Officials reveal the deadliest agent ever created was used on the halfbrother of kim jongun. How did it not affect the attackers. The 89th Academy Awards just two days away. Is it a lock for la la land . Its hollywoods biggest night. We have your guide to it. Today, friday, february 24th, 2017. From nbc news, this is today, with matt lauer, and savannah guthrie. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on this friday morning. Im matt lauer, with carson daly, wrapping up buddy week. Savannah has one more week of Maternity Leave. Are you with the oscars are for march madness and the final four . I do. I have la la land. Well see if carsons predictions have much more early on. Lets start with the top story. President trump taking the stage at the largest gathering of conservative leaders and activists. His speech comes a day after members of his administration addressed the gathering, including controversial strategist steve bannon. We have complete coverage, starting with nbcs peter alexander. Peter, good morning to you. Reporter matt, good morning to you. President trump will speak here at the political c aa aal conse action. The first to address cpac since Ronald Reagan. This time trump is back as the headliner and as president. Vice president pence teeing up the president s arrival this morning. I promise you, he will never America Great again. Reporter team trump enjoying a victory lap at cpac. Kellyanne conway speaking about feminism. I would tell your daughters that the job for the first female president of the United States remains open. So, go for it. Reporter and making a rare foray, the president s controversial strategist, steve bannon, head of breitbart. Attacking the media, hes branded the Opposition Party. Just like they were dead wrong on the campaign and like they were dead wrong on the transition, theyre absolutely dead wrong about whats going on today. Reporter and touting the deconstruction of the administrative state. If you think theyre giving you back your country without a fight, youre mistaken. Hold us accountable for w promised. Reporter President Trump highlighted one promise being fulfilled crackdown on the immigrants. We are getting bad dudes out of this country and at rate that nobody has ever seen before. And theyre the bad ones. And its military operation. Reporter that phrase military operation quickly contradicted by his own Homeland Security secretary meeting with mexican officials. Theres no use of military forces. There will be no repeat no mass deportations. Reporter the white house later clarified. The president was using that as an adjective. It is happening with precision. Reporter while another Campaign Promise repeal and replace obamacare. Reporter is facing significant obstacles. John boehner said that repeal and replace is whats not going to happen. Theyre going to put a more conservative box around it, he said. Also the president is vowing to bolster Americas Nuclear arsenal. A dream would be that no country would he if countries are going to have nukes were going to be at the top of the pack. Reporter another item, combating human trafficking. What her father called an epidemic. Its a very, very terrible problem. Its not talked about enough. Reporter the white house still not clarifying ivankas role, but her presence at high level meetings is unmistakable. A white house aide said that President Trumps remarks will include a thank you and a reaffirmation of the values that helped propel his campaign. They have a full weekend actually the next couple of days of panelists and speakers including one panel thats titled, if heaven has a gate, a wale and extreme vetting why cant america . Matt . All right, peter alexander, thank you. Caitlyn jenner is speaking out on transgender issues. In a video message posted to twitter, she says mr. Trump has reneged on a promise by reversing the obama obama era guidelines to use the bathroo and the locker rooms that match their gender identities. Our message for President Trump from one republican to another. This is a disaster. And you can still fix it. You made a promise to protect the lgbtq community. Call me. In our today show town hall just last april you might recall, trump said jenner could use any bathrooms. Welcome back, guys. President trump is going to address cpac today. His team did a good job of teeing it up for him. Saying he continue to do what he promised to do during the campaign. This audience had real fears about trumps conservative credentials. What specifically did they want to hear from him today . I remember saying that at the Republican Convention that the party i had worked for 20 years led by george w. Bush died in the room that night. Its a symbol of how weak completely hijacked the brand of conservatism. There is nothing conservative about what hes doing. But they have bought it hook, line and sinker. What does what need to say . The question is what is he going to say . Much of the same of what he has been saying. That conservatism is about protectionism and nativism the things that animated conservatism to for two generations on it. Campaign on the trail, then candidate trump said well repeal and replace obamacare. Then you have john boehner in orlando at the Health Care Conference quoting on that topic, they shouldnt call it that because thats not whats going to happen. Theyre basically going to fix the flaws and put a more conservative box around it. Thats a guy who knows a thing or two about the legislative process. How hard is paul ryans job right now . Right, i think that john boehner lab waiting a has been waiting a few years to say that. You got the sense when he was speaker he wanted to say and couldnt. But theres the bind that the republicans are in right here. He says look, if you take this away, this entire program and you dont have a replacement, you own any of