correspondents across the u. S. The weeknd is performing and police have stepped up security including a tactical unit. Canine bombsniffing dogs on hand, anyone with a ticket will be hand wanted by a metal director, even children. You never know whats going to happen but i think you just have to put your trust in the authority thats here. Reporter im Steve Patterson in los angeles and chris brown is performing and police in car, on foot and with canine units patrolling the area. Reporter in cleveland, there was also stepped up security at last nights nba playoffs game between the cavaliers and celtics. Despite the heavy police presence, some fans were concerned. Watch for book bags and certain things, im nervous when i see them doing this with phones, yes. Reporter in atlanta tense moments at the braves game. An equipment malfunction caused a scoreboard to flash a huge evacuation order. Fire alarm has started ringing at sun trust park. Attention. Reporter sirens blared in the ballpark. Leaving fans panicked at first and then fuming. One fan tweeting, you think its funny to scare your fans . What was that . After the game the team said that alarm was probably triggered by a fight in the ballpark restaurant but, you know, securing soft targets like outside that ballpark or here in times square is incredibly difficult. You cant shut down a place like this. You can provide more security and relire on intelligence and really public vigilance, guys, back to you. Stephanie gosk, thanks. Back to that milestone at the vatican for President Trump. Sitting down for the first time with pope francis and Nbcs Kristen Welker is in rome. Good morning to you. Reporter savannah, good morning to you. Just moments ago, President Trump was asked about his extraordinary meeting with the pope. His response, he is something. We had a fantastic meeting. These two leaders couldnt be more different. Pope francis living a modest lifestyle, President Trump more lavish, but today they tried to find Common Ground with the whole world watching. After their brief initial greeting in front of the cameras, the president and the pope met privately in the Papal Library for about a half hour. The two leaders emerged smiling. The pope seemed to light up when he greeted the first lady would wore a black veil as a sign of respect. And jokingly he asked her if she feeds the president a slovenian dessert. What do you give him to eat . Pizza. Reporter and then in an exchange of gifts presenting the pope with a bronze statue representing a peaceful tomorrow. A piece of granite from the Martin Luther king mon many and First Edition set of writings from the civil rights leader. These are books from Martin Luther king. I think you will enjoy them. Thank you. Reporter the popes gifts a medallion with an olive symbolizing peace. And three of his encyclicals one including his views on climate change, that gift a subtle nudge as President Trump weighs whether to pull out of the paris climate agreement. The environment one of several issues where the men have disagreed openly. Another, the president s promise to build a border wall with mexico. The pope said last year, a person who builds walls and not bridges is not christian. Prompting this extraordinary retort. For a religious leader to question a persons faith is disgraceful. Reporter an unprecedented criticism of a beloved world leader but today none of those tensions were on display, instead, the pope was warm. President trump effusive in his praise. Buena suerte. Reporter they discussed a range of topics including immigration, health care and persecution of christians. President trumps next stop, brussels for the nato summit. Matt, savannah. All right, Kristen Welker at the vatican, thank you. We want to go back to that video of a tanker truck exploding into flames. This happened tuesday in atwater, california. You can see a wall of fire and thick black smoke shooting into the sky right next to a gas station. Officials telling us the tanker was carrying about 9,000 gallons of fuel when it overturned on an offramp. The driver was killed in the accident. No one else was hurt. The explosion sent workers and customers at a Fast Food Restaurant running for safety. Nearby businesses were evacuated. Officials say it could be a couple of days before people are allowed to return to that area. Awful to see that. It could have definitely been a lot worse. Mr. Roker, what do you got on your map . We got a lot going on. First lets start out taking a look in california. Mudslide, big, big one closing off about a quarter mile section of highway 1 around big sur and so it may be a long time before that section gets reopened. Its a real mess as you can see from this these aerial shots. Theyve got a lot of debris and mud to clear. Closer to home here in the east, we are looking a lot of wet weather and, in fact, Severe Weather down in florida. Tornado watches in effect until 3 00 from the panhandle all the way into Central Florida just to the north of orlando. Weve got 38 Million People at risk for Severe Weather from knoxville, raleigh all the way down to just north of miami for strong storms, damaging winds, this big push of moisture coming through with this cold front thats going to cause scattered strong storms for florida, another day of heavy rain and that rain will extend up into the northeast later on today into tomorrow. Upwards of 3 inches in the panhandle later today into tomorrow morning. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. We have clouds to start, even inland. Live at the south bay, well have cooler temperatures today. Even though it does start out mild, were at 58 degrees as you get ready to head outdoor in the south bay. 52 in fairfield, and oakland is now at 56 degrees with highs later today reaching the upper 70s inland. In some spots, our temperatures will be at least 10 degrees cooler, and well be at 63 today in San Francisco. And thats your latest weather. Savannah . All right, al. Thank you. After a raid at his home this morning, new information emerging about the suspect in the manchester terror attack and his ties to potentially al qaeda and isis. And fox news forced to retract a controversial story about the murder of a Democratic National committee staffer, as that mans family speaks out. Well hear from them. First this, is today on nbc. man hmm. 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