the failures that happen. And they havent had a replacement in a generation. But premier league and replace makes a good bumper sticker. Fix does not. It does not. But you know, we had reporting that some of the earlier talks between president obama and President Trump about rebranding it, and tweaking it. So i think this has been the plan all along. Real quickly, first ones, military operation that the president used in describing the roundup and deportation of undocumented immigrants in this country and the white house tried to walk it back. Did they succeed . So theres a story out this morning about how the generals general kelly and general mattis primary job is to do clean up and do that for world. General kelly went out and said thats not the case, there will not be mass deportations, you saw general mattis earlier in the week talking about how were not after iraqs oil. The most interesting people to me right now are the generals who seem to be doing cleanup fulltime. Quickly on the transgender issue, we saw it there, he thinks people President Trump or on the campaign trail he said that people should use the bathroom they identify with. What happened with that issue . I think theyre getting a lot of criticism on this and theres a big chunk of the country thats outraged with what the administration is doing here. I think its worth stepping back and say when you look at the poll on it, this country is split on this. There are people who are on board with where the administration is and you look at how fast the cultural issues are changing. Just five years said that president obama is against that on liberal grounds. Good to see you. We have a monday. George w. Bush will be here for an exclusive live interview and to show us his new tribute to americas wounded warriors. Tuesday, were live on capitol hill. House Speaker Paul Ryan going to join us live exclusively. Well take you on the first of its kind live tour of the capitol. Today on the hill, Tuesday Morning on today. Were learning about that disturbing confrontation between an off duty l. A. Police officer and teenagers. It ended when the officer opened fire and it sparked protests. Miguel almaguer has the latest. Good morning. Reporter good morning. That officer has not been named or spoken publicly. Detectives believe he fired that shot into the ground but he could still criminal charges. Anaheim police say this was the First Physical confrontation between an off duty a. After a series of previous complaints about neighborhood kids trampling the officers lawn. The confrontation quickly escalated as the officer and teen argued. I didnt see that reporter after struggling with the boy for several minutes the officer was surrounded by teenagers and tackled by one of them. Before pulling a gun and firing a single shot. Police say the officer felt threatened and made the decision to use force. During the confrontation it is alleged the 13yearold boy made a threat against the officer that led the officer to believe that he was going to shoot him. Reporter today city leaders and police are shaken by what they see. Though the video does not show the entire encounter. Im deeply disturbed and frankly angered by what it shows. The video shows addressing a 13yearold kid and ultimately firing a gun. Reporter with police protecting one of their own, hung calendar down across from the officers property which was damaged during a rowdy protest, neighbors are divided over what happened here. They kick our stuff around, they shove stuff into the trees and you confront them theyre very bold. Were upset. No reason for the officer to respond like that. Theyre trained to apprehend the person in a professional way. Reporter this morning, the dangerous confrontation that went from a struggle to a shooting remains under investigation. But many here have seen enough. And are now drawing their own conclusions. Two of the teens involved in the struggle were arrested and later released but Officials Say everyone involved criminal charges. The investigation is expected to take a few weeks. Matt and carson, back to you guys. Thank you very much. Important update. Was know now what poison was used on the attack of the half brother of the leader. It was a highly toxic nerve agent. Kelly cobiella has more. Reporter another twist in the story and a frightening one. The Malaysian Police chief says that vx nerve agent classified as a weapon of mass destruction was used in the terminal of a crowded International Airport to kill kim jong. The alleged killers washed their hands after the attack. One woman seen on Surveillance Video holding her hands away from her body. Police say one of them was sick and and that tests from the skin and eyes confirms the poison. It was a chemical weapon. Reporter vx or venomous agent x, a tasteless, odorless weapon. Its the deadliest nerve agent ever created. Mere drops on the skin can kill and quickly causing convulsions, eye pain and stopping breathing. Jong nam had a seizure in the ambulance and died before reaching the hospital. Theyre believed to have the Third Largest stockpile of the chemical agent and the officials are sweeping the airport for any trace of the deadly weapon. Investigating how it got to the country and who might have smuggled it here. In kuala lumpur this morning, more denials. Its a lie. Reporter the North Koreans deny they have been officially asked to cooperate. They say the investigation into the attack brother and one time rival is flawed and still havent acknowledged that hes dead. Seven North Koreans are now wanted for questioning including a senior diplomat seen at the airport the day of the attack. And t malaysians say that diplomat is now in north Korean Embassy in kuala lumpur, but no sign the North Koreans will allow access to him and in fact the war of words between the malaysians and the embassy is heating up. This morning the Malaysian Foreign minister called him delusi delusional. It gets more and more bizarre. To the countdown of the oscars. Hollywoods big night is on sunday. What can you expect . Joe fryer is out there at the dolby theatre with a look ahead. Joe, good morning. Reporter good morning, carson. They have rolled out the red carpet which is currently covered by a white tarp. Come sunday this will be a runway for the biggest stars. While la la land nominations anything can happen on a night that promises to be entertaining and likely political. How brightly will the city of stars shine upon la la land . The musical would need to win 11 oscars to tie the alltime record. I got a call back. Reporter its a front liner for best picture. La la land is a perfect film. It was good. I guess i just didnt think it was like amazing singing. Reporter its biggest challenger is moonlight that centers on race and sexuality. The fight for lead actor has tightened. Casey affleck swept up most of the awards but Denzel Washington is gaining momentum. You best be making sure theyre doing right by you. Reporter when it comes to the leading ladies i competition from natalie portman. I have 18 years of my life to stand in the same spot as you. Reporter in the supporting categories viola davis is seeking her first oscar win for a role that brought her a tony. While ali and patel are vying for the supporting actor in a diverse list of nominees following the so white controversy. No matters who wins politics will likely take the stage sunday if recent award shows like the Golden Globes are any indication. We need the principled press to hold power to account to call them on the carpet for every outrage. Reporter the New York Times will even debut the first ever oscars ad with the message the truth is more important than ever. A sign that with millions watching hollywoods biggest night could become its most political. The mood of the show might be dictated by host jimmy kimmel. He says when its comes to politics he hopes to strike a balance, not too much, not too little. One more note if Linmanuel Miranda wins for best song, he will become the youngest person to ever egot thats winning the emmy, oscar, tony. Very cool. Joe, thanks. Well have more on the oscars later on in the program and then the complete wrapup of the winners and all the fashion monday right here on today. If we hadnt been having such great weather here in northeast, i would be extremely jealous of al down in florida. What are you doing down there . Were down here for the 16th annual wine and food festival, and im bringing you guys a little later some of the greatest chefs ever with some of the best breakfasts. We have a tale of two in minnesota right now, there are blizzard warnings and watches and we are looking at blinding snow, schools are closed throughout minnesota. It is a real mess there. And that storm system is going to be pushing to the east as you look right now, there are 25 Million People under some sort of winter storm warning or advisory. 18 Million People i should say. As this pushes east, were looking at snow at the upper midwest and severe storms for cleveland, detroit, indianapolis. Snowfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches of snow. Ahead of that we have record setting warmth. We are looking for records. The spring highs stretching from the northeast, new york, cleveland, charlestown. Down to tallahassee. Everybody looking to set some records. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Good morning, everybody. Im storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. A little bit of a hint of coolness out there, but temperatures in the low 40s and 50s wont stay there for long. We should be in the 60s and in the 70s by lunch time. Afternoon highs are close to records, 77 in washington. 78, leesburg. 77 today in manassas. The weekend not quite as good. Pretty good chance for thunderstorms around here tomorrow afternoon. Windy and cooler on sunday. Guys, back to you. Thank you al, thank you very much. And will the teenager convicted in the case, will he be granted a new case . As the father speaks out. Then ronan farrow looks at oscar campaigns, how they work and when they might go a little too far. But first this is today on nbc. Far. First, this is today on nbc. Creating a cleaner environment by using cleaner Energy Sources like solar, wind and natural gas. Weve reduced Carbon Emissions by nearly 25 , which is the equivalent of taking close to two million cars off the road. Cleaner air and cleaner water. Its good for all of us. Dominion. Depend on us for more than energy. Still ahead, the skier crashing on the slopes causing nervous moments for people all over new england. Well explain. And Little Big Town performs live in our studio after your local news. Its so delicious. I cant believe it has 40 fewer calories than butter. I cant believe its made with real, simple ingredients. I cant believe were on a whale. I cant believe my role isnt bigger. Oh, its real. Real ingredients. Unbelievable taste. Go ahead, enjoy. 7 26. Two Police Officers shot in the district. Megan mcgrath is live where this happened on holbrooke street. Reporter yeah, the shooting happened at the intersection that you see behind me here at morris and hill brook in northeast washington. The suspect was killed and a gun was recovered. Now, two d. C. Police officers are shot. Theyre going to be okay, theyre in stable condition and said to be in good spirits. Investigators are trying to figure out what led up to the shooting. Waiting to talk to those now, with more on other breaking news, traffic breaking news, we go to Melissa Mollet. Big problems on the beltway. We have the crashes, three mile backup outer beltway as you approach arena drive. The inner and outer loop, no major issues. Before colesville, that cr